Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

Zhu Gaoxi waved his hand with a smile: "There are plenty of these. If Father Emperor wants them, I'll get you a few more later. You can take them all back to the palace to guard the gate."

Zhu Di nodded in satisfaction and uttered a few words: "It still has to be the fourth son."

The cards were being shuffled around the card table with a clatter, and the group chatted as they played, eventually turning to the topic of going to war.

Zhu Di picked up a card: "With the Fourth Prince by my side, I feel much more at ease on this expedition to Annam. We want to show those restless vassal states what the strength of our Great Ming Dynasty is now. Don't think that just because there are a few mountains and seas separating us, we can cause trouble over there."

Zhu Gaochi immediately chimed in, his voice booming as if he were already charging into battle: "Don't worry, Father! This time, I'll definitely show them what it means to be utterly routed! Those Annam rebels, I always said we should have fought them a few more rounds, and this is the perfect opportunity to make up for it!"

Zhu Gaoxi said in a relaxed tone, "Father is right. This campaign against Annam will be a crushing defeat for us. Let's just consider it a trip to stretch our muscles and relax. To be honest, I feel a bit stifled staying in Yingtian Prefecture all day. Let's go over there to see the scenery and teach these barbarians a lesson."

Zhu Gaochi put down his teacup, shook his head with a smile, and said with a hint of envy and regret, "To be honest, my third brother and I also want to go. It's not that we're greedy for fighting, but we mainly want to see for ourselves how our fourth brother can stand on the battlefield, unleash his supernatural powers, and terrify the enemy into abandoning their armor and weapons. That would be so exhilarating."

In the past, wars were fraught with peril, and soldiers had to write their wills before each campaign, facing the dangers of the battlefield. Now, with Zhu Gaoxi around, what risk is there? It's just a trip.

"It's a pity we have to oversee the country, so we're destined not to go." Zhu Gaosui nodded slightly beside him, a hint of longing flashing across his face.

Zhu Di glanced at his two sons and said decisively, "You two stay in the capital and oversee the country. If we all leave, who will manage the court? Although the fourth son is very capable, we still have to do the basic work of governing the country ourselves."

"Boss, keep an eye on the water conservancy work and don't let those guys in the Ministry of Works slack off. Third brother, pay close attention to the seagoing vessels. When Fourth brother conquers those overseas territories, we'll need your ships to take over."

Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaosui nodded in agreement.

Zhu Gaoxi, standing beside him, added with a smile, "Don't worry, eldest brother and third brother, just stay in the capital and oversee the country. I'll bring you gifts when I return. What specialties does Annam have? I'll pack a gourd for each of you."

Zhu Gaochi smiled and thanked him, then added, "Fourth brother, you must still be careful on the battlefield. Although you have supernatural powers to protect you, weapons have no eyes, so you must not be careless."

Zhu Gaosui rarely spoke at length: "Eldest brother is right. Fourth brother, go safely and return safely."

Zhu Gaoxu, growing impatient from the sidelines, waved his hand dismissively, his tone brimming with arrogant disdain: "You two are just worrying nonsense! With Fourth Brother around, isn't it a piece of cake? Even without Fourth Brother, I could still rout them. Now that I have him, those Annamese are less than ants!"

He got more and more excited as he talked, and almost smashed the card table. He only withdrew his hand after being glared at by Zhu Di.

Zhu Gaoxi nodded with a smile, but the smile gradually faded.

He paused for a moment, seemingly considering his words, then raised his head, his tone much heavier: "Father, I have an idea. After the war in Annam is over, could we perhaps fight the Jurchens and the Japanese in the northeast first?"

There was a moment of silence at the card table.

Zhu Di was reaching for a card when he heard his fourth son talking about war. His finger hovered over the card, and he looked up at him.

Zhu Gaochi's gaze fell on Zhu Gaoxi.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaosui raised his head, his eyes filled with a hint of inquiry.

They all knew the fourth brother well; he never spoke so seriously, and he would never bring up war.

Zhu Di put down the card he had just drawn, his voice deepening: "Fourth Prince, what were you thinking when you suddenly brought up these two places? What supernatural power did the Daoist Ancestor impart to you that's related to these two places?"

Zhu Gaochi didn't think much of it and immediately declared, "Wherever my fourth brother tells me to attack, I'll attack! I don't care if it's the Jurchens or the Japanese; if my fourth brother says to attack, then there must be a reason!"

After saying that, he raised his chin at Zhu Gaoxi with a "Second brother supports you" expression.

Zhu Gaochi frowned slightly, his tone gentle: "Fourth brother, your elder brother would also like to hear why you chose to attack these two places first. Is there something we don't know?"

Zhu Gaosui nodded as well. Xu Jingchang stood to the side, holding a teacup, quietly watching his cousin and waiting for his explanation.

Zhu Gaoxi took a deep breath, his smile completely vanishing, and said in a heavy tone, "I have indeed used my supernatural powers to see the future. Several hundred years from now, the Jurchens in the Northeast will grow strong, they will enter the Central Plains, and establish the Qing Dynasty."

"In that dynasty called the Qing Dynasty, Han Chinese were massacred in cities more than once. The three massacres of Jiading killed hundreds of thousands of people. The ten-day massacre of Yangzhou emptied the entire city, and the corpses were piled higher than the city walls..."

He paused for a moment, his voice growing even deeper: "And then there's Japan, the homeland of those Japanese pirates. Centuries later, they'll come from the sea, burning, killing, and looting their way through. At Port Arthur, they massacred the entire city, more than 20,000 people, leaving only thirty-odd people to collect the corpses."

"In Nanjing, they killed more than 300,000 people, regardless of gender or age. They didn't even spare infants, pregnant women's bellies were cut open, and civilians were buried alive, burned, or used as targets for bayonet practice. They were not human, but beasts in human skin."

The card table was so quiet that only the sound of the wind could be heard.

Zhu Gaochi's eyes were bloodshot. He stood up abruptly, his chest heaving violently, his Adam's apple bobbing several times before he finally managed to squeeze out a single sentence through clenched teeth: "Beast! Beast! How can there be such a beast in the world! I'll wipe this Japanese country off the map in my lifetime, or I'm not Zhu!"

Zhu Di's face was frighteningly dark, and every word seemed to be bitten into pieces before being spat out: "How could there be such beastly behavior in the world? Those who are not of our race are bound to have different hearts. I have always known this principle, but I never expected that these people of different races could do such heinous things."

"How tolerant our Han dynasty has been towards them! Countless foreign countries and small nations have received the rewards and favors of our Great Ming. The Jianzhou Jurchens and the Japanese, I have remembered them."

Zhu Gaochi was always benevolent and loved his people like his own children. He never liked fighting and was even less willing to kill anyone. Otherwise, he would not have been known as Emperor Renzong.

But now, sitting in his chair, his face was trembling slightly. After a while, he raised his head and spoke with a firm and resolute voice: "Big brother, I will give you my full support. Even if I have to sell everything I own, I will raise the military funds and we will definitely take down these two 'E'da'."

Zhu Gaosui's tone was also very cold: "Father, I will immediately order the Embroidered Uniform Guard to dispatch men to the Jurchens and Japan to gather intelligence. The terrain, troop strength, fortresses, and supply routes must all be thoroughly investigated. When the army is mobilized in the future, the Embroidered Uniform Guard can serve as the vanguard."

Xu Jingchang, who had been standing quietly to the side, couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "This is a beast in human skin, even worse than a beast."

He took a deep breath, his voice filled with suppressed anger, "Cousin, I have more than a hundred guards at my disposal in the manor. I'll go with you then, and I'll help you raise the funds if you don't have enough."

Zhu Di raised his hand and pressed it down, his tone decisive and ruthless: "The matter of Annam should be dealt with first. After Annam is pacified, I will lead my troops north to first destroy the Jurchens, and then conquer Japan."

"After these two battles, I will ensure that the Jianzhou Jurchens and the Japanese are no more in this world. Any man taller than a cartwheel will be executed. Women will be enslaved."

Zhu Gaochi, listening from the side, frowned deeply, his face full of displeasure: "Father, you are too merciful! Why wait until they were higher than a cartwheel before killing them? Why not just kill them all? These beasts, do they even deserve to be allowed to reproduce?"

Zhu Di glared at him: "Kill them all? Do you think killing people is such a simple thing? Killing them all is easy, but who will farm the land, who will serve others, who will atone for their sins? Dying is too good for them; letting them live as slaves is the real punishment."

Zhu Gaoxu opened his mouth, but he couldn't get over the old man's words, "Slay all those taller than a cartwheel." Why did they have to be taller than a cartwheel? Wouldn't it be simpler to just kill them all?

But he couldn't come up with a reason to refute it, so he scratched his head in frustration, and suddenly a person flashed through his mind—Li Wenzhong.

In terms of seniority, Li Wenzhong was Zhu Yuanzhang's nephew and Zhu Di's cousin, so Zhu Gaoxu had to call him his uncle. But in terms of reputation for killing, this uncle was a true god of war on the battlefield, and compared to him, Zhu Gaoxu felt that he was practically soft-hearted.

Rumors circulated that Li Wenzhong's method of dealing with prisoners was to "execute anyone taller than a cartwheel," but it is said that when he measured cartwheels, he laid them flat on the ground. A flat cartwheel is no more than a few inches high; it is unacceptable for it to be even an inch higher than the ground.

Thinking of this, Zhu Gaoxu lowered his head, gently rubbed the husky's head twice, and groaned softly.

The dog in his arms had its ears turned inside out from being rubbed so much. It looked up at him blankly, but when he didn't react, it lowered its head and resignedly lay on his arm.

When we actually get to the battlefield, whether the wheels are placed higher or lower than the cartwheel is entirely up to me.