My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 222 The Li Family’s Plan

"That's right, we have repelled the Mongolian cavalry. The Ming army is nothing to be afraid of!"

Li Cang said arrogantly.

"Those who plan for great things never care about temporary gains and losses. You must remember this!" Li Jili said in a deep voice: "So don't ruin my great plan for the sake of temporary pleasure!"

"Father, what should we do now? You also said that the last bit of face between us and Chen Riwei has been torn apart by the Ming Dynasty envoys. The puppet king will definitely not sit still and wait for death. He will definitely collude with the Ming Dynasty envoys and plot something bad!"

Although he understood Li Jilian's meaning, Li Cang's heart was still filled with resentment.

Seeing that his father Li Jilian was about to force Chen Riwei to abdicate and then sit on the throne to change the dynasty, and he, Li Cang, was the crown prince of the Kingdom of Annan, wouldn't the throne be his in the future?
By then, Annan will belong to their Hu family.

Li Jilan's original surname was Hu, but she changed it to Li because her ancestor was adopted as the son of Li Xun, the Xuanwei of Thanh Hoa.

Although they use the surname Li externally, they still consider themselves to be the Hu family internally.

But at this most critical moment, the Ming Dynasty intervened and disrupted all of Li Jilian's deployments, which made Li Cang smell a hint of danger.

"Humph, Li Cang, you and your father have been in politics for many years, but why are you still so stupid? Who holds the military, political and financial power of Annan now?"

Li Jilian snorted coldly, looking quite arrogant.

"It's in your hands, father!" Li Cang replied respectfully.

"I am in charge of distributing the salaries of all officials in Annan. I also have the final say on the appointment, dismissal and promotion of officials. I also command every soldier in Annan!
Chen Riwei has no official position to hold, no money to pay, and no soldiers to mobilize. Even the expenses of his Chen clan members are decided by me, the Prime Minister!
Li Cang, tell me, even if the King of Annan colluded with the Ming envoys, what could he do to me?"

"Father, I understand. So what should we do next? Just wait for the envoys from the Ming court to return?" Li Cang said.

"No, there is something we have to do now, and the faster the better!" Li Jilian said viciously with a fierce look in her eyes.

"Father, why are you so anxious?"

Li Cang was a little confused. Didn't Li Jilian just tell him not to act rashly? What was the matter that made him so anxious now?
"Immediately send more troops to Laos, the more the better. Once the Ming envoys return, we will take over Laos with lightning speed!" Li Jilian's tone left no room for doubt.

Li Cang was shocked when he heard this. "Father, the Ming court already knows our intentions towards Laos, and will definitely make some deployments in the direction of Yunnan. If we continue to increase our troops, will it further irritate the Ming court?"

“Don’t be afraid. The Ming Dynasty has only recovered Yunnan for a few years. The situation in Yunnan is as unstable as that in the desert. It is even worse than that in the desert. Yunnan is densely covered with jungles and many mountains. The complexity of the terrain is not comparable to that of the desert.

Therefore, the Ming court would definitely focus on stabilizing the situation in Yunnan and dealing with those chieftains, and would have no time to care about Laos!

Besides..."

Li Jilan sneered and asked Li Cang, "Think carefully, what season will come next?"

Li Cang thought about it, and suddenly realized, "The rainy season is coming. Once the rainy season begins, it will rain continuously for days. The most important ceremonial weapon in the Ming court is the sharp firearm. But in this rainy season, firearms are useless fire sticks!

I understand father, the rainy season is a huge disadvantage for the Ming army, but for us, it is a huge advantage. We are used to fighting in the muddy water of heavy rain, so we must occupy Laos before the end of the rainy season! "Li Jili laughed and said, "The young man is teachable! But you have to go there too!"

"Father, do you want me to be the governor?" Li Cang asked with some doubt.

"No, you go directly into Yunnan from Laos. There are many chieftains who are dissatisfied with the Ming court. When we attack Laos, they can cause considerable trouble to the Ming court!" Li Jilian said in a deep voice.

"I understand, father. I will set off for Yunnan immediately. This matter is left to me!" Li Cang's eyes showed a fierce look.

……

To manufacture the new gun, the entire Ministry of Industry and the heavy industry factory were working around the clock, and everyone was busy as hell.

Li Min once again felt the sense of urgency when building the steamship, because the manufacture of the new gun involved too many departments, and he, as the Shangshu, needed to coordinate between the various departments and factories and mobilize all available resources.

However, everyone's hard work has also brought some benefits. An effective coordination and cooperation mechanism has begun to take shape among various departments and factories.

Now Li Min must have strong tea and carbonated drinks such as cola every day, just so that she can have a drink to relieve fatigue when she is tired.

The top official of the Ministry of Works was in such a state, and the officials under him were even more busy and confused.

The assistant minister of the Ministry of Works rushed between factories every day and was sometimes absent even from grand court meetings. Zhu Yuanzhang expressed full understanding of this.

The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War did not escape this disaster. The manufacture of new guns required the full deployment of officials at all levels, which was naturally the responsibility of the Ministry of Personnel, and as for the Ministry of War, it goes without saying.

Only the Ministry of Rites, although it has great authority, is the least busy one compared to other ministries.

This made the officials of the Ministry of Rites feel somewhat jealous, and they mocked themselves as a "poor-paying office".

Of course, apart from the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Revenue has the greatest pressure. It has to make budgets, approve money, and conduct audits. The development of every new technology and process requires the support of the Ministry of Revenue. In a nutshell, it needs money!
The manufacture of the new gun required huge initial investment, but what Yang Siyi and Li Min did not expect was that in the process of developing new processes and technologies, many unexpected surprises emerged.

When the steel mills were trial-producing seamless steel pipes, they actually produced a lot of new steel materials. Some of them had greatly improved hardness and toughness compared to previous steels, and could be used in steam engines and forging machines, and even various machine tools and cutting and milling machine blades.

Some steels have particularly good ductility and heat resistance, which are perfect for making boilers and pipes for steam engines and brewing equipment.

These are nothing, thanks to the tinkering of the elite craftsmen from the Industry Department and the steel mills - of course they have now been awarded the honorary title of engineers by Zhu Yuanzhang.

They discovered a completely new type of steel structure with a load-bearing capacity unmatched by any previous building structure.

The purpose of this new steel structure is naturally to build bridges!
Due to the advancement of steel technology, one-piece molding pressing machines for bullet casings were soon built. Due to the mining of many new copper mines, there was sufficient copper material for making bullet casings.

In addition, the Ordnance Bureau, which was responsible for manufacturing gunpowder, also successfully trial-produced nitrocellulose, and smokeless propellant was soon produced.

When a series of achievements were placed in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, he finally understood what it meant to promote leapfrog progress in industry!
However, when it comes to who is the busiest, Liu Sanwu can definitely take the top spot. When Dayu was controlling floods for three years, he passed by his home but did not enter. Now Liu Sanwu has a home but cannot return.

(End of this chapter)