I was to be executed by Zhu Yuanzhang, and Empress Ma smashed Zhu Yuanzhang's jade seal.

On the long street, the white-robed youth who had controlled the rhythm of the entire scene from beginning to end moved once again.

He did not look again at his father, who was now heartbroken and despondent, on the city wall.

Instead, it slowly turned its horse around and faced north.

He turned to the more than 300,000 comrades who had followed him in the icy and snowy north of the Great Wall, fighting the Tartars for three years.

He didn't speak.

There were no gestures made.

He slowly, very slowly, removed the golden phoenix-winged crown from his head, which he had been wearing while riding a horse.

His full head of jet-black hair was revealed.

Then, he dismounted and planted the gleaming silver spear in the snow in front of him.

He straightened his floral battle robe and dusted off his armor.

Finally, to everyone's astonishment, he knelt on one knee before the northern army and the more than 300,000 brothers who had shared life and death with him, and performed a perfectly standard military salute!

"I am Zhu Muying!"

His voice was no longer flat and mocking, but filled with endless vicissitudes and sincerity.

"Today, here!"

"Thank you to my 300,000 brothers in the northern frontier, who have remained loyal and devoted for the past three years, even risking their lives for me!"

"This kindness, Mu Ying, will never forget!"

After saying that, he buried his head deeply, very deeply.

There were no grand pronouncements, no promises of benefit.

The simplest and most sincere expression of gratitude from a commander to his soldiers.

This kneeling was more powerful than any command!

This kneeling made heaven and earth pale in comparison!

"boom!"

The northern army, that silent dark cloud, erupted completely at this moment!

"Your Highness!"

"It's Your Highness!"

"His Highness hasn't forgotten us!"

Countless veterans from the northern frontier could no longer control their emotions when they saw Zhu Muying kneeling down; their eyes were filled with tears, and they wept uncontrollably.

Who are they?

They are the Northern Frontier Army!

They were cannon fodder forgotten by the imperial court in the harsh northern lands, receiving the least amount of military pay, fighting the most arduous battles, and dying without anyone to collect their bodies!

Three years ago, this boy came to be among them.

He ate sand with them, drank snow water with them, and rolled around in piles of dead bodies with them.

He would remember the name of every centurion.

During the Lunar New Year, he would personally send a resettlement allowance to each soldier's family.

After the battle, he would personally comfort the bodies of the fallen soldiers and tell them, "Brothers, rest in peace. I will take care of your families!"

In their hearts, he was no longer a prince or a prince.

He is their pillar of strength!

They are the sky!

They are their gods!

Now, their god is kneeling before them!

How could they possibly bear this?!

"Roar—" Someone was the first to let out a beastly roar.

Immediately afterwards, more than 300,000 Northern Frontier troops simultaneously unleashed a roar that shook the heavens and the earth!

That roar was neither an expression of loyalty nor a command.

Just to vent!

They vented all their grievances, all their longing, and all their fervent worship of this boy over the past three years!

They neither knelt down nor changed their flag.

They are simply expressing their attitude in the most direct and purest way.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

More than 300,000 swords were drawn simultaneously!

Countless blades, under the gloomy sky, converged into a blinding, deathly silver sea!

They raised their swords high, not at the city walls, not at the emperor.

Instead, it was aimed at the sky!

They are using this method to tell everyone.

Their swords are drawn for only one person!

Their lives burned for only one person!

The wolves howl in the northern frontier, and the world returns to heroes!

On the city wall, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the silver sea of ​​blades and listened to the roar that could make even ghosts and gods retreat. The last light in his eyes was completely extinguished.

He knew that he had even lost his last illusions.

This world no longer belongs to the Zhu family.

It was Zhu Muying's world all to himself.

The blades were like a forest, pointing straight to the sky.

The howl of wolves shook the heavens and the earth.

The 300,000-strong army in the northern frontier declared their allegiance in the most resolute and awe-inspiring way.

At this point, Zhu Yuanzhang secretly mobilized the four armies that besieged Nanjing: the Tiger Guard, the Eagle Guard, the Longjiang Navy, and the Northern Frontier Army, totaling nearly 500,000 troops. In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, they all defected!

Apart from the trembling civil officials on the city wall and the few imperial guards around Zhu Yuanzhang, everyone holding weapons in front of Chengtian Gate became Zhu Muying's subordinates.

The outcome of this incredible gamble is already decided.

Moreover, the winner was decided in the most unbelievable and mind-blowing way.

A deathly silence reigned atop the city wall.

Zhu Yuanzhang slumped on the dragon throne.

He spent his life fighting and scheming against the world; when had he ever suffered such a crushing defeat?

He even felt that all of this was like an absurd nightmare.

He wished someone would shake him awake and tell him that it was all a lie.

However, the roaring sounds of the city below, the gleaming forest of swords, and the cannons aimed at him all reminded him that this was reality.

It is a reality more cruel than any nightmare.

The civil officials around him were already terrified.

Hu Weiyong collapsed to the ground, completely giving up on thinking. His eyes were vacant as he stared at the sky, muttering repeatedly, "It's over...it's all over..."

Li Shanchang leaned against the wall and slowly closed his eyes.

He knew that the history of the Ming Dynasty had been completely rewritten today.

From now on, history books will probably no longer record a significant mention of him as the founding Left Chancellor.

What will replace it is a new era, one that is more glorious, and also more terrifying.

And the one who ushered in this era was that twenty-year-old boy standing below the city.

Below the city gate, however, lies a completely different scene.

Xu Da, Chang Mao, Lan Yu, and other military generals who had just been on the verge of death were now filled with ecstasy and excitement.

Nowhere to be found!

No, this is no longer a narrow escape!

This is witnessing a miracle unfold right before our eyes!

They watched the white-robed youth slowly rise from the ground, put on his golden crown again, and pick up his spear, their eyes filled with awe and fervor.

"Good heavens...am I dreaming?"

Lan Yu pinched himself hard, wincing in pain, before he could believe what he was seeing. "This kid... this kid is a monster, isn't he? Half a million soldiers! Just a few words, a few moves, and they're all his?"

Chang Mao was equally bewildered: "I've lived most of my life and never seen anything so bizarre! Even when His Majesty raised his army, he didn't have this much influence, did he?"

Only Xu Da looked at Zhu Muying's retreating figure with a complex expression.

He knew that this was neither evil nor monster.

This is human nature.

It was Zhu Muying who won people's hearts through three years of hard work, countless life-and-death experiences, and a burning sincerity.

He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world.