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

Zhu Yuanzhang slammed the paper in his hand on the dragon table, making a loud noise, and the whole hall seemed to tremble.

His eyes widened in anger, and his voice was low but echoed in the hall like thunder:

"Someone! Bring that Japanese remnant Kujo Masataka to me!"

Several guards received the order and walked out of the hall quickly.

Not long after.

Kujo Masataka was brought up.

Last time.

He is also a Japanese prince.

And now.

He is a prisoner whose life or death is unknown.

"Kujo Masataka, I was magnanimous and didn't chase you, but you walked into my trap instead?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was emotionless and chilling.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty..."

Kujo Masataka's voice trembled, and he was obviously frightened by this majestic scene.

"Humph!" Zhu Yuanzhang sneered, "Come here, summon the Duke of Korea, Li Shanchang, to come to the audience!"

Soon, the elderly Li Shanchang, supported by two young Jinyiwei, walked into the hall with a unsteady step.

"Your Majesty, I, Li Shanchang, pay my respects to you."

Li Shanchang knelt down tremblingly and saluted, but did not dare to look Zhu Yuanzhang in the eye.

"Lord Li, do you know why I summoned you here?"

It was impossible to tell whether Zhu Yuanzhang was happy or angry in his tone, but it made Li Shanchang even more uneasy.

"I, this old minister, don't know." Li Shanchang lowered his head, cold sweat already oozing out of his forehead.

"What a fool!" Zhu Yuanzhang shouted angrily, throwing the paper in his hand in front of Li Shanchang, "Look for yourself!"

Li Shanchang already knew that Zhu Tan had definite evidence in his hands.

So he just kept his head down.

Not a word.

I didn't intend to defend myself.

"Kujo Masataka, you speak up! Tell us everything about your collusion with Li Shanchang! If you tell me even a lie, I will tear you into pieces!"

See him and say nothing.

What else doesn’t Zhu Yuanzhang understand?

He turned his head and glared at Kujo Masataka, his eyes full of murderous intent.

Kujo Masataka was so frightened by Zhu Yuanzhang's momentum that he trembled in fear and kowtowed like crazy, saying:

"Yes, yes. I, the villain, colluded with Li Shanchang, intending to murder the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and overthrow the Ming Dynasty."

Next, Kujo Masataka explained how he and Li Shanchang colluded.

He told him everything, no matter how they conspired and how Li Shanchang instructed him to deal with Zhu Tan.

"Li Shanchang, do you have anything else to say?!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and his voice was as cold as if it came from hell.

Li Shanchang knew that he would not be able to escape death today. He laughed miserably and said:

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty deserves death! But Your Majesty still has one favor to ask of you!"

"Speak!" Zhu Yuanzhang said coldly.

"Your Majesty, when I was fighting with you to conquer the world, you gave me a golden medal that would protect me from death. I wonder..."

When Li Shanchang said this, he raised his head cautiously and glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang. Seeing that his expression had eased a little, he plucked up the courage to continue:
"I wonder if this golden medal of immunity from death can still be used?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent.

This golden medal of immunity from death was indeed given to Li Shanchang by him personally.

Back then, we conquered the country and rewarded people according to their merits.

But the Central Plains at that time was too poor.

After the land was rewarded, there was no more gold, silver or treasure left to reward.

The only reward is a golden medal of immunity from death.

But now that Li Shanchang has committed such a heinous crime, how can he convince the people if he is allowed to escape with the golden medal of immunity from death?
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became more depressing.

At this moment, Zhu Tan, who had been silent all this time, suddenly stood up and said loudly:
"Father, of course the golden medal of immunity from death can be used!"

As soon as this statement came out, everyone in the audience was shocked.

Everyone looked at Zhu Tan in disbelief, not understanding why he would say such a thing.

You know, Zhu Tan has always been at odds with the civil service group. Now that Li Shanchang has committed such a serious crime, instead of adding insult to injury, he is pleading for him?
Even Li Shanchang.

I was also shocked.

Didn't Zhu Tan spend so much effort just to kill him?

"Oh? How do you say this?"

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows.

Zhu Tan took a step forward and said loudly:
"Father, this golden medal of immunity from death, after all, is a token of immunity from death! Li Shanchang followed you and made great contributions, so he deserves the golden medal of immunity from death!"

"But father, have you ever thought about this? Over the years, Li Shanchang has relied on the golden medal of immunity from death to do whatever he wants, forming a clique for personal gain, taking bribes, bending the law, and oppressing the people. Which of these crimes is not a capital crime?!"

"Let's just talk about the collusion with the Japanese pirates! Li Shanchang was a founding hero of the Ming Dynasty, and he held a high position among the ministers. Instead of thinking about sharing the worries of the country and solving the problems for the emperor, he secretly colluded with the Japanese pirates, intending to murder the crown prince and overthrow our Ming Dynasty! With such wolfish ambitions, he deserves death! Not to mention a gold medal of immunity from death, even ten or a hundred gold medals would not be enough to offset his heinous crimes!"

Every word Zhu Tan spoke was sonorous and resounding, like a sharp sword piercing Li Shanchang's chest, making his face pale as if he had fallen into an icy cave.

A glimmer of admiration flashed in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes. This kid really did not disappoint him!
"Li Shanchang, do you admit your guilt?!"

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at Li Shanchang coldly with a sharp gaze and asked in a deep voice.

Li Shanchang was trembling all over. He knew that he could not escape today no matter what.

"Your old minister...Your old minister knows your crime..." Li Shanchang knelt down on the ground dejectedly, his voice hoarse, like a cuckoo crying blood.

"Someone, come! Drag this traitor out and execute him in the autumn!"

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and gave the order without mercy.

"Your Majesty, please spare me! Your Majesty, please spare me!"

When Li Shanchang was dragged out by the guards, he was still crying and shouting at the top of his lungs, but the only response he got was Zhu Yuanzhang's cold and ruthless voice.

"I will spare your body in consideration of your past contributions! Come! Send all of Li Shanchang's family members to the frontier and never let them set foot in the Central Plains again!"

……

After retreating from the court.

Zhu Tan was about to leave when he was stopped by a small Jinyiwei.

"Your Highness, His Majesty has summoned you to the Imperial Study."

The young Jinyiwei lowered his head and said respectfully.

After a while.

Zhu Tan followed the young Jinyiwei to the imperial study.

In the imperial study, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were sitting upright, seemingly waiting for him.

"Your son greets the Emperor, and your elder brother." Zhu Tan stepped forward and saluted.

"Aren't I confining you?! You did this to me without telling me anything?! Tell me! Have you not been confined properly during this period of time?!"

Zhu Yuanzhang puffed his beard and glared, looking like he was going to eat someone.

Zhu Tan chuckled, scratched his head, and said:

"Father, please understand. I have been staying in the mansion honestly all this time and have not gone anywhere!"

"Humph! You still dare to quibble?" Zhu Yuanzhang slammed the table, his eyes wide open, "You were outside the city with Lan Yu, gathering all the people from the laboratory together. Do you really think I don't know?!"

Zhu Tan shrank his neck. This old guy was really well-informed. It seemed that there was nothing he didn't know inside and outside the palace.

"I'll give you one last chance to disband that laboratory! I won't say this a second time!"

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his tone, obviously really angry.

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang was still so angry, Zhu Tan sighed and said helplessly:
"Father, you are really a stubborn old man. You also saw what Li Shanchang did today. The laboratory explosion might also be his handiwork, although this matter has not been confirmed yet..."

"Rebel!"

Zhu Yuanzhang stood up suddenly, pointed at Zhu Tan's nose and cursed:
"How dare you say that! If you hadn't been tinkering with those weird things all day, would you have gotten into all this trouble?! You..."

"Father, don't be too angry," Zhu Tan interrupted Zhu Yuanzhang, "I have already made the fingers of the Thirteenth Master."

"What do you mean by 'made it'?!" Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned and looked at Zhu Tan with confusion.

Zhu Biao standing by also looked confused.

Zhu Tan smiled slightly and told Zhu Yuanzhang everything about Zhu Gui's finger and how he had made a prosthetic limb in the laboratory and had already put it on Zhu Gui.

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao looked at each other, and both saw shock and disbelief in each other's eyes.

"You mean... you made a fake finger and it can move?!" Zhu Yuanzhang's voice trembled a little.

"Not only can it move," Zhu Tan shook his finger, "it's also as flexible as a normal finger."

"This...what is going on?" Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was a little hoarse.

Zhu Tan explained in detail how he studied the structure of the human body and how he designed and made prosthetic limbs.

"Are you saying that there really are such magical things in this world?" Zhu Yuanzhang still found it incredible after hearing this.

"Seeing is believing, hearing is not," Zhu Tan smiled slightly, "If you don't believe it, you can send someone to verify it."

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent.

Of course he knows what prosthetic limbs represent.

This is a major event that can change our Ming Dynasty and the world!

If this technology can be popularized, those soldiers who lost limbs on the battlefield.

Those people who are born with disabilities.

Everyone can live a normal life!

What a great merit and blessing this will be!
Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a while, his cloudy eyes rolled around a few times, as if he was thinking about something.

He stared at Zhu Tan closely, as if he wanted to see through him, and spoke after a long while:

"Old Ten, stop playing tricks on me! If this is fake, I won't let you off!"

Zhu Tan smiled slightly and said confidently:
"Father, please rest assured. When has this son ever lied to you? If you don't believe me, you can send someone to my Thirteenth Brother's house to see for yourself."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly, turned around and instructed the Jinyiwei beside him:

"Go, send someone to Old Thirteen's house to show us that...prosthetic limb!"

The Jinyiwei took the order and left, and the imperial study returned to silence.

Zhu Yuanzhang paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, glancing at Zhu Tan from time to time with a frown on his face, obviously still having some doubts in his heart.

Seeing this, Zhu Biao smiled and tried to smooth things over:

"Father, don't you know what my tenth brother is capable of? If he says he can do it, then it must be true. Don't worry about it, just wait for good news."

Zhu Yuanzhang glared at him unhappily:
"What do you know, kid? This is a matter of great importance to the Ming Dynasty for generations to come! If it's true, that's great. But what if this kid did it on purpose to fool us?"

Before Zhu Yuanzhang could finish his words, he was interrupted by the sound of hurried footsteps.

The Jinyiwei who had left before returned with an excited look on his face. He knelt down in front of Zhu Yuanzhang and said incoherently:
"Your Majesty... The Thirteenth... The Thirteenth Prince's Mansion... Really... Really..."

"Really? Can you speak more clearly, eunuch?"

Zhu Yuanzhang scolded impatiently.

Jinyiwei took a deep breath, suppressed the excitement in his heart, and said loudly:

“Your Majesty, there really is a finger in the Thirteenth Prince’s mansion that can move! I saw it with my own eyes, and that finger is very flexible and can… can…”

"What else? Tell me now!"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked impatiently.

"It can...it can also grab things! I saw with my own eyes that the Thirteenth Prince used that finger to pick up a cup of tea and...he even took a sip!"

"What?!" Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao exclaimed at the same time when they heard this.

Zhu Yuanzhang was so excited that he was shaking all over. He grabbed the Jinyiwei's shoulder and asked anxiously:
"Are you serious? Don't try to deceive me, kid!"

"I dare not! Everything I said is true! If I lied, I would... die to atone for my crime!"

Zhu Yuanzhang let go of his hand and paced back and forth in the room, his excitement evident in words.

He never imagined that there really were such magical things in this world!

This is a major event that can change the Ming Dynasty and the world!

Zhu Biao couldn't hold back his excitement, he walked up to Zhu Tan, patted him on the shoulder, and said excitedly:

"Tenth brother, you are so amazing! If this thing can be popularized, it will be a blessing for our Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Tan smiled slightly.

He had known for a long time that although Zhu Yuanzhang appeared to oppose his use of these "strange and cunning tricks",

But in fact, he wanted the Ming Dynasty to become stronger more than anyone else.

And the things that he studied were precisely the key to the Ming Dynasty's rise to power!
"Old Ten."

Zhu Yuanzhang stopped and stared at Zhu Tan with burning eyes:

"Tell me honestly, can you make more of this?"

Zhu Tan smiled confidently and answered loudly:

"Don't worry, Father. As long as you need it, let alone a finger, even an arm or a leg, I can make it for you!"

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed loudly, patted Zhu Tan on the shoulder and said:
"Good! Good! Good! He is indeed our son! He is ambitious!"

He paused, his expression stern, and said in a deep voice:

"From today on, we will allocate funds and manpower to you. We will give you whatever you want! We only have one request, that is, you must research this thing for us as soon as possible and promote it to the whole Ming Dynasty so that everyone can benefit from it!"

"My son, I accept the decree!"

Zhu Tan bowed and accepted the order.

……

The next day, Zhu Tan led his team to start the site selection and construction work for the laboratory.

As the news spread, the craftsmen who had been laid off previously all rushed in, wanting to return to the laboratory and work for Zhu Tan.

Most of them come from the grassroots and have superb skills, but they suffer from a lack of opportunities to succeed.

It was Zhu Tan who gave them hope, allowing them to display their strengths and realize their own value. (End of this chapter)