Daming: My boss Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 386 New Gunpowder

In Li Wei's house, Xie Feihu was reporting to him in a low voice.

"Teacher, there have been many strange faces outside the house recently, and I think they are all from Jinyiwei!" Xie Feihu said.

Li Wei's face was as dark as water and he nodded lightly.

This situation is normal. Xiaoqing's failure to leave this time shows that Zhu Yuanzhang has always sent people to monitor the surroundings, and now he has just strengthened his manpower again.

Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang was definitely not doing it for Xiaoqing, but for him, because he was afraid that he would run away secretly like this.

"Recently, if you bring more people, you can pretend to be a servant and stay in the mansion to strengthen the defense. Chen Su and the others should stop coming to the mansion to avoid being discovered."

Li Wei said in a deep voice.

After all, Chen Su had served in Jinyiwei, and there were quite a few people who knew him. It would definitely attract people to come here all the time.

Xie Feihu nodded in agreement.

Li Wei thought for a while and then said: "You find a way to inform Abu and they should be prepared. If something unexpected happens... just leave first and don't worry about me."

Xie Feihu was stunned and said quickly: "Teacher, can't you leave?"

Li Wei sighed. It wasn't that he didn't want to leave, but that he couldn't leave.

If he leaves first, Zhu Yuanzhang will definitely be furious, and all his subordinates who follow him will suffer.

On the contrary, as long as he doesn't leave, it doesn't matter if others do.

"I'll say it last, you guys prepare first." Li Wei said softly.

"Teacher, you have to leave first. If you don't leave, we won't leave!" Xie Feihu insisted.

Li Wei's face became solemn and he solemnly said: "Follow your orders!"

"This..." Xie Feihu looked embarrassed, but under Li Wei's stern gaze, he could only nod in agreement.

Li Wei took a deep breath and gently waved him to leave.

After Xie Feihu left, he got up and went to Xiaoqingyuan.

Xiaoqing returned to her residence and had already changed out of her maid's clothes. Xiaoyue and Xiaocui also returned their luggage.

Seeing Li Wei's arrival, Xiaoyue and Xiaocui bowed before retreating.

Li Wei walked into the house and asked Xiaoqing to close the door, called her to his side, held her hand and sighed: "It seems that His Majesty will not let us leave."

Xiaoqing hesitated for a moment and persuaded: "Sir, it's actually good for us to stay in Ming Dynasty. Why do we have to leave?"

Li Wei looked at her and didn't know how to explain it.

Indeed, on the surface, he is now a very popular minister and is treated very well. Even if he does nothing, he can enjoy wealth and wealth with the salary of Anqing and himself as a duke.

But he knew that as Zhu Yuanzhang grew old, the founder of the country would swing his butcher knife at the nobles. In the end, very few nobles would survive. At his current status, even if he was willing to swallow his anger and be honest, Yes, I am afraid Zhu Yuanzhang will not let him go easily.

Especially Zhu Biao still doesn't know if he can be saved. If he is unable to change like Queen Ma in the end, then he will have a bad end.

"I don't want to put my destiny in the hands of others, not even the emperor."

Li Wei didn't explain too much, just said a simple sentence.

Then he told Xiaoqing: "Don't go out recently. I have arranged for people to be on strict guard. As long as it lasts for a period of time, we will forcefully leave!"

Most of the firearm parts in the Ordnance Bureau have been made. We only need to make the most important smokeless gunpowder and firing gun, and then we can try to make real firearms. After replacing them for the three thousand guards, he Then you can take people and leave forcibly.

Xiaoqing didn't ask any more questions and nodded obediently, and Li Wei felt more relieved.

After leaving Xiao Qing's yard, he went to Anqing and asked Duan Yu to come over and arrange it next to Xiao Qing.

Duan Yu's skills are quite good and she has been acting as a personal guard by An Qing's side. In fact, as An Qing is a princess, no one dares to touch her in the capital of the Ming Dynasty. It doesn't matter whether Duan Yu is here or not. It would be more appropriate to arrange for Xiao Qing to be there.

Mao Xiang led the Jinyi Guards to closely monitor Li Wei's mansion. Although there was no blockade, everyone entering and exiting would be monitored.

However, the night guard who pretended to be a house servant was not a vegetarian. After leaving the mansion, he knocked out his men after three or two turns, and then left to do the things arranged by Li Wei.

While Li Wei was under close surveillance, so was the other government palace.

Lan Yu's reputation has soared since he returned from the Northern Expedition, and it reached its peak after he was granted the title of Duke of Jin Dynasty. Now the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies is basically under his control, and all generals regard him as respected.

Xu Da has not been involved in military affairs for a long time. Feng Sheng, Tang He and others have returned to their hometowns to recuperate. Li Weiming no longer participates in government affairs. Now he and Fu Youde are the only ones who are still promoted to important military and political positions.

But Fu Youde was a later general who was not of the same faction as the Huaixi nobles. Naturally, he would not be convinced by the crowd. As the newly promoted Duke of Liang, he naturally became the head of the nobles.

In the Liangguo Duke's Mansion, Lan Yu and the generals were having a drink.

"Father, I respect you! Congratulations to my foster father for being promoted to Duke. You will be the backbone of everyone from now on!"

Zhang Zheng stood up and said.

His former subordinate has now become Lan Yu's adopted son.

Not only him, but also many military generals who participated in the expedition also pledged their service to Lan Yu in the name of their adopted sons.

Lan Yu also accepted all comers. He was also a prince, and Li Wei had three thousand guards. What's wrong with him accepting some adopted sons?
"Haha, okay!" Lan Yu picked up the wine and drank it down with him happily.

After Zhang Zhengjing finished, others followed suit.

These warriors also enjoyed drinking. They drank it all in one gulp and became a little drunk in a short time.

"If you ask me, Your Majesty, it's true. He's so coy about giving our adoptive father the title of Duke. It's not pleasant!" Zhang Zheng muttered.

"That's right. I just played with a woman. What's the big deal?"

A powerful general also followed suit.

Others also echoed in twos and threes.

In their eyes, he fought in the north and south, shed his blood and sacrificed his life, and conquered this country with His Majesty. Not to mention playing with a woman, he should even carve out the territory and become the king.

Of course, no one dared to make such a request to Zhu Yuanzhang, but it was inevitable to have such thoughts in his heart.

"Humph!"

Lan Yu also snorted softly. As his power surged after becoming a prince, his fear of Zhu Yuanzhang gradually decreased, and his resentment on the contrary became stronger.

It was the prince who convinced him even more.

"Your Majesty is old and will still have to look after the prince in the future." Lan Yu said softly.

People close to him all complimented him:
"My foster father is right. I think His Highness the Crown Prince trusts you more than you do. When the Crown Prince ascends the throne in the future, you will be the most important minister in the court, and there will be no more problems with Li Wei!"

"Li Wei is nothing. His Majesty has already made his adoptive father the Crown Prince and Tutor. Then Li Wei is just the Crown Prince's guardian. Now he cannot be compared with his adoptive father!" "I think we should give the adoptive father the title of Tai Tu!"

"Yes, if you ask me to say that my adoptive father is the real number one hero of the Ming Dynasty, it is not an exaggeration to make him a grand master!"

Everyone praised him repeatedly, and Lan Yu laughed loudly after hearing this.

The heroic words here are in sharp contrast to the silence and dullness in Li Wei's house.

However, whether it was the silence in Li Wei's house or Lan Yu's bold words, they could not escape Jin Yiwei's eyes.

"Your Majesty, the servants of the Duke of Han went out several times today, and I sent people to follow them, but...but these people were very alert, and they got rid of the people I sent not long after leaving the house."

In the Qianqing Palace, Mao Xiang reported in a deep voice.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face was ugly. He had indeed seen it right that day. These servants in Li Wei's house were very unusual. They could even get rid of the imperial guards. They were obviously carefully trained.

"Humph, this bitch is really capable!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said coldly, his eyes getting sharper.

After a while, Zhu Yuanzhang asked again: "What's going on over there at Lan Yu?"

"Back to Your Majesty, Duke Liang has often had banquets with the soldiers of the Fifth Army Mansion recently. He has adopted many generals in the army as adopted sons. Now there are more than a thousand of them. These people often speak lies during banquets, and there are many They said disrespectful words, and judging from what they meant, they were quite complaining about His Majesty’s rebuke to Duke Liang, and Duke Liang was also somewhat dissatisfied with His Majesty’s reward.”

Mao Xiang reported truthfully.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes narrowed slightly, and a cold light flashed in his eyes: "None of these dogs will let us worry!"

Mao Xiang lowered his head, but couldn't help but feel a little excited.

Jinyiwei is Zhu Yuanzhang's sword, and they can only be used if Zhu Yuanzhang wants to kill people.

If the two important ministers Lan Yu and Li Wei can be dealt with, the power of the Jinyiwei will definitely increase greatly. Other civil and military officials and even the pillars of the country such as Xu Da and Li Shanchang will have to be in awe of them.

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment, and gradually hatched a plan to kill two birds with one stone.

Time passed day by day, and Tao Sheng in the Ordnance Bureau was trying to make smokeless gunpowder and percussion powder according to the methods taught by Li Wei.

The main component of smokeless gunpowder is nitrocellulose, which is made of cotton and nitric acid. However, nitrocellulose cannot be used directly. The cotton must be dissolved into a gel first to remove the gas to prevent an accidental explosion.

In addition, some inhibitors must be added. Nitrocellulose deflagrates too quickly. If not suppressed, the chamber will explode directly.

These are delicate tasks that need to be tested slowly. Fortunately, Tao Sheng is a boring person, and he does not get tired of doing these experiments repeatedly. He is the most practical technical talent among Li Wei's many students.

While Tao Sheng was experimenting, he communicated the problems he encountered with Li Wei through Ye Xingwei. The progress was slow but steady.

Late at night, Li Wei's house was silent, but in a secret basement, the lights were brightly lit.

Xie Feihu took out two paper packages from his arms, opened them, and carefully placed them on the table.

In this paper bag were some white and yellow powders, which looked like ordinary lime powder. No one could have imagined that this would be gunpowder several times more advanced than black powder.

The gunpowder used today is all black. It is simply a mixture of sulfur, nitrate, and charcoal. With a little research, it is not difficult to learn.

But the white and yellow powders in front of him were impossible to make without basic chemical knowledge and specific methods. Except for the students he taught, it would be extremely difficult for others to learn how to do it.

Li Wei carefully took a small amount of white powder with a small spoon, wrapped it tightly with another piece of paper, and then placed it on a stone. There was a hammer on top, aiming at the small paper package below. Li Wei held the connection The rope supporting the rod under the hammer moved some distance before pulling the rope.

The support rod was pulled, and the hammer fell down and hit the paper bag accurately, and then a muffled sound of "bang" was heard. The small paper bag was blown to pieces, and even the hammer head was blown. It bounced slightly and fell to the side.

Xie Feihu opened his eyes slightly when he saw this. Although he had heard Li Wei talk about the use of this kind of gunpowder, he was still very surprised.

After the explosion, Li Wei quickly stepped forward to check.

I saw that there was already a shallow pit on the stone at this time. The power of the little gunpowder just now was already so powerful. You can imagine how powerful it would be if used in large quantities.

However, this was only used as a percussion powder. After trying this, Li Wei took some white powder and used it together with the yellow powder. Using the white powder as a fuse, he made a very small paper shell bomb. Of course, he used a small amount of it. It is much smaller than a normal bullet, and it does not have a warhead. The only test is whether it can detonate smoothly.

Under the silent night, the house was quiet, but not all the servants in the house went to sleep. Instead, many of them cheered up, either patrolling in the dark, or secretly vigilant, as long as there was any trouble in the house. , they all react immediately.

However, at this moment, a figure in black jumped up quietly, tapped one foot on the wall, and landed quietly in the house.

This dark shadow was so dexterous that even the night guards pretending to be house servants could not detect it.

After bypassing some patrolling servants, the figure in black entered the courtyard where Xiao Qing was.

"Tuk tuk tuk..."

There was a slight knock on the door.

However, the first person to respond was not Xiao Qing in the room, but Duan Yu in the room next to her.

"Who?"

Duan Yu gave a low shout, suddenly opened the door and rushed out.

The man in black was shocked. He no longer cared about waiting for Xiao Qing's reply. He took something out of his arms and threw it into Xiao Qing's house.

When Duan Yu saw this figure, she immediately flew forward and attacked with her palm without hesitation.

But the man in black was obviously an expert. He easily dodged her palm by turning sideways, and then launched a flying kick straight into Duan Yu's weak spot.

Duan Yu was shocked. She couldn't dodge and could only block with her arms hastily.

With a bang, Duan Yu took several steps back. The man in black did not pursue him, but turned around and swept away.

"There are assassins!"

Duan Yu shouted loudly.

The night guards in the mansion were immediately alerted and gathered in the courtyard one after another.

At this time, the door of Xiaoqing's room was also opened. Duan Yu was about to pursue him, but Xiaoqing shouted: "No need to chase!"

Duan Yu paused and looked at her doubtfully.

Xiao Qing said softly: "My people will take care of it, just stay here."

Ye Xingwei had already arrived in the courtyard at this time. Duan Yu thought about it for a moment, nodded in agreement, and then pointed out the direction of the man in black to Ye Xingwei.

Li Wei asked her to come here to protect Xiao Qing. In order to avoid causing the tiger to leave the mountain, it would be best for her to stay.

More than a dozen night guards chased after her in the direction she directed, but the men in black were very skilled at lightness. Although they had been trained, they were still incomparable to such masters. The black men quickly reached the edge of the courtyard wall and jumped down. To jump over the wall.

"boom!"

There was a sudden explosion, and the man in black was startled, thinking that someone had fired a gun, and subconsciously ducked.

However, what surprised him was that the servants chasing behind him did not shoot at him with muskets. If he looked carefully, he found that the sound was dull, as if it came from the ground!
(End of this chapter)