Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 302: Keep an eye on the imperial physician! Four-wheeled carriage [Please subscribe]

Zhu Yuanzhang felt that Liu Kuan's account of the events during the Zhengde reign did not contain much information worthy of special attention, so he asked, "How many years did Zhu Houzhao reign?"

"About fifteen or sixteen years."

After hearing Liu Kuan's answer, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao and Zhu Di frowned again.

It is obvious that Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne when he was young, and fell after only fifteen or sixteen years. It is obvious that he died in his prime.

Zhu Biao couldn't help but pat Zhu Di on the shoulder and consoled him: "Fourth brother, you should let nephew Gao Chi exercise more when you have time - I think he seems to have gained some weight this year."

Zhu Di wanted to cry, but he replied, "Thank you for your concern, brother. I've already made up my mind. When Gao Chi turns fourteen, I'll send him to the army for a few years to train him. I must make sure he corrects his habit of craving sweets and gaining weight!"

At the same time, Zhu Gaochi, who was attending class in the main classroom and had secretly eaten a small piece of pastry given by someone else while the teacher was not paying attention, suddenly shuddered.

Then he carefully glanced at the Confucian teacher who was giving the lecture and hid the handkerchief wrapped in the pastry.

In Fengxian Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "How old was Zhu Houzhao when he died? And what caused his death?"

Even if Old Zhu didn't ask about this matter, Liu Kuan would have told him.

He said, "Didn't I say before that Zhu Houzhao issued the pig ban during his southern tour in the 14th year of the Zhengde reign? He didn't return north until the autumn of the 15th year, the year after his southern tour."

"Later, while resting in Huai'an Prefecture, he was fishing for fun at Qingjiangpu. His boat capsized and he fell into the water. Although he was rescued by the guards, he became ill for a long time."

"In March of the sixteenth year of the Zhengde reign, Zhu Houzhao died in the Leopard Room, leaving no children."

The suspicious Zhu Yuanzhang immediately asked, "How could he have been ill for so long after falling into the water? Was it because his illness was too severe, or was it because he was too weak?"

Liu Kuan pondered and said, "Zhu Houzhao has been childless for over ten years. Perhaps he does have some health problems, but he shouldn't be too weak."

"Because he loved riding, archery, and martial arts since he was a child, there are even unofficial historical records that Zhu Houzhao was quite skilled in martial arts - the fact that he personally participated in the battle to defend the northern border against the Tatars and toured the south for one or two years also proves this point."

"Also, according to historical records, after Zhu Houzhao was rescued from the water, he dealt with the aftermath of Prince Ning's rebellion on the way, and even participated in sacrifices to heaven and earth before the New Year. This shows that his illness was not serious at the time, and he may even have appeared to have recovered."

"Later, during a sacrifice, he suddenly vomited blood and fainted. He became seriously ill and never recovered until his death."

"Therefore, there are conspiracy theories in later generations that someone forced the imperial doctors to tamper with Zhu Houzhao's treatment - making Zhu Houzhao appear to have recovered, but in fact it was only temporary, and the fatigue from the sacrifices caused a sudden outbreak, and he could no longer be cured."

boom!
After hearing this, Old Zhu slammed the imperial desk and snorted, "Another imperial physician!"

Seeing this, Liu Kuan was worried that Zhu Yuanzhang might misunderstand him, so he quickly said, "Your Majesty, first of all, this conspiracy theory is just speculation by later generations and has no real evidence. Secondly, even if the imperial physician did tamper with the medicine, it was clearly driven by forces behind the scenes."

Old Zhu said, "We understand what you said, but it's also true that there are loopholes in the imperial medical system. Biao'er, you still need to keep a closer eye on the affairs of the Imperial Medical Service, the Imperial Medical College, and the Imperial Hospital, and make the three-institution system more perfect."

"Also, whether you ascend the throne or Xiong Ying later, you must remember to have the Imperial Guards focus on monitoring the imperial physicians and know every one of them inside out!"

"Later, we will write this matter into the 'Huang Ming Zu Xun' (Secret Book)!"

Zhu Biao also did not want his descendants to be killed by imperial physicians. Therefore, although he felt that Zhu Yuanzhang's reaction was a bit extreme, he still responded: "Your son will definitely take care of this matter."

After explaining this, Zhu Yuanzhang asked again, "What temple name and posthumous title did Zhu Houzhao get?"

Liu Kuan said, "I only remember that the court officials thought Zhu Houzhao was a martial artist, comparable to Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Wuzong of Tang, so they gave him the temple name Wuzong. As for the posthumous title, I really can't remember it."

"Wu Zong?" Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head. "With this kid's limited martial arts skills, how can he be called Wu Zong?"

Even Zhu Di shook his head - let alone compared with him, even compared with Emperor Chenghua, Zhu Houzhao's martial arts were far inferior.

Zhu Yuanzhang then asked, "Zhu Houzhao had no children, so later a young man from the younger clan was adopted as the emperor, the Jiajing Emperor. What was his name?"

"Your Majesty, the Jiajing Emperor's name was Zhu Houcong. That's the same as the "cong" that means chimney."

"Could you tell me more about Zhu Houcong?"

Liu Kuan said helplessly, "Your Majesty, Zhu Houcong also ascended the throne at a young age and reigned for 45 years. There is too much to tell about him, and it is definitely not possible to finish it in a short time."

Seeing that Liu Kuan didn't want to talk anymore, Lao Zhu didn't force him.

For him, the emperor's deeds recorded in the later Ming history were of only some reference value, and he was not in a hurry to know them all.

So he waved his hand and said, "Okay, you can leave now."

"Yes, I'll take my leave." After Liu Kuan left Fengxian Palace.

Old Zhu said to Zhu Di, "Fourth Brother, you have done a good job supervising the affairs of Japan this year. Now that the New Year is not far away, I will allow you to stay in the capital until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month before leaving."

"During this time, you can also take care of the affairs of Prince Yan's Mansion regarding overseas vassalage."

Zhu Di was delighted when he heard this and clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, father, for your grace!"

Old Zhu waved his hands impatiently, "Go back home and take good care of your eldest and second sons. They're both a worry to you!"

Zhu Di thought of his two sons, and his youngest son who had not yet shown any bad temper, and his face suddenly fell again.

Teaching children is harder than fighting a war!

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However, after leaving the imperial city, Liu Kuan did not return home directly, but went shopping with his followers and guards.

Wang Guangyue and other Yiluansi officers and soldiers have protected Liu Kuan for several years and have formed a tacit understanding with him.

Whenever he was shopping, only a few skilled fighters like Wang Guangyue would follow him, while the others would disperse into the nearby streets - this way they would not be too conspicuous by gathering together, and they could also provide support to Liu Kuan as soon as possible when something happened.

Walking on the street, Liu Kuan soon saw several four-wheeled carriages passing by.

It can be said that although the four-wheeled carriage is a by-product of the Locomotive Manufacturing Bureau, it is also its most successful product developed after trains and ships.

In fact, four-wheeled carriages are not new things in the East or the West.

According to Western literature, as early as the 1st century BC, the West not only had four-wheeled carriages, but also had relatively simple steering structures.

In the East, four-wheeled carriages appeared as early as the pre-Qin period.

However, it was not until the 14th century that four-wheeled carriages began to become popular in the West; in the East, two-wheeled carriages were the absolute mainstream and continued until the end of the Qing Dynasty.

It’s not that no one has invented a steering device, but the use of a four-wheeled carriage places too high demands on roads, coachmen, etc.

Especially roads.

Although China has many plains, there are even more areas with complex terrain such as hills, mountains, and plateaus.

Therefore, two-wheeled carriages, which are flexible and low-cost (not only the production cost of the vehicle, but also the cost of horses, as early four-wheeled carriages could not be pulled by one horse), have always been the mainstream.

In the past two years, more and more four-wheeled carriages have appeared in Ming Dynasty. In addition to the fact that the Locomotive Manufacturing Bureau has developed sufficiently practical and excellent four-wheeled carriages, another major reason is that the road conditions in Ming Dynasty are getting better and better almost every month.

Why?

Because there is cement.

Zhu Yuanzhang was well aware of the importance of road transportation to the court's control over the local areas. With cement as an infrastructure tool and no shortage of money and food, he naturally increased his efforts to build official roads.

According to Liu Kuan, in the past three or four years, the construction of the Ming Dynasty official roads was mainly concentrated in Zhili, followed by Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces.

As of this year, all prefectures in Zhili have built cement official roads, and at his suggestion, the newly built official roads are all built according to the "provincial standards" of the Ming Dynasty.

In other words, most of the current cement official roads belong to the Daming Provincial Road - their width is wide enough for three four-wheeled carriages to run side by side!

In addition, the four-wheeled carriage developed by the Locomotive Manufacturing Bureau had more flexible steering and saved more horsepower (as long as the load was not too heavy, one horse could pull it), so naturally more and more people were willing to use four-wheeled carriages.

After all, a four-wheeled carriage can carry a larger carriage, which is not only more comfortable but also demonstrates identity and status.

At this point, we must mention that the increase in four-wheeled carriages was also due to Zhu's relaxation of restrictions on people's food, clothing, housing and transportation standards...

Liu Kuan walked around the street for nearly an hour, bought some things for his wife and children, and then returned home.

When I arrived at the mansion, I found out that someone was looking for me again.

"Master, this person said he is from the Rubber Application Research Institute and has been waiting for a long time."

　Second update.

　　Good night~
　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)