Bringing the Railway to Daming

In July of the fourth year of the Yongle reign (1409), the Yellow River diversion project was completed.

Subsequently, the Yellow River, which had been diverting its course to flow into the Huai River and then into the sea for hundreds of years, began to flow into the sea via the Daqing River.

At the end of the month, Zhu Yuanzhang also arrived in the capital by train.

However, after arriving in the capital this time, Zhu Yuanzhang did not visit the Ningguo Duke's residence. Instead, he sent people to bring Liu Kuan, Zhu Huilan, and even Liu Kuan's children and grandson Liu Fucheng, who had been born at the beginning of the year, into the imperial city.

After entering the imperial city, the group was led by palace servants to Yanfu Palace, located next to Xuanwu Lake in the north.

Upon entering the palace, Liu Kuan discovered that Zhu Xiong Ying and Zhu Wen Yao were also there. He prepared to lead his entire family to pay their respects, but Zhu Xiong Ying stopped him.

Zhu Xiong Ying pointed inside the curtain.

Liu Kuan then noticed that Zhu Yuanzhang was sitting in a specially made wheelchair, his hair and beard were snow-white and slightly gray, and his eyes were closed, as if he was dozing off.

At this moment, Zhu Xiong Ying came over and whispered, "Teacher, please wait patiently for a while until Grandfather wakes up before we talk about it."

Liu Kuan nodded.

However, while adults like Liu Kuan could wait, Liu Fucheng, who was not even a year old, didn't know what waiting meant. Whether it was because Tu Susu hadn't held him properly or something else, he started crying quite loudly after only a short while.

Zhu Yuanzhang was thus awakened by the noise.

He squinted at Liu Kuan and the others for a while with his cloudy old eyes before saying, "Liu Kuan and Huilan are here?"

"Greetings, Your Majesty the Emperor." Liu Kuan immediately led his family in bowing.

He then bowed to Zhu Xiong Ying and Zhu Wen Yao.

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Liu Kuan, I heard you have a grandson. Bring him over so we can see him."

With the signal from Zhu Xiong Ying and Liu Kuan, Tu Su Su handed Liu Fu Cheng over to a palace maid, who then carried him to the wheelchair and knelt down beside him.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat up straight with some difficulty, watched Liu Fucheng play for a while, and then laughed, "This child really has a lucky face. He will definitely be a blessed person in the future. No wonder you named him Fucheng."

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "With His Majesty's words, this child is definitely a blessed person."

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "We originally wanted to go to your residence, but since we can't move around easily now, we'll just summon your whole family to the palace."

Liu Kuan said, "When His Majesty the Emperor came to the capital, Huilan and I should have brought the children to visit him."

For some reason, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't respond to Liu Kuan's words, and seemed to be talking to himself: "It's almost the third day of the eighth month again. We didn't come last year, and after thinking it over, we still want to wait with you on the bridge this year. What if we encounter that strange fog again?"

Liu Kuan asked, "How is His Majesty's health? Is it alright for him to be out in the wind on the bridge?"

"Don't worry, it's not cold. Even though my body isn't what it used to be, I can still sit on the bridge for a while."

Then, Zhu Yuanzhang chatted with Liu Kuan about other things intermittently, and then he fell asleep again.

At Zhu Xiong Ying's signal, Liu Kuan led his family out of the bedroom.

Upon reaching the eaves, Liu Kuan asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, has His Majesty's illness worsened again?"

Zhu Xiong Ying smiled bitterly, "It seems that the teacher has noticed that since the year before last, the Emperor's health has gradually deteriorated, and he has become less mobile. Although he has children to accompany him and people often visit him, his condition has gradually worsened."

“Since the Duke of Wei passed away last winter, my grandfather’s illness has worsened. Sometimes he speaks incoherently or repeats the same phrase over and over again. If this continues, I’m afraid his health will deteriorate even faster.”

In the end, Zhu Xiong Ying showed a worried expression.

Liu Kuan didn't know how to comfort him.

Zhu Yuanzhang is now 82 years old, eleven or twelve years older than in the original historical records. In Liu Kuan's view, even if Zhu Yuanzhang really died, there would be no regrets; in folk terms, it would be a "happy death."

If things were to drag on until Zhu Yuanzhang was bedridden, completely incapacitated, and even utterly demented, it wouldn't be so good for this founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

But he could not possibly say these things to Zhu Xiong Ying. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Your Majesty has ordered the imperial physicians and doctors from the medical academy to form a team to examine His Majesty's health daily and devise a treatment plan, which may slow down the deterioration of his condition."

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded, "That's pretty much how it's done nowadays."

Afterwards, Liu Kuan bid farewell to Zhu Xiong Ying and Zhu Wen Yao, and left the palace with his family—Zhu Yuanzhang was already so ill that their presence would be of no benefit. As for caring for him and fulfilling filial duties, there were already dedicated personnel available, and it wasn't their turn yet.

A few days later, it was the third day of the eighth lunar month.

That morning, Liu Kuan ate breakfast early as usual, and then waited for Zhu Yuanzhang's carriage at the gate of the mansion, and together they went to the cross-river bridge.

Because of the hot weather and Zhu Yuanzhang's poor health, Liu Kuan did not ride in the same carriage with him this time.

Once they reached the bridge, Zhu Yuanzhang was carried out of the carriage in a wheelchair by two eunuchs.

After the wheelchair was placed on the ground, the eunuch tried to push it, but Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said, "I can walk!"

His voice was quite loud, and his eyes were brighter than when Liu Kuan visited him that day; he seemed to be in good spirits today.

However, he still struggled for a while before he could stand up.

Seeing this, Liu Kuan rushed over to help him up, and this time Zhu Yuanzhang did not refuse.

The two arrived at the bridge railing and looked down at the rolling river flowing eastward. Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly asked, "What was the name of the author of 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' again?"

"His name is Luo Guanzhong."

"That poem in his book is truly beautiful," Zhu Yuanzhang remarked, squinting his old eyes. "The mighty Yangtze River flows eastward, its waves washing away heroes. No matter who you are or what achievements you make, you will eventually grow old and die."

Liu Kuan thought to himself: This poem wasn't written by Luo Guanzhong, but by Yang Shen later. So, did Old Zhu misunderstand it?

Then he said, “Your Majesty, Sima Qian left behind a saying: ‘Death is inevitable for everyone, but it can be as weighty as Mount Tai or as light as a feather.’”

"And later generations have a similar saying: Some people are alive, but they are already dead; some people are dead, but they are still alive."

"His Majesty the Emperor expelled the Tartars and restored China. He then governed the Ming Dynasty for two or three decades, leading it onto the right path of development. As a result, the Ming Dynasty has become the empire that the sun never sets. His achievements will be remembered for all time. Even after his passing, he will surely be remembered by future generations."

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed when he heard this, "You rascal, now that you're a grandfather, you're getting better and better at flattering people."

Liu Kuan said, "I am speaking the truth and I am not flattering you."

Zhu Yuanzhang did not continue the topic, but instead gazed at the eastward flowing river and said quietly, "Liu Kuan, sometimes I think, what if you hadn't come to the Ming Dynasty, and our Ming Dynasty had continued to follow the original historical trajectory? How terrible would that have been?"

"We finally managed to drive out the barbarians and restore the Han people's clothing and customs, but we lacked vision and insight in governing the country, which left behind a lot of problems."

"Many of their descendants were also unworthy. Although they enjoyed the country for more than two hundred years, they eventually turned this beautiful land into a den of iniquity."

"Sometimes when I think about these things, I'm really afraid that everything we have now is just a dream..."

Liu Kuan paused for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty is overthinking it. I am standing right here, with the bridge spanning the river so solid beneath my feet. How could all of this be a dream?"

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled at Liu Kuan and said, "Yes, we were overthinking it."

Suddenly someone exclaimed, "It's fogging up!"

It's getting foggy?
Liu Kuan looked out over the river and, sure enough, found that fog had rolled in!

He immediately helped Zhu Yuanzhang sit down and took out his phone to check future news—in the process, Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to become more agile and quickly sat down.

However, when Liu Kuan took out his phone and pressed the display button, he found that the screen of his phone, which he had turned on before leaving that morning, would not light up.

Liu Kuan's heart sank immediately, thinking: Could it be that his phone is broken too? (End of Chapter)