Ming Dynasty: I, Zhu Yunwen, started by resurrecting my grandmother.

Old Zhu looked outside, then turned his gaze back and said somewhat sadly, "Grandpa Emperor has no choice but to come up with a better solution."

Do you have any good ideas on how to solve this problem?

Zhu Yunwen thought for a moment, then smiled slightly: "There is a way. Since you've returned, you can continue to be the emperor."

Old Zhu quickly waved his hand: "That won't do. Grandfather is old and wants to enjoy a few days of peace and quiet."

Besides, even if Grandfather Emperor could hold on for a few more years, he would eventually have to relinquish power.

Zhu Yunwen straightened his clothes and looked at his grandfather with clear eyes: "Grandfather, I want to ask you a question."

"What's the problem? Go ahead and ask."

"If my father were to come back to life, would you make him emperor?" Zhu Yunwen stared at Old Zhu with his eyes fixed on him.

Upon hearing this, Old Zhu was secretly saddened.

He sighed for a long time and remained silent for a long time.

Seeing that his grandfather's expression was unusual, Zhu Yunwen wondered what was wrong with him. After a while, his grandfather finally spoke up and said, "Actually, my grandfather is a person with many flaws."

When I was a child, I didn't have much education and joined the army out of sheer courage. But later, I realized the importance of education. We suffered because we didn't study.

Finally, when your grandfather became emperor, I placed great importance on the education of my children.

I've made Zhu Biao a key figure in my training program, and in my opinion, your father is also outstanding; he hasn't disappointed me.

He has many strengths, which completely make up for my weaknesses.

My temper is too volatile, and all the civil and military officials are afraid of me.

Many ministers dared not speak in my presence.

He advocated benevolent governance, ruling the world with compassion, much like what Lu Jia had said to Liu Bang: "You can conquer the world on horseback, but can you govern it on horseback?"

If he were emperor, I think he would be a perfect ruler.

It's a pity that he went out for a stroll, got sick, and died because of this incident.

I was heartbroken and filled with regret. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have let him wander off to the west.

Objectively speaking, Zhu Yuntong greatly admired what Lao Zhu said.

Because as an emperor, he was able to deeply analyze himself, recognize his strengths, and also face his weaknesses, which is something many emperors could not do.

Liu Bang stubbornly believed that studying was useless, and he was unwilling to study.

During the reign of Emperor Jing of Han, the Rebellion of the Seven States broke out. The banner raised by the seven states was "Purge the court of corrupt officials and execute Chao Cuo".

Emperor Jing of Han, in his desperation, actually issued an edict to kill his teacher Chao Cuo on the advice of Yuan Ang, Chao Cuo's mortal enemy.

After he killed Chao Cuo, he found that the armies of the seven kingdoms not only did not retreat, but attacked even more fiercely.

He didn't issue an edict of self-reproach admitting any wrongdoing.

Back then, during the Battle of Red Cliffs, Cao Cao fell into a trap set by Zhou Yu of Eastern Wu and mistakenly killed Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, the naval commanders.

Everyone was stunned, wondering why he wanted to kill them.

He was unwilling to admit his mistake in person and made up a very flimsy excuse to get rid of it.

During the Sui Dynasty, Gao Jiong and He Ruobi were both pillars of the court.

Emperor Wen of Sui launched the campaign to pacify the Southern Chen Dynasty, which was mainly commanded by Gao Jiong. It can be said that Gao Jiong was extremely loyal to the Sui court and made great contributions.

However, after Emperor Yang of Sui ascended the throne, he executed Gao Jiong and He Ruobi on trumped-up charges of slandering the court, shocking the entire court and the public.

Emperor Yang of Sui did not regret his actions, nor was he willing to admit his mistakes to the ministers in the court.

Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, can be considered one of the greatest emperors in history. However, he launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident, killing his own elder brother Li Jiancheng and younger brother Li Yuanji, thus nailing himself to the pillar of historical shame.

He also did not publicly admit his mistakes.

Therefore, Lao Zhu deserves praise in this respect.

Old Zhu stroked Zhu Yunwen's head: "Grandson, apart from your grandmother, no one knows that your imperial grandfather has returned this time."

You absolutely mustn't tell anyone.

"Grandson has remembered."

Old Zhu continued, "Grandpa Emperor had a pair of cranes, one white one named Angel. From now on, let it follow you."

It's convenient for you to come and go. If you need to find Grandpa Emperor anything, just ride it.

It can find me anytime.

Zhu Yunwen thought to himself, "My grandfather is so generous! He gave me such a wonderful gift the moment we met."

With this angel, things are indeed much more convenient; even if it's thousands of miles away, you can arrive in a day.

"Grandpa Emperor, thank you so much." Zhu Yunwen seemed a little excited.

"Why are you saying all this? Your grandfather owes you something."

Just then, Empress Ma came out from the inner room, her face ashen.

Old Zhu quickly waved his hand, indicating that Zhu Yunwen should temporarily step aside.

Zhu Yunwen secretly chuckled when he saw that Old Zhu's face had turned green.

He hid behind the screen.

Empress Ma said, "Chongba, I told you to kneel on the washboard, who told you to stand up?"

Old Zhu deflated like a punctured balloon, his arrogance vanished instantly.

He came up to Empress Ma and took her hand, saying, "Kneeling on the washboard all the time must be really painful for your knees."

Empress Ma flicked her sleeve, shaking off his hand: "Really? Are you still thinking about Consort Sun, Consort Guo, and Consort Li?"

Old Zhu looked embarrassed and said with an awkward smile, "Xiuying, you're the only one in my heart."

Back then, I was framed by a villain and imprisoned.

Guo Tianxu and Guo Tianjue cut off my food supply, trying to starve me to death. It was you who found a way to get me food, which saved my life.

Once, you held the cake close to your chest and burned your own skin in the process. I will never forget that kindness.

Empress Ma frowned upon hearing this and waved her hand, saying, "Alright, don't give me that useless advice."

Now that you're back, what do you plan to do with those concubines?

Old Zhu said with a bitter face, "Oh, Xiuying, look at me, I'm so old, how can I afford to do anything like this?"

When you're free, just chat with me, play chess, that's enough. How could I possibly think about anything else?

For some reason, Zhu was always trembling with fear in front of Empress Ma, often feeling a chill down his spine. At this moment, sweat also appeared on his forehead.

Empress Ma took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead: "You don't need to be so nervous. Are these what you really think?"

Old Zhu immediately raised his right hand: "Xiuying, don't worry, I swear to God that I'm not telling the truth."

When Empress Ma heard him say that, she chuckled and said, "You men's oaths are practically the same as farting, and you're still putting on this act in front of me."

Okay, I'll believe you for now and see how you perform in the future.

If you behave well, I'll let you through this door;

If you don't perform well, forget about everything else.

Old Zhu chuckled and took Empress Ma's hand again: "These years, I haven't seen you. Oh, do you know how I've managed to get through it all?"

Whenever I encounter difficulties, I can't find anyone to talk to.

Empress Ma sat down in a chair, and Emperor Zhu personally poured her a bowl of tea.

Empress Ma picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and said, "Zhongba, aren't you going a bit too far with your words?"

You have so many civil and military officials under your command,

Wise strategists like Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen,

Among the military generals were Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, and Lan Yu. Which of these men was not intelligent?

Do you need to consult me?

Didn't you establish some kind of "Imperial Ancestral Instructions" that forbids women from interfering in politics?

Old Zhu thought to himself that Ma Xiuying was picking a fight with him.

"I also have a few difficulties regarding the 'Imperial Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty'."

Why was there so much unrest during the Han Dynasty?

One of the most important reasons was the interference of women in politics and the dominance of maternal relatives.

Liu Bang once made the White Horse Alliance: whoever became king would be attacked by all under heaven.

However, Empress Lü disregarded all this and publicly bestowed the titles of King of Zhao upon Lü Lu and King of Liang upon Lü Chan in court.

Lü Lu commanded the Northern Army, and Lü Chan commanded the Southern Army, thus firmly controlling the army in the hands of the Lü family, almost overthrowing the Liu family's rule.

Empress Dowager Dou was also an ambitious woman who liked to interfere in court affairs. Because of her interference, she almost made her youngest son, Liu Wu, the crown prince.

Although Emperor Jing of Han withstood the pressure and eventually made Liu Che (later Emperor Wu of Han) the crown prince, Emperor Wu of Han was not free at all while Empress Dowager Dou was alive.

Although he was the emperor, he had no real power.

Empress Dowager Dou revered the Huang-Lao philosophy, advocating governance through non-action. Many of the officials Emperor Wu of Han appointed were thrown into a wild boar pen by her, thus ending the first reform in failure.

In his later years, Emperor Wu of Han favored Lady Gouyi and had a son, Liu Fuling, with her. When he was preparing to make Liu Fuling the crown prince, the first thing he did was to kill Lady Gouyi.

Furthermore, they established the ancestral precept of killing the son to establish the mother.

In retrospect, this practice seems extremely inhumane, but considering the circumstances at the time, Emperor Wu of Han had his own unavoidable difficulties.

At the time, Liu Fuling was only eight years old, and Lady Gouyi was also very young; the son was young while the mother was strong.

If Lady Gouyi becomes Empress Dowager and seizes power, she will surely appoint people from her maternal family, and then the history of Empress Lü's dictatorship will repeat itself.

When they arrived at Wang Zhengjun's place,

That would be even worse; he heavily promoted the Wang family, bestowing titles of nobility upon five members in a single day.

Wang Mang's status in the court continued to rise, until eventually, official positions such as Grand Marshal and General were no longer enough to satisfy his ambitions.

He simply overthrew the Western Han Dynasty and established the Xin Dynasty.

Think about it, if it weren't for Empress Wang Zhengjun, would the Western Han Dynasty have fallen?

Old Zhu was about to continue when Empress Ma waved her hand and said, "Alright, alright, stop nagging. I'm tired of hearing this."

However, even though you established the "Imperial Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty," you did not implement them.

For example, the primogeniture system—that's something I need to talk to you about.

When Emperor Zhu heard Empress Ma mention this matter, his heart skipped a beat.

Because of this incident, he always felt indebted to Zhu Yunwen.

Empress Ma continued, "According to what you say in your 'Imperial Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty,' who should be the legitimate grandson of the emperor?"

Is it Zhu Xiong Ying?

Old Zhu nodded: "That's right, to hell with that grandson, it's a pity he died when he was eight years old."

Upon hearing this, Empress Ma said irritably, "If he dies, isn't there still Zhu Yunwen?"

Wasn't Zhu Yunwen also born to Zhu Biao and Lady Chang?

Therefore, Zhu Yunwen should logically be the legitimate grandson of the emperor.

How did you end up making Zhu Yunwen the legitimate grandson of the emperor?

This is a very pointed question.

Old Zhu also found it difficult to justify his actions regarding this matter.

Old Zhu stood up and stood behind Empress Ma, massaging her shoulders and back with both hands: "I already know about this matter, so you don't need to say anything more."

Empress Ma sighed, "You're the emperor, you have a big mouth, we have small mouths, whatever you say goes, and you don't have to follow the rules you set, do you?"

Old Zhu could only lower his head and remain silent.

"Let me tell you, don't talk nonsense about things you can't do. Aren't you just contradicting yourself?"

Old Zhu blushed: "Little sister, you're right."

"Also, you said you were going to take me to that Yingzhou place."

"Didn't you say that place was full of gods, Qin Shi Huang, and Emperor Wu of Han? I'm not going. I don't want to leave Yunhuo."

Upon hearing this, Old Zhu grinned and said, "If you don't go, it'll be so boring for me to be there all by myself."

Empress Ma suddenly remembered: "In my Kunning Palace, there is a secret underground chamber, which is very large."

"It has everything you need. If you feel uncomfortable showing your face in public, you can stay here for now; no one else will know."

Upon hearing this, Old Zhu had no choice but to say, "Alright then, let's leave it at that for now."

Zhu Yunwen heard everything clearly from behind the screen and found it amusing.

At Zhao Sili's residence.

Although it was very late at night, Zhao Ning'er was wide awake, her mind filled with thoughts of Zhu Yunwen.

She searched everywhere but couldn't rescue Zhu Yuntong. Even Empress Ma personally intervened, but Zhu Yunwen refused to cooperate.

Zhao Ning'er was almost in despair. Later, when she heard that Chang Yuchun was going to lead his men to break into the prison, her heart jumped into her throat.

Zhao Ning'er said to her father, "As the commander of the troops, if things really come to a standstill, we can also break into the prison with Chang Yuchun."

Zhao Sili was a loyal minister of the court, but at this moment he was forced to have no choice but to nod in agreement.

Unexpectedly, the Emperor issued another imperial edict, releasing Zhu Yunwen and ordering him to lead troops into battle again.

What worried Zhao Ning'er was that Chen Zuyi's pirate forces were too numerous, while Zhu Yunwen's forces were too few, which was tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock.

Therefore, Zhao Ning'er couldn't sleep all night because of this.

She was thinking about what other ways she could help Yun-hu.

Just as she was lost in thought, she suddenly heard a creak, and the door opened.

Zhu Yunwen walked in from outside with a cheerful smile.

Zhao Ning'er looked and saw that it was Zhu Yunwen.

She suddenly threw herself into Zhu Yunwen's arms: "Yunwen, am I dreaming?"

Zhu Yunwen gently stroked her hair: "This is no dream, this is clearly real."

Zhao Ning'er looked at Zhu Yunwen with her beautiful eyes full of tenderness: "I don't understand, didn't you go to fight Chen Zuyi?"

Why are you back?

Zhu Yunwen smiled slightly: "I'm back to take care of some things, I have to leave soon."