Zhu Yuanzhang

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋)
Alias(es)	Old Zhu of Great Ming; Hongwu; Zhu Baba (used by Zhou Ru) 6 179
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Great Ming; Myriad Worlds Chat Group 7 10
Occupation/Role	Emperor and founder of Great Ming; one of the four emperors participating in the “Overthrow the Qing and Restore the Ming” mission; leader of the Ming Empire 30 32 204
First Appearance	Chapter 6 (mentioned as “Old Zhu of Great Ming”) 6

Power Progression

Stage	Chapter(s)	Advancement / Capability
Enhanced Physical Strength	61	Displays dramatically improved physical strength by casually tossing two 150-jin stone locks as though they were pebbles. 61
Haki-Enhanced Combatant	109	Uses Shave to cross a battlefield, detects approaching enemies with Observation Haki, and clears a military force with Conqueror's Haki. 109
Armed Interworld Ruler	108, 109	Wields a power sword and battle armor, withstands the foreign army's escalating conventional and advanced weapons, and personally raids their equipment. 108 109
Sustained Observation Haki	202	Keeps Observation Haki active for extended periods, allowing him to notice Zhu Shuang's attempts to feign diligence. 202

Background

Zhu Yuanzhang was reviewing memorials in the Ming palace when the chat group’s alerts and interface appeared before him. His guard Er Hu could neither hear the alerts nor see the panel, leading Zhu to initially suspect fatigue or deception. 7

An unknown group member warned him that his sister and Imperial Eldest Grandson, Zhu Xiong Ying, would die in the fifteenth year of Hongwu. Zhu outwardly offered a reward to lure the speaker into Ming territory, intending to capture and kill whoever dared curse his family. A song played through the group later left him overwhelmed by the imagined loss of his wife, son, sister, and grandson. 7

He initially dismissed Ying Zheng as an impostor and repeatedly denounced him as a tyrant. After Liu Bing’s explanation of the chat group and the multiple timelines, Zhu accepted that the group connected different worlds and historical eras. 9 10

After encountering the Great Qing instance and learning that Consort Li was a transmigrator, Zhu recognized that Liu Bing's original warnings about Outer Realm Demons and anomalous individuals had been genuine. 54

By the twelfth year of Hongwu, Great Ming had already incorporated future educational materials and begun large-scale modernization, including the construction of concrete roads and the use of off-road vehicles. 201 204

Personality

Zhu is intensely suspicious of unknown forces and quick to respond to perceived threats with anger, intimidation, or violence. His reaction to warnings about his relatives shows a fiercely protective attachment to his family. 7

He is blunt and combative in the chat group, especially toward Ying Zheng. Learning of the death-exempt plaques he had granted and later revoked leaves him unable to rebut Ying Zheng’s accusation that Zhu, rather than Qin Shi Huang, was the harsher ruler. 28

Despite his severity, Zhu expresses genuine concern for common people, rooted in his experience of hardship before becoming emperor. He asks Liu Bing for Red Will because he wants the people of the realm to live better lives. 35

His hostility toward foreign peoples is especially extreme. During later interworld campaigns, he readily supports mass killings of hostile non-Han populations and treats their destruction as an acceptable means of securing Ming territory. 108 112

Zhu is highly acquisitive where useful technology is concerned. When confronted with advanced foreign weaponry, he is excited rather than intimidated, immediately deciding that both the blueprints and the scientists behind the weapons must belong to Great Ming. 109

Having learned the consequences of his historical policies, Zhu has begun reconsidering his earlier family-centered conception of rule. He acknowledges that his background limited his perspective and seeks to retain capable people through rewards, improved conditions, and opportunities for contribution rather than solely through fear. 204

Relationships

• Liu Bing / Hong Huang Little Shrimp — Chat-group overseer who first teases Zhu with a Ming tune, supplies historical information, and offers the Qing-conquest mission. 6 7 30
• Ying Zheng — Initially a bitter chat-group rival whom Zhu calls a tyrant; their relationship later becomes relaxed enough for mutual teasing during the Qing campaign. 9 28 48
• Zhu Di — His son. Zhu repeatedly beats him after learning that Zhu Di will usurp the throne, alter records, and move the Ming capital; nevertheless, Zhu acknowledges Zhu Di’s future accomplishments. Zhu later entrusts him with authority over conquered interworld territories. 29 49 112
• Zhu Biao — Son who repeatedly shields Zhu Di and asks Zhu to explain the beatings. As Zhu’s health and circumstances improve, Zhu Biao assumes much of Great Ming’s state administration and oversees the empire’s promotional materials. 29 413 446
• Empress Ma — His wife, who initially tries to stop Zhu from punishing Zhu Di before eventually watching from the side. She later accompanies Zhu in investigating Zhu Yuyan and supports Great Ming’s modernization through studying future knowledge. 29 202
• Zhu Xiong Ying — His Imperial Eldest Grandson, whose foretold death deeply distresses Zhu. Zhu later brings him to Fengyang, where the child demonstrates confidence in the martial arts cultivation that has rendered him immune to disease. 7 202 204
• Zhu Shuang — His second son, whose jealousy of Zhu Di and violent temperament repeatedly draw Zhu’s displeasure. Zhu restricts him to Yingtian Prefecture to study and attempts to discipline him in “benevolence.” 49 112 202
• Zhu Yuyan — A Fengyang transmigrator with the Technology-Powered Nation System. Though initially fearful of Zhu’s historical reputation, he is recruited and appointed director of the Ming Academy of Sciences to develop Industrial Revolution-era technologies. 201 203 204
• Li Shimin and Liu Che — Fellow emperors and allies in the campaign against Great Qing; they later join Zhu and Ying Zheng in joking with one another. 32 48
• Zhou Ru — A later Heavenly Immortal and post-Qing administrator supported by Liu Bing. She recognizes Zhu as one of the emperors who overthrew Qianlong and affectionately calls him “Zhu Baba.” 47 179
• Chang Yuchun and Xu Da — Ming generals who serve in the Qing campaign; Chang Yuchun acts under Zhu’s orders, while Xu Da confirms the Forbidden City has been sealed. 46 50

Story Role / Major Arcs

Entry into the Myriad Worlds Chat Group

Zhu becomes the remaining ordinary member of a damaged beginner chat group after its original owner is removed. The group gives him access to information about other dynasties, alternative timelines, and the eventual fate of Ming. 6 7 10 11

Reckoning with Ming’s Future

Historical records reveal that Zhu Di will take the throne and relocate the capital, while later Ming failures allow the Qing to rule the Central Plains. Zhu vents his frustration by repeatedly punishing Zhu Di, though he keeps the chat group secret from his family. 28 29 32

“Overthrow the Qing and Restore the Ming”

When Liu Bing presents a cross-world mission to overthrow Great Qing, Zhu immediately accepts and claims he could complete it alone. He later assembles Ming generals and joins Ying Zheng, Li Shimin, and Liu Che in the expedition. 30 31 32

During the campaign, Zhu’s forces benefit from widespread Han support. Chang Yuchun receives Zhu’s instructions regarding captured Manchu lords, forcing them to dig graves before executing them. 46

Fall of Great Qing

Zhu enters the Forbidden City with the other emperors and criticizes its extravagance, particularly because it was built by Zhu Di. He orders Qianlong to hang himself on Coal Mountain—the place where the last Ming emperor died—and then commands that the palace be sealed and that no Qing loyalists be spared. 49 50

Zhu and the other emperors also use the campaign to collect high-yield crops and advanced goods unavailable in their native eras. 50

Interworld Competition and Military Expansion

After entering the Pirate World, Zhu and the other emperors treat its territories and talented inhabitants as part of a contest for the strongest imperial power. They divide the Four Seas among themselves, infiltrate local factions, and compete intensely for exceptional individuals and useful Devil Fruit abilities. 68

In a later foreign-world conflict, Zhu confronts an army equipped with thermobaric bombs, electromagnetic cannons, laser weapons, tactical nuclear missiles, and other advanced arms. Excited by their potential value to Great Ming, he charges through the bombardment, uses his Haki and power sword to destroy the encirclement, and stores the surviving vehicles and equipment in chat-group space. 109

Zhu also seeks the weapon designs and technical personnel behind foreign military technology. Ming’s existing firearms research, already accelerated by Second World War blueprints, continues developing rapidly under his rule. 109

Afterward, he assigns Zhu Di to govern the conquered world and eliminate as many non-human threats as possible, while Zhu Biao remains responsible for the core administration of Great Ming. 112

Recruitment of Zhu Yuyan and Modernization of Great Ming

When reports from Fengyang identify Zhu Yuyan as a possible transmigrator, Zhu excitedly travels there with Empress Ma, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Xiong Ying to assess him. 201 202

Zhu overhears Zhu Yuyan’s fear that the historical Hongwu Emperor would purge capable officials after the deaths of Empress Ma and Zhu Biao. Although angered by the criticism, Zhu chooses to recruit rather than execute him. 203 204

After learning that Zhu Yuyan possesses the Technology-Powered Nation System, Zhu appoints him director of the Ming Academy of Sciences. He orders Zhu Yuyan to unlock and develop Industrial Revolution technologies needed for Great Ming’s foundational industries, promising him wealth and glory in exchange for service. 204

Under this modernization effort, Zhu addresses labor shortages by recruiting workers from other worlds and continents, while Zhu Biao continues managing the rapidly changing Ming Empire’s domestic affairs. 205 413

Later Interworld Affairs

Zhu remains interested in reassessing historical figures through the knowledge provided by the myriad worlds. After learning new information regarding Di Xin, he expresses a desire to meet the last Human Emperor personally and understand his true character. 318

Even after Great Ming becomes stable enough for Zhu to delegate much of its administration to Zhu Biao and other descendants, he remains eager for new campaigns. He later contacts Zhu Biao to prepare for another operation against foreign tribes. 413 502

Notable Quotes

“Didn't I summon you precisely because I wanted to hit you? Why else would I have someone bring you here? To invite you for a meal?” 29

“Great Ming's realm, the Han people's realm, must never be defiled by foreign races!” 30

“From now on, you'll be the director of the Ming Academy of Sciences. I'll first help you build up some prestige.” 204

“Come back with me, and I'll make you an official.” 204