Chapter 107 Section 4 Backcountry almost became the capital

Zhu Yuanzhang's affection for his hometown is indeed very deep.He is a plant growing on the land of Fengyang.In the midst of war, he always felt the cruelty of human nature, but once he returned to this barren hometown, he immediately felt that everything was so smooth and solid.The familiar plants and trees in his hometown and the sincere feelings of the villagers for him constitute a huge natural "womb", which makes him feel the safest and most comfortable here. In the first year of Hongwu, the Ming Dynasty was founded and its capital was Yingtian, which is today's Nanjing.However, soon after, Zhu Yuanzhang proposed a plan that shocked the ministers: to set the capital of the empire in his hometown of Fengyang.

Before and after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the monarchs and ministers had many discussions about the capital of the new empire. Because Nanjing’s position in the country was in the southeast, the ministers proposed plans for Chang’an, Luoyang, Kaifeng and Beiping.These four cities are all famous historical cities and giant towns, each with their own advantages, and they are worthy of being the capital: "It may be said that Guanzhong (referring to Chang'an) is a dangerous and solid gold city, a land of abundance; It is also the old capital of the Song Dynasty, which is convenient for water transportation; or it can be said that the palaces of the Yuan Dynasty in Beiping are complete, so it can save the people's labor."

Unexpectedly, Zhu Yuanzhang proposed that Fengyang should be built in Fengyang.He said that Nanjing "is quite far from the Central Plains, and it is very difficult to control (the North)", and "the one who owns the world is not the capital of the Central Plains, and the traitors cannot be controlled" (Vol. arts").Fengyang is very close to the Central Plains, and "the front of the river and the back of the Huaihe River are reliable for danger and water for water" (Volume 4 and 5 of "Records"), making it the central capital can remedy the shortage of Nanjing as the capital.

Except for the heroes from Huaixi who agreed, the other ministers all looked at each other in blank dismay.It's a bit unbelievable to designate a little-known small and remote place as the capital, isn't it?Fengyang's economy is backward, and "there is no danger to defend", from any point of view, it is not a place to be the capital.Liu Ji, who has a straightforward personality, directly expressed his opposition to Fengyang, the capital, saying: "Manyan, the central capital, is not the residence of the emperor." However, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't listen.That's all for everyone, they are well aware of his uncompromising character, and what choice is there other than obeying what the master has decided?Everyone knows that there is only one reason for Zhu Yuanzhang's numerous arguments, which is "the sacred heart misses the emperor's hometown and wants to live in Fengyang for a long time."

So in September of the second year of Hongwu (1369 A.D.), Zhu Yuanzhang formally issued an edict to build the central capital in Linhao, "commanding Yousi to build the city and palaces like the system of the capital".In Zhu Yuanzhang's vision, his hometown will become the official capital in the future, and Nanjing will be reduced to the accompanying capital.Although farmers live frugally, they always spare no expense to build houses.Similarly, Zhu Yuanzhang has always been frugal in doing things, but this time he spared no expense. He wants to devote all his efforts to the country, with high standards and strict requirements, and to build Zhongdu into a place of gold that will not last for thousands of years.Therefore, from the beginning of the design, Zhongdu strives for majesty and magnificence. He requires the selection of the best materials and strives for perfection in every link.

After six years of non-stop construction by millions of migrant workers, majestic palaces have been erected one after another. Zhu Yuanzhang's requirements have been well implemented in all aspects.Archaeologists later discovered in the Zhongdu site that the quantity, variety and quality of the remaining stone components in Zhongdu far surpassed that of Yuandadu.Each piece of the Panlong stone foundation of the main hall is about 2.7 meters square, with an area of ​​more than 7 square meters. Its grandeur is far better than that of previous capitals.Later, Ming Chengzu built the city of Beijing, and the stone foundation on the Jinluan Hall was only one-third of that in Zhongdu.

Now all the exposed parts of the stone structure components in Zhongdu are meticulously carved, which cost a lot of labor. Fengyang, a small city that has been unknown in history, became the largest city in the Ming Empire for a while.The city has three city walls inside and outside, and the three cities overlap each other, with a luxurious and grand layout.The city wall of Miyagi (Ouchi) "Saturday Village" is "three feet nine feet five inches high, the female wall is five feet nine feet five inches high, and the total height is four feet five feet four inches five inches".The perimeter of the imperial city is "ten to four miles", and the brick and stone fortress is "two feet high".The outermost city wall of Zhongdu City is "five miles and four hundred and forty-three steps in a week", built with earth, "three feet high" (when it is "three feet high"), it is extremely majestic.In order to make the city last forever, Zhu Yuanzhang also asked to pour molten iron into the key parts of the city wall, such as "the brick feet of the city river dam are five feet long, and they are poured with pig iron" (Volume 83 of "Records").

In the eighth year of Hongwu, the project was basically completed. Zhu Yuanzhang once again visited Fengyang in person to inspect the quality of the project and "reward labor for meritorious service".However, after visiting this majestic new capital that has exhausted the country's material resources, Zhu Yuanzhang made another major decision that shocked the whole country: Abandon the capital! It turned out that during this acceptance inspection, Zhu Yuanzhang heard an unexpected news: Because the labor was too hard and the wages were not paid, the craftsmen who were forced to start the work were dissatisfied and implemented the "law of disgust", which is what we call "Xiazhenwu", some key parts of the palace, buried spells, clay figurines, wooden figurines, bows and arrows, scissors, paper figurines and other things, which are said to bring bad luck to the occupants.The construction has been completed, and it is very difficult to clear out these town objects.

Volume 138 of "History of the Ming Dynasty" records this incident like this: "When the Fengyang Palace was built, the emperor sat in the palace. If there were people who fought against the ridge of the palace with soldiers. Taishi Li Shanchang played all the craftsmen who were disgusted with the suppression method." That is to say, when Zhu Yuanzhang was sitting in the newly built palace during the inspection and acceptance of the project, he vaguely heard that someone was fighting with a knife and gun on the ridge of the palace.He asked what was going on, and Li Shanchang reported that someone "had a treasure" on the palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang's reaction is what we can imagine.The history of the Ming Dynasty said that he "will kill them all", that is to say, he killed all the thousands of craftsmen who built the palace.Xue Xiang, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, risked his life and said that only carpenters can take down the town, and blacksmiths and stonemasons have no responsibility. "Thousands of people are alive." Because of this accidental incident, the entire city of Zhongdu was abolished.It seems unbelievable today, but it was a matter of course in the Ming Dynasty: the emperor ruled the world.His will is the only will in the land.Do you think he would live in a building that would create a psychological barrier for himself in order to cherish the labor of a million craftsmen for six years?