The Ming Dynasty: Starting with taking Old Zhu on a journey to the future

Zhu Wusi immediately knelt down on the ground.

Then, imitating the etiquette of those officials, he bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "This humble subject, Zhu Wusi, pays his respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty!"

On the way here.

Zhu Wusi specifically asked Jiang Huan what they needed to do when they met the emperor.

They were father and son, and also ruler and subject.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face turned cold, and he looked at Jiang Huan beside him.

"Did you teach our father this?"

My father spent his whole life working in the fields.

How could they possibly know that they would need to kowtow and say "Long live the Emperor" when they meet him?

Jiang Huan's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately prostrated himself on the ground, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me."

Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang got angry, and Zhu Wusi said, "I asked it myself, he didn't teach me."

"Although Your Majesty and I are father and son, I am just a peasant, while Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. It is only right that I kneel before you."

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, let alone seeing the emperor.

Even when meeting a high-ranking official, one must kneel.

Zhu Yuanzhang knelt down and helped Zhu Wusi up: "What kind of father kneels before his son? It's just a matter of status. From now on, you are the Retired Emperor of our Great Ming!"

"From now on, we're the only ones allowed to kneel before you! You're not allowed to kneel before us!"

It's just an identity.

If Emperor Taizu of Han (Liu Bang) could bestow the title of "Retired Emperor" upon his father, then he could naturally do the same.

In this way, regardless of etiquette or social status, one would kneel before one's father.

As he spoke, Zhu Yuanzhang knelt down before Zhu Wusi.

"Father, I, Zhu Chongba, kowtow to you!"

Zhu Wusi smiled and said "good" four times in a row.

"Get up, you're getting old."

Zhu Wusi touched Zhu Chongba's weathered face.

He could clearly sense that Chongba looked very tired.

"Zhongba, it must have been tough for you all this time."

Zhu Wusi knew in his heart that he himself had no ability and could not provide Zhu Chongba with any help.

Zhu Chongba was able to become emperor step by step through his own efforts.

It should be covered with thorns.

For people of their status, becoming a landlord was extremely difficult, almost impossible.

Not to mention, he became emperor.

The hardships he endured along the way were beyond his comprehension.

A simple greeting.

But it directly broke through Zhu Yuanzhang's mental defenses.

Those icy eyes were once again filled with tears.

However, he managed to hold back his tears.

It's so embarrassing to cry in front of your father; a man should be resilient and unyielding.

Zhu Yuanzhang turned his back, wiped the tears from his eyes, and then turned back with a smile, saying, "Father, let me tell you how we became emperor!"

"While you're at it, what do you think of our palace?"

The father and son walked hand in hand toward the outside of the hall.

Seeing this scene, Wang Sancai also burst into tears: "His Majesty hasn't been this happy in a long time."

Jiang Huan, standing to the side, stared blankly at Wang Sancai.

A father and son are reunited, why are you, a eunuch, crying?

But now that the atmosphere has reached this point, should I cry too?

Jiang Huan also tried to cry, but after trying for a long time, she couldn't squeeze out a single tear.

As expected, I'm still not suited for flattery.

I am only suited to be the emperor's weapon; a weapon does not need emotional resonance.

Seeing the emperor and Zhu Wusi leave, Jiang Huan prepared to follow.

But Wang Sancai stopped him: "Commander Jiang should stay here and guard that person."

"I'll take care of things in the palace."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Huan nodded.

It was indeed inappropriate for the emperor to accompany the retired emperor to the inner palace.

Wang Sancai was a eunuch, so he didn't have this taboo.

……

Inside the palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang led Zhu Wusi along the stone brick road of the palace.

"Our current status is all thanks to the Yuan army burning down Huangjue Temple, where we lived. With Huangjue Temple burned down, we had nowhere to go."

Zhu Yuanzhang did not recount the misfortunes that befell his family.

Instead, he started by recounting his own experience as a monk.

"Tang He then wrote us a letter, asking us to join Guo Zixing's Red Turban Army."

"We were desperate, so we consulted the oracle many times. Perhaps this is the will of Heaven."

Whether to stay or hide, the divination results are unfavorable, except for joining the army, which is auspicious.

Later, he went to Haozhou to join the army.

"With my daring and hardworking nature, it didn't take long for me to become my father-in-law's personal guard."

Zhu Wusi heard this.

"Father-in-law?"

"Yes, Guo Zixing appreciated our abilities, so he married his adopted daughter, Ma Xiuying, to us."

"Our achievements today wouldn't have been possible without the help of our sister."

Zhu Wusi smiled slightly and said with great satisfaction, "It seems that my Chongba has found a good wife."

Zhu Wusi could naturally sense the tenderness and love in Zhu Chongba's words about his wife.

"Your mother and I will be at ease once you find a good wife."

"Our family is poor. Sometimes, your mother and I worry about how you will get married when you grow up."

My family is poor.

The family's savings were already depleted just to find a wife for their eldest son, Zhu Chongsi.

Zhu Chongliu is not young anymore, but because his family is poor, he has not yet married.

Whenever the elderly couple couldn't sleep, they would think about how they could barely help Chongliu get married.

What should be done after the seventh and eighth years?

They are getting old.

In a few more years, I simply won't be able to keep doing it anymore.

They can't stay single forever, can they? But they don't have the money to get wives for them.

All I can do is save as much money as I can while I still can, and help out as much as I can.

"Our Chongba has made something of himself; he can get married on his own."

He couldn't understand anything else.

He wasn't particularly concerned about that, but he was quite interested in things like getting married and having children.

"You can't let such a good wife down."

"I often hear that some men, after becoming successful, despise their wives who shared their hardships."

"You can't be that kind of person."

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed loudly: "Father, the first thing we did after ascending the throne was to make our sister the Empress."

"We cherish her so much, how could we...dislike her?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's tone gradually lowered.

A hint of sadness flickered in his eyes.

Zhu Wusi, unaware that Empress Ma had passed away, innocently asked, "May I see her?"

Zhu Yuanzhang feigned nonchalance and said, "We won't see her anymore, she doesn't want us anymore."

Don't want it anymore?

Zhu Wusi couldn't quite grasp the meaning behind Zhu Yuanzhang's words.

I've heard of men who, after becoming successful, despise their wives who shared their hardships.

I've never heard of a man being despised by his wife after he's become successful.

"Zhongba, did you do something to wrong her?!"

"Does becoming emperor mean you'll have multiple wives and concubines, neglecting your wife and causing her anger?"

In light of the lessons of Zhu Wusi.

Zhu Yuanzhang simply smiled and said, "Father, we are the emperor. We only have one wife, but we have quite a few concubines."

"However, I'm doing this so that I can produce more offspring for the Zhu family, so that after I die, they can protect the Zhu family's empire!"

Faced with this explanation...

Zhu Wusi snorted and said irritably, "I think you're just a lecher!"