The First Prince of the Ming Dynasty

Prince Ning's Mansion.

Gongsun Jinzheng, representing Prince Ning, met with Su Qi, the manager of the Ning Prince's Construction Office.

"Sir, I have never heard of any Red Barbarian Cannon, let alone know its power. Are you saying that Your Highness is going to build cannons? If outsiders find out, I'm afraid... it will damage the reputation of the Prince's Mansion, and the court will not allow the Prince's Mansion to build cannons."

Su Qi seemed very worried.

Serving in the Prince's Palace means living a precarious life.

Gongsun Jin said, "I was just asking, I didn't say I wanted to build them. These Hongyi cannons are very powerful and would be very helpful for the border affairs of the Ming Dynasty. You haven't even heard of them?"

Su Qi said, "I am not an expert on machine guns and such matters. Moreover, the power of artillery is something that cannot be determined by hearsay but by seeing. I have not seen it myself, so I cannot make any conclusions. Even if it is powerful, that is something the court should be concerned about."

"Yes, hearing is believing..."

Gongsun Jin was also having some doubts.

To this day, it is only Zhu Yi's side of the story, and who can verify its authenticity?

Even if Zhu Yi's historical records are all nonsense, as long as he can actually produce a "Red Barbarian Cannon" with power comparable to his description, then it doesn't matter whether it's nonsense or not.

Just then, a commotion broke out outside.

"What's wrong?" Gongsun Jin stood up and glanced towards the front yard.

"It seems... the young master has returned." Su Qi peeked out, a hint of flirtatiousness on his face, and said with a smile.

The eldest son of Prince Ning died young in the sixteenth year of the Hongzhi reign. Now, his second son, Zhu Gonggui, is being groomed as the heir apparent. Zhu Chenhao also plans to send Zhu Gonggui to the capital to serve as the incense master at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, a privilege usually reserved for the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty.

"Why are you making such a racket in broad daylight?" Gongsun Jin asked with a hint of disdain.

Su Qi smiled and said, "The young master enjoys associating with scholars, especially young ones. He often exchanges poems with them, perhaps because he had a few too many drinks. The young master is naturally carefree and treats us all very well. Who in the Prince's mansion doesn't like him?"

Gongsun Jin muttered to himself, "He may not be very capable, but he has a whole repertoire of ways to win people's hearts."

Prince Ning is ambitious and seems destined for great things, so why is his son so incompetent?

No, now that there's a third child, things seem a bit more normal.

But his claim that he came from 500 years in the future is a bit far-fetched.

The servants of the Prince's mansion must first learn to choose sides when it comes to the issue of succession. In the past, Gongsun Jin would undoubtedly have sided with Zhu Gonggui, but now...

Gongsun Jin snapped out of his thoughts and said, "Alright, you can go now. I'll come back to you if I need anything else. Have someone bring over all the accounts from the construction bureau. The prince wants me to review them carefully. The prince's expenses will be quite high in the next two years, especially for your construction bureau. You mustn't take this opportunity to line your own pockets."

"That's right, that's right... Even if there are benefits, Mr. Gongsun, you will definitely get a share... I misspoke..."

……

……

A separate courtyard.

Zhu Yi spent the whole morning observing his new home, especially his new study, with its dazzling collection of books on the shelves.

To his surprise, these books were almost brand new “ancient books”. They were new in terms of material, but they were ancient books because they should not belong to the postmodern era. They should all be books from the Ming Dynasty, and many of them were not printed versions but handwritten copies.

"Where did you find this? The 'Annals of Huizhou Prefecture'? Is this Huizhou?" Zhu Yi picked up a book and examined it for a long time, his mind filled with doubts.

Just as he was engrossed in studying these books, trying to find clues about his environment,

He heard faint footsteps behind him, which suddenly alerted him.

When he turned around warily, he saw the two sisters, Xiaotang and Xiaomei, coming in from outside, one carrying a wooden basin of water and the other holding a dry cloth and a blanket.

"Why did you come in so suddenly without a sound? What are you doing?" Zhu Yi didn't like the feeling of being watched.

Xiao Tang said, "Master, I've brought you some water to wash your feet, so I can help you wash them."

Zhu Yi looked helpless, glared at the two women, and said, "Why are you washing your feet in broad daylight? Put your things down and come here!"

The two women, unaware of what was going on, followed Zhu Yi's instructions, put down what they were doing, and stood side by side in front of the bookshelf next to Zhu Yi, as if forming a line.

Xiao Tang asked, "Shall I serve you while you read, Master?"

"Can you read?" Zhu Yi asked.

The two women shook their heads together.

This also made Zhu Yi realize that only when the two girls shook their heads in denial did they have a tacit understanding that only exists between sisters. Their little heads shook like rattles. If one of them had two little braids, they would look even more like sisters.

"How did you get here? I mean, who picked you up this morning?" Zhu Yi asked.

"I don't know him, so I had the two of us get into the carriage and we arrived at the back gate. After we came in, I gave him a few simple instructions and told him to serve him well," Xiao Tang said.

Zhu Yi said, "Then let me ask you, where is your mother now?"

Zhu Yi now understands that it is not easy to find the truth from two naive girls, so he should try another approach.

The fact that the younger ones live in a daze all day can be explained by the fact that they haven't figured things out yet.

Surely the old man isn't a complete idiot?

Xiao Tang said with a somewhat sorrowful expression, "When I parted from my mother, she said that she had been washing clothes for a wealthy family recently, but I don't know where she was."

Zhu Yi asked, "When was the last time you met?"

"It's been... a long time." Xiao Tang didn't seem to be very good with numbers, and couldn't even say the number of days or months.

Xiaomei mentioned, "It wasn't winter yet back then. My mother said she'd try to make us two winter coats and have someone send them over when it got colder."

Zhu Yi pondered the meaning behind those words for a moment, but couldn't quite grasp it.

"Call the manager of this courtyard." Zhu Yi realized he couldn't get any information from the two young, talented sisters, so he had to settle for second best.

The two girls were overjoyed, and ran out the door. Just as they were about to leave, Xiaomei suddenly remembered something and came back to fetch the water basin.

"Hurry up and get things done quickly. I don't like people who procrastinate." Zhu Yi practically kicked him out.

The two women seemed afraid of being kicked out of the courtyard, so they could only run errands for Zhu Yi as quickly as possible.

……

……

Before long, the steward of the courtyard, a shrewd-looking man in his thirties, stood smiling in front of Zhu Yi.

Zhu Yi felt very uncomfortable seeing someone with a goatee at such a young age. You know, this style is completely out of fashion hundreds of years later... Who would grow a beard for no reason, let alone a goatee?

This looks more like an alternative style of a down-on-his-luck literary youth, or perhaps... a Taoist priest.

"Sir, what are your orders?" The man didn't introduce himself and was very wary, probably because he had been instructed by his superiors to be careful around Zhu Yi.

Zhu Yi asked, "If I asked you what this place is, and who your master is, you certainly wouldn't tell me the truth, would you?"

"Sir, please don't joke around. You are the master, and aren't you my master?" The man smiled, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth filled with vegetable leaves, which Zhu Yi found unbearable to look at.

"Where is that Mr. Gong? I'd like to see him. Could you pass on my message?" Zhu Yi didn't really want to talk to this person, so he thought of Gongsun Jin instead.

At least Gongsun Jin belongs to the upper echelons of this game, a second-tier leader, unlike these lowly Karami who are merely obedient and follow orders.

"You want to see Mr. Gong? I'm afraid... it won't be easy." The man then began to make excuses.

Zhu Yi said, "I suddenly thought of something important that I want to tell him. If he doesn't come, I might not remember it later."

"I'm going, I'm going." The man looked helpless and muttered to himself as he was about to leave, "What are these powerful people up to?"

Zhu Yi thought to himself, "Don't tell me you don't know what they're up to, I don't understand either!"

……

……

As soon as Gongsun Jin entered the courtyard, he immediately ordered everyone to retreat.

He then went straight to Zhu Yi's study, where he saw Zhu Yi holding a brush and writing something on a piece of paper.

He took a few steps forward with an expectant look on his face and said respectfully, "Brother Zhu, you... summoned me here... for something important?"

"You can't see Mr. Gong unless it's something important, right?"

Zhu Yi put down his pen, smiled, and appeared calm and composed.

He wanted to gradually take the initiative.

Gongsun Jin said awkwardly, "It's nothing important, but I'll have a hard time explaining myself when I get back."

Zhu Yi stood up, walked to the bookshelf, and said, "These books were all prepared specifically for me, were they deliberately shown to me?"

"What do you mean by that?" Gongsun Jin smiled awkwardly.

I thought to myself, to make you believe this is the Chenghua era, I also stayed up all night to choose books for you and did a lot of hard work.

You noticed that already?

Zhu Yi said, "Before, you were the ones asking me questions and making demands. Now it's my turn. I've made a list on paper, and I want to obtain the books and items on it. Can you help me find them? If you can, I think it will better stimulate my memory and help you obtain more historical materials."

Gongsun Jin did not pick up the papers on the table, but leaned over to take a curious look. The first one was clearly written as "Yongle Encyclopedia" and "Book of Liang, Tang, Jin, Han and Zhou".

His eyes widened, and he couldn't help but smile wryly, saying, "Brother Zhu, what exactly are you trying to do? I really can't figure it out!"