On the New Year's Day of the twelfth year of Ankang, Emperor Zhu Zhongliang and Emperor Zhu Jianyan both stayed in Yingtian Mansion.
The main officials of the Ming Dynasty also spent the New Year in Yingtian Mansion.
It was rare for Zhu Jingyuan and his family to gather together.
Zhu Jingyuan’s two eldest children, Zhu Jingyuan and Zhu Jingyuan, are both ten years old this year.
The two brothers returned to Shuntian Mansion to go to school five years ago.
The next two daughters, Xiaolu and Chenxi, are also eight years old this year and returned to Shuntian Mansion two years ago to go to school.
The first two children of Chunxiang and other maids also started school.
Under normal circumstances, before Zhu Jingyuan returned to the capital, he would not have the chance to see them in the next few years.
Last year, Zhu Jianyan successively recruited people to Yingtian Mansion. At the end of the year, he specially recruited all the royal children, including them, and their teachers.
After Zhu Jingyuan's family was reunited, he took his wife and children to pay New Year greetings to his elders during the New Year.
In the Renshou Palace in the Forbidden City, the Emperor and the Queen Mother sat at the top.
Emperor Zhu Jianyan, together with the queen and the imperial concubine, first paid New Year greetings to the Supreme Emperor and the Queen Mother.
Then the three emperors also sat on it, and a large group of recent royal family members from Yingtian Mansion, all descendants of the Supreme Emperor Zhu Zhongliang, paid New Year greetings to the two generations of emperors and their spouses.
Zhu Jingyuan and his family stood relatively in the middle, slightly conspicuous.
Zhu Jingyuan's family has the largest number.
The key is that Zhu Jingyuan has already gathered ten official concubines of the Ming Dynasty Prince, and also brought ten concubines of the Ming Dynasty King.
The twenty concubines in his harem now gave birth to a total of sixteen sons and fourteen daughters.
My family already has fifty people.
At the same time, because they are descendants of the current emperor's prince, their mother brought them all to visit them.
Charlotte also successfully gave birth to a boy this year.
The dystocia that Zhu Jingyuan was worried about did not appear.
Zhu Jingyuan guessed that whether a woman would have dystocia, in addition to the probability of accidents, should also be related to the life and nursing care during pregnancy.
The time Charlotte gave birth to a child in this life and her lifestyle during pregnancy were definitely completely different from her previous life.
Therefore, it is normal to not have any dystocia in this life.
As the granddaughter of the British Crown Prince and the Princess of Dashi given by Zhu Jingyuan, Charlotte was also specifically allowed to attend this internal banquet of the Ming Dynasty royal family.
It was Charlotte's first time to participate in a purely oriental banquet of this level, and she was very excited.
I was just worried about my own image and worried that the Supreme Emperor and the Emperor would be unhappy when they arrived, so I suppressed my spirits.
The formal visit ended and the family dinner began.
The two emperors Zhu Zhongliang and Zhu Jianyan stayed at the scene to eat for a while and then went directly to the back hall.
While they were there, the children below couldn't possibly enjoy themselves.
The banquet lasted for more than two hours, and the two generations of emperors came out to sit in the hall again.
Everyone stood up and saluted again, and then left one by one. This year's family banquet was considered over.
However, Zhu Jingyuan's family was left alone.
From his seat at the table, Zhu Zhongliang looked at the group of women and children around Zhu Jingyuan and said with a smile:
"Jingyuan, it seems that your quota of ten concubines as the prince has been used up, right?"
Zhu Jingyuan answered honestly:
"Yes, grandpa, my grandson now has ten concubines."
Zhu Zhongliang smiled and nodded and said:
"Then I'll give you ten more..."
Zhu Jingyuan was taken aback, and subconsciously waved his hand and said:
"There's no need for this. There shouldn't be any prince who can have ten concubines now..."
Zhu Zhongliang immediately said seriously:
“I’m asking you to have more concubines, not to live in debauchery.
"You are the smartest child of our generation, and it is your responsibility and obligation to produce more children.
"If you miss the harem and neglect political affairs, I will not give you this place.
"So don't think about shirk..."
After Zhu Zhongliang finished speaking, he motioned to Liang Yunying on the other side to stand up and handed a copy of the Emperor's imperial edict to Zhu Jingyuan.
Since the Supreme Emperor Zhu Zhongliang is still here, the head of the royal family is still Zhu Zhongliang.
Matters in the clan's mansion and clan affairs are decided directly by the Supreme Emperor, and there is no need to go to the emperor.
Zhu Jingyuan bowed and agreed, accepted the imperial edict sent by his mother, and put it away carefully.
Then, elders Zhu Zhongliang and Zhu Jianyan said a few words to Zhu Jingyuan and his concubines.
Although there is nothing substantive, it expresses their concerns.
Zhu Zhongliang finally looked at Charlotte, the only foreigner present:
"Xiaoxia, are you used to living here? When are you going to go back to England?
"I remember your father and the British court urged you several times, right?"
Charlotte quickly bowed and replied:
"Thank you grandpa for your concern. Charlotte lives very well here. Yingtian Mansion is much more lively than London.
"Charlotte wants to wait until Diyu can speak before returning to London.
"When I return to London, there is no complete environment for the Ming language. It will be much slower to learn the Ming language..."
Zhu Zhuyu is the child of Charlotte and Zhu Jingyuan. This mixed-race child of Ming and English also has a British name named George.
George is the inherited name of the current King of England.
All the kings of the British Hanoverian royal family to this day have been named George.
The current king is George III. The Crown Prince, Charlotte's father, the Prince of Wales, also named George, will become King George IV after he succeeds to the throne.
Charlotte named the child George, which obviously had a very strong purpose.
If nothing else, George will succeed Charlotte to the throne in the future and become King George V.
It's just that every time Zhu Jingyuan hears George, he subconsciously thinks of a pink hair dryer...
Zhu Jingyuan sometimes wonders if he and Charlotte have another daughter, should she call her Paige...
Of course, it is impossible for everyone else at the scene to empathize with Zhu Jingyuan.
Zhu Zhongliang listened to Charlotte's answer and nodded with a smile as if he was very satisfied:
"Then stay for two more years. When the child can run away on his own, it won't be too late to return to London..."
Charlotte agreed with a smile, and this meeting was over.
Zhu Jingyuan said goodbye to his grandfather, grandmother, father, aunt and biological mother, and returned to Chunhe Palace with his family.
After the New Year there are continuous holidays until the Lantern Festival.
During the holiday after the New Year this year, Yingtian Mansion was much busier than in previous years.
Mainly because a large number of royal nobles and top bureaucratic families came to Yingtian Mansion from Shuntian Mansion.
When they came to Yingtian Mansion, Shuntian Mansion was a little deserted.
During the Lantern Festival, the new city of Beijing was ablaze with lights.
But in the northern area of the city, which was originally the busiest and most prosperous, the top nobles' children who were the most active in previous years could no longer be seen.
On the third floor of a restaurant facing the street, a group of middle-aged people in gorgeous clothes gathered together to drink tea and chat.
"Your Majesty should be back soon, right? Otherwise, our business will be difficult to do in the future..."
"How about selling the property here and doing business in other counties or even Yingtian Mansion?"
"I have thought about it, but what if we leave here and His Majesty comes back soon?"
"So when will Your Majesty come back? What's so good about Yingtian Mansion?"
"There are indeed many interesting things on the Qinhuai River, and the winter is much warmer than that of Shuntian Mansion..."
"I heard that the weather there is very humid, and no matter how lively the Qinhuai River is, it's impossible for Your Majesty to go there to play..."
"Optimistically, His Majesty should be back by summer. Conservatively, His Majesty should be back by the end of this year."
"Is it because the political training of the princes has reached the final stage?"
"The most important thing is His Royal Highness Prince Dashi. The last phase of training this year is about to end."
"Yes, Your Majesty should determine the results of the administrative training between the end of this year and next year. This matter must be decided by our Shuntian Mansion, right?"
"It's hard to talk about this matter. What if His Majesty handles this matter in Yingtian Mansion?"
"Then it's really impossible to count, but the possibility is too small..."
"Do you think there is a possibility, in case, I say just in case, His Majesty will stay in Yingtian Mansion from now on?"
"You mean moving the capital? Should you say moving the capital to Yingtian Mansion?"
"Impossible, absolutely impossible! Emperor Shizu Guangwu and his elders haven't even returned the capital!"
"My opponent, this is the reason. Yingtian Fucheng has bad feng shui, how could it be possible to move the capital..."
"Let's hold on a little longer. As long as His Majesty doesn't recruit all the officials from the Central Court and all the clan nobles from the old capital city to Yingtian Mansion, our business can continue..."
Some people, including private businessmen and court officials, had the idea that the emperor might not return.
But this idea is still not strong enough and is not recognized by most people.
All civil and military officials, as well as the government and the public, instinctively believed that in the twelfth year of Ankang, the emperor should return to Shuntian Mansion anyway, and it was impossible to spend another year in Yingtian Mansion.
Maybe I will go to Yingtian Mansion again, but it should be after I officially retire and wait for the Yingtian Mansion palace to be repaired to retire.
Most people still don't believe in the possibility of moving the capital.
After all, the capital of the Ming Dynasty has been in Shuntian Mansion for more than four hundred years.
Even Emperor Shizu only lived in Yingtian Mansion for a few years when Shuntian Mansion fell.
After regaining Shuntian Mansion, he soon returned to Shuntian Mansion to manage the government.
No one realized that the emperor wanted to move the capital, but they just took it for granted that the emperor wanted to focus on the construction of palaces for retirement.
However, as the date of the 12th year of Ankang continued to advance, the situation and public opinion began to slowly change.
Under the attention of two generations of emperors and Zhu Jingyuan, the survey, design, and construction of the new palace in Jiangpu County were carried out very quickly.
The construction of supporting facilities in the new urban area started in the second half of the 11th year of Ankang.
Most of these facilities are outside the walls of the old city of Jiangpu County. Most of the area was originally farmland, and work could begin before the demolition began.
The construction drawings of the new palace were also finalized at the end of the eleventh year.
As soon as the New Year passed in the twelfth year of Ankang, the construction of the palace living area and the dam began simultaneously.
Emperor Zhu Jianyan continued to work in the Forbidden City in Yingtianfu.
And they continued to recruit staff from other departments and agencies staying in Shuntian Mansion for various reasons such as consultation.
Every time I was given a special reminder that you could bring your family members to live with you.
The left-behind yamen in Nanjing are busier than ever.
Office buildings and houses were constantly being tidied up for the officials and staff who were arriving.
After the Renwu Dynasty, the number of central government departments in the Ming Dynasty continued to expand, and the number of personnel increased many times compared to before Chongzhen.
The office buildings and housing of Yingtianfu's left-behind yamen were originally prepared according to Chongzhen's previous specifications.
Fortunately, during the Renwu Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu lived in Yingtian Mansion.
It was also when he was in Yingtian Mansion that he started the reform of the government agencies, and more houses were prepared in Yingtian Mansion.
Later emperors would also visit Yingtian Mansion several times during their reign.
Therefore, a large number of courtyards and rooms for accompanying officials, clan members, and servants were prepared in and around the palaces and royal gardens built inside and outside Tianfu City.
Coupled with the private recruitment of left-behind yamen and the continuous construction of the engineering company, it was possible to accommodate the officials of the Central Government Office who kept coming from Shuntian Prefecture.
The twelve years of Ankang passed day by day, and slowly came to the end of the year.
The demolition tasks for the original residents of Jiangpu County have been completed.
The entire old town of Jiangpu County, from Laoshan to the Yangtze River, the planned new capital area, has turned into a huge construction site.
The scale of this construction site, as well as the project data of the building itself, are of course hidden from the eyes and ears of well-informed people.
More and more people are realizing that what Jiangpu County is building is more than just a new royal palace.
Yingtianfucheng became more and more lively in the twelfth year of Ankang.
Most of the senior officials and family members of the imperial court came to Yingtian Mansion one after another. Many of them had a business and travel mentality. They went shopping, playing and shopping when they had time.
When they were in Shuntian Mansion, they were usually locked up in the old city of the capital. There was nothing interesting in the old city, and it would be a long way to go to the new city for fun.
Now I live directly in the bustling Yingtianfu City.
In addition, the industrial and commercial facilities in the Jiangnan area are inherently more colorful than those in the north.
These people go out and have fun when they have free time.
These additional high-end consumers have made various businesses in Yingtianfucheng much better than before.
The situation in Shuntian Mansion in the north is completely reversed.
It would be fine if the emperor himself went to Yingtian Mansion to stay for a while, but bringing the top Jiuqing monks there would also have a great impact.
It would be too outrageous to take away most of the ordinary officials, nobles and their families.
The original residents of the old city of Shuntianbu were nobles and high-ranking officials of the imperial court.
Now most of the families of senior bureaucrats have left, and most of the nobles and nobles were officials, and a large number of them have also left.
The old city, which had been relatively deserted, now seemed completely empty.
Although there are still school-going children and elderly people with limited mobility in the old city, there are servants to take care of them.
There are also unemployed nobles without official positions, and officials whose positions are really inconspicuous so they are not called.
But these people, who were not active in the first place, no longer pay attention to maintaining the popularity of the city.
The market in Jingshi New City has also become much deserted.
Especially in the area close to the old city, those high-end teahouses, restaurants, and theaters.
The most important customers of these facilities are the bureaucrats and nobles of the old city and their families.
Because there are no entertainment facilities in the old city, these people go to the new city for gatherings and entertainment.
The emperor continued to summon more and more officials and nobles to Yingtianfu, causing the traffic of various commercial shops and entertainment venues in the northern part of Shuntianfu New City to continue to decline.
At the end of the 11th year of Ankang, the passenger flow of most industries has not dropped particularly much, and most of them can still maintain their performance.
However, throughout the 12 years of Ankang, passenger flow has continued to decline. The key is that there is no tendency to recover at all.
Stores that did not have sufficient capital closed down one after another or changed businesses.
At the beginning of the twelfth year of Ankang, the hottest topic in Shuntian Mansion was when the emperor would come back.
By the end of the year, he has become an emperor and will he come back?
"Now His Majesty is in Yingtian Mansion, His Majesty the Supreme Emperor is also in Yingtian Mansion, and all the civil and military officials have also gone to Yingtian Mansion."
"The key is that their families have also moved there one after another..."
"All important affairs of the imperial court are handled in Yingtian Mansion. Now the capital of our Ming Dynasty is actually in Yingtian Mansion..."
"Yingtian Mansion is originally the capital of the country, that's Nanjing..."
"Don't be ridiculous, you know what I mean, not in name, but in fact!"
"Your Majesty doesn't really want to return to Yingying Tianfu..."
"I heard that the entire Jiangpu County over there has been relocated, and it looks like they are building an old capital city...
"It seems that all the yamen and high-ranking nobles have planned residences..."
"Even after the New Year, His Majesty will come back with the bureaucrats and nobles. It will take time for our market to regain its popularity. My business can no longer withstand it."
"Hey...if you can still endure it, continue to endure it. If you can't endure it, just leave..."
The businessmen were aware of the problem, and the reaction of the officials in the court was even more obvious.
The emperor's judgment that he seemed not to return to Shuntian Mansion began to spread in the second half of the twelfth year of Ankang.
As the remaining time of the year becomes less and less, the atmosphere in the court becomes increasingly weird.
During the morning court, officials often showed expressions of hesitation after talking about business matters.
What they want to say is actually very simple. Will His Majesty return to Shuntian Mansion?
It’s just that the end of the 12th Ankang period is too sensitive, and the issue itself is too sensitive.
Most people want others to ask and listen to the results themselves...
(End of chapter)
