"Grandpa, I had a dream last night, a very long dream."

After some small talk, Zhu Ying thought for a while and then spoke.

The carriage was moving forward steadily. Apparently, there was no shock absorber at that time. The fact that it could move so steadily showed that the coachman was definitely an expert.

Of course, if you are not an expert, you are not qualified to be the old man’s driver.

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he became interested. When he saw the expression of his eldest grandson, he suddenly became serious.

Asked: "What did your eldest grandson dream about yesterday?"

Zhu Ying did not answer immediately, but looked slightly forward, appearing a little empty, as if he was recalling the plot of his dream.

After a long while, he said leisurely, "I dreamed of many soldiers dressed in the uniforms of the Ming Dynasty soldiers, crying to me. At a glance, there were more than a thousand of them."

"Their bodies were covered in dirt and grime. They seemed to be enduring endless pain and torture, as if they were filled with resentment and grievances."

When he said this, there was even obvious horror in Zhu Ying's eyes.

He said with a trembling voice: "The sky was gray, there was no moonlight, no starlight, the soil on the ground was somewhat black, and there were no living things except those soldiers."

"They told me that there is no reincarnation there, no life or death, only constant pain and suffering."

"The biting cold wind howled, like a hidden knife cutting through me. Even in my dreams, I felt incomparable pain."

"The soldiers formed a human wall to block the cold wind for me, and shouted at me to leave and never go over there again."

"It was at this moment that I felt like I was flying, getting farther and farther away. The entire earth became clearer and clearer in front of my eyes."

"There are countless people there. Outside the soldiers, there are people dressed in the clothes of palace maids and eunuchs. Their figures are strange. In the distance, there are countless blurry figures, but my grandson can no longer see them clearly."

"I woke up from a nightmare, thinking it was just a weird dream."

"However, my right arm was extremely painful and I pulled up my sleeve and could not see any scars."

"My grandson remembers clearly that the pain in his right arm was exactly where he was injured in his dream."

Zhu Ying finished speaking in one breath. The further he spoke, the more panicked and frightened he became, and he even began to tremble all over.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang hurriedly held Zhu Ying's hand.

Feeling the warmth brought by the old man's rough big hands, Zhu Ying seemed to feel better.

"Grandson, it was because of this dream that you asked the Royal Guards for the files of the Xiaoling Mausoleum."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face looked a little heavy.

In his opinion, this kind of weird thing was obviously a warning, or even a sign.

The eldest grandson described it in such detail that it was obvious that he had a very clear memory and must have seen it with his own eyes.

When the eldest grandson mentioned the thousands of soldiers covered in mud, Zhu Yuanzhang also realized who the eldest grandson was talking about.

"Yes, the clothes in my grandson's dream are very familiar. They obviously belong to the Xiaoling Guard, so I feel strange." Zhu Ying's emotions seemed to have stabilized a lot, and he replied in a clear tone.

"Could it be that the place you went to, my grandson, is the underworld?" Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but ask.

Zhu Ying shook his head and said, "I thought so too, but the soldiers told me that it is not the underworld, but a gap between heaven and earth."

"That place is called the place of burial alive. All those who died as a result of burial alive will go there and will never be able to be reborn." Zhu Ying recalled and explained.

"The place where people are buried alive." Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but recite it, and then said: "That is to say, the people who are buried alive will not go to the underworld, but will break away and go to this place where people are buried alive."

Zhu Ying nodded and said affirmatively: "That's right. Not only that, their resentment will reduce the virtue of the person who died for them."

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and asked in a deep voice, "Has your eldest grandson also been hurt by them?"

Zhu Ying replied: "Grandpa, don't worry. With the protection of those soldiers, your grandson has not been harmed. It's just..."

"Just what?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked hurriedly.

"It's just that your grandson would like to ask grandpa to take out their bones and bury them so that they can be freed from eternal torture and enter reincarnation." Zhu Ying said solemnly.

"As should be done, we will arrange people to take out their remains." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said.

Then he said with some doubt: "Those who were buried alive will not enter the reincarnation, why did the previous dynasty advocate burial alive so much?"

Zhu Ying pondered for a moment and said, "Grandpa, when I left, I looked around the burial grounds and saw people wearing clothes from the Central Plains. I didn't see anyone wearing clothes from other ethnic groups."

"Perhaps this is because we, the descendants of Shenzhou, only worship heaven and earth, our ancestors, and saints. We are not like other tribes that believe in ghosts and gods."

Zhu Ying expressed his guess.

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little angry when he heard this, and said, "It is so. The Mongols have misled me. If it were not for my eldest grandson, I would still be kept in the dark by the previous dynasty."

"This may be related to the fact that I died once before. If not, I would not know it. It is not too late now."

Zhu Ying was relieved to see that the old man had obviously believed the white lie she had woven. Then, she asked with some concern, "I wonder if grandma is doing well."

Zhu Yuanzhang knew what his grandson meant and said, "Don't worry about that. Your grandmother is kind-hearted and no one will be buried alive with her."

Zhu Ying heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Grandpa, I dare to say that this practice of human sacrifice originated in ancient times and was gradually abolished over the years. Apparently, there are people who have attained enlightenment and are aware of this place of human sacrifice, just like me."

"Since the Tang and Song dynasties, foreign tribes have invaded our Central Plains and brought this tradition of human sacrifice. So my grandson believes that this system of human sacrifice should be abolished to avoid wasting merit."

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he nodded seriously. It was obvious that he trusted his eldest grandson's words very much.

Besides, the eldest grandson has died once, so I think there will be some special things about him.

He just didn't expect that the previous Mongol Yuan Dynasty was so vicious that it actually used burial sacrifice to deceive the Central Plains.

In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, this was the Mongols and other foreign races who wanted to use burial sacrifices to consume the good karma of the Central Plains so that they could occupy China for a long time.

Seeing that the old man agreed with this statement, Zhu Ying couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Don't blame me for lying to you, old man, but this system of burying people alive with their dead is too cruel and inhumane. It should have been abolished long ago.

In fact, Zhu Ying finds it difficult to accept many of the current systems of the Ming Dynasty.

But you have to eat your food one bite at a time and walk your journey one step at a time.

Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. Some things are useless to rush and need to be solved slowly.

At this time, the carriage gradually stopped, and it was obvious that the Gunpowder Department had arrived.

This time, coming here with the old man, the feeling is completely different.

When he got off the carriage, there were already more than a dozen eunuchs and dozens of soldiers waiting outside.

When they saw the old man, they shouted "Long live the old man".

Wow, it was the first time for Zhu Ying to see such a scene, it was really majestic.

I followed the old man into the lobby of the Gunpowder Department and sat down.

"Are the gunpowder pellets we asked you to make ready? Bring them here for us to see." Zhu Yuanzhang gave the order directly without any further ado.

"I obey your order."

An eunuch had obviously prepared it long ago, holding a wooden tray covered with a red cloth and on top was a plate full of black gunpowder particles.

"Grandson, come and take a look. Are these the gunpowder particles you mentioned?" Zhu Yuanzhang said.

Zhu Yuanzhang's call of "grandson" immediately stunned all the eunuchs.

Everyone, including the commander-in-chief guarding the Gunpowder Department, was shocked.

Although the Gunpowder Department is isolated from the outside world, it does not mean that it is not connected to the imperial palace.

Especially the eunuchs, they probably know much more about the princes and grandchildren of the palace and the concubines in the harem than Zhu Yuanzhang.

This is what they have to start learning on the first day they enter the palace.

They felt somewhat familiar with the princes who followed His Majesty today, but also somewhat unsure of themselves.

When they heard His Majesty call him "grandson", everyone quickly recalled in their minds, but they could not remember Zhu Ying's identity.

Zhu Ying stepped forward and touched the black powder that had already formed particles with his hand. He even squeezed it hard to feel the approximate strength before he could break it up. It was still relatively compact.

The eunuchs dared not make a sound and waited for Zhu Ying's inspection.

This is a task personally ordered by His Majesty. If it is done well, not only will it be a disaster, but if it is messed up, I guess a lot of people will suffer.

Seeing Zhu Ying crush a small particle in one go, their hearts suddenly rose to their throats.

Zhu Ying didn't think much about it. This granulated gunpowder was the first time he had seen it in his life.

Now I look at it with some curiosity.

"Have you ever tested its power? How much stronger is it than ordinary gunpowder?" Zhu Ying asked after reading it.

These granulated black gunpowders are just like sesame seeds and mung beans. It is difficult to tell what they are like. You have to experiment to find out.

"this……"

Several eunuchs from the Gunpowder Department looked at each other, and one of them bowed and said, "Your Highness, this gunpowder has not been tested since it was made, and we don't know its power."

Zhu Ying was not surprised and said directly: "Then find some musketeers and artillerymen to come over and try out the effects."

Upon hearing this, the eunuch subconsciously turned his gaze to Zhu Yuanzhang.

"What are you looking at me for? From now on, the gunpowder department will be under the control of our eldest grandson," Zhu Yuanzhang scolded.

"I obey your order." The eunuch was frightened by Zhu Yuanzhang's appearance and replied quickly.

Then quickly arrange for the musketeers to come over.

"Master, let's go take a look together."

"Well, let's see if this gunpowder is as magical as our eldest grandson said."

Led by the eunuch from the Gunpowder Department, the grandfather and grandson headed towards the open space used for special firearms testing.

When we came to this large open space.

The eunuchs had already arranged ten musketeers and ten artillerymen to be ready.

"Let's try the musket first."

Zhu Ying said.

The ten musketeers held their guns in one hand, with a rack in front of them and leather bags for gunpowder and incense on their waists.

After receiving Zhu Ying's instructions, he quickly began to pour granular black gunpowder into the musket, and then set it up and fixed it.

Then take out the fire starter, light the incense, and prepare to start the fire.