Bringing the Railway to Daming

Upon entering the hall, Liu Kuan smelled a strong herbal odor.

Several imperial physicians were arguing in hushed tones.

They were speaking in Chinese medicine terminology, which Liu Kuan couldn't understand. So he went inside and saw Zhu Yuanzhang sitting by the bed and Zhu Xiong Ying kneeling under the bed. Lady Lü was also standing to the side, her eyes red and swollen.

Liu Kuan took a few steps forward and, through the open curtains, saw Zhu Biao lying on the dragon bed.

Compared to a few years ago, Zhu Biao has not only lost a lot of weight, but his complexion is also sallow, his hair is completely white, and his eyes are dull, making him look like a man in his sixties.

He sighed inwardly, then bowed and said, "Your subject pays respects to His Majesty the Emperor, Your Majesty, and His Highness the Crown Prince."

Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent. Zhu Biao was probably too weak to speak. Zhu Xiong Ying turned around and said, "Teacher, you've arrived? Rise... Father Emperor wants you to speak by the bedside."

Liu Kuan came to the bedside and knelt down on a futon.

Zhu Biao turned his head to look at Liu Kuan, and even showed a slight smile, "Brother-in-law, I'm sorry to have asked you to enter the palace in the middle of the night... I'm afraid my health can't keep up. I'm ashamed."

Recalling the past twenty-odd years of his relationship with Zhu Biao, and seeing Zhu Biao's current state of frailty, Liu Kuan couldn't help but feel sad. However, he comforted Zhu Biao, saying, "Your Majesty, don't think too much. Have confidence in yourself. You will definitely get through this."

Zhu Biao said weakly, "I am already very satisfied to be able to live for another ten years or so. It's just that I feel guilty towards my father, that I cannot fulfill my filial duty, and that my father, an old man, must outlive his black-haired son."

At this point, Zhu Biao turned his head to look at Zhu Yuanzhang.

Liu Kuan also looked at Zhu Yuanzhang.

But Zhu Yuanzhang's old eyes were already red and swollen, filled with tears. He couldn't help but grasp Zhu Biao's hand and said, "Biao'er, Liu Kuan is right. Don't give up on yourself. Have faith. We will definitely get through this."

Perhaps due to limited energy, Zhu Biao did not continue discussing the matter.

He then looked at Liu Kuan and said, "Brother-in-law, although Xiong Ying is getting old, he is somewhat biased and radical in handling some matters."

"Besides his father, probably only you, his teacher, can truly persuade him. In the future, if he does anything wrong, you must... offer him advice."

Liu Kuan was momentarily at a loss for words.

Zhu Xiong Ying then said, "Father will definitely get better. If I have made any mistakes, I am willing to listen to Father and correct them one by one."

Zhu Biao extended his hand to Zhu Xiong Ying, who quickly placed it on his hand.

“Your emphasis on technology is fine... but you cannot belittle or even reject Confucianism. Technology is the way to a strong nation, but Confucianism and Legalism are... the foundation of governance.”

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded with tears in his eyes, "Your subject understands."

Zhu Biao looked at Zhu Yuanzhang again, his smile pale, and said, "Father, your son is unfilial. I'm afraid... I'll have to trouble you to keep an eye on Xiong Ying more in the future."

"Biao'er..."

Zhu Biao spoke intermittently for a while, but eventually fell asleep due to exhaustion.

It was already four or five in the morning.

Liu Kuan listened carefully to the discussion among the imperial physicians about Zhu Biao's condition. It was generally believed that Zhu Biao's body was already severely weak, and this cold had caused multiple complications, which would inevitably further deplete his vital energy.

Whether they can survive this winter is uncertain; it largely depends on Zhu Biao's will.

Liu Kuan left the palace as dawn was breaking.

As soon as he returned to the manor, Zhu Huilan came to greet him and asked anxiously, "How is my imperial brother's health?"

Liu Kuan sighed, "It's not good. The imperial physician said that whether he can survive this winter depends on himself. Even if he does, his vital energy will be greatly depleted, and he will probably be bedridden for most of the time, making it difficult for him to handle state affairs."

Zhu Huilan said, "As long as we can get through this, state affairs can be left to the Crown Prince."

Liu Kuan didn't say anything more. He felt that Zhu Biao's will to survive wasn't strong enough, and he might not be able to make it through the winter...

More than a month passed in the blink of an eye, and Zhu Biao's health, thanks to the care of several imperial physicians, held out until the New Year.

However, before Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Xiong Ying, and others could rejoice, Zhu Biao passed away late at night on the second day of the lunar new year.

On the second day of the first month of the tenth year of the Wenlong reign (1404), the second emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Wenlong, passed away. He had reigned for nearly ten years and died at the age of fifty.

When the emperor dies, the whole country mourns.

However, a country cannot be without a ruler for a day. Therefore, seven days after Zhu Biao's death, Zhu Xiong Ying ascended the throne as the crown prince.

The reign title will be temporarily retained as Wenlong, that is, the tenth year of Wenlong.

After more than a month of mourning, Zhu Xiong Ying asked the Ministry of Rites to decide on a new reign title. To Liu Kuan’s surprise, Zhu Xiong Ying was not satisfied with any of the several alternative reign titles listed by the Ministry of Rites and ultimately personally “drafted” “Yongle” as the reign title!
I have no idea what he was thinking.

Subsequently, Zhu Xiong Ying began to issue a series of imperial edicts, such as bestowing the title of Empress Dowager upon Lady Lü, posthumously honoring her birth mother as Empress Dowager, bestowing the title of Empress upon the Crown Princess Liu, and bestowing the title of Crown Prince upon his eldest son Zhu Wenyao.

There is also an imperial edict for Liu Kuan, which lists a series of achievements he has made since becoming a subject of the Ming Dynasty. It especially mentions his "foundation" of science and his status as "Imperial Tutor". He was eventually granted a title of Duke of Ningguo and the title of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince.

Liu Kuan was quite surprised, and he didn't know if this was Zhu Xiong Ying's original intention, or Zhu Biao's instruction before his death, or both.

Besides this, Liu Kuan paid more attention to another matter—during Zhu Biao's mourning period, he noticed that Zhu Yuanzhang's spirit and energy were not as good as before, and he occasionally seemed to be in a daze.

After the mourning period for Zhu Biao ended, Zhu Yuanzhang went straight back to the Fengyang Palace without leaving any words, showing that he was very confident in Zhu Xiong Ying, who had just ascended the throne.

If you do the math, Zhu Yuanzhang is now 77 years old. His health was originally quite good, but who knows how many more years he might live after this blow from Zhu Biao's death...

···
In the blink of an eye, ten years of the Wenlong era had passed, and it was the first year of the Yongle era (1405).

Just two days after the Spring Festival, while Liu Kuan was on duty at the Imperial Workshop, someone from the palace came to summon him.

Liu Kuan then followed the eunuch to the Fengxian Hall, where he saw that in addition to Zhu Xiong Ying, Prince Yu, Zhu Yunwen, was also there.

"Greetings, Your Majesty. Greetings, Prince Yu."

"Rise." Zhu Xiong Ying smiled and raised his hand, then said directly, "The reason I called you here is that my second brother has accumulated enough military merits and passed the civil service exam last year. He is preparing to establish a fiefdom overseas."

"He has some questions he would like to ask, and he would be grateful if you could come here, teacher."

When talking about Zhu Yunwen's accumulation of military merits, another matter must be mentioned - after the autumn harvest in the seventh year of Wenlong, the Ming Dynasty sent troops south from the north, first destroying the Ava Kingdom in central Myanmar, and then destroying the Pegu Kingdom in the south, thus taking over the whole of Myanmar.

In the eighth year of the Wenlong reign, the Ming Dynasty established the Mianbei Province and the Southern Myanmar Regional Military Commission.

In other words, the Ming Dynasty now has 28 provinces and 11 major military commands.

Zhu Yunwen's military achievements were naturally accumulated during the campaign against Burma.

Logically, Zhu Yunwen should have inquired about such a trivial matter privately with him. However, Zhu Yunwen was probably afraid of causing Zhu Xiong Ying to misunderstand, so he contacted him through Zhu Xiong Ying.

Having thought all this through, Liu Kuan bowed to Zhu Yunwen and asked, "What would Your Highness, the Prince of Yu, wish to consult?"

Zhu Yunwen is now twenty-eight years old and has served in the army for ten years. Although influenced by Liu Kuan, Zhu Yunwen in this era has learned a lot about natural sciences, but he still has a great fondness for Confucianism, which gives him the temperament of a young scholar-general.

He returned the greeting with a bow and said, "I am currently undecided about whether to go to Africa or America to serve as a vassal, so I would like to hear your opinion, teacher."

Upon hearing this, Liu Kuan countered with a question, "But I wonder, after Your Highness Prince Yu establishes your fiefdom, do you intend to slowly cultivate and develop the land, or do you wish to quickly lay the foundation for your fiefdom?"

"This..." Zhu Yunwen glanced subconsciously at Zhu Xiong Ying on the dragon throne, then said, "I actually dislike fighting and prefer to develop the land slowly." (End of Chapter)