Chapter 50 Chapter 50 Relocation of Empress Zigong by Order

At the time when Emperor Daoguang's dragon body was still unhealed and the court was full of worries, another major event that had never happened since entering the Qing Dynasty occurred in the Qing Dynasty: the accompanying tomb on the right side of the emperor's mausoleum, that is, the east where the coffin of Empress Xiaomu was placed. There is knee-deep black water in Lingbaohuayu.This was discovered by Tanglin duty officer during an accidental inspection.Fortunately, Empress Xiaomu was blessed by God. The coffin was just three feet above the ground, and no water had entered it. However, the eight maids who were buried with her at the front, back, left, and right sides were originally melted by drinking mercury, but they were all soaked into breasts and fat buttocks. It turned into a piece of mud, and disappeared.

According to the ancestral system of the Qing Dynasty, the new emperor had to build a mausoleum from the day he ascended the throne.The emperor can live well, but the imperial mausoleum has to be completed early and wait.The palace where the emperor lived and the cemetery where he returned from the west are two important things for the royal family.Emperor Daoguang was already in his thirties when he was in power, and he was already a well-known man with a deep city and a reputation for thrift.This stems from his witnessing the luxury of the Qianlong Dynasty and the poverty of Lord Jiaqing.If it weren't for Lord Qianlong's love of showing off, how could He Shen become so greedy?Emperor Daoguang's personal government naturally listed the word integrity as a first-class and important event, and carved the deeds of Kangxi and Jackie Chan into stone plaques and stood them in the palace. He was determined to reverse the extravagance of the Qianlong Dynasty and become a good emperor.

At the beginning of the construction of the mausoleum, the university scholars Yinghe and Qi Yuzao boldly proposed to the emperor that the emperor's mausoleum might as well follow the example of Emperor Wen of Han and have a thin burial in order to cater to the new emperor's frugal taste.The booklet was handed over, and it really won the praise of Emperor Daoguang, and he was allowed to play it immediately. At the same time, he appointed two academicians to be the ministers in charge of the construction of the new imperial mausoleum. The cost of the mausoleum was in twos—originally 10 million taels of silver, but Emperor Daoguang limited it to three million taels.Naturally, the main facilities have not been moved, but some ancillary buildings for viewing, what should be cut down, what should be cut down, are really buried lightly.

Yinghe and Qi Yuzao acted resolutely, and on the day they received the order, they took their men and horses and Gan Xi, a doctor from the Ministry of Industry, to investigate the auspicious land.Gan Xi specialized in Fengshui and was a well-known geomancy master during the Daoguang period. All buildings and buildings in the capital had to be inspected one by one with a compass before construction could start. Mr. Gan took the compass, followed Ying and Qi, two great scholars, tossed and tossed outside the city for more than 20 days, and finally settled on the location of Jidi.Afterwards, the figures were drawn, marked in words one by one, and presented to the emperor.At that time, Emperor Daoguang wanted to have a thin burial. Seeing that the graphics were simple and the facilities were in line with the spirit of the meeting of the imperial ministers, he approved it without thinking too much.

Unexpectedly, Yinghe is the one who has figured out Emperor Daoguang's temper. As long as he is buried lightly, Emperor Daoguang will definitely like it.He discussed with Qi Yuzao that he needed to use some means to have a real thin burial, so as to live up to the emperor's painstaking efforts and care.Three million taels of silver were allocated from the household department, and the two of them only took out two million taels for use, and the remaining one million taels, each of them lost 500,000 taels, and complained in private, saying that there was a huge fat shortage , let the word "conscience" be ruined.

The two million taels of imperial mausoleum, starting from the supervisor and the supervisor, started to be peeled off layer by layer, and when it was implemented, it was already less than one million taels.The foreman had no choice but to buy bricks and tiles, but he couldn’t afford marble anymore. Several foremen got together to discuss a solution.There is a saying that three cobblers beat Zhuge Liang, and they really came up with an idea, which is to use sandy yellow mud mixed with limestone to make cubes and dry them, and then apply a layer of lime paste, which is called synthetic marble.It is built up row by row without digging by hand, and it is exactly the same as marble.Yinghe and Qi Shizao were so happy that they praised the foremen's ability, and immediately agreed that their names must be listed on the insurance policy.In private, Yinghe and Qi Shizao regretted it a little. They knew that the marble would not use silver, so if they bought an extra four or five million yuan, wouldn't the imperial mausoleum be built as usual?Yinghe scolded himself for being too soft-hearted and born to be poor; Qi Shizao hid in his mansion and slapped himself repeatedly.Qi Yuzao's attribute for himself is: too loyal to the Qing Dynasty.

After half a year of tossing, the imperial tomb (emperor's tomb) and accompanying tomb (queen's tomb) were both completed. Emperor Daoguang took the Minister of Military Aircraft and various ministers, accompanied by Yinghe and Qi Yuzao, to inspect and accept the imperial tomb and the accompanying tomb.Looking everywhere, I can see red bricks of red bricks, green tiles of green tiles, and marbles of marble. The rows of buildings are really beautiful. Emperor Daoguang sighed at that time: "Thrift is the foundation of a strong country!" Back in the palace, he repeatedly praised Yinghe and Qi Yuzao for their abilities, praised them for being excellent, and rewarded them for wearing yellow jackets.In those few days, Ying and Qi were really excited. They not only made money, but also gained a good reputation for being thrifty for the country.Such a good thing is rare!

Empress Xiaomu ascended to heaven one step ahead, so she will naturally be sent to sleep in the accompanying mausoleum.The accompanying mausoleum is on the right side of the imperial mausoleum and is a branch building of the imperial mausoleum.In the first few years when the queen went to bed, Zhili was caught up with a severe drought. The capital had not seen a drop of rain for three years. The land was cracked, the trees were dead, and there was almost no harvest.Thanks to the good times in other provinces, no one in the capital died of starvation.The severe drought in the past three years has caused the emperor to be worried, and all the officials to be worried. Only Yinghe was happy, and Qi Yuzao was happy.What do you mean?It turns out that the built imperial tombs and accompanying tombs are almost all made of synthetic marble, and the most feared thing is rain and tide.Only when the groundwater is dry and the wall is not damp can it be seen that it is strong and firm.Do you think that after three years, the ground has been exposed to cracks, how can there be extra water in the ground?Isn't it perfect?

The officials on duty guarding the imperial mausoleum originally had residences and duty rooms in the ground buildings of the imperial mausoleum, but because these people participated in the construction of the mausoleum, none of them dared to go in seriously, but they built a room a hundred steps away from the wind. The simple house, going back to the imperial mausoleum for business trips every now and then, and walking around underground, can receive a monthly salary. The accumulation of water in the accompanying mausoleum seemed to have happened overnight, and the officials in charge were so panicked that they turned up all night, and the capital became a sensation.

Emperor Daoguang was ill, and when he saw Zhezi, he broke into a cold sweat with fright. At that time, bandits and horse bandits were raging all over the country, and every day there were reports in this regard coming to Beijing. He was really afraid that the foundation of his ancestors would come to an end in his own hands. Emperor Daoguang immediately called the king and ministers to discuss the matter of moving the mausoleum. After the princes and ministers arrived, Eunuch Cao first read the booklet of the mausoleum guard for the princes and ministers.Qi Shizao's scalp was numb and he was sweating all over, as if he had six or seven rabbits in his arms.

Yinghe blinked his mung bean eyes, desperately trying to think of a way out of his predicament. As soon as Eunuch Cao’s words fell, Yinghe knelt down on the ground first, and played loudly: "Slave congratulates the emperor, congratulates the emperor, long live my emperor, long live, long live, long live, long live my emperor!" , can't touch the door at all. Emperor Daoguang suppressed his anger and asked, "Yinghe, what do you like?" Yinghe knelt down and took a step forward without changing his expression, and said, "The emperor thinks, Baohuayu is originally a mountainous area, and no water will seep out even if a well is drilled. Now water is produced in the imperial tomb of Long Live Lord out of thin air, although it is to accompany the tomb. Water seepage, doesn't it just mean that the emperor is going to be in peace? The emperor's peace, what is it if it is not joy?" Emperor Daoguang was confused by Yinghe's words for a long time, and he came back to his senses after careful thought. His anger could not help but subside, and he said, "Yes, I have also thought about this for a day. The tombs of the ancestors This kind of thing has never happened before, so how can everything go wrong when it's my turn? Is it really like what Yinghe said, how many more years can I live? The ancestors don't want me yet?" Seeing that the emperor was suddenly refreshed, the princes and ministers knelt down and sang carols together. The voices of Ying and Qi were the loudest: "The emperor is holy, what the emperor said is right, isn't the emperor safe now? Congratulations to the emperor, long live my emperor!" Long live long live!" "Mu Zhang." Emperor Daoguang nodded. "The minister is here." Mu Zhanga knelt and took a step forward. "Yinghe is getting old and can't bear the drama. I want to entrust you to do the moving of the mausoleum this time. After choosing the address, draw the picture book, and focus on thin burials. I will work hard on frugality. I will make the decision myself. Now Hurry up and build a temporary mausoleum for the empress, and move the Zigong out as soon as possible. No matter how the empress is soaked in water, it will not be a blessing to the country, right?" "The emperor is wise!" A group of princes and ministers continued to sing carols. On this day, Yinghe and Qi Shizao were particularly elated. The next day, another edict was issued to the Hanlin Academy: "From today onwards, Zeng Guofan, the Shaoqing of Zhan Shifu of the Hanlin Academy and the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, will assist Mu Zhang'a, the foreman of the Military Aircraft Department and a scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion, to handle the relocation escort. Mausoleum matters. I hope that the minister will be frugal and devoted to his duties, do things with all his heart, and live up to everyone's expectations. I respect this." Zeng Guofan got busy again. Although Mu Zhang'a was the minister in charge, because he didn't know much about yin and yang, and he was fat and bulky, he only did some commanding work symbolically.The specific work was all pushed to Zeng Guofan. He really wanted people to give people, and he wanted things to have things. Zeng Guofan led Gan Xi and other survey experts from the Ministry of Industry to build a wooden house facing south and north on a sandy hill on the east side of Baohuayu, and then dug a large hole in the middle of the house. The cave was surrounded by red bricks, plastered with cement, and painted with golden powder.And Mu Zhang'a played the Emperor Ming, and respectfully asked the Emperor to inspect and approve. Because the emperor was ill, he was too weak to work, so Prince Zheng Duanhua had to do one of the examinations, accompanied by Mu Zhanga, Zeng Guofan, Gan Xi and others.Because it was the queen's temporary auspicious place, the princes came here, just took a look around the crypt, and asked Zeng Guofan and Gan Xi a few innocuous words, even if they passed, it was very sloppy. Mu Zhang'a then arranged to move the Queen's Palace.Emperor Daoguang convened an imperial meeting specifically for this matter, and set the day for the queen's soul transfer to September 19th. On this day, Mu Zhang'a commanded in person, and assigned errands to the grand scholars, ministers of the military aircraft department, ministers and ministers of all ministries, and dispatched 500 Green Battalion soldiers stationed in Beijing for the purpose of entering the accompanying mausoleum and carrying the catalpa palace. of.Royal is no small matter. Zeng Guofan also got up early that day and went to the military plane to wait for Mu Zhang'a.When Mu Zhang'a walked in, all the people who were waiting came to greet him, and then they started to head towards Baohuayu. Five hundred green battalion soldiers, led by an admiral, had already arrived at Baohuayu one step ahead.The weather this day was not very good, there was a heavy rain at night, although the dawn was a bit small, but the southeast wind blew, and the Yiling ministers were all drenched.Some people secretly suspected in their hearts: I am afraid that moving the tomb for the queen is not guilty of something, right? When they arrived at Baohuayu, the officer in charge of the imperial mausoleum opened the gate of the accompanying mausoleum. Mu Zhang'a and all the ministers kowtowed respectfully to the gate. Mu Zhang'a said in a long voice: "Pray for your empress' peace! This servant is not waiting to disturb your mother. This servant is waiting to follow the emperor's order to move your bed." After speaking, he struggled to get up, and waved at the admiral behind him. wave. Five hundred soldiers from the Green Battalion walked into the tomb and carried the Empress's Zi Palace in the knee-deep black water. After two moments, the Zi Palace was moved out of the ground step by step by a team of 100 people. The ministers hurriedly lined up on the left and right of the Queen's Zigong, all mourning, supporting the Zigong, and carried it to the sand hill step by step.The rain suddenly picked up. The pole team is composed of one hundred soldiers, and it is divided into three shifts to carry it in turn.The remaining 200 people are still in Baohuayu, cleaning up the funeral objects of the empress; Seeing the sand hill, suddenly there was a loud thunder, which exploded above the team's head. The team paused for a moment, before they recovered their senses, they heard a rumbling sound behind their heads, as if the landslides and the ground cracked. The ministers hurriedly stopped and looked back, only to see that all the imperial tombs in Baohuayu had collapsed and turned into flat ground. Mu Zhang'a froze there for a moment, like a wooden sculpture made of clay.Yinghe and Qi Yuzao also turned pale, and they both shook into a ball. When Zeng Guofan saw it, he knew that the teacher was out of order, so he hurriedly came over and pulled the corner of La Muzhang'a's clothes, and said in a low voice: "Master Zhongtang, it is more important to arrange the empress properly, and it will not be too late to talk about the matter of Baohuayu." .” Only then did Mu Zhang'a wake up, greeted him, and moved the Empress's Zi Palace into the newly built room, and slowly descended into the crypt.Mu Zhang'a murmured in a low voice: "It's not that the ancestors showed their spirits, something big is about to happen today!" All the ministers also called "lucky". The Baohuayu imperial mausoleum collapsed, killing ninety soldiers and injuring two out of thirty. The admiral was hit by a flying wooden beam and broke a leg.This incident was turned into many stories by local artists, and it was amazing. In fact, a discerning person can see the truth at a glance: this catastrophe is firstly due to the "synthetic marble" of Yinghe and Qi Shizao, and secondly due to the sudden wind and rain.These two points are fundamental. On the second day after the accident, Yinghe and Qi Shizao took sick leave at the same time.Full of astonishment.Emperor Daoguang thought that the two ministers of the shoulders and arms had fallen ill due to the rain, so he not only rewarded them with leave, but also rewarded Changbai Mountain ginseng.When the ginseng arrived at Ying and Qi's two mansions, Yinghe cried loudly, and Qi Yuzao cried until he fainted.