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

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled helplessly.

"Father, there are many things you don't understand."

Although I don't want to admit it, what my father said is indeed true.

However, some things cannot be judged from one perspective alone.

Having many concubines was partly due to the need to satisfy physical desires.

On the other hand, it's because his sister is getting older, and the risks of childbirth would be very high.

Its safety cannot be guaranteed.

The older you are, the greater the risks of having children.

Moreover, the girl's health wasn't very good to begin with.

Anyway, they already have several sons.

There's no need to take that risk.

Zhu Wusi sighed softly: "You are the emperor, and I am just a peasant. I don't understand matters of state."

"But since this girl was with you during your most difficult time and helped you achieve your imperial ambitions..."

"You can't let people down like this."

"Our Zhu family cannot be ungrateful people."

"Where is she? Go apologize to her and bow your head."

"Between husband and wife, what deep-seated hatred could there be? If we face things honestly, there's no obstacle we can't overcome."

"In the past, your mother and I often had conflicts. At the worst time, your mother was so angry that she went back to her parents' home."

"Didn't I also bow my head and go to bring her back, and that's how you came to be?"

Listening to my father's rambling.

Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent for three breaths, then said in a calm voice, "I miss her very much."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wusi continued, "Then why don't you hurry up and go find it?"

"We'd like to go look for it too, but..."

Zhu Wusi frowned: "Just what?"

Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang murmured softly, "However, she passed away from illness in the fifteenth year of Hongwu."

"If we're going to look for her, we should wait a few years until we've settled all the important national affairs before we go find her."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wusi stood there, somewhat bewildered.

Looking at the sadness on Zhu Chongba's face, he realized that he might have said something wrong.

It revealed the painful secrets in Chongba's heart.

"Zhongba, I..." Zhu Wusi felt guilty, but didn't know what to say to comfort him.

Zhu Wusi, you haven't even asked what happened, what nonsense are you spouting?

Zhu Yuanzhang caught a glimpse of his father's guilty expression and smiled calmly: "Father, we're alright."

With Lan Chen around.

He could use Lan Chen to meet girls.

However... the opportunities are probably not many.

Every meeting, every minute spent, is essentially draining his lifeblood.

Blood is limited, and so is time.

Zhu Wusi quickly changed the subject: "Zhongba, how are your elder brothers?"

"Is he still alive?"

"Now that you've made it big, don't forget them."

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed softly.

"By the time we made a name for ourselves in the rebel army, my eldest brother, second brother, and third brother were already dead."

"During the chaos of war, when we ascended the throne, we sent people to search for us, but there was no news."

The end of the Yuan Dynasty was a time of war and chaos.

My second brother, Zhu Chongliu, and my third brother, Zhu Chongqi, are probably dead somewhere.

"Do they have any children?" Zhu Wusi asked, his mood slightly downcast.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded: "My elder brother's grandson is still alive. His name is Zhu Shouqian. We will grant him the title of prince."

"That brat is causing trouble and harming the people in the vassal states."

Harmful to the people?

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wusi recalled the time when Yuan court officials levied additional taxes.

The feeling of helplessness when one's own father begged not to take away the grain.

"If you need to fight, then fight. Don't hesitate to do it."

"You've become emperor, and the world belongs to the Zhu family, but don't forget the times we were bullied."

"Our Zhu family can't bully others just because we have power."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked into the distance.

"Let him be."

He didn't know his own strength, and Zhu Wenzheng died by his own hand.

If Zhu Shouqian is killed, causing the elder brother's family line to end, then what will happen to him in the afterlife?

I am truly ashamed to face my elder brother.

The Zhu family is large and powerful, so no matter how much trouble Zhu Shouqian causes, it won't be a big deal.

Zhu Wusi, however, was somewhat displeased.

"Zhongba, we can't just sit idly by and do nothing about this."

Previously, they were powerless against the oppression of Yuan court officials and landlords.

I swallowed my pride and pain.

But now, we have the ability to prevent such a thing from happening again.

If we just sit idly by and do nothing...

Wouldn't that make me the person they hate the most?

Seeing his father's serious expression, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled helplessly and said, "Alright, we'll listen to you."

"We'll issue an imperial decree later, ordering him back to the capital, and then we'll personally spank him."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wusi smiled.

"There's plenty of flesh on your butt, so even if you hit it hard, it won't hurt."

"I beat you a lot when you made mistakes as a child."

Zhu Wusi had been caught in the rain himself, and he didn't want others to get wet too.

Because he knew that feeling was unpleasant.

Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled: "When we were kids, we hated you so much. You beat us so badly we had to run all over the place."

"When we grow up, we won't hate anymore. After we have a son, we want to say something to our father."

"What did you say?"

"You didn't hit hard enough, and you weren't fast enough."

"If we had another chance, we would definitely fight even harder than you."

Thinking back on my several beastly sons.

I was just too good to them; I never really beat them up.

They didn't learn any of my good qualities, but they did learn cruelty quite well.

As the emperor, he needed to govern the country with severe punishments, and cruelty was reserved for corrupt officials.

These bastards are so cruel and brutal to the people.

If he were given another chance, he would correct those bastards when they were young.

"Ha ha."

"Speaking of your older brother and sister, what about your sister and brother-in-law? How are they doing?"

"Oh, our family has received a lot of kindness from your brother-in-law's family."

Li Zhen comes from a wealthy family, but she is a kind-hearted person.

Over the years, if it weren't for Li Zhen's frequent assistance, how could they have supported a family of eight with just those few acres of land?

It's fair to say they've survived to this day.

Thanks to Li Zhen.

"After we established ourselves in the rebel army, my brother-in-law brought Wenzhong to join us."

Perhaps this is a case of good people being rewarded.

In a time of war and chaos.

It's quite fortunate that Li Zhen was able to bring Li Wenzhong through so many obstacles to come and join me.

"Although my brother-in-law's surname isn't Zhu, in our hearts, we've long considered him a member of the Zhu family."

"My brother-in-law has not let us down either."

"Especially Wenzhong, he helped us a lot when we were building our empire."

"Without our deliberate promotion, Wenzhong became a Duke."

Whether it was Li Zhen or Li Wenzhong.

Their help to him is beyond doubt.

Whether it was when I was a child or when I was conquering the world.

Li Zhen also led troops, and although he was not as good as Li Wenzhong, he was more than capable of defending the city and was not bad at all.

Li Wenzhong goes without saying.

He was brave and skilled in battle, handsome and dashing, and was one of the founding generals of the Ming Dynasty.

He was only ranked below Xu Da.

Unlike Tang He, whose title of duke was something he had deliberately promoted himself.

Tang He's ability to command troops was far inferior to that of Xu Da, Li Wenzhong, Feng Sheng, and others.

If it weren't for the fact that I often had Tang He serve as Xu Da's deputy general to build up his resume, otherwise Tang He alone would have been able to succeed.

It's not enough to be granted the title of Duke.

Li Wenzhong, on the other hand, relied entirely on his own abilities.

He fought his entire life, and only suffered a defeat in the Battle of Lingbei, just like Xu Da.

Zhu Wusi pondered for a moment: "Is a Duke a very high-ranking official?"