"How is it?"
In a restaurant at the port of the Bohai Sea, an elderly man with white hair and beard gazed at a giant ship on the distant sea.
A middle-aged man who had just entered from the back said with a grim expression, "That old fellow is very shrewd. My grandson paid a heavy price to get even a little bit of information out of him."
As he spoke, the middle-aged man presented the old man with a pre-prepared letter, his expression grim, clearly indicating that he had paid a considerable price to obtain this information.
Fortunately, we managed to get it!
"A small price is no problem, as long as the intelligence is sufficient."
The old man remained calm, seemingly unconcerned about the small price he had paid. However, as he unfolded the envelope, his narrowed eyes suddenly widened, his face filled with disbelief and undisguised horror.
Suppressing his shock, the old man managed to calm his chaotic thoughts and asked in a cold voice, "Has the Da Ming Dynasty royal family done anything unusual these past few days?"
At the same time, he secretly prayed, "I hope it's not what I think, otherwise it will be very bad."
" The Eastern Depot has been mobilized in large numbers in recent days, but strangely, they are investigating members of the Zhu Family. Even some hidden factions have been activated, and it seems that they are selecting something."
Furthermore, the imperial family members relocated from the outer imperial estates of the capital were also secretly moved here.
Although he didn't understand why his grandfather had lost his composure, the middle-aged man still answered the questions honestly.
Upon hearing this answer, the old man's face turned deathly pale, and he couldn't even control his internal energy, which shattered the letter in his hand into dust.
"Grandfather!"
The middle-aged man was startled; this was the first time in his life he had ever seen his grandfather so out of control.
" The Da Ming imperial family is trying to flee the Central Plains!"
With bloodshot eyes fixed on the giant ship on the distant sea, the old man vaguely guessed the Old Zhu Household's intentions.
What could possibly cause the Old Zhu Household currently hold a dominant position in the Central Plains, to flee in such a panic?
The old man shuddered at the thought, feeling utterly horrified. He also recalled a secret piece of information revealed by the Whitebeard descendant of the King of Shang.
The catastrophe in the Central Plains was probably far more terrifying than they imagined; otherwise, the Old Zhu Household wouldn't have made such preparations.
Similar scenes are playing out in many places, further fueling the undercurrents among the major powers in the Central Plains.
This situation was exactly what Wang Hao had anticipated, and it was exactly what he wanted and what he aimed for.
It would be extremely difficult to mobilize the power of all the major forces in the Central Plains for reform, as this would harm the interests of many factions.
Although he now possesses Invincible strength, enough to subdue all forces and make them work for him, the efficiency of such an operation is predictably low.
More importantly, if things are done this way, those forces might shift the pressure onto ordinary people, which would only make things worse.
Just like the reforms during the Song Dynasty, which were originally a good thing, but ultimately failed due to improper implementation, and instead caused widespread discontent among the people.
He didn't have high hopes for the officials and high-ranking officials of this era, so he could only use this method to deceive those people from various powerful forces before he could carry out reforms.
Leaving aside the movements of the various forces, Wang Hao was currently standing on the forward deck of a replica Titanic, because a big shot from the Old Zhu Household was arriving today.
"What a divine creation!"
Zhu Yuanzhang, the Old Zhu comrade who came with the younger generation who were being trained at the Imperial Palace, looked up at the four towers on the Titanic and was deeply moved.
Although they had known of the existence of this giant ship from intelligence reports, they did not have a clear concept of it until they actually boarded it and realized how powerful this miraculous creation was.
This is practically a city on the sea!
"Ancestor!"
Wang Hao stepped forward with his usual warm smile, then his gaze lingered briefly on Emperor Mingde beside him.
He didn't have much affection for this current emperor of the Old Zhu Household, after all, it was this man who ordered the attack on Zhao Dachui and his group, trying to seize the Xun Feather Cloth.
That almost killed his best friend's whole family, so he naturally disliked the culprit very much.
Wang Hao's dissatisfaction was not hidden, and Zhu Yuanzhang and others noticed it. Emperor Mingde even asked in bewilderment, "Does Yanzu have some dissatisfaction with me?"
Zhu Yuanzhang and the others standing nearby were equally puzzled. Logically speaking, there should be no conflict between Zhu Yanzu and Emperor Mingde, and the two had gotten along quite well last time. How did things turn out like this today?
Zhu Yunlu, who was standing next to Wang Hao, was even more worried. After all, on one side was her beloved and on the other was her father, the Emperor. She didn't want the two of them to have any conflicts.
"Has the Imperial Uncle ever targeted that Lord Wang Hao?"
Wang Hao did not answer, but instead asked a question.
Meanwhile, Xiao Mengmeng, who was watching Saint in the System Space, rolled her Byakugan adorably, knowing that her uncle was about to start fooling people again.
Upon hearing this, the gazes of the Zhu family's top Old Zhu Household, led by Old Zhu Yuanzhang, towards Emperor Mingde immediately turned cold, and even the ruthless Old Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to harbor a sinister murderous intent.
The strength of that Venerable Lord Wang Hao had already been clearly demonstrated in his battles against the eight Confucian School patriarchs. Although it could not compare to the shocking performance of the Peerless Sword Saint and the Whitebeard, it was still not to be underestimated.
Most importantly, the opponent's growth rate is simply too fast. In just a few years, he has acquired such terrifying strength. Coupled with his own supreme physique, the Innate Sacred Physique Dao Embryo, who knows how powerful he has become now.
If they were to provoke such a being, it would undoubtedly be a disaster for the Old Zhu Household.
If Emperor Mingde, this unworthy descendant, truly offended that evil star, he wouldn't mind eliminating him personally.
"Never has ever happened!"
Noticing the cold gazes of his ancestors, Emperor Mingde hurriedly shook his head in denial, then, as if realizing something, his face turned deathly pale.
Old Zhu witnessed this scene and, knowing full well the suspicious activity involved, suppressed his murderous intent and coldly demanded, "Speak!"
"I once sent someone to ask a friend of Your Majesty Wang Hao for the secret method of forging a set of Purple Gold armor."
Emperor Mingde dared not conceal the matter and hurriedly revealed it.
Now, Comrade Old Zhu and the other high-ranking Old Zhu Household turned pale, their ferocious expressions suggesting they wished they could devour Emperor Mingde alive.
"Didn't I already have Lord Wang Hao give you the secret technique? It's the Nine-Character True Art created by the Ten Ancient Emperors! What other secret technique do you want?"
Wang Hao frowned, but inwardly he was sneering.
He's the kind of person who won't offend others unless they offend him, and if someone offends him, he'll retaliate tenfold. Since Emperor Mingde has turned against his buddy, he must pay a heavy price.
Furthermore, he needed to force the emperor to abdicate so that he could take the throne himself, in order to implement his next plan.
Therefore, Emperor Mingde had to abdicate and yield the throne to a worthy successor. However, he could not force him to do so, as that would damage his reputation. Thus, he devised this plan.
"I... I had someone do this before I obtained the Nine-Character True Art, and I was doing it for the benefit of my Da Ming."
Sensing the even more chilling killing intent emanating from the surrounding ancestors, Emperor Mingde broke out in a cold sweat and weakly offered a defense.
"Couldn't you have told me beforehand? Forget about the forging method of Purple Gold, I could even get you some real Purple Gold."
Besides, what do you need that secret forging technique for Purple Gold for? Even the most skilled craftsmen can only extract one pound of that gold from a thousand pounds of gold. Where in the Central Plains do we have that much gold to forge?
Furthermore, the most distinctive feature of Purple Gold is its self-healing ability; in terms of toughness and practicality, it is far inferior to Third-Tier Red Copper. Lord Wang Hao at most forged it for his own cultivation of the Nine-Character True Art; what are you getting involved in?
..."
Wang Hao seemed genuinely angry; the veins on his forehead were throbbing.
Comrade Old Zhu and the others' faces turned even darker, as black as the bottom of a pot.
If Emperor Mingde could truly bring huge benefits to the Old Zhu Household, that would be one thing. But according to Zhu Yanzu, the method of forging Purple Gold was utterly useless to them.
Putting everything else aside, the sheer proportion of only one pound of Purple Gold gold that can be extracted from a thousand pounds of gold is enough to cause headaches.
Based on this ratio, even if all the gold in the Old Zhu Household were taken and forged, they wouldn't be able to make much.
For something so useless, they offended the terrifying Lord Wang Hao; they wouldn't do such a losing deal.
"Cousin, has this matter affected you?"
Zhu Yunlu tightened her grip on Wang Hao's arm, her eyes filled with worry. She could tell that her father had handled the matter poorly, causing considerable trouble.
"Well, thankfully the Lord remembered his kindness to Elder Chu and didn't turn against me, but that plan can't be implemented now."
Taking a deep breath and forcing himself to remain calm, Wang Hao smiled.
But the more this happened, the more anxious and ashamed the Old Zhu Household members became.
Instead of helping them, they ended up making things worse, and even though they weren't shy, they still felt a little embarrassed.
What kind of mess is this?!
" Mingde, go back and start preparing for your abdication! Yanzu needs that position to do the work."
Comrade Old Zhu, with a dark expression throughout, spoke coldly. The other senior members of the Old Zhu Household also wore cold expressions and did not object.
It's fortunate that such a huge mess didn't kill Emperor Mingde, but regardless, he can no longer sit on this throne.
"Yes!"
With his fists clenched, Emperor Mingde finally resigned himself to his fate in frustration.
Although he held a high position as emperor, he was well aware that the one who truly controlled everything in the Old Zhu Household was this ancestor.
This ancestor was quite ruthless; if you angered someone, they could really be killed.
He's only able to keep his life now because of his children; otherwise, why would he have been allowed to return and abdicate smoothly?
Nevertheless, Emperor Mingde still felt extremely saddened.
He fought tooth and nail to get to this position, but after only a few years, he had to abdicate and give way to a more capable person. It's really enough for an emperor to end up like this.