Chapter 38: Check-In

In the third year of Hongwu, on New Year's Day, the sky was still not fully bright.

Zhu Yong sat up from the bed and rubbed his eyes.

Scattered firecracker sounds already drifted in from outside, but the first thing that sprang to mind was not the New Year, but the system.

"Check-in."

He said it in a goofy voice.

【Ding! Hongwu Third Year check-in successful】

【Obtained: World Map (annotated edition) ×1, globe ×1】

【Items have been stored in system space】

Zhu Yong was stunned for a moment.

World Map, globe.

He closed his eyes, and his consciousness sank into system space.

Two objects floated there.

A huge roll of parchment, and a sphere.

A thought flickered in his mind, and the two items appeared on the bed.

The rolled parchment was as thick as his arm; he untied the rope and slowly unfurled it—goodness, it must be as large as a bed.

It bore winding lines, colored in various hues, with many tiny annotations.

Zhu Yong leaned in to look.

He had studied little in his past life, but he could still recognize a map.

On this map, Great Ming occupied only a central patch; the east was ocean, beyond which lay a vast continent labeled America with abundant silver deposits.

To the west was another expanse, marked as the budding technologies of the Western European nations.

In the south lay a solitary continent, annotated as Australia's ranches stretching ten thousand miles.

The north was a realm of ice and snow.

"So complete..." Zhu Yong murmured.

He picked up the globe again.

It was a wooden sphere, its surface covered with paper drawn just like the map, yet it could rotate.

He spun it and looked at Great Ming's spot... how tiny.

Zhu Yong sat on the bedside, staring at the two objects for a long while.

In his past‑life memories he knew the world was vast, but actually seeing such a detailed chart still left him awestruck.

Especially those annotations.

America's silver, Australia's ranches, Western Europe's Huogi development... if I showed this to Father, to my elder brother...

He suddenly stood, re‑rolled the map, cradled the globe, and headed out.

"Prince, where are you going so early?" Zhang Wuhe, standing outside the gate, asked.

"To the Eastern Palace, to find my elder brother!" Zhu Yong said without turning his head.

Zhang Wuhe and Chen Heng hurried to follow.

Today was New Year's Day; ordinarily the Prince should be in his residence awaiting officials' New Year greetings, but this Prince did as he pleased, and they could only keep up.

It was still early, and the streets were nearly empty.

Zhu Yong clutched the globe and ran swiftly.

When they reached the Imperial City's East Hua Gate, the guard recognized him and hurried to open the gate.

"Prince Wu, so early..."

"I'm looking for my elder brother," Zhu Yong said, marching straight inside.

The Eastern Palace was not far from East Hua Gate; Zhu Yong knew the way well.

At the palace gate, the on‑duty eunuch saw him, quickly bowed and said, "Prince Wu, the Crown Prince hasn't gotten up yet..."

"I'll wait for him."

Zhu Yong said as he walked inside.

The eunuch dared not block him and could only follow.

Inside the Eastern Palace's main hall it was quiet; Zhu Yong placed the map and globe on the table and sat down.

Zhang Wuhe and Chen Heng waited outside the door.

After waiting the length of one incense stick, there was movement inside.

Zhu Biao emerged from the sleeping hall, dressed in everyday robes, looking as if he had just finished washing up.

"Second brother, why are you here so early?" Zhu Biao asked, a bit surprised.

"Elder brother, look at this," Zhu Yong stood, pointing at the items on the table.

Zhu Biao walked over, first seeing the globe and said, "This is... a sphere?"

"It's called a globe; elder brother, give it a spin," Zhu Yong said naively.

Zhu Biao turned the sphere puzzledly, seeing Great Ming, Wa Country, South Sea... his eyes widened gradually.

"Is this... the world?" he lifted his head, speaking in disbelief.

"Yes, this is the whole world; elder brother, look, this is the map, the same," Zhu Yong spread the map again and said.

Zhu Biao stared at the map covering half the table, his hand trembling slightly.

He had read a lot and knew the heavens were round and the earth square, but this sphere... on this chart, Great Ming was only a part.

"Where... where did this come from?" Zhu Biao's voice tightened.

"Last night the White-bearded Old Man sent a dream again; this morning I woke up and it was on my bed," Zhu Yong said honestly.

Zhu Biao took a deep breath and examined the map carefully.

His gaze swept over the annotations: "America… silver deposits extremely abundant… Australia… pastures stretching for thousands of miles… Western Europe… Huogi development…"

"Brother, if this is true, then Great Ming…" Zhu Yong said naively.

"If this is true… then the wars we are fighting now, the territories we are contesting, are merely… merely frogs at the bottom of a well." Zhu Biao pressed his finger on Great Ming's location.

He suddenly looked up: "Let's go see Father!"

"Now?"

"Now! Such a treasure must be shown to Father immediately!" Zhu Biao rolled up the map, lifted the globe, and headed out.

The two brothers hurried out of the Eastern Palace and went toward Jinshen Hall.

Zhu Yuanzhang also rose early on New Year's Day; by now he should be having his morning meal.

On the way, Zhu Biao suddenly remembered something and asked, "Second brother, have you eaten yet?"

"No."

"Then we'll eat at Father's place later."

When they arrived at Jinshen Hall, indeed Zhu Yuanzhang was having his morning meal together with Empress Ma.

Seeing his two sons arrive so early, he was somewhat surprised.

"Biao Er, Yong Er, what's the matter?" Zhu Yuanzhang set down his chopsticks.

"Father, Mother, look at this." Zhu Biao placed the globe on the table and spread the map on the floor.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma leaned over to look.

"This is…" Zhu Yuanzhang frowned.

"Father, this is the world; see, this is Great Ming, this is Beiping, this is Yingtian Prefecture… but this whole world is far larger than we imagined." Zhu Biao rotated the globe.

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at the globe for a while, then crouched down to examine the map.

His sharp gaze swept over the annotations.

"America… silver… Australia… pastures… Yong Er, is this also from that White-bearded Old Man?" he muttered, then looked up and asked.

On the day Zhu Yong was recognized as kin, Zhu Yuanzhang had already asked where the ammunition that rescued Chang Yuchun came from.

Zhu Yong also said the system was the White-bearded Old Man, that is, a celestial being.

At that time Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma had just met their second son, assumed he was being modest, and did not press further; now it seems that White-bearded Old Man might indeed be plausible…

"Hmm, it appeared this morning." Zhu Yong nodded.

Zhu Yuanzhang stood up and paced within the hall.

After walking two rounds, he stopped and said, "Biao Er, do you think this map is real?"

"Your servant thinks… most likely it is true; see the coastline matches what our navy has discovered, the positions of Wa Country and Joseon also align, and… this map is too detailed, not like a crude forgery."

Zhu Biao said in a deep voice.

Empress Ma whispered, "Zhong Ba, if this is true… then the world's vastness far exceeds what we imagined."

Zhu Yuanzhang walked back to the table, his finger pressing on America: "Silver deposits extremely abundant… if there truly is that much silver…"

He then looked at Australia: "Pastures stretching for thousands of miles… how many horses could be raised… and moreover, Wa Country also has such a large silver mine."

Zhu Biao said, "Father, if this map is true, then what we are doing now must be reconsidered; the Northern Grassland is merely a scabies‑like ailment, the real Heaven and Earth lie on the sea, in the west."

Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent for a long while, then burst out laughing, "Good! Good! White-bearded Old Man has sent another great gift! Yong Er, you truly are our lucky star!"

He patted Zhu Yong's shoulder and said, "Keep this thing safe first, don't let outsiders know. Biao Er, find someone to secretly copy it; store the original away, and we will… contemplate it slowly."

"Yes."

Zhu Yong said naively, "Father, I'm going to eat first; I'm hungry."

Zhu Yuanzhang was startled, then laughed loudly, "Right, right, eat. Come, sit down and eat together!"

The morning meal was lavish, and Zhu Yong ate heartily.

Zhu Yuanzhang, however, was somewhat absent‑minded, glancing at the map on the floor from time to time.

Empress Ma picked vegetables for Zhu Yong and whispered, "Yong Er, did the White-bearded Old Man say anything else?"

"He said nothing, just gave the item." Zhu Yong said with a bun in his mouth.

After finishing the morning meal, Zhu Yuanzhang told Zhu Biao to store the map and globe first, and then instructed Zhu Yong, "Don't tell anyone about this; keep Chang Yuchun, Lan Yu and the others in the dark as well."

"I understand." Zhu Yong nodded.

Leaving Jinshen Hall, Zhu Biao went to arrange the copying, while Zhu Yong prepared to return to the residence.

Halfway there, he suddenly remembered that Chang Yuchun and his group would be visiting today.

"Brother, General Chang might need to return to Wu Wang Fu; I'll go back briefly and later come to you."

"Alright, you go ahead; I'll head straight to Wenhua Hall to look for someone."