Chapter 58 Shanglin Garden
"Look, Daddy. This was invented by the craftsmen from Wunong Temple. They put a lot of hard work into it."
Zhu Zhanji looked at the hydraulic saw model moving with the flowing water and could not help but be amazed. He said, "Previously, agricultural tools and looms were all based on ancient texts. I didn't expect that the Wunong Temple could come up with such ingenious gadgets. The Crown Prince will surely like these little things."
Zhu Yuhuan said seriously: "Dad, this is not a toy, it is used to demonstrate the effect to Dad."
After saying that, Zhu Yuhuan placed a small wooden stick under the small saw. With the flow of water, the saw moved back and forth, and soon cut the wooden stick into two pieces.
Zhu Zhanji raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "So it's a saw? It's as fast as the loom you have in the imperial farm."
Zhu Yuhuan then continued, "If we scale up this hydraulic saw, it will be even more powerful. It will also be much easier to obtain wood when building border defense cities, saving a lot of manpower. Besides that, they also made a hydraulic mill, but my daughter didn't have anyone bring it to her today."
Zhu Zhanji became more interested. He sat back at his desk and carefully examined the blueprint sent by Zhu Yuhuan. Wang Jin had someone bring a chair for Zhu Yuhuan so that Princess Shunde could sit next to the emperor.
After a while, Zhu Zhanji finally spoke up: "It's quite interesting, but I'm afraid the current location of Wunong Temple can't accommodate the enlargement of this thing, right?"
Zhu Yuhuan nodded and said, "That's why I'd like to ask Dad to move the old site of Wunong Temple to Xiyuan or Shanglinyuan. There are many rivers there, suitable for both farming and grazing. The area is also larger than the current Wunong Temple. Although it's a bit remote compared to other government offices, it's more convenient for business."
Zhu Zhanji pondered for a moment, as if considering what Zhu Yuhuan had said. After a while, he said, "Then let's move Wunong Temple to Shanglin Garden. In addition to ordinary seafarers, Nanhaizi also has eunuchs who used to work in the palace. They can also serve as laborers for Wunong Temple. When Wunong Temple moves there, Dad will take you to inspect it."
Shanglinyuan, also known as Nanhaizi, was originally just a hunting ground for the royal family. It was not until the Yongle period that farming and breeding institutions were added, with four offices: the Fanyu Office, the Jiashu Office, the Liangmu Office, and the Linheng Office. The "Twenty-Four Gardens" were also built to raise various rare animals presented by foreign countries.
The so-called "Hai Hu" were not people with registered household registration in coastal areas, but registered citizens from places near the capital and Shanxi during the Yongle period. These people did not live in Nanhaizi, but went to work every day with a badge on their waists. They belonged to four offices and were responsible for growing vegetables and fruits, raising poultry and birds, and supplying them to the palace. They had preferential treatment in terms of taxes, but in essence they were still untouchables.
Nowadays, there are so many eunuchs in the palace that those who are unable to continue their duties or have committed crimes will be sent to Shanglin Garden and incorporated into the sea households to work. However, compared to other sea households, these eunuchs can live in Shanglin Garden, but the environment is naturally not much better.
Zhu Yuhuan flattered him, "Great! Daddy is really thoughtful. Huanhuan had never thought about Haihu."
Zhu Zhanji was amused by her and said, "How come Princess Shunde is becoming more and more good at praising people now?"
Zhu Yuhuan said with a smile: "Isn't it because I took Zhen Ge'er to learn horseback archery a while ago? He is at the age where he needs praise, otherwise how can he learn it?"
Zhu Zhanji raised his voice slightly and asked, "How is his training going? He boasted to me before that he wanted to learn your unique skill of shooting three arrows with one bow."
Zhu Yuhuan covered his lips and smiled, "Now that the weather is getting colder, I'm afraid he'll fall, so I've stopped riding and shooting. But don't worry, Daddy, he's secretly practicing in Grandma's palace every day."
Zhu Zhanji was puzzled when he heard this and asked, "Why are you still practicing secretly?"
"Zhen'er is still young, and grandma is afraid that he will hurt his body if he practices too much."
When Zhu Zhanji heard that it was his own mother who said this, he didn't know what to say. He just said, "Your grandmother is also doing this for the good of the prince. The prince is close to you, so you should persuade him more often on weekdays."
Zhu Yuhuan responded obediently, "Don't worry, Daddy, Huanhuan understands."
Zhu Zhanji was somewhat emotional. He patted his daughter's hand and said, "Your brother has always respected and loved you. Even the imperial concubine and Jiajia can't compare to you. You will have a good life in the future. But don't forget that you two are both your father's children. You must pay more attention to him."
Zhu Yuhuan held Zhu Zhanji's hand and said, "Huanhuan understands. My brother is the crown prince and will shoulder the burden of the world in the future. As a princess of the royal family, Huanhuan should also assist my brother more."
Zhu Zhanji was very pleased to see that she understood this and said, "I'm glad you think so." Then he said to Wang Jin, "Have someone send the rare gifts from Western countries to Kunning Palace, especially the Western spices and ivory gems. Princess Shunde will need them."
"yes."
Zhu Yuhuan shook Zhu Zhanji's hand and said, "Daddy treats me so well." She then thought of something else and said, "I heard from the people at Wunong Temple that Daddy raises crickets in the greenhouse, so I specifically asked about it. I heard that feeding them tofu dregs will make them fat and big. If there's something better, feeding them silkworm pupa powder is the best."
Zhu Zhanji was even happier to see his daughter so attentive, and then he warned her, "Don't let your mother know about this."
Zhu Yuhuan laughed in his heart, but said, "Don't worry, Dad. Mom is busy compiling the poems and essays of the palace people into a book, or she is busy dealing with palace affairs and the affairs of the charity hall, and has no time to take care of other things."
Zhu Zhanji was slightly stunned, and it took him a moment to react. He asked, "Dad, how come you remember this happened so long ago..."
"It's precisely because mother compiled the poems and essays into a book that the empresses and ladies-in-waiting have been writing furiously, often bringing them to Kunning Palace for her comments." Zhu Yuhuan said with a smile, "With so many poems and essays, mother doesn't want them to become lost gems, so she naturally worked diligently to have them revised and compiled into a book. How could she have any other free time? Besides, father is the Son of Heaven. As Zhen'er often says, the emperor has his own reasons for doing things. How could mother have any say in this? Don't worry, father."
Previously, an imperial censor named Chen Zuo advised Zhu Zhanji to go hunting less and hold more imperial lectures. Unexpectedly, this irritated Zhu Zhanji, who thought that Chen Zuo was implying that he was "not good at studying." If it were not for a scholar named Chen Xun who persuaded him that day, Zhu Zhanji would probably have ordered Chen Zuo to be killed.
However, the death penalty was avoidable, but the punishment of life imprisonment was unavoidable. Zhu Zhanji directly imprisoned Chen Zuo and more than a dozen members of his family, and they have not been released until now... Before there was Li Shimen, and now there is Chen Yushi. In this situation, no one would dare to speak out.
It was probably because of Zhu Yuhuan's influence, and because Zhu Zhanji had many other concubines, he went to Kunning Palace very few times. In recent years, Hu Shanxiang often only said some polite words, and mainly focused her attention on the concubines and female officials in the harem, which made Zhu Yuhuan very pleased.
Zhu Zhanji thought about it and remembered that ever since the Queen and the Imperial Concubine had a dispute over their daughter at the horse farm, he had gone to the Queen's Palace less and less frequently. Since then, he had never heard the voice of the Queen, whom he hated the most.
If it weren't for the festival and the Empress's presence, he would have almost forgotten Hu Shanxiang's existence in the palace. But after hearing what Zhu Yuhuan said today, he realized that he seemed to be the only one in the palace who disliked the Empress. Even Concubine Sun had never said a bad word about the Empress in front of him.
Seeing that Zhu Zhanji remained silent, Zhu Yuhuan continued, "Mother is the Empress after all, and the harem should be given priority. Besides, Father is a wise ruler, with wise ministers and capable generals under his rule. Why does he need the harem to advise him?"
Zhu Zhanji was a little amused when he heard this and said, "Why do you keep praising Daddy?"
Zhu Yuhuan said coquettishly: "Daddy, please don't forget to take me to Shanglin Garden. I also want to see the achievements of Wunong Temple."
Zhu Zhanji was shaken by his daughter's arm, so he followed her words and said, "Okay, okay, I won't joke. Daddy will definitely take you to see it."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
