A few days after the surviving Tatars followed the Ming army through Jiayuguan, they arrived at Suzhou Wei, which was directly ruled by the Ming Dynasty.
This is a good place, with clear streams, open grasslands with abundant water and grass, continuous farmland, majestic city walls, and cattle and sheep on the plains. The autumn weather is clear and the scenery is pleasant.
Prime Minister Tuohuochi followed the crowd into the Acropolis and ate mutton noodles in the city.
During the heyday of the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols loved this kind of food. But after they retreated to the grasslands, noodles became a rare treat that only the nobility could enjoy. Ordinary Mongols could not get flour at all, so their diet changed. On the contrary, the Han people on the Hexi Corridor still loved to eat noodles.
Everyone was very happy in the dining room. There weren't too many people in the room, but the atmosphere was very lively. People were talking excitedly and
The troops escorting the emperor stayed on the south bank of the river and only started crossing the river in September.The flood season of the river is between summer and autumn, when the water is very turbulent and it is extremely difficult for a large group of people to cross the river smoothly. However, after autumn, until the spring of the following year, the water flow will continue to decrease, and the river water level may be less than 20% of the flood season at the lowest. This is also the reason why the Central Plains dynasty could not rely on the river to stop the invasion of the northern enemy. In comparison, the natural barrier of the Yangtze River is more stable.After crossing the river, the people headed north along the eastern foot of Taihang Mountain, and everything went smoothly along the way.Eight days later, the army arrived outside Zhangde Prefecture. Each unit crossed the river one after another from a stone arch bridge. Zhu Gaoxu lo
At noon, the banquet started as scheduled in Chengyun Hall. Zhu Gaoxu, the two imperial concubines, as well as ministers, nobles, officials and guests from Zhangde Prefecture, gathered in the hall. There were also musicians singing and dancing to entertain.The Ming Dynasty attached great importance to etiquette, and this kind of banquet had rules. The rules were very detailed, from the music, songs and dances to the lines and movements of people, everything was fixed. It was not just the people singing and dancing who were performing, in fact everyone was performing. Almost all the programs revolved around one theme, which was to flatter the "current emperor", that is, Zhu Gaoxu, who was sitting directly above.There was a play performed by an old man and a child. The old and the child played the roles of villagers, but Zhu Gaoxu did not understand part of the lyrics. When the old man sang loudly, "Now the emperor respects the heaven and follows the ancestors, an
After Princess Webster left, the few people gathered also dispersed. Mrs. Xu still followed Duan Xuehen to the wing where the two of them lived.The two of them walked across the threshold in silence. Duan Xuehen suddenly turned around and said, "Don't listen to Princess Zhao complaining just now, but her position is very secure. You can't compare to her, so there is no need to miss Prince Zhao."Xu said, "I don't want to compare with Wei Shi, and I can't hope to be Princess Zhao again."Her expression was very complicated. Duan Xue hated to see her. She was usually very thoughtful and liked to inquire about all kinds of things. But when she faced her own affairs, she seemed very confused.Duan Xuehen said unceremoniously, "In that case, what do you want to do when you come to Prince Zhao's Mansion? You are a useless princess and can't be the official concubine, so it is impossible for you to be Prince Zhao's wife."Xu looked at Duan Xuehen aggri
Two days had passed since the Tatars joined the Ming Emperor's team.The weather was clear, and the red morning sun was rising above the flat horizon. On the road in the distance, the people in the front had formed a large team and were heading towards the rising sun. Ashari watched for a while and could see that people had to go east today.They said they were passing through the Ming Empire, but after the Tatars came here, it seemed that it was not so easy to escape and head north. All kinds of worries and fantasies were accumulating in Asari's mind.The two sides once fought side by side, and the Han people also fought bloody battles to protect Asari and others; but when the situation changed slightly, the Han people became the biggest threat to everyone.At this moment, Ashari suddenly found that there were two men watching her son. One of them was wearing a colorful brocade robe, a black hat, and a single sword on his waist; the other was wearing
The Tatars from Hami Guard had been in the army for several days. However, this Tatar Khan's concubine was the first time Zhu Gaoxu saw her in person.According to the classification after the Yuan Dynasty, she was a Semites, that is, "people of various names and colors" from the Western Regions and the west, different from ordinary Mongolians; because the Yuan Dynasty valued Semites, it is not surprising that these people could gain a foothold on the grassland.In Zhu Gaoxu's eyes, she was a white person similar to the Arab race in Central Asia, with slightly curly dark brown almost black hair and black eyes, but her facial skin was very different from that of everyone else. She looked very young and plump, and was considered good-looking among the Semu people. However, in Zhu Gaoxu's opinion, Semu women looked good when they were young, but they aged quickly.The large group of people and horses marched along the road, surrounded by vast plains. In the aut
When the crying in the hall stopped for a while, Zhu Gaoxu talked to the man in gray short coat at the next table and asked if there was anyone with the surname Tang nearby. The man immediately responded, saying that there was a place called Xiguan to the west, close to the lake, where many people with the surname Tang lived.Zhu Gaoxu immediately became interested and asked directly if he knew a woman named Tang Sai'er. The man didn't know, but he kindly suggested that there was a matchmaker in Xiguan who knew many young women and men, and he could go and ask the matchmaker; asking her would be better than asking the head of the village, because the head of the village usually only knew the men in his jurisdiction.Duan Xuehen seemed a little curious about Zhu Gaoxu's question about a named woman, so she turned to look at him, but she didn't say anything. When the villagers brought the food one after another, Duan Xuehen ate it first and then put it into the bowl
Led by the village head, Zhu Gaoxu and a group of more than ten people arrived at the place and saw a group of people gathered outside a courtyard, surrounding an old man in a long robe.This should be Tang Sai'er's home. The roof of the courtyard was covered with tiles. As expected, her family did not seem to be very poor. Because along the way, Zhu Gaoxu saw thatched houses in some villages occasionally.Zhu Gaoxu and his companions dismounted and walked over. The old man in the long robe knelt on the ground with a few others and bowed, saying, "My surname is Tang, and I am an elder from this village. Your Excellency is passing through Bi's village, and I am sorry for not welcoming you in person. May I ask your name?"However, the villagers who were watching did not salute or kneel, but stood around, watching the conversation between the village elder and the official as if they were watching a play. Asari, who was traveling with them, was a Semu person, a
Asari observed Zhu Gaoxu who was lost in thought. When he fell silent, the whole room fell silent, and Asari thought of the windless lake.Recently, she saw the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty with her own eyes, and she felt very different from before. Asari originally thought that Emperor Zhu Gaoxu was a brave, violent, and cunning person; because of Zhu Gaoxu's personal expedition to the north and the rescue of them this time, she inevitably had such an impression.However, her feelings over the past two days were completely the opposite. Zhu Gaoxu's bravery seemed to be only reflected in his sturdy and strong appearance.Perhaps because of this, Zhu Gaoxu, the emperor of an enemy country, made her feel at ease, and her previous worries gradually diminished. She only felt that Zhu Gaoxu was a kind, gentle and compassionate man.Asari took the initiative and said , "His Majesty the Emperor may want me to reveal some inside information, but I really don't