Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 108: Prince Tan Immolates Himself, Prince Lu Acts Absurdly [Please Subscribe]

Liu Kuan glanced at Zhu Zi and Zhu Tan, who were discussing heatedly with their classmates in the hall, and turned back and said, "Your Majesty, let's talk to the side."

After saying that, he went to a small pavilion outside.

Zhu Yuanzhang realized that most of the things about future generations that Liu Kuan wanted to talk about were not suitable for others to know, so he signaled the guards to stand guard a few dozen steps away and only took Zhu Biao into the pavilion.

Liu Kuan said, "In later history, it seems that Prince Tan committed suicide by burning himself to death with his princess when he was in his twenties during the twentieth year of the Hongwu reign."

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were surprised that Liu Kuan would reveal such shocking information right away.

Zhu Yuanzhang then asked anxiously, "Why?"

Liu Kuan said, "It seems that because his father-in-law was implicated in the Hu Weiyong case, His Majesty sent people to comfort him and summoned him to the capital. His Highness Prince Tan was terrified and set himself on fire together with the princess."

"As for the details, I don't know."

After listening to this, Zhu Yuanzhang thought with a gloomy face.

Zhu Biao was surprised and said, "In the twentieth year of the Hongwu reign, someone was still involved in the Hu Weiyong case? My eighth brother was so frightened that he set himself on fire? How is this possible?"

No matter how Zhu Biao thought about it, he felt it was unreasonable.

In his eyes, the Hu Weiyong case had been concluded last year. He couldn't understand why someone was involved again more than a decade later.

Zhu Zi's reaction seemed too exaggerated and unrealistic to him.

His first thought was whether Liu Kuan took the fabricated unofficial history seriously.

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang asked: "Do you remember the exact year? Was Biao'er still alive at that time?"

Liu Kuan thought carefully and said uncertainly, "He should be alive, right?"

Zhu Biao suddenly realized and looked at Old Zhu, saying, "Father, you suspect that your eighth brother's father-in-law's involvement in the Hu case was just a pretext. Could it actually be because of your son's untimely death?"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said, "Whether it's true or not, Old Eight is too timid. He's our son. Not to mention his father-in-law was involved in the Hu case, even if he himself was involved, we would at most imprison him in Fengyang. Why would he burn himself to death?"

Then he looked at Liu Kuan, "You really have good intentions in letting him be the disciplinary committee member who offends people."

Liu Kuan smiled and didn't respond - in fact, for him, it was just a matter of convenience.

What he was thinking about at this time was the Hu case.

After a slight hesitation, he continued, "Your Majesty, I don't know the details of Prince Tan's self-immolation, but I do know that about ten years later, Your Majesty brought several other nobles to justice for their involvement in the Hu case."

"According to later historical records, Your Majesty has executed over 30,000 people because of the Hu case. Even Duke Hanguo Li Shanchang died because of this incident."

Zhu Biao was surprised again, but soon turned his gaze to reflection. He said thoughtfully, "Father, it seems that Duke Han and Hu Weiyong may have some secrets that we don't know."

Zhu Yuanzhang still had a gloomy face and his expression did not change much, as if he was not surprised by this.

He snorted, "Hu Weiyong was promoted by Li Shanchang himself. So why would it be surprising if they had some secrets?"

"We just cherish our old friendship, and we don't have any concrete evidence. Otherwise, we would have dealt with him as well last year."

After hearing this, Liu Kuan realized that Zhu Yuanzhang had long intended to kill Li Shanchang.

"It's really not easy for Old Li to survive under Old Zhu until the 20th year of the Hongwu reign."

Zhu Yuanzhang exchanged glances with Zhu Biao, seemingly unwilling to discuss the matter further in front of Liu Kuan. He then asked, "What about the Tenth Brother? He's always been intelligent and respectful. Could it be that he did something foolish later on?"

Liu Kuan said, "I don't remember much about the King of Lu. I only know that in history he became a vassal soon after he was enfeoffed and indulged himself in wine and women, spending his days enjoying himself."

"It is said that he feared he would not be able to enjoy all the pleasures of the world, so he sought immortality, burning incense and chanting scriptures all day long, and having Taoist priests make elixirs for him to take."

"Because of excessive sexual activity at a young age, his body became weak, so he learned the art of sex from a Taoist priest. Within two years, he died of physical weakness and accumulated erysipelas."

"Your Majesty thought he was absurd, so he gave him the posthumous title 'Huang'. Later generations therefore called the King of Lu the King of Lu Huang."

"Ridiculous, ridiculous, truly ridiculous!" Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help cursing as Liu Kuan finished. "How many emperors throughout history have fallen from grace due to their indulgence in wine, women, or the pursuit of immortality? He committed both and even got himself killed. How could we have a son like him?!"

Zhu Biao was also shocked, and felt that this matter was as incredible as Zhu Zi's self-immolation out of fear.

"How could Tenth Brother become like that? He's obviously very smart and well-behaved now, so how could he become so unbearable after becoming a vassal?"

Seeing that both of them found it difficult to accept, Liu Kuan said, "Actually, a person's IQ and determination are two different things. His Royal Highness Prince Lu is probably the type of person who has a high IQ but a weak determination."

"I appointed him as the labor committee member, responsible for cleaning the main hall, in order to hone his resolve."

"In addition, there are two other reasons why His Royal Highness Prince Lu quickly fell into decline after becoming a vassal."

"One reason is that I was too strictly disciplined in the capital, and I lacked the mental fortitude to be tempered."

"Later generations believed that human nature is like a piece of extremely elastic steel. The harder it is pressed, the more violently it rebounds after it is freed from its restraints. For example, the King of Lu's indulgence in wine and sex was also called revengeful enjoyment."

"Just like how Your Majesty was so craving meat and non-vegetarian dishes when he was young, and now he particularly enjoys eating them, it's because he subconsciously wants to make up for what he missed out on back then."

"Secondly, when Prince Lu was enfeoffed in Shandong, the Ming Dynasty was already quite stable, and there was little for him to do. Without a goal to strive for, he had no desire for self-discipline and so indulged himself."

After hearing these words, Zhu Yuanzhang's anger dissipated a lot, but he felt more worried.

He clapped his hands with the backs of his hands and said, "Liu Kuan, tell me, why is it so difficult to teach children?"

"We carefully nurtured Biao'er, hoping that he would become the second emperor of the Ming Dynasty, but he died young."

"The second and third sons have grown even worse—the people in Guanzhong are in dire straits. Two years before the second son became a vassal, I specifically instructed him to be compassionate to the people and allow Guanzhong to recuperate."

"But after arriving in Xi'an, he complained that the palace we built for him wasn't good enough, and started massive construction projects, wasting money and manpower!"

"The third brother is even more tyrannical. He often beats and scolds the servants, and even whips the cooks. He's not afraid that they might poison him out of resentment."

"Old Four... Old Four actually rebelled in the end, launching the Jingnan Rebellion, and nearly splitting our Ming Dynasty in two!"

Seeing that Old Zhu was getting angrier and angrier, Liu Kuan almost couldn't help laughing.

To divert attention, he said, "Your Majesty, educating children has always been a difficult task. Even Confucius failed to raise his son to be a second sage, or a virtuous person like his seventy-two disciples."

"In later times, with advanced technology and a wealth of educational theories, educating children remains a headache for every parent." Zhu Yuanzhang was slightly surprised to hear this. "Don't later generations have good methods for educating children?"

Liu Kuan said affirmatively: "No."

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately felt much better, and then asked humbly, "Do you have any suggestions for educating our children?"

Liu Kuan thought for a moment and said, "Teach students in accordance with their aptitude, with the right amount of flexibility and intensity, and don't expect too much."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, "I understand."

Just at this time, Li Gui came over and said that the main hall of the main hall had been arranged according to what Liu Kuan said.

So the three of them went back.

Brick and wood structures were already popular in the early Ming Dynasty, but in order to pursue brightness, the main hall not only had many large windows, but was also almost entirely made of wood - the walls of the hall were almost all wooden lattices.

However, at this time, both the wooden lattice and the windows were covered by the thick black cloth hanging down.

Although the door was open, it was still dark inside.

Li Jinglong, Zhu Tan and others were originally discussing something excitedly, but they immediately became quiet when they saw the three people come in.

Liu Kuan came to the podium, lit a large candle, put it away, and then went to close the hall door.

Suddenly, only candlelight remained in the hall, making it seem gloomy and eerie.

Liu Kuan asked with a smile, "I'm sure everyone has their own ideas about how lightning is produced. Who would like to share their thoughts first?"

Almost everyone raised their hands.

Liu Kuan took a look and first called out the name of Li Guozhong's second son Li Zengzhi.

Although Li Zengzhi was only one year younger than Li Jinglong, he was very low-key in class. Even though there were only four children of nobles, he was quite inconspicuous.

He was stunned for a moment before he stood up, bowed, and said, "Teacher, every time there is thunder, dark clouds gather. Therefore, I believe that thunder and lightning are caused by dark clouds."

Liu Kuan asked with a smile, "You've probably heard of thunderbolts from the blue, right? According to what you said, lightning is produced by dark clouds, so where does the thunderbolt from the blue come from?"

Li Zengzhi was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to answer.

Liu Kuan said, "However, many thunderstorms are indeed related to dark clouds. Consider this as your correct answer and you will receive 4 points."

After letting Li Zengzhi sit down, Liu Kuan asked, "Do other students have different ideas?"

This time, fewer people raised their hands.

Liu Kuan called out Zhu Tan's name - he found that this person was indeed quite smart. As a teacher, he naturally liked to interact with smart students.

Zhu Tan said, "Teacher, I think lightning is caused by clouds colliding with each other. Even on a sunny day, there are clouds. If there's wind, the clouds will move, and when they move, they might collide with other clouds, causing thunderbolts from the blue sky."

Liu Kuan nodded. "It seems you do pay close attention to astronomical phenomena. Your speculation is quite reasonable and not far from the truth about the origin of lightning. I'll give you 7 points."

When Zhu Tan saw that his credits had reached 16, the highest, he almost shouted out in excitement.

Liu Kuan gestured for him to sit down and then asked the other students. Seeing no one raised their hands, he said, "If we are willing to spend a lot of time observing and recording various lightning phenomena, we will find that lightning actually comes in many different forms."

"Forked lightning, which resembles tree branches and connects the cloud to the ground, is commonly seen during thunderstorms."

"If the lightning is continuous in the cloud but fails to reach the ground, it is called sheet lightning."

"As for the thunderbolt in the clear sky, it is indeed the lightning that occurs within the clouds, or above the clouds, in the atmosphere. That is why you only hear the thunder but do not see the lightning."

"Besides that, there's pillar lightning, which is incredibly powerful just by looking at it, ball lightning, which is like a sphere, speeding down at high speed, and rings of flame-like lightning, which you can only see during storms at sea."

"There are many types of lightning, and the causes of their formation vary. However, the most important cause is indeed the friction of clouds."

"Why do I say clouds? Because both dark and white clouds are formed by the gathering of clouds. High in the sky, some clouds are scattered and haven't formed into clouds yet—this loose cloud can also give rise to lightning."

"As for why it's friction, not collision? I'll do a little experiment and you'll understand."

After saying that, Liu Kuan took out a large piece of specially selected silk.

In the candlelight, he rubbed the silk repeatedly with his dry palms.

"I'm going to turn off the lights now, so please pay attention, students."

As he said that, Liu Kuan blew out the candle.

He continued to rub his palm on the silk and kept moving it away, which immediately brought out a burst of electric sparks!

Although these electric sparks were small and loose, they attracted everyone's attention in this dark hall!
Little Zhu Zhi, who was sitting in the front, couldn't help but exclaimed first, "Oh my God, the teacher can give me electric shocks!"

Others also forgot about classroom discipline and exclaimed in surprise.

"so amazing!"

"How did the teacher do that?"

"Is the teacher a god?!"

"···"

Hearing these exclamations, Liu Kuan opened the door of the hall and lit the candles, bringing light back into the hall.

Looking around, not only were the children staring at him with wide eyes, but even Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao behind him had expressions of surprise and doubt.

"Will Old Zhu and Little Zhu start to suspect me of being a banished immortal again?"

After muttering to himself, Liu Kuan waved to the people below and said with a smile, "Li Jinglong, come up and help the teacher do an experiment."

　Second update.

　　Good night~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)