Bringing the Railway to Daming

Zhu Di thought to himself: There's actually a secret book called "Imperial Decrees and Ancestral Instructions"? I didn't know about it before? Could it contain some secrets that I shouldn't know?

Liu Kuan suddenly realized that one of the most popular tropes in many later novels about time travel to the early Ming Dynasty was to use modern drugs to impersonate "miracle drugs" to save Empress Ma, or Zhu Xiong Ying and Zhu Biao.

If another time traveler were to appear after his death, and that one refused to reveal his time travel identity and only claimed that modern medicine was a "miracle drug" left behind by a hermit master, would Old Zhu's descendants consider him a fraud based on the secret instructions in the manual?
However, if someone is truly critically ill and normal doctors and medicine cannot save them, they probably won't care about "ancestral teachings" anymore.
Not to mention, the emperors of the Zhu family were not particularly fond of following ancestral precepts; on the contrary, they preferred to act against them.

After leaving behind his ancestral instructions, Zhu Yuanzhang asked with suspicion, "Liu Kuan, could there be a conspiracy behind Zhu Youxiao's death?"

Liu Kuan: "This humble subject does not know—but later mainstream historians believe it was most likely an accident."

"Firstly, Zhu Youxiao's decision to take a boat trip after going to the West Garden was impromptu. After all, His Majesty said that the emperor's safety was of great importance and he would not usually do such a dangerous thing."

"Secondly, Wei Zhongxian and Madam Ke's power was entirely due to Zhu Youxiao. Without them, Zhu Youxiao's power would vanish. Even if the two of them were stupid, they wouldn't be unaware of this."

"Let's forget about Madam Ke. Wei Zhongxian was able to climb up from among all the eunuchs to the so-called 'Nine Thousand Years' position, and led the eunuch party to suppress the Donglin Party to the point of suffocation. He was definitely not a stupid person."

"Even if some of the eunuchs who accompanied Zhu Youxiao deliberately encouraged him to go boating on the lake, or tampered with things at crucial moments, Wei Zhongxian would not have been completely unaware."

"Of course, this is still just speculation from mainstream historians in later generations. The truth can probably only be found out by traveling back in time."

After a pause, Liu Kuan continued, "Speaking of which, it is precisely because both Emperor Zhengde and Emperor Tianqi died from illness caused by falling into the water that the saying 'Ming emperors are easily dissolved in water' arose on the internet in later generations."

"The Ming emperor's blood is easily soluble in water..."

Zhu Biao, Zhu Di, and Zhu Laozhu all looked uncomfortable upon hearing this.

Zhu Yuanzhang thought that, according to the Five Elements theory, the Ming Dynasty belonged to the Fire element and was indeed restrained by Water. So he said, "Biao'er, remember this again: unless absolutely necessary, the emperor of our Ming Dynasty must not engage in dangerous activities such as boating on the lake!"

Zhu Biao was taken aback.

Actually, boating on the lake itself is not dangerous; it's just that two of the dozen or so emperors of the Ming Dynasty happened to fall into the water and die as a result.

Zhu Biao felt that including this matter in the Imperial Ancestral Instructions was a bit of an exaggeration.

He thought for a moment and said, "Father, isn't it too much of an exaggeration to use such an incident as a warning? If you say that our Ming emperor is afraid of water, then Xiong Ying has already traveled back and forth between Tsushima Island and the capital several times without any incident..."

"What are you saying?!" Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly interrupted Zhu Biao. "Do you actually want something to happen to Xiong Ying?!"

"Your subject has absolutely no such intention!"

"Then let's record it in the secret book as we agreed!"

"Yes."

Upon hearing this, Liu Kuan sighed inwardly: "Old Zhu is really getting old; he's still so superstitious about such things."

As far as he knew, Zhu Xiong Ying had specifically practiced swimming and diving with the navy to ensure his safety on the ship—luckily, he hadn't told Zhu Xiong Ying that the "Great Ming Emperor" was easily soluble in water, otherwise Zhu Xiong Ying probably wouldn't have been able to get the job of overseeing Tsushima Island.

After a moment of silence in the hall, Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Now that we've finished talking about Zhu Changluo and Zhu Youxiao, let's talk about Zhu Youjian."

Liu Kuan said, “Your Majesty, when later generations mention Emperor Chongzhen, Zhu Youjian, most feel sorry for him. This is because compared to Wanli, Taichang, and Tianqi, Zhu Youjian was a much more normal emperor in terms of personal character.”

"First of all, he did not favor one concubine like Wanli and Taichang, allowing the affairs of the harem to affect state affairs. Moreover, he was not as lustful as Longqing and Taichang."

"Furthermore, although he also had a tragic childhood, his personality was not as twisted as Zhu Changluo's, nor was he as attached to his wet nurse as Zhu Youxiao."

"Finally, in terms of physical health, he was much better than Wanli, Longqing, Taichang, and Tianqi—it is said that Zhu Youjian was not only well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics, but also skilled in riding and archery."

"When the Shun army attacked Beijing, Zhu Youjian once tried to break through the siege with several hundred guards and eunuchs."

"Unfortunately, many of the city gates had already secretly surrendered to the Shun army. When Zhu Youjian passed through Qihua Gate, he was even shot by a hail of arrows from the men of Duke Cheng, Zhu Chunchen, and was almost killed..."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately interrupted, "Who is this Duke of Cheng, Zhu Chunchen, a descendant of?"

Liu Kuancai said that Zhu Yuanzhang might have had thoughts of offending Zhu Chunchen's ancestors. Although he thought it was wrong to do so, he had no choice but to say it, so he said: "Your Majesty, the first Duke of Cheng was Zhu Neng, a meritorious official who helped to quell the rebellion."

Zhu Neng?!
Zhu Di was completely surprised when he heard this.

Thinking of Zhu Neng, who was loyal and honest and never compromised in his work, Zhu Di never imagined that his descendant would do such a thing to his own descendants.

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered, "Fourth son, look at the meritorious officials you've bestowed upon them!" Zhu Di snapped out of his daze and quickly said, "Father, don't worry, I'll find a reason to give that Zhu Neng a good beating later and vent your anger!"

Zhu Yuanzhang: "Do we need your help to vent our anger? I'm just afraid that you won't be able to manage your Yan Kingdom well, and that many generations later, the meritorious officials you appointed will betray us."

Listening to Zhu Yuanzhang's sarcastic remarks, not to mention Zhu Di, even Zhu Biao and Liu Kuan were speechless—it was all a matter of later history, was it really necessary to be like this?

Coming to his senses, Zhu Di said, "Your Majesty, I guarantee that this will never happen—I will prepare a 'Secret Book of Ancestral Instructions of the Yan Kingdom' so that future generations can be wary of this matter."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang knew that Zhu Di had no intention of eliminating Zhu Neng.

He also knew that it was irrational to blame Zhu Chunchen's ancestors for something that happened more than two hundred years later in the original history, so he didn't say anything more.

Liu Kuan continued, "In short, Zhu Youjian was good at riding horses and shooting arrows, and his children grew up healthy. He had many advantages that previous Ming emperors did not have."

"However, compared to these advantages, his character flaws were more of a disadvantage for the profession of emperor."

"Later generations believed that Zhu Youjian was ambitious but incompetent, stubborn, impatient and suspicious, and lacked responsibility—these traits are nothing in an ordinary person, but they are fatal in an emperor."

"Some people in later generations even believe that if Zhu Youjian had stayed in the palace as a carpenter, like Zhu Youxiao, and entrusted state affairs to eunuchs or the cabinet, the Ming Dynasty would not have collapsed so quickly."

"Because of his personality, he really made more and more mistakes in the late Ming Dynasty, which can be said to have accelerated the demise of the Ming Dynasty."

"Moreover, even at the very last moment, he did not realize how fatal his shortcomings were in his imperial career. He believed that his ministers had let him down, and in grief and indignation, he hanged himself."

Having said this, Liu Kuan stopped.

Zhu Yuanzhang waited for a while, and seeing that Liu Kuan showed no intention of continuing, he asked, "Why did you stop?"

Liu Kuan said speechlessly, “Your Majesty, Emperor Chongzhen reigned for seventeen years. Too many things happened during that time, and they were all ‘normal’ things at the end of a dynasty. There were no strange events like the ‘Red Pill Case,’ the ‘Palace Relocation Case,’ or the ‘Tianqi Explosion.’”

"As for those normal matters, if we were to discuss them one by one, it would probably take several days to finish. There wouldn't be much useful information for His Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince, or His Highness the Prince of Yan, so it would be pointless to talk about them."

"You rascal, you're just lazy." Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head, then said, "You just mentioned how later generations viewed Chongzhen, do you have your own thoughts on that?"

Liu Kuan said, "Personally, I feel more sympathy for Emperor Chongzhen. First of all, his character flaws were both innate and acquired, not something he chose himself."

"It is said that after the Palace Transfer Incident, Zhu Youjian was handed over to Dong Li for care. Dong Li was dignified and reasonable, which I think is the main reason why Zhu Youjian's personality was not as abnormal as that of Zhu Changluo and Zhu Youxiao."

"Furthermore, Zhu Youjian was not groomed to be an emperor, but he was forced to take over a Ming Dynasty that was in complete disarray."

"Putting everything else aside, after Zhu Youxiao's death, if he were to enter the palace as a prince, he would have to face Wei Zhongxian, Madam Ke, and others left behind by Zhu Youxiao—these people had controlled the palace for many years, and if they were ruthless enough, they could have made Zhu Youjian die quickly as well."

"Zhu Youjian not only ensured that he and his consorts could safely establish themselves in the palace, but also eliminated Wei Zhongxian and Madam Ke's faction in just a few months, as well as their henchmen in the palace."

"Although there may have been a lot of help from Donglin Party members and other civil officials in the outer court, it is already quite remarkable that Zhu Youjian could do this at the age of seventeen."

"In addition, although Zhu Youjian was misled by some court officials, such as the Donglin Party, at the beginning of his reign, he did things that crippled his own henchmen, such as abolishing the Eastern Depot and reducing the power of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"But after a year or two, he found that the civil officials were unreliable, so he reopened the Eastern Depot and supported different factions in the court to control the court. However, he did not manage it well, and such actions only made the Ming Dynasty collapse faster."

"During his seventeen years in power, although Emperor Chongzhen made many wrong decisions and unjustly killed many loyal and capable officials, he also introduced many policies that were actually useful to the Ming Dynasty."

"For example, they valued military examinations, and even the imperial examinations could award extra points for skills such as horsemanship and archery, and military strategy; they were also unconventional in their selection of candidates, and appointed many successful candidates and even outstanding students."

"These two policies alone resulted in the emergence of many capable and relatively loyal civil and military officials in the late Ming Dynasty. As for other reforms, both large and small, there were quite a few, but I will not go into detail about them."

"If the Ming Dynasty that Chongzhen inherited had not been so bad, or if his character flaws had not been so prominent, or if he had received a better education as an emperor, I think even if he could not revive the Ming Dynasty, he would not have let it perish under his rule."

"In addition, even in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen's reign, he still had a chance, which was to abandon the north and decisively move the capital to Nanjing with the crown prince and others."

"At the very least, if the crown prince had been sent to Nanjing to oversee the situation in advance, the Southern Ming would not have faced a situation where several emperors coexisted and commands were inconsistent, which would have allowed the Qing to easily take over Jiangnan."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao and Zhu Di both fell into deep thought.

They were all wondering what ability was most important for an emperor.

Even Zhu Yuanzhang was pondering this question. (End of Chapter)