Chapter 62: Old Zhu: Deep-fry Zhu Qizhen. Emperor Wu of Han: Why do I get a wild boar?

The moment the punishment appeared, Zhu Qizhen's mind went completely blank... He had just finished cursing his ancestors, and now... was he going to be alright?

As he stood there in a daze, he saw four figures descending from the heavens...

Old Zhu's face was flushed red, gripping a horsewhip tightly. "You little bastard... Keep cursing! Go on, try cursing Us one more time!"

Zhu Di held a wooden stool leg, his expression gloomy. "You beast... Go ahead and yelp like a dog again. We didn't quite catch what you said!"

Zhu Gaozhi narrowed his tiny eyes, while Zhu Zhanji had already rolled up his sleeves and was ready for action!

Zhu Qizhen forced a smile that looked far worse than crying. "Well... you see... that wasn't me cursing... It was that other me back in the Zhengtong era who was cursing you..."

Old Zhu took the lead, lashing out with his whip. "All of you, get out of the way! I'm going to beat him first!"

Off to the side, the officials Xu Youzhen and Cao Jixiang watched in absolute terror as Old Zhu marched toward them step by step, radiating murderous intent.

Everyone knew this man... he was notorious for killing people as easily as drinking water, especially officials. He was a bona fide butcher!

Xu Youzhen’s legs turned to jelly, and he nearly collapsed onto the floor. With a trembling voice, he stammered to Cao Jixiang, "What... what should we do now?"

Cao Jixiang’s face was as pale as death, stuttering, "We... we need to hide!"

The two of them scrambled frantically, hiding behind a nearby pillar.

By now, Old Zhu's whip was already raining down on Zhu Qizhen, who wailed in agony.

Zhu Di was not about to be left behind; he raised the wooden stool leg and pounded away at Zhu Qizhen. Zhu Gaozhi soon joined the fray as well, unleashing a barrage of punches and kicks.

Zhu Qizhen rolled around on the ground, wailing and begging for mercy at the top of his lungs, "Ancestors, spare my life! I know I was wrong!"

But how could Old Zhu and the others possibly let up? They only beat him with even greater enthusiasm.

The guards stood nearby, watching the spectacle without even daring to breathe deeply.

Suddenly, Zhu Zhanji spotted Xu Youzhen and Cao Jixiang hiding behind the pillar. He strode over, dragging his three-foot-long broadsword!

"Oh! I almost forgot about you two dogs!"

With a flash of steel, heads rolled. The two men were dead as dead could be.

A moments later, Old Zhu and the others stood panting for breath, while Zhu Qizhen was bound tightly like a zongzi, clinging to his last breath.

Old Zhu waved his hand, signaling Zhu Di and the others to stop... "Don't beat this piece of trash to death yet. This brat still has some use!"

Zhu Di asked, "Father... this piece of trash? Has a use?"

Old Zhu glanced at him sideways. "Are you an idiot? On the heavenly screen, this brat is currently our scapegoat! Instead of letting him die for nothing, we might as well squeeze out his final bit of value!"

With that, led by Zhu Zhanji, they went to find Zhu Qiyu, who was bedridden with illness!

Then Old Zhu personally stepped forward and plunged a dagger right into Zhu Qiyu's chest... Zhu Qiyu was left completely bewildered.

"What's going on? I... I... Hey! It doesn't even hurt!" Zhu Qiyu pulled the dagger straight out of his chest, not a single drop of blood in sight.

Following this symbolic death of Zhu Qiyu, his complexion instantly improved by leaps and bounds... All of his previous aches and pains vanished completely.

On the floor, Zhu Qizhen let out a miserable shriek as blood began to spurt from his chest... And with that, he kicked the bucket!

***

Old Zhu then took Zhu Qiyu along to help clean up the imperial court...

Old Zhu gave the orders, Zhu Di swung the blade, and Zhu Gaozhi helped confiscate properties and balance the ledgers!

As for Zhu Zhanji... he was forced to kneel before the memorial tablet of Empress Hu, whom he had unjustly deposed.

Once everything was settled, a flash of golden light transported them back to the Zhengtong era... Just before Zhu Qizhen set off on his ill-fated campaign...

Wang Zhen was still strutting about arrogantly, ordering people to throw Old Zhu's iron tablet into the latrine!

Down dropped Old Zhu and the others straight from the sky.

With the experience of their first run, things went much faster this time!

Wang Zhen was personally flayed and stuffed with straw by Old Zhu himself...

At the same time, they had Zhu Di prepare a massive iron cauldron... filled to the brim with oil that was bubbling away merrily, while Zhu Gaozhi stood to the side holding an abacus to tally accounts!

Zhu Zhanji stood guard over a crowd of officials and a battered Zhu Qizhen, who was barely recognizable!

"Xu Youzhen... come on... jump!"

The spectacle was truly magnificent as they lined up and took turns leaping into the boiling oil...

Don't talk about resisting... resistance was utterly useless, and it would only drag their entire clans down with them.

With every death, Zhu Gaozhi would click his abacus to calculate the deceased's ill-gotten wealth.

"Cao Jixiang, come forward. One, two, three, jump!"

...

"Unfilial descendant, come on, jump!"

The entire scene was too gruesome to behold...

Once everything was taken care of, Old Zhu planted a kick right into Zhu Zhanji’s backside. "Damn it, everyone in our Zhu family is a romantic hero, except for you, who favored concubines over your wife! You bloody well belong in this oil cauldron!"

After beating him for a full half-hour, Old Zhu finally vented his spleen. "You little punk, go back and reinstate your rightful wife!"

...

Inside the chat group!

Li Er of Great Tang: "@God_of_War_of_Great_Ming, are you still alive, kid?"

Wild Boar of Great Han: "Plus one!"

[The God of War of Great Ming has permanently exited the chat group!]

First Emperor of Great Qin: "..."

...

Meanwhile, high above in the sky, the heavenly screen shifted once more as the name of a new Eternal Emperor appeared.

[The fourth Eternal Emperor: Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che!]

***

During the era of Emperor Wu of Han in the Great Han Dynasty.

Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, sat upright upon the dragon throne, his expression majestic. As he looked at his own name displayed upon the heavenly screen, a trace of arrogance flashed through his eyes.

Within the imperial court, all officials fell to their knees and shouted in unison, "Your Majesty is truly an eternal emperor, a title well-deserved!"

Liu Che rose to his feet, slowly descended the steps, and proclaimed in a resonant voice, "Throughout my life, I have expanded our territories, driving back the Xiongnu to the north, pacifying the Baiyue to the south, opening the Western Regions, and subduing the southwestern barbarians! This is the fortune of our Great Han, and the fortune of the entire realm!"

Immediately following this, the narration of the heavenly screen rang out.

[This emperor is one everyone should be familiar with; he is Emperor Wu of Han, among the ranks of the First Emperor of Qin and Emperor Wu of Han!]

[As the saying goes: One dragon, two phoenixes, three wild boars... and this wild boar refers precisely to Liu Che!]

Wild Boar of Great Han: "What the hell... Now I finally know why my name on here turned out to be the Wild Boar of Great Han! Why are the others dragons and phoenixes, while I am reduced to a pig?!"

A Broken Rice Bowl: "What's wrong with being called a wild boar? Later on, you even suffered from swine fever!"

Wild Boar of Great Han: "??? Do you feel like you've grown bold again? Take your broken bowl and get lost; I don't bother talking to paupers!"

...

[If the unification achieved by Qin Shi Huang was one of territory and ideology, then the unification achieved by Emperor Wu of Han was one of the nation. It was he who straightened the backbone of the Han ethnicity... and infused a soul into it!]

At this moment, the heavenly screen began to depict the milestones of Liu Che's life, starting from his forbearance during the early years of his reign.

Then came his sweeping, bold reforms, followed by his numerous military campaigns against the Xiongnu. Every single scene left viewers' blood boiling with excitement!

The images shifted once more!

Emperor Wu of Han sat majestically upon his dragon throne, proclaiming his grand ambitions to the officials below.

"I must warn you all: the reason I have launched an all-out offensive this time is to fight a war of momentum. I care nothing for the loss of a single soldier or a single officer."

"For seventy years, our Han Dynasty has suffered repeated defeats against the Xiongnu, eroding our morale and debasing our national prestige. From this day forward, that state of affairs must be utterly reversed!"

"My campaign this time is meant to tell the world and the Xiongnu in no uncertain terms: from now on, the roles of the attacker and the defender have been reversed! What the raiders can do, we can do as well!"

...

In the Great Han Dynasty.

Liu Bang watched his descendant, grinning from ear to ear with a smile that split his face wide open.

No matter how many times he watched this scene, he still found it utterly majestic!

"What the raiders can do, we can do as well! Hahaha... Look at that, everyone, that is a descendant of My family!" Liu Bang pointed at the heavenly screen, brimming with excitement.

The officials below were somewhat speechless.

Their陛下 had already repeated those exact words in their ears more than eight hundred times...