prosperous age

Today the sky is clear and cloudless, with only a slight breeze blowing. It is a good day.

Banners were flying at Zhigu Wharf outside Tianjin City. The road from Tianjin City Wall to here had been blocked by soldiers from the Beijing Camp and was under strict security.

With the arrival of a fleet of carriages and sedan chairs from the city, the dock became lively.

Today is the scheduled day for the naval review, but I didn’t expect the weather to be so good.

There was a northwest wind blowing yesterday, and it would have been very difficult to carry out the grand review planned by Yu Dayou in such weather.

The exercises in the previous two days had exhausted the naval officers and soldiers.

Who could have thought that the weather would be so good the next day? One cannot help but sigh that perhaps the emperor was truly the chosen one by God.

Wei Guangde's sedan chair was behind Zhang Juzheng, and in front was the emperor's dragon sedan chair. The huge dragon sedan chair demonstrated the royal demeanor and had actually opened the eyes of these foreign delegation representatives three days ago.

Yes, that's luxury.

However, the dragon sedan that Emperor Wanli rode today was different from the one they saw that day. It was the most noble carriage.

The chariot was not pulled by horses, but by elephants.

In fact, there are many traces of the Dalu in the court portraits circulated in the Ming Dynasty.

Its luxury cannot be described in words. It is 4 feet 2.5 inches high, 1.3 feet inches wide, and the seat is more than feet inch high. Converted into modern units, it is nearly meters high, about meters wide, and the seat is about meters high.

Sitting on it, you can see all the mountains in the distance, it's really impressive.

The car was hung with Ruyi bead panels around it, similar to the tassels of today, but each of the beads on it was priceless.

Below the cushion is a box painted red and divided into twelve parts. Each part is painted with gold powder with 12 kinds of animals, including unicorns, lions, rhinoceroses, celestial horses, elephants, phoenixes, peacocks, and white cranes.

The chariot has two wheels, and the wheel decorations are also very luxurious.

The wheel frame is painted red and has 18 spokes. Each spoke is beautifully carved and even the nails have patterns.

The center of the wheel is bound with a copper wheel that looks like a lotus petal and is gilded with gold, and the traction rope of the car is made of a yellow rope unique to the royal family.

Yes, this is the elephant car.

Emperor Wanli rode on a dragon sedan chair all the way to Tianjin, which was actually a jade carriage.

In the early Ming Dynasty, ritual officials established the types of emperor's carriages. The Ming Taizu had a total of five types of carriages, including the Jade Chariot, which was the highest specification and was generally used for very important occasions such as sacrifices.

Then there is the Golden Chariot, which contains a very high amount of gold. The frugal Zhu Yuanzhang once ordered that copper be used instead of gold. The ritual officials thought that gold would not cost much, but Zhu Yuanzhang said that he was rich and did so not because he was stingy, but to set an example for the world.

Next are the leather chariot, ivory chariot and wooden chariot. These three types of chariots are more commonly used and can also be used by the empress and concubines.

This is what the etiquette stipulates, but Zhu Yuanzhang did not do it. It was not until the sixth year of Hongwu, when the world was almost stable, that Zhu Yuanzhang started to do these things.

However, the jade carriage was still not manufactured because this kind of carriage was too wasteful of manpower and material resources. Zhu Yuanzhang started out as a tenant farmer and understood the reason very well.

It was not until the third year of Yongle that the emperor had completely manufactured all the vehicles for travel, including the large carriage, jade carriage, large horse-drawn carriage, small horse-drawn carriage, sedan chair, large cool carriage, and wooden sedan chair.

The Great Chariot and the Jade Chariot were both decorated with a large amount of precious jade on their bodies, but one was pulled by elephants and the other by horses. Both were the most noble vehicles in the emperor's chariots.

At this time, the bureau's books of punishment, the numerous flags and canopies for ceremonial purposes had all been moved aside, and Zhang Juzheng, along with Wei Guangde and other court officials, were already standing beside the carriage.

Feng Bao stepped forward to ask for instructions, and then Emperor Wanli walked out of the sedan chair and walked down the stairs step by step.

The foreign envoys on the side of the courtiers all widened their eyes at once. Only the envoys from Korea and Ryukyu had seen the crown and robes worn by the Ming emperor because they frequently paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty.

Yes, feeling that today was very important, Emperor Wanli came to attend the naval review in full robes.

This undoubtedly greatly improved the level of the naval review.

Originally, the Ministry of Rites suggested that the emperor watch the ceremony in armor, but yesterday the little emperor had a sudden inspiration and planned to watch the grand review in crown robes.

Because of this matter, the Ministry of Rites and the Cabinet had a big argument in front of the emperor yesterday.

Because Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, thought that the ancient five-crown ceremony was too complicated, he decided that "for offering sacrifices to heaven and earth and ancestral temples, one should wear a crown and a robe; for offering sacrifices to the gods and grain, one should wear a crown and a red gauze robe. No other ceremony is required."

Such regulations also restricted the emperor's wearing of the imperial robes and crowns in ceremonies such as offering sacrifices to heaven and earth and ancestral temples.

The Tongtian crown and clothes are used for sacrifices to the gods and grain, while there are no strict regulations for other ceremonies and the emperor can choose them at his own discretion.

It was because of this article that the young emperor believed that as long as the emperor felt it was okay, in fact, except for major sacrificial activities such as heaven and earth, ancestral temples, and the state, which required the emperor to wear the clothes prescribed by Taizu, the emperor could choose to wear the crown and robes, the Tongtian crown and the emperor's daily clothes for other activities.

Since he had chosen for himself, he chose to watch the naval review tomorrow in his imperial robes and crown, and did not violate any etiquette.

In fact, the main opposition came from the Ministry of Rites, and Feng Bao also disagreed.

The supporters were naturally the Second Assistant Minister Wei Guangde and the Minister of War Zhang Ke. The assistant minister Shen Shixing expressed his support after some hesitation.

In fact, Wei Guangde had more or less sensed that the young emperor had the intention of testing all officials.

However, the most important minister, Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng, was ambiguous in his attitude and did not stand with Feng Bao in opposing this time.

In addition, military officials and nobles such as Duke Dingguo Xu Wenbi also expressed their support for the emperor's decision.

At all times, the nobles stood on the side of the emperor unless the emperor's decision affected their interests.

In the end, because he did not get strong support from Zhang Juzheng, Emperor Wanli decided to watch the ceremony in his crown and robes.

In fact, the significance of the imperial robes is not just the emperor’s attire. Its value is second only to the imperial seal.

"Gunmian" is the formal dress worn by the emperor during major celebrations such as offering sacrifices to heaven and earth and ancestral temples.

According to ancient etiquette, when dynasties changed, a coronation ceremony had to be held, with the emperor wearing a royal crown and passing the imperial seal to the world for its announcement.

Therefore, in every troubled time, besides the imperial seal, the imperial crown would be another object of contention, to symbolize inheritance.

"Is this the dress of the Ming emperor?"

"I heard that this is only worn on the most formal occasions, but it's too far away to see what's embroidered on it. What a pity."

"They should be the best textiles from Ming. If we can get them and ship them back, the royal families of various countries will definitely pay a high price for them."

"What is that on the head of the Emperor of Ming? Is it the crown of the Emperor of Ming?"

A group of Europeans were discussing in low voices the crown and robes worn by Emperor Wanli. They had never seen such things before, but even from a distance they could sense an indescribable pressure.

When they welcomed the emperor at the gate of Tianjin City that day, they could still clearly see the Ming emperor's obviously immature face. But when they saw him again today, under the cover of the twelve jade beads on the crown, they felt a sense of mysterious majesty in their hearts.

"I heard that their emperor has several carriages. Oh, and this elephant carriage today. It's really beautiful."

“Yes, it really opened my eyes.”

Several representatives were still discussing in a low voice, and a few smarter representatives of the delegation turned around and told the people behind them: "Remember these, go back and draw them, and let the king and the nobles of the kingdom also see the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty royal family's travel."

There is no doubt that the etiquette systems of most countries here are different from that of the Ming Dynasty. After all, the Ming Dynasty has continued its etiquette and laws for more than two thousand years.

Although changes are inevitable when dynasties change, the Ming Dynasty etiquette was originally established with reference to the Zhou Dynasty etiquette and the Han and Tang Dynasty etiquette, which can be regarded as a culmination. Other countries did not have much inheritance, and they just learned from what they thought was good.

A sedan chair was carried over, and Emperor Wanli sat on it. Four strong eunuchs carried the sedan chair, surrounded by a canopy, and headed towards the dock.

At the dock, there were four large sealed boats docked, all decorated with lights and colorful decorations. A large number of sailors were standing on the boats, and the gangplank had been set up, ready to set sail after the emperor and his ministers boarded.

The sedan chair was carried directly onto the Fengzhou boat, followed by Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng walking side by side, and behind them were the eunuchs of the inner court and the main accompanying officials of the court.

Other accompanying officials and representatives of various countries' diplomatic missions were led to several other ships by officials from the Honglu Temple.

Everything was planned long ago and the execution was in order.

Soon, after the people boarded the ship, with the sound of the horn, the four sealed boats left the dock and sailed along the inland river towards the sea not far away.

Zhigu is located in the area of ​​the old Sanchakou at the west end of the Lion Grove Bridge in today's Tianjin City. In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, an inland waterway shipping network centered on the Haihe River gradually formed.

The Grand Canal was dug during the Sui Dynasty, connecting the five major water systems of Qiantang River, Yangtze River, Huaihe River, Yellow River and Haihe River, transforming Tianjin's shipping from regional to national, and laying the foundation for Tianjin Port to become a water and land transportation hub in northern China in the future.

The earliest seaport in Tianjin was Liujiatai in the Tang Dynasty, while Zhigu was an inland port mainly used for transshipping grain during the Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.

As the political and cultural center, Beijing has always been the country's largest consumption center. The food, clothing, housing, transportation, and other necessities of everyone from the emperor to the common people and soldiers on garrison duty, especially grain and salt, have to be collected and transported from all over the country.

The later Tianjin Port was the result of the construction of a wharf in Tanggu, which gradually extended the Tianjin inland port area into deep waters.

In fact, most of the so-called seaports at that time were inland ports built on rivers. This type of port was easy to defend. It was only necessary to set up artillery batteries at the mouth of the river to block the sea and protect the port.

Without a dock, it would be difficult for a large number of soldiers and supplies to disembark quickly and could only be transported by a small number of sampans on the ship, which was time-consuming and laborious.

Therefore, this is why the Ming Dynasty had previously neglected coastal defense.

Of course, although it is not conducive to large-scale military movements, it is very suitable for Japanese pirate invasions.

This was also one of the reasons why coastal defense was in a mess when the Japanese invasion broke out in the middle and late Jiajing period.

The sealed boat went downstream and soon entered the Bohai Bay. At this time, the sailors on the lower level had already started paddling to provide power for the sealed boat.

It was the first time for the little emperor to go out to sea, and even the first time to ride on a big ship. He climbed up the tall building at the stern, held the railing and looked around, appearing both excited and curious.

However, when Feng Zhou sailed out of the inland river and entered the Bohai Bay, the little emperor opened his mouth in surprise when he saw the endless sea.

Again, without seeing it with your own eyes, it is difficult to understand the vastness of the ocean just by looking at the written records in books.

Although the sea is actually very simple, it is nothing but water.

This was the second time Wei Guangde saw the sea. The first time was when he went to Hangzhou on official business. However, there was a Japanese invasion at that time, so he had no chance to go out to sea by boat.

So, this was also the first time Wei Guangde saw the sea.

Not only Wei Guangde, but also Zhang Juzheng, Feng Bao and others were seeing the sea for the first time and were all shocked by the vastness of the sea.

It was endless, with nothing but sea water ahead.

"Master Yin, you have only been watching for more than a year."

Wei Guangde came back to his senses and said to Yin Zhengmao on the side.

After completing a task a few days ago, Yin Zhengmao relaxed and fell ill. He only recovered yesterday.

"Haha, that's right.

I was shocked at first, but after watching it for half a month I didn’t want to watch it anymore. I only wanted to see the mainland because that meant we were about to reach a destination.”

Yin Zhengmao replied with a wry smile.

"You have worked hard on the journey, Lord Yin. Once the affairs in the capital are settled, I will give you half a month to have a good rest."

The little emperor immediately smiled and said to Yin Zhengmao.

"Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty. I dare not say that it is hard work. It is all my duty."

Yin Zhengmao bowed hurriedly and replied.

"Yang Shi has indeed worked hard for the country for two years. He should take a good rest so that he can continue to serve the country."

Zhang Juzheng stroked his beard and said with a smile.

Two days ago, Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde were discussing this matter privately, that is, what to do after Yin Zhengmao returned.

He has made such a great contribution, we can't just send him back to Nanjing after using him up.

However, there is no suitable position among the six ministries and nine ministers at present. Finally, it is decided that with his ability in commanding the military, he can be appointed as the Minister of War to help Tan Lun maintain the Ministry of War.

Yes, Tan Lun is in a very bad condition now, so the Ministry of War is temporarily appointed to have two ministers, and Yin Zhengmao is in charge of the ministry.

As for whether it would affect his arrangements for Zhang Ke, of course not. Yin Zhengmao is old, and even if he is allowed to replace Tan Lun, he will not be able to serve as a judge for more than two years.

It's just right, so Zhang Ke can learn more in the Ministry of War.

“Ah, this is.”

Just as the court officials were praising Yin Zhengmao's achievements, Feng Bao, Zhang Cheng and other eunuchs in the inner court, who had been quiet all of a sudden pointed their fingers forward.

Wei Guangde and others looked over immediately and saw countless spikes appearing on the flat horizon, as if there was a monster.

"Your Majesty, the others need not worry. That is the mast of a warship of the imperial navy."

Yin Zhengmao is now the only official here who is familiar with the ocean, and he will answer everyone's questions immediately.

Then, Yin Zhengmao waved to the followers beside him and said, "Send the telescope over quickly."

Soon, several followers came over with a tray, each with several telescopes on it.

Wei Guangde recognized it at once. The little emperor also knew this thing, as it was in the palace, so he picked it up skillfully, pulled out a section, put it in front of his eyes and looked forward.

After seeing what the little emperor and Wei Guangde did, Zhang Juzheng followed suit and picked up a telescope to look.

Zhang Ke looked through the telescope for a while, then suddenly turned to Yin Zhengmao and said, "Master Yin, can the Ming Dynasty make this thing?"

After all, he was from the Ministry of War. After using it only once, Zhang Ke realized the value of this item in the army.

"It can be manufactured, but it is not easy to grind this crystal lens, and the production volume is very small."

Yin Zhengmao replied.

"This can also be made in the palace. Last time, I asked the craftsmen to make a binocular telescope according to the drawing drawn by Master Wei. It is not yet finished because the crystal lens is not polished."

The little emperor also put down the telescope and said. (End of this chapter)