Zhu Jianyan listened to the brainstorming and discussion between his father and his son, and nodded slowly in agreement.
Zhu Jianyan's main concern about His Highness's huge platform is how to use it.
Simply making it solid would be too much of a waste of space and resources. It would be better to build it directly on the top of the mountain.
If it is made hollow, but if the internal space cannot be used rationally, it will become one or more huge dark underground palaces.
This inaccessible and dark underground palace may become the nest of various dark creatures such as bugs and rats.
It may even become a hiding place for those with evil intentions.
If it is designed as an office building, it will also be a kind of mental torture for the people working there.
Zhu Jingyuan planned it as a special museum-type storage warehouse, which solved these problems just right.
Zhu Jingyuan heard that his father and grandfather agreed, so he continued to add:
“Since the functions that should be added to the Sheji Altar were put into the base of the main hall.
"Then this platform is no longer a pure platform, it can have a special name.
"I think it can be called 'She Ji Ku', or 'She Ji Zhi Ji'.
“In addition, this is actually superimposing the functions of the Sheji Altar and the functions of Fengtian Hall.
“The original function of the Sheji altar does not need to occupy a special space.
“The space directly in front of the main hall can be reserved as a green space or developed into farmland to realize the symbolic meaning of inheritance.
“The original worship of the gods of grain and earth had already declined.
"We can design a square around the main hall and directly name it 'Sheji Altar', which is actually Sheji Square.
“Ceremonies that require a large open-air environment can be placed directly in this square.
"In order to facilitate use and make it easier to cross the square to the main hall, the square should be designed so that vehicles can drive in directly."
Zhu Jianyan had a little doubt when he heard this:
"There is no problem with the Sheji Treasury, but if the Sheji Altar is placed in front of the main hall, then the planning of the left temple and right shrine will be messed up..."
Zhu Zhongliang then said:
"Are you planning to put the Ancestral Temple above the main hall?"
Zhu Jingyuan nodded and admitted:
“I think the craftsmen’s design of stacking the main palaces is more reasonable.
“The core of the palace itself is the hall, which is the auditorium used for various ceremonies including sacrifices.
“The design is just a core hall plus some auxiliary rooms.
"No one said that the hall and the auditorium cannot be stacked. It's just that our ancestors before the Chongzhen Dynasty couldn't do it at that time.
“However, the stacking of the main hall cannot be unlimited.
"A limited number of specific palaces should be stacked according to specific rules.
“My idea is to design and build the entire part of the main hall above the building platform into three sections.
“Each section is based on a core hall, with enough ancillary rooms designed around it, including ancillary floors above and below the core hall, for preparation, rest, storage and other related functions.
“Since the overall height of the building is over 300 meters, the interior space is spacious enough.
“The core hall can be made tall and grand enough, and the surrounding ancillary floors and rooms can be designed to be comfortable enough.
“Even if you really have special needs and need to live there temporarily, you won’t feel depressed.
“The top section is used to worship heaven, the middle section is used to worship ancestors, and the bottom section is used to hold official ceremonies.
“Our buildings in China must be designed so that the lower floors are wide and the upper floors gradually shrink.
“Tall buildings designed in this way are more stable and indeed meet actual needs.
“The bottom section is the widest, and the palace itself here will be the most commonly used.
"The functions of the Huagai Hall and Jinshen Hall among the original three main halls can be integrated into the attached floors."
Zhu Zhongliang and Zhu Jianyan and his son nodded slowly again.
Then Zhu Zhongliang put forward a new idea:
“According to the suggestions of the craftsmen, there is a design to merge Fengtian Hall, Wenhua Hall, and Wuying Hall.
"Fengtian Hall is placed in the middle, and Wenhua Hall and Wuying Hall are on both sides.
"In this way, the bottom area of the bottom section will be larger, and the theory should be easier to construct..."
Zhu Jingyuan said with a strange expression:
"There is a tall building in the middle, followed by two low things on both sides. From a distance, it looks like...
"I don't think this image is very good-looking..."
When Zhu Jingyuan said this, Zhu Zhongliang and Zhu Jianyan were stunned for a moment, and then they quickly came to their senses.
Zhu Zhongliang grinned directly:
"Haha, it really doesn't look good. It really can't be done like this..."
After all, Zhu Jianyan was the current emperor, so he had to maintain his image. He just grinned and changed the subject:
“Then Wenhua Hall and Wuying Hall will continue to be constructed independently.
"It is still placed in the southeast and southwest of the main hall, arranged in a Z-shaped arrangement with the main hall buildings, and with a sufficient distance.
“These two palaces are relatively commonly used, and the cabinet and staff work on these two sides.
“So in addition to the main hall, there should be enough office and living space.
"Then, the office buildings of the various ministries of the imperial court are scattered on the east, south and west sides of this character, right?
Zhu Zhongliang stroked his beard and nodded:
"Well, actually these two halls are the key points, the middle hall is one that you won't go to very often.
“Sufficiently wide and flat roads should be designed between these three palaces and the office buildings of various imperial ministries.
“The platform foundations of Wenhua Palace and Wuying Palace cannot be too high, and cars must be able to drive directly to the square in front of the palace gate.
“The entire area must be closed to ordinary people to ensure that all personnel can reach all areas within five minutes.
"It would be best to arrange a dedicated fleet to pick up and drop off office workers in this area."
Zhu Jianyan nodded lightly:
"These designs are already available in the main plans. Just let them put them together later..."
Zhu Zhongliang, Zhu Jianyan, Zhu Jingyuan and their grandsons continued to divide and combine the design plans on the table, and coupled with their personal divergent thinking and new ideas, they slowly discussed the design plan for the new formal hall and office building.
The three of them had dinner together at noon. In the afternoon, Zhu Zhongliang couldn't keep up with his energy, so he went to rest alone.
On the morning of the next day, Zhu Jianyan accepted official worship from officials in the Forbidden City in Yingtian, and then went directly to the morning pilgrimage here.
Tell the relevant officials of the Ministry of Punishment about the suggestions on the new tax law reform discussed by three generations of his grandparents.
Let them go back and revise the relevant provisions of the new tax law review draft again.
After the morning court, Zhu Jianyan took Zhu Jingyuan to visit his father Zhu Zhongliang again.
Then at Zhu Zhongliang's residence, he summoned Zhu Jingyi, the head of the Royal Engineering Company, a subsidiary of the royal consortium.
Zhu Jingyan handed over the survey data of Jiangpu County and the new palace plan made by the company, and gave a brief introduction next to it:
"His Majesty the Supreme Emperor, His Majesty the Uncle Emperor, and His Majesty the Prince:
“The first issue regarding the design and location of the new palace is that of shadows and occlusion.
“If you were to build a 400-meter-high main hall, you would have a shadow that is more than a kilometer long in winter.
“If we follow traditional rules, the harem area of the Forbidden City will be placed directly behind the main hall.
“Even if the foundation of the palace is too high to 100 meters, it will be blocked by shadow for a long time.
"A single palace will not be completely blocked by shadows for a long time, but the huge shadows tilt obliquely on the harem area, giving people a feeling that is not too comfortable...
“There is a huge building in front of us, which would be a bit depressing.
"In addition, His Majesty has specially arranged that the Harem Area Department does not need to completely refer to the original Forbidden City, but must consider comfort more.
“Based on such requirements, the engineering company’s suggestion is to keep a sufficient distance between the residential area and the main hall.
“Directly place the harem area where you live at least two kilometers away from the north of the main hall.
“The two to three kilometers of space between the harem area and the main hall area can be designed as a closed garden or a pure low grassland, with a direct road built in the middle.
“Activities within the expanded palace area cannot rely on walking or human facilities.
“His Royal Highness’s car is now comfortable enough for a direct ride there and back.
“The distance of two to three kilometers, if it is a straight road with a completely enclosed space, can be reached by car in only two to three minutes.
Zhu Jingyi paused for a moment to see the reactions of the Emperor, the Emperor and the Food King.
The main thing is to see if they can accept this suggestion.
If it is completely unacceptable, then there is no need to say much of what follows.
Zhu Jingyuan felt that this design was completely feasible and very reasonable.
Anyway, the royal family has enough land, and it is a natural plan to avoid the shadow of the tall buildings in front.
The problem is still the breaking of traditional habits.
Putting the formal harem area several kilometers away from the main hall in front must have been an outrageous design in the past.
The total length of the original Forbidden City was less than one kilometer, and the emperor had to sit in a chariot from the harem to the front hall.
When the emperor goes out, even if he is in the palace, he does not just leave.
It will take some time to prepare the personnel and the ceremony.
Yongzheng, a workaholic, did not go to the front hall, and all his food, accommodation and work were in the Yangxin Hall.
Just to save time on traveling and rushing.
Before there were cars, the harem where the emperor lived was not placed next to the front hall where he worked, but was separated by several kilometers.
They had to walk several kilometers every day from the harem to the front hall for meetings and ceremonies.
That's not just suffering, but more importantly, the efficiency is too low.
But times have changed now.
There are cars that are comfortable enough and also very fast.
Daming Airlines' high-end car can still run very smoothly at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour.
Even if the speed is usually limited to less than 60 kilometers per hour for safety reasons, the distance of three kilometers can be covered in three minutes.
In the past, the emperor's preparation time for going out was definitely more than three minutes.
In Zhu Jingyuan's view, the design of the new palace in the future will either be like a suitable official residence of a modern head of state, where food, accommodation and work will all be put together to improve work efficiency as much as possible.
Or put a distance between your work and living areas and try to provide the best possible protection in both areas.
Now, what I asked for, as well as the plans of the Royal Engineering Company and the Ministry of Construction, are actually "all wanted".
There will be places for the emperor to live and live in the Wenhua Hall and Wuying Hall where he works, the Fengtian Hall where major ceremonies are held, and the office buildings prepared for various ministries of the imperial court.
If the emperor is a workaholic, he can live directly in the office area without going back to the harem area.
Zhu Jingyuan himself felt that if he became the emperor, then the natural choice would be to run both ways.
He usually lives in the harem, gets up every day and goes to the Wenhua Palace to work, and goes back to rest at night.
If there is really an emergency, I will work overtime directly in Wenhua Palace, and I will not go back if I live there.
As for Zhu Zhongliang and Zhu Jianyan, although they were a little surprised by this idea, they did not have much resistance.
Both of them have already seen various outrageous plans in terms of the design of the hall itself.
Now I don't feel that this idea of distancing the harem is so unrealistic.
The Ming emperors after the Renwu Dynasty were all in good health, and those with poor health had no choice but to complete their reserve education.
His daily schedule is also very regular. Unless he is really sick, he will not work in his residence.
Even if he lives in the Forbidden City now, he still has to live in the Qianqing Palace every day, and go to the Wenhua Palace to work after getting up.
If you walk from Qianqing Palace to Wenhua Palace, the journey will take more than three minutes.
If you drive, the main time is spent on getting in and out of the car and the preparation process, and the total time is far more than three minutes.
If we add three minutes to the driving time, there will be no significant difference in the total time spent.
If you really encounter an emergency, you can stay directly in Wenhua Palace or Wuying Palace.
Obviously this arrangement can continue in the future.
In fact, the three people's ideas are very similar.
So Zhu Zhongliang finally spoke first:
"I think it's okay. Do you two have any objections?"
Zhu Jingyuan immediately followed:
"I have no objection. Father, where are you?"
Zhu Jianyan thought for a while:
"Shall we continue?"
Zhu Jingyi knew that this design would probably be passed.
But this matter is too serious, and I have always been quite uneasy.
Now that I got the confirmation, I felt relieved:
“Then there’s the formal planning of the residential areas.
“The idea of the craftsmen of the engineering company is to directly surround the entire old mountain with a wall.
“Relatively formal residential palaces were built at the foot of Laoshan Mountain, while summer palaces were built on the mountains behind.
“Behind or on the side of the formal palace, build stairs and roads around the mountain leading to the top of the mountain.
“Look for suitable valleys within the valleys and build dams to create multiple artificial lakes.
“Construct small hydropower stations in at least two places to exclusively supply the power needs of the palace area.
“To prevent fluctuations in power demand in urban areas from affecting the stability of the palace’s power consumption.
"It can also prevent dust from thermal power stations from affecting the air in the palace area..."
The Royal Engineering Company is absolutely professional in palace design.
After determining the issue of site selection itself, Zhu Jingyan introduced the two generations of emperors as princes, and the conversation became very natural and smooth.
Zhu Jingyuan's ancestors and grandson all nodded secretly in their hearts from time to time, but did not find much that needed adjustment.
(End of chapter)
