Chapter 130 Chen Guorui's Second Advice to Zhu Yuanzhang
From Yingtian to Haozhou, you first need to take the Yangtze River waterway to reach the Grand Canal, and then go west from the Grand Canal to the Huai River. Haozhou is right on the bank of the Huai River.
Haozhou is a very large area. After getting off the boat, you still have to take a day's carriage to reach Zhu Yuanzhang's ancestral home.
Because Zhu Yuanzhang's family was poor, the tombs of his parents, brothers and sisters-in-law were extremely simple.
Zhu Yuanzhang, a beggar on the verge of becoming emperor, naturally had a nouveau riche mentality. He considered moving the capital to Fengyang, building magnificent mausoleums for his parents, brothers, and sister-in-law, and later considered building magnificent mausoleums for his grandfather, great-grandfather, and others.
When Zhu Yuanzhang talked about this with Chen Biao, because Chen Biao didn't know that the Zhu family was his family, he hugged his father and beat his chest and stamped his feet and howled for a long time.
"My lord has not even ascended the throne, but he's already become a tyrant! Dad, let's find a chance to escape to the sea!"
Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked: "Biao'er, please talk to me nicely. How did my lord become such a tyrant?"
Chen Biao pulled Zhu Yuanzhang aside and calculated with him how much money it would cost to build a luxurious mausoleum and how much money it would cost to build a capital city out of thin air in Fengyang.
With the money and labor to build this mausoleum, I can organize two more Northern Expeditions!
Chen Biao even recited "Fu on Afang Palace".
Zhu Yuanzhang felt guilty: "This, take your time to repair it, there is no rush, right... Well, my lord has become rich, so he should be better to his ancestors, right?"
Chen Biao said, "There is the Imperial Ancestral Temple! I'm not saying that my lord shouldn't build a mausoleum. As an emperor, he must have a mausoleum. The emperor's mausoleum is so large, wouldn't it be nice to bring the coffins of our ancestors in and let everyone live happily together? Future generations can also worship together, which saves a lot of trouble."
When Chen Biao thought about the money he had worked so hard to earn flying away to build a luxurious mausoleum, his heart felt like it was being cut by a knife.
Invest money in the lord's army, invest money in the lord's infrastructure, and invest money in the lord's basic education. Although Chen Biao complained, he knew that the money was worth spending, so he tightened his belt and spent it.
But why would we need to build a mausoleum for both our father and grandfather?! And then we'd have to hire people to manage it, which would cost a fortune!
After Chen Biao howled at his father, he said sadly, "As a subject, I dare not dissuade anyone from doing anything concerning our ancestors, no matter how absurd it may be. Build it, build it. Building a mausoleum is extremely expensive, and even donating all the Chen family property is out of the question. We can only let the people suffer."
Zhu Yuanzhang's face twitched violently, and he immediately said, "I'll go and persuade him!"
Chen Biao held his father tightly: "Dad! No! You will lose your life!"
Zhu Yuanzhang blushed and said, "I believe in you, my lord!"
Chen Biao wailed, "Dad! I really can't go!"
Zhu Yuanzhang turned his face away and said, "I'm just testing the waters. If it doesn't work, then it won't work. Biao'er, calculate the cost of building the mausoleum and I'll show it to my lord. If my lord still insists on going ahead after looking at the cost, I won't try to persuade him."
Chen Biao hesitated for a moment and reluctantly agreed: "Okay, Dad, you can't force me."
Zhu Yuanzhang felt so guilty that he could no longer pretend.
Later, Zhu Yuanzhang inquired about the matter of moving the capital, and only then did he realize that choosing a capital was such a profound matter.
Not to mention the political considerations, just the fact that a city has to accommodate hundreds of thousands or even millions of people requires strict consideration of both the timing and the location.
For example, building a city on a plain is certainly easier than building a city in a hilly area.
The ancients had already chosen places that could accommodate large populations. Therefore, choosing a capital from among the existing large cities was generally a good idea, with only the climate and terrain changes to consider.
Haozhou is located in a hilly area. With current technology, it is very , and it is even more difficult to level the land and build a city.
Later generations could use explosives and various heavy machinery to assist in city construction. In this era, people could only carry things on their shoulders, and even explosives were useless. Building a huge city in the rolling mountains and forests would consume countless manpower and material resources, and would exhaust countless civilians.
After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and said, "How could the Ming King be like this! Is he going to become a tyrant before he even ascends the throne?"
Chen Biao also nodded with emotion: "Yes. I hope that the King of Ming is just confused for a moment and can wake up in time."
Ma Xiuying passed by, her lips twitched slightly, and she left without looking back.
Even Ma Xiuying wondered if her husband was suffering from a split soul.
Thanks to the timely advice of his loyal minister Chen Guorui, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang gave up the idea of building a city in Haozhou and constructing a luxurious mausoleum.
But the ancestors couldn't be neglected either. Zhu Yuanzhang planned to have Chen Biao offer ancestral worship first, then move the coffins of his parents and siblings to Yingtian for temporary burial. Once Zhu Yuanzhang had completed his own mausoleum, he would place the coffins of his parents and siblings in the imperial mausoleum, sharing incense and worship with him.
Zhu Yuanzhang's grandfather was buried in Xuyi County, Sizhou, which is later Xuyi County, Huai'an, Jiangsu.
When you go west from the Grand Canal to the Huai River and head to Haozhou, you will pass by Xuyi.
Zhu Yuanzhang asked Chen Biao to check whether his grandfather's tomb was still there. If it was, he would hold a small ancestral worship ceremony there, take his grandfather's coffin away, and then take them to Yingtian together.
Zhu Yuanzhang's grandfather, Zhu Chuyi, was buried in a ravine so deep that even a carriage couldn't get in. Although Chen Biao felt sorry for his two younger brothers, as subjects, they couldn't treat their lord's grandfather with disrespect, so he could only take his brothers on horseback.
After riding for half an hour, Chen Biao wanted to let his brothers rest, but they were full of energy and even wanted to ride the horses alone for fun.
Zhu Wenzheng smiled and said, "These two little guys are quite resilient. When we get back this time, let me train them."
Chen Biao immediately refused: "No, you will definitely cause trouble with them. I will ask Dad to find a good and reliable teacher to teach them."
Zhu Wenzheng was so angry that he snorted: "You underestimate me?"
Chen Biao said seriously, "I never dare to underestimate your ability to cause trouble."
Zhu Wenzheng was no longer angry: "That's true."
Yan Qian and the eavesdropping civil and military officials around him: "..."
I really don’t know what Zhu Wen is so proud of.
Even Chen Biao has been practicing martial arts since he was a child - although there are always people who set up obstacles on Chen Biao's way to becoming a martial arts master in the name of doting, Chen Chong and Chen Chong are naturally no exception.
Compared to his doting on Chen Biao, Zhu Yuanzhang was much stricter in training his two sons in martial arts and horse riding.
Chen Biao actually knew that Chen Chong and Chen Tan were already able to ride horses alone, and their legs and buttocks had long been calloused, but he still believed that riding horses in the training grounds and manors was one thing, and riding in the wild was another, and he resolutely refused to allow Chen Chong and Chen Tan to ride horses alone.
Zhu Wenzheng kept this in mind and decided to talk to his godfather about getting Chen Chong and Chen Tan out of Biao'er's protection. Otherwise, who knows when these two little guys will grow up to protect Biao'er.
As the godfather's legitimate son, Biao'er seemed spoiled and pampered, but he went to the battlefield early. The other children should not hold Biao'er back too much. At least they can ride horses and fight in battles, make merits on their own, and not always cling to Biao'er.
After a difficult journey and asking many people, Chen Biao finally arrived at the grave of Zhu Yuanzhang's grandfather.
Perhaps it was because the tomb was too remote that it was surprisingly intact. Even on the stone on the tomb, one could vaguely see the three crooked characters "Zhu Chuyi".
The Zhu family themselves were of course illiterate. When Zhu Chuyi was buried, the Zhu family was not too poor, and the country had not yet been in chaos, so they spent half a basket of grain to ask an old scholar in the village to help write the "tombstone", and then Zhu Yuanzhang's father, Zhu Wusi, carved it on the stone himself.
Although the old scholar's calligraphy was not worth half a basket of grain, with these three words, Chen Biao no longer had to run around in the wilderness like a headless fly. Chen Biao was very grateful to the unknown old scholar.
After finding the tomb, Chen Biao and his party first set up camp in the nearby mountains and forests, and then chose an auspicious day to offer sacrifices and transfer Zhu Chuyi's body into a gorgeous coffin.
The Northern Expedition began in March, and Dadu was captured at the end of March. Chen Biao stayed in Dadu for two months to handle miscellaneous affairs, and it was the end of June when he returned to Yingtian.
When Chen Biao arrived in Xuyi, it was already the end of July and it was raining heavily in autumn.
When they set up camp, a lingering autumn rain happened to fall.
Chen Biao dragged Chen Chong and Chen Chong, who wanted to go play in the water, into the big tent and forced them to take a hot bath. After their foreheads were slightly sweating, he forced them to drink a bowl of ginger soup.
Riding a horse and getting wet in the rain didn't make the two younger brothers wilted, but this bowl of extremely unpalatable ginger soup made them completely wilted.
After Chen Biao tucked the two into bed, he went to the next tent to discuss the sacrificial ceremony.
The civil officials who participated in the sacrifice started arguing. Some, led by Ji Renshou, believed that the drizzle was a good omen; others, led by Zhang Chang, believed that it was a bad omen.
Ji Renshou requested that the sacrifice be carried out at the auspicious time selected in advance; Zhang Chang believed that they should stay where they were and wait for the rain to stop.
Before the rain stopped, Chen Biao should lead his ministers to kowtow to the heaven every day and pray for the rain to stop.
When Chen Biao walked in, he was listening to Zhang Chang quoting from classics, and his face twitched suddenly.
Make yourself kneel in the mud and kowtow in the rain every day? Zhang Chang, you are just trying to get me killed!
Chen Biao said: "Don't argue anymore, just leave this matter to God."
Ji Renshou looked at Zhang Chang with his eyes blazing with fire. If Zhang Chang dared to continue arguing, he would beat Zhang Chang with his fists and force him to submission!
The lord kept Zhang Chang, except that he had not yet caught Zhang Chang's exact flaws, and the important thing was to use Zhang Chang's knowledge to do things.
They usually didn't take Zhang Chang's little tricks seriously, but Zhang Chang actually wanted to make Biao'er sick, which he would never allow!
After hearing Chen Biao speak, Ji Renshou spoke before Zhang Chang could say anything: "Biao'er, what does it mean to leave it to God?"
Chen Biao said, "I will burn some paper money in front of the grave of my lord's grandfather. If the paper money can be burned in the rain, it means that the ancestors don't mind the sacrifice and the coffin being opened in the rain. If it doesn't burn, we can wait a little longer."
After Chen Biao entered the tent, Yan Qian and Zhu Wenzhen came in each holding a large box.
Yan Qian and Zhu Wenzhen glanced at the people present, and their eyes made those who had already been caught in the rain feel a chill.
Chen Biao said, "The yellow paper used by the lord to offer sacrifices to his ancestors was made by the lord himself and sent here at full speed. Each box of yellow paper representing the lord's personal sacrifice is sealed with a wax seal. I will open it now and burn one to ask the ancestors."
Zhang Chang was hesitating when Ji Renshou frowned and asked, "How can paper be ignited in the rain?"
When Ji Renshou said this, Zhang Chang immediately retorted, "The Lord has received his mandate from Heaven, so Heaven will naturally give in to the Lord! How can you use common sense to judge the Lord? What is your intention? Chen Biao, your suggestion is very good, let's do as you say!"
Ji Renshou’s fists hardened.
Do you think I've never read history books and don't know what those extraordinary auspicious signs in history are?!
