The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 482 Tianxin City

At the time, Prince Xiang, Zhu Yiming, was fortifying Xiangyang and recruiting rebellious generals and soldiers, offering surrender to those who came. Military Supervisor Zhang Kejian and Procurator Kuang Yueguang, among others, objected to Zhu Yiming's rash actions, but the prince refused to listen. Spies dispatched by Zhangdong were able to infiltrate Xiangyang and Fanyang, and at a crucial moment, they joined forces with the Qi army to capture Xiangyang.

In early April of the fourth year of Hongguang (1630), the three major military groups of Qi State besieged Xiangyang Prefecture. Lieutenant General Mi Qianchun and Military Supervisor Zhang Kejian went out of the city to fight, and Mi Qianchun died in the battle.

Zhu Yiming ordered the troops in Fancheng and Gucheng to retreat and defend Xiangyang with all their strength. He also diverted water into the moat, arranged cannons along the river, and had soldiers guard the city.

Later historical books evaluated the Battle of Xiangyang, which determined the fate of the Southern Ming Dynasty. The death of Southern Ming soldiers was the responsibility of King Xiang Zhu Yiming.

On April 15th, Fancheng, Gucheng, Yicheng and other places outside Xiangcheng fell one after another, leaving only Xiangyang as an isolated city.

When the Qi army was at the gates of the city, Zhu Yiming personally led the deputy military supervisor Zhang Kejian, the prosecutor Kuang Yueguang, the county magistrate Li Dajue, and the guerrilla Li Anmin out of the city to fight.

The Ming army was defeated again, suffering heavy casualties.

The next day, the Ming army drove the civilians onto the city walls and threw rolling logs and stones to resist the Qi army's ant-like attack. The engineers of the First Corps built an earthen city at the east gate of Xiangyang. The artillery pushed the cannons onto the earthen wall and bombarded the top of the city fiercely. The civilians suffered heavy casualties, which was unbearable to watch.

The Qi army built a levee on the Han River, used the sluice gates west of the city to accumulate river water, and sent soldiers to guard the water outlet east of the city, so that the river water flowed back into Xiangyang City.

The flood came roaring, and the Qi and Ming sides fought for a long time. The Ming army was suddenly hit by the flood and collapsed instantly. The Qi cavalry took advantage of the situation and killed them. The Ming army rushed out of the city. Some were drowned, and some were killed by the enemy. The casualties were heavy.

At dusk on April 17, Prince Xiang retreated to Wengcheng, where he and Zhang Kejian led the remaining troops to defend the city walls. Supervisor Gao Chu and others escaped by scaling the walls, and the Ming army collapsed completely.

The Qi army took the opportunity to launch a fierce attack. King Xiang led his soldiers to fight with shields, but was defeated again.

That night, the watchtower in Xiangyang caught fire, and the Qi army broke into the city wall from the Xiaoxi Gate, and Xiangyang fell.

Zhu Yiming, realizing the situation was hopeless, dismissed his servants, wore his sword and seal, and hanged himself. Military Supervisor Zhang Kejian and Xiangyang County Magistrate Li Dajue also committed suicide. His servant, Wang Shiming, wept bitterly over the corpse and then set himself on fire.

When the news of this matter reached Nanzhili, Emperor Hongguang was shocked and ordered officials to prepare for the funeral. He posthumously named King Xiang Zhong and was known in history as King Xiang Zhong.

Since then, the Battle of Xiangyang, which lasted for nearly four months, finally ended. Emperor Wuding and his soldiers firmly occupied a large area east of Shanxi, west of Hefei, south of Sakhalin Island, and north of Jingzhou.

On the fifth day of May, the Qi army bypassed the Huaihe River defense line, drank water from the Yangtze River, and threatened Wuchang Prefecture.

In the eight prefectures and one guard area of Hubei Province (Wuchang Prefecture, Hanyang Prefecture, Huangzhou Prefecture, Chengtian Prefecture, De'an Prefecture, Xiangyang Prefecture, Jingzhou Prefecture, Yunyang Prefecture and Shizhou Guard), except Wuchang and Hanyang, the rest of the prefectures and counties surrendered.

At this time, the weather was getting hotter and hotter. Soldiers in Shandong, Liaodong and other places were not used to the climate and many diseases broke out. The soldiers were exhausted and could not fight anymore. The retired emperor ordered his subordinates to take a short break and fully digest the results of the Battle of Xiangyang.

Although the military fighting has temporarily stopped, the civil and commercial battles have just begun.

The traditional project of beating the landlords and dividing the land was carried out in an orderly manner in Junzhou, Xiangyang, Suizhou, Huangzhou and other places.

Tenant farmers and fishermen who were allocated land in various parts of Hubei all prepared food and drink to welcome the royal army. Young and strong people from all over the country enthusiastically joined the army, and millions of farmers joined the Great Qi Farmers' Association in order to defend the "Qi Dynasty's Land System" and this new regime.

On May 15th, the emperor's carriage was moved from Jingle Palace to Xiangwang Palace.

In the first year of the Zhengtong reign, the fifth son of Ming Renzong Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Zhanji, was renamed King of Xiang and his fiefdom was moved from Changsha to Xiangyang.

Before Zhu Zhanji came to Xiangyang to serve as the Prince of Xiang, Xiangyang had already built a magnificent palace for him, covering an area of about 60 mu. It was fully equipped with a main hall, a back hall, a main gate, a ceremonial gate, and left and right rooms for officials. It was the most magnificent building in Xiangyang City.
When Liu Zhaosun was studying in his previous life, he traveled to Xiangyang Prefecture. The magnificent palace had been burned down by Li Zicheng. All that was left to people more than 400 years later was the screen wall in front of the palace gate, which is the famous Green Shadow Wall.

Because of the arrival of the time traveler, Xiangyang Prefecture was preserved intact.

Li Zicheng, who once occupied Xiangyang, renamed it Xiangjing, established a regime here, and burned it down when he left, became the guardian of Xiangyang Prefecture in this dimension, or at least the guardian of Emperor Wuding.

At this moment, he was following Lin Yu and the others to guard around and closely monitor every move of the people around the palace.

Because Emperor Wu Ding brutally suppressed bandits, cleansed up Taoists, and suppressed local tyrants and evil gentry in the Jingxiang area, he offended many people. Almost every day, someone tried to assassinate the emperor. Although these assassins were just moths flying into the flame and did not cause any waves, they disturbed the Suoyi Guards and the Imperial Guards. Zhang Dong had to join forces with Pei Dahu and send more people to strengthen the protection of the palace, for fear of any mistakes.

However, Liu Zhaosun himself was calm and composed, and he seemed to be indifferent to these assassination attempts.

At this moment, the retired emperor took Jin Yuji's delicate hand and walked to the green shadow wall, pointing to the inlaid cloud dragon and explaining it to Jin Yuji.

"In the first year of the Zhengtong reign of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Zhanji moved from Changsha to this county and built a palace. This wall is the screen wall in front of the palace gate."

Jin Yuji stopped to watch and saw that in the middle of the screen wall bordered with white marble was engraved "Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl". On the left and right sides were engraved giant dragons dancing between the "sea water and flowing clouds". On the left and right walls were engraved a dragon flying towards the middle wall, as if trying to snatch the pearl. The surrounding frames were intricately carved with small dragons in different postures. In the vast sea of fog, the dragons were competing to leap, and they were lifelike.

Jin Yuji reached out and stroked the dragon on the white marble, muttering, "The craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty are truly extraordinary. Emperor Zhu Gaochi treats his son so well. This screen wall, this palace, I wonder how much silver, manpower and material resources must have cost..."

Liu Zhaosun blurted out, "If you like it, I will order it to be demolished and moved to the new capital."

"I'm not talking about the screen wall of the palace," Empress Dowager Cisi hesitated to speak.

"Who is that?" He thought of Yang Qing'er and the young emperor Liu Kan who stayed in Shenyang.

The two smiled at each other and stopped talking.

Emperor Wuding sighed deeply and turned back to ask Qian Qianyi who was standing in the distance:

"Master Qian, how many years did the Battle of Xiangyang last in the Southern Song Dynasty?" Qian Qianyi heard the question from the retired emperor and immediately stepped forward, shaking his head.

"Your Majesty, starting in the third year of the Xianchun reign of the Song Dynasty, when the Mongol general A'shu attacked Xiangyang at the Battle of Anyang Beach, followed by Lü Wenhuan's breakout, the aid of Zhang Gui and Zhang Shun, the Battle of Longweizhou, and the Battle of Fancheng, until Lü Wenhuan's exhaustion and surrender to the Yuan Dynasty in the ninth year of the Xianchun reign, it lasted nearly six years."

Liu Zhaosun clapped his hands and laughed: "Did you hear that? Queen Mother Jin, the Mongols fought for six years, and I only fought for four months. Although I have temporarily conquered them, there are still many things to deal with. Once Jingxiang is completely pacified, I will naturally let Kan'er and the others come over. At that time..."

Emperor Wu Ding looked up at the screen wall that towered into the clouds and said thoughtfully:

"Then they can come and see the new capital of Da Qi and see how it rises from the ground."

~~~~
At the beginning of June, the Ming army's combat mission of sweeping away the bandits was basically completed. Seeing that the people's hearts were in favor, Emperor Wuding decided to strike while the iron was hot and start the capital construction project that he had been dreaming of.

After listening to the opinions of experts such as Lei Jiangtou, Ke Zhen'e, Li Sanguang, Francisco, and Xu Guangqi, and conducting on-site inspections, Emperor Wuding finally set the center of the new capital ten miles east of Junzhou City, in the southern part of the Xiangwan Basin near the Han River.

After the site selection is finalized, a "sample" needs to be made before construction officially begins.

The so-called "ironing sample" means making architectural models, because some parts need to be ironed into shape with a soldering iron, hence the name.

Craftsman Lei first glued Yuanshu paper and Goryeo paper layer by layer into sheets, then cut them into shape, painted them, and finally glued and assembled them into a complete model.

The capital was planned and built strictly in accordance with the ancient Zhou Li system of royal city planning. Its plane is rectangular and covers an area equivalent to 90 square kilometers (the required area exceeds the 87 square kilometers of the Tang Chang'an City).

Liu Zhaosun looked at the densely packed engineering drawings drawn by Francisco and Ginni, then glanced at the hot sample made by Lei Jiangtou. He pointed to the location of the moat and asked the capital designers:

"You've turned this moat into a winding path. Are you worried that the enemy will have trouble breaking through the city defenses? Why are you doing this?!"

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Ke Zhen'e, the Empire's Chief Diviner and Yin-Yang Feng Shui Master, quickly stepped forward to explain:
"Your Majesty, the capital is surrounded by walls on all four sides, with a corner tower at each corner. The towers are located in the Qian hexagram, diverting the Han River into the moat and surrounding it. This is in complete accordance with the principle of the Book of Changes: Heaven gives birth to water, and Earth completes it. As the saying goes..."

"Okay, stop talking!"

The retired emperor pointed to the two rivers flowing into the city and questioned his ministers.

"This place is adjacent to the Nanyang Basin. You've brought the river into the city. When a once-in-a-millennium downpour hits, do you really want all my subjects to go see the sea?"

Liu Zhaosun thought back to his previous life. Whenever a city encountered a severe apocalypse, he would hear experts say that it was a once-in-a-century event, as if a hundred years was a very common unit of time.

Song Yingxing was well versed in water conservancy and immediately explained to the emperor:
"Your Majesty, the moat system runs through the capital, forming a closed loop at the southeast corner of the Imperial Palace, where it flows into the Han River. This cycle repeats over and over again, and there will be no flooding."

Blind Ke once again quoted the knowledge of the I Ching and the Eight Trigrams:
"This is the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, flowing southeast, symbolizing the abundance of the world. It also conforms to the Feng Shui concept of opening the gates to heaven and closing the doors to earth. The design is ingenious, giving off a sense of grandeur and a sense of harmony between man and nature. Your Majesty, when this city is completed, the foundation of the Great Qi will last for thousands of years..."

"Why did you build so many turrets at the four corners?"

"Your Majesty has received the mandate of Heaven. The Ziwei Wall where the Emperor of Heaven resides corresponds to the Imperial Palace where Your Majesty resides. The twenty-eight constellations surround and protect the Ziwei Wall. The Jiao constellations, led by the Jiao constellations, are the most skilled in warfare. The four corner towers are to invite the Jiao constellations to descend to earth to protect Da Qi."

Ke Zhen'e then began to explain that the Meridian Gate represented the south, and was located at the southernmost end of the imperial city, at the midday, hence the name. The Meridian Gate was tangible but yin, while the south was intangible but yang. This combination of yin and yang indicated that Da Qi was striving to achieve a balance between heaven and earth...
Liu Zhaosun was too lazy to listen to his rambling, so he turned around and asked Francisco and others about several key issues in city construction, such as water supply, distribution of urban functions, transportation construction, etc. The answers from several experts made the emperor quite satisfied.

Emperor Wu Ding did not waste any words, but stood up and shouted:

"Then let's begin construction. In ten years, allocate 250,000 people to build me an unprecedented city! From now on, it will be the true center of the Great Qi."

After this, large-scale immigration and farming began around Xiangyang, Junzhou, with tax exemptions for the people and free provision of oxen and seeds. Minister of Works Xu Guangqi, High Priest Francisco, and Imperial Traveler Li Sanguang left Jingxiang and traveled across the country in search of materials.

The most elite engineers and craftsmen of the Great Qi Empire went deep into the forest and overcame numerous difficulties to cut down thousand-year-old golden nanmu trees. With the help of water power, the nanmu trees were transported to Junzhou in the upper reaches of the Han River. With the wood, bricks and stones were needed. The soil in Suzhou was excellent and the firing method was well-designed. Emperor Wu Ding specially granted it the title of Imperial Kiln Village to produce the floor bricks needed for the main hall, also known as golden bricks. The stone steps in the middle of the imperial road behind the Baohe Hall are made of bluestone. They are seventeen meters long and weigh more than two hundred tons. The huge stones came from Liangxiang in the capital. Tens of thousands of workers dug wells every mile or so on both sides of the road in the cold winter, sprinkled the ground with well water, formed an ice road, and used the ice road to pull and push the huge stones to the construction site, and finally carved them into stone steps. In addition, the bricks for construction were produced in Linqing, Shandong...

The migrant workers used a mixture of quicklime and clay and broken bricks to build the foundation, and sprinkled cooked glutinous rice and alum on the foundation. This cost-free approach made the foundation extremely hard and avoided the risk of subsidence to the greatest extent.

In short, every raw material needed for the capital is refined to the highest quality. Of course, this is all a story for the future and will be introduced in detail later.

On the sixteenth day of the sixth month in the second year of Taichu, the tiger is in the south, so it is suitable to hold a fast and offer sacrifices, open the market and break ground.

Emperor Wu Ding issued an edict, and the preliminary construction work of the new capital officially began.

Before this, the retired emperor had asked old ministers such as Qiao Yiqi and Wang Huazhen what Xindu should be called.

The ministers replied: "Handu", "Xindu", "Xinjing", "Zhongdu"...

Emperor Wuding felt that these place names were not domineering enough and could not reflect the new atmosphere of the empire.

Jin Yuji said: It would be better to name it Tianxin City, which means the heart of the world.

The emperor praised it.

So the capital was named Tianxin City.

(End of this chapter)