Reincarnated as Zhu Yunwen's least noticeable brother, Zhu Yuntong, I know that under Old Zhu, making a bold move means a quick death. Keeping my head down is the way to win.
Zhu Yunwen stays up all night writing Ten Policies for Encouraging Agriculture and earns praise for his benevolence.
I counter by pulling out a simplified version of The Exploitation of the Works of Nature. “Grandpa, spring plowing should be based on science.”
Zhu Di drills his troops and boasts about his “Iron Cavalry of Yan.”
I quietly set down a model. “Fourth Uncle, this is called ‘volley fire’ and ‘standardized logistics.’ Want a look?”
Fight over the succession? You all go ahead.
I'll start by improving farm tools and making toilet paper widely available, then set up a rudimentary “Cabinet Bureau of Statistics.”
Then the Lan Yu case breaks, and Zhu Yuanzhang angrily denounces the entire court as useless.
I slowly get to my feet. “Grandpa, how about... letting me try governing in your stead?”
Only then does everyone realize that the grandson who seemed the most “cautious” has already transformed the whole Ming Dynasty.
