Daming: Grandpa Emperor, please get up and sit on my throne!

Even though he thought he was not too savvy in these intrigues, he could see the current situation clearly:

The princes outside the capital still harbored treacherous ambitions. Apart from anything else, at least the powerful Prince of Yan in Beiping Prefecture had never submitted to him. Meanwhile, within Yingtian Prefecture, the Huaixi military commanders were the only ones in power, and no one could challenge them...

Because of this, the young emperor lost the nobles of Huaixi.

Also playing a snake skin.

"Looking at the entire Ming Dynasty... there has always been only one person who can suppress this group of arrogant and powerful generals." Lu Wei glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang who was still looking at him with some emotion, and sighed in his heart.

And these principles.

Zhu Yuanzhang's mind was as clear as a mirror. He only daydreamed for a moment before sitting up straight, his expression straightened, and his face instantly became more solemn and serious: "No matter whether it succeeds or not, I will support you! These ignorant people better keep talking about you, otherwise..."

Having said that, he narrowed his eyes slightly, and murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

Although a "bold idea" came into being.

But Zhu Yuanzhang was never a naive person.

Lu Wei raised his eyebrows and thought to himself, "Although Your Majesty likes the one from Yingtian Prefecture, he can still see clearly. This matter... cannot be solved. It's difficult!"

After a pause, Zhu Yuanzhang put away the murderous intent and cruelty on his face. His momentum suddenly subsided. He tapped the coffee table with his backhand and said, "No more?"

Lu Wei reacted immediately.

"One last thing," he said. "His Majesty has become increasingly enthusiastic about refining elixirs. He's even dedicated a royal manor to building a large number of alchemy furnaces. Right now... the Ministry of Works is furiously firing bricks, supposedly for the large alchemy furnaces."

After saying that, Lu Wei's eyes flickered a little nervously.

Refining elixirs... this is not a good thing at all. It is extremely expensive, and this money only benefits the emperor. If there really is an elixir that can make one immortal, there is no need to worry about losing money. But this is something that costs money and is uncertain.

This guy here is over sixty years old and still can't bear to do it. He thought that the previous wave of recruiting Taoists from all over the world was over and he had enough troubles for the time being, but he didn't expect that it was just the beginning...

In the future, even more money will be spent on this.

I have been serving you for half a year.

Lu Wei knew very well how much Zhu Yuanzhang loved money and how stingy he was. Sometimes, if something was sold at a high price on the street, he might have a quarrel with someone.

It was inevitable that Lu Wei felt uneasy.

Sure enough, just as Lu Wei finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath with a stern face and fell silent. His expression seemed a little gloomy. Although the noise from the restaurant was still heard outside the room, the room was eerily quiet.

For a long time.

Zhu Yuanzhang finally let out the anger he had been holding in his chest and said, "This little wolf cub is still trying to gain advantage? This is all money! He's trying to piss me off to death! Doesn't he know he's in danger?"

"So he asked the Ministry of Works to build a converter from the beginning, specifically for burning bricks and building him a large alchemy furnace? That's too much... That's a bit too much!" Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but pat the armrest of the armchair, complaining with a distressed look on his face.

The Ministry of Works had been building those brick furnaces early in the morning.

After the previous incidents with cheap cloth and anthracite, he thought they would have some magical uses, and he even secretly looked forward to it in his heart, waiting for his eldest grandson to give him another new toy to make a big fortune.

And the result...

But it went against his expectations—he pooped a big ball.

"Building the brick furnace already costs a lot of money. Then... the materials, manpower, and material resources for making bricks are also money. Building the alchemy furnace is also money. The materials put into the alchemy furnace are even more money... Even if..."

Having said that, Zhu Yuanzhang paused and hid the words that he was about to say, "Even if you can mass-produce transparent glass."

Then he continued, "You can't spend it this way!"

Just as Lu Wei thought, Zhu Yuanzhang was indeed dissatisfied with this matter - it was too expensive.

In private.

Zhu Yuanzhang certainly hoped that Zhu Yunhuan could really make some so-called elixir that could prolong life, as he might be able to use it right away.

But his mind has always been very clear.

Which one is more important?

Always see things clearly.

The elixir of immortality is illusory, but the Ming Dynasty's lack of money is real. It's not wrong for you to be interested in refining elixirs and longevity, but as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, it's not right for you to plunge into it headfirst!

What would become of the Ming Dynasty? What would become of the nation? What would become of the legacy left by our ancestors?

Zhu Yuanzhang has always liked reading history books.

Throughout history, there have been cases where a nation has devoted its entire national resources, and even exhausted its entire treasury, in pursuit of the illusory goal of alchemy and immortality.

Now see Zhu Yunhuan so obsessed.

How can I not worry?

"Oh! This little wolf cub! If he were like me, sixty or seventy years old and afraid of death, I wouldn't want to say anything to him. After all, I've had this thought myself before, but... he's only in his teens!"

"Lu Wei, tell me, what is he afraid of?"

"You're only a teenager! You're spending so much money and energy on alchemy! Isn't that infuriating?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry that he stood up and paced back and forth beside the stove with his hands behind his back and a worried look on his face.

All the previous joy and happiness disappeared instantly.

He just frowned and his face was full of worry.

Lu Wei didn't dare to say anything more. Even though he knew that Zhu Yuanzhang was right, he didn't dare to echo the words of the young emperor in front of Zhu Yuanzhang...