As these words appeared, the group chat before Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes changed, displaying new text.
[Small technology from later generations, no. 1: the ingenious uses of allicin.] [Fresh garlic contains no allicin, only alliin. The garlic must be crushed to activate alliinase, then left to stand for about a quarter of an hour before allicin forms. (Note: allicin is sensitive to high temperatures.)] [Method one: crush raw garlic into juice as described above and take it orally to address vomiting blood, heart pain, bacillary dysentery, and diarrhea.] [Method two: mash solo garlic, mix it with sesame oil, and apply externally to sores and swellings. Apply it to the soles to stop nosebleeds and treat sudden severe diarrhea; mash it into a paste and apply to the navel to facilitate urination and bowel movements.] [Method three: boil garlic into a decoction and take it orally to alleviate symptoms such as bodily rigidity and spasms.] [Method four: insert garlic into the anus to address intestinal obstruction and difficulty passing stool.] [Please note that allicin is not a cure-all. All the methods above must be used under a physician's guidance!]
Allicin?
After reading it, Zhu Yuanzhang was a little surprised at first, then understood.
People in his own time already spoke of eating garlic to drive evil out of the body, and garlic could indeed be used as medicine.
Still, the explanation of how allicin formed in this technology from later generations was rather mysterious and difficult to understand.
I'll leave it to those renowned physicians to puzzle out later.
With that thought, Zhu Yuanzhang turned to the second small technology from later generations.
This one consisted of a diagram and some accompanying explanations. A brief look filled him with delight.
It was none other than the instructions and plans for making a microscope!
Wonderful! Before, I didn't even know what that microscope was, much less how to make one. Now that I have these plans and the secret formula, even if the method looks rather complicated, I can summon skilled craftsmen from across the realm to build it!
Once his delight subsided, Zhu Yuanzhang considered another question: should he share these two technologies from later generations with Liu Bang and Zhang Jiao?
The main reason he hesitated was that the microscope technology was too valuable. Had it only been the allicin technology, he would have shared it without a second thought.
But after only a moment's hesitation, he decided to share both.
For one thing, when Zhang Jiao had previously been able to watch a video alone, he had chosen to make it public in the group. The three of them had already formed an alliance. If Zhu Yuanzhang were the first to keep something for himself, it might damage their mutual trust.
The second reason was also the most important.
They lived in different times and spaces. Even if Liu Bang and Zhang Jiao obtained these technologies, or even better ones in the future, they would pose no threat to him or Great Ming.
The front hall of Changle Palace.
After seeing the Administrator "announce" Zhu Yuanzhang's reward, Liu Bang noticed that the group had gone quiet and began to think.
Technology from later generations? Surely that doesn't mean martial techniques? Or does it mean skills and mystical arts?
Whatever it is, it must be something exceedingly rare. After all, the previous rewards were all various kinds of videos.
Old Zhu has been silent for so long. Could he be planning to keep it all to himself?
Meanwhile, Zhang Jiao had been participating in the group chat for quite some time. His head was growing increasingly foggy, but he too realized that Zhu Yuanzhang was probably considering whether to share his reward.
Let's see what Brother Zhu chooses.
While the two men were occupied with their own thoughts, the group finally stirred.
[Administrator: Zhu Yuanzhang has chosen to share his rewards!]
Passages of text and illustrations immediately appeared below.
Allicin? Instructions for making a microscope?
"These really are good things! Hahaha..."
Liu Bang laughed happily, while remembering to record everything with a brush on silk.
Elsewhere, Zhang Jiao could not get up, much less hold a brush to write anything down. He could only do his best to memorize it.
[Zhu Yuanzhang: Zhang Jiao, do you have garlic there? Once the group chat closes, you can make some allicin first and see whether it helps treat your illness.] [Zhang Jiao: We have foreign garlic and small garlic here. By garlic, you mean foreign garlic, correct?] [Zhu Yuanzhang: That should be right. Garlic does have very large cloves. The kind whose stems and leaves are eaten as vegetables has smaller cloves.] [Zhang Jiao: Thank you for explaining.] [Zhu Yuanzhang: You can thank me after you survive.]
Zhang Jiao said nothing more. His head was terribly foggy; even without the negative "sleep bug" status, he was on the verge of falling into a stupor.
[Liu Bang: Old Zhu, last time you said Lu Wan would rebel too. Why?] [Zhu Yuanzhang: The histories say that your widespread slaughter of kings from other families filled Lu Wan with suspicion and fear, so he secretly colluded with Chen Xi, hoping to ally with the Xiongnu to protect himself.] [Later, when the affair came to light, you summoned him to Chang'an. He was wavering over whether to go and beg you to spare his life, but then you passed away. Fearing Lü Zhi, he took his entire family and several thousand troops under his command to seek refuge with the Xiongnu. He became their King of the Eastern Hu Lu, then died of illness the following year.]
For a moment, Liu Bang was speechless.
First, he had never expected that his execution of the other kings from different families would make Lu Wan suspicious and fearful, eventually giving him thoughts of rebellion.
Second, he had never expected that this childhood playmate, born on the very same day as him, would die of illness just one year after he did.
[Zhu Yuanzhang: As I see it, granting kings from other families actual territorial power was a grave mistake-even the kings of your own Liu Family later brought about the Rebellion of the Seven States after your death, let alone those from other families!] [Both the kings from other families in Former Han and the later kings surnamed Liu held military and financial power within their kingdoms. It would have been stranger if thoughts of rebellion hadn't grown in them day by day.] [Liu Bang: The Rebellion of the Seven States? What was that about?] [Zhu Yuanzhang: Emperor Gao of Han, there are so many affairs concerning Former Han that I might not finish telling them in an entire day. Under the terms of our alliance, shouldn't we discuss my affairs first?] [Liu Bang: If you have something to discuss, just say it. How am I supposed to know if you don't tell me?]
Zhu Yuanzhang did not engage in a war of words with Liu Bang over such a minor matter. Instead, he considered what he should ask.
There were far too many affairs of state on which he currently needed others' advice and planning, but most were not matters he could easily explain to Liu Bang in the group.
Only the maritime prohibition would be somewhat easier to discuss with Liu Bang, since it had already come up twice in the group, along with the background to the Wokou scourge during the Jiajing era.
[Zhu Yuanzhang: I'd like to ask Emperor Gao of Han, along with Zhang Liang, Xiao He, and the others, to discuss Great Ming's maritime prohibition policy...]
Then, by silently reciting the words, Zhu Yuanzhang entered passage after passage into the group, explaining as clearly as he could the background, reasons, and objectives behind the maritime prohibition he had imposed after founding Great Ming.
[Zhu Yuanzhang: Does Emperor Gao of Han now understand why I imposed the maritime prohibition?] [Liu Bang: I understand. You originally thought the maritime prohibition was an excellent policy, but both quiz questions in the group seemed to suggest that it had a serious problem. Yet you can't work out where that serious problem lies. Is that right?] [Zhu Yuanzhang: Correct.] [Liu Bang: I'll ask Zhang Liang, Xiao He, and the others what they think later. For now, why not hear my thoughts first?] [Zhu Yuanzhang: Please speak, Emperor Gao of Han.] [Liu Bang: This Rebel Army Group allows people from different times and spaces to communicate through it, and even learn about events hundreds of years after your time. It can also inflict those negative statuses on us. Clearly, its powers are unfathomable even to gods and ghosts.] [With powers like that, if it wanted to harm us, or even the dynasties we founded, why would it need to mislead us into implementing mistaken national policies?] [Zhu Yuanzhang: You mean that the Rebel Army Group must have good reason for its warnings?] [Liu Bang: Exactly. Regarding the maritime prohibition, do you remember that earlier multiple-choice question? Looking at it now, weren't the first three options all parts of the maritime prohibition you're currently implementing? Yet option D, which you chose at the time, wasn't actually your national policy?]
Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little embarrassed when Liu Bang brought this up, but he still answered honestly.
[Zhu Yuanzhang: I indeed had no plans to establish that Ocean Navy, nor to send naval forces to protect maritime trade.] [Liu Bang: Why?] [Zhu Yuanzhang: You may not know this, Emperor Gao of Han, but building a seagoing ship costs far more than building a riverboat. Although Great Ming now has considerable money and grain, our first priority must be the northern campaign against the Remnant Yuan.] [After that, there are many other important matters, such as developing government schools and medicine, and building relay stations and government roads. Those also require considerable money and grain.] [Besides, I want to leave more money and grain for Biao'er. How could I bear to spend so much money, grain, and material on building seagoing ships?] [Simply enforce the maritime prohibition, and the sea raiders will decline and perish in ten or twenty years. Then government ships will be free to sail the seas. Why squander money and grain on establishing that Ocean Navy?] [Liu Bang: What you say does have some merit, but have you considered why your son Zhu Di later sent men on seven voyages to the Western Ocean during his reign, displaying his might overseas, yet by the Jiajing era, the Wokou were allowed to ravage the coast?] [And why the officials and gentry of the southeast were even able to exploit your maritime prohibition to reap enormous profits from maritime trade?] [Zhu Yuanzhang said: Of course I've considered it! It must be because too many foolish emperors arose among my fourth son's descendants, and they fostered too many treacherous ministers. They ruined Great Ming's navy from the Yongle era and even exploited my maritime prohibition for private gain!]
At this, Liu Bang smiled.
[Liu Bang: Old Zhu, since you know all this, why don't you consider how to prevent the foolish rulers and treacherous ministers of later generations from exploiting the national policies you leave behind?]