Chapter 65

The clan members around them, seeing this scene, immediately began to stir restlessly.

Several even started trying to snatch the embroidered spring knives from the hands of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Just as that clan member held the knife to threaten,

a sudden burst of urgent horse hooves echoed from the distance.

Everyone present felt a flash of blade light before their eyes.

Immediately, heat washed over their faces.

A thick scent of blood instantly spread across the Altar of Heaven...

The once-restless Altar of Heaven immediately fell into a silence as dead as death itself.

No one had expected

that Zhu Youjian would truly dare to kill.

Especially Chu Prince Zhu Huakui atop the Altar of Heaven.

Seeing his own child killed, he immediately stepped forward himself, pointing at Zhu Youjian's nose and roaring,

"Zhu Youjian! Do you truly intend to dye the forbidden palace with blood?!"

"Do you not fear meeting the Liezulie Sect in the future?!"

Zhu Youjian stared fixedly at Zhu Huakui and questioned in a harsh voice,

"If the Great Ming falls like this, does that mean I can meet the Liezulie Sect?!"

"If Uncle-Grandfather thinks this throne is so easy to sit upon, then let me yield the throne to Uncle-Grandfather right now; I shall return to the Central Plains immediately to be my Prince of Xin!"

Zhu Huakui stared fixedly at Zhu Youjian.

Finally, he had to kneel before Zhu Youjian, weeping with tears and voice as he pleaded,

"That child was eighteen this year; he had a name for less than a quarter-hour!"

Hearing Zhu Huakui's words,

Zhu Youjian could not help but take a deep breath, then looked at Zhu Huakui with complete seriousness and said,

"Indeed, he only had a name at eighteen."

"But look at his broad shoulders and thick waist; how many emaciated commoners has Uncle-Grandfather seen along the way?!"

"How many corpses of the starving has Uncle-Grandfather seen along the way; does I need to say more?!"

Even if these clan members lived in the most miserable conditions,

they were ultimately clan members of the Great Ming.

They had a group of relatives so rich they were dripping with oil.

Although they had no names,

their lives were still lives that countless commoners did not even dare to dream of!

Zhu Youjian stood up himself, walked to the steps of the Circular Mound Altar, and roared in a loud voice,

"This is what our Zhu family owes to everyone under heaven!"

"If we preserve the Jiangshan of the Zhu family, the descendants of the Zhu family will still enjoy fine clothes and rich food in the future!"

"If we lose the Jiangshan of the Zhu family, your and my descendants will become corpses of the starving! They will become remnants of the previous dynasty, forced to hide their names and surnames for generations!"

"We are all blood descendants of the Taizu High Emperor; how can we sit idly by while the family and state collapse?!"

Having spoken, Zhu Youjian turned his head himself toward the distance and, almost roaring, gave orders to Lan Yu,

"All units return to camp!"

In an instant, the sound of horns echoed throughout the entire Altar of Heaven.

The Circular Mound Altar, which already had a Echo Wall, now had horn sounds that were even more deafening!

Under the escort of squads of martial eunuchs,

these clan members, without a single exception, were all locked by Lan Yu into the newly constructed camp just outside the city.

62, Lan Yu: They are all good soldier material!

In less than an hour,

the Altar of Heaven, once overcrowded, was left with only Zhu Youjian on the Circular Mound Altar and the thirty Princes of the Blood of the Great Ming.

The autumn wind brushed his face; Zhu Youjian looked at the thirty imperial blood relatives behind him.

His teeth clenched tightly, he then bent deeply and made a long bow, saying in a loud voice,

"Youjian respectfully invites all Uncle-Grandfathers, Uncle-Grandfathers, and Imperial Uncles to return to camp!"

Zhu Shenxuan, his body trembling slightly, looked at Zhu Youjian and asked,

"Your Majesty, we, we all hold the position of Prince of the Blood; must we also go to the battlefield to fight?"

Zhu Youjian answered, his gaze allowing no room for any doubt,

"Yes!"

The moment the words left his lips, Wang Chengen walked up to the Circular Mound Altar with a smile, ordering people to bring out thirty sets of armor that had been cast long ago from behind the altar.

"Your Highnesses,"

"the Jianzhou Jurchen Nurhaci rose to power with eighteen sets of armor."

"Today, Your Majesty has prepared thirty sets of fine steel armor for Your Highnesses."

"This servant respectfully wishes Your Highnesses an early victory!"

Zhu Shenxuan turned around angrily, just about to scold Wang Chengen a few words, but upon seeing the hundred or so Eastern Depot agents behind Wang Chengen,

he subconsciously closed his mouth.

Just as Zhu Shenxuan felt despair and lost hope,

a burst of laughter suddenly came from among the princes.

Only Tang Wang remained standing, stroking the armor before him as he murmured softly.

"Good, good... With Your Majesty, the Great Ming Jiangshan is secure; I am at ease!"

Having spoken thus.

Zhu Yujian knelt to the ground, shouting loudly.

"Your subject, Zhu Yujian, receives the imperial decree!"

Zhu Youjian looked at Zhu Yujian kneeling on the ground and said with a heavy expression.

"Uncle Grandfather, please rise."

Upon hearing this, Wang Chengen hurriedly helped Zhu Yujian up from the ground.

At this moment, Zhu Yujian looked at the crowd of "relatives" beside him and shouted loudly.

"All of you hold the title of Prince of the Blood of the Great Ming."

"If the state collapses, how can there be any reason for us to survive?"

A fierce expression suddenly appeared on Zhu Yujian's face as he gritted his teeth and said.

"There are only Zhu family members who die in battle; there are absolutely none who return in flight."

"Your Majesty, your subject returns to camp!"

Having spoken, Zhu Yujian took the armor and strode away.

The Princes of the Blood on the Tiger Hill mound looked at one another, and finally could only depart under Wang Chengen's "gaze."

One by one, they left the Tiger Hill mound.

At this moment, only five remained on the Tiger Hill mound: Prince Fu, Prince Gui, Prince Duan, Prince Hui, and Prince Lu.

Emperor Wanli, Zhu Yijun, had five sons who survived to adulthood.

But counting carefully.

Since the Hongzhi reign, the emperors have collectively granted titles to only these five Princes of the Blood.

And these five are the five Princes of the Blood in the world closest in relation to Zhu Youjian.

Prince Fu, Zhu Changxun, looked at this great-nephew before him and immediately began to weep, wiping snot and tears.

"Your Majesty, they are not like us."

"You and I are truly flesh and blood kin."

"Moreover, the households of Prince Shen and Prince Jin each have tens of thousands of people; we are not like them."

"The household of Prince Lu has only a dozen or so with titles."

"My household has even fewer, with only two sons."

"This, this... if we go to the battlefield, how can there be any reason for us to survive!"