Chapter 79: Fourth Rank

On the sky screen, the barrage erupts again:

Ying Zheng (Qin Shi Huang): @Liu Bang, seventy‑year longevity! Fine salt map! Immortal grain yielding a thousand jin per mu! This reward makes me truly envious.

Liu Che (Han Wu Di): Grandfather Gaozu, congratulations! Could this celestial food be shared a bit with my grandson? My grandson is fighting the Xiongnu and is short of provisions!

Li Shimin (Tang Tai Zong): Brother Liu, congratulations. May I borrow a look at this fine salt map? My Great Tang also needs good salt.

Zhao Kuangyin (Song Taizu): @Liu Bang, old Liu, share some of that celestial food with me; my Great Song also needs it.

Zhu Yuanzhang (Ming Taizu): Brother Liu, this wave is a big profit!

Liu Bang watched the barrage and felt warm inside.

The voice on the screen kept going:

Alright, the fifth ranking is complete! This "old rogue" who came from Pei County has proved several things with his life:

First, age is not an issue; at 48 one can still start a business;

Second, background is not a problem; a village head can become emperor;

Third, luck is important, but only those who seize luck can laugh in the end.

At that moment, the screen image suddenly changed.

Next, we will tally the fourth of China's eternal emperors.

Golden light swirled on the screen, and a line of large characters slowly rose.

Emperors and ministers of all dynasties instantly perked up.

Some set down their cups, some paused the memorials they were reviewing, and some even straightened themselves in the dragon throne.

He can be said to be the most lowly‑born emperor in Chinese history; while others conquered the world as second‑generation officials or second‑generation rich, he conquered the world starting from a temple.

Han dynasty realm.

Liu Bang, arm‑in‑arm with Consort Qi, was drinking when he heard this and instantly perked up.

"Yo ho? Worse than me? I was at least a village head back then; this person came out of a temple? A monk rebelling?"

Han Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu nodded slightly,

"When I was studying at the Imperial Academy, I had seen some monk youths, but never heard of anyone who started a rebellion from a temple and achieved great deeds. If this person is real, he is indeed a strange figure."

He is the only ruthless figure who unified the whole country from south to north, and is also nicknamed by netizens as the legendary protagonist of "Start with a bowl, end with a rope."

Qin dynasty realm.

Qin Shi Huang Ying Zheng frowned slightly,

"Unify from south to north? I rose from the west, first subduing Han, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan, Qi, so it's not purely south‑to‑north."

"This person can sweep the north with southern strength… that does show some skill."

Three Kingdoms realm.

Cao Cao stroked his beard,

"From south to north? That's not easy. Northern troops are strong, cavalry sharp; the south excels in navy. In the Battle of Red Cliffs, I, Cao, suffered that loss. How did this person fight?"

Liu Bei subconsciously nodded,

"Cao Mengde's words are indeed realistic; a southern expedition northward is truly extremely difficult."

Sun Quan, standing aside, said softly,

"When you two fought at Red Cliffs, did you consider my feelings?"

He is the founding emperor of the Ming—Ming Taizu, Hongwu Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang!

On the screen, a portrait of a middle‑aged man in a dragon robe, with a dignified face, slowly appeared; his gaze was sharp, as if it could pierce time and space.

Come, fire the barrage at "Zhong Ba Ge" or "Huai‑right Cloth‑clad"!

The barrage instantly filled the screen—

"Zhong Ba Ge is mighty!"

"The Huai‑right Cloth‑clad's comeback!"

"Start with a bowl, end with a rope—so funny!"

"Ming Hongwu! Eternal deity!"

Zhu Yuanzhang himself stood before the Feng Tian Hall of the Yingtian Imperial Palace, watching his own portrait on the screen, a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.

Beside him, Empress Ma gently tugged his sleeve,

"Zhong Ba, you made the list."

Zhu Yuanzhang grasped Empress Ma's hand and chuckled.

"Girl, we'll have a day on the list too! Fourth of the eternal emperors! Not bad!"

Crown Prince Zhu Biao, standing aside, clasped his hands and laughed, "Father's majesty shall be recorded in history."

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Enough, enough, stop the flattery; let's hear what the screen says about us."

Zhu Yuanzhang, born in AD 1328 (the first year of the Yuan calendar).

He is the founding emperor of the Ming, born in Haozhou Zhongli (now Fengyang, Anhui), a village so poor it rang with emptiness.

Li Shimin (Tang Tai Zong) nodded slightly: "Born humble yet able to achieve great deeds, this person must have an extremely resilient will."

"I also had some setbacks back then, but after all I was of Guanzhong noble birth, my starting point was far higher than his."

Zhao Kuangyin (Song Taizu) sighed,

"I too am from a military family; although I later had unsatisfactory times, compared with this person… it truly isn't anything."

From childhood, how was it? Whatever you say is a tear‑jerker.

His original name was Zhu Zhongba—yes, because he was eighth in order; a poor family named him just like that.

His ancestors for several generations were tenant farmers paying rent to landlords; from childhood he had to tend cattle for Liu De's landlord family to earn a living.

Liu Bang laughed heartily: "Zhu Zhongba? That name was chosen more casually than mine!"

I am Liu Ji, that is, Liu San. It seems poor families have a set pattern for naming—by numbers!

Liu Che (Emperor Wu of Han) furrowed his brows slightly,

"Zhu Chongba…… this name is indeed not very elegant. However, a name is just a label; what matters is how far he can go."

【What kind of environment was he in at that time?】

【In the late Yuan dynasty, that was a mess——ethnic oppression, corrupt officials, natural and man-made disasters all together.】

Hubulie (Emperor Shizu of Yuan) sat in the imperial palace of the Great Capital, his face somewhat grim.

The ministers beside him were silent as cicadas in winter, none daring to speak.

Liu Bingzhong (a noted Yuan minister) spoke cautiously:

"Your Majesty, what the heavenly screen speaks of…… is a matter of future generations. This has not yet occurred; Your Majesty need not worry."

Hubulie let out a cold snort,

"My painstakingly won realm, how could later generations become like this? Those unfilial descendants!"

【In the year 1344 AD, when Zhu Yuanzhang was 16, a great drought struck northern Huai, followed by locust plague and pestilence.】

【In April, his father died, his elder brother died, his nephew died, and less than half a month later his mother also died.】

【The family was so poor they couldn't even afford a coffin, let alone a burial plot.

Fortunately, neighbor Liu Jizu kindly gave a piece of wild burial ground; Zhu Yuanzhang wrapped his relatives' corpses in ragged clothes and hastily buried them. }

The image on the heavenly screen shifted, and a ragged-clad teenager knelt before several corpses wrapped in rough straw mats, his face dry of tears, only numbness and despair.

The barrage of comments suddenly fell silent——

"Too tragic……"

"I'm sixteen, and at sixteen I was still in school……"

"Who the hell could have imagined this person would later become emperor?"

Liu Bang wiped off his smile, fell silent for a moment, and said softly:

"Although I was poor back then, at least my parents were still alive. This kid…… lost his parents at sixteen, worse than me."

Liu Xiu (Emperor Guangwu of Han) let out a sigh,

"I lost my father at nine and was raised by my uncle; I know well the bitterness. But this person's misfortune surpasses mine."

Zhao Kuangyin silently raised his wine cup and drained it in one gulp.

【Zhu Yuanzhang later recalled these events, writing in the Imperial Tomb Stele:

"No coffin for the corpse, the body covered in rags, a shallow cover of three feet, what offerings set forth!】