Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 221: Zhu Di orders Emperor Chenghua, and Emperor Xianzong is obsessed with sister-brother love! [Please subscribe]

Starting from dinner time, Su Caiwei had been in the delivery room for more than four hours, but the baby had not been born yet. Liu Kuan, who was experiencing this for the first time, was really worried.

He tried several times to ignore secular etiquette and enter the delivery room, but was stopped by the maids every time.

Now I can only wait in the yard, feeling anxious.

After a while, Zhu Huilan came out of the courtyard accompanied by Taoyao and Zhuohua. Zhu Huilan had been pregnant for half a year and her pregnancy was already obvious.

Liu Kuanying went out and said, "Huilan, why are you here? Aren't you allowed to rest?"

Zhu Huilan glanced at the courtyard and said, "I wonder what's going on with Caiwei. How can I sleep?"

Liu Kuan said, "It's cold, you should go back to the house. I'll just wait here."

Zhu Huilan actually just wanted to come and take a look, and now that she has finished, she doesn't plan to stay any longer - it is already the twelfth lunar month, and there are not many days left until the Chinese New Year, and the weather is indeed very cold.

As soon as Zhu Huilan turned around, Su Caiwei's voice in the delivery room rose several degrees, and then the baby's cry was heard.

Liu Kuan hurried into the yard and saw a midwife coming out of the delivery room. She said with a happy face, "Congratulations, Your Majesty, on the birth of your daughter!"

Liu Kuan looked happy at first, then he asked, "How is Caiwei?"

The midwife said, "The Second Madam is fine, she's just very tired and is resting."

Liu Kuan was still wondering if he could go into the delivery room to take a look when he heard Zhu Huilan say, "Husband, put down the wedding money."

"Oh." Liu Kuan finally realized what was going on and immediately ordered, "Xia He, quickly prepare the wedding money. Everyone will get a share!"

So the midwife and the servants in the mansion congratulated them all.

After the midwife entered the delivery room and was busy for a while, Liu Kuan was able to enter the delivery room and saw Su Caiwei, who looked pale.

He didn't rush to see the child. He first came to the bedside, held Su Caiwei's hand, and said, "Caiwei, you have suffered."

Su Caiwei felt warm in her heart and said with a smile, "Master, please take a look at the child."

Liu Kuan nodded and went to see the child.

The baby's face was wrinkled and very red, and its eyes were not open, so I couldn't see anything.

But holding her in his arms, Liu Kuan still had an unprecedented feeling, like the legendary blood connection.

He carried the baby to the bedside to show Su Caiwei.

"Master, please give the child a nickname first."

Liu Kuan nodded and was just thinking about a good name when he heard the servants outside shout, "It's snowing!"

He then said, "Just call her Xue'er."

Su Caiwei laughed, "Xue'er, it's quite smooth and sounds nice."

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "I've already thought of a name. It's Liu Ruoxue."

Su Caiwei was speechless after hearing this, and then said: "Master, the child has just been born and is not even a month old. It's not good to give him a big name now."

Liu Kuan said nonchalantly, "I'll take it first and give it to her when she's one month old."

Su Caiwei could only smile helplessly.

The midwife beside him smiled and said, "The Prince Consort is a man who loves his wife and children."

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Liu Kuan’s first child was born only half a month ago, and it was approaching New Year’s Eve.

The princes who had left Beijing to work also returned to the capital one after another.

The day before the Science and Technology Bureau was closed, Liu Kuan was summoned to Fengxian Hall.

Zhu Biao and Zhu Di were also present, so Liu Kuan saluted the three of them one after another.

After the ceremony, Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile: "Liu Kuan, I called you here today to tell you a piece of good news in advance - the Ma Zong clan has surrendered to our Ming Dynasty!"

Liu Kuan was not aware of Zhu Yuanzhang's specific plans regarding Japan, so he was pleasantly surprised to hear the news. He immediately said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

Zhu Yuanzhang then sighed, "The population of Tsushima is only a few thousand, and the Zong clan only has two or three hundred soldiers. Honestly, even if we send a hundred households, we can still seize the island by force."

"If we do this, it will inevitably make both the Southern and Northern Dynasties of Japan wary and make them realize our intention to take over Japan."

"If they prepare, even if the Ming Dynasty can still conquer Japan in the future, I'm afraid it will be very laborious, which is not good."

"So, we have no choice but to let the So clan take advantage. We will give the So clan head, So Jingshige, the hereditary title of Commander-in-Chief, and plan to relocate the main branch of the So clan to the capital. When we send a large army to conquer Japan, we will relocate all the Japanese on Tsushima Island elsewhere. What do you think?"

Liu Kuan would not easily interfere with what Old Zhu had already decided, so he immediately said, "I think there is nothing wrong with it."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and nodded, then added, "By the way, the first batch of gold mined from Sado Island has been shipped back to the capital. I promised you that you would be rewarded for your great contribution, and I cannot break my promise."

"I will reward you with ten thousand taels of gold this time, and then I will reward you with another ten thousand taels each on New Year's Eve next year and the year after. Are you satisfied?"

To be honest, compared to the gold mountain on Sado Island, 30,000 taels of gold is not a lot.

But as a reward from Zhu Yuanzhang to his ministers, it was definitely not a small amount.

Liu Kuan immediately bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward!"

Liu Kuan thought that was all that Old Zhu wanted to say, and at most asked him to prepare videos and movies for New Year's Eve. Unexpectedly, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Di and said, "Old Four, you can speak for yourself."

Zhu Di smiled at Liu Kuan and said, "Third brother-in-law, I finally made it back to Beijing, and I finally got this opportunity. Could you please tell me more about the history of the Ming Dynasty?"

It’s time to talk about history again.

Liu Kuan felt a little embarrassed, but still asked, "Which part would Your Highness the Prince of Yan want to hear?"

Zhu Di said, "Let's start from the time when that bastard Zhu Qizhen passed away. Tell as much as you can. How about that?"

Liu Kuan thought for a moment and realized he couldn't remember much about Emperor Chenghua. He said, "Your Highness, I'm not a historian from later generations. I don't remember much about the Chenghua period. How about I go home and sort out the relevant information on my computer, phone, and tablet, and then tell Your Highness about it?"

Before Zhu Di could speak, Old Zhu said, "The relevant information on your computer should include videos, right? If so, why don't you bring your computer or tablet over tomorrow so we can take a look together?"

"I didn't see anything during this Double Ninth Festival, but I missed it so much."

Since Old Zhu said so, can Liu Kuan refuse?

He could only smile helplessly and replied, "Your humble servant obeys your command."

After leaving the palace and returning home, Liu Kuan began to organize various relevant materials from the Chenghua and Hongzhi periods of the Ming Dynasty.

It contains some historical materials he had downloaded, content mentioned in the novel, and some very short videos.

He was busy most of the night, took a nap the next morning and was busy for a while longer before arriving at the palace with the tablet in the afternoon.

There was no one else in Fengxian Hall except Zhu Di, Zhu Biao, Zhu Di and Liu Kuan.

However, Lao Zhu had people prepare tables and chairs for watching movies in advance.

So, after Liu Kuan paid his respects, Lao Zhu and the other two went straight to their self-built "home theater".

Liu Kuan cleared his throat and said, "After Zhu Qizhen passed away, his eldest son Zhu Jianshen ascended the throne. The reign was named Chenghua, and he reigned for twenty-three years. His temple name was Xianzong."

"Xianzong?" Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up, and he stroked his beard and smiled. "Looking at the emperors throughout history, most of those who were given the temple name Xianzong were those who restored the country. It seems that Zhu Jianshen should be much more reliable than his father Zhu Qizhen."

Zhu Di also showed a look of joy, even a little excited, thinking: Is our lineage finally going to have a normal emperor? He may even be the leader of the revival of the dynasty, and he should have a long life.

Liu Kuan smiled slightly and said, "Here is a short video introducing Emperor Chenghua. Your Majesty will know a general idea of ​​his life after watching it."

After saying that, Liu Kuan found one of the prepared videos and clicked to play it.

At the beginning of the video, the "March of the Ming Dynasty" from India lifted the spirits of Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao and Zhu Di.

Then, the video began with clips of "The Glory of the Tang Dynasty", "Just Met You" and some other film and television dramas, and a man's voice narrated the life of Zhu Jianshen.

"Standing before you is the second crown prince, timid and stuttering, obsessed with sister-brother relationships, ranked third on the list of Ming Dynasty officials who hated the emperor, and first on the list of Ming Dynasty emperors discredited by the Qing Dynasty."

"He was able to repay evil with kindness, quelling the rebellion of refugees and bandits in six provinces, defeating the invaders in the northwest, pacifying the barbarians in the southwest, and subduing the people in the northeast. He was the Chenghua Xianzong Chun Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, who extended the Ming Dynasty's reign for a hundred years!"

This video is very short, less than two minutes.

In addition, there were pauses between each sentence the man spoke, and including the opening and ending credits, the video was over by the time the man finished speaking.

While watching the film, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao and Zhu Di were stunned at first, and then they all looked puzzled after watching it.

Zhu Di couldn't help but ask first: "Why are the comments about Zhu Jianshen in this video so polarized? Also, what does 'cowardly and articulate' mean? And what does being obsessed with sister-brother relationships mean?"

Liu Kuan said, "Your Highness, Prince of Yan, please don't be impatient. Please allow me to explain each of them one by one."

"Okay, tell me one by one."

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "Then let's talk about sister-brother love first - there's a short video about this as well."

After saying that, Liu Kuan found another video to play.

As soon as the video unfolded, the background music attracted the attention of the three people. It was the silent lyrics version of "This Half Life", a famous song for the troubled Ming Dynasty and the funeral song for the Ming Dynasty in later generations.

The video is edited from footage from related films and TV series such as "Just Meeting You" and "The Fourteenth Year of Chenghua". The role of Emperor Chenghua is mainly played by Zeng Shunxi, and the role of Concubine Wan is mainly played by Alyssa Chia.

The video begins with the scene of Concubine Wan's death, accompanied by a woman's explanation.

"In the first month of the twenty-third year of the Chenghua reign, Imperial Noble Consort Wan Zhen'er passed away at the age of fifty-eight."

"Xianzong burst into tears and lamented, 'Zhen'er is no longer with us, and I am also dying.'"

"He presided over Concubine Wan's funeral, just as the Empress had done, and suspended court for seven days."

"After that, Zhu Jianshen missed Concubine Wan all day long and became depressed. He died in September of the same year at the age of 41."

Although the background music was very touching, Zhu Di couldn't help but stop watching after seeing the beginning.

"Third brother-in-law, what's going on with Zhu Jianshen? If the video is correct, Wan Zhen'er was seventeen years older than Zhu Jianshen, right? Why did Zhu Jianshen make her a noble concubine, and even become so depressed by her death that he followed her?"

Old Zhu and Zhu Biao also looked confused.

At the same time, I vaguely understood why the previous video commented that Zhu Jianshen was "obsessed with sister-brother love."

If Zhu Jianshen really loved a woman who was seventeen years older than him so deeply, it would be more than just a sister-brother relationship, it would be simply... Old Zhu is too embarrassed to even think about it!
Zhu Biao was watching the paused video of Concubine Wan, played by Alyssa Chia, and thought: This woman looks quite old, but still absolutely beautiful. Could it be that in real history, Zhu Jianshen was seduced by such beauty?
　Second update.

　　[I'm really drunk. The N key on my keyboard is broken. Sometimes it's unresponsive, sometimes it's super sensitive... plus looking for information and watching videos, it took me four or five hours to finish one chapter!]

　　Good night~
　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)