Chapter 450
Young Master Zhao Pays the Bill for the Entire Audience
...
Autumn of the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu (1386).
Zhao Yu appointed Crown Prince Zhao Shou as regent. He then set off from Beijing with a large number of concubines, under the protection of the Shenji Vanguard Army, Shenji Central Army, and Shenji Rear Army, and traveled south along the Grand Canal.
It is worth mentioning that Zhao Yu brought his Empress Zheng Xiansu and all his concubines who were over forty years old with him on this trip, so that they could have a good look around and experience the scenery of Jiangnan.
This resulted in the women from Zhao Yu's harem alone occupying nearly a hundred ships.
It's not that Zhao Yu had so many concubines over forty years old, but rather that the total number came from including them and their maids.
The reason why Zhao Yu brought Zheng Xiansu and all the concubines who were over forty years old out with him this time was because if they didn't get out and about, their bodies might not be able to support them after such a long journey.
In an era where the average age is less than forty, women over forty are already considered old women.
Take Zheng Xiansu as an example.
In fact, as early as five years ago, Zheng Xiansu had already stopped serving Zhao Yu in bed. When Zhao Yu went to her harem to rest, she would arrange for young women to serve him.
Don't misunderstand, this really isn't because Zhao Yu is fickle and dislikes Zheng Xiansu for being old.
This was actually something that Jung Hyun-suk himself requested and insisted on.
Zheng Xiansu made such a request and insisted on it for one reason: during Zhao Yu's reign, through various power struggles, the Ministry of Rites changed a rule of the Song Dynasty's harem. Previously, women in the Song Dynasty's harem would no longer serve the emperor after the age of fifty, but instead, their names would be removed from the list of those who served the emperor after the age of forty, and they would no longer be eligible to serve him.
This is mainly because one of the core purposes of the emperor visiting the harem was to reproduce and strengthen the royal bloodline. Having older concubines with low fertility serve him was actually a pointless waste of the emperor's energy.
Furthermore, this regulation allows the emperor to focus his energy on younger concubines, which facilitates the absorption of new relatives and the consolidation of imperial power. It also prevents older concubines from interfering in the affairs of the harem and even the court by leveraging their connections and influence accumulated over the years, thus reducing the risk of delayed power arising from a mother's son's rise to prominence.
In reality, this was orchestrated by those who wanted Zhao Yu to favor more of his young concubines.
This is also normal.
After all, these women who entered Zhao Yu's harem later were the ones sent by the current rulers.
Of course, these people were also afraid that Zhao Yu would not agree to their interference in his harem, so they opened another loophole for Zhao Yu, namely, except for harem women of the rank of empress and consort.
"Madam" refers to the emperor's concubines, including the Noble Consort, the Virtuous Consort, the Virtuous Consort, and the Wise Consort.
In other words, this rule applied only to Zhao Yu's concubines.
Imagine, a palace maid who is forty years old and has not yet been promoted to the rank of Lady, she certainly wasn't favored by Zhao Yu.
To put it another way, if Zhao Yu really liked a particular concubine so much that he still wanted to play with her even though she was over forty, he could have simply promoted her to the rank of Lady.
"Left and right" was just a remark by Zhao Yu.
To put it another way, even if Zhao Yu did indeed sleep with a concubine who was over forty years old, who would dare to control Zhao Yu or punish the concubine he had slept with?
Furthermore, unless it's a special woman or a special situation, like a mother-daughter situation, Zhao Yu would not be interested in a palace maid who is over forty years old.
Therefore, Zhao Yu agreed to the matter.
In short, in order to encourage Zhao Yu to favor more young women, a new rule was added to Zhao Yu's harem: women over forty years old could no longer serve him in bed.
In reality, the favored women in the harem didn't take this rule seriously at all.
For example, Zhao Yu's five most beloved women did not take this rule seriously.
Like Ye Shiyun, after this regulation was introduced, she publicly told Zhao Yu, "I don't care, even if I'm fifty, Your Majesty, you still have to come to see me at least once a month."
The other four women shared roughly the same attitude.
Thirty is like a wolf, forty is like a tiger, and fifty is like someone who sits on the ground and sucks up the earth.
The five women couldn't stand Zhao Yu's cold treatment of them.
Besides, the five women also have their own assets.
Perhaps it was a perk of being a time traveler, but Zhao Yu and the five women seemed to have frozen in time; they always looked like they were in their twenties, and you couldn't tell at all that they were in their forties.
This undoubtedly gave the five women the courage to act coquettishly towards Zhao Yu.
The key point is that the rule excludes the Queen and the Lady, meaning they are not bound by this rule.
However, these favored women did not take this rule seriously, but Empress Zheng Xiansu firmly implemented it.
On her fortieth birthday, she slept with Zhao Yu for the last time.
From then on, she had her name removed from the list of those to serve in the emperor's bedchamber. Even when Zhao Yu went to her palace on his own initiative, she would arrange for a young woman to serve him, never overstepping her bounds.
Zhao Yu was puzzled and asked Zheng Xiansu why.
Zheng Xiansu said that she would set an example by herself.
Later, Zhao Yu pressed for answers.
Zheng Xiansu then told the truth. She said she wanted Zhao Yu to remember her when she was young, not to despise her when she was old. Moreover, she had given birth to four sons and three daughters for Zhao Yu in her life. Thanks to Ye Shiyun and Chen Miaozhen, all seven children survived. Her eldest son, Zhao Shou, even became the crown prince. She had no regrets and did not want to suffer any retribution for her insatiable greed.
Zhao Yu chose to respect Zheng Xiansu's decision. Although he often went to Kunning Palace to spend the night, he only ate and talked with Zheng Xiansu and rarely stayed overnight. Even when he did stay overnight, it was Zheng Xiansu who took the initiative to recommend women to Zhao Yu, hoping that Zhao Yu would let the women he recommended jump the queue.
If Zheng Xiansu was in such a state, then Wang Yisu, Guo Ting, and other of Zhao Yu's earliest concubines had long since stopped serving him in bed.
In other words, many of Zhao Yu's early concubines are now preparing to retire.
Zhao Yu felt that since they had been husband and wife, even though he didn't want to sleep with them anymore, he should still let them have a wonderful old age and memories.
So Zhao Yu took this opportunity to bring out all the older concubines so that they could have a beautiful memory in their later years.
……
In the golden autumn of August, the sky is high and the clouds are light, and a refreshing breeze is blowing.
At the wharves along the Beijing section of the Grand Canal, banners fluttered in the sun, and drums and music filled the air.
Zhao Yu, dressed in a crimson robe, stood at the head of the dragon boat, with Crown Prince Zhao Shou leading civil and military officials to see him off behind him.
After three cannon shots, the dragon boat slowly left the shore, followed by a fleet of boats stretching for miles.
The warships of the Shenji army's front, middle, and rear armies were lined up on both sides, with soldiers in bright armor standing at attention on the ship's side, and the gleaming muskets and cannons shining brightly in the sunlight.
In the middle, a hundred colorful boats were lined up, which was the residence of Zheng Xiansu and his concubines who were over forty years old and their maids. The boat windows were carved and painted, and the curtains fluttered in the wind, and the jewels and jade inside the cabins could be vaguely seen.
The fleet sailed south along the canal and entered Hebei province.
At this time, Hebei, after more than twenty years of governance and recuperation under Emperor Zhao Yu, was no longer the desolate place it had been after the three changes of the Yellow River during the previous dynasty. On the contrary, because it was adjacent to the capital and had always received policy support, it had become unprecedentedly prosperous and wealthy. The rice paddies on both banks rippled like golden waves, and large factories could be seen at intervals.
Farmers on the ridges of the fields or workers in the factory, upon seeing the royal fleet, would put down their work, kneel down and shout "Long live the Emperor!" expressing their respect and love for the emperor who had brought them such a wonderful life.
The prefectures and counties along the canal had already received the imperial decree. The prefects and magistrates, along with the local gentry and elders, set up incense tables at the docks and prepared local fruits and specialties—peaches from Shenzhou, snow pears from Zhaozhou, and golden jujubes from Cangzhou—carrying them to the shore in boxes to respectfully invite the emperor to taste them.
Zheng Xiansu, accompanied by his concubines, sat in the cabin to enjoy the scenery. Seeing the fertile fields and the superior local specialties, he took Yuan Qingcheng's hand and said to her, "This is all thanks to you, sister!"
Yuan Qingcheng was also quite proud, feeling that her more than twenty years of transmigration had not been in vain. She had indeed done a lot to improve people's lives and even change the course of human history. However, she was very modest: "This is all thanks to the trust of the emperor and the joint efforts of all agricultural researchers..."
As the fleet reached the confluence of the Wei River and the Grand Canal, the current gradually subsided. The post stations along the riverbanks had already prepared provisions and fresh water, and the soldiers of the Shenji Battalion replenished their supplies and rested in an orderly manner, showing no signs of panic.
With nothing else to do, Zhao Yu took his concubines ashore in plain clothes and strolled around the nearby market.
The market was bustling with people, with grain shops, cloth stores, and taverns lining the streets, and the cries of vendors rising and falling.
When Zhao Yu passed by a stall selling donkey meat sandwiches, he was surprised to find that donkey meat sandwiches were available.
I asked the owner and learned that this was a delicacy that originated from the palace.
Zhao Yu glanced at Ye Shiyun, knowing that this was another one of Ye Shiyun's doing.
As I said before, everyone else who transmigrates comes to realize their dreams and values, but Ye Shiyun transmigrates purely to enjoy life.
In this way, Ye Shiyun not only did a lot of fun in the palace, but she also created a large number of delicacies that only existed in later generations to satisfy her own appetite.
Ye Shiyun doesn't know how to do it?
What does that matter.
Ye Shiyun took the imperial chef directly to Yuan Qingcheng, asked her for the recipe, and asked the imperial chef to cook it for her.
Moreover, Ye Shiyun not only ate it herself, but she also promoted it so that other concubines could also try it.
Over time, various kinds of food, such as barbecue skewers, jianbing guozi (Chinese crepes), mala tang (spicy hot pot), grilled cold noodles, chuan chuan xiang (skewered hot pot), as well as snacks like potato chips, French fries, and popcorn, became popular in the imperial harem. They then spread from the palace to the common people, growing ever more widespread and increasing the diversity of food available to the people of that era.
And this donkey meat sandwich is clearly one of them.
Zhao Yu took out a gold ingot and asked the shopkeeper to make one for each of his entourage. He also told his concubines that they didn't need to follow the palace rules today and could just take it and eat it.
Then, Zhao Yu stood on the street, eating donkey meat sandwiches with his ministers and concubines.
Zhao Yu took a bite; it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a delicious aroma. He couldn't help but smile and say, "It tastes good."
The accompanying ministers quickly echoed, saying that this was all due to the peaceful and prosperous state of His Majesty's rule.
Zhao Yu's concubines had never been so careless about their appearance.
But seeing Zhao Yu, Zheng Xiansu, and the five women eating donkey meat sandwiches in the street, they were also nervous and excited for the first time, and ate with Zhao Yu.
Because Zhao Yu and his group were too large, even the small vendors making donkey meat sandwiches, despite their busy work, couldn't keep up with their demand.
Seeing this, Zhao Yu did not rush to leave. Instead, he waited until all his concubines had received their donkey meat sandwiches before continuing his leisurely stroll with his entourage.
At this moment, Yuwen Xuzhong and Li Yan, who were in charge of security, came over and looked at Zhao Yu with some difficulty.
Zhao Yu laughed and said, "This is a one-time thing, and there will be no next time."
Zhao Yu knew that his actions had put them in a difficult position; what if someone poisoned him?
Even if they poisoned Zhao Yu himself, or even just any one of his concubines, they would be in serious trouble.
To put it simply, Zhao Yu's actions posed the greatest challenge to security.
Zhao Yu knew his behavior was inappropriate, but he thought that this was the only time, so there shouldn't be any problems.
Next, Zhao Yu continued shopping with his concubines, allowing them to buy anything they wanted, with Zhao paying for everything.
In short, before even reaching Jiangnan, Zhao Yu had already begun touring with his concubines.
Several days later, the fleet entered Tokyo territory.
From afar, Zhao Yu and his entourage could see a majestic city—the former capital of the Song Dynasty, Bianliang (Kaifeng).
This place was once the most prosperous capital city in the world, the political, economic and cultural center of the Song Dynasty.
However, with the relocation of the capital, this once magnificent city gradually lost its former hustle and bustle and prosperity.
Fortunately, although the city wall is somewhat mottled, it remains as sturdy as ever, as if telling the story of its past glory and honor.
Standing on the dragon boat, Zhao Yu gazed at the familiar yet unfamiliar city, and a complex mix of emotions welled up within him.
This is where his dreams began, and it is also a testament to an important stage in his life.
Cai Xiu, the garrison commander of Tokyo, led the officials, gentry, and elders of Tokyo to go ten miles outside the city to welcome Zhao Yu and his entourage into the city.
The magnificent scenes depicted in the painting "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" in Bianliang City today are no longer present.
The gate of Xiangguo Temple remains majestic, but it is no longer as bustling as it once was.
Of the once thriving 72 restaurants, fewer than ten remain.
However, the wine flags of Fanlou are still fluttering in the wind, and one can still vaguely imagine the magnificent scene of "Liangyuan's singing and dancing was full of elegance" in those days.
Cai Xiu had already ordered people to renovate the former Song Dynasty imperial palace—now the Bianliang Imperial Palace.
But now everything has changed.
Li Qingzhao, who was traveling with the group, was moved by this and composed a poem, "Nian Nu Jiao":
The Bian River, like a ribbon, carries the setting sun, winding its way past the ancient palaces. Looking out, the vermilion gates are overgrown with weeds, yet I still recall the imperial palace of Tokyo. A thousand sails on the canal, ten thousand households on the imperial street, once illuminated the capital under the moon. But one day, the imperial carriage headed to Youzhou, and all that prosperity vanished like smoke.
Now I see only broken ramparts where crows roost, crumbling walls covered in moss, and passersby resting in the alleys. Dust shrouds the windows of the river-viewing tower; the songs of yesteryear are no more. The flowing waters run east, the floating clouds drift north, a thousand years of rise and fall witnessed. Leaning on the railing, I gaze intently, the evening mist shrouding the cold ramparts.
Zhao Yu and his entourage stayed in Bianliang City for three days, and then made a special detour to visit the Song Dynasty Imperial Mausoleum in Gong County.
After paying homage to his ancestors, Zhao Yu ordered the restoration of the imperial mausoleum and decreed that Gong County be exempt from taxes for another three years.
Then, the dragon boat set sail again, heading south along the canal towards the misty, rainy water towns of Jiangnan...
...(End of chapter)