Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

After the inspection, everyone returned to the high platform. The beasts stood quietly beside their respective masters. Because they were controlled by the Beast Taming Technique, there was no need to worry that the beasts would fight because they were so close together.

The soldiers below seemed to have their eyes glued to these ferocious beasts, their eyes practically glowing green.

Zhang Fu stepped forward and roared loudly to the crowd below, "Wake up! Stop looking! You saw those beasts just now—tigers, lions, elephants. Do you want them?"

The soldiers below shouted like madmen, "We want it! We want it! We want it!"

Zhang Fu gestured for his hand to bend down, then continued, "His Highness has also prepared three thousand rhinoceroses and one thousand elephants to equip our elite warriors. From now on, before we reach Annam and begin our campaign, the bravest warriors will be selected from the army. Only the most elite warriors will be qualified to ride these ferocious beasts! Do you have the confidence to conquer these beasts?"

The soldiers below raised their weapons and roared, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

After finishing his speech at the martial arts arena, Zhu Gaoxi called Yang Ji and Jian Fang to his side.

The art of beast taming mentions that one can control ferocious beasts using objects as a medium. Therefore, Zhu Gaoxi plans to go back and make a batch of jade tablets for beast taming. In this way, soldiers can control ferocious beasts simply by binding their blood to the jade tablets, instead of binding their blood to each one individually. Although the effect may be slightly different, it will save a lot of trouble.

The matter of the beast legion will be entrusted to Jian Fang to coordinate with Zhang Fu and get the beasts into the beast gourd, although it may not be able to put many in at once.

As for Yang Ji, Zhu Gaoxi planned to hand him the gourd containing military rations after returning to the palace, and have him coordinate the handover of the rations with the grain supervisor.

With everything arranged, everyone prepared to return. Zhu Gaoxu, still feeling exhilarated, patted the white tiger's head and said excitedly, "Today I'm going to ride this tiger back!"

Zhu Di was already sitting on the tiger, summoned his somersault cloud, and scolded, "We're going to war tomorrow. You have so much to do today. Are you very free?"

Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaosui also summoned clouds, indicating that they wanted to ride the clouds back.

Zhu Gaoxi smiled helplessly: "Second brother, if you want to show your prowess, there will be plenty of opportunities on the way to war. Today, let's listen to Father and attend to important matters first."

Zhu Gaoxu thought about it and felt that his fourth brother made sense, so he patted the tiger's head and said, "Alright, I'll listen to my fourth brother."

He also summoned his somersault cloud.

As the group prepared to ride the cloud away, they discovered a problem: they wanted to bring the tiger onto the cloud, but the cloud's volume was still only about one cubic meter. Not to mention riding the tiger, the tiger couldn't even fit its paws on it.

Zhu Di stomped on his Yongle Emperor's throne, then glanced at the tiger beside him, which was larger than a cloud, and turned to Zhu Gaoxi: "Fourth Prince, could this cloud be any bigger?"

Zhu Gaoxi glanced at the somersault cloud of the group and then used his spiritual power to examine them. He discovered that after consuming spiritual liquid and spiritual wine during this period, Zhu Di and his brothers' physical fitness and spiritual power had improved considerably.

He raised his hand and gestured towards the sky, drawing down several white clouds that merged into each person's somersault cloud.

A flash of golden light, and several somersault clouds expanded simultaneously, growing to about three cubic meters in volume, much wider than before.

As for the generals and ministers, they have already been assigned wild beasts today, so the reward should not be too much. They can walk back on their own. Anyway, the military camp is not far from the city. The lions can be kept in the military camp for the time being, and walking back will not delay their business.

Zhu Gaoxu tried stepping on it; the cloud surface was thicker than before, and it felt solid and stable underfoot.

"The speed feels faster than before." With a thought, Zhu Gaosui's cloud surged forward, and a rare look of surprise appeared on his face.

Zhu Di nodded in satisfaction, had the tiger lie on the cloud, and then mounted its back. The tiger lay on the cloud, its front paws resting on the edge, and the cloud actually supported this huge creature weighing seven or eight hundred pounds without moving an inch.

The brothers followed suit, placing their tigers on the clouds and riding on their backs to travel on the clouds.

From afar, several fierce tigers crouched on the clouds, with Ming princes dressed in military uniforms riding on their backs. Surrounded by clouds, the tigers exuded awe-inspiring power, like heavenly soldiers and generals descending to earth.

Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaoxi were close by, and the two rode on clouds side by side.

As Zhu Gaoxu rode on the white tiger's back, he kept muttering, "Fourth brother, second brother used to love riding horses the most. Riding a horse to hunt was so impressive. Now that we have this tiger, riding a horse feels so embarrassing..."

"Second Brother has decided, from now on this tiger will be called the Fierce Tiger King!"

Zhu Gaoxi's lips twitched slightly as he thought to himself, "Second Brother, you really have a knack for naming things. Fierce Tiger King? Why don't you call him Wild Gorilla?"

He glanced at the white tiger, and then, as if struck by a thought, he couldn't help but chuckle: "Second Brother, why don't you name this tiger Gong Baiwan?"

Zhu Gaoxu paused for a moment, then began to seriously consider: "Gong Baiwan? A million in gold? That name sounds rich. Fourth brother, are you saying I should give Tiger a wealthy name? Baiwan, that doesn't sound bad either..." He then began to seriously compare the two names.

Zhu Gaochi, unable to bear it any longer, sighed and said, "Second brother, can't you be a little more creative? You've always loved naming things 'fierce' or 'tiger.' Your gyrfalcon was called 'King of the Fierce Birds,' and now the tiger is called 'King of the Fierce Tigers.' Why don't you call yourself 'King of the Fierce Tigers'?"

Zhu Gaosui added fuel to the fire, saying, "Second brother, what eldest brother said makes sense this time. You have a tiger as your mount, and you are a prince. Why don't we ask Father to change your title to Tiger King? The title of Prince of Han doesn't sound as imposing as Tiger King."

Flanked by his two brothers, Zhu Gaoxu glared at his eldest brother and then at his youngest: "So what if I'm the Tiger King? The Tiger King is so majestic! You're just jealous of my White Tiger! Third brother, you're not even going to pretend anymore, are you? You're just going to go against me, you just wait!"

Seeing that his second brother was angry, Zhu Gaosui, fearing he would be punished, forced a smile and said, "Second brother, I was just joking. Your third brother has been following you around since we were little. Don't you know me?"

Zhu Gaochi laughed out loud. The group exchanged a few words in the clouds and soon arrived above their respective residences.

Zhu Di was the first to descend in front of the Qianqing Palace, and after dispelling the clouds, he walked into the palace.

Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaosui also descended from the clouds, preparing to first settle the tiger in their residences before going to the palace to discuss matters.

Inside the Prince of Han's mansion, Zhu Gaoxu's white tiger had just landed in the courtyard when two maids who were sweeping under the eaves looked up and simultaneously dropped their brooms and basins to the ground with a clatter.

One of the maids' legs went weak and she leaned against a pillar, while another younger maid screamed, "A tiger! There's a tiger!"

Zhu Zhanhe and Zhu Zhanqi were squatting in the yard teasing the golden tabby dog ​​when they heard the noise and looked up. Their eyes widened at the same time.

The cat toy in Zhu Zhanhe's hand fell to the ground with a thud, and Zhu Zhanqi's mouth gaped open wide enough to fit an egg. This cat toy wasn't a cat toy in the modern sense; in fact, any stick that can amuse a cat can be called a cat toy.

The two boys paused for a moment, then simultaneously dropped the cats they were holding and ran towards the white tiger, shouting, "Big tiger! Big tiger!"

The golden tabby was thrown to the ground by its little owner. It meowed in confusion, then looked up and saw the white tiger in the yard that was taller than a person. Its fur instantly bristled into a ball, and it darted behind the flowerpots under the eaves.

Hearing the commotion, Madam Wei hurried out of the main hall. When she looked up, she saw a white tiger weighing seven or eight hundred pounds standing in the courtyard, and she froze on the spot.

She instinctively took a half step back, gripping the doorframe, and yelled at her two sons, who were almost at the tiger's feet, "Zhu Zhanhe! Zhu Zhanqi! Stop right there! Don't come any closer!"

Zhu Gaoxu quickly stepped forward, pulling the two children behind him, and grinned at Madam Wei: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. This is the mount that the fourth prince gave me, called the Fierce Tiger King. It's for the expedition tomorrow. Let it stay at home for a while. It's controlled by beast-taming magic and won't hurt anyone."

Hearing his words, Lady Wei slowly walked over, then looked at the white tiger lying quietly in the courtyard, patted her chest, and vented to the Prince of Han, "You scared me to death! Couldn't you have given me some fresh air beforehand? I didn't know anything, and you brought this big tiger back. Were you trying to scare me to death so you could find a younger one..."

"No, I... how... how can I tell you?" The King of Han was also on the verge of tears.

"Quickly find a cage and lock it up. I have no objection to you riding it away when you go to war tomorrow, but lock it up now and don't let it roam around the yard." Seeing the King of Han's expression of having something to say but not being able to explain himself, Lady Wei gradually calmed down and her tone softened a bit.

Zhu Gaoxu scratched his head and had someone clear out an empty room in the backyard to temporarily lock the white tiger inside.

He changed his clothes, instructed Lady Wei not to let the children near the cage, and then hurriedly rode a cloud to the palace.

The situation was similar in the Crown Prince's residence and the Prince of Zhao's residence.

When Zhu Gaochi's tiger landed, Zhang Yan was watching several children feed the cats in the yard. She looked up and saw the handkerchief she had just used to wipe Zhu Zhanyin's face fall to the ground.

Zhu Zhanji reacted the fastest, putting the corgi in his arms down on the ground and rushing forward first: "Dad! Is this yours? Did Fourth Uncle give it to you?"

He circled the tiger twice, then suddenly remembered something, slapped his thigh, and scrunched up in regret: "I should have kept it!"

After the morning court session ended today, Zhu Di kept several of his sons and Zhang Fu and others in the back hall to discuss matters. Zhu Zhanji, having just acquired the corgi, was eager to return to the East Palace to play with the dog, so he made up an excuse to study and slipped away.

At that time, Zhu Di's mind was not on him, so he did not stay any longer.

Who knew Uncle Si would come after we dispersed! Sigh! I was still too young!

Zhu Gaochi smiled and nodded, letting the children watch from a distance for a while. Then he had someone temporarily lock the tiger in an empty room in the backyard. He also instructed Zhang Yan to keep an eye on the children and not let them get close. He said that it would be fine if he was there, but it would be better to be careful if he wasn't.

Zhu Gaosui was even more efficient. After landing, he immediately had the tiger locked up, changed his clothes, gave a brief explanation to Madam Weng, and then rode a cloud out the door.

The brothers met at the palace gate, glanced at each other, changed their clothes, settled the tiger, and hurried away.