Time Travel: After Seizing the Throne, I Lead the Ming Dynasty to Take Off

"Guards, bring everyone in here!"

At Zhang Cheng's command, people immediately brought in Qiu Fu, Zhang Yu, Tan Yuan, and others who were bound hand and foot.

The men all looked dejected, defeated, desperate, ashamed, and resentful—aside from exchanging a few extra words with the Imperial Guards at the beginning, they hadn't managed to buy Zhu Di even the slightest bit of leeway.

And then they saw the few people who had been captured alive.

The monk Daoyan looked utterly bewildered: "Qiu Fu, Zhang Yu, Tan Yuan... not one is missing, all captured alive? You were captured alive?!"

At this moment, even he, a monk, felt like he was being trampled by a herd of grass mud horses.

He didn't think Qiu Fu and the others, who were determined to die, would surrender willingly. More importantly, capturing them alive was often much more difficult than killing them, and capturing a group of battle-hardened generals who were determined to die...?

Even the monk Daoyan couldn't help but question the meaning of life...

Seeing the monk Daoyan staring intently at them, Qiu Fu, Zhang Yu, and the others felt even more ashamed.

Having spent their lives in the military, this was indeed the biggest stain and disgrace of their lives, and it made them feel even more deeply sorry for the master who had recognized and promoted them.

The group of people lowered their heads in embarrassment, wishing they could disappear into a crack in the ground.

After a long while, someone lowered their head and said in a muffled voice, "Master Daoyan, it's because we're useless!"

"You guys are useless!?" Monk Daoyan thought this was a huge joke. He knew these people's battle records and strength better than anyone else.

Then, he heard Zhu Neng, the deputy commander of the Yanshan Left Guard, say with some frustration and indignation: "They...they know sorcery! They use firearms! They have no martial ethics!"

The monk Daoyan frowned slightly, seemingly lost in thought.

The so-called "magic"... he didn't understand its meaning.

But he understood the words "muskets" and "lack of martial ethics": "They really think highly of our Prince! Afraid that His Highness would run away, they've even resorted to such ruthless and depraved methods? Killing His Highness's personal guards, and even the garrison troops they've mobilized..."

As he spoke, a look of surprise appeared on the monk Daoyan's face.

But then his brow twitched, and he chuckled lightly, "Ha! That ruthlessness... you're quite something!"

If it were him, he would have done the same if necessary. Upon learning of the other party's "actions," he felt a greater sense of approval. However, he felt that it was unnecessary for the other party to use such a brutal method against Zhu Di, a mere prince.

It turns out that the monk Daoyan misunderstood.

Qiu Fu, who was standing nearby, hurriedly explained, "No, Master Daoyan, they... didn't die together. They only attacked our Yanshan Three Guards, they didn't attack anyone else!"

This left the monk Daoyan completely bewildered. He asked, utterly confused, "A musket? It only shoots you, not others??"

His expression clearly said: Why don't you listen to this yourselves and see if it sounds like human speech?

In that short time, even the monk Daoyan felt that his persona of being knowledgeable, wise, and unfathomable was about to collapse.

Zhu Liang, who initially complained about the matter, said with a bitter face, "That's why they say they use sorcery and have no martial ethics."

"Their muskets are like sorcery! They can hit anywhere they want! Long-range attacks, no need to light the fire, no need to wait for the barrel to cool down! They're completely impossible to defend against!"

"That's right! It's not going to explode yet, it'll just start shooting at our men..."

"Sorcery! This is definitely some kind of sorcery!"

Speaking of this, the group became excited—the way the muskets swept across the battlefield with overwhelming force was still incomprehensible to them.

Therefore, they concluded that this was "demonic magic".

"Demon...demon magic...is this kind of demon magic?"

The monk Daoyan's comprehension was also a bit lacking, but he roughly understood what the people were trying to say: the people in the imperial court had a kind of firearm, and no matter how the young emperor managed to get it, this kind of firearm was of maximum performance and could dominate the battlefield.

Although the cacophony of Qiu Fu and his companions' voices seemed unbelievable.

But Monk Daoyan knew that none of them were the type to talk nonsense, and the fact that they were so emotional and spoke in unison was enough to prove that everything was true!

This also conveniently resolved the confusion that had plagued Monk Daoyan for the past half month: "The fact that the chaos in Yingtian Prefecture could be quelled so thoroughly and so easily is probably due to this sorcery."

Amidst the clamor of several people vying for attention.

The monk Daoyan pondered for a moment, then narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself, "Firearms... demonic magic... how did he manage that?"

He quickly organized the information that Qiu Fu and others had provided to him.

But the more he thought about it, the more unbelievable it seemed—the things Qiu Fu and the others described were simply not things that could possibly exist in this world!

While thinking.

Then they heard Zhang Cheng, the commander of the Imperial Guard, sneer and rebuke, "How dare you! How dare you say that His Majesty possesses demonic magic! What kind of decorum is this?! His Majesty's magic is divine! He is a divinely ordained emperor, and his magic is a gift from heaven!!"

"No! His Majesty is the heaven of our Great Ming!"

"You traitors and rebels, this is what they call... divine retribution!"

Seeing this annoying troublemaker monk break down, Zhang Cheng was secretly pleased and smug. However, he was not happy about these people calling him a "demonic sorcerer".

The monk Daoyan was still somewhat dazed and didn't have time to pay attention to him.

Qiu Fu and his companions, who had been frustrated from beginning to end, became increasingly resentful. Even though they were tied up, they still twisted and struggled excitedly, shouting, "Hmph! What kind of skill is it to rely on sorcery?! If you're so capable, let's fight for real! If it weren't for that Wu fellow having sorcery, would I be afraid of you? Would I have fallen into your hands?"

They've managed to survive in Beiping for so many years and reach their current positions; they can do anything without hesitation. But when their skills are challenged by someone who's cheating, it's inevitable that they get emotional, just like the anger felt when encountering a cheater in a video game in later generations.

Several people got angry and lost their temper.

Each person had two people following them, and it seemed like they couldn't keep them under control.

Of course...

Before Zhang Cheng could say anything,

A familiar gunshot rang out from inside the Prince of Yan's residence: "Bang—"

This caused Qiu Fu and the others, who witnessed everything at the city gate and had some PTSD, to show fear on their faces and fall silent instantly.