Traitor?

Upon hearing those two words, Zhu Yunwen's face immediately broke into a maniacal smile. After a burst of laughter, he suddenly stared at Fu Youde and said:

You're calling me a traitor?

Fu Youde was furious:

“How can you not be a traitor? As a citizen of the Ming Dynasty, you collude with the enemy; as a member of the Ming imperial family, you lead the enemy into our Ming territory.”

He even colluded with them, plotting to seize the throne of my Great Ming Dynasty. Such actions are too lenient; calling you a traitor is too lenient. You are utterly disloyal, unjust, and unfilial.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen's face flushed red, and he immediately pointed at Fu Youde and roared:

“You have no right to say that about me. No one in the world has the right to call me disloyal, unjust, and unfilial.”

No one has any right to accuse me of betraying the Ming Dynasty, and no one has the right to say that I betrayed the Ming imperial family.

Because they abandoned me, the Ming Dynasty abandoned me, the Ming imperial family abandoned me, and Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty abandoned me.

Zhu Yunwen was extremely agitated at this moment. It is not surprising that he would have such thoughts, given his extreme nature.

He even felt that his failure was something others owed him, and to this day, he still doesn't understand where he went wrong.

He didn't understand why Zhu Yuanzhang punished him time and time again, and why he was disappointed in him time and time again.

He couldn't understand why Zhu Yuanzhang would banish him from the capital.

He still believed he was right from beginning to end, even on the day he left the capital, when Zhu Yunwen had approached him and pointed out his problems.

But he still did not repent.

He has changed somewhat, but not completely.

At the very least, he remains stubbornly unrepentant; this trait can still be found in him.

He could never accept the fact that he was weaker than Zhu Yunwen.

He still felt from beginning to end that Zhu Yuanzhang had mistreated him.

He never considered what went wrong with his methods or actions in his struggle against Zhu Yunwen.

Instead, he felt that he hadn't lost, but rather that Zhu Yuanzhang had treated him with favoritism.

In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang never showed favoritism; historically, he passed the throne to Zhu Yunwen without hesitation.

But what did Zhu Yunwen actually do?

Didn't they just hand over the throne that was originally secure to someone else?

Zhu Yuanzhang left him a great hand of cards, but he still played them terribly.

Of course, perhaps what is happening now is not unfolding as history truly did. Zhu Yunwen himself was unaware that, in the original history, Zhu Yuanzhang had granted him the throne.

He has neither a God's-eye view nor a time traveler's perspective, so he remains stubbornly deluded.

Of course, for someone who has a great hand, sits firmly on the throne, yet manages to squander it and lose the throne, this is a different story.

It's not surprising that they have some biased, stubborn, and self-righteous practices and ideas.

Little did they know, Zhu Yunwen had already experienced sitting on the throne once before, only he had made a complete mess of it...

At this moment, Fu Youde looked at Zhu Yunwen, unsure of what Zhu Yunwen was trying to express.

But in his heart, he was convinced that Zhu Yunwen was a traitor who betrayed the country, his ancestors, and the Ming Dynasty.

Because he was not as capable as Zhu Yunwen, it was perfectly normal that he could not become the crown prince.

After all, we can't force you to take this position just because you're not capable.

It is clearly unreasonable to do something that is known to be impossible.

So you can't hold a grudge against others just because you weren't capable enough to get the throne, right?

If that were the case, wouldn't no one in the world be able to live in peace?

Similarly, Zhu Yunwen's methods in handling many matters were all correct, and he did not indiscriminately harm anyone.

In contrast, Zhu Yunwen was different. He was ruthless in achieving his goals, and the methods he used disgusted many people.

It is perfectly normal for someone who uses these methods to fail.

So what exactly is he holding a grudge about? If someone like him can hold grudges against others...

Then, regarding the things he did and the people he harmed, who should he hold a grudge against?

Of course, these thoughts could only remain in Fu Youde's mind.

As a mere warrior, he found it difficult to express his true thoughts, so he could only point his sword at Zhu Yunwen and say:

"No matter what, you are now a traitor, an outright traitor."

Based on what you've done in the past, if you weren't related to His Majesty the Emperor by blood, even dying ten thousand times wouldn't be enough to atone for your crimes.

His Majesty spared your life, but merely banished you from the capital. Yet you remain ungrateful, still choosing to betray and retaliate against the Ming Dynasty.

For this alone, you deserve death. Today I will capture you alive and hand you over to His Majesty for punishment once more.

Zhu Yunwen laughed heartily, then said with unwavering confidence:

"Fu Youde, look at the difference between our two armies. How can your 200,000 troops compare to our 400,000 mighty lions? Do you think you can win this war?"

Yes, I admit that Zhu Yunwen produced a batch of light artillery, but these light artillery pieces probably wouldn't be very convenient to use on this land.

With our army dispersed, the power of those cannons will decrease rapidly, especially considering the vast difference in the number of soldiers between our two sides.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!