Bringing the Railway to Daming

After returning to the city, Liu Kuan did not go back to his own residence first, but went directly to the palace.

Upon entering the Xihua Gate, a eunuch was waiting inside. Upon seeing him, the eunuch announced, "Marquis of Jiangning, His Majesty has decreed that you should go directly to the inner palace after entering the palace."

Go to the harem?
Liu Kuan looked at the eunuch suspiciously.

Even adult princes like Zhu Biao were not allowed to freely enter or leave the inner palace, let alone an official like him. Therefore, he suspected that someone was conspiring with the eunuchs to murder him.

But he quickly dismissed the idea.

Now it is the Hongwu reign, and Zhu Yuanzhang has a strong control over the palace. Especially after hearing about the deeds of later Zhu family emperors, such as the Jiajing Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang's control over the palace became even tighter.

Therefore, it is unlikely that anyone would falsely convey Zhu Yuanzhang's oral edict in the palace.

Unless it was Zhu Yuanzhang or Zhu Biao who wanted to kill him.

But if the two wanted to harm him, they could have just given the order directly; there was no need for them to resort to scheming and trickery.

This analysis suggests that only one possibility remains...
Thinking of this, Liu Kuan nodded and followed the eunuch to the inner palace.

Before entering the inner palace, Liu Kuan actually met his son, Liu Ping'an.

Ten-year-old Liu Ping'an had grown into a handsome young boy. At this moment, he bowed to Liu Kuan like a little adult and said, "Father, Mother is in Kunning Palace. She asked me to come here to meet you."

Liu Kuan noticed that Liu Ping'an's eyes were red, which confirmed his suspicions. He sighed and said, "Let's go."

Then he took Liu Ping'an to Kunning Palace.

Then they saw many people standing outside Empress Ma's bedroom—all of them were the younger relatives of Emperor Zhu and Empress Ma.

Zhu Huilan, Su Caiwei, and Liu Kuan's other children were also present. Zhu and Su's faces were full of worry and sorrow.

The other princes, princesses, grandsons of the emperor, and other princesses who were already old enough to understand also had similar expressions. Even the younger children, who were not yet old enough to understand, were influenced by the atmosphere and remained quiet.

Liu Kuan met up with Zhu Huilan and Su Caiwei, shook their hands, exchanged glances, and then waited silently.

A moment later, Zhu Yuanzhang's roar suddenly echoed from inside the bedchamber, "This one is helpless, that one says there's no way to save her, and you are all top-notch doctors, receiving thousands of strings of cash in salary every year, yet you can't cure the Empress's illness. What kind of doctors are you? What use are you to me?!"

The fact that Zhu Yuanzhang said such things shows that he was truly angry and anxious.

At this moment, Liu Kuan couldn't help but worry, thinking to himself: Could it be that Old Zhu, like in history, wanted to kill all the imperial physicians because they couldn't cure Empress Ma's illness?

Fortunately, no such words were heard in the hall afterward. After a moment of silence, or perhaps after Empress Ma said something, Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Get out of here!"

Several imperial physicians emerged looking rather disheveled. Some breathed a sigh of relief, while others still wore expressions of worry, and still others wiped the fine sweat from their foreheads.

Although the palace was heated, the fact that the imperial physician was sweating profusely in the dead of winter showed how nervous he had been inside.

These men were all renowned physicians in the capital and even throughout the Ming Dynasty. They were not only highly skilled but also experienced, and had witnessed the deaths of many patients.

But who could blame them when the patient was the Empress of the Ming Dynasty, the beloved of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty?

With Zhu Yuanzhang so enraged, who wouldn't be nervous?
Fortunately, the Empress was kind and compassionate, and even on her deathbed, she spoke up for them, preventing Zhu Yuanzhang from truly taking his anger out on them.

A moment later, Zhu Xiong Ying came out of the hall. He first glanced at the imperial physicians with a cold and handsome face before looking at the crowd and saying, "Teacher, Third Aunt, the Empress Dowager wants to have a word with you."

Liu Kuan and Zhu Huilan handed the children over to Su Caiwei and then went into the bedroom with Zhu Xiong Ying.

Zhu Yuanzhang was sitting by the bed, holding Empress Ma's hand, his expression unreadable; Zhu Biao stood to the side, his face filled with worry and sorrow.

"Your humble servant greets Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, and Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Zhu Yuanzhang turned his head and glanced at her, then said, "You two come to the bedside, the Empress wants to talk to you."

Liu Kuan and Zhu Huilan knelt down by the bedside. Fortunately, there were cotton cushions on the floor, so it wasn't too uncomfortable.

It was at this moment that Liu Kuan finally saw Empress Ma's face clearly. In just a few days, Empress Ma had become much thinner, her face was pale, and her eyes were dull and lifeless.

Upon seeing Liu Kuan and Zhu Huilan, she seemed to regain some energy and said weakly, "Kuan'er, Huilan, you're here?"

Zhu Huilan leaned against the bedside, tears streaming down her face, and said, "Mother..."

Liu Kuan didn't know what to say—he had been in the Ming Dynasty for more than twelve years and had come to regard Empress Ma as family. But this was the first time in his life that he had faced the death of a loved one.

He felt sad, but there was nothing he could do.

If I had to pinpoint a reason, it would probably be that I hadn't downloaded enough medical-related materials beforehand and hadn't prioritized medicine as a core industry for development.

However, he also understood that modern medicine is built on the foundation of modern industry and numerous scientific and technological achievements. Without sufficient industrial and technological foundation, no matter how hard he tried, the medical field of the Ming Dynasty would not make much progress.

Empress Ma looked at Zhu Huilan and said, "Huilan, don't cry. You're a mother of three now. Be strong... In this world, who doesn't die?"

"Mother, you will be alright..." Zhu Huilan said, her voice choked with emotion, as she spoke words she herself believed too much.

Empress Ma smiled; though pale, her smile remained kind.

She said, "In the future, you should visit your father more often in the palace. He also likes the two children, Chang'an and Ruoyue. If you encounter any difficult situations for women in the future, you can discuss them with your eldest and second eldest sisters."

"Marrying Kuan'er is your good fortune, you must cherish it... Kuan'er."

Liu Kuan crawled closer to the bedside, and looking at Empress Ma, he couldn't help but choke up, "Your Majesty."

Empress Ma said, "I believe that your appearance in the Ming Dynasty is the arrangement of Heaven... However, the Emperor is a bit stubborn, and Biao'er sometimes gets stuck on things. If there are things you can't reason with them about, you should be more patient."

Liu Kuan nodded first, then said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will do my best to fulfill my duties and live up to the trust of the Ming Dynasty and His Majesty." Empress Ma then looked up at Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "Chongba, you must remember the things you promised me."

Zhu Yuanzhang, his eyes also filled with tears, grasped Empress Ma's hand tightly and said repeatedly, "We remember, we remember everything, we won't forget."

"That's good..."

After speaking, Empress Ma seemed exhausted and closed her eyes to rest for more than a quarter of an hour. If Zhu Yuanzhang hadn't been holding her hand the whole time, Liu Kuan would have suspected that she had already passed away.

Suddenly, she struggled to sit up in bed. "Chongba, have someone help me change my clothes."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to understand something. He helped Empress Ma sit down and said, "You all go out and have the palace maids come over."

"Yes."

Zhu Biao, Liu Kuan, and others all left.

About fifteen minutes later, a female official came out and invited all the princes and princesses inside.

Liu Kuan and his family followed them inside, where they saw Empress Ma sitting by the bed, wearing a nine-dragon, four-phoenix crown, a ceremonial robe, and a jade belt. She was almost leaning against Zhu Yuanzhang's chest.

Everyone knelt down.

Empress Ma smiled slightly, took a breath and said, "They're all here, good, good... It's a pity that the second, third and fourth princes aren't here."

After saying this somewhat contradictory sentence, Empress Ma seemed to have exhausted all her strength, rested her head on Zhu Yuanzhang's shoulder, and closed her eyes.

Before long, her other hand, which had been resting on her thigh, fell to her side.

Everyone had been watching Empress Ma. Upon seeing this, Zhu Biao couldn't help but cry out in grief, "Mother..."

Many others also cried out in sorrow.

"Empress Dowager..."

"Grandma..."

Subsequently, weeping filled the Kunning Palace's sleeping quarters, and Liu Kuan couldn't help but shed tears as well.

Zhu Yuanzhang embraced Empress Ma tightly, tears streaming down his face, snot even coming out of his nose.

"Sister, sister, my sister..."

On the seventh day of the twelfth month of the twenty-sixth year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty, Empress Ma Xiuying, the founding empress of the Ming Dynasty, passed away.

Upon hearing of a death in the capital, all temples and monasteries were ordered to ring their bells 30,000 times and to refrain from slaughtering animals for seven days.

Soldiers and civilians wore mourning clothes, and women did not wear makeup. The mourning period began on the day the news of the death was announced and ended on the 27th day.

The whole world is in mourning!

···
···
The capital of the Yan Kingdom in the Indian subcontinent, Yanjing (Dhaka).

Zhu Di read the telegram and froze.

This made Zhu Gaochi below curious about the contents of the telegram—Zhu Gaochi was already sixteen years old, had been training in the army for a year or two, and had begun to learn how to handle state affairs from Zhu Di half a year ago.

As Zhu Gaochi was secretly guessing the contents of the telegram, Zhu Di suddenly cried out in anguish, "Mother!"

He then knelt down facing east, his voice filled with sorrowful wails, "Your son is unfilial! I failed to be by your bedside, I couldn't even see you one last time, sob sob..."

Zhu Gaochi was stunned for a moment before he realized that Empress Ma had passed away.

So he knelt down facing east, crying out in anguish, "Grandmother..."

Upon seeing this, the eunuchs, palace maids, and guards in the palace all knelt down and bowed to the east. On that day, the entire Yan King's Palace and even the city of Yanjing were draped in white mourning clothes.

On this day, the Qi Kingdom in the southern Indian subcontinent, the Chu Kingdom on Java Island and Borneo, the Jin Kingdom in North Africa, and even the Yong Kingdom in South America and the Lu Kingdom in Central America all received the telegram announcing the death of Empress Ma.

The palaces of all the vassal kings were filled with the sound of weeping, and they hung white mourning clothes on that day. The vassal kings and their soldiers and civilians also began to mourn for Empress Ma in accordance with the regulations.

The Lunar New Year of the 26th year of the Hongwu reign, and the New Year celebrations of the 27th year, also passed amidst a blanket of white mourning clothes…

···
On the second day of the second lunar month, the dragon looked up.

Liu Kuan was summoned by the eunuchs to the Wenhua Hall—the place where Zhu Biao usually studied and handled state affairs.

Nearly two months had passed since Empress Ma's death. Zhu Biao was still wearing mourning clothes and adhering to a vegetarian diet. He had lost a lot of weight and his face looked somewhat pale.

After bowing, Liu Kuan couldn't help but advise, "Your Highness, please take care of your health and improve your diet."

Zhu Biao said, "Why is my brother-in-law bringing this up again? I'm just used to eating vegetarian food, and I haven't had much of an appetite these days, so I've been eating less. Besides, didn't you say before that eating vegetarian food is good for your health?"

Liu Kuan said helplessly, "Your Highness, being vegetarian is good for your health, but that doesn't mean you have to be vegetarian all the time. The protein and other nutrients in meat are also necessary for the human body."

"Okay, I understand." Zhu Biao replied somewhat perfunctorily, then picked up a memorial and said, "Xiong Ying has written a memorial on medical reform. Brother-in-law, take a look."

A plea for medical reform?
Liu Kuan was slightly taken aback, then wondered: Did Zhu Xiong Ying want to reform Ming Dynasty medicine?
How should we reform?

With this question in mind, he opened the memorial written by Zhu Xiong Ying. (End of Chapter)