King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

Lu San listened to the ridicule from people around him, but there was no anger on his face. Instead, he showed a hint of pride.

He knew that his words had successfully attracted the attention of the people around him. Next, all he had to do was...

He turned suddenly, rushed towards the imperial edict and tore it off the wall.

"I, Lu San, will unveil this imperial decree today, join the Star Picking Laboratory, and restore the glory of my ancestors!"

He held high the imperial edict, his expression excited, as if he had already seen himself rising to prominence and becoming a famous craftsman.

The people around him were startled by his sudden action and started talking about it.

"Is this man crazy? How dare he tear up the imperial edict!"

"That's right. Don't you consider your own status? Are you qualified to enter Prince Lu's Palace?"

"I think he is tired of living, just waiting to be beheaded!"

In the crowd, several guards in armor heard the noise and immediately pushed through the crowd and walked over.

"How dare you! Who is making noise here?" the leading guard shouted sternly.

Seeing this, Lu San was not afraid. Instead, he straightened his chest, held high the imperial edict in his hand, and said loudly:
"Sir, I am Lu San, a descendant of Lu Ban. I have come here today to take the lead and join the Star Picking Laboratory to serve His Royal Highness Prince Lu!"

Upon hearing this, the guard looked him up and down and saw that he was in tattered clothes, with unkempt hair and a dirty face, looking like a beggar.

Immediately, a look of contempt appeared on his face.

"You? You still want to join the Star Picking Lab? Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself!"

The guard sneered disdainfully, "Why don't you ask what the Star Picking Laboratory is? How can an ordinary person like you enter?"

Upon hearing this, Lu San said seriously:

"You are wrong, sir. The imperial edict clearly states that anyone who is sixteen years old or above and in good health, regardless of their family background, can sign up. Although I come from a poor family, I have been learning the art of mechanical engineering passed down from my ancestors since I was young, and I am confident that I have the ability to serve His Royal Highness Prince Lu!"

"How dare you!" the guard shouted angrily, "How dare you, a beggar, contradict me? Come, arrest me!"

Several guards rushed forward and were about to capture Lu San.

"stop!"

Just then, a clear voice came from outside the crowd.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a handsome young man in gorgeous clothes and a jade crown on his head walking towards them, surrounded by a group of guards.

"Your Highness!"

When the guards saw the person coming, they immediately knelt on one knee and saluted.

Seeing this, Lu San was moved. Could this person be...

"How dare you! Kneel down immediately when you see His Royal Highness Prince Lu!"

A guard saw this and shouted sternly.

Zhu Tan looked with interest at the man in front of him who was dressed in rags but whose face could not hide the stubbornness.

He waved his hand, signaling the guards to retreat, and then asked with a smile:

"Your name is Lu San? You said you are a descendant of Lu Ban, but do you have any evidence?"

When Lu San heard this, a look of embarrassment appeared on his face.

He looked around. Those who had laughed at him were now silent, but their eyes were still full of suspicion and contempt.

Yeah, what evidence does he have?

The mechanical drawings passed down from ancestors were lost long ago as the family fell into poverty.

Now, apart from his poverty, what else can prove his identity?
"Your Highness..." Lu San opened his mouth, but didn't know how to explain.

He can't say that just because he can do some simple carpentry work, he can prove that he is a descendant of Lu Ban, right?

Zhu Tan looked at Lu San's embarrassed expression and had some guesses in his mind.

He turned to look at the guard who scolded Lu San and said calmly:

"Does it state in the imperial edict that only those from prominent families can join the Star Picking Laboratory?"

The guard was so frightened when he heard this that he immediately knelt on the ground and said tremblingly:
"Your Highness, the imperial edict only states that anyone who is sixteen years old or older and in good health, regardless of their family background, can sign up."

"In that case, why did you stop this little brother from revealing the list?"

Zhu Tan's voice remained calm, yet it carried an aura of majesty without even being angry.

"Your Highness, please forgive me. I just..."

The guard was sweating profusely, but he didn't know how to defend himself.

Zhu Tan waved his hand, signaling him to leave, then turned to look at the crowd of onlookers and said loudly:

"Today, I reiterate that the Star Picking Laboratory was established to recruit skilled craftsmen from all over the world to develop ingenious mechanisms for the benefit of the people. As long as you have real talent and knowledge, no matter your family background, you can join!"

"Today, I will take this Lu San as an example. He may not have a distinguished family background, or fancy clothes, but he has a heart that is eager to learn and to change his destiny! This is enough!"

As soon as Zhu Tan finished speaking, the crowd around him burst into exclamations.

They had never thought that His Royal Highness Prince Lu would actually say such shocking words.

You know, in this hierarchical society, one's background almost determines one's fate.

No matter how hard a beggar tries, it is difficult for him to cross the invisible gap.

"certainly,"

Zhu Tan paused, then continued:

"The Star Picking Laboratory is a place where secrets are developed. It is not an ordinary place. It is not something that can be joined overnight. Lu San, are you willing to accept the test?"

Hearing this, Lu San suddenly raised his head, his eyes flashing with excitement and gratitude.

He fell to his knees with a thud, kowtowed heavily to Zhu Tan, and said loudly:
"I am willing! Thank you, Your Highness! I will do my best and will never let Your Highness down!"

Zhu Tan smiled slightly, stretched out his hand to help Lu San up, and said, "Very good, come with me."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the laboratory. Lu San followed closely behind him, his heart full of longing and hope for the future.

The crowd automatically made way for the two and watched them leave, their eyes filled with envy and awe.

"This Lu San is really lucky!"

"Who says it's not true? I'm so grateful to be appreciated by His Royal Highness Prince Lu!"

"Oh, I wish I had his luck..."

There was a lot of talk in the crowd, and voices of envy, jealousy and hatred could be heard everywhere.

……

Zhu Tan led Lu San through a heavy iron door, and a mixture of metal, wood and grease smelled towards them.

Lu San couldn't help but take a deep breath. The smell was exactly the same as the one his father smelled when he was doing carpentry work, which made him feel very familiar.

"This is the core area of ​​the Star Picking Laboratory."

Zhu Tan's voice echoed in the empty room:

"Don't underestimate this place. The best craftsmen and the rarest materials of the Ming Dynasty are all here."

Lu San looked at everything in front of him with his eyes wide open.

Under the tall roof, there were all kinds of tools and materials, huge wooden gears piled up like mountains, precise metal parts gleaming with cold light, and all kinds of strange machines he had never seen before, which dazzled him.

Zhu Tan pointed at a huge wooden structure, looking quite proud:

"Did you see it? This is the 'wooden ox and flowing horse' we are studying. It can travel a thousand miles a day and transport food and grass."

Lu San opened his mouth in surprise. This is the legendary artifact!
He couldn't help but reach out to touch her, but was stopped by Zhu Tan.

"Don't worry, this is just a semi-finished product and it hasn't been debugged yet."

Zhu Tan explained with a smile, "When you officially join the laboratory in the future, you will have plenty of opportunities to study it."

Next, Zhu Tan took Lu San to visit other areas and introduced him to various projects under development.

For example, there are the "wooden kite" that can fly into the sky, the "dragon" that can dive into the water, and the powerful "firearms".

Lu San was fascinated by what he heard. He had never thought that there were such magical things in the world.

He originally thought that he only knew some simple carpentry work and had nothing to do with these advanced knowledge.

But now, a raging fire was burning in his heart. He was eager to learn and to become someone like these craftsmen who could create magical objects that could change the world!
After the tour, Zhu Tan took Lu San to a workbench and handed him a blueprint and a box of tools.

"This is your assessment today," Zhu Tan said, pointing at the blueprint, "Use these materials to make this part within the time of an incense stick."

Lu San took the blueprint and studied it carefully. This was a simple looking part, made up of several wooden structures of different sizes and metal buckles.

But after careful observation, Lu San discovered that the connections between these structures were very precise and required very precise operations to complete.

"How about it, are you confident?" Zhu Tan asked, with a barely perceptible smile in his eyes.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I will do my best!"

Lu San took a deep breath, picked up the tools, and began to polish the wood carefully.

As time passed, beads of sweat appeared on Lu San's forehead.

He carefully cuts, polishes and splices, striving for perfection in every step.

However, when he finished assembling the last part, the incense stick time was up.

"Time's up!" Zhu Tan's voice rang out.

Lu San raised his head nervously, and saw Zhu Tan picking up the parts he had made, looking at them carefully, with his brows slightly furrowed.

"Your Highness, I..." Lu San felt uneasy. Did he fail?
Zhu Tan didn't say anything. He put the part on the table, picked up another part next to it, and compared the two.

Lu San's heart suddenly sank to the bottom.

Because he discovered that there were slight differences in details between the parts he made and the one in Zhu Tan's hand.

Zhu Tan picked up Lu San's work, sighed softly, and handed it back to Lu San.

"You did well," Zhu Tan's voice sounded a little low, "I can see that you are very talented and have a steady hand."

Lu San was about to feel relieved, but was lifted up again by Zhu Tan's next words.

"But," Zhu Tan paused, pointing to an almost invisible detail on the part, "Look here, isn't the curvature of this buckle a little off?"

Lu San quickly took the part and examined it carefully. He was too nervous before and didn't notice this detail at all.

"This, this." Lu San's face suddenly turned red, and he stammered and couldn't speak.

Zhu Tan patted his shoulder and motioned him to relax.

"I know you've tried your best, but this is how the job works. A little error can make a big difference."

Zhu Tan pointed at the buckle and said, "Look, this buckle connects the two transmission rods. If its curvature is even slightly off, it will affect the operation of the entire 'wooden ox and flowing horse'."

Zhu Tan patiently explained to Lu San this seemingly insignificant detail and the huge impact it brought.

He analyzed the effect of the buckle arc on transmission efficiency from a mechanical perspective.

From the perspective of materials science, the requirements for processing accuracy based on the characteristics of different woods are explained.

Lu San was stunned when he heard this.

He never thought that a simple buckle could contain such profound knowledge.

He originally thought that as long as he learned the basic skills of those craftsmen, he would be able to make decent things.

But now, he finally understood that there was an insurmountable gap between himself and those true master craftsmen.

"Your Highness, I..." Lu San lowered his head in shame, "My foundation is too poor, I'm embarrassed for you."

Zhu Tan looked at the young man in front of him, with a hint of admiration in his eyes.

“It’s good that you recognize your own shortcomings.”

Zhu Tan encouraged.

"Learning is like sailing against the current. If you don't move forward, you will fall behind. You are very talented. As long as you work hard, you will achieve great success in the future."

Zhu Tan called an old craftsman with gray hair and introduced him to Lu San.

"This is Master Wang, the most experienced master in our laboratory. You will learn from him in the future."

"Master Wang, thank you for your help."

Lu San bowed respectfully to the old craftsman.

Master Wang looked Lu San up and down, nodded, and said, "Well, he is a good seedling, that is."

The old craftsman suddenly stopped, his eyes fell on Lu San's clothes covered with sawdust, and his brows frowned slightly.

"Your Highness, this..." Master Wang looked embarrassed, "I'm afraid this kid doesn't even know the rules."

Zhu Tan waved his hand and said with a smile:

"Rules are dead, but people are alive. I believe he will learn it quickly."

Zhu Tan turned to look at Lu San and said:
"How about this, you go with Master Wang to clean up first, and I'll have someone arrange a place for you to live next to the laboratory. You can live here from now on and concentrate on your studies."

Lu San was stunned. He originally thought that he was just here to take a simple test, but he didn't expect to be taken so seriously.

"Your Highness, this... this is so embarrassing." Lu San was so excited that he was incoherent. He didn't know how to express his gratitude.

Zhu Tan smiled, patted his shoulder and said, "Don't just stand there, go now."

Lu San followed Master Wang out of the room, his heart filled with gratitude and excitement.

There is actually such a good prince in the world!
……

The next day.

In the Golden Throne Hall, the solemn and dignified atmosphere of the past seemed to be replaced by an invisible heat.

All the civil and military officials stood with their heads bowed, not daring to look directly at Zhu Yuanzhang sitting on the dragon throne.

Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to be in a bad mood today. His brows were furrowed and he was holding a jade ring in his hand, rubbing it again and again.

It was a slight sound, but it made everyone in the hall feel nervous.

"My dear ministers, do you have anything else to say?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked in a deep voice, with a hint of impatience in his tone.

The ministers looked at each other, and all bowed their heads in silence. (End of this chapter)