Chapter 224: Xiaoling Mausoleum

The Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum is located at the southern foot of Zhongshan Mountain, more precisely at the southwestern foot of Zhongshan Mountain. However, due to the arc-shaped trend of Zhongshan Mountain facing south, the location of the Xiaoling Mausoleum is where the dragon's pulse acupoint is located. Gathering qi and wind, it maintains its auspiciousness. Moreover, with the mountain spring opening the gate to heaven, and the Yangtze River as the unparalleled dragon water, it overlooks the Qinhuai River and has an exceptionally wide water mouth.
If we consider it from the perspective of feng shui, this place is truly an unparalleled treasure. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang did not hesitate to move the remains of the eminent monk Baozhi from the Liang Dynasty and forcibly took this piece of land called "Dulong Fu" as his imperial tomb.
Of course, all of the above is just a myth and superstition. If Feng Shui could really guarantee that future generations would sit on the throne for thousands of years, then Feng Shui masters would have become the most sought-after profession in the world.
However, when it comes to the construction of imperial mausoleums, Zhu Yuanzhang can be considered innovative. Not to mention the regulations of previous Han dynasties, he changed the square tomb to a round mound, achieving the concept of harmony between heaven and man, integrating with the environment. At the same time, he designed the spirit way in a shape similar to the Big Dipper, which surrounds Sun Quan's tomb, effectively reducing the status of the Eastern Wu emperor to that of a gatekeeper.
In addition, the Xiaoling Mausoleum and the Zhuling Mausoleum share the same rules and regulations for the divine path, forming a new fixed rule for the formation of an imperial mausoleum group in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
The construction of the entire Xiaoling Mausoleum began in the fourteenth year of the Hongwu period. The following year, Empress Xiaoci Gao died, so after the completion of part of the underground palace through overtime work, her funerary palace was buried. Afterwards, the construction of the Xiaoling Mausoleum continued, especially the peripheral supporting facilities, which lasted until the third year of the Yongle period before it was truly completed.
So far, in the 27th year of the Hongwu era, the main architectural components within the Xiaoling Mausoleum, including the Wenwu Square Gate and the connected imperial tomb wall, have not been completely finished. The peripheral supporting facilities are even more incomplete, with construction scenes visible everywhere.
The reason for this excessive construction time of 25 years is mainly due to the unnecessary additions made by future generations. The first reason is that although Zhu Yuanzhang liked large-scale projects, and the size of the Xiaoling Mausoleum was among the largest in history, he also understood the importance of not overburdening the people, so he had to relax the time requirements. The second reason is that Empress Xiaoci had already been buried there, and in order to avoid disturbing her, strict noise and pollution reduction measures were imposed during construction. This was probably the first mega-project in history to have high environmental requirements.
Xu Qin, accompanied by a large group of Jin Yiwei and government officials such as Ji Kai, a left assistant minister of the Ministry of Works, patrolled the Xiaoling Mausoleum. However, he had an obvious distracted expression on his face.
In the end, his worries became a reality at the court session: Zhu Yuanzhang decided to personally come and see the progress of the construction at the Xiaoling Mausoleum, while also visiting his only wife in his heart.
This was originally nothing. For Xu Qin, Zhu Da Boss is now a direct elder, the more important he feels, the better it is for him. But now the key is that the vengeful ghost who returned from the Jiuyou land is eyeing from outside, and he has also obtained a considerable amount of military gunpowder. Even thinking with toes, that Zhang Jiaozhu will definitely take advantage of Zhu Yuanzhang leaving the palace as a heaven-sent opportunity to cause trouble.
Although the distance from Dong'an Gate and Chaoyang Gate to Xiaoling, including the Xiaoling Avenue, is only about three kilometers, it is still outside the city, mostly in densely vegetated mountainous areas. Compared to the heavily guarded imperial palace, this is like having large sieve holes everywhere for security work!
For Xu Qin, the safety of Zhu Yuanzhang at this stage is not only a matter of life and death, but also an important turning point in the overall situation. Simply put, Zhu Yuanzhang absolutely cannot die now! If he dies, Zhu Yunwen, who is currently on the throne as the crown prince, will naturally succeed him. Zhu Di will then face a much more difficult situation than the Jingnan Rebellion in history: both Prince Qin and Prince Jin are still alive, making it impossible for them to rebel. Without the seemingly insignificant title of the head of the vassal kings, if he dares to rebel, he will either be attacked by everyone or ignite a rebellion together with his brothers, leading to a situation where various warlords rise up together.
But it is impossible to let Zhu Yunwen sit on the throne peacefully until the death of the Qinjin two kings, regardless of whether Zhu Yunwen will behave himself or not. Even if that day comes, Zhu Yunwen has already been sitting comfortably for almost four years. Even if he is useless, he should have consolidated the civil and military forces of the court. This is very different from the historical situation where they faced rebellion from vassal kings only a few months after ascending the throne.
"Ji Shi Lang, how many people are currently at the Xiaoling construction site?" Xu Qin walked and looked around, then asked Ji Kai who accompanied him.
"There are currently 7,349 tomb guards at the imperial tomb, and an additional 18,690 soldiers drawn from the thirteen capital guards. Apart from the soldiers, there are also 9,620 craftsmen of various kinds, as well as 21,567 able-bodied men. There are also officials from the Ministry of Works, internal eunuchs, as well as monks and Taoists who pray for the late emperor's blessings, totaling about two hundred or so."
Ji Kai skillfully reported the detailed quantities of almost all types of personnel within the Xiaoling Mausoleum, even accurately to the single digits.
"So, you mean there are more than 50,000 people in total currently in the imperial tomb?" Xu Qin is not his superior, though he admires his proficiency in his job to a certain extent, he is currently not in the mood to discuss these matters.
"Yes, apart from the approximately ten thousand soldiers patrolling inside and outside the imperial mausoleum, the monks and Taoists mainly pray in the Hall of Offerings, while mainly being distributed in over thirty construction sites. Just now, the young master has entered through the divine path and has already seen the twenty-one locations near the entrance and divine path. In addition, there are six other locations including the annex halls in that direction, and seven other locations such as the exterior walls of the imperial mausoleum in the other direction."
Without waiting for Xu Qin to ask further, Ji Kai preemptively answered the question he was about to ask.
"In addition, if necessary, these construction sites can be stopped at any time. The soldiers, craftsmen, and workers are all located in the camp outside the mausoleum. Furthermore, most of the outer walls of the mausoleum are already usable. So as long as the soldiers guard the few gaps and dispatch people to patrol the surrounding area tightly, the security within the mausoleum can be ensured. However, relying solely on the current 26,000 people inside the mausoleum is sufficient in terms of numbers, but..."
"No, the guards and all the eunuchs who were originally stationed in Xiaoling will be withdrawn to the camp outside the mausoleum, and the defense work will be handed over to the soldiers of other guard forces newly transferred here."
Xu Qin is also very headache about this. As a youth growing up under the red flag in the new century, he sincerely disagrees with the feudal ruling class's meaningless extravagance and lavishness, especially Zhu Yuanzhang's ostentatious entourage of thousands of people... From the perspective of later generations, this kind of forceful ostentation is simply too outdated.
But he can't do anything about it. He doesn't have the authority to cancel Zhu Yuanzhang's procession, and he dare not take any risks with Zhu Yuanzhang's safety. So even though the filial tomb is only about three kilometers away from the palace, they have to mobilize tens of thousands of people to create a spectacle for the emperor.
Hearing Xu Qin's words, Ji Kai naturally has no objections. On the contrary, this is exactly what he wants. If the original soldiers of Xiaoling are involved in security work, Ji Kai, who is responsible for the entire Xiaoling construction site, will also be responsible. And now, judging from Xu Qin's words, all personnel will be reassigned, so no matter what happens, it will not be his concern.
On the one hand, it arranged the rough personnel schedule and inspected the basic situation of the Xiaoling area, on the other hand, Xu Qin kept pondering about Zhang Yun, who was still lurking in the dark, and the thousands of catties of gunpowder he had schemed to take out from the secret chamber of Fangshan.
Xu Qin's presence here actually doesn't accomplish much in terms of actual tasks; it's more of a formality. The specific tasks will be carried out by experienced officers from the Jin Yi Wei and other Twelve Guards. After Xu Qin and Ji Kai's group toured this brand new, enormous imperial mausoleum, more than half of the over 200 officers from the Twelve Guards who were originally following them had already left. The departing individuals naturally went to various specific locations to begin the investigation and planning for the welcoming ceremony in three days.
According to his idea, since we are taking risks during a dangerous period, we should act quickly and decisively. Taking advantage of the opportunity before Zhang Yun and the remnants of the Fire Worshipers react, we should embark on a journey to see our own grave – a trip where we can leave at any moment.
However, Zhu Yuanzhang was stubborn this time and insisted on picking an auspicious day according to the lunar calendar for the Qintianjian to visit the imperial tombs before slowly making their way there.
This nearly made Xu Dashao, the head of security, unable to resist the urge to curse!
Your fuss and fanfare are almost public knowledge, and now those lurking monsters and demons are also sharpening their knives, waiting for Zhu Yuanzhang to step out of the turtle shell of the palace.
It is said that this man also likes to dress in disguise. It seems that most of the legends are lies.
In Xu Qin's eyes, this massive imperial tomb is nothing special. After all, he often sees Zhu Yuanzhang, who is still alive, so naturally he doesn't have the admiration that future generations have. And in terms of grandeur, a mere imperial tomb is far from the original "world's first palace," the Nanjing Imperial Palace.
So Xu Qin simply followed the divine path and took a rough look at the main group of auxiliary buildings and the surrounding area near the Hall of Enjoyment. After a simple worship of Empress Ma, he turned around and left. He didn't even say a word to the monks and Taoists who had been waiting in line outside the Hall of Enjoyment, since he didn't need to personally handle the actual investigation either.
"Sir, there are no abnormalities."
"Just as Xu Qin finished his inspection and was about to return, Sun Baihu led a few other imperial guards over to report to him."
"Upon hearing this, Xu Qin did not say anything, but only nodded slightly, and then turned to Ji Kai and said."
"Ji, please arrange that from this afternoon, all construction work outside the tomb walls be temporarily suspended. The guards and soldiers will also withdraw after the guards arrive in the afternoon and the other newly arrived soldiers. Only two hundred officers will be assigned to accompany the new soldiers, while the rest will withdraw to the camp outside the tomb."
"This..." Jikai couldn't help but hesitate slightly at the words.
"Minister Jikai, I understand that you also have difficulties here, and you are under pressure to meet the deadline. However, I must honestly inform you that our Jinyiwei has received intelligence that there is a high possibility of rebels plotting to assassinate the emperor using a large amount of gunpowder! If anything goes wrong, no one can handle the consequences! Meeting the deadline is indeed important, but there are ways to remedy the situation in the long run... Minister Jikai should have a clear understanding of the priorities," he said.
Seeing his troubled appearance, Xu Qin naturally understood his difficulties, so he directly explained why he was being so cautious.
"Uh, um... Young Master Xiaogong... I understand..."
Ji Kai's intentions no longer matter, what matters is that because of this sudden earthquake, as well as some nonsense from a fool at the Qintian Observatory, the emperor who has been holed up in the palace for years is finally going to leave! This is probably a rare opportunity that certain people have been eagerly anticipating for years!