Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 50 If you fall behind, you will be beaten!

Seeing the cylindrical object in front of him, Zhu Yuanzhang's pupils shrank slightly. If he smelled it correctly, there was clearly the smell of gunpowder in the air, and judging from the shape, it was most likely a cannon!
Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyelids and did not dare to take it lightly. He knew the power of artillery, and nowadays artillery was very likely to explode.

He quickly pulled Zhu Biao back.

Don't dare to get too forward.

Moreover, he could never figure out Xia Zhibai's thoughts, and he didn't dare to gamble.

I can’t afford to gamble either.

The guards around them also moved closer to Zhu Yuanzhang and his son, protecting them in the middle, but Zhu Yuanzhang was not too panicked.

Because this cannon is facing the sky.

Noisy!
Xia Zhibai lit a fuse, and a flash of fire appeared in the night, then flew rapidly towards the middle of the cylinder and finally sank into it.

boom!
Following a deafening roar, a yellow rainbow shot straight into the sky and eventually exploded into brilliant colors in the sky.

See this.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt relieved.

Just fireworks.

However, the fireworks set off by Xia Zhibai were brighter and more colorful than any he had ever seen before, and they looked even more frightening.

The rumbling sound continued for a while.

The whole sky turned into a gorgeous color under the embellishment of fireworks.

Gorgeous.

It makes people feel relaxed and happy.

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "Your fireworks look intimidating, but if they are slightly modified, they will be as powerful as cannons. They are even as powerful as the cannons of the Ming Dynasty."

Xia Zhibai looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "This is the cannon!"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned.

He glanced at the fireworks that were going off in succession, a solemn look in his eyes.

Xia Zhibai said: "This is a firework, but it is also a cannon."

"Fireworks in times of prosperity, cannons in times of chaos!"

"Your Majesty, what do you think of the power of this cannon I brought out?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes narrowed slightly, and he observed it carefully, and said in a deep voice: "It doesn't look as good as the existing firearms of the Ming Dynasty, but it seems to be easier to carry and can fire quickly and continuously."

"It's just that the exact number of casualties is unknown."

“But it’s good.”

Zhu Yuanzhang gave a fair evaluation, but was just curious about how Xia Zhibai made it? Gunpowder and other things were banned.

How did Xia Zhibai get it?
Or are there people in the local area who dare to defy their ban and manufacture and sell them privately?
Thinking of this, a hint of murderous intent flashed in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes. The more he understood the power of firearms, the more he could not tolerate these powerful weapons falling into the hands of local people.

Xia Zhibai saw Zhu Yuanzhang's anger and murderous intent, and continued: "What if this cannon can be more powerful, fiercer, and more accurate in the future?"

"May I ask your Majesty whether this cannon can blow open the gate of Yingtian Prefecture or the imperial palace of the Ming Dynasty?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's face darkened, his expression extremely gloomy, and he asked coldly: "What do you mean?"

"You want to rebel?!"

Xia Zhibai stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the bright fireworks still flashing in the sky, and said indifferently: "Your Majesty, do you only see the threat to the Zhu family's world?"

"But in my eyes, I saw the iron and blood on this land, the loss of the country, the destruction of families, and the erosion of China's territory."

"Everything in the world from now on can only be accomplished with iron and blood."

“Truth lies only within the range of a cannon.”

"Only the area covered by firearms is the territory of the Ming Dynasty. The areas not covered by firearms will be gradually lost by China."

"When the Gentiles relied on the production of 1,000 kilograms of grain per mu to increase their population, they used 'boiling water' to manufacture tools and liberate the people."

"Gradually free the people from the heavy farm work, and start to seek greater ambitions, and create more lethal and threatening firearms." "By then, the prototypes I showed Your Majesty today will become shells that bombard the Ming Dynasty."

"If you fall behind, you will be beaten."

"The Song Dynasty has told the world this time and again through its hundreds of years of history."

"If we don't strengthen ourselves, the land and compensation paid by the Song Dynasty will one day fall on this land again."

"And the decision you make now to hold on will become a sharp blade that falls on the heads of your descendants of the Zhu family and a rope that will hang them in the future."

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes were icy cold.

Xia Zhibai retracted his gaze and looked at the magnificent palace around him, and said calmly: "Your Majesty is so happy when he kills people."

"But when the butcher's knife falls on the heads of your descendants of the Zhu family, and on the heads of the people of this land, how will you feel? Do you really want to go over and protect them? And how will you protect them?"

"How long can your ideal of a lasting kingdom resist these iron horses and firearms? How long can the subjects you are trying to tame struggle?"

"Dignity lies only on the edge of the sword, and truth only exists within the range of the cannon."

“Governing the world is like sailing against the current. If you don’t move forward, you will move backward.”

“It’s just that when you regress, other places may not regress with you.”

"When the Mongolian army marched westward, the things you strictly prohibited from flowing out had already flowed out, and the outside world had already known about it."

"After experiencing the tragic experience of the Mongol invasion, many people will take it as a warning and start to work hard to become stronger."

"So that it won't happen again in the future."

"The Ming Dynasty is very strong now."

"But not enough."

"It's even more impossible to defend the country."

"And your majesty, have you ever thought about one thing over the years? How did the Ming Dynasty compare to the Han and Tang dynasties?"

"The Qin and Han dynasties were once powerful, and were surpassed by the Sui and Tang dynasties. Now that the Ming dynasty has been established and is working hard to govern, the world should have made further progress under the long-term development of the Tang dynasty."

"May I ask your Majesty, do the current Ming Dynasty and your Majesty really have the confidence and determination to surpass the Han and Tang Dynasties?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent.

Catch up with the Han and Tang dynasties, and even surpass them.

He thought about it, but felt that it was not necessary. It was enough to keep the current world. Anything more would just be a waste of money and manpower and would be a waste of time and effort.

Just to gain some false reputation.

doesn't make sense.

"We don't have high demands on our descendants. It is enough for us to protect the land left by our ancestors. As for expanding the territory, we have never thought about it," said Zhu Yuanzhang.

Xia Zhibai nodded and said, "I roughly understand your majesty's thoughts. The country has just been stabilized and there are many things to be done. It is indeed time to recuperate and rest for the people."

"But you shouldn't be so stubborn and overbearing as to make it a fixed thing. There are some things you can do, but you can never say them out loud."

"It is even more unacceptable to arbitrarily make it the law of our ancestors."

"That's giving someone a handle."

"Military and national affairs cannot be consulted with outsiders."

"What about national affairs?"

"And your majesty, your long-term understanding and view of the world is too simple."

“It could even be called childish.”

"In Chinese history, there have been the Beginning of Xia, the Fierce Shang, the Rites of Zhou, the Hegemonic Qin, the Powerful Han, the Scholarly Jin, the Mighty Sui, the Flourishing Tang, the Literary Song, and the Barbarian Yuan."

"I wonder what name your majesty wants to give to the Ming Dynasty."

(End of this chapter)