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

Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxi frequently visited the palace, drawing criticism from both the court and the public.

The courtiers all felt that this was against etiquette, and memorials of advice and remonstrance flew like snowflakes onto Zhu Yuanzhang's imperial desk, but Zhu Yuanzhang did not care.

Of course, the lack of adherence to etiquette was only the surface reason. The deeper reason was that almost all the officials in the court and the countryside were part of the Crown Prince's faction. If Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to replace the Prince of Yan with the Crown Prince, how would they conduct themselves?

However, there were still some military generals in the court and among the people who had hopes for the Prince of Yan. These generals disliked the Crown Prince Zhu Yunwen because the Crown Prince was too biased towards civil officials.

For example, Li Wenzhong's son, Duke Cao, Li Jinglong, was in charge of the Left Army Commandery. He was very excited to see Zhu Di receiving more and more attention from Zhu Yuanzhang.

But he didn't show it, after all, on the surface he was a member of the Ironclad Grandson's faction.

As for the Eastern Palace, Zhu Yunwen's birth mother, Lady Lü, has not yet made a move, but judging from her tendency to smash vases and break rice bowls, she must be losing patience.

……

Zhu Di, overjoyed, led Zhu Gaoxi toward the Jinshen Hall.

Just as they arrived at the palace gate, they heard Zhu Yuanzhang say:

"Kneel down!"

Zhu Di was stunned. At first, he thought the old man was scolding the servants, but when he walked into the Jinshen Hall, he found that there were no servants in the hall. Apart from the old man, there were only him and Zhu Gaoxi in the entire Jinshen Hall.

Zhu Di thought someone was beside him, so he looked around again, but no one was there. At that moment, Zhu Yuanzhang's voice came again:

Stop looking, we're talking about you.

"Father?" Zhu Di asked in a questioning tone, quickly thinking about what had happened in the past few days. He hadn't done anything wrong.

But fearing the old man's authority, Zhu Di first put Zhu Gaoxi down, and then obediently knelt down.

Zhu Gaoxi was also somewhat confused about what Zhu Yuanzhang was trying to do, but he also knelt down with Zhu Di. Just as he was about to kneel down, Zhu Yuanzhang, dragging his aged body, ran to Zhu Gaoxi and picked him up.

"Oh dear! My little Gao Xi, Grandpa can't bear to see you kneeling here."

This made Zhu Di's lips twitch. He thought to himself, "Zhu Gaoxi is your grandson, but I'm not your son. How can you be so willing to make me kneel down?"

Zhu Yuanzhang held Zhu Gaoxi in his arms while glaring fiercely at Zhu Di.

Zhu Di quickly shrank back. After a while, he finally thought through all the recent events and realized that he hadn't done anything wrong. So, he mustered his courage and shouted at Zhu Yuanzhang:

"Old man! I haven't done anything wrong! You have to give me a reason for kneeling here!"

"Reason? I am the emperor, and you are the emperor's son and his subject. Do I need a reason to make you kneel?"

Zhu Di opened his mouth, unsure how to refute it. He felt that what the old man said seemed to make sense, but something also seemed off.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Gaoxi were having fun in the Jinshen Hall, while Zhu Di was left to the side, kneeling the whole time.

After Zhu Yuanzhang had finished playing, Zhu Gaoxi asked in a childish voice:

"Hey! Why is my daughter kneeling on that duck?"

Upon hearing his son's question, Zhu Di thought to himself that he hadn't spoiled his fourth son for nothing.

Zhu Yuanzhang was completely unable to refuse Zhu Gaoxi's question. After glaring at Zhu Di, he asked again:

"Fourth brother? You promise me you'll never rebel? Didn't you say that last time?"

Zhu Di was taken aback, then quickly replied, "Yes."

"But I had a dream that you rebelled!"

"Father! That's impossible! This must be a villain trying to bewitch you and influence your mind. This villain is definitely trying to damage the bond between us."

The father and son were locked in a stalemate when Zhu Gaoxi intervened, gently shaking Zhu Yuanzhang's hand.

"Yay! My dear Diedie won't rebel! He said... he said..."

Because he spoke at a long time and in a hurry, and because he had just played too hard, Zhu Gaoxi was even a little out of breath when he spoke.

"What did your father say? Little Gao Xi? Speak slowly, no rush."

Zhu Yuanzhang pinched Zhu Gaoxi's chubby, rosy cheeks. He noticed that he would feel happy whenever he saw Zhu Gaoxi.

"He said... he said he only wants to be the General Who Conquers the North, and he will only ever be the General Who Conquers the North. My dear Gao Xi, he's telling the truth, he won't lie!"

Everyone knows that Zhu Di was Zhu Gaochi's Grand General in the Northern Expedition! How could I possibly have deceived Old Zhu?

Zhu Gaoxi's words stirred up Zhu Yuanzhang's memories. He thought of the simulator, in which his fourth son not only established the capital in Beiping to guard the country's gate, but also personally led five military campaigns.

The emperor personally led five military campaigns. To put it nicely, it was because the emperor was leading the charge. To put it bluntly, it was because there was no one in the court who could be a general and command the entire army to fight.

For example, I used to lead troops in person, but after becoming emperor, I never led troops in person again because I had generals under my command.

"The Great General Who Conquers the North..." Zhu Yuanzhang murmured softly.

It seems that even after becoming emperor, the fourth prince didn't really enjoy himself; he was always busy with work and even had to personally lead the troops into battle.

And the culprit seems to be myself? It's because I slaughtered so many military generals that there's a complete talent gap.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang stopped Zhu Di from kneeling:

"Fourth brother, get up, you're suffering."

Zhu Di recalled Song Zhong's advice: his father seemed to be acting mysteriously lately, often talking to himself and acting strangely.

Zhu Di didn't believe it at first, but now he does.

Do you think I, Zhu Laosi, don't know how miserable I am? One second they're making me kneel, the next they're saying I, Zhu Laosi, am suffering. It seems that, given the old man's condition, he probably doesn't have many years left to live.

Fortunately, Zhu Yuanzhang was unaware of Zhu Di's thoughts; otherwise, he would have relentlessly pursued Zhu Di throughout Yingtian Prefecture, and even mocked him.

"We really don't have many years left to live, but you, Zhu Laosi, are so filial! You extended your father's life by four years! We really have to thank you!"

Zhu Gaoxi tilted his head, his face showing great confusion.

The historical trajectory of the Ming Dynasty seems to be somewhat different from what we imagined.

Suddenly, as if his mind had gone blank, Zhu Yuanzhang said to Zhu Di:

"Fourth son, what do you think about me passing the throne to you?"

Zhu Gaoxi tilted his head even further, his eyes filled with great confusion.

Zhu Di had just stood up, intending to stretch his legs which had gone numb from kneeling, when he heard the old man's words. With a "thump," he quickly knelt down again, bowing his head to the ground.

"Father! Please stop testing me. I have no desire for the throne whatsoever, and I have absolutely no interest in becoming emperor!"

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered. Was this fourth son, who was so obedient and subservient to him, really the same fourth son of the Yongle Emperor?

Zhu Gaoxi blew his nose and thought to himself, "Old Zhu, look at you, all you do is scare people. Look what you've done to the future Judy."

No wonder historical records state that when his father moved into the palace and saw your portrait, he was so frightened that he lost his mind.

Both grandfather and grandson fell into thought, while Zhu Di pleaded with his old man not to say such things again.

In reality, Zhu Di, with his head bowed, had been suppressing a smile after hearing his father say that he would pass the throne to him. It was precisely because he was afraid that his father would see him unable to hold back his laughter that he prostrated himself on the ground in such a humble posture.

"I, the fourth brother... dream of being the emperor... dream of it all..."

Zhu Yuanzhang told Zhu Di, who was kneeling, to get up, and then invited them to have a meal in the palace. At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang was absent-minded while eating.

What he wants to know most right now is, firstly, how exactly did the fourth prince defeat the emperor of a unified dynasty who could mobilize the entire nation's manpower and resources? Secondly, who exactly was that Great Ming War God, and what did he do?

After nurturing Yunwen for so many years, is he really that incompetent?

Zhu Yuanzhang was somewhat unwilling to admit that he had made a mistake in choosing his successor.

Seven days left.

Ah, if only the cooldown time were shorter.