Ming Dynasty Simulator: I will be the greatest emperor of all time!

In May of the 29th year of the Hongwu reign, according to the Yongle Emperor, theoretically, there were still six years left until Zhu Yuanzhang's death.

Today, Zhu Yuanzhang, on a whim, invited his entire family to a gathering in Yingtian Prefecture, where the princes of the Ming Dynasty enjoyed themselves immensely at the banquet.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck directly in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, splitting the ground open. Zhu Yuanzhang was so frightened he fainted. A mechanical voice echoed in his mind—

[Binding in the Ming Dynasty Fate Simulator... Seems like I bound the wrong person? Oh well, they all have the surname Zhu, and their given names are both three characters long, so it should be correct... Binding successful...]

Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's reaction, the princes and guards were thrown into chaos, with the Crown Prince Zhu Yunwen and Prince Yan Zhu Di both shouting:

"Protect His Majesty!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was then escorted to recuperate. The imperial physicians came to examine him and concluded that he was only frightened and would soon recover.

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince Zhu Yunwen breathed a sigh of relief. He was not confident that he could deal with his uncles in Yingtian Prefecture. If he pushed them too far, they might kill him before he even ascended the throne.

Prince Yan, Zhu Di, also breathed a sigh of relief. He was not confident that he could succeed in rebelling in Yingtian Prefecture. After all, Zhu Yunwen had the right to rule, and if his father died, he might be killed by Zhu Yunwen the next day.

Before Zhu Yuanzhang's bedside, the uncle and nephew exchanged a glance, both forcing smiles to create the image of a harmonious and beautiful Ming Dynasty royal family.

"Fourth Uncle, you've become even more valiant."

"Your Highness, with your help, His Majesty is now even more prosperous."

The uncle and nephew gave each other a round of commercial flattery.

The descendants of the Zhu family were all filled with worry in the Hall of Literary Glory.

Although the imperial physicians said His Majesty was fine, what if he really didn't wake up? If His Majesty really didn't wake up, these princes and grandsons of the emperor would see things much more clearly than His Majesty himself. The Crown Prince Zhu Yunwen had been disliking these vassal kings for a long time.

Only Zhu Di's fourth son, Zhu Gaoxi, seemed carefree. He was only four years old, with chubby cheeks and a cute little body, and seemed indifferent to Zhu Yuanzhang's safety.

His soul had studied abroad in later generations, so of course he didn't care, because he knew that Zhu Yuanzhang died in the thirty-first year of the Hongwu reign. To avoid the butterfly effect, he rarely did anything in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Di loved his fourth son, Zhu Gaoxi, very much. But in the face of such a scene, even if you were just a four-year-old child, you would have to be saddened by the emperor's safety. Otherwise, if the civil officials caught you, they would definitely scold you severely and call you an unfilial son.

So, taking advantage of everyone's inattention, Zhu Di slapped Zhu Gaoxi's buttocks very hard. Zhu Gaoxi turned around, his big eyes looking at Zhu Di with innocent eyes, somewhat puzzled.

When Zhu Di saw that Zhu Gaoxi was not crying, he gritted his teeth and pinched Zhu Gaoxi's little bottom hard.

Although Zhu Gaoxi's soul was twenty years old, his body was still that of a four-year-old. He could not bear such intense pain, so in the somber Huagai Hall, a child cried loudly.

"Waaaaah..."

"Waaaaah..."

Zhu Gaoxi cursed his father, Zhu Di, in his heart. Now he knew what Zhu Di wanted to do: "You want me to pretend to be sad? Why did you have to go to such lengths?"

Zhu Gaoxi's tears streamed down his face as he wiped them away and cried loudly.

Zhu Di smiled with satisfaction, very pleased with his masterpiece.

Some of the civil officials present looked at Prince Yan, Zhu Di, with admiration, thinking that he had raised such a filial son.

On the other side...

Grandson Zhu Yunwen lowered his head, his face grim, his heart filled with apprehension yet his lips curled in disdain, thinking to himself:

"Gao Xi, what excellent acting! Your crying is so realistic. I never imagined that you, at only four years old, could already share your father's burdens."

As time went by, the pain in Zhu Gaoxi's buttocks gradually lessened, and his cries also subsided. Zhu Yuanzhang also seemed to be waking up on the bed.

However, Zhu Di was still not satisfied and wanted to pinch Zhu Gaoxi's buttocks again, but Zhu Gaoxi was extremely vigilant and dodged. Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang had already woken up at this moment, so Zhu Di had no choice but to give up this idea. Looking at his fourth son's buttocks, he felt extremely regretful.

"Cough cough cough..." Zhu Yuanzhang woke up, looked around, and looked at his sons and grandsons. These people were the future of the Ming Dynasty.

A crowd gathered around him, showering the emperor with concern and inquiries.

"Dad (Grandpa), we were so worried about you."

While still unconscious, Zhu Yuanzhang finally figured out what the thing bound to his mind was.

The Ming Dynasty Fate Simulator can simulate the future of the Ming Dynasty! However, this simulation has some limitations; it can only simulate the future of one's own descendants, and it unfolds from the perspective of one's own descendants.

The simulator told him that if he could simulate three consecutive "Emperors of All Time" among his descendants, he could unlock an achievement that might even bring people back to life!

Of course, these simulations are all based on existing realities.

The simulator initially gave Zhu Yuanzhang three options—

1. Crown Prince Zhu Yunwen

2. Prince Zhu Gang of Jin

3. Zhu Di, Prince of Yan

Zhu Yuanzhang naturally chose the first option without hesitation, after all, this was the Ming Dynasty successor he had carefully cultivated since Biao'er's death.

According to the rules of past dynasties, the second emperor after the establishment of a dynasty is generally called "Taizong". Such Taizongs are basically, if not the greatest emperors of all time, they are also extremely outstanding emperors.

Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to see how his successor, his good grandson Zhu Yunwen, would eventually become one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history.

Upon seeing the simulator claiming it could revive the dead, Zhu Yuanzhang's heart burned with excitement. Could his sister and his son, Biao'er, be brought back to life?

[Selection successful. Simulation of the Crown Prince Zhu Yunwen begins.]

[Should we skip the first half of Zhu Yunwen's life and start the simulation from when he became emperor?]

【Yes】

[Simulation Start]

In the intercalary fifth month of the thirty-first year of the Hongwu reign, your grandfather, the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, who expelled the Manchus and restored China, passed away.

Although in later theories your grandfather could have lived another four years, as someone who experienced it firsthand, you know for sure that he truly did pass away.

Upon seeing the description of the simulator, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. "Is this how later generations refer to me? The Hongwu Emperor? That certainly suits me."

But... what does the second part of the simulator mean?

What do you mean by saying we can theoretically live another four years?

Living is living, and dying is dying. Are we going to become living dead?

Let's continue watching.

After your grandfather passed away, you ascended the throne at the end of the intercalary fifth month of the thirty-first year of Hongwu's reign, in accordance with his will, and established the reign title "Jianwen".

At the same time, after ascending the throne, you were extremely wary of your uncles who were princes. You issued an order to the princes in the name of Zhu Yuanzhang's "last will and testament" forbidding them from coming to the capital to attend the funeral and see their father's remains one last time.

[At this time, Prince Yan, Zhu Di, had already traveled south to attend the funeral and had reached Huai'an. However, according to this imperial edict, he could only regretfully return to Beiping. He was merely a prince; how could he dare disobey his father's will?]

Now you are the emperor, and you finally understand what power and supreme authority mean. This most powerful vassal king, the Prince of Yan, the eldest of the living princes, must be extremely respectful and act according to your wishes before you, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Originally, you were somewhat cautious about reducing the power of the princes, but seeing how obedient your fourth uncle was, you felt that reducing the power of the princes would be an extremely easy thing to do.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the simulation thoughtfully, frowned, and then slowly nodded.

In my later years, for the sake of the stability of the Ming Dynasty, it is quite possible that I might issue a will forbidding my sons from coming to the capital for my funeral.

Yunwen just told us last time that the vassal kings are powerful, and we know that, but we are old and don't want to cause trouble anymore. Moreover, the threat from the Mongols is still there, so we need to rely on the vassal kings. China cannot fall into the hands of the barbarians again.

But why did Yunwen have to take action so soon after ascending the throne? Why didn't this child know to cleanse the Mongols after securing his position on the throne before making any moves?

Wait a minute, didn't we tell Yunwen that we've killed off most of the Ming Dynasty's military generals, and now the one who can lead the Ming army is his fourth uncle, Zhu Di?

We've told the fourth prince many times that he should assist Yunwen properly. The fourth prince is simple-minded and patted his chest to assure us that he would be loyal. Yunwen, why do you seem to be at odds with your fourth uncle as soon as you ascend the throne?

Could it be that the Crown Prince and the Prince of Yan have a conflict on a regular basis?

Oh, this child.

However, if Yunwen can become a great emperor throughout history and create the "Reign of Jianwen" or the "Prosperous Era of Jianwen", then let's just pretend we didn't see these minor flaws!

Just as the simulator reached this point, Zhu Yuanzhang automatically woke up, then paused the simulation and chatted with his children and grandchildren.

Suddenly, Zhu Yuanzhang remembered his question from the simulator and asked:

"We had a dream."

The emperor listened attentively, his children and grandchildren straining their ears. He said he had a dream, but in reality, he was using the dream as a pretext to say some things that were not meant to be said.

"In the dream, there was a person who was supposed to be dead, but other people said that this person was not dead and that theoretically, this person could live for another four years."

"What do you all think means by 'theoretically, he can live for another four years'?"

Zhu Gaoxi's face tightened, and he suddenly looked up at his father, Zhu Di.

Zhu Di seemed to be deep in thought.