The majestic palace was filled with a sinister atmosphere.
Li Shanchang saw that Zhu Yuanzhang looked strange, and he quickly stepped forward and asked, "Your Majesty, is there anything wrong?"
Zhu Yuanzhang sat down and looked into the hall with squinted eyes. The sound of sword fighting was still heard in his ears. He squinted at the beams and said in a deep voice: "Who is causing trouble?"
Seeing this, Zheng Bo winked at Zhang Huan.
Zhang Huanran understood. He stood under a thick pillar and climbed up like a nimble cat. He reached the beam and scanned the surroundings. There was no one on top of the beam.
Zheng Bo was on guard below, but he didn't see any movement.
Zhu Yuanzhang stared at Li Shanchang: "Did you hear any strange noises?"
Li Shanchang shook his head slightly: "Your Majesty, I didn't hear any strange noise."
Zhu Yuanzhang saw that Zhang Huan and Zheng Bo did not notice the situation. He leaned on his chair and squinted at the beams. The sound of weapons clashing became much quieter and he said in a deep voice: "Mr. Han, there is something fishy in this hall. You What are you hiding from me?"
Li Shanchang didn't know what Zhu Yuanzhang, who suddenly arrived in Zhongdu, knew or heard, but it was clear that Zhu Yuanzhang was not a very generous person, especially he did not like to be deceived, deceived and betrayed by others.
"His Majesty!"
Li Shanchang's face became solemn, and he saluted solemnly: "I have heard some things, but they are just rumors and cannot be trusted."
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes became sharp: "Speak!"
Li Shanchang felt a pressure, lowered his head and said: "It is rumored that the craftsmen were unwilling to be subordinated and left behind suppressive techniques when building the Fengtian Palace in Zhongdu. I once went with the Zhongdu Governor's Office to thoroughly investigate the matter, arrest and interrogate All the craftsmen who participated in Fengtian Temple said that there was no such thing. However, rumors spread in China..."
"No such thing?"
Zhu Yuanzhang had a gloomy face.
Li Shanchang quickly said: "Your Majesty, the Fengtian Palace in Zhongdu is the place where the world will be ruled in the future. We dare not be negligent in the slightest. We have checked inside and outside several times and found nothing suspicious. Every detail in the palace is, They are all made according to the drawings, without any additions or subtractions, and there are no curse symbols to suppress evil laws."
The Fengtian Palace in Zhongdu is so important. It can be said to be the government affairs center of the Ming Dynasty in the future. As the chief supervisor, Li Shanchang naturally did not dare to be careless. If Zuozhen had the art of suppression, he would also be punished for his ineffective supervision.
Zhu Yuanzhang heard the sound of weapons clashing in his ears again. Listening carefully, it seemed more like the sound of a hammer hitting an iron drill, or the sound of a craftsman making iron tools.
Without the suppression curse, how could there be such a strange sound?
"Ding Yu, what's going on?"
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Ding Yu.
Ding Yu hurriedly saluted and said bluntly: "Your Majesty, the ministers who suppressed the suppression have also heard about it, but as Mr. Han said, there is no such thing in Fengtian Hall. I think the craftsmen are afraid of death and do not dare to curse like this."
Zhu Yuanzhang stood up and shouted sternly: "Don't dare? Haha, they were almost killed by the slaves, so why don't they dare? I see, they not only dared, they also did it! Come, the craftsmen who participated in the construction of Fengtian Temple Arrest them all and interrogate them one by one! In addition, the construction of Zhongdu is temporarily suspended, the craftsmen and the people are properly settled on the spot, and they are given one month's rations!"
"ah?"
Li Shanchang was unprepared and surprised.
If a project involving hundreds of thousands of people is put on hold, how huge will the loss be?
"Your Majesty, you can't stop!"
Li Shanchang quickly persuaded.
For such a large-scale project with such a huge manpower, a one-day shutdown would be a huge loss, not to mention that Lao Zhu didn't even say when work would resume.
What is the purpose of giving one month's rations to the craftsmen and the people? Doesn't he know that after giving this one month's rations, the capital will not have much food left?
Besides, nearly 70% of the Zhongdu project has been completed. As long as we give it another year and a half, Zhongdu can be completed! The end of the road is the time when we need to work hard. How can we relax, how can we suspend our efforts?
Li Shanchang persuaded again and again.
Zhu Yuanzhang interrupted Li Shanchang: "Korean Lord, follow the orders and do things!"
Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang had made up his mind, Li Shanchang reluctantly agreed: "I accept the decree."
Zhu Yuanzhang dismissed everyone, sat on the dragon chair, looked at the empty hall, stared at the beams, and moved the corners of his mouth slightly.
News that shocked Zhongdu came out.
As many as five thousand craftsmen were arrested!
When people were panicking, news came out that the construction of Zhongdu was suspended, and then food was brought out to appease people. Whether it was the craftsmen, the common people, or the soldiers who participated in the construction of the city, they all received a month's rations and then returned to their respective places. Temporary residence, waiting for the next step.
Zhu Yuanzhang sat in the Zhongdu Palace, constantly convening officials to inquire about various matters, and issued decrees, requiring more efforts to adjust grains in various places in Jinling to relieve the people of Fengyang.
Li Shanchang was very worried. He stood outside the palace and paced back and forth, and said to Zhu Fu and Ding Yu: "What is your Majesty's intention when you come here this time?"
Ding Yu said with a straight face: "Who dares to guess His Majesty's thoughts?"
Zhu Fu did not dare to reply directly and only advised: "Mr. Han, since your majesty has made a decision, let's leave it as it is. Let me tell you, it is not necessarily a bad thing to postpone for a while now. There is a lot of resentment both inside and outside the capital at the moment. It’s good to give people a breather.”
"What do you know!"
Li Shanchang scolded angrily, with a very ugly expression on his face: "In this case, we have to do it all at once. If it is delayed for a long time, it will be detrimental to the overall situation. What is even more worrying is His Majesty's attitude. Do you think His Majesty wants to give up? Move the capital?"
Ding Yu frowned.
Zhu Fu couldn't believe it and was stunned. He quickly said: "This should be impossible."
Suspension and giving up are two different things. At present, the imperial city of Zhongdu has been built, only the outer city walls have not been completed. It has taken many years, consumed countless money, and mobilized millions of people. How can we give up?
Li Shanchang couldn't understand what Lao Zhu was thinking. If he gave up moving the capital, the Huaixi Party would suffer a lot. In the past few years, many Huaixi nobles have bought land and property in Fengyang. Although many places in Fengyang are poor, The drought is terrible, but it is not without fertile lands, such as the banks of rivers.
At present, most of the good fields and good areas in the city have been divided up by the nobles of Huaixi. If Lao Zhu suddenly gives up on moving the capital, wouldn't this huge real estate lose its value in an instant?
A marquis cannot hold a house in Zhongdu while staying in Jinling for the rest of his life, right?
The same goes for Li Shanchang. Most of his gray income is spent in Zhongdu. What's more, as a supervisor, it is still possible to reserve some good areas, and these are all properties. After the capital is moved, every inch of land here will be valuable. In the future, Future generations will not have to worry about food and clothing.
Zhu Yuanzhang has no intention of stopping the construction of Zhongdu, at least not yet.
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't seem to care much about whether the craftsmen used suppressive techniques. He just ordered people to interrogate, but did not take the initiative to ask about the results, nor did he urge them.
When Zhu Yuanzhang received the news that Jinling had captured the remaining pirates, he arranged for Prime Minister Li Shanchang and Ding Yu to attend Zhongdu, and then left Zhongdu after paying homage to his family, leaving behind Li Shanchang, Ding Yu and others who were confused.
Fengyang is not far from Jinling, more than 400 miles away. Zhu Yuanzhang was not in a hurry to return to Jinling. He stayed in Chuzhou for a few days and asked Ma Zheng before returning to Jinling.
At this time, the news of suspending the construction of Zhongdu had spread among the officials. Fei Ju, Tang Shengzong and others immediately went to the palace to ask for an audience after Zhu Yuanzhang returned to the palace to get information.
Sincerity House.
Liu Ji sat under the tree, holding a volume of "Annotations on Zi Hai" in his hand, and read through it carefully.
Liu Jing came over with a tea bowl and whispered beside Liu Ji: "His Majesty has returned to Beijing."
"It's time to come back."
Liu Ji replied calmly.
Liu Jing lowered his hands and asked the doubts in his heart: "Father, what do you mean by His Majesty's intentions? If you stop stopping the capital, you can stop it directly and send away the people and craftsmen. If you don't stop, why do you postpone the construction and waste it? Wealth heir?"
Liu Ji put the book on his lap and picked up the tea bowl: "What do you mean, Your Majesty? Haha, I'm afraid Your Majesty hasn't made up his mind yet. This matter is so big that it's inevitable to weigh the two sides."
Liu Jing bent down worriedly: "Father, this matter may not be good for us."
"oh?"
Liu Ji looked at Liu Jing with deep eyes.
Liu Jing looked around and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty is wise and mighty, and he never admits his mistakes. I remember that at the beginning, Your Majesty insisted on making Zhongdu the capital of the country, and mobilized the craftsmen and people from all over the country to build it day and night. Now I think the construction has come to an end. If Stopping suddenly, His Majesty's face would be dull. In embarrassment, he would definitely feel uncomfortable thinking about his father's objections back then, and he would probably be angry with his father because of this..."
Liu Ji took a sip of tea and said calmly: "Let's get a cup of hot tea instead."
Liu Jing took the tea bowl and had no choice but to turn around and leave.
A trace of sadness flashed in Liu Ji's eyes.
What the son said was not unreasonable. The emperor was a man who wanted to save face. He was decisive, wise, and quite conceited. He believed that he had not made any serious mistakes.
But this time it's different.
Fengyang was not only his fault, but also his biggest fault.
Since the second year of Hongwu, it has been five years since the country's financial, human and material resources were mobilized.
Five years!
Does he know how many people died in the past five years and how much wasted?
In the end, nothing was accomplished. Instead, we got a useless and magnificent imperial city. It turned out to be a big joke!
Someone is going to die for this joke.
It is still unclear how many people will die and who will die.
But Liu Ji always felt that his living was equivalent to the constant sound of ridicule in Zhu Yuanzhang's ears, and he would not allow himself to live long.
Once Zhongdu is stopped, it may be difficult for him to survive for more than three months, or even one month.
Liu Ji lamented.
Zhongdu is about to die, will he die too?
Liu Ji lowered his head, looked at "Annotations on the Sea of Words", and narrowed his eyes slightly: "This is the cultural and educational method that Gu Zhengchen admires. Perhaps, I should leave Jinling for a while. It is not suitable to stay in the land of right and wrong for a long time..."
