The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the Somersault Cloud, Old Zhu was so envious he cried!

Seeing the little guy's adorable, puffed-up yet serious expression, Zhu Biao couldn't resist reaching out and pinching his soft cheeks.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Ming raised his head and uttered a startling question: "Brother, do you want to be emperor?"

Zhu Biao was stunned for a moment: "...Huh?"

"Just nod your head," Zhu Ming puffed out his chest, "and I'll snatch this dragon throne for you right away."

He got more and more excited as he talked, and then simply put his hands on his hips and said confidently:

"Once you become emperor, we'll send Father back to his hometown to farm! Isn't he always thinking about those two acres of land in Fengyang? We'll give him fifty acres—let him farm to his heart's content!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao was at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

He looked up and subconsciously glanced behind Zhu Ming.

His father, the emperor, had somehow released his mother and was now standing motionless behind Zhu Ming with a dark expression.

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious when he saw his son, Xiao Liu, who was so rebellious and single-mindedly plotting to rebel against him.

All I did was not hug you just now.

Why be so petty?

They're both instigating your elder brother to rebel against us and sending us to farm.

They're giving us another fifty acres?!

Are you trying to work us to death?

Seeing that the rebellious sixth brother was getting more and more outrageous, and if he continued talking, who knew what else he might make up.

Zhu Yuanzhang quickly interrupted him with a shout.

"Sixth Brother! I heard you're planning to rebel against your father?!"

His face was gloomy, and the oppressive aura of an emperor who had been ruthless for many years made even the surrounding air seem to cool down.

If it were that little brat Zhu Di,

He had already knelt down with a "plop" by now, kowtowing and begging, "Father, spare my life!"

Unexpectedly, Zhu Ming merely glanced at him lazily, put her hands on her hips, and retorted confidently:

"What, it's not working?"

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't catch his breath and was choked by him, pointing at him with his finger for a long time:

"Do you even know what you just said?! If those words had been heard by emperors of the past, you would have been imprisoned long ago, and being skinned alive would have been the least of your worries!"

Unexpectedly, Zhu Ming merely glanced at him lazily, showing no fear whatsoever on her face, and instead let out a cold snort:

"Arrest me? Hmph—"

"It's only because you're my father that I dare to yell at me like that. If it were anyone else, I would have crushed them to death long ago. Who gave them the right to speak out of turn!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was about to retort: ​​"You want to stomp him to death? Why don't you just say you can fly to the sky?!"

Old Zhu stopped abruptly before he could finish speaking.

……wrong.

That little bastard, he's really something.

He can truly crush a person into a pulp with one stomp, and he can also somersault into the sky.

If I were to actually utter that retort, it wouldn't be scolding my son; it would be making a fool of myself.

Old Zhu opened his mouth, momentarily choked and unable to speak.

But who is he? He is the Hongwu Emperor!

How could he so easily back down in front of his wife and son?

So he stubbornly retorted.

Then the father and son started arguing back and forth in the backyard of Kunning Palace, neither willing to give in.

Empress Ma, unable to bear it any longer, stepped forward and separated the father and son.

She first turned to Zhu Yuanzhang, her face darkening, and said sternly, "Chongba, Chongba, how old are you? Why are you still acting like a child? Can't you say less!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang looked aggrieved and exclaimed, "This brat was the one who plotted to rebel against me first! I was already being lenient by not beating him up on the spot!"

Empress Ma's eyes widened, her protective instincts immediately kicking in: "How old is Ming'er? How can you believe what he says?"

"Besides—" she paused, then added coldly, "If Ming'er really wants to rebel, can you stop her? Or have you also become a disciple of Laozi?"

These words made Zhu Yuanzhang feel like a grandson who had just started school; he stood aside, opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

After scolding Old Zhu,

Empress Ma then turned her head to look at Zhu Ming.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was standing nearby, immediately revealed a gloating expression on his face.

Hmph, you think you can argue with me?

Did you upset your mother?

I wonder if someone will cry after being scolded.

Zhu Yuanzhang watched with great anticipation as the little guy was about to be scolded!

But who knew what would happen next?

Empress Ma's stern expression vanished instantly, replaced by a gentle, smiling face. She knelt down and softly coaxed:

"Ming'er, calm down. You know your father's character; don't take it to heart."

Zhu Yuanzhang: "..."

His whole body just cracked open.

With a mournful face, Zhu Yuanzhang approached Empress Ma and muttered pitifully:

"Hey girl, you weren't treating us like this just now... Why don't you give him a scolding?"

"You could call him disrespectful, call him rude, but you could at least... at least say something to him, even just one sentence would be fine!"

Zhu Yuanzhang spoke with aggrieved expression, as if a dark cloud was hanging over his head, with raindrops falling down in a pattering sound.

I felt like I had no will to live.

Empress Ma, however, ignored him.

She knew perfectly well that despite the father and son's constant bickering and their unwillingness to yield to each other.

But in this vast palace,

Old Zhu had son after son, but the one he loved most was none other than Xiao Liu, who was always going against him.

Old Zhu had mentioned this to her privately more than once.

He said, "Our sons are like mice in front of a cat when they see us."

They were all trembling with fear, not daring to utter a sound; they didn't look like father and son, but rather like ruler and subject.

Zhu Ming was the only one he had never been afraid of since childhood.

It was precisely because of this "fearlessness" that Emperor Hongwu, who had become a lonely figure sitting on the dragon throne, was able to taste a little bit of the feeling of home.

"Alright, stop standing there like idiots." Empress Ma changed the subject. "If you have something to say, let's go back inside and talk."

After saying that, she reached out and took Zhu Ming's little hand, and the mother and son walked straight toward the main hall of Kunning Palace.

Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang could only shake his head helplessly and turn to call Zhu Biao: "Biao'er, come on, let's go in and listen."

The group entered the main hall and sat down as host and guests.

Yu'er busied herself, carrying a silver teapot to pour tea for everyone.

Empress Ma picked up her teacup, took a sip, and then recounted to Zhu Yuanzhang everything she had seen and heard during her trip to Qingshui County.

The more he listened, the more Zhu Yuanzhang frowned.

Qian Youde, the local county magistrate, was a lowly eighth-rank official who lorded it over everyone in Qingshui County.

He disregarded human life, deceived his superiors and subordinates, exploited the people, and forced women into prostitution—he was nothing short of a local tyrant.

He even dared to embezzle the compensation money for soldiers who died in battle, and then slandered them as deserters.

Even more outrageous is that he somehow managed to move the millions of kilograms of official grain in the granary to some unknown place, leaving it completely empty.

"Bang!!"

Zhu Yuanzhang slammed his fist hard on the table, making the cup lid rattle and bounce.

He jumped to his feet, his eyes bloodshot, and cursed, "That son of a bitch, Qian Youde!!"

"We...we...we—" Zhu Yuanzhang's fingers trembled with rage as he cursed repeatedly, "What rules did my father establish when he was gnawing on tree bark in the mud?! Sixty taels of silver embezzled would result in being skinned alive! How dare this mere county magistrate have such audacity?!"

"Brothers who died in battle! They risked their lives, fighting tooth and nail for our Zhu family's empire! How dare he embezzle the money earned by these people who risked their lives?!"

"And those millions of catties of government grain! That was disaster relief grain! It was life-saving grain! How dare he embezzle it for himself—isn't he afraid that the starving people will climb up in the middle of the night and skin him alive?!"

He grew angrier with each curse, kicked over the stool in front of him, and roared:

"Issue our decree! Execute this bastard and his entire family—exterminate his entire clan!!"

Seeing this, Zhu Biao quickly got up and helped Zhu Yuanzhang up, gently advising, "Father, please calm down, please calm down... Please listen to what your son has to say."

He glanced at Empress Ma at the head of the table and guessed, "Since Mother specifically returned to the palace to tell you this matter in person—"

"In my opinion, Qian Youde is probably already beheaded."

"You're getting so angry; it might harm your health later. It's not worth it."

After hearing Zhu Biao's words, Zhu Yuanzhang was skeptical and turned to look at Empress Ma.

Empress Ma nodded and said frankly, "Biao'er is right. In fact, when I first arrived in Qingshui County, Qian Youde was already dead—and Ming'er executed him himself."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Ming immediately perked up.

He raised his head, puffed out his small chest, and proudly boasted, "Sister Miaoyun and I just arrived in Qingshui County. We heard about the despicable things this corrupt official had done from a female shopkeeper, and without saying a word, we went straight there to kill him!"

"I happened to see him gathering a group of men, acting suspiciously, I don't know what they were planning to do—I raised my hand and shot him dead!"

Upon hearing that everyone was dead, Zhu Yuanzhang's anger subsided considerably.

But he still wouldn't let it go, muttering and cursing, "Hmph, so what if he's dead? That bastard's lucky—just one shot and he's done him off!"

If it were Zhu Yuanzhang himself who came, how could he let this bastard die so quickly?

We absolutely have to throw him into the imperial prison and subject him to every kind of torture we've ever seen or heard of in our lives, one by one.

Peeling skin, stuffing with straw, disemboweling and scrubbing—none of that matters. We'll even let him try riding that "wooden donkey."

Someone nearby seemed to remind him: "Your Majesty, that wooden donkey... was originally a torture device used on women."

Old Zhu's eyes widened:

"So what if it's for women?! We don't care if it's for men or women—just get on and ride it!"

Empress Ma sighed and continued.

In Qingshui County, there were also four major families who controlled all the county's resources, effectively splitting the county town in two.

In the wealthy district, revelry lasts every night, with taverns and mansions burning all night long, and leftover food being dumped out basket after basket.

The dogs on the street are fed so much that they become shiny and slick.

You could even say that the dog's food was better than what the living people in the poor neighborhood ate.

But in the poorer area of ​​the same street, every household hung white banners, and the sound of weeping never stopped.

Lifting the lid of the rice jar at home, it was upside down and completely empty. Even mice would droop their tails and turn away at the sight of it.

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's face darkened as if water could drip from it.

In his life, there were two things he hated most: corrupt officials and people who dared to treat him like a fool.

This time, he had both.

Within his Great Ming territory, some people were so poor that every household hung white banners, and their lives were worse than those of a dog.

The memorial submitted below read, stroke by stroke, "A year of great harvest, the people live in peace and prosperity!"

So all the documents he wrote in the imperial study were just nonsense!

He didn't even need to see it with his own eyes.

He could imagine the scenes Empress Ma described with his eyes closed.

Because he himself had already experienced those kinds of days.

His parents starved to death in the famine, and there wasn't even a place to bury them. He begged for food on the streets, and even the dogs didn't want him to be in their way.

The feeling of being so hungry that his eyes turned green and he collapsed after taking two steps was etched into his bones, and he never dared to forget it for a single day.

After a long silence, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth, his voice frighteningly hoarse:

"...The four major families, right?"

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately raised his voice and shouted towards the door, "Mao Xiang, where the hell have you been? Come in here right now!"

The voice just fell,

Mao Xiang immediately rushed into the palace and knelt down on one knee before Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Your Majesty, what are your orders for summoning me here?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said with a murderous look:

"We need you to go to the military camp immediately and muster 10,000 elite soldiers. We're going to leave the capital right now and raze those four great families of Qingshui County to the ground!"

He slammed his hand on the table, making the cups and saucers rattle, and cursed:

"What kind of bastards dare to call themselves the 'Four Great Families'?! We're the ones who will wipe them out—they're the ones who grow up drinking human blood!"

This time, even the Crown Prince Zhu Biao, who was known for his benevolence, did not offer any advice.

He stood to the side, his face ashen.

Clearly, this guy was genuinely angry.

Mao Xiang clasped his hands in acceptance of the order and got up to walk towards the door.

The next second,

"return!"

Empress Ma suddenly spoke up and called out to the other party.

Mao Xiang paused, stopped abruptly, turned to look at the Empress, then turned back to look at Zhu Yuanzhang.

It's as if it's saying...

Should I go or not?

Zhu Yuanzhang was also taken aback and looked at Empress Ma with a puzzled expression.

He assumed the girl was soft-hearted and wanted to persuade him to stop committing murder, so he immediately hardened his face and said preemptively:

"Girl, don't get involved in this. This kind of family that thrives on human blood must be wiped out today!"

Empress Ma rolled her eyes at him and said irritably:

"Who said I was going to advise you? These local tyrants who oppress the people, I wouldn't sympathize with them a single bit even if they died a lot."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang became even more confused.

"Then...why did you call out to Mao Xiang?"

"I don't want him to make this trip for nothing," Empress Ma said slowly, picking up her teacup. "Qingshui County is at least a thousand miles from the capital."

"Even if your people travel at top speed, it will take at least one or two months to get there."

She glanced at Zhu Ming, who was intently eating his snacks beside her, and said, "Once they get there—in a month or two, that'll be enough time for Ming to ride her somersault cloud back and forth and deal with those four great families dozens of times over."

Empress Ma put down her teacup, as if suddenly remembering something, and said:

"Oh, right, I was so busy talking that I forgot to tell you."

"Among those four major families, the Li family, which had ties with Qian Youde, has already been eliminated by tomorrow."

"Seeing that things were not going well, the Huang family had already pledged allegiance to Ming'er and are now working for him."

"As for the remaining Zhao and Hu families..." She paused, glancing at Zhu Ming, "If it weren't for Ming'er having to accompany me back to the palace, given his temperament, those two families would probably be gone by now."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent.

Zhu Yuanzhang opened his mouth, looked at Empress Ma, and then turned to look at Xiao Liu, who was eating a mooncake.

He suddenly realized that his outburst of temper, which had just been about "mobilizing troops, razing the land to the ground, and exterminating nine generations of relatives," was somewhat... superfluous.