Chapter 2: Is This the Ming Dynasty?

"Is there another question? Can I not go?" Chen Xie asked timidly, receiving a cold reply: "You can! If you refuse, I will execute the traveler deletion program."

The Ming Dynasty, or the late years, damn it, my history grades were terrible! Fortunately, there's the all-knowing Baidu!

"Who is Baidu? How can she be all-knowing?" The mechanical voice annoyingly appeared again. Chen Xie glanced at it fearfully, speaking in a low voice: "A search engine." Facing this entity that could delete him without even opening its mouth, he lacked the courage to speak loudly.

"Understood. The most famous search engine is Baidu. I must remind you, many of Baidu's historical searches are unreliable. I suggest you find some professional materials to study. However, I don't think you'll learn much in three days. It's better to prepare the supplies you need for the journey."

Hearing the word "journey," and thinking about living in a completely unfamiliar era, Chen Xie felt a sense of urgency. Having read countless穿越 (time-travel) novels, Chen Xie's favorite were the ones with detailed historical research. The protagonists in these novels all had the main character's aura, but real life told him that relying on such a presence to make people bow down was a one-way trip. Everything still depends on oneself.

While lost in thought, the surroundings changed again. He found himself back in front of the small house's window, where a 1.5-meter mattress was piled with clothes, and a small folding table held a second-hand computer. Everything looked reassuring. The world outside the window remained unchanged, with neon lights flickering on the bustling streets. The only change was a device on his wrist that looked like a Google watch. Chen Xie raised his hand and said to the watch, "Hey, how do I contact you later?"

The smartwatch didn't make a sound but displayed a line of text: "72 hours later, you will be forced to travel."

With his newly issued salary and a few coins in his pocket, Chen Xie began his preparations. The first thing to prepare was essential living supplies. He went to the supermarket and bought two boxes of instant noodles. Seeing the compressed biscuits, he bought thirty packs. Seeing the eight-yuan tuna cans, he gritted his teeth and bought thirty. This pile of stuff was hard to carry, so he bought a large denim backpack and stuffed it full. The weight was not light, and he regretted buying so much food as soon as he left the supermarket.

There was no regret pill, so he had to tough it out and load it onto his electric scooter. When he went upstairs, the landlord, Aunt Liu, appeared again, smiling and asking, "Xiao Chen, are you going on a business trip? What a big backpack."

"Ah, a business trip, you're busy," Chen Xie said, afraid she would continue to chatter, and quickly went upstairs. Aunt Liu, probably having collected the rent smoothly, smiled and walked away. Back in his room, Chen Xie put down the big backpack and worried, "Hey, how much can I bring?"

The screen lit up, a beam of light scanned the backpack, and a line of text appeared: "I've sent some things to your computer. Check the desktop." The screen dimmed, and the backpack disappeared. Chen Xie was speechless, staring at the watch and swallowing the curse that was on the tip of his tongue.

The screen lit up again, displaying a line of text: "I am learning about this time and space. Do not disturb."

The tone was not polite at all. What does "do not disturb" mean? Can't you use a simple and civilized phrase like "please do not disturb"? Just as he was complaining, the screen lit up again, showing a line of text: "Because I don't know how, I have to learn."

Chen Xie... It seems this thing is indeed very honest!

In the strange time and space, he couldn't rely solely on the food he brought. Who knows how long this journey would last? He needed a skill to make a living. Chen Xie decided to fall back on his old trade as a barefoot doctor. He found a dusty box with a red cross from the corner. This was his main equipment for practicing medicine without a license. Opening the box, he saw a stethoscope, an aluminum box for needles, and a leather tube for intravenous drips. These items were chosen to save costs; disposable items were good but expensive. In the village, everyone tried to save money, and minor illnesses were often endured.

After cleaning the box, he began the second step of his preparations. Essential medicines were a must. During his six months of unlicensed practice, Chen Xie mainly bought supplies online. Now, time didn't allow for that, so he had to go to a pharmacy.

Penicillin, tetracycline, aspirin, Huoxiang Zhengqi Water, alcohol, cotton, gauze... As soon as Chen Xie spoke, the pharmacist knew he was running a clinic. Being an insider, the pharmacist didn't leave much room for negotiation. This business was about the long term. The pharmacist, a middle-aged man surnamed Xu, introduced himself as the owner, saying the pharmacy mainly dealt in wholesale but also retail.

Chen Xie believed that the location of the pharmacy determined that he was telling the truth, but it was the opposite—retail was the main focus, with wholesale as a side business. After six months of frugal living, he had saved 5,000 yuan, plus his newly issued salary, and bought dozens of common medicines and medical supplies. With the hope of making a profit, he bought a bottle of Viagra. The reason he bought a bottle instead of a box was that it was a counterfeit product. The genuine product was too expensive, and Chen Xie wasn't willing to spend that much. The effect was about the same, and he could easily deceive modern people, let alone Ming Dynasty people.

After a transaction of over 6,000 yuan, Mr. Xu seemed in a good mood and offered to deliver the goods. When he appeared with a manual tricycle, Chen Xie realized that this guy was just as hard up as he was. The only difference was that Chen Xie was at the lowest level of hardship, while Mr. Xu had some assets, making him a higher-level hard-up.

Four large cardboard boxes, and both of them were sweating by the time they carried them upstairs, especially the fat Mr. Xu, who was drenched in sweat. But he didn't mind, happily pedaling the tricycle and humming a tune as he left. Chen Xie pointed the watch at the four large boxes and asked, "Can I take these?"

A beam of light enveloped the boxes, and after a moment of distortion, they disappeared. Chen Xie felt relieved, thinking that he would need a tricycle to carry all his stuff in the Ming Dynasty, but an electric one was out of the question since there was no place to charge it. Looking at his pocket, he had only a few yuan left, and he hadn't even had dinner after a tiring day.

"Let's consider the transportation issue next time. Preparations complete!" Chen Xie muttered to himself. As soon as he finished speaking, a powerful force pulled him into a vortex that appeared out of nowhere.

"I haven't..." The words were still lingering when Chen Xie disappeared. He reappeared in the enclosed space, seeing the composite beauty again. "What haven't you done? Originally, speaking required opening the mouth, but now you can speak without it. How do you find this voice?"

Looking at the composite beauty, dressed in a Chanel strapless dress and wearing high heels, standing next to Chen Xie, they were about the same height. Her voice was soft and seductive, and her figure was excellent, but the height was a bit too much.

Chen Xie, who was powerless to criticize and dared not offend this entity, didn't give up his right to defend his interests, but his voice was weak. "I haven't brought a weapon for self-defense, just the kitchen knife."

Snap, the beauty snapped her fingers, and a gun appeared in her hand. She handed it to Chen Xie, saying, "M-1911A1, 11.43mm caliber, 8-round magazine, 5 spare magazines. I must solemnly inform you that due to your failure to read the travel manual, the penalty program has been triggered, reducing the 10 spare magazines to 5."

"I..." Chen Xie decided to give up his right to self-defense, as it was completely useless. It was clear that he had intended to read the manual later, but a casual "preparations complete" had forced him to start the journey. Communicating with this emotionless entity to achieve mutual friendliness was almost impossible.

Silently, he grabbed the gun and spare magazines and put them in the bag with the delivery notice. The composite beauty's voice sounded again, "The traveler has decided to forgo the trial of the self-defense weapon. Initiating the travel program." Chen Xie was shocked and angry, looking up, but the world was pitch black. "You didn't tell me I could try the gun!" His desperate voice echoed in the time and space, but there was no audience.

When the light appeared again, Chen Xie found himself in a strange environment. He was standing on a dirt road, wide enough for two vehicles to pass side by side. On both sides of the road were fields, with crops that looked worrying, short and small, struggling in the cracked soil. The wheat ears were shriveled, and the harvest this year would be poor. Looking ahead, he could see a village hidden in the woods. Looking back, he could see a city with a city wall in the distance.

There were few pedestrians on the road. About a hundred meters away, a cart was parked, and a few figures were moving around.

"Is this the Ming Dynasty?" Chen Xie muttered to himself. The watch on his wrist vibrated, and the screen lit up, displaying a bunch of text: "Tianqi 7th year (1627), August 8th, Emperor Xizong was seriously ill and summoned his ministers to the West Warm Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, instructing them: Eunuch Wang Tigan is diligent, and Wei Zhongxian is loyal. On his deathbed, he summoned Prince Xing and instructed him about the after matters. On the 22nd, he died in the Maode Hall at the age of 23. Wei Zhongxian plotted to usurp power, privately speaking to General Tian Ergeng, who agreed. However, Minister of War Cui Chengxiu, fearing a righteous army, advised against it. Emperor Xizong's will, based on the principle of succession, ordered his fifth brother, Prince Xing Zhu Youjian, to ascend the throne. On October 7th, he was posthumously honored as Emperor Zhe. His temple name was Emperor Xizong, and he was buried in De Ling. Emperor Xizong was licentious and enjoyed the inner palace, hated advice, and delighted in flattery. The eunuch's disaster was severe during his reign, and the border troubles worsened, leading to the collapse of the state. As historians have said, Emperor Xizong was 'mediocre and weak, with eunuchs and concubines wielding power, excessive rewards and cruel punishments, the destruction of loyal and virtuous officials, and the people's hearts were lost. Even if he wanted to avoid destruction, how could he achieve it?'"

Zhu Youjian, born on December 24th, 1610 (Wanli 38th year), was the fifth son of Emperor Guangzong and the younger brother of Emperor Xizong. He was enfeoffed as Prince Xing in August 1622 (Tianqi 2nd year) and moved to the Xing Palace in 1626 (Tianqi 6th year). He was intelligent and clear-sighted, and during Wei Zhongxian's rule, he kept a low profile, which made Wei Zhongxian fear him and not dare to act against the will. On August 22nd, 1627 (Tianqi 7th year), Emperor Xizong died. On the 24th, following the will, Zhu Youjian ascended the throne, issuing a decree to the nation, changing the next year to Chongzhen 1st year. He was known as Emperor Sizong. At that time, Zhu Youjian was 17 years old. In September, he posthumously honored his mother, Consort Liu, as Empress Dowager.

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