Daming: I can’t kill such a greedy prince-in-law?

The old eunuch was startled: "It's so late, the prince consort might have already..."

"Just tell him I'm going to take him to heaven to wash his feet!" Zhu Yuanzhang had already put on his sable fur coat. "If you delay any longer, the palace gates will be locked!"

"Yes!" The old eunuch Wang Zhong agreed helplessly, and then quickly went towards the clan house.

Ouyang Lun was completely confused when he heard what Wang Zhong said.

"At this time?" Ouyang Lun rubbed his sore temples and reluctantly opened his eyes in the quilt. When he heard the words "Washing feet in heaven and on earth", he laughed and shook his head. He knew the temper of this father-in-law very well.

Most likely he was just being crazy and was ready to refuse outright.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang was the king and Ouyang Lun was the minister, it was so cold in the middle of the night and he was called out of bed to wash his feet. Is this something a king could do?

"Husband, since it's the emperor who summoned you, I'm afraid there is something important to discuss with you. You'd better go quickly!" Princess Anqing also woke up and spoke.

"and you."

"My dear husband, don't worry about me. I will fall asleep soon." Princess Anqing said considerately.

"Okay." After hearing what Princess Anqing said, Ouyang Lun couldn't refuse anymore.

"Prepare the sedan." He stood up and straightened his clothes, then whispered to his followers, "Go to the storehouse to get the can of Wuyi Mountain Dahongpao, a jar of Maotai, no more than two jars of Maotai, and bring the newly made train model."

The Forbidden City was covered in silver on a snowy night. Ouyang Lun hurriedly walked on the snow to the palace wall.

Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang already walking on the city wall in a sable coat, he was about to salute——

"No thanks!" The old emperor grabbed his sleeve and said, "Come on, accompany me out of the palace to see your Iron Dragon!"

Ouyang Lun looked at the heavy snow outside the palace and said with difficulty: "Father-in-law, it's so cold today. Let's not make any trouble, okay?"

"Besides, you are all elderly, why don't you warm yourself by the fire in Taile Palace?"

"Who would stay up late at night to watch the train?"

"Why don't you take a look at this model first? You can see the latest one except me, your father-in-law!"

As he spoke, Ouyang Lun handed Zhu Yuanzhang a brand new train model.

"Go away, who wants your broken model? Didn't you say that the Beijing-Pingcheng Railway is almost finished? Let's go to the Beijing Railway Station and take a look!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was quite deadlocked.

"This..." Ouyang Lun frowned helplessly.

"What?" Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes. "You made such a big noise, and you don't allow me to see it with my own eyes?"

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang was determined to do so, Ouyang Lun could only smile bitterly and agreed. He carefully tied the mink coat for Zhu Yuanzhang and ordered someone to bring a heater: "Then please allow me to prepare some more things to keep warm."

"Go ahead." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded immediately.

Just as Ouyang Lun turned around, Zhu Yuanzhang called out to him again, "Wait."

"Father-in-law, the Emperor Retired, do you have any other instructions?" Ouyang Lun asked helplessly.

"Aren't you going to give us the model? Why don't you give it to us?" Zhu Yuanzhang said.

Forehead.
Ouyang Lun's face was full of black lines.

It was clearly you who didn't want it just now, but now you want it again. You're really the typical example of wanting both!
"Here, here." Ouyang Lun was not a stingy person. This model was originally used to appease Zhu Yuanzhang.

While Zhu Yuanzhang was picking up the model train, Ouyang Lun hurried away.

"Ouyang Lun, we'll wait for you here. Don't even think about running away. If you catch a cold or fall ill, everyone in the world will call you disloyal and unfilial!" Zhu Yuanzhang's voice came from behind.

Hearing this, Ouyang Lun almost stumbled and fell.

Look! The emperor of that dynasty was so scoundrel. He was almost as bad as Li Yuan, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty!

Ouyang Lun also knew Zhu Yuanzhang's character and knew that this old guy could really do it, so he took the hot packs, hand warmers and other cold-proof tools and rushed back.

Soon the two changed into casual clothes and left the palace with a few followers.

Ouyang Lun was always half a step behind, and he stretched out his hand from time to time to support Zhu Yuanzhang, fearing that he would fall. It was not because he cared about Zhu Yuanzhang that much, but he was really worried that if Zhu Yuanzhang fell, he would use this as an excuse to blackmail him, which Zhu Yuanzhang would definitely do.

But when he saw Zhu Yuanzhang walking briskly in the snow, a helpless smile flashed in his eyes - his father-in-law's unwillingness to accept old age had not changed at all.

"My dear father-in-law, please go slower." Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang about to step into the snow pit, Ouyang Lun hurried forward to support him, "It snowed so fast, the road is slippery."

Turning the corner, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly stopped to see a few children playing. Ouyang Lun followed his gaze and saw the children imitating the train, and couldn't help but smile. When he saw Zhu Yuanzhang take out the sesame candy, he quickly took out a few brand new copper coins from his sleeve and handed them over.

Leaving the children, Ouyang Lun whispered, "The 'woohoo cars' these children are playing with are exactly the ones in the picture books for elementary school students published by the Ministry of Industry."

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed so hard upon hearing this that the snow on the branches fell down.

Wang Zhong hurriedly opened his oil-paper umbrella to block the snow for him, but was pushed away.

"I'm not old enough to need someone to hold an umbrella for me!"

Arriving at the test section construction site and looking at the brightly lit platform, Ouyang Lun was about to introduce the construction progress, but he saw Zhu Yuanzhang striding towards the working workers.

Zhu Yuanzhang walked alone into the falling snow.

That tall and straight figure made Ouyang Lun vaguely see the demeanor of the emperor who led the army to war in person.

“Some people are different from others even when they are old.”

He sighed softly and hurried to catch up. Two lines of footprints on the snow, one deep and one shallow, gradually disappeared in the dim lights.

"Father-in-law," Ouyang Lun reminded softly, "The test section of Beijing Station is ahead."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked up——

Hundreds of lanterns lit up the platform as bright as day, and the rails glowed blue on the snow. Farther away, a team of workers were laying sleepers overnight, and the sound of horns pierced the night sky:
"Hey yo! Try harder! Hey yo! The iron dragon is going to fly to the sky!"

The old emperor suddenly grabbed Ouyang Lun's wrist and said, "Boy, do you know why I am happy?" Without waiting for an answer, he said, "When I conquered the world, it was to give the people hope for a better life." His rough fingers slid across the snow, "Now they believe in your promises more than they believe in the Buddha in the temple!"

"Please forgive me for making fun of you, father-in-law. It's just luck." Ouyang Lun smiled and waved his hands.

"Luck? I don't believe you!" Zhu Yuanzhang rolled his eyes at Ouyang Lun and continued to inspect the Beijing Railway Station.

The snowflakes hit his face like fine needles. Ouyang Lun shrank his neck and pulled up the fox fur collar. He really couldn't understand where this father-in-law in his sixties got the energy to come to see the train station in the middle of the night in the heavy snow.

"Father-in-law, the waiting room of Beijing Station is in front of us. Do you want to go in and sit down?" Ouyang Lun pointed to the brightly lit place in the distance, his voice a little vague in the wind and snow.

Zhu Yuanzhang turned a deaf ear to him and walked forward at a brisk pace. His boots made a creaking sound on the snow, and the hem of his mink coat rustled in the wind. Ouyang Lun had to speed up to keep up.

After turning the last corner, the entire train station construction site suddenly appeared before our eyes.

Ouyang Lun heard a slight gasp beside him. He looked over and saw Zhu Yuanzhang's pupils dilated slightly and his lips parted unconsciously. Hundreds of lanterns on the platform reflected the falling snowflakes into gold, and the two rails stretched into the distance like a giant dragon. Further away, hundreds of workers were working overnight, with shouts coming one after another.

"This..." Zhu Yuanzhang's voice trembled a little, "Is this the railway you mentioned?"

Ouyang Lun nodded and said, "My dear father-in-law, this is the starting point of the Beijing-Peking Railway. According to the plan, it will be open to traffic in March or April next year, and it will only take one day to get from Beijing to Beiping."

Zhu Yuanzhang said nothing and walked straight to the platform. Ouyang Lun hurriedly followed him and signaled the accompanying guards to keep their distance. The old emperor walked to the railroad tracks, squatted down, and actually reached out to touch the cold railroad tracks.

"Father-in-law, be careful not to catch a cold!" Ouyang Lun quickly handed over the hand warmer.

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and grabbed a handful of snow to wipe the rails, revealing the dark metallic luster underneath. "This iron is better than the swords we used in the war." He looked up at Ouyang Lun, "Is it all made in your steel plant?"

"Yes." Ouyang Lun nodded, "It uses new smelting technology, and its strength and toughness far exceed those of traditional iron."

Zhu Yuanzhang stood up and suddenly stumbled. Ouyang Lun quickly supported him and said, "Father-in-law, be careful!"

"It's okay!" Zhu Yuanzhang shook off his hand, "It's just that my legs are numb from squatting for too long." He pointed to the workers who were laying sleepers in the distance, "Let's go over and take a look."

Ouyang Lun smiled bitterly to himself.

How come Old Zhu has more energy than many young people? He had no choice but to hurry up and keep up.

When the workers saw the elegantly dressed visitor, they stopped their work and saluted. Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said, "Keep working, don't worry about us."

A foreman recognized Ouyang Lun and ran over to him: "Are you the Prince Consort? Why are you here at this hour?"

Just as Ouyang Lun was about to speak, Zhu Yuanzhang spoke first: "I heard that you were working day and night, so I came to take a look." He pointed to a section of track being laid and asked, "Why are the sleepers arranged so densely?"

The foreman looked at Ouyang Lun hesitantly, and when he saw the latter nod, he replied, "In reply to the master, according to the design of the prince consort, the distance between each two sleepers is two and a half feet, so that the train can run stably."

"Yes," Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, "Have you ever seen a train running on rails?"

"Of course!" The foreman showed a proud look on his face. "I saw the prototype during the training last month. The front of the locomotive alone is more than 20 feet long. It can pull 50 carriages and run faster than the fastest horse!"

Zhu Yuanzhang listened attentively and suddenly asked, "You are still working so late, aren't you tired?"

The foreman smiled naively and said, "My lord, the prince consort paid us three times the wages and provided us with hot meals. Besides," he lowered his voice, "I heard that after the railway is repaired, ordinary people like us will be able to take the train to visit relatives. This is a great thing that has never happened before!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded thoughtfully, and suddenly turned to Ouyang Lun and said, "Take me to see the locomotive."

Ouyang Lun was stunned: "Now?"

"What?" Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes, "Have your treasures not been delivered yet?"

"That's not the case." Ouyang Lun was extremely helpless, "It's just that it's too late now, and the workers are still debugging the train. I'm afraid..."

"It's okay!" Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand. "What kind of dangers have we not seen in the war? Let's go!"

Ouyang Lun knew he couldn't persuade him, so he had to take Zhu Yuanzhang to the locomotive shed on the other side of the platform. Along the way, Zhu Yuanzhang looked around like a curious child, pointing at various equipment and asking about their uses. Ouyang Lun answered them one by one, but he was quite nervous in his heart - that locomotive was no joke, what if something happened to his father-in-law.
In the engine shed, a brand new steam locomotive was quietly parked. A dozen craftsmen were busy around it. When they saw Ouyang Lun and others coming in, they all saluted.

"How's the debugging going?" Ouyang Lun asked.

The leading craftsman replied: "Your Highness, the boiler pressure test has been completed and we will test it tomorrow morning."

Zhu Yuanzhang could not wait to walk to the front of the locomotive and touch the shiny metal shell. "Can this piece of iron really run?"

Although Zhu Yuanzhang had seen trains before and had a lot of models in his hands, he still couldn't help but feel a little skeptical when he saw the real thing.

The craftsmen looked at each other, not knowing how to answer this extraordinary old man. Ouyang Lun stepped forward and said, "Father-in-law, this is a steam locomotive. It burns coal to heat the boiler to generate steam, which pushes the piston to drive the wheels."

Zhu Yuanzhang was confused but very interested: "Can we go up and take a look?"

Just as Ouyang Lun was about to dissuade him, Zhu Yuanzhang had already grabbed the handrail and was about to climb up. The 65-year-old emperor was surprisingly agile and climbed up to the cab in a few steps. Ouyang Lun had no choice but to follow him.

The space in the cab was small, and the various instruments and valves dazzled Zhu Yuanzhang. "What are these used for?" he asked, pointing to a copper pressure gauge.

"This is the boiler pressure gauge, which shows the steam pressure." Ouyang Lun explained patiently, "When the pointer reaches this position, it means that the train can start."

Zhu Yuanzhang was like a child who got a new toy, touching it here and there. Suddenly, his hand pressed on a red handle.

"Father-in-law, don't touch that!" Ouyang Lun exclaimed.

But it was too late. With a "hiss" sound, the locomotive shook violently and began to move slowly!

"What's going on?!" Zhu Yuanzhang staggered and almost fell.

Ouyang Lun was quick to grab Zhu Yuanzhang with one hand and the railing of the cab with the other, and stopped the train skillfully.

"Interesting!" Zhu Yuanzhang laughed, "So this is how a train runs!"

"Father-in-law, it is very dangerous for you to do this! If something really happens to you, how can I explain it to His Majesty the Emperor and Princess Anqing?"

Ouyang Lun said very seriously.

Forehead.
Zhu Yuanzhang was also stunned when he saw Ouyang Lun's serious expression. It was the first time he saw Ouyang Lun so serious.

"Haha! This is our fault!"

"Don't be angry, my dear son-in-law. I am happy! I am excited when I think that I will soon ride on this iron dragon to destroy the Northern Yuan Dynasty!" Zhu Yuanzhang continued: "Come on, I will ask you to wash your feet!" (End of this chapter)