Ming Dynasty: A centenarian madman criticizes the Grand Secretary and brings his coffin to court!

【Ding--】

[Time: May, the thirty-first year of the Hongwu reign.]

Location: Yingtian Prefecture, atop Zhongshan Mountain.

[Background: Eighteen years have passed since the start of the "Ming Dynasty Industrial Revolution."]

That year, the air in the Ming Dynasty was no longer filled only with the fragrance of rice blossoms.

Instead, it was a mixture of soot, engine oil, steel, and...

The smell of money!

Eighteen years.

In the grand scheme of history, it is but a fleeting moment.

But for the Ming Dynasty, these were eighteen years of earth-shaking changes!

At this time, Nanjing was no longer the ancient capital with only blue bricks and green tiles.

Outside the city, towering chimneys spew out black smoke day and night, a symbol of national power.

On the wide cement road, there were not only horse-drawn carriages, but also simple "steam vehicles" that spewed steam and had rubber wheels, roaring past.

On the Yangtze River.

The little wooden boat that used to be there is gone.

In its place stood the towering, mountain-like 10,000-ton steam-powered ironclad warship!

That dark, gaping cannon muzzle was the only truth that allowed the Ming Dynasty to reason with the world!

……

Pavilion on the top of the mountain.

Two old men, one sitting and one standing.

Sitting there was Gu Canghai, whose hair was completely white, yet he was still very energetic.

Standing there was Zhu Yuanzhang, the Hongwu Emperor, dressed in simple clothes yet exuding an overwhelming aura of power.

They were both getting old.

But that spirit and energy is even fiercer and tougher than it was eighteen years ago!

"Ergou."

Zhu Yuanzhang stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the railway that snaked northward like a black dragon. It was the newest double-track railway, with hundreds of trains transporting cotton from the Western Regions, cattle and sheep from the northern deserts, and coal from Liaodong to the south of the Yangtze River every day.

"Look at this land..."

"how?"

Gu Canghai took a sip of tea (the thermos contained goji berries), and grinned:

"improvise."

"Compared to the boasts I made back then..."

"That's about 99% complete."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Zhu Yuanzhang burst into laughter, his laughter startling the birds in the forest.

"You old dog, still as arrogant as ever!"

"but……"

Zhu Yuanzhang turned around and took out a map from his sleeve.

A gigantic sheet marked with countless red flags—

[Unified Ming Dynasty: A Complete Map of the World!]

"Eighteen years ago, you told me that the world was very vast."

"I don't believe it."

"You say if you want to get rich, build roads first; you say truth is within range."

"I believe you."

Zhu Yuanzhang's large, calloused hand slammed heavily onto the map:

"Look!"

"The Tartars in the north have all become our herdsmen, riding horses every day to shear sheep for the Ming Dynasty's textile factories!"

"The Japanese islands to the east are now the Ming Dynasty's 'silver mining special zone.' The biggest dream of the Japanese there is to learn the Ming language and come here as porters!"

"The Western countries to the south..."

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered:

"Ever since Zheng He sailed his ironclad warships around Nanjing, their king now has to come to Nanjing to pay tribute every year, and he even has to queue up to get a number!"

"As for that Europa thing..."

Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to the westernmost part of the map:

"I heard their knights still wear plate armor?"

"Our merchants sell their obsolete matchlock guns to them, and they get shiploads of gold in return!"

"Ergou!"

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly looked at Gu Canghai, his eyes gleaming with an unprecedented sense of pride:

"I am now..."

"Did they really succeed?"

"This Ming Dynasty..."

"Is it really true—"

"The sun never sets?!"

Gu Canghai looked at the old man in front of him, who was already somewhat hunched over, but whose eyes were still as fierce as a tiger's.

A warm feeling welled up in my heart.

He traveled through time once, and lived a crazy, mad life.

Isn't this the moment we've been waiting for?

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Gu Canghai put down his teacup and nodded seriously:

"Wherever the sun shines, the dragon flag of the Ming Dynasty flies."

"As long as the sun doesn't go out."

"The Ming Dynasty..."

"Never fall!!!"

……

"Good! Good! Good!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said "good" three times, and his eyes even became a little moist.

He suddenly grabbed Gu Canghai's hand and boasted like a child:

"Walk!"

"Come with me somewhere!"

"I have an even bigger surprise in store for you, which I've been keeping hidden away from you!"

"today……"

"Let me show you!"

……

Half an hour later.

Outside Nanjing city, at the Great Parade Ground.

The place was already packed with people.

Civil and military officials, envoys from various countries, and countless ordinary people of the Ming Dynasty were all silent and solemnly watching the center of the training ground.

"That is..."

Gu Canghai, sitting in a wheelchair, was pushed onto the high platform by Zhu Yuanzhang.

When he saw the scene on the training ground.

Even he, a time traveler, couldn't help but gasp in shock!

On the training ground...

Not cavalry.

Not infantry.

Instead, they are one by one...

Steel Formation!

First formation.

There were a full five hundred modified **"steam tanks"**!

Although they were still very rudimentary, and although they billowed black smoke when they ran, their thick steel plates and the repeating muskets (early prototypes of machine guns) mounted on the roof were enough to tear apart any cavalry charge of that era!

The second formation.

It was three thousand men dressed in camouflage uniforms (designed by Gu Canghai), carrying breech-loading rifles and grenades at their waists—

The Great Ming Divine Machine Battalion!

They were no longer the old-fashioned musketeers who lined up to be shot with matchlock guns.

They were all burly (the result of national fitness), with sharp eyes, and the earth trembled with every step they took!

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The overwhelming murderous aura made the blond-haired, blue-eyed foreign envoys sitting on the viewing platform turn pale and tremble with fear!

"this……"

"Is this the Ming Dynasty's new army?"

Gu Canghai muttered to himself.

"It's not just the new army."

Zhu Yuanzhang pointed at the soldiers and said in a loud voice:

"Ergou, look at their faces."

"Look at the way they look at their eyes."

Gu Canghai looked at it carefully.

He saw confidence.

I saw pride.

I saw that kind of domineering aura... "I am the best in the world!"

This is no longer the feudal common people who would kneel before officials and find foreigners strange.

This is--

Citizens of an industrial empire!

The backbone of the iron-blooded Ming Dynasty!

"Grand Tutor!"

Suddenly, Crown Prince Zhu Biao (in this timeline, he is alive and well thanks to advancements in medical technology) arrived on horseback, dressed in military attire.

He drew his sword and roared loudly:

"Everyone has it!"

"Grand Tutor Xiang—"

"pay tribute!!!"

"Whoosh—!!!"

Tens of thousands of soldiers raised their guns simultaneously!

Hundreds of tanks sounded their horns simultaneously!

This moment.

The sounds of sirens, shouts, and the clanging of steel converged into a torrent powerful enough to overturn the heavens!

"Long live the Ming Dynasty! Long live the Grand Tutor!"

"Long live the Ming Dynasty! Long live the Grand Tutor!"

Looking at this torrent of steel, looking at this forest of guns and cannons.

Gu Canghai's vision blurred.

He seemed to see that humiliating history hundreds of years later.

They witnessed powerful ships and cannons blasting open the country's doors.

I saw the cession of territory and reparations.

I saw a plaque that read "Sick Man of East Asia".

But now.

All of this...

They're all fucking—

It no longer exists!!!

In this time and space.

Only the Ming Dynasty could force open the gates of other countries!

Only others ceded territory and paid reparations to the Ming Dynasty!

Only the Ming people pointed their fingers at others and cursed, "You uncivilized barbarians!"

"It was worth it..."

Gu Canghai leaned back in his wheelchair and exhaled a long breath.

The smile on his face was as radiant as the rising sun.

"system."

He said this silently to himself.

"The mission... is it over?"

【Ding--】

[Detection indicates that the Ming Dynasty's national strength has reached the pinnacle of the world.]

[The industrial system has been found to be irreversibly damaged.]

[A surge in national self-confidence has been detected.]

[The host, Gu Canghai, altered the course of history and reshaped the backbone of the Han people.]

[Task Evaluation: Perfect!]

This system will be permanently suspended.

Goodbye, host.

May this prosperous era be as you wish.

With that soft sound in my mind.

Gu Canghai felt a lightness in his body.

A certain constraint has disappeared.

All that remains is endless relaxation.

"Ergou?"

Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to sense something and bent down somewhat nervously:

"What's wrong with you?"

"Don't scare me!"

Gu Canghai waved his hand.

He laboriously raised his hand and pointed to the fluttering sun and moon flag.

Pointing to this vast land.

He pointed to the countless Ming Dynasty citizens who stood tall with their backs straight.

"Zhongba."

"I'm a little tired."

I want to sleep for a while.

"Sleep! Sleep!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes reddened, and his voice trembled slightly:

"I'll stay with you."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"We've conquered this world, you can sleep as long as you want!"

Gu Canghai closed his eyes.

His signature, arrogant smile still lingered on his lips.

At last.

He said softly:

"Jungpachi..."

"I've got it..."

"Don't let our descendants..."

"I lost the gun I was holding."

"As long as the gun barrel remains..."

"This Ming Dynasty..."

"It will always be on this earth—"

"father!!!"

……

Summer of the thirty-first year of the Hongwu reign.

Gu Canghai, the first Grand Tutor of the Ming Dynasty and the father of industry, passed away with a smile on his face during the military parade.

The Emperor was deeply grieved.

The court was closed for seven days.

He was posthumously granted the title of "King of the Great Ming Dynasty," a hereditary title.

He was buried with the emperor at Xiaoling Mausoleum.

Historical records state:

Gu Gongcanghai, single-handedly pioneered the industrial development of the Ming Dynasty.

Build railways, construct giant ships, strengthen the people, and dominate the world.

Since then.

The Ming Dynasty's dragon flag flies all over the world.

Wherever the sun and moon shine, and wherever rivers flow, that is Han territory.

The dignity of the Han people will never decline.

And that legend about "Crazy Gu" and "Monk Zhu" teaming up to ruin the world.

And so it followed the rolling steam train forward.

With that massive ironclad warship cutting through the waves.

Forever...

It has been passed down!

(End of the book)