Zhu Di’s grave selection
After the death of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the crown prince Zhu Biao died early, and the emperor's great-grandson Zhu Yunhuo Wendenji became emperor, with the reign title Wenjian.
After he came to the throne, he saw that the vassal king's uncles and nephews were arrogant and out of control, so he followed the opinions of Huang Zicheng, Qi Tai and other ministers and began to cut down the vassal.
When the Yan Kingdom When the most powerful prince Zhu Di was beheaded, Zhu Di couldn't sit still. Under the planning of his counselors, they attacked Nanjing under the banner of "Jingnan". From then on, they began the three-year Jingnan War between my uncle and nephew. Finally, Zhu Di finally invaded Nanjing and his whereabouts are unknown since then. Zhu Di ascended the throne with the title of Emperor Yongle.
After Zhu Di became emperor, he moved the capital to Beijing and, like other emperors, began to select mausoleum sites and build mausoleums. He personally led a group of civil servants, military generals, trusted staff, and Feng Shui magicians to select sites around Beijing to build the mausoleum.
On this day, the eunuch came to report: "The Shaanxi warlock Hu has found a geomantic treasure land that can be used as an imperial mausoleum. I would like to ask Long Live Lord to check it out." Emperor Yongle was very happy after hearing this, so he went In a beautiful place outside Zhangjiakou, Hu led the same military entourage. Emperor Yongle was very happy when he saw it. He saw that this place was surrounded by mountains on three sides and faced water on one side, with beautiful scenery. Not far away, there is a village where farmers are farming, fishermen are rowing boats, and chickens are crowing and dogs are croaking. This is a paradise.
Hu was very happy to see Emperor Yongle's smiling face. He thought: If the emperor can like this place, the day will come when he will be promoted and make a fortune.
At this time, I saw a village woman walking from the west side of the road, carrying a bamboo basket. It looked like she was going to deliver food to the farmers. Emperor Yongle asked the village women to ask: "Do you live in the village in front of you?" Emperor Yongle pointed to a nearby village and asked the women in the village. The village woman knelt on the ground and replied: "Exactly." "What do you call this village? How many households are there?" "This village is called Tujiaying. There are hundreds of households with more than 400 people, all with the surname Tu, but there is no real object Name"
After returning to the palace, Emperor Yongle was very angry and ordered someone to call Hu. Hu thought the emperor wanted to reward him, so he rushed to the Golden Palace and knelt down, waiting for the reward.
Only Emperor Yongle shouted: "Left and right, tie me up." After hearing this, the former temple warrior did not dare to neglect, so he tied up Hu's rope. Hu Liang shouted, "Long live my lord, the villain has been wronged. He has tried his best to choose the site for his mausoleum. How could this misfortune happen to him? What is the reason?"
Emperor Yongle scolded: "You are a cruel thing. You chose the tomb of Tu Jiaying Zhu. My pig lives next to the butcher. Can I get better?" Hu stammered and was speechless. He secretly calls himself a fool. Why hadn't he thought of this? Emperor Yongle said: "Push out the Meridian Gate and behead him." In this way, Hu became the guillotine.
The activity of selecting a site for the mausoleum has never stopped. A few months later, another Shanxi warlock, Yang Daoxian, chose an ideal place in the southwest of Changping County, with clear river water, dense woods, singing birds and fragrant flowers, and winding paths. It's really like a paradise on earth. Emperor Yongle later inquired and found out that there was a ditch behind the selected mausoleum site called "Wolf Valley". He thought to himself: Zhu is more dangerous against wolves. So Yang Daoxian was beheaded and became an immortal.
The site for the mausoleum has been selected for four years, but it has not been selected yet. Later, Jiangxi warlock Liao chose a mausoleum site in a place called "Yanjiatai" in the western suburbs of Beijing. It is also surrounded by mountains and rivers, singing and dancing, a paradise. However, when the Liao warlock reported this place name to Emperor Yongle, Emperor Yongle became anxious and cursed Liao Junqing with ill intentions. "Yanjiatai Yanjiatai" I have only been emperor for a few days, how can I open Yanjiatai? It's not that the officials are begging for mercy, Warlock Liao is really presumptuous. Emperor Yongle was also afraid that too many people would be killed and no one would dare to take on the task, so he spared Liao Warlock's life and let him worry about selecting the site for the mausoleum and making meritorious deeds.
In this way, another three years passed, until the seventh year of Yongle, when an auspicious treasure was found in the north of Changping, which could be used as a tomb for ten thousand years. Please ask Emperor Yongle to see if it is suitable. Yongle led a group of civil servants and generals on horseback from Changping until no one else was seen. When he asked, there was still more than ten miles to go.
When he arrived at the mausoleum site, he saw a cemetery with a hut. When he looked inside, he saw an old man, about 70 years old, with a grave. After questioning, the old man told Emperor Yongle that this was the tomb of a large family named Kang in Changping. Emperor Yongle was really happy to hear this. He thought to himself: My Zhu and Kang are neighbors, I don’t think I will suffer.
Looking at the mausoleum ruins, you can see the undulating mountains behind and the natural dangers. Humang Mountain 2 in the front looks like two gated generals; the Wenyu River in the middle is rippling blue waves, winding eastward, with lush trees and picturesque scenery. This is a beautiful Feng Shui treasure land. Emperor Yongle was overjoyed. This day happened to be the birthday of Emperor Yongle, so Emperor Yongle ordered the Huangtu Mountain here to be renamed "Tianshou Mountain" and determined the location of the mausoleum.
This is the largest of the Thirteen Tombs of the Ming Dynasty and the first tomb of Qin Shihuang, named Changling.