Chapter 57

Within the Eastern Palace, only Su Qiao's low voice spoke slowly.

"Has Your Majesty never considered that they should never have been born in the first place?!"

"For every one among them who wishes to live like a human, a hundred among the common people must live lives worse than beasts."

"Your Majesty, this is a debt the Zhu family owes the people of the realm!"

"Two hundred years have passed; it is time to repay the debt!"

Su Qiao's words lingered around Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's ears like a nightmare.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang hurled Su Qiao away several paces.

He raised the sword at his side and roared fiercely,

"Today I will kill you and send you to accompany my dragon sons and grandsons in death!"

The others within the Eastern Palace had no idea what was happening.

When they heard the news and rushed over,

they saw only a hysterical Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang clutching a sword and lunging at Su Qiao.

Even more bizarrely,

why did this fellow Su Qiao seem so delighted?

Just as the sword in Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's hand was about to pierce Su Qiao,

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to suddenly remember something.

His large hand went slack, and the sword clattered to the floor.

He immediately began shouting and roaring throughout the palace,

"You little rascal, where have you run off to?"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen, witnessing this scene, instantly froze on the spot.

What was going on?

Had Grandfather Emperor gone mad?!

Was I about to ascend the throne?

Meanwhile, Su Qiao, standing nearby, was also on the verge of collapse.

Old Zhu.

Can you do it or not?!

It was just a few steps away.

What in the hell is so damn important?!

Can't you stab me to death before attending to your business?!

59, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang: You little rascal, answer the phone!

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang ran out of the Eastern Palace as if possessed.

As he ran, he waved his hands in the air before him, gesturing at nothing.

Old Zhu's personal eunuch could hear only Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang repeatedly shouting Lan Yu's name.

"Lan Yu, I need to speak with Lan Yu!"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang initiated contact with Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian again and again.

Only this time,

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian, on the other end of the chat group, rarely showed some backbone.

He simply ignored every message Old Zhu sent.

Emperor Taizu the High Emperor:

"Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian! I issue an edict: immediately order all imperial clansmen to return to their respective fiefs!"

"Respect this! Respect this!"

"Don't play dead with me, boy!"

"Even if I am begging you."

"Their veins carry the same Zhu family blood as yours!"

After a long while,

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian finally sent a message to Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang.

Emperor Sizong the Martyr:

"Ancestral Grandfather, your subject is guilty, a guilt beyond pardon. Once the Yang Yang Yang Jian slaves beyond the passes are pacified, I will immediately abdicate to accept blame. When I reach the underworld, Ancestral Grandfather may scold me as you wish."

Emperor Taizu the High Emperor:

"What nonsense are you spouting!"

"They are your own clan, your blood kin!"

"You!"

"I need to speak with Lan Yu; bring Lan Yu here!"

Those clansmen, in Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, were the Great Ming's dragon sons and grandsons.

But from Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian's perspective,

the blood tie between the imperial line and the Prince of Qin's mansion was several generations more distant than the relationship between Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang and the Zhu family of Jurong.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang saw the hundreds of thousands of clansmen beneath Qihua Gate, grinning so wide their mouths could not close.

But on the other side of the lens,

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian was already trembling with fear.

Four hundred thousand clansmen!

What an astronomical figure! How much civilian labor would it take to support such a sum!

Today, after Su Qiao spoke thus,

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian suddenly woke up to the reality.

If these people were to lose, it would actually be for the best.

The court could then, acting as a distant relative, openly confiscate all the private wealth of every princely household.

But if they were to win,

even if the Great Ming drained its very heart and liver dry, it still could not afford to reward them!

For Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian, the best solution was for them to perish together with the Jurchens beyond the pass!

Inside the chat group,

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's chat box continued to flash incessantly.

Yet Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian had long since stopped paying it any attention.

For Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian,

the imperial clan

needed only a hundred or so members.

Having hundreds of thousands was absurd.

That number sounded like a joke.

By now, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian had already silently made up his mind.

With a grave expression, he walked into the Hall of Heavenly Purity.

Inside the Hall of Heavenly Purity,

a general clad in armor had already been waiting for quite some time.

"This subordinate, Lan Yu, pays respects to Your Majesty!"

Looking at Lan Yu before him,

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian could not help but offer a heartfelt praise.

"What a true man!"

However, the appreciation on Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian's face vanished in an instant.

Immediately, he fixed his gaze on Lan Yu and asked,

"General, have you ever trained soldiers?"

Lan Yu, keeping his head bowed, replied,

"This subordinate has! Give this subordinate three years, and I guarantee to train a force of tigers and wolves for Your Majesty!"