Bringing the Railway to Daming

No?
Ma Shuangxi's face turned pale upon hearing Liu Kuan's words, thinking that Liu Kuan was going to deny his invention because of the problem with the animation mechanism getting stuck earlier.

But then Liu Kuan asked the young official beside him, "Shiqi, what do you think of this animation mechanism?"

Yang Shiqi pondered and said, "In my opinion, the inspiration for this animation mechanism should come from a carousel. Although its structure is a bit simple, it does allow us to see a moving painting."

"Novels and comic books are quite popular in the Ming Dynasty nowadays. If we can improve the animation mechanism to make the animation more natural and reduce the freezing problem we just experienced, it might become a new form of entertainment."

Liu Kuan laughed and said, "You're right. If this thing can be improved, it can indeed become a new form of entertainment, or even a very important one."

"Actually, it's not just for entertainment; it can also be used for education and publicity. For example, if idioms are made into animations, children will learn them faster and remember them more vividly."

"As for promotion, we can refer to novels, comic books, songs, and operas—animation is often more popular than books and picture books, and can even be combined with songs and operas."

After listening, Yang Shiqi cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Liu Kuan, saying, "Your Excellency's insight is far superior; I cannot match it."

Every time Liu Kuan heard Yang Shiqi's "profound insights," he couldn't help but think of "the Chairman's profound insights," but he had to admit that he quite enjoyed this flattery.

Then he said to Ma Shuangxi, "Your animation mechanism is very good, but there is still a lot of room for improvement."

"The Tiangong Academy can give you two options: First, you can enter the Tiangong Academy as a researcher and establish a research institute specializing in animation, which can be considered as entering officialdom through technology."

"Although the researcher level is low at the beginning, and you can only be considered a clerk, as long as you keep producing results, becoming a formal official is not a problem. It is even possible to enter the Tiangong Academy or the Ministry of Works and become a mid-to-high-level official in the future."

"Secondly, Tiangong Academy can provide funding and technical support, invest in you, and jointly establish a factory with you that specializes in the research and production of animation machines."

“Since it’s about setting up a factory, the main goal is to make money, with research and invention as a secondary objective. You can become the factory owner. Although you won’t be an official, you shouldn’t earn less money, and you’ll have more freedom.”

"Ma Shuangxi, what will you choose?"

Ma Shuangxi was stunned for a moment after hearing this.

He didn't expect that Liu Kuan would not only recognize his invention, but also offer such generous "treatment"—in Ma Shuangxi's opinion, both options were good.

However, it was precisely because everything was so good that he was in a dilemma.

One option is a promotion, the other is wealth. Which should you choose?
Seeing that Ma Shuangxi looked troubled, Liu Kuan smiled and said, "If you find it difficult to choose, there's no need to rush. You can think about it for a few days and then come to the Tiangong Academy to find me when you've made up your mind."

Ma Shuangxi gritted his teeth and said, "Reporting to Chief Physician Liu, I have already thought it through—the reason I was able to invent this animation mechanism is indeed, as this official just said, because I got the inspiration from the carousel."

"I am not particularly good at inventions and creations. I studied in school for a few years, and my grades in natural sciences were just average."

"Therefore, the second option is probably the only suitable choice for a commoner like me."

Liu Kuan was slightly disappointed—as the head of the Tiangong Academy, he actually hoped to acquire a future "inventor" rather than a future capitalist.

Since Ma Shuangxi said so, regardless of whether he was an inventor or not, he was destined to become a capitalist.

But Liu Kuan did not break his promise. Instead, he nodded and said, "Alright, let's go with the second option—Shiqi, you'll be in charge of the investment from Tiangong Academy in Ma Shuangxi to open an animation studio."

Yang Shiqi was slightly surprised, not expecting Liu Kuan to let him do specific tasks so soon.

This means that he will be leaving his position as Liu Kuan's secretary and officially entering the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty.

This made him somewhat hesitant, but after regaining his composure, he still replied, "Your subordinate obeys!"
···
However, Zhu Yuanzhang only stayed in Fengyang for a little over half a month before he couldn't stay any longer—although there weren't many particularly young concubines in his harem, there were quite a few beautiful middle-aged women. Yet, none of them could hold his heart like Empress Ma.

In fact, the fact that he didn't need to handle state affairs and spent his days idly in the Fengyang Palace made Zhu Yuanzhang uneasy.

He took Liu Chang'an and Liu Ruoyue to cultivate an acre of vegetable garden in the Fengyang Palace, but he couldn't stay there any longer. So he had his men make some preparations and went on another incognito visit.

Because the weather was about to get hot, Zhu Yuanzhang chose a place that was neither too far nor too near—Shandong. He wanted to go to Shandong to take a look.

Firstly, when he was conquering the country, he never went to Shandong; the northernmost point he went to was Kaifeng.

Secondly, Shandong, being a peninsula, faces the Korean Peninsula and Japan across the sea. Now that the Ming Dynasty has brought both the Korean Peninsula and Japan under its rule, Shandong Province, besides Jilin Commandery, is likely the most affected by these two places.

Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the guards responsible for protecting him to go to Shandong ahead of time, while he himself took more than a hundred attendants, including guards, imperial guards, and eunuchs, to Shandong by train.

On the train, Zhu Yuanzhang looked out the window at the scenery rushing past. Although it was his fourth time taking the train, he was still full of emotion: the train is so convenient!

Liu Chang'an and Liu Ruoyue, standing nearby, were extremely excited—it was their first time riding a train!
Because Liu Kuan was very busy with his daily work, he rarely had long holidays (he only had about ten days before and after the Lunar New Year, and he was also busy preparing for the New Year). So even when he took the children out to play, they rarely went far away and mostly stayed in the suburbs of the capital.

So even though Liu Kuan brought the train to the Ming Dynasty, none of his children have ever ridden a train before.

Liu Ruoyue stood by the window for a while, then suddenly couldn't help but hum a song.

"I boarded the train to Lhasa, to see the magical Potala Palace, to see the most beautiful Gesang flowers blooming beneath the snow-capped mountains..."

Lhasa?

Is this a place name in Ü-Tsang?

After listening to Liu Ruoyue hum the song, Zhu Yuanzhang had a sudden thought and asked, "Ruoyue, tell your grandfather, what is the name of this song?"

Liu Ruoyue said, "Hmm, I don't remember very clearly either, I think it was called 'Taking the Train to Lhasa'."

At this moment, Liu Chang'an couldn't help but complain, "Little sister, the song you sang is completely out of place. We're on a train heading to Shandong, not Lhasa."

Liu Ruoyue said angrily, "I just want to sing, it's none of your business."

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "Alright, what are you two arguing about? Can either of you tell your grandfather where Lhasa is?"

Liu Ruoyue frowned and began to think.

Liu Chang'an immediately raised his hand and said, "I know, in the U-Tsang Commandery!"

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "You got it right, but there's no reward."

Liu Chang'an was slightly disappointed, while Liu Ruoyue let out a silvery laugh...
Compared to more than a decade ago, the speed of trains in the Ming Dynasty has improved considerably. Therefore, even taking into account the time spent getting off at Xuzhou and crossing the river by boat, Zhu Yuanzhang and his entourage only took half a day to reach Qufu, the first place they planned to visit incognito in Shandong.

He wouldn't have bothered going to Shandong, but since he was already there, Zhu Yuanzhang felt he had no reason not to visit Confucius's hometown.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Guards are all in position. You may disembark now," Li Gui said softly to Zhu Yuanzhang as he entered the carriage.

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately woke up Liu Chang'an and Liu Ruoyue, who were asleep in bed, and smiled at the two still drowsy children, saying, "Get up quickly, Grandpa will take you to visit the descendants of Confucius." (End of this chapter)