Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

Zhu Di, along with Zhu Gaochi and others, arrived nearby. Zhu Zhanji peered down from the clouds and asked, "Father, is that big guy the leader of the Oirats?"

Zhu Gaochi nodded: "Yes. It was him who almost wiped out our Ming Dynasty's 500,000-strong army."

Zhu Zhanji's little face hardened, and he waved his little fist: "Then I'm going down and beat him up too!"

Empress Xu quickly pulled him back: "You're just a child, don't talk nonsense. Your second and third uncles are in charge of things like fighting and killing."

Zhu Zhanji pursed his lips, glanced down again, and muttered softly, "Alright then, I'll take a look."

Esen had completely lost his temper. He knelt on the ground, head bowed, watching the tiger's claws that had come riding on clouds stop in front of him, and the gleaming battle sword resting on his shoulder.

He swallowed hard and said in broken Chinese, "I...I am willing to surrender. I only ask...I only ask His Highness the King of Han to forgive these people of my tribe."

Several Oirat generals beside him also kowtowed, pleading for mercy in broken Chinese: "We beg Your Majesty of the Celestial Dynasty to have mercy! We beg the gods to spare our lives! We were only acting under orders, it was not our own intention!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaochi laughed: "Heh, you Tartars, why didn't you think of your tribes when you besieged my Great Ming? Now you're begging for mercy?"

He turned and shouted back, "Father! Fourth Brother! This old bastard still wants us to spare his tribe!"

Zhu Di lowered his cloud slightly, his gaze lingering on Esen for a moment, and said in a deep voice, "Esen, now that you have surrendered, I can spare your tribe's life. But you must remember, from this day forward, if the Oirats dare to invade even an inch of my Great Ming territory, I will personally lead my heavenly army to raze your royal court to the ground."

Esen repeatedly kowtowed, saying, "I dare not! I dare not again! The Oirat Mongols will forever be subjects of the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Di stopped looking at him and turned to Zhu Gaosui, saying, "Third brother, tie him up."

Zhu Gaosui jumped off the tiger's back, untied the ox sinew rope from his waist, and quickly bound Esen tightly.

Esen did not resist and let him tie him up, only lowering his head, like a vicious wolf whose bones had been removed.

Zhu Zhanji poked his head out from the clouds and called out in a childish voice, "Third Uncle! Tie him up tight! Don't let him escape!"

Zhu Gaosui looked up and smiled: "Hey, you've even got your third uncle on your side. Don't worry, your third uncle has never let anyone break free when he's tied someone up."

This is no exaggeration. Zhu Gaosui had been trained in the Embroidered Uniform Guard for many years and repeatedly won the title of "Outstanding Embroidered Uniform Guard".

Putting everything else aside, just in terms of the skill of tying people up, he dares to say he's second to none in the entire Embroidered Uniform Guard.

He can tie up all sorts of knots—snake-like knots, inverted hoof knots—with his eyes closed, he can create all sorts of elaborate ties. Once he's tied you up, not even a cow, let alone a person, can break free.

Zhang Fu also caught up with the rear guard at this time. As soon as he arrived, he dismounted and respectfully bowed to Zhu Di and the others in mid-air.

Then, he strode towards Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui, a smile plastered on his face, and clasped his hands in greeting, saying, "Your Highnesses, I am late!"

Upon seeing Zhang Fu, Zhu Gaochi immediately adopted a "mission accomplished" posture, riding on his tiger mount and looking down at him, saying, "Old Zhang, you guys are too slow! I've already finished fighting here, and you're only just arriving! Any slower and you wouldn't even have gotten a sip of soup!"

Zhang Fu's lips twitched, but he smiled respectfully: "Your Highness, you flatter us. We are only riding ordinary horses, how could we compare to Your Highness's cloud-riding speed? Our horses' legs are almost broken from running all this way, it's a miracle we caught up."

He spoke politely, but in his heart he was cursing: "You're riding a tiger flying in the sky, while we're running on four legs on the ground, of course you're fast! And you think we're slow? You come down and run a few steps yourself!"

However, Zhang Fu had seen the scene of Zhu Gaoxu raising his sword to command the heavenly thunder from afar.

The silver lightning that crashed down annihilated the Oirat vanguard, and he still felt a chill run down his spine when he thought about it.

He glanced at Zhu Gaoxu, then at the others in the sky, and wondered to himself: These people from the Zhu family, they all say they haven't become immortals, but what else could their ability to summon heavenly thunder be but divine skill?

He had just heard the King of Han mutter something, vague and indistinct, probably some kind of incantation. What was that "Si Di" or "Zhu Wo"?

Hmm, it must be some kind of thunder magic spell.

Thinking of this, Zhang Fu forced a smile and flattered, "However, His Highness the Prince of Han just now displayed his heroic bearing in the air, summoning thunder to obliterate the Oirat vanguard. We all saw it clearly!"

"Yes, yes, yes! That thunder was terrifying! My horse was so frightened it almost ran away!"

"His Highness the Prince of Han is truly powerful and capable!"

"If it weren't for His Highness the Prince of Han summoning heavenly lightning, our Tumu Fortress would have suffered a great loss!"

The generals behind Zhang Fu also chimed in, praising him in unison.

Their gazes towards Zhu Gaochi had shifted from shock to utter awe. That was heavenly lightning! What else could someone be but a deity who could summon heavenly lightning?

Zhu Gaochi was thoroughly pleased by the flattery and waved his hand smugly, "Of course, of course. I'll just take a little action to teach those Tartars a lesson, so they won't think our Great Ming is incompetent!"

"Hmph, look at how smug he is! I don't know what this has to do with him!" Zhu Di said in a low voice to Empress Xu beside him in mid-air.

Empress Xu covered her mouth and chuckled: "Alright, the second prince did put in some effort just now. Let him be smug for a bit. Besides, he learned it from you."

"I am not like him!" Zhu Di denied, sticking his neck out.

"Alright, alright, I didn't learn it from His Majesty. I learned it from me, is that alright?" Empress Xu didn't argue with him.

She knew perfectly well that Zhu Gaoxu's penchant for showing off was clearly inherited from Zhu Di.

This father and son are practically identical.

Previously, when Zhu Di said that this son resembled him, she hadn't noticed how much of a resemblance he was. But since the family relationship became harmonious, she now sees him as more and more like him.

"Father, wasn't that lightning just released by Fourth Uncle? Look how happy Second Uncle is!" Zhu Zhanji whispered to Zhu Gaochi while lying on the cloud.

"This is an adult matter, kids shouldn't meddle. And don't say anything out of line later, your second uncle has been wanting to beat you up for a long time," Zhu Gaochi whispered in admonition.

He read in the book that his precious son would roast the second child someday.

The second prince might still be holding a grudge. With his father and mother keeping things in check, he's unlikely to do anything to Zhanji right now. But if Zhanji says something to offend him, things could get complicated. It's best to be careful.