Chapter 564: Attacking the Ming Kingdom of This Realm

At the same time, the entire sky instantly returned to normal, and suddenly, the heavens were clear for miles.

And then.

Zhu Ying slowly descended from the void, landing upon the city tower.

Zhu Yuanzhang hurried to Zhu Ying's side, asking with an excited face, "Xiongying, how is it? Are you injured?"

Zhu Ying replied in a calm tone, "Rest assured, Imperial Grandfather. This Patriarch Bodhidharma is no match for Xiongying."

Upon hearing Zhu Ying say this, the stone hanging in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart finally settled. He laughed loudly, "Haha! I knew it! Under the whole heaven, no one can harm my precious Imperial Grandson!"

Zhu Biao also couldn't help but praise, "Father is right. Now that Xiongying has killed these two great Shaolin experts in a single day, I fear that from now on, no one will dare to come and make provocations."

"This Patriarch Bodhidharma and this Sweeping Monk were originally the strongest experts of the Song Kingdom. Especially this Patriarch Bodhidharma; he could almost be called the number one person in this [Comprehensive Martial Arts World]."

"Now that Patriarch Bodhidharma and the Sweeping Monk have been killed, the Song Kingdom will naturally be able to achieve long-term peace and stability!"

"Imperial Grandfather, Father, Xiongying believes that the most urgent task for the Great Ming Empire now is to continue expanding!"

"As long as we conquer the Ming Kingdom, and then take over Tubo, Dali, and the Mongol Yuan, we can achieve the unification of the world!"

It had been nearly half a year since Zhu Ying led his forces into this [Comprehensive Martial Arts World], so naturally, Zhu Ying hoped to complete the unification as quickly as possible.

"I agree with Xiongying's idea!"

"I'll say it again, Xiongying—you shall be fully responsible for all military matters!" Having witnessed Zhu Ying fight two against one and instantly kill both Patriarch Bodhidharma and the Sweeping Monk today, Zhu Yuanzhang was naturally even more confident in Zhu Ying's strength.

Thus.

Zhu Yuanzhang decided to go all in and directly handed over all military affairs to Zhu Ying.

And just then.

A familiar voice suddenly rang in Zhu Ying's ear.

【Ding! Killed Patriarch Bodhidharma and the Sweeping Monk. Reward: 50 Attribute Points!】

This time, the system was quite generous, rewarding Zhu Ying with a full fifty attribute points. Of course, this was normal; after all, both Patriarch Bodhidharma and the Sweeping Monk were top-tier experts in this [Comprehensive Martial Arts World]!

Furthermore.

Since Zhu Ying had killed the two of them almost effortlessly, the rewarded attributes were naturally higher!

Afterward.

In the following period of time, Zhu Ying began to focus all his attention on the war against the Great Ming Empire.

Seven days later.

The Great Ming army began to march grandly toward the Ming Kingdom!

...

Meanwhile.

Inside the capital and the imperial palace of the Ming Kingdom.

At this time, the Ming Emperor, Zhu Houzhao, was under immense pressure. After all, everyone knew very well that Zhu Ying was about to strike the Ming Kingdom.

On this day.

In order to deal with Zhu Ying's invasion, Zhu Houzhao convened another imperial court session.

However, the current court session was deathly silent. For the civil and military officials of the Ming Kingdom, they had already discussed how to resist Zhu Ying's invasion many times.

But so far, they had failed to find a solution.

"Speak, all of you!"

"Why is no one opening their mouths?"

From atop the dragon throne, the Ming Emperor roared with a sharp gaze at the officials within the Fengtian Hall.

But no matter how the Ming Emperor reacted, the civil and military officials in the hall remained quite silent...

This infuriated Zhu Houzhao greatly!

And just then.

A member of the Jinyiwei rushed into the hall with a panicked expression!

"Report!"

"Reporting to the Emperor! Urgent news from the front lines!"

"The armies of the Great Ming Empire have already crossed the border and are attacking our Ming Kingdom in three separate routes!"

Without a doubt.

When the Jinyiwei announced this information to the Ming Emperor in public, the latter was instantly startled; he even nearly fainted from fright!

At the same time.

Inside the Fengtian Hall, upon hearing these words, the civil and military officials of the Ming Kingdom immediately began to discuss the matter in a flurry, feeling extremely anxious.

"Ah... so fast? The Great Ming Empire has finally made a move against us!"

"What can be done? The Great Ming Empire eliminated the Jin and Song kingdoms almost without shedding a drop of blood. With the strength of our Ming Kingdom, it will naturally be difficult to resist!"

"Perhaps we should seek peace with the Great Ming Empire! If war truly breaks out, the Ming Kingdom will certainly have no chance of winning!"

"..."

At this moment, Zhu Wushi, who had remained silent until now, spoke to Zhu Houzhao: "Your Majesty, since things have come to this, it would be better to directly surrender to the Great Ming Imperial Grandson!"

"If we go to war with the Great Ming Imperial Grandson, our Ming Kingdom will certainly have no chance of victory!"

Zhu Wushi had secretly defected to Zhu Ying's side. Therefore, when he heard that the Great Ming Empire was attacking the Ming Kingdom in three routes simultaneously, he decisively stepped forward to advise the Ming Emperor to surrender.

However, as soon as Zhu Wushi finished speaking, the Ming Emperor roared in fury: "Absolutely not!"

"I have told you many times! We must absolutely not surrender to the Great Ming Empire!"

Just as the Emperor's voice fell, a eunuch suddenly approached Cao Zhengchun. The eunuch leaned in and whispered something into Cao Zhengchun's ear.

Immediately, a look of shock appeared on Cao Zhengchun's face.

The Ming Emperor sitting on the dragon throne clearly noticed this.

"Cao Zhengchun, what has happened?"

Seeing this, Cao Zhengchun immediately spoke: "Reporting to Your Majesty, this servant has just received news. It is said that not long ago, the Shaolin Patriarch Bodhidharma and the Sweeping Monk fought against the Great Ming Imperial Grandson together."

Clearly, as soon as Cao Zhengchun finished speaking, everyone's faces once again showed shock!

After all, they all knew very well that both Patriarch Bodhidharma and the Sweeping Monk were top-tier experts of the Song Kingdom.

Moreover, the two of them basically lived in seclusion within the martial world.

They generally did not show their faces in public.

Upon hearing what Cao Zhengchun said, the Ming Emperor immediately pressed further: "Patriarch Bodhidharma and the Sweeping Monk attacked the Great Ming Imperial Grandson together? That is good news for our Ming Kingdom. Quickly tell me, what was the result?"

However, Cao Zhengchun responded with an awkward expression: "Reporting to Your Majesty, both Patriarch Bodhidharma and the Sweeping Monk were killed by the Great Ming Imperial Grandson."

As soon as Cao Zhengchun finished speaking, the entire hall fell into silence once again.

No one could believe that these two experts of the Song Kingdom had actually been killed by the Great Ming Imperial Grandson.

This completely shattered their understanding of the world.

At this moment, Zhu Wushi also found it hard to believe.

Although Zhu Wushi had long known how powerful Zhu Ying was, in his view, no matter how strong Zhu Ying was, he was merely at the peak of the Divine Ability Realm.

But now, Zhu Ying had killed the Sweeping Monk and Patriarch Bodhidharma consecutively by his own strength. This was enough to prove that Zhu Ying's realm had entered the Half-step Gangqi Realm, or even the Gangqi Realm level.

Thus, Zhu Wushi knew very well that no matter how the Ming Kingdom responded now, there was only one outcome: the fall of the nation.

"Your Majesty, the Great Ming Imperial Grandson's realm is quite high. If this official remembers correctly, Patriarch Bodhidharma and the Sweeping Monk were both Half-step Gangqi Realm experts. Since the Great Ming Imperial Grandson could easily kill the two of them, it means his realm is likely..."

Before Zhu Wushi could finish, the Ming Emperor on the dragon throne suddenly roared: "So what? Even if he is a Gangqi Realm expert, I will never surrender! No one can take power from my hands!"

At this time, the expression of the Grand Eunuch, Cao Zhengchun, was quite complicated. To be honest, Cao Zhengchun was naturally loyal to the Ming Emperor, but now, after hearing the news brought by the Jinyiwei, his head was spinning.

Cao Zhengchun was a Grandmaster Realm expert, so he naturally knew how powerful Patriarch Bodhidharma and the Sweeping Monk were.

The fact that Zhu Ying could easily eliminate the two of them meant that Zhu Ying's strength was already that of the number one person under heaven in this Comprehensive Martial Arts World.

Therefore, the fate of the Ming Kingdom was already very clear.

"Your Majesty, this servant also believes that if we clash head-on with the Great Ming Imperial Grandson, the losses will outweigh the gains. Since the Great Ming Empire's army has not yet reached the capital, while Your Majesty still has some leverage in hand, it would be better to negotiate with the Great Ming Imperial Grandson."

When Cao Zhengchun told the Ming Emperor his thoughts, the latter only shot him a fierce glare.

He then cursed, "Cao Zhengchun, even you want me to surrender to the Great Ming Empire. You bunch of ungrateful wolves! Don't forget, it was I who gave you your status. If it weren't for me, would you have your lives today?"

After being berated by the Ming Emperor, Cao Zhengchun did not dare to say anything more.

He simply shut his mouth.

At this time, an official from the Ministry of War walked before the civil and military officials and said to Zhu Houzhao: "Your Majesty, since things have come to this, we can only prepare for battle. Now that the Great Ming Empire is attacking our Ming Kingdom in three routes, we must naturally dispatch three great generals to lead our Ming Kingdom's army in resistance. Although the chances of winning are low, we must still engage the Great Ming Empire's army."

At this point, Zhu Houzhao regained some composure.

He nodded and said to the Ministry of War official before him, "Fine. Since that is the case, I leave this matter to the Ministry of War. Immediately mobilize the entire military strength of the Ming Kingdom; we must withstand the impact of the Great Ming Empire. No matter what, we must not allow the Great Ming Empire's army to step even half a foot into our Ming Kingdom."

After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, he directly dismissed the court.

...

At this time, Zhu Wushi suddenly approached Cao Zhengchun.

Zhu Wushi spoke very politely to Cao Zhengchun: "Eunuch Cao, you should be very clear about the current situation. If our Ming Kingdom truly clashes head-on with the Great Ming Empire, the consequences will be unimaginable. You are close to the Emperor; I hope you can persuade him more. Surrendering to the Great Ming Empire early is the best course of action."

The reason Zhu Wushi said this to Cao Zhengchun was mainly because he sensed that Cao Zhengchun also did not want to go to war with the Great Ming Empire. During the court session just now, he had seen panic in Cao Zhengchun's eyes.

Therefore, in Zhu Wushi's view, Cao Zhengchun also wanted to defect to the Great Ming Empire.

Little did he know, Zhu Wushi was only half right.

Cao Zhengchun was indeed fearful of the Great Ming Empire, but he also knew very well that as a eunuch, his only master was the Ming Emperor.

If Zhu Houzhao did not want to surrender to the Great Ming Empire, then Cao Zhengchun naturally could not surrender either.

So, after Zhu Wushi finished speaking, Cao Zhengchun immediately said in a cold tone, "Divine Marquis, you should be very clear about the Emperor's intentions, shouldn't you? Since the Emperor has said he will live or die with the Ming Kingdom, the Divine Marquis should stop discussing surrender."

After saying this, Cao Zhengchun walked straight out of the Fengtian Hall.

Seeing this, a hint of helplessness appeared on Zhu Wushi's face.

He muttered to himself, "A bunch of fools, actually delusional enough to think they can fight the Great Ming Empire. It is utterly ridiculous."

...

At night.

The Ming Emperor called Cao Zhengchun into his private hall again.

Through the morning court session, the Ming Emperor had sensed that the civil and military officials all wanted to defect to the Great Ming Empire. Therefore, at this critical moment, he needed to employ some methods.

"This servant pays respects to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor, long live, long live!"

Upon seeing the Ming Emperor, Cao Zhengchun immediately knelt in salute.

The Ming Emperor spoke to Cao Zhengchun in a softened tone, "Eunuch Cao, rise quickly."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Then, Zhu Houzhao spoke seriously to Cao Zhengchun, "Eunuch Cao, I think you should be very clear. Within our Ming Kingdom, many people already want to defect to the Great Ming Empire. I naturally do not wish to see such a thing happen. Therefore, I am giving you a task: kill any official who wishes to defect to the Great Ming Empire."

To be honest, upon hearing these words, Cao Zhengchun immediately showed confusion and doubt.

Cao Zhengchun swallowed hard and asked with a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, this might not be a good idea. The Great Ming Empire's army is about to invade our Ming Kingdom. If we kill the officials at this time, won't that cause internal chaos?"

Zhu Houzhao said in a cold tone, "At this point, we can no longer care about that."

The Ming Emperor continued, "Also, kill Zhu Wushi. I know very well that my Imperial Uncle wants to defect to the Great Ming Empire very much."

Zhu Houzhao was indeed a clever man.

Although he was not a martial arts expert, his ability to observe people was extremely strong. Long ago, Zhu Houzhao had suspected that Zhu Wushi had intentions to defect to the Great Ming Empire.

And during the morning court session, after hearing Zhu Wushi's remarks, Zhu Houzhao became even more certain.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao wanted Cao Zhengchun to kill Zhu Wushi to eliminate future troubles.

However, Zhu Houzhao overestimated Cao Zhengchun's strength a bit.

Cao Zhengchun said with an awkward tone, "Your Majesty, this servant is afraid I am no match for the Divine Marquis. The Divine Marquis is currently at the peak of the Divine Ability Realm, while this servant is only in the Grandmaster Realm."