Crossover: Is this how it's sewn?

Chapter 45, Section 043: ETO and the Trisolarans

A magnificent palace, its style reminiscent of the Ming and Qing Forbidden City, its imposing red walls and green tiles gleaming against the backdrop of blue sky and white clouds.

The scenes reflected before Xu Zhenqing and Zhao Yingkong were far beyond what modern ancient buildings could compare to.

"Announcement: Xu Zhenqing and others, descendants of Zheng He's navy, are here to pay their respects."

"Master Xu, why haven't you come to see me yet?"

Xu Zhenqing looked at the little eunuch beside him, took Zhao Yingkong's hand and walked towards the steps of Fengtian Hall. Zhao Yingkong thought to herself that since it was fake anyway, she might as well let it be.

The civil and military officials, dressed in neat rows, cast curious glances at the assembled ministers.

Then came the plot snippets. Xu Zhenqing deserves a thumbs up; it's nice that he doesn't have to pay homage to the emperor.

The two quickly understood the plot: Zheng He's fleet did not stop at Java and the Red Sea during its voyages to the Western Ocean, but instead opened the Suez Canal and sailed towards Europe.

Provoked, Zheng He ordered campaigns against various European countries. Finally, with the support of European astronomers and the Hun Tian theory, Zheng He overcame all opposition and prepared to return home across the Atlantic. He eventually died in the Americas.

Xu Zhenqing and Zhao Yingkong were descendants of Zheng He's fleet, and they did not return to China until the Tianqi reign.

Xu Zhenqing was somewhat speechless; these ETOs were quite adept at playing games.

"Minister Xu, I've heard that people in your fleet say our world is a sphere, is that true?"

"Your Majesty, the world is indeed a sphere, as evidenced by the credentials of the descendants of European nations and the native inhabitants of the Americas."

"It feels pretty good," Xu Zhenqing thought. "The plot summary already says that this part of the story is just a formality. The real dialogue has already been completed, unlike some bad TV dramas where the emperor speaks English and debates with foreign envoys."

These descendants of European nations prostrated themselves on the ground as eunuchs presented the official documents. The Tianqi Emperor, who had already read these petitions, pretended to read two or three pages out of respect for the procedure.

The scene shifts to the Tianqi Emperor, dressed in casual clothes, fiddling with an armillary sphere while asking Xu Zhenqing, "Minister Xu, how did Zheng He die in the Americas?"

"Your Majesty, it is three suns in the sky," Xu Zhenqing answered truthfully.

"Absurd! There can't be two suns in the sky, nor two kings on earth. If there were three suns in the sky, why didn't the Observatory record it?"

"Because it was nighttime in the Eastern Hemisphere at the time, and the sun was in the Western Hemisphere." Xu Zhenqing thought for a moment and added a patch to this statement. He had no idea how Zheng He died; he just wanted to try to pass the level quickly.

"Minister Xu, do you think I am ignorant of geography? If there were truly three suns overhead in the Western Hemisphere, they would surely dry up the Atlantic Ocean, and the moisture would reach the Ming Dynasty with the air currents. However, in reality, there was no large-scale rainfall in the Ming Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Chengzu."

These words made Xu Zhenqing think to himself, "What the hell? This Tianqi Emperor actually knows geography?"

"Your Majesty, this is because the seawater evaporates into space, so of course it can't form precipitation." Xu Zhenqing continued to patch things up, convinced that he couldn't handle this AI.

The Tianqi Emperor paused for a moment, then continued his inquiry: "Minister Xu, if the Atlantic Ocean truly evaporated, why didn't the Pacific Ocean replenish it, causing a drop in sea level?"

"Your Majesty, this is because the melting of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has replenished the seawater missing from the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean is not as large as the Pacific Ocean, so the sea level does not appear to have dropped." Xu Zhenqing continued to make up a story, directly copying the answer, to see what you would do.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Emperor Tianqi said, having given up all hope.

"We must believe that under His Majesty's wise leadership and the wisdom of officials both inside and outside the court, there will surely be a solution." Xu Zhenqing was adamant about not sticking to the pot; if there were a solution, would he be here arguing with you?

The plot takes another turn, with Empress Zhang Yan and Zhao Yingkong arguing over their parents, because Zhao Yingkong genuinely doesn't understand the Three-Body Problem game.

The Tianqi Emperor, his cabinet ministers, and his beloved 9,900-year-old son held a warm meeting.

"My dear ministers, please feel free to speak your minds."

"Your Majesty, I believe that the Zhou rites should be used to regulate the golden crows in the sky, so that only one of them may appear at a time," the Second Grand Secretary Confucius replied respectfully.

Xu Zhenqing thought it was quite impressive that even Confucius had become a Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, I believe that relying solely on etiquette and law to restrain them will inevitably breed spoiled behavior. We should raise our great bows and use both threats and inducements," Da Yi, dressed in a beast-patterned robe, shouted.

"How dare you shout like this in front of His Majesty! Take him away and give him forty-seven strokes of the cane!" the 9,900-year-old Wei Zhongxian roared, his voice trembling.

Hou Yi was pulled away, and Wei Zhongxian, with his feet turned outwards, gave a wink to the eunuch beside him.

"Your Majesty, I believe it is the right thing to do..."

Xu Zhenqing was amazed by the ministers' schemes, unaware that the Trisolarans in the Trisolaran system were engaged in a heated discussion.

"Chief, this Xu Zhenqing must know our coordinates. I told you long ago that ETO is untrustworthy," the Speaker of the Society said to the Trisolaran leader.

"Investigate thoroughly and see how many people share your thoughts. Burn them all," the leader said coldly. If this wasn't dealt with, the Trisolarans would explode internally.

The minds of a large number of Trisolarans were thoroughly investigated and then thrown into an incinerator to become energy.

The latest novel is first published here!

"Now the Chief Technology Officer will report."

"Chief, the previous chief technologist has been burned. I'm here to report now," the new chief technologist said, trembling.

"According to the message from Sophon, Earth is actually an advanced civilization disguised as a low-level civilization, but they do not actually know our coordinates."

The leader nodded in satisfaction, and then together they criticized Ye Wenjie for being treacherous and cunning, disguising herself as a low-level civilization to deceive them about their coordinates.

"Then there is a war of physical forms in the universe, and the appearance of Earthlings is the current mainstream in the universe, so I suggest changing our physical form. With our genetic programming capabilities, this is not difficult."

"Once we have a mainstream form, we will have better survival capabilities, which will be advantageous to us. Those who are unwilling to burn will be burned, and we will use a gentle fire."

After the leader agreed, a referendum was held, and the agenda was passed in less than a minute, demonstrating the terrifying efficiency of the Trisolarans.

"Regarding Xu Zhenqing's remarks, I think he may have discovered our star system during astronomical observations and then fabricated the story. But just in case, I suggest sending a modified Trisolaran to Earth. C776, which has always been in charge of Earth's entertainment management, could be a suitable candidate."

"This concerns the safety of our civilization, vote."

This agenda was also adopted, sparing no resources to send C776 to Earth, making it a nail driven into the planet.

As each agenda item was passed, the Trisolaran civilization began to operate smoothly.

"This is a critical moment for the survival of civilization. I hereby announce that two-thirds of the living resources will be allocated to the fleet's development." The leader issued the final order directly.

(End of this chapter)