Chapter 557: Zhu Wushi

Meanwhile.

Inside the Ming Imperial Palace.

As the Emperor of the Ming Kingdom, Zhu Houzhao had also received news of the Song Kingdom's destruction. In addition, he had obtained intelligence that the Xiaoyao Sect and the Shaolin Temple had been completely wiped out by the Grandson of the Great Ming.

To be honest, when Zhu Houzhao heard that the experts of the Xiaoyao Sect and Shaolin Temple had all been killed by Zhu Ying, his first reaction was shock.

Although Zhu Houzhao was not a martial arts practitioner.

But as the Emperor of the Ming Kingdom, he had naturally heard of how powerful the Shaolin Temple's martial arts were.

Therefore, when he learned that the Grandson of the Great Ming had single-handedly eliminated the five great eminent monks of the Shaolin Temple, Zhu Houzhao was naturally deeply shocked.

Consequently, this Emperor of the Ming Kingdom immediately convened a court assembly.

Inside the Fengtian Hall.

The civil and military officials of the Great Ming all fixed their gazes upon Zhu Houzhao.

The latter let out a slight sigh, then spoke to the crowd: "I have just received news that the entire territory of the Song Kingdom has been occupied by this so-called Grandson of the Great Ming."

"Furthermore, all the major sects within the Song Kingdom have been completely annihilated."

"It can be said that the power of the Song Kingdom has been utterly wiped from existence."

Undoubtedly, once Zhu Houzhao informed the various ministers of the situation in the Song Kingdom, expressions of terror appeared on the faces of these officials.

For a moment, the Fengtian Hall became noisy, as the civil and military officials marveled at the fall of the Song Kingdom.

"How is this possible? The Song Kingdom had so many martial arts experts, yet they were all killed by this Grandson of the Great Ming! It is truly inconceivable."

"Just what kind of divine being is this Grandson of the Great Ming? His realm is too strong! Wiping out all the martial arts experts of the entire Song Kingdom alone? Could he be the legendary Half-Step Gangqi Realm?"

"Who knows? In any case, we certainly cannot afford to provoke this Great Ming Empire."

"It is said that this Grandson of the Great Ming also killed the four great experts of the Xiaoyao Sect single-handedly, and even the Sect Leader of the Xiaoyao Sect, Xiaoyaozi, was defeated by him!"

"I heard that as well. Now the entire Xiaoyao Sect has been executed, and Xiaoyaozi's remains have not even been found!"

As the top combatant of the Ming Kingdom, Zhu Wushi had also long since learned the intelligence that the martial arts experts of the Song Kingdom had been completely slain by Zhu Ying.

The reason Zhu Wushi had not informed the Emperor of the Ming Kingdom immediately was primarily because he feared that Zhu Houzhao would order him to assassinate the Grandson of the Great Ming.

Zhu Wushi knew very well that with his current strength, even if he went to assassinate the Grandson of the Great Ming, he would end up like the experts of the Xiaoyao Sect and Shaolin Temple—dying without a whole corpse.

Thus, Zhu Wushi had not disclosed this intelligence to anyone in advance.

But now, Zhu Houzhao had ultimately learned of the matter.

Upon the dragon throne.

The Emperor of the Ming Kingdom suddenly barked: "All of you, shut up!"

"Is this a court? This is not a marketplace! Such noise, what kind of decorum is this?"

When the civil and military officials saw that Zhu Houzhao was angry, they naturally quieted down, and the entire Fengtian Hall instantly fell into dead silence.

At this moment, the Grand Eunuch Cao Zhengchun suddenly spoke softly: "Reporting to Your Majesty, since the Song Kingdom has been eliminated by the Grandson of the Great Ming, it is now necessary for our Ming Kingdom to quickly prepare for an invasion."

"This so-called Grandson of the Great Ming is acting with great momentum."

"It seems he intends to unify the world."

After Cao Zhengchun finished speaking, Zhu Houzhao's expression darkened. As a clever emperor, Zhu Houzhao naturally understood this well.

He said to the crowd: "This so-called Great Ming Empire will certainly attack our Ming Kingdom. Although they have not made a move yet, it is only a matter of time."

"Speak up. If this Great Ming Empire truly attacks, how shall my Ming Kingdom defend itself?"

Facing Zhu Houzhao's question, the civil and military officials remained silent.

After all, no one could answer this question.

Seeing that no one spoke, Zhu Houzhao naturally became even angrier. He directly asked Zhu Wushi: "Imperial Uncle, you are the Iron-Fisted Marquis and the Master of the Dragon Protection Villa."

"Now that the court is in trouble, you naturally need to step forward."

"Speak, what is your plan?"

Zhu Wushi said in a cold tone: "Reporting to Your Majesty, this official has no way."

"I presume you already know that whether it was Abbot Ci Xuan of the Shaolin Temple or the various experts of the Xiaoyao Sect, they were all martial arts geniuses of this world."

"Especially the Sect Leader of the Xiaoyao Sect, Xiaoyaozi. As far as I know, his realm has already entered the peak of the Supernatural Realm."

"Furthermore, people like Wuyazi, Li Qiushui, and even the Tianshan Old Crone are all experts of the Supernatural Realm."

"Since even their combined strength could not defeat this Grandson of the Great Ming, then my Ming Kingdom naturally has no chance."

Clearly, Zhu Wushi's answer did not satisfy Zhu Houzhao.

Thus, Zhu Houzhao asked directly: "Imperial Uncle, according to your meaning, can my Ming Kingdom only pray for its own luck?"

Zhu Wushi nodded in response: "Reporting to Your Majesty, that is indeed the case."

Undoubtedly, as Zhu Wushi's voice fell, Zhu Houzhao was utterly enraged!

He cursed at the crowd: "How ridiculous! My Ming Kingdom is a powerful nation of the Central Plains; how can we allow ourselves to be slaughtered?"

"I don't care! I will give you three days. You must come up with a solution for me! If not, I will kill you all!"

After saying this, Zhu Houzhao left the Fengtian Hall in a fit of rage.

The civil and military officials left in the hall had eyes filled with despair and helplessness.

At this time, Cao Zhengchun, who had always had a poor relationship with Zhu Wushi, suddenly approached him.

Cao Zhengchun said to Zhu Wushi with great respect: "Marquis, your duty is to protect the Emperor. Now that the Emperor is in trouble, how can you sit idly by?"

"I know, to put it bluntly, you still want to preserve your strength. But if the Ming Kingdom is truly destroyed by this Great Ming Empire, what good will it do to have preserved your strength?"

"The priority now is that we should join hands to resist this Great Ming Empire together."

Facing Cao Zhengchun's words, Zhu Wushi merely waved his hand and said coldly: "Eunuch Cao, if this King is not mistaken, your realm is also that of a top-tier Grandmaster, making you one of the strongest in our Ming Kingdom."

"Since Eunuch Cao wants to resist the Great Ming Empire, why don't you go and assassinate the Grandson of the Great Ming yourself?"

After hearing Zhu Wushi's words, Cao Zhengchun's face instantly darkened.

He stammered to Zhu Wushi: "Your Highness, you must be joking. This servant is merely a Grandmaster. But the Marquis is at the peak of the Supernatural Realm!"

"If an assassination is to be carried out, it should be done by the Marquis himself."

"Besides, the Marquis has the three great secret agents of Heaven, Earth, and Mystery, and those three are also top-tier experts. It would be better to let them go with the Marquis; they will surely be able to assassinate the Grandson of the Great Ming."

Zhu Wushi did not waste any more words with Cao Zhengchun. He left a single "No" and walked straight out of the Fengtian Hall.

Currently, Zhu Wushi's heart was more conflicted than anyone's.

He did not want the Ming Kingdom to fall, but he also did not want to expose his strength and weaken his Dragon Protection Villa.

At the same time, Zhu Wushi did not dare to face the Grandson of the Great Ming in combat.

Thus, Zhu Wushi was extremely conflicted, having no idea how to deal with the Great Ming Empire.

...

One month later.

Inside the capital of Song Province.

The Imperial Palace.

Zhu Ying sat upon the dragon throne, listening to the work reports from various departments during this period.

First, Qin Da, the Minister of Works, took the lead in reporting to Zhu Ying.

Actually, a month ago, Qin Da was still in the Imperial Capital of the Great Ming Main World. However, because Zhu Ying wanted to build railways in this Wuxia world, Qin Da, as the Minister of Works, had traveled to this Wuxia world through the spatial portal.

Initially, following Zhu Ying's decree, a railway was constructed between Jin Province and Song Province.

Although only a month had passed, because the Ministry of Works possessed many modern machines, combined with the previous captives from the Jin Kingdom who could work day and night, the construction of the railway was twice as efficient.

"Reporting to the Grandson Highness, the Ministry of Works has completed the railway construction between Jin Province and Song Province. If nothing goes wrong, the tracks can be opened for traffic in a few days."

As Qin Da finished speaking, Zhu Ying was quite satisfied.

"Very good, very good. Since the railway is completed, I shall give it a name. Since it connects Jin Province and Song Province, let us call it the Song-Jin Railway."

"This official obeys your command," Minister Qin Da responded immediately.

Afterward, the officials from the Ministry of Revenue also reported on the matters of laying water pipes and electricity construction.

"Reporting to Your Highness, the water pipes for both Jin Province and Song Province have been laid. Additionally, the electricity construction is nearly complete. This official believes that in half a month, the people of the two provinces will be able to use electricity."

In the following time, the officials from the Ministry of Rites also reported on the establishment of schools. In short, everything arranged by Zhu Ying was proceeding in an orderly fashion.

After listening to these reports, Zhu Ying was naturally quite satisfied.

Finally, he turned his gaze toward Lan Yu.

The task Zhu Ying had given Lan Yu was to clear the banditry and various gangs within the territory of Song Province.

"Lan Yu, how is the matter I entrusted to you?"

Lan Yu hurriedly said: "Reporting to Your Highness, the banditry in Song Province was hardly worth mentioning. This general used only five days to completely eliminate all bandits in the Song Kingdom. As for the various gangs of the Song Kingdom, they were a bit more troublesome to deal with, but they have all been eliminated now."

Zhu Ying nodded slightly: "Good. In that case, the Great Ming Empire should continue its conquests."

As Zhu Ying's voice fell, both the Commander of the Imperial Guard, Guo Zhen, and the General of the Western War Camp, Lan Yu, showed expressions of excitement.

As military officers, they were quite excited upon hearing of war. On one hand, they could earn military merits, and on the other, they could enjoy the thrill of slaughter.

Guo Zhen hurriedly pressed: "Your Highness, which country do you plan to attack first?"

However, Zhu Ying did not answer the question.

He spoke directly to everyone: "You will know when the time comes."

After saying this, Zhu Ying dismissed the court.

Subsequently, Zhu Ying went alone to the secret chamber of the Imperial Palace. Inside this chamber, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were using the profound True Qi of the Wuxia world to cultivate.

Currently, both Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao had entered the Great Grandmaster Realm.

However, with their current cultivation, breaking through to the Supernatural Realm was still somewhat difficult.

Despite the fact that they had been coming to this secret chamber to cultivate every day during this period, the results were minimal.

Zhu Ying slowly opened the door to the secret chamber and approached Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao.

"Xiong Ying, why have you come? Has something happened?"

Upon seeing Zhu Ying, Zhu Yuanzhang hurriedly asked.

Zhu Ying waved his hand and said with a relaxed expression: "Old man, don't worry. Now that the national strength of our Great Ming Empire is so prosperous, how could there be any trouble?"

Zhu Yuanzhang also smiled and said: "True, I am just being too tense."

At this time, Zhu Biao, who was beside them, also hurriedly asked: "Xiong Ying, since nothing is wrong, why did you come to this secret chamber?"

Zhu Ying said unhurriedly: "The development of Jin Province and Song Province is now mostly complete, so Xiong Ying intends to continue expanding."

"The next target, Xiong Ying intends to attack the Ming Kingdom."

As Zhu Ying's voice fell, Zhu Yuanzhang became excited.

"The Ming Kingdom? Xiong Ying, if this Ming Kingdom truly has some connection to us, it might not be wise to act rashly, right?"

In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang had always believed that the Ming Kingdom in this Wuxia world must have some relationship with him.

Seeing this, Zhu Ying said slowly: "Since the old man is uneasy, why don't we go to the Ming Kingdom to take a look?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded repeatedly: "No problem, no problem. I have long wanted to go to the Ming Kingdom to see. There is no time to lose; let us set out now."

...

Since Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were currently only in the Great Grandmaster Realm, they could only fly through the air for short periods; doing so for a long time would still be difficult.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao traveled by riding a Pterosaur, while Zhu Ying flew through the air alone.

Before long, the three of them appeared in the skies above the Ming Kingdom.

Zhu Yuanzhang took a look at the development of the Ming Kingdom, and his eyes revealed a hint of disappointment.

He said to Zhu Biao beside him: "The development of this Ming Kingdom isn't much to speak of; it's no different from the Song Kingdom. The roads are all muddy, and there are many beggars on both sides of the roads."

"It seems this Ming Kingdom is nothing special."

Zhu Biao comforted Zhu Yuanzhang: "Father, aside from our Great Ming Empire which has become a modern society, these ancient countries naturally have such scenery."

Soon, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Ying arrived at the capital of the Ming Kingdom.

Zhu Ying explained to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, who were sitting on the backs of the Pterosaurs: "Old man, Father, this time we won't go to the Imperial Palace first. Xiong Ying will take you two to the Dragon Protection Villa first."

"Dragon Protection Villa? Where is that?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked curiously.

"The Dragon Protection Villa was established by the Iron-Fisted Marquis of the Ming Kingdom, Zhu Wushi, for the purpose of protecting the Emperor's safety."

"This Zhu Wushi is a martial arts expert of the Ming Kingdom; I estimate his realm should also be at the peak of the Supernatural Realm."