Daming: My boss Zhu Yuanzhang

Xu Da fell seriously ill. Although he was lucky enough to survive because of Li Wei's contribution, his body was not as good as before after such a torment as he was older. He was also older than Zhu Yuanzhang, and he could no longer bear the pain of the expedition. .

At the Prince Consort's house, Li Wei was listening to Chen Shaofeng's report.

"Teacher, the navy has made arrangements. Our people will deliver the news on time. If you have any orders, just give me an order. I will send someone to tell Lu Hong and the others as soon as possible."

Chen Shaofeng said.

Li Wei nodded lightly: "That's good."

The most troublesome thing about the army's expedition is to deliver the news. Chen Shaofeng and others have to run around in the middle, and it takes ten days and a half to go back and forth. This is also the fundamental reason why ancient generals were not satisfied with their lives abroad.

Thinking of this, Li Wei couldn't help but think of the ancient telegraph machine in the spy war dramas of the past. He didn't know if it could be made now, so he would look back and study it.

While the two were discussing secretly, Chen Shaofeng brought the night guards who were guarding outside and suddenly hurried in to interrupt them.

"My lord, your highness is here!"

This night guard was dressed as a servant, and there was nothing unusual about him. As soon as he came in, he spoke to the two of them in a deep voice.

When Li Wei heard this, he frowned: "Why is he here again?"

Chen Shaofeng looked at him, waiting for his instructions.

"Come out with me to meet the prince." Li Wei said to Chen Shaofeng.

"Yes!"

Chen Shaofeng stood up and held his hands, and Li Wei also stood up and led them out together.

Before they could even walk out of the backyard, they bumped into Zhu Biao, who came uninvited. When Zhu Biao saw him, he immediately greeted him warmly: "Brother Li!"

"Your Highness the Crown Prince!" Li Wei bowed his hands.

"Meet His Highness the Crown Prince!"

Chen Shaofeng and others also followed and bowed to see him.

Zhu Biao glanced at them and asked, "Is this a student from Minghuang College?"

He was the dean of the academy and had been to the academy several times. Although he could not recognize Chen Shaofeng by name, he recognized him as a student in the academy.

"Yeah, isn't this graduation? Come to me and ask if there are any errands that can be arranged." Li Wei said casually.

"It's simple. You can arrange to go to Zhan Shifu to record things first. If he performs well in the future, he will be promoted." Zhu Biao said with a smile.

"Uh……"

Li Wei was stunned. He was just perfunctory. Now Chen Shaofeng is a member of the Night Guard. If he goes to the Prince's Mansion...

Well, that’s not impossible.

Chen Shaofeng's eyes lit up when he heard this. If he entered the Prince's Mansion, it would be very convenient to inquire about the government and state affairs.

"Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Chen Shaofeng immediately handed over his hands and thanked him.

"Well, you can go on duty at Zhan Shifu another day, and I will give them instructions."

Zhu Biao nodded with a smile, not knowing that he had casually recruited a spy and placed it next to him.

Li Wei looked at them, then followed suit, and then said to Chen Shaofeng: "You go back first."

"Yes!"

Chen Shaofeng saluted him again before turning and leaving the Prince Consort's Mansion.

Li Wei turned his gaze back to Zhu Biao and asked, "What is going on with His Royal Highness today?"

After Chen Shaofeng and others left, Zhu Biao also put down his posture and chuckled: "Didn't we agree to get closer to each other more? If you don't come to me, I will come to you."

Li Wei: "..."

He thought it was just to be polite, but he didn't expect that Zhu Biao would really take it seriously. Will he still come to chat with him every day in the future?

"Come on, let's talk while drinking."

Zhu Biao stepped forward unceremoniously, held Li Wei's shoulders and walked into the house.

Li Wei was a little annoyed, but he couldn't refuse the current prince, so he could only order someone to prepare wine and food and talk nonsense with him again.

……

On the boundless ocean, the naval masters led by Shi Jun and Jiang Long cut through the waves and crossed thousands of miles in a few days to reach Dagu.

Tianjin Wei was established after Zhu Di's success in the Jingnan War. It did not exist at this time. There were only some water stations and county towns along the river nearby.

At this time, Zhu Di had already led his people to wait here. When he saw the armored ship approaching from afar, he was suddenly excited.

He had also heard about Li Wei leading his army to destroy the Japanese, and he also knew about the existence of such a giant iron-armored ship, but this was the first time he had seen it with his own eyes.

The construction period of ironclad ships is very long, and there are only two of them now. The third ship is still under construction. One of them is sent to guard the Japanese country. Shi Jun and his companions are the only ones in the Ming Dynasty.

"If such a powerful army can be used by me, who can stop the sword from now on?"

Zhu Di looked at the sailors on the sea and said in a deep voice with some excitement.

"I heard that these are the trusted generals of Duke Han. It may be difficult for Your Highness to subdue them!"

Zhang Yu, who was following him, said.

Mentioning Li Wei, the Duke of Han State, Zhu Di's face suddenly turned a little regretful.

He asked Zhu Yuanzhang several times for this person but failed to get him. With Li Weijin becoming a duke, he had to give up this idea. He was still very sorry to think that such a talent could only be missed.

But at this time, he is no longer the impulsive young prince he used to be. After years of training, his face is no longer as childish as before, but has a bit more perseverance.

"It all depends on people. I would like to give it a try."

Zhu Di showed a smile on his face and said confidently.

This time, Zhu Yuanzhang transferred the Navy and Shenji Battalion to Shanxi and Peiping respectively, under the control of Jin Wang Zhu Fan and Zhu Di. This arrangement was obviously intended to allow them to disintegrate Li Wei's troops, and also to allow them to check and balance each other. .

Zhu Fan has the best relationship with Zhu Biao and is a die-hard princeling. With him watching, Zhu Di has no chance to do anything.

But at this time, Zhu Di had not thought so much. After all, now that the prince is here and there are two royal brothers above him, it is not his turn. Even if Yao Guangxiao, who came to Peking with him, repeatedly instigates him, he only has Just some ideas, not determined to compete for the position yet.

Now he just wants to conquer this army of firearms assigned to him by his father as soon as possible, and then move across the grassland to become a mighty general!

On the armored ship, Shi Jun and Jiang Long stood on the bow and saw Zhu Di and others on the shore from a distance.

"The inland river is narrow and our boats can't get in. Let's meet King Yan on the shore."

Shi Jun said, Jiang Long nodded in agreement, and then they both looked at Lu Hong beside him.

Lu Hong felt their gazes and immediately raised his hands and said, "Let the two generals make the decision."

Shi Jun and Jiang Long then smiled and ordered the ships to dock.

Although Lu Hong was just a recruit who had just joined the Navy and only had a small title, they all understood that he was Li Wei's student and represented Li Wei. His opinions, to a certain extent, represented Li Wei's order.

The navy ship slowly docked. Shi Jun and Jiang Long ordered people to carry food and grass down while taking people to see Zhu Di.

Zhu Di didn't put on any airs and greeted them enthusiastically as soon as they got off the boat.

"Greetings to His Highness King Yan!" Shi Jun and others saluted.

"Haha, no courtesy, no courtesy, you two generals have worked hard all the way!" Zhu Di raised his hand and said.

"Thank you, Your Highness." The two straightened up, and Shi Jun said again: "Your Highness, the inland river is narrow and naval ships cannot enter. Your Highness will be troubled the rest of the way."

Zhu Di smiled slightly and said: "That's natural. I have prepared the river boat. You can unload the food and grass here. My people will take over."

Shi Jun breathed a sigh of relief and said softly: "Thank you so much, Your Highness. I can return to Beijing to resume my duties after unloading the food and grass."

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Di showed a look of surprise and said, "Don't you know? Your Majesty ordered you to station troops here, build a guard station, and obey my king's control."

When Shi Jun and Jiang Long heard this, their hearts suddenly sank. "Is there a will?" Jiang Long asked tentatively.

Zhu Di smiled and said: "Of course."

After saying that, he ordered people to get the imperial edict. Seeing this, Shi Jun and his two men could only kneel down to receive the edict.

Zhu Di ordered someone to read it out and made it clear to the two of them, so they had no choice but to accept the order.

Shi Jun frowned for a moment and said respectfully: "Since it is His Majesty's will, we must obey it, and we will have to rely more on His Majesty King Yan from now on."

When Zhu Di saw this, he immediately laughed: "Haha, you're welcome, I am very interested in the use of firearms, and I will ask you for advice in the future!"

Shi Jun and Jiang Long looked at each other. They both felt Zhu Di's enthusiasm and understood the reason for his behavior. However, they were Li Wei's trusted generals, so naturally they would not turn to him just because of Zhu Di's small favor.

Especially these officers, big and small, in the army were all selected from Li Wei's personal bodyguards, and there were also Lu Hong and others. Even if they wanted to surrender to Zhu Di, it would be useless.

The two of them greeted Zhu Di politely, and after the food and grass were moved from the ship, they led the soldiers off the ship and camped nearby.

They were supposed to return to the capital after transporting grain and grass, but they were forced to stay here due to an imperial edict. They also had to build cities and guards, so it was basically impossible for them to return to the capital.

The news was quickly passed to the capital through the people of Ye Xingwei and was delivered to Li Wei.

In the side room in the backyard, Xie Feihu replaced Chen Shaofeng and reported the detailed news to him.

When Chen Shaofeng entered Zhan Shifu, it was sometimes inconvenient to move around. Xie Feihu was also one of his students and joined the Night Guard like Chen Shaofeng.

Li Wei frowned and said nothing after hearing what he said.

He expected that the soldiers and horses were left behind in Peiping, but this Zhu Di was really thoughtful and wanted to subdue his soldiers and horses.

Zhu Yuanzhang was also very ambitious and dared to hand over these soldiers and horses to Zhu Di. Although it was only a guard station under his jurisdiction, looking at Zhu Di's performance, it was clear that he was already determined to win this army.

Li Wei pondered for a moment, but didn't pay much attention to it. As the saying goes, adding icing on the cake is worse than giving someone timely help. Zhu Di's purposeful kindness was naturally not as good as his kindness to this craftsman.

"You guys continue to keep a close eye on Liaodong, and report any news immediately." Li Wei ordered.

"Yes!" Xie Feihu responded respectfully.

While the two were discussing secretly, the night guard who was guarding outside ran in again and reported: "My lord, His Royal Highness is here again!"

The prince has been running towards him very diligently recently, and he is even used to walking on guard at night.

"Why is this guy here again!" Li Wei said with some annoyance.

"Teacher, should I resign first?" Xie Feihu asked.

"Let's go, let's go, I want to go too!"

Li Wei said, turning around and going out first.

But he didn't go to greet Zhu Biao, but hurried into the backyard.

If you can't afford to offend him, just hide away. This Zhu Biao is really annoying.

"Why are you going?"

An Qing, who was walking in the backyard, saw him walking by in a hurry and asked curiously.

"I'm going back to my room. Oh, by the way, when the prince comes in, you can tell me I'm not here!"

Li Wei said without looking back, and quickly returned to the house.

Not long after, Zhu Biao walked in. He was the prince, and the servants in the house did not dare to stop him.

Zhu Biao walked into the backyard and saw An Qing, and asked, "Where is Li Wei?"

An Qing rolled his eyes at him and said impatiently: "He said he wasn't here."

"Uh..." Zhu Biao was stunned for a moment before he reacted.

Then he smiled and said: "Haha, then he is here. Where is he now?"

In order to avoid being pestered by him, An Qing nuzzled in the direction Li Wei left.

Zhu Biao understood and went straight to the room where Li Wei was.

Bang bang bang!
"Brother Li, I'm here, open the door quickly." Zhu Biao knocked on the door and shouted.

Li Wei opened the door helplessly and glared at An Qing angrily, while An Qing turned his head away as if nothing had happened.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince." Li Wei cupped his hand perfunctorily.

"Brother Li, I brought some good wine today, how about we drink together?" Zhu Biao raised the wine bottle in his hand and said.

Li Wei curled his lips: "No matter what, isn't His Highness the Crown Prince busy with government affairs?"

"Haha, don't worry, it won't take more than a minute and a half. Come on, come and have a drink with me."

Zhu Biao was not polite at all and pulled him towards the lobby. Li Wei followed behind with his head hanging down.

When the food and wine arrived, Zhu Biao poured the wine for him enthusiastically. Li Wei didn't bother to be polite to him anymore and just picked it up and drank.

When Zhu Biao saw this, he didn't mind and poured it for himself.

"Brother Li, now the Ming Dynasty is peaceful and the people are safe, but the border troubles in the north have not been eliminated. Does Brother Li have any good ideas?"

Zhu Biao also drank a glass of wine and asked.

Li Wei took a deep breath and said calmly: "To forge iron, you need to be strong yourself. As long as the Ming Dynasty is strong, it will not be able to deal with external troubles. On the contrary, if you mess up, others will naturally take advantage of it."

In fact, there is no best solution to the problem of foreign enemies. You can't just get rid of everyone except the Ming Dynasty, right?

Without Bei Yuan, there are still Japanese, Manchu, and even Western powers. The enemy will not disappear. If you eliminate this one, there will be another one. There will be no end. Instead of thinking about how to destroy others every day, it is better to think about how to become stronger. itself.

Now that the Ming Dynasty has firearms, as long as it continues to develop in this direction, Beiyuan will have no choice but to live in the desert forever, just like later generations.

After Zhu Biao listened, he nodded in agreement: "What Brother Li said is absolutely true. For Ming Dynasty, internal worries are far more important than external ones."

Li Wei glanced at him. He wouldn't understand this simple truth. This was definitely not why he bothered him every day.

"Your Highness, you don't have to come to me every day. I don't like to beat around the bush. If you have something to say, you might as well just say it!"

Li Wei said directly that he was really annoyed.

Zhu Biao stared at him and pondered for a moment, then put down his wine glass and said solemnly, "Brother Li, your contribution to the Ming Dynasty is unprecedented. My father and I have seen it and kept it in mind. We will never treat you unfairly in the future."

Li Wei nodded, his eyes urging him to skip the nonsense and get to the point.

"With your merits, you will be able to be granted the title of King with a different surname in the future." Zhu Biao said solemnly.

Li Wei looked at him and said calmly: "So?"

"So, Gu wants to ask you whether you are willing to join Gu in creating this prosperous Ming Dynasty?"

Zhu Biao asked sincerely.

Li Wei looked at him and sighed softly.

In fact, after this period of observation, he also vaguely understood Zhu Biao's intention, which was to make him sincerely serve the Ming Dynasty and be loyal to him.

Zhu Biao's actions must have been tacitly approved by Zhu Yuanzhang. This was the handover between father and son, handing him over from Zhu Yuanzhang to his future successor.

But he knew that Zhu Biao's life was short-lived and he died before he became emperor. And even if he didn't die, he didn't want to stay in this feudal dynasty and play tricks with successive emperors.

Li Wei was silent for a long time and did not answer his question directly. Instead, he said: "Then I would like to ask His Royal Highness a question first. Please tell the truth."

"Say it." Zhu Biao was not in a hurry and raised his hand to let him ask first.

"If a prosperous age does not require an emperor, then does His Highness the Crown Prince still need this prosperous age?"

Li Wei stared at Zhu Biao and asked in a deep voice.

Zhu Biao was stunned when he heard this. He had thought that Li Wei would ask him various questions, asking him how to govern the country, and asking him what kind of king he would make in the future. He could answer these without hesitation, but he never expected that Li Wei would ask Such a strange problem.

There is no need for an emperor in a prosperous age? is it possible? (End of chapter)