People are like tigers and horses are like dragons. On the martial arts field, soldiers and horses are galloping with lightning speed and dust is flying.
Such scenes made this frail scholar inexplicably excited.
A quarter of an hour later, the bull's-eye was filled with arrows, and the mounted shooting came to an end. The galloping horse slowly stopped, its hoofs kicked the ground from time to time, and the horse breathed heavily.
"The next step is to practice the battle formation." Li Qing reminded.
"Yes." Yu Qian said happily, "Our Ming Army is truly the master of kings."
Li Qing smiled and said, "Although you are a civilian, since you have joined the Ministry of War, you still need to understand the military, so as not to report it later and make a joke because you don't know."
"Your Majesty, please keep this in mind." Yu Qian nodded solemnly and looked towards the martial arts arena again.
…
Square formation, wild goose formation, fish scale formation, crescent moon formation, front arrow formation...
The battle formation is orderly and murderous. Under the sunlight, the armor flashes with a sharp cold light. The iron-blooded warrior is amazing.
It was the first time that Yu Qian came into contact with the art of war and battle formations. He thought of the scene of half a million troops fighting in Mobei, and his heart was agitated.
What kind of scene should that be?
An hour later, the martial arts performance came to an end. Zhu Zhanji said hello to the generals and drove his horses to the two of them.
Zhu Zhanji got off his horse and said to Li Qing, "How about we have a competition later?"
"No." Li Qing shook his head and refused, "I am old and can't stand the trouble."
"It's so boring. That's why I asked you to come." Zhu Zhanji was a little disappointed, and then said, "How about we give it a try?"
Li Qing is old and he thinks he can do it.
"There are so many people." Li Qing said with a smile, "Whoever loses will lose face, so let's forget it. If you want to learn from each other, go back to my house."
"Yeah... that's OK." Zhu Zhanji didn't want to prevent Li Qing from getting off the stage in public, so he stretched his limbs and said impatiently, "Let's go then, let's go now."
Li Qing hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
~
As he watched the sedan pass through the Yamen, Li Qing still showed no intention of stopping. Yu Qian felt a little embarrassed, "The minister is discussing with the emperor's grandson. Is it inconvenient for a lower official to participate?"
"We will be dismissed soon. Let's have a casual meal together later!" Li Qing said with a smile, "You have worked hard all afternoon with me. Why don't I show sympathy to my subordinates?"
Hard? Just sit on the sedan chair and see how hard it is to perform martial arts... Yu Qian was a little confused, "That... Lord Shangshu, I will lower the official..."
"I have official business," Li Qing said.
Yu Qian was startled for a moment and stopped refusing.
…
When he got home, Zhu Zhanji, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately greeted him and was a little surprised to see Yu Qian also following him.
"I have met the emperor's grandson." Yu Qian bowed.
"No courtesy." Zhu Zhanji smiled, then reached out to take the red tassel gun from the guard, removed the tip and threw it to Li Qing, "Come, let's have a good fight today, don't let me go."
Li Qing took the long stick and held a spear in his arm, signaling Zhu Zhanji to attack first.
"Then I won't be polite." Zhu Zhanji was really rude. He jumped forward and used a fatal rhythm when he came up. The sticks swayed into layers of afterimages, and the sound of whistling through the air was endless.
Zhu Zhanji is at the age when he is very powerful. After these years of training, the Thirteen Deadly Spears has reached the level of proficiency. The long stick seems to be alive in his hands.
"Pap tap tap..."
Li Qing held up his stick to block, and the sound of the long sticks clashing was as loud as fried beans.
For half an hour, the two fought for dozens of rounds, and it was difficult to tell the winner.
Seeing that he couldn't attack for a long time, Zhu Zhanji let out a light scold, and his moves became more and more fierce. The attacks were like wind and rain, pouring down, extremely fierce.
Li Qing was calm and indifferent, his movements were not very fast, but he could always defuse the attack just right. Occasionally, he would use his stick back to make Zhu Zhanji panic.
There is not a single extra movement, Li Qing's every attack is always so natural and skillful, just like the arranged script, Zhu Zhanji's every attack is within his expectations.
Gradually, Zhu Zhanji also discovered this problem. No matter how he changed his moves, he seemed to be unable to escape Li Qing's calculations.
"No fight!" Zhu Zhanji took a breath and said with no interest, "I thought you were no longer my opponent as you got older, but I didn't expect... are you really a sixty-year-old old man?"
"Uh-huh...that's right." Li Qing chuckled, "In a few years, I won't be your opponent."
Zhu Zhanji rolled his eyes and muttered, "You said this a few years ago."
After an afternoon of strenuous exercise, Zhu Zhanji was also hungry. He waved his hand to the guards and said, "I want to have a drink with Marquis Yongqing. You go and wait outside."
The guard said yes, turned around and retreated.
Zhu Zhanji glanced at Yu Qian, and Yu Qian bowed his hands and explained: "Great grandson, Master Shangshu said that he has official affairs to report."
"Any business?" Zhu Zhanji glanced at Li Qing, "Then you guys chat, I'll come back another day."
"No, let's chat while eating." Li Qing asked his servants to prepare wine and food, and invited the two of them to the living room.
~
"No need to be formal, sit down!" Zhu Zhanji smiled at Yu Qian, "Are you still used to it in the Ministry of War?"
Yu Qian thanked him for sitting down and nodded.
Yu Qian was not very sociable, and he felt uncomfortable facing the two of them, and just wanted to escape quickly.
"May I ask the minister, what official duties should I entrust to my subordinates?"
Li Qing picked up the teapot and poured two cups of tea, giving one cup to Zhu Zhanji and pushing the other cup to Yu Qian, "The emperor wants to implement new policies."
Yu Qian stretched out his hand to hold the tea cup, with a puzzled look on his face, "I just got rid of all the officials. I don't seem to be qualified..."
"Huh?" Li Qing shook his head and laughed, "They are all officials of the Ming Dynasty and the emperor's ministers, so of course they are qualified."
"What new policies does the emperor want to implement?" Zhu Zhanji asked.
"Population migration." Li Qing said, "To be precise, it means moving the population from the south to the north."
Yu Qian's hand paused when he was about to pick up the teacup, his brows furrowed, and he muttered, "The people are definitely unwilling, and if the imperial court enforces this, I'm afraid it will arouse public resentment;
It is common to get sick during long journeys and migrations. Without timely treatment, it may even be life-threatening. "
After a pause, Yu Qian said, "I forgive you for being rude. Now that the Ming Dynasty is at peace and the people are at peace, it is not appropriate to implement such a policy."
Li Qing took a sip of tea and chuckled, "One moment, another moment, there are new crops in the Ming Dynasty. Yongle beans and Yongle rice do not require high arable land and can be planted with a little cultivation;
There are vast areas of uncultivated land in the north. The reason is that there are fewer people in the north. The reason why there are fewer people is because the food output in the north is lower than in the south.
Things are different now. With the introduction of new crops, the north can also produce a large amount of food. "Li Qing asked, "Are we just sitting back and watching a large amount of arable land go uncultivated? "
"But……"
"It's nothing to worry about." Zhu Zhanji took the words and said thoughtfully: "The people in the south are rich and have a large population, but precisely because of the large number of people, the wealthy gentry are more emboldened and harsh on the landless people. If we can reduce some of the population in the south, By migrating here, the rest of the southerners will be able to relax a lot;
With a smaller population, treatment will naturally be higher. The landlords, rich gentry, and wealthy gentry hold large amounts of land, but they themselves do not farm;
Whether it is renting out the land or hiring long-term workers to help with planting, landlords will offer better conditions in order to prevent the farmland in their hands from going unused. "
Li Qing nodded, "What the Crown Prince said is absolutely true."
Then, he said: "The purpose of the emperor moving the capital to the north is to extend the strategic depth. Yu Qian, you should know about the Hongwu Dynasty North and South List case, right?"
Yu Qian nodded. Although he was born in the 31st year of Hongwu, as a scholar, he had naturally heard of the North and South Rankings of that year.
Li Qingdao: "That year, the southerners were all in the limelight, but no one from the north was named. How ironic?
Not talking about the Hongwu Dynasty, just take your current generation as an example. There are more than 150 Jinshi, and the south accounts for 120. Isn’t this enough to explain the problem?
Could it be that my Ming Dynasty only has the southern half of the world? "
Yu Qian was speechless.
After a while, he stood up and bowed, "Yu Qian would like to be taught."
"Sit down, you don't have to be like this." Li Qingwen smiled and said, "You have just entered the official career, and it is your advantage to have compassion for the people, but the emperor's focus is on the world, and the government's governance must focus on the overall situation;
Of course, the court will come up with solutions to what you said. The migration itself is for the people and for the Ming Dynasty. The general policy is not wrong. "
Yu Qian nodded: "Xiaguan understands, but...Xiaguan just gives up and has no right to speak."
"No, you do." Li Qing and Zhu Zhanji said at the same time.
Li Qing explained, "Although you are only a seventh-rank official, you are also a public official. When you issue new policies, the court will definitely argue;
After the arson cases in the three main halls, the current Liubu Hall officials will not come forward on their own. Most of them let the Yanguan act as a mouthpiece, launch a public opinion offensive, put pressure on the emperor, and they neutralize the mud. "
Yu Qian nodded slowly, with a solemn expression. He had already initially discovered that the court was sinister.
