Two, Zhu Chongba

  The memories of the young man left in this body flooded into Zhu Yuanzhang's mind. Interestingly, this cowherd also had the surname Zhu and was the eighth child in his family, so he was called Zhu Ba. He was 19 years old this year. His family members had all died of starvation, just like Zhu Yuanzhang. After his family members died, Zhu Ba had no way to make a living and could only herd cattle for a landlord to earn some porridge to drink. Today, when he went out, Zhu Ba was so hungry that his footsteps were floating, and as a result, he accidentally fell and hit his head, resulting in his death. His body was then taken over by Zhu Yuanzhang who had descended from the sky.

  Zhu Yuanzhang calmly accepted his new identity, sitting on the grass and gazing at a large yellow cow eating grass in the distance, secretly pondering in his heart. It was now the spring of Tianqi 7 (1627), and just this August 8th, Emperor Tianqi Zhu Youjian would die of illness, and Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian would ascend to the throne. Then, on November 17th next year, White Water King Er would raise his standard and start a rebellion, proclaiming the official outbreak of the Ming dynasty's peasant uprising. And then, after another seventeen years, the Great Ming dynasty would collapse with a loud crash.

  Heaven has thrown me into Baishui County at this time and turned me into an ordinary cowherd, what does it mean?

  Forget it, I don't know what the heavens are thinking and I don't want to know. All I know is that after seventeen years, the Ming Dynasty will collapse, it's a country I built with my own hands, it's the greatest achievement of my life, if I couldn't come back then so be it, but since I've already returned, I must use these two hands to save it! Rebuild it! Let it shine again with vitality!

  With the insight I gained from floating in the sky for hundreds of years as a bystander, I am familiar with all the malpractices of this great Ming dynasty. I know what developments the world will have in the future, and I don't believe that with so many years of enlightenment, I won't be able to rebuild another great Ming dynasty that can last for thousands of years.

  Zhu Yuanzhang slowly got up from the grass, this body was very weak, making him very unaccustomed, but Zhu Yuanzhang did not feel depressed, because his previous life's body was also so thin and pitiful at first, but he knew that as long as he could find food and strengthen his exercise, this body could become strong.

  He walked up to the big yellow cow, grasped the rope on its nose and said in a low voice: "Let's go, follow me home..."

  Huh? I... This self-proclaimed method must be changed! Zhu Yuanzhang is a person who is very good at adapting to the environment. Since he has already become Zhu Ba, then from now on, this word "I" must not be used again, otherwise, if others hear it, it will bring fatal disaster.

  He took a deep breath, patted the big yellow cow on the back, and said in a low voice: "Let's go, follow me home... I have to think of a way to solve the problem of eating, otherwise this body won't be able to recover." Since becoming emperor, he hadn't used the word "I" to refer to himself for decades. Now that he had suddenly spoken it out loud, he found it wasn't so difficult after all.

  The sunset dragged down golden light from the edge of the sky, the green grass on the hillside swayed gently in the breeze, Zhu Yuanzhang led a big yellow cow, walking step by step to the home of his patron.

  At this time, the world has already begun to suffer a severe drought, and there is not much green grass on this hillside. The place where cattle are grazing is getting farther and farther away from home. On the slope below, as far as the eye can see, it's all yellow earth. Although it's now the spring plowing season, you can't see the kind of freshness that comes with the renewal of all things in spring.

  The landlord's surname was Ma, known as the White Water Ma family, a renowned large landowner far and wide. The memories inherited from Zhu Ba were somewhat unclear, only knowing that the head of the Ma family was called Old Master Ma, without even knowing his name. It can be seen how stupid Zhu Ba's brain is, actually not even understanding his own master's name.

  Old Master Ma had two sons and one daughter, in Zhu Ba's memory, the names of these three people were called Master Ma Dashi, Master Ma Ershi, Miss Ma San... The name was still unknown. After rummaging through Zhu Yuanzhang's treasure trove of memories for a while, he only got this useless information, it was really frustrating.

  After descending the mountain slope, I walked unevenly on the yellow land for a while, and the small White Water County town appeared in the distance. It's a small mountain town nestled on an uneven terrain, with houses rising and falling, and tiles connected to each other. The Majia Courtyard is not in the city, but on a small hill outside the east gate of the county town.

  The Ma family is the most powerful and wealthy clan in Baisui County, occupying nearly one-tenth of the county's land with their farmland. The scale of the Ma Family Compound is even more luxurious than the county governor's mansion. Whenever the county governor wants to issue a policy, he usually informs the Ma family first. If the Ma family disagrees with something, even the county governor has to be cautious and dare not easily offend them. This is also one of the drawbacks of the Ming dynasty: officials are controlled by local powerful clans and gentry. Without the support of these powerful clans and gentry, the officials' policies cannot be implemented outside the county government office.

  Zhu Yuanzhang walked towards the Ma family's large courtyard, which was built on a small hill. The hill wasn't high, but it was wide and expansive, with the entire mountain top occupied by this luxurious mansion. The mansion was divided into three large courtyards: the front courtyard, inner courtyard, and side courtyard. Each of these courtyards had countless houses connected together, forming an impressive complex. The mansion faced south and north, with its main gate located at the northernmost part of the entire courtyard. However, Zhu Yuanzhang did not have the qualifications to enter or exit through the main gate.

  He went around to the east side, walking towards the eastern gate of the Ma family's large courtyard, which was the entrance and exit for the lower class people. Several rough-handed and big-footed peasant women were sitting on the edge of the field by the door, and when they saw him return, they laughed together: "Zhu Ba, you good-for-nothing, how come you took so long to herd the cattle today? Qi Guan Shi has scolded you several times, I'm afraid you won't have dinner tonight."

  "With a body as thin as yours, if you don't eat this meal tonight, I don't know how you'll make it through the night."

  "Work harder, don't always be so half-dead, it's affecting us and we're also getting scolded by the boss."

  Several peasant women teased him together, Zhu Ba was a fool and had a very timid personality, so everyone usually took pleasure in teasing him when they were idle. Some even went too far to give him a punch or kick him, but Zhu Ba never dared to fight back. Today, Zhu Ba let the cows out for too long, and several women caught up with him again, scolding him a few times.

  How dare you call me a useless thing? How audacious! Zhu Yuanzhang's heart was filled with rage, his eyes widened in anger, and he glared at those women.

  With just one glance, the emperor who once established a vast empire with his own hands couldn't help but reveal his majestic and ruthless aura... Solemn, fierce, not tolerating any invasion... Not showing any mercy!

  It was just a glance, without any movement, and those women felt a sudden jolt throughout their bodies, their figures stiffening involuntarily, the mocking words behind them naturally swallowed back into their bellies, unable to utter another word.

  Frightened several women, Zhu Yuanzhang had no joy in his heart, but instead felt a slight regret: I shouldn't have shown my temper to these foolish peasant women! This is meaningless... Moreover, this temper should be restrained, I am now Zhu Ba, no longer the emperor with great power. When encountering weak people, I may be able to intimidate them and they won't dare to offend me. But when encountering strong people, intimidating them has no meaning, and it's possible to provoke their killing intent, which might not be good for me.

  Zhu Yuanzhang warned himself a few words, the overbearing aura in his eyes that looked down on the world suddenly dissipated like smoke, he turned his head and no longer paid attention to those farm women.

  It wasn't until his figure slipped into the side door of the Ma family's compound that the few peasant women recovered from their stiffness. They had limited knowledge and didn't know what imperial majesty was, so they naturally didn't take this matter to heart. However, after this, these people never dared to utter a single disrespectful word to Zhu Ba again.

  After entering the Ma family's mansion, Zhu Yuanzhang navigated through the vast complex with the help of Zhu Ba's memory. To his left was the path leading to the front yard, where Master Ma, Young Master Ma, and Second Young Master Ma spent their time; only high-ranking servants were qualified to enter. To his right was the path leading to the inner courtyard, where Mrs. Ma, Third Miss Ma, and the young mistresses spent their time; only high-ranking maids were qualified to enter.

  Like Zhu Ba, a humble cowherd, can only take this middle road, which leads to the outer courtyard, where long-term workers, short-term workers, and tenant farmers live. These people are not owned by the Ma family and are considered outside personnel, hired to work for the Ma family. Although their personal freedom is higher than that of the Ma family's servants, their treatment is even lower than that of the servants. They can't eat enough, wear warm clothes, or sleep well. At dawn, they have to go out to work, and at dusk, they can only return home to rest. The wages given by the Ma family are barely enough to keep them from starving, and eating their fill is a luxury.

  The living environment of the long and short workers is also very poor, consisting of rows of earthen houses with dry thatched roofs, and inside the houses, except for wooden beds, there are no utensils or furniture, it's a bare and empty space.

  These long and short workers were managed by a middle-aged man named Qi Cheng, who was called Qi Guan Shi by the long workers. This Qi Guan Shi was a mean and cruel person, often finding fault with the long and short workers, taking advantage of the opportunity to deduct their food, and was a very hateful guy.

  Zhu Yuanzhang walked back to the wing room, without even a glance at his own simple room, and led the big yellow cow into the cattle pen. Then he headed towards the dining hall. By now it was dusk, the time when the long workers ate their meals. He had been so hungry that his belly was stuck to his back, and if he didn't eat something, he might not be able to hold on.

  Just a few steps away, several exhausted short workers passed by him, their faces listless and dispirited. These people cast a dull glance at Zhu Yuanzhang with their lifeless eyes, then lowered their heads and whispered to each other: "Look, that Zhu Ba bastard has actually come back. He was late returning today, and Qi the manager was furious."

  Another short worker said in a low voice: "I thought he had stolen the old master's big yellow cow to sell, so he didn't dare come back."

  The short worker who spoke earlier immediately laughed and said, "With Zhu Ba's timid appearance, if he dared to steal a cow, the sun would rise in the west. If it were Wang Er, that guy, it's possible that he really did steal the cow and ran away."

  Although they were speaking in low voices, their words were deliberately loud enough to reach Zhu Yuanzhang's ears, with a hint of intentional mockery, just wanting to see the embarrassed expression on Zhu Ba's face.

  Zhu Yuanzhang had learned from his previous experiences with those women that this cowherd, who had taken over his body, was a weak and timid man at home, so everyone wanted to bully him for fun. If he always got angry with these guys, it would drag his own identity down to the same level as theirs. He was Zhu Yuanzhang, why bother to be on an equal footing with such people? It's better to ignore them.

  Zhu Yuanzhang didn't even glance at them, his expression calm as he brushed past them.

  Those few short workers who were ignored by him suddenly stiffened: What's wrong with Zhu Ba? Usually, when we teased him like this, he would be so embarrassed that he wanted to find a seam to drill into the ground, or he would nod and bow to us, with a face full of servility... What's wrong today? Although his steps were a bit light, the confidence and composure shown in his stride had never been seen on Zhu Ba's face before...

  At this moment, these people suddenly felt that they were not on the same level as Zhu Ba's temperament...