Chapter 1: Peace is Blessing

  In the tenth year of Chongzhen in the great Ming dynasty, on August 10th, in Fengyang. The air still lingered with a faint smell of smoke and fire, since the eighth year of Chongzhen when the bandits Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong broke into Fengyang, although it has been two years, but the memory of the flames that reached the sky remained in the memories of the people of Fengyang, so much so that even now, people's nostrils still retained a faint smell of smoke.

  On the watchtower at the northwest corner of the Imperial City, two figures were faintly visible.

  Zhu Ping'an gazed at the high wall of the Forbidden City not far away from the foot of the imperial city for a long time, looking up at the moon passing through the clouds above his head, it seemed that the time had not yet arrived, but the sound of his companion's chewing beside him seemed to be getting louder and louder.

  Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but let out a sigh, "Wu Shang, can you please keep the noise down while eating? This is the Imperial City, do you want to attract the attention of the Patrol Guards from the Ministry of War?"

  The soft moonlight shone down, illuminating Cao Wujin's exceptionally handsome face. However, the greasy nose and mouth below didn't match this face at all. Cao Wujin smiled, revealing his white teeth that sparkled in the night light. In an instant, another chicken leg was stuffed into his mouth.

  Zhu Ping'an turned his head reluctantly, his eyes still gazing at the high wall of the Forbidden City below, but asked, "Wu Shang, do you have an ideal?"

  "What's an ideal?" Cao Wujin's attention was all on the roasted chicken in his hand, and he replied vaguely.

  "This is... things I want to do in the future!"

  Cao Wu Shang finally put down the chicken leg, and suddenly a hint of a charming smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. This smile always made Zhu Ping An think of a term from later generations - "flower boy". But this flower boy's answer was shocking and tasteless.

  "Every day there is meat to eat, this is what Xiao's most wants to do!"

  Faced with such an answer, Zhu Ping'an could only silently lower his head.

  It's been a year since Zhu Ping'an arrived in this era, and he has slowly adapted to this era without mobile phones, computers, or flushing toilets. However, he still can't figure out how he ended up here after passing out at a banquet for his superiors, only to wake up in the midst of war during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.

  As a university graduate majoring in history and a young cadre who has been fighting on the front lines for nearly ten years, Zhu Ping'an is very clear about what the two words "Chongzhen" mean. It means that the Huaxia nation will enter an era full of barbarism, enslavement, and bloodshed.

  Ideals, for Zhu Ping'an from his previous life, were somewhat too vague and elusive, or it could be said that they were extremely worldly, nothing more than things like getting promoted and getting rich. Unfortunately, until he crossed over, Zhu Ping'an had never even touched a hair of his ideals.

  But after the crossing, perhaps it was the simplicity, loyalty and filial piety of this life's Zhu Ping'an that had deeply carved into her soul. Even if the Zhu Ping'an from the future who crossed over was cunning, sly and meticulous, she couldn't stop the two souls from tightly entwining together, slowly merging and converging, eventually becoming one entity.

  However, this made Zhu Ping'an discover that his ideals had become much simpler, so simple it was infuriating. That is to live, to live with dignity, to live with the unique pride of a Ming subject.

  There were still seven years until the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, and this period was enough for Zhu Pingan to think of ways to expand his own strength. Moreover, not far away in front of him, there was a prisoner inside the high wall who could help him.

  "The young master, the big dogs have changed shifts!" Cao Wushang's reminder interrupted Zhu Ping'an's thoughts. Zhu Ping'an had warned Cao Wushang many times, but he still couldn't change this way of addressing him, as if this title made him feel a sense of honor.

  Look at the sky, it's already midnight, the high wall guards who are stationed in the Forbidden City have started to change shifts. A team of soldiers wearing simple iron armor finished their handover, a tall and robust man with a small flag on his hat held up a lantern and swung it several times towards the direction of the Imperial City walls where Zhu Ping'an and another person were hiding, then stood still in front of the large gate of the high wall.

  Zhu Ping'an tightened the bundle on his back again, while Cao Wushang reluctantly sucked the chicken leg bones clean one more time, until there was not a single shred of meat left, before finally discarding them with reluctance.

  Zhu Ping'an slid down slowly from the city wall along the rope that had been tied in advance, while Cao Wujin simply grabbed a rope and jumped off the city wall. His clothes were blown up by the wind, making him look elegant and free. He lightly tapped his toes on the city wall several times before landing steadily within the imperial city.

  "Die, Ta Jian, you only know how to show off your lightness skill!" Zhu Ping'an muttered to himself.

  The two arrived at the high wall, and the guard soldier at the gate didn't even glance at them. Only the small flag-like person who had just appeared nodded slightly towards Zhu Ping'an in the darkness.

  Zhu Ping'an and Cao Wu Shang took out the iron claws they carried with them, climbed up the wall, and smoothly entered inside the high wall.

  The high walls and deep moats are the places where the imperial clansmen who have committed crimes are imprisoned. These people have a common name - the guilty imperial clansmen. Once inside the high walls, they will never see the sun again for the rest of their lives, which is also the most severe punishment that the Ming court has imposed on the imperial princes. In the eighth year of Chongzhen, when the bandits broke into Fengyang, all the guilty imperial clansmen who were imprisoned inside were released. Now, there is only one imperial clansman being imprisoned inside the high walls. He was put in prison in the ninth year of Chongzhen.

  This man is Zhu Ping'an's father in this life, the King of Tang of the Great Ming Dynasty, Zhu Youjian.

  But Zhu Ping'an was very clear that his father would play a crucial role in the history to come. Because, he was the second emperor of Southern Ming history - Longwu Emperor, and also the only emperor among the Southern Ming emperors who had some ability, but later died under the butcher's knife of the Qing army due to Zheng Zhilong's betrayal.

  A majestic life, a majestic family, a majestic history. Every time Zhu Ping'an thought of this, the blood of his great ancestor, the emperor, which was buried deep in his veins, would surge up with intense passion and burst forth.

  "The Son of Heaven guards the gate of the country, and the king dies for the altar." The descendants of Zhu in the Great Ming used everything to fulfill their original oath. Behind them, the mountains and rivers of the Han nationality collapsed with a loud noise, leaving behind only a dark history without sky or day.

  Now, he, Zhu Ping'an, has traveled through time and space, how can he bear to watch this piece of history unfold before his own eyes.

  The Qing dynasty, the bandit Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, Zheng Zhilong, and even Wu Sangui - all these were towering figures standing in Zhu Pingan's way. To defeat them, to make these heroes fall at his feet, there was still much for Zhu Pingan to do.

  A thousand threads of worry entwined, causing Zhu Ping'an to become somewhat distracted for a moment.

  As he watched Zhu Ping'an rush forward with a heavy expression, Cao Wujin couldn't help but feel some concern, but still didn't ask. From last year on, he had discovered that his childhood friend and future master would often fall into a daze, with an anxious yet confident expression that gave him a strange sense of unfamiliarity.

  Zhu Youjian's place of detention was at the northwest corner of the high wall, and within the entire high wall, only this place still had dim yellow lights on. Few people came here normally, in order to avoid contact between the imperial clan and the outside world, even the four large gates of the high wall were tightly locked, only Fengyang Town Guardian Eunuch Lu Jiude and Imperial Mausoleum Guardian Eunuch Shi Yingjue's subordinates had the power to enter, and were responsible for delivering two meals a day to Zhu Youjian and his wife.

  Zhu Ping'an and Cao Wu Shang climbed over the wall and entered. In the darkness, someone had already come to greet them. "Is that you, Dalang?"

  The newcomer was an old eunuch with white hair and beard, who was none other than Zou Jing, the chief eunuch serving before Tang King Zhu Youjian and his wife.

  Zhu Ping'an supported him with one hand, "Uncle Zhou, how are the Prince and Princess?"

  Zou Jing almost shed tears, "Shi Yingzhao framed the king, and was subjected to the punishment of wearing a cangue, King, King, you are seriously injured!"

  Zhu Ping's eyebrows shot up, "Shi Yingzhao, how dare he speak to the prince like that? The prince is after all a descendant of the imperial family, if there needs to be an interrogation, it should be handled by the Ministry of Rites, what right does this eunuch have to interfere?"

  Zou Jing's face was covered in tears and he couldn't speak a complete sentence, so Zhu Ping'an simply let him take his place to make the announcement.

  The main hall is empty, but the few houses in the courtyard are still relatively intact. In the early autumn evening, there is already a hint of coolness. On a rickety wooden bed in the house, only two thin quilts were covered. A middle-aged man sat on the edge of the bed, and the woman beside him was cleaning the bruises and wounds on his wrists and ankles.

  Zhu Ping'an walked into the main hall with his head down, and the middle-aged man immediately withdrew his wrist, straightened his back, opened his eyes to look at him, and although there was a painful meaning in his eyes, he strongly suppressed it.

  A worn-out white robe, hair bun slightly disheveled, clearly not over thirty years old, yet temples already showing frosty color, eyes and eyebrows revealing an unhidden stubbornness and elegance. Under the dim lamp light, Zhu Ping An secretly sized up his father in this life, Tang King Zhu Youjian.

  In the ninth year of Chongzhen, the Dorgon Emperor Taizong of the Later Jin dynasty formally declared himself emperor and changed the name of his state to "Qing". He sent Dorohoi Wu Ying Gong Prince A Jige with eight banner troops from Xifengkou into the pass to invade the interior. Changping, Liangxiang, and Shunyi fell one after another, and the capital was shaken.

  The Chongzhen Emperor then ordered the various regions to rush to the capital to defend it. The Tang King Zhu Youjian submitted a memorial requesting to lead troops to defend the capital, but was rejected by the court. Afterwards, Zhu Youjian led all of his palace guards towards the capital, but was reported by local officials and ordered back to his fief by the Chongzhen Emperor. In November, the imperial court determined that Zhu Youjian had left his fief without permission, and issued an edict stripping him of his title and imprisoning him within the high walls of Fengyang.

  "Your Highness, Your Majesty, I, Zhu Ping'an, pay my respects!" Zhu Ping'an knelt down on both knees and paid his respects to Zhu Yuqian. Cao Wushang also followed behind and knelt down.

  Zhu Yu Jian let out a soft sigh, waved his hand, and the woman beside him finally spoke up, "Husband, this isn't the Wang Manor, no need for excessive courtesy, get up!"

  Zhu Ping'an got up, took off the package on his back and handed it to Empress Tang's hands. "Your Majesty, here is the medicinal paste for promoting blood circulation and removing stasis, and some food!"

  Zeng nodded and took it over, but there was no joy on his face. His eyes looking at Zhu Ping'an still showed a hint of disdain and disgust.

  "Tomorrow morning, please remember to wash off the medicinal paste cleanly. Otherwise, if it's discovered by someone summoned by Shi Ying, it might bring trouble for Wang Ye!" Zhu Ping'an reminded in a low voice.

  Zeng's eyes softened slightly.

  Zhu Yu Jian gazed at Zhu Ping An with a complex expression. The brief encounter that year had resulted in this son, and the woman's lovely figure had long since turned to dust in her tomb. Only when he saw his son could he vaguely recall what she looked like. It had been thirteen years since she passed away.

  Zhu Yu Jian suddenly felt very certain that his decision back then was correct. Not allowing Zhu Ping An to enter the family register, even the entire household thought he was just a born-out-of-wedlock child. So many years have passed, and an illegitimate child from back then has unknowingly grown into a 15-year-old youth. It's also because of this that he didn't end up imprisoned with him, escaping the calamity of being locked in these high walls for life, and leaving behind some descendants for his lineage.

  "Peace, peace! May peace be a blessing!" Zhu Yuqian muttered to himself.

  Just as Zhu Ping'an was about to ask about Zhu Yuqian's injury, a sudden commotion of footsteps came from outside the door. Zou Jing rushed in with a look of panic on his face, "Your Highness, Your Highness, it's not good! Someone is heading towards our courtyard!"

  The words had barely fallen when the sound of pounding on the gate came from outside, and a shrill voice rose up, "Surround the courtyard for our family, don't let one get away!"