Chapter 744: Yao Tai Xian Chi

Da Wang grabbed Zhao Zhu Ge's hand to catch up, this being the first major NPC he had ever met; Da Wang sometimes confided in him things inconvenient to say to outsiders, and Zhao Zhu Ge not only listened seriously to his complaints but also offered suggestions.

After Da Wang finished venting about the aristocracy, he finally remembered to ask about Yingtaizhou. Zhao Zhu Ge laughed: "Yao Tai Xian Chi, a splendid summer retreat."

Upon hearing such high praise, Da Wang instantly became interested.

Yingtaizhou covers four hundred hectares, originally scheduled for five months of construction, but with preliminary demolition and repairs, work continued through midsummer, allowing Da Wang to seamlessly relocate there to escape the heat.

"The laborers have been disbanded; Your Lordship may send palace attendants to take over, and I can remain in Youzhou for another month."

Da Wang had already impatiently opened the full topographical map of Youzhou; previously, with construction unfinished, he had been too lazy to look, but this matter had long passed the stage of curiosity about the construction site—after seeing too much, it no longer intrigued him.

He recalled Yingtaizhou being built between the Yang River and Ning'an, and Da Wang quickly located it.

"Wow~"

He only remembered there being two small hills, but zooming in on the map from an aerial view revealed an additional water system—they had actually dug a square lake!

Further zooming showed emerald ridges forming valleys, green lakes as skin, pavilions and halls scattered in orderly arrangement, long dikes with willow mist entwining the banks, stone bridges connecting immortal isles, mountains and waters outlining a splendid feng shui scroll—grand and elegant, a single glance taking in a century of imperial garden splendor.

Naturally, to Da Wang it was simply: "Beautiful! Huge! Love it!"

Zhao Zhu Ge, having seen much of the world, kept his expression unchanged and clasped his hands: "As long as Your Lordship likes it."

"I can't wait to see it in person, alas, I've just resumed work and have a pile of matters at hand." Da Wang grew agitated, then slightly regretted placing Yingtaizhou so far away.

"Although Yingtaizhou is a leisure retreat for escaping the heat, it can fully serve as a temporary administrative seat. Foreign audiences and court assemblies can both be held here."

Zhao Zhu Ge simply produced the construction map to explain to Da Wang where one could reside, study, govern, relax, and enjoy oneself, where court assemblies could be convened, where sacrificial rites could be performed—here there are Buddhist structures and Daoist temples; that vast Hanxu Lake is still Youzhou's largest artificial lake, even capable of serving as a hydraulic hub, allowing water diversion for irrigation in two nearby counties.

"... Yingtaizhou has four palace gates, each with a garrison battalion, capable of stationing up to forty thousand soldiers."

Upon hearing this, Da Wang finally recalled an important matter: "Such a vast place—how many people are needed to keep it running? Too few and the environment cannot be maintained!" Clearly another large group would need feeding; Da Wang seemed to see silver sprouting wings and flying away.

Zhao Zhu Ge was successfully amused by Da Wang.

"Nowadays the Jin Dynasty is in troubled times, so there surely won't be a shortage of people selling themselves into palace service; for them, this may not be an undesirable livelihood."

"The south still lacks household registration surveys; Changzhou and Guanghan already have one-fifth fewer households than the previous dynasty. With population declining so rapidly, I don't want to buy a bunch of young eunuchs for the palace… palace maids are acceptable, though—once they mature, I'll send them away."

Zhao Zhu Ge reminded him: "I imagine Your Lordship isn't preparing to return to the old capital; Chang'an's original palace gardens surely have attendants—why not relocate them to Youzhou?"

"Exactly!" Not only does Chang'an have palace attendants, but so does the secondary capital Luoyang.

Da Wang's idea made him ever more enthusiastic: "I truly wish to go to Yingtaizhou right away to spend the summer." Though the Ziwei Palace wasn't hot before, now that he had a broader new palace garden, he suddenly felt the Ziwei Palace growing stuffy.

"After I finish seeing the Guangling envoys, I'll move to Yingtaizhou to stay two months."

Da Wang also didn't hide his concerns from Zhao Zhu Ge, venting at length about his worries—words he had never spoken to anyone else. In fact, his delay in seeing the Guangling envoys stemmed from inner uncertainty. Like that Chu general Bai Li Qi, he had no trouble with him—once Bai Li Qi's provisions were in place, his head must hang on the city wall. But Guangling made him hesitate.

Put bluntly, this fellow fears that this aspect of the envoys won't meet his expectations, driving the court and Guangling into utter opposition, ultimately forcing him to face his elder brother in armed conflict.

Zhao Zhu Ge advised Da Wang to do his utmost and leave the rest to heaven, to have a clear conscience. Finally he said: "... Demonstrating strength plays an important role in the current court-Guangling relationship. If destroying the Xiongnu and the bald-haired Xianbei king's court is hard power, then Yingtaizhou, with its scale and craftsmanship surpassing the ordinary, counts as a form of soft power. Your Lordship may receive the Guangling envoys at Yingtaizhou."

Da Wang's eyes lit up—he had taken the words to heart.

After Zhao Zhu Ge withdrew, Da Wang immediately ordered Zhao Po to summon all available palace attendants from Chang'an and Luoyang.

"... Leave only enough to guard and sweep the palace; transfer the rest to Youzhou for delivery to Yingtaizhou, and have Zhang Xu come over to serve as Yingtaizhou's chief steward."

Da Wang's excitement was temporarily beyond Zhao Po's comprehension, and the officials understood even less.

At the next day's court assembly, Da Wang announced he would bring everyone to Yingtaizhou to escape the heat!

Xie Yuan pondered what Yingtaizhou was for a while, then finally recalled it seemed to be some garden Da Wang had undertaken half a year ago—apparently now completed?

【34> Others were even more bewildered, having never heard of escaping the heat by traveling south!

Others couldn't understand it even more—no one had ever heard of going south to escape the heat!

Moreover, they were already on the northern frontier—yet they were deliberately going out to escape the heat?!

"Yingtaizhou not only has a place for attending court, but also a place for handling affairs—you may understand it as another Ziwei Palace. It can also station considerable troops; I intend to bring the elite without farming duties there, to change locale for work and training—is this hard to understand?"

Very hard.

But their opinion doesn't count.

Yesterday they just dropped a big bomb about establishing the imperial examinations, the day before that they had the Minister of Revenue raising grain supplies for war and rebellion suppression, and today they want to leave the city to escape the heat?

The Grand Minister of Rites also had something to say: he memorialized that Guangling's envoys request an audience with Your Majesty daily, and this matter should be arranged.

Da Wang heeded the advice: "I'll be very busy from now on, with not a moment of leisure. So… this way: after I settle in Yingtaizhou, I'll see them immediately—it won't be long." He then assigned Li Xu to Yingtaizhou with a single stroke.

"Xie Yuan, stay a moment; the others may disperse."

Officials failed to comprehend, and the retained Xie Yuan attempted to question Da Wang.

"Your Majesty, do you have no time this afternoon? Wasn't there still free time before mid-afternoon?"

Da Wang sought him out for this matter: "I have business with you, sir; I may be busy lately, so the mid-afternoon lesson may need to be paused for now—we can resume reading after I go to Yingtaizhou. Let me tell you, Yingtaizhou has a reading pavilion extending over the water, built with quite an atmosphere~"

Xie Yuan's face instantly showed utter disillusionment.

"So it turns out Your Majesty doesn't love reading… because the Lan Tai Dian lacks atmosphere? I understand—I shall await your performance at Yingtaizhou."

Da Wang: ……Eh!

Did I just shoot myself in the foot?!

The palace attendants from Chang'an and Luoyang hadn't arrived that quickly, so Da Wang still had to bring the Ziwei Palace attendants to Yingtaizhou. He entrusted Zhao Po with the arrangements, and that night secretly convened a core meeting in the Sui Fu Dian.

Attendees were Ling Yin, Dong Fu, Chang Li, Zhu Ti, and the captain of the treasure ship, Chen Cang.

"Time truly flies—half the year has already passed; today I summoned you to discuss my work plan for the second half of the year!"

Dong Fu: ……Shouldn't this be researched during daytime court assemblies?

【Clueless author hit a snag—wrote an outline all day yesterday, now sorted it out, don't worry.】