Great Ming: Zhu Biao Hears My Thoughts and Loses His Mind

After transmigrating to the Hongwu era, Chen Mu becomes a minor official at the Hanlin Academy. His goal is simple: slack off at work, go home after hours, and do his best to live until Zhu Di ascends the throne!

After all, his boss, Zhu Yuanzhang, is a workaholic and a killer. Saying one word too many could cost him his head.

So every day at court, Chen Mu zones out and silently complains to himself.

[Sigh, Crown Prince Zhu Biao really is a good man. It’s a pity he died so young. If he hadn’t, there wouldn’t have been so much trouble later.]

The refined and gentle Crown Prince Zhu Biao suddenly stiffens and looks at Chen Mu in disbelief.

[That idiot Hu Weiyong is still running around? Old Zhu has already sharpened his executioner’s blade. He’s about to purge the whole court, killing tens of thousands. How awful.]

Zhu Biao turns deathly pale. That very night, he reports Hu Weiyong’s rebellion to Zhu Yuanzhang in a secret memorial, citing the clues he has uncovered. Zhu Yuanzhang is stunned: “Biao, how did you learn the details of Hu Weiyong’s treason?!”

[They ban the Japanese pirates every year, and they still keep coming. What good is a maritime ban? We need a navy and cannons. We need to sail out and wipe out their lairs!]

Zhu Biao writes furiously in his memorial, proposing the creation of a “Pacifying the Seas Navy.” Zhu Yuanzhang is delighted: “My son is far-sighted indeed, the very pillar that will keep Great Ming steady!”

Gradually, Zhu Yuanzhang realizes that his son, who had always been kind but lacked the resolve to punish, has become both perceptive and decisive, like a sage ruler born to reign!

Meanwhile, Chen Mu is on the verge of tears. “I was just venting in my head every day. How did I go from a Hanlin Academy editor all the way to Grand Secretary of the cabinet? Your Highness, Crown Prince, please stop listening! If this keeps up, Old Zhu is going to start looking at me funny!”