Zhu Yuanzhang: My second son is invincible!

The swords of the three Jonin stopped three feet in front of Zhu Li, unable to advance any further.

The blood dragon's dive was halted in mid-air.

Then...

"Sizzle..."

It sounded like cloth being torn.

The blood dragon was split in two and vanished as a sky full of bloody light.

The swords in the hands of the three Jonin broke simultaneously, and they were sent flying backward, spitting out three jets of blood in mid-air. They were already lifeless when they landed.

The pale red light shield couldn't even hold for a moment before shattering like an eggshell.

The walls of Wangjing...did not break.

But a crack appeared on Mount Beiyue behind the city wall.

A fissure, about three zhang wide and bottomless, runs from the foot of the mountain to the top.

The mountain was split in two.

It's not split in half, it's cut open.

It's like someone used a giant axe to chop down a mountain.

On the city wall, Li Chenggui sat down heavily on the ground, his crotch wet again.

The white bone staff in Li Xuanming's hand shattered inch by inch, and he himself spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning ashen.

The Jurchen shaman's dance froze. He stared blankly at the crevice in the mountain, the bone ornaments in his hand falling to the ground.

The entire capital was deathly silent.

The only sound was the howling of the wind blowing through the mountain crevices, like it was crying.

Zhu Hui put away his axe, scratched his head, and said, "I think I used too much force again... Uncle Xu said that all I had to do was break the formation, so I chopped the mountain."

He turned around and looked at the Ming army formation.

The soldiers stared wide-eyed at the crevice in the mountain.

Lan Yu nudged Xu Da: "General Xu... if His Highness's axe strike had landed in Yingtian, wouldn't it have split Zijin Mountain in two?"

Xu Da paused for a moment, then said, "It should... be able to split the entire Yangtze River."

Guanyinnu rode forward to Zhu Hui's side and asked softly, "Husband, how much of your strength did you use?"

Zhu Hui thought for a moment: "Twenty percent, I suppose! I figured the formation is a bit harder than the river water, so I'll need to use ten percent more."

Guanyin's slave: "..."

With 20% of your strength, you can split a mountain in two.

She suddenly felt that she might not have married a human, but a god.

On the city wall, Li Xuanming struggled to his feet, hissing, "You... what realm are you at?!"

Zhu Hui honestly replied, "I don't know, I've never practiced it."

Li Xuanming spat out another mouthful of blood, this time from anger.

You do not know?

You haven't practiced?

What was that axe splitting the mountain?

Did you learn that by chopping wood?

"Your Majesty..." Yi Xuanming looked at Yi Seong-gye, wanting to say something.

But Yi Seong-gye had already broken down. He got up and shouted down towards the city walls, "I surrender! I surrender! Stop attacking! If you keep attacking, the capital will be gone!"

He feared that the next blow from his axe would not be a mountain, but the royal palace.

Zhu Hui looked at Xu Da and said, "Uncle Xu, he said he's surrendering."

Xu Da, recovering from his shock, took a deep breath and said, "Open the city gates, lay down your weapons, and kneel to surrender!"

"Open the city gates! Open the city gates now!" Yi Seong-gye practically roared the order.

The heavy city gates slowly opened.

The officials of Goryeo, both civil and military, filed out and knelt outside the city gate.

Yi Seong-gye walked at the front, holding the royal seal of Goryeo and a map of the kingdom.

He walked up to Zhu Li's horse, knelt on both knees, and raised the royal seal and map above his head, saying, "Your subject Yi Seong-gye, along with the officials of Goryeo... surrenders to His Highness Prince Wu of the Great Ming."

Zhu Li dismounted, took the imperial seal, examined it, and then handed it to Xu Da, asking, "Uncle Xu, is this thing heavy?"

Xu Da: "...Your Highness, this is the royal seal, representing the destiny of the Goryeo Kingdom."

"Oh, get up. My father said that those who surrender will not be killed," Zhu Li said to Li Chenggui, not paying much attention.

Yi Seong-gye felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and repeatedly kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness!"

Guanyin Nu watched this scene and whispered to Zhu Hui, "Husband, we have won."

"Yeah, we won. We can have a good meal tonight," Zhu Li grinned.

He spoke so casually, as if he had just chopped up a pile of firewood rather than a mountain.

But everyone knew that from this day forward, the Kingdom of Goryeo would cease to exist.

It will become the "Goryeo Provincial Administration Commission" of the Ming Dynasty.

And all of this was accomplished with just two axe blows.

One axe can cleave a river, one axe can split a mountain.

On the city wall, Li Xuanming looked at the mountain crevice, then at the broken staff in his hand, and suddenly smiled.

His laughter was utterly pathetic.

"After sixty years of cultivation, I thought I had glimpsed the Way of Heaven... but in reality, I was just a frog at the bottom of a well."

He shook his head, turned around, and walked down the city wall step by step.

His back was hunched, as if he had aged thirty years in an instant.

……

That afternoon, the Ming army entered the city.

There was no looting, no massacre, only an orderly takeover.

Zhu Li and Guan Yin Nu moved into the Goryeo royal palace, which is now the temporary commander's residence.

The palace was magnificent, even larger than the Wu King's Palace in Yingtian, but Zhu Hui felt it was too spacious.

"Wife, this house is too big, it's cold at night," Zhu Li said, glancing at his wife.

It seemed like he was worried his wife would get cold.

"Then I'll have Qingmei bring two more quilts," Guanyinnu said with a smile.

She was looking at the Goryeo clothing that the palace maids had brought, wondering if she should try it on.

At this moment, Xu Da came to report.

"Your Highness, the Goryeo treasury has been fully inventoried. There are 800,000 taels of gold, 3 million taels of silver, and countless treasures. In addition... a secret room has been discovered containing secret letters between Yi Seong-gye and the Japanese and Jurchens."

"What's the use of a secret letter?" Zhu Hui didn't quite understand.

A cold glint flashed in Xu Da's eyes as he said, "It's useful. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu sent ninjas to assist Goryeo, which is an open act of hostility towards the Ming Dynasty."

The Jurchen tribes also colluded with Goryeo, threatening Liaodong; these were all pretexts for future military action.

Zhu Liang scratched his head and said, "Uncle Xu, you can handle it as you see fit."

"Yes, there is one more thing... What should be done with the Goryeo royal family and officials?" Xu Da paused and said.

Zhu Hui thought for a moment and said, "My elder brother said that those who surrender should not be killed. They should be allowed to move to Yingtian and given a house to live in. The people should continue to live their lives as usual, farming and studying as they should."

Xu Da nodded and said, "Your subject understands."

He left the palace.

Guanyin Nu walked to Zhu Hui's side and said with a light laugh, "Husband, you were quite impressive just now!"

"Really? I was just standing there without moving," Zhu Li said, puzzled.

"It's only when you stand still that you're so imposing, splitting mountains with a single axe and causing an army to submit... Even the epic tales of heroes on the grasslands couldn't compare."

Guanyin Nu smiled.

Zhu Li chuckled, "Whatever you say, wife."

Outside the window, the sun is setting.

The streets of Wangjing were now filled with Ming army flags.

The people of Goryeo hid in their houses, filled with anxiety, but they soon discovered that the Ming army had not broken into their homes or looted their food; they had simply posted notices to reassure the people.

"The Ming army has arrived here and will not commit any offenses. From this day forward, Goryeo will be reorganized into a province, and its people will all be subjects of the Ming Dynasty, enjoying the same legal protection. Past offenses will be forgiven, and everyone may live in peace."

Some people didn't believe it, some watched and waited, but some quietly opened a crack in the door.

A child ran out, picked up a dry ration biscuit dropped by a Ming soldier, took a bite, and his eyes lit up.

"Mom! It's sweet!"

The child's mother cautiously stepped out and bowed to the patrolling soldiers.

The soldier gave a simple, honest smile and waved his hand.

Perhaps... a different dynasty wouldn't be so terrible.

At least the princes of this dynasty could split Mount Heng in two with a single axe stroke.

At least the army of this dynasty did not rob the people of their food.

In the palace, Zhu Li was having dinner.

He drank a large bowl of the ginseng chicken soup made by the royal chef of Goryeo.

"Wife, this soup is good. We'll have the chef come back to Daming with us later," he said.

"Okay." Guanyinnu nodded.

Looking at the darkening sky outside the window, she suddenly said, "Husband, next... we're going to fight Japan, aren't we?"

"Yes, my elder brother said that Japan has mountains of silver, lots and lots of silver. If we conquer it, we can make jewelry for our wives, build palaces for our fathers, and build schools for our elder brothers..."

He counted on his fingers.

Guanyin Nu listened quietly, feeling a warmth in her heart.

This man always carries the simplest and most genuine things in his heart.

Families and ordinary people alike are well-fed and clothed.

As for conquering new territories and achieving lasting glory, he seemed never to have thought about it.

He just wanted to protect the people he wanted to protect and to live a good life.

Yet it was precisely this kind of person who split the mountain in two with a single axe stroke, changing history with a single stroke.

"Husband," Guanyin Nu suddenly said.

"Um?"

"Let's have a child after we defeat Japan."

Zhu Hui paused for a moment, then grinned and said, "Alright! We'll have two, one like you, and one like me!"

"What if everyone was as naive as you?"

"So what if he's simple-minded? I can afford to raise him."

The two smiled at each other.

Outside the window, the bright moon rises.

The first night of the Ming Dynasty in Goryeo was peaceful and tranquil.

Meanwhile, in Honshu, Japan, thousands of miles away, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu received a message by carrier pigeon and his face turned ashen.

"Goryeo...died in just three days?"

He stared at the words on the letter, his hands trembling.

"One axe stroke cleaves a river, one axe stroke splits a mountain... Just who is this King of Wu?!"

He suddenly felt that his plan for the "Takawa Alliance" was a joke.