Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 114: Weirdness in the City, the Mystery of Winning [Subscription Request]

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression changed because he remembered a very bad thing in the past.

In the early years of Hongwu, he wanted to return to his hometown in glory and benefit the people there, and he wanted to establish Linhao (Fengyang) as the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

So starting from the second year of Hongwu, the powerful and wealthy families were first moved from Jiangnan, Zhejiang and Shanxi to Fengyang to increase the population.

Later, craftsmen were recruited from all over the country, and money, food and other supplies were allocated to Li Shanchang to supervise the construction of the capital.

In the eighth year of Hongwu, when the capital was about to be built, he changed Linhao to Fengyang and went to inspect it.

At midnight on the night he entered Fengyang Palace, he faintly heard a number of people fighting with weapons above a nearby palace. He sent his personal guards to check the surroundings, but found nothing.

The next day, he summoned Li Shanchang, who was in charge of supervising the construction of the palace, to ask for advice.

After hearing this, Li Shanchang said that it was very likely that the craftsmen were resentful of the prosperity of the project and had tampered with the work during construction, intending to murder him by suppressing his will, or even to lay hidden dangers for the Ming Dynasty.

He came here in high spirits and had not slept well at night. When he suddenly heard about this, he was furious and immediately ordered people to arrest all the craftsmen and execute them for treason.

Xue Xiang, who was the Minister of Works at the time and the second-in-command in charge of the construction of Fengyang Palace, rushed over upon hearing the news. After some persuasion, he saved the blacksmiths, stonemasons, and some craftsmen who were not in Fengyang due to shift work and who had no chance to participate in the victory ceremony.

Even so, he eventually executed more than a thousand craftsmen, mainly carpenters.

It was also after this incident that he had a very bad impression of the craftsmen and his management of them became increasingly strict.

Since the Fengyang Palace was destroyed by the craftsmen, it could no longer be used as the imperial city, and Fengyang could no longer be the capital.

After returning to Yingtian (the capital), he began to wonder whether the palace city that Liu Bowen had supervised in its construction had also been manipulated by the craftsmen.

Although he and the children have been getting along well over the years, what if the winning method happens many years later?

So he secretly sent people to consult a sorcerer who knew feng shui, and finally decided to build the Temple of Heaven and the Temple of Earth in front of the imperial city to change the feng shui of the capital's palace.

It is hoped that this method will destroy any possible methods of suppressing victory that may exist in the imperial palace.

Having had such an experience, and hearing Liu Kuan say that the Chiwen could guide thunder and lightning, he naturally suspected that the craftsman who did this had evil intentions.

Liu Kuan was slightly surprised when he heard this, and then tried his best to explain in words that Lao Zhu could understand.

"That's not true. While copper wire placed on the roof will attract lightning, if it's extended all the way to the ground and the end buried deep underground, it can direct the lightning into the earth."

"In this way, even if the lightning strikes the house, its power is channeled underground, dissipating into thin air. It won't destroy the house, nor will it cause a fire. It's truly a lightning protection technique."

Although Zhu Yuanzhang trusted Liu Kuan very much, he was also worried that Liu Kuan's knowledge was wrong, so he asked again, "Are you sure that the copper wire buried underground will lose its power?"

Liu Kuan said, "Your Majesty, that is indeed the case. This is also the reason why I proposed to erect a steel flagpole to protect the palace from lightning."

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment, then said to Li Gui, "Go and have your personal guards check whether the chiwen on the roofs of the palaces are holding copper wires in their mouths, and whether the ends of the copper wires are buried underground."

Li Gui responded and went out.

Liu Kuan was surprised when he heard this.

I thought, is Lao Zhu so suspicious of craftsmen?
Then Liu Kuan couldn't help but worry about those craftsmen.

After thinking for a moment, he said with a stiff upper lip, "Your Majesty, I learned from later generations that copper wire must be buried underground to avoid lightning strikes, but today's craftsmen may not know this."

"The inheritance of craftsmanship is mostly based on oral transmission from master to apprentice, and it is mostly based on experience. Many things are known but not the reasons."

"Therefore, craftsmen didn't necessarily bury the copper wire underground. Even if the copper wire wasn't buried, it could still disperse the power of lightning to a certain extent, but the effect wouldn't be as good."

Zhu Yuanzhang said calmly, "Are you worried that I might embarrass those craftsmen?"

Liu Kuan keenly noticed that Zhu Yuanzhang changed his self-proclaimed name to "I" instead of "we", which made him cautious.

He said, "I have only told Your Majesty the most likely version of this matter."

Zhu Yuanzhang tapped his desk with his fingers and suddenly asked, "Do you know the talisman that builders used to harm others when they were building houses? How will future generations view this?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Kuan was stunned at first, and then he suddenly remembered the rumors in later generations about why Zhu Yuanzhang stopped building the Fengyang Palace and changed his mind about moving the capital.

"Looking at Old Zhu's expression, the story that the craftsmen of later generations used the method of suppressing victory when building the capital is probably true."

"No wonder Old Zhu misunderstood when he heard that Chiwen could attract thunder. It turns out he had suffered losses in this regard before."

After coming to his senses, he said, "Your Majesty, in the eyes of future generations, the so-called winning method is nothing more than superstition like ghosts and gods, and is not credible."

"you sure?"

Liu Kuan said, "I am certain that the method of suppressing victory is based on the theory of ghosts and gods. Even with the advanced technology of later generations, ghosts and gods have not been seen. Many incidents rumored to be caused by ghosts and gods have even been debunked. This is enough to prove that ghosts and gods do not exist. Therefore, the method of suppressing victory is naturally unreliable."

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's expression became even gloomier.

After a moment's thought, he asked again, "Do you know why the Fengyang Palace is almost completed, but we haven't moved the capital yet?"

Liu Kuan said: "There are some rough records of this incident in later generations, but they are not official history, so it is difficult for later generations to distinguish the truth from the false."

Then Liu Kuan told what he remembered.

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Although what you said is slightly different from the facts, it's not far off. That's basically what happened." "Could you explain? If there was no winning strategy, why did we vaguely hear a fight on the palace roof that night, but couldn't find anyone?"

Liu Kuan pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, there are many possibilities. For example, someone might have been fighting in a nearby palace and slipped away before Your Majesty could send anyone there."

"That's absolutely impossible!" Zhu Yuanzhang firmly denied this speculation. "After our personal army took over the defense of Fengyang Palace, they deployed troops everywhere. And that wasn't just the sound of a fight between three or two people, but a large group of people. How could our personal army not notice it?"

Liu Kuan asked, "Your Majesty, have you heard that there are people who are good at ventriloquism and can interpret the voices of a group of people, or even various non-human voices?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned when he heard this.

He actually knew someone who was good at ventriloquism.

After he established the capital in Beijing, many extraordinary people came to seek a living there. When the palace held grand events, they would invite some of these "extraordinary people" to perform. On one occasion, they presented him with a ventriloquist performance.

At that time, he was amazed, but he did not associate it with the strange things happening in the capital.

Now think about it, if there is a ventriloquist hiding in a secluded place on the top of the palace, it is not impossible to avoid the search of the imperial army.

After coming to his senses, Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Is there any other possibility?"

Liu Kuan said: "Another possibility is an accident - there are many strange things in nature, and even in later generations, it is still difficult to decipher their truth."

"If Your Majesty heard strange noises in the newly built palace, it's most likely the wind. Wind creates different sounds as it blows through different objects and structures. This is how various wind instruments came into being."

"The palace is mostly made of wooden beams. It was newly built and quite spacious. It's very likely that the night wind would make some seemingly strange noises."

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't expect there might be an unexpected possibility.

Thinking of the more than a thousand carpenters he executed that year who might have died unjustly, even though he had developed a heart of stone, he couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

He subconsciously asked with a hint of resentment, "Let me ask you, is it possible that when the craftsmen built the palace, they deliberately created this strange structure through the layout of wooden beams and other materials, and that this is the real way to win?"

Liu Kuan was surprised when he heard this.

Then he said cautiously, "I am not a carpenter, nor do I understand architecture, so I don't know anything about this matter. But I think even if it can be done, it would be extremely difficult."

Zhu Yuanzhang fell silent for a moment, not knowing what he was thinking.

Soon, Li Gui came in with a general of his personal army.

"Your Majesty, I have inspected Fengxian Hall, Wuying Hall, and the three main halls. The chiwen on the roofs of each hall are indeed holding copper wire in their mouths."

"But the end of the copper wire wasn't buried underground. It was simply connected to a large iron nail inside. However, the nail was tied to two iron chains, which connected to the ridges on the eaves on both sides, hanging down five feet long."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly after hearing this, then waved his hand and said, "I understand. Push it away."

After the general left the hall, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Liu Kuan and said, "The iron chain hangs down five feet and never sinks into the ground. It shouldn't have the effect of suppressing the thunder and lightning, right?"

Liu Kuan smiled bitterly.

He wanted to help these ancient craftsmen, but these craftsmen really didn't know the principles of lightning protection.

For now, he could only try his best to explain and dispel Old Zhu's suspicion.

He said, "Your Majesty, although this arrangement cannot eliminate the power of thunder and lightning, it has the effect of dispersing it to some extent."

"Your Majesty, think about this. Since this palace was built, it has experienced countless thunderstorms over the past decade or so. Has any of its buildings ever been destroyed by lightning or fire?"

Liu Kuan remembered that the Forbidden City in Beijing had been burned down by lightning and fire many times in history, and the earliest one seemed to be three months after Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing.

As for the Nanjing Forbidden City, there seems to be no record of it being struck by lightning during the Hongwu reign. Although it may not be entirely due to the Chiwen, Liu Kuan can only attribute it to this.

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment after hearing this, but then his expression relaxed a lot.

Because the imperial palace in the capital had never been destroyed by lightning or fire - although this was not necessarily the work of the Chiwen, it at least showed that the craftsmen had no intention of attracting lightning to destroy the palace when arranging the Chiwen.

After coming to his senses, he asked, "Liu Kuan, do you think it would be possible to lengthen the iron chain on the Chiwen and bury it underground so that it can truly possess the power to dispel thunder and lightning?"

Liu Kuan thought for a moment and then shook his head. "Your Majesty, I'm afraid this is inappropriate. If the chain is pulled down from the eaves, not only will it affect the palace's appearance, but it could also easily cause casualties if an electric current passes through it during a thunderstorm."

"If the palace walls were made of brick and stone, we could hide the chains inside the walls and then step through them into the ground."

"But I see that most of the palaces in the imperial city are made of wood. If the iron chains are hidden in the walls, I'm afraid that lightning will ignite the walls."

"Therefore, in my humble opinion, it would be most appropriate to erect a steel flagpole taller than the main hall in the open space in front of the Fengtian Hall."

"Erect a flagpole in front of Fengtian Hall?" Zhu Yuanzhang frowned again. "Wouldn't that be very abrupt and even more detrimental to the appearance?"

　Second update.

　　There is too much information to look up for this chapter, so I am late.

　　I don’t know if some of the information is correct, so I can only make sense of it.

　　Good night~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)