Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 411: The scenery here is unique
The emperor really didn't think too much about it when he brought his two young sons to climb Wansui Mountain - or rather, even though this year is the 27th year of Yongchen, he has been on the throne for exactly 26 years, but he is essentially still the emperor who has been independent and free-spirited since childhood. This is a trait that is imprinted in his bones and is also a trait affirmed by his father, Emperor Ruizong.
He still remembers the words his father said to him before he passed away, holding his hand.
"You are a lively and energetic child, different from the wise prince and emperor that the ministers expect. What they need is a steady and dignified emperor who sits on the throne, who can accept their advice and won't get angry even if they spit on his face. But such an emperor is nothing more than a clay puppet. You are more suitable."
"You must listen, but don't be partial; you must check and balance, but don't rely solely on political tactics; you must be wise, but not blindly kind; you must be decisive, and you can be cruel and ruthless when necessary... Of course, you are still too young, and everything will be handed over to your mother first. You must trust her, just as I trust you and hand over this country to you. I have chosen the best teacher for you, and you must learn from him well."
At this time, when they reached the top of the mountain, the emperor recalled his father's last earnest teachings, and he was filled with mixed feelings. He then said to Ge Yong with a sigh: "Although my father gave me a lot of instructions back had a teacher to teach me all the time, I might have gone astray a long time ago. You know, what I liked to do most at that time was to go against the ministers and my mother."
"Your Majesty, you are so shameless." Ge Yong glanced at the emperor with a bad face, "I have never seen such a naughty student. Compared with these two sensible little princes, Your Majesty was really far behind!"
Seeing that the Third and Fourth Princes were still surrounding Zhang Shou and asking him questions, their faces were full of curiosity and genuine admiration, the Emperor immediately turned his head away awkwardly, then coughed and said, "I had just lost my loving father, my strict mother was always meddling in my affairs, and the ministers liked to point fingers, so I felt a little annoyed, so I was a little rebellious?"
"A little bit? More than a little bit. If a strict person were to be your teacher, Your Majesty, you might get pissed off to death! Fortunately, an old man like me knows how to adapt and disciplined you a few times. Otherwise... hehe!"
Zhang Shou didn't notice the conversation between Ge Yong and the emperor. He finally got out of the endless questions from the two little princes and handed them over to Zhu Ying, who had a lot of experience in dealing with them. Then he came to Ge Yong and the emperor. Before he could speak, Ge Yong smiled and asked, "You got frustrated this time, didn't you? Children are not so easy to deal with!"
"Teacher, you are joking. I didn't mean to fool them. There are many poor people in Jiuzhang Hall now, because among those scholars who are well-read and have decent family backgrounds, even if there are also some who are proficient in mathematics, I am afraid they will not focus their main energy on mathematics. If two princes can join the ranks with real talents and knowledge, then they will become a striking benchmark in the future."
Seeing the emperor raised his eyebrows, as if he was a little surprised, Zhang Shou smiled and said, "But, they have to pass the exam based on their real ability. I will not show mercy. Apart from anything else, I plan to make this year's exam questions more difficult than last year's."
The emperor looked at the two young sons who were chattering around Zhu Ying not far away with some sympathy, and then smiled and said, "Your tactics of playing hard to get may really work. However, if Sanlang and Silang really enter Jiuzhang Hall, do you really intend to only teach them mathematics and physics... um, it seems to be called physics?"
"Besides this, I will not teach you anything else."
Zhang Shou looked at the emperor with a very innocent look, and then said frankly: "When the third and fourth princes grow up, will they still listen to my mediocre way of telling them history? Anyone picked out of the Hanlin Academy can tell it better than me, so it is enough to try this kind of ridiculous thing in the Banshan Hall in the past."
"I don't think you're bad at explaining. If being superficial means being bad, then my teacher used to explain it this way when he gave me lectures. You and I are both teachers and students, so this can be considered a continuation of the same tradition."
The emperor smiled and praised Zhang Shou. Seeing that he seemed to want to be modest, he stopped him and said, "Well, let's not talk about your old job of teaching and educating people. Tell me about Cangzhou. Although Zhang Shou has sent me relevant reports from time to time before, the written reports are not as detailed as the verbal reports. Teacher, remember to supplement Zhang Shou's report."
Although he had just reminisced about his childhood with the emperor, Ge Yong was still very serious when talking about business. Next, Zhang Shou began to tell in detail about everything he had experienced after arriving in Cangzhou, even his acquaintance and interactions with Lao Xianyu - of course, he saw those delicious things like peppers, potatoes, and peanuts that he had not seen for a long time, so he omitted the matter of cooking by himself.
As for how Zhu Tingfang suddenly came down from the sky and broke the chaos in the palace, how he killed Xu Cheng, and how he beat and killed those wealthy merchants, he didn't care whether his brother-in-law reported it or not, and he told them all in general. Of course, he roughly sorted out the part about Zhu Tingfang suppressing the rebellion from the side stories of Zhu Er and Old Salted Fish and Little Peanut.
Of course, he also gave a brief introduction to his own small plans and the small groups that were planning experiments in Cangzhou.
As for Zhang Chen and Zhu Er who had successively betrayed the eldest prince... although he didn't want to say it out loud to irritate the emperor as his father, he saw that the third and fourth princes were still restrained by Zhu Ying not far away and could not have heard their eldest brother's embarrassing situation, so after a little thought, he still brought it out verbatim.
The emperor listened very carefully. He was furious, ashamed, regretful, and self-blaming... all kinds of negative emotions had been vented when he first learned the news. At this moment, as he listened, analyzed, and summarized, he was a completely rational emperor, or, in other words, an emperor who tried hard to keep himself as rational as possible.
After finally listening to Zhang Shou's main story and Ge Yong's supplementary information, he breathed a sigh of relief and then smiled bitterly, "I am now very glad that I did not send that rebellious son to Jiangnan. But what I regret more is that I was soft-hearted for a moment, thinking that he was more stable and sensible than Erlang, and he wanted to make a difference, so I believed him."
"I have said it before, it is useless for the emperor to simply be disappointed with the eldest and second princes. No matter how much the queen opposed it at the beginning, if the emperor could forcefully take the two sons away and raise them with the queen mother, it would not have become like this."
When Ge Yong said this, he showed an extremely angry expression on his face: "In the end, I was labeled as a teacher just because I taught them for a few days. Now and in the future, people will say that it is my fault for not disciplining them. It's really unfair for me to think about it!"
The emperor had always been very modest in front of this teacher. He could only smile bitterly and said, "I was too lazy to argue with the queen, or even to see her. I just thought that she should know that sons are the most important thing. After the teacher gave up on the two brothers, she also found a famous teacher. I never thought that my two sons would grow up like this."
Zhang Shou had no intention of intervening in this rather taboo topic. Although he was quite disgusted with the eldest and second princes, he naturally wanted to stay away from such royal family affairs. So, he silently stepped back two steps and quietly came to the pavilion to the south.
From here he could overlook the entire palace city. He could see the glazed tiles of the three main halls shining in the sun, the magnificent palace, the Xuanwu Gate wall behind the palace city, and the palace maids and eunuchs who were neatly dressed coming in and out. All of these reminded him of the scene when he overlooked the Forbidden City from Jingshan Mountain.
To be honest, he was actually very disappointed after visiting the Forbidden City in his previous life. The blue bricks in the square in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony were already pitted, the palace that should have been magnificent was dim, countless people were noisily gathering in front of the small palace to take pictures, and the six east and six west palaces sounded shabby and small... Anyway, he was very dissatisfied when he came out of the gray back door of the Forbidden City.
He just felt that the Forbidden City was just a name for nothing...it wasn't even just for show.
However, all these emotions disappeared after he climbed up Jingshan Mountain and looked down at the Forbidden City. At that time, the setting sun shone on the palace complex, the towering red walls were magnificent, the golden glazed tiles were magnificent, and the palaces were neatly arranged, and the countless tourists like ants inside were completely invisible.
At that moment, the feeling of the pearl covered in dust completely disappeared from the museum, replaced by the vicissitudes, heaviness and grandeur of history. It was also at that moment that he truly understood a truth - distance creates beauty.
But the palace standing in front of him, you say it has only a hundred years of history, but it also includes part of the palace complex of Yuan Dadu. And it is larger than the Forbidden City. Not to mention other things, the Fengtian Hall, which he had been in before and has never changed its name, is more than twice as large as the Taihe Hall, and the Qingning Palace is also much larger than the Cining Palace...
In other words, the Emperor Taizu, who had maxed out his map skills, was obviously not satisfied with the size of the Forbidden City. Of course, no one had put in enough effort to build a Daming Palace like the one during the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, because the Qianqing Palace seemed to have maintained its original size, and according to Zhu Ying, the harem was not very spacious either. For example, Concubine Yu, who had low requirements, didn't care, but the Empress had always disliked the Kunning Palace.
Considering that such an opportunity to overlook the palace city from Wansui Mountain is extremely rare, and he probably won't have a second chance in his life, Zhang Shou naturally took this opportunity to leisurely take in the view.
He didn't know how long he stood there, but suddenly a pair of hands stretched out from behind him and covered his eyes. Knowing that only Zhu Ying would do such a thing in such a place, he simply didn't struggle or say anything, and just stood there quietly.
As if because he didn't say anything, the girl behind him moved her hand away unhappily, and then shouted angrily: "A Shou, are you a piece of wood? Why didn't you even ask who it was?"
"Because I know it's you." Zhang Shou smiled slightly and turned around. Seeing Zhu Ying, dressed in bright red, standing in front of him with her hands behind her back, with annoyance clearly written on her face, he said slowly, "Even if the Third and Fourth Princes wanted to joke with me, they are not tall enough to blind me. The Emperor and the teacher would not do such a thing that is not in line with their status. The other guards would not dare to do that."
"You're so old-fashioned to have to think so much at a time like this!"
Zhu Ying frowned in boredom, but then she was stunned. Zhang Shou came up to her and pulled her hand with a smile. When Zhang Shou dragged her to look at the palace together, she suddenly realized what was going on. She couldn't help but said coquettishly, "Ah Shou, the emperor is over there too. How dare you be so bold all of a sudden!"
"Just think of it as a whim."
Zhang Shou didn't look at how the emperor and Ge Yong would react to this scene, and he continued to hold Zhu Ying's hand with a smile. When he realized that Zhu Ying scolded him a few words, but actually held his hand tightly, he couldn't help thinking that it was a matter of fate to be able to meet such a warm, cheerful and generous girl in such an era, who was never shy.
“Not many people outside the palace can climb Wansui Mountain, and even fewer can see the entire palace city from here. Standing here, I feel that Emperor Taizu rebuilt this capital and this palace on the ruins of the late Yuan Dynasty instead of simply abandoning it. This is indeed an extraordinary vision.”
He paused, then smiled and said to Zhu Ying, "Although Yuan Dadu was also the capital during the Yuan Dynasty, that was because the Mongols came from the grasslands and naturally tended to be closer to the grasslands. Taizu started his army from the south and eventually drove out the Tartars, but he still used Yuan Dadu as the capital and passed down a saying that the emperor guards the country's gates. No wonder you have always worshipped and admired ."
Zhu Ying was naturally delighted to see her beloved praising someone she admired. Without even thinking, she nodded and said, "At that time, the northern barbarians had just retreated into the grasslands. The north was not peaceful at all. If we built the capital in the south, we might repeat the mistakes of the Song Dynasty. In addition, our great grandfather did not want to establish a vassal state, so naturally Yuandadu was the best choice for building the capital."
"Although the imperial city designed by Grandpa Taizu is very different from the palace of Yuan Dadu, the one who designed and rebuilt the capital was Grandpa Ge's ancestor. He was very capable and trusted those skilled craftsmen. He not only perfectly realized every idea of Grandpa Taizu, but also took into account all the details, including the straight and horizontal streets, the symmetrical city, and the symmetrical palace..."
Zhu Ying talked incessantly about the history of the capital and the imperial palace. She didn't think it was a spoiler to mention such things from the pile of old papers in such a place. The emperor, who originally thought that the pair of young children were not only so close but also a perfect match when standing together, couldn't help but cover his forehead at this moment.
"What should I say? What goes with what pot? In this rare moment, shouldn't they swear to each other?"
Ge Yong glanced at the emperor with disdain, and then said expressionlessly: "Your Majesty, you have read too many legendary stories."
The third and fourth princes rarely saw their father being scolded, so they wanted to laugh but didn't dare to. They could only look at the legendary most powerful Grand Tutor Ge with admiration. Under the admiring gaze of the two children, Ge Yong sighed and said something.
"There's a saying that goes, 'Even though we may not have the wings of a phoenix, our hearts are connected.' Since they are lovers with a connection, there's no need to talk about spoiling the scenery... When the two of them stand there, they add a touch of scenery to the place."
The emperor looked at the pair of children with their backs to him with a look of realization. Indeed, the scenery here is unique.
