Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

"Let's go through the south gate; they'll steal all the credit!"

Those who missed the crowds and city defense troops surrounding Jianding at the North Gate were filled with regret as they watched the people at the South Gate receive their rewards.

"A gift from the Buddha and Bodhisattvas!"

"I should have gone through the south gate!"

"What nonsense! We've been paying homage to the Bodhisattva all the way here; this is something so many people long for!"

"Yes! It is a blessing we have accumulated over countless lifetimes to be able to see the Buddha and Bodhisattvas today!"

The few remaining guards around Jian Ding were all stunned when they saw the flash of white light and their wounds completely healed.

Their hands gripping the knives began to weaken, and the last vestiges of their ferocity dissipated. Whether it was sorcery or genuine Buddha or Bodhisattva, they had lost.

The sword in the hand of one of the guards clattered to the ground. He knelt down with a thud, clasped his hands together, and cried out, "Buddha, we surrender!"

"We surrender! We surrender!" The other guards also dropped their weapons and knelt down to beg for mercy.

"Jian Ding, you traitorous scoundrel, you rebelled and declared yourself king, you invaded the borders of my Great Ming and harmed the people of Annam. What do you have to say now?" Zhu Di, riding on the tiger's back, rebuked in a deep voice.

"Buddha and Bodhisattva... there really are Buddhas and Bodhisattvas..." Jian Ding seemed not to hear, his eyes were empty, and he kept repeating these few words.

His mood had fluctuated wildly throughout the day, and by this moment he had completely lost his mind, staring blankly at the Buddha's image, motionless.

"Come in." Zhu Gaoxi took out a gourd. Under the shadow of the Buddha, the gourd also gleamed with golden light.

A white light flashed from the gourd's mouth, and Jian Ding and the guards were taken inside. Jian Ding couldn't refine it now and had to be taken back to Yingtianfu for further processing.

Zhu Gaoxi put away the gourd, looked down at the kneeling people and city guards, and said loudly, "The Demon King has been subdued. From now on, you will live a good life. I will protect you forever. Those who have rendered meritorious service today, I will personally come to save them in their next life."

Upon hearing this, the people erupted in cheers and knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.

"The Buddha and Bodhisattvas are infinitely compassionate!"

May the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas live forever!

"We will certainly worship the Buddha and Bodhisattvas for generations to come!"

"To be able to see a Buddha or Bodhisattva in this lifetime is truly a blessing earned through three lifetimes of good deeds!"

The sound grew louder and louder, shaking the entire western capital.

Upon hearing this, the common people and city guards below knelt down in droves, kowtowing repeatedly. Some women wept, chanting Buddhist mantras incessantly. Some elderly people prostrated themselves on the ground, their hands trembling as they stretched out their hands, as if trying to catch the descending Buddha's light.

The entire palace gate was packed with kneeling people, their chants echoing like a tidal wave.

Subsequently, the army officially entered the city.

Zhu Gaoxi told the people to leave first, and then he would deal with the officials and generals who had followed Jian Ding in the rebellion.

Before entering the palace, Zhu Di had already dispatched a team of men, led by Annamese people familiar with the situation, to go to the residences of those traitors to arrest them.

These people were very enthusiastic, eager to point out every alley to the Ming soldiers, afraid of missing a single one.

Next came the confiscation and inventory. Jian Ding's looted gold, silver and jewels filled a warehouse, including cat's-eye stones, rubies, ivory, rhinoceros horns, and all sorts of other items.

Zhu Di let Zhu Gaoxi choose first. Zhu Gaoxi glanced at them but couldn't muster any interest. He could easily make these things with his supernatural powers. He only symbolically took a few small trinkets.

After he finished choosing, Zhu Di simply waved his hand and put the rest into his gourd.

"Father, I haven't picked anything yet." Zhu Gaoxu saw that his fourth son had picked out a few items, and he was thinking that he could pick out a few more, but Zhu Di took them all away.

"What are you picking at? Everyone in Yingtian Prefecture knows you're rich. The common people call you the Golden Bean Prince! You're richer than me, and you still want to pick..." Zhu Di said, his tiger eyes wide.

What followed was a journey through the harem.

"This is simple, he really knows how to enjoy himself." Zhu Gaoxu watched from the side, clicking his tongue in amazement.

In the inner palace, several young and beautiful concubines stood timidly under the corridor. They were the common women that Jian Ding had snatched from various prefectures.

These Annamese women have slender figures, fair and delicate skin, and a natural charm that comes from the south.

Several women, dressed in sheer fabrics, accentuated their curves, their eyes sparkling with a captivating charm.

Zhu Gaoxu almost drooled as he watched, while Zhu Di remained outwardly calm, though his eyes couldn't help but glance at him a few more times. If Zhu Gaoxi hadn't been there, the two of them probably would have already gone off to "observe the people's conditions," hoping to become fellow believers in Jian Ding's philosophy.

Zhu Gaoxu nudged Zhu Gaoxi and lowered his voice, "Fourth brother, what do you think of these concubines?"

After thinking for a moment, he continued, "Forget it, you're a celestial being, you certainly wouldn't care about these mundane things. Then, second brother won't stand on ceremony..."

Zhu Gaoxi: Second brother, why the hell did you force it on me? I didn't say anything, how can you be so impolite?

Zhu Gaoxi rolled his eyes at him, then took out the jade token and waved it: "Second Brother, are you sure you're not going to be polite? What about explaining this to Second Sister-in-law?"

Upon seeing the jade pendant, Zhu Gaoxu remembered its recording function, shrank back, and immediately deflated: "Second brother is joking! Second brother has a family, so disregard what I said. Let Father make the arrangements."

He usually takes photos of others secretly, but now it's his turn, and he's the one being controlled by the jade pendant.

Forget it, if my fourth brother messes with me, I'll mess with the old man and see what he says.

Zhu Di, displaying the air of an emperor, glanced at the scene and said, "Settle things first, we'll discuss it later. Today, we'll reward the troops with a banquet right here in the palace."

Next, Zhu Di ordered a reward for the three armies, and a grand banquet was held in the palace.

All the finest items from the Jianding Palace were brought out, and delicious wines and dishes were served in a continuous stream.

The people of Annam also brought out their own food to entertain the Ming army. There was plenty of lemongrass roasted chicken, rice wrapped in banana leaves, and meat dipped in fish sauce.

Seeing the enthusiasm of the people, Zhu Gaoxi decided to join in the fun and used his somersault cloud to conjure a huge cloud table, as big as half the size of the drill ground, which was suspended high above the palace.

This cloud table is truly enormous. It is entirely white, soft and thick, surrounded by swirling clouds, resembling a flattened auspicious cloud.

He planned to have the meritorious generals and soldiers of Yingtian Prefecture stand on this cloud when he returned to the capital. That formation would be just like heavenly soldiers and generals!

For now, we'll use this cloud table to distribute food to the people of Annam.

He activated the gourmet dining table, conjuring up countless fast foods: pork and scallion dumplings, beef buns, red bean buns, sesame seed cakes, roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe), and all sorts of snacks, piled densely on the cloud table.

With a sweep of his spiritual power, the food seemed to have eyes, dividing itself into portions that fell from the sky and landed steadily in front of people's doors or in their courtyards.

The people of Annam were celebrating when suddenly the sky darkened. Looking up, they saw a huge white cloud slowly passing overhead.

Immediately afterwards, piles of steaming buns, dumplings, and sesame seed cakes appeared out of thin air in their own yard and on the open ground in front of their door.

"The Bodhisattva has appeared! Food is falling from the sky!"

"The Buddha and Bodhisattvas not only helped us defeat the Demon King and saved our lives, but they also gave us food. We can never repay their kindness!"

"Namo Amitabha Buddha! The Bodhisattva has bestowed food upon us!"

"Eat quickly, eat quickly! This must be a gift from Buddha; eating it will ward off disasters and prolong your life!"

"This is divine food bestowed by the Buddha and Bodhisattvas! Quickly, worship!"

The people were overjoyed and knelt down to kowtow, repeatedly expressing their gratitude.

Throughout the entire western capital, the sounds of "Thank you, Buddha and Bodhisattva" and "I bow to Buddha and Bodhisattva" echoed everywhere, one after another, for a long time.