Han Shizu

Chapter 2009
As the sun sets over the Western Mountains, the sky is filled with brilliant clouds and brilliant clouds, adding another touch of splendor to this majestic and magnificent city.

Jishanfang and Leping Duke's Mansion are in a busy situation that is different from usual times. Everyone in the mansion, especially the servants in the inner courtyard, are taking the time to pack their bags and pack them carefully.

As the mistress of the palace, Princess Liu Jia of Jincheng went to the palace personally, supervising and supervising the servants. They could not help but inquire carefully about everything from gold, silver and jade to ear picks.

Under the supervision of Her Royal Highness, everyone kept up with the pace like clockwork. Since there were too many things to carry, the scene seemed hectic, adding a sense of urgency.

Of course, as a woman, especially a middle-aged woman whose time is passing, what she cares about most is clothes, skirts, rouge and gouache.Along with Liu Jia, there was also a pretty and lovely girl, Li Zhaohui, his youngest daughter from Li Jilong. She was not yet fourteen years old, but she had obviously inherited the good genes of the Tian family and was a real beauty.

Standing next to him was an older boy named Li Zhaoqing, who was also the princess's biological son and the second son of Li Jilong.Being a prince-in-law is not easy, at least compared to the hordes of wives and concubines in other princes' homes, Li Jilong can only be loyal and respectful to the princess.

Seeing the mother and daughter picking things like mother-in-law, this one doesn't work, that one doesn't fit. Li Zhaoqing couldn't help complaining: "Mom, do you want to empty out the inner courtyard? How many carriages will it take to load so many things?" , if the palace doesn’t have a large enough courtyard for you to place it, wouldn’t it be embarrassing?”

After hearing what he said, Liu Jia, who was in high spirits, suddenly became unhappy. He turned to glare at Li Zhaoqing and said angrily: "Nonsense! Taikang Palace has dozens of palaces and hundreds of other courtyards, but it still can't accommodate this little thing?"

After saying that, he scolded: "You are still wandering around here. Go pack your things quickly. We will set off tomorrow!"

"It's different. With a sword, a horse, and a suitcase, you can travel across the rivers and lakes, coming and going like the wind. You don't need to spend three days packing!" Li Zhaoqing said with his head held high.

Seeing his frivolous attitude, Liu Jiafeng frowned and lectured: "I think you are asking for a beating! How many times have I reminded you? Don't listen to the stories of the market storytellers. They are all fabrications about being a knight in the world and enjoying grudges. Yes, it also violates the imperial law. Your identity is destined to miss it."

"You go ahead! Resign, son!" Seeing that the princess was in preaching mode again, Li Zhaoqing suddenly had a big head and looked like he couldn't afford to be offended. He bowed and went out.

Seeing this, the princess couldn't help but immediately shouted: "Stop!"

"I'm going to see how the luggage is packed!" The young man's movements were always quick and swift, and he disappeared without a trace, leaving only one sentence and the angry Princess.

On the side, the young lady Li Zhaohui saw it and couldn't help but cover her mouth and said with a smile: "Mom, you have to tell the second brother that if you don't take him out this time and keep him at home, he will definitely become honest quickly!"

Hearing this, the princess also smiled, shook her head and said: "If you don't take him with you? Then he won't cause a quarrel in the house? Your father is busy with official duties and has no one to discipline him. Wouldn't he be even more unruly? How can I do what he wants!"

Summer has arrived, but the princess, mother and son are preparing to go south to escape the summer heat. The destination is naturally the Jigong Mountain Palace, which has been built for nearly two years and will be completed this spring.

The construction of the palace cost a lot of money. Although it was nominally financed by internal funds and the work was done by the young government, without using a single penny from the state, this was of course just an excuse to cover up the scandal.Compared with money, the resources invested by the country, especially the human resources, are the most precious. However, many things are not easy to put on the table.The construction of the palace can be said to be the greatest spectacle created by the old emperor for his personal enjoyment. Compared with it, the Qionglin Garden, Shangyang Palace, and the Dragon Boat and Phoenix Palace all pale into insignificance.

The amount of gunpowder used to open mountains and build roads alone amounts to 20 kilograms. This is a strategic military resource that is extremely difficult for the private sector to obtain and cannot be measured at market prices.They were all transported directly from the warehouses in Liangjing and several gunpowder magazines were evacuated.

The Shaofu also had a dispute with the Ministry of War over the use of gunpowder. The main reason was that Liu Gui's servant wanted to default on the debt and intended to rely on the authority of the old emperor to take advantage of the Ministry of War on the grounds of palace construction.

Liu Gui's name has "gui", and he has established a set of strict administrative and financial management systems within the Shaofu. However, when dealing with the outside world, he does not follow the rules very much and emphasizes "flexibility".As a little expert in financial management, he was particularly good at poaching corners of the imperial court.

During the construction of the palace, both the central department and the local yamen took advantage of him, leaving him alone to suffer at the Ministry of War.

It's not that the yamen of the Ministry of War is special, but the person in charge of the Ministry of War, Gao Qiong, is special.After Yang Ye was transferred to the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the position of Minister of War was vacated. This was one of the two major military and political institutions of the imperial court with real power. The position with the title of "prime minister" was fixed, which naturally led to a fight between dragons and tigers. The ministers and nobles made efforts to Even the common people's bureaucracy showed signs of involvement.

However, it was Gao Qiong who was finally killed, then the deputy commander of the Ouchi Army.In the military, Gao Qiong's qualifications are sufficient, but compared with those military aristocrats with deep roots, his strength is much weaker. This may also be an important factor in his ability to stand out.

The old emperor always implemented the principle of "balance", which was reflected in all aspects of the Han Dynasty. While relying on military nobles, he also continued to promote generals from humble families.Although this method is used, the old emperor is a little tired of it now.
There is no doubt about Gao Qiong's ability. Although he is not literate in arts and sciences, he has a flexible mind, a well-organized knowledge, and a strong ability to do things, especially to get things done. After becoming the Minister of the Ministry of War, military and political affairs were handled in an orderly manner without any lag. Se, this is another impressive person.

At the same time, Gao Qiong could not be regarded as a rule-abiding person. He was even a bit unscrupulous and realized that Liu Gui wanted to steal from the Ministry of War.The method was also quite extreme. He directly led the crowd to block people, and Liu Gui pulled the old emperor's imperial flag. Gao Qiong was not afraid. He pulled Liu Gui and went to the old emperor for comment. He was so frightened that he reluctantly took out the money. After paying [-] yuan, it was settled.

At this point, Gao Qiong continued to complain about losing money, saying that he gave him a "discount" just for the sake of the young eunuch's face. Even Liu Gui was impressed by his shameless attitude.Of course, the matter eventually reached the ears of the old emperor, and the result was that Gao Qiong was rewarded with a brocade robe for his loyalty to his duties.Liu Gui was called and reprimanded, but that was all.

The consumption of gunpowder was huge, and wood, stone, and paint were transported to Jigong Mountain in batches. One can imagine the manpower required.In addition to all kinds of craftsmen, 10 laborers were recruited before and after the palace project. Even when the floods in the Huaihe River and Huaihe River flooded, at least 5000 people were still employed to continue the construction.

What is more critical and profound is the death and injury of craftsmen and civilian husbands. According to official data, 126 people were killed in various engineering accidents, but how many people actually died, the supervisors and officials from the Shaofu and the Ministry of Works who came to the site, and the places where civilian laborers were provided The government is very secretive.A rough estimate would be that based on official data, it would be ten times higher.As for the injured, it is even more difficult to count.

Naturally, the palace that was built at a huge cost must be enjoyed, otherwise so many people's financial and material resources would be wasted.So, at the beginning of summer, the old emperor issued an edict to visit the palace in Nanxing. Of course, the main content of the edict was that the emperor cared about the post-disaster recovery of the people in Huaihei and went to personally inspect and comfort the people. This also deceived the ignorant people and followed the old emperor's style of inspecting places in his early years. , I didn’t bring half of the harem and one-third of the imperial court.

The palace was originally named Taikang Palace. However, perhaps due to a guilty conscience, the old emperor was not very satisfied, because it was easily reminiscent of the "Taikang Era" of Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty, Sima Yan, and what was the so-called "Taikang Rule"? Anyone who has read a little bit of history will know this situation.

Therefore, the old emperor personally wrote the inscription: Taikang Palace.

(End of this chapter)