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

In the thirty-first year of the Hongwu reign, you ascended the throne in succession. In the twenty-sixth year of the Yongle reign, you, who had spent your life in battle, passed away.

[Upon careful consideration of your achievements, you truly deserve the title of "Prosperous Ming Dynasty"]

When you were the crown prince, you spearheaded the construction of the new capital and completed it perfectly, ensuring that the Ming Dynasty could "guard the nation's gates with the emperor's presence," thus giving the dynasty its backbone.

[When you were emperor, you compiled the Yongle Encyclopedia, dispatched Zheng He on his voyages to the Western Ocean, and led five expeditions to conquer the grasslands and subdue the barbarians. Your achievements are comparable to those of your father, Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang. In particular, you dispatched Zheng He on his voyages to the Western Ocean, which led to the discovery of a new continent that no one had ever known before, and the establishment of several provinces on the new continent. This achievement is enough to make you remember in the history of human civilization.]

After your death, your eldest son Zhu Gaochi succeeded to the throne and gave you the temple name "Taizong".

The fourth brother actually managed to flatten the grasslands this time.

Zhu Yuanzhang was satisfied.

Is there a new continent?

Zhu Yuanzhang was taken aback. This wasn't included when he simulated his fourth son's life on the throne last time, but it was this time.

His Ming Dynasty inherited the legitimacy of the Yuan Dynasty, so Zhu Yuanzhang also knew that the Mongols had once conquered the world. In the distant west, there were other civilizations, Westerners, and these were lands that were already well known to the people of the Ming Dynasty.

The simulator claims that Zheng He, the fourth son of the Chinese Communist Party, discovered a new continent that had never been discovered by mankind before during his voyages to the Western Ocean.

Zhu Yuanzhang kept this matter in mind. "Fourth brother, fourth brother, I'm too old to take this achievement away from you. But as your dear father, I'll promote this Zheng He in advance and get the 'Voyages to the Western Ocean' project approved by the court. It's not too much to share some of your achievements with your father, is it?"

As for Zhu Gaochi's succession to the throne, this was within Zhu Yuanzhang's expectations.

When simulating Zhu Di earlier, the simulator mentioned that the fourth prince was just Zhu Gaochi's general in charge of the northern expedition, which shows that the fourth prince highly recognized Zhu Gaochi's ability to handle state affairs.

It was perfectly reasonable for Zhu Gaochi to inherit the throne, and he was bound to be a wise ruler.

"It seems that Gao Chi did not give the fourth prince the temple name of his ancestor. This is just as we thought. Zhu Gao Chi would not be so foolish."

Your temple name, Taizong, was maintained for over 100 years.

[More than 100 years later, your descendant, an emperor who loved Taoist practices, encountered a problem.]

At that time, the main hall of the Imperial Ancestral Temple of the Ming Dynasty enshrined nine people: Emperor Dezu, Emperor Taizu, Emperor Taizong, Emperor Renzong, Emperor Xuanzong, Emperor Yingzong, Emperor Xianzong, Emperor Xiaozong, and Emperor Wuzong.

[Emperor Dezu was the founding ancestor of the Zhu family, and his tablet will be kept for ten thousand generations. Emperor Taizu founded the Ming Dynasty, and his tablet will also be kept for ten thousand generations. According to the principle of "the tablet is removed when the kinship ends," your tablet as Emperor Taizong in the Imperial Ancestral Temple will be moved.]

However, your achievements are too great. During your reign, you moved the capital to Beiping, pacified the grasslands, and dispatched Zheng He to discover the New World, ushering in a new era in human civilization.

[At the same time, you are also the biological father of the Ming Dynasty's regent (name has been scribbled), who achieved unparalleled merit, turned the tide of the Ming Dynasty, restored the Ming Dynasty from danger, and did not covet the throne.]

[If you were to move your cards out of the main hall of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, it would be universally condemned.]

So your descendants, who were fond of Taoist practices, had a sudden inspiration and upgraded your title from "Taizong" to "Chengzu".

Your seniority in the Ming Dynasty has thus been upgraded.

However, upgrading to "Zu" has also brought you some negative effects.

[You seized the throne in the later years of the Hongwu Emperor's reign. Because of your title "ancestor," many later generations felt that your imperial succession was illegitimate. Perhaps, like Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuanzhang, who was controlled by Emperor Taizong of Tang, Zhu Yuanzhang was also controlled by you in his later years. However, the historians dared not record this in the historical books, and the people of the Ming Dynasty knew about this. Therefore, the Spring and Autumn Annals styled your title to "ancestor" to condemn your illegitimate accession to the throne.]

[This simulation has ended]

"Good, good, good! Now we finally know who keeps changing the fourth prince's temple name to Chengzu."

"You like Taoist practices, huh? We'll write that into the 'Imperial Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty' later. Those who like Taoist practices are not allowed to become emperors!"

Zhu Yuanzhang felt that he wasn't holding a grudge; he felt that his descendants had really offended him!

He founded the Ming Dynasty, and his posthumous conferment of titles on several of his deceased ancestors was nothing but formalism.

But the fourth prince was a real emperor, so how can he be called an "ancestor"? Others, like Emperor Taizong Li Shimin, who conquered half of the Tang Dynasty, were not called "ancestors".

"Guards! Bring us our 'Imperial Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty'! Write it down! Those who prefer Taoist practices shall not become emperors!"

Zhu Yuanzhang called out to his men.

"The Regent of the Ming Dynasty turned the tide for the Ming Dynasty... or was it the fourth prince's son, Zhu Gaochi? No, no, Gaochi is the emperor, so it must be Zhu Gaoxu or Zhu Gaosui? Let's guess again, which emperor was it when our Ming Dynasty faced a crisis?"

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at the nine temple names in the simulator, trying to eliminate them by process of elimination.

Originally, temple names were something only top-ranking emperors could have. For example, during the Western Han and Eastern Han dynasties, there were only 7 emperors in total who had temple names. Of course, the reason for such a small number is that some emperors during the Han dynasty who originally had temple names had them abolished because they were deemed "unworthy of their positions."

Therefore, the characters in temple names are mostly words of praise, and before the Tang Dynasty, they did not have the function of giving praise or criticism.

Since the Tang Dynasty, due to the proliferation of posthumous titles, temple names have replaced some of the functions of posthumous titles. Although they do not have the same strict meaning of praise and criticism as posthumous titles, when people encounter emperors who are not very good, they still try not to give them too good a temple name, or they will refer to the life of the previous emperor who used that temple name to make praise or criticism.

For example, the highest level of temple name, "Gaozong," has been considered unlucky by later emperors ever since Wanyan Gou's temple name was "Gaozong." Until the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, no one used this highest level temple name because using it was considered an insult.

"Renzong and Xuanzong are definitely not it, but Yingzong... Yingzong... what does Yingzong mean?"

Zhu Yuanzhang scratched his head.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang (then Emperor Zhu) studied many books after becoming emperor, he was still relatively ignorant about temple names.

Helpless, he summoned Huang Guan, the Minister of the Imperial Seal Office, who was the top scholar in the imperial examination in the twenty-fourth year of the Hongwu reign.

Zhu Yuanzhang got straight to the point, writing down the temple names and asking Huang Guan:

"Look at all these emperors with temple names, who is most likely to have committed acts that endangered the country during their reign?"

Huang Guan hesitated for a moment, as discussing the emperor's temple name was a crime of disrespect.

"Speak freely. Whatever you say today, even if you insult us, we will forgive you."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand; he was now eager to know which generation of Ming emperors had run into trouble.

Unfortunately, Zhu Gaoxi was completely asleep at the moment; otherwise, if he had heard this conversation, he would have been greatly shocked.

As the top scholar in the imperial examination, Huang Guan was naturally exceptionally talented. He immediately spotted the inauspicious temple names among them and promptly reported back:

"Your Majesty, I believe it should be Emperor Yingzong. Apart from Emperor Yingzong, almost all other temple names are positive."

"Explain this to us, isn't the name Yingzong a homophone for 'hero'?"

"Your Majesty, this must be considered in conjunction with the temple names of our predecessors. Your Majesty, you should know that the top temple name Gaozong has been considered less desirable since it was used by Emperor Gaozong of Song. The original meaning of Yingzong can be considered praise, but the fates of Emperor Yingzong of Song and Emperor Yingzong of Yuan have added some negative connotations to this temple name."