Bringing the Railway to Daming

After listening to Liu Kuan's words, Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiong Ying both began to think.

Zhu Xiong Ying couldn't help but recall his school days at Dabentang—although Dabentang was established by Zhu Yuanzhang specifically for his princes and grandsons, it could also be considered a primary school.

Are there no instances of bullying or plundering there?

He then recalled the people and events in the school and realized that there was a bit of that too.

For example, a child with a strong personality or who is relatively intelligent can always order other children around and even make them his followers.

In the main hall, those most easily bullied by others are often children whose mothers have no presence, who are neither smart nor very honest.

If such bullying occurs even in a small school with only a few students, it's no wonder that bullying incidents happen in schools with hundreds or even thousands of students.

Upon careful consideration, he realized that there really wasn't a good solution to this type of problem.

Although Zhu Biao had never been to school, he could roughly consider these things. After regaining his senses, he said, "It seems that we can only treat this like we treat officialdom, and have the local education authorities conduct regular publicity and education campaigns to investigate whether schools are engaging in bullying or charging fees arbitrarily."

Liu Kuan nodded, "This is indeed a means to effectively curb school education problems such as bullying and arbitrary charges."

After discussing this matter, Zhu Biao did not let Liu Kuan leave, but instead brought up another matter.

"In May, the imperial court will send several 'Three Judicial Offices' trial teams to the four provinces of Japan to investigate the crimes committed by Japanese nobles and samurai."

"The imperial court plans to dismantle the former Japanese aristocracy and samurai class within one to two years, and then spend several years relocating ordinary people."

"In this way, we can minimize the chances of nobles and samurai inciting the common people of Japan to stage a large-scale rebellion."

At this time, more than half a year had passed since the Ming Dynasty conquered the four provinces of Japan.

Although it was only half a year, the Ming Dynasty was far from being able to control the vast number of people in the four provinces of Japan, but it was enough to establish a basic administrative system, such as provincial government offices, prefectural government offices, county government offices, and even more basic townships, communities, and villages.

With a basic administrative system in place, plus the 100,000 to 200,000 troops still stationed on the island, it is possible to at least ensure that the decrees of the Ming Dynasty can be conveyed to the cities and even the countryside of the island.

At the same time, the Ming Dynasty's policies over the past six months should have built up a certain level of trust among the people of the Japanese islands.

According to Liu Kuan, in the past ten years or so, whether it was the Southern Court of Japan, which was on good terms with the Ming Dynasty, the Yamato Kingdom, which was supported by the Ming Dynasty, or the Northern Court of Japan, which had always resolutely resisted the Ming Dynasty, the people's livelihood was extremely difficult due to war and the economic suppression by the Ming Dynasty.

Unfortunately, the noble classes of Japan, Japan, and the Three Kingdoms were indulging in even greater extravagance than before due to the various luxury goods dumped by the Ming Dynasty, and thus they oppressed Japanese farmers even more ruthlessly.

As a result, over the past decade or so, a large number of landless peasants have emerged in Japan, Japan, and the Three Kingdoms. Even those tenant farmers who cultivated land for nobles and samurai were forced to sell their children due to the exorbitant rents and taxes.

Even when people sold their children, many still starved to death.

In this situation, the plight of the Japanese people cannot be described as poverty, but rather as a life-or-death crisis.

In this life-or-death situation, the common people of Japan did not completely allow themselves to be oppressed by the nobles and samurai class, but instead launched one peasant uprising after another!

Unfortunately, there are very few examples of successful peasant uprisings in Chinese history, and there are practically no purely successful peasant uprisings, let alone in Japan, which has a shorter history and is subject to natural limitations.

Therefore, over the past decade or so, dozens of peasant uprisings that broke out in the three Japanese kingdoms were brutally suppressed by nobles and samurai.

Many of the rebellious Japanese peasants were even captured by nobles and samurai, becoming "commodities" that they sold to Ming Dynasty merchants for export.

In this situation, after the Ming Dynasty designated the four provinces of Japan and dispatched officials, it only needed to first nationalize some of the lands of nobles and samurai whose property had been confiscated during the war, and then rent them to Japanese farmers under the name of official lands, charging rent and taxes that were much lower than before. This would be enough to win the gratitude of the vast majority of the people of Japan.

If the money seized from nobles and samurai is used to build irrigation systems and provide timely famine relief, it will further solidify the loyalty of many Japanese island farmers to the Ming Dynasty.

After all, Japan has not yet formed the concept of ethnicity that would become known later. The so-called "Wa people" are actually called "Wa people," which is similar to the term "Han people" used before the Ming Dynasty.

Not to mention, for over a thousand years, the common people of Japan, influenced by the nobility, regarded China as the Celestial Empire and held it in high esteem.

This made it easier for them to submit to the rule of the Ming Dynasty.

Liu Kuan couldn't help but feel excited when he thought about how many nobles and warriors on the Japanese island would be punished and their homes confiscated, and how a considerable number of them would be beheaded and exiled.

As an amateur history enthusiast, he, like many netizens, once dreamed of leading an army to conquer Japan and avenge his country.

Now that Japan has been destroyed, and even its ruling class will be dismantled, although he was not one of the generals who led the troops, as an important minister of the Ming Dynasty, he has witnessed this history that will excite future generations.

Thinking of this, Liu Kuan couldn't help but say, "It's a pity that I hold the important positions of Director of the Imperial Academy and Grand Councilor. Otherwise, I really want to go to Japan and see how the nobles and samurai of the former three countries of Japan were punished and their property confiscated."

"Let's look at how the officials of our Great Ming Dynasty carried out education on the Japanese islands, enabling the people of the Japanese islands to learn Chinese characters and speak Chinese."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiong Ying exchanged glances, neither of them expecting that Liu Kuan was so concerned about the Ming Dynasty's rule over Japan.

However, considering the heinous crimes Japan committed against China in later generations, the two could understand.

At this moment, Zhu Xiong Ying suddenly had a thought: he wanted to show his respect to Liu Kuan, his most respected teacher.

Then he smiled and said, "Teacher, this time the Three Departments Group is going to Japan Island to question those nobles and warriors from the former Three Kingdoms of Japan. They will surely take many noble ladies from Japan Island into the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution)."

"When I was on Tsushima Island, I heard that the noblewomen of the Japanese islands were quite charming. Should I ask the Imperial Music Bureau to keep an eye out for suitable women so that I can add a few maids from the Japanese island noble families to your residence next year?"

Liu Kuan was stunned. He hadn't expected Zhu Xiong Ying to say such a thing, especially in front of Zhu Biao.

He looked at Zhu Biao and saw that Zhu Biao was smiling, obviously the father and son had probably talked about this matter.

After regaining his senses, he quickly waved his hand and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. The maids in my residence are more than enough. We can forget about hiring Japanese maids."

Then, remembering something, he added, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, if the palace is to take in a noblewoman from the Japanese island, a thorough investigation is necessary to prevent her from harboring resentment and causing trouble in the palace."

"Of course, it's best not to bring these people into the palace, lest they cause trouble."

Zhu Biao laughed and said, "Don't worry, brother-in-law, I know."

Seeing that the father and son had nothing else to say, Liu Kuan left.

Whether Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiong Ying actually heeded his advice is hard to say.

in the afternoon.

Not long after Liu Kuan arrived at the Imperial Workshop from his residence to take up his post, an official came in to report.

"Your Excellency, there is a young man named Ma Shuangxi outside requesting an audience, along with a letter of recommendation."

After speaking, the clerk placed the letter of recommendation on Liu Kuan's desk.

Liu Kuan opened the envelope, glanced at the handwriting, and immediately became serious—it was Old Zhu's handwriting.

The letter wasn't long, and Liu Kuan quickly finished reading it. He then said with a smile, "Go and bring Ma Shuangxi in."

"Yes."

Outside the Tiangong Institute, Ma Shuangxi looked at the gate built of cement, concrete and steel bars, the buildings inside, and the clean streets around him. He felt uneasy and tense from the inside out.

'Does that old Master Huang really know the Marquis of Jiangning? Or is he just boasting and playing a trick on me?'

Ma Shuangxi (Ma Sanlang) began to have doubts again—not because he was suspicious, but because he had never encountered such a good thing before.

Needless to say, the Imperial Workshop used to be just a legendary government office to him, and the Marquis of Jiangning was a legendary figure among the people and his idol.

'What if Old Master Huang is a fraud? Will the Imperial Crafts Bureau think I deliberately impersonated an acquaintance of the Marquis of Jiangning and then arrest me and put me in jail?'

Just as Ma Shuangxi was becoming increasingly uneasy and even wanted to leave, the clerk who had seen him earlier came out and invited him in. His words and expression were noticeably more polite than before.

When Ma Shuangxi stepped into the Tiangong Academy, he felt as if he were walking on clouds, his feet were soft, and his mind was a little blank.

It wasn't until they arrived at a building and saw an ordinary-looking, slightly refined middle-aged man wearing glasses that they came to their senses.

Before he could even offer a greeting, the man asked, "You're Ma Shuangxi, right? According to Master Huang's letter of recommendation, you invented the 'animation' mechanism?"

"Yes," Ma Shuangxi answered reflexively, then bowed and said, "This humble subject, Ma Shuangxi, greets Your Excellency!"

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "I am the Dean here, so please just call me Dean Liu."

"Yes, this humble subject greets Prefect Liu."

Liu Kuan asked, "Did you bring your 'animation' mechanism?"

Ma Shuangxi nodded, "I brought it."

"Alright, go and bring in your animation mechanism so I can see how the playback effect is."

Ma Shuangxi said rather awkwardly, "I'm afraid my animation cart can only be pushed into the courtyard, and I'm afraid it can't be brought into the building."

Liu Kuan laughed and said, "Then let's go outside and take a look."

Then, Liu Kuan left his office and watched Ma Shuangxi demonstrate the first chapter of the animated series "The Return of the Condor Heroes" in front of the office building.

Many officials working in the Imperial Workshop came out to see what was happening, and Liu Kuan did not stop them—he wanted to see how the people of the Ming Dynasty would react to the animation.

After Ma Shuangxi finished demonstrating, Liu Kuan felt it was very rough. In later generations, animation would need to be at least 24 frames per second to deceive people's eyes and make them feel like they were watching "dynamic" scenery.

However, Ma Shuangxi's "animation" mechanism relies on manual shaking to change the canvas, which cannot reach 24 frames per second at all. Therefore, Liu Kuan sees it as having severe frame drops and stuttering.

However, the officials from the Imperial Workshop around them were all watching with great interest, and for a moment no one stopped them, allowing Ma Shuangxi to turn the crank vigorously.

Ma Shuangxi only stopped awkwardly when the canvas suddenly froze due to its quality.

Ma Shuangxi's forehead was covered in fine sweat, whether from exhaustion or nervousness, he hurriedly explained, "My lord, I didn't adjust the canvas properly—I'll adjust it and it will continue playing."

"No need," Liu Kuan waved his hand. (End of Chapter)