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

Judging from the map, this place should be near Zhejiang.

In Zhu Tan's memory, Jiangsu and Zhejiang should have been a wealthy region, especially after the Song Dynasty.

In fact, only rich people are rich, and most people don’t have this blessing.

Zhu Youjian saw clearly how many hardships the country had gone through along the way.

The Ming Dynasty at this time was not as wealthy as depicted in movies and TV shows, but an era of material scarcity. The Shu nobles, who had luxurious clothes and delicious food, walked on the streets with their bare feet, chewing weeds, and struggling to survive, with their clothes becoming dirty.

In this world, there are many people who can read, and it is different from the capital. Most people don’t know any characters, and they can’t even understand Zhu Youjian’s authentic Beijing dialect. But when they see Zhu Youjian and others dressed in luxurious clothes, they change their words and call him "Young Master".

Some even knelt on the ground, crying, "Master, please, give me some food!"

Zhu Youjian also took out the few taels of silver he had left.

……

Along the way, the four Jinyiwei watched Zhu Youjian go from excitement at first, to silence later, and then to worry.

They were already accustomed to such scenes, except Zhu Youjian, who was used to a life of luxury and comfort. So Shen Lian and Feng Yuxiu both comforted him.

"The Emperor is merciful, but all this is his credit, so you don't have to worry."

Zhu Youjian shook his head and said, "In fact, I am not very sad, but I found that the policies I implemented in the court, whether it is taxation or education, can't be used for the people!"

People? It was the first time for the four of them to hear about it. Although it was a little strange, it was not unfamiliar. There was no such thing in their dictionary, so Zhu Youjian's sudden mention of it made them very puzzled.

But after all, they haven't read too many books. They must have seen some unfamiliar words in the books, so it is normal for them not to recognize them.

This was the first time he experienced what freedom was. Looking back at the Forbidden City, he felt mixed emotions.

"We are already very far away from the Forbidden City. It's time for us to go see this world!"

Zhu Tan murmured, Feng Yuxiu shrugged his shoulders and whispered:
"I'm afraid that when His Majesty the Emperor returns this time, he will become a sighing bard!"

Xu Changnian also joked:
"So, our emperor must be a great poet! He is a poet who has compassion for the world, for the people, and for the people!"

"Aren't you a poet? Don't forget that the emperor is an independent poet. He writes modern poetry. From today on, he is a free man."

Zhu Tan ignored him and instead made a few jokes, making the journey more interesting.

……

Zhu Youjian was a person who liked to daydream, so he was thinking about his worries all the way.

No matter whether he really practiced Taoism or not, no matter whether he really wanted to save the Ming Dynasty or not, no matter the glory or prosperity of the Ming Dynasty, he didn't care.

Zhu Youjian was deeply shocked by what he saw and heard along the way.

As time went by, they were getting farther and farther away from the Forbidden City, and then getting closer and closer.

On the way, they entered a dense forest. As they went deeper into the forest, everyone was most concerned about the jackals and leopards, because they had seen too many dangers. These tigers were very strong and ferocious. Feng Yuxiu was not afraid. He had practiced martial arts, and in front of Zhu Youjian, he said confidently:

"Master, you don't have to be afraid of that tiger leopard. I have walked many times in the mountains just for this position. Wu Song has suffered a lot. It is a huge insect! I am a sliding tackle, he should be honest."

As Feng Yuxiu spoke, he recounted his brilliant achievements.

Everyone was silent.

Zhu Youjian was not afraid of those wild beasts. Although he was afraid of them, Zhu Youjian was a foundation-building cultivator after all. If he couldn't even beat a tiger, then he would not be qualified to be a cultivator.

The four guards standing by were no pushovers either.

Zhu Youjian, or Zhu Tan, was most afraid of these insects. From childhood to adulthood, he was most afraid of insects. If he encountered one, he would run as far away as possible.

Not to mention how poisonous this insect is and whether it can kill a person, just looking at these two terrifying fangs is enough to make people shudder.

So, when he walked into the deep forest and among the rustling trees, what worried him most was the ground.

Now when he saw Lao Hu again, the Embroidered Spring Sword in his hand was already unsheathed and there was an evil smile on his face.

"Just wait and see. I killed this big beast today, and tonight we can share the tiger's flesh and blood. Master, after peeling off this tiger's skin, we can also make you a set of clothes!"

Just when Feng Yuxiu was about to take action, he found that the group of leopards that were hunting suddenly sped up and then disappeared.

In the deep mountains and forests, the most terrifying things are bandits.

"I planted this tree, I built this road, if you want to take this road, you have to pay!"

Accompanied by a very familiar greeting, a group of ferocious-looking men walked out of the dense forest.

The leader was a man with a scar on his face. There was a scar on one of his eyes, making him look even more ferocious.

"It seems that you are very rich! Where did this noble young master get this? Leave it to me!"

Another man touched his head. This man was not completely bald, but had a bald head with sparse hair on top, which looked like a bush.

It would be interesting if this thing was dyed green.

The half-bald man said:
"Boss is right. If that's the case, then just follow my brother's instructions and hand over the money, and we'll spare you!"

Zhu Youjian was slightly startled, thinking that the scarred man was very similar to the image of a bandit in Zhu Youjian's mind, but his tone was like he was watching a duet.

Feng Yuxiu immediately laughed and said, "Hey, you bandit leader, don't you know what you are robbing? Hasn't he already--"

Feng Yuxiu paused deliberately, turned around and winked at Shen Lian and Zhu Youjian, and said to himself: "This is the suave young man from the north, the eldest son of the Chen family of Ge Chen!"

Scarface was stunned for a moment, then said viciously: "Mr. Chen, why have I never heard of you?"

"Okay!" Feng Yuxiu said, "Okay! Forget it if you don't have it! In this case, I will give you a chance. If you can leave here as soon as possible, maybe I can still save your life!"

The bald man looked at the group of people in front of him with weapons in their hands and knew that they would be difficult to deal with, but when he thought that he had more people on his side, he was not afraid.

"What a joke! If that's the case, then there's nothing to do but bleed!" The two men's voices grew louder and louder, and soon the surrounding gangsters raised their weapons one after another. Zhu Tanfang then realized that the weapons in their hands were not ordinary weapons at all. Except for the two blunt swords in the hands of the scarred and bald man, everyone else was carrying different weapons, some with sticks, some with axes, and some were unarmed.

What was even more surprising was that there were people holding shovels and rushing towards them.

Feng Yuxiu asked everyone to retreat. He had been waiting for a battle all the way, and this was a good opportunity.

If you want to relieve it, you have to move your body.

So Feng Yuxiu went up to meet him alone.

With Feng Yuxiu's skills, it was easy for him to deal with these minions, especially when these minions rushed up with strange weapons. Feng Yuxiu drew his sword to resist while laughing in his heart.

A few people who were not even a mob wanted to fight him, which was simply a joke! Moreover, most of them were powerless. Even if facing more than ten people, Feng Yuxiu could only knock them all down with his scabbard.

……

Scarface was much smarter than Feng Yuxiu. He knew very well who his leader was. Zhu Tan was the boss of this group of people. So he ignored Feng Yuxiu and rushed towards Zhu Tan with a machete.

First, Zhu Tan dodged the scarred man's attack, and then slashed in the air.

The scarred man kicked sideways and Zhu Tan leaped up. The scarred man slashed straight down and Zhu Tan stepped back and dodged easily.

This is also the reason why the scarred man was breathing heavily during the battle.

After he rested for a while, he heard the ridicule from the people around him, and his heart became even more furious.

The scarred man said bitterly: "I can die, but you must not insult me! I will kill you!"

After saying that, Scarface raised the knife in his hand again and slashed at Zhu Tan.

Zhu Tan did not use two fingers, but instead used his fingers to pinch a sword formed by the condensed true energy. The sword fell in front of him and was immediately chopped into pieces by the sword energy.

With lightning speed, Zhu Tan used two fingers to press the acupoints directly, knocking the scarred man to the ground.

By this time, Scar Man and his group had been completely defeated.

Shen Lian placed the embroidered spring knife in his hand in front of the scarred man. Feng Yuxiu laughed: "So that's how it is. Weren't you very arrogant before? I can kill all of you by myself! Alas!"

The scarred man shouted, "I'm sorry, I died in your hands. It's just bad luck. I'd rather die than live!"

"Oh, you're quite sensible. You've become a bandit, but you still think you're a rough diamond?"

Feng Yuxiu sneered.

The man with the scar on his face and half of his head turned around and stared at him coldly, looking as if he was irritated by Feng Yuxiu.

Shen Lianzhi opened the letter and said to the two people, "You have trespassed into a private house, which is a violation of the laws of the Ming Dynasty. Do you know the charges?"

"Haha, where is the Ming Dynasty's law? No one can tell! And now we don't even have money to eat! What should we do? Where is the Ming Dynasty?" said the man with the scar.

"You bastard! Do you know that what you said is very disrespectful!" Xu Changnian said. In his mind, the emperor was here, and if such a person who stirs up trouble everywhere said such words, the emperor would definitely be furious, and he might even be executed by slow slicing!

Zhu Tan took a step forward and saw the two people's appearance. His face changed slightly, as if he had noticed something was wrong. Zhu Tan smiled and asked, "How old are you? Take out your hair and let me see it!"

Zhu Tan's words stunned everyone. The scarred man lifted his messy long hair, revealing a wrinkled palm. This wrinkled palm made him look like a middle-aged man, but if you look closely, you will find that this face without scars is still very young. The scarred man continued:

"A wise man never suffers a loss in front of him. I'm only sixteen years old!"

Under his leadership, several more ragged and dishevelled bandits spoke up:
"I got it!"

"I'm already fourteen!"

"I'm only eighteen!"

"I'm seventeen years old!"

……

After saying this, Feng Yuxiu widened his eyes in disbelief, his eyes full of shock.

He's only eight years old!
When Feng Yuxiu saw Zhu Tan, Zhu Tan looked calm and didn't seem surprised.

Feng Yuxiu now recalled that Zhu Tan and Master Chen were very calm when they were robbed, as if they had expected this.

And now, he seemed to know their ages.

"He may not be very old, but he is definitely not young! I feel so sorry for you!"

Zhu Tan asked, these people are called gangsters in reality, but in the real world, they are called small gangsters. In fact, when Zhu Tan guessed the age of the two, he already knew their ages from their conversation, and his half-baked cosmic yin and yang skills confirmed their guesses.

"What's there to be sorry about? This is what I left when I was thirteen. What do you think?"

"Don't think you are young and we will spare you. If we take you to the yamen, you will definitely be punished!" Feng Yuxiu added.

The scarred man got even angrier after hearing this: "Haha, it seems that you are also an accomplice of this damn official. If you really think you are a good person, kill me now. I don't want to see that damn official!"

Feng Yuxiu was shocked. Even a fool would know that there must be some hidden reason why those bandits fell into the state of bandits.

"Why do you want to be a robber?" Feng Yuxiu's tone softened a little.

Scar man said:
"It's all his fault. He took our land and killed my mother. I even lost my life trying to save her. Now, the scars on my face were all cut off by him!"

Shen Lian's heart trembled.

"He is indeed an official!"

Shen Lian glanced at Zhu Tan, who still looked calm and composed.

"Okay, I won't say anything more. Since you've caught us, you can do whatever you want! Even if we die, we can start a new life in eighteen years!"

The scarred man said, "I understand! It seems that you are very determined! I won't say anything! Anyway, just do everything according to your instructions! It's just a loss of face, I can bear it!" (End of this chapter)