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

[To begin simulating Zhu Di, please select a Sim paragraph.]

1. Zhu Di (Prince of Yan)

2. Zhu Di (Emperor)

3. Zhu Di (Emperor Taizong)

4. Zhu Di (Emperor Chengzu)

Zhu Yuanzhang: ? ? ? ?

What does this mean? I don't quite understand.

Does this simulator mean that this is the life of our fourth child?

It means that our fourth son first became the Prince of Yan, and then became the emperor. Taizong seems to be his temple name, and what is Chengzu?

Zhu Yuanzhang scratched his head, thinking for a long time but still couldn't figure out what this Chengzu was.

"How did the fourth prince become emperor? He said he would never rebel, and we trusted him completely. Could it be that we passed the throne to him?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes widened as he clicked on "[2. Zhu Di (Emperor)]". This time, he was watching the simulator with exceptional seriousness.

[The simulation begins, elaborating on Zhu Di's life as emperor.]

According to the official historical records that you personally verified, you succeeded your father Zhu Yuanzhang to the throne in the thirty-fifth year of the Hongwu reign.

"I knew it! Our fourth son wouldn't rebel!"

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled broadly, it seemed there was another change in the situation, he had deposed Yunwen and passed the throne to his fourth son.

But... in the last simulation, didn't it say that we would die in the thirty-first year of the Hongwu reign?

Why is it that the throne was passed down again in the thirty-fifth year of the Hongwu reign?

If you don't understand, let's take another look.

But you know very well how you came to this throne. You know even better that you can silence the critics of one generation, but not the critics of future generations.

So, in order to give your father an explanation and to avoid being criticized by future generations, you wanted to emulate your idol, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin.

Li Shimin murdered his brothers and forced his father to abdicate, but because of the Reign of Zhenguan, he became a model for all dynasties.

Think about it, if you achieve something great, future generations won't criticize you, right?

Ok?

The simulator seems to suggest that there's something wrong with the fourth prince's claim to the throne.

But didn't we pass the throne to the fourth prince? How could there be a problem?

Zhu Yuanzhang could never have imagined that his fourth son would rewrite history, because that would be utterly shameless.

He felt that his Zhu family members were all kind and honest, and that he shouldn't have given birth to such a shameless child.

Wait, something's not right. Let's sort this out first.

The last simulation said that we died in the thirty-first year of the Hongwu reign, and Yunwen ascended the throne.

Then Yunwen planned to reduce the power of the princes.

Then the fourth prince became emperor.

Wow! I think I understand now.

The fourth prince rebelled? And he succeeded?

Then the simulator said that theoretically we lived for another four years...

Zhu Yuanzhang instantly understood everything. His good son had not only rebelled, but had also abolished his nephew Zhu Yunwen's Jianwen reign title, continued his Hongwu reign title, and then claimed that he was the one who had passed the throne to him.

After Zhu Yuanzhang figured it out, he sneered repeatedly:

"You good-for-nothing fourth brother! You good-for-nothing fourth brother! Let's see how well you behave as emperor."

Just a few days ago, he had solemnly promised himself that he would never rebel, but today he learned that his fourth son had rebelled and even altered history. Zhu Yuanzhang was furious. He gripped the chair tightly, wanting to immediately call his fourth son over and give him a good scolding.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt that this was his fourth son's betrayal!

But having been emperor for many years, he rationally restrained his anger. Zhu Yuanzhang decided to first see what his fourth son had done after becoming emperor.

Because of his anger, Zhu Yuanzhang spoke these words from the bottom of his heart, which greatly alarmed Song Zhong, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who was waiting outside the door.

Could it be that His Majesty truly intends to depose the Crown Prince and install the Prince of Yan in the new position?

It seems that my previous friendship with the Prince of Yan was indeed the right thing to do.

Among the eunuchs and palace maids waiting outside the palace were also spies from the Crown Prince's faction. Upon hearing this, they were greatly alarmed, exchanged glances, and discussed that they must inform His Highness the Crown Prince of this news.

Upon seeing this, Song Zhong secretly sneered.

Do you really think Your Majesty is unaware of these spies that the Crown Prince has planted around the Emperor? Your Majesty is simply pretending not to see them.

Otherwise, people would really think that the Embroidered Uniform Guards are just sitting around doing nothing.

simulation--

In the first year of the Yongle reign, you, newly enthroned as emperor, were full of ambition. At this time, the grasslands were also undergoing dramatic changes. Tribes such as the Tatars, Oirats, and Uriyangkhai were rising up, and the borders of the Ming Dynasty once again fell into a state of instability.

Therefore, you wish to carry on your father's ambition and continue to conquer these barbarian tribes to ensure peace on the frontier.

[It was also in this year that you renamed your fiefdom "Beiping" to "Beijing," making it Shuntian Prefecture, in contrast to Yingtian Prefecture. At this time, you already had an idea in mind: you wanted to move the capital.]

[When your father was still on the throne, he considered moving the capital. He felt that Yingtian Prefecture was not suitable as the capital of a unified dynasty. So he sent your elder brother to investigate the Guanzhong region and see if Xi'an Prefecture, the former capital of the powerful Han and Tang dynasties, was suitable as the capital.]

Unfortunately, your elder brother fell ill after returning from his inspection tour, and the plan to move the capital was abandoned.

When the simulator mentioned Zhu Biao, Zhu Yuanzhang secretly wiped away his tears. He was blaming himself, thinking, "If I hadn't sent Biao to investigate, would Biao have died so young?"

Regarding the capital city, you share the same philosophy as your father, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang; you also believe that Yingtian Prefecture is unsuitable as the capital of a unified dynasty.

The main reason is that the area south of the Huai River is stable and prosperous, with little war, and the Han people have a high sense of belonging to the region. In contrast, the area north of the Huai River is frequently invaded by nomadic tribes, and the Han people have a lower sense of belonging to the region.

If the capital were established in Yingtianfu (Nanjing), and the Ming Dynasty later weakened, would it lose its northern territory? Would the Ming Dynasty end up like the Southern Song Dynasty, confined to a corner of the country?

You don't want your and your father's Ming Dynasty to be confined to a corner of the country.

Furthermore, the war between the Ming Dynasty and the Mongols was not yet completely over. If the emperor were to remain in Nanjing, he would be far too slow in receiving military intelligence from the border regions, and war is a matter of great importance to the state.

These are precisely the reasons that make you so eager to move the capital.

[Therefore, you made a bold move, which can be seen from your elevation of Beiping to Yingtian Prefecture.]

[You plan to establish the capital in Beiping, placing it on the frontier, and have the emperor guard the border. With an emperor guarding the border, future emperors will increase their investment in the frontier for their own safety, and the people on the border will naturally be much better off.]

What you may not know is that your decision to establish the capital in Beiping led to the saying, "The emperor guards the nation's gate."

"The emperor guards the nation's gate... The emperor guards the nation's gate..." Zhu Yuanzhang's anger towards Zhu Di was suddenly blocked and resolved.

"The Emperor... guarding the nation's gate... Fourth Brother... you have quite the spirit... even braver than us."

Zhu Yuanzhang discovered that his fourth son did indeed have some of the characteristics of Emperor Taizong of Tang.