Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"Your Highness, we are approaching Yunyang Prefecture."

Sun Dexiu pointed to a city on the riverbank not far away.

"Although this city is not large, it is well-defended. The Yingxun Gate in the south and the Pingli Gate in the west directly use the Han River as a moat. On the east side of the city is an artificial moat that draws water from the Han River."

The Censor-in-Chief of Yunyang, the Commander-in-Chief of the Huguang Regional Military Commission, the Prefect of Yunyang, and the Magistrate of Yunxian County are all lined up outside the city to respectfully welcome Your Highness.

At this point, it had been ten days since they left Fancheng.

Lu Chen and the officials of the Prince of Ying's mansion no longer rode in the royal ceremonial boat that carried hundreds of liang (a unit of weight), but in a small boat that carried only twenty or thirty liang, or a dozen tons.

After traveling upstream along the Han River to Guanghua County, which is now known as Laohekou, you begin to enter the canyon section of the upper Han River. Here, the water is rapid and there are many shoals and reefs, such as the famous "Junzhou Bazhang Stone".

Large ships could no longer pass, and even princes had to switch to smaller boats.

According to the Ming Dynasty's policy on princely fiefdoms, princes were "granted fiefdoms but not granted land, given titles but not subject to the people, and received stipends but not managed affairs," and had no power to interfere in the political affairs of the prefectures and counties where their fiefdoms were located.

However, according to etiquette, Yunyang Prefecture is the vassal state of the Prince of Ying, and Prince Lu Chen is the king.

This was the first time the Prince of Ying had arrived in his own fiefdom, which was equivalent to taking up his post. Local officials were to perform the rites for a prince "arriving in his fiefdom".

Soon, surrounded by officials, eunuchs, and guards from the Prince of Ying's residence, Lu Chen received greetings from local officials, along with some local gentry and elders, outside the city.

Then, under the guidance of local officials, they offered sacrifices at the Altar of the God of Soil and Grain and the Altar of Mountains and Rivers outside the city.

Both buildings are located not far outside the city and are very new.

According to Sun Dexiu, Yunyang Prefecture did not exist originally; it was recently rebuilt in three months due to the rushed construction period, resulting in a somewhat rudimentary structure.

Despite the sweltering heat, Lu Chen wore a thick princely robe and performed the Three Offerings Ceremony under the guidance of the master of ceremonies.

Local officials, accompanied by local elders, accompanied the sacrificial procession and performed the grand kneeling ceremony.

The sacrificial text was prepared in advance by the Hanlin Academy, proclaiming "King Ying respectfully receives the imperial decree and arrives at the capital to offer sacrifices."

Only after offering sacrifices at the Altar of the God of Soil and Grain and the Altar of Mountains and Rivers could one be considered to have formally accepted the vassal state and become the nominal ruler of a country.

According to the etiquette of a prince's "country", the next step would be to enter the palace and ascend the throne. The prince would sit in the Chengyun Hall of the prince's residence to formally receive local civil and military officials and host a banquet.

However, since the site for the Prince of Ying's residence had not yet been selected, this step had to be abandoned for the time being.

Lu Chen could only hold a banquet at the temporary palace outside the city, where he dined with local officials from Yunyang Prefecture.

This temporary palace looked strangely familiar to Lu Chen.

Upon inquiry, it turned out that the buildings were constructed using materials that had just been transported from the temporary palaces built during Emperor Jiajing's southern tour. They were all modular, simple, all-wood structures.

Once this thing catches fire, it burns an entire area at once; I've already witnessed that firsthand in Weihui.

Lu Chen had no choice but to summon the officials of the Prince's Palace again and repeatedly remind them of the fire prevention matters.

. . .

It is located 20 kilometers west of Yunyang Prefecture City, upstream of the Du River.

"Your Highness, this flat area in the mountains is Huanglongtan."

Feng Yue, a senior official in the Ministry of Works' Construction and Repair Department, pointed to a large area ahead and introduced it to Lu Chen.

This official, a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Works, was the chief supervisor of the construction project for the Prince of Ying's Palace, which was ordered by imperial decree.

Lu Chen looked around and saw that it was indeed a rare flat area in the mountains. The Jiang River came from the west and flowed into the Du River at Huanglongtan.

"I have already taken men to measure it. This flat land is more than seven li long from east to west, and more than two li wide at its widest point."

Feng Yue was not an official under the Prince of Ying's court and therefore could not address Lu Chen as a subject.

"The town near the river mouth is called Huanglongdian. It has more than a thousand permanent residents. It is an important wharf between Yunyang Prefecture and Zhushan County upstream on the Du River. There are also many temporary visitors. It is a fairly prosperous market town."

The Yunxian County government also set up a patrol inspection office here, with a patrol inspector of the ninth rank.

The area around the river mouth is low-lying. I asked the locals, and they said that the town gets flooded whenever there is a heavy rain.

Although the terrain is flat, it is not suitable for building a royal palace.

The location I selected last time, the most suitable site for the Prince's Palace, is Jiuqingping, about five or six miles upstream of the Jiang River.

That area is now all farmland, unlike Huanglongdian where so many people live permanently. The terrain is also higher. When the Prince's Palace was built, drainage was properly constructed, so I can guarantee there will be no worry about flooding.