Lin'an Prefecture is located in Jianshui County, Jianshui Prefecture. Since Fu Youde led his troops to pacify Yunnan in the fifteenth year of Hongwu, and the imperial court moved the administrative seat of Lin'an Prefecture from Tonghai to Jianshui, Jianshui County has become the political and economic center of Yunnan. and military center.
Mu Yingyong took control of Yunnan, and more than half of the 300,000 troops he brought over were stationed in Jianshui.
At the same time, Jianshui is also where the Han people in Yunnan gather. There are more than 100,000 Han people living here.
Therefore, the size of the county seat of Jianshui County is also extremely large.
The Chaoyang Tower on Yinghui Gate is a landmark building in Jianshui. This three-story turret in the Central Plains style was built in the 22nd year of Hongwu. It completely witnessed Yunnan's transformation from a land outside of China to one of the thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty. development process.
The Mu family, who received the imperial envoy's arrival in Jianshui today, had already sent Mu Xin to wait at Yinghui Gate.
Seeing Chen Kan's cavalry slowly emerging along the official road, Mu Xin led a group of Lin'an Prefecture officials to stride towards the imperial envoy's team.
Chen Kan reined in the horse and looked at his former love rival quietly.
Mu Xin looked up at Chen Kan, and after the two sides looked at each other, Mu Xin knelt down with a group of Lin'an officials.
"Your Majesty, Mu Xin, leads all the officials of Lin'an Mansion to welcome the imperial envoy."
As soon as Mu Xin finished speaking, Chen An took out the imperial edict from his arms and chanted: "The emperor is destined to be carried by heaven, and the edict says:..."
The imperial edict was still the same one that was read to Su Zhen in the Tonghai County Yamen, but the identity of the person who received the edict was very different. Jianshui County is not only the provincial capital of Yunnan, but also the administrative seat of Lin'an Prefecture. It is also the seat of the county government of Jianshui County.
So almost all the senior officials in Yunnan are gathered here.
Many officials have been working here for most of their lives. It's a long way to go to the capital. What's more, some of them are not allowed to go to the capital even once every few years. At this time, they suddenly hear the sacred music, and they can't help but burst into tears with excitement.
"Long live my emperor, long live, long live..."
Chen Kan took the imperial edict from Chen An and said loudly: "Please stand up. You have worked hard to guard the border for the country. My officer, Chen Kan, has been appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Prince Consort and the Commander-in-Chief of the Military and Horse Division of the Five Cities. This time I have been ordered to inspect Yunnan. , I am here not only for the people of Yunnan, but also to visit you on behalf of His Majesty."
After saying that, Chen Kan got off his horse and solemnly handed the imperial edict to Mu Xin.
"If you don't work hard, the Ming Dynasty will last forever!"
Mu Xin took the imperial decree and replied loudly on behalf of the officials who were crying.
Chen Kan nodded to all the officials and said no more.
Yunnan is too far away, from the court to the king to the ministers, there is no specific picture of Yunnan in my mind.
Now that he has arrived in Jianshui and sees this group of officials who stick to their posts, Chen Kan's most important task has actually been completed, which is to bring the true appearance of Yunnan back to Nanjing.
Mu Xin respectfully collected the imperial edict and said softly: "Mr. Chen, my brother has prepared some wine in the mansion. I also ask you to move with your subordinates so that I, the Xiping Marquis Mansion, can fully fulfill the duties of the landlord." friendship."
"Good work!"
Chen Kan bowed his hands to Mu Xin.
After meeting again after a few months, the two of them had lost their competitive spirit.
Although Mu Xin did not marry the princess as she wished, depending on which angle the matter was analyzed, in a sense, Mu Xin was somewhat grateful to Chen Kan as a competitor.
After all, with the Mu family's power in Yunnan, if he couldn't marry any woman he wanted, why would he marry an ancestor back to the house to support her? This was obviously a very uneconomical thing.
There was no discord between the two of them, and they were quite happy to get along with each other at this time.
Mu Xin led the way, and Chen Kan followed him while using his peripheral vision to look at the expressions of the Yunnan officials who came with Mu Xin.
Theoretically speaking, when an imperial envoy sent by the imperial court like Chen Kan arrives in a local area, he should be received by the local government. For Mu Xin's method of "cutting off Hu", for the local Chief Secretary's Yamen, It's quite disrespectful.
Because the confrontation between civil and military forces was especially obvious in the Ming Dynasty.
But Chen Kan didn't see any dissatisfaction on the faces of the civil servants, but more of a matter-of-fact look, as if this imperial envoy was supposed to be received by the Marquis of Xiping Mansion.
This made Chen Kan couldn't help but wonder.
Do these civil servants dare not, or are they just following the advice of the Marquis of Xiping Mansion?
Xipinghou Mansion is the largest building complex in the entire Jianshui County. It is so large that it occupies almost one-third of the entire Jianshui City.
In other places in the Ming Dynasty, the political center must be the Chief Secretary's Yamen, but in the hearts of the people of Yunnan, the general who lives in the Xipinghou Mansion is the real patron saint of Yunnan.
Since the first generation of Xiping Hou Muying was given posthumously to King Zhaojing of Qianning after his death, the Xiping Hou Mansion was also called Prince Mu's Mansion among the people.
Early this morning, the Xipinghou Mansion opened its central gate. This move immediately attracted many people to watch. Many people were speculating about what kind of distinguished guests the Xipinghou Mansion would open its central gate to welcome?
Could it be that envoys from neighboring small countries have arrived?
The common people did not dare to gather around the gate of the Hou Mansion, so they huddled on the edge of the street.
What's more, they began to share among the crowd the gossip they had heard from a relative of their own who worked in the Hou Mansion.
Some said that the Hou Mansion was hosting a banquet for a chieftain chief, and some said that the Hou Mansion was hosting a banquet for an envoy from a certain country. Of course, some people swore that the people the Hou Mansion was hosting were imperial envoys sent by the imperial court.
But they soon encountered opposition from everyone. Those who objected just said that the mountains in Yunnan are high and the roads are far away. Which imperial envoy would come to Yunnan, a place where no one has shit, to ask for trouble? Blocked back.
It's just that those who opposed it didn't seem to have thought that the slap in the face would come so quickly.
The apricot-yellow flag fluttering in the wind made the person who spoke with certainty blush, and then he ran away.
Who would have thought that the imperial court would actually send an imperial envoy from the capital all the way to Yunnan, and the imperial envoy who came was so young.
Are you afraid that you are sick?
If you don't go to a brothel at such a young age, why are you an imperial envoy?
The most indispensable thing among Chinese people is the spirit of gossip. When the answer is not revealed, everyone is in high interest, but when the answer is revealed, people instantly lose interest.
The opening of the central gate of the Hou Mansion to welcome the imperial envoys from the capital did not cause any commotion in Jianshui. After all, the people preferred to see the surprised faces of monkeys from foreign lands after seeing the splendor of the Hou Mansion. That would make people Their vanity is greatly satisfied.
The people dispersed, and the rightful master appeared.
Chen Kan raised his head and looked at the resplendent door of the Hou Mansion, then led three censors including Chen An and a group of Yunnan officials to cross the high threshold with Mu Xin.
The threshold of the Hou Mansion is very high, but it is not as high as Mu Sheng's laughter.
"Hahahaha... Yuan Sheng has arrived?"
Mu Sheng's high voice, paired with that dark and ugly face, made Chen Kan feel more friendly.
Chen Kan quickly walked towards Mu Sheng to greet him, cupped his hands and said, "The Marquis has been demoted, so how dare you bother the Marquis to greet him in person?"
Mu Sheng immediately grabbed Chen Kan's forearm and laughed and said: "Hey, between you and me, why should we stick to these vulgar etiquettes? Yuansheng, come with me quickly."
Mu Sheng's enthusiasm exceeded everyone's expectations, including the three censors who were deliberately ignored by Mu Sheng.
Chen Kan was also a little flattered. Although he was the same generation as Mu Sheng, in terms of status, the two were worlds apart.
One was just a prince-in-law with little power, and the other was a feudal official with great power. Mu Sheng was so enthusiastic, which actually made Chen Kan feel a little wary.
Is Mu Sheng trying to bribe me?
Entering the auditorium of the Hou Mansion, which was as big as two basketball courts, Chen Kan couldn't help but be a little surprised. The size of Prince Mu's Mansion was far beyond the size of the ordinary prince's mansion. Among the houses Chen Kan had seen, It was slightly inferior to the Prince Jin's Mansion, which was the most powerful vassal in the world.
Perhaps the scale of Prince Yan's Mansion in Peiping is not that big.
It’s no wonder that in history, Zhu Di made endless moves against the Mu family. If it were Chen Kan, Chen Kan wouldn’t be worried.
In the auditorium, several huge round tables were already filled with wine and food, as if they were waiting for Chen Kan, the real host, to come to the table.
After Chen Kan and Mu Sheng sat down arm in arm, the three censors also sat down next to Chen Kan.
Although the meal-sharing system was more popular in Ming Dynasty, Mu Sheng obviously didn't like that style.
After the four imperial ministers sat down, the Yunnan officials followed Mu Xin.
However, there are only a few people who can sit at the same table with Chen Kan and Mu Sheng, including the left and right chief envoys in charge of politics, the inspector in charge of military affairs, and the capital commander. Others can only sit in the corresponding positions according to their status. .
Mu Sheng opened his mouth wide and laughed: "Yuansheng, you have suffered a lot along the way, right?"
Chen Kan shook his head: "Compared to Lord Marquis guarding this huge land of Yunnan, it's not a hardship."
"Hey, I heard that just after you passed Yuanzheng, you rushed all the way to Yunnan, covering more than 4,000 miles in more than twenty days. To be honest, even I am very impressed by this speed."
As soon as Mu Sheng said these words, the faces of the Yunnan officials on the side showed surprise.
Originally, they thought that Chen Kan was just a dandy who got lucky by marrying the princess, but they didn't expect that this young man still had such perseverance.
You must know that when many of them first came to Yunnan to take office, it was normal for them to stay there for three to five months.
Chen Kan smiled and did not deny it.
Mu Sheng continued to smile and said: "After a day's journey, you are hungry. Let's eat first and try the flavor of Yunnan. Although it is not as good as the delicious food in the capital, the good thing is that it is novel."
Mu Sheng greeted Chen Kan, then picked up the chopsticks and served Chen Kan the dishes himself.
This move immediately made a group of Yunnan officials frightened.
With Mu Sheng's identity, it would be a great honor for an ordinary official to sit at the same table with him, let alone let him serve the dishes himself. What is the background of this young imperial envoy?
Chen Kan was also a little confused. Which song was Mu Sheng singing?
If he hadn't seen an ambush in the yard when he entered, Chen Kan would have doubted whether this was the Hongmen Banquet.
He picked up a piece of unknown meat with chopsticks and put it into his mouth, wondering whether Mu Sheng had some ulterior motive for being so enthusiastic?
As if Mu Sheng didn't see through his little thoughts, he kept serving food to Chen Kan, and even did small things like pouring wine himself, doing everything down to the smallest detail.
But this feeling of being at home made Chen Kan feel anxious.
Halfway through the banquet, a group of exotic women filed in.
The bodies and heights of each of them are surprisingly consistent, and even their looks are highly similar, with oval faces, willow eyebrows, big watery eyes, and cool clothes.
If it weren't for the difference in skin color from the Central Plains woman, Chen Kan would have thought he was at some high-end romantic place on the Qinhuai River.
At the stall where Chen Kan was puzzled, Mu Sheng smiled and said: "These women are presented to me by the local Paiyi chieftain. There is a beautiful dance among the Paiyi chieftain tribe. It is said that when the women of the tribe watch the peacock dance, The creation focuses on a flexible body and graceful dancing.
I am a rough man, and I usually just watch the fun, but everyone sitting here today is a well-educated person, especially Yuan Sheng, who is a direct disciple of a great Confucian of the time. You might as well watch and judge, and see this Yunnan dance and What is different about the Central Plains and what are the redeeming qualities? "
Mu Sheng's words immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Chen Kan also turned his attention from the food on the table to the group of women. Chen Kan and the two censors widened their eyes.
They are truly educated and elegant people, but their official positions are not high, their salaries are not high, and they have few opportunities to watch singing and dancing throughout the year.
Although he doesn't look like Brother Pig, he still can't hide his curiosity.
Seeing this, Mu Sheng clapped his hands gently, and from behind the screen in the auditorium came a sound of wind music that sounded like Xiao Feixiao, but not like flute but not flute.
As soon as the wind music came out, the woman's figure swayed with the sound.
Its posture and shape are very much like a peacock.
As soon as they heard the music, the curiosity in the eyes of the three censors became more intense. Based on their understanding of music theory, they could not tell what kind of instrument it was playing. They only felt that it was like a wind instrument such as a sheng. But if you listen carefully, it doesn't look like it. The music is melodious, full of charm, and extremely beautiful.
Being able to become an official of the Qing Dynasty, such as Yushi, in itself proves their knowledge and insight. They did not expect that there is an instrument in Yunnan that they did not know that can produce such a beautiful sound, which is not inferior to the long-established silk and bamboo in the Central Plains. Wind instruments are really amazing.
And the dance in front of them, although it lacked a bit of the elegance sought after by the Central Plains people, it was a bit more agile and playful, which surprised them for a while.
As soon as Chen Kan heard the music, an aftertasteful smile appeared on his face.
He is so familiar with this instrument. Not only is he familiar with it, he can even play it.
Among the national musical instruments, Chen Kan’s favorite is this one, the cucurbit flute played by ethnic minorities in Yunnan, and the matouqin, which is popular on the grasslands.
Seeing the expression on Chen Kan's face, Mu Sheng asked curiously: "Yuan Sheng knows the origin of this musical instrument and dance!"
Although he was asking a question, Mu Sheng's tone was indeed extremely determined.
Chen Kan nodded and replied, "I do know something."
