Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 95: Old Zhu is angry, the day of martial arts performance [Please read it later]

Morning next day.

Liu Kuan got up before dawn and went there with a little worry. He listened in a daze for an hour, but did not hear anyone report the explosion at the Power Research Institute.

This made both him and Su Quan feel relieved.

The two were confused when they were stopped by the eunuchs after the court session and taken to Fengxian Hall together.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were both present, so Liu Kuan and Su Quan paid their respects to them one by one.

Zhu Yuanzhang then pulled out several memorials and said, "These memorials all concern the explosion at the Power Research Institute. Some question whether the train can be built, some ask me to send someone to investigate the matter thoroughly and hold those responsible accountable, and some suggest sending someone to supervise to prevent similar accidents from happening again."

After saying that, Zhu Yuanzhang threw the several memorials in his hand into the waste paper basket next to him.

"I've long known that countless eyes, both in the government and the public, are watching your work at the Science and Technology Department. If you make even the slightest mistake, there will be people who will gossip about you."

"But these people are just talking and writing. Their voices and their memorials cannot pass my test."

"So, don't worry about the boiler explosion. Just do what needs to be done next. Don't delay the construction of the train."

Hearing this, Liu Kuan and Su Quan both breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Liu Kuan guessed that Lao Zhu would support him and suppress the matter, it was obvious that Lao Zhu did not blame him at all and even comforted him, which made him feel a little touched.

Just as he was thinking about what to say to express his opinion to Lao Zhu, he heard Lao Zhu call his name.

"But there's something I must discuss. Liu Kuan, after hearing about the boiler explosion, you immediately had the Fourth Brother take you away on horseback, leaving behind even the guards I provided. And after you arrived, you immediately rushed into the Power Research Institute?"

Liu Kuan didn't expect Zhu Yuanzhang to mention this. After a moment's pause, he nodded, "Yes."

Zhu Yuanzhang showed an unhappy look and said, "Have you forgotten what I said before? Your safety is very important!"

"If the train can't be built right away, we can build it slowly. If anything happens to you, where will we find someone like you?!"

"And Su Quan, we assigned you to the Science and Technology Department to protect Liu Kuan. What were you doing when the incident happened?"

Su Quan didn't explain after hearing this. He simply bowed and admitted his fault. "I have failed in my duty. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "We will not take your mistake seriously this time. If something like this happens again, you must not let Liu Kuan get ahead of you."

"I will keep this in mind!"

Hearing this, Liu Kuan didn't know what to say.

He knew that his life safety was very important to Lao Zhu, but he didn't expect that something that he didn't think was dangerous would make Lao Zhu angry.

Sure enough, Zhu Yuanzhang continued, "Since the Power Research Institute is dangerous, you should go there less often in the future. This is not a discussion with you, but an imperial decree."

Liu Kuan had no choice but to bow and say, "Your humble servant obeys your order."

···
Leaving the Forbidden City and on the way to the Ministry of Works, Su Quan recalled Zhu Yuanzhang's reaction to the boiler explosion and was still filled with emotion.

"It seems that Liu Kuan holds an even higher position in His Majesty's heart than I previously thought."

"I'm afraid his importance is almost the same as that of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Thinking of this, Su Quan couldn't help but look at Liu Kuan and said, "Liu Fulang, you have heard what His Majesty said. Please don't make things difficult for me in the future."

Liu Kuan smiled bitterly, "What happened the other day wasn't dangerous at all. Your Majesty is making a big deal out of nothing."

Su Quan said, "What if we encounter any danger? As Your Majesty said, if something fails, we can try again. But if you are gone, the Ming Dynasty will never find another one."

Liu Kuan could only nod.

Su Quan added, "I'll be the one to inspect the Power Research Institute from now on."

Liu Kuan said, "I discussed this with Guo Tianwen yesterday. Although an explosion occurred during the experiment, it helped him understand some key issues in boiler operation."

"If nothing goes wrong, we'll be able to build the first fully functional steam engine in another month."

"So fast?" Su Quan was surprised, then said, "We still need to remind him to pay more attention to the safety of the experiment."

"I've already told him that after what happened the other day, I believe he'll be even more cautious when conducting experiments."

"hope so."

When Liu Kuan returned to the Science and Technology Bureau, he saw Zhu Di already sitting in his "office", feeling quite helpless.

Considering Zhu Di's help the day before, he felt embarrassed to chase him away.

Then he asked, "What is the matter, Your Highness?"

Zhu Di smiled and said, "Of course it's still about enfeoffment overseas."

"Has His Majesty agreed to this?"

"I see that the Emperor has already agreed in his heart, but he will only announce it after careful consideration."

Liu Kuan said, "Since the matter has not been announced yet, why is Your Highness so anxious?"

Zhu Di said, "Since I want to be the first to establish a vassal state overseas, I must make preparations early. Anyway, I have nothing else to do, so please talk to me again, brother-in-law."

Seeing Zhu Di like this, Liu Kuan guessed that even if he didn't let Zhu Di disturb him at work, he would still come to his house - if that was the case, he would rather be disturbed at work.

Liu Kuan made tea for himself and Zhu Di, and then asked, "What does Your Highness want to ask about this time?"

"Let's talk about overseas affairs first." Zhu Di said, "After our last chat, I thought about it and still felt that India was a bit far away - where is the map that my brother-in-law drew last time?" Liu Kuan really kept the sketch, so he found it out.

Zhu Di borrowed a pencil, marked a few places on it, and said, "Brother-in-law, what do you think of me requesting to be granted a fiefdom in these places?"

Liu Kuan smiled when he saw it.

Because Zhu Di successively selected Korea, Japan, Indochina Peninsula and the Indonesian archipelago in later generations.

"Your Highness, have you ever wondered why I didn't recommend these places that day?"

"Of course I have thought about it, but it is precisely because I am uncertain about some things that I came to ask my brother-in-law for advice."

Seeing that no one was around, Liu Kuan simply opened up, "If the Ming Dynasty establishes vassal states overseas, it will inevitably embark on a great voyage of exploration to dominate the ocean."

"By then, Your Highness, do you think that Your Majesty, or the next Ming monarch, will hand over these territories surrounding the Ming Dynasty to the vassal kings? If so, how would that differ from Your Majesty's current practice of enfeoffing vassal kings at the border?"

Hearing this, Zhu Di sighed, "I understand."

In fact, with Zhu Di's vision, he had long thought that if the Ming Dynasty marched into the ocean, the surrounding vassal states would inevitably become targets of territorial expansion and would be unlikely to be granted to vassal kings.

I asked Liu Kuan about this matter out of a hopeful hope.

After hearing Liu Kuan's answer, he completely gave up the idea of ​​becoming a vassal in these places near the Ming Dynasty.

Just as Zhu Di was sighing, he heard Liu Kuan say, "I've been rethinking your choice of vassal location these past two days. The large island in southern Tianzhu is indeed a bit far. It would be better to establish a foothold here and then gradually expand westward."

While speaking, Liu Kuan pointed to the Bengal region in later generations.

Zhu Di's eyes lit up when he saw it, and he said, "This place is indeed much closer. It might even be possible to open up a land route to the Ming Dynasty!"

Then he asked, "Is there a country here? How strong is it?"

Liu Kuan pondered and said, "There should be a country, but no matter how powerful it is, when Your Highness goes to take up his fiefdom, its military strength will certainly be inferior to that of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Di was slightly surprised, "I didn't expect my brother-in-law to be so confident in my Ming soldiers."

Liu Kuan said: "The Ming Dynasty has only been established for a dozen years, and it is the time when the soldiers are strong in combat."

"Most importantly, the Ming army has already begun equipping itself with artillery and muskets, and will soon be equipped with even more advanced guns and cannons. This country, if nothing unexpected happens, has never seen firearms before, and will definitely be no match for them."

Zhu Di nodded thoughtfully at first, then remembered something and said, "My father said that a batch of artillery will be shipped from the Liuhe Iron and Steel Works to the capital the day after tomorrow, and asked me to go with him to inspect it. From what my brother-in-law said, these artillery pieces must be more powerful than the bowl-mouth cannons currently in the army's equipment."

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "You will know when Your Highness sees the batch of artillery the day after tomorrow."

···
October 5th, the fourteenth year of Hongwu.

Outside the Shen Ce Gate.

Twenty to thirty thousand of the emperor's personal troops, including the Weiwu Guard, Guangwu Guard, and Xingwu Guard, gathered here and cleared the area from Shen Ce Gate to Shihui Mountain, which was two to three miles wide and five to six miles long.

It's the beginning of time.

Liu Kuan and some civil and military officials who were ordered to accompany him here have all arrived and are waiting patiently in the autumn sun.

Soon, a large group of people came out of the Shen Ce Gate.

Dozens more riders ran ahead, shouting in unison: "The Emperor has arrived!"

Immediately, all the civil and military officials outside the Shen Ce Gate, as well as the soldiers standing in formation everywhere, knelt down to greet him, "Long live our emperor!"

Liu Kuan hesitated and didn't kneel. Fortunately, he was standing in the corner and was not conspicuous.

He bowed and looked around, only to see Old Zhu wearing a yellow robe, holding a sword at his waist, riding on a large brown-red horse, looking like he was still in good health.

"Everyone is safe."

"Long live thanks!"

After the ceremony, Zhu Yuanzhang brought Zhu Biao, Zhu Di, Zhu Su, Zhu Zhen, Zhu Gui and other entourage who had left the city with him to the temporary platform for reviewing the generals.

After Zhu sat down on a chair and spoke a few words to a military general, he saw flags waving and horses galloping back and forth to convey orders.

Soon, the civil and military officials on both sides of the reviewing platform saw the imperial army driving a formation of carriages towards them.

When all the carriages were parked two or three hundred steps in front of the stage, someone roughly counted them and found that there were actually hundreds of them.

Because the cars were covered tightly with tarpaulins, many people began to murmur inwardly:

"It seems that the things on these carriages should be the protagonists of today's martial arts performance."

"Could it be a cannon? It seems a bit too big."

"It's probably a cannon, but I don't know how it made such a big scene."

'···'

Just as many uninformed civil and military officials were puzzled and speculating, a eunuch shouted loudly: "The emperor has something to say, everyone listen carefully!"

As the shouting died down, the area around the command platform became completely quiet, with only the rustling sound of flags being blown by the autumn wind.

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(End of this chapter)