Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 264: The greatly changed Yingtian Prefecture, and Old Zhu was stopped!

It felt like a lifetime ago just a few months after leaving Jinling.

Feel the rapid changes in Shanghai, watch the city being built and growing day by day... buildings rising from the ground.

Ten miles of wharf, ten miles of prosperity.

After leaving, I had a different feeling when I saw the traditional cities and villages again.

Old Zhu remembered what Zhu's grandson had said in the letter, saying that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was using science to launch an "industrial revolution" in the Ming Dynasty.

Lao Zhu doesn’t quite understand the “Industrial Revolution”.

Zhu Sun explained in the letter that science has led to the invention of new production tools, and these new production tools are a hundred or a thousand times more effective than previous human labor.

As a result, people can do things that they could not do before.

One person can do what a hundred people could only do before.

Society has changed as a result.

The steam engine is the core of this industrial revolution, which is why Zhu Yunhuan attached so much importance to it.

According to Zhu Sun's letter, a steam engine that is efficient, has a low failure rate and can actually operate will soon be available.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is preparing to reward its inventor handsomely.

Old Zhu was also quite curious about this and wanted to witness it with his own eyes.

After all, a "treasure" that could make his grandson place such high hopes on him and even offer a reward of the title of Duke must have something extraordinary.

Thinking in his mind, Lao Zhu lowered the curtains.

He laid back, wanting to have a good rest.

As we get older, we don’t have as much energy as we used to.

If you keep looking at the scenery outside, you will feel that you are consuming too much energy.

However, just as Lao Zhu lay down, his body suddenly bounced up again and froze there.

What did you see when the curtains were lowered just now?
Without thinking too much, he reached out and opened the curtains again.

That's right.

I really didn't see it wrong just now.

what is that?
Old Zhu quickly whispered to Yoshigaki beside him: "Are we on the right road? Is this really the way to Jinling City?"

At this moment, his alertness reached its peak.

If the Jinyiwei took the "wrong" path, things would not be simple at all.

It is even possible that this was a "murder" against him.

But, shouldn’t it?

Although this trip was hasty, the Jinyiwei brought with them were all carefully selected and loyal people.

There is no way they would betray en masse.

But if not, why does the road ahead look wrong?
Upon hearing this, Yoshigaki also looked outside hurriedly, and his pupils seemed to be fixed.

"This...this...this..."

He didn't care about much else, fearing that he couldn't see clearly through the small car window, so he quickly lifted the car curtain and looked around outside.

The scene before him completely stunned Yoshigaki.

Outside, Jiang Lin, who was escorting Old Zhu, seemed to have noticed something was wrong with Eunuch Ji. He rode his horse closer and said with a smile, "In just a few months, Yingtian Prefecture has really changed a lot."

"At first, I thought we were on the wrong road."

"But there is only one cement road here. Logically speaking, even if you walk with your eyes closed, you can't go wrong."

"Later, I saw some of the old trees and houses, and finally confirmed that I had made the right decision."

"This is really the way back to Jinling."

"We'll reach Jinling City in another twenty or thirty miles."

Old Zhu heard the conversation outside and leaned out of the carriage.

His eyes first turned to the tall chimney standing in the distance.

When he was in Shanghai, Lao Zhu had also seen chimneys that tall.

However, it is not in the urban area, but some distance away from the urban area.

It is said that it was a specially planned "industrial zone".

It mainly utilizes Shanghai's developed water transportation system to transport coal and iron ore from far away for iron smelting and steelmaking.

The towering chimney is the building of the "steel plant".

Old Zhu didn't understand why such tall chimneys were needed for iron and steel smelting.

I also wanted to go in and find out.

But firstly, he was outside and didn't want to reveal his public identity.

The second is that the steel mill in Shanghai is still under construction and has not yet been completed and put into operation.

I guess you won't see anything if you go in.

So in the end I had to give up.

In his correspondence with Zhu's grandson, Zhu mentioned this matter.

The other party told him that it was a large steel plant planned according to scientific principles.

It is also said that Yingtian Prefecture is also under construction.

Since the headquarters of the Ming Manufacturing Bureau was in Yingtian Prefecture, and Shencheng was a city that was planned and developed later, the construction of Yingtian Prefecture was ahead of Shencheng.

At this moment, I finally saw it.

Wisps of green smoke wafted out of the tall chimneys.

Below the chimneys are clusters of new buildings.

You can also see newly built factories and houses, extending into the distance.

The style is different from the traditional architecture of the Ming Dynasty, but it is very similar to the houses in Shanghai.

This place looks no different from a city.

However, like Shencheng, there is no city wall surrounding it.

If it weren't for the vaguely visible old houses and the ancient trees that hadn't changed, which vaguely resembled the past, Old Zhu would have really thought that he was not returning to Yingtian Prefecture.

"What's going on? Why has Yingtian Prefecture completely changed?"

Lao Zhu stopped a passerby and asked.

"Are you going on a business trip to other places? Will it take you a long time to come back?"

The passerby smiled and said, "This area is the new factory area of the Daming Manufacturing Bureau, and over there are residences built for the craftsmen. They were all built in the last few months."

"It's not just here. If you go up a high mountain and look, you'll find that there's a much larger area. The area dozens of miles outside of Jinling has all become an urban area."

"It is several times larger than the original Jinling City."

"Follow this road and walk a little further, there will be a newly planned commercial street. Ordinary people no longer have to go to Jinling City to buy things."

Old Zhu couldn't believe it.

The original population of Jinling City was 700,000 to 800,000. Now that several times more urban areas have been built outside, how many people would that be?

How come the city area expanded so much all of a sudden?

With so many people, what do they eat and wear?
And how come so many buildings popped up in such a short period of time?

It turned out that seeing Shencheng developing day by day and the city becoming bigger and bigger, he was already extremely shocked.

But after all, Lao Zhu has been in Shanghai. Except for the extreme surprise at the beginning, he gradually got used to it.

But I didn't expect that when I returned to Jinling City, Jinling City had changed so much.

Thinking back to when I left...

Oh, there was indeed planning at that time, and new roads were built. "Is this the urbanization that Zhu Sunxin mentioned?"

Old Zhu recalled that Zhu Sun talked to him about the economy and the industrial revolution in a letter, and mentioned that there would be a large number of cities like Shanghai in the future.

Even most of the people in the Ming Dynasty will live in cities, live and work in cities, rather than in the countryside.

At that time, Old Zhu felt that what Zhu Sun said was a bit too exaggerated.

When I saw this scene today, I realized that maybe what he said was true.

The carriage continued to move forward and entered the "city area".

Ahead is a bustling commercial street

On the streets, people are coming and going, rubbing shoulders with each other, and it is very lively.

Various hawking sounds are heard everywhere.

Compared with the original bustling city of Jinling, it is even more bustling.

I originally thought that this phenomenon only existed in Shanghai, but I didn't expect that Yingtian Prefecture was even more prosperous.

As he walked and looked around, Lao Zhu actually felt like a countryman coming to the city for the first time.

Looking back to the past, when he was begging for alms and traveling around, he had the same feeling when he first saw the wealthy and powerful and the bustling cities.

Later, he led his army in an uprising and led millions of soldiers to fight in all directions. He saw a lot and was no longer the ignorant boy.

But I didn't expect that after getting old, I would feel like I was still a frog in a well.

If I had not lived in Shanghai for so long and had not been exposed to many new events, the shock would probably have been even greater.

"Let's go and take a look at the steel mill."

Old Zhu's curiosity was piqued, and he was no longer in a hurry to enter Jinling City. The carriage turned in another direction and headed straight for the steel plant under the Daming Manufacturing Bureau.

As soon as the group reached the door, they were stopped by the guards.

"The factory is a restricted area, no one is allowed in."

Jiang Li walked over, took out the Jinyiwei badge from his arms, and waved it in front of the guard.

This is just an ordinary badge, not a commander's token.

However, it's enough.

The guard was horrified and hurriedly bowed and said, "So you are the lord of the Jinyiwei. I am sorry for not recognizing you! Please forgive me!"

Jiang Li nodded gently and said, "We should go in and take a look."

After saying this, he waved his hand to signal the coachman and everyone else to move forward.

Unexpectedly, the guard still stopped in front of him and said, "His Royal Highness has already issued an order that no matter if you are a son of a noble, a member of the Imperial Guard, or someone from other government offices, if you want to enter the factory of the Manufacturing Bureau, you must produce a formal document stating the reason. I'm afraid that it won't work just with the identity badge of the Imperial Guard."

Jiang Li's face suddenly darkened.

No matter where you are, as long as you have the badge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, you can go through it unimpeded.

Unexpectedly, I was stopped by a small factory guard today.

"I'm sorry, sir, this is the rule from above, and there's nothing I can do about it."

Seeing that his face was not right, the guard did not want to offend him, so he quickly explained: "Before this, many children of nobles and high-ranking officials relied on their fathers' status to get jobs in the court. They used their status badges to visit the factory at will, disrupting the factory's production order. That's why His Royal Highness issued such a rule."

Jiang Li was a little embarrassed and sneered, "Is your factory under the Manufacturing Bureau not under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty? Even the Jinyiwei dared to stop it? Can you afford to delay my work? According to your rules, do you also want to stop me, the Jinyiwei, from arresting the wanted criminals?"

The guard smiled and said, "Your Excellency is too kind. If the Jinyiwei want to go in and arrest someone, that's fine."

"However, you need to get an official document from the Jinyiwei Yamen stating the reason, and submit it to the Daming Manufacturing Bureau for verification. Then, you can enter the steel plant with the guidance of someone from the Manufacturing Bureau."

"An identity token alone won't do."

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that even important officials of the court, ministers, nobles, and royal relatives are not allowed to do so!"

Jiang Li said angrily, "Even if it is the six ministries of the imperial court, I can enter and exit at will. You are just a small steel mill, and you still want to stop me? I will force my way in today, what do you think of me?"

The guard was not angry, but smiled bitterly and said, "Why do you have to make things difficult for me, sir?"

"In the past, many nobles of the imperial court have forced their way into the factory of the Manufacturing Bureau. Without exception, they were severely punished. I advise you not to be impulsive and willful."

brush!
Jiang Li suddenly drew his sword.

"Sir!" The guard's face changed and he immediately rang the alarm next to him.

It is a special device specially designed to prevent thieves and bandits.

In an instant, bells rang loudly, echoing throughout the long street.

Soon, a large group of guards rushed over from all directions.

"Put down your weapons, otherwise, don't blame me for being rude."

The leader of the guards held a short gun about a foot long and aimed at Jiang Li.

The sudden change also alarmed Lao Zhu in the carriage.

He couldn't help but frown slightly.

Logically speaking, with Jiang Li's status and ability, he should be able to handle even such a small matter.

There's actually a commotion going on?
While I was thinking, the noise outside became louder and louder.

"The Royal Guards have been ordered to enter the Steel Mill of the Manufacturing Bureau to carry out their duties. Anyone who dares to stop them will be killed without mercy."

Seeing this, Jiang Li knew that the situation was a little out of control, so he took out his badge without hesitation.

However, it is still an ordinary badge.

After all, the most he could do was to tell outsiders that he was a member of the Imperial Guard.

But he could never say that he was the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

In that case, it would be equivalent to publicly declaring that His Majesty the Emperor has arrived!
Old Zhu didn't say he wanted to reveal his identity, so he didn't dare to make the decision on his own.

Moreover, Jiang Li also knew that even though they had arrived in Jinling City, it would still be a very troublesome matter if the Emperor revealed his identity here.

Just to enter the city, we need to dispatch dozens of times more guards and arrange a large number of ceremonial guards.

This is not just for your majesty's safety.

More importantly, this is the "ritual system" of the imperial court.

If you are visiting incognito, you do not have to follow this rule.

Once it is made public, its nature changes.

While showing his badge, he also gave a stern warning.

The guard leader was not afraid, and asked: "Since it is an official business, do you have the official document issued by the Jinyiwei Yamen?"

"No!" Jiang Li said in a deep voice: "Isn't it enough to have an identity badge?"

The guard leader shouted, "If you have no official documents and only an identity badge and you break into the manufacturing bureau, we can only arrest you first and then notify the Jinyiwei Yamen to send someone to pick you up."

Jiang Li's pupils shrank slightly.

By now, he had vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

Each department of the imperial court has its own rules. If ordinary people enter important areas without permission, it is a serious crime.

He still knew this.

However, Jiang Lin had always believed that as long as he held the Jinyiwei badge, he could go anywhere without any obstacles, so he subconsciously ignored these things.

What's more, it's just a factory, or to put it bluntly, a craftsman's workshop. How can it be compared with the important place of Shangbu Hall?

Now it seems that after not responding to Tianfu for several months, the situation here seems to have become a little special.

Perhaps it was really His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who gave the death order personally.

Jiang Li was not willing to engage in a life-and-death conflict with the other party in front of the Emperor at this time.

But now that things have come to this, it’s a bit difficult to back down.

After a brief moment of contemplation, he kept his tone unchanged and continued to be aggressive, and shouted in a cold voice: "Go and call the boss from your manufacturing bureau."

……

(End of this chapter)