Zhang Bi guessed right, Yang Fang did suffer injustice at the guard station.
He was arranged to feed the elephants at the elephant training center...
Although Xiaoqi's rank remains unchanged, his monthly salary remains the same, and he can occasionally take some bananas and fruits from the elephant's mouth to improve his food. The most important thing is that the elephant training center is still an idle job. But for Yang Fang, who wants to make great achievements, the elephant training center is undoubtedly a cage, blocking his way to climb up.
The Jinyiwei Elephant Taming Center established in the 24th year of Hongwu was not taken seriously during the Yongle period.
Taming elephants is mainly used for ceremonial purposes. The etiquette stipulates that thirty elephants must be present during the emperor's birthday, New Year's Day, and winter solstice greetings; ten elephants must visit the Ancestral Temple; during the emperor's enthronement ceremony, six elephants, two tigers, and two leopards must stand in rows on the left and right; the most frequent In the morning there were six elephants.
Yang Fang's luck didn't seem to be very good either. Just after he was transferred to the elephant training center, the Ministry of Husbandry filed a complaint with the emperor, saying that the eunuch responsible for the horse supervision had asked for food from the Ministry of Husbandry to feed the white elephants.
After hearing this, Zhu Di said: "This so-called man-eating man must not be left alone. This man sits down to eat sorghum and wears light and warm clothes. How can he know the hardship of ordinary people's lives? What an elephant eats in one day can feed several farmers. I As a king, my duty is to provide for the people, and if you do this so well, you will make me lose the support of the people in the world, and I will definitely punish you if you do it next time!"
As a result, the Royal Horse Supervisor affected several animal houses such as the Elephant Taming Center and the Elephant Taming Guard, and a few people were left vacant just to show off. After all, labor can be saved, but the elephant's rations cannot be spared. It involves going to court. During important ceremonial events such as driving a chariot and carrying treasures, it would not be good if the elephant loses its temper due to lack of food.
Originally, elephant washing was a matter for the elephant slaves, but if there was a shortage of manpower, Yang Fang, a small flag, had to go to the battle to wash the elephant himself...
Lin Linyou and the others came out to see the elephants, and saw Yang Fang among a group of elephants. Only then did they realize that the third brother's grievance was so great!
Time flies like an arrow, the sun and the moon fly by, and June passes in a blink of an eye.
On June 7, the ninth year of Yongle, there was a slight summer heat. The beginning of the dog days.
"On the dog days of summer, the elephants are washed, and the royal guards greet the elephants with flags and drums as they come out of the Shuncheng Gate. They bathe with the sound of the gate..."
This is talking about what happened after the capital was moved to Peking. In Nanjing, elephant washing is done through Tongji Gate, because beyond Tongji Gate is the Qinhuai River, which is convenient for elephants to bathe. Today, Xiangfang Village on the Qinhuai River in Nanjing is the site of the original Xiangfang.
When the capital was moved to Peking, the elephant house left in Shichahai by the old Yuan Dynasty was still used. During the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty, an elephant house was built next to the west wall of Xuanwu Gate. It is close to the Jinyiwei Yamen in front of the Meridian Gate, so it is easy for elephants to commute to get off work.
"Today I'm going to wash the elephants. Little sister, Miss Rong, I'll take you to see the elephants!" Lin Linyou smiled and invited the two girls.
"After watching the elephant washing, I will buy a few big watermelons and soak in the well water. It is beautiful just thinking about it!" Zhang Bi said.
Yang Fang is not at home. As a low-level public official, he is very busy. But they didn't know that he was busy washing the elephant.
The four of them tidied up and went out early while the sun was still not strong.
Today, Yue Rong and Lin Long are both wearing horse-faced pleated skirts, giving them an elegant and pure beauty. Lin Long wears a lotus pattern, and Yue Rong wears a lily pattern, both of which are seasonal flowers.
Well, they bought it themselves, using the money Lin Linyou gave them before. Lin Linyou only had the twenty-odd taels of silver he had saved in the past few months. The two of them had far more money than he had spent.
In the past few months, Lin Linyou has been thinking desperately, searching desperately for bank notes from other banks, wondering where the box of gold is hidden... However, to no avail.
Fortunately, Qiu Bu disappeared again during this period and did not bother him. Fortunately, there were not many places to spend money during this period.
Fortunately, Zhang Bi's wallet is still there.
"How much sorrow can you have... Now you know that money is hard-earned, right?" Zhang Bi persuaded Lin Lin.
As usual, the two walked behind the two girls, one staring at the other.
"It's like a spring water flowing eastward..." Lin Lin said, "I have always known that money is hard-earned. Originally, I was a social animal and very poor, so when I came here, I spent revengefully. The most important thing is that , I have no idea about the Ming dynasty’s silver! Look! One penny can buy a cooking cake, and one tael of silver is a thousand cash, but it can only buy a pound of vegetable oil... I don’t know whether the cake is cheaper. Oil is still too expensive, and at this price, it’s not worth it.”
“Oil fluctuates based on the price of pork,” Zhang Ben said, “whether it’s vegetable oil or meat oil.”
"What about the cake?"
"If you can't let the people eat well, you have to at least make them full, right?" Zhang Bi said, "That's why the cakes are cheap."
While they were talking, the four of them came to the Yanhe Tea House that Zhang Bi had already booked, and sat in the Qi Chu Pavilion by the window on the second floor.
Through the window, the Qinhuai River turns a corner here, and you have a panoramic view of the river and its banks. Both sides of the river bank are already filled with ordinary people waiting to see the elephant. "There are tens of thousands of viewers on both sides of the bank, and their faces are like rows of shells." Yan."
For teahouses and restaurants along both sides of the river like Zhang Ben's, you have to have a financial relationship to book a good location. The common people could only stand on the river bank and watch in the scorching sun. Because there are so many people watching along the way, a stampede occurs every year - not people trampling on people but elephants trampling on people.
But it still couldn't stop the people's enthusiasm to watch. After all, elephants are rare objects in the capital and are rare to see.
It's true that "the jade water is light and shaded with green locust trees, and there are piles of fragrant cars, bamboo shoots, sedan chairs, and brocades. I even rent a window to sit with a thousand dollars, all for washing the elephants by the river."
After a while, there were several elephant calls and thunderous footsteps, and a herd of elephants, led by Jin Yiwei and elephant slaves, entered the river for the first time. "Then Cangshan was just slumped, with foreheads and ears raised back, noses relaxed and breathing out of the water, and there were dragons in their posture." momentum."
"The elephant slave holds the rope on the spine, and his bun comes and goes from time to time..." Some of the elephant slaves were sitting on the elephant's back, and some were standing in the water with the elephant. They all held brooms, rubbing the elephant's back and washing its legs.
They wash quickly because "if you bathe for a long time, you'll be in a hermaphrodite state, and if you're in a hermaphrodite state, you'll be crazy." Elephants usually live in separate elephant rooms and don't see each other very often. When suddenly seeing so many members of the opposite sex, they will inevitably go crazy and want to have a hands-free love affair.
"So big!" Zhang Ben looked at the elephant outside the window.
"Yeah, it's so big." Lin Linyou agreed tacitly.
The two looked at each other and smiled.
"Is this an elephant? It's really big!" Lin Long, who saw an elephant for the first time, also shouted excitedly.
"Elephant, as the name suggests, it is naturally big." Although Yue Rong was seeing an elephant for the first time, he was much calmer, "But I really didn't expect it to be so big."
"Yes! It's bigger than an old buffalo!" Lin Long jumped on the window sill and watched.
"Of course! Elephants are the largest animals on land. A crazy elephant can defeat several old buffaloes!" Lin Lin said, "Then do you know what is the largest animal in the water?"
"What?"
"What is it, brother?"
"It's a blue whale." Lin Lin said, "A very big fish in the ocean that can grow to more than ten feet long!"
"So long? That's too scary!" Lin Long and Yue Rong were both stunned.
Yue Rong said: "Isn't that bigger than the room we live in?"
Lin Long said: "Brother, are you bragging again and deliberately trying to bluff us?"
"How could I fool you?" Lin Lin said, "If you don't believe me, ask Lao Zhang."
Zhang Bi said: "Yes, that fish drank milk just like us when it was young!"
"Where can a fish drink milk?" The two girls blushed. They were hesitant at first, but after hearing what Zhang Bi said, they didn't believe it at all.
"Brother is right," Lin Lin said, "You know about ambergris, right? There is a kind of whale that poops out. After drying, it becomes ambergris, which is more fragrant than musk!"
"More expensive than gold." Zhang Bi said with a smile, "It's not like elephant poop, it smells..."
Several people were talking about entering Hong Kong and were fascinated by the elephants. The door of the private room was pushed open and a woman walked in carrying a piece of tea. Some people thought she was the waiter in the teahouse! But he didn't expect the woman to walk directly behind Lin Linyou, shine a light on his head and cover it with a plate of soft cakes...
"I am Cio..."
Lin Linyou was confused. Is this what people call cakes coming from the sky while sitting at home?
Zhang Bi and the two girls were also stunned.
Yue Rong stood up and said, "What are you doing?!"
Lin Linyou stretched out his hand to put the pastry that had flowed onto his forehead into his mouth. He was greatly moved when he saw Yue Rong actually standing up for him!
The woman didn't argue. After finishing the dunk, she dropped the plate and ran away. She ran pretty fast with her little feet!
As soon as he left the door, he bumped into someone.
"Yu'er, if you don't stay in the room, why are you running around?" the man said.
The woman immediately hugged the man and started to act coquettishly: "Good Dada, they are cruel to me!"
Nest nest...and rake it down...
"I heard it all." The visitor looked at the four people in the room, and his eyes fell on Lin Linyou's head, "Yu'er, you did all this?"
"Who told them to insult the elephant first!" The woman's almond-shaped eyes widened.
It turns out it's because of this... Then you detain Zhang Bi! Why are you detaining me? Lin Linyou was speechless.
"The elephant is a sacred vehicle, and must not be insulted or slandered!" The visitor said, "Go back to your room first, and leave this place to your husband."
It turns out they are a couple! No, it should be my concubine...because it seems that the age difference is not as big as usual.
With her husband's support, Yu'er didn't run away, but stepped forward: "Do you know who my husband is?"
"Do you know who my brother is?!" Lin Long, such a gentle girl, couldn't help but get angry when she saw her eldest brother was in such a mess, and she glared at Yu'er.
The visitor looked at Zhang Bi and Lin Linyou, and saw that they had not spoken for a long time. He seemed a little confused about their background, so he cupped his hands and said, "I am the head of the Rites Department. My surname is Wang. What you guys just said, I am in the next room." I heard them all, although my little lady went a little too far..."
It turned out to be a sixth-grade official.
"It's not over the top, it's not over the top." Lin Lin said, "It's still over the head! It's not over."
Manager Wang smiled: "But that's because, sir, you didn't follow etiquette and spoke rudely... Let me see it this way! The money for the tea will be treated as a treat. As the head of the Ministry of Etiquette, I will forgive you for your rudeness."
Lin Linyou and Zhang Bi looked at each other: This guy is more unjust than our Jin Yiwei!
Zhang Ben stood up and cupped his hands slightly: "Master Wang, right? I've admired you for a long time."
Manager Wang returned the courtesy with a smile.
"I've never seen you in the Ministry of Rites!" Zhang Bi said.
"Oh? Your Excellency is..."
Zhang Bi slowly took out his waist card: "Jin Yi Wei Qian Hu, Zhang Bi."
Mr. Wang swayed and almost fell down...
…
