Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 152: Protecting Animals? Let the Bullets Fly [Subscription Request]

After hearing Liu Kuan's words, Old Zhu, Zhu Biao and others' eyes lit up and they felt it made sense.

Li Wenzhong said, "The grasslands are easy to build, but the Western Regions are now mostly Gobi and desert. Can we build a railway? Besides, even if it's grasslands, it won't be easy to protect the railway after it's built, right?"

Liu Kuan said, "It's certainly not possible to build a railway deep into the Western Regions within a few decades, but it's possible to build it to Jiayuguan, or even to the eastern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains."

"As for the protection of the grassland railway, we can train more cavalry, station elite cavalry at key locations, and then use ordinary cavalry to patrol in sections, and there won't be any major problems."

Upon hearing this, Li Wenzhong no longer raised any objections.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, then asked, "What about the ecological protection of river sources and estuaries? From the video, it seems that in addition to protecting local plants and trees, we also need to protect animals."

Protecting wild animals was an incredible thing at that time. Therefore, even smart people like Zhu Yuanzhang could not understand it for a while.

Liu Kuan thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, having watched the previous video, must have known that China's population in later generations has reached 1.4 billion. It can be said that there are people everywhere."

"Wild animals are not only good for eating meat, but their skins, fur, tendons and bones can also be sold for money."

"Add to that the advent of firearms. In just over a hundred years, humans hunted wild animals, including bears, tigers, leopards, and many other ferocious beasts, to near extinction, and some have even become extinct."

Having said that, Liu Kuan paused and thought about what to say next.

Zhu Ying was puzzled and asked, "So what if all those wild animals were wiped out? Wouldn't that be a good thing?"

Liu Kuan pondered for a moment and said, "Actually, this involves another branch of natural science, namely the balance of natural ecology."

"After observation and research, later generations learned that nature has various ecological balances, and that many plants and animals have mutually beneficial and mutually restraining relationships, which ensure the continuous vitality of nature."

"To give a simple example, on the grassland, wolves eat sheep, rabbits, etc., while sheep, rabbits, etc. eat grass."

"If humans kill all the wolves, wild sheep and rabbits will multiply rapidly and become rampant. Unlike nomadic herders who leave the grasslands alive, they might even eat the grass roots, leaving the grasslands barren and ultimately deserted."

"In addition, in terms of natural science, every plant and animal contains many mysteries, and by studying them, we can gain many scientific insights that are beneficial to mankind."

“If these plants and animals become extinct, people will have nothing to study, which would be a huge loss.”

"For these reasons, and some other smaller ones, later generations advocated the protection of some rare or even endangered animals and plants."

"For example, many animals, including tigers, bears, leopards, monkeys, elephants, antelopes, and river dolphins, have been designated as nationally protected species in later generations, and some have a very high level of protection."

"If people hunt these animals, they could be fined or even jailed. Furthermore, the state has established special nature reserves to ensure the survival and reproduction of these wild animals."

When Liu Kuan said this, he suddenly realized that everyone in front of him, including Lao Zhu, was stunned.

He was obviously shocked by the great efforts made in later generations to protect wild animals.

Old Zhu was the first to come to his senses. He sighed and said, "I never expected that the attitude towards wild animals in later generations would be so different from today. If I didn't know you wouldn't lie, I wouldn't have believed it."

The others also came to their senses.

Zhu Ying stared and said, "According to what you said, if we were to hunt so many wild animals in the future, wouldn't we be imprisoned for many years?"

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "There are white bears in Sichuan and Hanzhong. Your Highness the Prince of Jin should have heard of them, right?"

Zhu Ying said, "Not only have I heard of it, I've even seen it. Although it's powerful, it's also easy to kill."

Liu Kuan said, "The white bear is later known as the giant panda. It is a national treasure and protected animal. It is commonly known as "prison for a beast" - that is, if you kill a white bear, you will never leave prison in your lifetime."

A beast in prison?
Everyone was shocked again after hearing this.

I can't understand it either.

Li Wenzhong came back to his senses and said, "It's fine to say that those wild animals have mysteries worth exploring, but I find it difficult to understand what Deputy Liu said earlier about ecological balance."

"Just like the example given by Deputy Liu, when people killed all the wolves on the grassland, the wild sheep and rabbits multiplied rapidly. Wouldn't that make it easier for people to hunt sheep and rabbits?" Liu Kuan didn't expect Li Wenzhong to have such a meticulous mind.

He explained, "So that Duke Cao may know, first, what I have given is only a simple example, and the principle of natural ecological balance cannot be fully encompassed by it."

"Secondly, if wild sheep and rabbits on the grasslands grow rapidly, can people really control them by hunting them?"

"You must know that it takes more than ten years for a human to grow into an adult, while sheep and rabbits only need six months to a year, and they can give birth to many children in a litter."

"The grassland is so vast. If there were no carnivorous wild animals like wolves, how many people would be needed to hunt in order to suppress the reproduction of those herbivores?"

Li Wenzhong fell silent after hearing this.

Zhu Yuanzhang then said, "In my opinion, the protection of wild animals and plants is due to the special circumstances of later generations, but it is not necessary at this time. So we don't need to discuss this matter any further and leave it at that."

Then he asked Liu Kuan, "Is it time to start the movie? What's the name of the movie and what's it about?"

Liu Kuandao said, "The movie is called 'Let the Bullets Fly'. It tells the story of a bandit who pretends to be the county magistrate and takes office in Goose City. He battles wits and courage with the tycoon Huang Silang who actually controls Goose City and eventually overthrows him."

Let the bullets fly?

Some people were wondering what the four characters were or what the name meant.

Old Zhu smiled and said, "A bandit pretending to be a county magistrate to fight against the gentry? That sounds quite interesting. Let's go and see."

So everyone returned to their seats.

Liu Kuan played "Let the Bullets Fly" on his tablet...

The movie was over after more than an hour. Everyone, including Lao Zhu, was still not satisfied and wanted to watch it again.

Although this film is set in the Republic of China, the social customs and practices of the time are not much different from those of today, so there is almost no difficulty for everyone to understand. Coupled with the ups and downs and wonderful plot, it is very enjoyable to watch.

But Mr. Zhu still did not forget to find some educational things from the movie and teach his children, grandchildren and other younger generations on the spot.

"See? This tycoon Huang Silang has absolute power in Echeng. Even if he were an official from the imperial court, he would have to go along with him to keep his position."

"From this we can see that the gentry and their ilk are often a local cancer, tempting officials into corruption, oppressing the people, and enriching themselves at the expense of public resources. They are truly a great scourge to the country!"

"Some places in our Ming Dynasty are still like those at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, secretly controlled by these people, making it difficult for the imperial court to enforce its policies, and the people are oppressed by these people without knowing it."

"If the imperial court wants to truly control the region, it must suppress these people, or even eliminate them completely!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao, Li Wenzhong and others were all startled.

Li Wenzhong even recalled how Zhu Yuanzhang had used the Hu Weiyong case to implicate numerous military and civil officials two years before.

He was worried that Zhu Yuanzhang might take the opportunity to eliminate local powerful gentry and even implicate many innocent people.

He couldn't help but advise, "Your Majesty, not all local gentry are like Huang Silang. There are also many who are loyal to the court and protect the people. You must not generalize."

When Liu Kuan and Zhu Biao heard what Li Wenzhong said, they became nervous, fearing that Zhu Yuanzhang and Li Wenzhong would quarrel again.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly and said, "What are you worried about? If these people haven't violated the law, can we get rid of them without any reason?"

Li Wenzhong remained silent.

　Second update.

　　I'm not in good shape, so I can only update less.

　　Good night~
　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)