Chapter 363: Cloth‑Clad Son of Heaven: Driving Out the Barbarians, Restoring China!

Zhu Yuanzhang squinted.

These people's bearing was far beyond what ordinary wandering swindlers could fake.

Especially the one called Ying Zheng; when he stood there, it felt like a mountain pressing on the heart.

"Prove it."

Zhu Yuanzhang spat out the two words, his voice hoarse.

Gu Shanhe smiled faintly, turned his head: "Everyone, it's time to reveal yourselves."

Before the words finished, Ying Zheng pointed his finger like a sword and swung forward.

There was no earth‑shattering sound, but the spiritual sword at his back unsheathed itself with a clang, hovering and circling the main hall slowly.

The cold light was sharp, and the wind it stirred almost blew off the black silk hats of the nearest ministers. The hall fell silent.

Liu Bang was not to be outdone; with a casual swing, a ball of orange‑red flame puffed out from his palm.

The flame danced between his fingers, heat intense, yet it did not scorch his sleeves.

Liu Xiu smiled, his form flickered, and he seemed to merge with the ground, vanishing from his spot and reappearing a few steps away—earth‑stepping.

Liu Che flicked an invisible wind blade from his fingertip, silently slicing a piece off a decorative wooden pillar in the hall corner; the cut was smooth as a mirror.

Li Shimin was even more decisive; he clenched his right fist and hammered it onto the white jade floor.

"Crack—"

A crisp cracking sound rang out, and spiderweb‑like fissures spread outward from his fist for over three feet.

Zhao Kuangyin walked to the massive decorative bronze cauldron weighing several hundred jin, grabbed its foot with one hand, his arm muscles bulging, and hoisted the cauldron overhead with a single arm, his face unmoved and breath steady.

Zhu Yuanzhang fell completely silent.

He slowly leaned back in his chair, inhaled deeply, and his gaze toward Gu Shanhe shifted from wariness to deep apprehension and a hint of… curiosity.

Gu Shanhe stood there, his white robes unmoving, like an exiled immortal.

He knew, that was enough.

"Your Majesty, do you believe now?" Gu Shanhe asked softly.

Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent for a long while, then slowly spoke, his voice a bit dry: "Immortals… truly not mortals."

Gu Shanhe nodded: "Since that is so, I, the humble Taoist, will for Your Majesty unveil the two hundred seventy‑six‑year reign scroll of the Great Ming."

He raised his hand, and a beam of light shot from his sleeve, forming a long, blank golden list that hovered in midair.

"This list concerns only the sixteen Ming emperors, disregarding heavenly rewards or punishments, and follows the official records of the History of Ming, clearly distinguishing merits and faults."

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes flashed.

What he cared about most in his life was his legacy and whether the Zhu family's realm could be passed down.

"Biao."

Zhu Yuanzhang turned his head and glanced at the dazed Crown Prince Zhu Biao beside him.

Then he looked at Prince Zhu Di of Yan and said, "You take a good look as well."

Gu Shanhe announced loudly: "Today, not only officials of civil and military offices may see, but the citizens of the capital may also watch together."

"Your Majesty, issue an edict to the capital's populace to gather at the plaza outside the Meridian Gate and view the Heavenly List together!"

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately issued the imperial decree.

With the decree issued, the whole Nanjing city stirred.

Half an hour later, the plaza outside the Meridian Gate was packed with heads.

Above the Feng Tian Gate city tower,

Zhu Yuanzhang, accompanied by Empress Ma and several princes, stood at the highest point.

Gu Shanhe stood at the edge of the tower, drawing a spell from his hand.

The massive golden list suddenly unfurled, covering the sky and blocking the sun.

【Heavenly Dao Golden List, Accounting for the Sixteen Ming Emperors】

A line of golden light‑formed characters slowly appeared.

All civil and military officials of the court, including the guards who had just been fighting desperately, knelt at this moment.

Zhu Yuanzhang widened his eyes, staring intently at the golden list.

Zhu Di stood beside him, his breathing a little faster.

He hasn't become emperor yet; what he now most wants to know is whether Zhu Di can ever meet the Heavenly Dao's discerning eye.

The golden list rotated, its brilliance swelling.

【First Place: Founder of Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang】

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his name atop the list, and a faint smile finally broke his tense face; his smugness could no longer be concealed.

【Basic Information】

【Founder Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, era name Hongwu, reigned for thirty‑one years, rose from humble cloth, lived to seventy‑one, the architect of the Great Ming foundation.】

"From humble cloth to founding…"

Liu Bang stroked his chin, marveling, "Old Zhu, you've got real talent."

"I seized the opportunity amid the chaos at the end of Qin; you truly rose from beggar to emperor, harsher than I."

Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled, waved his hand, feigning modesty.

"Not at all, I can't compare to Qin Shi Huang sweeping the six directions, nor to Liu Bang slaying the snake to start the rebellion."

"We just got lucky, like a blind cat catching a dead mouse."

But his trembling eyebrows had already betrayed him.

【Later Nicknames】

【Emperor Hongwu, Cloth‑clad Son of Heaven, Restorer of the Chinese Sage】

"Good! What a splendid re‑creation of Huaxia!"

Li Shimin couldn't help but clap his hands and exclaim, "Just from the word 're‑creation', one can see how great Lao Zhu's achievements are."

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed so broadly that the wrinkles on his face blossomed, and he turned his head to look at Zhu Di beside him.

"Lao Si, hear that? Your father here is a saint‑king!"

Zhu Di at that moment wore a face of pride and straightened his back.

Although he is now only a feudal prince, his father is a heroic man, and he, as the Prince of Yan, also bears it with vigor.

【Growth Environment】

【Born as a lowly tenant farmer in Haozhou; during the late Yuan chaos, natural disasters and human calamities were frequent, all family members perished; from childhood he endured hunger, cold, wandering, and the oppression of officials, rooting himself among the people and deeply understanding the suffering of the masses.】

Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's smile tightened a bit, and his eyes grew somewhat deep.

He recalled the porridge at Huangjue Temple, recalled his parents who starved to death, recalled that tattered straw mat.

"It's not easy…"

Even the usually hard‑hearted Ying Zheng, upon seeing this description, gave a slight nod.

"Starting from humble beginnings and ending in great achievements, far stronger than my own Fu Su, who was born with a golden spoon."

【In his early years, Zhu Yuanzhang joined the Red Turban rebels, and with his great talent and strategy gathered civil and military talents, pursued a steady strategy, and gradually pacified the various warlords.】

【Later, the northern campaigns expelled the Mongols, reclaimed Yan and Yun, ended a century of chaos, and in 1368 established the capital at Yingtian and founded the Great Ming.】

【Politically, Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the millennial chancellor system, improved the three‑department bureaucracy, revised the 'Great Ming Code', and cleansed the chaotic officialdom of the late Yuan…】

【Militarily, he unified all of Huaxia, repeatedly launched northern expeditions that heavily crushed the remnants of the Northern Yuan…】

【In terms of livelihood, he vigorously promoted migration, colonized farmland, and built waterworks…】

【Culturally, he revived Han rites and music…】

The lines of text on the Golden List fell one by one; with each line, Zhu Yuanzhang's confidence grew a notch.

The more he read, the more excited he became, and the more he felt that the Old Heaven truly understood him!

What "Expel the barbarians, restore China"—isn't that exactly what he has wanted to do all his life?

"See that?"

Zhu Yuanzhang pointed at the Golden List, his hands trembling, and shouted to the entire court of civil and military officials.

"We didn't work in vain! The Old Heaven remembers it!"

"Those sour scholars say our slaughter is too heavy; see how Heaven's way responds?"

"A founder of a nation for all ages, his merit endures for ten thousand generations!"

"Whoever dares to squeal again, we'll cut off his tongue and feed it to a dog!"

The entire court of civil and military officials were so frightened their heads were glued to the ground, daring not to utter a sound.

Zhu Di listened nearby, his heart also boiling with hot blood.

This is his father, his role model.

However, the good times did not last long.

【Mistake Chapter】

【In governing, Zhu Yuanzhang imposed severe punishments and strict laws; in his later years, to consolidate imperial power, he purged the founding meritorious officials, with wide collateral damage, and his institutional control was excessively harsh.】

"Uh…"

Zhu Yuanzhang's smile froze.

If this had been said by someone else, he would have long ago ordered that person's entire nine families be exterminated.

But this was said by an immortal, and the immortal gave him face.

"Cough," Gu Shanhe cleared his throat lightly, breaking the awkwardness.

"Lao Zhu, to err and be able to change, there is no greater virtue."

"Moreover, the merit outweighs the fault; a blemish does not conceal the jade."