Chapter 473 472 Building Blocks Into Pillars

"Let's go and congratulate Prince Yu. After gambling so many subjects, we finally won once."

Yin Shizhen called them out, and said, "These gambling houses should not be allowed to interfere in the talent selection ceremony."

Obviously, he did not support officials to participate in gambling, especially gambling on the top scholar. This is the national talent selection ceremony, which should be solemn and dignified. How can it be tainted with the smell of money?

Zhang Juzheng whispered to Wei Guangde behind him, "If I had known this, I would have sold everything I had to gamble on this."

"That's right, that's right."

Tang Ruji also whispered.

Obviously, they didn't take Yin Shizhen's words to heart.

For them, the officials of the royal palace, the future is bright.

But that is the future after all.

Now, if they don't have family support and external funds, they will only live a tight life relying on the salary and rewards.

The newly-appointed scholars happily attended the Rong En Banquet, after which the emperor bestowed clothes and banknotes, and Xu Shixing thanked the emperor on behalf of the scholars. They also visited the temple of the ancestors and performed the ceremony of releasing vegetables. All of these were carried out in an orderly manner under the careful arrangement of the Ministry of Rites.

Wei Guangde finally had the opportunity to visit Xu Jie, the second assistant, and Yuan Wei, the assistant minister, to test their tone.

In the past few days, although the court was still running and was not interrupted by the palace examination, some government affairs were inevitably postponed.

Although it was delayed for a few days, it did not affect anything. In fact, the cabinet and the Ministry of War have not discussed the matter yet.

Relatively speaking, Yuan Wei's attitude was more cautious. Although it was somewhat unfavorable to Yan Ge Lao recently, after all, the emperor did not say anything in person, and everything was just rumored outside the court.

But Wei Guangde, who came out of Xu Jie's house, couldn't help but look back at Xu's house.

When talking about this with Xu Jie just now, although Xu Jie was still perfunctory, his attitude changed immediately after seeing the three thousand taels of silver bills presented by Wei Guangde.

Relatively speaking, Wei Guangde felt that Xu Jie seemed to be more certain that Yan Ge Lao would step down in the near future.

Thinking about the clues found in Prince Yu's Mansion before, Wei Guangde was more convinced that Xu Jie had started a series of actions, but it was very covert, and he didn't know whether Yan Song and Yan Shifan had noticed it.

However, these had nothing to do with him. It seemed that the war in Jiangxi had been temporarily put aside because of the palace examination, and it had not become the focus of the government again recently, because the attention of Emperor Jiajing had been diverted to the reconstruction of Yongshou Palace.

When Emperor Jiajing summoned Yan Song and Xu Jie for questioning years ago, because Yan Song's words were inappropriate, Emperor Jiajing finally handed over the reconstruction of Yongshou Palace to Xu Jie for supervision.

What the ministers of the court could not imagine was that Xu Jie actually rebuilt Yongshou Palace in just three months.

Wei Guangde only heard about this incident by accident when he visited Xu Jie this time. Think about how excited Xu Ge Lao was when he talked about this.

Come to think of it, the Ming Dynasty government was notoriously slow in handling affairs. Who would have thought that the reconstruction of Yongshou Palace would be so fast and efficient this time?

The matter of Xiyuan was the matter of the palace. Wei Guangde naturally couldn't ask around. He didn't ask Chen Ju about the reason. After entering Prince Yu's Mansion the next day, he immediately found Li Fang to ask.

Li Fang was a eunuch and had Prince Yu's insider in the palace, so he was naturally more informed.

"Are you talking about the Yongshou Palace?"

Li Fang smiled and said, "I only knew about this a few days ago. Because it was not a big deal, I didn't tell you."

"This time, how come it was completed so quickly? I heard that it will not delay moving in."

Wei Guangde asked in surprise.

"The fire in Yongshou Palace originally only burned down wooden buildings, and the foundations were intact. I heard that Lord Xu urged them to clean up the site in half a month.

Wasn't the construction of the three main halls completed at that time?

At that time, a lot of craftsmen and wood were recruited, and Xu Jie picked up a ready-made one. All the people and things went to Xiyuan to participate in the reconstruction of Yongshou Palace.

They were all craftsmen who built the three main halls. It was much easier to rebuild a palace than the previous projects."

Li Fang talked about what he knew, and Wei Guangde was also surprised.

If you think about it simply, you will feel that rebuilding a palace seems to be very troublesome, but after listening to Li Fang's detailed analysis, Wei Guangde also felt that it didn't seem to be a big deal.

In addition to the huge project, the reconstruction of the three main halls mainly took a lot of time to select the big materials.

After selecting the wood, they had to transport them all the way from the south to the capital, and then the reconstruction began. Most of the time was actually wasted on selecting and transporting the materials.

Later, the Ministry of Works had another dispute over the reconstruction of the three main halls. The main reason was that there was not enough big materials to restore the previous grandeur. There was no choice but to reduce the construction.

At this time, Ouyang Bijin, the then Minister of Works, naturally reported to Emperor Jiajing in secret, and everything had to be decided by the emperor.

When Emperor Jiajing heard the news, he hesitated for many days before finally nodding and agreeing.

There was not enough big materials to build the main hall, but the materials for building ordinary palaces were well prepared by the Ministry of Works. The three main halls were not used, and all were used in Yongshou Palace.

If someone has the materials, the construction speed will naturally be very fast.

"If I had known this earlier, I might as well have reported it and recommended myself to do this."

After listening to Li Fang's story, Wei Guangde couldn't help but exclaimed.

"Who said it wasn't? This is not a ready-made credit, and it was all picked up by Xu Ge Lao for nothing."

Li Fang also echoed.

"Lord Yan is really old and confused. He actually forgot about the three main halls, the craftsmen and materials there."

Wei Guangde had to sigh that people of age could never compare with those who were still strong and healthy. This was the proof.

It was hard to say that Xu Jie was secretly happy at that time, but he was also worried that Yan Song would think of the three main halls and come out to grab the credit.

Wei Guangde and his friends would not know about this news if they did not specifically ask about it, but the cabinet knew about it. Although Yan Shifan was a little curious, he never thought about it and gave Xu Jie a bargain.

How could he know that Yan Shifan was considering perfecting his plan at that time, and his heart was not used at all to rebuild the Yongshou Palace and please Emperor Jiajing.

After separating from Li Fang, Wei Guangde was still thinking about this matter as he walked back.

Now that Xu Jie's performance has caught the eye of Emperor Jiajing, he is afraid that he really doesn't care about Yan Song anymore. Anyway, he has someone who can do things and is obedient.

The news that the Yongshou Palace in Xiyuan was completed in just three months soon spread throughout the court and the country. The officials in the capital were all surprised to hear about it.

It was really too fast.

Xiyuan, Yongshou Palace.

Emperor Jiajing was also checking the rebuilt Yongshou Palace at this time. Compared with the palace he lived in before, the current Yongshou Palace was completely brand new, which naturally made Emperor Jiajing nod his head again and again, very happy.

"Good, very good, very good."

Seeing that everything was kept in its original appearance, Emperor Jiajing felt no sense of restraint at all, and his joy was beyond words.

Looking around, he looked up at the roof beams. It used to be a whole piece of wood. Although it is now carved with beams and painted with rafters, it can be vaguely seen that it is slightly different from before.

"The craftsmen are here."

Emperor Jiajing came to see the Yongshou Palace. Not only did Xu Jie rush over from the cabinet, but the Minister of Works Lei Li also came here, and all the officials and craftsmen related to the reconstruction were summoned in preparation for the emperor's inquiries.

Emperor Jiajing's question left Huang Jin, the eunuch commander, speechless, but it was not difficult for Xu Jie.

"Your Majesty, the chief craftsman Xu Gao is here."

As he spoke, Xu Jie waved his hand and asked a craftsman in a gray robe behind him to come forward to answer.

China has always valued morality over tools, and craftsmanship is a minor occupation, and craftsmanship is a minor servant. The gray-robed craftsman was trembling all over when he came forward to answer, and it was unknown whether he was excited or scared.

However, Emperor Jiajing was in a very good mood at the moment. He raised his hand and pointed at the beam and asked, "That place seems different from before, why?"

"Your Majesty, it is difficult to find beams and pillars for the palace, so the common people built it with building blocks as pillars."

The craftsman knelt in front of Emperor Jiajing, not daring to raise his head, and crawled on the ground to answer.

"Building blocks as pillars?"

Emperor Jiajing whispered, "Tell me in detail."

Obviously, Emperor Jiajing was interested in the craftsman's answer, so he continued to ask.

"This."

Xu Gao was a little embarrassed, not knowing whether he should tell the emperor. It was not that he was worried about the quality of the palace he built. In fact, he had full confidence in his skills and the houses he built.

The reason for his worry was actually because of himself. He was wearing a gray robe, which showed that he was not an official, but just a craftsman in the Ministry of Works. Although everyone called him a master craftsman, he was just a craftsman after all.

Do you have the right to speak in front of the emperor?

"Your Majesty asks, just say it."

Perhaps seeing Xu Gao's embarrassment, Xu Jie spoke behind him.

"That's right, your Majesty asks you to answer well."

Lei Li also said afterwards.

"The so-called method of building blocks into pillars, when the high-quality materials are insufficient, we, the common people, use medium-quality materials to make up for it according to some real situations. In fact, it is to splice small pieces of wood together with mortise and tenon joints, inlays, etc., so that the appearance looks seamless."

Speaking of technology, Xu Gao really doesn't touch it, after all, his family has been carpenters for generations.

Xu Gao was born in a family of craftsmen in Yangzhou. His family's unique skills were mainly the so-called "big woodwork" in carpentry, that is, the design and construction of wooden buildings.

He was a man who mastered big woodwork, and he was also very successful in Yangzhou, where rich businessmen gathered. The reason why he was called to the capital was also because of his superb skills.

In the 36th year of Jiajing, the three core palaces of Fengtian, Huagai and Jinshen in the Forbidden City, together with some other ancillary buildings, were all burned down in a fire caused by a big lightning strike. As the facade of the court, it was naturally necessary to fully restore them, but this project that attracted national attention faced many practical difficulties.

In order to rebuild the three main halls as soon as possible, the court and the Ministry of Works ordered skilled craftsmen from all over the world to gather in the capital to offer suggestions for the reconstruction of the three main halls of the imperial city.

It was under such circumstances that Xu Gao came to the capital from Yangzhou.

In fact, wooden buildings themselves are not difficult to build, but the reconstruction of the three main halls this time had to face a very difficult problem, that is, there was a shortage of large wood, and it was impossible to restore the grandeur of the past.

As a last resort, Xu Gao used his best skills to save as much large wood as possible for the roof beams, and used smaller wood for the pillars, using the method of building up wood as pillars.

This time, he completed the design and construction of the new three halls in front of all the skilled craftsmen in the world, which made him earn enough face and earned the title of "Master Craftsman" in front of the officials of the Ministry of Works.

The officials of the Ministry of Works, even in front of the high-ranking Ru Lei Li, had to call him Master Craftsman Xu.

He thought that he could leave Beijing and return to Yangzhou after the completion of the three halls, but he was sent to the cabinet by the Ministry of Works and accepted the task of rebuilding Yongshou Palace as soon as possible in front of Xu Ge Lao.

If he could do such a project as the three main halls, rebuilding the Yongshou Palace would be a piece of cake.

Knowing the scale of the Yongshou Palace, he knew that the remaining wood from the three main halls could be used to rebuild it. Even if there was a difference, it would not be much. The Ministry of Works should be able to easily solve the material problem in the capital, and it was not necessary to take the old wood from the deep mountains.

Master Craftsman Xu, of course, rebuilt the Yongshou Palace quickly and completed it successfully in just over two months.

The officials of the Ministry of Works had checked it, but they didn't expect to come today, and even the emperor came in person.

After that, Emperor Jiajing called Xu Gao to his side, and while walking around the Yongshou Palace, he asked Xu Gao how he built the Yongshou Palace. Xu Jie, Lei Li and Huang Jin could only follow Xu Gao.

At this time, they also saw that Xu Gao had caught the eye of Emperor Jiajing with his craftsmanship.

There is no way. Who told the Jiajing Emperor to be so obsessed with the art of Xuanhuang? He was also particularly fond of Taoism. From time to time, he would issue an imperial decree to build Taoist temples and pavilions, which naturally required professionals like Xu Gao.

It is really difficult to count how many palaces and Taoist temples were built during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor. However, since the Ming Dynasty moved its capital to Beijing, the projects built by the Jiajing Emperor were probably only less than the Beijing City supervised by the Yongle Emperor. Other emperors could not match him.

The Dagaoxuan Hall and the Daguangming Hall were built in the Western Garden. On the basis of the Temple of Heaven and the Temple of Earth built by the Yongle Emperor, the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon were built, as well as the outer city wall of the Beijing City. These projects that have been passed down to later generations were all built during the Jiajing Dynasty.

As for the construction outside the capital, such as the Yuanyou Palace and Huaying Mountain, there are countless of them. It has also directly caused the Yan family, the chief minister of the dynasty, to be determined not to let go of the manual department easily. It is really too much oil and water.

Hearing that Xu Jie always called Xu Gao "Master Craftsman", Emperor Jiajing naturally used this title as well, and said with a smile: "Master Craftsman has superb skills, so stay in the capital to share my worries."

With that, without waiting for Xu Jie, Xu Gao and others to react, Emperor Jiajing said to Xu Jie: "Draft an edict. When the Wanshou Palace is completed, order Duke Zhu Xizhong, Marquis Gu Huan, Prince Consort Xie Zhaobo Fang Chengyu, and Grand Secretary Xu Jie to report to the two altars of the imperial temple in the southern and northern suburbs."

"I obey your order."

Emperor Jiajing had made such arrangements countless times, and Xu Jie naturally would not say anything about this issue, but just let the Ministry of Rites arrange it.

Rebuilding the Yongshou Palace is actually nothing, but the emperor's attitude naturally made the Minister of Works Lei Li unable to continue standing behind, and had to come out to thank him.

"Lord Lei, please stand up."

Emperor Jiajing was in a good mood at the moment. Seeing Lei Li, thinking of the three main halls he had already seen, he was very satisfied with this minister.

Then the idea of ​​increasing the favor came to him. This time, of course, the favor was not just for the Yongshou Palace project, but also for the three main halls. He might as well give them all the honors.

With this in mind, Emperor Jiajing continued to say: "For the ministers who have served the project, Xu Jie, the assistant minister, will be promoted to the position of Junior Tutor and concurrently receive the salary of a Minister."