Daming Town Haiwang

Chapter 1660, The Yangtze River Bridge starts construction

"The tone of this article is generous and tragic, with endless meaning and soul-stirring. It not only has a sense of indifference and tranquility, but also reflects a lofty artistic conception and profound philosophy of life."

"In just a few lines, it reveals the rush of the long river of history and the eternal value deposited in it, looking for the profound philosophy of life between success and failure, the sense of the rise and fall of history, and the only emotion of life's ups and downs."

"The noble sentiments and broad-minded mind not only have the feeling of Du Fu in the Tang Dynasty, "Boundless fallen trees are rustling, and the endless Yangtze River is rolling in", but also the artistic conception of Su Shi in the Song Dynasty, "The great river goes east, the waves wash away, and the eternal romantic man"."

"Wonderful, wonderful!"

Wang Shouren thought carefully about the words that Liu Yuan read out, and after thinking about them, he couldn't help but admire them greatly, and couldn't help but admire Liu Jin again.

Although he has always admired Liu Jin, Liu Jin's ability in governing the country is obvious to all. At the same time, Liu Jin's noble sentiments in vigorously establishing education are also admired by Wang Shouren.

I didn't expect Liu Jin to be able to write such soul-stirring poems, which is really admirable.

"Cough cough, cough cough~"

"I've won the award, I've won the award!"

Liu Jin's old face is blushing, and I hope that Yang Shen will not ask him for copyright fees in the future.

Soon, "Linjiang Immortal" written by Liu Jin spread rapidly. There are many scholars in this land in the south of the Yangtze River, and they have liked to play poems and songs since ancient times.

It is also quite sought after for talented scholars.

Tang Bohu, Wen Zhengming, Zhu Yunming and other talents in Wuzhong, although they have repeatedly failed in the examination of merit, they have always been sought after because of their talents. Even in this period, their calligraphy and paintings are very valuable.

Liu Jin's Ming Dynasty had already been spread all over the country of the Ming Dynasty, and he was surrounded by many auras such as the number one scholar, the cabinet ministers, the sons of the masters, and so on.

As soon as this poem came out, it immediately amazed the scholars in Jiangnan, and many talented scholars who were depressed and frustrated felt the same way, and immediately felt as if they had met a bosom friend.

All of a sudden, a large number of talents rushed to Jinling day and night, wanting to see Liu Jin's demeanor.

It's just that Liu Jin is a busy person, so he doesn't have time to pay attention to them.

A few days later, on the banks of the Yangtze River, accompanied by the sound of gongs, drums and firecrackers, thousands of people gathered by the river. At the same time, a sacrificial platform was built by the river to worship the Dragon King and the river god in the Yangtze River.

People in this period are still very superstitious about this, and there are often celebrations and sacrificial activities when important projects start.

Of course, this tradition has actually been carried on to later generations. Those who do engineering in later generations know that when building bridges and digging tunnels, pigs and sheep are often sacrificed to pray for everything to go well.

During the Ming Dynasty, everyone paid more attention to this, and there were many taboo things.

The start date has been carefully selected, and the hours are strictly regulated. Even the tributes to the Dragon King and the River God are very particular.

There are three cows, six pigs, and nine sheep. As for chickens, ducks, fish, and wine, there are more. It always means the same thing, to express enough respect for the Dragon King and the River God.

"The auspicious time has come!"

"His Royal Highness, please offer a sacrificial message!"

At the entire start-up site, all officials, large and small, from the Nanjing side were present. When I looked over, there was a sea of ​​red. There were six departments on the Nanjing side, all of which were of very high rank.

Zhu Houzhao was wearing a prince's suit, a bright yellow python robe, and a gold silk crown. At this moment, he also looked extremely serious. He stepped up to the altar with a sacrificial oration in his hand, and then began to recite loudly.

"My minister, Zhu Houzhao, reported to the heavens that today, my Ming Dynasty is the exchange of the Yangtze River between the north and the south, setting a precedent for thousands of years and building a foundation for eternity. I ask the heaven to bless everything smoothly, and ask the gods of the rivers to give me convenience."

The content is very simple, it is to tell God that now Daming is going to build a bridge on the Yangtze River in order to facilitate the transportation between the north and the south of the Yangtze River. , don't blame or something.

In fact, the ancients believed in this thing very much. The emperor is a courtier in front of the heaven. He must be respectful and revered. He must first report to the heaven for any major event, and pray for permission and protection.

The gods in the Yangtze River are also respected, and they are asked to follow the door of convenience, don't blame, don't make trouble, let the bridge be built smoothly, there are sacrifices every year, and there are offerings every year.

"Hmm~"

"If His Royal Highness the Prince personally comes to report to the heavens and ask the gods of Jianghe for convenience, the bridge will definitely be completed smoothly."

"Yes, yes~ His Highness the Crown Prince is the future Son of Heaven, who will guard and shepherd the people of the world on behalf of the Heaven, that is the Son of Heaven."

"If he comes to sacrifice, naturally everything will go well."

"Of course, even the Dragon Lord and the River God in the river must be obedient."

As Zhu Houzhao read out the sacrificial text, and then solemnly threw the sacrificial text into the cauldron and burned it, Liu Jin could also hear the people around him nodding their heads.

The ancients believed in this too much.

Not to mention the construction of a bridge over the Yangtze River, even if it is a building in the Beijing-Tianjin area, it is necessary to choose an auspicious day to start construction, and before the start of construction, pigs and sheep must be sacrificed.

This is the first in history to build a bridge over the Yangtze River, and it is very normal and necessary to hold such a grand sacrifice and groundbreaking ceremony.

Even now the crown prince came to report to heaven in person, and at the same time borrowed convenience from the gods in the Yangtze River, which made everyone more confident that the bridge would be built smoothly.

What sacrifice is more useful than the prince's sacrifice?
If an ordinary person came to worship and preside over the groundbreaking ceremony, everyone might not feel at ease in their hearts. If they feel that the weight is not enough, the Dragon King and the River God may not give you face.

If the crown prince hadn't come, Liu Jin would have to go up.

Liu Jin is the number one scholar and the Wenqu star in the sky. If he comes, it will work.

But when the prince came, it was naturally the best, and everyone's confidence increased a lot.

"Sacrifice!"

Soon, the sacrificial rites were burned, and an order was issued.

Three cows, six pigs, nine sheep, and a large number of sacrifices and tributes were thrown into the river one after another.

Liu Jin, who watched this scene, was speechless and couldn't say anything. This is a tradition. Although it is a bit superstitious, it must be respected. Moreover, the sacrifice can make people feel more at ease, which is also a very cost-effective thing.

The investment of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge is really too big, 4000 million taels of silver, this is a huge investment, if it can be built smoothly, it is naturally a good story through the ages, if something is asked, it will be a big deal.

After the sacrifice was completed, the official construction began.

I saw a large number of machines driven by steam engines start to rotate, accompanied by bursts of sirens, billowing smoke rose into the sky, and the construction of Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge officially started!
"Being the first in history, build a bridge on the Yangtze River. From now on, the natural moat will become a thoroughfare, and it will be much more convenient to travel from south to north."

Looking at the construction site for sale in front of me, and looking at the vast river surface, it is clear why it is necessary to sacrifice.

The ancients respected heaven and earth very much, even if they were emperors, they would call themselves ministers and respect them extremely.

This is mainly due to feeling the vastness of the world and the insignificance of oneself, so this kind of reverence has gradually formed. The Yangtze River in front of you, the largest river in the Ming Dynasty, is long, wide, and mighty.

Building a bridge over such a large river is indeed a feat through the ages.

"Let's go, let's go, go to Suzhou and Yangzhou to see the disaster situation there, and then go to Songhu. I heard that all the flower boats in Jinling have gone to Songhu."

However, Zhu Houzhao didn't seem to have much interest. He was also busy these days, busy going to Xiaoling Mausoleum to worship Ming Taizu, so he had to abstain from sex for a few days, because it made him more pious.

There is no way, if you want to sacrifice to your ancestors, the rules are like this, even if he is the prince, he must follow the rules, but he has been suffocating these days.

Now that he has presided over the groundbreaking ceremony of the Yangtze River Bridge, he can't wait to fly to Songhu right now to see what this flower boat in the south of the Yangtze River looks like.

"Your Highness, don't go to that kind of fireworks place, it's too dirty and there will be various infectious diseases."

When Liu Jin heard it, he was speechless. It is better not to go to the place of fireworks. In the later generations, there was an emperor in Chiqing who fell ill and died young because of visiting brothels.

(End of this chapter)