Chapter 3311
At the end of June 1657, outside Zhengyang Gate in the south of Nanjing.
Three days have passed since the Nanjing garrison surrendered at Kaicheng. During this period, the Ming troops inside and outside the city have basically completed their evacuation, and the guarding tasks of various city gates have also been taken over by the Haihan Army.
Several black carriages, guarded by large groups of armed cavalry, slowly walked towards Zhengyang Gate from the official road. The soldiers on duty at the city gate saw the flags flying in the motorcade and quickly worked together to remove the Juma roadblock in the middle of the road.
And a group of gentry who had been waiting under the city gate for a long time quickly stood up straight to welcome the arrival of the big man.
According to the agreement reached between the two countries, Haihan gave the people in the city three days to evacuate. Shi Diwen and Yan Chujie had been waiting outside Nanjing for more than half a month, and they were not in a hurry until the handover between the two parties. After the formalities were completed, he entered the city calmly.
The reason why we chose Zhengyang Gate to enter the city is because after entering this gate, it is the avenue that leads directly to the Imperial City. After finally taking Nanjing City, we naturally have to take a look at the core area of the city.
The honor guard slowly stopped outside the city gate. Shi Diwen's eldest son Shi Chengwu reported outside the car: "Father, there are local Nanjing gentry coming to greet them. Do you want to meet them?"
Shi Diwen looked at Yan Chujie sitting opposite and asked for advice: "Then let's get out of the car and show off?"
Yan Chujie nodded and said: "It should be so, let's go and see you."
Most of these local gentry who stayed in Nanjing and even organized themselves to welcome Haihan's senior officials were willing to join Haihan, so they were naturally worthy targets.
The two got out of the car and came to a group of gentry who were bowing and saluting.
"Fellow folks, you have been waiting for a long time!"
Shi Diwen already knew a lot about this kind of occasion, and immediately gave a passionate speech. The general idea is that after Haihan takes over Nanjing City, he will take it as his own responsibility to ensure the personal and property safety of the people and restore normal social order in the local area as soon as possible.
Then he praised the gentry present, saying that they were real people who cared about the country and the people. They were now needed to support the government to complete the smooth transition of the Yingtianfu area. For those who perform outstandingly in this process, officials will definitely reward them.
Yan Chujie's speech was shorter, saying that the war in Yingtian Mansion was over, and asked everyone to put their hearts back in their stomachs and just live a good life from now on.
While the gentry thanked them, some also raised questions. When the two armies handed over the defense of Nanjing, the city was relatively chaotic. There have been obviously more robberies in the city in the past few days. I hope the Haihan Army can strengthen patrols and punish those who commit crimes. Thieves must be punished severely.
Shi Diwen immediately said that the Haihan Army had captured a group of silverfish thieves, and they would be publicly tried and dealt with in the city in a few days to serve as a warning to others.
After a brief interview, Shi Diwen and Yan Chujie got back on the carriage and entered the city through Zhengyang Gate.
From Zhengyang Gate to the north, there is a wide and straight avenue, paved with uniform bricks and stones. On both sides of the avenue are military camps. In the past, Jinwu Guards, Liu Guards, Fujun Guards and other troops were stationed.
At the other end of the avenue is the Hongwu Gate, the gate into the center of Nanjing's imperial city. The city area with a radius of several miles on both sides of Hongwu Gate is where various government offices, large and small, are located.
Due to the special status of Nanjing City, all yamen in Beijing City also have the same set of configurations in Nanjing.
To the east of Hongwu Gate are the Liubu, Zongren Mansion, Hanlin Academy, Zhanshi Mansion, Taiyuan Hospital, Dongcheng Military and Horse Division, etc. To the west are the Taichang Temple, General Affairs Department, Jinyiwei, Bannerwei, Qintianjian, Fujunqianwei and other yamen. The team continued to march north, with the imperial city wall in front of them.
After passing the Wulong Bridge and crossing the Imperial City moat, they arrived at Chengtian Gate. Shi Diwen and Yan Chujie chose to get off the car and walk into the Imperial City.
The imperial guards who had taken refuge with Haihan were waiting here to act as tour guides for them to visit the imperial city.
However, after entering Chengtian Gate, they did not see the magnificent building they imagined. There were high palace walls on both sides, and not far in front was another city gate, Ruimen.
The accompanying tour guide said that behind the palace walls on both sides are the Taimiao Temple and the Sheji Altar respectively. Only after passing Ruimen can you see these two buildings from the side passages.
After passing through Ruimen, there is still a passage separated by the palace wall, and there is another city gate in front. However, there were two doors on each side of the passage here, allowing them to finally get a glimpse of the spectacular imperial city architecture.
"Two adults, ahead is the Meridian Gate. After passing the Meridian Gate, you will reach the palace city."
Shi Diwen said: "So this is the Meridian Gate! In the past, when I heard operas, the emperor would push out the Meridian Gate and behead his guilty ministers. This is the place!"
The tour guide responded: "Sir, in fact, those are all untrue folk rumors. This Meridian Gate is the only way in and out of the palace. It would be unlucky to behead your head here!"
Shi Diwen smiled and said: "Then tell me what is the real situation."
The tour guide responded: "This place is actually for punishing officials. Some are punished by kneeling here, and some are beaten with imperial sticks. This place is far away from the palace in the palace. No matter how much the officials cry, the emperor cannot hear them inside. , out of sight, out of mind.”
"However, since the current emperor is in Beijing, this palace is mostly empty, so no ministers will kneel here to receive punishment."
Yan Chujie nodded and said: "This sounds more reasonable, but how many gates are there since we entered the city? The emperor is really particular!"
The tour guide responded: "Sir, this Nanjing city is divided into four inner and outer cities. The outermost city, the outer city, was captured by the Han army early, so needless to say. The adults just entered the Zhengyang Gate and entered the second floor. In the capital city, you can enter the imperial city on the third level after entering Hongwu Gate and Chengtian Gate. As for the Meridian Gate in front, you can reach the innermost palace city. ”
"The ancient system of five gates and three halls in the "Book of Rites", from south to north are Hongwu Gate, Chengtian Gate, Ruimen, Meridian Gate, and Fengtian Gate, followed by Fengtian Hall, Huagai Hall, and Jinshen Hall. Main Hall.”
As everyone listened and walked, there was actually a river behind the Meridian Gate, surrounding the palace in the palace city. There is the Neiwulong Bridge on the river. After crossing the bridge and passing through the Fengtian Gate, I finally saw the three main halls.
Yan Chujie was more concerned about military details and asked the tour guide: "Where are the Imperial Guards stationed?"
The tour guide responded: "Just north of the palace city and within the imperial city, there are Yulin left guards and right guards stationed respectively... The villain was born in Yulin left guard. From Bei'anmen, when leaving the imperial city, there are also left guards of the imperial army. The military camp of Wei and Jinwu’s defenders”
Yan Chujie nodded repeatedly after hearing this: "The city of Nanjing is fortified at every level. It's hard to imagine how much resources the Ming Dynasty invested in building such a complex city defense system. Fortunately, they opened the city on their own and surrendered. Otherwise, it would have taken a lot of effort to defeat it. .”
(End of chapter)