Haisheng Mingdi

Chapter 710 Nanyang
Nanyang.

On Wangfu Mountain, this mountain is steep and beautiful, exquisite and strange. Besides the main peak, there are four branch peaks.

There are Kit Kat caves under the branch peaks, and the caves are rugged and connected, with one step at a time.Go through the caves, climb the steps, and spiral up to the peak.

There is a pavilion on the top of the mountain, and you can have a bird's-eye view of the whole city from the railing. You can also overlook Jiujia Gushan, Zishan, Tashan, Dushan and Pushan in Nanyang.

"This scenery is very good, but I heard that there was no such mountain before?"

Zhu Yihai led the princes, ministers, and generals to the Wangfu Mountain, climbed to the top, looked ahead, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Nanyang King replied.

Once the owner of this mountain, the former kings Zhu Yujian and Zhu Yukai of the Tang Dynasty, as well as Yuxi and Yue were also accompanying him. Da Zongling and Nanyang Wang Zhu Yujian stood on the mountain, feeling very moved.He replied to the emperor, "The ancestors of the Tang emperor granted the title of Tang king, and he became a fan of Nanyang. This mountain is part of the back garden of the Tang palace. Some of the stones were transported from Taihu Lake more than 2000 miles away. People carried cattle and pulled it for a period of time. Years."

Zhu Yihai stood by the railing. If you say that Wangfu Mountain is really just a small rockery, there are only sixty steps from the bottom of the mountain to the top of the mountain, and the height is no more than eight zhang.

It's just that there are no tall buildings in Nanyang City, so the eight-foot-high Wangfu Mountain is actually the only one in Nanyang.

Zhu Gong, the first king of the Tang Dynasty, was the youngest son of Zhu Yuanzhang, the 26rd of 23 brothers.In the 19th year of Hongwu, Li Meiren gave birth to this son for Zhu Yuanzhang. When he was six years old, he was named the king of Tang Dynasty.

Although Zhu Gongfeng was the queen, the construction of the Tang Palace in Nanyang had already started, but when he was 13 years old, Zhu Yuanzhang died, and his mother was forced to be buried. Zhu Di, the king of Yan, raised an army to seize the world of his nephew.

After the fourth brother seized the throne, the vassals were safe instead. Not only did they not cut down the vassals, but the young Tang king also received a reward. In the second year of Yongle, he married his concubine Qian Guogong Wu Fu's granddaughter Wu.However, after getting married, Zhu Di didn’t let his little brother go to Nanyang to become a vassal, and stayed in the capital all the time. However, the Tang Palace City in Nanyang has been under construction. It wasn’t until later that the Tang Palace Chief Shi committed a night ban, and Zhu Di didn’t let him go to Nanyang. Fan.

But he died of illness only a few years after arriving in Nanyang. He was only 30 years old, and his eldest son succeeded him. He died at the age of 21 without any son.

There were nine generations and eleven kings in the Ming and Tang Dynasties, but there was nothing special to praise, and even the people didn't have a good impression of the Tang king.

It is said that the Tang kings of all dynasties liked to stand on the main peak of Wangfu Mountain overlooking the whole city. Several Tang kings even found out that someone in the city was getting married, and sometimes they would directly order the bride to be snatched, and they would sleep for three nights before releasing them. , Throwing it directly into the tiger pen to feed the tiger, so later Nanyang people dared not marry during the day for fear of being robbed by the king of Tang, so they secretly greeted them at night.

Don't set off firecrackers or blow locks, just do it secretly.

Until now, this custom is still followed.

Zhu Yujian's grandfather, Old Tang Wang, was also a very fatuous and absurd prince. Tang Duan Wang Zhu Shuoyun lived absurdly all his life, and he doted on concubines. They secretly imprisoned Zhu Yujian and his son in the Department of Flattery, trying to starve them to death. At that time, Zhu Yujian was only 12 years old, and it took him 16 years to be imprisoned.

In the end, the son was poisoned and killed by the concubine's son.

In the end, when Chen Qiyu, a political participant in Henan Province, was mourning for his son, he warned Tang Duan Wang who wanted to have a concubine and have a son, so Tang Duan Wang had to let Zhu Yujian out and make him his grandson.

In the same year, the absurd old Tang king passed away, and Zhu Yujian succeeded to the throne. After taking over the title, the young Tang king actively wrote a letter to comment on current affairs, and even killed two uncles of the county kings a few years later. After the army entered the stronghold, regardless of the ancestral system, he recruited soldiers and horses to go north to serve the king. As a result, Chongzhen was furious, and sent Jin Yiwei to demote him as a commoner, and sent him to Fengyang High Wall Prison for detention. After seven years, he almost died in prison.

After Zhu Yujian was abolished as a commoner, his younger brother Zhu Yumao attacked the king of Tang. In the 14th year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng captured Nanyang. After Zhu Yujian was captured, he was killed in the palace of the Tang prince.

The Tang Palace and the nine county palaces in Nanyang were also plundered and burned by Li Zicheng. There were no burned tiles left, only the Wangfu Mountain, which could not be burned, stood there alone, and now I am coming back Well, many strange rocks on this mountain have been moved away long ago, leaving only the mounds of waste rocks, the sixty steps, and the wild grass and weeds that have been left unattended.

After the death of the Tang kings of all dynasties, they were buried in Zishan, dozens of miles outside the city. The cemetery covers an area of ​​thousands of miles, but it was destroyed and excavated by the peasant army long ago. The bones of princes and princes were thrown everywhere like the bones of wild dogs.

It is said that after the Tartars came, they even sent people to dig again.

The Tartars later strengthened the cities of Nanyang and Xiangyang, and organized strong men from several counties to use bullock carts to pull the green bricks and stones from the palace and the tomb of the king. It is said that they pulled it for a month.

Once half of Nanyang City was named Zhu.

There are a few absurd kings of the Tang Dynasty who have taken in countless vagrants and gangsters as adoptive sons, and asked them to change their surname to Zhu, which further tarnished the name of the Tang Palace.

Zhu Yujian is considered to be one of the rare kings of the Tang Dynasty. He was imprisoned by his grandfather for more than ten years when he was young. , directly killed by the stick.

Facing the invasion of the Tartars, he even dared to recruit troops to the north to serve the king, but what he got in return was another seven years of imprisonment and torture.

Hong Guangchao released him and awarded him the title of King of Nanyang. He went south to Fujian. After hearing the news, he took the initiative to support him on the table to avoid internal fighting.

And Zhu Yihai was not Chongzhen, not only did he have no suspicion of suppressing the emperor uncle, but even asked him to recruit troops to rebuild the guards, and even let him guard Quzhou. Since then, he has been involved in the central decision-making.

It has been 13 years since he left Nanyang, and when he came back again, Nanyang City is even more depressed than when he left. There is not even a brick in the former Tang Dynasty Palace and the nine county palaces, and the Tang Dynasty Mausoleum is gone.

Only this Wangfu Mountain is left, and the overgrown weeds are still standing here.

Without the strange mountain of Taihu Lake, this mountain will become a mound of dirt.

"Your Majesty, I have a request."

Zhu Yujian asked the emperor.

"Uncle, please tell me."

"Your Majesty, Xu Chen, please repair the tombs of the Tang kings at their own expense, and rebury the Tang kings and county kings, so that they can rest in peace."

"Secondly, I request that half of the land of the original Tang Dynasty mausoleum be set up as a tomb. I am willing to donate private property to collect the remains of the wilderness and bury them in the tomb. Please purchase a few hectares of land next to the tomb and recruit some people to guard the tomb. Let them cultivate the cemetery, and keep the cemetery instead of exempting rent.

And built a Taoist temple in Yizhong, and built a Confucian temple to set up a social school, and recruited the children of nearby villagers to teach culture.

Build another nursing home, where disabled, widowed and homeless people can be adopted. "

What Zhu Yujian proposed was to build a public cemetery to collect the bones that were dumped in the wilderness due to the war, and even not only set aside land to build a cemetery, but also set up a cemetery to recruit people to rent and let them collect the corpses, guard the tombs, and repair the tombs. , to exempt part of the land rent.

The rest of the land rent is used to maintain the tomb, and even adopt orphans, widows, and disabled people.

This is charity.

In fact, in ancient times, there was a government-run public cemetery called Louze Garden. During the war, unclaimed and buried corpses, or those who were unable to bury them due to poor families, were restrained by the government and buried in a centralized manner.

However, this kind of government-run Luze Garden has limited funds, especially now that it has just experienced such a chaos, and the imperial court has always encouraged folk gentry and wealthy households to build a memorial tomb.

The Louze Garden and the Memorial Tomb can also prevent the plague.

Zhu Yihai strongly supported this kind deed.

He also stated in public that he would ask the Henan provincial government to draw out special funds to build Luze gardens in various places, and collect and bury the wilderness remains that have not been collected due to wars, famines, etc.

"The royal treasury will also allocate a special sum of money to various places to fund the Louze Garden."

"Your Majesty is merciful, I have one more merciless request."

"I invite you to hold a large-scale collective wedding in Nanyang City to celebrate the newly married soldiers of the imperial camp."

The custom of not marrying during the daytime in Nanyang City has a long history, and it has always been said that it was caused by the Tang king's robbery. Zhu Yujian was the Tang king in Nanyang for five years, although he has never done such absurd things, and Nanyang is no longer a his fief,

But after all, he was once the king of Tang, and his current title is also Nanyang, so he still wants to make some changes.

He proposed to use the opportunity of the soldiers of the imperial camp to get married and hold a group wedding during the day, even for several consecutive days, to break this old custom, which can be regarded as repairing the influence of the mistakes made by the previous Tang kings.

The Zhu Yujian brothers are also willing to donate a sum of money to the disabled, orphans, etc. who suffered from war and famine in Nanyang, so that they can rebuild their homes and restore peace.

The destroyed Tang Palace and the nine county palaces, including the real estate and houses of other Tang Palaces in the city, Zhu Yujian brothers are willing to sell all the money and silver, half of the money from the sale will be donated to the court to support the people, and the other half will be taken by them. Relieve orphans, widows and disabled people, and restrain bones.

"Your Majesty, this Wangfu Mountain, I request to destroy it."

Zhu Yihai smiled, "Although the Tang Palace is gone, there is no need to destroy the Wangfu Mountain. It can be repaired a little bit, and it is also a scene in Nanyang. Once the Tang King overlooked the whole city from here, and such absurd things as robbing the people to kiss can be done. Set up a stele and inscribe it as a warning for future generations.

Now Nanyang King's charitable deeds can also be recorded later. "

The king of Tang snatched the marriage, and the people married at night. This kind of thing was only a folklore before. Who would dare to record it in the official history.

But now the emperor actually said that he wanted to set up a stele and engrave it. Zhu Yujian felt his face burn when he heard it at first, but he quickly accepted it.

Since it has been done, why bother to hide it.

Facing it head-on and earnestly reforming is the right way.

"Nanyang is a good place, with a mild climate and fertile soil. It is the granary of the Central Plains, with beautiful mountains and clear waters, and convenient transportation. This basin surrounded by several mountains is a cornucopia. Now it has finally recovered. We must do our best to restore people's livelihood and vigorously develop the economy. We can't let the people of Nanyang run out to beg for food while holding a cornucopia, there is no reason for that."

The governor of Huanghuai and the governor of Henan, Chen Qianfu, also immediately stood up and promised that he would work hard and never fail the emperor or the people of Nanyang.

The four roads in Henan and the South Henan Road are stationed in Nanyang. Nanyang Fucheng is also stationed in Nanyang.

Chen Qianfu made a suggestion to the emperor.

In the Song Dynasty, it was planned to build the Xianghan Canal, build a dam in Xindian Town, north of Nanyang City, divert the Baihe River into the Shitang, and the Shahe River into the Caihe River, and connect the Bianliang to the Xiangtan.After the approval of the court of the Northern Song Dynasty, more than [-] Dingfu and state soldiers were recruited to excavate the Baihe to Shahe Dafangcheng pass twice.

Due to the increasing terrain, although the water arrived, it was difficult to transport it by water. Later, because the river washed away the stone weir, the project ran aground.

But the ruins of the canal excavated that year are still there.

If this Xianghan Canal can be built, it will not only connect Xiangtan and Xiangtan, but also cross the watershed of Fangcheng Mountain, go straight to Sha and Bian in the Central Plains, and even lead Han to Huang.

Water transportation, irrigation, etc. are all things that will benefit the future.

Fangcheng Pass is a natural gap in the north of Nanyang Basin, and Fangcheng people call it the tuyere.

Chen Qianfu told the emperor that in fact, the Henan region had already researched and demonstrated that as long as six feet were dug at the pass, the Han River could be diverted out of the Nanyang Basin and flow northward to the Huanghuai Plain.

There were certain technical reasons for the failure of the Northern Song Dynasty, but it was more of a political dispute.

Nanyang is a huge basin with a piece of fertile soil, but most of the precipitation is concentrated in seven, eight, nine and three months, so Nanyang has always had a problem of water shortage. If the Baisha Canal can be built, not only will the transportation here be more convenient, but also the Han River will irrigate The Nanyang Basin can also help Nanyang's agriculture, making this granary a truly bumper harvest.

The construction of canals has developed very well since the pre-Qin period. The Lingqu Canal in the Qin Dynasty was even more famous, not to mention the Sui and Tang Grand Canals and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

It is not a problem at all to lift water step by step by building weirs and other means.

The only considerations are excavation costs and maintenance costs.

If you just intercept the Baihe River and cross the Fangcheng Pass, you will inevitably have the same problem as in the Song Dynasty, that is, there will be a long period of time every year, and the water volume of this canal will not be enough for boats, and its use value will be greatly reduced.

In order for this canal to really work, it is necessary to introduce the Han River, not only to connect the Han River, but also to bring the Han River to the Baihe and Tanghe Rivers. We need to add weirs, dams, water gates, etc., and the soil quality of Nanyang is limited. Some are expansive soils.

Expansive soil swells when exposed to water, and shrinks when it loses water. Building a canal on expansive soil will easily cause the canal to collapse. A knife in sunny days will cause a mess in rainy days.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, Fangcheng Pass was dug through, and weirs and dikes were built, but they were abandoned later. Firstly, the water volume was insufficient and navigation was often not possible. Second, because of expansive soil, the repaired dikes often collapsed during the rainy season flood period, and were finally abandoned. .

But this is not unsolvable. The easiest way is to replace the expansive soil with non-expansive soil, dig out the expansive soil along both sides of the canal and replace it, and transport the non-expansive soil to repair the embankment. increase, cost increases.

Another method is to steam the expansive soil and crush it, then seal it with a bag, etc., compact it layer by layer, and then lay the second layer. The third method is to mix in other materials, such as glutinous rice pulp, lime, etc. Become triadic soil and so on.

In short, it is enough to solve the problems that arise.

Chen Qianfu, the governor, intends to promote the establishment and construction of the Xianghan Canal. After the completion, the Nanyang Basin will not only be more closely connected with Henan, but also bring the development of southern Henan and western Henan. It will also be more convenient to connect through the Xianghan Canal The Yangtze River, the Han River, and even Xiangtan can be directly connected to Lingnan via Lingqu.

The emperor had publicly mentioned before that he wanted to dig the Jiangxi-Guangdong Canal in Jiangxi and Gannan, and Chen Qianfu also seized the opportunity to mention the Xianghan Canal today.

"You can set up a preliminary project first, do some preliminary work, do some exploration and research work, and determine the feasibility and preliminary budget for excavation and maintenance costs."

Zhu Yihai didn't veto it, nor did he directly agree to it, but he left an opening. Now that he doesn't have the conditions to do it directly, he can do some preliminary research first.

Go ahead if conditions permit.

(End of this chapter)