My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 66: Lao Zhu's True Face
"Old Li, I wonder where you are traveling now, maybe in faraway Africa, or in the fantastic America.

Perhaps you are flying over the Pacific Ocean at this moment.

The vastness of the world is so fascinating, and I, Old Zhu, also want to go and see it.”

Ever since receiving the map sent by Li Han, Zhu Yuanzhang has become more and more interested in the outside world. Sometimes he even thinks that he might as well give up being the emperor and go out to roam the world with Li Han.

"You rejected Lou Ying's offer to be your disciple again. Seeing how dejected he was, I couldn't bear it.

However, receiving the microscope and "Introduction to Biology" from you gave him renewed his enthusiasm and broadened his horizons.

It turns out that bacteria are so tiny that they can form a world of their own in a drop of water. It is incredible and horrifying to watch.

Before this, no one had ever thought that the reason why people get sick is actually caused by such a tiny bacteria. It is really amazing. "

As he wrote this, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little thirsty. He picked up the teacup beside him and was about to take a sip when suddenly, he was stunned.

Is the water in the teacup clean?
He quickly ordered the palace maid to boil another pot of water, and then continued writing.

"The needle-fired gun you sent is truly a magical weapon that can change the current form of warfare in the Ming Dynasty. I have ordered Minister of Works Li Min to conduct research immediately. I believe that the needle-fired gun will be able to be mass-produced soon.

What’s interesting is that Xu Da, Li Wenzhong and Tang He had a fierce argument over how to use the needle-fired gun, which was quite amusing.

Xu Da believed that all the troops should be equipped with needle-fired rifles and organized into a gun array with rows as formations. After the first row finished shooting and reloaded, the second row would continue shooting, and so on.

Tang He, taking into account the problem of bullet production, believed that archers should be combined with bows and cavalry, assisted by infantry and cavalry. This would not only make up for the shortage of bullets, but also give full play to the advantages of existing troops.

Li Wenzhong's idea was the most interesting. He always wanted to make the most of a small effort and use the advantage of the long range of the needle-fire gun to send out sharpshooters to ambush and kill the enemy commander, in order to capture the leader first.

Or we could use scouts to kill the enemy commander while the enemy has not yet established a stable camp. This would cause the enemy's formation to be thrown into chaos, and we could then take advantage of the situation to attack and annihilate the enemy in one fell swoop.

No matter who is right or wrong among the three of them, the needle-fired gun will bring earth-shaking changes to the Ming army.

What do you think about this, Lao Li?

I have ordered Zhu Biao to prepare for the Ming Dynasty's foreign trade, but I am confused about how to carry out this industrial revolution. I have to ask you, Old Li!"

After finishing writing the letter, Zhu Yuanzhang began to prepare gifts.

Exchanging gifts with Li Han has become a habit in his life. Reciprocity is human nature.

However, choosing a gift is always a big problem. Every time Li Han sends something, it is considered a magical item. No matter how I choose, it will not be as good as his.

Never mind, never mind. Mr. Li is interested in the easy things, but we, Mr. Zhu, are still thinking about those money-related things, which is just cliché.

Just send a portrait of yourself.

It is a nice thing for good friends to give each other portraits.

The imperial painter Sun Wenzong was called in, and it took him a long time to finish the portrait.

Looking at myself in the painting, I feel majestic and domineering, but I always feel like something is missing.

Oh, he’s not wearing glasses. Never mind. I’ll ask the artist to draw him with glasses next time. This time, I’ll just send this one to Lao Li first.

……

The happy days were becoming more and more perfect. Li Han sat in the store, crossed his legs, and hummed an unknown little tune proudly.

We have sold quite a few wooden artworks in the past few days, and several of them were contributed by the wealthy man that day. This is another repeat customer, and the network of our antique shop has increased exponentially!
It’s just that every time that guy came, he looked at me in a strange way, and I got scared several times by his gaze.

But it doesn’t matter. The customer is God. It doesn’t matter if God looks at you a few times. It won’t cost him a thing.

Business is good and inventory is sufficient, these days are wonderful.

There are still hundreds of precious wooden artworks in the warehouse, enough for him to sell for a long time. What matters is a steady stream of income.

At noon, it was time to eat. I went into the inner hall, cooked some noodles, and beat two eggs. I was happy!
We have money now, so we can eat as many eggs as we want!
It’s not that he doesn’t want to order takeout, but he can’t eat too much of that stuff, otherwise he’ll have a stomachache and it’ll be troublesome.

After eating, it’s time for my daily email.

Someone from the post office did come to ask once why the mailbox at the door was missing. Li Han made up a lie and paid some money, and the matter was over.

I opened my mailbox and found that Lao Zhu had already replied.

In addition to the letter, there was also a painting. It seems that Lao Zhu is very persistent in sending paintings.

Li Han wondered what kind of stunning masterpiece this time.

"Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains" or "Along the River During the Qingming Festival"?
But judging from the size of the scroll, it doesn't look like it.

"Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains", the extant "Remaining Mountain" and "Useless Teacher Scroll" are more than seven meters long, and "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" is more than five meters long.

The size of this scroll is obviously not appropriate, what kind of painting could it be?
Li Han became more and more curious. He quickly put on gloves and a mask, then carefully took out the painting and the letter.

Put the letter aside first, then unfold the scroll.

Then he was dumbfounded.

This is……

Li Han stared at the portrait in the painting, which looked both familiar and unfamiliar, majestic and dignified, and was stunned.

Is Old Zhu sending his own portrait over?

Judging from the hue of the colors and the condition of the drawing paper, this was... just drawn, right?
Does this count as a pen pal sending you a photo?

Old Zhu is quite conceited.

Li Han couldn't help but think back to the early 21st century, when the Internet was not yet so popular, wasn't it popular for pen pals to send photos to each other?

The reason he knew this was because he heard an interesting story from an elder in his family.

A cousin of mine has a pen pal, and I heard that the pen pal is a literary young woman.

At that time, the cousin swore that the pen pal was a great beauty and firmly believed that this would be the beginning of a beautiful marriage.

When the pen pal sent me the photo, that was it.

Fortunately, there was no photo editing or beautification at that time, otherwise, my uncle would have been doomed.

In this sense, Lao Zhu can be regarded as the first person in the world to send photos to his pen pals.

Well, it can go down in history.

I count myself as well, because I, Old Li, am the only person in the world today who knows the true face of Zhu Yuanzhang!
Zhu Yuanzhang in the painting has a full forehead, deep eyes and a sharp gaze, revealing unquestionable majesty.

Is this what Lao Zhu really looks like?

He really has the air of an emperor. Li Han marveled at this.

I remember when I was studying history, the illustration of Zhu Yuanzhang in the textbook was somewhat similar to the portrait in front of me, but if you look closely, you can still see the difference.

The portrait before him did not have the plump feeling as in the textbooks. Instead, the facial features were clearly defined and strong, making him look more dignified and domineering.

As for the shoe-horn face that’s circulating on the Internet, that’s pure bullshit!
Please vote, please collect, please read. The second round of PK is more intense. The fear of insufficient firepower has come back.

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(End of this chapter)