Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 4: Meeting the Most Steady Prince in History on the Bridge [Seeking Follow-up Reading]

Xu Da was helpless when he saw this and could only take a step back and said, "Since this is the case, I will follow Your Highness."

Although Zhu Biao did not think that this strange road was dangerous, he did not want to be trapped with Xu Da if they really encountered danger. In that case, his father would lose a general and an old brother.

Then he said, "We still need someone to take charge of the situation here, and it must be the Duke of Wei. So let the Marquis of Yongchang and the Marquis of Xiping accompany me."

Tang He, who had been silent until then, said with a smile, "Why don't you take me with you, Your Highness?"

Zhu Biao thought that having an old veteran following him would give him more peace of mind.

He nodded to Tang He first, then said to Xu Da, "Is Duke Wei relieved now?"

Xu Da sighed and could only say, "Your Highness, please be more careful and put your own safety first."

Zhu Biao smiled and nodded.

Then he came over, mounted his horse, and set off on the strange black road with Tang He, Mu Ying, Lan Yu and more than 500 of his personal cavalry.

Everyone subconsciously controlled the speed of their horses and only trotted forward.

Xu Da and other civil and military officials watched Zhu Biao and his entourage go away before they looked away.

After a while, a fast horse came running from the city, shouting from a distance.

"Your Majesty has a decree!"

The one who came was a deputy captain of the Yiluansi.

He came closer and took a quick look before dismounting and asking, "Where is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

Xu Da said, "I just went to the bridge."

The deputy commander's face paled upon hearing this. He said, "His Majesty has issued an order to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, telling him not to act rashly, but to follow the Duke of Wei's advice and make plans after His Majesty arrives in person."

Xu Da's expression also turned grim, and he said, "Captain Zhang, you're late."

Captain Zhang's face paled even more. He asked, "Excuse me, Duke Wei, what should I do now?"

Xu Da thought for a moment and said, "Catch up with His Highness and pass on his order."

Captain Zhang immediately mounted his horse and ran along the strange black road towards the bridge...
At the bridgehead.

Liu Kuan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the Ming Dynasty soldiers opposite him had no intention of using violence.

Then I tried to find out which period of the Ming Dynasty it was.

He then imitated the general's previous gesture, cupped his hands, and asked in a slow voice, "Excuse me, General, what year, month, and day is it now?"

Although Chen Hu was a somewhat reckless general, he couldn't help but feel puzzled after hearing this.

"This person doesn't even know what year it is. Could he really be a deity?"

He didn't think the year and month were a secret, so he replied, "It is now the third day of the eighth month of the fourteenth year of the Hongwu reign."

'The fourteenth year of Hongwu?'

"Then the prince who invited me just now should be Zhu Biao."

"It is said that Zhu Biao is kind and generous, as gentle as jade, and should be easy to deal with."

"It's a pity that I really don't want to risk leaving the bridge now. Otherwise, I could have established a good relationship with Zhu Biao before meeting him to prevent him from being chopped off at will."

"But speaking of it, even though Lao Zhu is a decisive killer, he wouldn't kill me casually if he knew I was with Daqiao, right?"

"Whether it's for him or for the Ming Dynasty, I'm more useful alive than dead."

"But you have to be careful and not get yourself killed."

After learning that he had traveled back to the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, Liu Kuan thought about it and felt a little more at ease.

"Where are you from, sir?" Chen Hu also asked a question.

Liu Kuan wanted to answer, but hesitated.

Said it came from heaven?
This lie may work for a while and fool a few people, but it will eventually be exposed, and the consequences will not be good.

Said it came from later generations?
Even though this was true, he felt it would be better not to publicize it before figuring out Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude.

So he said, "Let's talk about this matter after the prince arrives."

Chen Hu moved his lips, but ultimately did not ask any further questions.

After a while, a group of people came on horseback from the south road.

Chen Hu and other Ming army soldiers immediately moved to both sides of the road, but became more wary of Liu Kuan.

The visitor stopped at the south side of the bridgehead, about a hundred meters away from Liu Kuan.

The leader was wearing a yellow round-necked dragon robe and had a short beard. His height could not be seen because he was sitting on a horse, but he looked good with thick eyebrows, big eyes, a straight nose, and a square face.

'This person must be Crown Prince Zhu Biao,' Liu Kuan thought.

At the same time, Zhu Biao was also looking at Liu Kuan.

He found that, just as the scout had said, everything about this man was strange.

Not to mention the hair and clothes, at such a young age, she wore crystal lenses that resembled glasses. (Glasses-like glasses existed during the Song Dynasty.)
In addition, Zhu Biao felt that this man should be in his twenties, but he had no beard.

It’s not that there are no men over the age of 20 who don’t grow beards, but they are very rare.

I don't know if this person has no hair, or has shaved it, or maybe...
Thinking of a certain possibility, Zhu Biao felt that it was impolite and stopped thinking about it.

Afterwards, Zhu Biao did not step forward again. He just bowed from a distance surrounded by generals and personal soldiers.

"I am Zhu Biao, the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty. What is your name?"

Zhu Biao spoke slowly, seemingly in Nanjing Mandarin, which was easier for Liu Kuan to understand than Chen Hu's Jianghuai Mandarin.

He then bowed in return and said, "Liu Kuan, the Kuan of leniency."

Zhu Biao asked again, "Where are you from?"

Liu Kuan said, "I came to Daming with this bridge. As for my exact origin, I'm afraid it's not convenient to announce it to the public. If Your Highness trusts me, you can come closer to talk."

Zhu Biao was quite interested after hearing this.

Tang He, standing by, quickly said, "Your Highness, be careful of a trap."

Zhu Biao carefully examined Liu Kuan a few more times and whispered, "This man doesn't seem to have any weapons, and doesn't look like a soldier. He should be fine."

Lan Yu followed up, "Marquis Xiping and I can protect His Highness."

Mu Ying glanced at Lan Yu speechlessly, then said, "Your Highness's safety is paramount, so it's better to be cautious."

Zhu Biao hesitated.

Seeing this, Lan Yu suggested, "Why don't you let me search him to see if he has any weapons?" Zhu Biao said, "That's not a good idea."

At this time, the sound of horse hooves and shouts were heard from behind.

"His Majesty has issued an order! Your Highness, please accept it!"

When Zhu Biao heard this, he took Tang He and others to the end of the team to receive the order.

After learning the content of the decree, Zhu Biao said to Captain Zhang, "Go back and tell my father that I am on the bridge and talking to the people there. Don't worry."

Captain Zhang felt relieved when he saw that Zhu Biao was fine.

Although he didn't know how Zhu Yuanzhang would punish him after learning the news, as long as Zhu Biao was fine, Zhu Yuanzhang's punishment would not be too severe, so he responded "yes" and rode back to deliver the message.

the other side.

Although Liu Kuan did not hear clearly the content of the imperial edict conveyed by the visitor, he understood that Zhu Yuanzhang had probably already known about his affairs.

He felt that if Zhu Yuanzhang came over, even if he was not treated harshly, he would definitely not be as easy to communicate with as Zhu Biao.

In addition, Liu Kuan figured out one thing.

Whether he traveled through time temporarily or permanently, he had to establish a good relationship with Zhu Biao as soon as possible.

If he traveled through time temporarily, he would most likely have to stay on the bridge before crossing back.

If he wanted to stay on the bridge, he could not let the Ming people forcibly arrest him - that is, he had to get Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao to agree to let him stay on the bridge temporarily.

Therefore, he had to seize the opportunity to communicate with Zhu Biao before Zhu Yuanzhang arrived.

Then, seeing Zhu Biao turn his troops back to the north, Liu Kuan shouted, "Why doesn't His Royal Highness the Crown Prince come?"

Zhu Biao was embarrassed.

He can't say he's afraid of being assassinated, right?
Isn't it shameful for the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty to appear so afraid of death?

Just as he was considering how to respond, Lan Yu shouted back, "Your origins are unknown. Who knows if you're an assassin? If you want to let Your Highness pass, you must first allow us to search you."

Liu Kuan was a little surprised when he heard this.

But if you think about it, you can understand it.

Zhu Biao was equivalent to the second-in-command of a major country in later generations. He certainly could not have close contact with a person of unknown origin without any precautions.

He thought for a moment and said, "Okay, send someone over to search me first."

Zhu Biao, Lan Yu and others did not expect Liu Kuan to agree so easily.

Lan Yu then looked at Zhu Biao excitedly and said, "Your Highness, why don't you let me go? I promise to touch him all over his body!"

Zhu Biao frowned and said, "Searching without reason is already rude, how can it be as you say? In this way, Xiping Hou will go with you, and Xiping Hou will be responsible for the search."

"As ordered."

Mu Ying and Lan Yu received the order and immediately came to Liu Kuan out of curiosity.

The two men seemed to have a relaxed posture, but their right hands were holding the knife handles at their waists, ready to draw their swords and kill the enemy at any time.

Liu Kuan stopped his bicycle, put his backpack aside, looked at the two Ming Dynasty generals in front of him, and secretly guessed their identities.

He had been watching and found that these two people seemed to have a good relationship with Zhu Biao.

After Mu Ying looked at Liu Kuan closely, he felt that the man's temperament was somewhat similar to that of the scholars in the Imperial Academy, but also obviously different.

But as Lan Yu had said before, he was definitely not a soldier or a warrior.

He clasped his fists and said, "I'm sorry."

Liu Kuan said: "It's okay, come on, just don't touch me randomly."

Mu Ying nodded and walked forward to touch Liu Kuan's sleeve.

Liu Kuan was not wearing much clothes, just underwear and a coat, which were both short and "tight" in the eyes of Mu Ying and others, making it inconvenient to hide weapons.

Mu Ying quickly searched Liu Kuan's body, looked at his hands, then nodded and was about to take Lan Yu back.

Lan Yu pointed to the backpack and said, "That bag hasn't been searched yet."

As he said that, he went over and picked up Liu Kuan's backpack, and then felt embarrassed.

He didn't know how to open it for a moment.

Liu Kuan frowned, thinking that this general was obviously not as polite as the one who searched him, and couldn't help asking, "What is this general's name?"

Lan Yu grinned and said, "Marquis of Yongchang Lan Yu."

"So it's Lan Yu. No wonder... this guy seems to have even slept with Emperor Yuan's concubines in recent years. He's so bold."

Liu Kuan thought so and stretched out his hand and said, "Give me the bag and I'll open it."

Lan Yu handed over the bag.

Liu Kuan unzipped the two main zippers and handed it to Lan Yu, saying, "The items inside are very valuable, so be careful."

Lan Yu said nothing and began to look through the books curiously.

He found that in addition to the strange clothes, there were indeed many things in it that he did not recognize, and even the materials were beyond his cognition.

Considering Zhu Biao's instructions, he did not rudely pour out everything in the bag.

Seeing that there were indeed no weapons or hidden weapons, he returned the bag to Liu Kuan.

Then the two returned to Zhu Biao.

"How?" Zhu Biao asked anxiously.

Mu Ying said, "Not only does this man not carry a weapon, but his hands are also uncalloused. He looks like a scholar from a wealthy family."

Lan Yuze said, "In addition to clothes, his bag also contained several strange objects, but they are probably not hidden weapons."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao looked at Tang He and said with a smile, "Duke Xin, we have already sent people to search him. If I don't dare to go over and talk to him, I'm afraid he will laugh at me, the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, for being as cowardly as a mouse."

Tang He was stunned for a moment.

Only then did he realize that he should have stopped Lan Yu and Mu Ying from searching the strange man's body.

It was too late to regret now - he couldn't really let the prince bear the stigma of being "cowardly as a mouse", could he?
He could only bow and say, "I beg you to go with me."

What he thought was that if he went on the adventure together, Zhu Yuanzhang would not blame him too much.

Zhu Biao nodded.

Then he brought Tang He, Mu Ying and Lan Yu to Liu Kuan, who was sixty or seventy steps away.

　Please collect and read, thank you!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)