Li Shimin and Qin Shi Huang to the Yongle Era

The next day, inside the villa.

After breakfast, Qin Ning called over Zhou Ping'an and informed him of his intention to send him to the Yongle dynasty to help oversee its development.

"No problem, Master Qin. Just give the order, and I'll follow it," Zhou Ping'an agreed without hesitation.

"Good. Go pack your things, and we'll head over soon," Qin Ning said.

Soon, he followed Zhou Ping'an to the villa across the street. While Zhou Packed, Qin Ning constructed a small portal there that led to the Hongwu dynasty.

They would go through this portal directly to the Hongwu dynasty, then from there take another portal to the Yongle dynasty. This way, it would be convenient for Zhou Ping'an to come and go as he pleased.

After all, he was a young man from modern society. It would be impossible to keep him stuck in the ancient world indefinitely. Without internet or entertainment, anyone would go crazy.

Take Wang Yousheng, Xia Fei, and Wang Er, for example. They now finished their work over there every day and immediately returned through the portal, rarely staying overnight because it was simply too boring.

Before long, Zhou Ping'an came downstairs carrying a backpack.

Zhong Mingyuan, Cai Cheng, and Liu Silin had also learned of Zhou Ping'an's upcoming trip to the Yongle dynasty and had gathered there to see him off.

"Brother Zhou, once you're over there, you'd better work hard and not let Master Qin down," Liu Silin said.

Zhou Ping'an replied, "Do I even need to say that? And what are you three acting like this for? Do you think I'm going off to prison for reform? It's not like I'm never coming back. I'll return here every evening."

With that, he turned to Qin Ning. "Master Qin, look at them—they're just too idle. You ought to give them something to do sometime."

"Don't worry, there will be plenty of opportunities. They'll get their turn eventually," Qin Ning said with a smile.

Soon, watched by Liu Silin and the others, Qin Ning led Zhou Ping'an through the portal.

The two arrived in the Hongwu dynasty and stepped out of the portal. The area nearby was bustling with people—some were technical personnel from the modern era, while others were Ming soldiers sent by Zhu Yuanzhang to help excavate the site or build houses.

Qin Ning didn't linger there. He led Zhou Ping'an directly to another nearby portal, the one leading to the Yongle dynasty.

"We pay our respects to the Master."

No sooner had they stepped out of the portal than Zhu Di and Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi were waiting there for them.

The two had spotted Qin Ning as soon as he appeared and immediately rushed over.

After greeting Qin Ning, Zhu Di turned to Zhou Ping'an, likewise made a polite bow, and said courteously, "Master, from now on, I hope you will guide our Ming dynasty well."

"Your Majesty Yongle is too kind. My name is Zhou Ping'an, courtesy name Xiamen,"

Zhou Ping'an said with a smile before continuing, "I wouldn't dare presume to guide you. I don't actually know that much. We'll really have to rely on the other technical personnel. Master Qin just mentioned that some more technicians from the modern era are still undergoing training. It will probably be a while before they can come over. For now, I'll first head to the Hongwu dynasty to see if I can poach a few people from Xia Fei for you."

There was no rush on the construction, but if blueprints and such could be prepared in advance, that would naturally be best.

In Zhou Ping'an's mind, the first priority was to solve the electricity problem. Then, temporary housing would need to be built on this empty land to serve as a research facility.

"And this must be Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi, right?"

As he spoke, Zhou Ping'an looked at Zhu Gaochi standing beside Zhu Di.

"I pay my respects to the Master," Zhu Gaochi said, making a slight bow. Due to his extreme obesity, he couldn't bend deeply at the waist.

Zhou Ping'an said, "This won't do. Even though you've taken Master Qin's pill, your body is still far too overweight. You need to lose weight first."

He then took a pen and a notebook from his bag, quickly jotted something down, and handed it to Zhu Gaochi.

"These are dietary recipes for weight loss based on modern experience. Follow this list to manage your meals properly, and I guarantee you'll be slim within a year."

Zhu Gaochi took the list and glanced over it, then nodded. "Looks good. It seems quite methodical. Master, this weight-loss meal—should I eat it before or after a meal?"

"Before or after what meal?"

Zhou Ping'an was taken aback for a moment, then laughed out of exasperation. "This is what your regular meals will be now!"

"What? From now on, I'm only supposed to eat this little each meal?" Zhu Gaochi exclaimed in shock.

Just then, over a dozen figures emerged from the portal beside them.

The person leading them was Zhu Yuanzhang, flanked by Li Shimin and Qin Shihuang Ying Zheng.

Following behind them were some modern technical personnel, whom Zhu Yuanzhang had specifically brought over from his Hongwu dynasty.

Since there was a severe shortage of manpower from the modern era, he had to bring some people from his own dynasty. After all, this was his son's dynasty, so Zhu Yuanzhang felt compelled to give extra attention to helping with its development.

"Old Li, Brother Zheng, you're here too." Qin Ning greeted them with a smile.

"We just got out of morning court and found it boring, so we took a trip to the modern era. We ran into this old guy [Old Zhu] there, realized Old Zhu wasn't around, so Brother Zheng and I came over to see what he was up to," Li Shimin said.

Qin Ning nodded, then introduced them to Zhu Di and his son. "This is the First Emperor Ying Zheng, and this is Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang dynasty."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi were both taken aback and quickly made bows. "We, the successor Emperor Taizong of Ming, Zhu Di, and his son, pay our respects to the former First Emperor and the Emperor Taizong of Tang."

"Not bad, not bad. Little nephew, no need to be so formal. Compared to the youthful version of you, you seem much more steady now," Ying Zheng said with a hearty laugh.

"Oh? The First Emperor has seen a younger version of me?" Zhu Di was stunned.

But upon reflection, it wasn't surprising. The other man had surely visited the Hongwu dynasty more than once. In that era, which was still eleven years into the Hongwu reign, his younger self hadn't yet gone to take up his post in Beiping. Ying Zheng had met him, which was hardly unusual.

"Seen you? You nearly burned down Brother Zheng's Qin Imperial Palace, that's what happened!"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly and then briefly recounted what had happened a few days ago in the Qin dynasty.

Upon learning that the Prince of Yan, Zhu Di, together with Cheng Chumo and Fusu, had actually set fire to the Qin Imperial Palace, Zhu Di the Yongle Emperor was dumbfounded. Recovering quickly, he hurriedly said, "Um... Your Majesty the First Emperor, I actually don't know that Prince of Yan all that well. Feel free to keep him locked up for a few more days, punish him however you like—giving him a few lashes would work too."

"Look at you, a scaredy-cat like that. Are you afraid Brother Zheng might cause trouble for you?" Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled, then added, "Old Li and Brother Zheng have finally come all this way. You should hurry up and have some food prepared to entertain them. If Brother Zheng and Old Li are happy, who knows, they might send some of their modern-era personnel over from their Qin and Tang dynasties to help with your development. What do you say, Brother Zheng, Old Li?"

Ying Zheng and Li Shimin were both speechless upon hearing this. Zhu Yuanzhang had directly maneuvered them into a corner—if they refused, they would appear far too petty.

"Very well, Father. Your son will have it prepared immediately. No, I will prepare it myself." Zhu Di chuckled, finished speaking, and hurriedly turned to leave.