Chapter Summaries

Lan Yu told Shen Wansan that Zhu Ying was the Imperial Eldest Grandson, and Shen Wansan died from rage and regret over rejecting him and turning the Shen Family against him. Zhu Ying entered the Eastern Palace, reunited with Zhu Yunteng, and visited his childhood residence, where he honored his late mother.

• Lan Yu revealed Zhu Ying’s identity to Shen Wansan and mocked him for rejecting Zhu Ying and bringing ruin upon the Shen Family.
• Shen Wansan grew pale, spat blood, and died in his cell as his sons cried out; Lan Yu told the jailer to report the death truthfully.
• Zhu Biao brought Zhu Ying into the Eastern Palace and ordered that Zhu Ying could enter it and the imperial palace without announcement.
• Zhu Yunteng greeted Zhu Ying as his elder brother, embraced him tearfully, and received Zhu Ying’s promise to protect him and welcome him at his residence.
• Zhu Ying entered his preserved childhood residence, recognized his handwriting on his mother’s memorial tablet, and knelt to pay his respects alongside Zhu Yunteng.

Zhu Biao confronted Lu clan over the Lü Family’s crimes and stripped Zhu Yunwen and his two brothers of their imperial status, sending them into exile at Qiongzhou. Zhu Ying and Zhu Yunteng then prepared to witness the Lü Family’s extermination, while Zhu Ying left Lu clan alive to suffer the consequences.

• Zhu Biao, Zhu Ying, and Zhu Yunteng visited Lu clan in the Cold Palace, where she admitted her role in Zhu Xiongying’s death and pleaded for her sons.
• Zhu Biao confronted Zhu Yunwen about benefiting from Lu clan’s actions, and Zhu Yunwen could not deny knowing that Zhu Yunteng had been suppressed.
• Zhu Biao stripped Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Yungao, and Zhu Yunxi of their imperial status and ordered them exiled to Qiongzhou.
• Zhu Ying told Lu clan he would keep her alive to witness the Lü Family’s extermination and threatened her sons’ safety if she tried to kill herself.
• Zhu Yunteng asked to personally witness the Lü Family’s execution, and Zhu Biao agreed that he and Zhu Ying would supervise it with Lu clan.

After Zhu Ying dealt with the Lü clan, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered preparations for his grandson’s ancestry ceremony and a public announcement of his identity and achievements. Zhu Ying returned to his residence as Prince Yuhuai, realizing he could build his technological empire within the Ming Dynasty, while Zhu Yunteng’s plea to marry Yun Yu remained refused.

• Zhu Ying reassured Zhu Biao that he would not personally harm Zhu Yunwen and his brothers, and Zhu Biao told him his ancestry ceremony would follow the imperial examination.
• Zhu Yunteng asked to marry Yun Yu as his wife, but Zhu Biao refused and left him kneeling.
• Yun Qi reported that Lan Yu’s men had broken the Lü clan men’s limbs in prison and that Shen Wansan had died after learning Zhu Ying’s identity.
• Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the Ministry of Rites to prepare Zhu Ying’s ceremony and the court to announce his return, identity, and achievement of Fenglangjuxu.
• Zhu Yuanzhang heard that the people admired Zhu Ying, then Zhu Ying returned to his residence and realized he could build his technological empire within the Ming Dynasty.
• Xiao Han and Lu Hao welcomed Zhu Ying with guards wearing Wang Wei armor and red capes, while Liu Lei asked where his armor was.

After Zhu Ying became the hereditary Commandery Prince and learned his future might extend beyond Earth, he considered how to transform the Ming Dynasty. He was then summoned to meet Huai West generals who had come to plead guilty outside his residence.

• Zhu Ying reunited with Liu Yu'er, Xu Miaojin, Mu Ya, and Li Qingchen, and told them they would attend his ancestral recognition ceremony; he included Li Qingchen in the family’s return to the clan.
• Zhu Ying reflected on inheriting the Ming Empire and planned to reform its examinations and develop technology rather than found a separate kingdom.
• Zhu Ying opened two Tier 3 treasure chests and received the Compendium of Smallpox Inoculation Method and a Civilization Command that could unlock civilization inheritance after he controlled a unified world.
• Zhu Ying learned from Liu Lei that the Duke of Liang, the Duke of Wei, the Duke of Zheng, and other Huai West generals had requested an audience.
• Zhu Ying went to the residence gates and saw more than a dozen Huai West generals kneeling bare-chested with thorny branches tied to them, pleading guilty before the gathered residents.

Zhu Ying received the Huai West commanders’ apology and secured their support by acknowledging their ties to him while warning them not to oppress commoners. He planned to use them as instruments for reform, then welcomed senior court officials and prepared to meet the assembled nobles and ministers at Fengtian Hall the next day.

• Huai West commanders knelt outside Zhu Ying’s residence to apologize, and Zhu Ying invited them inside and forgave them.
• Zhu Ying acknowledged Lan Yu and Chang Mao as maternal relatives and Xu Huizu as his brother-in-law, while warning the Huai West commanders to obey Ming law and not exploit commoners.
• Zhu Ying said the Lu clan and the Lü Family would face punishment, and Chang Mao welcomed vengeance for his sister.
• After the commanders left, Zhu Ying told Liu Lei that Huai West would serve as a blade for his planned reforms, which would bring bloodshed.
• Zhu Ying admitted senior court officials seeking an audience, and the next day nobles and high-ranking officials gathered at Fengtian Hall.

Zhu Yuanzhang appointed Zhu Ying to set the palace examination question, and Zhu Ying asked the candidates to explain what a nation and a family were. Zhu Ying, Zhu Yuanzhang, and Zhu Biao chose the top three, and Zhu Yuanzhang rewarded all successful candidates with gold and silver, crediting Zhu Ying’s Northern Yuan campaign for the treasury’s wealth.

• Zhu Yuanzhang summoned eighty-five candidates into Fengtian Hall for the palace examination.
• Zhu Yuanzhang asked Zhu Ying to set the examination question, and Zhu Ying wrote, “What is a nation, and what is a family?”
• The candidates wrote essays while Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Ying reviewed the papers submitted early.
• Zhu Ying identified his preferred essays, and the three jointly settled on the top three candidates.
• Zhu Ying announced Xia Yuanji as First Scholar, Xie Jin as Second Scholar, and Yang Shiqi as Third Scholar.
• Zhu Yuanzhang granted jinshi status and rewards to the candidates, then credited Zhu Ying’s victory over the Northern Yuan for the wealth behind the awards.

After the palace examination, Zhu Ying explained his view of the relationship between nation and family, then urged Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao to expand talent selection and advance technology. The two agreed to let him draft a new system for selecting technological talent, and Zhu Ying revealed that he had once planned to build up his strength and found a nation beyond the Ming Dynasty.

• Xia Yuanji asked Zhu Ying to explain what a nation and a family were, and Zhu Ying described the nation as the root and families as its leaves.
• Xia Yuanji and the other examinees bowed to Zhu Ying, and Zhu Yuanzhang announced that the new jinshi would receive important appointments.
• Zhu Ying warned Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao that imperial examinations focused only on essays and governance could not provide the technological talent needed to strengthen the Ming Dynasty.
• Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao agreed that technological talent should be selected, and Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Zhu Ying to draft a suitable method for adding it to the examinations.
• Zhu Ying said he had once planned to build up his strength in the Ming Dynasty and found a nation beyond it.

Zhu Ying revealed that he commanded more than thirty thousand death warriors and produced the Imperial Seal he had found atop Mount Langju. Zhu Yuanzhang decided the seal would be presented at Zhu Ying’s ancestral recognition ceremony, then advised him to rely on the Imperial Guard to keep officials and generals in check.

• Zhu Ying told Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao that he commanded over thirty thousand death warriors, funded by treasure he had seized from Naha Chu’s vaults.
• Zhu Ying presented the Imperial Seal inscribed with “Mandated by Heaven, Eternal Prosperity” and said he had found it atop Mount Langju.
• Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao celebrated the seal’s return and agreed that Zhu Ying should present it at his upcoming ancestral recognition ceremony.
• Zhu Yuanzhang told Zhu Ying that Shen Wansan had died after Lan Yu angered him to death.
• Zhu Ying agreed that the Imperial Guard could restrain officials and generals, and Zhu Yuanzhang urged him to remember the dangers of unchecked power.

Zhu Ying told Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao that Zhu Di had concealed his identity, trained thousands of deathsworn warriors, and likely leaked military plans that nearly doomed Zhu Ying’s army. Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the vassal kings to gather in Yingtian for the New Year, giving Zhu Ying a chance to test Zhu Di, while Zhu Ying also condemned his uncles for abusing their subjects.

• Zhu Ying explained that Zhu Di had recognized his jade pendant during the Northern Expedition but tried to buy it and never reported his identity to Zhu Yuanzhang.
• Zhu Ying revealed that Zhu Di had trained at least five thousand deathsworn warriors and suggested that his efforts to recruit Zhu Ying and conceal his identity showed ulterior motives.
• Zhu Ying accused Zhu Di of leaking plans during the Northern Expedition, allowing the Yuan army to ambush his fifty thousand cavalry, and said he had sensed killing intent from Zhu Di.
• Zhu Yuanzhang promised to investigate and confront Zhu Di, while Zhu Biao proposed summoning the vassal kings to Yingtian for Zhu Ying’s ancestry ceremony and the New Year.
• Zhu Ying agreed to test Zhu Di’s reaction and described most of his uncles as incompetent, abusive men who had preyed on commoners and killed servants.

Zhu Ying condemned Zhu Yuanzhang’s leniency toward the imperial princes and called enfeoffment the root of chaos, while Zhu Yuanzhang secured promises that future punishments would spare their lives. Zhu Ying planned sweeping reforms, approved the execution of the Shen and Lü families for the next day, and ended the chapter inspecting a newly completed invention.

• Zhu Ying told Zhu Yuanzhang that indulging his sons made the imperial family a threat to the common people, and Zhu Yuanzhang admitted he had been too lenient.
• Zhu Yuanzhang asked Zhu Biao and Zhu Ying to promise they would punish his sons and their uncles under the law but spare their lives, and both agreed with Zhu Ying’s qualification for exceptionally grave crimes.
• Zhu Ying called enfeoffing feudal princes the root of chaos, but Shen Jin’s arrival interrupted Zhu Yuanzhang before he could question him further.
• Zhu Ying set the Shen and Lü families’ executions for the next day, and Zhu Yuanzhang approved the sentences and ordered military support for the execution.
• Zhu Ying drafted a list of reforms, including curbing vassal princes’ powers and changing land, taxation, roads, examinations, and maritime policy.
• Liu Lei and Xiao Han showed Zhu Ying clear glassware made by the craftsmen, and Zhu Ying looked eagerly into the second box.

Zhu Ying oversaw the execution of the Shen Family for plotting against him, then prepared to hear the charges against the Lü Family. The chapter left the Lü Family’s Nine Generations gathered at the execution ground as Shen Jin began listing their crimes.

• Zhu Ying inspected the refined salt, cane sugar, and glass, rewarded the craftsmen, and ordered research on other projects to speed up.
• Zhu Ying arrived at the execution ground with Zhu Yunteng and a thousand Wang Wei, where officials had prepared to carry out the sentences.
• The Ministry of Justice announced the Shen Family’s crimes, and Zhu Ying ordered the execution of its 586 members after Shen Wansan had died in prison.
• Zhu Ying signed the document confirming the Shen Family’s extermination and ordered the Lü Family’s Nine Generations brought forward.
• Shen Jin accused Lu Ben and the Lü Family of deliberately spreading smallpox to kill Zhu Ying and the Empress, and began reading their charges.

After the Lü and Shen families were executed, Zhu Ying warned Zhu Yuanzhang that Lu Ben might have left a hidden scheme. He then presented a plan to reduce the feudal lords and threatened to leave Ming to establish his own nation if Zhu Yuanzhang refused, leaving Zhu Yuanzhang to choose how to respond.

• Shen Jin announced the Lü Family's crimes, and Zhu Yunteng ordered their execution before taunting Lu clan as the family was slaughtered.
• Lu Ben was subjected to death by a thousand cuts and threatened that his enemies would die with the Lü Family, prompting Zhu Ying to request an Imperial Guard investigation.
• Zhu Yuanzhang summoned Jiang Yan to investigate Lu Ben's possible hidden scheme, then told Zhu Ying to help Zhu Biao handle government affairs.
• Zhu Ying presented a policy to reduce the feudal lords, and Zhu Yuanzhang questioned whether he could not tolerate his uncles.
• Zhu Ying declared that he would reduce the feudal lords if given the throne, warned that his own campaign would bring bloodshed, and said he could leave Ming to establish another nation.
• Zhu Biao tried to calm Zhu Ying and Zhu Yuanzhang, while Zhu Yuanzhang grew angry and Zhu Ying waited for his decision.

Zhu Ying forced Zhu Yuanzhang to reconsider the succession and the feudal-prince system by demonstrating his extraordinary strength. Zhu Yuanzhang began asking how Zhu Ying would reform the princes and their tax privileges.

• Zhu Yuanzhang yielded to Zhu Ying’s demand and admitted that the feudal-prince system could threaten the Ming Dynasty in later generations.
• Zhu Ying explained that he feared the princes would resist imperial decrees and revealed his confidence in his own power.
• Zhu Ying shattered a pillar with a punch from a distance, astonishing Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, then claimed he could leave the palace even if thousands of guards attacked him.
• Zhu Ying offered to become heir and enact his policies or leave the Ming Dynasty and establish a nation beyond its borders without invading while Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao lived.
• Zhu Yuanzhang asked how Zhu Ying would handle the princes, and Zhu Ying proposed stripping them of military command and tax exemptions.
• Zhu Ying clarified that his real goal was to abolish tax-exemption privileges across the Ming Dynasty, including those held by officials, gentry, and nobles.

Zhu Ying warned Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao that land annexation and the imperial clan’s support system threatened the Ming Dynasty, then left them three days to reconsider. Zhu Yuanzhang acknowledged the dangers of empowering the vassal kings and summoned his ministers, while Zhu Ying’s departure remained a real possibility.

• Zhu Ying explained that tax exemptions allowed gentry and vassal kings to accumulate land and collect rent from commoners, and pressed Zhu Yuanzhang to decide whether to abolish the vassal states.
• Zhu Biao agreed that powerful vassal kings endangered the dynasty and said he would abolish the vassal states if he became emperor.
• Zhu Ying warned that supporting the imperial clan could destroy the Ming Dynasty within a hundred years, then announced he would leave in three days and walked out of Wenyuan Pavilion.
• Zhu Yuanzhang summoned the Grand Secretaries of the Three Halls and ministers, then admitted to Zhu Biao that he may have given the vassal kings too much authority.
• Zhu Yuanzhang vowed to investigate whether Fourth Prince had betrayed Zhu Ying and said he would make Zhu Ying the future emperor if his warnings proved true.
• Zhu Yuanzhang said he feared provoking Zhu Ying into leaving or fighting his way out of the palace, and Zhu Biao teased him for being afraid.

Zhu Yuanzhang summoned the ministers to assess Zhu Ying’s warning that supporting the imperial clan would doom the Ming Dynasty. Learning that the policy already cost two million taels of silver each year and would grow with the royal family, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and the ministers recognized the danger, but no one dared speak openly.

• Zhu Yuanzhang told Zhu Biao that he would trust Zhu Ying’s policies if his warning proved correct, and he explained that Zhu Ying had been testing whether he would support his ambitions in the Ming Dynasty.
• Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Jiang Yan to investigate the backup plan Lu Ben appeared to have prepared before his execution.
• Zhu Yuanzhang summoned the ministers and asked whether Zhu Ying was right that supporting the imperial clan would cause the Ming Dynasty to fall within a hundred years.
• Zhao Mian reported that supporting the imperial clan and royal house had cost two million taels of silver the previous year, with expenses expected to rise as descendants multiplied.
• Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, Zhao Mian, and the other ministers realized that the growing costs could drain the treasury, force heavier taxes, and undermine the dynasty, but the ministers remained silent.

Zhu Ying won Zhu Yuanzhang’s approval to guide Great Ming’s national policies after proving the dangers of supporting the imperial clan. He returned to the palace and began proposing reforms, starting with time-limited support and the separation of financial authority.

• Zhu Yuanzhang admitted Zhu Ying was right and ordered ministers to draft solutions to the imperial-clan support policy.
• Zhu Yuanzhang sent Zhu Ying a sealed edict authorizing any national policy that benefited Great Ming and its national destiny.
• Zhu Ying accepted the edict and returned to Wenyuan Pavilion, believing he had won the right to lead reforms.
• Zhu Yuanzhang asked Zhu Ying how to reform imperial-clan support without leaving his descendants destitute.
• Zhu Ying proposed limiting support to a fixed term and separating financial authority.

Zhu Ying explained how Royal Industry could fund the imperial clan without using the national treasury, then showed Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao glass, refined salt, and cane sugar as the industry’s first major products. Zhu Yuanzhang authorized Zhu Ying to control Royal Industry and ordered the vassal kings’ military authority reclaimed, leaving Zhu Biao moved by Zhu Ying’s words about their family.

• Zhu Ying proposed separating state finances from royal finances and using profits from industries in each fief to support the vassal princes.
• Zhu Yuanzhang granted Zhu Ying control of Royal Industry in an imperial edict, earning Zhu Ying an ordinary treasure chest.
• Zhu Ying revealed glass, refined salt, and cane sugar, explaining their production and their potential as Royal Industry products.
• Zhu Ying urged Zhu Yuanzhang to address the vassal kings’ growing power, and Zhu Yuanzhang agreed that enfeoffment had been a mistake.
• Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Zhu Biao to send loyal officials and generals to the fiefs and begin disarmament; Zhu Biao accepted the command.
• Zhu Ying called the matter one concerning their family, bringing visible joy to Zhu Biao.

Zhu Biao ordered major measures to strip the feudal princes of military command, place key local officials under court appointment, and survey landholdings, while backing Zhu Ying’s Royal Industry plan. Zhu Ying considered how to build and regulate Royal Industry, then received Lan Yu, Chang Mao, and other Huai West generals at his mansion.

• Zhu Biao told Zhu Ying he would support his reforms and summoned Lan Yu, Li Jinglong, Chen Jing, and Zhao Mian to the Eastern Palace.
• Zhu Biao ordered Lan Yu and Li Jinglong to select officers to take over the feudal princes’ military authority and directed Chen Jing to choose local officials appointed by the court.
• Zhu Biao tasked Zhao Mian with tallying farmland held by commoners and powerful families, promising Imperial Guard support, and told ministers to cooperate with Zhu Ying’s Royal Industry plans.
• Zhu Biao resolved to preserve his brothers’ wealth while ensuring the imperial authority passed intact to Xiongying.
• Zhu Ying planned to expand Royal Industry through liquor, sugar, soap, and perfume while establishing checks to prevent monopolies and price abuse.
• Lan Yu, Chang Mao, and more than a dozen Huai West generals arrived at Prince Yuhuai’s Mansion and respectfully requested an audience with Zhu Ying.

Zhu Ying persuaded Lan Yu and the Huai West generals to report land they had seized, promising better official compensation and demanding loyalty to the court. He then revealed a world map that shattered their belief in Ming’s vastness and urged them to envision conquering lands across the world.

• Lan Yu asked Zhu Ying about reducing the princes’ power and the Crown Prince’s land survey, prompting Zhu Ying to tell the generals to register land they had seized.
• Zhu Ying promised to seek higher official salaries and introduce annual bonuses, and warned that land reform was essential to Ming’s survival.
• Lan Yu agreed to report his estates, and the Huai West generals followed his lead and pledged to surrender improperly acquired land for assessment.
• Zhu Ying told Lan Yu to select steady, wise generals to command troops in the princes’ feudal states, and the Huai West generals voiced support for reducing the princes’ power.
• Zhu Ying had Liu Lei and the Wang Wei display an enormous world map, leaving the generals stunned at how small Ming appeared on it.
• Zhu Ying urged the Huai West generals to help Ming conquer the nations shown on the map, enthralling them with his ambition.

Zhu Ying impressed the Huai West generals with his Martial Dao power and began drawing them into his military training program. As Zhu Ying organized Royal Industry and new appointments, Zhu Di worried that the approaching imperial envoy would bring consequences for his past clashes with Zhu Ying.

• Zhu Ying knocked the Huai West generals down with a punch and invited them to cultivate the Martial Dao under Liu Lei.
• Liu Lei showed Lan Yu and the other generals how Wang Wei trained, shattered a massive stone block, and described Zhu Ying's overwhelming strength.
• Zhu Ying continued organizing Royal Industry while Lan Yu, Li Jinglong, Chen Jing, and others arranged commanders, officers, and officials for new posts.
• Zhu Di learned that an imperial envoy was nearing Beiping and feared Zhu Ying would report his past hostility and involvement in the jade pendant affair to Zhu Yuanzhang.
• Yao Guangxiao urged Zhu Di to wait for the envoy and warned that another upheaval in Yingtian might be approaching.