night,

Zhu Yuanzhang was reviewing memorials, but he seemed a little absent-minded.

The disagreement with his eldest grandson was like a thorn in his throat, distracting him from the situation.

As for the degree of favor he bestows on his eldest grandson, at present, he ranks first in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart. Now his eldest grandson is the apple of his eye.

Now there are some conflicts, which make Zhu Yuanzhang always worried.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but turn his head and look back.

There is a wall, but behind the wall is the Kunning Palace.

That's where my eldest grandson is now.

After a slight hesitation, Zhu Yuanzhang still stood up.

"Your Majesty." Liu He, who was at the door, saw His Majesty suddenly coming over and hurriedly bowed.

"Let's go to Kunning Palace to see our eldest grandson and light the lamp."

"I obey your order."

A hint of joy flashed across Liu He's face, which meant that His Majesty had forgiven His Royal Highness Chang Sun. This seemed incredible to Liu He, and he also understood the position of His Royal Highness Chang Sun in His Majesty's mind.

Ever since Liu He took over as the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, he has never seen His Majesty show weakness to anyone.

In Kunning Palace, Zhu Ying was still constantly calculating the possibility of track implementation and analyzing the costs as much as possible.

Includes the track laying plan and the simple structure of the track.

Just then, there was a noise outside the door. Zhu Ying looked up and saw that it was the old man.

"grandfather."

Zhu Ying stood up, and was surprised for a moment, followed by being moved.

He didn't expect that the old man would come directly here at this time.

"We just came to see our eldest grandson. Why is he still writing at this time?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked casually after looking at the black words on the white paper on the table.

Zhu Ying paused for a moment, hesitated for a moment and said, "I didn't write anything, just some thoughts about the recent training of soldiers."

He didn't say anything about the tracks because he didn't want to worry the old man too much.

After careful study, it was found that the manpower and material resources consumed in building the track were indeed too huge without an industrial foundation.

It would be fine to build just one, but the huge maintenance costs in the future would easily drag down the Ming Dynasty.

Tracks may have to be used as a war preparedness.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang did not see the literal content clearly, he could certainly guess a thing or two.

After a slight sigh, he said, "Grandson, what I said earlier may have been a bit too much, but the matter of the track is of great importance, so we must think carefully."

Zhu Ying felt bad when he heard this, and replied, "Grandpa, this is my fault. I didn't think it through and just said it directly, and I also ignored the risks involved."

"I won't mention the matter of the track again in the future."

Zhu Ying gritted her teeth and said affirmatively.

The production of tracks was a gamble for the Ming Dynasty.

The current Ming Dynasty is like a newborn baby. No one knows whether it can withstand this storm.

Since we can’t make tracks, we’ll focus on sea transportation in the future.

At this point, Zhu Ying finally figured it out.

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard that his eldest grandson had retreated first, a look of relief flashed in his eyes.

"I am very pleased that my eldest grandson thinks this way. Even if he becomes the emperor in the future, he must listen to the advice of his subjects and must not act on his own."

Zhu Yuanzhang said softly.

The eldest grandson is very outstanding, and precisely because of his excellence, he has a very egoistic personality.

Such an overly strong personality has both advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage is that he will not be disturbed by his ministers, but the disadvantage is that once a mistake is made, it is very likely that he will persist to the end.

After hearing what the old man said, Zhu Ying also began to reflect on himself.

From the first arrival in Ming Dynasty to the establishment of frontier power.

During this process, there was no military advisor to help. Everything was completely controlled, directed and dispatched by Zhu Ying.

In the power of the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce, in order to maintain his own ruling power, Zhu Ying's strong belief in personality cult has created an extremely dictatorial character.

All matters, big or small, are decided by him.

Relying on the knowledge and insights brought by later generations, the journey has been relatively smooth until now.

No one is perfect. Zhu Ying, who usually seems to have a gentle personality, reveals that he is domineering in his bones after experiencing many ups and downs.

Seeing that his eldest grandson had given up the plan for the track, Zhu Yuanzhang did not say much about the pilot track construction. Instead, he talked to his eldest grandson about sweet potatoes, muskets, and soldier training.

Zhu Ying returned to the desk, threw the white paper aside calmly, and then began to talk with the old man.

In the study, the voices of Zhu Ying and Zhu Yuanzhang talking could be heard continuously.

At the door, a smile finally appeared on Liu He's face.

…

"Are you sure you heard it right? Big Brother and Grandpa Huang had an argument?"

In Chunhe Hall, Zhu Yunwen's eyes revealed joy, and he repeatedly emphasized to the young eunuch.

"Reporting to Your Highness, when His Majesty was having dinner in the Huagai Palace, soon after His Highness Changsun entered, His Majesty's furious voice was heard. The surrounding eunuchs all heard this, and I am absolutely sure that I did not hear it wrong."

The young eunuch said affirmatively.

He was not the only one who heard this. The noise was so loud that almost all the eunuchs around him heard it.

Even in the Jinshen Hall at the back, some noises could be heard.

"Okay, you go down first."

"I'll take my leave."

After receiving the news, Zhu Yunwen couldn't wait to go to the back hall. He wanted to tell his mother the news.

Zhu Yunwen, who had originally lost hope, suddenly felt hopeful at this moment.

Although we still don’t know what exactly happened, since it could make the Emperor so angry, it must be a big deal.

Now his position as the crown prince has not been revoked yet. If the emperor is disappointed with his elder brother, he will no longer choose to announce his identity.

Who knows, maybe in September, I will be crowned as promised.

Although this hope was slim, it still allowed Zhu Yunwen to see the possibility.

The eldest brother and the emperor had a disagreement, which showed that the relationship between them was not unbreakable.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yunwen couldn't help but quicken his pace.

However, when he arrived at the back hall, Zhu Yunwen was stopped by the eunuch at the door.

"Your Highness, the Queen is resting now. The Queen has instructed that if Your Highness wants to talk about His Majesty's wrath, then you should wait until tomorrow."

When the eunuch saw that His Royal Highness the Grandson was frowning, he quickly spoke first.

Zhu Yunwen was about to scold the eunuch, but when he heard this, he stopped.

Obviously, mother already knew about this, but why did she make me wait until tomorrow to talk about it?

Zhu Yunwen was a little confused.

But after hesitating for a long time, he controlled his temper and turned away.

Since mother already knows, maybe she has made other arrangements.

Of course, Zhu Yunwen had unreserved trust in his mother.

Inside the house, Mrs. Lu naturally heard the noise outside, but she had no intention of getting up.

No one knows a son better than his mother. As early as after hearing that His Majesty was angry, Lu guessed what her son Yunwen might think.

"Yun Wen, some things are not as simple as you think. How can just one thing offset the longing for you after not seeing you for ten years? Back then, your father was also chased and beaten by His Majesty with a stick."

"Even if that's the case, what can we do about it? It will still be the same as it is."

…

The next morning, the morning court was held in Fengtian Hall.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat high on the dragon throne. After all the civil and military officials entered the hall, he began to deal with the issues that needed to be resolved in the new day.

About half an hour later, when many things had been discussed, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly said:

"I have an idea recently. Let me share it with you all for discussion."

The hall suddenly became quiet.

All the civil and military officials leaned forward slightly, trying to hear His Majesty's words clearly. After all, the Fengtian Hall was very large, and if it was a little noisy, the officials at the back would not be able to hear His Majesty's voice at all.

"Recently, I have come up with a new idea about the post station. If we open up a road, build tracks, and run carriages on the tracks, can we pull more goods?"

"If it's enough, can we even mobilize the soldiers?"

After saying this, Zhu Yuanzhang once again explained in detail the possibility of the wooden track.

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sudden buzz of discussion in the hall, and all the ministers began to discuss the climate.

There was some confusion in the back row. Some people did not hear His Majesty's words clearly, so they asked the officials in the front row.

Among the many people discussing, only one official had a strange look on his face.

He was Tie Xuan, a fifth-rank official in the Governor's Office.

Tie Xuan was a man of strong character, quick-witted and intelligent. When he was studying at the Imperial College, he was well-versed in classics and history and achieved outstanding results. He was selected from the Imperial College to be appointed as the Secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and is now transferred to the Governor's Office to judge affairs.

He once tried an unresolved case and immediately made a reasonable judgment. His talent was highly valued by Zhu Yuanzhang, who gave him the name "Dingshi".

Tie Xuan was from Nanyang, Henan Province. His fame in later generations came from the fact that he refused to surrender to the rebellious Prince of Yan Zhu Di during the Jingnan Rebellion, and he gathered the defeated soldiers to defend Jinan and repel Prince of Yan Zhu Di. After Zhu Di seized the throne, he was crucified.

In later generations, there were many "Tie Gong" temples all over Shandong, all of which were dedicated to Tie Xuan. The people of Jinan even regarded him as a local god or city god.

After hearing His Majesty's story, Tie Xuan showed a strange look.

This is because when he was a child, he saw the track that Your Majesty described in the Nanyang Mountains.

That track was very famous in the small village at that time. It was the childhood memory of many children. Although everyone found it strange, they did not think much about its meaning.

Tie Xuan carefully recalled the tracks he had seen as a child, and immediately discovered that the structure was very similar to what Your Majesty said. It could not be said to be completely similar, but it could only be exactly the same.

Both the sleepers and the rails are exactly the same, except that the sleepers have long since rotted away, while the rails are still very well preserved.

Tie Xuan didn't know at the moment that this section of track in his hometown of Nanyang was the pre-Qin railway that shocked the entire archaeological community in later generations.

Railways are one of the greatest inventions in modern history, and have brought human transportation to a very large level.

Even Zhu Ying didn't know that wooden tracks had been invented nearly two thousand years ago in the Pre-Qin period.

After nearly two thousand years, the track wood of the Qin Dynasty is still well preserved after being treated with anti-corrosion, which shows the wisdom of the ancients in the pre-Qin period.

The reason why the sleepers were rotten and had not been treated with anti-corrosion was actually intentional by the people of the pre-Qin period.

The relatively soft sleepers can be closely combined with the very hard rammed roadbed to make the track smooth.

This approach to rail transportation has been extremely efficient, whether in the Qin Dynasty two thousand years ago or in the Ming Dynasty today.

If we really want to run at full speed day and night, treating the horses as consumables, traveling five or six hundred miles a day would be no problem.

It's just a track carriage, which requires a lot of horses.

After the war at the end of the Qin Dynasty, the Pre-Qin tracks suffered great damage. By the Han Dynasty, due to a serious shortage of horses, the tracks were naturally abandoned.

Due to the impact of abandoned tracks on traffic, the tracks were gradually dismantled. The wood of the tracks was hard and many of them were used as beams by nearby residents.

Thus, the pre-Qin track disappeared in the long river of history.

At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, in order to offset the influence of the Qin Dynasty, some of the achievements of the Qin Dynasty would naturally not be mentioned.

After the Han Dynasty unified the country, the people had time to recuperate and there was no need for too many wars. Repairing the tracks was very costly, and since there was an extreme shortage of horses, it naturally became unnecessary.

After Tie Xuan carefully pondered it in his mind, he no longer hesitated, walked into the hall, bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang who was sitting on the dragon throne and said:

"Your Majesty, I have a report on the track."

Zhu Yuanzhang saw this and realized that this was a minister he valued, so he said, "Dingshi, do you have any ideas? Tell us. This track thing is just a hypothesis. Dingshi speaks frankly."