Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 174: The Song is Singing, the Beauty is Enchanting [Please Subscribe]

Zhu Yuanzhang called out to him, and Liu Kuan had to interrupt his tasting of the food and come to the imperial throne.

"This first song video seems to tell the story of an actor who sacrificed his life to resist the barbarians during the Jingkang Incident. Is this true or false?"

Liu Kuan thought for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, first of all, this video is a remix of someone else's... well, it's fabricated. Even if such an incident really did occur during the Jingkang Incident, it hasn't been passed down to later generations."

"Secondly, the original version of this song does come with a story, but it tells the story of an opera performer during the Japanese invasion of Jiangxi in later modern times."

"The Japanese invaders actually invaded Jiangxi?" Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but interrupt Liu Kuan, frowning deeply.

Although Liu Kuan had mentioned many times before that the Japanese invaders had invaded China several times after the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty and even wanted to swallow up China, he had never imagined that the Japanese invaders would be able to reach Jiangxi - in his view, Jiangxi was the heartland of China.

Moreover, since the Japanese invaders were able to reach Jiangxi, there was no doubt that the capital and Jiangnan would fall into the hands of the Japanese invaders.

Liu Kuan explained: "Japan was the first to learn Western science and technology and even Western systems in later generations. Therefore, it developed faster than China under the control of the Qing Dynasty. Its military strength and even overall national strength soon surpassed China."

"When they invaded, China was in the midst of a chaotic war among warlords. They conquered the entire Liao region in just three months, and later threatened to destroy China within three years. Although this was never achieved, much of modern China did fall to the Japanese invaders."

"Later, China's two largest powers barely united and fought a bitter eight-year war of resistance, in which three to four million soldiers died and more than 20 million civilians perished, before they finally drove the Japanese invaders out of China."

Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma were stunned.

Firstly, I didn’t expect that Japan would become so powerful in later generations. Secondly, I was shocked by the casualties suffered by China in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

You must know that all the troops of the Ming Dynasty now have only two million people.

In later generations, three to four million soldiers died in the war against Japan, and 20 million civilians died. If we convert it, doesn’t it mean that all the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty had to die twice, and one-third of the civilians had to die before the Japanese invaders could be driven out?

After coming to his senses, Zhu Yuanzhang's dragon eyes flashed with murderous intent. He slammed the table and said, "Japan, a small and despicable country on the border, has such wolfish ambitions that it bullies China like this. We will definitely destroy their country and their race!"

Liu Kuan was delighted to hear this and immediately declared, "I will definitely help Your Majesty accomplish this and eliminate this great threat to China!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, then pointed at the tablet and said, "Go on and tell me the story behind this song."

Liu Kuan said, "When the Japanese invaded Jiangxi, there was a man named... I forgot his name, but anyway, the Japanese invaders asked a local famous opera actor to perform his signature opera, 'Peach Blossom Fan', alone."

"Most of the Japanese invaders were familiar with Chinese culture, so ordering the song 'Peach Blossom Fan' was full of humiliation - because Peach Blossom Fan is a story about a talented scholar and a famous courtesan written by scholars after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, with the Qing Dynasty entering Nanjing as the backdrop."

"It's obvious that the Japanese invaders chose this play to imply that Japan wanted to rule China as a small country, just like the Qing Dynasty did, and even enslave the Chinese people."

"The actor agreed outwardly, but secretly ordered numerous incendiary devices to be placed in the theater. When the Japanese officers were engrossed in the performance, he shouted 'Fire!' and they, along with many other Japanese officers, perished in the flames."

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma sighed again.

One is to appreciate the performance of the famous actor who died together with the Japanese invaders, and the other is to know that there was an opera in later generations that described the scene of the fall of the Ming Dynasty and it was passed down for hundreds of years.

At this time, Liu Kuan said: "In fact, the story of Ming Ling setting fire to the Japanese invaders was also fabricated by later generations, but many similar things did happen during the Anti-Japanese War."

"So, this song actually praises the sacrificial spirit and courage of the grassroots people who risked their lives for their country."

Zhu Yuanzhang listened, then recalled some events from the late Yuan Dynasty. He nodded and said, "There are indeed many righteous men among the common people who are willing to serve their country, just as there are many traitors among the literati and gentry."

Empress Ma then asked, "Kuan'er, do you know how to sing the opera 'Peach Blossom Fan'?"

Liu Kuan was somewhat speechless after hearing this. He said, "Your Majesty, by the time I was there, 'Peach Blossom Fan' had become an ancient opera. I don't know if anyone still knew how to sing it. I had never heard of it, so how could I possibly sing it?"

Queen Ma felt a little regretful after hearing this.

She also thought that if she could reproduce this opera, she could have the background changed to the Song Dynasty to warn people not to forget the danger of national destruction and genocide.

Zhu Yuanzhang was not interested in the Peach Blossom Fan, because he felt that the capital would never be occupied by the Manchus.

"Okay, go down and continue eating."

"Yes."

After Liu Kuan left, Zhu Yuanzhang touched the screen to continue playing the second song.

The beginning of the video is similar to that of "Red Ling", with another recording microphone, but the singer is replaced by an enchanting woman wearing a red floral miniskirt, a black undershirt, short hair, and two black flower ornaments under her eyes.

At the same time, three colloquial characters appeared next to it - Qiansixixi.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma knew about the silk-pulling play, which is commonly known as puppet show among the people.

"I only wish your heart is like mine, I will never let you down~"

Empress Ma listened and whispered, "Isn't this a line from Li Zhiyi's 'Bosuanzi' from the Song Dynasty?"

Because when Huang Ling sang next, both Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma felt a tingling sensation from the top of their heads to the soles of their feet.

"Who are you mocking? You are relying on your beauty to show off your power. If you have lost your soul, how can you be worthy of me..."

The scene in the video changed, and it was a woman with a man's bun putting makeup on a beautiful woman in costume on the stage. The woman did not move.

The scene changed again, and the woman in costume was like a puppet, being pulled by the woman with a single bun with silk strings to dance together.

The scenes kept changing, interspersed with the stories being told. After listening and watching, Old Zhu and Empress Ma looked at each other in bewilderment.

Old Zhu spoke first, "This song is truly lascivious—Liu Kuan looks honest, but I never thought he'd listen to this kind of music."

Empress Ma frowned and said hesitantly, "This video seems to depict the sisterly love between two women?"

"That should be the case." Lao Zhu said uncertainly.

Obviously, both Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma sensed the orange flavor in the song and video, but they were not sure because they had not experienced it themselves.

Lao Zhu continued to play the third song, the famous work "A Glimpse of Beauty".

The video is a mix of various beauties in ancient costumes making stunning appearances, turning around, and dancing, mixed with a few beautiful fighting scenes of women in martial arts dramas.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma enjoyed another auditory and visual feast.

Especially Old Zhu, he felt that the dozens of concubines in the harem were not as beautiful as the woman from later generations in this video (actually it was because of the makeup, filters and even beauty).

After finishing the film, Old Zhu paused, shaking his head and commenting, "Another piece of lascivious music, with so many beautiful women. This Liu Kuan must have been a playboy before he traveled through time."

Empress Ma snorted, "Look at how you looked just now. You're not much better than a playboy."

Afterwards, Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma watched the following plays, "The Untold Story", "The Returning Shot", and "The Storyteller", all of them were in a state of trance with their eyes wide open.

It was not until the show "Storyteller" was over and the two were ready to eat that they realized some of the food had gone cold, but they hadn't eaten a single bite.

Empress Ma was a little speechless, so she asked the palace servants to heat up the cold food.

Then the two of them replayed the six song videos...

The concubines and princes below were waiting impatiently.

Not to mention Zhu Ying, Zhu Tan and others, even Zhu Biao became extremely curious about the song videos of later generations because of those wonderful songs and the expressions of Old Zhu and Queen Ma, and wanted to take a look.

When the food was heated up and served again, Empress Ma saw that Zhu Yuanzhang was still staring at the beauty from later generations in the video with a look of being possessed by her. She, who rarely felt jealous, became extremely angry.

Then, figuring that the food would probably get cold again (it gets cold quickly in the winter), he said, "We've already watched it once or twice, so let's eat first and show the video to the kids—look, they're all eagerly waiting."

Old Zhu looked down and saw that the concubines and sons were all staring at him. He felt a little embarrassed and said, "Okay, let them see it. But the princes who have not left the palace and the princesses who have not yet reached the age of marriage should not see it. Liu Kuan, Huilan, call the children over to your side."

"what?"

Suddenly, a group of princes and princesses who were only a few years old or in their teens showed expressions of disappointment and even grievance. The ones who were usually favored wanted to beg for mercy, but they didn't dare.

Liu Kuan found it funny, but he knew that some of the scenes in the video were indeed inappropriate for children in ancient times.

So he and Zhu Huilan took care of the children together - when Old Zhu was listening to the music just now, he and Zhu Huilan had almost finished eating.

Half an hour later.

After Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma finished their New Year's Eve lunch, Zhu Biao, Zhu Ying and others watched the six song videos.

Zhu Biao's performance was okay, but Zhu Ying, Zhu Zi and Zhu Tan looked very excited and gathered together to whisper something.

Liu Kuan asked Zhu Huilan to look after the child and curiously went over to eavesdrop.

Zhu Ying said, "The woman in this video is so beautifully dressed. Let's have our maid learn from her when we get home."

"Third brother, the maids in your house have never seen this video, how can we learn it?"

"Tenth brother, you have a good memory. Why don't you come to our house and give me some guidance when the time comes?"

After listening to it, Zhu Tan thought about it and felt that it was feasible.

At this time, Zhu Zi interrupted and said, "I think these six songs are very nice. If the musicians and singing girls can learn them, we can enjoy them anytime. Isn't that wonderful?"

Zhu Ying and Zhu Tan's eyes lit up when they heard this, and Zhu Tan said, "Next time I get first place in credits and have the opportunity to watch the show on a tablet, I'll find the musicians and dancers and learn all the songs and choreography."

Hearing this, Liu Kuan had to cough lightly to remind everyone of his presence.

Seeing the three people turn around, he said, "Your Highnesses, nearly half of these six songs are lascivious. If you really ask others to learn them and not appreciate them from time to time, I'm afraid you will be reprimanded by His Majesty."

After listening to it and thinking about it, the three of them found that it was indeed the case, and they were immediately depressed.

At this time, Lao Zhu came over and asked, "What are you guys talking about?"

Zhu Tan was the most clever and quickly said, "Your Majesty, I am discussing why there are so many decadent songs in the future."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Liu Kuan and asked in a sly tone, "Liu Kuan, I was just about to ask you, why are there so many lewd videos on your tablet, and the videos are full of alluring beauties? What's the reason?"

　First update.

　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)