My hotel is full of emperors throughout history.

The night was deep and quiet in the hotel courtyard, with only the chirping of insects.

Liu Che lay on the bed, tossing and turning.

All I could think of were the AK47 and armored vehicles that Chen Mo had mentioned before.

He couldn't fall asleep no matter what he tried, so he simply got up and decided to go outside for a walk to clear his head.

As soon as he stepped out the door, he noticed a faint light in the corridor.

Liu Che was surprised and looked up when he arrived at the door.

"I remember it was... Old Zhu's room?"

He hesitated for a moment, and was about to raise his hand to knock on the door when he was surprised to find that the door was ajar.

"Huh? It's so late, and that guy's still discussing business with someone?"

Liu Che was puzzled, so he gently pushed the door open a crack and slipped inside.

As soon as he entered, Liu Che was stunned.

Inside the room, Zhu Yuanzhang was not resting, but was sitting around a small table with several other people.

Those people were none other than Ying Zheng, Zhu Di, and Li Shimin.

The four of them were clearly not expecting anyone to break in at this moment, and their conversation came to an abrupt halt.

Their eyes met, and the room fell into an extremely subtle and awkward silence.

Liu Che was the first to react, a hint of embarrassment flashing across his face as he realized he had been caught.

But soon, it was replaced by a sense of understanding that "you guys are the same too."

He coughed lightly, gently closed the door behind him, forced a "fellow traveler" smile on his face, and said in a low voice.

"Ahem...it seems...you guys can't sleep either?"

"Hmph! How can I possibly fall asleep without getting that treasure?"

Old Zhu hummed.

Li Shimin looked at Liu Che who had come looking for him and smiled helplessly.

"Since you're here, please have a seat."

Liu Che didn't stand on ceremony and went over to sit down.

He looked at the other four and smiled slightly.

"You all gathered here in secret, perhaps... because you, like me, are perplexed by that weapon?"

Li Shimin nodded.

"So, what solution have you come up with?"

Liu Che asked.

The four exchanged a glance and shook their heads.

"Aren't they discussing this right now? You came in not long after it started."

Li Shimin sighed.

"We've been discussing this for so long, but we still haven't come up with a solution."

Liu Che nodded upon hearing this.

"Then... shall we all think of it together?"

The room fell silent.

All five were deep in thought.

Finally, Li Shimin came up with a solution.

"Gentlemen, since Manager Chen says things are strictly controlled here, why don't we just state our identities directly, and perhaps... exchange information?"

Li Shimin paused for a moment, then continued.

"Could we exchange the treasures and rare artifacts of the Tang, Han, Qin, and Ming dynasties for a little support from their local government?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Old Zhu let out a cold laugh.

"Li Er, you're too naive!"

Old Zhu leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice even further.

"Let me ask you, if one day you discover that a secret realm suddenly appears within your Great Tang territory."

"And this secret place, after exploration, dates back to... the Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States Period, no... the Xia and Shang Dynasties."

Old Zhu looked at Li Shimin with a mocking gaze.

"So you'll do business with him calmly and peacefully, exchanging goods and services?"

"Or... will they immediately deploy a large force to firmly control this secret realm, have someone observe it, and then directly lead troops in to seize its resources?"

"Since it's all mine after I rob it, why would I do business with you?"

Old Zhu sneered.

"The basis for doing business is that the difference in strength between the two parties is not that great."

"Comparing us to them now?"

Old Zhu sneered repeatedly.

"Even the Xia and Shang dynasties I mentioned earlier are considered late; it should be compared to the era of Yao, Shun, and Yu in our Great Ming Dynasty!"

"Putting everything else aside, just look at those tanks. How many of you here could stop them?"

As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, the entire room fell into a deathly silence.

"I was just being presumptuous."

After a long silence, Li Shimin shook his head with a wry smile.

"To come into contact with the government is like a child carrying gold in a bustling market; not only will you not get the gold, but you will also bring about your death."

"A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime!"

Old Zhu snorted coldly.

"Good. Here, we must remember that Manager Chen is the only bridge."

"Once things are truly exposed, we may be nothing in the eyes of this world."

"At most, he was just... a former emperor."

Old Zhu chuckled and looked at Li Shimin with amusement.

"As far as I know, there is no emperor here anymore."

"What do you think will happen to us emperors if we're discovered and they actually attack our territory?"

Li Shimin remained silent.

He might be willing to communicate, but he doesn't dare to take the risk.

If they are unwilling to communicate, there's nothing he can do; at worst, he can only prevent them from coming over.

But wouldn't that be like having a treasure mountain that you can't use?

Everyone sighed.

The room fell silent again.

Suddenly, Zhu Di thought of a method and immediately spoke up.

"Then... shall we secretly go outside and buy it ourselves?"

As soon as he finished speaking, all the emperors looked at him as if he were a fool.

Old Zhu, in particular, had a look in his eyes that said, "How could I have given birth to such a stupid son?"

Zhu Di blushed and shouted.

"What's wrong? Is this method not working?"

Li Shimin sighed.

"Didn't you hear Manager Chen say before that buying it wasn't difficult, but shipping it back was?"

"I'm asking you, how did you get it shipped back after you bought it?"

"Hiss~!"

Zhu Di also fell silent.

The group exchanged glances and sighed.

Finally, Liu Che spoke.

"What do you say... let's build it together, okay?"

"impossible!"

Old Zhu immediately denied it, looking dejected.

"Our Ming Dynasty had such a long technological lead over yours, yet we couldn't even handle the most ordinary rebar, let alone manufacture firearms."

"Yeah! That's true, I tried it when I got back, but it was no use."

Zhu Di also sighed, looking distressed.

"It also wasted quite a few of my good knives."

"We have those long-range guns and cannons where we live, but they're nothing like what Chen described!"

"Although I can fight, but..."

Old Zhu sighed.

"It would probably take at least a century to manufacture the kind of firearms they produce."

"By then, we'll all be gone, and who knows how the situation will have changed?"

Upon hearing this, the others all sighed.

Ying Zheng looked at everyone with a resentful expression.

"Are we five emperors really incapable of coming up with a solution?"

"Then think of one!"

Old Zhu raised his head, looking dejected.

"We want a working method, but we don't have one, do we?"

Everyone fell silent again.

Time passed slowly, and the night outside grew increasingly dark.

Finally, Old Zhu stood up.

"To hell with it! Forget about it. Even without those guns, our Ming Dynasty can still sweep away the Northern Yuan!"

Old Zhu's gaze swept over the crowd.

"Did you have anything to eat before that?"

Zhu Di and Liu Che both shook their heads.

Liu Che touched his belly.

"You know what, I'm actually a little hungry too."

Liu Che looked at Li Shimin.

"Do you still have any instant noodles?"

Li Shimin pondered for a moment.

"There should still be some, but I don't know where Manager Chen put them."

Old Zhu was silent for a while, then looked at Zhu Di.

"Fourth brother, are you hungry?"

Zhu Di touched his belly.

"That's true, I always felt like I wasn't full after having hot pot for dinner."

"Okay, go and get the instant noodles!"

"I?"

Zhu Di pointed to himself and hesitated.

"What if Manager Chen is asleep?"

"Why didn't you just take it secretly?!"

Zhu Di pondered for a moment.

"Isn't this stealing?"

"I, the mighty Yongle Emperor! You want me to steal that instant noodle stuff?!"

"I'm telling you... No! Dad! No, no, no! I'll go, okay?!"