In the past, Zhang Siwei's first move in office was to lift Xu Yuanchun, Xu Jie's grandson, from the prison, sending a "lenient approach" signal to the world's officialdom. This was done in the Political Affairs Hall.
Liang Menglong, the newly appointed Prime Minister of the Political Affairs Hall, was the first to take office. However, he did not bury himself in the paperwork to carry out "political reform". Instead, he first conducted research in the capital, and his first stop was the Zhengyangmen Business District.
After Chengzu moved the capital to Beijing, as the political power became more stable, business in Beijing gradually became more prosperous. After Yongle, in the city, "there are many people competing with each other, and there are clouds of boudoirs and clouds. The tiles are like tiles. The cars are driving hard, and they are chasing each other at a distance. Rich merchants and businessmen, the roads belong to each other, and department stores are piled up."
Subsequently, as the national power fluctuated, the capital's commerce also fluctuated. During the Hongzhi period of Chenghua, the prosperity of the capital was enough to intimidate the vassals. It was said that "the houses were connected to form corridors, and the stitchings were connected to form curtains. The gold and silver were accumulated in the market, and the people were surrounded by beautiful things. It was said that it was like a different world." It is regarded as "the prosperity of the heaven is beyond the reach of the lower states".
After the Longqing opening and closing, the capital was swept away from the decline of the Jiajing period. "Where the imperial capital is, all nations' flights are gathered in rows." Foreign businessmen also began to settle in the capital in small numbers.
After Zhu Yijun ascended the throne, he first promoted industry and commerce. At the beginning of the Great Reform, it was recorded in the notes of a contemporary: "The people who carried the burdens on their carts and carried out the four transactions not only gained acres of land and needed cloth and silk, but also filled the building with utensils and boxes full of treasures, including precious Kunyu, Qiongzhu, etc. Qi gold, jade. However, people from distant lands do not avoid the dangers and obstacles, but turn around one after another, gathering their old animals to make the world more rare. Overseas rare goods and treasures from mountains and seas all gather under Zhao Yi, sincerely to pave the way for obstacles. "
After the Grand Canal was dredged in the Ming Dynasty, the Gulou commercial district in the north of the city, which had thrived on grain transportation in the Yuan Dynasty, gradually declined. At the same time, the Zhengyangmen area in the south of the city gradually prospered due to the capital's commercial goods circulation channel, creating the Qipan Street commercial district between Damingmen and Zhengyangmen.
Qipan Street is located between Daming Gate and Zhengyang Gate. On the left and right of the street opposite the government headquarters, scholars, migrant workers, and businessmen from all over the world came with their ultimatums. They gathered here and fought hard, making a lot of noise all day long. Zhengyangmenwai Street is also very prosperous. Zhengyangmenwai Langfang Hutong, from Bei to the south, has one, two, three, four alleys and Xiyanhe Street. One of them is a lantern market, the second one is a gathering place for jade and antiques, the third one is mostly merchants selling needles, threads, brains and other small commodities, and the fourth one is a general merchandise store. As you reach West Yanhe Street, there are rows of warehouses and hotels, especially restaurants.
Due to heavy rainstorms and hail in summer that damaged houses, the capital became a large construction site in the second half of the fifteenth year of Wanli. Although there was no major damage to the road, the drainage facilities failed to pass the heavy rain test, so Shuntian Prefecture allocated special funds to comprehensively repair the underground drainage system.
Because Zhengyangmen, Dongsi, Xisi archways and other places are business gathering places, Shuntian Mansion originally gave priority to construction projects. However, due to the large number of construction projects, there are still some small tails left to prepare for work in the spring.
Wang Tingzhan, Yin of Shuntian Prefecture, received a notice from the Government Hall that the new Prime Minister would go to the Zhengyangmen Business District for investigation after the court dismissed on November 13. He couldn't help complaining at home: "It's only a few steps away, so you can come and see it yourself in casual clothes." , but he sent an official document to ask me to look good!"
Despite the complaints, Shuntian Prefecture was not slow in its actions. It recruited civilians for two days in a row to complete all the renovation projects around the major business districts and give them a brand new look.
The court meeting on November 13th was brief and ended before ten o'clock in the morning. Liang Menglong took Pan Sheng, the deputy prime minister in charge of the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce, Xu Zhenming, the minister, Zhang Mengnan, Shuntian Prefecture Yin Wang Tingzhan and other senior officials, and went straight to the Daming Gate from the Qianbu Corridor on the right side outside Chengtian Gate.
After passing through the Daming Gate, there are dismounting monuments and Wende and Wugong memorial arches on the east and west sides of the royal road. Under the archways on both sides, Dongjiangmi Lane and Xijiangmi Lane intersect with the imperial road. There is a hundred-step square square on the side near Zhengyang Gate, divided into four parts by a cross street in the middle. This is the Qipan Street connecting the inner and outer cities of the capital and the east and west cities, also known as Tianjie.
"Book of Zhou Li·Kaogong Ji": "There are nine longitudes and nine latitudes in the country, nine tracks on the meridian, the ancestors on the left and the community on the right, facing the market, and the market facing one husband." This means that there are nine north-south avenues and nine east-west avenues in the capital. The avenue can accommodate nine cars traveling in parallel. Outside the road gate of the palace is the ancestral temple on the left and the Sheji Altar on the right; in front is the court and behind is the market.
Throughout the dynasties, whenever a capital city was built, the market was set up in the north of the palace city - this was a ritual system. When Wei Chengzu built the city of Beijing, he placed "Tianjie" in the south of the palace city according to local conditions, and changed the "front dynasty and the market behind" into "the front city and the dynasty behind".
When I arrived, I saw that the cloth tents were spread out high, with vertical and horizontal aisles, and the stalls were one after another. They had everything from clothes and cloth, knives, scissors, hammers, ceramics, the four treasures of the study, jewelry and jades, toys and antiques. The hustle and bustle of hawking filled my ears, and it was extremely lively.
Businessmen and pedestrians who were shopping subconsciously tried to dodge to the side of the road when they saw the looming lights in the distance and the ceremonial guards of prime ministers and ministers coming to cover the sky. But Qipan Street is already crowded with people. Except for the royal road sandwiched by the railings in the middle, the rest of the place is full of stalls. Where is there room for the honor guard to pass through?
Some people shouted loudly: "Listen, sir, this is the Tianjie! Please put away the guard of honor!" Liang Menglong and Pan Sheng looked at each other and smiled, and Liang Menglong shouted: "Put away the guard of honor!"
Many ministers in scarlet robes and jade belts entered the Qipan Street market in court uniforms, which was a surprise to the people of the capital. There are as many officials as dogs in the capital, and the people have long been accustomed to it. But on weekdays, most people see green robes, followed by blue robes, and red robes are rare - especially this kind of red robes are rare to see.
If the guards hadn't formed a circle to protect the important officials, the people in Tianjie would have had to squeeze in front of these high officials.
Some people shouted in the distance, "What are you adults doing here?"
The secretary next to Liang Menglong replied loudly: "This is Mr. Mingquan, the Prime Minister, who has come to Tianjie to investigate the capital's business!"
"What does 'research' mean? What did you drop?"
The bookkeeper didn't answer, Liang Menglong and his entourage walked past several stalls with smiles, and the onlookers also followed suit. Liang Menglong smiled and said to Wang Tingzhan, the Yin of Shuntian Prefecture who was accompanying him: "Only when the imperial court is connected to the fireworks can we implement policies in a targeted manner." All the officials nodded in agreement.
After walking a few more steps, Liang Menglong suddenly pointed at a product and asked, "Seller, how much does this cost?" But he saw a rattle on the toy stall.
The seller said in fear: "As for the Prime Minister, this rattle costs twenty-five cents a piece." Liang Menglong smiled and said: "Give me one - I have added a grandson, this thing is enough to please me."
After saying that he wanted to take the money from his sleeve, he was embarrassed. Zhongshu who followed him quickly took out a piece of Long Yuan from his arms and threw it over and said: "I'll reward you with the rest!" The store's quotation had already been doubled. Hearing this, he was frightened and said, "Why use so much!"
Liang Menglong smiled and said: "Just keep it! I'm asking you: 'How much can you earn from this stall every day?'"
When the seller saw the question, he first glanced at the onlookers on the left and right, then put away the silver coins and replied respectfully: "I'm talking to the prime minister, there are no certain rules in this business. I spent a few hundred and eighty cents a day, but I made a profit yesterday." One tael of silver, two yuan." He thought to himself, "If I can meet someone who buys a rattle with a silver dragon every day, I will make a fortune."
Liang Menglong nodded when he heard this, and then asked: "How much tax do you pay every day?"
(End of chapter)
