Chapter 575: Preparing for Unification

Seeing Zhu Ying act this way, Zhu Yuanzhang was greatly pleased. Immediately, Zhu Yuanzhang spoke loudly again: "Good! Since Xiongying already has a plan, then I shall not interfere any further!"

"I believe in you. You will surely lead the Great Ming Empire to unify this Comprehensive Martial Arts World!"

Although this Zhu Yuanzhang was the nominal Emperor of the Great Ming Empire, in reality, he had long since retreated behind the scenes. For Old Zhu, his daily life could be described as quite leisurely; he spent his time enjoying himself, though he would occasionally engage in martial arts cultivation.

"By the way, Xiongying, how should we deal with this Emperor of the Ming State?"

At this moment, Zhu Biao, acting as the Crown Prince, suddenly spoke to Zhu Ying. To be honest, Zhu Biao was also quite interested in this Emperor of the Ming State.

As Zhu Biao brought up the matter of the Ming State Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was beside them, also became interested. Old Zhu said in a hurried tone, "Indeed, Xiongying, this Emperor of the Ming State is, quite frankly, one of our descendants!"

"You didn't kill him, did you?"

Facing Zhu Yuanzhang's questioning, Zhu Ying said calmly, "Grandfather, please rest assured. Xiongying has not harmed this Emperor of the Ming State."

"If Grandfather and Father wish to see him, Xiongying will send someone to bring him up immediately!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly and said, "Then let us meet him."

"This Emperor of the Ming State hasn't lost face for our Zhu family. Facing the offensive of our Great Ming Empire's three armies, he actually did not move the capital, nor did he surrender."

"He possesses quite a bit of our style!"

After speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang burst into loud laughter.

At this time, Zhu Ying nodded to Zhu Yuanzhang, then turned to the Commander of the Royal Guards, Liu Lei, and said, "Liu Lei, bring the Emperor of the Ming State up immediately!"

"Understood!"

Not long after, Liu Lei and several Royal Guards brought the Emperor of the Ming State, Zhu Houzhao, before Zhu Yuanzhang.

However, by this time, Zhu Houzhao's emotions were quite despondent. His once sharp aura had vanished instantly; now, there was no light left in his eyes.

At this moment, Zhu Ying spoke slowly to the Emperor of the Ming State: "Do you know who the two people in front of you are?"

Zhu Houzhao looked up at Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, then shook his head, saying in a cold tone, "This criminal does not know..."

Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang walked straight up to Zhu Houzhao, intentionally raised his voice slightly, and said to him, "Open your eyes wide and look closely!"

"Do you really not recognize me?"

Because Zhu Yuanzhang's words carried a powerful imperial majesty, Zhu Houzhao did not dare disobey. In the next second, Zhu Houzhao raised his head again, looking at Zhu Yuanzhang with a heavy gaze.

To be fair, upon seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's appearance, Zhu Houzhao suddenly felt a sense of familiarity, even a slight sense of closeness.

But... Zhu Houzhao simply could not remember where he had seen Zhu Yuanzhang before.

Immediately after.

Zhu Ying explained directly to Zhu Houzhao: "This man is the founding emperor of the Great Ming, the Hongwu Taizu."

"Ah!"

Clearly.

When Zhu Houzhao heard the words "Hongwu," he was completely stunned.

He never imagined that the founding emperor of the Ming State, Zhu Yuanzhang, was actually still alive!

In truth, Zhu Wushi had told Zhu Houzhao before, but at the time, Zhu Houzhao simply did not believe it; he even thought Zhu Wushi had fabricated it out of fear of the Great Ming Empire.

"You... are truly the Hongwu Taizu?"

Zhu Houzhao spoke with a trembling voice.

At this moment, Zhu Houzhao realized that this white-haired old man was indeed almost identical to the portraits of Zhu Yuanzhang!

"I am indeed Zhu Yuanzhang! The founding emperor of the Ming State!"

As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang's voice fell, Zhu Houzhao's legs instantly gave way, and he fell to his knees before Zhu Yuanzhang!

Immediately after.

The Emperor of the Ming State began to kowtow frantically before Zhu Yuanzhang.

"It is this subordinate's fault for having eyes but failing to recognize Mount Tai. I beg the Hongwu Taizu to punish me!"

To be honest, seeing this reaction from the Emperor of the Ming State, Zhu Yuanzhang was quite satisfied.

Thus.

Zhu Yuanzhang spoke directly: "Ignorance is no crime. Rise!"

"To tell the truth, I was quite surprised when I heard that you gathered the entire main force of the Ming State to fight our Great Ming Empire."

"You did not surrender, nor did you move the capital; instead, you stayed in the palace and led a group of martial arts experts to defend to the death. You truly are our descendant!"

"Not bad, not bad!"

Zhu Yuanzhang made no effort to hide his appreciation for Zhu Houzhao.

At this time.

Zhu Ying guessed Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts, so he took the initiative to say to Zhu Yuanzhang, "Since Imperial Grandfather is quite satisfied with Zhu Houzhao, why don't Xiongying let him go?"

"How about letting this man continue to serve the Great Ming?"

Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "That is naturally no problem!"

"This man has courage, and since he is our descendant, he should naturally be put to good use!"

"How about this: I shall entrust the governance of Songzhou to you! How does that sound?"

After Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, Zhu Houzhao was overjoyed. He knelt on the ground once more, repeatedly thanking Zhu Yuanzhang: "Thank you, Hongwu Taizu, for sparing my life! Thank you, Hongwu Taizu!"

...

Half a month later.

Tibet.

Inside the Imperial Palace.

The Golden Wheel Dharma King arrived before Jiumozhi with a panicked expression.

To be honest.

When Jiumozhi saw the Golden Wheel Dharma King, a look of surprise appeared on his face.

"Golden Wheel, aren't you in the Ming State? Why have you returned?"

The Golden Wheel Dharma King let out a deep sigh and said to Jiumozhi, "Don't even ask. The Ming State has already fallen!"

"What? The Ming State has fallen? How is that possible? The Ming State possesses numerous martial arts experts."

"Furthermore, the Ming State has a massive army and vast territory. How could it have fallen?"

"Even if the Great Ming Empire is strong, it is impossible to destroy the Ming State in just half a month."

Clearly, when Jiumozhi heard the Golden Wheel Dharma King's words, his face was filled with disbelief.

Because in Jiumozhi's understanding, although the Great Ming Empire was powerful, the Ming State was not weak, and it possessed many martial arts experts. For the Great Ming Empire to conquer the Ming State so easily was by no means an easy feat.

The Golden Wheel Dharma King sighed helplessly and explained to Jiumozhi with a face of despair, "The strength of this Great Ming Imperial Grandson is too great. He alone defeated a crowd of the Ming State's martial arts experts."

Moreover, this Great Ming Imperial Grandson knows the Great Absorption Technique; basically, the true qi within every single martial arts expert of the Ming State was sucked dry by him.

Before Jiumozhi could even process this, the Golden Wheel Dharma King spoke again: "Do you know what realm the Great Ming Imperial Grandson has reached now?"

"The Astral Qi Realm."

"Can you imagine? In all the world, there actually exists someone in the Astral Qi Realm."

As the Golden Wheel Dharma King's voice fell, Jiumozhi was stunned.

He kept muttering, "The Great Ming Imperial Grandson is in the Astral Qi Realm? How is that possible?"

The Golden Wheel Dharma King shook his head and continued to lament, "It seems the world is destined to be unified after all. Now, the Great Ming Empire has successively conquered the Jin State, the Song State, and now the Ming State."

"Currently, he has occupied the most prosperous and powerful regions. Coupled with the fact that this Great Ming Imperial Grandson is an expert of the Astral Qi Realm, I fear no one can stop the footsteps of the Great Ming Empire."

"Therefore, I suggest that Tibet quickly negotiate peace with the Great Ming Empire. If that fails, we can simply surrender. In short, we must absolutely not make enemies with the Great Ming Empire."

It was evident that the Golden Wheel Dharma King's trip to the Ming State had been quite fruitful.

While Zhu Ying was fighting the various martial arts experts of the Ming State, the Golden Wheel Dharma King had actually been hiding in the shadows observing.

Therefore, for the Golden Wheel Dharma King, he had a very clear understanding of Zhu Ying's strength.

However, Jiumozhi did not agree with the Golden Wheel Dharma King's idea.

Jiumozhi suddenly stood up and shouted angrily, "How could Tibet possibly surrender to the Great Ming Empire?"

"Absolutely impossible!"

"Golden Wheel, if you are afraid, then go join the Great Ming Empire by yourself."

"I, Jiumozhi, will never surrender!"

As Jiumozhi's voice fell, the Golden Wheel Dharma King let out a helpless sigh. In truth, Jiumozhi's reaction had long been within his expectations.

A moment later, the Golden Wheel Dharma King took the initiative to speak: "If that is the case, then we can only fight the Great Ming Empire."

"The Great Ming Empire will surely attack our Tibet. If that's the case, it's better to strike first."

"My suggestion is to deploy troops immediately."

However, as soon as the Golden Wheel Dharma King finished speaking, a flash of embarrassment crossed Jiumozhi's face.

Because the elite forces of Tibet had already been lost by Jiumozhi.

Previously, Jiumozhi had led the elites in a sneak attack against the Great Ming Empire, but unexpectedly, they were easily defeated.

"A preemptive strike is impossible. Tibet's elite army has been wiped out by the Great Ming Empire's cannons."

"Even I am heavily wounded."

After Jiumozhi finished speaking, he shook his head: "Now, we can only defend to the death."

Hearing this, the Golden Wheel Dharma King's vision went dark, and he nearly fainted.

"Then what does Tibet have to fight the Great Ming Empire with??"

"Is it just based on the two of us?"

"To tell you the truth, for this Great Ming Imperial Grandson, killing the two of us would be as easy as crushing an ant."

At this moment, both the Golden Wheel Dharma King and Jiumozhi had expressions of despair on their faces.

Now they had no way out; they could only wait for the fate of a fallen nation.

...

Meanwhile, within the Kingdom of Dali.

As the Prince of Zhennan, Duan Zhengchun, also informed the Emperor of Dali of the news regarding the Ming State.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Ming State's imperial palace has been breached by the Great Ming Imperial Grandson. The Ming State has now fallen. If nothing unexpected happens, the Great Ming Empire's next target will be our Dali Kingdom."

The Emperor of Dali, Duan Zhengming, was quite laid-back. When he heard Duan Zhengchun's words, there was not much panic on his face.

Because he had long understood that the Dali Kingdom would eventually be eliminated by the powerful nations of the Central Plains.

And having been emperor for many years, he had clearly made his share.

The Emperor of Dali sighed slightly and said, "If that is the case, then there is no other way. How about Dali surrendering to the Great Ming Empire?"

However, just as Duan Zhengming voiced his thought, a murderous intent immediately appeared on Duan Zhengchun's face.

Duan Zhengchun hurriedly stopped him: "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten? Yu'er was killed by that Great Ming Imperial Grandson." Duan Zhengchun was irreconcilable with the Great Ming Imperial Grandson.

The grudge of a murdered son was something Duan Zhengchun had to avenge no matter what.

Hearing his brother say this, Duan Zhengming also made up his mind: "In that case, our Dali Kingdom shall formally declare war on the Great Ming Empire."

"I leave this matter entirely to you. All the armies of Dali shall be under your command."

"You must avenge Yu'er."

To be fair, Duan Zhengming placed great importance on family ties.

When he heard his biological brother wanting to avenge his son, Duan Zhengming gave his full support.

Duan Zhengchun immediately declared: "This subject will, in the name of the Prince of Zhennan, issue an invitation to the heroes of the world to join together in resisting the Great Ming Empire."

...

At this moment, within the capital of the Ming State.

After half a month of repairs, the capital of the Ming State was naturally more modernized than before.

Looking around, many high-rise buildings rose from the ground, and within the capital, all the citizens had access to electricity and running water.

It had completely improved the quality of life for the people.

The citizens of the Ming State naturally supported the Great Ming Empire and Zhu Ying from the bottom of their hearts.

At the same time, within the Imperial Palace.

The three great generals—Lan Yu, Mu Ying, and Guo Zhen—had also completed their respective tasks.

In just half a month, the three armies had occupied the entire territory of the Ming State, while simultaneously wiping out all the martial arts sects within its borders!

"Reporting to the Imperial Grandson, we have occupied the entire territory of the Ming State. Now, the whole Ming State belongs to Your Highness."

Lan Yu was the first to report to Zhu Ying.

Upon hearing this, a satisfied expression appeared on Zhu Ying's face.

"Very good. Since the entire Ming State now belongs to my Great Ming Empire, we shall continue to expand next."

"Pass my command: Lan Yu, lead two hundred thousand troops to attack the Mongol-Yuan."

"As for Mu Ying, you lead two hundred thousand troops to attack the Dali Kingdom."

"Guo Zhen, you lead two hundred thousand Imperial Guards to attack Tibet."

"In this Comprehensive Martial Arts World, only these last three nations remain. However, since these three nations are too weak, I need not lead the campaign personally. You three shall deal with them."

As Zhu Ying's words fell, Lan Yu, Mu Ying, and Guo Zhen all accepted their orders.

In the time that followed, the incredibly terrifying war machine of the Great Ming Empire began to operate fully.

At the same time.

The Great Ming Empire within the Comprehensive Martial Arts World continued its modern construction.

In just one month, a vast number of railways spanned across the various provinces! (End of Chapter)