Bringing the Railway to Daming

"Tanghulu!"

"Making sugar figurines!"

"Take a look! Glass jewelry—it's affordable and beautiful!"

"The Romance of the Three Kingdoms comic book is loved by people of all ages..."

Upon entering Chuzhou, Zhu Yuanzhang found the city to be very prosperous, so he dismounted from his carriage and walked.

Liu Chang'an and Liu Ruoyue naturally followed behind, followed by Li Gui and three guard officers—each of them closely followed and kept an eye on one person, enough to ensure the safety of Zhu Yuanzhang and the two children.

Walking on the streets of Chuzhou, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that although it was far less prosperous than the capital, the surrounding buildings, the hawkers' cries, and even the smells made him feel more at home, and he recalled some things from his youth.

After walking for a while, Zhu Yuanzhang noticed that a large crowd had gathered at a street corner, cheering from time to time.

At first he thought someone was performing acrobatics, but upon closer inspection he realized it wasn't.

Liu Ruoyue also craned her neck to look curiously, but unfortunately she was too short and couldn't see what was being performed inside. So she shook Zhu Yuanzhang's hand, "Grandpa, shall we go and take a look?"

"Alright," Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile, then added, "But you and Chang'an must be careful, lest you be kidnapped by flower sellers."

Liu Ruoyue pouted, "They're not three-year-olds, they can't be kidnapped by flower sellers."

When Zhu Yuanzhang arrived at the street corner with his two children, several plainclothes guards squeezed through the crowd to clear a path for them, and they easily made their way to the inner circle of the crowd.

Finally, we saw what was inside.

Ahead was a flatbed cart with a wooden box over three feet long on it. The box was open, facing the crowd, and light shone from inside. The outside was covered with a white silk canvas, painted with figures and scenery.

Most of the figures are quite simple, with only a few having more defined lines and even some colored. Under the light, they are quite clearly visible.

Beside the carriage, a young man was diligently turning a handle. As he turned the handle, the scene at the opening of the wooden box rapidly changed to the next picture with similar content.

Liu Ruoyue glanced at it twice and couldn't help but exclaim, "This looks like an animated film!!"

Liu Chang'an nodded in agreement, "It really does look like an animated film—if it were drawn in more detail and had sound, it would be even more like one."

Zhu Yuanzhang was also surprised.

He had seen this kind of thing before, where the rotating images make it seem as if the figures in the painting are moving. It's called a horse-riding lantern or a revolving lantern.

However, a revolving lantern is generally the size of a lantern, and it rotates very slowly because of the candle lit inside. The most important thing is that it usually has eight pictures, depicting a scene of chasing on horseback.

The "carousel" in front of us, which is rotated by human power, changes the canvas countless times in a short period of time. In addition, the rotation speed is very fast, so it is like the cartoon that Liu Kuan used to play on a tablet - of course, the kind of very crude cartoon.

Zhu Yuanzhang then paid close attention to the "animation" and discovered that it was actually "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" being "played".

"Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils", "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", and "The Return of the Condor Heroes" are all extremely popular novels among the people. Since they were written by ghostwriters at Liu Kuan's request, Zhu Yuanzhang naturally read them as well.

However, the vendors in front of us are making an "animation" based on "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," which shows quite a lot of ambition—after all, the story of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" is very long and the plot is quite complex.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang, Liu Chang'an, and Liu Ruoyue had all heard the story of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, they watched it with great interest, and even cheered along with the surrounding people in some places.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

After a while, shouts came from behind, and the crowd was roughly separated. Many people even left because they were worried about getting into trouble.

Of course, most people simply watched the spectacle from the sidelines, and Zhu Yuanzhang and his entourage were no exception.

A middle-aged man who looked like a manager led several men to the flatbed cart, and two of the men lifted up the young man who had previously "played" the animation.

The steward laughed and said, "Ma Sanlang, our young master has invited you for tea time and time again, but you have ignored him. Don't blame us for using force with our servants."

"Take the people and the car away—my young master is friends with Ma Sanlang, he's invited him for drinks. Everyone stop watching, disperse!"

Ma Sanlang cried out anxiously, "I don't know your young master! Let me go!"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned upon seeing this scene—regardless of whether that young master knew Ma Sanlang or not, taking him away like this was wrong and suspected of kidnapping.

There must have been others among the surrounding people who thought the same thing, but seeing that the steward was clearly from a wealthy family and that the seven or eight burly men looked very fierce, no one bothered with the matter for the time being, and the steward and his men took Ma Sanlang and his flatbed cart away.

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately said to the guards and officers following behind him, "Send the Embroidered Uniform Guards to follow them and see what's going on."

The guard officer nodded but did not leave. Instead, he used a set of hand gestures to convey Zhu Yuanzhang's order—there were Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) watching them closely.

Zhu Yuanzhang pretended to be nonchalant and led his entourage away, but he couldn't help but feel dissatisfied as he walked in the direction where Ma Sanlang had been led away.

Before long, Cheng Ji came to report.

"Your Majesty, Ma Sanlang has been taken to a courtyard called Hongdie Yazhu in that alley—it should be a high-class brothel."

High-class brothels?

Zhu Yuanzhang was surprised.

He was almost seventy years old and had never actually been to a brothel before—he had led troops there before the founding of the Ming Dynasty, but that was to arrest people, and the brothel in question wasn't exactly high-class.

Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to see for himself, so he ordered his men to bring Liu Chang'an and Liu Ruoyue back to the carriage.

Although the two children were curious, they knew that Zhu Yuanzhang was about to get down to business, so they didn't make a fuss and obediently left.

And so, Zhu Yuanzhang, accompanied by Li Gui and two guards, arrived at the Red Butterfly Pavilion, located deep in the alley.

This courtyard looks ordinary, but a string of small red lanterns hangs outside the gate, and it is named "Red Butterfly Elegant Abode," which is obviously a place of pleasure.

A guard knocked on the door.

The door opened, and an elderly man with gray hair glanced at the group outside and asked, "What brings you here?" Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "We've heard this place is quite nice, so we'd like to come in and see for ourselves."

The old man frowned. "What good place is there? We live in a residential area."

Households?

Is there a household called Hongdie Yazhu?
Zhu Yuanzhang snorted inwardly, then took out a hundred strings of cash and handed it over, saying unhappily, "We came here because of your reputation, don't spoil our fun."

The old man's eyes lit up when he saw the banknotes. After taking them, he said, "Wait a bit."

After the door closed, it took about two or three minutes for the old man to come back and reopen it. He reluctantly handed back the hundred strings of cash, saying, "We have a distinguished guest today. Please come back another day."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and immediately stepped inside.

"What are you doing?" The old man tried to stop Zhu Yuanzhang, but was pushed aside by a guard officer.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, four burly men with sticks rushed over menacingly, threatening, "Where did this brat come from? Get out of here if you don't want a beating!"

At this moment, two more plainclothes guards rushed in and stopped the four burly men. The men tried to fight back, but the guards easily beat them to the ground, knocking them unconscious.

The old man, seeing this, shouted in fright, "Help! There are robbers!"

Then a lot of people came running over, men and women—the women were led by a middle-aged beautiful woman, while the men were led by the same manager from before.

A middle-aged woman approached and asked, "Sir, you're not from Chuzhou, are you? You dare to cause trouble without even checking the background of our Red Butterfly Residence?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said, “We are indeed not from Chuzhou, but we are relatives of Ma Sanlang. I heard that he was brought here by someone—hand him over.”

The middle-aged woman looked at the manager.

The steward sized up Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "This gentleman seems to be of extraordinary status. Ma Sanlang is just a penniless man. How could he possibly have a relative like you? Don't be ridiculous."

Zhu Yuanzhang was too lazy to waste any more words and directly ordered the guards who followed him in to search the place.

The manager ordered several men around him to stop him, but they were beaten unconscious again.

At this moment, two more people came out from inside: a young man in brocade robes and a charming woman.

The young man in brocade robes held a folding fan, struck a rather flamboyant pose, and said indifferently while waving the fan, "My father is Lu Zhi. If you know what's good for you, leave a thousand strings of cash as compensation and you can get lost."

Is his father Lu Zhi?
Who is Lu Zhi?

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Cheng Ji, who was standing beside him.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard had already begun investigating Chuzhou, so Cheng Ji naturally knew about the important figures in Chuzhou. He immediately whispered, "Lu Zhi is the prefect of Chuzhou."

After saying that, Cheng Ji couldn't help but look at the young man in brocade robes with a pitying gaze, thinking to himself: Lu Zhi is doomed, he's probably going to be ruined by this son.

The young man in brocade robes thought the other party was intimidated by his background, so he raised his head slightly and said, "Are you scared? I've changed my mind now. You must pay three thousand strings of cash before you can leave—one thousand strings to Hongdie Yazhu, one thousand strings to my servants for medical expenses, and the other thousand strings to your atonement."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang asked coldly, "What if we don't go with you? Are you going to take us to see the officials?"

The young man in brocade robes laughed, "You old man, you're not stupid after all—look at you, trespassing on private property and assaulting residents. According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, you'll at least be sentenced to three to five months of hard labor; in more serious cases, you might even be exiled to the frontier!"

"You even know the laws of the Ming Dynasty?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked, slightly surprised.

The young man in brocade robes said smugly, "I'm a graduate of the top high school in Chuzhou. What's so strange about me knowing the laws of the Ming Dynasty?"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Then tell me, what are the punishments for kidnapping others, keeping thugs, scholars patronizing prostitutes, and great disrespect?"

The young man in brocade robes was taken aback, then couldn't help but say, "You want to sue me, is that it? Let me tell you, I don't have any of these charges against me, especially that 'great disrespect' thing, which is completely unfounded!"

Although the young man in brocade robes was somewhat interesting, Zhu Yuanzhang was too lazy to waste time with him and simply waved his hand, saying, "Forget it, take him down, interrogate him, and then send him to the prefectural government to see how Lu Zhi is dealt with."

Several guards rushed forward and easily subdued the young man in brocade and the steward, while the middle-aged beauty and the alluring woman screamed in fright and fled back into the house.

The guards followed him in and brought out Ma Sanlang, who was bound hand and foot.

The young man in brocade robes was now terrified, trembling as he said, "You're the kidnappers, aren't you? Don't kill me! My father, Lu Zhi, is the prefect of Chuzhou. My family is rich and can ransom me!"

Cheng Ji patted the handsome face of the young man in brocade with his dagger and said, "Stop shouting—I'll ask you a question, and you answer it."

The young man in brocade robes became even more frightened and dared not shout anymore, nodding hastily.

"What is your name?"

"Lu Tao".

Why are you arresting Ma Sanlang?

Is he really related to Ma Sanlang?

Lu Tao's eyes darted around, and he said, "I want to be friends with him."

Cheng Ji laughed, "Does making friends require kidnapping people?"

At this moment, Ma Sanlang was untied and, upon hearing this, angrily exclaimed, "He tried to use his status to steal my invention and patent!"

Cheng Ji pressed the dagger against Lu Tao's neck and said, "You little rascal, you're not being honest, so tell me the truth!"

"Don't kill me, I'll talk, I'll tell you everything..."

Realizing he could no longer hide the truth and fearing for his life, Lu Tao immediately recounted the entire incident in detail. (End of Chapter)