Ming Dynasty: Traveling through the harem, Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded

Chapter 200 Hu Weiyong, Death

"May I ask Your Majesty, what should I do?
Should we start directly, or should we hand over this important task to the Japanese?"

Perhaps guessing something, Li Wenzhong asked Zhu Biao this question tentatively.

Zhu Biao said with an indifferent expression, without any emotion at all:

"Brother Li, you should understand this matter better than I do. Hu Weiyong offended my father and formed a clique in the court, which has put the Secretariat on a dead end. Now you are going to Japan to gather intelligence and deal with Hu Weiyong. No matter what method you use, as long as Hu Weiyong can stay in Japan and never leave, it will be fine.

I am not in a position to say more about the rest. I can only tell you, Brother Li, that my father attaches great importance to this matter. He does not want any other mistakes to happen. When the Ming fleet goes to Japan in the future, I hope you can complete these tasks in Japan."

Lying on the bed, Li Wenzhong understood what he was shouldering.

I am afraid that the life of the last prime minister in history will be in my hands. How will it be recorded in future history books?

In January of the 13th year of Hongwu, the Prime Minister Hu Weiyong of the Ming Dynasty went to Japan to inquire on behalf of the civil officials. After fierce discussions, Japan insulted the face of the Ming Dynasty. In order to maintain the national prestige of the Ming Dynasty, Prime Minister Hu Weiyong fought back. In the process, he was accidentally injured by Japanese samurai, which eventually led to irreparable losses.

At this point, the Ming Dynasty decided to lead an army of 100,000 to attack Japan in order to avenge Hu Weiyong.

He had already thought of how to kill Hu Weiyong before they even set out. Li Wenzhong was so impressed by his own intelligence.

Coming back to his senses, Li Wenzhong bowed and replied:
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I know what to do and I will never let Your Majesty down."

After the order was conveyed, Zhu Biao immediately stood up, patted his body, and tried to be as neat as possible.

"Okay, in that case, I will leave. I hope everything goes well for Brother Li at sea. I will wait for your triumphant return in Ming Dynasty in the future, and my father will do the same with me."

Since ancient times, many people have said that being born into a royal family is a tragedy, but now it seems to Li Wenzhong that this is not the case. He just needs to do something.

"Okay, Prince, rest assured, I will never let your majesty down!"

After a brief conversation, Zhu Biao left the treasure ship where Li Wenzhong was.

Before leaving, he did not forget to comfort other soldiers.

This is a sea expedition that has never happened before in history, and everyone will leave their lives in history.

Zhu Biao naturally hopes that everyone is safe and sound.

With the prince as a boost, tens of thousands of soldiers were full of confidence, and some of them knew exactly what they were going to do when they set out to Japan.

For this reason, these people are willing to give everything they have without exception.

After the prince's dragon chariot left, the ship slowly loosened the ropes that were tied to the dock, and boarded a not very big treasure ship.

Hu Weiyong stood at the stern of the ship, looking in the direction where Zhu Biao had just disappeared.

At this moment, the former prime minister was very lonely. He had never imagined that he would end up like this.

Logically speaking, as prime minister, his power was second only to the emperor, and even Zhu Biao and those princes could not do anything to him.

But now it seems that he has become an abandoned person.

The smart guy also knows what situation he will face next. To put it bluntly, he may even lose his life.

"Alas~ I have been wandering for half my life and devoted myself to the Ming Dynasty. Your Majesty, why do you treat me like this?
Am I, Hu Weiyong, a sinner to the Ming Dynasty?
No! That is not the case, Your Majesty! I am a meritorious official of the Ming Dynasty! I am a meritorious official of the Ming Dynasty!"

The hoarse and unwilling voice shouted towards the shore.

Unfortunately, Hu Weiyong didn't know who would hear these voices in the future.

Maybe no one can hear it.

When he could no longer see the shore, Hu Weiyong dragged his depressed body back to his cabin. However, as soon as he turned around, he saw several people with eyes like cold-blooded beasts standing there staring at him.

Without exception, these people were of the same height and physique, wrapped in black clothes like dumplings, revealing only a pair of lifeless eyes. It seemed that in their eyes, the words "human life is as worthless as grass" did not have a literal meaning.

As soon as Hu Weiyong saw these people, he felt fear in his heart. As the prime minister, how could he not know the identities of these people?

Death warrior!

Since the pre-Qin period, death warriors have been active in various aristocratic families.

At that time, the death warriors were classified as retainers, and later on, they gradually became a new and cultivated force.

Hu Weiyong also has many loyal men in his family, but unless there are special circumstances, Hu Weiyong will not arrange for these people to show up.

These people in front of me, both in terms of body shape and temperament, all fit the stereotype of death warriors.

Hu Weiyong, whose skin was full of wrinkles, felt a chill rising from the soles of his feet. He was not satisfied with the outcome, but he didn't know what he should do.

In the end, he tried his best to open his mouth and say something.

"you."

call out!
Before he could finish his words, an arrow only 20 centimeters long appeared inexplicably on Hu Weiyong's forehead. The arrowhead pierced through his skull, leaving a bloody hole on his forehead.

In a flash, life passes by in a flash.

Hu Weiyong saw that he was born in an ordinary family and the Yuan Dynasty began to enter the countdown. He also ran a small business in his hometown. He saw many heroes rise up. He saw many people with less talents than himself become the favorites to hold power because they joined some heroes.

At that time, Hu Weiyong was just a small official and a businessman.

Faced with this situation, Hu Weiyong was unwilling to accept it. He also wanted to have the sense of power above everyone else.

During the Qin Dynasty, the businessman Lu Buwei discovered that the Qin prince Ying Yiren had a dragon on his body. He thought that he was a rare and valuable creature and therefore invested heavily in him.

In order to help the other party return to Qin and inherit the throne of Qin, Lu Buwei sacrificed all the business in Handan.

After spending half his life's efforts on going to the State of Qin, and when Ying Yiren became the King of Qin, known as King Zhuangxiang of Qin in history, Lu Buwei began to use his skills in business to strategize politically, and finally laid the foundation for Ying Zheng's strength to annex the six kingdoms.

Such great achievements and such lofty ambitions are the dreams of many men.

Hu Weiyong asked himself, during the time he was running a business and working as a minor official, he had read thousands of books and met many people, but in the end, could he only live out his life in obscurity in a small place?

Hu Weiyong was very dissatisfied with such an outcome. He believed that he should be able to realize greater ambitions. He wanted to prove to the world that one did not have to be born into an aristocratic family to accomplish things that ordinary people could not even dream of.

So Hu Weiyong began to take action.

The world had been divided up at that time. As a person living in Zhu Yuanzhang's territory, Hu Weiyong finally turned his attention to Zhu.

After making inquiries from many sources, he learned that Li Shanchang was actually his fellow villager, and that Li Shanchang was now also a think tank under Zhu Yuanzhang.

With this information, Hu Weiyong finally found an opportunity to contact Li Shanchang. After talking to him, Hu Weiyong gradually participated in Zhu Yuanzhang's conquest as a successor.

After years of planning, he was only one step away from becoming a founding hero and a second-generation minister, but he never expected to fall to this point?
Thinking of this, Hu Weiyong closed his eyes forever and leaned limply against the stern railing.

"Let's do it."

"Yes!"

No one knew who gave the order to attack him. The others began to enter the scene in an orderly manner and quickly put Hu Weiyong into a sack.

The sack is also delicately tied to ensure that it cannot be opened by any external force in a short period of time.

Finally, wrap a 30-jin stone around the bound end.

Two men lifted up the body and the stone and threw them into the ocean.

At this moment, the treasure ship has sailed about a hundred nautical miles away from the harbor. The depth here is at least a hundred meters. Not to mention the corpse, even if it is a shipwreck, it is absolutely impossible to find it.

In Li Wenzhong's cabin, this guy was lying on his side, and his subordinates were still reporting the news from Japan to him.

The discussion lasted until almost midnight, when Li Wenzhong signaled everyone to leave and he went to rest.

As soon as the lights went out, a man in black appeared at the head of Li Wenzhong's bed.

Without any hesitation, he knelt on one knee and said humbly:
"My Lord, the matter has been completed. No one saw it and no trace was left."

Li Wenzhong, who was originally sleeping soundly with his eyes closed, did not speak a word, but just uttered a "hmm".

The man in black disappeared into the house, leaving nothing behind, as if he had never appeared, which was very surprising.

From the time the order to kill Hu Weiyong was received to the time it was actually carried out, the total time was no more than six hours.

This is Li Wenzhong's speed.

As the Duke of the Ming Dynasty, Li Wenzhong relied on his own strength to surpass Mu Ying. His style of doing things can be said to be quite decisive.

On the battlefield, as long as he is in an advantageous situation, Li Wenzhong will not hesitate at all and will immediately arrange to kill the enemy with one blow.

During the Northern Expedition, Xu Da often praised Li Wenzhong as a smart and tough general.

What is rolling meat?
One word!

Do it if you don't accept it!

This time, Li Wenzhong led 3,000 men under his command, plus 7,000 men from the Ming navy. Among the total 10,000 men, the death squads he arranged accounted for almost three digits.

These assassins only acted on Li Wenzhong's orders and would not listen to anyone else.

Normally these people look ordinary, just like ordinary people, but once they receive orders, they will become bloodthirsty madmen.

Many people grew up under Li Wenzhong's cultivation since they were orphans.

As for Hu Weiyong, we can only blame this guy for being pitiful.

Li Wenzhong had also figured out how to respond to the call from the capital.

Anyway, as far as he knew, this time out to sea, except for a small number of coolies who were ordinary people who knew nothing, the rest were either his confidants or spies arranged by Zhu Yuanzhang.

What do we say when we return to the capital? Won't he still have the final say?
Zhenjiang Prefecture.

At the steel mill, Yang Chen walked to a huge steel furnace and saw the molten iron inside constantly churning. There were many workers on both sides around it, gathering all their strength to operate it together.

In fact, this behavior is very dangerous. If they are not careful, the pot of molten iron will collapse and they will not even be able to escape.

But in Zhenjiang Prefecture, if you want to survive, you must demonstrate your own value, otherwise you will not have any right to survive.

Now the workers follow instructions and begin to move the molten iron from the boiler to another place and pour out everything inside.

As the boiling molten iron flows out, it is finally fixed in a mold.

"I have completed the task. It was really troublesome. In the primitive times, it was extremely difficult to forge a roll of iron sheet by hand. I don't know what the quality of these metals is.
Forget it, let’s first solve the problem of whether there is one or not, as for other things, I don’t want to care about them.”

After confirming that there were no accidents at the steel mill, Yang Chen turned his head to look at the big and rough man.

After these days of changes, Chi Lin's already strong body has become even bigger, his arms are as thick as pillars, and his mountain-like temperament makes people feel safe.

"Chi Lin!"

"Master Yang, what do you want?"

A loud voice came from Chi Lin's throat, and Yang Chen ordered:

"From now on, you must watch carefully in the steel mill. If there is any unusual movement, report it to me immediately. From now on, the steel mill must ensure that it can produce 15 tons per month. If it is less than this, half of your salary will be deducted!"

Chi Lin would not take any order seriously, but this matter concerned his salary, so he quickly patted his chest and promised that he would definitely complete the task.

Only after Yang Chen left did Chi Lin wipe the coldness from his forehead.

An old man came up to him and asked:
"Captain, what did Lord Yang say to you just now?"

Chi Lin glanced at him and said casually:

"What? Lord Yang told me that if we can't produce 15 tons of steel this month, we'll all be finished!"

Upon hearing the news, the old man almost lost his soul.

"What! Fifteen tons! Lord Yang can't demand that we produce more than fifteen tons of steel every month just because we accidentally produced eighteen tons of steel last month!"

Chi Lin crossed his hands over his chest, knowing full well that his men were right.

Last month, the steel ore transported to Zhenjiang Prefecture was of good quality, and everyone was motivated, so enough steel was produced.

But this month is not certain. If the mineral resources are not good, or there are fewer people, the steel production cannot be guaranteed.

"Do your best, old man, there's only so much we can do.

Today, the war in the north is still going on. If we don’t quickly produce enough weapons, what will happen if there are continuous wars?
Fifteen tons is fifteen tons. We will forge it even if it means risking our lives!"

When the visitors saw that Chi Lin had already expressed his stance, what else could they, his subordinates, do?

I have to grit my teeth and finish it.

"My subordinate understands!"

After leaving the steel plant, Yang Chen returned without stopping to the high-rise building where he lived.

After a whole day of hard work, Yang Chen took a comfortable bath under the arrangement of the maid, put on clean clothes, lay on the boat and began to think about what to do next.

At present, the Ming Dynasty has begun to get back on track. Under the arrangement of state-owned merchants, all the war bonds distributed by the Ming court have been purchased, except for those needed to purchase the fixed salaries of officials.

It can be said that this matter benefits the country and the people. Many people understand that they can make a living by following the national policy.

All the lands in the south of the Yangtze River have returned to the imperial court, and now only the north remains.

(End of this chapter)