Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

Before Zhu Di's laughter had even subsided, everyone in the study bowed in unison.

"Congratulations, Father!" Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaosui said in unison, their voices echoing in the study.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty!" Yao Guangxiao clasped his hands together and bowed slightly. "Your Highness Prince Rui is a gifted man from heaven. Your Majesty is blessed with boundless good fortune. This is a blessing for the Ming Dynasty and a boon for the nation."

The brothers listened as the old monk subtly praised their fourth brother again, exchanging glances: the old monk was indeed shrewd; his flattery was flawless.

Zhu Di stood before the bronze ball, accepting the salute, and couldn't suppress the smile on his face.

Zhu Gaochi was the first to straighten up, and he flipped through the "Complete Treatise on Agriculture" again, turning to the chapter on irrigation: "Father is right. Putting aside everything else, if the methods in this 'Complete Treatise on Agriculture' can be implemented in all prefectures and counties, the people's livelihood will be secure. In the future, even in years of disaster, there will be no need to worry about insufficient disaster relief grain. Fourth Brother has made a great contribution to the people of the world."

Yao Guangxiao continued, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is benevolent and virtuous; what you say is absolutely right. The merit of Your Highness's collection of these classic texts is no less than that of territorial expansion for the nation and its people. This humble monk believes that Your Highness's merits should be recorded in history..."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui rolled their eyes inwardly, thinking: This old monk is at it again. Next time we share a room with him, we probably won't even get a sip of soup. We'll have to get our fourth brother out of the way next time we see him.

Zhu Gaoxu slammed the "Illustrated Geography and Products of the World" book on the table, his voice booming so loudly it echoed in the study: "Brother! Did you see that? It's clearly drawn in this book, showing so many places outside! Luzon, Southeast Asia, India... How many wars would it take to finish them all? Brother, you can't keep saying 'the national treasury is too empty to fight,' can you!"

Zhu Gaochi, unusually, did not complain about being poor: "We need to defend what we've conquered, and we need to govern what we've governed, and governing requires money. However..."

He patted the book in his hand, "With these books from my fourth brother, the national treasury might be a little better off in the future. You fight your wars, I'll do my water conservancy projects, we'll each do our own thing."

Zhu Gaosui stepped forward and sighed softly: "If it weren't for my fourth brother bringing out these things, I would never have dared to imagine in my life that there was such a vast world outside of the Ming Dynasty."

Seeing that his elder brothers had finished speaking, Zhu Gaoxi smiled and waved his hand, "Father, eldest brother, second brother, third brother, don't just praise me. Although I came up with these ideas, to truly implement them, we still need Father and my brothers..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Gaochi was the first to shake his head, his tone serious: "Fourth brother, you're underestimating me. Without your book, even if I wanted to build water conservancy projects, I wouldn't know where to begin. The methods described here are something the people in the Ministry of Works couldn't figure out even after a hundred years of trying. You're not just moving a book; you're bringing a mountain of gold to the people of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Gaoxu's voice was still deafeningly loud: "That's right! Fourth brother, you're too modest! Without your knowledge, we might not be able to figure these things out even if we explored for hundreds of years."

Zhu Gaosui quickly stepped forward: "Fourth brother, there's no need to be so modest. Putting aside everything else, just look at the shipbuilding blueprints. Without you, our Great Ming Dynasty wouldn't have been able to build such ships even if it took another hundred years."

Yao Guangxiao added, "What the princes have said is all true. Prince Rui's merits this time could not have been accomplished by one person alone. However, without His Highness, even with thousands of people, we would not know where to use them."

As Zhu Di listened to his sons and the monks praising his fourth son, the smile on his lips never faded. He said loudly, "If we can conquer all these places outside and bring back those high-yield crops, my Yongle Dynasty will become the greatest dynasty in history, and the Yongle Prosperity will become the greatest prosperity in history."

Zhu Gaoxu listened to the old man's words and inwardly grumbled, "Here we go again."

Back on the battlefield, the old man patted him on the shoulder and said, "The young master is often ill; you must encourage him." That one sentence has stayed with him for so many years, fueling his rivalry with the eldest son. And what was the result? When has he ever delivered on his promise? The old man's ability to make empty promises is even more impressive than his fighting skills.

His gaze swept from Zhu Gaochi to Zhu Gaoxu, then to Zhu Gaosui, and his voice was solemn: "Second and third sons, you two don't need to covet your eldest brother's position anymore. There are so many places outside, and the court alone can't manage them all. You two should do a good job for me, and the places you conquer will be your fiefdoms."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaosui's eyes lit up slightly, and he bowed respectfully, saying, "Thank you for your grace, Father Emperor."

Before he could even straighten up, Zhu Gaochi interrupted, thumping his chest and raising his voice even louder than when he had spoken earlier: "Father! Your son does not want a fiefdom!"

Zhu Di's eyelids twitched as he stared at his second son, a thought flashing through his mind: what is this kid up to now?

Zhu Gaoxu turned to look at Zhu Gaoxi and said confidently, "Your subject will not go anywhere. I will stay in the capital with my fourth brother. If my fourth brother wants to cultivate immortality in the future, your subject will protect him; if my fourth brother wants to refine elixirs in the future, your subject will chop wood for him. As for fiefdoms and such, they can all be given to my third brother. I don't want them."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaochi silently looked at Zhu Gaoxu, thinking to himself that although the second son usually seemed reckless, he was quick-witted at crucial moments. With the fourth son by his side, what need was there for a fiefdom?

Yao Guangxiao was also stunned when he heard this: "This Prince of Han has become wise today. He is usually a proper military general. It seems that this Prince Rui can also influence people's intelligence. He is indeed a disciple of the Taoist Ancestor. Buddha, where are you? If you don't show yourself soon, your disciple will really turn to Taoism."

Zhu Gaosui's face stiffened. He had just finished thanking the emperor and hadn't even straightened his back when his second brother intercepted the offer.

He was filled with regret, cursing himself inwardly. His second brother was a reckless fool, and he himself was usually quite clever, so why was he even less capable than his brother at this crucial moment? Wasn't supporting his fourth brother better than asking for a fiefdom? What more could he want than becoming an immortal!

If Zhu Gaoxu knew what his third brother was thinking at that moment, he would have crossed his legs and casually tossed out a sentence: "You're a younger brother, sit down."

When Zhu Di heard his second son say this, he thought to himself, "My second son has finally grown a brain! This won't do, this is not good news!" But after thinking for a while, he realized that he couldn't do anything about his second son for the time being.

Zhu Di looked at these items and pondered for a moment: "Take these items back to the palace today. Move the globe and these books away and keep them under strict guard."

He glanced at his sons and Yao Guangxiao present: "You lot, come back to the palace with me. We'll finalize the plan today. Eldest son, draft a plan for the water conservancy project. Second son, go back and study the Annam marching route on the map. Third son, give the shipbuilding project a good talking-to."