I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 356 The Concept of a Military Parade

Chen Hong didn't know how to answer Zhu Houxun for a moment, but he also knew that Zhu Houxun must have his own intentions in proposing such an idea.

Zhu Houxuan said nothing more.

Instead, he began to think seriously in his mind.

The width of the East and West Chang'an Avenue is sufficient, not narrower than the later two-way ten-lane road, but its length is not as long as that of later generations. The total length of the East and West Chang'an Avenue is only 3.7 kilometers, which is the section from Xidan in later generations to Dongdan in later generations. Therefore, it is called the Ten-Li Long Street. However, this length should be enough.

However, what is in the way are the Chang'an East Gate and Chang'an West Gate, which greatly obstruct the view from the city wall. Moreover, if you want to hold a military parade, it is better to demolish these two gates. The ancient city gates were relatively narrow, which was not conducive to the deployment of large troops. This was also part of the defense system, but if you want to hold a military parade, this point would be fatal, as a military parade requires a wide formation.

However, these two gates are not part of the imperial city's defense system. They only serve to prevent people from peeping in. There will definitely be resistance to their demolition, but he should be able to do it.
In fact, the view looking south from the city wall is still a bit cramped because the square that Zhu Houxuan is familiar with is missing.

The area of ​​the future square is now composed of three areas, the imperial road in the middle and the government offices on both sides of the imperial road.

The end of the Imperial Road is the Daming Gate, and further south of the Daming Gate is the Zhengyang Gate (Qianmen).

On the west side of the Imperial Road are the Central, Left, Right and Front Military Governor's Offices, and on the east side are the Imperial Clan Court and the offices of the Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Rites.

The area of ​​the Great Hall is now the office of the Rear Military Governor's Office, the Taichang Temple, the Tongzhengsi and the Jinyiwei.

The area of ​​the National Museum is now the office of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works.

However, Zhu Houxuan was not too sentimental. He walked down Chengtian Gate and found that the venue was large enough. He began to consider the feasibility of holding a military parade.

Currently, the road surface of Chang'an Avenue is paved with bricks. If we want to achieve a good effect for the military parade, we need to harden the road surface of Chang'an Avenue. However, this is only a small project considering the current construction capabilities of the Royal Group.

Then we need to build a viewing platform in front of the tower, which is not a very large project.

Thinking of this, Zhu Houxuan finally made up his mind to hold a military parade. After all, in that era, the celebrations of returning victoriously were still quite monotonous and boring in Zhu Houxuan's eyes. For example, welcoming the emperor in the suburbs, offering captives to the Imperial Ancestral Temple, rewarding the three armies, granting amnesty to the whole country, reducing taxes, etc., their solemnity, experience and immersion were not very high, so Zhu Houxuan thought about holding a grand military parade.

The significance of a grand military parade is definitely more than just celebrating victory. In addition to its huge propaganda effect, it can also rally morale and public opinion, increase national identity, promote nation-building, and deter hostile forces.

However, the decision has been made, but there are still many details to consider in holding a military parade in this era.

For example, the color and style of the military uniforms of the troops on parade in this era must not be as low-key as in later generations. In fact, the military uniforms of later generations were not low-key either, and their technological content was still not low. The low-key color was due to the needs of the battlefield.

In this era, military uniforms must be more exaggerated. Military uniforms with exaggerated colors often represent national strength and can effectively boost morale.

Therefore, Zhu Houxun needed to design several sets of uniforms according to the different types of soldiers. After all, it would be too monotonous if so many armies were all wearing armor of similar styles.

However, the Ming Dynasty was a fire element, and the color red was the most popular. If things go wrong, the military uniforms they designed might look a bit like the British lobster soldiers.
But this kind of thing should be left to professionals. In addition, there is the issue of the military band. In such an open field, a relatively large military band is necessary, and the military band can also play the role of adjusting the rhythm of the soldiers' steps.

Zhu Houxuan was not particularly worried about this because he had reserves in the Royal Bank.

The essence of music theory is mathematics, and the essence of musical instruments is mechanics (or toys of physics).

Both of these are things that the Royal Group is vigorously promoting.

Why is Western music so developed in later generations?
The reason is the development of modern Western industry and mathematics.

It was precisely because of the rise of mathematics, physics and other disciplines brought about by the liberation of European thought after the Renaissance that Western music flourished.

Zhu Houxuan's expectations for the Propaganda Department were definitely not as simple as rehearsing some operas. He hoped that the Propaganda Department could promote the development and take-off of various cultural industries in the Ming Dynasty in all aspects. The development of various cultural industries could also bring about the ideological liberation of the entire nation.

Under his promotion, the Propaganda Department has now come up with the twelve-tone equal temperament. Historically, the twelve-tone equal temperament was discovered by Zhu Zaiyu, a member of the Ming Dynasty royal family. Just by looking at his name, you can tell that he is the son of Zhu Houxuan.

What is the twelve-tone equal temperament?
It is a music theory that is expressed in mathematical language by analyzing and calculating the physical properties of sound waves.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand, I don’t really understand it either.

All you have to know is that it is the foundation of modern music. Without it, modern music would be like a computer without binary.

But if there was no twelve-tone equal temperament, the piano would not have been invented. In other words, without the twelve-tone equal temperament, all keyboard instruments would not have been invented.

Without the twelve-tone equal temperament, the five-line musical notation in the modern sense would not have been possible.

If there is no five-line notation in the modern sense, then the traditional European alphabetic notation and the early four-line notation are essentially no different from the traditional Chinese gongche notation.

Back to the topic, many musical instruments in modern military bands are actually the product of the development of physics and were invented as people's ability to process metals improved.

Under the promotion of Zhu Houxuan, the various factories under the Royal Group are not only improving their steel processing capabilities, but also rapidly improving their processing capabilities for various other metals.

Therefore, the Royal Group has long been able to produce some metal wind instruments. Although they may not be as mature as those in later generations, some metal wind instruments have been added to the performances of the Propaganda Department, and some metal wind instrument enthusiasts have also emerged.

So if they want to put together a military band, the Royal Group can still put together a military band. Although the level is far inferior to the military bands of later generations, the same thing applies: first solve the problem of whether there is a band or not, and then talk about other things.

Zhu Houxuan walked along Chang'an Street while thinking, and the people accompanying him did not disturb him. He slowly passed through the West Gate of Chang'an, and suddenly woke up at the end of Chang'an West Street. He suddenly realized that he was in the same place as Xidan in later generations.
He was very familiar with this area in later generations. What place is west of Xidan?

(End of this chapter)