The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 68: Honorable Family
Compared with the pleasant climate and comfortable environment of some cities in the southeast and southwest of Hanzhou, Jianye in the north is not actually a very livable city.

Jianye City has a typical savannah climate, with hot temperatures all year round and no obvious seasonal or four seasons.The year is only divided into rainy season and dry season. The dry season is from May to September, and the rainy season is from October to April of the following year.The heaviest precipitation occurs between December and March. During this period, the humidity will exceed 70%. At the end of the day, your whole body will feel sticky.

What's even more annoying is that during the rainy season, there are often tropical storms accompanied by thunderstorms, which makes the weather extremely harsh.

Precisely because tropical storms occur every year, most buildings throughout the city are built tall, heavy, strong and durable.There are very few simple and flimsy shacks or temporary board houses that are common in many cities because they cannot withstand the storms during the rainy season.

Jianye is the earliest city established in Qi State and served as a temporary capital for 35 years. Today, it is also the largest industrial city and commercial city in Qi State.

In view of Jianye's important status and economic strength, the Qi cabinet government directly classified it as Zhili Prefecture and enjoyed special political status.

At present, the entire Jianye Prefecture governs Beicheng District, Nancheng District, Heishan (near today's Palmerston, Australia), Xinhuaian (now Palmerston, Australia), Kaiyuan (now Hampstead City, Australia), Changhua ( Today's Point Stewart town in northern Australia), Yongxing (now Adelaide River town in northern Australia), Ningshui (now Daly River town in northern Australia), Beining (now Kitts Harbor in northern Australia), etc. With nine districts and counties, the population exceeds 85, and the total economic output accounts for 18% of the country. It is the first industrial town in Qi.

July is the coolest month in Jianye. The highest temperature during the day will not exceed 30 degrees, and it looks refreshing and pleasant under the slightest sea breeze.This city is home to more than 150% of the entire population of Jianye Prefecture. The urban area has expanded significantly from the narrow island in the north to the northeast and south. It has been connected with the neighboring Heishan City and Xinhuaian, covering an area of ​​more than [-] square meters. kilometer.

Although the pioneers of Qi State started to make some forward-looking urban planning when the city was first built, the rapid urbanization process and the sharp increase in population still made the layout of the entire city seem a bit cramped and messy. .

Because too many people were interested in Jianye City, the city's buildings and population were denser than any other city in the empire. The population density was eight times greater than Chang'an and twice as large as Daxing, another large city.Many urban green spaces and woodlands that were once used by urban residents for recreation and outings have also been cleared and turned into heavy factory buildings or cramped residential buildings.

If it weren't for urban domestic water supply and flood control during the rainy season, Longshui Lake, an artificial reservoir located in Jianye City, might have been built airtight and covered with large and small buildings.

However, for a large industrial city like Jianye, breathing fresh air is difficult.Countless factories, steam ships and chimneys spewed thick smoke into the sky year after year, and all the houses, residences, commercial buildings and monuments (or pagodas) were soon stained with a layer of black spots.

Even though, more than ten years ago, the Jianye Government stipulated that large enterprises should emit no smoke or reduce the emission of smoke, requiring thousands of chimneys to reduce smoke emissions as much as possible, or to stop production operations in bad weather conditions - this is very important in the economy. It is actually difficult to achieve technically and technically, but this only solves a small part of the problem.

Many people hope that the government can build more green spaces and parks in urban areas instead of building more factories and warehouses.Many medical and health scholars believe that parks and green spaces, large and small, can clean the air.

However, the civil affairs officials of Jianye City obviously do not want to get into huge troublesome demolition matters by demolishing factories that are beneficial to people's livelihood and economic development, as well as old residential areas in the dense city.Therefore, a few years ago, in order to respond to public complaints and alleviate urban pollution, Jianye City built several parks in the suburbs, the largest of which is Muchian Lake Park. It is reported that the construction cost exceeded 80 yuan.

Although Muxian Lake Park is separated by a guardrail and a trench, it is still a large park covering an area of ​​[-] acres, a place for people to gather and relax, and a place that "makes people's eyes shine."

Of course, most of the people walking here are ordinary tourists, while those high-ranking officials, dignitaries and wealthy people ride on the precious Indian Marwari horses on the wide park grass at noon, or take luxury carriages in the afternoon , showing their bright and fragrant clothes, their beauty, or their shining riding boots.

The carpet-like grass is full of children running around, water birds and ducks are swimming on the water of Muxian Lake, the lush leaves of the tall woods, and the lush mountains in the distance make people stay away from the noisy and smoke-filled Jianye City for a while.

Li Yanliang and Cao Ge first took a public steam locomotive to Nancheng District, then rented a four-wheel carriage and headed towards Muchian Lake in the suburbs.

As early as a few years ago, Muchian Lake and the nearby mountains were the villa area for the dignitaries in Jianye City. The scenery was beautiful and the environment was quiet. It was also close to the former Qi King's palace, and ordinary people could not get close to it.

"Your family shouldn't be a high-ranking official, right?" Li Yanliang was sitting on the carriage, looking at the lush forests outside the window, the rippling Muxian Lake, and the luxurious villas that loomed from time to time. He suddenly felt a little uneasy. .Moreover, the carriage is still moving up the mountain road.

Looking at this posture, it is estimated that the further you go up the mountain, the more advanced the villas and houses are. Doesn't that mean your status is more valuable?

"My family doesn't have any high-ranking officials." Cao Ge smiled and said, "It's just because of the blessing of our ancestors that we bought a lot of property."

"Is your family one of the founding fathers of the country?"

"Well, it is."

"Tsk tsk..." Li Yanliang looked at the smiling Cao Ge and couldn't help being surprised, "I didn't expect that Brother Cao is still a prince."

Within the territory of Qi, whenever the founders of the country are mentioned, they are full of admiration and envy.At that time, they accompanied Emperor Taizu to land on the Hanzhou continent. They worked hard and developed hard, and finally established a powerful country.Later, these founding fathers were awarded noble titles by Emperor Taizu.After they passed away one after another, the lowest ones were posthumously made marquises by the empire, which was a glorious life.After Cao Ge became the founder of the country, even after decades, his ancestor's title was no longer there, and he lost his former prominent position. However, with his friendship with the royal family and the shares of several monopoly trading companies given by Emperor Taizu, he could Our country, Qi, definitely belongs to the top wealthy families.

At this thought, Li Yanliang felt a little uneasy. How could I, a commoner, climb into a wealthy family?
"Yan Liang, there's no need to think too much." Cao Ge patted his shoulder and said sincerely: "When we talk about friendship, we only rely on the love of the army, and there is no difference between the family and the high ground. To be honest, although I have Despite the kindness of our ancestors, we also want to make great achievements with our own efforts. In this way, I, Cao Ge, will not humiliate our ancestors. In time, Yanliang may also rely on his military achievements in the process of opening up and expanding the territory of our Qi State. , it is not known that he will be granted the title of duke in one fell swoop."

"I accept Brother Cao's good words." Li Yanliang secretly took a deep breath and said with a smile: "In "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Lu Bu once said: How can a man live in heaven and earth and live in depression for a long time. With this sentence, I and I Brother Cao encourages us to work together. From now on, as the empire expands its territory, I hope that both of us can make great achievements and be granted the title of marquis."

"Yanliang, you have such courage." Cao Ge praised: "If you make great achievements, you will be granted the title of marquis, and you should support my brothers and encourage them together! Hahaha..."

The carriage traveled to a large courtyard by the stream halfway up the mountain and stopped. There were large golden characters on the red porch and plaque, the beams were fully carved, and the two stone pillars in the middle of the porch were each carved with a lion.

"Prince Lu's Mansion!"

"Brother Cao is a descendant of King Lu!" Li Yanliang's eyes widened and he turned to look at Cao Ge who was smiling.

"Yes, my ancestor was the King of Lu conferred by Emperor Taizu." Cao Ge responded with a smile: "However, I am not a direct descendant of the family, so I cannot inherit this title."

The meritorious titles of Qi State were modeled on the model of the previous Ming Dynasty, but the difference was that most of the titles were not hereditary and were inherited in a descending manner from generation to generation.For example, most of the hundreds of founding fathers who were ennobled by imperial edict to this day have been automatically reduced to the lowest rank of county men, or have had their titles revoked.

The titles and corresponding property rights and political privileges conferred by the Qi State can only be owned by the title holders themselves. Although their family members are members of aristocratic families, their political status is close to that of ordinary civilians.The title is passed on according to a very strict eldest son inheritance system; if the eldest son dies early, he will be succeeded by the eldest grandson, second son, youngest son or other family members in sequence.If there is no heir in the family, the title can be inherited by close relatives according to his will or lifetime arrangements, and with the approval of His Majesty the Emperor and the Imperial Court.But in most cases, the title was taken back by the emperor.

Once someone obtains a title, it is not permanent.If someone newly achieves outstanding military exploits, outstanding political achievements, or receives special approval from the emperor, they can be promoted to a higher title, but their original title will be automatically abolished.

Therefore, compared with the Qin State on the mainland, the number of people in Qi State who were awarded titles was quite small, even less than that of Beiming, which had a population of only more than 200 million.It is said that Emperor Taizu once said privately that if there were a large group of "free rice" nobles in the country, it would not be conducive to class mobility and would also cause unpredictable social problems.

However, among the many canonized nobles in Qi State, there is a hereditary high family, that is King Lu, who not only holds the highest princely title, but also has a real title.Penglai Island (now Solomon Guadalcanal Island), the largest island in the Taihe Islands (today's Solomon Islands) located northeast of Hanzhou, was the fiefdom of King Lu. He enjoyed all the exclusive economic benefits of the island and became a vassal state of its own. .

That year (1635), when the Dengzhou elders landed on the Hanzhou mainland, Emperor Taizu was still young and was only responsible for the management of civil affairs. The person in charge of the overall situation was Cao Xiong, the ancestor of King Lu.

More than 80 years ago, during the Xinsi Incident (1641), some ambitious Dengzhou elders tried to get rid of Emperor Taizu, who was appointed as the successor, in an attempt to support the infant Cao Xiong's son as the future master of Hanzhou, but under the circumstances, By mistake, Cao Xiong died.After the incident was exposed, Emperor Taizu purged the Dengzhou elders involved, executed or exiled dozens of them, and stabilized the situation in Hanzhou in one fell swoop.At this point, Emperor Taizu had just officially assumed power.

After Emperor Taizu established the country and proclaimed himself king, he decreed that Cao Xiong's son should be crowned King of Lu.In the first year of the Han Dynasty (1670), after Taizu proclaimed himself emperor, he promoted King Lu's title to prince, ranking first in the title list, and gave the newly discovered Penglai Island to King Lu as a de facto fiefdom. .

Not only that, King Lu also enjoyed the imperial government's annual annuity of 30 yuan.The royal family would also give large rewards to King Lu from time to time, with materials and amounts often amounting to hundreds of thousands.

It can be said that the status of King Lu in Qi is second only to the royal family. He is not only prominent, but also valuable.

However, because of their sensitive status, the Lu kings kept a low profile in the country. From the first generation of Lu kings to the third generation of Lu kings, almost no descendants were involved in the political, military and other affairs of Qi.Even, in order to show their loyalty, King Lu never returned to Penglai Island for three consecutive generations. He always lived in Prince Lu's Mansion in Chang'an, living in seclusion and not interacting with any powerful people.

The Qi State has been in existence for more than 80 years. As its strength has increased day by day, the territory it controls has become wider and wider, making the royal family's prestige gradually stronger and no one can shake it.Under this situation, some of the descendants of King Lu who were not willing to be mediocre also broke away from the shackles of the palace and began to devote themselves to various affairs of the empire according to their own interests, actively exerting their talents and abilities.

As far as Li Yanliang knew, there was a brother of Prince Lu in Daxing who had been obsessed with the study of medical skills for more than ten years. He was especially good at trauma surgery and had treated many injured patients. He was called "Sai Huatuo", a skilled and benevolent doctor.

"Oh, that's my third uncle." Cao Ge heard Li Yanliang mentioning the younger brother of Prince Lu who was a doctor, and replied with a smile: "When I was young, I heard from my father that he had people capture various things for him since he was a child. He would breed birds and animals, and then use a knife to dissect them one by one, carefully studying the internal organs and bones of the animals. None of the brothers and sisters in the clan liked to come to his yard. That scene was probably similar to what Yanliang had experienced. It’s almost like a battlefield, with blood everywhere. Not to mention it’s scary to look at, but even hearing about these things makes my scalp tense!”

Several attendants from Prince Lu's Palace welcomed them warmly from the gate, quickly took off Cao Ge and Li Yanliang's luggage from the carriage, and walked towards the palace with them surrounded.

"Hey, what is this?" As soon as he entered a main hall, Cao Ge suddenly found two human skeletons placed on the table against the wall. A ghastly skull was facing the door of the room, with two empty eye sockets as if Staring at him, I couldn't help but feel shocked.

What's going on? There was a murder in the palace!
(End of this chapter)