Liquidate Them One by One

"What heaven? Spit it out, what on earth is happening?" Empress Dowager Sun frowned.

The reporting guard took a deep breath. "Heaven... there are people!"

"People?"

At these words, everyone in the court was stunned.

How could there be people in the sky?

Unless they were immortals.

But in this world, how could immortals truly exist?

Driven by curiosity, no one could resist. They all turned and walked out of the great hall.

"This, this, this..."

In broad daylight, under the clear sky.

When the ministers came outside, they found that above the imperial palace, there was indeed a patch of shadow. Looking closely, everyone gasped. That so-called shadow turned out to be living people, tens of thousands of them in total.

And at the forefront of these "heavenly soldiers" stood several figures side by side.

"Tai... Emperor Taizong!"

Someone let out a cry of shock, their face filled with disbelief.

Because they recognized Zhu Di among those figures.

Not just that person—Empress Dowager Sun herself was also stunned.

In the eighth year of Yongle, Sun was recommended by Lady Pengcheng Bo and the Crown Princess Zhang, summoned into the palace by Zhu Di's decree, and raised by Lady Zhang. She was about ten years old at the time and had lived in the Forbidden City ever since. She had met Emperor Taizong Zhu Di many times.

Now, the Zhu Di in the sky no longer looked aged. After taking Qin Ning's elixir, he appeared middle-aged, which made him even more striking to Sun.

But just as Sun was stunned, a white-haired, white-bearded old minister beside her knelt down. "Tai... Emperor Taizu! It's Emperor Taizu!"

Minister of Rites Hu Ying, a jinshi during the Hongwu era, had served through the reigns of Hongwu, Jianwen, Yongle, Hongxi, Xuande, and now the current Zhengtong era—six reigns in total.

"Minister Hu, what are you saying? Which Emperor Taizu?" The other ministers all looked at him.

"It's Emperor Taizu! That man is Emperor Taizu! Standing right beside Emperor Taizong!" Hu Ying said, his voice trembling as tears streamed down his aged face.

He was at death's door, yet he never thought he would see Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong again in his lifetime.

"What? Emperor Taizu?"

Everyone was greatly shocked. A chill inexplicably crept into their hearts.

"Swish!"

At that moment, the heavenly soldiers descended onto the square in front of the Fengtian Hall. At the forefront, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Di, and the others walked step by step along the stairs toward the hall.

"We pay our respects to Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong!"

"We welcome Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong back!"

The ministers quickly knelt. If these people had walked in from outside the palace, they might have suspected impostors.

But this was different. The Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong before them had descended from the sky, leading tens of thousands of armed heavenly soldiers back into the world. There was no room for doubt.

"Heh, I never thought that in the Zhengtong era, there would still be officials from my Hongwu reign," Zhu Yuanzhang said first, glancing at Minister of Rites Hu Ying.

"Your old servant Hu Ying bows to Emperor Taizu and welcomes your return!" Hu Ying knelt down emotionally.

"Enough, all of you, rise."

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed as he looked at this white-haired veteran who had served six reigns. For some reason, a feeling of melancholy stirred within him.

Times had changed. In this timeline, he and his girl had already been dead for who knows how many years.

"Zhen'er!" Sun then saw Zhu Qizhen standing behind Zhu Yuanzhang and the others. A look of ecstasy appeared on her face.

"Hmph!"

Zhu Yuanzhang gave a cold snort, his gaze sweeping toward Sun. "You, this treacherous empress!"

The words "treacherous empress" shook everyone present. Sun herself turned pale in an instant.

In truth, everyone in the court knew what she had done over the years. Behind her back, some privately cursed her with that very name, but no one had ever dared to say "treacherous empress" to her face.

But now, who was this person before them?

This was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty, Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang!

"Father, let's go into the hall first. We'll settle accounts one by one," Zhu Di said.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded but did not step forward immediately. Instead, he looked at Qin Ning and the others beside him and said with a smile, "Sir, Brother Zheng, Old Li, please go first."

Seeing Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang being so courteous to these three people, everyone present was shocked.

"Never mind, Old Zhu. Don't be so formal. This is your Ming dynasty after all. You go first," said Qin Shi Huang.

"Well... alright."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, hesitated no further, and led the others into the Fengtian Hall.

Behind them, Sun, Zhu Qizhen, and the ministers followed.

Zhu Yuanzhang walked slowly to the highest seat. As soon as he sat down, he spoke in a heavy voice. "In the Battle of Tumu Fortress, our army was utterly defeated. Duke of Ying Guo, Zhang Fu, fell in battle. Marquis of Taining, Chen Ying, fell in battle. Commandant of the Imperial Guard, Jing Yuan, fell in battle. Count of Pingxiang, Li Zhen, fell in battle. Vice Ministers Ding Xuan, Wang Yong, and fifty-two other generals—all fell in battle..."

"Tai... Emperor Taizu, no! When did Duke of Ying Guo and the others die? They were all fine when we came back!" Zhu Qizhen below was completely bewildered.

The ministers also showed confusion.

At this moment, Qin Ning spoke. "In the original history, if we had not intervened, the Battle of Tumu Fortress would have ended exactly like this."

"What? Impossible! This is impossible! How could my Ming dynasty lose so many court officials at once?" Zhu Qizhen was stunned.

"Sir, what do you mean by 'original history'? What does that mean?" Yu Qian couldn't help but ask.

Qin Ning smiled faintly. "I am a man from later ages. I come from six hundred years in the future."

"As for the Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong you see now, they came from the Hongwu and Yongle eras respectively. In addition, these two are Qin Shi Huang Ying Zheng, and this one is Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty, Li Shimin."

"First Emperor? Emperor Taizong of Tang?"

"This, this, this..."

Everyone's faces showed utter astonishment.

Time travel?

Did such things truly exist in this world?

"In the fourteenth year of Zhengtong, the Oirat army lined up outside the Xizhi Gate, holding the emperor hostage to attack the capital," Qin Ning continued.

At these words, everyone's expressions changed drastically. Sun's face turned even paler, a foreboding feeling rising in her heart. "Holding... the emperor hostage?"

"Hah..."

Zhu Yuanzhang let out a cold laugh. "In the original history, after the defeat at Tumu Fortress, that good son of yours, Zhu Qizhen, didn't die. Instead, he fell into the hands of the Oirat."

"The emperor was captured, and the Oirat held him hostage to attack the capital. That little bastard even helped the enemy call out to open his own city gates!"

The ministers grew restless. Yu Qian frowned deeply. "The Oirat are pressing straight toward the capital, with the emperor as a hostage. Then wouldn't our Ming dynasty..."