The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

"His Majesty……"

Chen Wang's voice was low as he gazed at Zhu Yujian standing in front of him.

This was the first time he had seen Zhu Yujian in person. He knew a bit about Zhu Yujian, including his life story in history.

I also know about Zhu Yujian's helplessness and resentment in history.

When Zhu Yujian ascended the throne, he was in a predicament where he was besieged on three sides.

First, they were controlled by the Zheng family; second, they had to guard against the army of Prince Lu; and third, the Qing army from the north was approaching steadily.

With repeated defeats on the front lines and the empire on the verge of collapse, Zhu Yujian personally led his troops on a northern expedition, hoping to boost the morale of the army and reverse the decline by personally leading the campaign.

However, when Zhu Yujian led thousands of loyal soldiers from Fuzhou to Yanping, preparing to risk going to Hunan.

Zheng Zhilong rebelled. The Qing army was powerful, and Zhu Yujian only had a few thousand men under his command. So he wanted to withdraw from Yanping and go to Jiangxi via Tingzhou.

However, the Qing army moved extremely fast. The guards fought back with all their might, but it turned out that their courage and bravery were not enough to save the day.

Zhu Yujian was eventually killed in Tingzhou, dying with regret.

Feeling the warmth emanating from his arm, Chen Wang was filled with a myriad of thoughts.

Of all the emperors of the Southern Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yujian is the most regrettable.

"His Majesty……"

Chen Wang had prepared many grand and eloquent words, but at this moment he completely forgot about them.

"Your Majesty is divinely wise and insightful, with a vision that extends far and wide. If Your Majesty were to succeed Tianqi, perhaps the affairs of the nation would not be in such a state of disarray..."

"If Your Majesty is truly the ruler of China, you will surely be able to govern diligently and revitalize the Ming Dynasty. I firmly believe this."

Chen Wang sighed softly, gazing into Zhu Yujian's bright eyes.

"But as Your Majesty said, the trend is like a tide, and many things are beyond our control. Whether I want to or not, the yellow robe will be placed on my head."

If Zhao Kuangyin had taken off the yellow robe that everyone had draped over him and thrown it on the ground when he was at Chenqiao Post Station, his head would have fallen even earlier than the robe.

"Besides, I can't back down."

Chen Wang's gaze slowly turned cold.

Throughout history, how many powerful ministers have managed to die a natural death?

Even if I am utterly loyal and return power to His Majesty, can His Majesty truly tolerate my existence?

Zhu Yujian's eyes were deep as he gazed at Chen Wang silently for a long time before slowly speaking.

"you're right."

His voice was soft, yet carried an extraordinary calmness.

"Even if you return power with no ulterior motives, no emperor can tolerate the existence of a powerful minister."

Even though the imperial court is vast and the land is boundless, it is still impossible to accommodate two supreme rulers.

Even if Zhu Yujian could tolerate it, even if Chen Wang really retired from the army and returned to his hometown, thus creating an unprecedented tale of a ruler and his minister.

However, when the next emperor takes office, regardless of whether Chen Wang has passed away, the original forces of the Jingnan Army will inevitably be purged.

None of the generals who followed him in his campaigns, nor the officials who served under him, met a good end.

Zhu Yujian's fingertips trembled slightly inside the sleeve of his dragon robe; he understood this historical law better than anyone else.

If Chen Wangruo were to relinquish his power now, an even more tragic end would await him.

Because of Chen Wang's existence, the continued existence of the Jingnan Army was a perpetual threat to imperial power.

And imperial power.

He never tolerates the slightest threat.

"And the most important point..."

Chen Wang slowly straightened his body, standing even more upright than before.

"Your Majesty should have been fully aware of this during your reign."

"The Ming Dynasty is already a rotten and dilapidated edifice."

Zhu Yujian looked at Chen Wang, nodded slightly, and his eyes revealed a complex sense of agreement.

Chen Wang's expression was resolute, and his voice became increasingly firm.

"The foundation of the Ming Dynasty was unstable, and the Tumu Fortress further exacerbated this change. The Ming Dynasty was riddled with hidden dangers from the very beginning, and it was already tilting from the start."

"No matter how many more tiles are added, or how strong the supports are built, it will be difficult to reverse the trend of collapse."

Chen Wang's eyes were piercing, and his voice carried a deafening power.

"I'm here this time."

Chen Wang slightly turned his head and slowly scanned the civil and military officials around him.
"But who will it be next time?"

Zhu Yujian gazed silently at Chen Wang, his graying temples particularly striking in the sunlight, his eyes swirling with a thousand thoughts.

"Will Heaven forever favor the Ming Dynasty?"

"The course of Heaven is constant; it does not exist for Yao, nor does it perish for Jie."

Chen Wang's voice was exceptionally clear in the wind, each word piercing the heart.

"Does Your Majesty not know the outcome of Zhang Juzheng's reforms during the Wanli era?"

"When a person dies, his policies cease; in less than a century, the former glory of the Ming Dynasty has vanished like a mirage."

"If we do not thoroughly reform and innovate this time, if we do not completely transform the world, then the achievements we have made through the sacrifices and bloodshed of countless people will be for naught..."

Chen Wang's voice was soft and gentle, yet it carried immense power.

"It will eventually all vanish like a bubble."

Sunlight shone on Chen Wang's resolute profile, and his eyes burned with an undeniable determination.

Chen Wang's last words were almost squeezed out from between his teeth, his expression nearly ferocious.

In the end, nothing can be changed!

The humid summer wind suddenly became urgent, and a gale swept by, causing thousands of banners to flutter wildly.

A strong wind rushed into Chen Wang's wide python robe, causing the hem to flutter and billow behind him.

Sunlight pierced through the clouds and shone unobstructed onto Chen Wang's python robe.

The gilded python patterns on the python robe undulated and swirled violently in the strong wind, the python's body twisting and its scales gleaming, as if it were about to break free from the clothing's constraints at any moment.

The gale swept over Zhu Yujian's body, blowing his bright yellow dragon-patterned robe.

The five-clawed golden dragon embroidered on the twelve-chapter robe remains majestic and imposing, showcasing supreme imperial power and ancient rituals.

However, amidst the sudden gust of wind, the steady dragon pattern seemed somewhat frozen.

But compared to the vibrant, aggressive gilded python pattern on the other side...

Ultimately, it lacks a certain vibrant spirit of breaking free from constraints and forging ahead.

"The sun and moon revolve, and the country is renewed."

"The world cannot continue like this."

Chen Wang clenched his fists, his gaze fixed intently on Zhu Yujian's eyes, his voice filled with suppressed pain.

"The world needs to change!"

Zhu Yujian's gaze first went down, then up again, taking in Chen Wang's towering figure, which resembled a solitary peak.

Finally, Zhu Yujian's gaze settled on those eyes that burned like starlight and seemed to pierce through history.

A raging fire burned intensely in Chen Wang's eyes, the light so intense that Zhu Yujian could barely look at it.

Zhu Yujian's heart trembled slightly as he tried to find familiar traces of lust for power in Chen Wang's unusual eyes.

However, what he saw filled him with immense doubt, and then evoked an indescribable sense of resonance.

He saw not a trace of personal greed or ambition in the depths of Chen Wang's burning eyes.

What he saw was only a profound, almost tragic, pain for the suffering endured by this land and its people.

Zhu Yujian slowly closed his eyes.

A myriad of thoughts surged within Zhu Yujian's heart.

this moment.

Zhu Yujian understood the heavy, suffocating pain in Chen Wang's heart.

Although he didn't experience much, he did see societies crumbled by war and people displaced by natural disasters.

He was not a prince who lived in seclusion in the deep palace and was ignorant of worldly affairs.

He knew how difficult the world was for ordinary people.

He knew how terrifying the hundreds of thousands of soldiers represented.

He also knew the immense weight of that seemingly insignificant message from the North: the fall of the capital and the annihilation of the nine armies. The collapse of the empire and the fall of the nation were imminent.

It was Chen Wang who single-handedly held up the Ming Dynasty, which was on the verge of collapse.

He remembered everything written in the report. He not only saw the Battle of Yangzhou, but also the line, "Ten thousand troops advanced together, fought fiercely for thirty days, and utterly defeated the enemy..."

He also noticed a line of small characters in the Qianzitang report that everyone had overlooked: "Earl of Jingnan, Chen Wang, braved arrows and stones, faced the battle with a death wish, raised the flag and charged forward, inspiring the entire army, and all the generals followed him to the death!"

The Battle of Yangzhou and the Battle of Jining.

The Jingnan Army had always been outnumbered, as evidenced by the long list of fallen soldiers and the countless sums of money and silver being escorted from the treasury for their relief efforts.

These all represent how terrifying those battles were.

The collapse of a nation can happen in an instant.

What Chen Wang did was not just to quell the bandits, nor was it just to defeat the Jurchens.

But...

Recreate the universe.

"I understand……"

When Zhu Yujian opened his eyes again, the unfathomable weariness and confusion behind them had completely vanished, replaced by clarity and brightness.

"I understand."

Zhu Yujian took in all the signs of hardship on Chen Wang's face, the gray hair at his temples, and the weariness in his eyes.

The world.

This land has been stagnant and mired in stagnation for far too long.

The world.

This land has been peaceful for far too long, following its established course.

The world.

A complete overhaul is needed.

It has come to the point where we must break with the old and establish the new.

But he, Zhu Yujian, was not the one who could truly change the world.

He is the emperor.

However, he was the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

The emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Apart from the Taizu and Chengzu.

It no longer holds supreme power.

They also lack the ability to change the world.

When the emperor of the Ming Dynasty wanted to implement any decree, he would be subject to endless checks and balances within the seemingly respectful but actually resilient invisible net of the civil service group.

Any reform measures, after being worn down by the imperial court, resisted by the local authorities, and misinterpreted by the clerks, have become unrecognizable by the time they reach the common people, and may even have deviated from their original intentions.

Top-down changes are doomed to fail in a Ming Dynasty whose roots are already rotten and whose trunk has been hollowed out.

The Ming court had long been riddled with holes by corrupt scholars and vested interests who clung to their own interests and were incompetent, forming an impenetrable iron wall.

Even if a brilliant and capable ruler emerges, blessed with divine mandate, and with extraordinary wisdom and might, and manages to forcibly reverse the temporary decline.

However, a great ruler can only bring about the restoration of a dynasty for one lifetime, but it is difficult to restore it for ten thousand generations.

If the foundation of the country is not changed.

Eventually, the moment will come when the person dies and the regime ends.

Everything will quickly slide back to its original track, or even collapse more completely.

Ultimately, it will return to the weakness it was during the Tianqi and Chongzhen eras.

When the mournful sound of the Hu people's Huqin (a type of reed pipe) once again echoed across the land of China.

When the human tragedy of exchanging children for food and leaving fields covered in bones is once again being bloodily reenacted across the country.

Ming dynasty.

It will eventually disappear completely and be buried by the dust of history.

And buried along with it.

There is also the destiny that belongs to the Chinese nation.

When the iron hooves of the foreign tribes once again ruthlessly trampled through the mountains and rivers, occupying the entire homeland of China.

They will keenly learn profound lessons from the Yuan Dynasty's nearly 100-year rule over China.

They will be more meticulous than the Yuan Dynasty, they will be more thorough than the Yuan Dynasty, they will use more sophisticated methods to erase the imprint of civilization, and use more lasting methods to imprison the light of thought.

By that time.

China.

Could it really be China?
What happened in China in the past will repeat itself.

The events of the North-South divide that occurred during the Hongwu era are clearly recorded in historical books.

The North had only been lost for a few hundred years, and the northerners did not know what the Chinese were, thinking that the southerners were all foreigners.

"As you said."

Zhu Yujian's voice trembled as he took a deep breath.

"It is time for the world to change... and it should change."

Zhu Yujian saw the anger in Chen Wang's eyes.

He looked at Chen Wang's broad shoulders and stared at the scarred armor on Chen Wang's python robe.

Chen Wang rose from a humble servant to become the Duke of Yan, who now holds power over the entire realm.

The price, the resilience, and the sacrifices required along the way have been far too great and too heavy.

But Chen Wang still walked up to him.

He wasn't the only one.

He also led hundreds of thousands of battle-hardened soldiers.

With a determination to change the world.

"I have a hunch."

Zhu Yujian's eyes were bright.

"You will never fall."

You will never fail.

"In your hands, China will once again achieve the glory of the Han and Tang dynasties..."

"Do not……"

Zhu Yujian paused slightly, then corrected himself in a more assertive tone.

"In your hands, China will embark on a brand new path."

"And if we continue along this path, the world will be completely different, and the banners of China will eventually fly over a much larger territory that even the most prosperous Han and Tang dynasties had never ruled."

Zhu Yujian slowly raised his right hand, palm up, and steadily extended it toward Chen Wang.

He stared intently at Chen Wang, not flinching from Chen Wang's sharp gaze.

"I will not be an obstacle for you."

Zhu Yujian spoke in a calm and firm voice.

"I know how difficult the road ahead is, and I know how significant the impact of what you are about to do is."

"I know the road ahead is fraught with peril, and I am even more aware of the grandeur of this ambition."

Zhu Yujian resumed using the self-reference of the emperor and said solemnly.

Chen Wang also extended his hand, gazing intently at Zhu Yujian's resolute face.

He gained a new understanding of the Tang emperor who disregarded the law and resolutely raised troops to defend the country in times of national crisis, and he came to understand the Longwu Emperor who left behind endless sighs and regrets in the annals of history.

Chen Wang's hand did not land in Zhu Yujian's palm, but instead firmly reached across and grasped Zhu Yujian's forearm.

Their arms were clasped tightly together.

Golden light shone on the two of them, and dragon and python patterns intertwined in the light and shadow.

"The rising of the sun and moon is due to the world's fascination with them."

"The setting of the sun and moon should also follow the expectations of the world." (End of this chapter)