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

At this time, your second uncle, the Prince of Qin, and your third uncle, the Prince of Jin, had both passed away, and your fourth uncle, Zhu Di, had become the de facto eldest son among all the sons of your grandfather, Zhu Yuanzhang.

Legally, your fourth uncle is the leader of all the vassal kings; in terms of strength, the Yan vassal state is powerful and borders the Ning vassal state, so you are extremely wary of your fourth uncle.

Even before your grandfather Zhu Yuanzhang passed away, you already wanted to deal with Prince Yan, Zhu Di, and tried every means to weaken him, but he was far away, guarding the northern frontier, and you had no way to do so.

You have repeatedly and subtly mentioned the dangers posed by the vassal kings to your grandfather, Zhu Yuanzhang, hoping that he would help you weaken them while he was still alive. However, for some reason, perhaps out of kinship or for military defense against the Northern Yuan, your grandfather Zhu Yuanzhang did not take any action against your uncles.

Inside the Jinshen Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang was first shocked. He was shocked that his third son, Prince Jin, Zhu Gang, had died around the same time as him.

Why did my eldest, second, and third children all die young? Could it be that someone was bringing misfortune upon them?

"Sigh..." Zhu Yuanzhang saw the later part of the simulator and felt that Yunwen still did not understand his good intentions.

Zhu Yuanzhang was first and foremost the emperor of the land, a military strategist for the Han people, and only secondly the emperor of the Zhu family.

He sent his sons to the frontier because the threat from the Northern Yuan had not yet been completely eliminated! The Han people have been weak for centuries! We cannot allow the Central Plains to fall into the hands of foreign tribes again!

Did he really not know the threat that the vassal kings posed to the central court? Of course he did. But even if there was a threat, it wouldn't be more than four or five generations later.

Thinking back to the Western Han Dynasty, it was just like that. Emperor Gaozu of Han implemented the system of parallel prefectures and kingdoms. Did he not know that the vassal states would threaten the court in the future? He must have known, but he had no choice. At that time, the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods had been divided for hundreds of years, and his great Han Dynasty needed these vassal states to consolidate its rule.

"To deal with the barbarians... we, Old Zhu... had no choice..."

Zhu Yuanzhang thought to himself.

Moreover, he had his own ulterior motives in choosing his sons to guard the border.

If a prince were to rebel in the future, at least the emperor would still be surnamed Zhu, and they would still be his descendants!

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and asked Song Zhong, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard standing outside the door:

"Song Zhong, were there any feudal lords in history who successfully rebelled?"

"Huh?" Song Zhong secretly groaned. Your Majesty, I've probably read fewer books than you, and you're asking me?

But since he couldn't refuse the emperor's question, Song Zhong hesitated and replied, relying on his memory and experience:

"Your Majesty, to my recollection, there seems to be no such thing. Moreover, the central court can mobilize the manpower and resources of the entire nation, and it also has the legitimacy of the righteous cause. It would be impossible for a prince to win a rebellion."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. After becoming emperor, he had read many books and also felt that it was nothing short of a fantasy for the princes to succeed in rebellion.

"So, if our future emperors were to be successfully overthrown by a vassal king, it would be because they were unworthy of their position."

Zhu Yuanzhang muttered something.

Song Zhong shrank back, having recently noticed that His Majesty was becoming increasingly fond of talking to himself as he grew older.

After thinking for a moment, Zhu Yuanzhang muttered to himself again:

"Third brother, if you had died a few years earlier, Old Zhu would really have had to consider making the fourth brother the crown prince."

simulation--

Seeing that your imperial grandfather had no intention of suppressing your uncles, you felt extremely helpless and frustrated.

Your imperial ancestor's reputation is too great; you dare not make any small moves.

And your uncles, these vassal kings, are naturally aware of your little schemes. Knowing that their father won't harm them, they will always openly or secretly mock you, calling you a scoundrel who sows discord between father and son.

You ignored their sarcastic remarks, maintaining your usual polite and courteous demeanor. However, deep down, you harbored resentment towards your uncles.

You swear that after you ascend the throne, you will thoroughly humiliate your uncles and uphold your dignity as emperor.

Now that you have ascended the throne and become emperor, you want to put your previous ideas into practice.

You are actually very dissatisfied with your grandfather's governing philosophy, feeling that he placed too much emphasis on military generals and neglected the development of civil administration.

Therefore, after you ascended the throne, you appointed Fang Xiaoru to lead the reforms, which aimed to restore the political system of the Ming Dynasty by relying on Confucian classics, improve the status of civil officials in many ways, and use civil officials to supervise military generals.

Upon reading this passage from the simulator, Zhu Yuanzhang began to frown.

Each emperor has his own governing philosophy, and he can understand if his grandson is dissatisfied with it.

But this grandson of mine actually used Confucian classics to reform the system? That stuff is just a way to trick scholars into working for our royal family. How could you believe in that stuff, Yunwen?

Sigh, considering you created the "Jianwen Prosperity," I, Old Zhu, will forgive you once again.

Next, you planned to take action against your uncles, the feudal lords.

[This simulation has ended]

Cooldown time: 7 day

The simulation abruptly ended, prompting Zhu Yuanzhang to angrily rebuke:

"You bastard!"

"Fragment Dog!"

This startled Song Zhong greatly, and he immediately lay down on the ground, cautiously asking Zhu Yuanzhang:

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious. When he went to Yingtian Prefecture incognito, he would often encounter storytellers in teahouses. At the climax of their stories, one of them would suddenly say:

To find out what happens next, please read on.

At times like this, he would curse and swear. Now, this simulator was also keeping him in suspense, making him wait for a full seven days!

Seeing that Song Zhong was quite frightened, Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand:

"It's alright, you can get up now."

Suddenly, Zhu Yuanzhang remembered that his sons were still in Yingtian Prefecture. He could simply ask them what they would do if Yunwen attacked them.

"I'm really clever, hahaha!" Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up.

"Song Zhong, quickly go and call the fourth brother and the others into the palace."

……

While Zhu Yuanzhang was conducting a simulation in the Jinshen Hall, Zhu Di, on the other hand, was taking his entire family back to their fiefdom.

The princes of the Ming Dynasty who were stationed beyond the Great Wall had the duty of guarding the border. This time, they came to Yingtian Prefecture only because Zhu Yuanzhang invited them to a gathering. Now that the gathering was over, they could not stay in the capital for long.

Zhu Gaoxi, however, was reluctant to leave. The city of Beiping was in dire straits due to years of war, far less appealing than the economically prosperous Yingtian Prefecture.

……

Yingtian Prefecture, the residence of the Princes, the residence of the Prince of Yan and his family.

Zhu Gaoxi stood in the courtyard, looking towards the streets of Yingtian Prefecture. There, vendors and peddlers hawked their wares, their cries echoing through the streets. All of this made the Ming Dynasty seem so prosperous, and people were experiencing the hard-won peace that had lasted for hundreds of years.

"But... in a few years, the uncle and nephew will be fighting over..."

After Zhu Gaoxi transmigrated, he did consider having his father, Zhu Di, compete for the position of crown prince.

But after thinking about it, he gave up on that approach.

Zhu Yuanzhang favored his son, Crown Prince Zhu Biao, and by extension, his son Zhu Yunwen. This was common knowledge. It was not certain that his own father, Zhu Di, could win the crown prince position.

If this matter angers Zhu Yuanzhang and leads to the suppression of the Prince of Yan's lineage, then after Zhu Yunwen ascends the throne, his family will likely be powerless to resist.

This is also why, despite having the "Department Store Warehouse" cheat ability, he rarely uses it.

If I were to use any items from the [Department Store Warehouse], who knows how far history would deviate? I could only use those items after Zhu Di became emperor.

Zhu Gaoxi, with his small body, looked outside, and his little face showed a kind of emotion that only adults have. This scene was witnessed by Zhu Di, Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaosui.

Zhu Gaoxu placed his hand on Zhu Gaochi's obese body and laughed heartily:

"Big brother, am I right? Our fourth son, despite his young age, always acts like such a grown-up. It's hilarious, hahaha!"

Zhu Di also found his son Gao Xi to be quite adorable.

"Your Highness...Your Highness...His Majesty summons you to the palace. Please do not return to your fiefdom yet..."