Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the boy with excitement and asked, "May I ask your honorable name, immortal?"

"Li Ming."

“Immortal Li Ming, I am Zhu Yuanzhang, and I have something to discuss with you…”

Li Ming interrupted him, his eyes flashing, and said, "Your name is Zhu Yuanzhang, are you the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang?"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded smugly.

Li Ming's gaze was moved; in his eyes, the old man must be a starving person.

No one could have imagined that the man with patched clothes, faded from washing, and malnourished would be Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Historical records indicate that Zhu Yuanzhang was born into a poor peasant family. He was the fourth child in his family and the eighth among his brothers, hence the nickname Zhu Chongba.

In the third year of the Zhizheng era, a drought occurred in Haozhou.

The following spring, a severe locust plague and epidemic occurred.

Less than half a month later, Zhu Yuanzhang's father, elder brother, and mother all passed away.

Only Zhu Yuanzhang and his second brother were left. The family had no money to buy coffins, and they didn't even have a piece of land to bury their relatives. Their neighbor, Liu Jizu, gave them a burial plot.

The two brothers found some tattered clothes to wrap the bodies and buried their parents on the Liu family's land.

In order to survive, Zhu Yuanzhang was forced to separate from his second brother, sister-in-law, and nephew, and each fled for their own lives.

When Zhu Yuanzhang was desperate, he went to seek refuge with the monk Gao Bin at Huangjue Temple and became a novice monk.

He swept the floor, offered incense, rang the bell and beat the drum, cooked and washed clothes every day at the temple, and was even scolded by the old monk.

Soon after, a famine struck the area, and the temple received no alms. The abbot had no choice but to send the monks on a journey to beg for alms.

Thus, Zhu Yuanzhang, only 17 years old, had no choice but to leave the temple and wander around begging for alms.

Zhu Yuanzhang begged his way back to Huangjue Temple in the eighth year of the Zhizheng era.

During his three years of wandering, he traveled to all the famous cities and towns in western Huaihe River Basin.

He experienced different customs and cultures, broadened his horizons, and accumulated social life experience. This period of his life had a profound impact on Zhu Yuanzhang's life.

The three years he spent traveling coincided with the period when peasant uprisings were raging at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang received a letter from his childhood friend Tang He, inviting him to join Guo Zixing's rebel army.

Just then, his senior brother secretly told him that someone knew about the letter and was going to inform on it.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang went to join Guo Zixing's Red Turban Army.

That year, Zhu Yuanzhang was twenty-five years old.

After joining the army, Zhu Yuanzhang fought bravely, was resourceful and flexible, and had a basic understanding of literature, so he quickly became a valiant general in the rebel army.

Later, they captured Yingtian, defeated Chen Han, unified Jiangnan, established the Ming Dynasty, and pacified the world.

He died at the age of 69 from overwork.

History books once described Zhu Yuanzhang as a model worker and a workaholic who worked 18 hours a day and slept only a few hours.

He takes care of everything. Someone once described him as someone who would take care of even if a neighbor lost a dog.

He single-handedly formulated various laws.

He came from a peasant background, and even after becoming emperor, he maintained his frugal habits, dressed very simply, and sometimes when his clothes were torn, he would patch them up and continue wearing them.

This person was Zhu Yuanzhang, historically known as the Hongwu Emperor.

Back then, the history teacher lectured at length, and Li Ming listened with great interest.

If an ordinary person had such status and wealth, they would surely become arrogant, but this Ming Dynasty founding emperor did not, and remained simply dressed.

This alone puts them ahead of 90% of people.

This is the charisma of the Ming Dynasty's founding emperor.

"You know us?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked excitedly, seeing Li Ming's strange expression, his wrinkled face full of smiles.

"Of course I know. Everyone in my community knows about your deeds." Li Ming looked at the old man with deep respect and admiration.

His story is nothing short of legendary.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked with some curiosity, "What do people in your area say about us?"

"Starting with just a bowl, the rest of the world depends on fighting." A sentence popped into Li Ming's mind, a sentence that perfectly described him.

Upon hearing his words, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled. He was probably referring to the time when Zhu Yuanzhang was begging, but he didn't hold back.

"Immortal Li Ming, there is something I would like to discuss with you."

“I know what it is,” Li Ming said.

You know?

"At your age, if there's one thing that has affected you the most, it's only one: Crown Prince Zhu Biao's serious illness. Am I right?"

Li Ming looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and saw that he was indeed surprised.

This is not surprising. Historically, it is said that Zhu Biao was the crown prince whom Zhu Yuanzhang painstakingly cultivated, hoping that he could manage the Ming Dynasty well in the future.

However, in the end, the elderly bury their children.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Ming and said, "Immortal Li Ming, since you know about the Crown Prince's affairs, we don't need to say more. As long as you can save my son, you can take any gold, silver and jewels you want. We will agree to any conditions you set."

He wanted to make an exchange with Li Ming.

Give him mountains of gold and silver, and he'll save his son's life.

"Mountains of silver and gold, what use would I have for them?" Li Ming didn't like gold and silver jewelry. He was a cultivator, and money was just an external thing to him.

Could it be that even mountains of gold and silver cannot sway the immortals?

That's true.

The goals pursued by immortals are different from those of mortals; they seek carefree longevity, and wealth is like dirt to them.

Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a moment and said, "As long as you name your conditions, we can meet them."

Seeing that Li Ming remained silent, Zhu Yuanzhang asked again, "Is there any hope for our son?"

Li Ming looked at him and saw that, just as recorded in history, Zhu Yuanzhang was used to referring to himself as "Zan" (咱), and he did not change this even after becoming emperor.

This person was quite unique; despite being an emperor, he wore patched clothes. Yet, it was precisely this seemingly ordinary person who was able to establish the Ming Dynasty.

Is there any hope?

What are the conditions?

Seeing that Li Ming remained silent, Zhu Yuanzhang became even more nervous, fearing that he would shake his head and say that there was no hope.

How cold his heart must be.