Bringing the Railway to Daming

Liu Kuan didn't want to say more, but seeing that several young princes and grandsons were looking at him expectantly, he said, "Alright, then I'll tell you one more thing."

"Sun Lutang mainly practiced Tai Chi Chuan, and was also proficient in Xingyi and Bagua. These three styles of boxing were considered by later generations to be the three major internal martial arts. Later, Sun Lutang even created 'Sun-style Tai Chi Chuan' and was known as the Martial Saint, Martial God, and Tiger-Headed Young Guardian."

"It is said that this person has cultivated his martial arts to the legendary 'Dan Jin' realm—that is, like the Taoist health preservation theory of 'Bao Dan', which allows one to concentrate all the strength of the body into one point and suddenly burst forth."

"In addition, it is said that he has also reached the spiritual level of 'the cicada senses the slightest movement of autumn wind,' which simply means that he can sense danger."

"For example, on one occasion, several martial arts friends lay in ambush in the room, preparing to attack and subdue Sun Lutang from both sides when he entered the room and lifted the curtain. However, Sun Lutang seemed to have anticipated this and dodged, causing both of them to fall to the ground."

"As for his display of Dan Jin (a type of internal energy), it was at the age of seventy—when there was a flood in Jiangnan, Sun Lutang participated in a charity performance to raise funds for disaster relief. During the performance, he mobilized his Qi and blood, so that his beard and hair stood on end and his eyes were like lightning."

"Later, six Japanese samurai came to challenge Sun Lutang. The Japanese had challenged him once decades ago. It is estimated that now that they see him in the newspaper for his charity performance, they want to take advantage of his old age and undermine the morale of the Chinese."

"Japan did this kind of thing many times in the decades from the end of the Qing Dynasty to the establishment of the new dynasty, with the aim of completely destroying the Chinese people's self-confidence so as to make it easier to rule China in the future."

"Sun Lutang knew that the Japanese had ill intentions and was determined to defeat them in one fell swoop, so he fought against five of them. He lay on the ground and let the five Japanese warriors hold him down in any way they pleased, saying that he could get up within three counts."

"As a result, after the Japanese men counted two, he suddenly exerted his internal energy, leaped up, and sent all five Japanese men flying more than ten feet away, where they fainted."

"The Japanese were astonished and called Sun Lutang a divine fist. The next day, the Japanese came again, offering 200,000 silver dollars to invite Sun Lutang to go to Japan to teach martial arts, but Sun Lutang refused again."

After hearing Sun Lutang's story, Zhu Yunwen's expression of longing deepened.

Zhu Xiong Ying glanced at it and said, "Teacher, the story you told about Li Shuwen and Sun Lutang is too exaggerated—it's one thing that Li Shuwen could kill flies with a long spear without hurting the pillar, but that could be explained by his skill."

"To say that Sun Lutang could sense danger, knew some kind of Dan Jin, and could knock five martial arts practitioners flying while lying on the ground at the age of seventy is too exaggerated and is probably fabricated."

Liu Kuan was about to explain when Zhu Yuanzhang spoke first.

“Xiong Ying, you are underestimating the people of the world by thinking like that—just because you haven’t seen them doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Take our Great Ming Dynasty as an example, there are more than 80 million people, and it’s normal for there to be a few talented and extraordinary people among them.”

"Whether the deeds of Li Shuwen and Sun Lutang in later generations are true or not, we do not know. But when we were conquering the world, we did see two unparalleled generals whose bravery could not be measured by ordinary generals."

"One of them is your maternal grandfather, Chang Yuchun. Back then, we led a large army to cross the river and attack Jiqing, which is now Yingtian. Who knew that the Yuan army was prepared in advance, and their naval commander, Manzi Haiya, had his troops in Caishiji defending it fiercely."

"The battle to cross the river was difficult to begin with, and the enemy was well prepared. In our opinion, we didn't have much of a chance of winning this battle."

"However, your grandfather, in a small boat, led more than ten warriors, bravely advancing amidst a hail of arrows from tens of thousands of enemy soldiers. After landing, he charged into the enemy ranks, fighting left and right, and almost single-handedly held out for more than half an hour, buying us precious time to land."

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded in agreement.

He had heard of his grandfather Chang Yuchun's battle achievements many times, and even knew them by heart. Thinking about it, Chang Yuchun's performance in the Battle of Caishiji was indeed extraordinary and incredibly brave.

Zhu Yuanzhang added, "The other one is Zhang Dingbian, the former number one general under Chen Youliang. In the Battle of Poyang Lake, Zhang Dingbian led three warships to launch a surprise attack on our fleet. When he reached our central position, he was surrounded by more than thirty of our warships."

"We thought Zhang Dingbian was finished, but who knew he would lead his warriors, abandon their ships, board our ships, and charge straight at our flagship, killing our generals Han Cheng, Chen Zhaoxian, Song Gui, and others in succession."

"He was hit by hundreds of arrows and had dozens more in his body, yet he remained unstoppable. Our ship ran aground due to mishandling, so when he boarded—I was rarely afraid when I was conquering the world, but at that moment I was truly afraid."

“At that time, Zhang Dingbian was going to shoot me with an arrow. Given his archery skills, there was a good chance he could kill me. Fortunately, Marquis Chen De of Linjiang sacrificed himself to block several arrows for us. Your maternal grandfather and Yu Tonghai also came to our aid in time. Your maternal grandfather even broke through Zhang Dingbian’s armor with an arrow, which made Zhang Dingbian retreat.”

"At that time, he was still able to break through our encirclement. Just think how brave he was!"

Zhu Xiong Ying imagined it for a moment and realized that Zhang Dingbian, with such a record, was indeed incredibly brave, no less so than Sun Lutang, who could knock five people away while lying on the ground.

Zhu Yuanzhang concluded, “Your maternal grandfather and Zhang Dingbian were both talented and had studied martial arts, which is why they were so brave. If someone in later generations studies martial arts and has considerable talent and enough opportunities, they may very well reach the level described in Liu Kuan’s story.”

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded, "Grandpa is right, I have learned a lot."

Liu Kuan then said, “Your Majesty, speaking of Zhang Dingbian, there are many legends about him in later generations. Some say he is the legendary Zhang Sanfeng, the Three Mad Taoist of Wudang Mountain, while others say he is the prototype of Zhang Wuji in ‘The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber’.”

Zhu Yuanzhang was slightly surprised at first, then laughed and said, "The legends you mentioned are all wrong—I have also heard of the name of the Three Mad Taoist. It is said that he was a person from the end of the Yuan Dynasty. When we established the Ming Dynasty, he was already over a hundred years old. We even sent people to Wudang Mountain to search for him, intending to appoint him as a Taoist official, but unfortunately we did not find him."

"As for Zhang Dingbian, although he was exceptionally brave, he never joined the Ming Cult and followed a treacherous, ruthless, and cruel person like Chen Youliang. How could he be the prototype of Zhang Wuji?"

"I see." Liu Kuan nodded, then took the opportunity to ask, "Your Majesty, where did Zhang Dingbian go afterward?" Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Liu Kuan with a half-smile and said, "When we captured Wuchang, Chen Li and Zhang Dingbian surrendered. We should have recruited such great generals, but even with high positions and generous rewards, they were unwilling to serve us."

"Since he can't be used by us, we should get rid of him to prevent him from becoming an enemy again. Unfortunately, Zhang Dingbian was clever and escaped in advance, and his whereabouts are still unknown."

Liu Kuan breathed a sigh of relief, thinking: The historical mystery has been solved; Zhang Dingbian has indeed gone into seclusion.

At this point, Zhu Yunwen asked again, "Teacher, since martial arts were so prosperous in China during the late Qing Dynasty and the chaotic times, they must have flourished even more after the establishment of the new dynasty, right? Why don't you download some advanced martial arts techniques from the internet and spread them throughout the Ming Dynasty?"

Upon hearing this, everyone was slightly taken aback, not expecting Zhu Yunwen to think that way.

Just as Zhu Xiong Ying was about to teach his younger brother, Liu Kuan said, "There are three main reasons why Chinese martial arts flourished from the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty onwards, but declined after the establishment of the new dynasty."

"Firstly, in order to rule the Han people, the Qing court eliminated various forces within its territory that were unwilling to submit in the mid-term, and then 'let the horses graze on the southern mountains and put away the weapons'—this is actually a descriptive phrase. After the Qing court entered the pass, it mainly relied on firearms such as cannons to conquer the country, with bows and horses being secondary."

"In the mid-Qing Dynasty, the Qing court still attached great importance to firearms. However, after Emperor Qianlong quelled the Jinchuan Rebellion, the rate of firearms in the army began to decline, and those already equipped were not replaced for a long time."

"Not only that, Qianlong also fabricated the lie that the Manchus won the world by archery and horsemanship, and deliberately suppressed the development of Chinese firearms. In the private sector, firearms, along with armor, crossbows, etc., became prohibited items, and those who possessed them were punished for treason."

"Some local officials, in order to curry favor with the Qing court, even prohibited the people from possessing cold weapons such as swords, spears, and bows, which were suitable for the battlefield."

"However, starting from the mid-Qing Dynasty, due to policy reasons, the mobility of people increased. In addition, many people who could not make a living at that time turned to banditry, and the roads were not peaceful. In order to protect themselves, people practiced boxing and martial arts more and more, and the martial arts became more and more popular."

"As for the second reason, it was that in the late Qing Dynasty, China was repeatedly defeated by Western powers with their strong ships and cannons, which forced the country to open its doors. The government and the public suffered humiliation, and the national self-confidence was greatly damaged. Some people even considered themselves inferior to Westerners."

"People of insight in the community then advocated the practice of martial arts to strengthen the physique of the people and increase their morale, and the way of martial arts flourished as a result."

"Even the imperial court and government at the time were involved, establishing institutions similar to martial arts schools, such as the Central Martial Arts Academy and the Jingwu Martial Arts Academy."

"Martial arts masters such as Sun Lutang and Li Jinglin no longer kept their knowledge to themselves like their predecessors, but instead published martial arts books and periodicals to spread Chinese martial arts as much as possible."

"Later generations also used Huo Yuanjia and the Jingwu Martial Arts Academy as models to film and television dramas such as 'The Great Hero Huo Yuanjia' and 'Fist of Fury,' which were very popular."

As Liu Kuan recounted this, not only Zhu Yunwen, but also Zhu Biao and others became increasingly puzzled—since martial arts had flourished to this extent in later generations, why had Liu Kuan never mentioned this matter before?

After a pause, Liu Kuan sighed and said, "It's a pity that the later generations are in an era of rapid development of firearms. You must know how far and how accurate the muzzle-loading rifled guns in the Imperial Guards of the capital can be today."

"By the late Qing Dynasty and after its fall, there were already more advanced breech-loading guns, or rifles, and even breech-loading repeating short guns, not to mention machine guns."

"Therefore, there was a saying in the martial arts world at that time: no matter how high your martial arts skills are, you can be shot down with one spear. That is to say, no matter how powerful your martial arts are, you can be shot to death; even martial arts masters like Sun Lutang and Li Shuwen may not be able to escape with their lives when faced with more than a dozen spears."

“When the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing in later years, there was a heartbreaking example for countless martial artists. At that time, there was a man named Cheng Yanhua near Chongwen Gate in Beijing. Because he made a living selling eyeglasses, he was known in the martial arts world as ‘Eyeglasses Cheng’.”

"He was actually a disciple of Dong Haichuan, a master of Baguazhang who was as famous as Yang Luchan of Tai Chi. He was a great martial arts master. During the turbulent times at the end of the Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi once recruited martial arts masters from all over the country to serve as her bodyguards. She sent people to invite Cheng Yanhua twice, but he politely declined both times."

"Later, when the Eight-Nation Alliance entered Beijing, Cheng Yanhua saw a group of German soldiers harassing a young girl near a shop, so he stepped forward to stop them. A dozen German soldiers swarmed him and surrounded him, actually abandoning their firearms advantage, and Cheng Yanhua was knocked to the ground by them all."

"After rescuing the girl, Cheng Yanhua went back to the shop to tidy up a bit before preparing to leave, but was blocked in the alley by a large group of German soldiers."

"Baguazhang emphasizes footwork, making one as slippery as a thief. Therefore, Cheng Yanhua used Baguazhang to approach the German devils, knocking down several of them with heavy palm strikes, intending to fight his way out of the alley."

"When the German devils saw this, they opened fire. Cheng Yanhua jumped onto the roof, but his braid got stuck in the roof tiles, which affected his movements and delayed him. As a result, he was shot dead on the roof by the German devils."

After hearing this, Zhu Yunwen couldn't help but exclaim angrily, "Those German devils are truly hateful!"

Zhu Xiong Ying said, "In my opinion, the most hateful thing is the Qing court. In order to enslave the Han people, they made the people wear the money rat tail braid. It was not only ugly and humiliating, but it also affected their movement. If Cheng Yan Hua had a Han hairstyle instead of a braid, he might not have been killed by mistake."

Prince Zhu Gui then asked, "Teacher, which country in Europe is Germany now?"

Liu Kuan thought for a moment and said, "Germany is Germany. It has not yet been established as a nation. If we have to say, it is probably the Holy Roman Empire of today—which was later renamed the Holy Roman Empire of Germany."

Zhu Gui then solemnly declared, "Alright, we're determined to destroy the Holy Roman Empire too!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao, Zhu Xiong Ying, and the others couldn't help but glance at Zhu Gui, clearly doubting his ability. (End of Chapter)