Zhu Ping'an went to the outer yamen of the Ministry of Justice to meet up with Liu Mu, Liu Dadao and others. With the official document from the Minister of Justice, he summoned thirty officers from the yamen of the Ministry of Justice, and drove the fifteen horse-drawn carriages that had been coordinated yesterday out of the yamen and headed for the destination, Zhenwu Camp.
Zhenwuying was stationed outside Yingtian City, south of the outer city, between the old imperial city and Purple Mountain. The Judicial Office was roughly in the north of the city, just south of Zhenwuying and north of it, with a large distance between them.
Zhu Ping'an and his party drove the carriage for half an hour before arriving at the south of the city, where they saw Purple Mountain from afar.
"Zhongshan is like a dragon, Shicheng is like a tiger, it is truly the residence of an emperor."
Zhu Ping'an looked out at the Purple Mountain from afar. The mountain was slightly arc-shaped, with the mouth of the arc facing south, winding like a giant dragon. He couldn't help but sigh that Emperor Hongwu chose Yingtian to establish his capital because he was attracted by the terrain here.
The outer city wall of Yingtian City winds like a dragon, encompassing the entire Purple Mountain.
From a distance, the old imperial city is at the foot of Purple Mountain.
Oh, I remember now.
When the Ming Dynasty was first established and its capital was built in Yingtian, Purple Mountain was not inside the city but outside it.
At that time, Emperor Hongwu established his capital in Yingtian and conscripted more than 200,000 laborers to build Yintiancheng. It took several years to complete. The city wall has a circumference of 70 miles. It is supported by Zhongshan Mountain in the east, Qinhuai River as a natural moat in the south, the Yangtze River in the west, and Xuanwu Lake in the north as a barrier, integrating mountains, lakes and rivers into one.
After Yingtian City was built, Emperor Hongwu enthusiastically took the princes and civil and military officials to climb the Purple Mountain. Looking down at Yingtian City, he was very satisfied with it. He thought that such a strong city should be the foundation for all eternity.
The delighted Emperor Hongwu pointed at Yingtian City and boasted to the princes and officials, "Haha, what do you think of this capital? My capital has high walls and thick walls, and its circumference is the longest in ancient and modern times. It has thirteen city gates. It is supported by Zhongshan Mountain in the east, Qinhuai moat in the south, Yangtze River in the west, and Xuanwu Lake in the north. It is as solid as a rock and can be defended for more than a year."
"Your Majesty is wise. Yingtian City should be the most fortified city in the world throughout history."
"Yingtian City is truly a heavenly city."
"Your Majesty has a keen eye. This magnificent city, with its natural barriers, is truly impregnable."
"It won't be a problem for just one year, there won't be any problem for eight or ten years."
"... ..."
Civil and military officials all echoed the words, praising the wisdom of Emperor Hongwu and the solidity of Yingtian City.
However, as the civil and military officials were singing praises of the emperor's wisdom, a discordant voice of a young man in his voice change period rang out: "Cannons are set up on Purple Mountain, and cannons are fired into Houzai Gate."
Houzaimen is the gate of the Forbidden City. What the young man meant was that if cannons were set up on Purple Mountain, every cannon could hit the Forbidden City.
The young man's voice was like the cry of a phoenix flying into the mountains and forests, and the noisy birds in the mountains and forests suddenly fell silent. When the civil and military officials heard the young man's comments on his life, they suddenly became silent.
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw the fourth prince of Emperor Hongwu, Zhu Di, standing there with a proud look on his face.
The young Zhu Di was in his teens, at the age when he liked to show off. He was very proud, proud that he had discovered the hidden danger in the city's defense.
At this moment, he looked up with pride, expecting praise from his father and all the civil and military officials.
The air was quiet, even a little depressing.
Why don't you praise me?!
The young Zhu Di glanced at the civil and military officials and found that they were nervous. Well, they were probably nervous because they were incompetent and failed to discover the hidden dangers of the city defense. They were worried about being punished by their father. Hurry up and praise me, and I will consider asking for mercy on your behalf.
The civil and military officials were worried that the emperor would punish them and didn't have time to praise me. What about the emperor? Why didn't he praise me
The young Zhu Di looked in the direction of Emperor Hongwu and found that his father, who was originally very excited, had a gloomy face. The young Zhu Di could not help but become nervous. What happened? Did I see it wrong
However, the young Zhu Di felt relieved the next second, because his gloomy father smiled again, took out an orange from his sleeve, peeled it, removed the veins, handed it to him, and asked him to eat the orange.
This is a reward from my father.
Father always praised my brother Zhu Biao, but never praised me. This orange was the first time Father rewarded me. It was not just a reward of oranges, but Father peeled the oranges for me to eat.
Even my royal brother doesn’t get this treatment.
Under the gaze of everyone, the young Zhu Di proudly took the orange, put it in his mouth and ate it.
Sweet, very sweet, extremely sweet. It tastes sweet in your mouth and in your heart.
Young Zhu Di felt that he had never eaten such sweet oranges and would never forget the taste.
After returning to the palace, the young Zhu Di paid his respects to Empress Ma. Zhu Di was not Empress Ma's biological son, but she raised him from childhood. Empress Ma loved him very much and treated him as her own son. Zhu Di also treated Empress Ma as his own mother, and was not as close to Empress Ma as his biological mother.
Seeing Zhu Di's happy face, Empress Ma couldn't help but ask him with a smile if he had a good time visiting Purple Mountain with his father today. The young Zhu Di told Empress Ma with a proud look on his face what Emperor Hongwu had asked everyone about Yingtian City on Purple Mountain.
"How did you answer?" Queen Ma asked curiously with a smile.
"I climbed up the Purple Mountain and had a panoramic view of the entire Forbidden City. I immediately realized something was wrong. If an enemy occupied the Purple Mountain, they could set up cannons on the mountain and bombard the Forbidden City. So I replied, set up cannons on the Purple Mountain and fire at the Houzai Gate."
The young Zhu Di repeated his answer proudly, as if he was waiting for Empress Ma's praise.
Upon hearing this, Empress Ma's face changed. She looked at the young Zhu Di nervously and asked, "What did your father say after hearing this?"
"Father didn't say anything. He took out an orange from his sleeve, peeled it, handed it to me, and asked me to eat it. Mother, you know, I have never eaten such a sweet orange."
Young Zhu Di said proudly, his face filled with happiness when he mentioned that the oranges were sweet.
After the young Zhu Di finished speaking, he waited for Empress Ma's praise.
However, to Zhu Di's surprise, he did not receive any praise, but instead saw the horrified Queen Ma.
No one understood the Hongwu Emperor better than Empress Ma. She understood the Hongwu Emperor's character and his mind. The Hongwu Emperor was decisive in killing. He wanted to pass the throne to their eldest son Zhu Biao, and give Zhu Biao a stable country that would last for thousands of years. The Hongwu Emperor had revealed to her more than once that he would kill the good archers and lackeys who had helped them seize the world and were now capable of threatening the country... ... She knew what the Hongwu Emperor's actions on the spot meant.
"My son, run away quickly. Your father will not only kill you, but also peel your skin and pull out your tendons like eating an orange." Empress Ma was immediately horrified and urged and arranged for Zhu Di to escape from Yingtian to Shuntian.
When Emperor Hongwu found out that Empress Ma had let Zhu Di go, he thought that the Empress treated Zhu Di as her own son and had deep feelings for him. He also thought that Zhu Di was his own son after all, and was only in his early ten years old, so he did not pursue the matter any further.
However, Zhu Di's suggestion still bothered Emperor Hongwu, so he decided to build the outer wall of Yingtian City, enclosing Purple Mountain, Yuhuatai, and Mufu Mountain within the city... ...
Hence, it has become what it is today.