Bringing the Railway to Daming

The smile on Liu Kuan's face froze.

He didn't expect that Queen Ma actually wanted to listen to "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber".

This is a novel that portrays Zhu Yuanzhang as a villain. How can he explain it in detail? Is he going to have to make some impromptu adaptations?
Liu Kuan quickly made a decision. After all, he had already mentioned so many things that had displeased Zhu Yuanzhang in later generations, so this one wouldn't be a big deal. Besides, he hadn't written The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.

Empress Ma saw Liu Kuan was stunned, and she understood something. She asked, "Why is it that this martial arts drama is not convenient to talk about?"

Liu Kuan said: "It's not inconvenient at all, it's just that the original novel portrayed His Majesty as a villain."

"Zhongba was written as a villain?" Empress Ma was surprised to hear this, then laughed and said, "Then I want to hear it even more - it must be difficult to write him as a villain, right?"

Liu Kuan explained, "Novels are mostly fictional and mixed with the author's personal thoughts. Your Majesty, please don't take them seriously."

Empress Ma smiled and said, "I know, I know. You're just listening for fun. Think about it, writing Chongba as a villain is indeed more interesting than praising him. Tell me now."

Liu Kuan could only talk about it.

"This novel is a sequel to the previous novel, The Return of the Condor Heroes. It tells the story of the Mongols who attacked Xiangyang several times. A couple led martial artists to help the Song army defend the city, repelling the Mongol army several times..."

The entire "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" is nearly one million words long, and part of the content of the previous work "The Return of the Condor Heroes" has to be explained first. If it is really told word for word according to the original work, I am afraid it may not be finished even after several days and nights.

So Liu Kuan told the story based on the relevant TV dramas he remembered. He only mentioned some of the content in one sentence, while explaining some in detail.

Although his eloquence was average and far from comparable to the literary talent of the original novel, the story content was wonderful after all. Whether it was Empress Ma, Zhu Huilan and others, or even Liu Changan and Liu Ruoyue who were playing nearby, they all listened with great interest.

It was almost noon when Liu Kuan finished half of his speech.

He originally wanted to say goodbye and return home, and then come back to continue telling Empress Ma after the Tiangong Academy was closed at the end of the year.

Unexpectedly, just when he was about to wrap up the story of Zhang Wuji being murdered by the Zhu and Wu families and falling off the cliff, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao arrived.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness." Liu Kuan, accompanied by his family, bowed to the two men and said, "It is getting late, so I will take my leave and return home. As for the rest of the content, I will tell the Empress after the Tiangong Academy is closed."

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Liu Kuan with amusement and asked, "What are you talking about? Why do you have to wait until the government office is closed?"

In fact, he had already known through the spies in the palace that Liu Kuan was telling Empress Ma a martial arts drama called "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" in the Dashan Hall, so he finished work early and specially called Zhu Biao to come along.

Now that he heard that Liu Kuan was actually leaving, he naturally refused to let him go.

Perhaps Liu Kuan's interruption was too abrupt, especially when Zhang Wuji fell off the cliff. Even a kind-hearted person like Empress Ma couldn't help but criticize him. Seeing this, she smiled and said, "Kuan'er is telling a martial arts novel with the background of Chongba leading the Ming Cult brothers to conquer the world."

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little surprised and asked, "When did we join the Ming Cult?"

Now it was Liu Kuan's turn to be surprised, "Your Majesty has never joined the Ming Cult?"

Why did you name your country "Da Ming" if you never joined the Ming Cult?
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "If you really want to make a fuss, the Red Turban Army led by Guo Zixing that we joined back then actually has connections with the White Lotus Sect."

"As for the Ming Cult, it was a civilian organization during the early years of the Yuan Dynasty's chaos. By the time we joined the Red Turban Army, it had a huge influence in the north, but in the Jianghuai area, it was not as influential as the White Lotus Cult."

"Of course, the Ming Cult and the White Lotus Sect both originated from the Manichaeism of the Song Dynasty, so they can be considered the same."

Liu Kuan hadn't expected the true history to be like this. He immediately took the opportunity to say, "So, the story I told you is just a fictional story, a fabrication."

Zhu Yuanzhang sat down next to Empress Ma and said with a smile, "Since it's a fabrication, you might as well have lunch here. Take advantage of today's rest day to finish the story and let us listen to it for fun."

Liu Kuan really wanted to refuse, but his son Liu Changan spoke up to assist him.

"Father, can you please tell me what happened to Zhang Wuji after he fell off the cliff? He didn't die from the fall, did he?"

Liu Kuan touched his son's head and thought to himself: Liu Changan, you are such a filial son!
At this time, Zhu Biao also smiled and said, "Brother-in-law, we haven't been together for many days. Just think of it as visiting relatives. Having lunch and telling martial arts stories won't be a big deal."

Liu Kuan had no choice but to stay and have lunch together.

Zhu Yuanzhang listened to Zhu Huilan's recap of the previous events and could not help but comment, "Shaolin, Emei, Kunlun, Huashan—a bunch of righteous martial artists—actually forced a couple who had just returned from overseas to death over a rumor whose truth or falsity was unknown."

"It seems their actions are far worse than the Mingjiao anti-Yuan righteous army represented by Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, and others in the novel. And yet they still call the Mingjiao a demonic sect and claim to be the righteous path. How ridiculous!"

Zhu Biao asked curiously, "Brother-in-law, what secrets does the Dragon Slaying Sword hold? Can anyone who obtains it truly become the so-called Supreme Master of the Martial World?"

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "Your Highness, there's no need to worry. You'll understand the meaning of the prophecy when you hear the relevant plot later."

At this time, the palace maids began to serve the dishes, and then several people started to eat lunch at the invitation of Queen Ma.

After dinner, Liu Kuan naturally continued with the previous story.

Before Zhang Wuji falls off the cliff, the story of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber is actually quite sadistic and even a bit depressing. But after Zhang Wuji falls off the cliff and obtains the Nine Yang Magic Skill, the story becomes a joyful one.

Zhu Yuanzhang, Empress Ma, and Zhu Biao, the three older and more sophisticated figures, weren't thrilled, but the surrounding palace maids, Liu Changan, and Liu Ruoyue were thrilled. After two or three hours, with Liu Kuan constantly speeding up, they finally reached the end of the story.

Thinking that the plot of Zhu Yuanzhang framing Zhang Wuji at the end would ultimately have a negative impact, Liu Kuan said after talking about Xie Xun becoming a monk: "Your Majesty, can you please ask the palace maids to leave?"

Zhu Yuanzhang trusted Liu Kuan very much, and without asking why, he signaled Li Gui to take the palace people away.

Seeing that only the Zhu family was left in the Dashan Hall, Liu Kuan briefly told the story of the ending of "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber".

Sure enough, after hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang slammed his hand on the table and said, "What a fabrication! It's ridiculous to attribute the Red Turban Army and even all the anti-Yuan righteous armies to the leadership of the Ming Cult."

"They even made up a story about me using a sinister scheme to alienate Zhang Wuji from Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, forcing Zhang Wuji to resign as leader of the Ming Cult. This is how they frame me. Could it be that the author of 'The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber' has a grudge against our Zhu family?"

"Besides, judging from what you've described about Zhang Wuji, his character and mindset don't make him a qualified leader."

"Even if there really is a world with martial arts and so many martial arts sects, if we let him become the leader of the Ming Cult, or even the founding monarch of the Xin Dynasty, he wouldn't be able to do it well. Who knows, the Xin Dynasty might end up perishing in the second generation!"

Liu Kuan said, "Your Majesty, you are right. In fact, those who have a little knowledge of the history of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties in later generations all know that The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber was deliberately fabricated to discredit you. Perhaps the author of this book really has something against Your Majesty and the Ming Dynasty."

"Of course, it could also be because this person was born in later times and doesn't have a deep understanding of the history of the Yuan and Ming dynasties."

"The most important thing is that after the Qing Dynasty seized power, they tampered with historical records and spread rumors to discredit Your Majesty and the Ming Dynasty. Perhaps that person mistakenly believed the unofficial history fabricated by the Qing Dynasty."

In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care much about the slander of a novel, especially since the novel was written in later times.

But when he heard Liu Kuan say that the Qing Dynasty had slandered the Ming Dynasty, he couldn't help but frowned even deeper and asked, "How did the Qing Dynasty slander us and the Ming Dynasty?"

Liu Kuan felt that this was something worth talking about, which would divert Lao Zhu's attention and hatred.

He said, "For example, there was a portrait of His Majesty that circulated widely in later generations, leading many people to believe that His Majesty looked like that. Some TV dramas even cast actors to play His Majesty based on that portrait."

Zhu Yuanzhang had a bad feeling when he heard this and asked in a deep voice, "What kind of portrait?"

Liu Kuan thought back to the portrait, trying to control his expression. He said, "The Ming History describes Your Majesty's appearance as 'heroic and majestic, with a strange bone structure'. However, in the widely circulated portrait, Your Majesty has a face that's like a shoe horn, or rather, like a pig's kidney."

Shoe horn face?

Pig kidney face?

Although he couldn't see the original portrait, Zhu Yuanzhang imagined it a little and immediately became furious: "Shameless Manchus, how dare you humiliate me like this!"

Seeing this, Liu Kuan added, "In fact, regarding the origin of this portrait, later generations do not all believe that it was a rumor fabricated by the Qing Dynasty. There are two other theories."

"One theory is that after Yongle ascended the throne, in order to strengthen the legitimacy of the imperial family (the Zhu family) in ruling the world, they deliberately exaggerated and even deified your appearance when revising the 'Veritable Records of Ming Taizu'."

"For example, 'a long, lush dragon beard, with a strange bone on the neck that rises to the top, a majestic demeanor, looking like a god,' in layman's terms, means a very long face with a prominent forehead bone, resembling a dragon. Then, somehow, as the saying went, it became known among the people as a face resembling a pig's kidney."

boom.

Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry that he slammed the table and said angrily: "This fourth brother, he really did not get the position properly. Instead of doing the right things, he only uses these crooked ways!"

Zhu Biao was worried that Zhu Yuanzhang would blame Zhu Di, so he wanted to change the subject and asked, "Brother-in-law, what about the last explanation?"

Liu Kuan coughed and said dryly, "The last version is that His Majesty himself had it spread."

"Nonsense!" Zhu Yuanzhang diverted his attention. "How could we do such a stupid thing?!"

In fact, Liu Kuan felt that given Zhu's superstition before he traveled through time, he might not be incapable of doing such a thing.

Of course, he would not express this idea out loud.

Empress Ma listened with great interest, and she knew that Zhu Yuanzhang was not really angry - if Zhu Yuanzhang was really furious, he would kill people, not just slam the table and curse.

She felt that at this time, if Zhu Yuanzhang heard more similar rumors from later generations, he would not be angry.

But before Empress Ma could speak, Zhu Biao asked, "Brother-in-law, isn't there a true portrait of my father passed down through the ages?"

"Of course there is—similar to your Majesty's current appearance, like a wealthy old farmer."

Zhu Yuanzhang also looked in the mirror. After hearing Liu Kuan say that there was a real portrait of him passed down to later generations, he felt much better.

Although he has become an old man, he is still confident about his appearance.

Only then did Empress Ma smile and ask, "Besides discrediting his appearance, have future generations made up any other outrageous rumors?" (End of this chapter)