Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 31: Choosing a wedding date and joining the staff department [Seeking follow-up reading]

On the dragon chair.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly, as if he was seriously considering whether what Liu Kuan said made sense.

Soon, he looked at Zhu Biao and asked, "Biao'er, what do you think about this?"

Zhu Biao gritted his teeth when he thought about how he would die young in later history, causing Zhu Yuanzhang to lose his son at an old age and even becoming the source of the Jingnan Campaign.

"Father, I think what Young Master Liu said makes a lot of sense. Perhaps you're used to attending court so early every day, and I might be able to maintain this after I ascend the throne. But how can we guarantee that all subsequent emperors will be as diligent?"

"Since Your Majesty has already established the system of the Cabinet and the Grand Council assisting the government, the number of state affairs he will need to personally handle will inevitably decrease. It would be wise to adapt this to the situation and change the morning court system to prevent future generations from being corrupted."

"Also, as far as I know, many court officials also suffer from the daily early morning court attendance. If Your Majesty is willing to change this, the officials will surely praise you!"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted after hearing this, "This kingdom belongs to our Zhu family. As ministers, they naturally hope to be lazy and collect their salaries easily... I know what to do during the morning court session and will consider it."

Although Zhu Yuanzhang did not agree directly, he said he would consider it, which obviously showed that he had already agreed with what Liu Kuan said, but he was just embarrassed to admit the mistake of "attending court early every day" in person.

Liu Kuan was very happy to see that his goal had been achieved. He bowed and said, "I will take my leave," and then left Fengxian Hall...

When he arrived at Rouyi Palace, Liu Kuan met Empress Ma again.

He didn't know if it was his illusion, but Empress Ma's face seemed to be a little rosier than the last time he saw her - perhaps because she was happy about her daughter's wedding?
With this thought in mind, Liu Kuan bowed and saluted, "Your humble servant pays respects to Her Majesty the Queen!"

"Flat body."

"Thank you, Queen."

Afterwards, Empress Ma gave him a seat.

After Liu Kuan sat down, she smiled and said, "I asked someone to look it up. The 20th, 23rd, 27th, and 29th of this month are all auspicious days for marriage."

"So I called you over here to ask you which day you think would be most suitable?"

Liu Kuan was much more relaxed when facing Empress Ma.

He said, "Does it have to be August? Isn't that a bit too urgent?"

Empress Ma said, "You are already twenty-six, and Huilan is almost seventeen. How can we not be anxious? The sooner this marriage takes place, the better."

There is no way to escape this marriage.

Understanding this, Liu Kuan also felt that there was nothing wrong with getting married early.

However, in order to have more time to prepare, he still said, "Then let's do it on the 29th. It's always better to prepare a few more days."

"Alright." Empress Ma nodded. "You and Huilan's marriage does require a lot of preparation."

Afterwards, Empress Ma began to ask Liu Kuan some questions, such as his birth date, parents' names, etc.

Liu Kuan didn't even know his birth date.

Fortunately, Empress Ma was not a particularly superstitious person. She just said she didn't know and just thought that her horoscope was compatible with Zhu Huilan's.

At the same time, Liu Kuan also learned Zhu Huilan's birth date and realized that August 22 was Zhu Huilan's birthday.

So before leaving, he asked, "Empress, on Huilan's birthday, would you like me to give her a birthday present?"

Empress Ma smiled broadly upon hearing this and said, "You have good intentions."

"I understand. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave."

"Go."

After Liu Kuan left Rouyi Hall, a girl in palace dress walked out from behind the phoenix chair. It was Zhu Huilan.

Empress Ma looked at her with a smile and asked, "Now that you have seen the person, are you satisfied?"

Zhu Huilan's pretty face was already blushing, and she lowered her head even more when she heard this. She nodded and said, "My daughter is satisfied."

"As long as you are satisfied." Empress Ma smiled as if her face was blooming. Then she reminded him, "After you get married, you will be the mistress of the family. You can't be so shy. You need to be bolder."

"My daughter understands."

···
August 8th, the fourteenth year of Hongwu.

Although he was exempted from attending the morning court session thanks to Old Zhu's grace, Liu Kuan still asked Xia He for the six o'clock wake-up call.

According to what he learned from Zhao Cheng, the time Zhu Yuanzhang spent on morning court in the past two years was as fast as half an hour and as slow as more than an hour.

Although most court officials would go to the toilet or even have breakfast after court, it is not ruled out that some would go straight to the government office to start work.

Therefore, Liu Kuan thought it would be better for him to arrive at the Ministry of Works before seven o'clock.

After washing and having breakfast, Liu Kuan changed into official uniform with the help of four maids.

It wasn't that he had developed the habit of having his clothes changed by maids, it was just that the official uniform was too difficult to wear.

According to what Liu Kuan learned in the past few days, the official uniforms of the Ming Dynasty were generally divided into four types: ceremonial uniforms, court uniforms, official uniforms, and casual uniforms.

The style of the sacrificial garment is the most retro, so it is also the most complicated to wear and it is very inconvenient to move after wearing it.

Fortunately, Ming Dynasty officials only needed to wear sacrificial robes when accompanying the emperor to offer sacrifices or when they were ordered to offer sacrifices on behalf of the emperor.

Although court robes are not as complicated as sacrificial robes, the styles of clothes and hats are equally complex.

From the Liang crown to the boots, and even to some small accessories such as jade pendants and belts, there are many requirements and it is quite troublesome to put them on.

However, court robes only need to be worn during grand court meetings and are not needed at other times.

Officials wore the most common uniforms, official uniforms and casual uniforms. These two types of uniforms were similar in style and often worn in different occasions, so much so that they could be seen as two sets of the same garment. Although Ming Dynasty official uniforms weren't fully customized until the 20th year of the Hongwu reign, their styles by then were already similar to those of later Ming Dynasty official uniforms.

Official uniforms all consist of a black gauze hat, a round-collared shirt, and a belt.

The first to fourth ranks have scarlet robes, the fifth to seventh ranks have blue robes, and the eighth and ninth ranks have green robes.

Then the main difference is the embroidery on the chest.

For example, Liu Kuan is now the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Works, a fifth-rank civil servant, who wears a black gauze hat, a green robe, a white pheasant embroidered on his chest, and a pair of black official boots on his feet.

After putting on the official uniform with the help of four maids, Liu Kuan looked at himself in the bronze mirror that Qiuyue was holding and found that the outfit looked quite good on him given his good looks.

Xia He smiled and said, "Young Master, this outfit looks really good on you. When you grow a beard, you will definitely be even more majestic."

Liu Kuan couldn't help but ask, "Is it necessary to grow a beard?"

Xia He said, "If a man is unmarried, he doesn't have to grow a beard; but if he is married, he will grow a beard."

Liu Kuan wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing - he was about to get married, but he still had to consider whether to grow a beard after marriage.

Afterwards, Liu Kuan walked a few steps in this official uniform and frowned.

Compared with the clothing and shoes of later generations, although his official uniform was the simplest in style, it still made him feel very uncomfortable.

Not to mention the official boots in ancient times, they were okay to wear, but they were not conducive to running and long-distance walking.

However, the sleeves of this official uniform were wide, and the hem was only an inch off the ground, which made him feel very inconvenient.

"When the time is right, we must change the style of Ming Dynasty official uniforms, and even lead the way in Ming Dynasty clothing reform—not to mention changing it to a later style, but at least changing it to a Chinese style that is more convenient for movement."

With this in mind, Liu Kuan took his cell phone and a pile of documents he had copied over the past few days and went out.

As for the computer and other items in the backpack, he locked them in a large iron box in the study - he asked the housekeeper to buy this iron box the day before, which cost him several strings of cash.

When Liu Kuan came out of the gate, the coachman Li Xiaoer was already waiting in front of the mansion with Wuyun Taxue.

Wang Guangyue, the chief flag-fighter of the Yiluansi, who was ordered to protect Liu Kuan, also stood quietly beside him with his fifty soldiers.

Because Liu Kuan was only going to the Ministry of Works to report and not leaving the city, Wang Guangyue was the only one on horseback among the general guards.

In the past few days, Liu Kuan has also been practicing the skills of getting on and off the horse. He is about 1.78 meters tall, so now he no longer needs anyone to support him and can get on the horse by himself.

It's just that the posture still doesn't look very good.

Looking at Wang Guangyue beside him and the forty-nine Ming army soldiers standing quietly behind him, Liu Kuan felt quite proud and high-spirited.

"set off!"

He waved his hand, but he did not drive the horse himself. Instead, Li Xiaoer led the horse and walked south along the street.

Wang Guangyue followed beside him, and the rest of the soldiers were distributed in front, behind, left and right of Liu Kuan, surrounding him to prevent outsiders from getting close.

Taiping Street is mostly lined with official residences.

Most of the male owners of the official residence were attending court, but many servants and maids who were responsible for purchasing goods were out.

These people certainly did not know how to ride horses or cars. At most, they drove donkey carts because they had a lot of things to buy.

In this way, Liu Kuan, riding on the dark cloud and stepping on the snow, guarded by dozens of personal soldiers, was very eye-catching.

Some people who were not in a hurry went to the side of the street and started chatting with people they knew.

"Who is this new noble? He's traveling with his own personal guards, so impressive."

"He looks like a civil servant, not even a fourth-rank official. How strange."

"It seems to be the one who lives in Prime Minister Hu's old residence."

"Shh, be careful with your words."

"···"

Liu Kuan had not practiced internal energy, and these people were communicating in a low voice using Nanjing Mandarin or dialect from six hundred years ago, so he naturally couldn't hear clearly.

The initial excitement of the "horse parade" wore off, and Liu Kuan, worried about being late, said, "Waiter, walk faster."

"Okay, son."

Li Xiaoer was a young groom in his twenties. He not only had excellent professional skills, but was also energetic and strong. After responding, he immediately quickened his pace.

In this way, Liu Kuan and others walked south along Taiping Street, and after passing the Forbidden City and the Altar of Land and Grain, they turned east onto Chang'an Avenue.

It is worth mentioning that in the 14th year of Hongwu, there was only the palace city, namely the Forbidden City, and there was no imperial city yet.

It was not until the 25th year of Hongwu that the imperial city wall was completed. The imperial city mainly included the Sheji Altar and Taimiao building complexes in the south, while the northern part was just a slight expansion of the Forbidden City.

Therefore, at this time, many central government offices such as the Five Military Commission, the Ministry of Clan Affairs, the Hanlin Academy, and the Taichang Temple were all located in a large area between the Altar of Land and Grain, the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and the Hongwu Gate.

Five of the six parts are also here.

Only the Ministry of Justice, because of its special functions and the important place of the Ministry of Justice Prison (Tianlao), was located to the north of the Forbidden City, on the shores of Xuanwu Lake.

After Liu Kuan arrived in this area, he found that various government offices were one after another. Fortunately, Wang Guangyue and others knew the way, otherwise it would take him a while to find the Ministry of Works.

Finally, Liu Kuan and his party passed through the left gate of Chang'an and walked south to the end of the "narrow square" before they saw the Ministry of Works standing in the southeast corner.

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　　Thanks to [Zhenghei] for the reward of 500 Qidian coins!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)