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

Chapter 4 Emperor Zhongzu of Ming—Zhu Gaoshuo
Xunzhou.

The people in the main hall were not very familiar with this place.

But now, they know all too well.

Xunzhou was the place where Prince Qi, Zhu Gaoshuo, was about to be enfeoffed.

"So, the emperor that Tianmu spoke of for all ages is actually the fourth prince?" Zhu Gaosui's eyes were filled with disbelief.

He was just saying it casually, thinking he could use the fourth brother, this idiot, to annoy the eldest brother.

Unexpectedly, his words came true.

The person I usually look down on the most actually succeeded in rebelling and became an emperor for all time?
Prince Zhu Gaoxu remained silent, staring intently at Zhu Gaoshuo.

The civil and military officials were discussing it animatedly, and occasionally, suppressed laughter could be heard.

Zhu Di frowned.

Was Zhu Gaoshuo the greatest emperor of all time?
He was roaring inside!

Rebel!

This traitor!

After all, he was an emperor who had fought on the battlefield and killed countless people, so Zhu Di quickly calmed down.

And they discovered something strange about it.

Although the fourth prince was going to Xunzhou to assume his fiefdom, he had no real power. In addition, Xunzhou itself was very desolate. How exactly did Zhu Gaoshuo manage to rebel successfully?
History always repeats itself.

However, his good grandson was not that bastard Zhu Yunwen, and he also had cabinet ministers like the Three Yangs to assist him, so he was not without capable people.

How did the fourth brother manage to do it?
Could it be that he's not the fourth son?

Even more so than the emperors of later generations!

Even so, Zhu Di was no longer happy.

The mere mention of Xunzhou sealed his fate as an emperor who would never be a great ruler. At that moment, Zhu Di wished Xunzhou would disappear from the world immediately.

Many friends have been asking who our ancestor was. I won't keep you in suspense any longer. Our ancestor was the grandson of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Emperor Zhongzu of Ming, a figure of unparalleled stature throughout history—Zhu Gaoshuo!

"It really is Prince Qi!"

"Hahaha, the greatest emperor of all time is in our Great Ming Dynasty, that's for sure."

"In other words, if I have the opportunity to assist a great emperor in the future, can I also become famous for all time like Zhuge Liang?"

"Shh, stop talking. Our current emperor is not Zhu Gaoshuo!"

Some ministers remained calm.

Upon hearing this, the hall fell into complete silence.

No one dared to say another word.

They all noticed the change in Zhu Di's expression, and they all knew that in Zhu Di's heart, he always regarded Zhu Zhanji as a good grandson.

Good sage Sun Wang for three generations.

Zhu Zhanji did indeed become emperor, but then the Ming Zhongzu, a great emperor of all time, suddenly appeared.

Everyone in the main hall harbored their own secrets.

Zhu Di began to regret how foolish he had been; he had taken something seriously even though it was not certain!
Fourth brother?

They seized the emperor from their nephew.

rebel!

I thought he was the only one in the entire Ming Dynasty who would do something like this.

After all, he was the only vassal king in history to successfully rebel.

It's truly unexpected that his son, Prince Qi, Zhu Gaoshuo, also perfectly fits the criteria.

Zhu Di's face was extremely grim.

He felt both anger at missing out on becoming the greatest emperor of all time and helplessness at the prospect of his grandson being overthrown by Zhu Gaoshuo.

Thinking back to his previous high spirits, Zhu Di now wished he could disappear into nowhere.

What exactly did the fourth brother do in Xunzhou?
Zhu Di glanced incredulously at Zhu Gaoshuo, who was looking down at his head, seemingly lost in thought.

I felt very uncomfortable.

At the same time, he couldn't hide the anger in his eyes. He never expected that his fourth son, that bastard, would rebel in the future and kick Zhu Zhanji off the throne.

"I never imagined that you could rise from Xunzhou and eventually seize the throne from your nephew. You truly are my good son!"

Zhu Di looked at Zhu Gaoshuo, his eyes flashing with an unfathomable cold light.

"I know nothing! Your Majesty cannot punish me for what is to come!"

Zhu Gaoshuo felt a chill run down his spine, as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

He could sense that the old man was truly determined to kill him.

It was unlikely that he could fool them, but Zhu Gaoshuo still came up with a reason to appease Zhu Di, while constantly thinking about what to do next.

"Zhu Gaoshuo, do you know what you're doing? You're rebelling against me, and against your elder brother! What else do you have to say?"

Zhu Di became more and more excited as he spoke, and he stood up.

Zhu Di, in this state, fully displayed the majesty of an emperor, and no one present dared to say a word, after all, this Yongle Emperor was known for his decisive and ruthless nature.

Zhu Gaoshuo knew there was no way to escape.

Since that's the case, why not make a grand spectacle of it all, so that our journey through the Ming Dynasty won't be in vain?

A resolute glint flashed in Zhu Gaoshuo's eyes as he looked directly at the lofty Zhu Di, his voice neither humble nor arrogant:

"This is the imperial court; Your Majesty, please address me as Prince Qi!"

Zhu Di frowned, looking at Zhu Gaoshuo's unconvinced expression, and suppressed his anger, saying:
"You've plotted a rebellion, the evidence is irrefutable, and you still dare to deny it? You even dare to call yourself Prince Qi, I'm going to depose you!"

It seemed as if only two people remained in the main hall, exchanging questions.

All the ministers were just watching the show; to be precise, at this moment, none of them knew whose side to take.

Zhu Di was the reigning emperor.

Although Zhu Gaoshuo had no status and no connections in the court, he was universally recognized as the greatest emperor of all time.

Only Zhu Zhanji's gaze toward Zhu Gaoshuo carried a fierce intent.

I was curious about this fourth uncle whom I hadn't met often.

He thought to himself: How could I possibly lose to him in the future?
At this moment, the ministers who sided with Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi also realized what was happening and immediately said to Zhu Di:

“Your Majesty, Prince Qi is plotting a rebellion. He should be stripped of his throne immediately and beheaded in the street as a warning to others.”

Other ministers who supported Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji also stepped forward one after another.

“Your Majesty, Prince Qi’s rebellious intentions are not something that arose overnight; he has likely been planning this for a long time. I urge Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly.”

Just when everyone thought Zhu Gaoshuo was speechless.

But then he suddenly burst into wild laughter: "Hahahaha!"

Amidst the puzzled gazes of the crowd, Zhu Gaoshuo shouted at the top of his lungs, "What kind of place is Xunzhou? I've never even heard of it. I'm sure Your Majesty knows better than I do."

"Back then, I was able to fight my way from Xunzhou all the way to the capital of the Ming Dynasty. Doesn't your good grandson have any problems at all?"

After speaking, he looked at the ministers of the princeling faction.

"I'm afraid the Ming Dynasty was already riddled with holes by then. My grandfather's ancestral instruction was for the princes to lead their troops into the capital to defend the emperor and eliminate traitors!"

King Qin picks up the traitor!
This was the slogan that Zhu Di used when he launched the Jingnan Campaign.

Zhu Gaoshuo's words now are a comparison of Zhu Zhanji to a foolish ruler like Zhu Yunwen.

Looking at that face that was almost identical to his own when he was young, Zhu Di, the emperor who rose to power through the Jingnan Rebellion, had actually begun to waver.

Will the fourth brother face the same predicament he did back then?

But he really couldn't understand how the fourth brother had managed to rebel successfully.

The Ming Dynasty's elite army numbered at least 500,000.

Add to that the troops stationed in various places, and that's a million-strong army.

Xunzhou, that barbarian land in the south, didn't even have a population of 100,000.

What makes Zhu Gaoshuo think he can win?

But the fact is, they won.

Just like he did back then, eight hundred people rose up in rebellion.

There's only one possibility: the emperor was incredibly stupid!

(End of this chapter)