Chapter 372

"Brothers, we're all Zhang Zhang Jie—what grudge can't be resolved?"

"Can we really be mad at ourselves?"

"Listen to this brother's advice—let the past stay in the past."

At this moment, the Water Margin Zhang Zhang Jie, who had just fully understood the full story of the first Shared Space Zhang Zhang Jie battle,

sighed inwardly but stepped forward as a peacemaker.

"Water Margin's right—we're all Zhang Zhang Jie, so there's no need for formality."

Several other Zhang Jies, feeling trapped, seized the lifeline offered by Water Margin Zhang Zhang Jie and gladly backed down.

"Hah! Hahaha!"

The several Zhang Jies exchanged glances and burst into loud, utterly unembarrassed laughter.

Thus, the first Shared Space Zhang Zhang Jie battle—also known as the Great War Triggered by Dou Dou Dizhu—officially ended.

"Cough, cough—brothers, don't forget why we came here."

Water Margin Zhang Zhang Jie cleared his throat twice, steering the topic back on track after the other unreliable Zhang Jies had derailed it.

"Cough, cough!"

The other Zhang Jies also gave tactical coughs and silently formed a circle.

Shared Space, Shared Space—the most important thing about Shared Space is obviously sharing.

The sharing process went as smoothly as ever, far smoother than Dove chocolate.

"Damn, I thought you were a decent guy, but you're just a total scumbag on the inside,

pulling stunts like taking advantage of vulnerability,

seizing power by deceit—you're the moral floor tile of all Zhang Jies!"

After sharing, Tianlong Zhang Zhang Jie, having learned of Water Margin Zhang Zhang Jie's recent exploits, looked at him with the gaze of someone staring at trash.

"Huh!!"

The eyes of the other Zhang Jies were filled with contempt.

They all considered themselves respectable, proper men—how had one among them learned to become a donkey-cart war god,

a deadly poison master, and laid hands on the empress of a fallen dynasty?

Only Water Margin Zhang Zhang Jie hadn't gone all the way and produced something like "The Empress-Tasting Picture,"

or else they'd have beaten him senseless.

This Zhang Zhang Jie's existence dragged down the collective moral average of all Zhang Jies,

making him the current moral floor of Shared Space.

"Pfft! I was just drunk—that's why I lost control!

Besides, what's my current occupation?

I'm the Emperor, damn it!"

"For an Emperor, is being fond of beauty a problem?

The first of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn period, Duke Huan of Qi, asked his mentor Guan Zhong before he rose to power:

'I love hunting and women—will this harm my hegemony?'

Guan Zhong gave an unexpected reply:

'It won't harm you!'

Duke Huan asked again: 'Then what does harm hegemony?'

Guan Zhong replied: 'Not recognizing the worthy harms hegemony; recognizing the worthy but not using them harms hegemony;

using them but not trusting them harms hegemony; trusting them yet allowing petty men to infiltrate harms hegemony!'

For a ruler, lust is a trivial matter easily ignored—

as long as he selects the worthy, promotes talent, employs people wisely, and ensures the people live in peace and prosperity, he is a great sovereign.

And who among us can match our divine perspective in selecting talent?

Loyal ministers like Li Gang and Yue Fei are already in our net,

or are under focused cultivation—with their service, how could the realm fail to flourish and stabilize?

And who among us can match me in granting power—

with my transcendent cultivation and Shared Space as backup, I have no fear of ministers growing too powerful?"

"Besides, some unnamed individual—praised as having dragon-like bearing and celestial appearance—

the Taizong Emperor—did far worse: he murdered his brother,

killed his younger brother, imprisoned his father, raped his sister-in-law, and married his brother's wife—

yet did any of that prevent him from becoming the greatest imperial model in history and one of the finest emperors of all dynasties?"

Water Margin Zhang Zhang Jie spoke with unwavering conviction.

"Huh~"

"I think this is just someone feeling guilty."

Tianlong Zhang Zhang Jie looked at Water Margin Zhang Zhang Jie's frantic excuses with a sly half-smile.

Zhuan Yi Tian Zhang Zhang Jie and the others wore knowing expressions: they were all Zhang Jies—

how could they not know Water Margin Zhang Zhang Jie's true nature?

If he weren't hiding something, why would he launch into such a long speech?

"Damn! I'm not the only one with 'mi-tian-gong' on his cultivation path—you forced me into this!"

Seeing the others weren't letting up, Water Margin Zhang Zhang Jie jumped up in frustration,

deciding to drag everyone else down with him.

He immediately turned his spearhead toward Zhuan Yi Tian Zhang Zhang Jie: "You, you've been pursuing Qingmei Zhuma's Zhou Zhiruo, 【64】 Lately you've even gone after Zhou Zhiruo's senior sister, Ding Ding Minjun—flirting with her? You're a confirmed scumbag!"

yet still keep flirting with Zhao Min.

Lately you've even been chasing after Zhou Zhiruo's senior sister, Ding Ding Minjun—flirting with her? You're a confirmed scumbag!

Zhuan Yi Tian Zhang Zhang Jie stared blankly at the sky: "Big bro, wasn't it Tianlong who was targeting you?

I'm just an onlooker—why am I being targeted?"

Still, to defend his honor, he added:

"Other versions of Senior Sister Ding are one thing, but this version of Ding Ding Minjun is Wei Zifu!

Tell me—what emperor could resist the allure of Empress Wei?"

Yes, after Water Margin Zhang Zhang Jie declared himself Emperor and founded the Great Gan,

Zhuan Yi Tian Zhang Zhang Jie had also declared himself Emperor,

founding the "Great Ming," taking its name from the Book of Changes:

"Great is the Qian principle, the origin of all things, governing Heaven.

Clouds move, rain falls, all things take form.

Great Ming completes its cycle; the six positions are established in time, riding the six dragons to govern Heaven.

The Qian principle transforms, each thing attains its true nature, preserves harmony, and brings benefit.

It leads all things, and all nations find peace."

After finishing his rest and recreation in Jin Ling (modern-day Nanjing),

he launched a northern campaign, vowing to expel or annihilate the remnants of the Yuan.

Then, the Yuan Iron Pot (Yuan Emperor Toghon Temür, whose Mongolian name means "Iron Pot"—let's just say the Yuan emperors had wonderfully plain names~)

gracefully retreated with his court back to the steppes…

The great Emperor of Great Ming arrived at his loyal capital, Dadu!

After relocating his entire Jin Ling administration to Dadu, Zhuan Yi Tian Zhang Zhang Jie formally ascended the throne and founded his dynasty.

Why didn't he follow Old Zhu and make Jin Ling the capital,

but instead imitate Zhu the Fourth, making Dadu the capital of the Zhang family's Great Ming Empire?

How to explain it?

Though the Zhuan Yi Tian world has martial arts capable of letting one man fight ten,

even a hundred, these powers are still too weak to single-handedly break an army

or significantly alter historical progress—hence the rise of the Wu Lin—

yet they still cannot change the grand tide of history.

By the time Zhang Zhang Jie replaced the Ming founder Zhu Baxi and expelled the Yuan barbarians,

the north had already endured Jin and Yuan rule for over two hundred years, sinking into barbarian dust;

the Yan-Yun region had been severed from China since the Later Jin's Emperor Shi Shi Jingtang gave it to his Khitan "father,"

for over four hundred years.

The north-south divide was so profound it had become nearly two distinct peoples—different in language, different in blood—no longer united as Zhonghua.