After spending half a day in Mocheng, Zhu Yuanzhang was very satisfied. He then left with Zhu Yunwen and continued their journey north.
Meanwhile, many cities in the north, having heard that Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Yuanzhang were touring the country and intend to go north, made preparations to be inspected by the Crown Prince and the Emperor at any time.
Therefore, these northern cities have all cleaned themselves up thoroughly over the past few days, and their appearance has been presented very well.
Of course, it's not just about appearances; in reality, the various regions of the Ming Dynasty are already quite good, and they are merely adding icing on the cake.
Sitting on the train, Zhu Yuanzhang once again enjoyed the magnificent landscape of the Ming Dynasty with the fastest speed and the widest view.
At that moment, as he sat on the train, he felt as if an era had fallen, and a new era was rising more powerfully.
That is the new world created by Zhu Yunwen.
Everything was so full of imagination. Looking at the various crops outside the train, many of which Zhu Yuanzhang didn't even recognize, looking at the hard, wide, and flat cement roads outside the train, looking at the pedestrians coming and going on the cement roads.
Some were riding tricycles, others were riding bicycles, and their faces were all beaming with happy smiles.
At that moment, Zhu Yuanzhang felt an inexplicable and intense sense of satisfaction.
Although he did not create any of this, it all belongs to the Ming Dynasty.
The Ming Dynasty was created by him, and Zhu Yunwen was also his descendant.
This greatly pleased Zhu Yuanzhang, so he said to Zhu Yunwen:
"It's hard to imagine that all of this stemmed from the changes brought about by you, the Crown Prince. The impact of this is beyond words."
In the past, I always thought that I was the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and that I must be the most capable and the most domineering emperor in the Ming Dynasty.
But now we have to admit that the most capable emperor of the Ming Dynasty was definitely you, Yunzhi, who truly deserves to be called the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Yunwen took a deep breath, but then just smiled and didn't say anything more.
At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly had another idea and said to Zhu Yunwen:
"This trip north has likely been reported to many people in various places, and perhaps there are some things they want us to see."
So how about we use a strategy of feigning one thing while secretly doing another? We can appear to be traveling by train, but secretly we could be on a clandestine mission.
After Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, Zhu Yunwen immediately showed interest and said:
"Grandpa, this is a good suggestion. I like it this way, so I never reveal my identity when I go out."
This way, we can gain a true understanding of the situation in different places, and local officials will have no opportunity to falsify information.
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said:
"That's exactly what we mean. So, how should we plan this out?"
After Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, Zhu Yunwen thought about it carefully and then said:
"Let the train keep going, but when it gets to a certain place, don't let it stop. We'll take another route."
Or, Your Majesty, you could sit on the train and go to some places to observe, while I travel incognito. We can act separately, one in the open and one in the shadows, and then see if we see the same things.
Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said:
"You think we're too old to handle the hassle of an incognito visit?"
Zhu Yunwen gave a wry smile, neither admitting nor denying it.
Clearly, he did have such thoughts in mind. Indeed, traveling incognito is not an easy task; it is a test of one's physical strength. It is not like traveling by train now, where one has people serving and taking care of one, which is much easier.
This incognito visit required discretion; one couldn't bring too many people with them. For Zhu Yuanzhang, this was a difficult issue to guarantee. He pondered for a moment before saying:
"If my grandfather and I were to travel incognito, we wouldn't be on the train, and the people in some places might be disappointed. Besides, it would be easy for others to find out that we are traveling incognito."
"Very well, for various reasons, we'll take the train north. Grandson, you'll have to put on a bit of a timid journey, conducting your own private inspection."
Zhu Yunwen secretly breathed a sigh of relief; he certainly didn't want Zhu Yuanzhang to go on an incognito visit.
He was worried that Zhu Yuanzhang's health couldn't handle it, so his subtle advice to Zhu Yuanzhang put his mind at ease.
Then they split into two groups. Zhu Yuanzhang continued to travel by train to openly tour the country, while Zhu Yunwen got off the train midway with Zhao Qingzhu.
The two of them, alone, headed north along another road.
Zhu Yunwen deliberately chose relatively remote routes to go to some counties that the train would not pass through, in order to see how these places were developing.
The local people knew that the officials were unlikely to pass through their area, and the officials naturally knew this as well.
Therefore, Zhu Yunwen wanted to see if these places were much worse than the places Zhu Yuanzhang would pass through.
With these questions in mind, Zhu Yunwen was also very curious, and he and Zhao Qingzhu soon arrived at a place in the north called Shacheng.
As the name suggests, this sandstorm is characterized by a lack of greenery and the presence of various types of dust throughout the year, resulting in a less than ideal environment.
When Zhu Yunwen arrived at the destination, he found that many people in Shacheng were leaving the city. Moreover, these people were discussing the fact that His Highness the Crown Prince and the Emperor would be passing through the neighboring county.
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