Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

After calming himself down, he slowly flipped through the pages again, thinking that the Zhu family's rule should improve with each generation. After all, Zhanji was decent, so his son shouldn't be too bad. But reality gave him a harsh blow.

When the story turned to Zhu Qizhen, Zhu Di's expression gradually darkened.

Turning to the Zhengtong era, Zhu Di's expression gradually darkened. When he saw the words "Tumu Crisis," his pupils suddenly contracted.

He read on and on, line by line, faster and faster, his breathing becoming heavier and heavier.

When Zhu Qizhen was captured by the Oirat Mongols, his 200,000-strong army was wiped out, and most of the court officials died in battle, Zhu Di slammed his fist on the tiger's saddle.

The tiger growled as it was struck by the punch and lunged forward, but Zhu Di firmly reined it in.

"My descendants have produced such a useless piece of trash! And he's Zhanji's son?!" Zhu Di gritted his teeth, his voice forced out through clenched teeth, his eyes blazing with fury. "Five hundred thousand troops! A full five hundred thousand! Even five hundred thousand pigs couldn't be captured all in a single day! He actually dared to let a eunuch command the entire army! How could the Ming Dynasty not fail when handed over to such a scoundrel?!"

"Father, look at your eldest grandson's son, he's utterly useless. If you ask me, the throne would be better given to me..."

"That Zhu Qizhen deserves to die even more than Wang Zhen! He was useless, and he dragged 500,000 people down with him! What's worse, he came back and killed Yu Qian!" Zhu Gaochi also flipped to that passage, his face ashen, even more ashen than when he saw himself roasted to death.

"Yu Qian risked his life to protect Beijing, and he died at his hands! Is this guy even human? How can our Zhu family produce so many heartless bastards!"

"Fourth brother, aren't you able to travel through all the dynasties of our Ming Dynasty? You must take your father to that damned dynasty sometime. What dynasty is it again? Right, the Zhengtong Dynasty? They dare to call themselves the Zhengtong Dynasty? Let's see how we deal with them when we get there." Zhu Di said to the protagonist, remembering what his fourth brother had said that morning.

"Yes, Fourth Brother, Second Brother also wants to go to this so-called orthodox dynasty. Let's see if Second Brother beats that brat to death when he goes there. No, wait, when we get back to the capital, Second Brother will first go and give my adorable nephew a good beating, and by the way, ask his Second Uncle what I did to displease him that made him roast his Second Uncle." Zhu Gaoxu also shouted.

The probability of Zhu Gaochi beating Zhu Zhanji was actually quite low. Although Zhu Zhanji was just an ordinary grandson of the emperor before the ninth year of the Yongle reign, he was already deeply favored by Zhu Di.

Zhu Gaoxu was his second uncle and a prince, and it was reasonable for elders in the imperial family to reprimand younger members by patting their shoulders, pushing them, or giving them a light punishment. This was a family matter.

However, if the beating resulted in injury or was carried out in public, it was still considered extremely disrespectful, and both Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi would severely reprimand Zhu Gaoxu.

Not to mention that after the ninth year of the Yongle reign, Zhu Zhanji became the Crown Prince, making it even more impossible.

But if he can't beat Zhu Zhanji, can't he at least beat Zhu Zhanji's son? When the Zhengtong Dynasty comes along, he'll definitely give that foolish nephew's son a good beating.

Meanwhile, Pigsy muttered under his breath, "Hmph, why do you always bring up pigs when you're arguing? What did the pigs do to you? Did they eat your food? You're always killing pigs. Aren't you all surnamed Zhu too?"

Zhu Gaoxi, possessing the body of an immortal, had exceptionally keen hearing. He smiled, pretending not to hear, and then said to Zhu Gaoxu, "Second brother, don't be like that. Zhanji is still young, isn't he? As elders, we should focus on his upbringing. You should spend more time with Zhanji; he certainly won't treat you like that in the future."

"Get close to him?! Fourth brother, you've already made your second brother into a roast chicken, how am I supposed to get close to him?" Zhu Gaoxu said, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

Zhu Gaoxi smiled and said nothing more. The two continued flipping through the book. Then came the Chenghua, Hongzhi, Zhengde, and Jiajing reigns.

The only time that could infuriate Zhu Di was probably during the Jiajing era. When Zhu Di flipped to the section on changing temple names, he remained calm and quickly moved on, because he knew he would lose his temper if he didn't.

But when the story finally came to the point that the emperor hadn't held court in the twentieth year of the Jiajing reign, Zhu Di was so angry that his beard stood on end. He cursed, "That old Taoist priest! That old bastard! He's not a proper emperor, but spends all his time in the palace making elixirs. How did the Ming Dynasty produce such a thing!"

"Hahaha, Father, this Jiajing is so filial! Did you see that? He changed your temple name, hahaha..." Zhu Gaoxu turned to that page and saw that Jiajing had changed Zhu Di's temple name from "Taizong" to "Chengzu". He was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling. Then he turned his head and saw Zhu Di's dark face and his smile instantly disappeared.

Hehe...no hehe

"What are you laughing at, Second Prince? Is it that funny? Are you asking for a beating?" Zhu Di's face darkened instantly when he heard his second son say this.

"I wasn't laughing, Father. I just think this descendant is too filial...too much!" Zhu Gaoxu quickly responded upon seeing the negative information about Zhu Di.

"Hmph, that's for the best." Zhu Di glared and snorted.

"Unfilial descendants! Scoundrels!..." Zhu Di had actually seen what happened, but he had kept quiet, especially with Marshal Tianpeng nearby; it would be a laughing stock if word got out. But now that Zhu Gaochi had pointed it out, he dropped the pretense and immediately cursed.

These descendants are truly a bunch of heartless bastards!

Seeing the words "Emperor Chengzu" immediately filled him with anger and fury. It was only because he wasn't in the inner palace that he would have gone out to vent his anger.

He dedicated his entire life to proving himself to be the legitimate one.

To prove his legitimacy, he even added several years to his father Zhu Yuanzhang's lifespan, claiming that he directly inherited the Ming Dynasty from the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, denied the Jianwen reign, deleted the Jianwen era, revised historical records, and tried his best to erase the label of "a prince usurping the throne".

But that little brat went and changed his title from "Taizong" to "Chengzu". The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he really wanted to stab that bastard Jiajing to death.

Although changing his title to "Chengzu" was ostensibly a very high honor, placing him alongside Taizu, ensuring his name would be passed down for ten thousand generations and never have to be moved from the main hall of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and allowing future generations to worship him forever, it also affirmed his unparalleled achievements, such as the five expeditions to the northern deserts, the relocation of the capital, the voyages to the Western Ocean, the pacification of Annam, and the compilation of the Great Codex.

But in reality, it exposed his true colors. He had worked hard all his life to make the world believe that he was the legitimate successor, but this temple name indirectly confirmed that he had overthrown the old dynasty and seized power.

Moreover, Jiajing's change of temple name, seemingly to affirm Zhu Di's achievements, was actually to send the spirit tablet of his biological father, Prince Xingxian Zhu Youyuan, into the main hall of the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Because the number of places in the Imperial Ancestral Temple is limited, it has already exceeded the "seven temples for the Son of Heaven" ritual system.

To make room for someone, one must be removed from the family line. According to the principle of "removing the head of the family line when the kinship ends," the person who should be removed most is Emperor Renzong Zhu Gaochi, but Zhu Di is "Taizong," belonging to the "Zong" line, making the removal of his head more complicated.

Emperor Jiajing then devised a plan to change Zhu Di's title from "Taizong" to "Chengzu," placing him alongside Taizu so that his lineage would be perpetual.

In this way, Zhu Gaochi became the first in the "Zong" (ancestral clan) sequence, and his lineage was extended to the Imperial Ancestral Temple, which freed up a place for Emperor Ruizong, Jiajing's biological father, to be enshrined there.