The people in the collapsing iron gave the immortal ship a small shock from the Holy Lord.

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"Immortal, are you really not joking?"

Old Zhu asked as if to confirm.

"I'm not joking with you~"

Old Zhu fell silent again, because he discovered a terrifying fact: his grandson was not only incompetent in civil affairs, but also terrible in martial arts.

Even a unified dynasty with elite troops and generals left over from the founding of the dynasty cannot defeat a regional prince who is content with a small corner of the country.

This can no longer be explained by the term "waste". With such a large difference in quantity, even if you had good logistics and sent everything over there, you could overwhelm the enemy!

This son of a bitch must have been sent by heaven specifically to mess with the Zhu family.

"Zhu Yunwen ordered Li Jinglong to lead an army of 60 to attack Zhu Di's army of about 10, but they were ultimately defeated."

"What? Six hundred thousand against one hundred thousand, and they lost??"

Old Zhu was dumbfounded. He had thought that his grandson had something wrong with his brain and had come up with some kind of "Calabash Brothers saving their grandfather" tactic, which had been devoured wave after wave by the fourth son. But he never expected that he would be overturned despite having an absolute numerical advantage.

Old Zhu was truly furious. He felt that the most reasonable thing he could imagine was that the other side would send them wave after wave of attacks.

He even came up with a reason for himself, believing that his grandson couldn't bear the heavy burden on the people and the court, so he used a small-scale army.

But I never imagined the world would be so irrational.

Is this how they manage to control the resources they left behind, and then suffer such a humiliating defeat?

How can the country be governed well if such an inhuman being becomes the next ruler of the Ming Dynasty?!

I don't have a grandson like that. When I get back, I'll cripple this good-for-nothing as soon as possible!

He could understand it if his own uncle was attacked, since he was afraid of the powerful regional king. But he really couldn't understand why 60 men couldn't defeat 10. He had to get rid of that bastard when he got back.

Chapter 589 Why don't you just choose your fourth son?

Old Zhu paused for a moment, then looked at Bai Zhi with expectant eyes.

"Immortal, could you please show me the way?"

Since Immortal Baizhi can see the future path, she must be able to offer a relatively reasonable choice.

Bai Zhi stroked her chin. "Which clear path are you referring to? Is it about the selection of an heir, or the future direction of the entire empire?"

"Is it even permissible to ask about the country's future development strategy?"

Old Zhu was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. Wouldn't that allow him to avoid countless pitfalls?

Could we perhaps hope for the Ming Dynasty to last for thousands of years?

Seeing Old Zhu's expression, Bai Zhi knew exactly what the old man was thinking, so she gave him a hint:

"It is possible, but I strongly advise against asking this question, because you should know that no dynasty can last forever. If you don't fall into one pit, you'll always fall into another."

"The future world may not have a ship to carry your Zhu family. As for development strategies, I can only tell you some principles so that you can make the future of the whole country as bright as possible."

Old Zhu hesitated for a moment, but still said firmly, "Please give me some hints, at least... could you explain some choices for my descendants?"

He was well aware that there would always be pitfalls in the future, but most of those pitfalls were created by people.

Therefore, to solve the problem, we must first address the issue of people by selecting more outstanding descendants, which will eliminate many hidden dangers.

Although he was a commoner emperor, he later read a lot of books. Many dynasties in history were brought down into the abyss because of a useless emperor.

He strongly suspected that his grandson was one of them.

He had already made up his mind to go back and cripple that grandson, and then choose a successor.

This heir is what's giving him a major headache.

Of the children left behind by her eldest son, besides Zhu Yunwen, there was only Zhu Yunwen left. However, that child seemed even more cowardly than Zhu Yunwen, and appeared to be a hopeless case.

"You mean to ask who would be a better successor besides Zhu Yunwen, right?"

"Yes, please enlighten us, Immortal."

Old Zhu cupped his hands in greeting, looking at Bai Zhi with some anticipation.

Bai Zhi nodded and asked, "Is your first thought to establish your eldest son's offspring as your successor?"

She knew very well how much the old man loved his eldest son, and she was sure that her first thought was to find an heir from among his children.

However, other aspects may have been considered, such as the stability of primogeniture.

"Your Excellency is wise and discerning!"

“I knew it would be like this. Since you asked me to give you advice, I will be frank and say that I do not recommend that you choose your eldest son’s offspring as the crown prince.”

"This……"

Old Zhu was somewhat troubled. "Immortal, after you treated me, I feel much better. Perhaps I can make Yunhu the crown prince."

“I should have some time left, and in that time, I will try my best to teach the child some things about being a monarch.”

Bai Zhi shook her head speechlessly, "You really do love your eldest son deeply, to the point of coming up with such a method."

Although this idea might actually come true, since Old Zhu himself took anti-aging drugs, he has aged to this extent due to exhaustion over the years.

But after she treated him, he should be able to live for at least another ten years.

If we dedicate ourselves to cultivating it for ten years, it might actually turn out well, but it could also become a mess.

The result is a 50/50 split.

"This is playing with the people of the entire country. You need to think this through. Your grandson already has a lot of power around him. If you don't choose a respected and capable successor, who knows what problems he might cause after you die."

"Ugh."

Old Zhu sighed. He naturally understood these principles, but he was getting old, and his longing for his son grew stronger every day. If there was no possibility, he really didn't want to give up.

Finally, Old Zhu gritted his teeth and said, "Immortal, please speak. Whom do you recommend?"

He had thought it through. He knew that he couldn't let personal feelings cloud his judgment in this matter. He could be willful, but the common people would likely suffer.

He himself rebelled to get to this position. How much turmoil can an incompetent monarch cause to the whole country?

That turmoil will eventually reach the Zhu family.

"Didn't I tell you before? Your fourth son eventually succeeded in suppressing the rebellion and captured the capital of the Ming Dynasty."

"Could it be that the fourth prince has usurped the throne??"

Old Zhu then noticed the problem and immediately felt his blood pressure rise again.

Because his initial thought was that although Zhu Yunwen was a bit of a scoundrel, his fourth son would never be so scoundrel as to seize the throne from his nephew.

Putting everything else aside, even turning Zhu Yunwen into a puppet would be better than directly seizing the throne.

If the uncle takes the position of his nephew, what will the world think of the Zhu family?

This is the Ming Dynasty, not the Tang Dynasty. Why are you playing the Xuanwu Gate Incident?

"You guessed right. However, after the capital was captured, Zhu Yunwen secretly fled, changed his appearance, and became a monk. Zhu Di then directly succeeded to the throne."

After careful consideration, Bai Zhi chose one of the versions. In fact, there are many versions of Zhu Yunwen's final fate in history. Some say that he died by self-immolation in the palace, while others say that he escaped through a tunnel and became a monk.

Old Zhu took a deep breath, feeling his hands itching to do something, and really wanted to call his fourth son over and give him a good beating.

However, he immediately realized that his son had used such a method to succeed to the throne, so his claim was probably illegitimate and he would likely suffer the scorn of the world.

But why would Immortal Baizhi recommend him directly?

Could it be that this eldest son did many things behind the scenes that could even negate this illegitimate usurpation?

"You're probably wondering why I recommended him, right?"

Seeing Old Zhu's expression, Bai Zhi knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Because he did far better than your unfortunate grandson. It can be said that in the entire Ming Dynasty, his achievements were second only to yours."

Upon hearing Bai Zhi's words, Old Zhu's eyes widened slightly. What had his fourth son done to earn such praise from an immortal?

"Please enlighten me, Immortal."

He felt no longer angry that his fourth son had usurped the throne; he just wanted to know what the other party had done in the future.

"Hehe, let me tell you one first. Your eldest son is the only emperor in history to have sealed the wolf's lair."

Bai Zhi spoke very patiently.

"The emperor who sealed the wolf's lair?!"

Chapter 590 They really have eyes but don't recognize a true immortal!

The title of "Fenglang Juxu" is the highest honor for a military general, and Old Zhu was naturally aware of it.

However, he never expected that after the Marquis of Champion of the Han Dynasty, his fourth son would also accomplish such a thing, and even do so as an emperor.

However, he quickly realized that since his son was able to achieve the feat of sealing the wolf's lair as an emperor, he was probably a true martial emperor.

The Ming Dynasty has only just been founded, and it should be under the rule of a wise and benevolent emperor who can properly govern and allow the people to live in peace.

If this continues with years of war, the entire country will be hollowed out.

Moreover, based on his understanding of his son, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a war maniac. He's either at war or on his way to war. If he keeps going like this, won't the people's livelihood explode?

"Immortal, my son, during his reign... was the Ming Dynasty alright? Did no one rise up in rebellion?"

Old Zhu spoke somewhat nervously.

"That's great. You don't think your fourth son is only good at fighting and will drag the country down, do you?"

Bai Zhi laughed.

"The main reason is that this child is fond of fighting, and he was born to the King of Sai. In addition, there are the achievements you mentioned, so we couldn't help but think of this."

"oops."

Bai Zhi shook her head. "You still don't understand your child well enough. Actually, he did a good job. First of all, he moved the capital to Beiping, which was a very good move. After all, if he stayed in Nanjing, the feng shui would be bad, and it would not be conducive to strengthening control over the north."

"Has the capital been moved to Beiping...?"

Old Zhu frowned, but didn't say anything; he could understand the move.

If it were still in Nanjing, it would indeed be detrimental to controlling the vast northern region. Moreover, the allure of Nanjing is too captivating, and regimes that established their capitals here have all collapsed. It wouldn't be wrong to say that it was an unlucky capital.

"They left you alone at the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, while the rest of them were buried in Beiping."

"hiss!"

Old Zhu gasped, his fists hardening instantly. He could tolerate the relocation of the capital and the usurpation, since one was due to his unlucky grandson's inhuman behavior and the other was based on practical considerations. But what was the point of leaving his own father here alone?

"Immortal, could you please call my son and my grandson over here as well?"

Old Zhu took a deep breath, feeling like he really couldn't swallow this.

As a rather traditional man who longed for a warm home with his wife and children, he truly couldn't bear the thought of being abandoned by his own descendants, left all alone with his Empress Ma.

What a desolate scene this is!

If he hadn't just received some treatment, he would have fainted from anger right now.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he felt he needed to make intimate contact with someone's face with his fist to vent his anger.

Upon hearing this, Bai Zhi said with interest, "It's not impossible. Are you sure you want them to come?"

She genuinely didn't mind being a vocal observer of this family brawl.

Anyway, it's all about having fun, who doesn't like that?

"Come here! We must bring them here, those two unfilial descendants!!"

"Okay, just wait."

Bai Zhi smiled and communicated with the system, which immediately said there was no problem.

Inside the Ming Dynasty's imperial palace, Zhu Yunwen watched as if he had seen a ghost, as his imperial grandfather suddenly vanished before his eyes.

The other eunuchs and generals (a title for palace guards in the Ming Dynasty) standing nearby gaped in disbelief. The emperor had suddenly vanished—what kind of terrifying ghost story is this?

In an instant, they felt as if their entire clan was crying for help.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty is missing! Quickly, go and call for help!!"

Zhu Yunwen also felt a chill creep up his spine, because he sensed that the eunuchs and Han generals around him were giving him unfriendly looks.