Chapter 26 Section 26

Now Lei Tingchang was summoned by Empress Dowager Cixi again, led by Minister of Internal Affairs Fu Kun. After kowtowing to sign up, Empress Dowager Cixi asked, "Where is your father? I remember your father's name is Lei Siqi." "Yes!" Lei Tingchang replied, "The servant's father passed away in the second year of Guangxu." "how old are you?" "The slave is forty-one this year." "How many brothers do you have?" "Three slave brothers. Only slave works as an servant in the style house." "How old are you now?"

"The slave was originally a candidate for the inheritance of Dali Temple. In the third year of Guangxu's reign, the Huiling gold certificate was closed, and the Longen Hall was placed on the beam. The slave was rewarded with the title of Yuanwailang." "Do you also have a share in the Putuoyu project?" Putuo Valley is the future mausoleum of Empress Dowager Cixi. It has been in operation for many years and cost huge. Ten thousand years auspicious place, how dare the slave not be dedicated?" "That's right! Your family has been honored by the state, if you don't devote yourself to it, you will have no conscience."

Empress Dowager Cixi asked: "Qingyi Garden was also hosted by your family in the past!" "Yes!" Lei Tingchang said, "The Qingyi Garden was rebuilt into the Dabaoen Yanshou Temple in the fifteenth year of Qianlong, and it was the work of the servant's grandfather." "How about Qingyi Garden?" When asked about this, Lei Tingchang didn't dare to neglect.He had already received instructions from Lishan, and he had to try his best to tell how good that place was, as long as the words were pleasant, even though he didn't tire of the details.But having said that, Lei Tingchang was afraid that the Empress Dowager Cixi would be impatient to listen carefully, and halfway through the speech, he thought it was trivial and refused to let him continue.If that happens, I'm afraid he will fall out of favor, and there will be no chance to "face the saint" in the future.

Therefore, he kowtowed and said: "If you go back to Lafayette, Qingyi Garden has many benefits and a long history. I am afraid that Lafayette will not be able to finish listening to it for a while. Should I ask the servant to write an abbreviation? When Lafayette is free and interested , take a closer look?" "It doesn't matter." The Empress Dowager Cixi was moved by the words "extremely beneficial", and said with great interest, "You can talk about it slowly." "Yes!" Lei Tingchang agreed, and started talking from Longevity Hill. Longevity Mountain was called Weng Mountain in the Yuan Dynasty, and a lake to the south was called Jinhu Lake.The land is to the east of Yuquan Mountain and to the west of Yuanmingyuan.In the Ming Dynasty, Yuanjing Temple and Haoshan Garden were built here. In the 41st year of Kangxi, this temple and garden were rebuilt into a palace, which is Wengshan Palace.

In the 16th year of Qianlong's reign, Gao Zong's biological mother, Empress Xiao Shengxian, had a long life in her 60s. Gao Zongte rebuilt Yuanjing Temple into Dabaoenyanshou Temple, and wished him a happy birthday.Weng Mountain was renamed Longevity Mountain, and Jinhu Lake was dredged and widened, giving it the name Kunming Lake.A garden was built near the lake, titled "Qingyi". The construction of the Dabaoen Yanshou Temple was started in the fifteenth year of Qianlong's reign, and the construction of the Qingyi Garden and the dredging of Kunming Lake took place in the sixteenth year of Qianlong's reign.In the first month of this year, Empress Dowager Gaozong made her first tour to the south. On the first day of March, she came to Hangzhou. When she saw "Xizi" for the first time, she was amazed that it was the most beautiful scenery in the world. Suzhou.In April, when Huiluan arrived in Beijing, he decreed to build Qingyi Garden, divert the water from Xishan and Yuquanshan, and extensively dredged Kunming Lake. places of interest.The Su Causeway and Huxin Pavilion of the West Lake both appear in Kunming Lake. The most obvious is that the nine-story pagoda built in the middle of the front of Longevity Mountain, that is, the Pagoda of Baoen Temple, is very similar in shape to the Leifeng Pagoda of West Lake.

Longevity Hill is divided into two parts, the front mountain and the back mountain. There is a small river in the back mountain, and a street is built along the river. It is completely imitated in Suzhou, and has the flavor of a water town in the south of the Yangtze River.These scenes are all old relics, Lei Tingchang has never seen them before, but his eloquence is so eloquent and his descriptions are so vivid that Empress Dowager Cixi really gets tired of listening to them. Finally, I talked about the benefits of the Qingyi Garden site, in one sentence: there are mountains and water.This sentence sounds unremarkable, and it needs to be compared with other places to see that the words "there are mountains and rivers" are not easy to achieve.Although there is Baita Mountain in Xiyuan, it is actually just a hill; the Yuanmingyuan has a radius of 20 miles, and there are 40 famous scenic spots, but there are many waters and few mountains, and the layout is scattered.

When it comes to the laxity of the Old Summer Palace, Empress Dowager Cixi is quite emotional, and deeply regrets the miscalculation.In those years, the rebuilding of the Old Summer Palace cost one or two million yuan. Including the discounts on the old wood that had been demolished, it cost a total of about three million yuan. However, it was abandoned halfway and it was still a desolate place. Just because the Old Summer Palace is too big, millions of silver can be spent without being able to see it.If you use the three million silver to build another garden, it will definitely be impressive.

With this in mind, Empress Dowager Cixi decided to accept the proposal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and rebuild Qingyi Garden. Of course, this cannot be told to Lei Tingchang, after returning to the palace, he will consult with Li Lianying. "I heard Lei Tingchang's words really sound. There are several million silver dollars spent on Qingyi Garden, so there must be something worthwhile." "That's how it is!" Li Lianying spoke to the Empress Dowager Cixi in the tone of an old housekeeper to the old mistress, without cumbersome titles and empty words. It’s more justifiable than building the Old Summer Palace.”

"how?" "Back then, Lord Qianlong held the birthday ceremony for the old lady, built the Yanshou Temple, and built the Qingyi Garden. Shouldn't the Long Live Lord also repay the favor now?" One sentence reminded Empress Dowager Cixi, and her intention became more determined.If there are some officials who don't know what to say, just like how they were admonishing the Yuanmingyuan project, the emperor will issue an edict, citing Gaozong's ancestors who built temples and gardens for Empress Xiaoshengxian to celebrate the jubilee, and reprimanded them severely. Who dares to talk too much?

"Just tell Fu Kun! Let him discuss with Li Shan, how about asking Lei Tingchang to draw a picture first." "The servant will pass the decree right away." Li Lianying asked, "There are mountains and waters there, how can Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake be used? We must first ask for an decree, so that they can follow Lafayette's wishes." This is what Li Lianying said on purpose. In fact, there are already sketches.Empress Dowager Cixi didn't know where to go, thought for a while and said: "There must be a place to do things." that's for sure.The empress dowager was recuperating in the garden, and the emperor had no choice but to attend and summon his ministers. He made a discretionary plan. Not only should there be a main hall, but also a Zhilu for his ministers. Even the name of the main hall where the ministers were summoned was already drawn up on the sketch. It is called "Hongshou Palace".However, at this time, Li Lianying could only agree: "Yes!"

"There must also be a Buddhist pavilion for burning incense." "Yes!" Li Lianying said, "That must be near the bedroom." "But it has to be on the mountain." "The sleeping palace can't be built on a mountain, it's inconvenient to go up and down." "The bedroom is built on the hillside, facing the lake." "Lafayette's calculation is good." It wasn't the Empress Dowager Cixi's good calculation, but Lishan's good calculation. The location of the Buddha Pavilion and the sleeping palace had already been determined. Just as the Empress Dowager Cixi instructed, it was built behind the Hall of Renshou, with the mountain behind and the lake facing. "I think of these two places." Empress Dowager Cixi said, "It's useless for us to think about it here. She has been in charge of the case in the style room for several lifetimes, so she naturally knows how to frame the scene. How can it be novel and interesting? Gu Bao draws the picture. Better than we thought." "Yes!" Li Lianying said, "I will tell Fu Zhongtang immediately, and ask him to deliver the decree, and the sketch will be drawn within ten or eight days." "I'm afraid it will be too late in ten or eight days. Give them half a month's time limit!" "That would be even better." Li Lianying asked, "Ask Lafayette for an order. Do you want to tell Master Qi about this matter?" Empress Dowager Cixi thought for a while, and said decisively: "You don't need to tell him yet. After I read the sketches, let them estimate how much money it will cost? I will tell him myself when I have a certain amount." "Yes!" Li Lianying agreed, thinking in her heart, the words "novel and interesting" must never be forgotten. Of course Li Lianying understood what the Empress Dowager Cixi meant, and even expected to deal with it in this way.The project of expanding Sanhai is about to be carried out on a large scale. At this time, it is not appropriate to talk about rebuilding Qingyi Garden, just to give King Chun an excuse to dissuade. However, there are many things that cannot be done if you want to hide it from King Jin, because he is now a "superior military aircraft", and even if he is not a big or small matter, he has nothing to do.Li Lianying was thinking in her heart, this task is very difficult, and it will take a lot of effort to pass the test in a calm manner. At present, it must not be publicized, and even Fu Kun is not yet ready for discussion. At this time, there is only one person who can discuss it: Lishan.