Chapter 48 one

Yanjing is located at the foot of Yanshan Mountain, surrounded by Canghai in the east, Taihang in the west, Heji in the south and Shuomo in the north. Yanjing was named Ji in ancient times, and it was the capital of Yan State.By the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Ji had developed into one of the famous historical cities of "the wealth crowns the world".From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it gradually became the seat of the prefectures and Youzhou that unified the Central Plains.The Liao Kingdom, which was opposed to the Northern Song Dynasty, changed Youzhou to Nanjing, also known as Yanjing, as the accompanying capital of the Liao Dynasty; the Jin State, which was opposed to the Song Dynasty, also moved its capital here and operated for more than 60 years.Therefore, the Yanjing area is superior to Kaiping City and Harahelin, which are far away from the Central Plains, both in terms of geographical situation and historical development.As a vast Mongolia, moving the capital to Yanjing is conducive to its rule.

Kublai Khan had jumped out of the small circle of the Mongolian "golden family" more than ten years before he seized the Khan throne.Under the influence of Han intellectuals, he believed in Confucianism, followed Han law, and became a new-style king who was determined to abandon the old Mongolian law.Liu Bingzhong once said to Kublai Khan: "Today, whoever can reuse the Han scholar-officials and implement China's original way of governing the country can be the emperor of China." For Kublai Khan, who had the desire to unify China, Undoubtedly a great inspiration and motivation.

Back then, when Kublai Khan, who was still a vassal king, was ordered by Mengge Khan to lead the Monan Han Dynasty to Yanjing, Baolu, the son of Muhuali, advised him: "In the land of Youyan, there are dragons and tigers, and the situation is majestic. , Controlling Jianghuai in the south, connecting Shuomo in the north, and the emperor must live in the center to receive pilgrimage from all directions. If the king wants to manage the world, the place where he stays must be Yan." Hao Jing also urged Kublai Khan to move his capital to Yanjing. He believed that: Yandu controls Liaodong in the east, connects the three Jin Dynasties in the west, bears Tianling on its back, overlooks Heshuo, and reaches the world in the south.

Later, under the influence of a group of enlightened Mongolian nobles and Han intellectuals, Kublai Khan adopted public opinion and moved his capital to Yanjing after defeating the split and conservative Ali Boke forces. In August of the first year of Zhiyuan (1264), Kublai Khan changed Yanjing to Zhongdu, and changed the fifth year of Zhongtong to the first year of Zhiyuan. In the year when Kublai Khan was born, the Mongolian army marched southward, broke through the capital of Jinzhong, and immediately plundered it wantonly, and then set fire to the city. The fire spread for more than a month, and a generation of palaces were burnt. .When Kublai Khan arrived in Zhongdu in 1260, he stayed at the Daning Palace.Because of the beautiful scenery near Daning Palace, Kublai Khan decided to build a new capital around Daning Palace.In the first month of the fourth year of Zhiyuan (1267), Kublai Khan ordered Liu Bingzhong to be in charge of supervising the construction of the Zhongdu City, and began to build the ancestral temple palace.

"Shangdu is Qing's masterpiece. I hope to see a more majestic Zhongdu City standing in the east of the world. Go, go and complete your mission! Use all your wisdom to rebuild a brand new Zhongdu City and restore its former glory. Brilliant!" On the eve of Liu Bingzhong's departure to build the Zhongdu, Kublai Khan urged him earnestly, "I firmly believe that you will live up to everyone's expectations. When you go to Zhongdu, you need people and money. No matter what, you must guarantee the construction period and quality. Have you estimated how long the entire construction period will take?"

"I have carefully calculated that it will take about sixteen years for the entire project to be completed. The preliminary works such as the palace city, the imperial city and part of the outer city will take four years." "Okay! Four years later, I'm looking forward to congratulating you!"