King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

"Yes, my lord, please don't worry about us."

The other craftsmen echoed this, with a hint of bitterness and helplessness in their tone.

"No!"

Zhu Tan's voice echoed in the empty wilderness with an unquestionable determination.

"I'm not here today to tell you that the lab is going to be closed!"

The craftsmen looked at each other, their faces filled with confusion and puzzlement.

Old Li asked tremblingly, "Your Majesty, what do you mean..."

"What I mean is," Zhu Tan looked around at everyone, lowered his voice, and said word by word, "We need to change places and continue working!"

"Keep working?" the young craftsman asked in disbelief, "But, but the emperor..."

"Shh!"

Zhu Tan made a gesture to keep quiet, with a sly look in his eyes:
"I will naturally go and take care of Father's side."

"I came here today just to ask you brothers if you are willing to accompany me and gamble again?"

The craftsmen were silent. They were not fools, so they naturally understood what Zhu Tan meant.

If the emperor finds out about opening a laboratory privately, the consequences will be disastrous.

However, looking at the young but determined prince in front of him, looking at those eyes full of trust and expectation.

The extinguished fire in their hearts burned again.

"My Lord, do you remember what you said when you first gathered us, a group of downtrodden craftsmen?"

Old Li suddenly spoke, a light flashing in his cloudy eyes.

Zhu Tan was stunned, and the original scene appeared in his mind.

At that time, he had just obtained the emperor's permission to set up his own laboratory, and was full of enthusiasm to make a career.

He walked the streets and alleys looking for skilled craftsmen.

"You are the backbone of the Ming Dynasty and the most precious wealth of this era!"

Zhu Tan clearly remembered that he was standing in front of the brand new shed and said loudly to the ragged craftsmen:
"I believe that as long as you are given the opportunity, you will be able to create miracles that will amaze the world!"

"Your Majesty, you gave us opportunities, gave us a good life, and more importantly, you gave us dignity!"

Old Li's voice was a little choked:

"We are a bunch of old bones, and we don't have much to pursue in this life. We just want to create something so that future generations will remember us. Don't worry, as long as you say the word, our lives will be yours!"

"Yes! We all listen to the prince!"

The other craftsmen also expressed their opinions in firm tones without any hesitation.

Zhu Tan felt a warm feeling in his heart as he looked at the group of lovely craftsmen in front of him.

He took out a heavy bag of silver from his arms and handed it to Lan Yu.

"Lan Yu, here are some silver coins. Take them and find a suitable place as soon as possible to build the blast furnace and other equipment. Remember, you must keep it secret and don't let the news leak out!"

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I'll take care of this!"

Lan Yu took the silver and patted his chest to make a promise.

After saying this, he turned around and disappeared into the night without any further delay.

Zhu Tan gave the craftsmen a few more instructions and prepared to return home.

Before leaving, he patted Old Li on the shoulder and whispered:
"Old Li, I'm leaving this matter up to you. You're an old man with a lot of experience, so you need to lead us well."

Old Li nodded solemnly, with a determined light flashing in his cloudy eyes:
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. You gave me this life, so please rest assured!"

The sky in the east was already turning pale. Zhu Tan took one last look at the wasteland where the fire of hope was about to ignite, then turned and left.

The next night, Lan Yu arrived as promised, with an unconcealable excitement on her face.

"Your Majesty, everything you want has been made!"

Zhu Tan was cheered up:
"Come on, take me to see it!"

Under the cover of night, they came to a remote valley outside the city.

Deep in the valley, a simple work shed rose from the ground. Inside, the lights were on and faint voices and banging sounds could be heard.

Zhu Tan and Lan Yu walked into the shed and saw a dozen craftsmen busy at work.

The ground was littered with all kinds of strange-shaped parts, and the air was filled with a special smell mixed with iron and wood. All of this made Zhu Tan feel extremely familiar and intimate.

"Your Highness, look, this is the blast furnace you asked for. It's bigger and stronger than the previous one!"

Lan Yu pointed to a huge iron thing and said with pride.

Zhu Tan walked forward and looked at the huge creature carefully.

The walls of the blast furnace are made of thick refractory bricks, and the furnace door is carved with complex patterns, from which a wave of heat gushes out.

It was like a sleeping beast, waiting to be awakened.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Zhu Tan said three good words in a row, with a pleased smile on his face.

"Your Majesty, please take another look at this..."

Lan Yu pointed to the side with a bit of pride as if seeking credit, his face full of smiles as if he was offering a treasure.

It was a strange device, made up of gears and connecting rods of various sizes.

It looks sophisticated and complex, yet exudes an indescribable weirdness.

It's like a pile of scrap metal put together randomly, but it exudes an indescribable strange harmony.

"This is……"

Zhu Tan raised his eyebrows, stopped abruptly, stared at the device, and his breathing became faster.

This was clearly a semi-finished product that he had tinkered with when he was still in the laboratory, but his father ordered him to stop before he could finish his research.

How could I see it in a place like this!

Where did this kid Lan Yu get it from? !
"My Lord, don't think this thing looks strange, but it is a good thing!"

Lan Yu rubbed his hands, with a tone of excitement that seemed to be seeking credit:

"I had to use a lot of connections to get this out of that closed laboratory!"

"You are getting more and more daring, even daring to break into a closed laboratory!"

Having said that.

But the look in Zhu Tan's eyes when he looked at Lan Yu was only one of slow admiration!

This kid is becoming more and more like the man he was back then!
"Hey, this is all for you, Your Majesty!"

Lan Yu chuckled, scratched his head, and said with a bit of embarrassment in his tone:
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I am very reliable and will definitely not leave any traces!"

Zhu Tan smiled and shook his head. He said nothing more, but just stared at the strange device with burning eyes, feeling an irrepressible excitement in his heart.

"My Lord, look at this thing, what is its use?"

Seeing that Zhu Tan was staring at the device without saying anything, Lan Yu couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Well..."

Zhu Tan deliberately prolonged his voice, and his eyes swept across the craftsmen present, finally stopping at the weather-beaten face of Old Li:

"Today, what we are going to do is Prince Yu's finger!" "Prince Yu's finger?!"

Everyone was shocked when they heard this and looked at each other with confusion on their faces.

"My Lord, what does this mean?"

Old Li asked bravely, his cloudy eyes full of doubt.

"It's very simple," Zhu Tan smiled slightly, his tone calm but with an unquestionable firmness, "What we need to do is a prosthetic limb!"

"Prosthetic...prosthetic limb?"

The craftsmen looked at each other, even more confused.

They are all rough people. They have never heard of prosthetic limbs, let alone what they are!
"My Lord, what is this prosthetic limb?"

Old Li asked cautiously, fearing that he was asking a question that he shouldn't ask.

Zhu Tan explained patiently:

"A so-called prosthetic limb is a device that replaces a person's lost limb. For example, Prince Yu lost his finger due to an accident. We can build him a mechanical finger so that he can live like a normal person!"

"what?!"

When the craftsmen heard this, they were suddenly in an uproar, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

Using machinery to create a finger, how...how is this possible? !
This is simply unheard of!
"Your Majesty, this... can this really be done?"

Old Li couldn't help but ask, his tone full of doubt.

"of course can!"

Zhu Tan's tone was firm, his eyes were blazing, as if he could see through everything:
"I have seen a mechanical arm made by Westerners. Although it is crude and simple, it can indeed allow people who have lost their arms to regain the ability to hold things. What we need to do is to create a more sophisticated and flexible mechanical finger so that Prince Yu can live like a normal person!"

"This……"

The craftsmen looked at each other, all shocked by Zhu Tan's words.

They are all craftsmen who have been dealing with wood and iron all their lives. Where had they ever seen such magical things?

"Your Majesty, are you...are you really sure?"

Old Li couldn't help but ask, his tone full of worry.

This is a major matter concerning Prince Yu. If anything goes wrong, they cannot afford it!

"Don't worry, Old Li, I am absolutely sure!"

Zhu Tan patted Old Li on the shoulder, his tone firm, his eyes gleaming with confidence:
"Believe in me, we will succeed!"

Old Li looked at Zhu Tan's determined eyes, and the worry in his heart gradually dissipated, replaced by an inexplicable excitement and anticipation.

Maybe, the prince can really create a miracle?

"Your Majesty, just tell us what you need us to do!"

Old Li took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, with a determined light flashing in his turbid eyes.

"Yes! Your Majesty, just give us your orders and we will obey you!"

The other craftsmen also expressed their opinions in firm tones without any hesitation.

"Okay!" Zhu Tan nodded with satisfaction, glanced at everyone, and said in a deep voice, "If that's the case, let's get started!"

"Prosthetic limbs are neither difficult nor easy."

Zhu Tan cleared his throat, attracting the attention of all the craftsmen. They all stared at the young prince, afraid of missing a word:

"Those things made by Westerners are very crude. If we want to make something, we should make it exquisite!"

He walked to the workbench, picked up a piece of wood, and shaved off a piece of sawdust:
"First of all, you have to understand that this prosthesis is to replace a human hand, so it has to be made to look like a real person."

Zhu Tan cleared his throat and pointed at the pile of parts on the table:

"Look, this prosthesis, to put it simply, uses these parts to simulate the movement of human hand joints."

He picked up a thin stick of wood:

"For example, this one is used to make the skeleton of the finger. Of course, this wood is too brittle, so we have to use fine steel."

"A finger needs at least three or four joints to move flexibly."

Old Li carefully picked up a steel bar and looked at it carefully.

"Your Highness, how many of these steel bars do we need to make? I have lived for most of my life, but I have never seen such thin steel bars. How much effort does it take to make them?"

"Haha, Old Li, you hit the nail on the head!"

Zhu Tan laughed and patted Old Li on the shoulder:

"The key to this prosthesis lies in the word 'exquisite'! The steel bar must be made thin and light, but also strong enough to allow Prince Yu to use it with ease."

"Your Highness, how should this joint be connected? We can't just use an ordinary mortise and tenon structure, right?"

Another young craftsman asked.

Zhu Tan gave him an approving look:
"Good question! This joint connection is the subtlety of this prosthesis! I intend to use a structure called 'bearing',"

He picked up two round pieces of iron that had been polished to a smooth surface:

"Look, put a rolling steel ball between the two pieces of iron, and then use brass to make a sleeve to fix them. In this way, the fingers can move flexibly."

The craftsmen were stunned and picked up the parts on the table to demonstrate.

Trying to understand the structure Zhu Tan is talking about.

"Your Majesty, how can we make this finger move? We can't ask Prince Yu to open it with his own hands, right?"

A craftsman raised a question.

"That's a good question!"

Zhu Tan pointed at a complicated device on the drawing:

"I plan to install a spring device here, and use the elastic force of the spring to drive the fingers to bend and straighten."

"Spring? What is that?"

The craftsmen looked at each other in bewilderment.

Zhu Tan picked up a bent metal bar:
"That's it. It stores force, and when you compress it or stretch it, it generates force that bounces back."

He installed a spring on a wooden model and with a light press, the model's fingers bounced up flexibly, leaving the craftsmen stunned.

"Your Majesty, this... this is too magical!"

Old Li exclaimed, his cloudy eyes full of disbelief, "Can this thing really make Prince Yu's fingers move?"

"Of course!"

Zhu Tan is full of confidence:

"However, this is only the first step. We also need to make a suitable bracket according to the size of Prince Yu's palm to fix these fingers, and design a control device so that Prince Yu can control the movement of his fingers through his own movements."

The craftsmen were so excited that their eyes were filled with anticipation and excitement.

Lan Yu was also amazed, looking at Zhu Tan with eyes full of admiration:
"Your Highness, I admire you very much when it comes to fighting. I didn't expect you to be so proficient in craftsmanship. It really opens my eyes."

He was truly filled with admiration.

And His Highness is not just generally proficient in it.

Rather, it is a mastery that has never been seen before and will never be surpassed. (End of this chapter)