prosperous age

Chapter 275 Chapter 274
Stepping on the rubble of Fengtianmen, the sound of "click, click" sounded.

The fire in the Forbidden City had already been extinguished, and before the scene could be cleaned up, Emperor Jiajing led the crowd into the square through the Youshun Gate, and then walked into the square in front of the Fengtian Hall stepping on the ruins of the Fengtian Gate.

The once tall and majestic Fengtian Temple is now in ruins, a mess, and devastated. Only a few remaining smoked and pitch-black columns are still standing, showing its former majesty.

Emperor Jiajing's complexion was very ugly at the moment, as dark as the pillar.

Wei Guangde followed behind the crowd. He was surprised to be summoned by Emperor Jiajing earlier, but he was relieved after thinking about it. The house was on fire, so why didn't the owner come back to have a look.

Xiyuan is not far from Miyagi, just next door.

However, after meeting the emperor, he did not get the reward he expected.

Also, at this time, Emperor Jiajing was thinking about how to reward them, so let's figure out the loss first.

Wei Guangde was not released from the palace, but let him follow the emperor's team to inspect the scene of the fire.

Emperor Jiajing walked ahead, Wei Guangde and Chen Ju followed behind. At this time, the six ministers and nine ministers and other high-ranking officials of the imperial court had already arrived, and all the eunuchs in charge of the palace had also gathered. There was no place for him and Chen Ju to stay in front. .

After walking down this section of the road, Wei Guangde also understood the impact of the fire.

This is not to say that if you have money, you can repair it immediately. It is completely different from later generations. If you have money, you can directly find the construction team, go to the building materials market and start construction.

The materials used to build palaces these days are not masonry and cement, but wood, golden nanmu.

The "Family History" of Jinsi Nanmu began in the Yuan Dynasty, because its golden silk pattern is very in line with the noble and elegant temperament of the royal family, making it a special material for the Yuan Dynasty royal family.

In the Ming Dynasty, golden nanmu was widely used as a precious wood in the court, and the emperor of the Ming Dynasty applied this material to the manufacture of palaces, furniture, and coffins.

The output of golden nanmu is not small, and its value is not high, but what is precious is a special pattern of golden nanmu, that is, golden silk can be met but not sought.

The Ming Dynasty used golden nanmu, ordinary wood was used to make palaces and other buildings, and wood with golden threads was used to make imperial furniture.

Golden nanmu grows in the most remote and highest altitude area in China - the alpine dense forest in the western mountainous area of ​​Sichuan, where the climate is cold and dry, the temperature difference between day and night is large, the air humidity is low, and the trees grow slowly.

During the Yongle period, a large number of plantings began in Sichuan, Huguang, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and other places. Because these areas were rich in high-quality golden nanmu, many emperors in the Ming Dynasty would plant golden silk in their palaces, palaces, towers, temples and palaces. .

In fact, there is no shortage of wood sources, but the problem is that the golden nanmu is very slow to become useful.

Phoebe has a long growth cycle, and it takes at least 50 years to grow into wood, but at this time the golden filaments have just begun to form, growing at a rate of 1-2% per year, and it will take at least 50 years to reach "full gold".

Even if it is just to build the three halls, more than 50-year-old wood is needed. Naturally, such a large amount cannot be gathered in a short time.

Now that the three halls are completely destroyed, not to mention whether the imperial court can afford the money to rebuild, the selection and preparation of materials alone cannot be completed in a short period of time, at least it will take several years.

At this moment, Wei Guangde already knew the whole story of the fire. It was the lightning strike Fengtian Temple that caused the fire, and then spread to the Huagai Hall and Shenxin Hall behind. At the Meridian Gate, the left and right gates were also burned.

Fortunately, there was a north wind at that time, and the strong wind pushed the fire to the south. If there was a south wind, the fire would go directly to the harem.

Think about the situation in the harem, where there are maids and servants who have come forward, if the harem is really burned down, I really don't know how much the loss will be and how many people will die.

But what Wei Guangde didn't know was that what Emperor Jiajing was thinking about at the moment was what enlightenment this fire gave him. Is this a warning from God or something?
The last time the three main halls were burned, Zhu Di, Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, issued an edict of guilt. Now that the three main halls have been burned again, what should I do?
It wasn't until it was getting late that everyone bid farewell to the emperor and left the Forbidden City to return to various residences. Wei Guangde also went out with the crowd. He didn't eat his lunch, and now it was dinner time again, so he was hungry.

On the second day, Wei Guangde arrived at the Imperial Academy on duty on time.

Before leaving the palace last night, Emperor Jiajing decreed that the officials of the fourth rank and above in Beijing should go to Xiyuan to pay their respects this morning. Of course Wei Guangde was not among them, so he could only go to his private room to sit and drink tea on time.

Wei Guangde is not very interested in what will happen in Xiyuan today, he just wants to know whether he will be promoted or rewarded with yellow and white things.

To be honest, Wei Guangde himself didn't really believe that he could continue to be promoted, he was really too young.

Normally Jinshi of this age will be selected into the Hanlin Academy as a Shujishi for three years, so they will be in their twenties and can take up other positions.

But he happened to be a freak out of this rule, so he was appointed by a good scholar. Seeing that he has made great achievements again, there are still opinions in the court about how to reward him.

It is also good to receive some gold and silver rewards, and you should look at the amount of scenery.

Wei Guangde can only comfort himself in his heart at this moment.

What Wei Guangde did yesterday was already spread outside the palace yesterday afternoon. He saved the "Yongle Dadian". One after another came to sit idle, Wei Guangde took care of him with a smile all over his face.

At noon, news finally spread from Xiyuan that Emperor Jiajing had issued the "Edict of Guilt".

"My original descendants of the same surname were not the same as princes at first, but they were given by the emperor's heavenly treasure, and the two relatives are here to celebrate. My husband has been enshrined in the Datong for 36 years. Yesterday, there was an unprecedented internal change. , Hetian forgives me and protects me to resurrection. This heart is deeply felt, and it is hard to name a thought. Life and death are love, but it really depends on the words of ministers and labor, and it is not the two ends of emptiness. Ming Jian. Due to the drought yesterday, I prayed on the altar of thunder and flood response. I wished that the spiritual rain fell, and with the fierce thunder and fire, it was burning in the three halls for a while, extending to the porch, and burning it. Looking forward to the dawn of benevolence , are all the blame of my bow. I am writing this article to show my subjects. Call! Disasters and auspiciousness coexist, so is there no inspiration? If you are lucky and happy, you must do your best to do your best, and you should exhaust the thoughts of the people, uphold the precepts of heaven, use Lord Zuoer, and caress the living beings, and make sure that the order is safe and sound, and your plans are respectful, so don't abandon me. Therefore, this is an imperial edict. , to make it known."

Wei Guangde was also very surprised when he heard the news. He thought Emperor Jiajing would find a way to evade this matter, so he never thought that he would issue an imperial edict.

I hurriedly went out with everyone to read the full text of the "Edict of Guilt", as if I didn't realize that I was wrong.

This is Wei Guangde's feeling after watching "The Edict of Guilt", and he is a bit suspected of shirking responsibility. This is what Emperor Jiajing should look like in his eyes.

Although Wei Guangde didn't have much contact with Emperor Jiajing, but based on his previous performance and rumors in the market, he still has a certain understanding of the current emperor.

The fire started because he thought it was a drought and asked for rain, and it was caused by a moment of carelessness. The responsibility lay with him, and then it disappeared.

Wei Guangde smacked his lips. Although Emperor Jiajing issued the "Edict of Guilt", he estimated that he would continue to cultivate immortality in the future, and he said that although I admit my mistake, I will never repent.

So far, the fire in the three main halls has come to an end, and it is only recorded in Ming Shilu:
○April Bingshen in the 36th year of Jiajing

The disaster at the gates of Fengtian and other halls is already engraved with thunder and thunder, and at noon, the fire suddenly starts to burn from Fengtian hall. The canopy is burnt. I am afraid that tomorrow, the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs will comfort me and report that God loves me. I am afraid of war. If I am involved in the abyss, I will not know what to do. There is no way to make a big difference. How can I excuse my resignation? Bow An, but he blames Yu Shun'er.

The fire was over, but the reconstruction work was also put on the agenda by the court.

Although the court has no money, it can't even have a place to go to the court, right? You have to tighten your belt to go to this project, right?

In this regard, Zhao Wenhua, the current minister of the Ministry of Industry, will naturally not object.

It is a recognized fact that the imperial court has no money, but things still have to be done. Anyway, it is just the selection of materials. First, the materials are selected and prepared, and it will not cost much money.

An official document was sent from the Beijing Ministry of Industry to Nanjing, and it was enough for them to start preparing.

"Fengtian Chengyun Emperor, Zhiyue"

Three days after the fire, when Wei Guangde was still on duty in the Imperial Academy, an imperial decree arrived unexpectedly.

In the past, before the decree was issued, someone would remind the person receiving the decree to prepare the incense table and so on. This time it came a bit suddenly, and Wei Guangde had no one to give him any news before.

In the courtyard outside the guard room of the Imperial Academy, Wei Guangde and other colleagues who came to join in the fun knelt down to welcome the imperial decree.

In fact, the colleagues came here at this time, of course not for this kneeling, and it is not uncommon to receive orders in the Imperial Academy, but everyone wants to know what kind of reward Wei Guangde will get this time, and enjoy the banquet by the way.

The reputation of Wei Daguan as a man of urgency and righteousness is widely spread in the Hanlin Academy. If he has a lot of money and ginseng, anyone who is short of money and ginseng at home will find Wei Guangde for help, and he will always agree to come. .

Different from what I originally thought, this imperial decree not only promoted Wei Guangde's rank, but also rewarded him with 20 taels of silver.

It's just that the promotion made Wei Guangde a bit toothache, Zhan Shifu Zuo Chunfang Zuo Si Zhilang, from the official position of the sixth rank, was promoted by half a rank.

As far as Zhan Shifu is concerned, it was considered a fat job before the Hongzhi Dynasty, but it was the yamen that assisted and educated the prince.

In the early years of Hongwu, the Dabentang was set up to store ancient and modern books, and famous Confucians from all over the world were called to teach the prince and prince.

Soon, the prince lived in Wenhua Hall, and the Confucian scholars took turns to serve him, and selected talented scholars to study with him. Official positions such as Zhan Shiyuan, Deputy Zhan Shi, Yu De, and Zanshan Doctor are all held by the old ministers of honor.

In the 15th year of Hongwu, the left and right Chunfang officials were changed, and each had Shuzi, Yude, Zhongyun, Zanshan, Sizhilang, and each had a bachelor.

It was only in the 22nd year of Hongwu that Zhan Shiyuan was established. In short, it controlled the Zuochunfang, Youchunfang, Sijing Bureau and other departments, and governed the political affairs of the government, workshops and bureaus.

At this point, the Zhan Shi Mansion took shape, mainly engaged in the internal affairs of the prince or emperor, including official positions such as Zhan Shi and Shao Zhan Shi.

However, Wei Guangde's job, Zuo Chunfang Zuo Sizhilang's position is a special official position, and he is in charge of the impeachment and correction of the Prince's East Palace together with You Sizhilang and Zuo and Youqing Jilang.

Wei Guangde also didn't expect that after a round of official positions, he would start discipline inspection work like his father, and Wei Meng was Wei Zhenfu before he was appointed as Qianhu.

It's just that from the Hongzhi Dynasty, in order to educate the prince Zhu Houzhao, Emperor Hongzhi chose bachelors from the cabinet and the Imperial Academy to teach, instead of Zhan Shifu.

Now in the Jiajing Dynasty, the two princes appointed by Emperor Jiajing are gone. Naturally, Zhan Shifu has become a decoration, a rank of promotion for Hanlin officials, and there is no chance to become a minister of the emperor.

Well, this time the reward, apart from changing Wei Guangde from a seventh-rank official to a sixth-rank official, and giving him 20 taels of silver, it is still a kind of idle job with nothing to do.

After kneeling and thanking to receive the decree, Wei Guangde still pretended to be very happy, and sent the decree officer away. Wei Guangde and his colleagues enjoyed themselves for a whole day before returning home.

Although he was a little drunk after drinking some wine, he couldn't just sleep like this. He still had important things to do, and that was to write a letter of gratitude and send it to the Secretary of the General Administration tomorrow morning.

This is a custom. The emperor gave a reward, and the minister should express his gratitude.

That night, when Wei Guangde came home, he was informed by the concierge that Chen Ju was already sitting in the lobby drinking tea and waiting for him.

Wei Guangde received a reward yesterday, and it is estimated that Chen Ju's will not be less, but I don't know what benefits he got.

"Brother Chen, this is"

When Wei Guangde entered the door, he saw Chen Ju. He used to be dressed as an eunuch, but the clothes he saw today on Chen Ju had been changed. This is the eunuch's servant.

Wei Guangde didn't know the clothes and colors of these low-level eunuchs, and he didn't know what kind of official Chen Ju was now, and what rank he was.

"Hehe, thanks to my brother, I have already been appointed as the supervisor of the division and the guard of ceremonies."

Seeing Wei Guangde coming in, Chen Ju smiled and stood up to face Wei Guangde, bowing to Wei Guangde imitating the etiquette of meeting scholars.

"Brother, what grade is this?"

Wei Guangde asked very curiously, he has been promoted by half a level, how should Chen Ju's contribution this time be promoted?
Eighth Grade or Seventh Grade?

"The department set up the supervisor to serve as the emperor, and it's the same with my brother, from the sixth rank."

Hearing what Chen Ju said, Wei Guangde's eyes widened instantly, and he looked at Chen Ju in disbelief.

There are people in this palace who are easy to handle. Is Gao Zhong so powerful?

"Don't stare at me, I used to work in front of His Majesty, but it was all hard work before, this time I skipped a lot of levels, hehe"

Speaking of this, Chen Ju couldn't hide his smile, he finally got out of the way.

"No, it's just that my elder brother has jumped to the same level as me, which is really a bit."

"Hey, brother, you don't know, your majesty has been troubled a lot because of your official position, and it's because you are too young."

(End of this chapter)