I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 533 Lively South Garden

As Hai Rui and his companions reached Fuchengmen Street, they saw a public horse-drawn carriage slowly approaching.

This type of carriage is twice as long as an ordinary carriage, with small wheels, a low chassis, and person-high railings in the front, back, left and right, and a shed on the top.

There are two rows of seats on the left and right, filling the entire space from beginning to end.

There is an aisle in the middle, with people going up at the front and down at the back, very similar to the tour buses in scenic spots in later generations.

Four mules were pulling slowly in front, a coachman was driving the cart, and a conductor was standing at the front entrance, sometimes holding the door handrail, with half of his body hanging in the air, waving desperately; sometimes he jumped to the ground, wishing he could pull all the pedestrians on the side of the road onto the cart.

He jumped up and down like an Indian on a train, shouting loudly.

"Fuchengmen, Xuanwumen, Zhengyangmen, Yongdingmen, five cents per person, just get on and go!"

"Get in the car!" Hai Rui lifted his collar and went to the front door of the public carriage. Zhang Dao and four others followed closely behind him. Shu Youliang was the last to get on the carriage and stood at the door to negotiate with the conductor.

"There are six of us, which means we have reserved half of your car. You have to give me a discount."

The conductor was speechless: "Brother, you just took a 5-cent public carriage, what a discount!"

Shu Youliang jumped up and down and said, "Do you know how to do business? Every store will give discounts if you buy a lot!"

The conductor said impatiently: "Our bus is owned by the Public Transportation Bureau of Shuntianfu City Hall, it's a government-run bus. I'm just collecting a salary. It's not our own business, so I can't give you a discount.

If you want to sit, sit down. If you don’t want to sit down, get out of here! "

Shu Youliang angrily took out three dimes and slapped them to the ticket seller.

"Government-run companies are awesome! If they run their business this way, they will be finished sooner or later!" Shu Youliang muttered as he walked to sit next to Hai Rui, still muttering, "Master, you have to talk to Pan Shaoyin.

You are the governor of Jiangsu, but you don't even give me a discount for riding a public carriage. You will lose face if you tell anyone about it!"

Hai Rui said unhappily, "My Lord, I am the Governor of Jiangsu Province. How can I get a discount for a five-cent omnibus fare? Do you think I can look good if you tell others about it?"

Shu Youliang was speechless for a moment, "Master, you are such a failure as an official."

The public carriage drove very steadily and not very fast, much faster than walking, but slower than the four-wheeled carriage of Didi Chuxing.

The bus stopped at six stations along the way. Sometimes when we met acquaintances, the conductor would ask the coachman to slow down the bus and then pull the acquaintance onto the bus.

More than forty minutes later, the public carriage stopped at the terminal, Yongdingmen.

Hai Rui and his entourage got off the car and went out of Yongding Gate. They saw four or five public carriages bound for Nanyuan parked outside the city gate.

“So many cars?”

"Nanyuan is busy today, so the Public Transportation Bureau has added a few buses."

"Get on the bus, get on the bus. North Gate of Nanyuan, get on and go, 5 cents per person."

Shu Youliang was unhappy. "It's only a few steps to the north gate of Nanyuan, and he dares to ask for five cents. Why doesn't he just rob us? It only costs five cents to take the bus from Fuchengmen."

Hai Rui said helplessly, "Let's make an exception today. I have to get to Nanyuan early. Only a minister can wait for the king, not a king to wait for the minister."

"Okay, okay, this exception costs an extra thirty cents."

Shu Youliang muttered.

After getting on the carriage and sitting side by side, Hai Rui couldn't help asking, "Youliang, why have you become so stingy in the past two years? You weren't like this before."

Shu Youliang looked at Hai Rui and said, "Master, before, I could feed my whole family if I was full, but now I have a wife and children. Let's talk about this."

"what?"

"Master, we are all old, but the children are all grown up. I have to leave something for them. I know, Master, you will definitely say that you will leave them a good reputation, but that thing can't be eaten or worn. I have to think of a way to leave something for the children."

Hai Rui said nothing and turned to look outside the car.

On both sides were people walking towards Nanyuan, thousands and tens of thousands of them, in groups of three or two, men and women, old and young, talking, singing, and smiling.

Among them was an old man who was about the same age as Hai Rui.

He was wearing a navy blue shirt and trousers, slippers, and walking with his family with a slightly bent waist. He turned around and saw Hai Rui, smiled and nodded.

His dark face was covered with layers of wrinkles filled with the vicissitudes of life, and several missing teeth could be seen in his cracked mouth. However, the smile at the corners of his mouth was like a warm sun, and the flashing light in his eyes brightened Hai Rui's heart.

"Everything will be fine." Hai Rui murmured to Shu Youliang.

In less than ten minutes, the public carriage stopped at the north gate of Nanyuan.

The open space in front of the door was full of people and cars, and there were dozens of sedan chairs.

In one corner, there were forty or fifty men pushing chicken buses, carrying their mothers, wives and children, who had come from Shunyi and Xianghe, dozens of miles away.

They said they had started travelling together yesterday and had walked all night. Now they were eating bread, drinking water and taking a rest so that they could go into Nanyuan to watch the fun.

The gate of Nanyuan, which was usually closed, was now open. More than twenty guards wearing mandarin duck jackets were standing there, carrying spears, armed with steel knives, and holding shields. They seemed to be there to maintain order just in case.

Hai Rui followed the crowd into the Nanyuan Gate. In the middle was a large wooden sign, with a notice from Shuntian Prefecture and Taichang Temple written on the left.

The emperor’s grace is so great that he enjoys the Dragon Boat Festival with the people today.

There is a picture on the right, which occupies two-thirds of the wooden sign. It contains a painting marking the location of today’s amusement park and dragon boat competition venue.

There is a pole on each side, with a flag on each.

On the left it says: "Taiyuan Iron and Steel Company wishes our emperor a long life!"

On the right is written: "Ping An Marine Insurance Company wishes the Ming Dynasty peace and prosperity!"

Follow the signs and continue walking forward. You will see many signs along the way with various words written on them.

"Colorful cotton cloth, gorgeous and colorful!"

"White Snow Sugar makes your life sweeter!"

There are words and pictures, so passers-by can understand it at a glance, and some even happily point and say, "Hey, isn't this what my family bought last time?"

We came to an open space, which was more than three miles long and one mile wide.

There were more than a dozen platforms two meters high on the open ground, with artists performing hard on them. Hundreds or even thousands of people gathered in front of each platform, cheering from time to time. Above each platform was a big sign with big words on it: So-and-so Company sponsors this amusement park.

Hai Rui and his group squeezed through the crowd.

The first stage was a flying fork show, with two big men on the stage, bare-chested, playing with flying forks. The fork heads were shiny and had iron rings.

The big man doesn't use his hands to play with it, he just lets it roll back and forth on his arms, shoulders, legs, back, etc., or throws it in the air and then catches it.

After playing for a while, one of the big men stopped and the other big man changed to another flying fork.

It was wrapped with cloth strips and soaked in oil. After being ignited, it turned into two balls of fire, flying back and forth on the big man's body, making the people below terrified and cheering wildly.

The second platform is the Zhongfan, which is a large bamboo pole as thick as a bowl and three meters high. There are three small flags on the top and a long silk scroll in the middle with the words "Long Live the Emperor" embroidered on it. There are tassels on both sides and small bells hanging on them. The artist dances with the Zhongfan flying around, and the flag flutters and the bells jingle.

Throw it up suddenly and catch it steadily with your elbows, shoulders, forehead, chin, back or even tailbone.

On the high platform at the back there are flower beds, double stones, poles, stone locks, flower bricks, moe-pi skills, as well as spirit bird shows and puppet shows.

The cheers from the audience were like waves, rising and falling here and there, continuously.

Shu Youliang was also a well-informed person. He exclaimed in admiration: "The great official Cai from the Taichang Temple has really put a lot of thought into inviting so many opera troupes from all over the place. It's amazing."

The group followed the crowd and continued to move forward. In front of them was a stage surrounded by bamboo mats. Each area was very spacious, with one area separated by another.

There is also a two-meter-high stage, with a music troupe next to it. The actors are dressed up and singing on the stage to the accompaniment of music.

The first play performed on the stage was "Ming Feng Ji", a script written by Wang Shizhen. It tells the story of ten loyal and righteous men, including Xia Yan, Zeng Xin, Yang Jisheng, Zou Yinglong, Lin Run, Guo Xiyan, and Sun Piyang, who fought against Yan Song and Yan Shifan and eventually overthrew the treacherous minister and his son.

Wang Shizhen called these ten people "Two Loyal and Eight Righteous" and likened their fighting spirit to "the red phoenixes singing together in the morning sun", so the play was named "The Story of the Ming Phoenix".

Once the script was written, it caused a sensation across the country, becoming the most popular script in recent years and was adapted into multiple drama genres.

If a troupe doesn't know how to perform "Ming Feng Ji", it won't be accepted on stage.

The troupe performing today is the Kunqu Hualin Division, which is the most brilliant troupe performing "Ming Feng Ji", especially Li Ling who plays Yan Song. It is said that even Yan Song, after secretly watching the performance, exclaimed that he looks more like him than himself and is more hateful.

In addition to the four Kunqu opera troupes, there were fourteen other troupes on the stage behind, singing different operas, including Haiyan Opera, Geyang Opera, and Hui Opera.

The audience in the audience were divided into men and women, rich and poor, noble and common people, and they were all nodding their heads as they listened, fascinated.

Shu Youliang was unable to move his legs in front of the stage of a Huiqu opera troupe, which was performing his favorite ghost play, "Chenxiang Saves His Mother". Hai Rui could not indulge him, so he asked Wang Shiqiu and Fang Zhiyuan to hold him on both sides and continue on their way.

In front of a stage, Hai Rui saw Cai Maochun, the Minister of Taichang Temple. He was wearing a long robe and a square flat-topped turban. He was surrounded by several followers and was looking at the stage with a smile in a corner.

Cai Maochun also saw Hai Rui and hurried over. The two met in a remote corner with few people.

"Hai Gong!"

"Hua Qiu is on patrol?"

"Exactly. This is my clerk Liang Wei. I haven't met Lord Hai yet."

Lingshi was a new position after the new official system, in other words, it was called the Grand Secretary in later generations.

Liang Wei was excited, his voice trembling: "Is Lord Hai Gangfeng?"

Hai Rui smiled faintly, "Is there anyone with the last name Hai as dark as me?"

Liang Wei suppressed his excitement and said, "I have met Mr. Hai."

At first he took Yu Dechang as a role model, but he turned out to be a hypocrite. The Hai Rui he met today was a true loyal minister, famous for his moral character.

Hai Rui nodded, turned to Cai Maochun and said, "Hua Qiu, the Nanyuan event was well done."

Seeing the two people talking, the crowd slowly dispersed, separating the outsiders and making room.

"Mr. Hai, you are too kind. The emperor said that we must speed up economic construction and spiritual civilization construction. The literary and artistic propaganda work that is popular with the people and combines education with entertainment is the top priority of spiritual civilization construction."

"Spiritual civilization?"

"The Emperor said that if we want to build a new Ming Dynasty, in addition to hard work, we also need a vigorous and prosperous spirit.

It is impossible to cure ills, eliminate malpractices, and establish a new era if the country is in a state of decadence and stagnation. What we want to establish is not only a Great Ming, but also a new era.

The red sun rises, its path is bright. The river flows out of the underground stream, pouring into the ocean. Lord Hai, this is the construction of spiritual civilization, which makes the people of the Ming Dynasty, from top to bottom, from inside to outside, completely new. "

Hai Rui was silent for a while, "This is a major change in a thousand years. Hua Qiu, you are doing a very good job as the Minister of Rites."

Cai Maochun quickly said modestly: "Mr. Hai, you are too kind. I still feel that I am far from it. I am not satisfied. I always feel that I am still a little short of it. After thinking it over, I decided to hold a Daming Opera Awards Ceremony, just like the dragon boat competition.

But I don’t dare to decide what this highest award for opera should be called.”

"This is a good thing."

"I heard that the Empress Dowager and the Empress both liked to listen to opera, so I wrote a memorial, stating the details of the opera award meeting, and begged the Empress Dowager and the Empress to preside over this matter, and asked them to name the award, such as top scholar, second scholar, and third scholar."

Hai Rui couldn't help but turn his head and glance at Cai Maochun who was in high spirits.

This kid is capable and good at handling things, and he really has a bright future.

But Hai Rui didn't like such people, so he bowed and said, "I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."

"Hai Gong, take care!"

According to the arrangement of Pan Yinglong, Shaoyin of Shuntian Prefecture, the open space in the northern part of Nanyuan is a performance area for opera and acrobatics, where the elite and the common people can perform on the same stage, and officials and the public can enjoy the show together, truly sharing the joy with the people.

The Nanhai Lake in the middle is the venue for dragon boat racing. On the east side, there is a row of pavilions and terraces, which are the viewing areas for the emperor, royal family, nobles and officials.

To the west are hills and slopes with numerous sheds built as a viewing area for the people.

In a heavily guarded attic on the east side, four to five hundred people were sitting or standing on the first, second and third floors. The higher they went, the more distinguished their status became.

In a room on the fourth floor, Zhu Yijun picked up the teacup, took a sip, then turned to ask Zhang Juzheng, who was sitting in the first seat below.

"Master Zhang, what do you think of the draft reform of the science examination?"

"Your Majesty, I feel that the draft prepared by the Secretariat is too radical and inappropriate!"

(End of this chapter)