Chapter 274 273 Merits

"Crack crack crack."

The wood on the corridor burns blazingly in the flames. Because various parts of the wood are heated unevenly during burning, which causes the wood to deform and cracks the wood fibers, resulting in a crackling sound.

Wei Guangde and others stood far away, watching the corridor gradually collapse in the flames.

"Boom, boom, boom."

The Zuoshun Gate in the distance has completely collapsed. Now it is fine. If Wei Guangde wants to leave the Forbidden City, he can only go out through the Donghua Gate. The original road has been blocked.

Behind Wei Guangde and the others, more than a dozen young chamberlains had already collapsed on the ground from exhaustion, panting like dogs.

When the fire burned the three main halls, Xiyuan could already see the flames rising from the palace city. The billowing black smoke shot straight into the sky and alarmed the major yamen outside the palace.

The streets around the imperial city were completely blocked at this time, and countless people in the capital stopped and watched on the streets.

Unlike ordinary people whose houses are on fire, these ordinary people will not rush in with their pots and pans to help put out the fire. This is the palace after all.

Emperor Jiajing was meditating in the Yongshou Palace, but the situation was too urgent. Although the servants outside the palace did not dare to make any noise, they hid outside the gate and looked in, hoping to attract the attention of the palace.

It's a pity that Huang Jin's attention was on the emperor at this time and he didn't notice the scene outside the palace gate.

Soon, footsteps could be heard outside the palace, and the two pavilion elders Yan Song and Xu Jie who had come to Xiyuan for duty quickly entered the Yongshou Palace.

The situation was urgent and they did not wait for notification.

"The Emperor is still inside, why didn't you report it?"

Seeing the situation at the entrance of the palace, Xu Jie said in a bad tone to the few servants standing there.

Yan Song in front waved his hand to signal Xu Jie to be calm, and then said to the young chamberlain: "Quickly go in and report, don't waste time."

The sound outside naturally alerted Emperor Jiajing and Huang Jin inside. Yan Song and Xu Jie were both outside, so naturally something was wrong.

"Go out and see what's going on."

Emperor Jiajing ordered Huang Jindao, who had put down the hammer in his hand and no longer looked at the scriptures on the imperial desk.

Huang Jin got the order and hurried to the door of the palace. What he saw was that a few servants were at a loss, and Yan Song and Xu Jie were staring at them at the steps.

"What happened?"

Huang Jin asked curiously.

"The palace is in trouble."

A young chamberlain, who might be Huang Jin's disciple, said in a trembling voice.

"What?"

Huang Jin couldn't help but scream when he heard that there was water in the palace.

Emperor Jiajing had been paying attention to this side. He didn't hear the little chamberlain's voice, but Huang Jin's exclamation was clearly heard in his ears.

"What happened?"

Emperor Jiajing's tone was already very unkind. He hated having to hide everything from him, so he could just report it loudly.

It's just that he forgot that in the past, when he was practicing meditation, no one was allowed to disturb him.

Anyone who dares to break his rules will be punished at least, or die at worst.

"Your Majesty is not well. There is something wrong with the palace."

Huang Jin knew Emperor Jiajing's temperament and quickly shouted inside.

Whether it is good news or bad news, it must be reported to Emperor Jiajing as soon as possible. This is the rule.

The emperor is not only the emperor of the people of the world, but also the master of these Yin people. Everything must be known to the emperor as soon as possible.

"What?"

Emperor Jiajing, who had been meditating quietly, couldn't help but stand up.

The palace is on fire, this is no small matter.

At this time, Yan Song and Xu Jie just stood silently outside the palace without saying a word. As long as the emperor knew about it, the rest was none of their business.

When they heard the report from outside that there was a fire in the palace, the two of them immediately came over from Xiyuan to check in. Along the way, they found it strange that no one was going out to spread the word. Only when they arrived did they realize that the emperor didn't know about it yet.

Then I heard the sound of footsteps in the palace. Emperor Jiajing had already walked to the palace door, reached out and pushed aside the yellow brocade and walked out of the palace door.

Yan Song and Xu Jie in front of the steps saw the emperor coming out and quickly bowed and saluted. The other eunuchs and servants also saluted Emperor Jiajing, but at this time Emperor Jiajing could no longer care about them and walked out directly and looked in the direction of the palace.

The walls of Yongshou Palace are not low, blocking most of the sight, but you can still see billowing black smoke floating in the air in the direction of the palace.

This fire is not small.

"Quick, Huang Jin, send someone there immediately. Hurry, send someone else to see where the leak was."

Huang Jin immediately arranged for several servants to send messages to various places, asking them to summon the servants and guards in the palace to put out the fire.

Not long after the few chamberlains left, the chamberlain who came to deliver a message from the palace also arrived.

"The three main halls were set on fire by thunder."

Emperor Jiajing was stunned when he heard the news from the palace.

The thunder from the sky set the three halls on fire.

"Put the driver back to the palace."

Emperor Jiajing could no longer stay in Xiyuan and immediately gave orders.

Soon, the ceremonial guard for the emperor's trip was prepared, and everyone got on the soft sedan and hurried to the palace.

When Emperor Jiajing entered the palace through Xihua Gate, they could not leave soon. Youshun Gate was already engulfed in fire.

Although they could still enter the harem through Sishan Gate, it was no longer important. What Emperor Jiajing wanted to see was the fire scene, and now he had seen it.

Countless chamberlains and guards were putting out the fire there, but it seemed that the effect was not great.

In front of the door of the Sixth Section Gallery next to it, a dozen people from Shizhong and Zhongshushe gathered there and looked at the fire burning in front of them in shock.

It didn't take long for him to know the general situation of the fire. Standing in front of Wuying Palace, Emperor Jiajing's face was ashen.

The three main halls were completely burned down. The fire followed the corridor and burned through the Fengtian Gate to here. Fortunately, the corridor did not connect to the Meridian Gate, otherwise the fire would not have burned out of the Forbidden City.

"Boom, boom, boom."

The sound of a building collapsing could be heard in the distance. It was the sound of burning wooden boards losing their support underneath and hitting the ground heavily.

"Report to your Majesty, the Zuoshun Gate burned down."

A young chamberlain ran over from a distance and reported. As soon as he finished speaking, in front of Emperor Jiajing's eyes, the already shaky Youshun Gate collapsed completely, making a louder and heavier roar.

"It's broken, Dong Pavilion, and Wenyuan Pavilion."

At this moment, Xu Jie, who had been standing by, suddenly patted his thigh and exclaimed.

The fire burned along the corridor. Previously, they only considered that there was no corridor at the Meridian Gate, so it would be enough to burn the fire here.

But after hearing the news that Zuoshunmen had been burned down, Xu Jie thought that there were corridors inside and outside Zuoshunmen. Fortunately, this corridor was connected to the cabinet office space, and after the East Pavilion, there was Wenyuan Pavilion contains the royal collection of books.

Upon hearing the words Wenyuan Pavilion, Emperor Jiajing became excited instantly.

"Quickly, send someone to Wenyuan Pavilion and transfer the books in the pavilion. Quickly."

Emperor Jiajing was so excited that he unconsciously walked towards the Youshun Gate where the fire was burning.

This frightened Huang Jin on the side, and he quickly hugged Emperor Jiajing's legs with both hands and refused to let him pass.

In front of the Wuying Palace, in addition to the imperial chamberlain, two cabinet ministers, Liu Ke Shi Zhong and Zhong Shu She were all still here, but they were helpless in the face of such a huge fire.

We can only hope that the guards and chamberlains who put out the fire will work harder and control the fire as soon as possible.

But by this time, everyone was no longer calm.

They all know that the only large-scale classic in the Ming Dynasty - "Yongle Dadian" - is stored in Wenyuan Pavilion. If this fire burns out, will this book still exist?

Others may not know it yet, but Xu Jie and Yan Song know that the original books and documents that compiled the "Yongle Dadian" have been burned by a fire in Wenyuan Pavilion in Nanjing. If Wenyuan in Beijing is now If the pavilion is burned again, even if you want to copy another copy of the "Yongle Dadian", it will be impossible, and you won't know what to copy.

But let’s look at the present first.

Under the leadership of Yan Song, Xu Jie and the six subjects of Shizhong and Zhongshushe all knelt in front of Emperor Jiajing and blocked his way.

Emperor Jiajing only did such a thing in a moment of excitement. He calmed down when he was stopped and said, "Quick, send more people over there. We must snatch out the "Yongle Dadian"."

After saying such words, Emperor Jiajing himself felt lack of confidence.

The fire may have reached the East Pavilion by now.

Just burn down the cabinet office. Even if some memorials are destroyed, it doesn't matter. There are still records at the General Affairs Department, so just copy them over.

But nothing can happen to Wenyuan Pavilion.

Many of the books in the Wenyuan Pavilion are ancient books collected from the people by emperors of all dynasties. Many of the books are unique and will never be seen again if they are burned.

"Storage all ancient and modern records."

Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang's purpose when he first built Wenyuan Pavilion was very clear, but the ancient books that emperors of the past dynasties painstakingly collected are now about to be burned.

Even Emperor Jiajing could not remain calm. The burning of Wenyuan Pavilion and the burning of three major palaces were equally important events, not the loss of a small palace.

The burning of the three main halls had more political significance, as they represented the emperor's supreme power.

Once burned, it can be rebuilt. In fact, this is not the first time that the three main halls have been burned down.

Three months after the completion and opening of the three main halls, they were struck by lightning and caused a fire. At that time, Zhu Di, the founder of the temple, not only immediately sent people to offer sacrifices to his ancestors, but was also forced to issue the "Edict of Sin", "God has given me a warning. I am very frightened. I can't help but do it." Feel at ease."

The three main halls that were rebuilt later, which are currently burning, are completely smaller than the original three main halls.

It's not that there was no money. During the Yongle period, the Ming Dynasty's finances were still very rich. The reason why the repairs were small was due to the problem of selecting materials.

The best materials had been used and burned, and the remaining wood could only be used to build smaller ones.

Wenyuan Pavilion represents cultural inheritance and the inheritance of Han culture.

"Expel the barbarians, restore China, establish principles and discipline, and save the people of Sri Lanka."

In the twenty-seventh year of Zhengzheng, Zhu Yuanzhang was preparing for the Northern Expedition to attack the capital of the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, he issued the "Zhu Yuanzhang Fengtian to Defeat the Yuan Dynasty for the Northern Expedition" and put forward this slogan.

I am a commoner in Huaiyou. Because of the chaos in the world, I am highly praised by everyone. Those who return to me will live in peace in China forever, while those who carry me will flee outside the Great Wall. For our Chinese people, God will order our Chinese people to keep them in peace. How can the barbarians and the Di rule them? I am afraid that the land in China will be polluted and smelly for a long time, and the people will be disturbed, so I lead the heroes to work hard to clear it out, aiming to drive out the barbarians, eliminate the riots, and enable the people to find their place. I will avenge China's shame and the people will wait for it.

The establishment of the Ming Dynasty not only completely destroyed the brutal rule of the Yuan Dynasty, but also abolished the racial hierarchy and oppressive policies formulated by the Mongols, restored the inheritance of the Han people, and re-formulated a set of regulations and systems with reference to historical materials.

The work of collecting books from all over the world has continued until now, but seeing that all his efforts were about to turn into ashes, Emperor Jiajing was in a panic.

And there was also the only copy of the "Yongle Encyclopedia". How could he face his ancestors in the future?

Emperor Jiajing lowered his head dejectedly, not daring to continue looking at the raging fire in the distance.

Huang Jin hurriedly ordered the eunuchs to withdraw manpower. If they couldn't pass through the left and right Shunmen, they would go around the Taimiao, Chengtianmen and Donghuamen to enter. The eunuchs went around the harem and rushed to Wenyuan Pavilion.

Let's try it out.

Not far away from them, on the side separated by the raging fire, Wei Guangde was still joking with Chen Ju in a low voice.

"The old one must go before the new one can come. God saw that the palace where the emperor lived was old, so he ordered a new one to be built."

"That would only be possible if the court could allocate money. Alas, the days ahead will be difficult. Fortunately, we broke the corridor, otherwise the Wenyuan Pavilion would have been burned by now."

"That's right. Later, you can tell your godfather, Eunuch Gao, that our contributions must not be stolen by others."

"That's for sure. Just for the credit of preserving the Yongle Encyclopedia, I should also be promoted to a higher rank."

The two of them were talking and laughing there, not taking the fire seriously at all. What they were concerned about now was whether they could be rewarded for their duties afterwards.

Not long after, a large group of eunuchs rushed out of Baoshan Gate in the north, carrying pots and pans in their hands. They were obviously here to put out the fire. The leading eunuch Wei Guangde didn't know him, but Chen Ju did.

When he saw people coming, he immediately greeted them with a smile on his face.

The two stood there and said a few words, and the eunuch ordered his eunuch to run back to report the news.

He had already seen that Chen Ju's words were true.

The fire was still burning, but it was impossible to store anything here because they had dug up the corridor before, which prevented the fire from burning to the East Pavilion and Wenyuan Pavilion. This was a great achievement.

The eunuch didn't know how important Wenyuan Pavilion was. In his opinion, it was just a place to store books, right?

But his godfather Huang Jin attached great importance to it, so he had to attach great importance to it.

This achievement was tempting, but there was no way. Behind Chen Ju, the eunuch, stood Gao Zhonggao, and ordinary people didn't dare to act rashly and run to grab this credit.

Naturally, he couldn't do that.

"Is Wenyuan Pavilion okay?"

The Jiajing Emperor received a report from the eunuch that the corridor of Zuo Shunmen was dug up by Chen Ju and Wei Guangde, cutting off the possibility of the fire spreading to the East Pavilion and Wenyuan Pavilion. His face was full of disbelief.

He had already prepared to go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to apologize, but unexpectedly, the situation turned out to be a surprise, and Wenyuan Pavilion was safe.

After listening to the eunuch's description of the situation over there, he knew that they had made preparations before the fire spread. The fortunate Emperor Jiajing immediately ordered: "Summon Wei Guangde and Chen Ju to see the emperor."