Zhu Gaoxu was indeed in good health. He drank glass after glass of wine, but showed no signs of being drunk, except for his blushing.
"Drink more." Zhu Gaoxu kept urging him to drink. "It's not easy to come here. I have to fulfill my friendship as a landlord. It's not over until I'm drunk."
Li Qing raised his glass and touched it to him, and asked: "The situation here...can you control the overall situation?"
"That's right, you really think highly of me." Zhu Gaoxu said angrily, "Jiaozhi is a big country, with a population of seven million, and I am just a migrant."
"So how much control can you have?"
"About one-third." Zhu Gaoxu poured the wine into his mouth, smacked his lips, and put down the cup. "But on the surface, the other two forces are relatively restrained and don't dare to challenge me."
Li Qing frowned, "If you help the imperial court contain Siam and Burma, will they take the opportunity to attack you?"
"This is unlikely." Zhu Gaoxu shook his head, "I have not been fooling around all these years. I need people and money, but they don't have the guts to take action against me."
After a pause, "Besides, I'm not stupid. I won't do anything that sacrifices myself for others. I will definitely help Daming on the premise of protecting myself."
"That's good." Li Qing nodded and said, "Don't even think about it, Ming Dynasty. There is no possibility at all. However, it is still possible to become the native emperor of Jiaozhi."
Zhu Gaoxu's eyes lit up and he said in surprise: "Are you willing to help me?"
"Um."
"Why?"
Li Qing thought for a while, "Just think of it for the sake of those golden beans in the past."
"Come on, why are you so kind?" Zhu Gaoxu snorted, "I'm straight-headed. If you have anything to say, I'll do it. If I can't, I'll just do it. If I can't, I'll leave it alone."
Li Qing smiled and nodded: "In that case, I will tell you the truth."
"Jiaozhi is a supply point for the Ming Dynasty's maritime trade. The reason why I asked you to come here was to prepare for your group to control this place." Li Qingdao, "Civil officials are unreliable. With the change of imperial power, the decline of imperial power is inevitable. I'm worried that over time, the Ming Dynasty will completely lose Jiaozhi; that's why I beg Zhu Zhanji for you."
"I knew you were not just kind-hearted." Zhu Gaoxu snorted, "You want me to stay here and provide convenience for the Ming Dynasty's Western trade, right?"
"Yes." Li Qing said, "This is also good for you. Not only can you become the king of Jiaozhi, but you can also make money by relying on the Ming Dynasty and Western trade. Why not?"
Zhu Gaoxu thought about it and asked, "But will the little emperor agree?"
"Yes, this is also a good thing for Ming Dynasty." Li Qing nodded.
Zhu Gaoxu looked him over and said, "Looking at your rank, it's only seventh grade. The little emperor obviously doesn't know your identity. How useful can you be?"
"If I can't be of any use, why would I come to you on behalf of the imperial court?" Li Qing asked.
"Uh... yes." Zhu Gaoxu scratched his head, "Then what do you want me to do?"
Li Qing smiled and said: "It's very simple. First, help the Ming Dynasty contain Siam and Burma; second, surrender to the little emperor."
"Promise yourself to him?" Zhu Gaoxu stood up suddenly, "Is he worthy?"
"Look, don't get excited." Li Qing comforted him, "It's just a matter of words, and you won't lose anything. If you can't help but feel ashamed, you can let your son do it.
It’s just a name, but in exchange for substantial benefits, you don’t understand this, right? Li Qing asked, "Besides, even if you are still the Ming Dynasty vassal king, don't you still want to become a vassal?" "
Zhu Gaoxu was silent.
He is not smart, but he is not stupid either. If Ming Dynasty supports him, he will definitely be able to truly unify Jiaozhi and become a king worthy of the name.
This benefit is real.
If you can’t become the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, it’s not bad to become the king of Jiaozhi... Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said: “Okay, done!
However, I have a condition. "
"you say."
Zhu Gaoxu said, "The Ming court cannot interfere with me and cannot send anyone more."
"This is natural." Li Qing nodded, "At that time, everything here will be up to you."
"Can the little emperor really agree?" Zhu Gaoxu felt a little unbelievable.
"Do you believe me?" Li Qing asked with a smile.
Zhu Gaoxu was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Believe it."
"That's it. After the Luchuan rebellion is put down, you can order people to pay tribute and leave it to me." Li Qing said.
"Okay, let's continue." Zhu Gaoxu said boldly, "Come, let's drink."
…
Li Qing stayed in Jiaozhi for five days, and Zhu Gaoxu took him to visit all the interesting places within a hundred miles.
After eating and drinking, Li Qing took another bagful of golden beans before embarking on the return journey.
When he was leaving, Zhu Gaoxu became rarely sad, "Sir, once you leave, I'm afraid we won't be able to see each other again for a long, long time, or even in our lifetime."
"If I have time in the future, I will come see you." Li Qing patted his shoulder, "Take care of yourself."
"Take care of yourself."
Li Qing got on his horse and started to drive back.
He didn't go far enough this time, he even went abroad.
In this era of underdeveloped transportation, it is almost unbelievable to ordinary people.
Li Qing pretended to be worried and kept running all day and night, not even caring about eating or sleeping.
Nothing else, just afraid that the little emperor would personally conquer the country.
Although this was unlikely, he was afraid.
I hurriedly hurriedly and slowly all the way, and by the time I got back to the capital, it was already winter.
In early November, it started to snow in the capital.
Li Qing's family didn't even return and went straight into the palace.
Seeing Zhu Qizhen sitting firmly in the palace, Li Qing's heart finally settled in his stomach.
Fortunately, what I worried about didn't happen, which is great.
It has to be said that Zhu Qizhen knows good and bad, takes the overall situation into consideration, and is willing to listen to advice... These qualities are worthy of recognition, and Li Qing's senses are much better for him.
Li Qing was very tired from the journey. Seeing that the little emperor was safe and sound, he was no longer nervous.
"Your Majesty, the former Han King Zhu Gaoxu has agreed to help." Li Qing said, "I will report the specific details to another minister later. This journey is really tiring."
Zhu Qizhen had a thousand things to say, but seeing that Li Qing was really tired, he could only nod: "Okay, sir, go back and have a good rest first."
He originally thought that Li Qing would not be able to come back until the next year, but this time it was two or three months ahead of schedule. You can imagine the hardships involved.
As soon as Li Qing left the palace, he went straight to Yu Qian's house.
After not seeing each other for several months, the donkey has grown taller, and its fur has become shinier, as if it had been baked in oil, which is particularly pleasing to the eye.
"Brother Donkey, long time no see!" Li Qing stroked its head with joy on his face.
"Hmm~ah~" Donkey cupped his hand, seeming to be happy.
"Haha..." Li Qing patted it, turned around and said to Yu Qian, "Thank you for your hard work, I'll go back and take a nap first, and treat you to a drink another day."
Yu Qian smiled: "It's a small thing, not worth mentioning; by the way, sir, over there in Cochin...?"
"nailed it."
"That's good." Yu Qian was happy and urged, "Sir, go and have a rest. The situation has not escalated. You can rest assured. I will finish the work at hand tomorrow and come back to tell you the details."
"Okay, okay." Li Qing rode his donkey back home.
He was really tired. In the past few months, except for eating, drinking and having fun at Zhu Gaoxu's place for a few days, he had been traveling all the time.
He almost couldn't eat or sleep. Even if he didn't eat or drink without affecting his body functions, he still felt extremely uncomfortable and his condition was extremely poor.
As soon as he touched the bed, he fell asleep.
Li Qing slept for twelve hours, from morning to noon of the next day.
"Hmm~ Humph~" Li Qing groaned comfortably, turned over, and saw the heavy snow falling outside through the gap in the window, and muttered, "Let's sleep a little longer."
'Gululu...! 'Li Qing wanted to go back to sleep, but his stomach kept protesting. In fact, his stomach had been protesting for a long time.
"Forget it, let's get up."
Li Qing sat up and stretched his limbs, his bones crackling. When he woke up, he felt particularly energetic.
"It's such a snowy day, it would be a pity not to have a hot pot meal." Li Qing opened the door, washed up, and took out fodder to feed the donkey.
"Brother Donkey, eat quickly. You will accompany me to the market later." Li Qing was really hungry. Looking at the donkey, he couldn't help but think of Huoshao.
When the donkey saw his eyes glowing green, it couldn't help but tremble. It simply stopped eating and lay down on its back to let Li Qing ride, for fear that Li Qing might have something special in mind.
'Clang clang clang...! 'There was a knock on the door, followed by a high-pitched voice, "Is Mr. Li at home?"
"Here we come." Li Qing clapped his hands, walked to the door and opened it, only to see Zhu Qizhen holding his hands behind his back and looking at him with a smile on his face.
