Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

Zhang Fu then remembered something and cupped his hands in greeting to Zhu Gaoxi: "Your Highness, when can these military provisions be delivered? I will arrange for laborers and carts to transport them to the military camp ahead of schedule."

Just as Zhu Gaoxi was about to speak, Zhu Di put down his teacup first.

He leaned back in his chair and suddenly chuckled, a laugh that carried a hint of "I have a better idea": "In my opinion, this batch of military rations doesn't need to be transported from Prince Rui's residence. Fourth Prince, you might as well just conjure it up again at the military camp."

"Let the soldiers see with their own eyes that our Great Ming Dynasty has such a divine prince. This will boost morale more than any amount of military pay."

Zhu Gaochi immediately put down the dried meat in his hand, stood up abruptly, and shouted in a voice like a bell: "Yes, yes, yes! Father is absolutely right! Fourth brother, when the time comes, you'll just stand in the military camp, wave your hand, and the ground will be covered in grain!"

"When those soldiers saw that His Highness Prince Rui was personally bringing them food, and that it seemed to have appeared out of thin air, wouldn't their morale soar?"

Zhang Fu and Xue Lu, along with several other military officers, nodded in agreement.

Zhang Fu stroked his beard and said, "Your Majesty is absolutely right. When soldiers are on campaign, their greatest fear is running out of supplies. If they can see Prince Rui conjure up food out of thin air, the morale of the army will surely be greatly boosted, and this humble general can save a lot of effort in mobilizing troops."

Xue Lu nodded vigorously beside him, and Zheng Heng echoed his sentiments.

Yang Rong cupped his hands and smiled, "I also think this plan is excellent. It not only boosts morale but also saves a lot of money on laborers for transportation. The Ministry of Revenue has been worrying about the funds for the expedition these past few days, and Lord Xia Yuanji has been calculating the costs to the last drop."

"If His Highness Prince Rui could conjure up military rations right here in the camp, Lord Xia would probably be so happy he'd eat two extra bowls of rice." Several civil officials laughed.

Zhu Gaoxi nodded: "Then let's do as Father says. I'll just conjure it up in the military camp."

Zhang Fu was overjoyed and added, "Then I will thank Your Highness on behalf of the soldiers of the three armies."

After the matter was settled, the atmosphere in the hall relaxed a bit.

Zhang Fu sat down again, hesitated for a moment while holding his teacup, and then said, "Your Highness, I have another request."

"My good-for-nothing younger brother, Zhang Ni, has been granted the privilege of serving as the Deputy Commander of the Guards at Prince Rui's residence by His Majesty's grace. He is young and straightforward; if he does anything inappropriate, I hope Your Highness will be forgiving."

Upon hearing this, Jian Yi put down his teacup, cupped his hands in a respectful gesture toward Zhu Gaoxi, and spoke with the earnestness of an old father: "My son Jian Fang is also quite steady in his work at the Ministry of Personnel, but he is still young. Now that he has entered the Prince Rui's residence and is working by Your Highness's side, I am both happy and apprehensive."

If there is anything he has done poorly, Your Highness, please reprimand him without hesitation. Do not let him off lightly simply because of my personal feelings.

Zhu Gaoxi waved his hand, his tone calm: "Gentlemen, you flatter me. You were all personally selected by the Emperor, and you all come from distinguished families; your character and abilities are naturally beyond reproach. Now that you've entered the Prince Rui's residence, you're all family from now on, so let's look after each other."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhu Gaoxu slammed his hand on the table, making the tea in the cups slosh around: "Fourth brother, don't worry! If these lads dare to slack off or act lazy in the Prince Rui's residence, just tell your second brother, and I'll personally deal with them! One by one, none of them will escape!"

Zhu Di, holding his teacup, glanced at him sideways: "The emperor isn't worried, but the eunuch is. They're just officials from Prince Rui's residence. What does that have to do with you, Prince Han? You should manage your own people in Prince Han's residence first."

Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaosui had already slightly opened their mouths, wanting to echo the fourth prince's words. But upon hearing the old man's remark, "The emperor isn't worried, but the eunuchs are," they immediately swallowed their words, picked up their teacups, and lowered their heads to drink tea, their actions remarkably synchronized.

The old man was giving a warning to his second son, and also to all of them.

It means that the fourth prince will manage the people in Prince Rui's mansion himself, and you older brothers shouldn't interfere too much.

After discussing official business, Zhu Gaoxi wanted to invite everyone to stay for a meal.

"You're in for a treat today! This meal from your fourth brother is divine food!" Zhu Gaoxu's eyes lit up at the mention of "eating."

"We have important matters to attend to," Zhang Fu and the others said, rising to take their leave.

Just kidding, His Highness Prince Rui just said he wanted to collect good gourds, this is a rare opportunity to show off.

They have no relation to His Highness. If everyone else offers gourds and they come empty-handed, will they still get a chance to obtain the magic treasure?

The ministers left quickly, and in the blink of an eye, only Zhu Di, Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Gaosui, and Zhu Zhanji, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, remained.

At the dinner table, everyone took their seats, eagerly waiting for Zhu Gaoxi to summon a table of celestial delicacies.

Zhu Gaoxu, in particular, had an air of "Fourth brother, hurry up and cook some dishes, second brother is so hungry his stomach is practically sticking to his back."

Zhu Zhanji didn't complain about being hungry, but his eyes hadn't left the jade gourd at Zhu Gaoxi's waist since he entered the room, his gaze as bright as if he had discovered a new storybook.

Just as Zhu Gaoxi was about to raise his hand, he suddenly remembered something. Yesterday, when he was refining the gourd, he used his divine craftsmanship to create a bunch of experimental materials.

Gold, silver, jade, and emeralds were piled up all over the room. After finishing refining the gourd, he casually stuffed all of these things into two unused gourds.

Zhu Di always says he has no money? He originally planned to give it to Zhu Di when he came to the mansion another day, but since everyone was here today, he almost forgot.

To be honest, he had considered using his divine craftsmanship to directly conjure up a lot of gold and silver to enrich the national treasury.

However, for a country to function properly in the long run, things like taxation, finance, and currency circulation have their own inherent laws.

He can use supernatural powers to solve temporary difficulties, but he cannot rely on them to solve everything.

For the Ming Dynasty to truly become powerful, it couldn't rely solely on its ruler's ability to amass wealth. Of course, all of these are just high-sounding reasons.

The real reason is—I forgot to mention it earlier.

He withdrew his hand, did not order any dishes, and first turned to look at Zhu Di: "Father, didn't you just say that the national treasury was empty? Your son happens to have some things here, you can use them first."

As soon as he finished speaking, he gently patted the jade gourd at his waist. Two streams of light flew out from the gourd's mouth and landed in front of Zhu Di, transforming into two small gourds the size of his palm.

Zhu Di picked up one of them; it felt heavy in his hand.

Zhu Gaoxi explained from the side, "These two gourds each have a volume of about five cubic meters. They contain some gold, silver, and jade artifacts, which I casually obtained while refining the gourds. It's not much, but it should be enough to last for a while."

Zhu Di held the gourd in his palm, turning it over and over to examine it again and again.

Both gourds are made of Hetian jade, one red and one blue, with a delicate and warm texture and a faint bluish sheen. They are clearly not ordinary items.

He stared at the gourds for several breaths before looking up and asking, "Are these two gourds also magical artifacts you crafted?"

Zhu Gaoxi nodded and said that the gourd itself has its own space, which can be used for storage, but the space is not large. One can release cold air, which can be used to escape the heat in summer, and the other can be used to brew spiritual wine, which can improve one's constitution.

Zhu Di held the gourd, the smile on his lips impossible to hide. Zhu Gaoxi added, "This gourd recognizes its master in a slightly different way than the Somersault Cloud; it only requires a drop of Father's blood."

Zhu Di didn't hear clearly, thinking it required his life essence like the Somersault Cloud technique. Without a word, he rolled up his sleeves, revealing half of his arm: "Come on!"

"Father, what are you doing? I only need blood." Zhu Gaoxi's lips twitched when he saw Zhu Di's expression, and then he drew two drops of blood from Zhu Di's body.

A golden light flashed, and both gourds emitted a soft glow at the same time. Zhu Di immediately felt a strange connection being established in his mind.

He could clearly sense the space inside the two gourds. Five cubic meters wasn't a large volume, but it was filled with gold, silver, and various jade artifacts. The gold alone amounted to no less than ten thousand taels.

He opened his eyes, looked down at the two gourds in his hands, then looked up at Zhu Gaoxi. He could no longer suppress the smile on his lips and said, "Alright, I accept this token of my appreciation, Fourth Prince."