"Your Majesty, why are you here?"
"Ah, I'm done with my work, so come and take a look." Zhu Qizhen stepped forward with a smile, "No need to salute, let's go into the house and say."
Li Qing had no intention of saluting, but he still thanked him and said, "Your Majesty, please."
Living room.
There is no charcoal pot and the temperature is very low.
Zhu Qizhen felt a little cold and ordered: "Go and bring the stove on the dragon chariot."
The accompanying eunuch agreed and hurried away.
After a while, the stove was brought in, and there were six food boxes.
The two little eunuchs set up the pot, added water, and then took out the fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and vegetables from the food box.
Zhu Qizhen smiled and said, "Sir, haven't you eaten yet?"
Li Qing nodded.
"I know that your husband likes hot pot, so I asked the imperial kitchen to prepare some and bring it over." Zhu Qizhen said, "We haven't seen you for several months and I miss you very much. Let's chat while eating."
"That's fine." Li Qing was indeed hungry, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."
"Sir, don't be so outgoing." Zhu Qizhen smiled and said to the young eunuch, "There is no need to wait here, you can just wait outside."
"Yes, please leave." Xiao Huangmen retreated and closed the door thoughtfully.
Zhu Qizhen put food into the pot and said, "Sir, it's beyond my expectation that you can come back in such a short time!"
"The situation is like this, how dare I delay."
"If there are no outsiders, you should call me that. It seems friendly." Zhu Qizhen said with a smile, "Sir, I am different from them."
Should he say it or not, Zhu Qizhen's attitude made Li Qing very comfortable.
Li Qing got straight to the point: "The emperor in Jiaozhi can rest assured that Zhu Gaoxu has agreed to take action to contain the rear of Siam and Burma for the Ming Dynasty, so that they do not dare to invade in a large scale."
"Can he do it?" Zhu Qizhen had no impression of this second master. He only knew that he had rebelled, but it was like a joke. He was defeated by his father without any splashing.
Even, they didn't even leave the feudal land.
In addition to setting off his father's wisdom and martial prowess, it also proved that this second master is quite hot.
Zhu Qizhen couldn't help but doubt.
Li Qing said: "This emperor can rest assured. Although he is a bit more straightforward, he has nothing to say about fighting. He has been operating in Jiaozhi for so long, and it is not for nothing;
I read Taizong's records and found that he performed very well in the Battle of Jingnan and was a rare handsome man. "
"Is that so..." Zhu Qizhen nodded slightly, "He won't be unable to do his job, right?"
Hanhan is not as thoughtful as you two... Li Qing said, "If he refuses directly, there is nothing Ming can do. There is no need to tell this lie. If you are really helping or pretending to be helpful, it won't take long for Da Ming to figure it out. Why should he be like this?"
Zhu Qizhen was right and did not continue to be suspicious.
"Sir, you have made a great contribution this time. When the situation stabilizes, I..."
"Let's eat vegetables." Li Qing interrupted ruthlessly: How can flatbread be as delicious as hot pot?
"Uh...ok."
…
Zhu Qizhen wasn't very hungry, and Li Qing was eating the whole time.
The cooking skills of the imperial kitchen are not to mention, and Li Qing was really hungry, so the delicious food he made made Zhu Qizhen have a big appetite and ate a lot more.
In the living room, the hot pot soup is boiling, the air is filled with aroma, it is warm and comfortable.
Seeing that he was enjoying his meal, Zhu Qizhen was not in a hurry to talk about business.
It wasn't until half an hour later that Li Qing let out a long and comfortable burp that he stopped using his chopsticks.
"Your Majesty, what's the current situation?" Li Qing wiped his mouth and asked first.
Zhu Qizhen looked serious, "Sir, as soon as he left, I asked Yu Qian to prepare military supplies and send them to the Duke of Guizhou. The unrest in Fujian and Fujian has subsided, and sixty merchant ships can be launched. As soon as spring begins, we can fight with Japan." trade.”
"It seems much easier than expected!" Li Qing nodded lightly, "Has the army gone to reinforce it?"
"Well, not long after the British Duke came back, I dispatched 100,000 troops to Luchuan. It has been more than a month now. I think they have already arrived." Zhu Qizhen said. óΠъ.oяＧ
Li Qing smiled easily. Before he did the matter, he thought it would not be easy to correct the chaos. But when he did it, he found that it was not as difficult as he thought.
"It's hard for the British Lord." Li Qing took a sip of wine and sighed, "At his age, he has to fight in the north and south, which is really hard."
Zhu Qizhen nodded, then shook his head: "This time it is not Zhang Fu who is in command."
"Not him?" Li Qing said in surprise, "Who else could it be besides him?"
"Wang Ji." Zhu Qizhen explained, "Originally I wanted Zhang Fu to go, but Zhang Fu was ill and no longer had the energy to take command, so I had to replace him."
Li Qing frowned: "But have you ever thought about the consequences of letting civilian officials lead troops?"
"Sir, don't be anxious."
"Are you not in a hurry?" Li Qing said in a deep voice, "Our previous series of measures were aimed at weakening the power of the civil servant group. It would be better for you to directly create a civilian official to lead the army. What you are doing is... nonsense."
Zhu Qizhen said helplessly: "Sir, can you listen to what I have to say?"
"Sigh... Just tell me." Li Qing's previous joy was gone.
"Sir, I said before that the scholar's rebellion failed after three years..."
"Then you can't let civilian officials lead the troops!" Li Qing said, "Yes, military generals are not trustworthy at present, but in comparison, letting civilian officials lead the troops has greater disadvantages. Don't forget, the reason why we abolished the guarding ministers is to Prevent civilian officials from influencing the military.”
Zhu Qizhen smiled bitterly, "Sir, are you still going to let me speak?"
Li Qing took a sip of his wine angrily, "Tell me, tell me."
Zhu Qizhen organized some conversation and said: "The current situation is that most of the civil servants and generals are at odds with me, mainly because of maritime trade.
But Wang Ji is different. His family is in Baoding Prefecture, which is very close to the capital. He is not from the south, and he does not engage in maritime trade, so the peace of Luchuan has no impact on him. This is one of the reasons;
Secondly, he bribed Wang Zhen this time, and then Wang Zhen recommended him to me. This shows that Wang Ji is a very utilitarian person, and it also proves from the side that he wants to win this battle;
Thirdly, he does not go against me. Although he has some agenda, he is still loyal. "
Li Qing sighed, "What you said makes sense, but once this hole is opened, what will happen in the future?"
"I have thought about this too," Zhu Qizhen said. "After the war is over, I decided to give him a title, cancel his position as Minister of War, and ask him to abandon literature and join the military."
Zhu Qizhen smiled and said, "What do you think, sir?"
"It's just so-so." Li Qing sighed, "This kind of thing can only happen once, but not again and again. Otherwise, the civil and military families will hardly be separated, and things will be more difficult to handle."
Zhu Qizhen's smile froze, but after thinking about it carefully, it was indeed true.
What he originally thought was a brilliant idea was exposed by Li Qing's words. Zhu Qizhen was shocked and said dejectedly: "I didn't think carefully."
Li Qing saw the disappointment on his face and said with a smile: "However, judging from this time, the emperor handled it very well. Wang Ji asked for something, and what he asked for was highly consistent with the emperor's political views. Using him It’s quite the right choice.”
Young people have the strongest self-esteem, not to mention that they are the king of a country, so they cannot go too far.
Zhu Qizhen smiled and sipped his wine.
Li Qing added: "Then let me also tell the emperor about Jiaozhi."
"What's going on there?"
"For the Ming Dynasty, it is not a trivial matter." Li Qing said, "Your Majesty, I suggest that Zhu Gaoxu take over Jiaozhi. This will be beneficial to the Ming Dynasty."
"No." Zhu Qizhen refused decisively. "Although Jiaozhi is almost out of control, it is at least nominally a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. How can we allow it to become independent?"
Li Qing said, "Your Majesty, can you hear me out?"
"That's okay... okay, you say." Zhu Qizhen said in a dull voice.
Li Qing analyzed: "Your Majesty, do you think it will cost the Ming Dynasty to regain control of Jiaozhi?"
"That was conquered by Taizong. How can we give it up as a descendant?" Zhu Qizhen asked in return.
"The problem is..." Li Qing said, "Your Majesty, if you want to reset the Jiaozhi Xuanwei Department, you should send someone to serve as the Xuanwei Department Envoy. It is an important supply point for Western trade. In order to resist the emperor's voyages to the West, they have every right to do so. They have the ability to cause chaos there, don’t doubt it, they have done this before, and they will do it again in the future.”
Zhu Qizhen had no doubts. After all, they dared to cause unrest even within the Ming Dynasty, but... he couldn't accept it.
"According to what you say, Cochin is in your hands, why not let it go?"
"I know it is difficult for the Emperor to accept it, but this is the fact." Li Qing smiled bitterly, "Your Majesty, you have also seen their behavior. Even if you can control it, can all future generations be able to control it?"
Zhu Qizhen was silent for a while, then frowned and said, "Can Zhu Gaoxu be trusted?"
"Although he was deposed, the blood flowing in his body is the blood of the Zhu family after all." Li Qingdao, "From this aspect, he is not an outsider. He is like this, and so are his descendants."
"More than a hundred years, what about hundreds of years from now?"
"There will be nothing in the future." Li Qing said, "Firstly, Jiaozhi does not dare to openly resist the Ming Dynasty easily. Secondly, it is also good for them that the Ming merchant ships supply supplies in Jiaozhi."
