Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

Empress Xu wanted to visit Prince Rui's residence early this morning to see the fourth prince, who was about to set off for Annam tomorrow. As his mother, she was always worried about him.

The fourth prince has only been back in the palace for a short time, and now he's going on another long trip. Although she knows that with his abilities, nothing bad will happen to him, a mother's instinct is to worry, and she can't stop him no matter what.

Just as she was about to set off, Huang Yan came to report that His Highness Prince Rui had gone to the military camp with His Majesty, along with several other princes and General Zhang Fu.

Before leaving, Zhu Di instructed Huang Yan to wait in the palace and to tell the truth if anyone asked about his whereabouts.

Empress Xu had no choice but to wait in Kunning Palace. She flipped through the account books for a while but couldn't concentrate. So she picked up the water and fire gourd and played with it for a while. Cool air came out from the left and warm air from the right, which helped her pass the time.

She finally received news from the palace that His Majesty had returned, and she immediately sent someone to inquire whether the fourth prince had come back with him.

After a while, the person who went to inquire returned and reported that His Majesty had returned riding a tiger, but Prince Rui was not seen. Then, after a while, it was said that the Crown Prince, Prince Han, and Prince Zhao had also arrived. The princes had all gone to the Qianqing Palace to discuss matters, and Prince Rui did not enter the palace with them.

Empress Xu then sent someone to inquire with Zhu Di, who replied that the fourth prince should have returned directly to his residence.

Empress Xu did not delay and flew to Prince Rui's residence on her "little cotton ball".

When Zhu Gaoxi returned to the Prince Rui's mansion, he had just retracted his somersault cloud and landed in the courtyard when Little Snot came up to him and said that Zheng Cong, Zhang Ni, Xue Bin, and several other subordinates who had gone out to search for the gourd had returned and were waiting in the side hall.

"Your Highness, we have lived up to your expectations." Zheng Cong stepped forward first, taking gourds out of the sword-nurturing gourd, one, two, three... The table was soon filled with dozens of gourds of various sizes, of varying quality, but there were enough of them.

Zhang Ni and Xue Bin also presented the gourds they had collected, several of which were clearly not ordinary.

Zhu Gaoxi treated them to a lavish welcome dinner as usual. He summoned a table laden with delicious dishes: baked lobster with cheese, scrambled eggs with black truffle, typhoon shelter-style stir-fried crab, Japanese teriyaki eel, Chinese braised pork belly, Western salad, curry beef brisket, seafood pasta, pizza, and a freshly cut fruit platter…

The officials' eyes widened in disbelief. Although they hadn't gone hungry these past few days while traveling, they hadn't been eating well either. They had been working diligently, afraid of messing things up for Prince Rui, and they were thinking about the gourd even while sleeping and eating.

Zheng Cong stared at the lobster, which was bigger than his face, swallowed hard, and said, "Your Highness is too kind," while his hand reached for the chopsticks.

"It's alright, I'm not a stingy person. You can eat first, and there will be a reward after you finish," Zhu Gaoxi said with a smile, waving his hand to let them eat slowly. After they finished eating, he had someone announce his arrival and then went straight into his study.

At first, the group maintained a certain level of decorum, but after Prince Rui left, they completely let loose, and the atmosphere changed drastically. Chopsticks flew, chewing sounds rose and fell, and the only sounds in the side hall were the clinking of cups and plates and muffled exclamations of praise.

Song Xuan and Hu Ying sat to the side, eating much more politely than the other military officers.

Hu Ying watched as Xue Bin and the other military officers wolfed down their food, finishing a plate in just a few bites, and couldn't help but shake his head: "Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."

Xue Bin didn't even look up, his chopsticks still moving like lightning: "You women are so slow, why can't I eat faster?"

Hu Ying initially ate slowly and methodically, but as the dishes disappeared quickly, he sped up his pace. However, they were no match for these military generals: "You military generals eat like dogs are being chased. You should chew your food slowly and carefully, don't you understand? Be careful not to choke."

"Choking?" Xue Bin finally raised his head, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and glared at him, "You're cursing me to choke? Then don't eat, or you'll choke to death."

"You...you...you're really unreasonable!" Hu Ying had just said to be careful not to choke, but the other party directly said that he was choking to death. It was like a scholar encountering a soldier; there was no way to reason with him. He was so angry that he couldn't speak.

"Hehe, if Lord Hu doesn't eat, we won't be polite." As soon as the generals saw Hu Ying stop eating, they exchanged glances instantly, their tacit understanding as if they had received an attack signal on the battlefield. They frantically waved their chopsticks, their hand speed enough to write a book about dancing the universe.

Several military officers secretly gave Xue Bin a thumbs up. There was no way they could win; when it came to verbal sparring, these rough men who wielded swords and spears were no match for the civil officials.

So whenever they couldn't win an argument, they would resort to all sorts of tricks: twisting the meaning of the text, pretending not to understand, making a scene, or even throwing a tantrum like street thugs. These were their most proficient tricks, and the ones that gave the civil officials the most headaches, and they never failed.

"What are you talking to these barbarians about? If you don't eat now, there won't be any left." Song Xuan said, chewing rapidly, his words slightly muffled.

Zhu Gaoxi actually unearthed several treasures during his search.

The first one was a dark green alchemy gourd.

The gourd was made of some kind of ancient wood that he couldn't name. It was heavy in his hand, three times heavier than a piece of sandalwood of the same size.

As soon as the attributes appeared after refining, his eyebrows rose. It could hold a living person inside, and the alchemist could refine the other party into a human essence pill according to their own strength. The refining time and effect depended entirely on strength.

The upper limit is much higher than that of the previous red gourd. That red gourd could only refine one person at a time, which had too many restrictions and limited its use in actual combat. This dark green alchemy gourd, however, has no such restrictions. As long as you are strong enough, you can refine as many as you want.

Zhu Gaoxi played with the alchemy gourd, already figuring out how to use it.

The red gourd can be given to Prince Zhao. He is in charge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and frequently enters and exits the Imperial Prison, so he can use it. As for the dark green one, he can keep it for himself and test it out when he goes to conquer Annam.

The other two surprised him even more.

One is a water-attribute gourd, and the other is a fire-attribute gourd. Both are five-element gourds, and both are growth-type. The stronger the user, the greater their power.

The water hyacinth can currently absorb the water volume of about a lake, which is more than enough for irrigation, water supply, or even to flood enemy camps.

The fire gourd can absorb and store fire-attribute power from the air, releasing it all at once when needed. While it may not be capable of destroying the heavens and the earth, it can certainly burn down a few military camps.

He sat in his study, putting the newly acquired gourds together with his previous stock. Suddenly, he felt like he was becoming more and more like a gourd wholesaler. He could even call himself "General Manager Zhu, the Gourd Wholesaler"—a direct descendant of the Daoist Ancestor (who doesn't eat cilantro).

Then he summarized the gourds he currently possessed.

Lightning-struck wooden gourd (releases heavenly lightning), bronze gourd (corrodes the body and soul), ice gourd (freezes people, can also be used to make iced drinks), alchemy gourd (refines human essence elixir), water and fire gourd (submerges and burns), red gourd (a low-end alchemy gourd for King Zhao).

There are also two extra-large space gourds, one with a capacity of about 100 cubic meters and the other with a capacity of several hundred cubic meters, which can even hold a person. There are countless other gourds as well.

If this equipment were given to the Xiao Rizi and Jianzhou Jurchens, they would first wash it with water, then roast it over a fire, and finally put it into an alchemy gourd to refine it into a elixir, which would then be given to the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty.

As for why they need to be washed and roasted, when it comes to eating, cleanliness and a sense of ritual are important. Although they don't need to be twisted or soaked like black and white biscuits, washing and roasting them is still necessary to remove the dirt.

Otherwise, he would be too embarrassed to give the pills he refined to the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, for fear of soiling their mouths.

The Human Essence Pill not only enhances one's strength but also rapidly restores stamina, making it the ultimate military ration during continuous battles.

Slightly cruel? Not at all. He never considered using the word "humanitarian" when it came to Japan and the Jianzhou Jurchens.

He leaned back in his chair and sorted the gourds by function. He had refined so many gourds in the past few days, he really had too many. He wanted to give them away as soon as possible, since they were useless sitting there. He wanted to go to war soon and either complete the projects or give them away as rewards to others.

Suddenly, Little Snot announced from outside the door: "Your Highness, Her Majesty the Empress has arrived."

He leaned back in his chair and sorted the gourds by function. He had refined so many gourds in the past few days that they were packed full. He wanted to distribute a batch of them as soon as possible, since they would just gather dust. He thought it would be better to distribute them to the soldiers when they went out to reward their merits, so that they wouldn't be piled up in his hands and take up space.

Just as I was pondering this, a snotty little voice rang out from outside the door: "Your Highness, Her Majesty the Empress has arrived."

Zhu Gaoxi paused slightly, put down the gourd in his hand, got up and walked outside. The Empress Dowager's arrival at this hour was undoubtedly for the matter of tomorrow's expedition.