Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 485 Three Happinesses Come to the Door
On March 19th, Lu Jin was visiting the palace in Jiankang City to observe its renovation, listening to reports from Li Shanchang and Ji Xuan, the prefect of Shuntian.

It must be said that the "Yingzao Fashi" (Building Standards) developed in the Song Dynasty was quite remarkable. It was essentially an ancient version of industrial standards, but only applicable to the construction industry. It imposed size restrictions on the components of a building. In other words, if any part was damaged, it could be directly replaced or repaired using "standard parts," which greatly accelerated the repair process and reduced maintenance costs.

Ji Xuan, standing next to Lu Jin, explained, “Your Highness, I have consulted the Jiankang Prefecture Annals. The Southern Song Dynasty’s temporary palace was renovated and rebuilt on the basis of the Southern Tang imperial city. After the fall of the Jingkang Kingdom and Emperor Gaozong’s southward migration, most of the Southern Song court officials advocated for Jiankang as the capital. However, due to the threat of the Jin army, Emperor Gaozong eventually went to Hangzhou.”

"It was only to show that he did not forget his homeland in the north that Emperor Gaozong designated Hangzhou as his temporary capital, but Jiankang was also used as a secondary capital. During the Shaoxing period, he spent a lot of money to renovate and build the temporary palace, and built more than 40 halls, pavilions, towers and courtyards.

"After the Yuan Dynasty destroyed the Song Dynasty, the palace was once used as a garrison for the Yuan army, and later as an official residence. When the Yuan court built the capital city of Dadu, it also removed a lot of bricks and tiles from the Jiankang Palace. However, most of the main halls were not demolished, and some official residences are still basically still there. The courtyards used by our court today include some of these 40-plus halls and pavilions, so it is not difficult to repair them."

Lu Jin nodded and then said, "Then take me inside and have a look."

"Yes." Ji Xuan immediately led the way.

The Southern Song Dynasty's temporary palace, or the Southern Tang Dynasty's imperial palace, was different from the one built by Zhu Yuanzhang, which involved filling in a lake to create a new city. The Southern Tang Dynasty's imperial palace was located in the very center of Jiankang's old city, arranged symmetrically on both sides along the main street of Zhonghua Gate.

From south to north, the first gate of the palace is called the Palace Gate, which is equivalent to the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City. After entering the Meridian Gate is the Hall Gate, which is equivalent to the Fengtian Gate of the Forbidden City. If it were a formal palace, there would be three main halls on the central axis after entering the Hall Gate. However, since this was just an imperial palace, the architectural specifications were not that high, so there were only two halls and one main hall on the central axis.

The main hall at the front, where court assemblies are held, is equivalent to the Fengtian Hall in the Forbidden City, but the one in front of us is simply called the Chao Hall, which is a simple name. Behind the Chao Hall is a smaller hall called the Fugu Hall, which corresponds to the Huagai Hall of the three main halls in the Forbidden City. Behind that is another building that corresponds to the Jinshen Hall, called the Luomutang, which is not even a hall.

Actually, there isn't much difference. Both palaces and halls are large buildings constructed on a platform. The difference is that palaces not only have a platform and steps, but also a dai (a type of stepped platform), while halls only have a platform and steps, without a dai. That's about it.

The Chaodian Hall, Fugu Hall, and Luomutang Hall are the three main halls of the Southern Song Dynasty imperial palace on its central axis, and they have now been basically restored.

The so-called repairs were just cleaning, then relaid the floor tiles, repaired the roof tiles, checked for any damaged wooden parts and replaced them, then repainted the pillars, doors and windows, and repainted the beams.

Apart from the roof and floor, everything else falls under the category of soft furnishings, so the workload isn't very large. At most, you could add the furniture inside, and that would be about it.

Standing on the platform in front of the main hall, Lu Jin looked at the wide plaza in front of the hall and realized how 'huge' the palace was. The Southern Song Dynasty palace actually covered a considerable area, about four-fifths the size of the Nanjing Forbidden City in the early Ming Dynasty. It was a large area, but the architectural style was not particularly tall.

Looking at the main hall, whose renovations were now complete, Lu Jin asked Ji Xuan, "Isn't it almost finished? Is there anything left to fix?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Xuan immediately smiled bitterly and said, "The Yuan court did not touch much of the former dynasty, but they basically demolished the harem area. All the bricks, tiles and timber from the demolition were transported to Dadu. The walls of the imperial palace have also been destroyed. As a result, many people occupied the harem area to build houses and live there. Now, the people there have been moved elsewhere, and the harem area is being renovated."

"If it is to be used as a royal palace, at least three buildings need to be repaired. The previous dynasty was also missing a ancestral temple. How can a royal palace be built without a ancestral temple?"
"In addition, another palace wall and gate need to be built behind Luomutang to separate the inner palace from the outer court. The walls and gates surrounding the palace also need to be repaired, which will take a lot of time."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin thought for a moment before saying, "Actually, the Chu Prince's Mansion is not small, and it has several grand halls. If we want to keep things simple, could we demolish the mansion, move the buildings to the location of the inner palace, and then move the grand halls of the mansion to the front court to serve as the Imperial Ancestral Temple?"

"Didn't you say that those houses could be demolished, relocated, and rebuilt? That would definitely be much faster, right? And it would also save a lot of materials."

Ji Xuan was stunned. He immediately said, "That's possible, but if we do that, the Prince's mansion will be demolished and the harem will not be built yet. Where will Your Highness stay during this time?"

"Where I live is easy to figure out. My whole family, including the palace servants, is less than thirty people. Where I live doesn't matter. You can start demolishing the palace and leave me one or two courtyards."

“By the way, aren’t there two royal palaces in Luzhou? Let’s dismantle those two palaces and move them to Jiankang. There’s a waterway there, which will make transportation easier and save you the trouble of searching for materials everywhere,” Lu Jin immediately decided.

Li Shanchang and Ji Xuan exchanged a glance and said with admiration, "Your Highness's frugality is a blessing for all the people."

Lu Jin glanced at them speechlessly before saying, "Stop flattering me. I am so frugal because I never planned to make Jiankang my capital. Since it's just a temporary residence, why should we undertake large-scale construction? We should save where we can."

"But of course, we must build what needs to be built. We should save money on the palace, but we cannot save money on the academy next door. Not only can we not save money, but we must also build it beautifully."

"In addition, after the Northern Expedition is successful, a new imperial palace will be built in Dadu to prepare for the future relocation of the capital. Don't blame me for the large-scale construction then."

Upon hearing this, Li Shanchang quickly replied, "Your Majesty, I would never dare to blame you. Not to mention me, not even one of the civil and military officials in the court would think that Your Majesty is engaging in large-scale construction."

"Now that the new dynasty has just been established, Your Highness can only temporarily reside in the former dynasty's temporary palace. You are already living under someone else's roof. The academy next door is being built for the future university. Even if Your Highness does not live there, the university will still be built. Therefore, it should not be counted as an expense of the inner court."

"A new emperor has ascended the throne, yet he has no palace of his own. What kind of talk is this? Even if Your Highness does not speak up, I will petition to build a new palace. After all, a new dynasty brings a new atmosphere, and it would be unbecoming of the country to move the capital to the palaces of the Hu Yuan dynasty."

Lu Jin nodded in satisfaction. "It's good that you know."

Ji Xuan then said, "In that case, why not dismantle the two princely mansions in Luzhou and move them here to the inner palace? Once the inner palace is completed, Your Highness can move there, and then we can dismantle this Chu princely mansion and move it in as well. This way, it won't affect Your Highness's residence. What do you think?"

“Okay, let’s do it that way then,” Lu Jin nodded immediately.

Ji Xuan asked again, "What will be done with the land vacated after the Chu Prince's Mansion is demolished?"

Lu Jin thought for a moment before saying, "We can build a primary school so that the children of the princes and the people of Jinling can all study there in the future."

Li Shanchang was taken aback upon hearing this and quickly asked, "Your Highness, are the Crown Prince and other princes not allowed to study in the palace?"

Lu Jin shook his head. "Growing up in the deep palace, they don't know the suffering of the common people. How can they be a good emperor in the future? Let the princes study with the children of the common people and learn the new education together. The princes should learn the same way the common people do. At most, we can teach them some other things in private."

"Moreover, security is easy to ensure. The Chu Prince's Mansion is not far from the imperial city, and in the future, the Imperial Guards can be directly assigned to guard it."

Upon hearing this, Li Shanchang nodded, thinking to himself that it seemed Lu Jin had long had ideas about the education of the prince.

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from outside the palace gate in front of the square. Then the guards in front of the palace gate rushed over in a hurry. The person who came was Li Dingbang, who shouted as he ran.

"A great victory! Your Highness, a great victory in Kaifeng! Our army has annihilated the forces of Li Chahan and Wang Baobao, and Bianjing has been recovered!"

The three people standing in front of the hall were all shocked upon hearing this. Ji Xuan and Li Shanchang immediately bowed to Lu Jin and said, "Congratulations, Your Highness! Bianjing and Kaifeng have been in the hands of barbarians for 214 years since the Song Dynasty. Now they have been liberated by our army. The humiliation of Jingkang can finally be avenged."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin glanced at the two of them and retorted, "The barbarians occupied your home, robbed your property, and seized your mother and sisters. You've only taken back your home. Is that what you call avenging your family?"

Upon hearing this, the two exchanged bewildered glances, and Lu Jin added further.

"No, the barbarians haven't paid the price yet. Just like dogs don't understand human language, they won't learn their lesson unless you beat them hard enough. So, it's not enough to just take back Kaifeng. In the future, we will also take back Yanyun, and we will also go to the northern deserts and the northeast to wipe them out and teach the barbarians there a lesson. The Central Plains is not a place they can come to whenever they want!"

"Yes," Li Shanchang and Ji Xuan replied, bowing once more.

"Your Highness, a great victory has been achieved in Kaifeng! Bianjing has been recaptured!" Just then, Li Dingbang ran over holding a battle report. Before he could even get close, Lu Jin asked, "Have Li Chahan and Wang Baobao been captured?"

"The Yuan army was completely wiped out. Li Chahan was riddled with bullets in the street fighting in Kaifeng. Wang Baobao tried to escape, but his Yuan soldiers betrayed him and handed him over to our army. After his identity was confirmed, he was executed on the spot by Commander Liao. This is the battle report." Li Dingbang hurriedly presented the battle report.

Lu Jin took the document and quickly glanced through it before saying, "Well done! With the Central Plains pacified, we can launch our Northern Expedition without any worries about our rear!"

"Moreover, the end of this battle was not bad, at least it was before the spring plowing. Mr. Baishi, immediately order Tao An in Henan to settle the refugees as soon as possible and urge the spring plowing. First, do everything possible to ensure the spring plowing and get the seeds into the fields. The registration of households can wait until after the autumn harvest this year. All the newly attached lands in Henan this year will be exempt from taxes for one year."

"In addition, there are officials who are lacking in Henan. We urge the Ministry of Personnel to arrange for their appointments as soon as possible."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will take care of it immediately." Li Shanchang quickly agreed.

"Hey, wait a minute, there's one more thing. The Henan Provincial Administration Office also needs to be moved."

Li Shanchang nodded immediately without giving it much thought. The capital of Henan had always been either Luoyang or Kaifeng. Now that both cities had been recovered, it would be inappropriate to keep the Provincial Administration Office in Nanyang. It should indeed be moved. So he immediately asked, "Is it to Luoyang or Kaifeng?" "Neither. The Provincial Administration Office will be moved to Zhengzhou Prefecture."

"Uh, why is that?" Li Shanchang asked, puzzled.

"Luoyang is located too far to the west, so it is more appropriate to call it a secondary capital of Chang'an. Whenever a capital was established in Chang'an, Luoyang would basically be the secondary capital. This resulted in Luoyang being closely associated with Chang'an, but not so much with other cities in Henan Province."

"As for not choosing Kaifeng, it's purely because of the geology. That place is too close to the Yellow River and is located at the crossroads where the Yellow River changes course, which is not conducive to the construction of transportation facilities in the future."

"And the most important reason is that both are ancient capitals of various dynasties, with various forces deeply entrenched and complex relationships, which is not conducive to the implementation of new policies. In particular, there are various 'powerful clans' in Luoyang and Kaifeng. Since we are going to demolish them anyway, why put the provincial capital in their homes? Wouldn't that just make things difficult for ourselves?" Lu Jin immediately explained.

"I see, I understand." Li Shanchang agreed again, but just as he was about to go about his business, someone else came to the place.

Tao Kai, the Vice Minister of Rites, rushed into the main hall with a memorial in his hand. Before he even reached the hall, he held up the memorial and shouted, "Your Highness, an urgent report from Hangzhou! Bao Heng, the Right Provincial Governor of Zhejiang, has reported that the Yuanwang ship has returned from Java, bringing with it envoys from Brunei and Champa. Wang Dayuan, the voyages explorer, has instructed the court to make preparations for their reception."

Upon hearing this, Li Shanchang and Ji Xuan immediately looked at Lu Jin, and Li Shanchang even asked, "Did His Highness send him back with the envoy?"

Lu Jin frowned and said, "No, I just sent him to Java for a test voyage and also had the Privy Council take care of some things. I didn't ask them to contact the envoys from the foreign vassal states."

"So they came on their own? That's great! Your Highness hasn't even officially ascended the throne yet, and envoys from foreign vassals are already rushing to pay tribute. Doesn't that further prove that the new dynasty is destined by Heaven?" Li Shanchang immediately exclaimed excitedly.

“Hmm, that makes sense.” Lu Jin nodded, but still said, “But let’s find out what’s going on first, and find out their purpose in coming to the court.”

"Ah."

At the foot of the main hall's platform, Li Dingbang, with keen insight, jogged along to receive Tao Kai's report and deliver it to Lu Jin.

When Lu Jin opened it, he found a short report written by Bao Heng. It said that the Yuanwang ship had returned to Hangzhou Bay a couple of days ago and was temporarily anchored and resting in Hangzhou. Several foreign tribute ships were also anchored in Hangzhou. Bao Heng himself was not quite sure what was going on. It was only after Wang Dayuan returned that he wrote him a detailed report and asked Bao Heng to report it to Jiankang immediately.

Lu Jin then opened Wang Dayuan's document, which roughly described their sea route to Southeast Asia, as well as the situation in Brunei and Champa. Both countries were currently in a state of hostile war with their neighbors and were in a weak position. They went to exchange ideas under the guise of merchants. After learning that China had a new emperor, both countries wanted to request China to bestow titles upon them.

Brunei had three core demands: first, to open its ports so that Chinese merchant ships would dock there in the future, thereby increasing tax revenue; second, to damage the economy of its neighbor, Sulu.

Secondly, they hoped to obtain military support from China so that the two countries could join forces to defeat the Sulu Sultanate.

The third request was for Chinese investiture; to be precise, they came to acknowledge China as their father for personal gain.

Champa was in a similar situation. It was at war with Annam, and had just fought another battle before the envoy arrived, which ended with Champa repelling the Annamite attack. Champa was also seeking help, hoping that the new emperor of China could suppress Annam in the north.

Finally, Wang Dayuan said that they had fought a battle in Southeast Asia. Although they had not yet obtained oil, they had destroyed a small city-state and established a foothold in Southeast Asia. He would report the details to Lu Jin after he arrived in Beijing.

After reading the memorial, Lu Jin showed neither delight nor anger, and handed it to Li Shanchang, asking, "Sir, what are your thoughts on this matter?"

Li Shanchang took it and glanced at it. He immediately said, "We can grant Brunei's request. Your Highness wants to develop the maritime trade economy, right? Currently, the maritime merchants in Quanzhou, Fujian are mainly Semu people. If they lead the maritime trade, they will naturally be more inclined towards the Sulu Kingdom of the Tianfang religion."

"But next year or the year after, after we take back Fujian, we must settle accounts with the Semu people in Fujian. At that time, without the channel from Quanzhou to Sulu, Han merchants will need a new route in Southeast Asia. Since Brunei wants to accept our merchant ships, that would be perfect."

"As for this joint attack on Sulu, I think it's best for us not to get involved for the time being. By attacking the Semu people in Fujian and establishing trade with Brunei, we are already helping them. The court doesn't need to send troops directly to Sulu, which would be a waste of money and resources and would not benefit us."

Lu Jin nodded in agreement, "That's right. In the short term, we're helping the Semu people in our country by attacking them. But in the long run, we might not be able to send troops to Sulu. Of course, Mr. Bai Shi is right. We certainly can't do things without benefits, unless Brunei agrees that after destroying Sulu, all of Sulu's territory will be handed over to China, and Brunei will not be allowed to touch it, as a reward for China's military action."

"Well, the South Seas are barbaric islands, far overseas, and difficult to access from the country. What use is the imperial court for an overseas enclave?" Li Shanchang asked, puzzled.

Lu Jin said, “Borneo is not a deserted island. It is indeed a bit desolate, but that’s just because they don’t know how to use it. Take Sulu for example. Their land is rich in coal and oil, as well as a lot of bauxite. These are resources that China is scarce in. If we don’t get them now, we will be criticized by future generations.”

"Moreover, the area is located in the tropics, so rubber and oil palm trees can be grown there!"

“Alright, we’ll have to wait until later. We need to wait until the country is pacified. It will take at least ten years to recover. The people are eager for stability. Even if Your Highness wants to expand the territory, it would be best not to be too aggressive,” Li Shanchang advised again.

"Yes, I know that. Besides, Sulu is a small country. Even if we really wanted to destroy them, we wouldn't need to send as many troops as you think. When attacking an island nation, what we need most are sea ships, not a lot of land troops. You'll understand in the future."

Li Shanchang nodded, then said, "At most, we can only bestow titles upon Champa at present. If Annam starts fighting with them again, even if we take back Guangdong and Guangxi, I'm afraid we will be powerless against Annam. The Yuan Dynasty has launched several campaigns against Annam, but all of them ended in disastrous defeats with heavy losses. Annam is really not easy to fight."

Lu Jin frowned and nodded, "Annam is indeed difficult to conquer, but that's because the Yuan Dynasty was too weak. If we really want to take back this land, we should prepare for thirty years first, and then we will still have a chance to take it back."

"Thirty years of preparation?!" Li Shanchang was stunned when he heard this.

“That’s right. The main preparations are military, educational, and economic. It’s easy to conquer Annam, but it’s difficult to achieve long-term stability,” Lu Jin said again.

Li Shanchang opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything. Thirty years? He would be seventy years old by then. He didn't know if he would live that long. Even if he did, he would probably have retired long ago. Why should he care so much?

Just then, Tao Kai arrived, and Lu Jin immediately instructed, "Send a message to Hangzhou, telling them to come to the capital on the first day of the fourth month. Let's make some preparations here first. The Court of State Ceremonies has not yet been established, so let the Ministry of Rites handle the matter of receiving foreign envoys for now."

"The report says that the Brunei envoy brought many gifts. You should also find some things as return gifts, such as porcelain and brocade. Don't let them look down on the Celestial Empire. The expenses will be covered by the Ministry of Revenue."

"In addition, we will find a place in the city to serve as a hotel for the envoys, and the Ministry of Rites will also handle the reception and other related matters."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will arrange it immediately." Tao Kai bowed and agreed, accepting the task.

However, the good news was not over yet. Just as they finished discussing the reception of the envoy, Bao Yu came looking for them again in a hurry.

"Your Highness, the intelligence agency has sent a secret report; it's good news."

Upon hearing that it was a secret report from the intelligence bureau, Lu Jin immediately opened it and read it. It turned out that there was news about the things that Lu Jin had arranged for Bao Yu to do before.

Last year, Lu Jin and his group discussed the Northern Expedition plan and worried that Xiao Tieguo might continue to tour the two capitals. If he went to Shangdu again this year, and the Holy Martial Army launched its Northern Expedition at that time, he might stay on the grasslands and not come back. In that case, the strategic intention of keeping the Yuan Emperor in the pass would not be realized.

So Bao Yu proposed a plan: the intelligence bureau would send a letter to Dadu in Fang Guozhen's name, saying that Lu Jin was fighting on all sides this year and food was strictly controlled. Food could not be obtained from the south and would only be available after the summer harvest in July, and then delivered to Dadu in August.

By using this method, they could lure the Yuan emperor and his officials with grain, preventing them from making an inspection tour to Shangdu. If they could just delay until August, the Yuan emperor and his officials would no longer go to Shangdu. By then, the weather would have turned cold, so what would they do on the grasslands? Go eat snow?

In addition, the intelligence bureau once again approached the Yuan court to propose buying horses, firstly to help Fang Guozhen build a cavalry to fight against the Shengwu Army, and secondly to sell the horses to raise money to buy grain.

The capital is currently facing a severe food shortage and cannot refuse. They not only need to solve the problem of feeding their people and horses, but they also need to stockpile grain to defend the city. Otherwise, once the Holy Martial Army launches its northern expedition, they will not even have enough food to defend the city.

Now it's March, and there's finally news from Dadu. Xiao Tieguo hasn't gone to Shangdu yet. In the past, if he really wanted to go to Shangdu, he would probably have set off in February, but there's still no news in March this year, so it seems like he won't be going.

After reading it, Lu Jin immediately said happily, "This is another piece of good news, but we still can't let our guard down for now. Instruct the intelligence bureau to continue to pay attention to the target's movements, and to send the intelligence back immediately if anything changes."

"Yes!"

Lu Jin then turned to look at the main hall behind him. "Today is a good day. We have achieved a great victory in Kaifeng, foreign vassals have come to pay tribute, and the intelligence bureau has also received good news. It's a triple celebration. I'd like to change the names of these main halls. What are your ideas?"

(End of this chapter)