In July of the forty-eighth year of Wanli, the northernmost point of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was in Tongzhou.
The pier closest to the empire's capital is mainly used for berthing grain and troop transport ships coming from the south.
Ordinary passenger ships and merchant ships must disembark passengers and cargo at Zhangjiawan Wharf, which is dozens of miles away. People and cargo then enter Beijing city by carriage and horse.
The boat hired by Dong Qichang and Zheng Haizhu had the privilege of being a water tanker because it had been approved by the imperial court and had a strong background. It sailed directly to the Tongzhou Ran Lighthouse and docked, so that everyone could avoid the dust and bumps of fifty miles.
It was noon when we disembarked. Everyone had a good night's sleep and was in good spirits.
Dong Qichang took the initiative and asked: "Miss Zheng, the burning lighthouse in Tongzhou, together with Hangzhou Liuhe Pagoda, Yangzhou Wenfeng Pagoda, and Linqing Relic Pagoda, are collectively known as the Four Canal Pagodas. Miss Zheng, do you want to go and see it?"
Zheng Haizhu knew that Dong Qichang believed in Buddhism, so he donated money to buy a wind chime and hang it on the pagoda.
If she goes with him, as a junior, it would be impolite not to contribute to the fun. But with her temperament, which does not worship any gods and only loves the mortal heroes and the common people, she is reluctant to exchange the money spent on raising soldiers and farmers with a broken copper bell and hang it on the top of the tower to listen to the sound.
Even more reluctant to waste time looking at the temple, this place is at least fifty miles away from the Tiananmen area in later generations. It would be troublesome to get out after entering the city. Why not take this opportunity to learn about the public sentiment outside the capital.
Zheng Haizhu then declined and said: "Dong Gong and Young Master Ting go to worship the Buddha. I will take a look around. The waterwheels in the fields look very powerful. Let's go and learn."
Dong Qichang's grandson, Dong Ting, was attentive and had already heard about the serious trouble caused by the refugees in the north. He still had fresh memories of the green-skinned hooligans who besieged Dong's house, so he hurriedly said: "I will send one of my servants out to protect Mrs. Zheng."
Zheng Haizhu nodded to him and thanked him: "Young Master Duo Chengting is concerned. Li Daniu is very skilled. Hua Er also learned some kung fu in Chongming. With the two of them following, we won't do anything weird. It doesn't matter. An hour later, it's still the same." Meet here."
After Zheng Haizhu experienced being kidnapped by the Jurchens, he did not dare to be too trusting. When he returned to Beijing, he took Li Daniu with him as a bodyguard. At the same time, he also asked him to have a look around and set up two points in Beijing. One was to use her Mrs. Anyuan showed up as Mrs. Anyuan and set up a small house, similar to the Zheng family's office in Beijing. The second was to find a shop, which would serve as the collection and delivery agency of Haoming Trading Company in the capital. Secretly, it was an intelligence station, the headquarters of the Yanzhou Intelligence Station. North extension.
Also coming to Beijing was Hua Er, a girl from the Liao ethnic group. Hua Er originally followed Song Yingxing on a business trip from Chongming to Yanzhou Coal Mine to consider manufacturing water pumps.
This little girl has now seen more of the world than her brother, and her mind has matured quickly. When she heard that Mrs. Zheng was going to the capital, she insisted on being a follower to protect her safety and make it easier to take care of her daily life.
At that moment, Dong and Zheng said goodbye for the time being and went their separate ways.
This is not Zheng Haizhu's first visit to Beijing after traveling through time.
After the Battle of Fushun and the Battle of Minghe, the imperial court announced that she would receive the rank of six. She was anxious to return to the south of the Yangtze River to handle the matter of immigrating to Chongming Island. She met with Zhang Quan, who had been promoted to a court official, at the Ministry of War. After receiving the petition, she hurriedly left Beijing.
Although his stay was short, Zheng Haizhu remembered that a large amount of land in the Gyeonggi area, except Huangzhuang, was abandoned. After she returned to Songjiang, she specifically asked Huang Zunsu for advice.
At that time, Huang Zunsu told her quite angrily that the southern capital of Yongle moved north and a large number of people were recruited to come to Beijing to grow food. There is no shortage of water near Beijing. With the encouragement of the imperial court, many paddy fields were opened in the suburbs of Beijing. There are large rice fields in Haidian, Tongxian, Liangxiang, and even Jishuitan in the city. Among dry-grown grains, wheat, sorghum, and soybeans are also abundant, and there is no shortage of vegetables and fruits.
However, with the establishment of the capital, a large number of officials and nobles who had gained political capital in the Jingnan Campaign poured into the capital, and the number of members of the Zhu family clan increased astonishingly. These privileged groups occupy a large amount of land and turn civilian fields into farmland. They first grow cotton and now tobacco, making huge profits. As for grain, these nobles and officials have huge wealth and can buy southern grain at high prices. At the same time, heavy taxes were concentrated on the gradually shrinking number of private farmers, forcing them to abandon their land and become refugees.
Unexpectedly, what I saw today was different from what it used to be. Standing on the bridge in Tongzhou and looking into the distance, the fields on all sides are golden, reflecting the clear blue sky. The rich scenery makes people happy.
In just two years, there has been such a big change. Zheng Haizhu speculated that the officials in charge of agricultural affairs in Gyeonggi Province should have changed based on the principles that have remained unchanged since ancient times.
She turned her head and saw Hua Er licking his dry and flaky lips.
"Let's go and have a bowl of tea soup first. Whether it's Liaodong, Shandong or our Jiangnan, you can't find dim sum here."
Tongzhou is a big wharf, and the taverns and dining tents by the river are crowded and lively.
Zheng Haizhu found a house with a large copper pot at the door and a storytelling desk inside, and took Hua Er and Li Daniu in to sit down.
Hua Ertou came back to Beijing with a pair of big eyes, seeing everything new. I saw the waiter in the shop squatting in a strong horse stance with his legs spread apart. He held the big bowl steady with his left hand and the copper pot with his right hand. He shook it suddenly and a trickle of water rushed straight into the bowl. After a few breaths, the waiter You also need to turn the bowl in a circle to allow the sorghum noodles inside to soak up the water evenly and be completely cooked in an instant.
This method of preparing sorghum millet and brown sugar candied candied pine nuts and walnuts in a bowl in advance is like making tea, so it is called "tea soup".
Hua Erxin said, "Hey, dear, you rely on your skills to make a living. Whether it's driving a mule cart or making wooden machines with Mr. Song, it's not as difficult as making tea." If the scalding water column were just an inch away, wouldn't it burn your hands?
Opposite her and Li Daniu, Zheng Haizhu focused on the storyteller.
In fact, the pronunciation of the Beijing dialect of the Ming Dynasty is relatively close to that of modern Peking Opera. Zheng Haizhu, who was familiar with the speech of Huizhou merchants and the pronunciation of Kunqu Opera in Songjiang, had gone to the Ministry of War to receive orders and had no difficulty listening to Zhang Quan's subordinates.
But storytellers are different. People in the market mix in many Northland slangs, so it is naturally more difficult for outsiders to distinguish them.
After Zheng Haizhu heard the clue, he couldn't help but be a little surprised, and asked the table next to him: "Brother, sir, are you talking about the Jade Seal of the Nation?"
The diner in question had a neat gown and a brand with his last name engraved on his waist. He should be from the wharf store.
In the words of later generations, everyone in this profession is a good social person. When he meets a young woman who asks questions politely, he immediately starts talking and talks harder than the storyteller. He recaptured it, escaped with Yuan during Emperor Jianwen's battle, and now appeared in the Central Plains again, he said it in a straight voice.
Zheng Haizhu had no interest in nonsense like the appearance of the jade seal or the retreat of the locusts. He just wondered how many years had passed since the Battle of Jingnan, and why it suddenly became the subject of storytelling again.
In Songjiang, although the scholars would also discuss the rights and wrongs of Emperor Jianwen's elimination of vassals, they did not involve the nagging news of the reappearance of the jade seal.
The spread of news about god creation among the people, such as the public opinion of later generations, is mostly inspired by someone.
The storyteller at the front stopped and hurried to the next venue. Zheng Haizhu raised another question and asked the Yaman why there was a sudden rice harvest in southern Jingnan.
Ya Ren had a bright idea and smiled when he heard it: "It was two years ago when eldest sister came back, right? At the beginning of last year, the imperial court asked Zuo Yushi to take charge of our farming affairs in the suburbs of Beijing. He is from the south, knows rice, and manages this canal and that pond. When the gates and dams were built, the two taxes were exempted, cattle were distributed, and people from Hebei were recruited to farm the land."
"Zuo Yushi?" Zheng Haizhu thought to himself, it should be Zuo Guangdou.
Calculate the time, who else is it if it's not him.
