Yongle Emperor's grandson: Zhu Yuanzhang with cheats, Zhu Di went crazy

Chapter 165 Grandpa, do you think I look like your father?

"Bang bang bang bang..."

Brilliant fireworks exploded in the sky, and the area in front of Qianqing Gate was extremely lively.

The palace maids, like butterflies flying through flowers, carried trays and placed plates of exquisite snacks on the tables.

The banquet adopted a separate dining system, with different levels of dining in different areas.

Those who can enter today's banquet are all important ministers and royal relatives and nobles in the court. Tonight, the pinnacle of power in the Ming Dynasty will gather here.

Ministers and envoys from various countries had arrived in advance, but the emperor had not yet arrived, and the crowd had not yet taken their seats. They gathered in groups of three or four, holding wine glasses, and talked and laughed in low voices about various things.

The most mentioned issue was the establishment of a government by the Crown Prince.

Some people supported this, thinking that by setting up a government ahead of time, Zhu Zhanjun would be able to understand the court framework earlier and would not be caught off guard when he took charge of the entire court in the future.

There are naturally people who oppose and who are concerned.

Zhu Zhanjun's government office is not just a showpiece, it holds power.

In addition to being able to directly intervene in the military and political affairs of the South, Shenwei Prefecture also has the power to establish a government army.

With the character of His Highness the Crown Prince, and the weapons and equipment provided by Tiangongfang, the army of Shenwei Mansion will definitely become one of the most elite troops in the Ming Dynasty, and will definitely not be weaker than the three major camps.

Many people were worried about the fact that a grandson of the emperor was in charge of such an elite army.

"Your Majesty has arrived, and the Queen has arrived!"

As the last ray of sunlight faded in the west, a eunuch's loud shout was heard in the meeting hall.

The officials who were chatting in twos and threes quickly turned around to face the main seat and bowed to the old man and Empress Xu who walked in.

"May the Emperor be well and may the Empress be well!"

"Hahaha, my dear ministers, please don't be polite!"

The old man raised his hand and laughed, then helped his wife to the main seat, and asked Zhu Zhanjun and Zhu Zhanji to accompany him on both sides.

"Second son, I heard you prepared a lot of programs, when will they start?"

After everyone was seated, the old man looked at Zhu Zhanjun with a smile.

Zhu Zhanjun, who was adding snacks to Empress Xu, stood up and said, "I will definitely make sure that you will be satisfied, Grandpa."

"Okay, then Grandpa will wait and see."

Zhu Zhanjun clapped his hands, the lights dimmed instantly, and then with a bang, a huge fire started burning.

At the same time, huge fireworks exploded in the air, creating beautiful fireworks.

"Wow! So beautiful."

The young masters and young ladies from various families who came with their parents let out a cry of surprise.

Then the sound of cheerful drums and music rang out, and girls from the Jiaofangsi, dressed in various ethnic costumes, lined up in front of the entrance and entered the performance venue in step with the drum beats and cheerful steps.

Zhu Zhanjun said to the old man and Empress Xu: "This dance is called Wan Guo Xian Rui. There are 567 performers in total, divided into 143 formations, representing the number of races that my Ming Dynasty has come into contact with. We present this auspicious dance to your majesty and the Empress."

"it is good!"

The old man shouted in satisfaction, and Empress Xu nodded repeatedly in satisfaction.

The girls from the Jiaofangsi moved in unison to the sound of drums and music, and all kinds of ethnic costumes from around the world danced with the girls.

"Tsk tsk tsk, the girls from the Jiaofangsi are truly the best in the world."

Li Jinglong, who was sitting in the front row, couldn't help but sigh with emotion as his eyes lit up.

"Put aside your thoughts. You are surrounded by Jinyiwei. If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince hears about this, you will have to go to Jinyiwei. I can tell you, it is not a pleasant experience."

Xu Jingchang, who was sitting next to him, rolled his eyes and reminded him.

He was just released these few days ago. The old man fined him three years' salary and beat him with thirty boards. Now he dares not even sit fully on the seat.

His wife was divorced by Empress Xu, and all her family members were thrown into jail. Empress Xu then summoned him to the harem and gave him a severe scolding. Now he is very well behaved.

Li Jinglong laughed and didn't care. He took a sip of wine and asked in a low voice: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has opened a government. Once the capital is moved to the north in the future, the entire south will have to obey him. Do you have any plans?"

Xu Jingchang glanced at him, and seeing that he was not joking, he whispered, "My aunt summoned me this afternoon and asked me to enter the Shenwei Mansion. I have already agreed."

"Besides me, there are Li Mao, Zhang Feng and others."

Li Jinglong paused while drinking, turned his eyes slightly and whispered: "Isn't it too early?"

Xu Jingchang chuckled and did not answer the question. He watched the song and dance performance, nodding his head slightly to the rhythm.

Li Jinglong pondered for a moment, looked at Zhu Zhanjun who was watching the singing and dancing with Empress Xu, and drank the wine in his hand.

"Okay, reward!"

As the dance performance ended, the old man said "good" with great satisfaction and gave rewards.

After the girls thanked him and left, Zhu Zhanjun bowed to the old man and left quickly while the old man and others were puzzled.

Soon, a passionate music sounded from below, and a man in a dragon robe appeared below.

When they saw clearly the person wearing the dragon robe, everyone gasped.

This turned out to be Zhu Zhanjun. Although he looked a little older because of the beard on his face, everyone was sure that this was definitely Zhu Zhanjun.

The old man sitting at the top narrowed his eyes slightly, tapped the table lightly with his fingers, and looked calmly at Zhu Zhanjun who was wearing a dragon robe.

"His Majesty."

Zhu Pangpang was so scared that his whole body was shaking. He wanted to say something to the old man, but his legs were so weak that he couldn't stand up.

The old man waved his hand and said calmly, "Sit down." Empress Xu was also worried and whispered to the old man, "Maybe there is some misunderstanding?"

The old man just glanced at her, his eyes showing neither joy nor sadness, and then looked down.

All the civil and military officials opened their mouths wide, and officials such as Jian Yi and Xia Yuanji who supported Zhu Zhanjun felt their hearts rise to their throats.

Li Jinglong looked at Xu Jingchang and said jokingly, "Fortunately, the Queen Mother came to see you this afternoon, otherwise you would have to stay in the prison of the Ministry of Justice again."

Xu Jingchang glared at him fiercely, feeling extremely miserable.

He had just gotten out of jail and now he was about to go back in. Why was his life so miserable?

Jin Zhong's eyes lit up and he felt delighted.

This crown prince is too arrogant. He has only been the crown prince for a few days, but he doesn’t even know who he is. It’s true that if God wants to destroy a person, he must make him crazy.

Just when everyone had complicated looks in their eyes, Zhu Zhanjun, dressed in a dragon robe, walked down from a small altar accompanied by the sound of drums and music.

"Your servant Zhu Yuanzhang bows before the sun, the moon, the sky, the mountains and the rivers..."

Hearing this beginning, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The old man, who had a calm expression at first, sat up straight in an instant.

Zhu Pangpang heaved a sigh of relief, and his weak legs regained some strength. Helplessly, the stool was below, and Zhu Zhanjun was still performing loudly.

"… Your humble servant, in compliance with the will of heaven and the obedience of the people, will drive out the tyrants of the north and south for a hundred years. On the fourth day of the first lunar month, a sacrifice will be held on the top of the Purple Gold Mountain to announce to the heaven and earth that the Ming Dynasty will be established and the Hongwu era will be established."

Zhu Zhanjun finished reading loudly and threw the wine in his hand down. At the same time, a desolate voice slowly read out: "The first year of Hongwu, the fourth day of the first lunar month..."

As the voice sounded and slowly introduced, the memory that everyone had slowly forgotten gradually became clear again.

The ministers who have survived from the Hongwu period to the present day have recalled the fear of being dominated by Zhu.

"No one expected that this man who saved the people of Yanhuang had such a hard life at home..."

As the sound ended, Zhu Zhanjun held something in his hand and stared blankly at the burning fire.

Next, a carefully prepared play began to be performed.

A young boy herding cattle sat on a rock and called himself the Son of Heaven.

Parents starved to death, brothers were separated, wandering the streets begging...

Although there were only dozens or hundreds of performers, the scenes from that year were quickly acted out.

Everyone had complicated emotions watching this. Some people probably couldn't even dream of such a legendary life, but the Hongwu Emperor experienced it all and climbed from the bottom to the highest position.

The old man sitting at the top watched the performances below, and his eyes gradually turned red.

In particular, when Queen Ma brought a bunch of children and happily embraced the young general, a smile appeared on his face.

Empress Xu, who was standing by, saw her husband staring straight down, so she reached out and held his hand. The two looked at each other, smiled at each other, and looked down.

The performance lasted for half an hour before everyone's attention returned to Zhu Zhanjun and it finally came to an end.

Listening to the cheers from everyone present, Zhu Zhanjun let out a sigh of relief, picked up his robe and ran downstairs to change his clothes quickly.

"Stop, and put this on."

As soon as he took a step, the old man's voice sounded from above.

Zhu Zhanjun looked over and saw the old man looking at him jokingly.

With an awkward smile, Zhu Zhanjun walked towards the old man under everyone's gaze.

Zhu Zhanjun originally planned to find someone else to play the role, but Old Zhu disagreed no matter what and insisted that Zhu Zhanjun play the role.

Zhu Zhanjun had no choice but to go ahead with it.

The old man stood up, looked at his grandson who was almost the same height as him, sized up the majestic dragon robe, and nodded repeatedly with satisfaction.

"Yes, he looks a bit like an emperor."

Then he turned to look at Empress Xu: "Queen, what do you think?"

Empress Xu rolled her eyes at the old man, waved Zhu Zhanjun over, looked him up and down, and nodded repeatedly.

I have to say, the moment Zhu Zhanjun walked out in the dragon robe just now, he really had an imperial aura that made people feel awe.

Especially the part where he imitated Old Zhu offering sacrifices to heaven, it made her feel as if she saw her father-in-law back then, the eyes, profile and figure were exactly the same.

"Zhanjun, your heavenly offering performance just now was very similar to your great grandfather's."

The old man at the side smiled and nodded, but halfway through he suddenly realized something was wrong.

Zhu Zhanjun turned his head to look at the old man, grinning.

It was as if she was saying to him, "Grandpa, do you think I look like your father?"

Zhu Zhanjun wanted to take off the dragon robe, but the old man forced him to keep it on.

Zhu Zhanjun had no choice but to sit next to him, talk to the two of them, and continue watching the singing and dancing.

"Grandpa has given you everything you want. Remember your promise."

Watching the dance below, the old man leaned back in his chair, eating watermelon and talking to Zhu Zhanjun in a low voice.

Zhu Zhanjun nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, grandpa, your grandson will not let you down."

The old man looked back with satisfaction, but when he saw Zhu Zhanjun in the dragon robe, he turned his head to look away.

ps: I arrived home at 4pm, and will resume updating at 12pm tomorrow. Thank you all for your understanding over the past few days. I am very sorry.

(End of this chapter)