Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

Facing the rising sun in the east, officials from the capital of the Ming Empire set out collectively on foot.

Zhu Di walked in the front alone. He wore a yellow robe embroidered with sun, moon, stars, mountains, dragons and other objects. He wore a twelve-pointed crown on his head and a jade belt around his waist.

Different from the usual Yanju uniforms, Zhu Di seemed to have the invisible majesty of an emperor all over his body at this time. Even the eunuchs who were following behind holding various items couldn't help but stay away.

The large sacrificial altar was built outside Zhengyang Gate, on the Yangtze River of Zhongshan Mountain.

The Circular Qiu Great Sacrificial Altar is a double-layer structure. The second layer is seven feet in diameter and eight feet and one inch high. There are four stairs leading from the second layer to the first layer, each with nine steps.

The first floor is based on the seven feet in the middle, with an additional five feet expanded. At the same time, both the masonry and the railings are made of yellow glazed.

Fortunately, the weather today is not too hot, but the rising sun feels a little warm.

But even so, on the short journey of a few miles from Hongwu Gate in the Imperial City to Zhengyang Gate in Nanjing City, and then to the Great Sacrificial Altar, there were still old and frail officials who fell behind and had to be forced to leave. Tuck up and rest.

By the time the team reached the large sacrificial gate due to the south, the formation was already in disarray. The officials no longer had the usual commanding authority. They were either holding their stomachs or holding their knees, and they were all out of breath and tired. It's out of shape.

Zhu Di rarely showed humanistic care to all officials.

"His Majesty's decree, officials of fifth rank and above can go to the corridor to rest, tidy up their clothes, and prepare to participate in sacrifices."

The Great Sacrifice Gate has three stone gates, namely the Middle Shinto Road, the Left Royal Road, and the Right Royal Road. The corridors lead directly to the two verandas of the Great Sacrifice Hall. Therefore, after passing through the Great Sacrifice Gate, middle-aged and elderly people of fifth grade or above People sat on the straight seats in the corridor one after another, unwilling to get up.

Immediately afterwards, the second imperial edict was passed down.

"Your Majesty is sympathetic to the hard work of all the gentlemen, and specially ordered everyone to prepare a bowl of sour plum soup."

Obviously, this is also part of Daoyan's plan.

First, Xia Yuanji was used as a target to shame all the officials, and then the news was announced and shocked, and then the long journey made these imperial temple elites become exhausted from the road and the scorching sun, and then lost their ability to think.

And this bowl of sour plum soup is just a little sweetness.

An old PUA master.

In the 21st year of Hongwu's reign, an altar was built behind the large sacrificial altar. More than twenty semi-underground pools were dug in the southeast of the outer wall. They were dug out of ice in the winter months and covered with thatch and other materials for the purpose of offering sacrifices in summer and autumn. .

Now it came in handy. As the palace people were busy, bowls of sour plum soup with ice cubes were distributed to the officials.

The gentlemen took some time off and finally had the time to think about what happened today, and those who were thoughtful naturally figured out something was wrong.

Everything today seemed too much like a well-rehearsed script.

Just like the actors singing Yuan operas appearing on stage one by one, the emperor, the master of the opera troupe, had all the beginnings and turns under his control.

"Li Shangshu."

An official managed to get in front of Li Zhigang, the Minister of Rites.

"What's wrong?" Li Zhigang suppressed his desire to burp and asked aloud.

"What immortal is being sacrificed today?"

The chief officer’s question was not without reason.

According to the system of the Ming Dynasty, all sacrificial systems were led by Taichang Temple and belonged to the Ministry of Rites. The Circle Qiu, Fangze, Ancestral Temple, Sheji, Zhaori, Xiyue, and Xiannong were the major sacrifices, while Taisui, Xingchen, Fengyun Leiyu, and Yue were the major sacrifices. Zhen, Haidu, mountains and rivers, emperors of past dynasties, ancestors, banners, Sizhong, Siming, Simin, Silu and Shouxing are the central sacrifices, and the gods are the minor sacrifices.

Among these sacrifices, those that need to be worshiped by the emperor in person are nothing more than heaven and earth, ancestral temples, communities, mountains and rivers. If there are major national events, he will either sacrifice in person or order officials to make sacrifices. As for the so-called medium and small sacrifices, officials will be sent to perform sacrifices.

And today, since it is said to be a sacrifice to the immortal, it seems that it does not rely on anything?

"I don't know either." Li Zhigang shook his head, "His Majesty only asked to prepare according to the etiquette of the Great Sacrifice, and did not inform the rest."

The officials around them were extremely tired, and just holding the sour plum soup was such a great happiness that they had no time to think about it anymore.

The emperor can sacrifice whatever he likes. Let me rest for a while first.

The officials rested for a while, but before they had recovered much of their physical strength, they were told to prepare for the sacrifice.

When Zhu Di came to the square of the Great Sacrifice Altar, densely packed civil and military ministers had gathered here. Zhu Di took a look at the surrounding environment and nodded with satisfaction.

At this time, the square in front of the Grand Sacrifice Hall was very empty. Except for the so-called "Yulin Army" among the people, namely the Jinyi Guards, Jinwu Guards, and Zhongyi Guards, there were only civil and military officials and some eunuchs responsible for supporting matters.

Zhu Di walked slowly to the second step and looked down at everyone from a high position.

"I summoned all the ministers to come here today to offer sacrifices, just to pray for blessings from the immortals who descended from the Immortal Prefecture!"

He paused and said: "In this way, the effect of the elixir can be verified under the witness of the immortal."

After hearing Zhu Di's words, all the ministers secretly rolled their eyes inwardly, but they still showed a respectful look on their faces.

The theories about ghosts and gods are all used to fool the people. There are not many ministers who believe in this, but the number is not that large.

A white jade statue was uncovered by the silk covering it.

The statue of the immortal appears in the middle of the large altar.

The statue of the immortal was carved into an image wearing mysterious clothes and a Taoist crown. The statue's eyes were slightly closed, and there was an aura of indifference and detachment between the brows.

Baiguan looks like an ordinary carved immortal, nothing special.

Only Tong Xin, the commander of the Loyalty Guard who was on guard in the distance, holding a big bow with horns and looking at the statue, frowned.

This immortal looks familiar?

Have I seen it somewhere?

It's a pity that although Tong Xin has good eyesight, his memory is only at the level of ordinary people. He had long forgotten what happened when he glanced at Jiang Xinghuo on the painting boat on the Qinhuai River.

As for the day when I was responsible for transporting supplies in the prison, I never met him at all.

If he could dig out the portrait of the city's big rope, he might be able to instantly remember who the immortal's facial features were sculpted after.

"The grand sacrificial ceremony begins!"

What follows is a series of tedious and lengthy steps, and finally a curl of cigarette smoke rises from the altar.

All the worshipers saluted and prayed towards the immortal statue.

After the sacrificial ceremony was over, Zhu Di continued to announce right here at the large sacrificial altar.

"Please invite Zhang and Yuan to demonstrate the fertilizer elixir in public."

This time, Zhang Yuchu and Yuan Gong held in their hands no longer the exquisite pills in the box, but huge pills of the same color and smell. They used small pills in front of hundreds of officials. Grind it with a stone mill and then spread it evenly in more than ten fields.

The cultivated farmland is not large, only a few feet long and wide in front and back, but it is all made of the same soil. Anyone with a little farming experience will know at a glance that there is indeed no difference in soil and lighting.

The seeds are all the same, and seeds of the same variety of vegetables are sown in different fields.

The difference between them is that some farmland is not sprinkled with chemical fertilizer elixir, while some farmland is.

From now on, with the supervision and records of personnel dispatched from the six ministries and various agencies every day, no one can tell that the process was falsified.

As for the reason, it is simple and clear - all farming elements in this field are the same!

Under such circumstances, as long as these crops can be allowed to germinate and survive, a simple comparison between the farmland where chemical fertilizer elixir is applied and the farmland where chemical fertilizer elixir is not applied can lead to a conclusion.

Seeing that the emperor, the eldest prince and other people who hosted this demonstration were so confident, any doubts among the officials were buried in their hearts.

After all, it doesn't matter if you question Xia Yuanji, Xia Yuanji will not kill you, but if you question the emperor, the emperor will really kill you.

The emperor has already reached this point, and if he continues to question it, it will be a waste of his life.

Then, each department left three unlucky guys behind, and then returned to Nanjing in a grand manner to do whatever they were supposed to do.

This incident soon became a big news among women and children in Nanjing city. Many people came to the eastern suburbs of the large sacrificial altar every day. Although only officials could enter, they could not stand in full view of the public and no one dared to do anything inside.

Ten days later, in a teahouse somewhere in Nanjing.

One person asked: "Does this so-called fertilizer elixir really work?"

Another person at the same table replied: "Who knows, I hope this is a blessing from the gods. With the elixir of chemical fertilizer, the yield per mu can really be doubled. I don't know how many people can be fed."

"You just want to keep it simple." The old man at the next table took a sip of wine, "Even if there is such an elixir and it really works, it won't be the turn of ordinary people like us to use it."

After saying that, he took another sip of wine.

"Why?"

The person next to me asked curiously.

The old man sighed and replied: "It should be the emperor, vassals, nobles, and officials' turn to use it first. How can ordinary people afford it?"

After listening to the old man's explanation, everyone understood.

Where could there be an elixir in this world? Even if it existed, the only person in the world who is most qualified to enjoy it would be the emperor.

Moreover, even if a large number of elixirs do appear, they must be in the hands of the highest level, so that there is nothing for ordinary people to do.

However, this made everyone feel more at ease.

If the elixir really works, it will definitely receive the attention of the highest level, and by then, they will definitely find ways to increase production.

Just like what Jiang Xinghuo said in his previous life, buy early and enjoy early, buy late and enjoy discounts.

The elixir output is high. If the court wants to collect more grain taxes, it will need more people to participate in production activities, so that the production efficiency can be improved by using the fertilizer elixir. Grain output will naturally increase, and more taxes will be paid to the country. .

As a result, the price of fertilizer elixir will inevitably drop.

For ordinary people like them, as long as it is not outrageously expensive, it can increase the yield per mu and save more food to prevent famines in advance, which is naturally the best thing.

And just when everyone was talking about the hottest topic in Nanjing, in the distance, there suddenly seemed to be a storm. A dense group of people were surging on the street, and they seemed to be discussing something enthusiastically. .

"What are they talking about?"

"What happened"

Only when the crowd got closer did the people in the teahouse hear it.

“The fertilizer elixir is working!”

"The grandson of Mrs. Li next door is an official. He saw with his own eyes that vegetables grow taller than people!"

"Real or false? Don't lie to us at will."

"How could it be false? It's spreading throughout Nanjing!"

"If that's the case, then I have to go to the Eastern Suburbs Sacrificial Altar to have a look."

"You don't have an official status and can't get in. Why are you looking outside?"

The news quickly spread like it had wings, and at this time, it was the turn of the people in the teahouse to be stunned.

"Is there really an elixir in this world?"

And soon, more exciting news came from the palace.

Officials heard that the reason why the emperor wanted to deduct next month's salary to subscribe for Ming Dynasty treasury bonds was because he needed money to build a workshop for refining the fertilizer elixir. Since all officials contributed money to build the fertilizer elixir workshop, every day Individuals, depending on their official rank, have the income generated by refining the fertilizer elixir in this workshop!

As soon as this news came out, it had a ground-breaking effect.

The officials' slight dissatisfaction with His Majesty the Emperor was all transformed into gratitude.

"What?"

"You can actually get back more income than the Ming government bonds you subscribed for? This is simply an eye-opener for God!"

"That's right! In this way, the money that our poor Hanlin borrowed before can be slowly earned back without relying on salary!"

"I didn't expect His Majesty to be so wise and powerful!"

"Hahaha... Of course, how can I, the Pilgrim Lord, be compared to ordinary people!"

Officials from various departments of the imperial court were overjoyed when they heard the news.

They originally thought that next month's salary would be in vain, but they did not expect that His Majesty would save them from this situation with just one sentence!

Not only that, but you can also get benefits that are countless times higher.

And the more this matter spreads, the more they feel that they were right not to contradict His Majesty at the altar!

For a time, there was a lot of discussion in the streets and alleys. Under the deliberate guidance of public opinion by the officials, all of them, without exception, praised the virtuous and benevolent king of today!

It seems that Zhu Di is not the murderous butcher King Yan who had to eat eight children in one meal a few months ago before he crossed the river, but a holy master like Yao and Shun!

In this environment of carnival among all the officials, the eldest prince said that Zhenren Yuan wrote a letter claiming that he had discovered the main materials necessary for refining the fertilizer elixir while traveling overseas.

The precious value of this material was not known at the time, but now it is suggested that in order to expand the refining capacity of the fertilizer elixir, the court should send navy to explore it.

Moreover, Yuan Zhenren also said that further overseas, there are records indicating where the various materials for refining the fertilizer elixir are distributed on the islands.

The eldest prince proposed that the imperial court should expand the navy, docks, and shipyards, and recruit more sailors and craftsmen to go to sea to obtain various materials for refining the fertilizer elixir.

The Gonggun princes, who had received benefits, almost unanimously agreed to the eldest prince's proposal with a high efficiency that had never been seen since the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

As a result, the allocated shipbuilding project, planned to last for five years, was launched.

While the outside world was in a state of carnival, some people in the prison were not in a good mood.

He was ordered to prison and was on duty.

Li Jinglong was sipping wine depressedly.

"Why are you so drunk?"

Zhu Gaoxu got the news from the jailer and came to check the room.

As soon as he entered, he smelled a strong smell of alcohol, and found that Li Jinglong was already drunk and his face was red, and he was not far from being drunk.

"Stop drinking."

Zhu Gaoxu grabbed the opponent's wine bottle with his hands.

"G-Give me a drink, I-I'm not drunk!"

After all, after having been an inmate and classmate for such a long time, Zhu Gaoxu didn't look so unpleasantly at Li Jinglong at this moment.

Zhu Gaoxu asked in a low voice: "Isn't it just that you are going to Japan as the chief envoy? Why are you so worried?"

"No, you, you don't understand."

Li Jinglong directly buried his head in his arms, turned his face and said to the other party.

"They all want me to die."

"I asked about the situation in Japan."

"This situation has no solution."

"When I get out of the imperial edict, I will die."

"No, no one can, can help me."

Zhu Gaoxu naturally knew nothing about the situation in Japan at this time, but looking at Li Jinglong's appearance, he also knew that his attitude towards Ming Dynasty was not very good.

So, Zhu Gaoxu asked.

"You won't leave until tomorrow. Tomorrow is the time for Mr. Jiang to give a lecture. Why don't you ask the omniscient Mr. Jiang what to do?"