Early on the next morning, Huang Qiong, accompanied by the minister guarding the mausoleum, a minister from the Ministry of Industry responsible for the construction of Shouluo Mausoleum, and a fourth-grade garrison military attache, went to inspect the old man's Shoule Mausoleum, which had been completed for two years. Along the way, Huang Qiong watched carefully. From foundation to quality, every detail is inspected extremely carefully. Although the wood used in the Qian'en Hall and some buildings are old materials that were dismantled from the Guilin County Prince's Mansion and the tombs of previous Guilin County Princes in the past two years. But the quality of these nanmu as raw materials is quite good.
The entire Shouling Mausoleum was not only built extremely solidly. And even though it's spectacular, it doesn't feel luxurious.
Except for the underground palace, Huang Qiong thoroughly inspected every building. From the square city, Baoding, Minglou, to the Shinto and stone statues, I looked at them all very carefully. Even to check the quality of the bright yellow glazed tiles laid on the roof of Qin'en Hall and Minglou. I also specially asked people to remove a few pieces each and test them on the spot before I felt relieved. When the door of Qin'en Hall was slowly opened, the aroma of nanmu came to your nostrils. The amount of nanmu that was dismantled was huge, and this dynasty had explicitly ordered that nanmu could only be used in the second residence of the Emperor Yin and Yang.
Therefore, in order to prevent the nanmu from decaying over time, some of it is left as longevity wood. The rest was basically used for the old man’s mausoleum. Although the entire Xin'en Hall is only five rooms wide and three rooms deep, from the structure to the pillars and all the materials inside, they are all made of nanmu. The old man's Shouling became the first imperial mausoleum in this dynasty to use all nanmu as wood. You know, the other mausoleums are only in the Qin'en Hall, and important parts are made of nanmu.
At most, the caisson above is carved from nanmu, and other parts are mainly made of pine wood. Even in the previous most luxurious mausoleum of Emperor Sejong, only the main beams and pillars of the Qing'en Hall were made of nanmu. The remaining beams of doors and windows are still made of pine wood that is abundant on Henan Road. Although it also requires a certain age, it is much cheaper than nanmu. For example, in the old man's Xin'en Palace, all the wood, including the doors and windows, is made of nanmu. This is the first time since the founding of this dynasty.
When I walked into the Qin'en Hall, I saw that all the pillars and beams in the hall were carved with dragons that looked up to the sky and roared, or flew on the clouds. The accompanying minister of the Ministry of Industry said that the entire hall was carved with 10,000 dragons, cloud dragons and wandering dragons. The floor of the entire Lin'en Hall is not paved with the gold bricks laid in the Lin'en Hall of the Shouling Emperors of this dynasty, but with pure purple stones. In the entire Jin'en Hall, the yellow and purple ground, coupled with the aroma of nanmu, looks extremely luxurious compared with the simple appearance.
Listening to the chattering introduction from the Minister of Works next to him, and looking at the low-key and luxurious Xin'en Palace, Huang Qiong pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Although this Shouling used old materials that were dismantled from Jingjiang Mansion. Especially nanmu, all ready-made wood is used. Those bright yellow glazed tiles were basically dismantled from the building beyond the Guilin prince's mausoleum. Of course, those purple spots are produced in Junxian County, just north of Henan Road, so it is impossible to use old materials. They are basically new materials mined.
The actual cost is not high among the Shoulu Mausoleums of previous emperors. From the start of construction to the overall completion, it only cost 2 million yuan and 50,000 pieces of silk. About 20% of the cost is to transport the materials from Jingjiang Prefecture to Guangzhou Prefecture. The cost of transporting it northward to the mouth of the Yellow River on a sea-loading ship, and then changing to a cargo ship to go west along the Yellow River to the imperial mausoleum. But even so, it is still very expensive, exceeding Huang Qiong's original budget by about 30%. But how can this luxurious imperial mausoleum last for hundreds of years?
Two years ago, after the imperial mausoleum was completely completed, the old man came to inspect it personally, accompanied by his mother. At that time, the old man was not only satisfied, but extremely satisfied. But in Huang Qiong's eyes, what's the use of a luxurious imperial mausoleum? Among the imperial tombs of all dynasties, which one has not been visited by tomb robbers? Even some imperial mausoleums were repeatedly stolen while the dynasty was still continuing. Even if the monument of merit says that his tomb is filled with coffins and paper clothes, he cannot stop his greed.
Those imperial mausoleums can be said to be almost empty. Even the tombs hidden in the depths cannot escape the eyes of those tomb robbers. Not to mention, some dynasties openly carried out large-scale organized excavations in order to destroy the relics of the previous dynasty. After his own Emperor Taizu captured Chang'an, didn't he mobilize a large army to wipe out all the other imperial mausoleums except Taizong's Zhaoling and Gaozong's Qianling in the name of the so-called destruction of the dragon veins of the former Tang Dynasty? Those burial objects were either used for military expenditures or for their own burial.
The reason why Zhaoling and Qianling were not excavated is the so-called excuses of admiring Tang Taizong as emperor and admiring Wu Zetian as the heroine. Except for the two tombs with mountains as tombs, one could not find the entrance to the tomb, and the other was too solid to dig. It was also because when the Er Tombs were being excavated, the weather suddenly changed. The originally clear sky was suddenly covered with dark clouds, and heavy rain mixed with lightning made the military attache responsible for digging the tombs afraid to continue. The excavation of the Erling Tombs could only end hastily under the threat of God.
The Zhaoling and Qianling mausoleums, which are surrounded by mountains, are so strong that no one can successfully excavate them even if they organize a large number of manpower. However, although these mausoleums of this dynasty are also backed by mountains, they are not built on mountains, but on flat land. Under such circumstances, no matter how deep the underground palace is dug, it will be difficult to stop those tomb robbers, especially the public excavation organized by the government. No matter how luxurious the temple is, it can't stop a fire. No matter how strong the underground palace is, it can't stop thousands of people from openly excavating it.
In every dynasty, the national destiny goes from glory at the founding of the country to decline and destruction. The same goes for these imperial mausoleums. With the collapse of the dynasty building, they will all be destroyed. Every emperor hopes that his dynasty will last forever. But which dynasty can truly last forever? If one day, he rules this dynasty, it will come to an end like other dynasties in history. How can these imperial tombs really last forever? I'm afraid the result will be no different from those of the imperial tombs of previous generations.
Looking at Huang Qiong, he seemed a little distracted. The minister from the Ministry of Industry who had been explaining suddenly said: "It has been more than seven years since Your Majesty took the throne. In these seven years, under His Majesty's hard work, not only has the biggest chaos since the founding of the country been quelled, but now it has spread all over the world. Shengping, the annual revenue of the imperial court can be said to be increasing every year. Now the national treasury is quite rich compared with when the Supreme Emperor was in power. Isn’t it time for Your Majesty to follow the ancestral system and start to choose your Majesty’s auspicious place for ten thousand years?”
The sudden words of the Minister of Industry interrupted Huang Qiong's wandering thoughts. Looking at this official who looked respectful and did not dare to look at him, even though Huang Qiong had a sarcastic smile on his face, it did not return to him. He just waved his hand to signal him not to mention this again, then turned and left the Qian'en Hall. Then he went to the entrance of the underground palace, which was only temporarily covered up because the old man was still alive, even though Empress Daxing had been buried there. He looked at the entrance of the underground palace in silence for a long time before turning around and leaving.
Afterwards, I climbed up to the bright tower overlooking the entire mausoleum. I heard that since the construction of the Shoulu Mausoleum, thousands of pine trees have gradually grown inside and outside, and the sound of pine waves can be heard from the pine forest formed. It wasn't until the sky turned dark that he, under the respectful escort of the eunuch guarding the mausoleum, descended from the Ming Tower and left the imperial mausoleum, returning to the palace to prepare for his return to Beijing the next day. Huang Qiong had a hasty dinner, thinking about the old man lingering on the sickbed, and thinking about what his mother said to him, Huang Qiong felt very heavy.
Seeing Huang Qiong's silence, Duan Miao, who always had something to say, shook his head and said: "I really don't know what the use is of the Central Plains emperors building such luxurious mausoleums? If the dynasty declines, how can these imperial mausoleums be so luxurious no matter how luxurious they are? Preservation? It is better for our Dali country to cremate all ancestors who died in the past. The remains are packed in silver bottles and buried in the underground palace under the Tianlong Temple tower. It does not cost money and silk, and there is no worry that the mausoleum will be like the Nanzhao royal mausoleum. After the kingdom fell, the officials who usurped the throne dug them all up."
Duan Miao's words made Huang Qiong smile bitterly and be speechless. How could he not know this truth? Not only did he know, but who among the emperors of all dynasties didn't know? But there was that emperor who really only built a earthen tomb for himself like the common people. Even for those dynasties that pay attention to sparse burials and so-called no seals or trees, nothing can be seen on the surface, but they are as luxurious as underground palaces. And almost none of these underground palaces have escaped the tomb robbers or the murderous hands of the dynasty that destroyed them and the large-scale official excavation organized by the government.
Like those so-called imperial mausoleums in the Western Jin Dynasty that were neither sealed nor built, were they not opened by the Huns who invaded Luoyang and completely destroyed? Huang Qiong was an underground worker in his previous life. Although there was not much memory left of his previous life, certain things about his livelihood in this past life were still stubbornly stuck in his mind. After listening to Duan Miao's words, Huang Qiong sighed slightly, but did not reprimand or refute her words. At least now, it can be said to be treasonous.
What others say is the truth, and it is the truth recorded in history books. What reason do I have to refute or criticize? However, although he did not reprimand Duan Miao, Huang Qiong thought of Chen Yao's coffin, which was still lying in the Taoist temple on the outskirts of Jingzhao. Chen Yao has been dead for so many years, but due to his own reasons, he has not yet been laid to rest. This is indeed a bit sad for Huang Qiong. But in Huang Qiong's heart, when one day comes, Chen Yao will definitely be buried with him.
Now that he is unwilling to build a mausoleum, Chen Yao can only continue to lie in the Taoist temple. This made Huang Qiong always feel that she was sorry for Chen Yao. But if he wanted to build the mausoleum now, or find another place to bury Chen Yao temporarily, and wait until the construction of his Shouling Mausoleum was completed before moving the burial, Huang Qiong was really not willing to go through such trouble. Thinking of these, Huang Qiong felt extremely entangled in her heart.
And this tangled mood lasted until he returned to the capital after paying homage to the tombs. After returning to the capital, Huang Qiong went to Yongfu Palace to attend to illnesses every three to five days. He even often stayed in Yongfu Palace overnight and served the old man in person without leaving anyone else behind. Not only did they send Old Li there, but also Dr. Guo, who had been caring for him at home after Huang Qiong succeeded to the throne. As an old friend of the old man, he was also the only former official who was willing to see him after the old man abdicated.
Huang Qiong was often summoned to Yongfu Palace to check the old man's pulse and talk to him. Even if every time he went there, only Dr. Guo would speak, but the old man would remain silent. Even if he occasionally answered, he would not answer the question, and no one knew what he was talking about. Many times, the old man closed his eyes and just held his mother's hand, unwilling to let go. Even Dr. Guo was present and held his mother's hand tightly with his only right hand that could still move. The old man's appearance made his old friend Dr. Guo feel sad.
