The Ming Dynasty: The opening scene features Zhu Di angrily accusing him of illegitimate succession.

On the palace wall, Qiu Fu paced back and forth, looking troubled.

The person above seems to be one of our own, or even a high-ranking official of the third rank. This colorful ball in the sky doesn't seem to pose much of a threat, but it shows signs of rushing into the palace. What should we do?

Zhu Di's edict arrived just then.

Qiu Fu watched the hot air balloon plummeting rapidly and waved his hand.

"Order everyone to put away their weapons and closely monitor the airbags."

The hot air balloon lurched and spun in the air currents, its altitude suddenly dropping, with soldiers from the Beijing Garrison and the Imperial Guards following closely behind, chasing it all the way to the side hall of the palace.

Outside a side hall of the palace, Princess Xianning was tugging at her third sister, Princess Ancheng's sleeve, and standing on tiptoe to look out of the palace gate.

She had just changed into a plain-colored palace dress and was planning to sneak out to see the bustling city while the palace restrictions were slightly relaxed, but unexpectedly, she suddenly caught sight of a huge, swaying creature floating in the sky.

"Third Sister, look! What's that?" Princess Xianning asked in surprise.

Her intense curiosity made her forget her original purpose for leaving the palace, and she only focused on looking up at the object she had never seen before.

But the next moment, the curiosity on her face turned into panic.

The silk air bladder, now mostly deflated, plummeted straight toward them.

"Quickly back!" Princess Ancheng pulled her back a few steps.

Before they could get far enough away, the hot air balloon crashed with a loud bang onto an open ground not far away, kicking up a cloud of dust that swept over them.

Princess Xianning instinctively closed her eyes, and only peeked out to look after the dust had settled slightly.

A large number of imperial guards in full armor and brocade-clad imperial guards carrying embroidered spring knives swarmed in, instantly surrounding the hot air balloon. The cold glint of the drawn swords made her involuntarily move further away.

Princess Xianning was curious.

What is this thing? It can actually carry people into the sky, could it be some kind of monster?

She looked at the wicker basket surrounded by soldiers, and saw two disheveled figures crawling out of it. Her curiosity grew, and she forgot her earlier panic.

Before the dust from the wicker basket had settled, Lin Yue climbed out, holding onto the edge of the basket.

His crimson official robes had already been thrown away in the chaos, leaving him only in a white undershirt with dust on the collar and cuffs.

Lin Yue and Zheng He scrambled out of the basket, and before they could even stand properly, they saw two girls dressed in commoner clothes standing not far away.

He straightened up, looked around at the soldiers and palace buildings that were packed tightly together, and instead of showing any fear after causing trouble, he put one hand to his forehead and let out a standard Uchiha laugh, his voice hearty and cheerful.

"Damn it, I've escaped with my life. I'm the first person in the Ming Dynasty to have escaped death like this."

Soon, several Imperial Guards stepped forward and interrupted Lin Yue's laughter.

"Scholar Lin, Lord Zheng, His Majesty summons you both to the Wenhua Hall for an audience immediately."

Lin Yue suppressed his smile and exchanged a glance with Zheng He. They both understood. Since hot air balloons had flown into the palace, a scolding was inevitable.

......

Inside the Wenhua Hall, Zhu Di sat on his throne, his face somber. Only a few eunuchs stood by his side, creating a tense atmosphere.

As soon as Lin Yue and Zheng He entered, they heard Zhu Di angrily rebuke them: "Lin Yue, you acted recklessly, causing chaos in the capital. Do you know your crime?"

Acknowledging guilt? He must be guilty; no one dares to confess more than Lin Yue.

Lin Yue immediately proclaimed, "Your Majesty, I am guilty! I took advantage of my position to ride in a hot air balloon, which went out of control and entered the palace, disturbing Your Majesty's presence and causing the entire city to be placed under martial law. I deserve to die for this crime!"

"Your Majesty is the Holy Son of Heaven; you should execute me to uphold the law!"

Seeing this, Zheng He could only helplessly plead guilty: "Your Majesty, I know I am guilty. Please punish me."

Zhu Di stared at Lin Yue, intending to rebuke him further, but seeing his ruthless attitude of killing him at will, he laughed in anger instead.

"You are the complete opposite of those cynics. They are quick to kill treacherous officials and villains, otherwise the world will be in chaos. But you are always begging for punishment and beheading."

"Lin Yue, keep your good head for now, keep working on your transparent glass and treasure shipyard."

Zhu Di paced back and forth, shaking his head repeatedly, clearly unable to do anything about Lin Yue.

"Enough. I'll ask you this: was that colorful balloon you rode in today the hot air balloon you mentioned before? Can it really carry people into the sky?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Yue immediately perked up and straightened up to reply.

"Your Majesty, it is a hot air balloon modeled after the Kongming lantern."

Yesterday, it took off several meters in its first test flight. If the rope hadn't broken and gone out of control today, it could have flown even higher!

Standing atop it, one can see the four city walls of Nanjing, the Qinhuai River, and Zhongshan Mountain, and even the Yangtze River dozens of miles away...

Seeing him speak with such enthusiasm, Zhu Di felt a pang of envy.

Zhu Di also wanted to see the view from the sky, but as the emperor, his every move concerned the foundation of the country, so he probably couldn't act as recklessly as Lin Yue.

After a moment of reflection, Zhu Di turned to Zheng He and asked, "Let's get back to business. How is the construction of the treasure shipyard progressing?"

Zheng He quickly bowed and replied, his tone respectful and steady: "Your Majesty, all construction work at the treasure shipyard is progressing according to plan."

I have already mobilized skilled craftsmen from Jiangnan. The shipyard, craftsmen's barracks, and material warehouses have all been completed, and the necessary materials such as timber, ironware, and tung oil have been delivered one after another.

My colleagues in the Ministry of Works and I have been supervising the construction day and night, without daring to slack off in the slightest. We expect to begin construction of the ships in June of this year. The first batch will consist of small and medium-sized ships. Once the technology is mature, we will then build the large treasure ships.

I believe that within two years, we will surely be able to successfully build the fleet for the voyages to the Western Ocean.

Historically, when Zheng He officially embarked on his voyages to the Western Ocean, the fleet was unprecedented in size, consisting of more than 240 ships, forming an unprecedented super-large fleet. The core of the fleet consisted of 62 treasure ships, the largest of which was 44.4 zhang long and 18 zhang wide (approximately 151 meters × 61.6 meters, although there is no physical evidence to verify this, and it is a subject of considerable debate).

Historically, the Longjiang Shipyard was first built in the first year of the Yongle reign, and the fleet officially set sail in the third year of the Yongle reign. It took more than two years from construction to completion.

(However, recent archaeological discoveries have revealed that Zheng He actually set sail in the first year of the Yongle reign, which corroborates the claim that Zhu Di found his nephew.)

Today, the many ingenious ideas proposed by Lin Yue, along with the Treasure Ship Academy that brings together craftsmen, have indirectly benefited shipbuilding through the integration of various technologies.

In addition, the support provided by Zhu Di far exceeded the intensity of historical support. Whether it was materials such as timber and ironware, or related personnel and funds, the Ming Dynasty court gave priority to allocating them.

In reality, Zheng He's claim that the treasure fleet would be completed within two years was a conservative estimate.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di nodded in satisfaction: "Very good, you handled this matter well."

The affairs of the coastal frontier are crucial to the prestige of the Ming Dynasty and the submission of the surrounding barbarian tribes. They must be handled with utmost care. The necessary materials and funds can be discussed directly with the Ministry of Revenue; I grant you permission to act expediently.

"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty!" Zheng He bowed and accepted the decree.

Zhu Di then looked at Lin Yue and, once again, made the double standard decision to let this ignorant madman go.

Emperor Yongle had become quite accustomed to Lin Yue's astonishing actions.

After a moment's thought, Zhu Di said, "Since you are a Hanlin lecturer and are here today, why don't you fulfill your duty and tell me about the words of the sages and discuss your ideas on governing the country?"