Zhu Jianshen is a sensible person. Although Li Qing only works in Wenhua Hall for an hour every day and does not attend court meetings directly, he is well aware of how many practical things Li Qing has done.
This does not include the contributions of Zhengtong and Jingtai dynasties...
Zhu Jianshen felt that he could not be too stingy, at least not towards Li Qing.
"When does the vacation start?"
"Since the emperor has agreed, let's start from today." Li Qing said with a smile: "However, before leaving, I have one more message to give to the emperor."
"What are you talking about...wait a minute, let's go? Where are you going?" Zhu Jianshen frowned.
Li Qing smiled: "It's not important. In fact, I don't know where to go. The Ming Dynasty is so big and there are so many places..."
"Wait..." Zhu Jianshen vaguely noticed something was wrong and said in surprise: "How long are you planning to take this leave?"
"There's no deadline."
"What do you mean?"
"That's it...I can invite you as long as you want..." Before Li Qing could finish his words, his body immediately leaned back.
Sure enough, the next moment, Zhu Jianshen outputted frantically:
“I’m asking you to take leave, but I’m not asking you to return to your hometown after becoming an official!
Stirring your nose and hitting your face, right?
Are there any ministers like you?
Li Qing, you bullied me too much! …”
After a full quarter of an hour, Zhu Jianshen stopped and gasped: "I won't approve it. I won't approve it for a whole day. It's really... a waste of my feelings."
"Hey, the emperor always keeps his word, so how can he regret it just because he says he regrets it?"
Zhu Jianshen, on the other hand, looked like a dead pig who was not afraid of burning his face with boiling water: "I just regretted it, so what?"
"Then if you want to do this, I will go to the field directly." Li Qing curled his lips, "They are all particular about people, and it is not good for anyone to make it too ugly."
I'm asking for leave to give you face, but I don't really want to see your face... Li Qing said: "I've told you this clearly, you have to approve it, and you have to approve it."
"You bastard!" Zhu Jianshen was furious, "You dare to threaten me, you are so presumptuous, so presumptuous...!"
Li Qing frowned slightly and said calmly: "Don't yell at me."
"You bastard...!" Zhu Jian broke through the defense.
The Xiao Huangmen on duty in the outer hall and the guards outside the hall rushed in. As a result, before they could stand still, they were scolded by Zhu Jianshen:
"Get out! Who let you in? Get out now!"
"……yes."
A group of people came and left quickly, and the hall soon became quiet, with only the monarch and his ministers looking at each other.
Zhu Jianshen glared angrily, while Li Qing looked calm.
After a while, Zhu Jianshen hummed: "In this case, I will grant you three months' leave and let you go back to Jinling to stay at the head office for a while, right?"
During the Ming Dynasty, annual leave was calculated on a daily basis, and it was granted to three months in one go. Zhu Jianshen felt that he was extremely generous.
Li Qing rolled his eyes and said: Three months? When it comes to sending beggars, I don’t need to take leave in units of months.
"no?"
Li Qing: "..."
Zhu Jianshen became angry again: "Li Qing, please don't go too far. Don't use my favor to be confident!"
Li Qing: "..."
@#￥%……
After another burst of output, Zhu Jianshen took a step back and said: "Half a year, no more, this is my bottom line."
Li Qing sighed and smiled bitterly: "Your Majesty, you are no longer a child, and you have the ability to fly high. Why...are you still so dependent on me?"
"Whoever relies on you should stop putting gold on his face." Zhu Jianshen said with anger, "It is your duty to eat the emperor's salary and share the emperor's worries."
"Then I don't want it anymore," Li Qing said.
Zhu Jianshen: "..."
Then, there was another burst of gasping and anxious eyes...
"Tell me, how can you be willing to give up?" Zhu Jianshen said weakly.
What he said... made me look like an unreasonable little wife... Li Qing smiled bitterly and said, "I said it from the beginning, there is no time limit."
"Do you really want to force me like this?"
"To be an emperor, you must have the consciousness of being a loner!" Li Qing said, "In the end, you only rely on yourself. Emperors have always been like this, don't you understand?"
Zhu Jian was stunned for a moment and said angrily: "Of course I understand, I just thought... you were different from others."
Li Qing was startled, and his expression softened: "I am indeed different from others, but I am also a human being, and I also feel tired. I..."
Sighing, Li Qing promised softly: "I will not abandon the Ming Dynasty, you can rest assured of this."
"Ang, this sounds like what a human being said." Zhu Jianshen's face looked better, "It is impossible to have an unlimited time limit. It will only give you two or three years at most."
Li Qing said with a smile: "In two or three years, your Majesty will almost be in power. What difference does it make if I come or not?"
Zhu Jianshen was silent.
"Tell me, what do you want to tell me?"
Li Qing took a sip of tea and said seriously: "You can have people like Wan'an, but not too many. If some people say too much and are spoken to too many people, the person being praised may be taken seriously. I don't want you to become a Arrogant emperor."
After a pause, "I said before, if you... I will come back and slap you in the mouth. I'm not kidding you."
"...finished?"
"One more thing." Li Qing said: "Nowadays, Ming Dynasty's tax revenue has increased significantly, and there is basically no pressure on its financial resources. The navy can start. In the future, the ocean will be the focus of competition among countries, and Ming Dynasty must maintain its position as the maritime hegemon. .”
"Forefathers planted trees for future generations to enjoy the shade," Li Qing said solemnly: "If we want the Ming Dynasty to last forever, we must firmly hold the control of the ocean in our hands."
Zhu Jianshen nodded slightly: "I will do this, but before that, I need to go through some arrangements and the inspection of the people I use."
"Well...the emperor has always been cautious and prudent in doing things." Li Qing smiled slightly, "I hope you can continue to do so."
"In your words?"
"Haha..." Li Qing smiled heartily, then stood up, suppressed his smile, cupped his hands and said, "I excuse you!"
Turn around, outward...
~
Wenhua Hall.
Li Qing made arrangements with Shang Ren, Liu Dingzhi, and Wan An.
Regarding his departure, the three of them were surprised and shocked. If they had Li Qing's powerful position, they would have to work until death.
However, Li Qing gave up as soon as he said he wanted to. This kind of open-mindedness made them ashamed.
Even Wan An couldn't help but feel admiration, wondering if he could reach Li Qing's height.
"Master Hou is always getting stronger. After this rest, he must come back early." Wan An said with regret on his face.
Shang Ren and Liu Dingzhi agreed with their hands, looking reluctant to give up.
However, they all know that as long as Li Qing leaves today, even if he returns to the court in the future, it will be impossible to regain his current status.
Li Qing just smiled lightly: "If the government is clear and the people live and work in peace and contentment, why should I come back?"
The three of them were slightly startled, but when they regained their composure, Li Qing walked out of the palace with a smile.
~
At the Wuqing Marquis Mansion, Li Qing had a farewell reunion with his uncle and nephew Shi Heng, Shi Biao.
They said they were drinking, but in fact they didn’t have a few drinks at all, they were more chatting.
Shi Heng was getting older, he couldn't walk easily, and he couldn't drink a few drinks; Shi Biao's physical condition was much better than Shi Heng's, but after all... he was no longer young.
After the new emperor ascended the throne, he deliberately downplayed the political status of his uncle and nephew. Although they held high positions, their right to speak did not match their status.
After all...one emperor and one courtier.
In the past few years in Chenghua, both uncle and nephew have almost faded out of the court's sight. The psychological gap is so big, how can they not be affected.
Even Shi Biao, who was a tiger and a tiger in the past, became depressed, especially the loneliness in his eyes, which he couldn't hide no matter how hard he looked.
Li Qing understood the mood of the two, but felt that there was nothing wrong with this, and advised:
"You were once glorious, and now you enjoy wealth and honor; at such an age, you have no regrets in teasing your grandchildren and no longer being involved in politics!"
Shi Heng nodded with a smile and sighed: "With my body and bones, even if the emperor entrusts you with important tasks, I can't do it. I have nothing to be dissatisfied with, but Biaozi..."
"I'm quite contented." Shi Biao raised his glass and took a sip of wine, and said with a wry smile: "A new generation replaces an old one. This has always been the case. There is nothing to complain about. It's quite interesting for the emperor to do this. What else do you want to think about."
Li Qing nodded with a smile: "That's it. We saved the country from the crisis, but now we are benefiting our descendants. We should be content."
"Yes, it's time to be content." The uncle and nephew nodded lightly.
Shi Heng said: "Now that you are leaving, when will you come back?"
"I don't know," Li Qing shook his head and sighed: "If the government is stable and the people live and work in peace and contentment, there will be no need for me to come back."
"Doesn't that mean that if we say goodbye today, it will be the last time we see each other?"
Li Qing was startled for a moment, then nodded with a wry smile: "Maybe."
Shi Heng sighed: "You are really open-minded. If you don't want the accumulation of three dynasties, you don't want it. Alas... What a pity." ωＷω.ＧoＮЬ.οrＧ
"Who says it's not the case? You really don't intend to leave this title to your own son?" Shi Biao said, "I don't think it's worth it for Li Qing. I really don't know what you're thinking. You've worked hard all your life, but in the end you let outsiders get it."
"Yeah, you can obviously still move your body, why don't you give birth to one by yourself?" Shi Heng didn't understand either.
Li Qing laughed: "Why does it matter if you have something external to you? Besides, he...is not an outsider."
Yes, in addition to being his godson, Li Hong is also an old friend, so how can he become an outsider?
The uncle and nephew didn't know the details, but even if they knew, they didn't agree.
In the eyes of them, and even almost everyone in this era, it is better to have a biological son.
for a long time…
Li Qing raised his glass: "Have another drink?"
The uncle and nephew also raised their glasses: "Have another drink!"
"Sir, take care!"
"Take care of yourself too!"
~
Outside the capital, the carriage slowly stopped.
Li Qing jumped off the carriage, looked back at Beiping City, then looked in the direction of the palace, and whispered to himself:
"In a blink of an eye, another few decades have passed. Time flies so fast..."
After standing there for a long time, Li Qing chuckled and said, "Let's go..."
"Drive~"
The wheels turned, leaving two ruts behind, facing the afterglow of the red sunset, "squeaking" away...
He returned to the imperial court in the fifth year of Zhenghua and resigned in the fifth year of Chenghua.
Over the years, he has brought order out of chaos, he has reformed and reformed, he has saved national calamity, he has corrected the course...
He is also tired.
As the sun sets, the carriage gradually moves away...
