Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

He rode the Fierce Tiger King in the procession entering the city, with Zhu Di beside him, and Zhu Gaoxi and Zhu Bajie next to him. The group walked side by side, with generals such as Zhang Fu behind them.

"Is that a tiger? And why is it standing on clouds?"

"Were all the people in the Ming Dynasty immortals? How come those people were flying in the air?"

"The Ming Dynasty truly lived up to its name; it was so vast! It had everything!"

"The Ming Dynasty was so rich! Even the generals flying in the sky are wearing golden armor! It's dazzling!"

"There are so many rhinos and elephants behind them..."

The people of An'nan lined both sides of the street to welcome the spectacle. When they saw this scene from afar, they craned their necks, their eyes wide open, and their voices rose and fell in discussion.

Leading the charge were Zhu Di, Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Gaoxi, and Zhu Bajie.

Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi rode on the Tiger King riding on clouds, while Zhu Bajie rode on the Lion riding on clouds. Their golden armor gleamed in the sunlight, and with the somersaulting clouds surging beneath their hooves, they truly looked like celestial soldiers and generals who had stepped out of a painting.

Following behind were generals such as Zhang Fu, all riding lions, and then war elephants and rhinoceroses. The beasts' hooves pounded on the bluestone slabs, and with each step, the ground trembled slightly, causing the bamboo houses on both sides to shake.

The Ming soldiers on the back of the beast were all in high spirits, their backs straight, and their morale could be felt from a distance.

"Oh—the Ming army is here! Long live the Ming army!"

As the Ming army approached, the Annamese people on both sides of the street suddenly burst into cheers.

The men raised their hands high, jumping and shouting, the women lifted their children above their heads, and the elderly, leaning on their canes, grinned and nodded incessantly.

The scene was incredibly lively, even more so than during the Lunar New Year. Anyone who didn't know the situation would have thought that the Ming army had returned victorious from a battle. In fact, this was the first time the Ming army had entered the city.

After the entry ceremony, Zhang Fu ordered the army to rest temporarily in an open space in the city and cook.

After lunch, we must continue our advance and reach Baihejiang today to meet up with Mu Sheng.

By midday, the aroma of food had already filled the city. The people of Xinfu County had brought out all their own grain to entertain the Ming army.

In Annam, people rely on the mountains and rivers for their livelihood. The most common foods are rice, vegetables with fish sauce, fish soup, steamed rice cakes wrapped in banana leaves, and pickled bamboo shoots and lemongrass roasted chicken.

Wealthier households could even serve several pots of meat porridge and rice wine. At this moment, in order to cook for the Ming army, almost every household in the county town had smoke rising from their chimneys, and the housewives washed their best rice again and again, afraid of not being able to provide adequate hospitality.

These people witnessed the Ming army's impressive formation when they surrendered, so they were extremely careful when selecting ingredients and preparing meals, trembling with fear that the Ming army would not eat well and would blame them.

One family brought out their cured pork, which they had treasured for three years, and while cutting it, they muttered, "May the Bodhisattva bless us, and may the officials of tomorrow eat to their hearts' content, and may they not anger us."

The neighbor who was helping also nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, these Ming soldiers are even more frightening than our Annamite idols. We have to take good care of them."

However, the mighty Ming Dynasty did not take advantage of them. Zhu Gaochi waved his hand and ordered his soldiers to bring out several boxes of self-heating meals and distribute them to the Annamese people to try.

The people of Annam took the box with the strange pattern printed on it, looked at each other, and didn't know how to eat it.

A Ming soldier stepped forward with a smile and demonstrated, tearing open the seal, pulling out the heating bag, pouring in cold water, and making a hissing sound as white smoke billowed out.

The Annamese people backed away in disbelief, but some of the bolder ones leaned forward to sniff it, and their eyes widened in astonishment: "What... what kind of magical object is this? How can it heat up on its own?!"

When the box was opened, the rice and braised pork inside were revealed, and the aroma was irresistible. The children's mouths watered.

The Annamese ate with gusto, their mouths glistening with oil, exclaiming as they ate, "This is the immortal food of the Ming Dynasty; eating it will grant you longevity!"

The ingredients served by the Annamese were actually not bad, but Zhu Gaoxi was not used to eating food made by these barbarians, and always felt that it was not very clean.

He had heard in his previous life that when traveling to certain places, seven or eight out of ten people would get diarrhea.

While Annam may not be as extreme as some countries where people eat with their hands, he considered its hygiene standards to be just average.

Therefore, he still uses outdoor mini-movies, combining ingenious design with gourmet meals.

With a wave of his hand, golden light flowed across the open space, and wood and stones flew about. In just a few breaths, a three-story exquisite wooden pavilion rose out of thin air, with upturned eaves, carved windows, and white jade steps leading to the door.

Once inside and seated, a long list of dishes was recited, and steaming hot food was already laid out on the table. The aroma wafted out through the window, enticing everyone around.

The Annamese officials, who were talking with the Ming generals, were stunned when they saw this scene. Their mouths were agape, wide enough to fit a watermelon.

An older official rubbed his eyes and patted his colleague on the shoulder: "Am I seeing things? That building...that building grew out of the ground?"

His colleagues were stunned, their eyes practically popping out of their sockets: "It's not an illusion, it's...it's real! That building is real!"

Several Annamese officials who understood the Central Plains language quickly grabbed the Ming soldiers next to them and asked, "Sir, that prince... no, that deity, what is his background?"

The Ming soldier chuckled and lowered his voice, saying, "You're lucky. That's our Prince Rui of the Great Ming Dynasty, a descendant of the Daoist Ancestor, a deity among immortals. He possesses countless supernatural powers; conjuring a building is nothing to him, moving mountains and filling seas is just a blink of an eye..."

"What? A descendant of the Daoist patriarch?" The Annamese officials gasped in unison.

"That's nothing," another Ming soldier added. "The rebels in those cities ahead were defiant and dared to fire arrows in resistance. But our Prince Rui's Ice, Fire, and Thunder Divine Arts annihilated them, leaving them crying for their parents. With a single pull of that gourd, tens of thousands were wiped out. As for your Xinfu County, if you hadn't surrendered in time, hehe..."

Several Annamese officials turned pale upon hearing this, yet they were also filled with relief. Most of them were Buddhists, and in their minds, they automatically translated "Taoist Ancestor" into "Buddha and Bodhisattva," and understood "supernatural powers" as "boundless Buddhist teachings."

The old official clasped his hands together and bowed repeatedly in the direction of Zhu Gaoxi, saying, "Thank God, our Xinfu County didn't go against the Bodhisattva. We're truly blessed."

The officials nearby chimed in, "Yes, yes, it's a good thing we surrendered, otherwise we would be like those rebels, taken away by the gods."

The Ming soldier patted him on the shoulder: "You guys are the wise ones who know when to yield. Our prince said that those who honestly submit are subjects of the Ming Dynasty. From now on, following the Ming Dynasty will bring you good days."

The Annamese officials nodded vigorously, then swallowed hard as they looked at the wooden pavilion that had sprung up out of nowhere and the aroma of food wafting from inside. They were still shaken: thankfully they hadn't gone against the Buddha and Bodhisattvas of the Ming Dynasty, or they would have been in deep hell!