Tianjin produces salt and has many saline-alkali lands.
The mass grave is in the eastern suburbs of Tianjin. It is surrounded by cultivated land, but that area is severely salinized.
Farmers in ancient China have figured out ways to improve salinization. As far as Tianjin is concerned, they level the land, plow deep into the sun, and dig ditches for drainage. This can not only allow rainwater to wash away the saline-alkali components in the soil, but also effectively prevent the soil from being damaged.
Anti-alkali.
But the results are very slow, and it can take several years, ten years, or even decades to turn it into a good land.
The bones in the mass graves have all been buried, and it is impossible to tell which ones belong to the late emperor and his wife. Saplings were brought in and planted one after another, and they were built up with soil. A ditch was left in the middle for drainage. Usually, special personnel were required to bring fresh water.
water.
Calling it a cemetery is actually quite offensive.
With constant watering and planting, it will take at least twenty years for this saline-alkali land to turn into a forest.
The tomb is empty, not even the tomb. Only the burial inscription and the priest guarding the tomb highlight the distinguished status of the owner of the tomb.
There is even a stone tablet next to it, with the front saying: "The late emperor's mausoleum, don't steal the empty tomb." On the north side, there are densely carved words describing the severe drought in the first year of Chongzhen, the emperor's family fled famine, the late emperor died in Tianjin, and his body was left in a mass grave
Unrecognizable.
Not far away, on the other side, another large tomb was built, with the tombstone reading: The tomb of those who lost their lives in the world...
The back of the tombstone records that during the Chongzhen period, there were constant natural and man-made disasters, and many people lost their lives due to chaos. This tomb and this monument were erected for the poor people who died in troubled times. I hope that the world of China will be peaceful and stable from now on.
Since the corpses of the late emperor and the late empress cannot be found, there is no need for tight defense.
If one day, the Datong imperial court is about to be destroyed, we will not be afraid of someone coming to dig out the dragon's veins, let alone dig up the bones and whip them to dry in the sun.
It is only necessary to arrange a few guardians of the mausoleum to perform daily sweeps and worship. Visitors can also come in to worship. There is even a roadside pavilion outside the mausoleum for tourists to rest and enjoy the cool air.
There are no monks and no Taoist priests.
The officials of the Ministry of Rites who accompanied the emperor on his northern tour went to the cemetery in advance to arrange it. The tablets of the late emperor and the late queen were brought from the Nanjing Imperial Ancestral Temple and placed in the main building of the cemetery. They also asked heaven, earth and local gods to bless them.
Finally, Zhao Han, wearing the imperial uniform, arrived with the royal family and clan members.
Solemn and sad music played. Under the guidance of the etiquette officer, Zhao Han carefully completed every step and finally knelt down and kowtowed in front of the tomb.
"Father, mother, my daughter is unfilial!"
Zhao Zhenlan cried the hardest because she had become sensible after they were separated. Zhao Zhenfang, on the other hand, was still young and had even forgotten what her parents looked like, and only vaguely remembered that her father liked to stroke his beard.
Zhao Handuan was kowtowing straightly. When he stood up, his whole body felt relaxed, as if he had settled a matter on his mind.
Back in Tianjin city, Zhao Han said to his elder sister and younger sister: "Stay a little longer and I have found a similar clan in Liaodong, and I am coming to Tianjin with my genealogy."
In the next few days, Zhao Han met with local officials and elders.
Finally, a middle-aged man named Zhao came from Liaodong on a ship.
After meeting, Zhao Zhenlan immediately recognized this person and shouted excitedly: "Are you the fifth brother of the master's family?"
The middle-aged man's name was Zhao Fang, his eyes were red and he said: "Greetings to the eldest princess!"
In fact, the two of them have no deep feelings, they just belong to the same clan and village.
After all, the late emperor Zhao Shilang had a good reputation, and he initially received financial support from the main clan. However, it was very expensive to treat his mother, and the family also needed to support the family. The main clan gradually became impatient and even beat out Zhao Shilang who had borrowed the money.
Zhao Fang wiped away tears and recounted his experiences over the years:
"During the Chongzhen period, there were severe droughts for several years. There were many people fleeing famine in our village. Even the Zhao family did not have much food left."
"Those damn Tatars came and robbed them several times, and our village suffered every time. My eldest brother and the third brother's whole family were kidnapped by the Tatars because they couldn't take refuge. Their whereabouts are still unknown..."
"The Tatars left, and Li Chuang came again. Li Chuang did not plunder much, and served as a good emperor for a month or two. But Li Chuang was defeated, and the troops at the rear were chased by the Tatars. The military discipline of those defeated troops was ruined.
They robbed our village all over. Li Chuang defeated his troops and left, but the Tatar soldiers came after him."
"Those are not Tatar soldiers, they are Ming border troops who surrendered to the Tatars. They didn't have enough food, so they forced the big families in the village to provide food. If they couldn't provide food, they would kill people..."
"In these wars, most of the elders in the village fled, and not many of the Zhao family were left. Then a Tatar became emperor again, and the county was very short of people. At least I passed the examination as a scholar and was familiar with the local situation, so I
I applied to be a Tatar magistrate. The magistrate was actually a Han Chinese, and his raids were more ruthless than those of the Ming Dynasty officials. Especially during the war with the Datong Army, officers were sent to the countryside every day to collect food supplies."
"All the farmers in our village ran away, and the tenant farmers ran away because they couldn't pay the rent. There was still a plague at that time, and you didn't know where to go. Many of them got sick and died on the way."
"Later, even the magistrate's salary was stopped, leaving the officials to find ways to make a living. The magistrate began to exploit the people more and more. Even the big families in the city couldn't bear to run away with their families. Those who died of the plague in the city had to flee.
Some died of hunger, and some died of starvation, accounting for at least 70% to 80% of the population. The county town, which was in good condition, turned into an empty city in the blink of an eye."
"No one is planting the land in the village anymore. There is a severe drought every year, so we can't harvest food from the fields. The price of food in the city has skyrocketed. As a master of the county, I really can't afford to buy food to fill my stomach. I see my young son starving.
die……"
"Later, the Tatars wanted to withdraw outside the pass, and the county magistrate followed them. I didn't dare to stay. If I stayed, I would die, and my money and food would be gone. So I begged the magistrate to take my family with me. The Zhao family is so big, and the Tatars
I went with my son to the outside of the customs, and there were only four people left. I didn't take any belongings with me. In addition to the house, furniture, and bedding, there was only a room full of books."
"The books were all left behind. The ancestors could not forget them, so they took a complete set of genealogy to Liaodong... When I returned home to pick up the genealogy, there were only twelve households left in the village, and half of them were too hungry to walk."
Speaking of this, Zhao Fang burst into tears: "Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.
No wonder Zhao Fang was so excited when he saw Zhao Zhenlan. With his experience, even when he saw his former enemy, he would feel like meeting an old friend in a foreign land.
Zhao Han was silent when he heard this. This is what the people in the north experienced.
Zhao Fang was still the young master of a landlord's family, and he was also a scholar who was admitted as a scholar. If he had been an ordinary person, it would have been even worse!
The Manchus and Qing Dynasties had to leave Hebei, because during the Chongzhen period, Hebei was in a mess. After the Manchus and Qing Dynasties came, they raced to enclose land around the capital, and the more peripheral prefectures and counties were increasingly exploited, and people's livelihood was in dire straits. This kind of
situation, and also superimposes the double negative buffs of drought and plague.
If the Manchus didn't leave, why would they stay in Hebei?
Zhao Han was silent, but the two princesses and the concubine wiped their eyes from their eyes.
It’s true that the man is silent and the woman is crying.
Zhao Han asked: "Have you brought the Zhao family genealogy?"
Zhao Fang stopped crying and nodded and said: "Bring it here. Our Zhao family's distant ancestor is Boyi, the ancestor of the Zhao surname is Zaofu, and the surname Ying comes from the pre-Qin Dynasty..."
Zhao Han, who had been silent just now, just wanted to roll his eyes.
Damn it, the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors are all here, thinking on their heels, they all know that the genealogy is just made up.
Finally, Zhao Fang said something more reliable: "Our branch comes from the Zhao family of Tianshui Hall. After the Qin Dynasty destroyed Zhao, our distant ancestors moved to Tianshui, Gansu Province. During the Han Dynasty, Zhao Gongfang, who was granted the title of Marquis and Prime Minister, is our ancestor."
Zhao Han asked: "Is it related to Zhao Kuangyin of the Song family?"
Zhao Fang was stunned for a moment and replied: "Your Majesty, everyone in the world with the surname Zhao recognizes Tianshui Hall as their sect. This Song Dynasty is also known as the 'Tianshui Dynasty'."
Zhao Han: "..."
Zhao Fang has experienced so many hardships and has learned to watch people's emotions long ago. He has already seen that Zhao Han does not want to have anything to do with Zhao Kuangyin. He quickly said: "Broken down, it is definitely not a family. Zhao Kuangyin is the Zhao family of Zhuozhou, and our ancestors, the Tang and Song Dynasties
They have always lived in Shanxi during the two dynasties. After the war between the Song and Yuan Dynasties, they branched out and moved, and moved to Beizhili in the early Ming Dynasty. These are clearly written in the genealogy, and there must be no mistakes."
Compiling a royal family tree is also a very important matter.
Before the Ming Dynasty, emperors liked to put gold on their faces. For example, Zhao Kuangyin said that he was from the Zhao family in Tianshui. He didn't know whether it was true or he was trying to get closer to a famous family.
It wasn't until Zhu Yuanzhang came up with the sentence "I give this Huaiyou cloth".
I'm just a commoner, I don't have any noble ancestors. Why, are you biting me?
Zhao Han said: "Leave the copy of the Zhao family genealogy, and I will have someone make a copy for you."
Zhao Fang hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, please take it. The Zhao family will be scattered completely. The genealogy can be provided to the royal family and the Zhao family will be prosperous. The spirits of the ancestors in heaven will definitely be happy."
Zhao Han thought for a while and said: "You can stay in Tianjin, and we will divide the land for you and guard the Eastern Suburb Cemetery from generation to generation. Of course, only one person from each generation will be left to guard the tomb, and this person can receive a salary from the government. The rest of the descendants
, you can choose your career freely.”
"Thank you for your grace!" Zhao Fang said happily.
He never thought about his rapid rise, and most of his relatives were scattered without a trace. He was lucky to be able to guard the tomb of the late emperor. He could divide the land and receive wages, and his life was finally stable. He still had a wife and one son alive, so he just had to live an honest life.
Moreover, by guarding the late emperor's tomb, no one would dare to bully him.
Zhao Han called Li Xiangjun and asked her to draft an imperial edict and send it back to Nanjing for Li Banghua to polish. The general content was to clarify the relationship with the Song family. The royal genealogy had been found and he was not a descendant of Zhao Kuangyin's brother.
This saves people from making up random stories, which are annoying to watch.
Zhao Fang suddenly said: "Your Majesty, do the ancestral graves in our hometown need to be repaired?"
Zhao Han waved his hand: "It can be repaired, but you don't have to do it deliberately, and you can't surround it all to build the ancestral mausoleum. Those lands should be left to the people for farming."
Zhao Fang said: "Your Majesty, please allow the common people to return to their hometown every year to pay homage to their ancestors and sweep their tombs. Your Majesty's ancestral graves will also be carefully taken care of by the common people."
"That's right."
Zhao Han asked someone to fetch another hundred taels of silver and asked Zhao Fang to settle his family in the eastern suburbs of Tianjin.
However, Zhao Zhenlan had many things to say and wanted to reminisce with this clan brother. The two of them chatted until the evening. During dinner, Zhao Zhenlan's eyes were red, and she had obviously cried again because of sadness.
Immediately, Zhao Zhenlan took her husband back to her hometown to visit the tombs of her ancestors on behalf of the emperor.
