Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

When they arrived at Zhang Wenyu's house, the three discovered that Zhang Wenyu was also designing buildings.

However, what he designed was not a clock tower, but a market town outside the capital.

The building blocks used were perfected by Lu Xiang, and Zhang Wenyu directed the servants to constantly adjust the design.

Seeing him like this, Wang Chengen asked curiously:
"Minister Zhang, a new house is being built outside the city again. Why is it so close to the city wall this time?"

After calling several times, Zhang Wenyu finally came to his senses and greeted him:

"Hello, Eunuch Wang. I am very grateful to you for suddenly visiting my humble abode. Is there anything urgent that I can tell you?"

"This market is for the residents in the area around the Bell and Drum Tower. We need to move them there."

When Wang Chengen and the Han brothers heard this, they immediately understood.

The site of the new bell tower was chosen to be on the east side of the Bell and Drum Tower, so of course the residents in that area had to vacate their space.

In particular, Zhu Youjian planned to relocate the offices and family quarters of the Tengxiang Four Guards under the Imperial Horse Administration to this area to strengthen control over the north of the imperial palace. Therefore, he planned to rebuild the Jintaifang where the bell and drum towers were located as a whole and provide new houses for the families of the soldiers.

Zhang Wenyu received this task and selected a site outside Deshengmen and Andingmen to build a new market town and relocated the residents around the Bell and Drum Tower there.

The area of ​​the house obtained through demolition will be calculated according to the market price. If there are people who do not want to move out of the city, they can choose to pay money or exchange it with other houses controlled by the court.

During the previous inventory of houses confiscated by the eunuch party, some of them were still unused and could be used to house some people.

In particular, the townhouses designed by Zhang Wenyu according to the emperor's requirements are more land-efficient than traditional courtyard houses. Zhang Wenyu estimated that if Jintaifang was completely rebuilt, half of the land could be used to accommodate all the current residents.

The cost is too high, and not everyone is willing to live in a townhouse.

Therefore, he still needed to plan a new market outside the city and allocate residential land for those who wanted to build their own houses.

The Han brothers nodded repeatedly after hearing this, thinking that the emperor was very thoughtful and had even started preparations for demolition and resettlement.

Wang Chengen frowned and asked:

"If we exchange a house in the city for one outside the city, would anyone be willing to do so?"

"Once we're outside the city, it's not very convenient to enter the city."

In this era when there were still city walls and gates, and the city was closed at night, the inside and outside of the city were completely different, and it was very inconvenient to enter and exit.

Zhang Wenyu pointed to the city wall to the north of the bell and drum tower and said:
"Your Majesty intends to open more gates in the capital so that the railway can be built into the city."

"In the future, a large city gate will be opened in Jintaifang to facilitate the flow of people."

This was the plan revealed to him by the emperor, but it was not spread out.

Because opening the city gates of the capital was a big deal, the cost of building gate towers, arrow towers, urn cities, etc. was also very high.

So this is still a long-term plan, so Zhang Wenyu took it into consideration when designing the new city.

When Wang Chengen heard this, his first reaction was doubt.

With the addition of a new city gate in the north, soldiers will need to be sent to guard it. When the enemy attacks the city in the future, the capital will also need more troops.

He was somewhat worried that if this matter went wrong, it would cause great controversy in the outer court.

However, the brothers Han Yun and Han Lin thought that opening one more city gate was not a big deal. Han Yun explained to Wang Chengen in detail:

"Although the defense of the capital is strong, it can no longer keep up with the situation."

"I think these city walls and gates should be rebuilt into a star-shaped fortress like the Dalinghe Fort."

His younger brother Han Lin also had the same idea, but as he worked at the Academy of Military Sciences, he had more things to consider:
"Star fortresses have better defense, but the cost is too high."

"It would be too expensive to build a bastion in such a large area as the capital, and more troops would be needed to defend the city."

Compared with the square city walls, the winding walls of the bastion are obviously longer and require more people to defend the city.

Adding to that the thickness of the bastion, the required artillery, and so on, the cost was simply too much. Han Lin believed that the court could not afford to repair it given its current financial situation.

Zhang Wenyu was even more directly opposed to it, believing that it was impossible to demolish the existing city walls and build bastions:

"During the Jiajing period, a southern city district was built, but the court was unable to continue construction."

"If we want to tear down the existing city wall and rebuild it, none of the officials in the court will agree."

"Your Majesty's intention is to preserve the existing city walls, open more gates as needed, and build some gun towers and turrets."

"Then build a circle of new markets outside the city. The markets should be built according to uniform specifications, with walls, fortifications, and gun platforms so that we can fight around them."

"This way, if the enemy attacks the capital in the future, we can withdraw the people in the market town to the city, and arrange some soldiers to fight in the market town outside the city."

This was a plan made by Zhu Youjian with reference to urban warfare in later generations. After the development of muskets with metal fixed ammunition, it was entirely possible to use some of the tactics of later generations to drag the enemy into the quagmire of urban warfare.

He even planned to dig several tunnels to connect the city and the outside of the city, so that the battlefield would be concentrated outside the city and the enemy would not be able to reach the city wall at all.

In this way, there is naturally no need to rebuild the city wall, and even more gates can be opened.

There is no need to rush the construction, you can do it slowly, bit by bit.

The funds from selling the house can even be used to recoup the cost of construction.

Han Yun, who started out as a city builder, listened to Zhang Wenyu's idea and thought about it carefully:
"In this case, buildings near the city walls cannot be made of wood."

"To prevent the enemy from setting fire directly onto the city wall."

Zhang Wenyu clapped his hands in admiration, thinking that Han Yun was worthy of being an engineer who was awarded the title of first-class man for building a city. He thought of the key to this kind of city defense so quickly. He said to the three people:
"It is precisely because the technology of building townhouses with cement and bricks is mature that Your Majesty plans to build a circle of towns around it for protection."

"These buildings can be used as residences in peacetime and as fortresses in times of war."

"Bunkers will be built under some buildings to store food and weapons."

"I'll have to trouble the two Han brothers to help with this. You are more proficient in building cities."

Han Yun and Han Lin quickly agreed and planned to participate in the reconstruction of the capital's defense.

They planned to incorporate some bastion construction plans into it, turning the outer markets of the capital into small fortresses.

The interiors of these markets are not square like the houses in the capital, but are formed into sharp-angled gun platforms through thickened walls.

The space inside the wall is where residents can build houses.

There are various requirements for these houses, the first of which is that flammable wood cannot be used.

Then there will be a height limit to avoid blocking the view of the cannons and muskets on the city walls.

The three of them were talking so excitedly that they even forgot why they came.

Wang Chengen listened to them all arguing about the specific design, and couldn't help coughing twice, and said:
"Three of you, there is no rush for things in Xinfang City. They are all long-term plans."

"The most important thing for you to do now is to decide on the design of the clock tower."

"If you don't hurry up, when Lu Gong is free, he will also come up with a plan."

The three were shocked when they heard this, and of course they knew who Lu Gong Wang Chengen was talking about.

He was the engineer the emperor trusted most. He designed the Biyong Lecture Hall in the Imperial College. Because the Biyong was designed according to the specifications of the Mingtang, many people said that the construction of the Mingtang in the future would be presided over by Lü Xiang.

That is something that will go down in history, comparable to the construction of the three main halls and Chengtian Gate.

As a contributor to the reconstruction of the three main halls, Zhang Wenyu certainly wanted to participate in the design of the Mingtang. He said to Wang Chengen:
"Isn't Lu Gong building the Biyong Lecture Hall? Why does he want to participate in the design of the bell tower?"

"He has so many things to do, can he spare the time?"

Lu Xiang's current positions include Secretary of Shaofu Temple, Director of Wensi Academy, and Director of Equipment Academy. He is also involved in the design of firearms and the improvement of printing tools.

Even the construction of Biyong was supervised by other people, so how could they find time to design the bell tower?

Wang Chengen laughed and said:

"You guys still don't understand what His Majesty means."

"Your Majesty built this bell tower in preparation for the Mingtang."

“Why does the new clock tower need to be hundreds of meters high?”

"It is because the height of the Mingtang is also set at about 100 meters."

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"In the future, they will be the tallest buildings in Beijing, one to the south of Zhengyangmen and the other to the north of Bei'anmen."

These are the two major landmarks planned by the emperor, and he often pointed them out with a map in hand.

Wang Chengen knew the emperor's plan and thought that the emperor wanted to use these two large buildings to highlight his great achievements.

As a close associate of the emperor, he naturally had to support and raise money for the two buildings.

After hearing this, Zhang Wenyu, Han Yun and Han Lin finally understood what the clock tower meant to the emperor.

It is not only one of the two major landmarks planned by the emperor, but also aims to accumulate experience for the construction of Mingtang.

In this case, if Lu Xiang, who was determined to build the Mingtang, had time, he would certainly participate in the design of the bell tower.

Zhang Wenyu, Han Yun and Han Lin suddenly became nervous when they thought of this and decided to work together to come up with the design of the clock tower.

Zhang Wenyu rejected Han Yun's proposal to imitate a Western clock tower without listening carefully:

"If it was somewhere else, no one would care if it used Western designs."

"But the bell tower is not like that. It is next to the central axis. You can even say it is located due north of the Forbidden City."

"How can such an important place be designed in a Western style? Wouldn't that make it seem like there is no one in the Ming Dynasty?"

The reaction to this was very strong. Zhang Wenyu thought that it was fine to use Western clocks on the clock tower, but the design of the clock tower must not be Western-style.

That would be inconsistent with the architectural style of the capital, and it would be especially inappropriate to place it near the central axis.

At the same time, Zhang Wenyu had another consideration in mind. That is, the capital is the best place, and the world will take it as a weather vane. If the new clock tower built in the capital adopts a Western style, the ones built in other places in the future will probably also be Western-style.

Then all the construction workers in the world would criticize him, thinking that he was destroying everyone's jobs.

Zhang Wenyu, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, would certainly not do such a thing as to offend the craftsmen of the world.

So he rejected Han Yun's proposal to invite Western missionaries to design the new bell tower, believing that they were fully capable of building the new bell tower even if it was built using bricks and stones.

Apart from anything else, the bunker he designed as a commanding point according to the emperor's order was tens of meters high.

If it were not aesthetically pleasing, it could be used as the design for a new clock tower.

(The bunkers of Jinchuan and Xiaojinchuan)

Wang Chengen didn't want to hear them continue arguing about the design plan, so he said:
"You must pay more attention to the affairs of Zhuolu Arsenal City."

"This city is also being built outside the city walls. You can experiment with the design of the outer markets of the capital in the Ordnance City."

Zhang Wenyu nodded upon hearing this, thinking that it was indeed worth a try.

Before the clock tower could be built, space had to be cleared, which required the design of the new market to be finalized.

They planned to do this work after finalizing the preliminary design of the bell tower, and they must start construction before Lu Xiang was free.

After making various requests, Wang Chengen asked several people to go to Zhuolu District for inspection before returning to the palace.

In the palace, Zhu Youjian heard Wang Chengen's reply, and heard that he planned to build the military factory city like the markets outside the capital, taking into account both defense and life.

He nodded and said approvingly:

"This is a good idea. We can try it in Zhuolu District."

"Also, what do you think of Zhuolu District? Can it be used as a fief for the prince?"

This was a new idea that came to Zhu Youjian after he decided to build the Zhuolu Arsenal City.

In order to strengthen the loyalty of the people in Zhuolu District and show special treatment for Zhuolu District, he planned to designate Zhuolu District as the prince's fief when conferring the title of crown prince.

In addition to being loyal to the emperor, the officials and civilians inside also had to be loyal to the crown prince. The officials sent there also had to work part-time in the Zhanshi Mansion.

Wang Chengen was shocked when he heard this and didn't know why the emperor had this idea.

He thought about the previous prince's affairs and said tactfully:

"Your Majesty, there are three Zhuolu guards in Zhuolu District. If they are assigned to the crown prince, I am afraid someone will cause trouble and alienate your Majesty and your son."

This is indeed a hidden danger, and this is also the reason why Zhu Youjian discussed it with this confidant.

The Zhuolu Arsenal was originally intended to store soldiers and weapons, and with the addition of the Zhuolu Three Guards, its power became extremely strong.

If the prince has full control over this force, he may even be able to launch a mutiny.

Especially Chen Renxi, the current captain of the Zhuolu garrison, who once taught the queen.

With this relationship, he couldn't help but worry:

"It seems that the officials in Zhuolu District need to be adjusted."

"Even if Zhuolu is made the prince's fief, he cannot be given military power."

Zhu Youjian, who was very strict with military power, certainly did not want the prince to have too many troops.

But it is impossible to completely prevent the prince from leading troops, because the world today is a time of great strife.

Especially under the feudal policy, the prince's younger brother will be sent out to serve as a fiefdom in the future and will have three guards or even more troops.

If the crown prince has no power at all, some powerful princes may become disloyal.

This is also the reason why Zhu Youjian planned to allocate fiefdom to the prince to strengthen his power.

In the future, the prince will enjoy the taxes of Zhuolu District and use these revenues to build up his power. He can also govern in Zhuolu District and exercise his ability to govern the country.

Officials from the Zhanshi Mansion who assisted the crown prince would also serve in Zhuolu District, so that the crown prince would have a team capable of governing the country.

Under such a requirement, the planning of Zhuolu New City must be changed. At least a temporary palace should be built as the residence of the prince. (End of this chapter)