Zhu Yuanzhang knew very well that if he died, his eldest grandson would surely inherit the throne smoothly.

But the desire for the throne has been something that many people have been unable to resist since ancient times, even if those people were his sons.

Sometimes, even though they know the chances of success are very slim, many people are still willing to take a gamble and even sacrifice their lives for it like moths to a flame.

Such things are countless throughout the dynasties, but Zhu Yuanzhang knew very well that his sons had absolutely no chance of success.

In the palace, after repeated manipulations by the eldest grandson, the old soldiers retired and were replaced by students from the military academy. The palace, once controlled by Zhu Yuanzhang, is now in the hands of the eldest grandson.

If the eldest grandson wanted to become emperor, even he himself would not be able to stop him, let alone his sons.

Zhu Yuanzhang just didn't want to see things like uncle and nephew killing each other. What he was worried about was not his eldest grandson, but his sons.

No one knows whether any prince will suddenly have a brain cramp and do something like this.

This illness was actually quite a blow to Zhu Yuanzhang, but even after only a month, he seemed to have fully recovered.

However, when we get older, the most feared thing is the onset of illness. At this time, we are no longer in the same good recovery state as young people, which has a great impact on the body's vitality.

It can be clearly seen that Zhu Yuanzhang, who was originally quite strong, seems to be a little more hunched and a little old.

Once in the back garden, when Zhu Yuanzhang was playing with little Wencheng, Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to pick up little Wencheng as usual.

But suddenly I found that I couldn't hold her anymore.

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little dazed. He remembered that he had held little Wencheng in his arms during the Chinese New Year. How come he couldn't hold him anymore after just a few months?

After a long while, he finally reacted and said with a wry smile: "I am old, old."

"Yes, everyone in this world will grow old..."

Liu He, who was serving beside him, said quickly: "Your Majesty is in good health. It's just that he lost some energy a few days ago. He just needs to recuperate for a while, and he will be fine..."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand, interrupting Liu He's flattery.

"We are already this old, it is no longer possible to refuse to accept our age. No matter what, this is it."

The sun is shining brightly at this time, all things are growing, and the back garden is filled with birdsong and flowers, full of vitality.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang, standing here, already felt the old age.

His hunched body seemed somewhat out of place.

At this time, the first fleet of the Ming Dynasty to the American continent had already set off, loaded with soldiers, cattle, sheep, horses, and firearms.

The development of the American continent will be advanced by a hundred years, and the developers will shift from Europe to Asia.

Compared with Europe, the Ming Dynasty obviously has stronger capabilities in developing the New World.

How many people did England colonize in America in the 17th century? Initially, it was a small team of only a hundred people, and then they established a small town called Jamestown.

During this period, England, known as the land on which the sun never sets, had a total population of only about 6 million.

The first wave of the Ming expeditionary force had 50,000 people who walked there, and more than 46,000 people successfully arrived.

Now, the Ming Dynasty has sent another fleet with over ten thousand soldiers and thousands of cattle, sheep and horses. Such strength is unmatched by a small place like Europe.

When England was colonizing, they had to massacre the Native Americans on a large scale. This was because their numbers were too small, and they could only find ways to reduce the number of Native Americans in order to ensure their own safety and colonial needs.

The Ming Dynasty did not need this. An army of tens of thousands of people could be said to be able to walk sideways in the American continent where people eat raw meat and drink blood.

These natives had never even seen cavalry. Although the Mayan civilization had many mysterious cultures, the current Mayan civilization was still in the Stone Age civilization. The Mayans did not use bronze, let alone iron.

Although they had relatively good construction technology, the Maya did not know how to use copper, iron, or wheelbarrows. Although the concept of the wheel appeared in artifacts such as pottery, it was not put into practical use in real life.

Agriculture mainly relied on corn as the staple food, so it was also called the "corn civilization." There were no cattle, horses, pigs, or sheep, and there was no trace of animal husbandry. Farmers used a very primitive milpa farming method.

The Maya also had no concept of unity, but rather a city-state system, with the lord of the city-state controlling his own tribe.

The Ming Dynasty's treatment of Maya was simply a beating of primitive people, which was even simpler than Lan Yu's attack on India.

When the Ming fleet was sailing towards the American continent, Lan Yu's eldest son, Lan Taiping, had already led his army to become the overlord of a large area.

That year, after passing through the cold northern region, with the arrival of spring and summer, all things in northern America began to revive.

Lan Taiping led an army of more than 40,000 and encountered an Indian tribe.

The Indians with bows and arrows were a complete joke in front of the Ming army's armor.

The tribe of several thousand people posed no threat to the Ming army in terms of numbers.

Faced with the powerful Ming army, this tribe did not even have the courage to resist and simply chose to surrender.

Although there is a language barrier, some simple communication is still possible.

As the Ming army continued to explore, they gradually gained a better understanding of the place where they were.

The combat effectiveness of the indigenous people here is extremely low. A Ming army of one thousand people can basically walk around in most areas at will. Even an Indian tribe of tens of thousands of people can be dealt with like chopping melons and vegetables.

In fact, at this time, the number of Indians is still very high, about 80 million. This is related to the fertile soil in America and high-yield crops such as corn and sweet potatoes.

Corn is very popular here. Because there is no livestock farming, it is used as food. Therefore, the Mayan civilization is also called the corn civilization.

Although the population is close to that of the Ming Dynasty, the entire American continent is too large. The land area of ​​South America and North America combined is already about the same size as the entire Asian continent.

Even the North American continent is equivalent to half of the Asian continent.

As a result, although the Indians seemed to have a population of 80 million, in reality, after they were distributed across the American continent, there was no way for large-scale tribes to exist.

A tribe of ten thousand people is considered very large by the Indians. Even the most powerful Mayan Kingdom in Indian history had a population of only about five million at its peak.

Not to mention that the Mayan Kingdom has already fallen apart.

So Lan Taiping simply dispersed the expeditionary force.

The scale of more than 40,000 people is too large. It would be a waste of time and troublesome to push these indigenous tribes one by one.

In addition to his own army, Lan Taiping divided out thirty teams of 1,000 men to integrate the surrounding indigenous tribes.

The main weapons of these indigenous tribes were wooden sticks, stone axes, javelins, spears, bows and arrows, and slingshots.

The Ming army was wearing armor, long swords, and matchlock guns.

If you ask how the Ming army felt about fighting the natives, it was even simpler than suppressing the civilians.

It only took one charge and the indigenous tribe collapsed; they couldn't even be called an army.

The only problem that constrains Lan Taiping is that he has no war horse, and he has to rely entirely on his feet to walk, which is really too uncomfortable.

That's why Lan Taiping sent Wang Tianlu and others back to Ming Dynasty to seek support.

…

Samarkand.

In Timur's eyes, the Ottoman Empire was already within his grasp.

But a piece of news came that the Ming army had actually entered the Tianzhu region.

This made Timur feel threatened.

Because he knew very well that it was impossible for the countries like India to stop the Ming army.

This is indeed the case. According to the intelligence, the Ming army easily occupied a large area of ​​India without even suffering any major losses.

In Timur's plan, while conquering the Ottoman Empire, he would also send more troops to the Delhi Sultanate and then incorporate the entire India region into his own territory.

In Timur's eyes, wealthy India could provide him with more food and allow him to train a larger army.

Previously, due to the relationship with the Delhi Sultanate, it had not been possible to enter the wealthy areas in southern India.

Now that the Delhi Sultanate has been occupied by him and the Ottoman Empire is no longer a threat, it is natural for him to rule the wealthy southern part of India.

However, Daming was one step faster than him.

"Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty is our biggest enemy compared to the vulnerable Turks. If we allow them to occupy India, it will be difficult for the Delhi Sultanate to form an effective resistance to the Ming Dynasty."

"If we lose the Delhi Sultanate, then the Ming army can directly invade our land."

"I think that at this moment, we should call back the troops that have gone to the Ottoman Empire and send them to the Delhi Sultanate to fight against the Ming Dynasty on the territory of the Indians."

This statement was recognized by many ministers under Timur, because the successive defeats of Tubo in the grasslands made them very wary of the Ming Dynasty.

You must know that since Timur rose from Samarkand, his conquering army has almost never suffered a defeat. Enemies on all sides have been constantly defeated, and a large amount of territory has also belonged to Samarkand.

However, when it came to dealing with the Ming Dynasty, the Timurid Empire's army not only failed to gain any benefit, but also caused huge losses.

The vast Ming Empire is more powerful than the current Timurid Empire in terms of economy, military, armaments and weapons, or other aspects.

Timur also agreed with this statement. He could not ignore the potential threat posed by the Ming Dynasty. If India was completely controlled by the Ming Dynasty, then the Ming Dynasty could use India as a springboard to launch an offensive against the Timurid Empire.

No matter how fierce the battle is, the Ming Dynasty's homeland will not be affected, but the same may not be true for Samarkand.

So Timur immediately issued a military order, ordering the troops that had already headed to the Ottoman Empire's front line to turn back immediately.

He wanted to prepare troops to enter the Delhi Sultanate, and then further annex the Indian region and start a military competition with the Ming Dynasty.

It all depends on who can occupy more of the Tianzhu area.

Speaking of it, the current dynasties in India are also unlucky. The struggle between the two overlords has affected not only him, but several other dynasties as well.

Whether it is the Ming Dynasty or Timur, these are not things that the Indian region can deal with.

Now they can only watch.

The news of Timur's retreat soon reached the Ottoman Empire.

The three princes who were originally ready to unite to fight against Timur are now confused.

Without external threats, it means that his brothers have become the biggest threat, and Timur probably will not release their father.

So how to seize the throne of the Ottoman Empire is a big problem.

For a moment, the three princes were in both good and bad moods, and the non-war treaty they signed among themselves became a piece of waste paper in everyone's tacit understanding.

It's just that the three-way stalemate is too stalemate and no one is willing to take the first step.

Muhammad realized that in order to break this situation, another force needed to intervene, otherwise none of the three would be able to do anything to each other.

Although he thinks he is the strongest, no matter which side he attacks first, others will come to rescue him or take the opportunity to attack him.

"Your Highness, the Timurid Empire is now facing a powerful threat from the Ming Dynasty. At this time, if we ask for the release of the four princes, perhaps Sultan Timurid will agree this time."

"At this time, Sultan Timur certainly does not want our Ottoman Empire to pose a threat to him. If the fourth prince returns, it will inevitably start a war with the Ottoman Empire. This may also be the situation that Sultan Timur wants to see."

Facing the proposal of his ministers, Muhammad asked: "But how can we make Timur feel that if he releases his fourth brother, we will start a war."

The minister continued, "Your Highness can ask Sultan Timur to redistribute our current territory after releasing the fourth prince, so that part of the territory can be given to the fourth prince."

"If the eldest and second princes disagree, they will be violating the orders of Sultan Timur. If they agree, their own strength will be greatly weakened."

"No matter what the outcome is, the war will start because of the four princes. This is the best situation for Sultan Timur. He doesn't have to worry about us anymore."

After some thought, Muhammad felt that it made sense, so he sent the minister who made this suggestion, carrying several carts of gold, silver and treasures, as an envoy to Samarkand to request the release of his brother.

The minister who served as the messenger was highly trusted by Muhammad, and he himself had outstanding abilities and eloquence.

After arriving in Samarkand, he told Timur his ideas and stated that the Ottoman Empire would be Timur's eternally loyal servant.

Timur was very pleased with Muhammad's wisdom.

In his opinion, neither the release of the four princes nor the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid could affect the powerful Timurid Empire.

However, facing the threat from the Ming Dynasty, the chaotic Ottoman Empire was more in line with Timur's interests.

So Timur agreed to Muhammad's request and released his brother Musa Celebi.