Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 258 Cooperation Between Ancient and Modern Times
The imperial court ceremony in the eighth year of the Yongle reign was held as scheduled.

The following morning, Emperor Zhu and Empress Ma appeared in the square outside the Qianqing Palace, dressed in magnificent imperial robes.

Zhu Di, along with his civil and military officials, greeted him outside Yuehua Gate as before.

By this time, the number of veteran officials from the Hongwu era had dwindled, with many having either died or retired.

However, many young officials were still around at the end of the Hongwu reign, and many of them had grown into pillars of the court and had seen Zhu Yuanzhang in his later years.

When Zhu Yuanzhang appeared in the twentieth year of the Hongwu reign, as he grew older, he increasingly resembled the image of Zhu Yuanzhang in people's minds.

For a time, the officials' awe and fear of Zhu Yuanzhang reached their peak at this time of year.

Fortunately, Old Zhu only appears once a year.

If they were here every day, judging from the number of officials Zhu Yuanzhang killed in the later years of the Hongwu reign, many of them would probably have to prepare their coffins at home at all times before attending court.

after all.

This was normal during the Hongwu era.

After the court assembly, Zhu Di summoned some important officials for a chat, and in the evening he had dinner with Zhu Di's family and discussed some matters.

For Zhu Di, now that his throne was secure and he no longer needed to worry about political power, the next step was naturally to make the country strong and build an even more powerful Yongle Dynasty.

Since Zhu Yunfeng went home for the New Year after the court meeting, no one knows what they talked about.

But after returning, Zhu Yunfeng sent some machines to Zhu Di, and they talked about the Industrial Revolution and future technological innovation.

At the beginning of the new year, Zhu Yunfeng spent Lunar New Year's Eve in Hongwu Court, and on the first day of the Lunar New Year, he took a helicopter to Changsha.

My parents now live in Changsha, and they try to avoid going back to their hometown as much as possible.

Now that the villagers are wealthy, Zhu Yunfeng's family will naturally bring prosperity to the Zhu family clan in Zhujiaping as well.

But the human heart is a chasm that can never be filled.

After helping them go from poverty to wealth, with every family living in luxury homes and having hundreds of thousands or millions in savings, they still wanted more.

Therefore, many times, people try to avoid certain things, and being busy is often the most important excuse.

It's fortunate that Zhu Yunfeng himself is elusive; otherwise, during the Spring Festival, the villagers who would come to him for help would probably have kicked down the threshold.

Even if they don't come to him for help, countless people still ask him to introduce them to girls on blind dates.

After arriving in Changsha, I had a few days of leisure.

On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Zhu Yunfeng returned to Shangfeng Mountain. It was foggy in the mountain, so the helicopter could not go up. He drove up the mountain from the helipad at the company headquarters in Lansha Town at the foot of the mountain.

When he returned to the villa, he saw that Xiao Zhudi was playing games at home, with Pipi squatting next to him. When Pipi saw him come back, it excitedly went up and wagged its tail.

"What are you doing?"

Zhu Yunfeng patted Pipi, then walked over to Zhu Di, plopped down in the computer sofa chair next to him, and looked at Zhu Di's computer screen.

Zhu Di is playing a large-scale AAA game. The protagonist is a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. In the early stages, he investigates cases and assassinates. In the middle and later stages, he discovers that there is a mole in the court colluding with the Mongols. He is then ordered by his superior to go to the border to carry out an assassination. In the end, he discovers that his superior is the mastermind behind the scenes and the story is about protecting the emperor.

"Playing video games."

"Being a member of the Imperial Guard in a game? You can play around with it in real life no matter which Ming Dynasty you go back to."

"You're crazy. There aren't that many conspiracies in real life. This game is ridiculous too. The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard actually colluded with the Mongols to rebel? How many generations of his family would be enough for him?"

As Zhu Di skillfully manipulated the protagonist to leap over walls and roofs with ease, he spoke lazily.

"Games are fictional, just enjoy them. There's no such thing as martial arts in real life."

Zhu Yunfeng turned on the machine.

"That's true, but what about the kagune?"

“I just called him. He’s still at his grandparents’ house. He’ll come over tomorrow.”

"Oh, by the way, my dad said he talked to my older brother for a long time and felt that your suggestion was indeed worth considering. We can start by getting in touch with you and see how it goes."

Zhu Di stared intently at the screen and said, "However, Father hopes that someone will come to Hongwu's side to talk first."

"No, that won't do."

Zhu Yunfeng nodded in understanding.

Zhu Di added, "There's also the matter of the Southern Ming. Father also plans to visit the rest of the world, but only after we've finished discussing cooperation."

"no problem."

"Also, your mother wants you to go to the imperial concubine selection after the New Year. She's holding a large-scale talent show in the countryside, and all the girls will be between 16 and 18 years old."

"Stop, stop, stop! This is going to get us called beasts, isn't it?"

"So what do you want to do? We both got married at 16. In the common folk, it's rare to be unmarried by the age of 18."

"."

Zhu Yunfeng suddenly realized a problem.

That is, he has earned enough in recent years and has the power he deserves. It's time for him to be promoted and hand over the Ming Dynasty to the country.

The ideal scenario for cooperation between the state and the Ming Dynasty would naturally be for both sides to engage in comprehensive construction activities.

Given the nation's capabilities, it would not be difficult to secretly summon a large number of talented individuals to the Ming Dynasty to fill the gap in the Ming's lack of technical talent, and to enable the Ming Dynasty to complete a new transformation within just ten years.

This requires sending a large number of people.

It is foreseeable that a brand new world will require at least several hundred thousand people to be sent.

With so many people going, all of them being modern people, they'll definitely bring their phones and such. Even without internet access, it wouldn't be difficult for them to set up an intranet.
Imagine if he had a massive talent show, with so many people watching and filming it live on their phones, everyone marveling at the fact that Zhu Yunfeng actually married a 16-year-old girl—it would be a massive social disaster!

"Can you not go?"

Zhu Yunfeng slapped his forehead. He was 32 years old. Did he have to marry a 16-year-old?

Does this sound like a word?

But thinking about Dong Ge, it seems reasonable.

"You'd better consider the consequences of my mother getting angry."

Zhu Di pursed his lips.

"Ok."

Zhu Yunfeng had no choice but to agree.

He then called Zou Ting, whom he had previously instructed to contact his superiors.

Zou Ting quickly responded that she had already made contact, and with the highest level, which undoubtedly showed that Yunfeng Group had established a channel for communication with the upper echelons.

He told Zou Ting that he would have someone from higher up come to Lansha Town under the pretext of inspecting the headquarters of Yunfeng Group.

Although she didn't know what Zhu Yunfeng was planning, seeing his mysterious demeanor, Zou Ting didn't press him for details. She simply said that the matter would be settled by tomorrow, but if it wasn't a very important matter, she wondered if she could invite only provincial leaders.

Zhu Yunfeng thought about it and decided that it would be better for the province to communicate with the higher authorities about this matter. So he agreed to have the province come over first, and then report to the higher authorities after confirming the authenticity of the matter.

The next day soon came.

A special car from the province came to Lansha Town from Changsha.

Transportation is convenient now; the journey from Lansha Town to the provincial capital takes only two hours via the expressway.

Zhu Yunfeng personally went to the highway entrance to greet him.

This trip was kept low-key, with few accompanying personnel and no large entourage of dozens of police cars clearing the way; it was just an ordinary meeting.

Even Zhu Yunfeng's own Phantom Skywalker worth over 20 million yuan wasn't brought out; instead, he drove a brand-new Yangwang U16. When they reached the highway exit, the car stopped, and Zou Ting and two easygoing middle-aged people got out. Although they were called middle-aged, one of them looked to be over fifty, with slightly graying temples.

Zhu Yunfeng had seen him at an entrepreneurs' conference two years ago. He was the highest-ranking leader in the province and had spoken a few words with him. Zhu Yunfeng then stepped forward to shake hands and said, "Hello, leader."

"Hello."

The leader smiled and said, "It's been a long time, Mr. Zhu. You're such a busy person; we rarely get to see you."

"Wherever there is."

Zhu Yunfeng chuckled awkwardly, then said, "Inviting the leaders here this time is for a very important matter."

"Okay, let's have a good talk. I've also been wanting to find an opportunity to discuss some development issues in the province with you."

The leader smiled and said, "I know that Mr. Zhu cares deeply about his hometown. The welfare of the company's workers is among the best in the country. He has also donated more than 5 billion yuan to the province and made great contributions to the construction. I shouldn't ask you for help anymore, but there are many times when I have no choice."

"That's easy to say."

Zhu Yunfeng patted his chest and said, "Entrepreneurs must have this sense of social responsibility; otherwise, what kind of entrepreneur are they? They're just capitalists."

"Hahahahahaha."

The leader laughed heartily, showing great affability.

Zhu Yunfeng then pointed to his driveway: "Boss, let's talk in the car. Um, your secretary..."

"Well"

The leader glanced at the secretary. The secretary's responsibilities were not only to help the leader handle matters, but also to take notes. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Xiao Bai, you and Xiao Li stay in the car."

"Ok."

Secretary Bai returned to the car.

Zhu Yunfeng said to Zou Ting, "You should go too."

Zou Ting rolled her eyes at him, thinking he was being really mysterious, but she still went back to the car she had come from.

Zhu Yunfeng and his superiors then got into the car and sat in the back.

Zhu Di was driving in front.

He had already obtained his driver's license, and he had several sports cars parked in the parking garage of Zhu Yunfeng's estate.

After getting in the car, he started the engine and headed towards the town.

Zhu Yunfeng then apologized to his superior, saying, "Sir, this matter is indeed very important, which is why I spoke to you privately. Please don't mind."

"It's okay, just say it."

The leader smiled.

"It's like this, my family has a stone tablet passed down from our ancestors, and that stone tablet has the ability to travel through space."

On the way, Zhu Yunfeng briefly explained how Old Zhu had come.

After initially showing a slightly surprised expression, the leader quickly regained his composure and patiently listened to Zhu Yunfeng's words.

Finally, he looked at Zhu Di, who was driving in front, and said, "So, you are the Yongle Emperor?"

"Hello."

Zhu Di, with his bronze skin, turned around and grinned, revealing his white teeth.

"Hello."

The leader nodded.

In just a short while, they had already gone up the mountain and were almost at Zhujiaping.

The manor remained quiet at that moment.

In winter, Shangfeng Mountain is often shrouded in thick fog, and sometimes it even snows heavily, covering the entire mountain.

It was early in the year, the snow had already melted, and occasionally one could see some white ice layers in the distant mountains and forests, where thick fog had risen.

Upon entering the manor, we arrived at the outside of Zhu Yunfeng's cellar and drove straight in.

The leader called the driver and asked them to wait outside. Then he got out of the car with Zhu Yunfeng and went to the stone tablet.

"Seeing is believing. This is the stone tablet in my house. The first one is from the Hongwu reign, the second is from the Jianwen reign, but Zhu Di succeeded in his rebellion. The third is from the Yongle reign."

Zhu Yunfeng explained, "When we first discovered this, my ancestors didn't want me to hand it over to the country. Now I feel the time is right, and I've been hoping to make this happen. After all, this involves many worlds, and it would be great if the country could develop them."

"Ah."

The leader nodded solemnly and said, "Mr. Zhu, you've put a lot of thought into this matter. If it's confirmed to be true, I will report the situation to my superiors truthfully."

"Fourth."

Zhu Yunfeng gave Zhu Di a wink.

Zhu Di then reached out and touched the sphere.

"Whoosh!"

In that instant, space seemed to distort, and to the leader's horrified gaze, Zhu Di seemed to be disintegrated and vanished from the spot.

Zhu Yunfeng said, "I've studied this for a long time, and apart from this spatial teleportation, there are no other supernatural forces. So I don't think it's something like divine magic; it might be something like quantum spatial teleportation?"

"Hmm, this is very valuable for research. If it is handed over to scientists, it could very well raise our country's scientific and technological capabilities to a new level."

The leader keenly noticed the importance of the stone tablet.

Unlike Zhu Yunfeng's focus on cooperation between ancient and modern times, now that they have personally witnessed that the stone tablet can indeed transmit information, it means that it does contain something that current science cannot explain.

Leaving aside supernatural phenomena like magic and magic, modern science is already exploring the quantum realm and dimensional space. However, scientists can often only speculate on their existence based on theoretical models, without being able to prove it.

If the study of the stone tablets could now prove the realization of technologies such as space teleportation, space jump, and space folding—technologies that only exist in science fiction—then it would bring about an unimaginable leap forward in the country's technological development.

This is more valuable than cooperating with any number of worlds.

This means that humanity can finally leave Earth and travel to other planets beyond the Moon to truly explore the universe.

Compared to Earth.

The universe is so vast, and the earth is so tiny.

If humanity truly reaches this day, then all planetary resources, wars, civilizations, and economies will become insignificant matters.

The starry sky is humanity's future.

"Yes, I've thought so too, but unfortunately I haven't found out how it teleports through space. I can only guess that it might be a medium, and there might be a spatial node here."

Zhu Yunfeng said.

"Well, let the scientists study these things."

The leader laughed heartily and said, "Let's go over there and take a look. I'm also very curious about Hongwu and Zhu Yuanzhang. What were the real ancient people like?"

"Then let's go."

Zhu Yunfeng smiled and reached for the sphere.

All of a sudden.

Space flows and fluctuates once again.

The two disappeared from Zhu Yunfeng's cellar and appeared in an underground palace.

(End of this chapter)