Starting with the divine power of the Great Vajra, he traversed the heavens.

Chapter 302 We're going straight for the heart of the enemy!

Zhu Yuanzhang hid at the bottom of the well, gazing at the moonlight as clear as a mirror in the sky, and seeing Zhong Zhongyou's ferocious smile, his heart trembled with fear.

Immediately afterwards, a whistling sound came from the wellhead, as Zhong Zhongyou struck with his palm.

The wind from his palm was chilling, like a vengeful ghost demanding a life.

Zhu Yuanzhang leaned against the corner of the wall, curled up in a ball, trembling.

In a daze, he seemed to have returned to Poyang Lake, sitting on his warship, and the incredibly brave man appeared before him again.

Zhang Dingbian!
Facing the same situation alone, feeling helpless, this moment is just like that moment before.

However, at that time, Chang Yuchun saved his master with an arrow, causing Zhang Dingbian to retreat with injuries.

So now, who can save him?

Just as Zhu Yuanzhang was in despair, he suddenly heard a faint whistling sound.

He was startled and quickly looked up.

Suddenly, the moon in the sky turned blood red, and a girl with a ball-shaped hairstyle stood in front of the moon, making only three movements.

Take the throwing knife, that dark iron one, which could withstand the divine sword "Capturing Dragon".

He waved his hand, a gentle wave as if brushing away mosquitoes in front of him.

Finally, the girl murmured, "Sleeve God Flying Knife, one strike and all is done." Then she murmured a name to the flying knife.

"Zhong Zhongyou!"

The throwing knife vanished without a trace.

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Yuanzhang heard the sound of wind whistling, and his eyes widened, because he saw a throwing knife "plop" out of Zhong Zhongyou's throat.

They swayed in the air for a moment, then suddenly flew back into Hongxiu's hand.

Zhong Zhongyou's sinister smile abruptly stopped, a hissing sound emanating from his throat as blood spurted out, like a whispered song carried on the wind.

But this time, he heard his own blood.

thump!
Zhong Zhongyou tumbled into the well, crashed heavily to the ground, convulsed twice, and died.

Only those eyes were fixed on Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang, gazing into Zhong Zhongyou's unseeing eyes, flew into a rage. He drew his sword and, with a sharp "snap," severed Zhong Zhongyou's head. Clutching it in his hand, he pulled Zhong Zhongyou closer. A vicious shout echoed from the darkness:
"Traitors, let's see who kills whom?!"

After saying all that, he casually tossed away the dead man's head, followed by a violent coughing fit.

At this moment, blue flames lit up above, and Ren Shaoyang peeked in, his body radiating a soft, ethereal light, like a deity.

"Is His Majesty well?"

Zhu Yuanzhang hastily wiped his face with his dragon robe, looked up, and burst into laughter: "Sword God Ren, we're not so easy to kill!"

Ren Shaoyang laughed and said, "Your Majesty's spirit is as fierce as a tiger that can swallow ten thousand miles."

Zhu Yuanzhang's white eyebrows twitched, and he laughed heartily, "I am truly pleased to receive praise from Sword God Ren!" He struggled to his feet, looked down at the headless corpse, and sneered, "Sword God Ren, this place is filthy. Please help me leave."

Ren Shaoyang nodded and said, "Your Majesty, do not resist. I will take you out." As he spoke, he flicked his left hand, and with a "whoosh," a thin blue thread shot out.

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly felt a great force coming from his waist, and his whole body spun around. Before he could react, his eyes lit up and he found himself under the starlight, with fresh air rushing towards him.

The old emperor was dizzy and excited, but his body was weak and powerless. He had gone through many hardships tonight and had been on the verge of death several times, but when he looked up at the two figures, one white and one red, one tall and one short, he was filled with joy.

Despite not being familiar with them, and even having previously harbored murderous intentions, seeing them now, he couldn't help but feel reassured. His fear and unease poured out, transforming into a burst of laughter.

"Hahaha! Thank you, Sword God Ren, and thank you, Miss Hongxiu!"

Ren Shaoyang smiled and asked, "What will Your Majesty do next?"

Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a moment, then slowly asked, "Sword God Ren, what is the current situation in Jinling City?"

Ren Shaoyang then recounted what he had seen and heard.

Zhu Yuanzhang listened in silence. After he finished speaking, he pondered for a moment before looking up at the two of them: "Sword God Ren, Miss Hongxiu, I have a favor to ask. I wonder if you two would be willing to grant it?"

Hongxiu looked at the old emperor and raised an eyebrow slightly: "Grandpa Emperor, do you want to fight your way back to the palace?"

“That’s right!” Zhu Yuanzhang said in a deep voice, “We’ve never lost a battle in our lives, how can we avoid the third son’s sharp edge this time?”

Ren Shaoyang said, "The Prince of Jin is entrenched in the palace; they are all rebels. Why doesn't Your Majesty wait for the Ghost King to arrive?"

"No need to wait!" Zhu Yuanzhang waved his sleeve and shouted, "If I'm not mistaken, Brother Xu should be on his way to the palace! Right now, Fourth Brother is fighting outside, and Third Brother's attention is entirely on him. At this moment, hey, let's launch a surprise attack and surely teach him a crushing defeat!"

Hongxiu smiled and said, "Grandpa Emperor trusts Prince Yan very much."

Zhu Yuanzhang's white eyebrows trembled slightly as he stared blankly at the sky. After a long while, he slowly said, "Fourth brother, besides the eldest, he is the one who resembles us the most. He will not let us down."

After saying these words, the old emperor's face turned red and then white, and he began to cough again.

Seeing this, Hongxiu quickly stepped forward to help him up.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt a breath of spring breeze and felt much better. He turned to look at the little beggar and said with warmth in his eyes, "Miss Hongxiu, if you were our descendant, I might entrust the Ming Dynasty to you."

Hongxiu chuckled: "Is the Emperor making fun of me? I'm just a little girl who loves to eat, play, and have fun. The burden of the world is too heavy for me to bear."

"You're harmless most of the time, but when it comes to being ruthless, you're more ruthless than anyone else." Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but praise you. "You can also play dumb and make everyone like you. Hongxiu, if you had been born in the Tang Dynasty, Wu Mingkong probably wouldn't have stood a chance."

Zhu Yuanzhang was stern and ruthless. After Zhu Biao's death, he rarely praised anyone, not even his own children.

Now, when he praises the little beggar, it's genuine; his face is full of wrinkles from smiling.

Hongxiu smiled, her big eyes like crescent moons, feigning politeness.

After exchanging a few jokes, the three of them headed towards the main gate.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at the two of them furtively. In the firelight, Ren Shaoyang and Ren Hongxiu looked perfectly normal, with smiles on their faces.

The old emperor turned around, frowning slightly, thinking to himself, "Two little foxes." Ren Shaoyang and Hongxiu saw right through his little tricks, and they also curled their lip, cursing inwardly at the same time, "Old bastard!"

The three of them walked out onto the street, which was deserted except for piles of fire burning and the smell of blood filling the air.

Just then, several people suddenly appeared from the front. Zhu Yuanzhang shouted, "Who goes there?" and turned to hide behind the two men.

Ren Shaoyang pressed down on his shoulder and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, we're one of our own."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked closely and saw Xu Ruowu leading Han Bai, Jing Cheng Leng, Tie Qingyi and others striding towards him. He was overjoyed.

"Brother Xu, you've arrived?!"

Xu Ruo did not bow, but smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I am late in coming to your rescue. You have suffered."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said softly, "You've come at the right time." He then asked, "How is the palace now?"

Xu Ruo Wudao said, "I captured a eunuch from the Prince of Jin's residence. After interrogation, I learned that most of their troops were in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the rest were guarding the palace leaders and members of the royal family in the Hall of Illumination, and the remaining imperial guards were gathering outside the Forbidden City to support the Prince of Yan."

"Hmm~" Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, then asked, "Where are the people from the Heavenly Mandate Sect?"

Xu Ruowu's eyes flickered, and he said, "I have already found out about my adopted daughter Bai Fanghua, Duke Cao Li Jinglong, and..."

"Speak!" Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was as cold as ice.

“Consort Chen.” Xu Ruo did not answer. “These people are all leaders of the Heavenly Mandate Sect. Except for Li Jinglong, the rest have been taken into custody and will be dealt with by His Majesty.”

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Kill them, dig out all the traitors of the Heavenly Mandate Sect, and leave no survivors."

"Yes!"

With just a few words, these two people decided the lives of thousands, even tens of thousands of people, as if it were nothing.

Ren Shaoyang glanced at the little beggar: "If you were the emperor, could you be this ruthless?"

Hongxiu chuckled: "I won't delegate this to anyone!"

Ren Shaoyang raised his eyebrows: "You're ruthless and vicious! Just as Old Zhu said, if you went to the Tang Dynasty, Wu Zetian would have been out of the picture."

"Hehe!" The little beggar stuck out his tongue.

Ren Shaoyang and Hongxiu were having an encrypted chat in the Heart Lake.

Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent for a while, then suddenly laughed and said, "The Heavenly Mandate Sect! They've actually planted so many spies in Brother Xu's residence, right next to us."

Xu Ruowu's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he said in a low voice, "This humble subject has failed in his duty of supervision. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

"Hey! Why punish you?" Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and chuckled again.

Everyone was taken aback. Hongxiu couldn't help but lean over and ask, "Grandpa Emperor, why are you laughing?"

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed smugly, "I laugh at the Heavenly Mandate Sect for being blind and placing their bets on the third son! This scoundrel has been seen since childhood, he has petty cleverness but no grand strategy, he's easily swayed, has a poor temperament, and can't hold his temper! He's so easily instigated by the Heavenly Mandate Sect's demons, humph, he's truly hopeless!"

The old emperor walked ahead and chuckled, "If I were a member of the Heavenly Mandate Sect, I would not seek cooperation with the third brother; I would be looking for Yunwen instead!"

Ren Shaoyang and Hongxiu stared wide-eyed at each other, admiring the old emperor's sharp eyes but also his terrible prediction.

That's right, your great-grandson Zhu Yunwen is indeed entangled with the Heavenly Mandate Sect.

Zhu Mengde!
Xu Ruowu frowned and interrupted, "Your Majesty, what brilliant plan do you have now?"

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed heartily, a ruddy glow spreading across his face. Pointing triumphantly at the Forbidden City, he asked, "Old Xu, do you still remember Zhang Dingbian?"

Xu Ruowu's expression changed, revealing a look of horror: "Your Majesty, could it be..."

“That’s right!” Zhu Yuanzhang laughed. “Let’s learn from Zhang Dingbian and strike straight at the heart of the enemy!”

Xu Ruowu hurriedly advised, "Your Majesty, there are thousands of people and troops inside the palace at this moment. Why should you risk your life? The best course of action now is for me to lead men to Zhaoming Hall to rescue the princes..."

What's the point of saving them?

Zhu Yuanzhang said dismissively, "Back then at Poyang Lake, we seized the opportunity and burned Chen Youliang's son of a bitch's warships. Brother Xu, what do you think of the third brother compared to Chen Youliang?"

Xu Ruowu remained silent, but his eyes were filled with helplessness.

Indeed, Chen Youliang almost defeated the two of them back then, and now he's comparing the unfilial Prince of Jin to such a powerful and ruthless figure.

Are they criticizing themselves?

Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Brother Xu, today we join forces again, full of vigor and high spirits. Can you feel the smoke of battle on Poyang Lake back then?"

Xu Ruowu smiled with his eyes lowered, cupped his hands and said, "General, please give the order!"

"Hahaha!"

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed loudly, then asked, "Strategist, how many people did the third prince bring into the palace?"

"Three hundred skilled fighters."

Looking at the Forbidden City, which was beginning to take shape, Zhu Yuanzhang asked again, "Where is the Hall of Supreme Harmony?"

"At least five thousand people."

At this moment, shouts of battle, the clash of weapons, and screams of agony drifted from afar.

"Ha, the fourth brother is really brave."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled, offering a comment that sounded like praise, before turning to look at the crowd.

"Gentlemen, please follow me to the Hall of Supreme Harmony!"

The old emperor strode forward like a lion, his old eyes gleaming.

"What we've lost, I will personally take back!"

(End of this chapter)