Chapter 120

Emperor Yingzong, the Wise Emperor:

"Shut up! Don't say another word!"

Zhu Di kicked Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen squarely on the buttocks.

Staring intently at Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian in the chat group, he demanded,

"What does the history book on your side say?"

After a long silence,

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian quietly reminded him,

"Great-grandfather, you left the Prince of Cheng to serve as Regent when you went on this campaign. Have you forgotten?"

Emperor Yingzong, the Wise Emperor:

"Of course? What of it? I won this time! In two years, my brother will depart for his fiefdom."

Emperor Sizong, the Martyr Emperor:

"Um, Great-grandfather, you must remember that in the original history, you went on the Northern Hunt..."

The chat group immediately fell into a deathly silence.

After a long while, it was Zhu Di who broke the silence.

Looking at the chat group, he asked,

"And then?"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian whispered,

"Initially, Esen intended to use you as leverage to force Great Ming to cede all lands north of the Yangtze River in exchange for your life."

"Naturally, those scholar-officials did not agree to such demands."

"Subsequently, Empress Dowager Sun issued an edict installing the Prince of Cheng, Zhu Zhu Qiyu, as Emperor, while posthumously honoring you as Emperor Emeritus."

"A year later, seeing you were of little use, Esen planned to release you back to Great Ming to provoke strife between brothers, allowing the various steppe tribes to reap the benefits."

Hearing this, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di both instantly grew tense.

Zhu Di grabbed Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen by the back of his collar and swiftly drew the saber at his waist.

"Speak! Continue speaking!"

"Did these two foolish brothers fight among themselves, allowing the Oirat to exploit the weakness?"

"If that is the case, I will execute this fellow right now and remove this great calamity for my Zhu family!"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian hurriedly said,

"That did not happen."

"Great Ming detected the Oirat's intention at the time."

"After Great-grandfather returned to the palace, the two brothers showed some humility toward each other; ultimately, the Emperor Emeritus moved to the Southern Palace. With peace reigning throughout the four seas, within a few days the Oirat tribe fell into internal chaos, Esen was assassinated, and the steppes descended into complete turmoil."

Hearing this, Zhu Di reluctantly released Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen's collar and tossed his saber onto the imperial desk.

"At least you lad have some backbone."

"And then?"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian continued,

"The Emperor Emeritus resided in the Southern Palace for seven years, then launched the Coup of the Restoration in the eighth year of the Jingtai era, subsequently changing the era name from the eighth year of Jingtai to the first year of Tianshun."

"Two months later, the Jingtai Emperor passed away in the Yong'an Palace within the Western Inner Court."

The entire central command tent fell into complete silence.

Zhu Di stared fixedly at Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen.

He suddenly burst into loud laughter.

"Heh, hahaha, hahahaha."

There was a touch of misery in Zhu Di's laughter that made Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen's heart tremble with fear.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen immediately looked agitatedly at Zhu Di and pleaded,

"Great-grandfather, please do not be like this; your subject... it was not so."

"Even if all this is true, your subject was forced by circumstances."

"In such a situation, facing nine deaths and one life, confined in the Southern Palace for seven years, I am only human."

Emperor Yingzong, the Wise Emperor:

"Why are you so troublesome, child? If there were a better way, would I not have used it?"

"Was I not forced by circumstances?"

Emperor Sizong, the Martyr Emperor:

"Great-grandfather, speaking honestly, when later emperors look back, you were truly not forced by circumstances at that time."

Emperor Yingzong, the Wise Emperor:

"Nonsense! How was I not forced? That is imperial power! You too were born into the imperial family; can you not know how perilous it is?"

Emperor Sizong, the Martyr Emperor:

"Um, Great-grandfather, the Jingtai Emperor had no son... at that time, among the lineage of the Xuande Emperor, only you had a son."

Emperor Yingzong, the Wise Emperor:

"Bullshit! Do you take me for a fool? Look at my title!"

"Emperor the Wise! Do you know what 'Emperor the Wise' means?!"

"Just look at my title; do I seem like someone capable of such deeds?"

Zhu Di and Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang, father and son, spoke almost simultaneously:

"You do."

The chat group fell silent.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang sat upright nearby, looking at Zhu Di with helplessness.

"Fourth Son, are these your descendants?"

"Father, I climbed ice and slept on snow my entire life, launching five expeditions to Mobei; even if beaten to death, I never imagined my descendants would make such a mess..."

"Perhaps I was never destined to be Emperor."

Zhu Di, in his twilight years.

He had prided himself on having done everything possible to the utmost extreme.

The Yongle Dadian had already been compiled.

The grasslands had been purified.

Annan submitted internally, seven voyages were made to the Western Oceans, and ten thousand nations came to pay homage.

The Great Ming's national strength reached its zenith.

Zhu Di firmly believed that even if his eldest brother had lived to succeed the throne, his achievements would not have surpassed his own.

But he never expected.

Less than two years after his death, his son and grandson would be fighting each other.

And then this unlucky great-grandson staged another episode of brothers fighting within the walls.

This was not simple disappointment.

It was despair.

It was the despair of an old man in his declining years, powerless to change the predicament of his children and grandchildren.

Perhaps, if only he had not become Emperor, these children and grandchildren could have happily served as feudal kings for their entire lives?

Zhu Di, somewhat moved, looked at Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang in the chat group and said:

"Father, if you cannot manage it, just pass the throne to Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen..."

"If not, another day you can send that version of me from your side over; the two of us brothers can have a drink and discuss it."

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's expression inadvertently grew slightly grave.

Actually, in Old Zhu's heart, he had originally leaned toward establishing Zhu Di as the Crown Prince.

After all, they were all his own sons.

Moreover, although Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen eventually lost the empire.

At least he did not lose his life.

In the end, he lived out his days in carefree happiness.

But looking at these descendants of Zhu Di.

Old Zhu inevitably began to waver again.