Six years ago, the grandson went to sea for three years and brought back more than 20 million taels of silver.

Three years ago, the emperor drove a personal expedition to eliminate Timur, a powerful country in Central Asia, and included the entire northwest into the scope of the Ming Dynasty.

Today's Ming Dynasty is much larger than the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and it has truly reached the extreme of strength.

That is, the territory of Meng Yuan at the time of his westward expedition could be larger than that of the Ming Dynasty, but Meng Yuan only plundered and did not have the ability to manage, and those territories could not be directly regarded as Meng Yuan's territory.

What's more, the Ming Dynasty has now turned the South Seas into an inland sea, and Dongying into a subject country, which Meng Yuan has not done.

Looking around the world, there is no country that can pose a threat to the Ming Dynasty. Those evil wolves of the original grassland have now become the watchdogs of the Ming Dynasty.

In the twelfth year of Yongle, the Northern Expedition defeated Warat, and the Tatars returned to their hearts.

In the fourteenth year of Yongle, Taisun Zhanji conquered Dongying.

In the fifteenth year of Yongle, the grandson went to sea to survey the map of the land tomorrow.

In the eighteenth year of Yongle, His Majesty drove the western expedition to eliminate the western powers.

In the twentieth year of Yongle this year, in the past ten years, the Ming Dynasty has truly stood at the top of the world both economically and militarily.

His Majesty the Emperor drove the expedition in person, returned from a great victory, and since March, Ying Tianfu began to prepare to welcome the emperor's return.

Zhu Di in this era is far happier than the original era.

In the original era, Zhu Di's five expeditions to Mobei, except for the first two times, some success, the last three times can only be said to be in vain.

Because the enemy will never confront him head-on, I will run if you come, and I will come again when you go.

But in this era, after the Second Northern Expedition, Zhu Zhanji used a Beimingshan copper mine to envelop the remnants of Tatar and Warat.

The improvement of the musket has directly raised the strength of the Ming Dynasty to a higher level, and reliable hot weapons against cold weapons, even if the opponent's horse is fast, it is not as fast as the bullet.

There were three fewer northern expeditions, which reduced the burden of the people of the Ming Dynasty a lot. If it weren't for the huge manpower and material resources spent on the Western Expedition, today's Ming Dynasty can be regarded as a country and a country of peace and security.

Even though the western expedition cost a lot, don't forget that Zhu Zhanji has provided a steady stream of impetus for the Ming Dynasty in terms of economic structure and resources over the years.

Vigorously developing maritime trade, conquering Dongying, and trading with Europe have strengthened the economy of the Ming Dynasty.

Transporting grain from the South Seas has correspondingly liberated a lot of productive forces, even if the imperial court levied millions of laborers to transport grain to the northwest, the Ming Dynasty still did not have a shortage of food.

There is also the development of industry, not to mention anything else, just the appearance of bearings, which can make the plate car more loaded and require less labor.

So even if Zhu Di launched the Western Expedition, today's Ming Dynasty is still stronger than in the original history.

Not to mention that because of Zhu Zhanji's foresight, Daming had one less peasant uprising.

Especially in the southeast, because of the development of industry, the lives of the people today far exceed those in history.

The manpower demand brought about by industrial development has correspondingly alleviated a lot of land annexation.

Ordinary people do not need to work hard in the fields all the time, as long as they are willing to put in the effort, whether it is a factory, a transportation link, or a commercial link, they can find a way to make a living.

Nanyang grain is constantly being transported, the price of grain is low, and the silver earned by one person can easily feed a family of five.

It is also because of the continuous transportation of silver from Nanyang and the low price of grain, the landlords in the southeast are not having a good time now, and they have no desire to annex land.

The price of food is low, and the land is not valuable.

And, of course, the impact of the Great Migration. Today's population is too small, with a total population of less than 60 million, and the Ming Dynasty also occupied countless fertile land, which was distributed to the people for free, and only began to collect taxes three years later.

If I can't survive in my hometown, I can live elsewhere.

In the nineteenth year of Yongle, when the war was going on at its fiercest, the war would have seriously affected the lives of the people.

But this year, Daming doesn't seem to be affected much. In addition to a slight decline in grain production, the tax revenue of the imperial court increased by 30% this year, and the fiscal expenditure of governments at all levels increased accordingly.

And the most earning is still the internal supervisor, now the treasury is abundant, and the gold in the inner treasury is piled up.

Before arriving at Yingtianfu, seeing these reports, the smile on Zhu Di's face never stopped.

This grandson is doing better than he thought.

Of course, this is not because Zhu Zhanji collected more taxes, but because now inside and outside the court, all the civil ministers and military generals have been subdued by this grandson.

Sometimes, Zhu Di can't help but feel a little lost, because it seems that Daming has no influence at all whether Daming has himself or not.

However, he is more happy with his successors.

After all, he is sixty-two years old this year, not forty-two.

When the ship arrived in Ningbo, a large five-story building ship replaced Zhu Di's flagship.

This large five-story building ship is not much smaller than a sea ship, and the draft is slightly shallower than that of a sea ship, but the decoration is extraordinarily luxurious.

There is a large steam engine in the bow and stern, and the four rollers are specially designed to advance in two ways, not only in the river but also in the sea.

When Zhu Di boarded the dragon boat, he couldn't help but feel an eye-opening surprise.

The ship, which was designed by Zhu Zhanji according to the 200,000-ton luxury cruise ship attendants of later generations, exceeded this era by 500 years.

Sitting in the private room on the third floor of this ship, watching the troupe singing on the second-floor platform, Zhu Di even had a feeling that he didn't want to get off the boat.

Wang Yan and Zhang Guifei, who came to greet Zhu Di, said a lot of good things about Zhu Zhanji, in fact, there is no need for them to say that Zhu Zhanji's behavior was impeccable in the past few years when Zhu Di went on the expedition.

Returning to Yingtianfu from Ningbo, the fleet was all reloaded with steam sailing ships, because it took several days for ordinary sea ships to arrive at Yingtianfu from the Yangtze River.

But with a steam sailboat, it took one day and one night to reach Yingtianfu from the mouth of the sea.

Early in the morning of June 26, Zhu Di's dragon boat arrived at the Yuejianglou Wharf in Yingtianfu.

Headed by Taisun Zhanji, all the officials above the sixth grade in Tianfu went to the dock to kneel to greet them.

But none of this attracted Zhu Di's eyes, his eyes were fixed on a train parked on the dock.

Yuejianglou Wharf was not open to trains at first, and in order to welcome Zhu Di's return, a section of the railway was deliberately extended so that the train could go directly to the wharf.

Looking at this steel monster, Zhu Di was stunned for a long time before asking, "This is the train?" A train that can carry thousands of people at a time? ”

Wang Yan replied respectfully: "Today's trains are not strong enough, and now they can carry 500 people, and they can run 160 miles in an hour. ”

Zhu Di had already been familiar with the information about the train, and he was still shocked when he thought that after repairing the road, the train would be able to travel 1,900 miles in one day.

With the reaction force of the steam engine, ships today don't need to make a hard landing as they used to be.

The ship was lightly beaten and leaned against the dock. Several sailors hurriedly used four thick ropes, crossed back and forth, to fix the flagship.

There was a violent cannon sound on the shore, and Zhu Di knew that it was a salute and was not surprised, but the representatives of the Western Regions who followed Zhu Di to Daming were startled by the sound of the cannon.

After the nine gun salutes were fired, the musicians on the shore played the salute music. On the wharf, headed by Zhu Zhanji, hundreds of civil and military officials lined up on both sides, shouting in unison: "Welcome to Your Majesty's triumph!" ”

One knock after another, and after three sounds, an escalator covered with a red carpet was pushed to the side of the ship.

Zhu Di's heart was surging, and he took the lead in boarding the escalator and walked down the boat.

On the dock, Zhu Zhanji knelt down again and shouted: "Sun Zhanji welcomes the return of the emperor." ”

And the other ministers of civil and military affairs, including the people outside the dock, also knelt down and shouted in unison: "Welcome Your Majesty back to China." ”

Stepping down the escalator, Zhu Di took two quick steps and came to Zhu Zhanji. The climate in Yingtianfu in June was hot, and although it was early in the morning, Zhu Zhanji's face was exposed to a layer of oil sweat from the sun.

Zhu Di personally wiped his face with his sleeve and held his arm to get him up. "Good grandson, you're doing a great job."

"This is a matter for the grandson, and it should not be boasted by the emperor."

"Deserved! Boast! Zhu Di helped Zhu Zhanji up, and then shouted in front of the ministers: "Flat!" ”

The ministers flattened, and Zhu Di turned his gaze back to the heroic Zhu Zhanji. He did not have a long beard like a literati, but a short mustache like a military general.

Zhu Zhanji has always been very concerned about his appearance, and like in his previous life, he flowed his beard out of a symmetrical geometric shape, adding a bit of majesty to his face.

Because he has such a beard, there are many fewer people with beards in today's Ming Dynasty, and many people are proud to be able to have the same beard as their grandson.

In Zhu Zhanji's eyes, his grandfather is indeed old, wrinkles have been engraved on his face, and the back that has always been straight is now unconsciously bent down.

But the momentum on his body is getting stronger and stronger. Obviously, the conquest of the country of Timur made his self-confidence a little stronger.

Zhu Zhanji held his arm and laughed softly: "The emperor left Beijing that day, and the arena has not yet started, but now the arena has held two Keju competitions. Today, the emperor returned triumphantly, and a triumphant meeting was held in the arena to reward all the soldiers! ”

Zhu Di said with a smile: "I read the post you asked Wang Yan to hand over a while ago, and I am very satisfied with your arrangement. Today, I will listen to your arrangement. ”

Zhu Zhanji bowed and took a step back, came to Zhu Di's left side, held his left arm and said with a smile: "Imperial Ancestor, please board the car." ”

There are many soldiers who returned triumphantly today, just get off the ship, and then arrange all of them to go to the arena, it will take two hours, and Zhu Di, the emperor, of course, can't wait all the time.

Therefore, Zhu Zhanji will first take Zhu Di to visit Yingtianfu by train, and then go to Jiajiang Industrial Zone, and after everyone is in place, Zhu Di will come to the arena.

Took Zhu Di to the last train of the train, which was converted into a large box, opulent and with bright glass windows.

Only Zhang Guifei, Wang Yan, Jian Yi and a dozen other people entered the carriage with them.

At this time, Zhu Di no longer had to hold the shelf, curiously watching everything in the train car.

After visiting this carriage, he couldn't help but be curious, and walked along the passage in the middle of the train until he walked to the front.

Except for that one carriage, the other carriages are still in the original layout, with six seats in a row, a total of twelve rows, and a capacity of 70 people.

Zhu Di asked: "When can you let more than 100 people sit in a carriage?" ”

Zhu Zhanji said: "It's easy to enlarge the carriage, but the horsepower at the front of the car is not enough. Now six carriages are installed, which can seat 420 people, and with the standing ones, there are at most 6 or 700 people. Any more, the horsepower of the steam engine will not be enough. ”

Zhu Di asked again: "Can't you increase the steam engine?" ”

Zhu Zhanji shook his head and said with a smile: "Imperial Ancestor, the horsepower of the steam engine does not depend on the steam pressure tank, but on the cylinder. This question will be explained to you by the grandson when the emperor visits the steam engine factory. ”

Zhu Di sighed: "I think that one day, my Ming Dynasty's railway will be repaired to every border pass, and at that time, my Zhu family's country will be as stable as Mount Tai." ”

"There will come a day when this thing will not come in a hurry. Up to now, Sun Er has only built a section of the railway to Dangtu Ma'anshan, and he is no longer able to build roads. ”

Zhu Diqi said: "But the silver is not enough? ”

Zhu Zhanji shook his head and said: "It's really a shortage of iron, and the technology of building another bridge does not meet the needs. ”

The Ming Dynasty repaired the railway, and the labor was very cheap, but the amount of iron consumed was astronomical compared to the current output.

Another key reason is that the technology of building bridges is not up to par, not to mention building bridges on the Yangtze River, it is an ordinary big river, and if you want to let the train pass, the bearing capacity is not enough.

Zhu Zhanji has asked Karlsoli and Wu Zhong to study carefully to solve this problem, but it is difficult to solve it when the cement label is insufficient.

If you can't build a railway bridge, it's just a dream.

In order to increase the production of iron, Zhu Zhanji couldn't take too much care of it now, and directly asked people to go to Ma'anshan to survey iron ore, and successfully found several iron, copper, gold, and associated mines in the Xiangshan area.

In Quarry Town, a large steel plant is already under construction, and coal is transported by ship from Huaibei to make iron in Quarry Town, which will become the main steel producing area of Daming in the short term.

While chatting, the two took a tour and returned to the carriage. The train let out a long beep and began to start slowly.

Zhu Di, who was sitting in the soft sofa, watched the scenery outside the window slowly move back, and couldn't help but say: "This train is very stable and good." ”

Everyone laughed, and anyone who was the first to ride the train would have been amazed at how smooth the train was.

Zhu Di only had time to talk to Jianyi and them for a few words, although he was a little dissatisfied with these ministers, thinking that they had fallen to Zhu Zhanji too thoroughly.

But Zhu Zhanji is his grandson after all, and the main thing is that he already has the intention of abdicating, so he has no heart to find fault.

The train entered Yingtianfu along the Shuiguan Bridge, traveled south along the prosperous area of Yingtianfu, and when it arrived at the arena, it merged into the east-west line.

Zhu Di was very curious from the beginning, and he was surprised by the road dozens of meters wide. Seeing the majestic outline of the arena, I was even more speechless in surprise.

"What kind of house is there? Why was it built so high? ”

Jian Yi also looked at Zhu Zhanji. Zhu Zhanji said with a smile: "Imperial Ancestor, it was a house built for the ordinary people of Yingtianfu, and the people of the original neighborhood can now live in one building, saving a lot of land." ”

Zhu Di frowned and asked, "Don't disobey it!" ”

"It's slightly lower than Fengtian Temple, and it doesn't violate the rules."

Zhu Di nodded again and said, "This strategy is very good, in this way, Ying Tianfu can accommodate millions more people." ”

After passing through the Gongyuan and the Qinhuai River, the train soon came to the Imperial City, and the completed parliament building directly attracted Zhu Di's attention.

He stared at the parliament building for a moment before saying, "It's ugly." ”

Everyone laughed again, and said with a righteous smile: "Your Majesty, although it is ugly, it is quite practical. ”

Zhu Di already knew about this parliament building in the report, and asked: "Can it really accommodate 2,000 people, and the voice is clearly visible?" ”

Everyone nodded, Zhu Di looked at Zhu Zhanji, and said with a smile: "There are a lot of ghost ideas. ”

Zhu Zhanji said with a smile: "Grandson, this is to apply what you have learned. ”

"Where to learn, where to use?"

"Life can be learned everywhere, life can be used everywhere."

In the field of Xianxue, there is indeed no one who can compare to Zhu Zhanji. His mind was not shackled, and he had seen a lot in later generations.

No one could teach Zhu Zhanji in this regard, so he pushed the reason to life. Many inconspicuous little things in life were integrated by him and became innovations.

Zhu Di was quite satisfied with this answer, nodded, and looked out the window again.

After leaving for three years this time, many places in Ying Tianfu have changed a little unrecognizable.

When the train arrived at the Polytechnic Institute in the eastern part of Xiamaqiao, the teachers and students here had already been informed, and at this moment a welcoming procession was formed along both sides of the train track, and they saluted the train.

Zhu Di couldn't help but wave his hand to those students, turned his head and asked, "This Institute of Science and Technology student doesn't seem to be less than Guozijian." ”

Zhu Zhanji shook his head and said: "There are tens of thousands of students in Guozijian, and the Institute of Technology has only recruited the first batch of students now, and there are only 3,000 people. It will take two years for the Polytechnic students to surpass Guozijian. ”

Zhu Di asked again: "Guozijian Gongsheng is an official candidate, why are there so few people who have been awarded officials in the past two years?" ”

Zhu Zhanji had already thought of an excuse and replied: "When the emperor returns to the country, the development of Nanzhou will begin soon." Now that Guozijian has 10,000 tributes, I am afraid that it is not enough for the needs of Nanzhou. ”

Zhu Di just said lightly: "It's a good thing that the Institute of Science and Technology teaches students to work, farm, build roads, and build bridges." However, don't forget that Confucianism is the foundation of the country. ”

Zhu Zhanji saluted and said, "My grandson doesn't dare or forget." ”

Polytechnic is the terminus of the East-West Line, and when you get here, the train slows down, makes a circle, and returns to the main road, and then you have to go all the way west to visit the Jiajiang Industrial Zone.

Out of the cool door, Zhu Di felt that his eyes were not enough. Originally, it was a desolate outer city, but now, it seems to be even more prosperous than the inner city.

Today, when Zhu Di returned, all the train routes came to a halt, but on the road on both sides of the train road, there was an endless stream of carriages coming and going.

On both sides of the wide road, there are shops such as car repair shops and food shops. There is also a new-style community that is already inhabited, which has added a lot of popularity here.

The second phase of the residential community built by the Ministry of Industry and the internal supervision has begun, and in the third phase, Zhu Di was stunned by the large unit building community, and repeatedly said that he would go in another day to have a good look.

And here in Jiajiang Industrial Zone, it has changed greatly. Since the thirteenth year of Yongle, it has been built here for seven years, and it is still seven years of rapid development.

In addition to the roofs and windows, all kinds of factories are not much different from the factory areas of later generations.

In particular, the four huge chimneys of the special steel plant give people a visceral shock to the power of industry. Many people see it for the first time for fear that a gust of wind will blow it down.

At this time, Zhu Di didn't think that this chimney would be violated, and asked: "Why is it built so tall?" It's not fifty meters! ”

"The emperor is wise, many people think it is 100 meters high when they see it for the first time, but in fact, this chimney is a little lower than the Tower of Truth."

Zhu Di looked at Zhu Zhanji again, but did not speak. This is the biggest knot in his heart, he built a Bao'en Temple, a Bao'en Temple Tower, but when it was completed, Zhu Zhanji actually moved the monks away and renamed it Shinrikyo.

The original pagoda of Bao'en Temple is now renamed the Truth Pagoda by him.

He dared to act like this before he died, this kid really should teach him a lesson.

However, the original resentment has dissipated, and Zhu Di also knows what Zhu Zhanji's purpose is to be higher than a Shinrikyo. Rather than making a false name for the Bao'en Temple Pagoda, it is indeed not appropriate to use this place as the headquarters of Shinrikyo.

But then again, if you don't talk about him now, it's to give him face, and when there is no one else, you still have to teach him a good lesson.

Let him know who is the grandfather and who is the grandson.

Here at Yuejianglou Wharf, countless soldiers got off the boat, and not all of them were qualified to go to the arena to participate in the triumphal meeting. Some were on duty, some went home, and some went to the arena in high spirits, as arranged.

In order to prepare for today's celebration, Honglu Temple, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Soldiers, Taichang Temple, and Guangroji Temple have been preparing for three months.

The list of soldiers who have made great contributions has already been obtained, and if they have relatives in the capital, they can also be allowed to participate in the celebration together.

At the more than forty gates of the arena, the Imperial Kitchen and Guanglu Temple had already prepared free food, and anyone who wanted to participate in the celebration could receive free food.

Daming was full of interest, and those envoys who came to Daming for the first time thought they had come to another world when they saw this scene in front of them. Some cautiously observed this advanced, civilized city with trepidation.

This huge city is something they never dared to imagine before, and it seems as if it will be swallowed up at any moment.

When they were arranged to get on the train, they watched as the monster loaded hundreds of people at a time, and moved at the speed of a galloping horse, and all of them had weak legs.

And when they arrived at the arena, they were even more shocked. On this day, when they were looking for a seat, there were countless wrestlers because of their weak legs.

At the rostrum, Zhu Zhanji's group of concubines and children had already come over. They didn't have to go to class today, they were very happy one by one, running back and forth, making the palace maids who followed them tremble.

Finally, at noon, Lu Zhen, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites who was in charge of presiding over the celebration, announced loudly in front of the loudspeaker.

When His Majesty the Emperor, His Royal Highness the Grand Sun, and all the ministers came to the arena, the entire arena resounded with earth-shaking cheers!