Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

He never wanted to kill his own brothers. Over the years, his second and third sons had always competed with him, but he had never truly laid a hand on them. It wasn't that he couldn't, but that he couldn't bear to.

Moreover, what Zhu Di feared most in his life was fratricide. When Emperor Jianwen reduced the power of the princes, it led to the destruction of the Prince of Yan's family, which prompted Zhu Di to launch the Jingnan Campaign. His nephew, Zhu Yunwen, remains missing to this day, a fact that Zhu Di regretted for half his life.

Now look what's happened, his son has roasted his second uncle.

Zhu Gaochi put down the jade token, his face pale and beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Zhu Gaosui poured him a cup of tea and whispered comfortingly, "Brother, don't worry. That was all before Fourth Brother. Now that Fourth Brother is here, such things won't happen."

"I didn't expect Zhanji to be so ruthless; he even roasted my second brother alive."

"I said a few words to him a few days ago. Tell Zhanji not to hold a grudge. I'll bring him something delicious next time."

Zhu Gaosui had just finished speaking the previous sentence when he paused for a moment, then quickly continued with the next sentence, a faint smile on his face.

Zhu Gaochi took the teacup, both amused and exasperated, unsure of what to say. In the book, his son had turned his second uncle into roast chicken; in reality, his third uncle was already scheming about how to "offer sacrifices" to save his life.

Moreover, given the third brother's personality, he speaks a mix of truth and falsehood, half joking and half sincere.

Hey, what kind of mess is this?

He calmed himself down and continued flipping through the pages.

Turning to the events after Zhu Zhanji ascended the throne, we see that he stopped the voyages to the Western Ocean and abandoned Jiaozhi, which had been conquered by Zhu Di.

No wonder the old man was dissatisfied in the group chat; these two things were the culmination of Zhu Di's life's work.

Further on, we see that Zhu Zhanji became obsessed with playing with crickets and was jokingly called the "Cricket Emperor." The reason why the old man forbade Zhanji from playing with crickets was actually here.

Overall, Zhu Zhanji's achievements were quite respectable, and he can be considered a wise ruler. It's just that he died too young, in his thirties.

Then turn the page and you'll reach the section on Zhu Qizhen.

When Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaosui saw the news of the "Tumu Crisis," their expressions changed.

"Five hundred thousand troops, just like that, gone?" Zhu Gaochi gripped the jade tablet, his voice rising involuntarily. "That bastard! His grandfather, his great-grandfather, the wealth accumulated over generations, all wiped out in one battle!"

"Brother, this isn't the end of it." Zhu Gaosui pointed to the next few pages. "Look, he's back, and..."

He pointed, his tone suddenly rising, "They even killed Yu Qian? Yu Qian! The greatest contributor to the defense of Beijing! Without Yu Qian, this country would have been finished long ago! He...he..."

Zhu Gaosui was so angry that he couldn't speak a complete sentence. He picked up his teacup, took a big gulp, and slammed it heavily on the table.

"That brat Zhanji really needs to be disciplined from a young age!" Zhu Gaochi also lost his temper and slammed the jade tablet on the table.

"He doesn't even care about his own son, spending all his time playing with those stupid crickets. Look what he's done to our Ming Dynasty! Half a million soldiers are gone just like that. When I get back, this kid's studies will have to be doubled!"

The two continued flipping through the pages, growing increasingly silent with each reading.

The emperors who came after them were obsessed with alchemy, cultivating immortality, or carpentry; they had all sorts of quirks and few of them were serious about ruling the country.

Zhu Gaochi leaned back in his chair with his plump body and sighed deeply: "Why does the Ming Dynasty always produce so many troublemakers?"

On the other side, Empress Xu and her daughters-in-law also saw Zhu Qizhen's scene.

Empress Xu slammed her hand on the table in anger: "That brat Zhanji, how could he have given birth to such a useless son! He's infuriating me!"

"Mother, please calm down," Zhang Yan quickly advised.

"Eldest daughter-in-law, you and the Crown Prince are also responsible for this." Empress Xu glanced at Zhang Yan and added, "And your father, he prides himself on being wise and powerful. Look at the Crown Prince's consort he chose for Zhanji."

"Your daughter-in-law wouldn't dare," Zhang Yan said, bowing her head and not daring to reply when Empress Xu mentioned Zhu Di's responsibilities.

She dared not speak ill of the emperor.

Anyway, it's really lively in the palace and in the group chat today.

Meanwhile, on the other side of time and space, in the fourteenth year of the Zhengtong reign, in the Forbidden City of Beijing.

Zhu Qizhen was sitting in the imperial study, cross-legged, cracking two walnuts in one hand.

Zhu Qizhen was wearing a crimson dragon robe, a gold-embroidered winged crown adorned with several large pearls, a piece of mutton-fat jade hanging from his waist, and thick-soled black boots.

He had been looking forward to this day for a long time. He followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, personally leading the army to intimidate the northern deserts and let those Oirat barbarians know what it meant to be the emperor of the Celestial Empire, the army of kings.

Zhu Qizhen became increasingly pleased with himself, a smile playing on his lips, as if he could already see himself returning in triumph, with all the officials kneeling to welcome him.

"Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!"

Just as he was feeling quite pleased with himself, Zhu Qizhen suddenly sneezed three times in a row, causing one of the walnuts in his hand to fall to the ground.

"Who is insulting me?" He rubbed his nose and frowned.

A young eunuch holding a whisk quickly stepped forward, his face beaming, "His Majesty is the supreme ruler! Who dares to insult His Majesty? If this servant finds out who it is, he'll be the first to be punished!"

"In my opinion, it must be because the officials and common people in the capital have been talking about His Majesty's reputation lately, knowing that His Majesty is going to personally lead the army. With so many people around, His Majesty naturally sneezed."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Qizhen was overjoyed. He placed the walnuts on the table and laughed heartily, "You really know how to handle things! Your words are pleasing to the ear. A generous reward awaits!"

The young eunuch hurriedly kowtowed to express his gratitude, his face beaming with joy. He thought to himself, "Great! I've hit the mark with my flattery again today. This man is none other than Wang Zhen."

In Annam, Zhu Di, Zhu Gaoxu, Zhang Fu, Mu Sheng, and others were discussing their next steps in the main camp.

Zhu Gaoxi also participated in this military meeting, which was quite rare.

He leaned back in his cloud chair, and after everyone had explained the terrain and defenses of Xidu, he slowly spoke: "Father, generals, I have a suggestion."

"Fourth brother, what do you say?"

"To end the war in Annam as soon as possible, I'll just open a portal to Xidu and head straight for it," Zhu Gaoxi said bluntly.

"Alright, fourth brother, we'll do whatever you say, let's finish this quickly!" Zhu Gaoxu was the first to jump up in response, supporting his fourth brother's idea.

"General Mu Sheng, General Zhang Fu, you are more familiar with the terrain of Annam. If we are teleported to Xidu, which location would be more suitable for launching an attack?" Zhu Gaoxi asked the two veteran generals.

Zhang Fu, Mu Sheng, Qiu Fu, and a few others gathered around the map and examined it for a long time.

Finally, Zhang Fu pointed to a spot on the map and said, "The North Gate is the best. Outside the North Gate is a vast, flat valley with large paddy fields, very spacious. The official road leading north leads directly to Thang Long, and the main road is wide enough to deploy tens of thousands of Ming troops, camps, and siege equipment."

"Alright. We'll march on Xidu in a bit. Zhang Fu, Mu Sheng, you two go and prepare the troops." Zhu Di made the decision.

"Your subordinate obeys." The men took their orders and left.