Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

Inside the Annamite palace, generals like Zhang Fu and Zheng Heng also had hearty appetites, clinking glasses and eating with gusto. All the fine wines and delicacies that Jian Ding had plundered were brought out.

Mu Sheng sat at the table like a greenhorn, having only just met Prince Rui today. When the people at the table talked about Prince Rui, he could only understand a little bit of what they were saying.

Seeing him like this, the others took turns telling him stories, each more enthusiastic than the last.

"Old Mu, do you know how we crossed the Changjiang River? His Highness sucked in half the river's water with his blue gourd. Then he released it, and wow, the waves were higher than the city walls, flattening the Annamese water fortress!" Zheng Heng took a swig of wine, wiped his mouth, and spoke with great enthusiasm.

"That's nothing," Zhang Fu chimed in. "You know Ailiu Pass, right? His Highness used three gourds: one to freeze on the left, one to burn on the right, and then a thunderbolt in the middle. The city walls and the garrison were all gone. We went up there just to clean up the battlefield."

Mu Sheng's eyes widened as he listened, looking like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world.

Qiu Fu chuckled beside him, pointing at the lemongrass roasted chicken in front of Mu Sheng and said, "Old Mu, don't just listen, eat! These Annamese barbarians may not be good at fighting, but they're quite skilled at roasting chicken."

Mu Sheng snapped out of his daze, took a big bite of the chicken leg, and mumbled, "So His Majesty and His Highness... just swept through like this?"

"Of course it's true! Otherwise, how could we have taken Xidu in such a short time? You saw how we conquered Xidu today," Xue Lu chimed in.

After a hearty meal and drinks, Zhu Gaochi, for the sake of his conquest and to accelerate his global rule, began to reward those who had rendered meritorious service. Zhu Di simply offered his full support, as he too desired to be deified.

Zhu Gaoxi looked around and slowly said, "Generals, you have all contributed greatly to this campaign against Annam. Today, we will begin by rewarding the commanders who led the campaign."

As he spoke, a flash of golden light appeared from his sleeve, and several objects materialized out of thin air on the table.

Zhang Fu, Qiu Fu, and Mu Sheng felt a blur before their eyes, and when they looked again, each of them had a small somersault cloud and a dark blue gourd in front of them.

The gourd was exquisitely crafted, with fine cloud patterns carved on its body, and faint shimmering light seemed to move within it.

"These somersault clouds can travel a thousand miles a day without any effort from human labor. When used in conjunction with a mount, they can travel at low altitudes on clouds. The gourd can store beasts and clouds. Normally, the mount can be stored inside, and released when needed, which is very convenient."

Zhu Gaoxi then turned his gaze to Mu Sheng, "General Mu, you have come from Yunnan with great difficulty and have just been introduced to the new military system. Therefore, I will give you a lion mount and a communication jade token as a bonus."

Upon hearing this, Mu Sheng was stunned for a moment, not expecting to receive a reward. He abruptly stood up, lifted his armor, and knelt on one knee: "This humble general, Mu Sheng, kowtows to thank His Highness Prince Rui for his generous gift! This humble general is willing to serve His Highness to the death, even at the cost of ten thousand lives!"

Zhu Gaoxi raised his hand in a gesture of support: "General Mu, please rise."

Mu Sheng then stood up tremblingly and sat back down at the table, not knowing where to put his hands.

Qiu Fu patted him on the shoulder and chuckled softly, "Old Mu, how's it going? Feeling good about receiving His Highness's reward?"

Zhu Gaoxi then looked at Zhang Fu: "General Zhang, keep an eye on the soldiers' rewards. First, compile a list and distribute them according to their battle merits. I've left the rewards with the officials in Prince Rui's residence; you can deal with them directly. Once the list is compiled, I plan to select another group of outstanding soldiers to form a patrol guard, which will be equivalent to the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the sky."

The standard equipment for the patrol guards included a gourd-shaped magical artifact, a somersault cloud, and a jade communication token. He had already discussed this idea with Zhu Di on the way, and Zhu Di strongly supported it.

Some people might ask, what if they run away after we send these things out?

Don't forget, the communication jade tablet has a control panel. Through the tablet, Zhu Gaoxi can know everyone's location at any time. Run? Where to run?

When he announced the formation of the Imperial Guard, the ministers were stunned. The Imperial Guard in the sky?!

"Great, excellent!" Upon hearing Zhu Gaoxi's idea again, Zhu Di couldn't help but slap his thigh and shout his approval.

"With the Imperial Guards patrolling the heavens and the Embroidered Uniform Guards on the ground, these corrupt officials and local colluders will have nowhere to hide! Let's see who dares to play dumb with the court from now on!"

"Yes, Fourth Brother!" Zhu Gaoxu also got excited, stood up abruptly, and picked up his wine bowl.

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard was already enough to give them a hard time, but with you, the patrol guard, these people have nowhere to hide! From now on, if any official is dishonest, our brothers in heaven will see it as soon as they look down, and they'll be sure to make him regret it! Come on, drink up for this patrol guard!"

"Cheers!" The generals stood up in unison, their bowls clinking together, wine splashing everywhere.

"Your Highness Prince Rui is wise!" Zhang Fu and the others echoed, though they secretly worried for those corrupt officials.

The Imperial Prison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard is already terrifying enough; imagine if the patrol guards were to have a third eye on it—it's frightening just to think about.

After several rounds of drinks...

"Father, when are we going to another dynasty?" Zhu Gaoxi couldn't help but ask, thinking about the new supernatural power he had today.

After all, he hadn't tried out this new supernatural power yet.

"Yes, Father, when are we going to other dynasties?" Zhu Gaoxu's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he put down his wine bowl and came over.

"Just thinking about that Zhu Qizhen of the Zhengtong Dynasty makes me furious! And that little bastard, he burned his own uncle to death! Just thinking about it makes my hands itch; I wish I could go over there right now and yank the covers off his bed!"

"Hmm, let me think about it." Zhu Di replied verbally, but the image of the Hongwu era involuntarily popped into his mind, followed by the imposing face of Zhu Yuanzhang.

His heart tightened, and a slight chill ran down his back.

No, we can't rush this. We can choose another dynasty to visit.

"May I ask Your Majesty, what is the 'other dynasties' that Prince Rui refers to...?" Zhang Fu stepped forward first, cupping his hands in greeting as he asked.

"This? Second son, you explain it to them." Zhu Di directly named Zhu Gaoxu, passing the task on to him.

He thought to himself, "Isn't the second son a show-off? It's a good opportunity to let him speak, and I can also give my voice a rest."

"Your subject obeys!" Zhu Gaoxu's eyes lit up, and he stood up abruptly.

For some reason, whenever his fourth brother's name was mentioned, he would get really into it and become eager to try it out.

"Old Zhang, Old Qiu... come here, come here. This is a long story, but I'll make it short."

"My fourth brother's new supernatural power allows him to travel between the various dynasties of the Ming Dynasty, going wherever he wants!" Zhu Gaoxu announced proudly, looking as if this supernatural power was his own.

"Fourth brother, father, can we show them that book about the fate of our Great Ming Dynasty?" Zhu Gaoxu said, then turned to ask Zhu Gaoxi first, and then Zhu Di. The order in which he asked the questions revealed something.

"I don't care," Zhu Gaoxi said casually.

"Well, those present are all veterans who have risked their lives with me. Let them see." Zhu Di waved his hand.

He had a clear plan in mind. He would use this book to warn them, to make them follow the fourth brother wholeheartedly, and that if they wanted to see their relatives in the future, they would have to work hard to make contributions.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Zhang Fu and the others said in unison.