Ming's God of War, Zhu Di

Name: Ming's God of War, Zhu Di
Author: Shu Yao Jiu

大明战神朱棣

by Shu Yao Jiu (舒窈纠)

Status: Completed
Length: 472k Words
Genre: Historical
Subgenre: Historical & Ancient
Updated: 6mo ago
English: Request a translation

Read on Fanqie

Synopsis

Why do we love reading about him?

Because he lived the way we wish we could: if you don’t like it, fight! If you lose, own it! If you win, don’t brag.

He feigned madness, played the fool, and even ate pig feed in a pigsty.

Then he fought his way from Beiping to Nanjing and seized the dragon throne with his own hands.

Zhu Di, the fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, was twenty when he was sent to govern Beiping. No one had any faith in this “Fourth Son.” His imperial father suspected him, his nephew tried to strip him of his fief, and the court officials waited to see how he would die.

He feigned madness and played the fool to evade the imperial inspectors. Just as everyone thought he was finished, he led eight hundred personal guards out of Beiping and challenged the whole realm.

At the Battle of Zhengding, he beat the war drums himself and defeated three hundred thousand with eight thousand.

At Baigou River, surrounded and at the end of his rope, he tore off his helmet and shouted, “Zhu Di is here!”

After his crushing defeat at Dongchang, he held his fallen brothers in his arms and said nothing for three days and three nights.

On the day Nanjing fell, he picked up a jade pendant from the ruins of the imperial palace. It had belonged to the Jianwen Emperor.

From that day on, he became the Yongle Emperor.

But he could no longer sleep.

He spent his whole life proving that he deserved his place. He killed Fang Xiaoru and executed his entire clan, earning six centuries of condemnation. Yet it was also he who sent Zheng He on his voyages to the Western Seas, commissioned the Yongle Encyclopedia, led five campaigns beyond the northern frontier, moved the capital to Beijing, and declared, “The emperor guards the nation’s gates.”

He lived up to the world, but never to himself, or to Empress Xu, who stood by him as he feigned madness and rebelled, and still asked before she died, “Would you marry me again in our next life?”

This is the story of a man backed into a corner by fate, who then punched straight through the wall.

Stats

144Chapters

20.7kReads · 30 days

259.5kReads · all time

1.4kShelf adds, last 14 days

8.3Score

More by this author

The Secret of the Badge-Flashing Woman

The Curse of the Burial Sacrifice

The Ghost Zhao Gao Overthrows the Qin Empire

The Martial Emperor Comes to Qing: Wielding Dream of the Red Chamber to Restore the Ming

The Sun and Moon Beneath One Sky: Princess Taiping

The Secret History of Wu Yanxiu, the Tang Dynasty’s Handsome Man

Beauty That Slays the World

The Swallow's Pecks, the Emperor's Grandson, and a Kingdom Beneath Her Skirts

The Beautiful Warrior of the Asylum

The Pinnacle of the Noble Consort

Shangguan Wan’er: Courtly Intrigue in the Tang Dynasty

Deep in the Imperial Palace: Unsolved Mysteries of Emperors and Their Favored Consorts

In booklists 315

See all

Spy Fiction + Smart Characters + Sound Values

Looking for books similar to Spy War: Starting at The Brink.

154Books3MViews8hUpdated

Looking for Rigorous, High-Quality Historical Fiction Like A Borrowed Surname in Langya

Looking for stories like "The Matter of the Southern Dynasties' Noble Young Master Being an Impostor".

629Books15.5MViews15hUpdated

Looking for High-Quality Historical Fiction. No Mindless Power Trips or Brain-Dead Plotting

I want high-quality historical fiction that’s engaging and doesn’t dumb things down or rely on brainless plots. It can be satisfying, but don’t treat readers like idiots. No stories like the one where the protagonist fools Cao Cao’s quartermaster about the provisions from the start, or those where a literati protagonist suddenly has the strength of a tyrant. They’re unoriginal and mindless...

1.1kBooks9.2MViews15hUpdated

High Intelligence, Cunning Plans, Masterful Schemes, Treating the World Like a Chessboard

Looking for a novel with a protagonist like Murong Li from The Legend of Qin: someone who treats the world as a chessboard and all living beings as pieces, plans everything out, and plays life like a game, but is willing to become a piece on the board himself when necessary.

1.1kBooks144MViews16hUpdated

Wielding Power over the Court and Commanding the Army

183Books91.6MViews16hUpdated

Tomato Novel's Top Ten Masterpieces

Whether old or new, bring them all out, such as Ten-Day System and God of Theater. The ideas should be clear and the logic coherent. No brainless wish-fulfillment stories. Bring them on!

1.4kBooks568.8MViews17hUpdated

The Best Historical Novel on Fanqie Right Now. Prove Me Wrong

I want books similar to The Matter of the Southern Dynasty's Noble Son Actually Being Someone I Impersonated.

633Books17.4MViews17hUpdated

High Intelligence, Brilliant Scheming, Calculating, and Cunning

Preferably with dual personalities.

1.2kBooks254.2MViews18hUpdated

For Middle-Aged Readers: Smart Characters, No Goody-Two-Shoes, Decisive and Ruthless, Highly Rated

Urban, System, reborn, fantasy, or gaming novels are all fine, as long as they’re good, the characters are smart, and there’s no saintly protagonist. Bring out any books on your shelf that fit the bill!

2.2kBooks201.9MViews19hUpdated

Are There Any Good Spy Novels Besides The Wire?

I want books similar to Espionage: I Can Actually Identify Spies (Espionage: A Desperate Situation).

384Books31.8MViews20hUpdated

Wuxia, Court Politics, Military, Scheming, and Great Writing

Novels like Sword Snow Stride and Hidden Beauty.

548Books14.5MViews20hUpdated

Spy Thriller! Spy Thriller! Spy Thriller! Spy Thriller! Spy Thriller! I Want Spy Thrillers!

Spy stories!

558Books418.3MViews22hUpdated

Looking for Meticulously Researched Historical Fiction

They seem pretty hard to find. Let's give it a try.

870Books10.2MViews1dUpdated

Looking for Historical Fiction, Nothing Stupid

259Books109.8kViews1dUpdated

The Best of Spy Thrillers

Looking for stories similar to Shanghai 1941: Code Name Ferry Crane. It's a really good spy novel.

133Books371.7kViews1dUpdated

Top-Rated Novels Set in the Ming Dynasty

No System-based stories.

186Books11.6MViews1dUpdated

What Kind of Books Do People Over Fifty Want to Read?

Some older people couldn’t even scan a health code during the pandemic, and they ended up on CCTV News. Are they really that helpless? Do they use the internet? Read Toutiao? Read novels? What kinds of novels do they like?

1.4kBooks246.6MViews1dUpdated

What Do Books for Middle-Aged Men Actually Look Like?

Looking for books similar to "Steal a Piece of the Sky". I recommend "Steal a Piece of the Sky", a novel that starts in the 1990s. It's inspirational, idealistic, and full of drive, and it captures the memories and struggles of people who came of age after the 1990s.

1.2kBooks19.2MViews1dUpdated

What’s the Hottest Historical Novel on Tomato Novel?

I’m in a reading slump.

825Books17.9MViews1dUpdated

My Favorite Historical Novel on Tomato Novel

I'm looking for books like Taking Another Name in Langya. Transmigration isn't a dinner party; it's a deadly game at every turn. The plot should be vivid and interesting, with side characters who are smart. The protagonist should slaughter their way through life-or-death situations. It should be historically accurate, with a natural romance.

548Books17.3MViews1dUpdated

The Ming Dynasty Was the Last Dynasty That Should Have Fallen: A Heartbreak for So Many Han Chinese~

Looking for stories similar to "Cleansing the Sun and Moon with the Dust of the Frontier". A son of a military commander stationed in Suzhou during the Ming Dynasty defies fate, reforms the Ming, destroys the Manchus, and reunifies the land!

127Books701.9kViews1dUpdated

I Don't Believe Tomato Has Any Masterpieces with Deep Ideas, Epic Scope, and a Grand, Sweeping Feel

I still haven't found a novel like this.

917Books1.3MViews1dUpdated

Historical Fiction That Feels Realistic

No System, and nothing about The Legend of Qin. Just straight historical fiction.

1kBooks16.1MViews1dUpdated

Books Just for Older Readers

Looking for books similar to "Nine-Tenths Foolish".

1.7kBooks103.8MViews1dUpdated

In same booklists

The Asura King of the Ming Dynasty Autumn Grass and Trees

A Grand History of the Ming Dynasty Meng Sen

A New Era of Splendor Maple Birch Falling at Night

Chongzhen: I Am Heaven’s Mandate, and the Ming Dynasty Will Never Set A Nobody from Hebei

The Ghost Zhao Gao Overthrows the Qin Empire Shu Yao Jiu

Great Ming: This General Store Is Not Quite Right Ming Lou I

The Great Ming Empire: A Flourishing Realm Heavenly Crystal Beast

Don't Panic, Great Ming, I'm Here to Save You! Gazing Up at the Sun and Moon

An Lushan, Rebel Minister of the Tang Dynasty Shu Yao Jiu

With the God of Wealth System in Hand, Zhu Yuanzhang, Stop Coveting My Money San Hong You

The Ming Dynasty's Junior Banner Officer Beautiful Jiangnan

Two Deserters and a Widow Bucktooth and Crazy

The Romance of Chenghua Lan Shengyi

Transmigrated as Chongzhen, and I’ve Set My Sights on Your Daughter Half-Idle Hermit of the Mountain

The Most Dangerous Job: Transmigrate to the Late Ming as Chancellor Actually, I'm Quite Mischievous

The Iron-Blooded Bandit King Interesting Plantain

The Iron Cavalry of Liaodong Interesting Plantain

Rising from Wuchang at the End of the Ming Dynasty Jiang Chenpan from Tianxiang Province

Zhu Yuanzhang: Sun and Moon Shine Over the Land One Who Hears the Wind and Rain

Reborn in the Great Ming, with My Eldest Brother Dead from the Start Unfamiliar with the Bright Moon

See all novels like Ming's God of War, Zhu Di More Historical novels

Reader comments 41

Google Translate

I approached this book with a critical eye, but the result was a pleasant surprise. It's completely straightforward, with vividly portrayed characters, solid historical research, and impeccable logic. After finishing it, I felt reassured. The information density is high yet not obscure, the structure is clear, and it becomes smoother with each reading.
27 likes7mo ago
Beautiful! I learned about history while also seeing a vivid and compelling portrayal of Zhu Di, a warrior of great courage and spirit. A tribute to Zhu Di! 👍👍 Thank you to the creator. ❤️
17 likes7mo ago
Xu Miaoyan was truly born intelligent and quick-witted, a worthy wife of Zhu Di, who was able to offer him strategic advice and was resourceful.
12 likes5mo ago
To guard the nation's borders, he trained himself into a war god; to evade imperial envoys, he feigned madness and played the fool; to survive, he had to fight his way from Beiping to Nanjing… He lived the life we all aspire to: if you're not convinced, fight; if you lose, accept it; if you win, don't pretend…
12 likes8mo ago
Excellent! The plot is tight and suspenseful, the logic is rigorous and clear, and it's largely based on historical facts. It vividly portrays Zhu Di, the war god emperor, as a flesh-and-blood, soulful figure! 👍
9 likes8mo ago
Excellent! The character portrayal is superb, capturing the characters' inner thoughts and feelings. The officialdom is not easy, and it's even harder for those in the imperial family and high-ranking positions—every step is fraught with danger!
8 likes5mo ago
Rich in content, fast-paced, and clearly structured
8 likes7mo ago
Historical events are presented in simple, clear, and modern language, revealing the inner thoughts of the characters. Those who are lazy, incompetent, and constantly complain will achieve nothing; conversely, those who are diligent will possess power and unparalleled achievements, forever remembered by posterity, with the emperor guarding the nation's gates.
7 likes6mo ago
I already knew the general plot, but the author's writing is fluent and the character portrayals are delicate, making it highly readable. Thumbs up to the author! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
7 likes6mo ago
It is truthful and objective, with detailed content and clear, loud audio. 👍👍👍👍👍👍
6 likes6mo ago