Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 7: Forcing People to Stay, Asking about the Country's Destiny [Seeking Follow-up Reading]

Don't say it.

Even as a person from later generations, Liu Kuan couldn't help but feel a little moved after hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's promise.

Lao Zhu's promise was equivalent to making him rich overnight and having everything.

But greed did not overwhelm Liu Kuan's reason.

He knew very well how difficult it was to build a cross-river bridge in the Ming Dynasty. He had to develop a lot of prerequisite technologies and have a certain industrial foundation before he could succeed.

If he boasted that he would take on this task and stay in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang would not be polite to him when he found out that it would be impossible to build a cross-river bridge within decades, and that he himself did not know how to build a bridge.

Thinking of this, Liu Kuan said, "Thank you for your appreciation, Your Majesty. It's a pity that I don't know how to build a bridge."

Zhu Yuanzhang was not surprised to hear this and asked, "Then what can you do?"

Liu Kuan was about to speak when he suddenly had an idea and said, "I am a scholar in the future and am still learning, so I know almost nothing."

Liu Kuan wasn't lying. Although he had graduated several years earlier, his major was computer science. He had acquired a lot of random knowledge online, but he knew very little about how to actually use it.

However, he said this mainly because he wanted Zhu Yuanzhang to pay less attention to him and let him stay on the bridge.

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Since you are a scholar, you must know about history, right? Do you know how many years the Ming Dynasty lasted?"

Even if Zhu Yuanzhang asked, Liu Kuan was ready to tell him about it.

Of course, he had requirements.

He said, "I can tell your majesty the history of the Ming Dynasty that will be passed down to future generations, but I ask your majesty to promise me one thing."

"What's the matter?"

Liu Kuan said, "Perhaps I can go back to six hundred years later with this bridge. In order not to be left behind, I cannot leave the bridge, or at least the road connected to it."

"Therefore, I hope Your Majesty will allow me to stay on the bridge and send some food and water every day."

When saying this, Liu Kuan noticed that Zhu Biao was winking at him, but he didn't understand what he meant at first.

After he finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly laughed, "So Master Liu can't leave this bridge. That's easy."

Simple?

What's simple?

Liu Kuan was a little confused for a moment.

Then he saw Zhu Yuanzhang wave his hand and said, "Mu Ying, Lan Yu, take Master Liu to the tower of Loujiang Gate."

Lan Yu chuckled and grabbed one of Liu Kuan's arms.

On the other side, Mu Ying said, "Since His Majesty has given the order, Master Liu had better not resist, or you will suffer."

After saying this, he signaled Lan Yu to help him "help" Liu Kuan get on the horse.

When Liu Kuan saw Zhu Yuanzhang heading towards the city, he finally understood - this old Zhu was determined to keep him in the Ming Dynasty! He wouldn't let him leave!

Seeing Zhu Biao sighing, Liu Kuan also understood why Zhu Biao had given him a look just now - most likely Zhu Biao had not yet told Zhu Yuanzhang that he "could not" leave the bridge.

Finally he said it himself.

"I was careless!"

After being helped onto the horse by Mu Ying and Lan Yu, Liu Kuan couldn't help but slap his thigh in regret.

But he soon realized that he didn't seem so anxious or panicked.

Perhaps, he subconsciously thought that the possibility of him and Ohashi traveling back to the modern era was very small?
Or maybe, he is not so opposed to staying in Ming Dynasty?

Speaking of which, he has read quite a few historical novels online, and he especially likes stories set in the Ming Dynasty. He has fantasized more than once about what would happen if he traveled through the Ming Dynasty.

If I stayed in the Ming Dynasty, it would seem like an alternative way of realizing my dream, right?
Just when Liu Kuan was about to convince himself, a voice of opposition emerged in his heart.

'But actually living in the Ming Dynasty is another matter.'

"There's no electricity, no internet, and none of the conveniences of later times. Medical care is even worse. You might even die if you catch a cold."

'And I will never see my parents, relatives or friends again.'

But what can he do?
Struggling and resisting now would probably make the outcome worse.

Besides, the possibility of traveling back in time with the bridge was just his groundless guess and it might not happen.

Loujiangmen is near the southern end of the bridge road. Liu Kuan's inner struggle had not yet come to a conclusion when he arrived.

'Forget it, let's take it one step at a time. '

While thinking this, Liu Kuan had already followed Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao to the corridor on the second floor of the city gate tower.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked other civil and military ministers and personal soldiers to stay downstairs, and asked Mu Ying and Lan Yu to guard the stairs, so that only he, Zhu Biao and Liu Kuan were left upstairs.

Zhu Yuanzhang leaned over the railing and gazed at the bridge across the river. He couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "Such a magnificent bridge! I think since Heaven has allowed it to come to the Ming Dynasty, it will certainly not leave. What do you think, Master Liu?"

Liu Kuan squinted his lips imperceptibly and said, "Time travel is a mysterious event. No one can say for sure."

"Time travel?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked curiously.

Liu Kuan said, "For someone like me, living a comfortable life six hundred years later, only to suddenly find myself in the harsh conditions of the Ming Dynasty, this is called time travel."

"Do people often travel through time in later generations?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked again.

Liu Kuan said, "These are all jokes in novels and stories, just like the immortal fate in your novels. No one has ever really encountered it."

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "Doesn't this just prove that even if someone traveled through time, no one would have traveled back? Otherwise, time travel wouldn't just be a joke."

Liu Kuan couldn't help but say, "Perhaps other time travelers were just like me, forced to stay by Your Majesty." Hearing the hidden sarcasm in Liu Kuan's words, Zhu Biao couldn't help but get nervous. Fearing that Liu Kuan would be punished, he was ready to plead for mercy.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Yuanzhang laughed heartily and said, "Young Master Liu has also said that time travel is like a chance encounter with an immortal, extremely rare. Now that Young Master Liu and this bridge have appeared in the Ming Dynasty, it is a blessing for our Ming Dynasty, and we must seize it firmly."

After saying this, Zhu Yuanzhang turned to Zhu Biao and said, "Pass on my order. Have the Ministry of Works and Yingtian Prefecture tie the piers of this cross-river bridge with ropes, pull the ropes to the shore, and secure them. Do the same for the north bank."

Zhu Biao had heard this before, so he was not surprised. He responded and went to convey the order.

Liu Kuan was stunned.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Liu Kuan with a smile and explained, "We thought that since the bridge might slip back, we could tie it up and fix it to the land of the Ming Dynasty. It shouldn't be able to escape."

Liu Kuan came back to his senses and couldn't help but sigh: This old Zhu is too cruel.

At the same time, he also understood that Lao Zhu's words were a threat to him.

If he can tie up a bridge and prevent people from walking, then when it comes to dealing with people, Lao Zhu must have more methods.

"It seems I won't be able to go back," Liu Kuan thought.

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang said again: "Young Master Liu, don't even think about going back. As the saying goes, if you are here, you should make the best of it. Stay in the Ming Dynasty and serve us. We will ensure that you will be prosperous and wealthy."

Hearing this, Liu Kuan said, "If I were to stay in the Ming Dynasty, I would naturally serve Your Majesty. However, I do not want the wealth and glory Your Majesty has promised. Instead, I hope Your Majesty will promise that as long as I do not betray you and the Ming Dynasty, Your Majesty will not kill me."

Zhu Yuanzhang was quite surprised by Liu Kuan's words. After narrowing his eyes slightly, he nodded and said, "Okay, I promise you, as long as you don't betray me and the Ming Dynasty, I will not kill you."

Whether intentionally or not, Zhu Yuanzhang slightly changed Liu Kuan's request, from not having the intention to kill him to not killing Liu Kuan.

Liu Kuan noticed it, but did not correct it.

Because he felt that Zhu Yuanzhang's change of the specific content of the promise showed that he valued this promise.

Of course, he also knew that if he really violated Zhu Yuanzhang's taboo, Zhu Yuanzhang would never be trapped by the so-called promise - in history, Zhu Yuanzhang had never shown mercy when it came to killing people.

But a promise is always better than no promise, and it also provides psychological comfort to Liu Kuan.

At this point, seeing Zhu Biao coming up after delivering the imperial edict, Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Now, Mr. Liu, can you tell me how many years the Ming Dynasty has been in existence?"

Liu Kuan didn't beat around the bush and said directly: "Two hundred and seventy-six years."

"Only two hundred and seventy-six years?" Zhu Yuanzhang frowned. "Isn't it even as good as the Zhao and Song dynasties?"

Zhu Biao was somewhat disappointed to hear that the Ming Dynasty had only lasted 276 years, but he still tried to comfort Zhu Yuanzhang, saying, "Father, nearly 300 years is not a short time."

Liu Kuan said: "Your Majesty, there is no need to compare yourself with the Zhao and Song dynasties. In the eyes of future generations, the Ming dynasty is much stronger than the Zhao and Song dynasties."

"how do I say this?"

Liu Kuan said: "Let's talk about the dynasty first. Later historians used the 'Jingkang Shame, Zhao Gou's migration south' as ​​the dividing line to divide the Zhao Song Dynasty into the Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty. The dynasty only enjoyed a little over a hundred years."

"Speaking of territory, even at the height of the Zhao Song dynasty, it was still smaller than the current Ming dynasty, let alone the future Ming dynasty."

"Finally, let's talk about reputation. The Northern and Southern Song dynasties combined lasted for over three hundred years, yet they were never able to recover the territories formerly occupied by the Han and Tang dynasties. They couldn't even reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, which were the original territories of the Han people."

"Furthermore, the Zhao Song Dynasty was successively defeated by the Liao, Western Xia, Jin, and Mongolia, constantly losing territory and paying indemnities, well, that is, paying annual tribute. Finally, it was destroyed by the Hu Yuan Dynasty, and the Han people's empire was destroyed."

"In later generations, the Ming Dynasty was known for 'not ceding territory, not paying indemnities, not marrying off princesses, and not paying tribute,' and for 'the emperor guarding the country's gates, and the king dying for the country.' This kind of integrity was admired by many people in later generations."

Liu Kuan stopped here.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were stunned for a moment.

'No cession of territory, no indemnity, no marriage alliance, no tribute!'

'The Son of Heaven guards the country's gates, the King dies for the country!'

Repeating these two sentences in his mind, Zhu Biao was unconsciously infected and his blood boiled.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said, "'No cession of territory, no indemnity, no marriage alliance, no tribute' is fine, but 'The Son of Heaven guards the country's gates, the King dies for the country' doesn't seem like a good idea, does it?"

When Zhu Biao heard this, he also reacted.

The capital of the Ming Dynasty is in Nanjing. If it comes to a situation where "the emperor guards the national gate and the king dies for the country", wouldn't the country be in danger of being destroyed?
He looked at Liu Kuan.

Liu Kuan nodded and said, "The latter sentence is indeed a conclusion drawn from the two crises of the Ming Dynasty's demise."

"And the last half of the sentence, 'The king dies for the country,' refers to the last official emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youjian."

"When the peasant army broke into Beijing, he had no time to escape, so he killed his concubines and several daughters, and then hanged himself on a crooked tree on Coal Hill."

Having said this, Liu Kuan stopped again.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao both frowned.

Because the information contained in Liu Kuan's words is not simple.

Zhu Biao was the first to break away from his thoughts and said, "Master Liu said that the peasant army broke into Beijing? Did the Ming Dynasty later move its capital? Where is this Beijing?"

Liu Kuan had already decided what to say and what not to say.

He would have to tell about the "Jingnan Campaign" sooner or later, so the matter of moving the capital was not worth hiding.

When Zhu Biao asked, he said, "Beijing was the former Yuan Dynasty capital and Beiping. A few decades later, the Ming Dynasty moved its capital to Beiping and established Jinling as its temporary capital. Later generations called them Beijing and Nanjing respectively."

After getting the answer, Zhu Biao began to think about the pros and cons of the old Yuan capital Dadu as the capital of the Ming Dynasty - he knew that Zhu Yuanzhang intended to move the capital, but he had never decided where to move it.

Before he could figure it out, he heard Zhu Yuanzhang say, "You said the Chongzhen Emperor's name was Zhu Youjian?"

　Please collect it and read it.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)