Xu Da finally saw the map Zhu Yuanzhang had once told him about, the one he had long kept in mind.
The borders were marked with complete clarity. Every inlet along the coastline was drawn distinctly, and the major locations were all listed upon it.
Precise and rigorous. That was Xu Da's first impression of the map. There was even a certain kind of aesthetic sense within it.
His second reaction was simpler.
Could the Ministry of War produce such a map?
Leaving other matters aside, if they could obtain even a similarly detailed map of Liaodong, the extermination of the remaining Yuan forces would surely become far easier.
In fact, even without such precision, the map in the Beiping prefectural office, which he had used for years and constantly supplemented, looked like a child's sketch compared with the simplified version displayed on the light screen.
"This is our Great Ming."
The screen was enormous, and so the map was enormous as well. Zhu Biao had to lean back slightly just to take the whole territory of Ming into his sight.
The others in Huagai Hall also fell briefly speechless. This was the first time they had clearly seen the full extent of the Ming dynasty's territory in which they lived. Though they did not know how it compared to the size of the world, a strange emotion still rose within their chests.
"This is our Great Ming."
Zhu Yuanzhang's voice carried undisguised pride. He had driven out the Hu Yuan, founded the Ming, and restored the clothing and institutions of China. This land itself was the best proof of his achievements.
But soon, after their gazes shifted northward, Zhu Yuanzhang, Xu Da, and even Zhu Biao all noticed something unusual about the northern territory. Li Wenzhong asked directly:
"The Hu Yuan are finally destroyed? When does our Great Ming achieve complete success?"
Fortunately, the calm young narrator's voice soon answered this doubt.
---
[Lightscreen]
[In the seventeenth year of Yongle, the Joseon dynasty launched the Gihae Eastern Expedition to eliminate the wokou entrenched on Tsushima Island.
With Ming's deterrence present, Japan feared that the Ming state might send troops. Because of this, Japan hesitated over whether to resist Joseon, and in the end Joseon achieved a great victory and signed the Treaty of Guihai with Japan, bringing temporary peace to Ming's eastern seas.
In the eighth year of Emperor Xuanzong of Ming, the Joseon kingdom, acting under Ming's command, dispatched troops to sweep the Jianzhou Jurchen tribes, once again securing the northern frontier of Ming and Joseon.
When Emperor Yingzong ascended the throne, the Ming dynasty reached its height.
The territory was relatively stable and the state strong, and cultural exchanges with surrounding regions began to grow frequent.
In the third year of Yingzong, a Joseon envoy named Yi Chaocheng brought back to Joseon the Washing Away of Wrongs, which had been promulgated in the seventeenth year of Hongwu, translating and annotating it. From that point, the Washing Away of Wrongs formally left the borders of China.
But little more than one hundred and fifty years later, Toyotomi Hideyoshi proclaimed, "I shall conquer the four hundred provinces of Ming," intending to use Joseon as a stepping stone to invade Ming and once again ignite war.
Relying on arquebuses obtained through trade with the Portuguese, Japan occupied half of Joseon within only a few months, ultimately forcing Ming to send troops and crush Japan's ambitions.
Although Japan was defeated, it still succeeded in plundering many of the treasures of the civilized world from Joseon, including newly re-edited and reprinted copies of the Washing Away of Wrongs.]
---
"Xuanzong? Yingzong?"
Zhu Biao listened as the young voice spoke in measured tones. On one hand he felt pleased that Ming would eventually achieve total victory and completely destroy the remnants of Yuan.
On the other hand, those imperial temple names sounded rather strange.
Still, the screen's reminder brought him back to the present matter.
"Then I should be the one to preside over the compilation and revision of the Washing Away of Wrongs. That way those baseless miscarriages of justice can be removed sooner."
This was not because Zhu Biao wanted to claim credit. The screen had made it very clear that without someone of sufficient authority taking the lead, the compilers might not dare to contradict the words of the ancient sages.
Zhu Yuanzhang had no objection and even felt this was exactly what his eldest son should do.
"Just find some barren graves and count the bones. However many there are, record them truthfully."
With the matter settled casually, Li Shanchang also tried to interpret the titles of those two Ming emperors.
"'Xuanzong' contains the character for the cricket, which also carries the meaning of prosperity and auspicious fortune. Perhaps this title praises our Ming emperor's ability to nurture the people and restore peace."
"As for 'Yingzong,' the character can mean protection. Since this emperor's reign marked the height of Ming, perhaps it implies that he safeguarded our frontiers."
The Son of Heaven considered it, then laughed.
"The Grand Censor truly has talent. Worthy of being my Li Xiaohe!"
Empress Ma wanted to speak but hesitated. She now regretted not telling Chongba earlier how foolish that Yingzong had been.
At first she had thought Yingzong was merely an ordinary incompetent ruler. But after thinking it through, she realized he was actually the kind of man whose folly caused Ming to decline from its peak.
Among the princes, Zhu Zhen saw that his eldest brother was busy discussing state affairs with their father, the fourth brother was staring at the territorial map in fascination, and their mother looked worried. So he simply moved closer to the fifth brother.
There he saw the fifth brother writing many notes on a blank page of a book.
Words like chemistry, reactions, and sulfides made his head spin.
Zhu Su had a gentle temperament. Seeing his younger brother's confusion, he smiled and explained:
"I do not understand these either. But I feel there must be some great secret hidden within them."
A great secret. Zhu Zhen's eyes lit up.
But soon his attention was pulled away by a low, furious voice nearby.
"Who is this Toyotomi Hideyoshi, daring to speak so arrogantly?"
"Your Majesty, I request to mobilize Laizhou Prefecture—"
Before the nephew could finish, Zhu Yuanzhang said irritably:
"Wait until we finish watching."
Xu Da said nothing. He simply stared at the northern region labeled Oirat on the map.
There was neither Mongolia nor Yuan shown there.
Was that truly the result of his own achievements?
---
[Lightscreen]
[After the Washing Away of Wrongs was taken into Japan, it was translated and published there in 1736, spreading widely throughout the country.
Even before that, Portuguese traders who maintained commerce with Toyotomi Hideyoshi had already carried the book back to Europe, where it was quickly translated and printed.
In 1779 it was formally translated and published in France, after which scholars continually wrote papers or issued publications about it.
In 1853 the British medical community also began paying attention to the book and produced a succession of academic papers. In 1875 the English translation was formally issued, and in 1924 the Royal Society of Medicine printed the full work.
A Dutch translation appeared in 1863, and a German translation in 1908.
In the 1950s, the authoritative Soviet forensic scientist Chirilakov included a portrait of Song Ci at the beginning of his book History of Forensic Medicine and Forensic Examination, honoring him as the greatest forensic scientist in the world and the founding ancestor of forensic science.
It can be said that as long as human history continues, Song Ci's name is destined to walk with it to the end of time.]
---
Dai Sigong watched as the map showed the Washing Away of Wrongs leaving China, first reaching Joseon, then Japan, and then crossing the seas to the land called Europe, where it spread in all directions along with its many translations and editions.
Dai Sigong could not help feeling sincerely envious, especially at the screen's final evaluation.
Simple, but long and weighty.
To walk with human history to the end of time sounded even more substantial than phrases like "glorious for a thousand autumns."
So Dai Sigong unconsciously looked toward the General Who Pacifies the North beside him.
For a military official, what kind of achievement could compare to that?
Xu Da's expression grew somewhat grave. He looked at the time-stamped map, at the unprecedentedly vast foreign lands, and at the word "Mongol," which seemed almost like a revived ghost.
After pondering for a long time, he spoke.
"This New Huaxia does not live in an easy world either."