Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 560 Enke, Zhongquan Prefecture and the Prince of Hejian
By the end of February that year, Tao Guangyi, who had been busy since the twelfth month of the previous year for three whole months, finally presented the first batch of rubber hose prototypes to Lu Jin.

"Your Majesty, following the method Your Majesty instructed, we have conducted extensive experiments over three months and have successfully produced two types of rubber pipes."

"This yellow material is made by directly dissolving rubber raw material in ether, then plasticizing it into air pipe using a pipe extruder, and then vulcanizing it under high temperature and high pressure. It is neither water-leakable nor air-leakable, and is indeed very suitable as an air-conducting tool."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin picked up a yellow rubber tube and twirled it in his hand. It was very soft. He even pulled on it a little, but as soon as he let go, the tube instantly retracted. This thing was very elastic. This thing immediately reminded him of the thing that nurses used to tie around his arm and pat the back of his hand to find veins when he went to the hospital for an IV drip when he was a child. I think it was called a tourniquet.
If I remember correctly, even infusion sets from the Republican era were made using this kind of yellow rubber tubing.

This thing can also be used to make valve cores for inflatable tires. When we were kids, if someone had a valve core that was several feet long and hadn't been cut yet, they would instantly become the envy of their friends, because this thing was also the best material for making slingshots.

They spared no expense, venturing tens of thousands of miles across the sea to bring this rubber from the Americas. Finally, the Ming Dynasty could use it to make slingshots. Oh no, I mean to make air tubes, so they could finally develop 'industrial artifacts' like acetylene welding torches.

With gas welding, high-pressure resistant containers can be welded, such as boilers with medium to high pressure, which is essential for building practical steam locomotives. Otherwise, with Watt's early low-pressure steam engines, he would never have been able to build a practical locomotive in his lifetime.

It can also be used to weld high-pressure gas cylinders, air compressors, refrigeration air conditioners, and cryogenic air separation equipment to produce liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen, thus paving the way for the preliminary technologies of artificial ammonia synthesis.

With an air compressor, you can also unlock a range of pneumatic and wind-powered tools, such as an air forging hammer for blacksmithing, a pneumatic screwdriver, pneumatic wrench, and air hammer for screwing and rivetizing, and even a pneumatic pick for coal mining.

Former Soviet model worker Fanstakhanov once set a production record of 102 tons of coal mined by a single person in a six-hour shift using a manual pneumatic pick method. Although this record was later proven to be fabricated by the Soviets and the actual production efficiency was only 34 tons per person in six hours, you have to see who you compare it to!

At that time in the Ming Dynasty, when mining coal by pure human labor, even if you dug with all your might, a strong adult could only dig one and a half tons a day. Even a nuclear-powered ox or horse could probably dig three tons. That was the limit of human power.

Therefore, once the Ming Dynasty popularized the manual pneumatic pick method for coal mining, the country's coal production would immediately increase by 80 to 100 times!
However, this requires a welded high-pressure gas tank and sufficient rubber gas hoses.

Looking at the rubber tube in his hand, Lu Jin immediately praised, "Well done! This thing is already usable. With this, we can make many other machines, which will greatly increase productivity. You deserve a big credit for this."

Tao Guangyi quickly replied modestly, "It's all thanks to His Majesty's excellent guidance. The students were just doing some hard work according to His Majesty's methods, and dare not claim any credit."

Lu Jin waved his hand and said, "Even if it's hard work, you still need to know how to do it. If you randomly pick a few people off the street, do they understand physics and chemistry? Do they know how to do it? If it's your achievement, it's your achievement. Don't refuse."

"Yes, then I will accept your thanks on behalf of the students in the science class."

Tao Guangyi cupped his hands in greeting before continuing, "And this black rubber pipe, we followed His Majesty's instructions, first heating and mixing pine soot ink with rubber and sulfur, then using a pipe extruder and braiding machine to make the pipe, and finally vulcanizing it at high temperature and pressure, resulting in this snakeskin-like appearance."

"Because this type of pipe has a layer of flax fiber inside, as well as a compound of pine soot (carbon black), the rubber is not very elastic and is relatively hard (similar to a wheel tire). However, it has good high pressure resistance and can withstand higher pressure. Therefore, the students think that if it is used for industrial purposes, this kind of snakeskin pipe should be more suitable than yellow rubber pipe."

Lu Jin nodded in agreement, saying, "That's right. Compared to the yellow hose, the black snakeskin hose is more suitable for industrial use. Future rubber hose production should mainly use this type of snakeskin hose. Moreover, this is only a relatively basic snakeskin hose. When steel wire drawing technology matures, the flax fiber inside will be replaced with fine steel wire so that the snakeskin hose can withstand higher pressure."

"I see, I understand now," Tao Guangyi said suddenly.

Lu Jin then asked, "If you start mass production now, what difficulties will you encounter?"

Tao Guangyi thought for a moment before saying, "First of all, the amount of rubber is not very sufficient, but if a batch can be transported back from Lizhou every year, that would be much better."

"Secondly, the production of diethyl ether is limited. The production of diethyl ether requires distillation of high-proof alcohol and sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid is relatively easy to produce, but a large amount of alcohol needs to be brewed from grain. Your Majesty may need to allocate a batch of grain for this purpose. In addition, a brewery needs to be built to produce alcohol."

After a moment's thought, Lu Jin said, "Ether is a basic chemical solvent with a wide range of uses. It is used not only in the production of rubber, but also in the future production of smokeless gunpowder and photographic film. It is also used in alcohol, so it is indeed possible to build a factory specifically for its production."

"As for the grain issue, we now have potatoes and sweet potatoes, which can also be used to brew alcohol. They have a higher yield than ordinary grains and do not compete with staple grains for land. The alcohol brewed from these two types of potatoes contains a small amount of fusel oils, which are somewhat harmful to human consumption, but there are no concerns about using them as industrial alcohol. Therefore, alcohol factories can use potatoes and sweet potatoes to brew alcohol without needing to specifically mix grains."

"I see. That would be perfect. Your Majesty is truly insightful. I never knew that finding potatoes and sweet potatoes in Lizhou could be so useful." Tao Guangyi said with sudden realization. He then took out several pieces of rubber of various sizes from his pocket and placed them on the table in front of Lu Jin.

"And this, these are the rubber scraps after vulcanization that His Majesty requested. What is the use of this?"

Lu Jin's eyes lit up when he saw this. He then pulled out a pencil from the pen holder, wrote a few words on the paper, and then erased them with a rubber block. Tao Guangyi was stunned, never expecting that rubber could be used in this way.

Lu Jin then explained, "This thing can erase pencil marks. If you make a mistake, you can use it to erase and rewrite. Therefore, it can also be called an eraser. It is a kind of stationery. I want to take a few scraps for the Crown Prince and the princes to use when they study."

"If you also want to use erasers, you can take some scraps, but only within the science class. Especially when drawing mechanical drawings, erasers are very useful for correcting errors in the drawings. However, you must keep track of how many you take and you must not waste them. We don't have many erasers yet and we can't afford to waste them like this."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I understand." Tao Guangyi immediately nodded in agreement, and then brought up another matter.

"Your Majesty, there is one more thing. Our science class only has 40 students, but we have more and more projects on hand. In the mechanical workshop alone, there are more than a dozen people who are responsible for the construction of two large factories, Jinling Machinery Factory and Jinling Arsenal. They also need to do mechanical development, and the design and production of muskets and cannons also require several people."

"In addition, His Majesty has sent out to look for minerals, and there are seven or eight people in charge of mining and metallurgy. Now there is rubber, concrete buildings for the academy, and next we will build kilns, chemical plants, and wineries. So many projects have to be done by the science class, and manpower is becoming more and more scarce."

"Therefore, I suggest that we recruit another batch of students."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin immediately nodded, "Indeed, we can recruit another batch of students."

Besides these few projects, Lu Jin also plans to launch projects in telegraph, railway, steam locomotive, steel smelting, rolling steel rails, chemical industry, optics, shipbuilding, oil extraction and refining, and many more. Forty scientific talents are indeed just a drop in the ocean.

After all, these people are far from being scientists and cannot work independently. At most, they only have a middle school or junior college education. Lu Jin simply uses them as research laborers. Of course, the more such talents, the better.

So he thought for a moment before saying, “We can select one hundred of the best math students from the normal school students in Beijing, and then select sixty students from the factory schools of the three old ironworks, with twenty places for each ironworks, which would make 160 people.”

"In addition, another special imperial examination will be held this year, allowing people from all prefectures and counties to voluntarily register or be recommended by officials. Six examination centers will be set up across the country, one each in Sichuan and Guangdong; those from Fujian, Zhejiang, and Anhui will come to the capital for the examination; those from Henan, Shanxi, and Shaanxi will come to Zhengzhou; those from Hebei, Shandong, Liaoning, and Jiangsu will come to Jinan; and those from Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi will come to Jiujiang."
"The imperial court will set the exam questions. First, candidates will be selected from various regions, and then they will go to the capital to participate in the palace examination. This special examination will only admit 340 people. Including those from the capital, a total of 500 people will be selected. Only the Ming Suan Ke (mathematics) subject will be tested. Once you pass the exam, you will be admitted as a disciple of the emperor and enter the science class for unified study. After graduation, you will be directly granted the title of Jinshi."

Tao Guangyi was overjoyed upon hearing this. He could recruit five hundred people at once, and all of them would become Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) after graduation. Once all of these people became officials or went to various professions, then these disciples of the emperor would truly have a foothold in the Ming Dynasty court. Moreover, with this example, more and more people would study mathematics in the future, and Gongshu disciples would inevitably stir up the world and rival those Confucian scholars!

However, after suppressing his excitement, Tao Guangyi asked with a mixture of excitement and worry, "Your Majesty, can you teach five hundred students at once?"

“Of course I can’t teach them all by myself, but I still have you all,” Lu Jin immediately explained.

"Our country doesn't have many people who are good at mathematics right now. So this time, we shouldn't be too strict with the selection process. We should be open to entry but strict with exit. As long as you know a subject like algebra or geometry, you can be selected."

"Once all five hundred people have arrived, we will first hold a preliminary test to divide them into classes based on their level of mathematical ability. Then, the current students in the science class will take turns teaching them. I will also occasionally go and teach a few classes. That way, we can manage to teach them all."

"Those with the best academic performance will continue to study theory, those with average performance will be assigned to engineering projects, and those with the worst performance will be kept as teachers to teach the next class, or sent to various places to teach."

"And what about the math textbooks? How's the compilation going?"

Tao Guangyi immediately replied, "The textbooks are being compiled under the supervision of Senior Brother Meng. The junior high school version has been completed, and the senior high school version is currently being compiled."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin immediately said, "Then let's distribute the primary and junior high school math textbooks and allow the people to copy or print them themselves, so that those who are interested can study on their own. Before the establishment of official schools by the imperial court, we can give them a path to advancement."

"In addition, when the imperial edict was issued this time, it was also spread that there would be more than one imperial edict like this. Students who did not pass this time could continue to study mathematics at home and would have another chance when the imperial edict was held in the future."

Tao Guangyi was overjoyed upon hearing this, and then asked, "Your Majesty, what about the Gongshu Suanjing? Should it also be disseminated?"

Lu Jin frowned and hesitated, saying, "Gongshu Suanjing is too profound. Without a good teacher, it is difficult to learn even by oneself. It is like reading a book in heaven. It is far less practical than the textbooks we have compiled. It is not advisable to spread it widely for the time being. After we finish compiling the textbooks, we can compile a 'Self-Study Series of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry' and have the court publish it then."

"Your Majesty, I understand. I have another request."

"Go on," said the speaker. "I have a son named Tao Jingming, whom I have privately tutored in mathematics. Now that we've recruited so many students, could you..."

Lu Jin immediately asked, "How is his math?"

"He is no less capable than I am. I have privately taught him everything Your Majesty has taught him, including physics and chemistry. Although I have not conducted any experiments with him, I have explained them to him."

“Then he doesn’t need to take the exam. Let him enroll directly this time, without counting him among the 500 people. Don’t take up other people’s spots,” Lu Jin immediately decided.

Tao Guangyi was overjoyed and immediately bowed deeply, saying, "Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace!"

On that day, Lu Jin's order to hold the Ming Suan Ke En Ke (a special imperial examination) was sent to the Imperial Edict Office of the Hanlin Academy. The Imperial Edict Office drafted the actual imperial edict and then sent it to the Cabinet for approval. When the contents of the imperial edict were placed on the desks of Li Shanchang and Feng Guoyong, the two looked at each other, shook their heads, and then quickly approved it.

Their emperor placed too much importance on mathematics and disliked Confucianism. The special imperial examinations, known as "Enke," existed in every generation. These were temporary examinations held by the emperor on a whim, outside of the official imperial examinations. They were extra opportunities for the emperor to take the exams and become officials, which were considered imperial favors.

The formal imperial examinations were held every three years, while the special imperial examinations could be held at any time. They were usually held according to the emperor's whims, or when the court was in urgent need of officials, or when there were special talents. The Song Dynasty frequently held special imperial examinations, but they tested poetry and were specially opened to select a group of poets.

The special examination for the Ming Suan subject, which only included Lu Jin, was unprecedented.
However, having followed Lu Jin for a long time, the two had already figured out his personality. They also knew that these people would be just like Tao Guangyi and those science students, at most becoming technical officials. As long as they weren't made military officers or government officials, they were too lazy to object or cause trouble for the emperor. So they immediately and readily approved the proposal.

Meanwhile, in early March, just as the imperial edict for holding the special imperial examination was being sent to all parts of the country, the Yuanwang and Luzhou fleet, led by Wang Dayuan, set sail from the Ming Dynasty again, with Ye Dui on board this time.

Accompanying them was Zhu Chongba, who led more than 20,000 immigrants, men and women, along with hundreds of Fujian-style ships, to Hokkaido with the Yuanwang. However, Wang Dayuan and Ye Dui were to continue to Lizhou, while Zhu Chongba was to stay in Hokkaido to cultivate the land.

Meanwhile, Chen Youliang, who had set off as early as the first month of the lunar year, also joined the immigrant and soldier fleet in Fuzhou, Fujian, and headed to Makassar (New Jin Province) in Southeast Asia. By early March, the fleet had finally arrived at its destination.

Just then, Zhao Yu, the commander of the Nanyang Fleet, had already been scouting the situation on the east coast of Borneo for half a year. As soon as Chen Youliang's troops arrived, the two sides immediately joined forces and started fighting!
In 1356, the situation on Kalimantan Island was roughly as follows: the Sulu Sultanate, which occupied the northern part of the island, had a core city called Sandakan in the northeast. The southernmost sphere of influence of the Sulu Sultanate on the east coast was a place called Tarakan, while the Brunei Sultanate's sphere of influence was basically on the west coast of the island.

In other words, the entire eastern coast region south of Tarakan was unclaimed land and not part of the Brunei or Sulu kingdoms.

Of course, there are also some indigenous tribes living here, but that doesn't matter. In the eyes of the Ming Dynasty, as well as Brunei and Sulu, these indigenous people are the type that can be conquered at will. No one cares about their feelings. And this time, Chen Youliang's target is these indigenous tribes.

There were four or five targets in total. One was Nusantara, the new capital planned for Indonesia in the future. Because the population of Jakarta (the capital city) was too dense and the city's foundation was sinking, Indonesia wanted to move the capital to the east of Kalimantan Island. The new capital they chose was here.

There is an indigenous tribe here with several thousand people living in stilt houses. They don't even have a city, but they have already learned to grow rice and raise water buffalo.

Downstream from Nusantara, there is a freshwater river originating in the center of the island that flows through Nusantara and eastward into the Makassar Strait. At this estuary, there is also an indigenous tribe that makes a living by farming and fishing, and this place is known as Balikpapan.

Historically, this area belonged entirely to the Dutch East India Company. Later, the Dutch Shell oil company also established a base in Balikpapan to extract and refine oil.

The oil fields here are very shallow; you only need to drill a well 300 meters underground to extract oil.

Moreover, the oil here was of exceptional quality, falling into the category of light oil. The aviation gasoline refined from it was naturally a grade higher than gasoline from elsewhere, giving aircraft engines about 10% more power. This made the Japanese extremely envious, and they indeed launched a surprise attack on Balipan. However, before withdrawing, the Dutch had essentially bombed everything they could.
Balikpapan also has a naturally formed bay, which could be used to build a port, making it one of the targets that must be acquired.

The third target is Shamalinda, north of Nusantara. It is also a delta area at the mouth of a river, with fertile and flat land suitable for cultivation. It is also within the oil field area, so it must be captured.

Because of the relatively good agricultural conditions, a slightly larger indigenous tribe emerged in Shammarinda, with a population of over 10,000. However, if only adult males are counted, there are less than 4,000. Chen Youliang had a regiment of over 4,000 armored soldiers, so defeating these indigenous tribes was not a problem at all.

Finally, there is the southeastern corner of Borneo, where a freshwater river flows into the sea. It was later called 'Machen' and had a small tribe that was partly a fisherman and partly an farmer. Because it was very close to Java and Sumatra, it had great strategic value, even though it had no oil. There were also some coastal grasslands where cattle and horses could be grazed, which fit Lu Jin's idea of ​​establishing a horse farm in Southeast Asia. Therefore, it was also listed as one of the targets.

In addition to these four locations, Pontianak and Kuching in the southwest corner were also listed as targets. However, due to the small number of Han Chinese immigrants in Southeast Asia, it is difficult to develop so many settlements at once. Therefore, the development of the southwest corner has been temporarily shelved.

With the plan finalized and the objective clear, Chen Youliang immediately took action. He and Zhao Yu used the same tactic they employed when attacking the Gowa tribe in Xinjin Prefecture. First, Zhao Yu would disguise himself as a merchant to make contact with the natives and attract their attention. Then, Chen Youliang would lead a large force to flank them from both sides and launch a surprise attack.

In just two or three days, they successively slaughtered the two indigenous tribes of Balipapan and Nusantara. Then, according to the old custom, the rice fields and water buffaloes cultivated by the indigenous people were directly distributed to the newly arrived Han Chinese immigrants. The indigenous women were also distributed to these Fujian soldiers as wives.

The captured indigenous men and children were sold as slaves by Gao Qiang, a Chinese landowner in Semarang, Java. The slaves were then exchanged for usable items such as water buffalo and cloth, which were then transported back to Balikpapan and distributed to Han Chinese immigrants.

At the same time, Balikpapan was renamed and a new oilfield prefecture was established.

These surrendered Fujian Yuan soldiers who followed Chen Youliang to Southeast Asia originally lived in a mountainous area of ​​Fujian with eight parts mountains, one part water, and one part farmland. They had never seen such flat and fertile land before. After only defeating two small tribes of local people, they were given fifty mu of fertile paddy fields by themselves. These were top-quality paddy fields that could grow rice. Moreover, they heard that three harvests could be made here in a year. They were even given wives by drawing lots.

As a result, the morale of these Fujian soldiers was greatly boosted, and they all volunteered to fight. Chen Youliang also seized the opportunity and within half a month, he successively destroyed the two native tribes of Shamarinda and Machen, completely incorporating most of the southeastern part of Kalimantan Island into the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

At the same time, a new "Zhongquan Prefecture" was established in Shammarinda. The name of the prefecture is taken from the Three Character Classic, "The ecliptic is where the sun is located, the equator is the center." Shammarinda is located right on the equator at zero degrees, so it would be inappropriate to call it the Equator Prefecture directly. Therefore, it was simply named Zhongquan Prefecture according to the Three Character Classic. An Equator Avenue was also planned in the prefecture, and there are also North Latitude Road and South Latitude Road to the north and south.
Well, that's good now. The Han Dynasty had Rinan Commandery, while the Ming Dynasty had Zhongquan Prefecture. Well, in terms of latitude, the Ming Dynasty had the advantage, since the Han Dynasty's Rinan Commandery only reached the Tropic of Cancer.
In addition, a new horse farm county was established in Machen. Cattle and sheep were purchased from surrounding countries such as Java and Srivijaya, and then raised here in a centralized manner, with the intention of selling them to Han Chinese immigrants in other places.

Thus, within a month, Chen Youliang had established a prefecture and two counties in Borneo, occupying most of the territory on the east coast of Borneo.

The next short-term task is to resettle immigrants and cultivate the land, while simultaneously mobilizing troops to clear out the natives in other parts of Sulawesi (Sin Jin Prefecture), and to completely control the entire Sulawesi Island, making it a stable stronghold for the Ming Dynasty in Southeast Asia.

At the same time, a group of exiled prisoners who had come with Chen Youliang were also sent from Xinjin Prefecture to the newly developed oilfield county and Zhongquan Prefecture. They did not have any ready-made paddy fields to be allocated and had to cultivate the land themselves.

However, Lu Jin's purpose in exiling criminals to Southeast Asia was mainly to increase Han Chinese immigration, rather than simply to punish them. Therefore, he did not mistreat them, and there was no humiliating punishment such as tattooing their faces to prevent escape. As long as they honestly farmed and paid taxes, they were no different from ordinary people in the Ming Dynasty.

This group of exiled prisoners numbered several thousand. They were all high-ranking Yuan Dynasty officials and their families who had been captured from Dadu (Beijing) during Lu Jin's Northern Expedition. Among them were a young couple in their thirties and their son, who were exiled to Youtian County to reclaim wasteland.

The man's name was Zhang Tianyou. He shared the same name as Guo Zixing's brother-in-law, but they were not the same person. This Zhang Tianyou was originally from Henan and was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) during the Yuan Dynasty. When he was captured by Lu Jin during his northern expedition, he was still an imperial censor of the Yuan Dynasty.

The woman's name was Wang, and she was the daughter of Wang Zhizhong, the Privy Councilor of the Yuan Dynasty.

Beside them was a child, a 12-year-old boy, 13 by the traditional Chinese age reckoning. This boy was named Zhang Yu, who later became the most meritorious general in the Jingnan Campaign, and was granted the title of Duke of Rongguo. He was posthumously enfeoffed as the Prince of Hejian and was Zhu Di's top general.

Zhang Yu was the biological father of Zhang Fu, the Duke of Ying, who later conquered Annam and re-established Jiaozhi Province. It's hard to say whether Zhang Fu would even be born now. His biological father and grandparents were also exiled to Southeast Asia by Lu Jin, but Lu Jin was unaware of this.

There were thousands of high-ranking Yuan Dynasty officials captured as prisoners. How could Lu Jin possibly check them all? Besides, Zhang Yu was just a little kid and wasn't even on the list. He was only exiled because of his parents, so Lu Jin had no idea about it.

However, Zhang Yu is quite fortunate in this timeline, as he can go to Borneo to see crocodiles and orangutans baring their teeth. Orangutans are unique to Borneo and are a must-try.
"Dad, why is this place called Oilfield County?" Zhang Yu, only 13 years old, asked his father curiously.

His father, Zhang Tianyou, sighed. He was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the Yuan Dynasty and had even risen to the position of Censor. He was a prodigy, but the dynasty changed. The Manchus were overthrown by the Han people, and his family of three was also purged by the new dynasty. The new emperor exiled them to the desolate island of Nanyang, a godforsaken place. He was immediately disheartened and utterly despondent.

Fortunately, he still has this intelligent and quick-witted son by his side, who has become his only hope. Perhaps he can educate his son to become successful and leave this place in the future.

He immediately shook his head and said, "I don't know. Maybe it's called an oil field because the land here is as fertile as oil."

Zhang Yu suddenly looked enlightened and then said, "Father, Mother said that this place is very close to Java. Didn't the imperial court, no, the previous dynasty, once attack Java? Why did they lose? How far is Java from here? Did the Ming Dynasty also intend to conquer Java when they exiled us here to cultivate the land?"

Upon hearing his son's words, Zhang Tianyou's eyes lit up. "That's right! There are so many places in the world where people can be exiled. Why did the new emperor of the Ming Dynasty choose to exile them here? Could it be that His Majesty the Emperor is really preparing to take action against Java?"
Thinking of this, Zhang Tianyou felt a surge of hope. If he and his son could make contributions during the imperial court's campaign against Java, they might be promoted and leave this place.

He glanced at his son again. His son's maternal grandfather was a high-ranking official in the Privy Council of the Yuan Dynasty. Under his influence, the boy had been interested in military affairs and geography since childhood. He was very perceptive and guessed that their exile here might be related to Java. He truly deserves to be called the unicorn of our family!
Zhang Tianyou became even more determined. Even if he had to endure humiliation here, he was determined to raise his son to be successful. He might not be able to turn his life around, but his son would still have a chance to leave this place!

(End of this chapter)