Ming Dynasty: The Jingnan Rebellion has just been successful, and Zhu Yuanzhang has been resurrected

Chapter 182 Fatty, Time to Lose Weight: Zhu Yunwen's Personal Charm
Young eagle and mature eagle—the two differ by only one character, but the differences between them are vast.

A mature eagle can stand on its own, but a fledgling eagle cannot.

When Zhu Di, Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaoxu, and others were around, who would dare to bully Zhu Zhanji? That would be tantamount to courting death. However, after these people left one by one, Zhu Zhanji had to shoulder all the remaining responsibilities on his own.

Historical facts have proven that Zhu Zhanji was simply incapable of shouldering the responsibility.

Of course, Zhu Zhanji was not an incompetent person, but compared to Zhu Di, Zhu Gaochi, and Zhu Gaoxu, he was still too inexperienced, which was also related to Zhu Zhanji's life experience from childhood.

From childhood, Zhu Zhanji was showered with love and affection; his life was too smooth.

A smooth path doesn't quite fit with an emperor. An emperor should be lonely, cold-blooded, resolute, or even ruthless and vicious. All of this suggests that an emperor's path cannot be too smooth. A path that is too smooth can easily be ruined by some unexpected event.

In fact, Zhu Zhanji may have been very intelligent, and he may have had the opportunity to lead the Ming Dynasty to even greater heights. However, he was spoiled during his upbringing.

Zhu Di's doting on Zhu Zhanji was undisguised, partly due to the affection between grandparents and grandchildren, and partly due to considerations of passing the throne to the direct line. Zhu Di did not particularly like Zhu Gaochi, so he extended that affection to Zhu Zhanji.

Zhu Zhanji was indeed intelligent and pleased Zhu Di. This situation led many people to misunderstand and think that Zhu Gaochi ascended the throne because Zhu Di liked Zhu Zhanji, which is quite absurd.

It is true that Zhu Di loved war, but the moment he led his troops into Yingtian Prefecture, his mindset had already shifted from that of a prince to that of an emperor. He was very clear that although he did not like Zhu Gaochi, he could only pass the throne to Zhu Gaochi in order to stop the chaos in the Ming Dynasty.

This reveals the emperor's ruthlessness. Zhu Gaoxu was Zhu Di's favorite son, and the son who fought alongside him throughout his conquest of the empire. However, in the end, Zhu Gaoxu was used as a pawn by Zhu Di.

An emperor must be ruthless and cunning. An emperor who is not ruthless and cunning can never be a good emperor, because there are just too many deceitful and treacherous things that an emperor faces. If he is not strong enough, he simply cannot control everything, just like Zhu Zhanji.

Secondly, Zhu Zhanji's distorted upbringing was also influenced by Zhu Gaochi. Due to the oppressive influence of his father, Emperor Zhu Di, Zhu Gaochi was unwilling to let his son be like him, so he chose to spoil Zhu Zhanji's upbringing.

Zhu Gaochi's methods of educating his son were not wrong, and were even excellent. However, the biggest problem was that Zhu Gaochi died too early, and he did not have time to cultivate Zhu Zhanji.

Zhu Gaochi's sudden death caused huge problems in Zhu Zhanji's life, which foreshadowed a series of tragedies in the Ming Dynasty and became a very critical juncture in the history of the Ming Dynasty.

From this point on, the power of the civil officials of the Ming Dynasty began to emerge. As for the Tumu Crisis of Zhu Qizhen, it was just the seed that took root, sprouted, blossomed, and bore fruit. Even without Zhu Qizhen, there would have been other emperors. In any case, there would always be a battle that would break the backbone of the military generals.

"Uh..." Zhu Gaochi was taken aback when he heard Zhu Yunwen's words. He was somewhat surprised. He did not expect that Zhu Yunwen would bring up the topic of him losing weight at this time.

No, is it really appropriate to talk about him losing weight in this situation?

"Swish swish swish!" Lan Yu, Li Jinglong, Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Di and others all turned to look at Zhu Gaochi, their eyes flashing with surprise. They were all shrewd people, and they knew very well what it meant for the emperor to care about their weight loss.

“Brother, His Majesty is right, you really should lose some weight,” Zhu Gaoxu said with a smile, snapping out of his daze first.

"That's right, Gao Chi, you should lose some weight. You're really too fat, it's not good for you."

"You brat, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and give His Majesty your attitude!"

"."

Everyone spoke out one after another.

Zhu Gaochi listened to everyone's words, looking somewhat bewildered.

"Let's go!" Zhu Yunwen didn't ask Zhu Gaochi to make any promises on the spot. He patted Zhu Gaochi on the shoulder and strode forward.

Zhu Di walked over, looked at Zhu Gaochi with a strange expression, and said, "Fatty, were you on good terms with His Majesty before?"

"No!" Zhu Gaochi shook his head and said, "Father, why do you ask that?"

"Strange, if the relationship wasn't very good before, why would His Majesty suddenly care about you so much?" Zhu Di frowned, his eyes filled with deep doubt.

Zhu Gaochi was stunned for a moment, a wry smile appearing on his face. The next second, a strong sense of curiosity arose in his heart: "Father is right. This is only the first time Your Majesty and I have met. Why are you so concerned about me?"

To put it bluntly, his father had never said those caring words that Zhu Yunwen had just spoken to him.

"Phew, whatever, it's a good thing anyway!" Zhu Di took a deep breath, came to his senses, shook his head, and followed Zhu Yunwen.

"Big brother!" Zhu Gaoxu walked over and called out to Zhu Gaochi.

Zhu Gaochi was stunned for a moment, staring blankly at Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Gaoxu smiled and said, "Big brother, you heard me right, it was me calling you. I was a little immature before, please don't hold it against me."

After following Zhu Yunwen, he understood many things and now respected his elder brother Zhu Gaochi from the bottom of his heart.

"Second Prince, what are you saying? It seems you've grown a lot by His Majesty's side!" Zhu Gaochi sighed, his face full of satisfaction.

He had always been the one who worked quietly, and was scolded by his father Zhu Di and looked down upon by his two younger brothers Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui. He never expected that one day Zhu Gaoxu would say these words to him.

At that moment, he felt incredibly happy, as if he had drunk honey.

As the eldest brother, Zhu Gaochi was absolutely competent in dealing with his two younger brothers, Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui.

Zhu Gaoxu nodded, agreeing with what Zhu Gaoxu said, "I have indeed learned a lot by His Majesty's side. You'll know once you get to know him. His Majesty has a special charm."

Zhu Gaochi smiled and said, "Second son, you may not believe it, but I can already feel His Majesty's charm."

Zhu Gaoxu's eyes flashed with surprise upon hearing this, then he nodded and said, "No wonder His Majesty values ​​you so much, elder brother, your abilities are indeed remarkable."

Yingtian Prefecture, the Imperial Prison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

After writing the letter, Zhu Yunwen returned to Huangjue Temple.

Zhu Yuanzhang summoned Jiang Huan and asked him to deliver the letter written by Zhu Yunwen to Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai.

"Have you heard? His Majesty won a great victory in Liaodong and took the Northern Yuan traitors away with a vengeance."

"Of course I've heard about it. It's said that His Majesty didn't rest at all and went straight to Liaodong to fight the Northern Yuan rebels. He defeated them quite easily."

"The Great Snow Dragon Cavalry and the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry are truly terrifying. Tell me, how did His Majesty train such formidable troops?"

"Who knows? The Embroidered Uniform Guard has been investigating for so long, but they've reportedly found no clues at all. It's as if the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry and the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry just fell from the sky."

"Forget it, let's not worry about that. What do you think, can His Majesty conquer the grasslands?" "Well... I originally thought it was impossible, but now I've changed my mind. His Majesty might really conquer the grasslands and bring the Ming Dynasty to a whole new level."

"His Majesty is truly a Son of Heaven. He is incredibly ruthless, and his treatment of his soldiers is impeccable. If it weren't for the founding emperor, His Majesty wouldn't have needed to launch this campaign."

"."

The prison guards were all talking excitedly about Zhu Yunwen, and each of them had a face full of fervor.

Although they were prison guards and couldn't go to the battlefield with Zhu Yunwen, that didn't stop them from admiring him.

As mentioned before, many of Zhu Yunwen's actions are very persuasive and easily make him popular.

Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai listened to the guards' conversation, looking at each other in bewilderment.

At this moment, their feelings were incredibly complex. They were both happy that the Ming Dynasty had given the Northern Yuan a sound thrashing, and saddened that Zhu Yunwen had no chance at all.

Previously, they had secretly prayed that if Zhu Yunwen suffered a defeat in Liaodong, their current predicament would be instantly resolved.

To their utter surprise, what they ultimately witnessed was Zhu Yunwen's resounding victory in Liaodong. Moreover, he faced the well-rested and exhausted Northern Yuan forces with his exhausted troops, and as a result, he shattered the Northern Yuan.

"Sigh, maybe this is fate!" Qi Tai shook his head, a bitter look on his face.

The victory on the Liaodong battlefield was not only a victory for the Ming Dynasty against the Northern Yuan, but also symbolized that Zhu Yunwen had completely secured his throne, and Zhu Yunwen had no chance at all.

"Damn it, what are those Northern Yuan traitors doing? How can they be so weak!" Huang Zicheng cursed with a dark face. With this defeat of the Northern Yuan, Zhu Yunwen had no chance at all.

Qi Tai took a deep breath, looked at Huang Zicheng beside him, and said, "Old Huang, do you think our persistence is really meaningful?"

"Huh?" Huang Zicheng was taken aback by Qi Tai's words. Then, he frowned and looked at Qi Tai with hostility, saying, "Lord Qi, what do you mean by that? What do you mean by saying that our persistence is meaningful?"

Qi Tai fell silent for a moment, letting out a long sigh in his heart.

Zhu Yunwen's performance was truly outstanding. Although he was Zhu Yunwen's confidant, it had to be admitted that the Ming Dynasty was far better off in Zhu Yunwen's hands than in Zhu Yunwen's.

"Lord Qi, are you planning to follow in Fang Xiaoru's footsteps and join that traitor Zhu Yunwen?" Huang Zicheng asked with a grim expression.

Qi Tai shook his head and said, "Old Huang, don't get too excited. We're already at this point, so there's no need to be so tense about many things."

Huang Zicheng was taken aback upon hearing this, then the anger on his face slowly faded, and he was momentarily lost in thought before collapsing into a slump.

Indeed, both he and Qi Tai had been imprisoned in the Imperial Guard's prison, and their lives were already on the verge of ending. At this point, it seemed that there was no need to dwell on many things.

Seeing Huang Zicheng's expression, Qi Tai said, "Although I am also very reluctant to admit it, the grandson of the Emperor Yunheng is far superior to His Majesty."

Huang Zicheng opened his mouth, then said with a blank face, "You're right, Zhu Yunwen is indeed very outstanding, but His Majesty is not bad either. If His Majesty had the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry and the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry under his command, His Majesty could easily repel the invasion of the Northern Yuan bandits."

"Your Majesty repelled the Northern Yuan rebels?" Qi Tai was speechless for a moment. He knew clearly in his heart that if it were Zhu Yunwen, he most likely would not have personally led the expedition.

"It is said that the purpose of Prince Yuntong's northern expedition is to conquer the grasslands. What do you think of this?" Qi Tai asked.

He didn't argue with Huang Zicheng because it was pointless.

Huang Zicheng thought for a moment and said, "This is unlikely. The more probable thing is that Zhu Yunwen will destroy the Northern Yuan. Of course, it is also possible that he will just wander around the grasslands and then return to Yingtian Prefecture."

“Conquering the grasslands, Prince Yuntong really dares to dream. Even the Great Ancestor’s greatest dream was nothing more than to destroy the Northern Yuan. He never even considered conquering the grasslands,” Qi Tai said.

Huang Zicheng's expression was complicated, and he remained silent.

In terms of conquering the grasslands, he also had some admiration for Zhu Yunwen.

This goal is exceptionally ambitious!
"Squeak!" At this moment, the door of the imperial prison opened, and Jiang Huan stepped in.

"grown ups!"

"grown ups!"

A group of prison guards greeted Jiang Huan when they saw him.

"Hmm!" Jiang Huan nodded slightly and strode towards Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai.

When Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai saw Jiang Huan walking towards them, they immediately stopped talking and fell silent.

Both men knew that Jiang Huan's arrival at this moment was very likely to send them on their way, but neither of them felt the slightest bit of fear.

They were prepared to die as soon as they decided to enter Yingtian Prefecture.

With a "whoosh," Jiang Huan arrived in front of Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai, tossed Zhu Yunwen's letter to them, and then left without saying a word.

"What's going on?" Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai looked at the scene before them, somewhat astonished.

However, neither of them said much.

After Jiang Huan left, the two picked up the letter, opened it, and read its contents.

After a while.

After reading the contents of the letter, the two of them stared blankly into space.

"His Majesty."

Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai exchanged complicated glances; this letter was Zhu Yunwen's last letter.

The letter made it very clear that Zhu Yunwen would henceforth become a monk and never again concern himself with the throne, and that the Ming Dynasty would be ruled by Zhu Yunwen.

At the same time, Zhu Yunwen also persuaded the two of them in the letter to let go of their hatred for Zhu Yunwen.

"Creak!" At this moment, the gate of the imperial prison opened again, and Fang Xiaoru stepped in, bowing to the jailer in front of the gate: "Thank you for your trouble!"

(End of this chapter)