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

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Di, who was making a solemn vow, and was very pleased. This was his son. The fourth son was a bit slow-witted, but he was loyal and reliable.

If Yunwen were to reduce the power of the princes, I imagine the fourth prince would be the first to come out and support him. At that time, the fourth prince would be the elder of our living sons, and with him there, Yunwen would surely be able to secure his throne.

Yunwen, you should thank us for choosing your fourth uncle to protect you!

Seeing his son's genuine emotions, Zhu Yuanzhang quickly went forward to help Zhu Di, who was kneeling on the ground, to his feet. Zhu Di, however, acted like a timid young woman, sulking with Zhu Yuanzhang.

"I won't get up!"

"We were wrong, we were wrong, Fourth Brother. Come on, get up. We'll never ask you those kinds of questions again."

After several rounds of back-and-forth between Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, the sullen Zhu Di finally got up, and the father and son tacitly let the topic of the vassal kings go.

But on the other side, Zhu Gaoxi was still stunned by his father's acting skills, muttering to himself:

"No wonder that line, '[The young master is often ill, you should encourage him,' could stay with my second brother for a lifetime. It turns out that Father is such a good actor."

"I almost believed that statement, '[They will never rebel]'."

As a father, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that his words had indeed hurt Zhu Di's feelings. Moreover, Zhu Di's words, such as how he could only return home a few times a year to guard the frontier, touched the deepest part of his family affection.

He looked at Zhu Di with a kind expression and said slowly:

"Fourth brother, you are our favorite child besides your eldest brother."

"If you were the second son after your eldest brother passed away, we would definitely have passed the throne to you. But don't blame your father now. I have no choice. Your third brother is still alive. Although I am not well-educated, I know that deposing the eldest son and establishing the youngest is a path to chaos. I am afraid that it will cause you and your third brother to become suspicious of each other and turn against each other!"

Although the simulator says that Prince Zhu Gang of Jin will die in a few years, he is at least alive now. Zhu Yuanzhang cannot bypass his third son and make his fourth son the crown prince.

Moreover, Zhu Yunwen, as the crown prince, has a solid foundation, so we don't want to touch him. Otherwise, we would have to kill many civil and military officials, and the Ming Dynasty might really suffer from a talent shortage and perish after only two generations!

Zhu Gaoxi, who was listening nearby, nodded in agreement with Zhu Yuanzhang's speech.

Historically, in unified dynasties, the emperor's position was generally passed down peacefully through the primogeniture system. This system was maintained until the reign of Emperor Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty, when it was broken by the "secret succession system".

As the founding emperor, it was quite normal for Zhu Yuanzhang to have a strong belief in the primogeniture system of succession.

Zhu Di was still choking back tears, trying to reply to his grandfather, when he suddenly saw his son, Gao Xi, nodding with bright eyes as he ate a chicken leg after hearing his grandfather's words.

Zhu Di was amused by Zhu Gaoxi's words.

Zhu Yuanzhang turned around and was amused:

"Little Gao Xi, you're so young, yet you're nodding along when we discuss politics?"

Zhu Gaoxi raised a small hand: "I understand!"

"Hey, you're talking about primogeniture! I'm the eldest son! Just like me, I'm the eldest son too!"

"Wow! Our little Gao Xi even knows about primogeniture! You, the fourth son, are much smarter than your father, the fourth son!"

Zhu Yuanzhang commented:

"When your father was your age, he drove away several teachers because of his bad reputation. Everyone in the court disliked him, and he got beaten by your grandfather every day. Don't be like your father!"

Zhu Di felt extremely awkward when Zhu Yuanzhang recounted his embarrassing childhood stories. He quickly tugged at Zhu Yuanzhang's sleeve and whispered:

"Dad, don't say these things to the child."

Zhu Yuanzhang lightly kicked Zhu Di's leg: "You actually know how to be ashamed? When you were a child, your father was so worried about you."

"Alright, alright, Father doesn't actually have anything to do today. Since you've already entered the palace, you can finish your dinner before leaving."

"Those barbarians from the Northern Yuan have been much more well-behaved lately. I think Xiao Gaoxi really likes the capital. You just said that you haven't seen us for years. In that case, you should go back to Beiping later and stay in Yingtian Prefecture more."

"Your brothers are the same; they should all stay in Yingtian Prefecture for a while longer."

Zhu Di's heart skipped a beat.

According to his and Yao Guangxiao's idea, the sooner he returned to Beiping, the better, so as not to attract the old man's attention and make him weaker.

Now that the old man has kept him in the capital and likes Zhu Gaoxi so much, does the old man really intend to pass the throne to me?

Zhu Di naturally had an insatiable desire for the throne, and if he could obtain it without usurping it, that would be even more to his liking.

"I'll listen to my father and stay in the capital a little longer."

After having dinner with Zhu Gaoxi, Zhu Di returned to the Princes' Residence and informed the other princes that the old man had allowed them to continue staying in Yingtian Prefecture.

The princes were naturally delighted, as the capital was far more enjoyable than the border regions.

In the following days, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know why, but he felt uneasy if he didn't see the little boy Zhu Gaoxi for a day.

For the first few days, Zhu Gaoxi was summoned to the palace every day. After running back and forth, Zhu Gaoxi's small body was exhausted, so Zhu Yuanzhang let Zhu Gaoxi live in the palace.

Such things cannot be hidden from the eyes of those who are observant.

Zhu Di was overjoyed, feeling that he could really try to seize the throne while his father was still alive.

Meanwhile, Zhu Yunwen's faction had been brooding lately, plotting how to deal with the Prince of Yan's faction, especially Zhu Gaoxi. Zhu Yunwen's birth mother, Lady Lü, listened coldly to the servants' reports. When she heard that the Emperor favored Zhu Gaoxi so much that he was even compared to the former Crown Prince Zhu Biao, Lady Lü gave a sinister smile:

"You ignorant little brat."

……

Seven days later, the simulation phase that Zhu Yuanzhang had been eagerly anticipating arrived.

These seven days were extremely agonizing for Zhu Yuanzhang.

If Zhu Gaoxi knew this, he would definitely feel the same way. After all, when reading novels, if an author only updates once a week, Zhu Gaoxi would curse that author's ancestors for eighteen generations.

[Since you did not make any changes to reality after the last simulation, this simulation will continue from where it left off.]

[Continue the previous simulation/Restart a simulation?]

Zhu Yuanzhang initially wanted to click "Continue from last time" without hesitation, but he was afraid the simulator would cut the story short again. Moreover, he vividly remembered Zhu Di's solemn promise not to rebel, and he wanted to see how his fourth son would act as a loyal subject. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang cautiously asked the simulator:

"Could we save this game and then simulate my fourth son? If we want to continue simulating Yunwen later, we can just continue?"

The simulator taught Zhu Yuanzhang the terms "fragment" and "archive," and after pondering them for a while, Zhu Yuanzhang also learned their meanings.

【Can】

[Let's keep Yunwen's save file for now, to simulate my fourth son's.]

[Saving data... Reloading simulation...]

[Have you decided to select "Zhu Di" for the simulation?]

【Sure】