Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 345 The Founding of the Yuan Dynasty, Hongwu!
"You are Garinjin?"

Inside the imperial palace in Dadu, Lin Dao met the Western monk who had come to see him.

He pointed at the monk's head and asked, "Why aren't you bald?"

Garin was wearing a monk's robe with his chest exposed, a full beard, and thick curly hair on his head.

This image is quite different from that of monks in China.

"Maitreya King in person~"

Garinjin, who raised one hand in a gesture of respect, said, "This humble monk comes from India."

"The customs there are different from those in China."

Lin Dao leaned back in his chair. "Speak, what do you want?"

“Maitreya King above.” Jia Lin said sincerely, “This humble monk has received guidance from the Buddha and has come to offer divine teachings and medicines to Maitreya King.”

"Oh?"

Lin Dao narrowed his eyes. "Divine magic? What kind of divine magic?"

"This method is called the Endy'er Method," Garin Shin slowly began. "By combining it with other divine methods such as the Dual Practice with the Primordial Deity, the Secret Great Bliss Meditation, and the Yin-Yang Harmony Meditation, one can attain immortality."

"Heh~" Lin Dao sneered, "Although you are a monk from India, when it comes to deceiving people, you are no different from monks from the Central Plains."

"They come up with a compelling goal right off the bat, even though there's no way to verify it anyway."

"Once you've set your mind on something, you'll fall into my trap."

"You monks, you only ever use the same trick over and over again."

"Although it's simple, it's definitely useful."

"Fine." Lin Dao, expressionless and reclining in his chair, waved his hand. "Give me a performance, and I'll see."

"I respectfully obey the decree of Maitreya King."

Garin bowed, first standing on one leg like a golden rooster, then prostrating himself on the ground.

The head is stretched forward, one knee is on the ground, and the other leg is stretched backward.

The civil and military officials around them were all staring and pointing.

They had never seen such a technique before.

After a demonstration of a set of dice techniques was completed, Jia Linzhen stood up and bowed. Just as he was about to speak, Lin Dao burst into laughter.

"I thought this Dijkstra method was something strange; it's just yoga!"

Yoga may have seemed somewhat mysterious in ancient times.

But in the modern world, it's already commonplace.

Although Lin Dao had never studied yoga, Su Tongtong practiced it, and he had tried it out during her practice sessions.
"This is boring," Lin Dao said again. "Is there anything else good?"

The words that were about to come out were stuck in his throat, and Garin Shin took out a glass bottle from his bosom.

Lan Yu stepped forward, took it, examined it carefully, unscrewed the cap, and even took a sniff.

"By Maitreya King above~"

Garin confidently declared, "This is a divine object from India."

"It is made from the holy water of the Ganges and eighty-one kinds of rare and precious ingredients from around the world."

"The most precious of them is~"

"Stop talking," Lin Dao waved his hand. "What's the point of just saying it directly?"

"Don't tell me this stuff will grant you immortality. I'm not buying that."

“Maitreya has misunderstood,” Garin Shin explained with a bow. “This is not for drinking, but for applying.”

"It is the most yang and masculine thing in the world. Once used, it is like a pillar that stabilizes the sea, remaining unmoved no matter how strong the wind or how turbulent the waves!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Dao immediately rolled his eyes.

"I thought it was something special, but isn't this just Indian herbal oil?"

"Do you think I'm a country bumpkin?"

Is that all you've got?

Now Karin was truly panicked.

He had never encountered anything like this since he came to the Middle Kingdom.

Normally, if someone claims that a divine method can grant immortality, almost everyone will treat them with respect.

Fine wine, delicious food, beautiful women, and a distinguished status and identity.

If they were to produce a miracle oil, it would only earn them even greater respect from the powerful and wealthy.

But why doesn't this guy care at all?

"Gone?"

"Then you're useless."

Lin Dao waved his hand, "Lan Yu, take him for interrogation."

"Everything we've stolen from the Central Plains over the years must be returned."

"Also, find out more information about India, especially the routes."

"After you've finished, castrate him and then use up all his 'magic oil' on him."

“Send them to a labor camp to work until they die.”

"From now on, when we find Tibetan monks, we will treat them in the same way."

Lan Yu hurriedly bowed.

"Leader!"

At this time, the capital city had become a huge construction site.

Large numbers of laborers from the coolie camps, wearing masks, carried the corpses scattered throughout the city onto four-wheeled carts equipped with rubber tires and bearing steering mechanisms.

Afterwards, they dragged a large cart to the outskirts of the city to burn and bury the remains.

Houses and streets were demolished on a large scale, especially the drainage system, which was completely torn up and rebuilt.

After discussing with his civil and military officials, Lin Dao decided to establish his capital in Dadu City.

The main purpose was to bridge the gap between the Han people in the north and south as quickly as possible, and at the same time to keep a close watch on the grasslands.

At this time, the entire capital city had been ravaged by war, and with no civilians left, it was like a blank sheet of paper, making it the perfect time to redraw and rebuild.

As for the main force doing the work, it was the Han soldiers who were put into the labor camps.

After they killed Wang Baobao, all those who dared to resist the Red Turban Army entering the city were dealt with.

Those who surrendered became members of the labor camp.

There are countless jobs waiting for them to do.

"It stinks!"

The sewer cover was lifted, and an overwhelming stench filled the air.

Even with masks on, the smell still made the laborers gag.

The supervisors in the distance didn't say anything, they just shook the stun guns in their hands.

The laborers forced themselves to step forward and used their shovels to shovel out the filth, loading it onto carts and transporting it out of the city.

It wasn't just the sewers, but also the mountains of garbage piled up throughout the city.

These days, there are latrine bullies in the city who collect excrement, but there are no garbage collectors.

All kinds of household waste are dumped and piled up in specific areas. Year after year, it has truly accumulated into mountains, emitting a terrible stench.

The laborers not only had to dig sewers, but also clean up garbage; they were miserable.

But no one dared to refuse.

Those who were slacking off were all knocked down with electric batons and then dragged away.

What happens to it after it's towed away is nobody knowing.

All that is known is that those who were dragged away never appeared again.

In many other parts of the city, medical teams dressed in white protective suits carried pesticide sprayers and sprayed diluted dichlorvos throughout the city.

Plagues have never ceased in ancient times; the only difference lies in the extent of their spread.

In the modern world, it wasn't until the advent of industrialized chemical products that the spread within the city was finally cut off.

Lin Dao purchased a large quantity of chemical products for disinfection and sterilization, as well as to kill fleas, the most important route of transmission.

To speed up the construction process, he imported steel bars, cement, and various tools and equipment from the modern world on a large scale.

They even purchased multiple oil-powered generators, as well as wires and lights, pioneering nighttime overtime work in the 13th century.

The entire capital city had become a huge construction site.

"King Ming."

Li Shancheng and others successively submitted letters urging Lin Dao to take the throne.

"The Ming emperor drove out the Tartars and restored the Central Plains."

Such achievements are witnessed by heaven and earth.

"When he ascends to the throne, it will fulfill the earnest expectations of all the people under heaven."

"Today there is~~~"

The civil and military officials earnestly requested Lin Daojin to ascend the throne, praising him to the skies.

According to procedure, Lin Daohui declined.

He expressed his lack of talent and virtue, and went through the process of declining three times.

But when he looked at the stacks of petitions urging him to ascend the throne, he unexpectedly came across a petition from the Kong family.

He raised his head and looked at Xu Da.

"Is the Kong family still around?"

Xu Da was stunned and couldn't understand Lin Dao's meaning for a moment.

“I’ve heard,” Lin Dao said, tapping the table, “that the bloodline of the Duke Yansheng has been switched by the Mongols.”

Are you all aware of this matter?

The civil and military officials looked at each other in bewilderment; they had never heard of this before.

Lin Dao had also heard the rumors online.

Whether it's true or not, we'll have to rely on genetic testing.

However, he wouldn't do that. Even if the test results were actually obtained, people in this era wouldn't believe it.

If that's the case, then there's no need for such trouble.

"The Jurchens came, and they wrote a petition urging me to ascend the throne."

"When the Mongols came, they also wrote a petition urging him to ascend the throne."

"Now it's my turn, and I'm still writing the petition to be promoted."

"What, is your family's secret skill writing memorials urging someone to ascend the throne?"

The military officers laughed, while the civil officials were embarrassed.

The affairs of the Duke Yansheng's family are truly a long story.

"Since they enjoy writing petitions urging them to ascend the throne so much," Lin Dao said, tossing down the petition sent by the Confucius family. "Send them to the grasslands to write them properly, slowly and carefully. Ideally, they should be able to teach all the tribes how to write them."

Hu Weiyong subconsciously wanted to defend the Duke Yansheng's family, but was stopped by Li Shanchang.

He shook his head slightly, indicating that it was not possible.

The wise ruler valued military prowess over civil affairs, so at this time, the best course of action was to go along with his wishes rather than oppose him.

As for the Duke Yansheng's mansion~
As the sage once said, "The blessings of a virtuous person will last only five generations!"

This has been going on for so many generations; it's time to kill him.

“What the Ming King says is absolutely right.” Li Shanchang immediately bowed. “The Mongols are hateful. They have ruined the bloodline of the Duke of Yansheng’s mansion. They should be sent back to the grasslands.”

Lin Dao looked at him with slight surprise, and after a moment nodded slightly.

"In that case, I'll leave this matter to you."

"Leader!"

The process of three resignations and three concessions has been completed.

Despite his repeated refusals, Lin Dao could not resist the urging of the crowd and agreed to ascend the throne.

"Li Shanchang".

Lin Dao instructed, "You will be in charge of the Ministry of Rites, and you will be responsible for arranging all related matters."

With bitterness in his heart, Li Shanchang bowed and accepted the order.

Although he was promoted from Vice Minister to Minister, it seemed like a step forward.

However, it was transferred from the crucial Ministry of War to the less important Ministry of Rites.

Despite being described as a person of noble birth, in the eyes of the Ming emperors who valued martial prowess over literary pursuits, the Minister of Rites was clearly a marginal figure.

He hasn't even ascended the throne yet, and he's already starting to discard those who have served their purpose.

Li Shanchang, who was inwardly complaining, respectfully inquired.

"Your Majesty, I request a name for our country."

"The name of the country..." After a pause, Lin Dao finally spoke, "Since I am the King of Ming, the name of the country shall be Ming."

The civil and military officials immediately shouted.

"The Great Ming Dynasty~ The Great Ming Dynasty~~"

Everyone had already guessed this, so it's nothing surprising.

Li Shanchang presented a memorial: "Your Majesty, we have consulted the Rites of Zhou and proposed several reign titles. We request Your Majesty to make a decision."

The reign title is a symbol of the emperor's legitimacy, that is, to follow the official calendar.

When the new emperor ascended the throne, he established the reign title Jianyuan.

If you want to change it, you need to change the era name.

The main significance of reign titles lies in pursuing auspicious meanings and reflecting political ideals.

Of course, auspicious omens and classical texts are also important.

Among the several reign titles mentioned in the memorial, Lin Dao immediately took a liking to one of them.

Pick up a pen and circle it.

Lin Dao returned the memorial to Li Shanchang and gave instructions to everyone.

"The Ming Dynasty established its first reign."

"Hongwu!"

(End of this chapter)