On the first day of June in the twelfth year of Chongzhen, outside Fucheng Gate on the west side of the capital.
Chen Zhong, who was next to Zhang Cheng, saw so many hungry people. He opened his eyes and said, "Aren't all the Tatars repelled? Why are there still so many victims? Even if our Shangbei Road is dilapidated, it's not like this." ah!"
The guards beside him also nodded. Seeing so many hungry people, although the capital was prosperous, after thinking about it, Xuanfu was better.
Zhang Cheng looked back at Chen Zhong and said, "Zhongzi, this important place in the capital is not as important as Xuanfu. You talked a bit too much today."
In the blink of an eye, Niu Sheng had already handed over the official document to the military leader at the city gate, and came back to greet Zhang Cheng and others to enter the city.
The group of them entered through Fucheng Gate. In the street layout of the inner and outer cities of the capital, the streets leading to each city gate are the widest and are the main roads of the city.
Most of the streets leading to various city gates are named after the city gates, such as Chongwenmen Street, Chang'an Street, Xuanwumen Street, West Chang'an Street, Fuchengmen Street, Andingmen Street, Deshengmen Street, etc.
The middle residential areas in the capital are commensurate with squares. There are several shops under the squares according to the number of Dingkou. Each shop has three or five firemen, who are subordinate to the general armor and are responsible for local arrests and other things. There are thirty in the whole city. There are six squares, more than one hundred six pavilions, and more than seven hundred five shops.
Zhang Cheng rode his horse on Fuchengmen Street. He saw straight streets and alleys and alleys in the city. Only the streets were paved with stones and gravel. Most of the alleys and alleys along the street were dirt roads. It is paved with gravel.
There was a strong smell in some alleys, dust was flying, and garbage was everywhere. He saw that some drainage ditches were seriously blocked, and many streets were collapsed and potholed, showing that they were in disrepair.
Zhang Cheng had read some historical materials before. Since the capital of the Ming Dynasty built the city, various road repairs, ditch dredging, and even various health conditions were specially managed by officials from the six departments and the Military and Horse Department of the Five Cities. There were even regulations to spread filth and dirt along the streets. Those who dumped rubbish indiscriminately were punished with a one-month sentence. At least during the Wanli period, the capital was still famous for its cleanliness.
But starting from the Tianqi years, all this seems to have changed. The environment has become worse day by day. Whenever there is a heavy rain, the whole city will be flooded and it will be muddy and difficult to walk.
Whenever the weather is sunny and dry, dust flies and flies fly everywhere. With such a sanitary environment, it is no wonder that plague has broken out in recent years, causing heavy casualties among soldiers and civilians.
At this time, Fuchengmen Street was also full of hungry people and beggars. Because they were homeless and had nowhere to shelter them, they could only sleep under the eaves on both sides and live in the corners of the street.
The Ming Dynasty also set up various almshouses, canteens, and porridge factories to distribute money and rice to the hungry, provide medicine, bury abandoned corpses, etc. However, it is obvious that the current relief capacity is seriously insufficient, and the relief is only A drop in the bucket.
Zhang Cheng sighed deeply in his heart, frowning and saying nothing, his face full of sadness.
Compared with the streets full of hungry people and beggars, there is another situation that is different, that is, the well-dressed powerful businessmen and slaves of wealthy families on the streets.
They crowd around each other when they come in and out, and all the things they wear and use are luxurious and extravagant. Looking at these people, some of the hungry and beggars on the street have numb expressions, some are full of envy, and some have eyes full of hatred. .
This situation fell into Zhang Cheng's eyes, and he couldn't help but ponder. On the one hand, the wine and meat are stinky, and on the other hand, the bones are frozen to death. They are not worried about the scarcity but the inequality. No wonder the people of the Ming Dynasty are confused.
He rode his horse and continued to move forward. After all, he was at the foot of the emperor, the most prosperous place in the Ming Dynasty. Although there were hungry people and beggars, the commerce in the capital was still too prosperous. The streets and alleys he passed were all densely packed with shops. There is a constant flow of delivery trucks.
However, in Zhang Cheng's view, such developed commerce has become deformed. If taxes are not paid, it will be of no benefit to the country. As the dynasty approaches the end of the world, commerce becomes more and more developed.
Going further in, the closer you get to the Imperial City and the Forbidden City, the denser the streets and alleys are. The Qipan Street on the edge of the Imperial City is not far from the Ministries of War, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Husbandry, and the Ministry of Rites. It is even more lively here. Chen Zhong, Liu Jinhai and others were stunned.
Zhang Cheng and the others turned south on Xuanwumen Street, then passed through East-West Chang'an Street to the east city of the capital, and then turned north when they arrived at Nanxunfang. They finally arrived at Xila Hutong.
If Wei Zhice and Niu Sheng hadn't led the way for them, Zhang Cheng and others would have lost their way long ago. Their Tongchun House is located next to Xila Hutong, with a restaurant in front and accommodation in the back.
This is just outside Dong'an Gate. Not far away from Dong'an Gate is Donghua Gate. Many officials who come to the capital for business will choose to live here for the convenience of entering the imperial city and palace.
As early as the early Ming Dynasty, officials who came to Beijing with sufficient rank would live in Guanyi. Those who did not live in Guanyi would mostly choose to live in some temples outside the imperial city. Few of them dared to live in inns or hotels outside. It's in the guild hall.
This was their helpless move to avoid suspicion. After all, the salary set by the great ancestor was too low for officials. It would be difficult to live in an inn for a long time. Although some officials were not short of money, they still had to work hard to save face.
At this time, the guild halls were also private institutions funded and built by merchants from various provinces. If they lived here, they were afraid of being impeached and suspected of colluding with merchants, so they chose to live in temples near the imperial city, which were both clean and incorruptible.
But at this time, it was far less strict than in the early days of the Republic of China. Many officials who came to Beijing chose an inn to stay here. Zhang Cheng dismounted in front of Tongchun Tower and watched.
A young boy was very excited. He saw Niu Sheng holding two war horses from a distance. He hurriedly trotted forward to take the reins, and then led several guards to lead the horses to a side door next to Tongchun Tower. go.
"General, there are two floors in front of this place where you can have wine and chat. There are several small courtyards in the back for accommodation. There are stables next to it to take care of the horses of the officials and people. There is also space to park carriages and official sedans." Niu Sheng introduced enthusiastically.
Zhang Cheng left most of his guards at the carriage shop outside Fucheng Gate and gave them a few days' leave to wander around the capital. He only brought Chen Zhong, Liu Jinhai, Li Changsheng and five guards in city.
He looked at Dong'an Gate not far to the west and said: "Last year, when I was waiting to go to Beijing to present prisoners, I walked to Dong'an Gate."
"Yes, the general was wearing the armor given by the emperor at that time. It was so impressive!" Chen Zhong said.
Wei Zhice said with some embarrassment: "Oh, it's a pity that Zhice had not yet met the general at that time, and did not have the chance to see the general's power that day!"
"Ha ha……"
Zhang Cheng smiled and said, "If you don't talk about these useless things, why don't Brother Zhice lead us to take a good tour of Tongchun Tower?"
Amidst the laughter, everyone walked towards Tongchun Building, and a slightly plump face came up to them. Before others arrived, the voice had already been heard, and he could only be heard smiling and saying: "Haha, Wei Brother, this must be General Zhang, he is indeed a great hero and a powerful general!"
