Daming: My boss Zhu Yuanzhang

After arranging this matter, Li Wei left the Armory and returned to the palace.

Now that the boat has been built, he has to go to Anqing and ask her to make preparations. It would be best if she could leave Ming before him so that he would have to worry less.

In a palace west of the Imperial Palace, Anqing sat dignifiedly on the main seat, next to him were his son and daughter who had just been brought back from Yangzhou. Perhaps because they had experienced this disaster and had grown sensible, they were now standing obediently.

In the center of the hall, Zhu Yunwen and several of his subordinates bowed respectfully and said earnestly, "Aunt, these are a little gift from your nephew. I hope you don't mind."

After saying this, he waved his hand and told his men to put the jewelry and treasures they brought aside.

He always kept Zhu Yuanzhang's previous instructions in mind. Although he was a little afraid of Li Wei, he was very close to Anqing, his young aunt.

An Qing was not as casual as Li Weishi in front of the younger generation. He put on airs and smiled kindly, "Auntie has everything she needs. You don't have to keep sending things here."

"Aunt has everything, but I cannot lack filial piety. You don't have to be polite to me." Zhu Yunwen acted like a little adult, with polite manners and a respectful attitude.

Seeing this, Anqing could only praise her casually and asked Xiaohong to put these things away.

"Come and sit down, don't stand all the time. Don't be shy in front of your aunt." An Qing gestured.

"well."

Zhu Yunwen agreed with a smile, turned around and sat down on a chair on the side.

However, just as he sat down, he saw Li Wei walking towards him outside the door. He immediately stood up again like a cat seeing a mouse and bowed:
"Aunt...Aunt...Uncle!"

Li Wei walked into the room and saw him, and couldn't help but frowned slightly: "Why are you here?"

"me……"

Zhu Yunwen stuttered and couldn't speak.

Although he was not very capable, he was not so stupid as to not understand Zhu Yuanzhang's purpose of asking him to curry favor with his aunt. When he saw Li Wei at this time, he was afraid that Li Wei would see through his thoughts and was very nervous.

Fortunately, Anqing spoke up to help him out:
"Yun Wen just came to give us some tribute. This child has been very well-behaved since he was young."

Li Wei looked at An Qing after hearing this, then turned his gaze back to Zhu Yunwen, feeling suspicious, and said unkindly: "Now that the things have been delivered, get out of here."

"Yes, my good nephew will take his leave now!"

Zhu Yunwen didn't dare to say much. He bowed hurriedly, turned around and walked out quickly. He didn't breathe a sigh of relief until he left the courtyard where Anqing was.

Li Wei watched him disappear out the door, and could not help but snort coldly, muttering: "Humph, those who show kindness for no reason are either traitors or thieves!"

However, An Qing immediately became unhappy when he heard his words, and angrily asked, "How can you talk like that?"

"Uh……"

Hearing this, Li Wei realized that what he said was inappropriate and immediately showed an awkward smile.

But thinking of Zhu Yunwen, he still told Anqing: "Pay less attention to this kid in the future. This little guy must have some ulterior motive by coming to you frequently to show his courtesy!"

An Qing frowned slightly and said unhappily: "Yun Wen is still a child, what bad intentions can he have?"

Li Wei rolled his eyes: "Do you think he only feels sorry for his aunt?"

An Qing didn't understand his joke, so he ignored him and just frowned and said, "I know Yun Wen came to me to leave a good impression on you. It's only natural for him to ask you to help him in the future. Besides, you are his uncle, so it's only right for you to take care of him if you have the chance."

Hearing this, Li Wei's mind flashed with the scene in the TV series where Zhu Di held a knife and repeatedly called his nephew a good one. He sneered and said, "Humph, I don't have such a good nephew!"

Seeing Anqing opening his mouth to persuade him, he quickly raised his hand to interrupt and said, "I came here this time to tell you something serious."

Anqing looked unhappy, and he held back his words of persuasion and asked, "What's the matter?"

"I have asked people to build the ship, and the first group of people has already set out to sea. If all goes well, we will be able to leave Ming Dynasty together in less than three years!" Li Wei said softly.

An Qing was stunned when he heard this, and couldn't help feeling a little lost.

In fact, she didn't want to leave her hometown and go to a place thousands of miles away, but Li Wei and Zhu Yuanzhang had quarreled to this point and it was impossible for them to reconcile. Instead of letting these two people stay together and confront each other, it would be better for her to follow Li Wei and go far away.

"That's fine. I'll prepare it now." An Qing said.

Li Wei nodded gently: "There is no need to rush. The journey to that place is long. It takes about half a year to go back and forth. You can go there after the first few groups of people who arrived there have settled down."

An Qing was about to agree, but suddenly felt that something was wrong with what he said: "Aren't you coming with me?"

Li Wei smiled and said, "You and the child go first, I'll be there soon."

An Qing frowned and objected: "No, I want to go with you. I will leave when you leave!"

Li Wei glanced at her and said, "I have to lead these soldiers to cover our retreat. I can only rest assured if you and the child go first!"

"No! I'll go with you!"

"obedient!"

Li Wei frowned and shouted with some displeasure.

However, Anqing still shook his head firmly.

The reason why she disagreed was not only because she was worried about Li Wei's safety, but also because she was afraid that without her intervention, Li Wei would cause trouble with Zhu Yuanzhang before leaving, and she would regret it then.

Li Wei frowned, and seeing her firm attitude, he sighed helplessly.

The reason why he wanted Anqing to leave first was indeed for other purposes. The mines he had asked Tao Sheng to find before were all natural ores with very weak lethality. It was impossible to purify them with the current technology of the Ordnance Bureau. The reason why he asked Tao Sheng to mix this thing into the jade ruyi was to let Zhu Yuanzhang carry it close to him. Over time, it might have a pathogenic effect.

Zhu Yuanzhang was already old, and even if he died of illness, no one would suspect that there was something wrong with this thing, after all, people nowadays simply did not understand what radiation was. And most importantly, it had to be kept secret from Anqing.

However, he had no idea how effective this thing would be. Maybe he would die after using it for a year or two, or maybe Zhu Yuanzhang could use it for several years without any problems. If that was the case, he would have to find another way.

Now that Anqing insisted on not leaving, he was helpless and could only hope that Zhu Yuanzhang was too old to bear it and would pass away before he left.

Three days later, the first group of people finally boarded the ship, and all the supplies were moved. With black smoke billowing out of the chimneys and deafening whistles, the fleet finally set sail.

Li Wei, along with Lu Hong, Xie Feihu, Chen Su and others, watched the fleet leave and breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as this first group of people can successfully settle down in America, it will be much easier for those who come after them to go there.

America is a vast country with a sparse population and abundant resources, so there is basically no need to worry about food. However, he did not want to live a slash-and-burn life like those primitive people. After this first group of people arrived, in addition to reclaiming farmland and building residences, they also had to prepare for the development of businesses. After he and everyone else arrived, they would vigorously develop industry on that vast land.

The number of people willing to leave with him this time is only 300,000, and that vast land can accommodate at least hundreds of millions of people. If he wants to fully develop it, it will take at least a hundred years for the people he brings with him to develop.

A hundred years later, he will no longer be around, and some of these people will definitely want to return to the Ming Dynasty. By that time, the Ming Dynasty will probably have begun to decline, and those who return will be able to inject new vitality into China.

After seeing off the fleet, Li Wei and the others returned to the imperial city. Along the way, Chen Su, Jiang Long and others were silent, and their faces looked a little unhappy, but now that the matter was done, they were powerless to change anything.

After returning to his residence, Li Wei asked Chen Su and the others to stay and asked softly, "What are your plans for the future?"

Chen Su and the others were slightly stunned, and then Jiang Long spoke first: "We will naturally follow the prince to go out to sea."

Li Wei looked at him, then at Chen Su, Shi Jun and the others, and smiled, "I know you don't want to go thousands of miles away with me to start over. In fact, I am sorry for you, but I have made up my mind, so this is the only way."

Upon hearing this, Chen Su and others looked a little gloomy.

The throne was already within reach. As long as they made a little more effort and pushed Li Wei one step forward, he would be granted a title of nobility and appointed as prime minister, and his name would be passed down through the ages.

However, at this last moment, Li Wei suddenly said that he wanted to give up. How could they not complain and feel regretful!

Li Wei thought for a moment, then sighed and said, "I understand what you are thinking, but I am not interested in this. I am really sorry. Let me show you a way. While the situation is still undecided, you can go and seek refuge with Zhu Di."

Chen Su and the others opened their eyes wide and were all shocked: "Why did the prince say that?"

Li Wei took a deep breath and said softly, "I can't give you what you want, but Zhu Di can. If I'm right, the supreme position will fall into his hands sooner or later. Jiang Long, you have followed him before. While he is still not powerful, you will definitely be valued when you return. When he ascends to the throne, he will naturally satisfy your requests."

"But, we have already...already..."

Jiang Long was hesitant to speak. What he wanted to say was that they had already betrayed Zhu Di and defected to Li Wei. If they went back now, wouldn't that be walking into a trap?

Shi Jun had the same idea. Although Chen Su had never followed Zhu Di, as a trusted general of Li Wei, he had never thought of defecting to others.

Li Wei saw through their thoughts and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Zhu Di is a man who can do great things. You have followed me for so long and have acquired a lot of skills, especially the ability to use firearms in combat, which he urgently needs now. He will definitely treat you well."

Zhu Di had always coveted his firearms. When he left, he took away almost all the talents who knew how to make and use firearms. Zhu Di must have been very unwilling to accept this. If he suddenly learned that a few people were willing to stay, he would definitely try his best to win them over and use them under his command.

Jiang Long and others felt a little relieved after hearing his words, but they were still very conflicted.

To be honest, although Zhu Di was also very talented, he was still far inferior to Li Wei. Li Wei made them admire him not only for his talent, but more importantly, for his kindness to them.

If Li Wei had been replaced by someone else, they might have been killed in order to prevent them from causing chaos and blocking the migration. However, Li Wei did not do that. Not only did he not kill them, he also planned a way out for them. This was one of the main reasons why they chose to follow Li Wei.

However, it is Li Wei's kindness that makes him absolutely unable to become a good person in power.

Seeing their hesitation, Li Wei did not urge them, but just said softly: "Don't worry, you can think about it slowly. Anyway, the migration will take two or three years to complete."

After a pause, he reminded, "But you'd better make a decision quickly. After all, the sooner you go, the more important you will be."

They were silent for a moment before they bowed and said, "We understand. Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Li Wei nodded slightly and said nothing more.

Afterwards, several people bowed and left him one by one.

The days of waiting should have been long, but Li Wei felt that time passed very quickly.

That day, Tao Sheng personally brought people to deliver the finished "Jade Ruyi" to him. According to his instructions, the Jade Ruyi was sealed tightly in a thick lead box. People who didn't know the truth would think it was some treasure.

"Teacher, we have copied an identical jade ruyi according to your instructions. This is the original one. Please keep it."

Tao Sheng took out the jade ruyi that Li Wei had stolen from Zhu Yuanzhang before and handed it back to Li Wei respectfully.

Li Wei took it and put it into his sleeve. Then he came to the lead box sent by Tao Sheng, patted it with his hand, turned around and said to him softly, "Thank you for your hard work."

"You are too polite, teacher." Tao said respectfully, "If you have no other instructions, I will leave first."

"Well, go ahead." Li Wei turned his head, looked at the lead box, and said casually.

Tao Sheng bowed, then turned around and left with his men.

Li Wei stood alone in the room, looking at the lead box in silence for a long time.

Because he was not good at studying history, he didn't know when Zhu Yuanzhang died. If he knew when Zhu Yuanzhang died in history, he wouldn't have to be so entangled. If he could wait until Zhu Yuanzhang himself passed away, he wouldn't have to take the risk of using this thing.

Although this thing could not be discovered by anyone, it was done after all. Even if he could hide it from Anqing, he would still feel uncomfortable.

"Hey……"

Li Wei sighed heavily and put the lead box away first.

Spring passes and autumn comes, flowers fall and flowers bloom.

The ocean-going fleets came back and left again, crossing the vast ocean time and again, transporting batches of ordinary people, families of soldiers, and talents who mastered the world's top technologies to the other side of the ocean.

During this period, some people like Chen Su and Jiang Long left one after another. Some listened to him and went to join Zhu Di, some took some people to find other ways out, and some stayed until the end and decided to follow him to sea.

Jiang Lin, who was once sent to Shanxi by Zhu Yuanzhang, also came back and brought a shocking news: Prince of Qin Zhu Chong was poisoned by a palace maid in his own mansion!

However, contrary to the expectations of his ministers, Zhu Yuanzhang was not furious about this. He just rebuked Zhu Chong and even the sacrificial text he bestowed was full of accusations against him. He even used extremely resentful words such as "he deserved to die".

Zhu Chong secretly colluded with Li Shanchang and Lan Yu in an attempt to seize the throne, and even the death of Crown Prince Zhu Biao was related to him. Those in the court who knew the inside story understood why Zhu Yuanzhang did so, and those who did not know the inside story also vaguely guessed something.

After the death of Crown Prince Zhu Biao, Zhu Chong, the prince who was most qualified to take the throne, died unexpectedly at an early age, leaving only Zhu Gang and Zhu Di to restrain each other.

This year, Zhu Yuanzhang was already seventy years old. His hair had turned completely white, and he looked increasingly older.

Now Zhu Yunwen almost never leaves his side and stays by the emperor's side every day. Li Wei also often visits him, calculating when he will pass away.

On the imperial platform outside the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang was lying on the dragon throne with his eyes slightly closed. Zhu Yunwen and Xu Shou were serving on both sides, waiting for his orders at any time.

Li Wei moved a chair not far away and ate melon seeds by himself.

Zhu Yuanzhang's wrinkled cheeks twitched slightly, and then he turned over.

When he opened his eyes slightly, he saw Li Wei leisurely eating melon seeds. He immediately snorted in displeasure and muttered with his eyes closed: "Asshole."

When Li Wei heard the noise, he looked up, glanced at him, chuckled, and ignored him.

Zhu Yuanzhang opened his eyes a little, looked at him and asked, "Are you looking forward to my death every day?"

"Yes." Li Wei answered without hesitation.

Hearing his answer, Zhu Yuanzhang's calm heart suddenly rose with anger. He stared at him with wide eyes and asked, "Have I been bad to you?"

Hearing this, the smile on Li Wei's face slowly disappeared, and his heart was churning, complicated and incomprehensible... (End of this chapter)