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

As Zhu Yunhuan finished speaking, a long silence fell...

Everyone looked at Zhu Yunhuan, and no one spoke.

Or, a myriad of thoughts flooded their minds and they didn't know what to say. Tears only welled up in their eyes or silently slid down their cheeks, which were roughened by wind and frost.

All these years.

They probably don't even remember how many battles they fought.

But they remember that they had been injured, and that they had seen countless people die. They were not afraid and had no regrets, because they knew that war meant death, and the peace they had today had to be achieved at the cost of human lives.

But today, I am standing in front of the young emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

They just knew.

Fighting... is it possible to avoid casualties?

People like them... don't have to keep their heads on their belts all the time?

Would an emperor who holds the greatest power in the world and is so high and mighty care so much about the lives of these common men?

How many years does it take to produce such an emperor?

It is better to live a miserable life than to die. Who would want to die?

Who wouldn't want to be able to chat and laugh with their brothers forever, to drink after fighting on the battlefield? Who wouldn't want to have a wife and children at home who aren't afraid of being left unattended?

Think of this.

Thinking back to the battles he'd fought in the past—battles where, regardless of victory or defeat, a great many people would die; then to the young man before him, with a resolute and serious face, as if he were more reliable than anyone else; then to the inevitable event of Wang Jinnian's sharp weapon being thrown into the battlefield...

Many silent tears gradually turned into suppressed sobs.

Then to the low sobbing...

Someone choked up and shouted, "Your Majesty! There is no better emperor than you!" There was no flattery in the voice, and the language was extremely plain and simple, but it contained the most genuine emotion.

This voice was like a stone that caused a thousand waves:

"I understand! I understand! Your Majesty's benevolence is placed on every citizen of the Ming Dynasty, every man of the Ming Dynasty!"

"How many of our brothers have died over the years? We just consider it... fate, the price we have to pay. With your Majesty's words, we know that such things will never happen again!"

"I'm an old bachelor with no children. Five years ago, a baby followed me around, calling me 'uncle' all the time. How clever and well-behaved was he? I just treated him like my own child!"

"But that year, he was broken into several pieces in a blink of an eye, and was even crushed by the Tartar horses' hooves. We couldn't sew it back together even if we wanted to!"

"I remember that kid was only thirteen... If... If he had been born a little later, in a good year like today, he would definitely... definitely have survived! He would still call us 'Uncle' all the time. He's so handsome, he would definitely have found a beautiful wife and had a big, fat boy..."

"My brother died while blocking our sword on the battlefield..."

"My brother, starting with his grandfather, has been fighting the Tartars and died on the battlefield. Then his father took up his sword and died too. As for him... there is no heir left!"

"..."

For many people and many things, it’s not that they don’t remember them, nor that they won’t be sad as time passes, but that they know there’s nothing they can do about it.

So I can only keep it in my heart.

But at this moment I feel: What a pity... What a pity!!

When the emotions that have been accumulated for a long time are overflowing, a slight opening can make all the suppressed emotions pour out like a dam bursting.

I heard everyone talking in tears.

Zhu Yunhuan couldn't help but feel nervous, and his nose felt inexplicably sour.

Every word spoke of blood and cruelty. Even if his heart was as hard as iron, it was impossible for him not to be moved.

This also reminded him of the interviews he had seen in later generations with veterans who had lived through the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. They spoke either excitedly or calmly, but every word seemed to be stained with blood, yet also with a determination to succeed.