My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 268: The Mental Journey of a Ming Intellectual
After Li Min and others left, Zhu Yuanzhang was about to write back to Li Han when he suddenly remembered that he had to build him two models of the Long Yu Tian Ji Furnace.

I might as well wait until the model is ready and then write back to him.

Li Min had not walked far, so he hurriedly called the guard and asked him to catch up with Li Min and convey the order to build two more Dragon Yu Tianji Furnaces.

And the two names Xu Nian and Li Momo must be engraved respectively.

After receiving the order, Li Min understood and told the guards that he understood. He was not unfamiliar with the names Xu Nian and Li Momo. When he made the golden spear last time, His Majesty also asked for these two names to be engraved on it.

It seems that there must be a very close relationship between these two people and the strange man, so the craftsmen in the Industry Department have to work hard to create it.

After all, if the extraordinary person is happy, the Ming Dynasty will be good. If the Ming Dynasty is good, His Majesty will be happy. If His Majesty is happy, all the civil and military officials in the court will also be able to enjoy some blessings.

I think over the past year or so, His Majesty's temperament seems to have changed a lot. In the past, although His Majesty was not violent, he was extremely strict with his ministers.

Not to mention the pitifully meager salary or the extremely harsh punishment of skinning and beheading, just one Jinyiwei was enough to terrify the entire court and even the common people. The Hu Weiyong case alone led to the execution of nearly 100,000 people, making everyone in the court, both civil and military officials, feel insecure.

But since His Majesty met the extraordinary man, all this began to change, and the entire court was also moving towards a new atmosphere. Except for Zhao Mao and Hong Wenchang, who were idiots waiting to die, His Majesty became much more tolerant and kinder towards ministers. When he was happy, he would even reward them with some new gadgets sent by the extraordinary man.

Thinking of this, Li Min touched the glasses in his sleeve. This pair of glasses could be said to be the best reward he had ever received.

By the way, there are also those fine wines, which are truly wines that only exist in heaven and can rarely be tasted in the world!
His Majesty rewarded me with two bottles. After I drank half of the bottle, I couldn't bear to drink it anymore and kept it as a treasure.

Although corruption and bribery still exist in the court and among officials of the entire Ming Dynasty, it is much better than before.

After all, the Ming Dynasty's fiscal revenue was high, and the ministers' salaries also rose accordingly. As long as they were willing to work hard, they would definitely receive rewards from His Majesty. Not many people would be willing to be skinned and beheaded just to make a few hundred taels of dirty money.

Today, although the Jinyiwei also has the responsibility of supervising civil and military officials, its main task has gradually shifted to collecting domestic and foreign intelligence, which has also brought about two changes.

One is that the pressure on the ministers is really much less than before. At least when they are at home, they don’t have to wait anxiously for the emperor to ask them the next day who they played mahjong with last night.

The second thing that no one expected was that the reputation of the Jinyiwei actually began to improve. Even Mao Xiang himself felt a little unbelievable.

However, Xu Da hit the nail on the head. It's like your neighbor is a strong man who keeps a close eye on you every day, waiting for you to accidentally provoke him and then finding an excuse to bully you. Now the strong man has his eyes on outside the village and has less time to pay attention to you, so you'd better hurry up and thank God.

All these changes were brought to the Ming Dynasty by this extraordinary person. Thinking that there was an extraordinary person pointing out the direction for the Ming Dynasty, it is really exciting to see how it will develop in the future!

Thinking of this, Li Min decided that the first thing to do later was to select the best craftsmen to build the Dragon Controlling Tianji Furnace for the strange man.

At this time, Yang Siyi came over mysteriously and asked in a low voice: "Brother Zhiyuan, who are Xu Nian and Li Momo? I have never heard of them.

"He who could have His Majesty personally order the construction of the Dragon Controlling Heavenly Secret Furnace must be someone extraordinary, right?"

Wei Zuoqian also looked at Li Min with curiosity. He was curious when the guards caught up with him and issued an order just now, but he couldn't speak because of his status as a subordinate.

Li Min smiled mysteriously and said in a pretentious manner, "You really want to know?" Yang Siyi and Wei Zuoqian nodded in unison. However, to their surprise, Li Min rolled his eyes at them and said, "If you want to know, go ask His Majesty yourself!"

Yang Siyi almost choked out his breath. You are so good, Li Zhiyuan. We have been officials in the same court for so many years, but I didn’t know you had such a bad side!

"Brother Zhiyuan, if you don't want to talk, just don't talk. Why do you have to arrest people like this? It's really disgraceful!"

"Hahahaha!" Li Min didn't explain much. He just laughed out loud and walked away in the confused gazes of the two people.

But this cannot be blamed on Li Min. Although he has guessed the identities of Xu Nian and Li Momo, this is His Majesty's private matter after all. Moreover, it involves a strange person, so it is better not to publicize it.

However, Li Min still felt secretly happy because she thought she had mastered a secret that none of you knew.

But there was one thing he couldn't figure out from beginning to end. This strange man never showed up from beginning to end. How was he connected with His Majesty? How did those magical objects get delivered?

Alas, think less and ask less. Sometimes excessive curiosity can hurt yourself!

He did not rush home, but went to the Department of Industry, selected a number of the most elite craftsmen, and then conveyed Zhu Yuanzhang's order.

When he attended court the next day, Zhu Yuanzhang announced publicly that the construction of trains and railways would begin. However, when everyone in the court heard the news, they were all stunned.

What is a railway? What is a train? A picture flashed in their minds at the same time. It was a picture of vehicles speeding along the steel roads with flames on them. The steel was glowing with flames.

Tsk tsk, just thinking about this scene is enough to send people to hell.

Xu Da was even more excited and said something shocking, asking if the train could be a chariot that could launch flaming bombs. This made Zhu Yuanzhang very happy.

Since watching the video, Xu Tiande has been thinking about the tanks that can fire cannons. Asking this question probably means he has his old habit again.

After Li Min explained to the officials, everyone suddenly realized what was going on and looked surprised. Although many people doubted whether the train could really be built, no one dared to question Zhu Yuanzhang's intention.

A number of nobles and generals were extremely in agreement. Once the railway was built, it would mean that the speed of transporting troops in the future would be more than ten times faster than walking now!
As for using prisoners to build railways, everyone was surprisingly unanimous in their opinions. The prisoners captured from the desert last year should now be working hard in various mines.

Then, Zhu Yuanzhang tentatively proposed to establish technical schools in various places. However, as soon as he finished speaking, he was strongly opposed by the civil officials.

Many civil officials were heartbroken and denounced Your Majesty for destroying the foundation of China, which gave Zhu Yuanzhang a headache.

Li Min watched all this coldly. This group of guys were already like this just because of the proposal to build a new technical school. If they knew that Your Majesty actually wanted to add science to children's enlightenment education and academies in various places, these guys would probably kill themselves in the court to show their determination.

It seems that the Imperial Academy built by craftsmen in the capital is the limit of what these guys can accept. At this time, Li Min actually hopes that the Jinyiwei can be the same as before, or even more ruthless. These guys are really a stumbling block to the progress of the Ming Dynasty!

There was no choice but to abandon the proposal to build a new official school. Li Min devoted all his attention to trains and railways, and the Ministry of Industry began to study the manufacture of locomotives and railways in full swing.

(End of this chapter)