Chapter 82

Ying Zheng pondered.

I had the Black Ice Terrace back then, specifically to monitor all officials.

This method is effective, but too harsh, easily causing fear in people's hearts.

Cao Cao was thoughtful.

Drinking at home, and the emperor knows everything the next day? This secret service agency is a bit interesting...

【Culturally, there was literary inquisition.

He came from a humble background,

And was particularly sensitive to others mentioning words like "monk" or "thief."

Lin Yuanliang, a professor at the Zhejiang Prefectural School, wrote a "Table of Thanks for Salary Increase" for someone, which contained the phrase "acting as a model to pass down the constitution," but "model" (ze) and "thief" (zei) are homophones, and Zhu Yuanzhang felt it was scolding him for having been a thief, so he had him executed.

A large number of innocent scholars were killed by him in similar ways.】

Liu Che frowned even tighter.

"Killing people because of a single character? This is too sensitive."

Li Shimin shook his head and said: "I was scolded by people back then too, but I never killed anyone for it."

"Wei Zheng scolded me every day, didn't I let him scold me for a lifetime?"

Cao Cao chuckled.

"Acting as a model to pass down the constitution? If this were with me, at most a few strokes of the cane."

"Old Zhu's temper is indeed explosive."

【In his later years, Zhu Yuanzhang experienced the pain of a white-haired person sending off a black-haired one.

This was his most painful fault—it wasn't that he did something wrong, but that fate was too cruel to him.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao, whom he had carefully cultivated, was gentle, elegant, and kind, and he had high hopes for him, but in the 25th year of Hongwu (1392), Zhu Biao died of illness at the age of only 38.

His eldest grandson, Zhu Xiongying, died of smallpox in the 15th year of Hongwu, dying prematurely at the age of only eight.

His wife, Empress Ma, the woman who had accompanied him from the very beginning, also left him in the 15th year of Hongwu (1382).

The successor he had personally cultivated was gone, the person he loved most was gone, and he became even more violent, suspicious, and crazy.】

Under the sky screen, Zhu Yuanzhang's body stiffened suddenly.

"My sister... my Biao'er... my eldest grandson..."

He turned slowly to look at Zhu Biao standing beside him—young, healthy, and alive.

Zhu Biao was also stunned, looking at the words on the sky screen, unable to speak for a long time.

"Biao'er..."

Zhu Yuanzhang's voice trembled, "Biao'er, you..."

Zhu Biao came back to his senses and quickly held his father's hand.

"Father, I'm fine, I'm perfectly fine. That's a matter for the future, it hasn't happened yet!"

Empress Ma also stepped forward and hugged Zhu Yuanzhang gently.

"Chongba, I'm still here. Look, I'm still perfectly fine."

Zhu Yuanzhang hugged Empress Ma and reached out to pull Zhu Biao, his eyes red, muttering:

"Good, good, you are all here, all here..."

【He killed so many people, never softening his hand.

But at this moment, he was just an old man afraid of losing his loved ones.

He killed so many people, actually just to pave the way for his grandson.

But what he didn't expect was that he had killed everyone who could fight and defend.

Four years after his death, his son Zhu Di launched an uprising from Beijing and drove his grandson Zhu Yunwen from the throne.】

Zhu Di was standing to the side, and upon hearing this, his face turned pale instantly.

He felt a sharp gaze land on him.

He slowly raised his head, meeting Zhu Yuanzhang's red-rimmed eyes.

"Fourth..."

Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was low, with no discernible joy or anger, "You're quite something."

Zhu Di knelt down with a thud.

"Father! I am wronged! That is a matter for the future! I haven't done anything yet!"

Zhu Biao quickly stepped forward to smooth things over.

"Father, what the sky screen says is all in the future, Fourth Brother hasn't rebelled yet..."

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered: "Hasn't rebelled? Then I must give him a preventative shot in advance."

Zhu Di shrank his neck and muttered: "Then you should put down your shoe first..."

Just at this moment, golden light erupted on the sky screen.

【In view of Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang's achievements in expelling the Mongols, rebuilding Huaxia, and fostering recovery, the list producer, Mr. Gu, hereby rewards:

A reward of 80 years of lifespan, a blueprint for hundred-refined steel forging, 10,000 jin of sweet potato seeds with a yield of 5,000 jin per mu, plus 20 years of favorable weather!】

The entire space-time seemed to have been pressed on the pause button.

Ying Zheng stood up abruptly.

"5,000 jin per mu?! My Qin mu only yields a few hundred jin, this... is this an immortal potato?!"

A light never seen before flashed in his eyes, staring fixedly at the four characters "sweet potato seeds" on the sky screen.

Liu Bang rubbed his hands excitedly.

"My goodness! If I had this thing back then, why would I need to marry off princesses? I could just smash the Xiongnu with sweet potatoes. Immortal, I beg for the immortal seeds!"

Liu Che took a deep breath.

"5,000 jin... When I launched the northern expedition against the Xiongnu, my biggest worry was food and fodder."

"If I planted tens of thousands of mu of this, I could fight all the way to the North Sea! Immortal, I'll trade my Ferghana horses for it!"

Cao Cao's eyes shone: "If I had this immortal potato in Xuchang, why would my 100,000-strong army worry about food? Sun Quan and Liu Bei would be nothing but dirt dogs!"

"@Zhu Yuanzhang Old Zhu, let's discuss, can you share some seeds?"

Liu Bei was so excited that his eyes were filled with tears.

"If the people in Shu could eat this potato, why worry about famine? My Han Dynasty has hope for revival!"

Guan Yu stroked his long beard and nodded slightly: "If this thing could be planted all over the Nine Provinces, the common people would be very fortunate!"

Zhang Fei shouted at the top of his lungs: "Me too!"

Yang Jian stroked his beard, his eyes full of envy.

"I stored fifty years of grain, enough for the Great Tang for ten years, but this sweet potato... if I could plant it, I could store it for five hundred years! Immortal, I beg for it!"

Li Shimin nodded repeatedly.

"Although the Reign of Zhenguan is called a prosperous age, there is still a shortage of grain. If I get this immortal potato, the people can eat their fill every meal. I am willing to gift the portraits of the meritorious officials of Lingyan Pavilion!"

Zhao Kuangyin's eyes brightened: "My biggest worry is military rations! The Khitan, Western Xia, and Jin are all wolves that can't be starved to death. With this sweet potato, I'll let them taste what it means to be 'stuffed to death'!"

Zhu Yuanzhang stared blankly at the lines of text on the sky screen, only coming back to his senses after a long while.

Zhu Yuanzhang pleaded: "Immortal, can we split the rewarded lifespan among my sister, Biao'er, and my grandson?"

【Yes.】

Instantly, the beam of light split into four parts, flying into the bodies of Zhu Yuanzhang, Empress Ma, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Xiongying respectively.

On average, each person could live 20 more years.

He muttered, "Sister, Biao'er, you can all accompany me for another twenty years?"

Empress Ma smiled and nodded: "Yes, twenty years."

Zhu Biao also smiled: "Father, our family can be together for a long, long time."

Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath, looked up at the sky screen, and suddenly laughed out loud.

"Good! Good! 80 years of lifespan, hundred-refined steel blueprints, sweet potato seeds, 20 years of favorable weather for the Great Ming, this life of mine, Old Zhu, is worth it!"

He turned to look at Zhu Di, who was kneeling on the ground, and waved the shoe in his hand.

"Fourth, get up. I'm happy today, I won't beat you."

"But remember, if you dare to rebel in the future, this shoe sole of mine won't recognize anyone!"

Zhu Di felt as if he had been granted amnesty and kowtowed repeatedly: "Thank you, Father! I will definitely assist Big Brother well and be Big Brother's Great General of the Northern Expedition!"

The barrage was already laughing like crazy—

"Hahahaha, Old Zhu's shoe sole threat is absolute!"

"Zhu Di: I'm having such a hard time!"

"Sweet potato seeds! No more famine from now on!"

"20 years of favorable weather! What kind of immortal reward is this!"

【The fourth place has been counted, next is a ten-minute buffer time, everyone guess who is third?】