February of the twenty-fifth year of Chongzhen.
This year, spring in Beijing comes earlier than last year.
On the canal water system in the east of Beijing that has just undergone a round of renovation and has become unobstructed, the ice has long been melted, but occasionally a little residual ice floats on the quietly flowing water. These ice floes are caused by the temperature dropping to What freezes when it's below freezing is only a thin layer close to the river bank. It will melt when the temperature warms up during the day and will not affect navigation at all.
Winter is definitely the coldest time for Beijing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty. Although this capital of the Celestial Dynasty is not lively in spring, summer and autumn, after all, it can be connected to the rich and gentle countryside in the southeast of the Ming Dynasty through the canal from Tongzhou to Dagukou and the sea outside Dagukou, and can obtain the products of the southeast. Silk, porcelain, tea, rice and grain, weapons and armor, the Four Treasures of the Study, and other miscellaneous utensils. But in the cold winter, the canal froze, and the sea surface at Dagukou also froze into pieces. Transportation throughout the city of Beijing and the wealthy southeastern part of the Ming Dynasty was suddenly interrupted. Although the official roads on land are still open, compared with the ultra-low cost of sea transportation, land transportation is really not competitive at all. Moreover, since the 17th year of Chongzhen's reign, the climate in the north has become much humid, and there are scenes of thousands of miles of snow falling in winter. Although this is auspicious snow that can herald a good harvest, it will close roads and cut off traffic. Therefore, every winter, not only the canals leading to the Taotao Sea are frozen, but also the roads leading to Yanshan, Daning and other places are impassable due to heavy snow.
After more than 20 years of Emperor Chongzhen's rule in the north of Beijing, it has been completely reduced from a prosperous hometown that was one of the four gatherings in the world to a military town. In addition to the few court officials in the city, there are the military and military academy cadets (non-commissioned officers of the Guards Corps and the Young Guards Corps), as well as the servants serving the royal family and dignitaries. There are also a small number, which can only satisfy the total number of people. 200,000 traders needed by Beijing's military and civilians.
So when winter comes and the vendors who have nothing to sell go home to celebrate the New Year, the last bit of prosperity in Beijing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty, seems to have completely disappeared, leaving only the inviolable majesty and chilling chill. .
The Dianqian Army, the Youth Army, the Guard Corps and the Youth Guard Corps stationed in Beijing were all elite soldiers created by Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty who had been in power for nearly 25 years. They would not sleep in the camp just because of the cold weather.
The colder the weather, the more likely Emperor Chongzhen would panic, so he would be more energetic in training them! I have to work a night shift from time to time, which is really hard...
And when the spring of the year came, Emperor Chongzhen got busy, either preparing to go to the Jinlianchuan grassland to meet the Mongols, or to inspect the Tianjin Prefecture. While Beijing's industrial and commercial functions were almost stripped away, Tianjin, which is close to the sea, But the government got an opportunity to develop!
Many industrial and commercial people who originally started business in Beijing have now moved to Tianjin one after another (Beijing hukou has become Tianjin hukou). Many official warehouses and official treasury originally located in Beijing were also moved there because of Tianjin's convenient transportation and low transportation costs.
Therefore, every spring and summer, as long as Chongzhen was not patrolling the south of the Yangtze River or leading troops outside, he would definitely take the time to visit Tianjin.
At the same time that Chongzhen left Beijing, on the canal, a fleet of special efforts was already working hard to transport various commodities from the south, including overseas spices and treasures, through the shallow water canal. The businessmen who went home for the winter also rushed back to the capital early to start their business for another year. There were also some distinguished nobles from Xunzhuang Maodong who did not spend the winter in Beijing but took advantage of the heavy snow to return to Yanshan, Daning, Liaoxi and other places before the mountains were closed. They also drove here on horseback.
The entire city of Beijing woke up because of this!
However, this year is a little different from the past few years. The great emperor Zhu Youjian, who spent the whole winter in Beijing, did not go out for a walk after the spring. Instead, he still stayed in Xiyuan Palace and did not go anywhere.
Such abnormal behavior once caused some doubts among Beijingers who were accustomed to the emperor going out. Did the wise and mighty Emperor suffer from some serious illness and could no longer move around? Is it time for His Highness the Great Nephew Kunimoto, who is in charge of the southeast, to continue to lead the Tomorrow Dynasty?
This great nephew is the richest man in the world! He is the best at managing money. If Daming was managed by him, would his life be more prosperous? Can Beijing, the best city in the world, be able to regain its former prosperity?
Unfortunately, these people with good intentions will be disappointed. Because Zhu Youjian is doing well, the food tastes delicious and the body is in great shape! This winter alone, six concubines became pregnant... However, he did not go out this spring, and it was indeed related to someone's health. That person was not him, but Tokugawa Iemitsu, the Japanese general who conquered the barbarians!
As soon as the harbor in Dagukou, Tianjin Prefecture, thawed, a bird boat owned by the "Korea House" hurriedly arrived, bringing the news that "Iemitsu was dying" to Emperor Chongzhen!
"It's absolutely true that Tokugawa Iemitsu, the thief, must be seriously ill and may have died! Because since December last year, no one has claimed to have seen Tokugawa Iemitsu except for the shogunate's Laonaka and Wakanagi... ..."
The person who was reporting to Zhu Youjian the news that Iemitsu was seriously ill was the owner of Koryoya Shiro. This man was originally a Chinese, his surname was Li, and his given name was Li Si. He was from Fujian. He was from the same hometown as Zheng Zhilong and Li Dan, and he seemed to be somewhat related to Li Dan. He has been doing business in the Nagasaki and Hirado areas. However, his business is not big and he is an unskilled businessman.
However, when Zhu Cijiong went to Japan to marry Emperor Xingzi in the 18th year of Chongzhen, he seized the opportunity and took refuge with Zhu Cijiong, becoming the latter's royal businessman.
Because he was engaged in trade between Korea and Japan, he changed his name to Koryo Shiro. And the Koryo House he opened became Zhu Cijiong's organization for collecting domestic intelligence in Japan.
Later, when Zhu Cijiong went to the Hajj after conquering the "Zhengbai Banner Kingdom" of Dorgon, Duduo, and Azige, he introduced the fourth son of Gaoliwu to Zhu Youjian.
Zhu Youjian ordered him to join the Jinyiwei and be responsible for collecting Japanese intelligence.
Hearing what Shiro Kaoriya said with certainty, Zhu Youjian frowned slightly. Because he did not get any report from Zhu Cixiang that Tokugawa Iemitsu was seriously ill...
The relationship between Zhu Cixiang and Tokugawa Iemitsu is very good, and his concubine Tokihime is Iemitsu's adopted daughter. And his father-in-law, Zheng Zhilong, has been doing business with the Tokugawa family for a long time. How could he not know that Iemitsu was seriously ill?
Knowing but not reporting it shows that Zhu Cihong does not support Zhu Cijiong's plan to seize Japan!
"Does Prince Ning and Xingwu Yuan know?" Zhu You asked.
"I've already sent someone to notify you, I should have known about it a long time ago!"
I am very sure of that!
The residence of Zhu Cijiong and Xingmuyuan is in Busanpo, just across the strait from Japan. Moreover, Busan Port is not frozen and can be navigated in winter.
"Got it!" Zhu Youjian waved to Shiro Gaoliwu and asked him to exit his West Nuan Pavilion in Wansheng Hall.
"Your Majesty," the person who accompanied Zhu Youjian to see Koryo Shiro was Hong Chengchou, the first assistant. Hong Chengchou was the best at understanding Emperor Chongzhen's thoughts. Seeing his expression, he immediately said, "His Majesty Kunimoto and Iemitsu have a relationship with their son-in-law. I can't bear it." It is understandable to see the Tokugawa family perish."
"Does he care about his son-in-law's affection?" Zhu Youjian snorted, "He doesn't want the colonization of America to be delayed..."
"Your Majesty is wise," Hong Chengchou said with a smile, "the matter of colonizing America is indeed very important... The Spanish are sending a fleet to New Spain recently, and war may start at any time. Therefore, Chitose is speeding up the transportation of troops there, and he is also determined to do so. For the country.”
"With the Dutch supporting us, how dare the Spaniards start a provocation?" Zhu Youjian said, "Besides, we already have 30,000 to 40,000 military households in California, what are we afraid of?"
