Daming: My boss Zhu Yuanzhang

Li Wei had just sat down and had not had time to catch his breath when Chen Su and others began to speak out and offer suggestions.

"My Lord, now that we have control of the Imperial City, can we take His Majesty and issue an order to seize the military power of the Prince of Yan and the Prince of Jin?"

"They are not stupid, how can they obey orders? I think we should rely on ourselves!"

"Yes, the most important thing now is to expand the army. Our troops are still too few."

"How to expand the army's weapons and equipment? Tao Sheng, how many of these guns can you produce in a day?"

Li Wei looked at his subordinates who were actively discussing how to help him rebel and seize the throne, and suddenly realized a truth: those who hold power will inevitably be held by power.

Over the years, in order to break free from the constraints of Zhu Yuanzhang's power, he step by step built up a force that was capable of countering the imperial power. However, he now discovered that these forces could not bring him freedom, but on the contrary, they brought him another greater constraint.

He has to be responsible for those who follow him, whether for fame and fortune, out of gratitude, or because they truly believe in his words that everyone is equal. He cannot do whatever he wants.

"We'll talk about these things later. Tao Sheng, you should first lead the people to resume the production of ammunition."

Li Wei raised his hand to interrupt everyone and gave instructions to Tao Sheng.

There is no rush for other things, but the supply of ammunition must be tightened. Otherwise, once their ammunition runs out, these 50,000-strong army will immediately go from being able to defeat a hundred with one to being vulnerable.

Tao Sheng nodded honestly without saying anything more.

Then Li Weicai asked Chen Su, Xie Feihu and others, "What's the current situation of Zhu Gang and the others?"

"My Lord, after the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Yan withdrew their troops yesterday, they happened to meet Li Shanchang and his men who were trying to break out, and they took them down. Now the outer city of the capital is all under their control, and they have temporarily stopped besieging the imperial city."

Chen Su said softly.

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

Now that the imperial city is in their hands, they are temporarily safe. No matter how many troops the imperial court sends, they dare not attack easily. They can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

But this is only temporary. Zhu Yuanzhang will not let him control the court forever, and he doesn't know what the old man will do next.

"Okay, the soldiers are exhausted after two consecutive battles in the past two days. Let the army rest for two days first." Li Wei said softly.

Chen Su and others looked at each other. Although they were eager to achieve success, they knew what Li Wei said was not bad, so they could only nod in agreement.

……

In the Wuying Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the two imperial edicts in front of him with a serious expression, feeling hesitant.

One of these two imperial edicts was a will to pass the throne to Zhu Gang. It not only determined the succession of the throne, but also allowed him to lead his troops to encircle and suppress Li Wei with all his strength, without having to worry about anything else.

The other imperial edict was a decree to confer the title of king on Li Wei. Not only was Li Wei conferred the title of king, but the generals under him were also rewarded, and several of them were even made marquises.

The first of these two decrees was naturally to destroy both sides, while the second was his plan to disintegrate Li Wei's subordinates.

After today's tests, he can basically conclude that this bastard doesn't care about his throne at all. As for the rhetoric of equality for all, although Li Wei is full of confidence, he is very disdainful.

When Li Wei argued with him, he explained to Haodaer alone that when Li Wei's status reached a certain level, even if he didn't want to move forward, his subordinates would push him forward. Once he stopped, he would become a stumbling block for others, and his loyal subordinates might rebel at any time.

Although his decree to confer the title of king was not a resignation, it was enough to make Li Wei see the facts clearly. If Li Wei really did not want to seize the throne and become emperor, he would have to face the pressure from his subordinates.

By then, the forces that are contrary to Li Wei's will will collapse on their own without any external force, and he will no longer have to perish along with them.

But what made him unsure now was whether this brat Li Wei could suppress his subordinates. If he couldn't withstand the pressure and was forced to seize the throne and become emperor, then he would be in trouble!
Zhu Yuanzhang rolled up the two edicts and held them in his hands. After hesitating for a long time, he called Xu Shou.

"After this imperial edict is handed over to the Hanlin Academy for verification, it will be announced at the morning court." Zhu Yuanzhang handed over one of the imperial edicts and said.

"Yes!"

Xu Shou bowed, took the imperial edict, and walked out of the hall.

The next day, Li Wei did not go to the court to show off his power. Instead, he personally led his troops to escort Tao Sheng and other craftsmen back to the Military Equipment Bureau.

Now Zhu Gang and Zhu Di controlled the outer city, so they had to be careful when they went out of the imperial city. The Military Equipment Bureau had some defensive fortifications before, and after Li Wei came back, he asked people to improve them again, and it completely formed a military stronghold.

The production of modern firearms and bullets requires a lot of large equipment, which cannot be moved away in a short time and can only be used in the Ordnance Bureau. After arranging Tao Sheng and others, he left another 30,000 soldiers to garrison before leaving with peace of mind.

In front of the imperial city gate, Li Wei's men and personal guards stood on both sides. Li Wei came to the gate with his guards, and the soldier on the left immediately saluted, but the title he called out startled him.

"Your Majesty!"

Li Wei was about to nod in response with a smile on his face, but when he heard the name, he was stunned for a moment, feeling confused.

"I've met the prince!"

The royal guard on the right also saluted and addressed him as "Prince".

Now Li Wei was even more confused.

He looked at the guards on the right, then turned back and asked his own people softly, "Why did you call me that?"

"Your Majesty, you may not know this yet, but His Majesty officially issued an edict during the morning court session today, conferring upon you the title of King of Guangling!"

The soldier said this with a look of joy on his face, looking proud of it.

Li Wei frowned slightly, feeling very confused.

When he suddenly learned that he was crowned king, he was not surprised at all. Instead, he became wary of Zhu Yuanzhang's inexplicable behavior.

"Oh, I see."

Li Wei nodded slightly and walked into the imperial city absent-mindedly.

When he returned to his residence, before he had time to drink a sip of water, Chen Su and others came to him.

"See you, my lord!"

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! You are now the only king of a different surname in the Ming Dynasty!"

"Congratulations, teacher..."

As soon as Chen Su and others entered the room, they excitedly congratulated loudly, calling him "Your Highness". Although Lu Hong, Xie Feihu and others still addressed him as "Teacher", their faces were also full of joy.

"Nothing to congratulate."

Li Wei glanced at them, waved his hand lightly, turned around and walked to his seat and sat down.

Chen Su and the others were stunned for a moment, but then they reacted and echoed:

"That's right. We have already taken over the imperial city. Let alone making you a king, even abdication would not be too much."

"That's right, but the old emperor is quite sensible in what he did, haha..."

"Your Majesty, this time His Majesty not only conferred the title of king on you, but we were also conferred the title of marquis as well!"

Li Wei looked up at their faces, unable to hide their joy, and said with a faint smile: "Then I congratulate you too."

"This is all thanks to you, Your Highness. It is our greatest honor to follow you!" Jiang Long said.

"Yes, thank you, Your Majesty!"

Shi Jun and others also bowed and expressed their gratitude. Even Lu Tang, who was usually steady, couldn't help but smile.

Li Wei nodded slightly, then looked at Lu Hong, Xie Feihu and others. Compared to the excitement of Chen Su and Jiang Long, students like Lu Hong were much calmer. Neither Xie Feihu, who was granted a title of marquis, nor Lu Hong, who was not, reacted much.

Li Wei smiled and calmly looked at his subordinates who had different reactions. He vaguely guessed the intention of Zhu Yuanzhang's move. (End of this chapter)