Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 150: The Secret of Human Sacrifice, a True Super Project! [Subscription Request]

"Human sacrifice!" Liu Kuan uttered these two words quite firmly.

Human sacrifice?

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned.

Empress Ma, Zhu Biao, Zhu Ying, Li Wenzhong and others looked puzzled.

Zhu Biao said, "Father has never ordered human sacrifice. Why does my brother-in-law say this?"

Liu Kuan said, "Your Majesty and His Royal Highness, please come to the side hall and listen to me explain this matter."

After saying this, Liu Kuan bowed deeply to Old Zhu.

Zhu Yuanzhang said nothing, stood up expressionlessly, and walked towards the side hall, followed by Zhu Biao and Liu Kuan.

When they reached the side hall, Old Zhu finally revealed his displeasure and said, "Tell me, when did we die?"

Liu Kuan said, "History records that when His Majesty was terminally ill, he ordered the burial of over forty concubines and palace maids, thus officially initiating the Ming Dynasty's system of human sacrifice."

"Later generations have researched and discovered that it is very likely that when His Majesty the Prince of Qin died suddenly in history, His Majesty came up with the idea of ​​burying a human with the royal family, and thus ordered Guanyin Slave to be buried with him."

Upon hearing this, both Old Zhu and Zhu Biao fell silent for a moment.

They knew that Liu Kuan had no need to make up lies about this matter.

Speaking of which, the Hu Yuan Dynasty had a system of human sacrifice. Even before that, the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties, though all Han Chinese dynasties, never truly eliminated human sacrifice – even though the imperial court issued a decree prohibiting it, it was still practiced privately.

As for the Western Xia, Liao, Jin, and minority regimes during the Five Dynasties and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, human sacrifice was practiced even more frequently.

Therefore, although the imperial court issued an order to abolish human sacrifice since the Han Dynasty, the practice of human sacrifice has never been completely eliminated in China.

Even so, Zhu Biao still could not accept it when he heard that Zhu Yuanzhang had restored the system of human sacrifice in history.

Not to mention, the women Zhu Yuanzhang allowed to be buried alive with him were his concubines - according to folk customs, these concubines of Zhu Yuanzhang were all his elders!

That Guanyin slave can be considered as his younger brother’s sister!
Moreover, the biological mothers of some younger brothers and sisters were among them. If these concubines were to be buried alive with the emperor, wouldn’t that alienate those younger brothers and sisters from the royal family?
At the same time, Zhu Biao also understood why Liu Kuan came to the side hall to narrate this matter.

Thinking of this, Zhu Biao couldn't help but look at Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said, "I may have been a bit bloodthirsty in my later years, but I would never allow so many concubines to be buried alive just for the sake of posthumous glory."

"Are there any further records of this incident in later generations? Or any speculation?"

Seeing that Lao Zhu did not get angry, but instead calmed down and analyzed the reason, Liu Kuan felt relieved and admired him at the same time.

He said, "The records of later generations say that after Your Majesty reinstated the practice of human sacrifice for the imperial family, Zhu Di, Zhu Gaochi, and Zhu Zhanji all followed suit. The practice of human sacrifice spread throughout the Ming Dynasty, and even many nobles and wealthy people among the people followed suit. Over the decades, countless innocent people died as a result."

"Only when Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen was about to die did he issue an imperial decree abolishing the practice of human sacrifice."

"Zhu Qizhen's actions throughout his life were condemned by later generations, yet no one denies the merit of his decree. This shows that in the eyes of later generations, human sacrifice was indeed a great evil."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao asked, "I remember my brother-in-law said earlier that Zhu Zhanji's son was called Baozong. Could that be the Yingzong Zhu Qizhen?"

"Exactly."

Liu Kuan refrained from mentioning the fact that Zhu Qizhen was called "the first war god of the Ming Dynasty" and "the emperor who knocks on the door".

Because that would take too long to explain, and it's also too far off from today's topic - his goal today is to persuade Old Zhu to promise never to practice human sacrifice.

Therefore, after answering Zhu Biao's question, Liu Kuan continued: "Later generations have indeed explored the reasons why Your Majesty issued this decree."

"Some say that His Majesty is inherently cruel and power-hungry, and that he only has the Empress in his heart. Therefore, in order to demonstrate his absolute authority and to continue to enjoy the service of concubines and palace maids in the afterlife, he ordered these people to be buried alive with him."

"Some also say that His Majesty's move was primarily for political purposes—because at the time His Majesty had appointed Zhu Yunwen as the Crown Prince, he was worried that Zhu Yunwen was too young and that concubines in the harem might interfere in government affairs or secretly collude with vassal princes, causing civil unrest and destabilizing the foundation of the country. To prevent future troubles, His Majesty ordered the concubines to be buried alive with him."

After listening to Liu Kuan, Zhu Biao smiled bitterly and bowed deeply to Zhu Yuanzhang, saying with apologetic words: "After all, it was my early death that forced my father to commit human sacrifice to secure the throne of Emperor Yunwen, and bear the infamy of future generations!"

Zhu Biao's reaction surprised Liu Kuan a little.

He didn't know how much of Zhu Biao's words were sincere, but he said it, obviously to share the infamy of Zhu Biao for implementing the evil policy of human sacrifice - although not many people in this world would know about this infamy.

If Zhu Biao was not sincere, then this reaction was too quick.

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment, then his icy expression softened. He said, "Silly child, since we've done this in later history, we're not afraid of being criticized. Why do we need you to share the responsibility for it?"

Then he said to Liu Kuan, "Liu Kuan, I understand the meaning of your advice this time. Considering that you have avoided my concubines, I will not blame you."

"But next time you want to talk about something that could have a negative impact on future generations, you'd better avoid others in advance. Talk to us in private. Do you understand?"

Liu Kuan's heart trembled, and he bowed and said, "I was not thoughtful enough just now. I will remember this lesson."

Obviously, Lao Zhu felt that he should not even mention the issue of human sacrifice during the Dragon Boat Festival, but should wait until privately.

Fortunately, Liu Kuan did not say in front of everyone that Zhu Yuanzhang was burying his concubines with him, and did not really anger Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Human sacrifice is indeed an evil policy that should not be taken seriously. We did this in history, perhaps not only to help Yunwen secure the throne, but also because of our old age and stupidity."

"Biao'er, Liu Kuan, I can tell you clearly today that from now on, no matter what, we will never practice human sacrifice!"

Seeing that his purpose of admonishing him in advance had been achieved, Liu Kuang breathed a sigh of relief and praised, "Your Majesty is wise."

Zhu Biao smiled and said, "Father, your majesty is wise!"

"You two flatterers, what's so wise about this? Let's go back and continue watching the video." Old Zhu said with a smile, and took Zhu Biao and Liu Kuan back to the main hall.

When the others saw that Zhu Yuanzhang had a frosty face when he left and was smiling when he returned, they knew that Zhu Yuanzhang was not angry about Liu Kuan's previous words, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

So we watched the second video together.

The last few minutes of the video mainly talk about why, after tens of thousands of years of development, the Americas have only developed civilizations at the level of Maya, Inca, and Aztec.

For example, due to geographical isolation and difficulty in communication between the north and the south, there was a lack of easily domesticated livestock such as horses, pigs, and sheep, and there was a lack of easily mined iron ore, so the wheel was not invented, and so on.

Finally, some famous tribal civilizations in North America besides the three major civilizations are mentioned.

For example, there are the Inuit who make a living by hunting posters in the Far North, and the Pueblo people in the West who can build flat-roofed houses.

In the eastern forest areas, there were Woodland Indians who engaged in planting, hunting, and gathering. In the Great Plains area, there were Plains Indians who hunted bison and other creatures as their main source of food.

In addition, there are some tribes in North America that, like some ethnic minority tribes in the southwest of the Ming Dynasty, are still ruled by women (matriarchal society).

When the video stopped at the last frame, Lao Zhu said, "This video is very good. After watching it, the American continent in my mind finally has a concrete shape."

Zhu Biao also briefly expressed his approval, saying, "This video is indeed very insightful."

Zhu Ying said, "Father, even if the American natives have established a nation, their strength is only so-so. If the Ming Dynasty were to send troops to America in the future, I, your son, would be the vanguard general!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was displeased when he heard this. He turned around and glared at Zhu Ying, "You? You'd better train the military and police dogs first, and then meet the requirements of our overseas vassal states. Then you can discuss these matters with us!"

Zhu Ying was a little dissatisfied, but didn't say anything else.

Li Wenzhong stroked his beard and watched with a smile, enjoying the warmth of this long-lost big family.

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Play the third video."

Liu Kuan nodded, called up the third video, and put the tablet back on the small round table.

When Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma saw it, they felt that the title of the video alone revealed a lot of information.

How difficult is it to manage rivers for 14 billion people?

At the beginning of the video, the deep blue earth appears against the background of the starry sky.

Then, a woman's voice that I had heard before was heard.

"Have you ever seen a map of China like this? Across the sky, lines representing air currents intertwine densely, continuously transporting moisture from the world's four oceans into China, like rivers in the sky."

"On earth, the water of the Celestial River turns into 4.5 rivers flowing day and night, making China one of the countries with the most rivers and the richest landscapes in the world."

"In the stories we are familiar with, these rivers shaped the earth's surface, nourished life, and nurtured the splendid Chinese civilization."

"But today, we are going to tell another version of the story..."

With the woman's simple but majestic narration and the scene of rivers flowing through the land of China in the video, the video's opening remarks ended and the main topic came to the fore.

Although this opening speech was short and did not include many scenes, Zhu Yuanzhang and others had already raised several questions in their minds.

I just wanted to watch the video first, so I held back and didn't ask.

The video begins with an introduction to the Yangtze River, explaining how its annual runoff accounts for 36% of China's total river runoff—equivalent to Yellow Rivers! During flood season, the runoff is three times greater than normal!
Then he talked about the 98 flood peak and the Jingzhou Dam, which led to the first super project to be discussed in this video - the Three Gorges Reservoir!
"Yes, what you see before you is the Three Gorges Reservoir, China's largest reservoir, which has yet to be surpassed."

"Its maximum storage capacity is 450 billion cubic meters, enough to hold more than West Lakes..."

After the video finished introducing the basic situation of the Three Gorges Reservoir, Zhu Yuanzhang could no longer hold back and shouted, "Pause!"

Liu Kuan paused the video.

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "It can hold the water of more than 3,000 West Lakes. There are more than 50 large-scale reservoirs upstream, forming a reservoir cluster. The area spans the two provinces of Huguang and Sichuan!"

"How on earth were such a massive water conservancy project built in later generations? How much manpower would have been mobilized, and how much money and grain would have been spent? How could such a massive project really not cause fears of national destruction?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked several questions in a row, which showed how shocked he was at the time.

Because in his opinion, the previous Zhoushan Islands port project was not as grand as the Three Gorges Reservoir project.

The Three Gorges Reservoir is definitely comparable to Qin Shihuang's construction of the Great Wall and Emperor Yang of Sui's construction of the Grand Canal - however, these two major projects became one of the reasons for the fall of dynasties.

That's why Zhu Yuanzhang felt puzzled.

Liu Kuan smiled slightly and said, "Your Majesty has forgotten that with the advancement of science and technology in later generations, it will be possible to accomplish such incredible things without damaging the vitality of the country."

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment before realizing something. He murmured, "Science and technology, they are the ones we should have thought of again."

Soon, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes regained their spirit - he became even more determined to promote science and technology!

He even secretly decided: in order to promote science and technology, he would kill any god that stood in his way, and even any Buddha that stood in his way!
Zhu Biao then asked: "The imperial court of later generations spent huge amounts of manpower and materials to build the Three Gorges Reservoir. What effect did it have in reducing the flood disasters of the Yangtze River?"

"Don't worry, Your Highness. You'll know after watching."

Liu Kuan replied, and after Lao Zhu's signal, he continued the video.

　Second update.

　　Good night~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)