Great Ming: I, Zhu Yuntong, Will Never Ascend the Throne

He transmigrated to the twenty-second year of Hongwu and became Zhu Yuanzhang’s second legitimate grandson, Zhu Yuntong.

For three years, he kept a low profile within the palace, quietly expanding his business across the country and abroad, and becoming the first to open the Age of Exploration.

From the start, he encountered envoys from the Ryukyu Kingdom, which had never established diplomatic relations with the Ming, arriving to pay tribute.

Ryukyu envoy: “Your servant offers tribute of his own free will. I only ask for a Ming identity card!”

The Tatars, Oirats, and Jurchens: “We swear to follow only Third Prince!”

Ottoman Emperor: “Please ascend the throne, Third Prince! I swear to serve you with my life. God is my witness!”

Byzantine Emperor: “I’d rather be Third Prince’s general than king of another country!”

Zhu Yuanzhang: “How about I abdicate early and let my good grandson take the throne?”

The ministers: “Your Majesty is wise!”

Zhu Yuntong: “I, Zhu Yuntong, will never take the throne!”