eldest son of Ming dynasty

After Zhu Di moved the capital to Peiping, Yingtian's palace became vacant.But it was not completely abandoned, but was instead managed by the royal family and chamberlains.

During the Renzong Dynasty, he once thought about moving back to Nanjing and asked the crown prince Zhu Zhanji to stay in Yingtian.

During this period, Zhu Zhanji lived in the palace.

However, Renzong died only in ten months after he ascended the throne, and it was too late to do such major things as moving the capital.

At that time, he died suddenly, and Zhu Zhanji hurried back to Peiping from Yingtian.This is the story of Zhu Gaoxu trying to intercept him halfway.

After Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji ascended the throne, he still repaired some palaces in the Tianhuang Palace.

But since then, this place has gradually been forgotten, and there has been no repairs or other people coming to live there. At most, there are a few eunuchs responsible for daily cleaning, and several fires have seriously damaged many palaces.

From then until today, after waiting for so many years, the emperor finally visited this palace that was almost ignored in the [-]th year of Zhengde. The people in the city were very enthusiastic about this, and every household was waiting to see the dragon.

The innermost palace has also been prepared.

Because someone is cleaning it all the time, it's basically clean.

Looking from the outside, the appearance of this place is almost the same as that of the Forbidden City in the capital. For example, they all have red walls, yellow tiles, and the cornices of traditional palace buildings.

The structure is also similar, both sleeping in the front and in the back.

But there are also differences. For example, when Zhu Yuanzhang built the Nanjing Palace, he built all the palaces together. He was like an old man in the countryside who loved his young children, but the Forbidden City in Beijing did not have this.

In any case, it was because Zhu Houzhao lived there.

Therefore, the internal and external ministers put all their efforts into making everything from the beds and beddings to the palace doors and walls look brand new.The same goes for the harem including the Xianfei and Jingfei.

So when he opened his eyes in the morning, Zhu Houzhao had the sudden illusion that he had returned to the capital.

You Zhi never walked far, and asked at the foot of the bed with a smile: "Your Majesty, how did you rest last night?"

Zhu Houzhao sat and reacted for a while, and then said, "You can see that you have put your heart into it. Since Yongle, the palace has been so empty. It is not easy to keep the red wall as it is."

"As long as the emperor likes it, then the slaves like them will not waste their efforts."

"Is your name Bao Shanyuan? I remember it is."

"It's him. He's lucky. The emperor actually remembers his name."

The person Zhu Houzhao was talking about was the Nanjing garrison eunuch.

After the capital was moved, the palace here was handed over to the Nanjing garrison eunuch. This position was related to defense and was responsible for managing the 24 yamen in Nanjing. It had a very important position.

However, because they did not participate much in court affairs, the status of the eunuchs in the Zhengde Dynasty was so low that they could only kowtow, not to mention others.Therefore, the name of the eunuch Zhu Houzhao is not easy to remember, and only such an important position as Nanjing garrison eunuch is different.

The emperor does not need to wear crown clothes today, but only ordinary clothes.

When I was changing clothes, this Bao Shanyuan also came. He was short and thin. He was quite old. He had many wrinkles on his face, but his big eyes and straight face showed that he still looked good when he was young. of.

It was rare for him to see the emperor, and his attitude was more flattering than that of You Zhi.

"...I think this place is pretty good. Emperor Taizu spent a lot of money to build it, so it's a pity that it was wasted like this. Although I have no plans to move the capital, I will definitely come again in the future, Shan Yuan, you should be more careful in managing the palace, pay attention to cleaning at ordinary times, and control the people under your command, and don't do some sneaky things in private."

When Bao Shanyuan heard that the emperor might come again, he immediately became excited and replied repeatedly: "Your Majesty, don't worry, I will keep your eyes open and I will definitely guard the palace for your Majesty!"

"In the Tang Dynasty, there were Xijing and Tokyo, and in this dynasty there are Nanjing and Beijing. I can be regarded as the predecessors planted trees and the descendants enjoyed the shade. It was only after I came to Nanjing that it was really convenient to stay with me."

After dressing up, Zhu Houzhao led his chamberlain outside and said as he walked: "There is the Xiaoling Mausoleum of Taizu in Nanjing. Even if I cannot come to pay homage every year, I should always remember it. Moreover, after the rise of sea trade, the status of the southeast has become more important. Nanjing is very close..."

This sentence seemed to be spoken to others, as well as to himself.

He planned in his mind that maybe he should come here every two or three years to deal with matters in the south and whip the ministers in the south.

As the situation develops in the future, it is inevitable that the South will be more important than the North.In the past, it could be said that the military was in the north, because the main threat was in the north.But we can’t say for sure in the future. Perhaps as Li Dongyang said, the real hidden danger lies at sea.

"Shan Yuan."

"The servant is here."

"Go outside the palace and call in my accompanying ministers."

"Yes."

Zhu Houzhao rubbed his hands, and he looked at the palace city here again with a certain mood of looking back at history. The red walls were so dazzling under the scorching sun. This was not only a palace, but a group of palaces. The group is connected and extremely magnificent.

If you look closely, you will see that the roof covered with glazed tiles, the exquisite cornices and the white marble steps are delicate and shiny. All these are not only the beauty of the building, but also the majesty of the imperial power.

It was here that Zhu Yuanzhang commanded the world and served as emperor for 31 years.

"I should have come a few years ago."

You Zhi said: "Did your Majesty think of Emperor Taizu again?"

"Yes."

"Whether Nanjing or Beijing, they are all left by our ancestors. Your Majesty can live wherever he wants."

It’s time to come more often.

A good palace with complete administrative functions should also play its role.

Soon after, Wang Bing, Yang Tinghe, Gu Zuo, and Gu Renyi all arrived.

At Fengtianmen, the emperor moved a stool for each of them.

"I haven't called any of the officials in Nanjing yet. Let's discuss it ourselves first. Two things. The first is to plan when to go to Fengyang, the central capital. It is the land of our ancestors and we must go. Second, I am offering sacrifices. The advertisement has already said that the Han people defend the Han land and protect the Han people, but this matter cannot be just a slogan, there must be concrete methods. Anyway, it is a brainstorming, everyone can talk about it. Ah, by the way, what's important outside? You must also report to me promptly."

The key to this lies in the second point.

Shaping a national concept is not a simple matter, or even a matter of a year or two. The formation of a concept is often completed over a longer historical period, unless it is a fierce war era, because at that time nothing can change. severe.

But no matter how difficult it is, there must be a beginning.

The so-called modern concept of nation originated in Europe from the [-]th to [-]th centuries, where nation-states were born. Some thinkers began to study this issue. Basically, the relatively recognized connotations of the concept of nation include a common region and a common language. and culture, a common economic lifestyle and shared values.

In fact, we also have these connotations, so we accept this Western national concept very quickly and easily, and we don't even feel there is any difference, because this is what we do, but no one talks about it.

Now Zhu Houzhao wants to tell it.

For example, there is a lot of work that can be done in the area of ​​language. During this period, people turned the language used by the ruling class into Mandarin, which became local dialects. Communication with each other was actually somewhat difficult.

If we want to create a common language concept, we need to define Mandarin. For example, we can call it Chinese. Chinese includes Mandarin and dialects. At the same time, linguists must study the pronunciation evolution and mutual influence of Mandarin and dialects. .These things seem to have little economic value, but after doing them, you will have a concept that people who speak the same language as me are my compatriots. I can't understand his words, but they are also Chinese.

This is just the language aspect, there are many others.Why do Han people just farm?Do Westerners just want trade?Grassland people just want to herd cattle and sheep?When there are differences, common values ​​are reflected. These common places allow each individual to find his own destination and spontaneously form an inner sense of belonging to the ethnic group.

To this extent, you can’t be a foreigner even if you want to, because you don’t agree with their ways and you can’t forget your roots. This concept is constantly reinforced by each other, plus the real existence of heroes born within the ethnic group and so on. Stimulating the role model, cohesion will rise.

Sometimes, this spirit, concept, and identity are not as unimportant as the steam engine, because technologies surpass each other. You are better this century, and he will be better next century, but the spirit is eternal. In the words of later generations of cultural people, This is called the power of culture, which is a truly powerful force.

Zhu Houzhao is going to discuss this point today.

But before that, Wang Bing really had something to report.

He also deliberately stood up and said, "...Your Majesty, when the Holy Emperor passed through Huai'an Mansion, there was a case of Zhou Huai. This was a shocking case, and it is now known to the whole world. Affected by this, most of the ministers in Southern Zhili were frightened. I am afraid that something bad will happen under the rule and will anger the emperor. In addition, the people in various places are also agitated, which makes the situation a little uneasy. I think the current task is to stabilize the people's sentiments and hearts."

Zhu Houzhao's tone changed, "What? Are there more people from South Zhili like Zhou and Huai?"