The weather is hot and dry, and the city of Beijing is like dried salted fish, with a bitter look everywhere.
Outside Zhengyang Gate, the theater street was as lively as ever, not any less lively.
"Master, Chang'an Theater has arrived——"
Zhu Cunqu was sitting in a human-powered carriage, feeling the energy of the person running fast, which was quite novel for a moment.
It's only been a year and a half since I left Beijing, and it's really strange that I have started a new business.
"Here, driver, how much do you pay?"
"It's a little more than four miles from Chongwen Gate to Zhengyang Gate. Just give it to the four elders!"
The eldest son is a copper circle.
The coachman wiped the sweat with the towel on his neck. His clothes were soaked through, his neck was red, and he had a complimentary smile on his face.
"How did your rickshaw become so popular?"
Zhu Cunqu said puzzledly.
Just two days after returning to Beijing, he started wandering around. Of course he knew the excitement in the court, but it was also necessary to understand the people's sentiments.
What could be more suitable than a crowded and noisy theater?
"This young master, you can tell from the first glance that you are not from Beijing. Although the carriages in the past looked majestic, they were expensive!"
The driver chuckled and said, "The city of Beijing is connected in all directions, but there are many small streets and alleys. Our rickshaw can reach places that the carriage cannot reach."
“Cheap and convenient.”
"There are only four big coins for four miles. If you hire a carriage, you won't be able to pay for it without a few cents. After all, the horse eats better than people."
Zhu Cunqu nodded slightly and got off the carriage.
Looking at the bustling streets, he sighed: "We haven't seen each other for a year, and there are more and more people in the capital."
"Sir, I heard that there are already 430 calligraphy shops in the four counties of the capital..."
At this time, several guards came running out of breath, and the leader whispered.
Zhu Cunqu was heartbroken.
Zipu is an urban grassroots structure that replaced the square system. It is based on a thousand-character inscription, and one-zipu is set up for every 100 households to carry out folk affairs such as fire prevention, burglary, and household registration.
In the early years of Shaowu, there were only about 300,000 people in the huge city of Beijing, and a thousand-character text was enough.
Later, as the number of people in the capital continued to increase, Xuanwu and Chongwen counties were also established. The total population of Beijing easily exceeded 500,000 and 800,000.
Immediately, a temporary residence permit system was introduced to prevent the capital’s population from expanding indefinitely.
And the writing shop has also been changed from controlling 100 households to 500 households.
Like the population of a small town.
The writing shop generally only has one room, one inspector, and several white servants. It is difficult for three or five people to handle a hundred households. If it expands to 500 households, it is already a huge pressure.
Officials have always tried to solve the problem, so they directly increased the number of white servants to deal with huge management problems.
In this way, according to Zhu Cuqu's knowledge, in Xuanwu County alone, the number of white servants exceeded 3,000, but the official difference was only about 80 people.
Four hundred and thirty shops, each with 500 households, means 215,000 households.
This is only the permanent population. There are also a large number of people traveling to Beijing, no less than one or two hundred thousand. The city of Beijing has easily exceeded one million, reaching at least one million and two hundred thousand.
These people need at least one million dan for food every month, which is an exaggeration.
"I heard that my father is thinking about a new system to replace or assist the calligraphy shop. I don't know what to do..."
Zhu Cunqu felt the pressure deeply.
Surrounded by people, they wandered around the theater and street.
It is indeed a theater street, with all kinds of pretense, and there are many chalks writing today's music on the blackboard.
"Guest sir, take a look. Tonight the little fairy sings "The Romance of the West Chamber" and the fairy descends to earth..."
"Qi Guan plays and sings Zhuge Liang, not to mention how enjoyable it is——"
"Zhao Qinian will talk about the Romance of the Three Kingdoms again, and Zhao Zilong will enter and exit seven times——"
The shouts with different accents are poured into the ears, just like singing in an opera. There are different flavors in the southern and northern tunes, so I don't feel bored.
The spectators were in small groups, no matter how bad they were, they were all in long gowns, carrying paper fans, shaking their heads and discussing the works. Only when they met something that suited their liking did they enter to watch.
Walking on this street, you can see the gentleness in sight. Apart from the rickshaw drivers and delivery guys, there are not even a few poor people watching the theater.
Scholars, gentry, businessmen, and even richly dressed servants are all regular visitors here.
"Didn't you say that the first floor of this theater is cheap?"
The first time he came to this kind of place, Zhu Cunqu felt that it was different from the legend.
"Sir, it's only the morning!" the guard on the side said hurriedly: "How many free people do poor people have during the day?"
"In the evening, those poor guys earned three melons and two dates before they decided to go see it. At this time, they are still busy paying for the evening tickets!"
"That's the truth."
Zhu Cunqu smiled.
At this time, the guard on the side held an umbrella to block him from the sun.
As we walked, the largest and most beautiful theater building appeared in front of us:
"Chang'an Theater?"
"Is this what the King of Liao set up?"
"Yes, the King of Liao went to the Liao Kingdom to establish a vassal state a few months ago and took away most of the actors in the Chang'an Theater. But even so, the Chang'an Theater is still a first-class existence."
"For example, the female consort, Xue Pinggui and Wang Baochuan, all have their classic repertoire. They are excellent in singing, chanting, and playing, and they are well-known."
Hearing the guard's high praise, Zhu Cunqu smiled and said: "That's all, let's go and take a look!"
He was in the Northeast that day and did not personally see the fourth child off to feudal lordship. Today, when I walked around his theater, I was able to see things and think about people.
Exquisite, bright, full of charm, full of book fragrance, and quiet in the bustle.
As soon as I entered the building, I heard the unforgettable flower drum playing and singing:
"Gongs in the left hand and drums in the right hand
Singing with gongs and drums in hand
I can’t sing other songs either
Shan can sing a Fengyang song
De'er's clang is fluttering
De'er's clang is fluttering
It's so good that it's so good..."
Two women and one man, one plays, one sings, and one drums and dances.
The posture is graceful, although not as grand as the palace, but it has a unique folk beauty.
The melody is vivid and unforgettable.
Zhu Cunqu took a look and saw the four characters Fengyang Huagu written on the sign next to him.
It dawned on him and he slowly climbed up the stairs.
As one of the three capitals of the Ming Dynasty, Fengyang's status is self-evident. Even though it is no longer a capital, the majestic Fengyang high walls can scare many clan members to death.
Theoretically, his ancestral home is also Fengyang.
"Not bad." Zhu Cunqu praised.
The guy who led the way saw that this man was dressed in an extraordinary way and hurriedly led him to the third floor: "This young man has a good ear. He was specially invited from Fengyang Mansion to play the flower drum in Fengyang. In the huge city of Beijing, our Chang'an Theater is the most musical. "
"To be disrespectful, you won't hear this smell even in the palace..."
After saying that, he opened a private room and took thirty silver coins.
"You can stay in this box all day. We have everything. We have listened to Hua Gu, and there are also Suzhou Pingtan, Yiyang, Yuyao, and Kun Opera in the south. If you don't like it, there are also Qin Opera, Bangzi, puppet show, and shadow puppets in the north. Storytelling, everything.”
"Such as The Romance of the West Chamber, The Purple Hairpin, The Injustice of Dou E, Wen Ji Entering the Fortress, etc. You can order them."
"Hey, as long as you pay, you can watch what you want."
"Oh? How much does it cost to order a song?"
"Not much, just fifty silver dollars." The waiter complimented, "For a rich man like you, it's just the price of a meal."
Zhu Cunqu chuckled: "Go down!"
The guy reluctantly left.
Well, fifty silver yuan is enough to buy a house in the capital, and it is enough for a middle-class family to live in the capital for a year.
It was obvious that he was bullying those shameless noble men.
As soon as they sat down, the waiter brought a flower basket: "Master Zhao sent a flower basket, and his singing was beautiful, and he sang three feet around the beam -"
The three people on the window sill naturally bowed and thanked them.
"How much does this flower basket cost?"
"Master, I heard it's ten silver coins." The guard whispered.
"It's really..." Zhu Cunqu shook his head. These young men were really having fun.
Immediately, Fengyang Flower Drum came to an end and the three of them thanked and left.
At this time, the curtain opened.
The announcer said loudly: "Today's new play is Rakshasa Haishi."
Not long after, I heard a reading: Ma Ji, courtesy name Long Media, Jia Renzi. Beautiful and graceful. The young man is suave and likes to sing and dance. The children from the Liyuan often wear brocade handkerchiefs wrapped around their heads, and they are as beautiful as good girls, so they are called "handsome people" again...
Afterwards, the curtain lifted, and a handsome man stood on the boat, showing that he was sailing on the sea.
What surprised Zhu Cunqu was that there was actually the sound of waves in the sidelines, and the half of the bow of the ship was also copied so closely that it was almost blurry to the human eye, as if he was really at sea.
After that, the Rakshasa Kingdom arrived...
The topsy-turvy country, where ugliness is beautiful, is astonishing.
Many people find the novel story very enjoyable, but Zhu Cunqu realizes the irony in it:
The world is turbid, the red dust is billowing, fish and dragons are mixed, and there are countless confusions between right and wrong.
Although this is novel, it is actually ironic.
A Rakshasa Sea lasted for an hour. Most of them used the ordinary Yiyang accent, but the arias were not much. Only the path and makeup were extremely realistic.
It profoundly explains the ugly image of the Rakshasa Kingdom, and it is so lifelike that people unconsciously believe that there really is such a country.
But Zhu Cunqu understood that the Rakshasa Kingdom really existed. It was thousands of miles away and had a tall nose and deep eyes. It was not so strange and ugly.
"Rakshasa Haishi, okay, it's really well written."
Zhu Cunqu clapped his hands and cheered: "Go and call the editor over."
"yes!"
Pu Songling, who was also watching the debut of his own work on the stage, was standing on the second floor, his heart was not moving after several discs of snacks, and he was staring blankly.
After the performance was over, he looked around and saw the audience discussing happily, still nostalgic for the novel Rakshasa Sea City.
But just like ordinary mythological dramas, there is only curiosity and no thinking.
This is inconsistent with his original intention.
Maybe it’s not comparable to the Chang’an Theater?
Being able to perform is already considered good. In the huge city of Beijing, only the Chang'an Theater likes novelty things the most. It dares to be the first in the world and perform new plays that have never been performed by others.
Other theaters will only sing old plays, which is safe, but not friendly to newcomers.
Just when he was stunned, the waiter came over and said, "Mr. Pu, the distinguished guest on the third floor wants to see you. The exposed fingertips are enough for us to eat for three years."
"Yes!" Pu Songling was stunned, but he lost the reserve of a scholar.
Failure to pass the provincial examination for several consecutive times completely eroded his pride, and it became necessary to support his family.
The story he had written before was brought to the capital by a friend and sold for a good price. Then he came to Beijing from Shandong to find a way out.
In his view, Shao Wu's reform of the imperial examination and the elimination of the eight-legged essay from the provincial examination were completely unreasonable. Ten years of hard work in the cold window were in vain, and he had to study again.
This is what caused his failure.
There are no private rooms on the second floor, and the tables are arranged in an orderly manner, with broad beans and melon seeds at most. However, there are private rooms on the third floor, and the pastries are exquisite.
"Are you the author of Rakshasa Sea City?"
"I, Pu Songling, do this to make a living."
"Very good." Zhu Cuqu said with a smile: "This play is really well written. The world is turbid. There are countless people who refer to deer as horses and confuse right and wrong. Although this Rakshasa Sea is in the book, it is all over the world."
"The gentleman's satire on the present is truly the pinnacle of his work."
Pu Songling was overjoyed that he finally had someone who knew how to appreciate him.
After learning that Pu Songling was from Shandong and failed in the provincial examination, Zhu Yi breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "I am missing some luck in the provincial examination. If you don't care, sir, I still have this connection in the Northeast, and Heilongjiang is short of officials."
"If you wait for three to five years, sir, why should you be afraid that you won't be able to become a county magistrate?"
Pu Songling was grateful, but his words were related to his future, and he needed to go back and think about it before making a decision.
Zhu Cunqu didn't take it seriously.
"I don't know what is good and what is evil," the guard said disdainfully.
"After all, he is a scholar, and he still wants to be a scholar. No matter what, if he passes the provincial examination, he still has the opportunity to become an official. He goes to the Northeast to endure hardships. I don't know if he can come back!"
Zhu Cunqu said softly: "As the saying goes, talking about things that are superficial and deep, I have violated this taboo."
After saying this, he lost his mind and returned to the East Palace.
The eldest son, who is more than one year old, can already walk, is trembling, plump, lively and cute, and the prince is extremely happy.
After wandering for a few days, he took the men from the East Palace to the Summer Resort.
The emperor still looked relaxed and comfortable in his clothes, and his face was young and rosy, as if he were thirty years old, not forty.
When Zhu Cunqu saw it, he sighed in his heart, his father's body was really healthy, he might not be able to live to his seventies or eighties!
If I'm similar to Taizu, wouldn't I be miserable?
Thinking of being the prince for another twenty or thirty years, most of the joy in Zhu Cunqu's heart immediately dissipated.
"You have been in the Northeast for a long time, but why is it that a woman is pregnant?"
The moment Zhu Yixi saw the prince, her face looked slightly dull and her tone was not very good.
"Dignified Prince Ming, what's the use of better governance in Arctic City with so few heirs? You have to remember, I asked you to hone your skills, and I don't expect any results."
"Your most important task now is to reproduce your descendants and let your direct descendants prosper. This is more important than anything else."
"My son, I know."
Faced with the emperor's scolding, the prince responded bravely, his face full of shame.
Well, you see, I got pregnant again two days ago, how can I compare with you?
In this way, the distance between father and son suddenly disappeared.
After asking the prince to get up, Zhu Yixi casually introduced the silver robbery case in Anhui: "What does the prince think?"
"My son thought that there must be something fishy in this matter."
The prince knew that this was a test for himself, so he immediately got into high spirits.
