The Mightiest Firstborn of the Great Ming

Zhu Yao, a PhD in the sciences, is transported back to the twilight years of the Yuan Dynasty. For over two decades, he toils relentlessly—reclaiming wasteland, planting crops, selling grain, and building roads—until he amasses a fortune and becomes a regional tycoon. Then comes the staggering revelation: his father is a penniless monk surnamed Zhu. In the tenth year of the Hongwu reign, Zhu Yao reunites with his biological father, Zhu Yuanzhang, at an ancestral grave and brings him home. The founding emperor is utterly captivated by everything he sees, gawking like a rustic villager stepping into a metropolis for the first time. “Son, what is this?” his father asks. “That’s a paved road—good roads bring prosperity!” “And this?” “A world map. See Australia and the Americas? They’re bursting with resources.” Zhu Yao points across the globe—to the Northern Steppes, where Yuan loyalists hide amidst endless pastures and grain; to the Southern Seas, whose docile islanders yield gems and spices, ripe for tenant farming; to the Western Oceans, dotted with petty barbarian kingdoms ready to be subjugated into perpetual tribute; and to the Eastern Isles of Japan, which he vows to crush under his horse’s hooves. As Zhu Yao speaks with unbridled confidence, Zhu Yuanzhang’s eyes blaze with ambition. To sweep the four corners of the earth, force every foreign realm to kneel, and spread Ming majesty across every sea—what magnificent vision! If all is accomplished, he will surely surpass the First Emperor and Han Wu. Steelmaking, oil drilling… more of Zhu Yao’s secrets come to light. With everything in motion, Zhu Yao steels himself to stage a rebellion. Yet the very morning he steps out of his compound, he freezes—armored imperial guards stand in perfect formation, his father appears in dragon robes, flanked by the imperial princes including Zhu Biao and Zhu Di, with the entire civil and military court in attendance. His father declares: “Son, you are the true eldest legitimate heir of Great Ming. I have decided—I will pacify all barbarians under heaven. You shall be the next emperor!”