Zhu Di: My fourth son is a great emperor of all time?

Chapter 13 Zhu Qizhen, who compared himself to Emperor Taizong of Tang

[And so, the four-year-old Zhu Qizhen ascended the throne, adopting the reign title Zhengtong. The fate of the Ming Dynasty was thus handed over to a child—how absurd!]

"What's wrong with the child? Doesn't he grow up?"

Zhu Di was very dissatisfied with Tianmu's words, which clearly showed that the other party looked down on his great-grandson.

So what if I'm young?
Age is not a problem at all.

Throughout history, many great emperors have risen from adversity.

Qin Shi Huang, who was a hostage, and Emperor Wu of Han, who was suppressed by Empress Dowager Wang, were all examples of how their father, Zhu Yuanzhang, only had one bowl back then.

And there is the fourth one!

Although Zhu Di was unwilling to admit it.

However, the fourth prince's background was indeed relatively poor, and he had never paid much attention to it before. Even his fiefdom was the desolate Xunzhou.

Even so, the fourth prince still became one of the greatest emperors in history.

Thinking back on how much his fourth brother valued the brothers, Zhu Di felt extremely regretful.

"Fourth brother, don't worry, your father will treat you well from now on!"

While talking.

There was movement in the sky again.

Zhu Di immediately put down what he was doing and focused all his attention on the sky.

"Next, we should talk about Zhanji's son."

Zhu Di valued this great-grandson highly.

Zhu Qizhen is also a good name.

At this moment, he had no time to grieve for the early death of his eldest grandson; instead, he focused all his attention on Zhu Qizhen.

After all, he's the son of the eldest grandson; they say like begets like.
Zhu Zhanji was a very capable person.

He believed that if it weren't for the appearance of the fourth son, his eldest grandson would definitely have achieved great things.

Fortunately, the great-grandson eventually defeated the fourth prince, and at worst, he managed to wrest the throne back from the fourth prince's descendants.

This gave him renewed hope.

Especially the reign titles are orthodox.

This was not something an ordinary emperor could use; it signified that the succession to the throne conformed to the Mandate of Heaven and the laws of propriety.

Zhu Di suddenly remembered the large characters engraved on the lost imperial seal.

If you receive orders from Heaven, you will live a long and prosperous life!
His great-grandson was destined to be a man of destiny.

"Emperor Yingzong of Ming, Zhu Qizhen, to be honest, we people of later generations are very familiar with his name. It can be said that more people in later generations know him than his father, Zhu Zhanji, and his grandfather, Zhu Gaochi, combined."

As expected, Zhu Di smiled with satisfaction upon seeing this.

"Even his eldest grandson and eldest son are not as good as this child. What else could this be but a wise ruler?"

In Zhu Di's mind, only wise rulers could be remembered by future generations.

For example, the fourth brother!

etc.
Thinking of Zhu Gaoshuo, Zhu Di suddenly realized that his fourth son did not seem to have declared himself emperor.

Instead, they marched southwest, long since getting away from the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Qizhen did not seize the throne from the fourth prince.

Zhu Di realized that something was wrong.

"Everyone knows a lot about Zhu Qizhen. Now, please share your own understanding of Zhu Qizhen."

"I can recite all of these things by heart. Zhu Qizhen, the first war god of the Ming Dynasty, once said that he wanted to be an emperor with military achievements like his great-grandfather Zhu Di, and to wash away the century-old shame of the Central Plains. He didn't take the little Oirat Mongols seriously at all."

How dare they harm Ming Dynasty officials! He will send troops to the Oirat Mongols to show them what a king's army and the wrath of thunder are all about.

He even swore an oath before all the civil and military officials: He would be ashamed to sit on the throne if he failed to defeat the Oirat Mongols!
"Hahaha!"

"The number one war god of the Ming Dynasty, this aura is truly worthy of being a man of the Zhu family!" Zhu Di stood up excitedly.

Such spirit and power are unmatched by any emperor throughout history.

If Zhu Qizhen hadn't been born before, he would have even issued an edict to directly designate the heir to the throne.

Anyway, neither the eldest son nor the eldest grandson can be relied on now!

It would be better to wait until he dies and then pass the position directly to his great-grandson, so that he will never have to fear going down to see his father again.

"Although Zhu Qizhen was the emperor, the court was governed by the Three Yangs of the Grand Secretariat, and the affairs of the palace were personally managed by the Empress Dowager Zhang. He had no real power."

"Not only that, but due to his physical condition, he was bullied by his younger brother from a young age and was often beaten until he was covered in bruises. Later, a young eunuch named Wang Zhen often helped him."

Wang Zhen, this little eunuch, completely awakened Zhu Qizhen. He told the young Zhu Qizhen: "You are the emperor. The emperor is the person with the highest power in the Ming Dynasty. No one can disobey your will, not even your mother or your grandmother. Even if you are wrong, no one will dare to blame you."

"From then on, Zhu Qizhen's younger brother could no longer bully him. This wasn't because Zhu Qizhen himself had grown, but because he had learned to use the emperor's power."

Eunuchs? Upon hearing this, Zhu Di felt a splitting headache.

I had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

Being so close to eunuchs when you're young is clearly an act of favoring them.

More importantly, it's what Wang Zhen said.

That's exactly what a tyrant says.

On the contrary, precisely because the emperor wields great power, he should be even more cautious and must not make mistakes easily, otherwise even the most powerful country will collapse.

In the seventh year of the Zhengtong reign, Zhu Qizhen officially began ruling in his own right, thus embarking on an unprecedented imperial career in China's five-thousand-year history!

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di's tightly furrowed brows relaxed.

He began to personally handle political affairs at the age of thirteen.

How could such a person be a tyrant?

["In the tenth year of the Zhengtong reign, the Oirat Mongols on the grasslands repeatedly provoked the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Qizhen was furious upon receiving the news. He wanted to wipe out the Oirat Mongols, to personally lead the expedition, to remind those covetous grassland people of the might of the Ming Dynasty, and to emulate his great-grandfather's victory at the Battle of Langjuxu!"]

Sealing the wolf and residing in the Xu!
Upon seeing these four words, Zhu Di trembled.

Sure enough, he eventually achieved the Fenglangjuxu feat, becoming the first emperor to reach the Onon River in Mongolia.

Although it was expected.

But when he actually heard it, he couldn't help but feel joy.

He felt a great sense of accomplishment, especially after learning it from Zhu Qizhen.

["This decision was met with opposition from the court officials, especially Yang Rong, who strongly objected, saying that he was too young and should not rashly send troops!"]

Zhu Di thought Yang Rong was being far too cautious.

The Oirat Mongols were nothing but a handful. With so many outstanding generals, even if Zhu Qizhen was fighting for the first time, the Ming Dynasty could easily crush the Oirat Mongols with its army of hundreds of thousands.

Suddenly, Wang Tianba in the sky disappeared, replaced by a spirited young man dressed in ancient costume.

Zhu Qizhen compared himself to Emperor Taizong of Tang in front of Yang Rong: "If I were Emperor Taizong of Tang, should I fight against foreign tribes who are not obedient?"

"Of course they deserve to be hit!" Yang Rong said.

Did Emperor Taizong of Tang consider the possibility of defeat when he launched his military campaign?

"Of course not!"

"So, was Emperor Taizong of Tang a veteran of countless battles in his youth?"

"Of course not!"

"If that's the case, then you can't stop me!"

The screen then disappeared, and Wang Tianba reappeared.

[That was a clip from a TV drama, meant to show everyone how determined Zhu Qizhen was at the time; no one could stop his resolve to personally lead the expedition against the Oirat Mongols!]

(End of this chapter)