Seeing the look on Zhu Zhanjun's face, as if he'd just swallowed a fly, Zhu Gaochi couldn't have felt more pleased.
You little brat. Let's see you tease your father every day now. Let's hear you call me a coward and say I faint at the sight of blood!
Now you know what your father is capable of, don't you?
"Father, isn't this a little... unreasonable?"
Zhu Zhanjun tried one last time to fight back.
"These Great Snow Dragon Riders were left to me by my master for my protection. They're my private force. How can you just commandeer them?"
"What do you mean, your private force?"
Zhu Gaochi glared and put on the Crown Prince's airs.
"Under heaven, all land belongs to the king; within its borders, all people are his subjects!"
"You and your army both belong to Great Ming!"
"With the nation in peril and the Northern Border in crisis, I'm commandeering your army to fight for the country. You should be honored!"
"I'm giving you the chance to earn merit!"
He spoke with such righteous conviction, cloaking his words in the finest of justifications.
Zhu Zhanjun opened his mouth, only to find himself utterly speechless.
He looked to Zhu Di beside them for help.
"Grandfather, look at my father..."
Zhu Di coughed and turned his face aside, pretending to admire the view.
"Mm, it's a fine day today."
Come on. He'd just gotten an army of divine soldiers for free, one that could relieve the Northern Border's desperate situation. He was delighted—why would he take his grandson's side?
Besides, the boy had too many good things at his disposal, and he was too powerful. Powerful enough to make even the emperor feel a little uneasy.
Taking his strongest army into the Imperial Court's hands, under the joint command of himself and Zhu Gaochi, might keep the boy in line, too.
Two birds with one stone. What was there not to like?
When Zhu Zhanjun saw the father and son playing good cop and bad cop in perfect harmony, he knew there was no saving his three thousand Great Snow Dragon Riders today.
He was furious!
If only he'd known, he wouldn't have shown off!
What did you call this?
Showing off and getting struck by lightning!
"Fine! Take them, then!"
Zhu Zhanjun gritted his teeth and decided to throw caution to the wind.
"But I'm telling you now, my army is precious!"
"They eat the finest grain, their horses are fed beans, and they get hot baths every day. Their pay has to arrive on time every month!"
"If you dock their pay or let my horses grow thin, they'll quit on you!"
"Don't worry!"
Zhu Gaochi waved a hand grandly, brimming with confidence.
"Starting today, the Great Snow Dragon Riders' grain, fodder, and supplies will be provided by the treasury at double the usual rate!"
"They'll get the best of everything in all of Great Ming!"
Now that good fortune had come his way, Zhu Gaochi felt full of vigor. Even the wound in his chest had stopped hurting, and his fainting spells at the sight of blood seemed cured.
He walked up to the army, puffed out his chest, and began reviewing his "new army," imitating Zhu Di.
The more he looked, the more he liked them. The more he looked, the more excited he became.
He could already picture himself clad in Golden Armor, sword in hand, leading this invincible cavalry across the frozen wastes of Mobei, kicking Arutai's head around like a ball and winning a peerless victory that would finally wash away the shame of being "frail and sickly."
At the height of his excitement, he turned to Zhu Di and Zhu Zhanjun and announced with great confidence, "Father Emperor! I respectfully request permission to personally lead these three thousand Great Snow Dragon Riders north at once to reinforce the Frontline!"
"I'm willing to stake my life on a Military Order Scroll: within three months, I'll raze the Tartar Royal Court, capture Arutai alive, and present him as a prisoner before the palace!"
His words rang with fervor and boundless ambition.
Yet after hearing him, both Zhu Zhanjun and Zhu Di wore rather strange expressions.
"Father, you... you're going to lead the troops yourself?"
Zhu Zhanjun asked tentatively.
"Of course!"
Zhu Gaochi slapped his chest, only to tug at his wound and hiss in pain. Still, he pressed on. "As the Heir Apparent, I should naturally share the nation's burdens!"
"Now that we have such divine weapons, if I still cower in the capital, won't the whole world laugh at me?"
Zhu Zhanjun and Zhu Di exchanged a glance. They both saw the same thought in the other's eyes: This fat man has gone mad.
With that frail little body of his, he wanted to take the field himself?
Forget fighting a war. He'd probably be shaken to pieces halfway to the border on the ride out from the capital.
"Absurd!"
Zhu Di was the first to object, his expression darkening.
"You're wounded. Stay in the capital and recover, like a good man!"
"You don't need to worry about the north!"
"Father Emperor!"
Zhu Gaochi grew anxious.
"My injuries are nothing!"
"Besides, I can't keep letting you exhaust yourself with affairs of state!"
"You've led five campaigns north of Mobei. It's time you had a proper rest!"
"Let me go in your place this time!"
He spoke with such heartfelt sincerity that Zhu Di was at a loss for a moment.
Zhu Zhanjun watched from the side, his eyes turning as an idea came to him.
He quietly slipped out of the Drill Ground, then sprinted straight to his mother Crown Princess Zhang's chambers.
"Mother! Mother! This is terrible! Something awful has happened!"
The moment he entered, he shouted at the top of his lungs.
The Crown Princess was chatting with several noblewomen when his shout startled her.
"Zhanjun? What's gotten into you, making such a fuss again?"
"Mother!"
Zhu Zhanjun rushed over, his face full of "worry" and "grief."
"My father... he's gone mad!"
"He insists on taking my three thousand Great Snow Dragon Riders north to fight!"
"Grandfather and I can't talk him out of it!"
"Mother, just think about it. He can barely ride a horse. How can he go into battle and kill the enemy? He'd be riding to his death!"
Before you continue