The weather in Thang Long City was clear and windless. The colorful clouds floated in the sky like brocade, and the motionless clouds looked like a painting.
Queen Mother Tran stood on the tower of the palace, looking at the vast Thang Long City. Outside the moat was a flat area. Apart from the palace, most of the houses in the city were relatively low and densely packed. From a distance, it seemed as if they covered the entire land.
The troops of the Ming army were entering the city, and the long dragons and flags moving on the street were faintly visible. Queen Mother Chen could not see Zhang Fu's car, nor could she clearly see the people over there.
But she was still here watching, her expression changing repeatedly and subtly.
"Your Majesty, do you want to summon the Marquis of Xincheng?" Ruan Zhi, the prefect of Sheng Long, bowed to the side.
Queen Mother Chen turned around and said, "What did you say? Ask him why he used the king as bait?"<
Ruan Lanfang sat blankly in the small room. Before, she could think over and over again and consider many things, but now her mind seemed to be in a mess and she could no longer sort out her thoughts."Ding!" The door unlocked again. She came back to her senses and looked at the door. After a while, the door opened and a group of people stood at the door. There was a beardless Annan eunuch, some armored soldiers, and some Annan soldiers.Two Ming army soldiers came in with shackles. The eunuch shook his head and said in awkward Chinese, "No need." So the man holding the shackles stood aside and did not come forward.The eunuch turned around, looked at Ruan Lanfang, and said in Annan dialect, "Miss Ruan, follow me."A group of people took her out of the gate of the Governor's Mansion and let her get on a carriage. They actually went all the way to the palace, and Ruan Lanfang was very confused.After a long time, she got off the carriage in the pa
By the twelfth month, the temperature in the Ming capital was very low, completely different from the climate in Annan.The first snow fell suddenly, but it was very light. White flakes drifted in the breeze, fell on the brick floor, and melted quickly. The ground in the palace was very damp, as if it had rained a little.Zhu Gaoxu had stayed in Beiping for a long time. Compared with the winter in Beiping, the damp and cold weather in the capital was milder. In this season, if you were in Beiping, you would not be able to survive if you wore a little too thin. In the capital, the temperature inside and outside the house seemed to be the same, unless you burned charcoal for heating.The eunuchs and palace maids opened the door of Rouyi Palace, and when Zhu Gaoxu walked in, they immediately closed the door.At this moment, a voice said, "I will go and light the fire right away."Zhu Gaoxu looked over and saw Lian, who showed a little surprise in he
In February of the fourth year of Wude (1413 AD), Zhu Gaoxu had a son and a daughter. Concubine Shu gave birth to a prince, named Zhantan, and Concubine Xian gave birth to a princess, named Shouyan.Not long after, Zhang Fu also brought the prisoners to Beijing.Originally, the troops coming from the south could reach the imperial city the fastest if they took the Zhengyang Gate. However, the court arranged a route for Zhang Fu along Fengtai Gate, Jubao Gate, and Hongwu Gate Avenue, because Jubao Gate was the commercial district of the capital and the most densely populated area, and along the way they could show the court's military prowess to the common people.The Ministry of War and the Five Military Commanderies each sent a civil servant and a nobleman to greet him, and they were also supported by infantry and cavalry from the Beijing camp, and a grand ceremony was arranged for Zhang Fu.Each city gate was specially built to beat drums for the sur
The words of Zhang Shun, an official of the Guarding Department, were not recognized by the emperor and his ministers, but his narration of what he saw and heard still played a role. Zhu Gaoxu prepared to summon Luo Pan, the envoy of Champa, to have a face-to-face talk.The Ming Dynasty had a relatively clear concept of hierarchy. The emperor received foreign envoys with formal etiquette, usually when the king of a foreign country visited. If the person who came was an envoy like Luo Pan, then the person responsible for receiving him was the court minister.Therefore, Zhu Gaoxu chose to meet Luo Pan in Rouyi Palace, his residence.In the morning, he left Fengtian Gate and came to Rouyi Hall from Wu Tower. At this time, the person he wanted to see had not arrived yet. Perhaps the official in charge of the matter had some dispute with Luo Pan over the details, which delayed the process a little.However, Zhu Gaoxu's Japanese concubine Qiuyue Xiangori cam
When Qi Tai came out of Rouyi Hall, he said goodbye to the foreign envoys and others, and prepared to go to the cabinet in Wuying Hall in the south.At this time, he saw his colleague Qian Xun, watching from a distance. Qian Xun seemed to have something to do, but he did not come directly to the door of Rouyi Hall, or he hesitated. So Qi Tai walked over by himself. When he saw Qian Xun, they bowed to each other.Qian Xun is a civil servant in his thirties, of medium build and ordinary appearance, the kind of person who is easily overlooked. He was able to reach his current position entirely because he was born as the chief historian of the Han Palace.After exchanging a few pleasantries, Qian Xun, who looked worried, sighed, as if to start a conversation that was not so pleasant. Qian Xun did not waste time, and went straight to the point, "I am still short of money. I thought about asking for an audience with His Majesty, but I was a little hesitant because
Qi Tai finished his work for the day and returned home early in the afternoon.He sat on a wicker chair in his study for a long time, drinking tea. There was an Imperial College student studying for him next to him. He was reading "Tongjian", and the edition was Jingyou's version of the Southern Song Dynasty. He has read this book a long time ago, but sometimes he wants to review it but doesn't want to strain his eyes; so he will find someone to read it and just sit and listen.There are often scholars and officials coming and going in the Qi Mansion. Those scholars who have no status yet, if they can wait and study in front of Qi Tai, it is simply a job they dream of. The prison student chosen by Qi Tai has a good voice, reads with a clear accent, and sounds very comfortable.Sometimes, Qi Tai would also listen to some popular books, such as "Song Jiang", a book about counter-revolt written by the modern scholar Shi Naian, which Qi Tai found very interestin
It’s been a while since I visited Eun Hui. Zhu Gaoxu asked the eunuch Cao Fu to arrange everything early in the morning, and ordered Zhang Sheng, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, to deploy guards and go to inform Enhui.Today, Zhu Gaoxu felt that his mood had changed, as if the spring breeze was blowing on the water, creating some ripples. He likes to travel with a purpose and a goal, knowing roughly what he wants to do. Perhaps this is also a kind of impetuosity.In the morning, Zhu Gaoxu went about his business step by step, only secretly looking forward to his trip in the afternoon. After he left Fengtian Gate, he went to the East Nuan Pavilion of Qianqing Palace; this was because every time he left the palace privately, he always took the Xuanwu Gate to the north. There are mostly government offices in the south, and civil and military officials often use Xihua Gate and Donghua Gate to enter the palace. Few court ministers enter and exit through the north ga
Before Youshi, Zhu Gaoxu returned to the palace. He arrived at Qianqing Palace first, turned his head on his shoulder and took a few deep breaths, but he didn't smell any fragrance.But it is said that women are very sensitive to smells. Zhu Gaoxu was going to Kunning Palace tonight, and he was afraid that Guo Wei would smell it and cause trouble for her. Besides, the dirty lining must be changed, so Zhu Gaoxu asked the maid on duty to prepare hot water for bathing and changing clothes first.In the evening, he went to Kunning Palace as if nothing had happened, as if he had not looked for anyone else that day.Guo Wei seemed not to notice, and continued to chat with Zhu Gaoxu about trivial matters, mostly about how she took care of Yao Ji and Du Qianrui. This was because the two concubines had just given birth and were in confinement.Zhu Gaoxu sat in a chair, just waiting for dinner, and he couldn't help but praise Guo Wei from time to time, saying th