Ming Dynasty man

Chapter 386 Sending Auspicious Beasts

Li Jing smiled and said: "Looking at your happy face, I'm afraid you have some good news to tell me? Let's hear it."

Fang Fang said with a smile: "Nothing can be hidden from the commander in chief's eyes. There is indeed a happy event. The chief minister of Yunnan, Si Yamen, sent people to Beijing and sent an auspicious beast. I will come here to report to the emperor and the commander in chief to know."

Li Jingqi said: "Auspicious Beast? What is that?"

Fang Fang hurriedly shook his head and said, "We don't know that thing. The messenger from Yunnan said it was a Qilin."

"Kirin?" Li Jingwen couldn't help frowning: "How can there be a unicorn in this world? Are those local officials in Yunnan trying to fool the emperor and me?"

Seeing Li Jing's displeasure, Fang hurriedly said: "No way, that thing is alive, I guess they must have suffered a lot all the way to send it to the capital."

Li Jing waved his hand: "I'll talk about this later, it's just in time for you to come. Xiyuan has been in disrepair for a long time. You can show someone how to repair it, and then make a plan and budget for me. I plan to repair it next year. In addition There is also the imperial palace, many places should be repaired, and a plan and budget should be made, and repairs will be made together."

Fang Fang looked at Li Jing, then at Zhu Youjian, thought for a while and said: "Marshal, I have seen Xiyuan here before, to tell you the truth, the newly built cabinet and the office of the Sixth Ministry occupy Xiyuan. some places."

Seeing Li Jing's expression was a little hesitant, Fang Fang knew that the land in Xiyuan was occupied, Li Jing was a little dissatisfied with the construction of the cabinet office, and hurriedly said: "Marshal, you haven't seen what's going on in Xiyuan, the emperor hasn't come here these years. Xiyuan, most of it has been abandoned, and now the only buildings that are well preserved are the Chengguang Hall, the Wulong Pavilion behind it, and the Daxi Tianjing Factory. It happens that there is not enough office space for the cabinet. I see here It was so barren, I thought it would be idle anyway, so I requisitioned part of it.”

Li Jing glared at Fang Fang: "Is the enclosed land not enough? Does the cabinet need a large area for office work? You don't know that the treasury has no money, and it still takes up so much space to build houses! You should notify the people below immediately , the original buildings in Xiyuan are not allowed to be disturbed, and the new buildings inside are not yet completed and will be demolished immediately.”

Fang Fang smiled wryly when he heard the words: "Marshal, the main body of the carpentry inside is almost finished, if it is demolished, I'm afraid there will be more waste."

Li Jingwenyan glanced at the equation and said with a sneer: "Your speed is fast enough. It's been less than three months, and it's so cold that you actually got the main body of the carpentry up. It's probably because I'm afraid that I won't let you build it. Bar?"

Fang Fang smiled wryly: "Marshal, actually the house built in Xiyuan is for you to live in. You are so busy, Marshal. I see that the scenery in Xiyuan is pleasant, and I want to create a better environment for you to live in. When you are free You can also relax and relax.”

Li Jing was startled, and then sighed softly. Fang Fang and others cared so much about him, even if he got angry again, he couldn't continue to get angry at Fang Fang.

After thinking for a while, Li Jing said: "Since the construction is almost done, let's do it this way, but don't make any more follow-up buildings. In addition, separate the new buildings from the original Xiyuan, so that Empress Yi'an will Live there."

"Yes!" Fang Fang hurriedly said.

At this time, Fang Fang understood why Li Jing wanted to repair Xiyuan. It turned out that he wanted Empress Yi'an to move to Xiyuan.

Waving his hand, Li Jing sighed and said, "Forget it, let's go back! I'm not in the mood, so I won't go in and look."

Fang Fang hurriedly said: "Then let's go back and see the auspicious beasts sent by Yunnan."

Li Jing sneered: "If it's really an auspicious beast, can they catch it? Is the auspicious beast still locked in a cage?"

"Yes! It was locked in a cage and transported here by car." Fang Fang hurriedly said.

Li Jing sneered and said: "It's a waste of money for the people. I think the chief minister in Yunnan doesn't want to do it anymore. Let's go back and have a look. I want to see what he has created to fool me and the emperor."

Seeing that Li Jing was angry, Fang Fang didn't dare to say any more, he beckoned to the people behind him, and they didn't dare to neglect, they followed Li Jing back to the palace.

Back in the palace, under the guidance of the crowd, Li Jing came to the place where the auspicious beast was parked. Just after taking a look, Li Jing suddenly burst out laughing.

After laughing for a while, Li Jing pointed to the monster in the cage and said, "Is this the auspicious unicorn you are talking about? I really laughed to death. It's just a rhinoceros."

Shaking his head slightly, Li Jing smiled and said: "Although we have no rhinoceros in Ming Dynasty, everyone has never seen the real thing. You should know the rhinoceros horn, the single horn on its head, which can be used as medicine. "Compendium of Materia Medica" written by Li Shizhen "In fact, there is a detailed description of the rhinoceros, but I can't remember the original text. I will ask you to take a look later.

"The commander-in-chief has read a lot of books, which is beyond the reach of my generation." A group of ministers hurriedly flattered.

Li Jing waved his hand, suddenly suppressed his smile, looked at the crowd coldly and said: "I know what the local officials in Yunnan intend to offer the auspicious beast, it's nothing more than flattering and asking for rewards.

But what about you?I don't believe that you don't know rhinos, even if you don't, don't you think about it, can a unicorn be caught and put in a cage?
You must know the description of Kirin in some books, right?According to the records in the book, although Qilin is a benevolent beast, it is extremely fierce when it is angry, and it can breathe fire from its mouth.Even if the unicorn wants to bring auspiciousness to the world, won't it be angry when we treat it like this?Are you still willing to send auspiciousness to the world? "

Speaking of this, Li Jing glanced at the crowd: "Where is the person who sent the auspicious beast in Yunnan?"

One person in the crowd hurriedly came out and responded, "The next official is here."

Li Jing glanced at the man coldly, seeing that the man was about forty years old, with clouds and geese embroidered on his patch patch, he knew that this man was a fourth-rank official.In the local area, it is not easy to be promoted to the fourth rank at the age of forty.

Looking at the man, Li Jing asked coldly, "What's your name and what is your position?"

"Your official, Qin Kegang, is now well known to the Cheli Military and Civilian Propaganda Department (now Xishuangbanna and parts of northern Laos)." The man hurriedly said.

Hearing that this person is Zhou Zhi of the Xuanwei Department in the car, Li Jing suddenly thought about it.

In the early Ming Dynasty, three Xuanfu envoys and six Xuanfu envoys were established in Yunnan, collectively referred to as the three Xuanfu and six comfort envoys, which were under the jurisdiction of the Yunnan Chief Political Envoy.

Sanxuan refers to Nandian Xuanfu Envoy, Ganya Xuanfu Envoy and Longchuan Xuanfu Envoy.

Liuwei refers to Cheli Military and Civilian Consolation Commissioner, Myanmar Military and Civilian Consolation Commissioner, Mubang Military and Civilian Consolation Commissioner (Northeast of Shan State, Myanmar), Eight Hundred Dadian Military and Civilian Consolation Commissioner (now eastern Shan State, Myanmar) and Chiang Mai, Thailand), Mengyang Military and Civilian Consolation Commissioner (Bhamo, Myanmar, north of Kaitai, where the government is located in Burma Mengyang), Laos Military and Civilian Consolation Commissioner (now northern Laos).

Three announcements and six comforts are actually chieftains. Chieftains are hereditary by local tribal leaders and self-governing. They need to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty every year, and the imperial court only sends people to serve as chieftains' deputy.The deputy of the Xuanfu envoy is Zhou Zhi (the fourth rank), and the deputy of the Xuan Fu envoy is Tongzhi (the fifth rank).

However, by the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the three propagandas and six comforts had existed in name only.

In the tenth year of Jiajing, the Toungoo Dynasty of Myanmar was established, gradually unified Myanmar, and continued to attack the chieftains of the Ming Dynasty.By the end of Jiajing, Burma had annexed eight hundred Dadian Consolation Commissioners, Laotian Military and Civilian Consolation Commissioners, and Cheli Military and Civilian Consolation Commissioners.

In the early years of Wanli, Burma captured the Mubang Military and Civilian Consolation Commissioner, Mengyang Military and Civilian Consolation Commissioner, Manmo and Longchuan Divisions.So far, the three declarations and six comforts have all fallen into the hands of Myanmar.

In the 11th year of Wanli, the Ming Dynasty began to send troops to counterattack, successively recovered Sanxuan and Cheli Xuanweisi, and strengthened the defense of the southwest region, but the remaining Wuwei was eventually occupied by Myanmar.

In Li Jing's strategic layout, there is the link of regaining the lost land in the southwest. The reason why he did not use troops against Burma is because the Mongolia and Jurchen in the north have not yet been pacified, and the bandits in the Central Plains have not yet been pacified.

Li Jing can still tell which is more important. Before the north and the hinterland of the Central Plains are pacified, it is impossible for Li Jing to use troops against Burma.

In addition, the terrain in Southwest China is extremely complex, with high mountains and river valleys in the west of Yunnan, and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in the south, and the climate here is tropical rainforest, with hot weather all year round, and continuous rain in summer and autumn. In addition, the local residents are Minorities, therefore, must be fully prepared when fighting against Burma.

Hearing Qin Kegang say that he is well known to the Department of Propaganda and Comfort in Cheli, Li Jing's heart suddenly moved. This person has worked in Yunnan for many years, so he must be very familiar with the local human relations and geography. In the future, he should be useful when he uses troops in Burma.

However, this person collaborated with officials in Yunnan to use a rhinoceros as a unicorn to pay tribute to the court.

After thinking about it, Li Jing asked, "How long did you escort this rhinoceros to Beijing, and how much money did you spend?"

Hearing that Li Jing's tone was not kind, Qin Kegang knew that this time he flattered the horse's hooves. Under Li Jingdi's gaze, he couldn't stop beating his heart, not knowing how Li Jing would punish him.

Listening to Li Jing's inquiry at this time, Qin Kegang replied tremblingly: "I have been away for about two months and spent more than 2000 taels of silver."

"More than 2000 taels of silver? It seems that you are quite rich there! Let me ask you, how much tax did the Xuanwei Division in the car bring up this year? How much tax did you transport to Beijing this time?" Li Jing sneered.

"This... I don't know how much this year's taxes have been raised, and this time the taxes have not been released to go to Beijing." Qin Kegang replied tremblingly.

Hearing this, Li Jing said angrily, "You are known as the Department of Propaganda and Consolation, but you don't even know how much tax you have collected. What is the use of an official like you?"

When Qin Kegang heard Li Jing's anger, his legs couldn't help but soften, and he fell to his knees with a plop, and said, "My lord, forgive me. It's not because I'm a lowly official who doesn't care about things, but the fact is that local affairs are decided by the chieftain alone, and no one pays any attention to what the humble official says. "

"Oh? Is the chieftain in the car so domineering? Then why don't you sue the chief envoy's yamen?" Li Jing said coldly.

Qin Kegang hurriedly said: "The chief envoy as long as these chieftains don't make trouble, it doesn't matter if they are domineering or not."

Li Jingwenyan nodded slightly, looked at Qin Kegang and said, "It is not too much to say that you are so inactive as an official, even if you are dismissed, it is not too much, but considering that you have worked hard in office for many years, even if you have no credit, you will have hard work, so I will excuse you." This happened to you."

"Thank you, Lord Guo." Qin Kegang was overjoyed when he heard that, and hurriedly kowtowed.

(End of this chapter)