Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

The group exchanged glances and then burst into laughter.

After Zhang Fu finished laughing, he patted Qiu Fu on the shoulder: "Old Qiu, you've really hit the jackpot. You spent a few months in Annam, and on your very first day, you were appointed a deity. Your luck is unmatched."

Qiu Fu chuckled, rubbed his hands together, and glanced again in the direction where Zhu Gaoxi had just been sitting, his eyes full of gratitude and anticipation.

The situation was even more lively at the Prince Rui's residence.

Qiu Sheng, Zheng Cong, Zhang Ni, and Xue Bin, several military officers, gathered together, as excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

Zheng Cong nudged Qiu Sheng with his elbow and winked, "Old Qiu, what role do you think we can play? After all, His Highness Prince Rui has become the Supreme Emperor, so as his subordinates, we can't be too far behind."

Before Qiu Sheng could answer, Zhang Ni chimed in, saying in a serious tone, "Judging by how dark-skinned Old Qiu is, he could at least be a door god."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Cong burst into laughter: "Old Zhang, you're too mean! Then look at me and tell me, what kind of god can I be appointed as?"

Zhang Ni sized Zheng Cong up and down. The man's appearance wasn't much better. He figured it didn't matter whether he said one thing or two, so he might as well say, "You're not much better either. The door gods are on the left and right, and you two are on the left and right, so good things come in pairs."

"You—you—Old Zhang, you're so disheartening!" Zheng Cong clutched his chest. He had been thinking he could be better than Qiu Sheng, but after hearing this, he instantly stopped smiling and looked heartbroken.

"I'm dying of laughter, Old Zhang is right..." Now it was Qiu Sheng's turn to laugh. He laughed so hard that he slapped his thigh and almost slid off his chair.

Zheng Cong glared at him, then turned to see Xu Jingchang leisurely sipping tea, as if he had found a savior: "Old Xu! Tell me the truth! You're not only an official of the Prince Rui's mansion, but also the Prince Rui's cousin. Tell me, what kind of divine title can we bestow upon you?"

Xu Jingchang glanced at the group, looking like a hermit, and said with a detached air, "To be fair, as officials of the Prince Rui's mansion, we can just be officials for life. Whether we are deified or not is irrelevant."

You guys still have a narrow perspective.

"If we could serve as His Highness's close advisors for life, just imagine what that would mean? His Highness is in charge of the Investiture of the Gods, His Highness built the Heavenly Court. If we follow His Highness, why would we worry about being granted titles? Doing our jobs well is better than anything else."

Upon hearing this, the military officers clasped their hands in a respectful bow, their faces filled with sincere admiration: "Old Xu is truly farsighted! We should all learn from him!"

This statement was partly out of genuine admiration, and partly out of social etiquette.

Xu Jingchang held an unusual position among the officials of Prince Rui's mansion. Not only was he capable and experienced, but more importantly, he was Prince Rui's cousin, a genuine member of the imperial family.

Prince Rui is about to become the Supreme Emperor of the Central Heaven. Just thinking about his future status and position makes one's legs weak. If we don't fawn over him now, when will we?

Xu Jingchang spoke again, this time his tone was more serious than before.

"There's one more thing, and I want to make it clear beforehand." He glanced at each of the military officers' faces. "Don't keep calling me 'cousin' all the time. In the manor, please address me by my official title. I'm just an official under Prince Rui's household, just like you, nothing special."

Let me make this clear from the start: from now on, Your Highness is the supreme ruler of the realm. When you go out on business, be mindful of yourselves, keep your heads up, and don't embarrass yourselves.

Military merits can be earned, but reputation cannot be lost. However, don't use the Emperor's name to cause trouble outside, or don't blame me, Xu Jingchang, for being ruthless.

Qiu Sheng was the first to stand up straight, clasped his hands in a respectful gesture, and said solemnly, "Absolutely! We will certainly not let the Emperor down."

"Anyone who disgraces the Emperor, I'll be the first to go after them," Zhang Ni echoed, his tone resolute.

Xue Bin and Zheng Cong clasped their hands in greeting: "Old Xu, don't worry. Although we're roughnecks, we still know our limits. The Emperor's face is more valuable than our lives."

Xu Jingchang nodded slightly and said no more.

Not to be outdone, the Han Prince's residence had several officials gathered together, discussing the matter in hushed tones.

"Given the relationship between Prince Han and Prince Rui, although His Highness didn't say it explicitly just now, I think Prince Han is almost certain to take the position of the Western White Tiger Emperor."

"From what I just heard from the Supreme Emperor of the Central Heaven, it seems that the four emperors each have their own armies. The White Tiger Emperor is in charge of the Armed Forces Department and the Treasury Department, as well as the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals—that's real military power. We'll be Heavenly Generals then; that's an incredible future."

"I think so too. In the future, when the Han King becomes the White Tiger Emperor of the West, we can continue to serve as his officials in heaven, which is equivalent to becoming gods directly!"

"Then we must also work hard and not let the Prince of Han down. The Prince is destined to be an emperor, so we must also accumulate merit and not hold him back."

The tent was brightly lit, and everyone's thoughts were on the battlefield in Annam.

These generals and officials, whose enthusiasm had just been ignited by the word "deification," no longer took the Annamite rebels seriously.

Think of those things not as enemies, but as walking military achievements, as steps leading to godhood, all of them are precious treasures.

Meanwhile, Zhu Gaoxu posted the video he had just recorded of his fourth son's speech to the "We Are a Loving Family" group chat, with the caption: "Watch this now! Anyone who doesn't will regret it for the rest of their life!"

After sending it, he checked it again to make sure he hadn't sent anything he shouldn't have before putting the jade pendant back in his pocket.

After all, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Ming Dynasty will undergo a complete transformation starting today.

Seeing that everyone had finished their discussion, Zhu Di raised his hand to signal for silence.

The buzzing in the tent gradually subsided, and everyone's attention returned to the emperor.

Zhu Di surveyed the room, his voice so powerful it made everyone's heart pound: "I'm sure you've all heard what Prince Rui just said. From this moment on, everything you do is for the Ming Dynasty, and also for yourselves. The divine position is right in front of you; whether you obtain it or not is entirely up to you."

He stretched, stood up, placed his palm on the sand table marking the location of Lang Son, and said in a deep voice, "Now begin to deploy today's battle plan. The Beast Legion will lead the charge, Zhang Fu will lead the central army to follow, and Xue Lu will lead the cavalry to flank the enemy. I want you to finalize the specific times, routes, and coordination between the various units within one hour."

The generals in the tent responded enthusiastically and gathered around the sand table.

Tens of thousands of soldiers are already fully equipped and ready to set off, their banners fluttering and their armor gleaming in the morning light. They are just waiting for their generals to complete their deployments before they set off.