In the camp of the King of Han's army, the boring and repetitive noise of sawing wood continued. The soldiers carrying the wood also shouted "Hey Yo" in a very orderly and rhythmic manner. People were cutting and carrying wood, building Huihui cannons and ladders, and there was a busy scene everywhere.
The generals of the guards who knew the inside story of the army had advised Zhu Gaoxu not to make weapons. But Zhu Gaoxu replied: If we besiege the city but do not build siege tools, it would be like telling Guo Zi that we are determined to seize the city by relying on internal forces!
Before Mu Sheng's army reached the west of the city, Zhu Gaoxu's troops had already surrounded Chengdu on all sides. He sent troops up every day to attack the city walls with long-range weapons such as bows and crossbows, copper fire guns, and bowl-mouth guns.
Nearly a hundred steps away from the city wall, rows of soldiers stood in line with torches and charcoal in front of th
The warm winter sun shines on the pavilions and pavilions of the capital, but the sky above the imperial city seems to be filled with haze.The news of Xue Lu's defeat has been relayed to the imperial envoy. Of course, the imperial court will not make any big announcement about this kind of thing. From the palace to the Qianbu Corridor, everything is shrouded in strange silence.Emperor Zhu Gaochi had only heard bad news in the past two days. Only one thing reported by the imperial physician gave him some comfort. Zhang Fu's eldest daughter, Zhang Miaohua, who was more than ten years old and the newly appointed imperial concubine, had just been diagnosed by the imperial physician as pregnant a few months after entering the palace!Zhu Gaochi took the opportunity to put aside the military and national affairs that were worrying him and immediately returned to the harem to visit Zhang Miaohua.There were many people in the imperial concubine's palace, in
After all the government offices closed at the You hour, the capital city was still bustling with activity and the market was prosperous.Gao Xianning, the Imperial Academy student, came out of Hongwu Gate and rode a donkey to the southwest alone. He also sent his servants home.Gao Xianning lived in the mansion given to him by Emperor Taizong, but he did not take this route home. He did not want to go home today, but to go to the Qinhuai River near Jubao Gate; every ten days or half a month, he would go there and take a look at the scenery along the way.The jade shop that the King of Han secretly purchased was located between Jubao Gate and Qinhuai River.The jade shop was closed most of the time, and Gao Xianning might not go in once or twice a year. He usually walked here frequently, and was afraid that someone would notice such a strange detail; so Gao Xianning usually went to another place after passing by Jade Street.There is also a very
On the charred ruins of Taipingchang, many people came out of their makeshift huts and gathered around a group of donkey carts and wheelbarrows coming up the road. There was a flag in front of the convoy that read: Chengdu Treasury.People were making a lot of noise and talking among themselves standing on the side of the road."It's easy to hand in grain, but they're so stingy when it comes to receiving it! They say it's eight months' rations, but each person only gets one stone of rice. How can it last for eight months? Before, we got only five cents for rent for a house!" A woman complained.The old man with his hands tucked into his sleeves laughed and said, "Li family, it's good that the army didn't rob you when they entered Sichuan. Don't complain that it's too little if they can give you money and food. You don't know, if we count back 30 years, the Chengdu government was in chaos. You want to take money and food from the government? You think it's ea
Zhu Gaoxu wanted to lead the army to march as soon as possible, which seemed a bit hasty; but in order to seize the opportunity, he had to abandon the perfect preparations.At this time, nothing was more important than military action, and many seemingly important matters could be put aside. But before Zhu Gaoxu left, he still had to meet the King of Shu, which could not be omitted. After all, the King of Shu was the son of Emperor Taizu, who had been in charge of the Sichuan Provincial Administration for many years; and his grandfather was Chuyang King Guo Zixing, who had a great reputation.Zhu Gaoxu was looking for a seemingly natural excuse to meet the King of Shu. Unexpectedly, the King of Shu sent a letter of invitation first. Zhu Gaoxu opened it and took a look. The King of Shu said that the emperor's nephew is coming to Chengdu, and his uncle will prepare a family banquet tomorrow to show the friendship of the landlord. There are not many people invited, o
The feast was filled with delicacies, rich and exquisite calligraphy and paintings, and the conversations of several nobles present. Zhu Gaoxu was distracted by many things. He didn't notice anything strange at all!Mu Sheng frowned and said, "This play, Hibiscus City, written by Shi Hui, is sung in southern tunes. The old woman at the beginning used the Yiyang tune of Jiangxi, but the Hua Dan just now sang a line with the Kunshan tune. The King of Shu is a noble royal family, and the opera troupe he keeps at home should not be so crude."Zhu Gaoxu looked at the stage and said casually: "I don't hear the difference."Mu Sheng made a gesture and turned the music into gestures, "Kunshan accent is originally a majestic tone. She deliberately sang in Yiyang accent and sculpted it to cover up the past with graceful and delicate sounds. However, Kunshan accent is like grinding and chanting back and forth. Here she Couldn’t change it.”Zhu Gaoxu was confused.
In the east warm room of the imperial palace in the capital, after Xu Huizu walked past the partition, the servants inside went out, and the only eunuch left was Hai Tao.The East Warm Pavilion has gone through the Hongwu, Jianwen, and Yongle dynasties, and has not changed much in its layout until the Hongxi dynasty, but the furnishings inside have changed a lot recently. The flesh of Emperor Zhu Gaochi is lying on a large chair covered with several layers of fur made of golden nanmu. On the wall behind him hangs a map of the territory of the Ming Dynasty, like a large screen.On the imperial desk covered with silk, a stack of memorials were placed far away; only one was placed in front of Zhu Gaochi, who seemed to have read it over and over again...Before Gao Xu started his rebellion, there was a spy who reported that Gao Xu was going to attack Annan. When Xu Huizu heard this, he immediately said that the report was false and asserted that Gao Xu would eit
After Youshi, He Fu left the simple and elegant Fifth Army Governor's Mansion and walked out of the imperial city through Hongwu Gate.There was no snow in the capital at the end of winter, but the cold was approaching. Under the gloomy sky, everything seemed calm. But He Fu has already seen big things happening, and even feels that there are undercurrents surging in invisible places.Returning to the Hou Mansion west of the imperial city, He Fu met his wife Xu. Xu whispered, "My niece is here. My younger brother Xu Zhang's daughter has been crying all afternoon.""What is she here for?" He Fu frowned."You were divorced by King Zhao. If you feel wronged at home, come to me to complain." Mrs. Xu said.Xu was a widow before marrying He Fu. Her younger brother Xu Zhang was once a general guarding the Yan Palace.The daughter of Xu Zhang, a military commander of the Prince of Yan, married Zhu Gaosui, the Prince of Zhao, at the beginning of the
One night later, a servant of Geng Tong, a member of the Criminal Department, found a beautiful envelope wrapped in red paper at the door of his house. The brightly colored thing was easily noticed.The servant opened the paper package and saw an envelope with the words: "This is a matter of great importance. Please open it in person, Officer Geng." The servant did not dare to keep it in his hands and hurried to the inner house gate, saying that he had something important to discuss with his master.Geng Tong, who had just gotten up and was still wearing his underwear, put on a cotton shirt and summoned his servant. Geng Tong took the unopened letter, looked through it, tore open the seal, and took out the letter to read.This was a letter of denunciation. The person being denounced was Guo Ming, the son of Wuding Marquis Guo Ying, the father of the current imperial concubine Guo Yan and the father-in-law of the King of Han.The letter said that Guo Mi