In the small courtyard, Li Qing and Wang Shouren sat opposite each other.
"Have you thought about it?"
"Not yet." Wang Shouren said sarcastically, "I have to think deeply about such a big matter!"
Li Qing frowned, "It's been so long and you haven't thought about it yet?"
"Yes, that's right." Wang Shouren said bravely, "Sir, give me a little more time. You know that becoming a sage has been my long-standing ideal."
"...Okay." Li Qing nodded solemnly, "Don't blame me for being unreasonable. Next time I come back, you must give me an accurate answer."
"Sir, are you leaving?"
"you are happy?"
"No, no." Wang Shouren quickly suppressed the raised corners of his mouth, "Where are you going this time? How long will it take?"
Li Qing said lazily: "The time for returning to Jinling is uncertain."
"That's it..." Wang Shouren was secretly happy, but also a little disappointed, "Aren't you not busy anymore?"
Li Qing smiled bitterly: "As long as you want to work, there is endless work."
After that, he stood up and said, "Let's go."
"So urgent?" Wang Shouren stood up and asked, "Why don't you have a drink before leaving?"
"No, it's not like we can't meet you. Let's drink together next time." Li Qing said, "When you win the Jinshi, I will personally cook for you to celebrate, and study hard."
"Uh, okay." Wang Shouren nodded bitterly: Actually, I still prefer to be a sage. If not, I can just be a general!
Watching Li Qing go away, he sighed quietly, with a look of helplessness on his face.
…
~
March in Yangchun, Jinling.
The scenery in the south of the Yangtze River is pleasant. The willows have been cut by the spring breeze, becoming more charming and enchanting, full of green and full of vitality.
The Yongqing Marquis Mansion is full of lush greenery, bright reds, and fluttering bees and butterflies, which is pleasing to the eye and refreshing to the heart.
There is a new member in the house, full of joy, and even more vitality.
Li Hong is not busy now, and he is in Jiangnan again. His eldest grandson is born, so he, as a grandfather, naturally wants to come back for a visit.
"It's a little late to have a grandson when I'm about to die, but it's not too late. With my physical condition, no matter how bad my health is, I can live until my grandson gets married. If I'm lucky, maybe five generations can live together... ..." Li Hong sat under the eaves, drinking by himself, thinking beautifully.
At this time, a man came up and said, "Sir, there is a young man outside the house who says he is here to follow the family."
"Sui me? The full moon banquet hasn't been held yet, so what..." Li Hong suddenly realized something in the middle of his words and hurriedly got up and walked towards the gate.
"Come on... please come in." Li Hong waved away the boy beside him, "Go and tell the chef to prepare wine and food."
He came to the living room and sat down, waiting for the servants to serve tea. After he left, Li Hong asked happily: "Godfather, is something wrong in the north?"
"Well, I'm not busy for the time being." Li Qing nodded.
"This is great." Li Hongxi said, "When you come back this time, you won't leave, right?"
"I will stay for a while, but I still have to leave." Li Qing smiled, "Where are Wanqing and Xiaohao?"
Li Hong was a little disappointed and said humbly: "They are busy with business matters. As you know, I can't get involved in family matters."
Li Qing nodded slightly, understanding that Zhu Wanqing was beginning to show off his talents.
"How's the navy?"
Li Hong sighed and said: "It's still the same as before. In addition to daily drills, we fight against smuggling caravans. In short...not busy, but not idle either."
"Don't worry, you will be busy in the future, five years at the latest." Li Qing pondered for a moment and asked: "Is smuggling rampant?"
"It's okay. It's mainly the smuggling trade to Japan. Other countries are liberalized. There's no need for rich gentry and merchants to smuggle." Li Hong said, "But it's okay. At least it's well controlled in the south."
The imperial court had a monopoly on trade with Japan, and there was no pressure from competition. As a result, the prices of goods sold to Japan remained high. In the face of huge profits, it was inevitable that some people would take desperate risks.
There are always people who want money rather than life. It is almost impossible to completely eliminate them.
Li Qing did not dwell on this, and just asked: "How strong is the combat effectiveness of the navy at present?"
"It can be said that there is no opponent. When the same number of people fight, the Ming Navy is overwhelming... No, to be precise, the number of people is equal, and the opponent has almost no enemy!" Li Hong explained, "Water warfare is different from land warfare. , there are very few hand-to-hand fights. In most cases, it is a long-range fight. The opponent uses bows and arrows, and we use firearms. How do they fight?
Not just firearms, but warships too! "Li Hong said with a smile, "Our Ming warships are tall and big. The soldiers are condescending, but the enemy can only attack from their backs. Even if the two sides only shoot at each other with bows and arrows, we still take advantage. "
"Weren't there any close combats?" Li Qing asked.
"Yes, this kind of situation is rare. Over the years, I have only encountered it three times. In two of them, the enemy was hit and sunk by our ship before they could come up." Li Hong said, "The only thing is In the hand-to-hand fight, we also completely tortured the Japanese. It’s not that they are too weak, but just by boarding our warship, they consumed 70% of their strength.”
After a pause, "But it should be said that although the combat power of those Japanese is not as good as that of the Mobei Tatars, their fighting will is not weak at all, and they dare to fight hard."
Li Qing nodded slightly and said thoughtfully: "In the past two years, have there been more or fewer Japanese pirates?"
"Less, but also more."
"What do you mean?"
"There are fewer real Japanese pirates, and more Japanese pirates pretending to be Japanese pirates." Li Hong sighed, "If the scale of smuggling is large, it will implicate family members, but pretending to be Japanese pirates eliminates such worries."
He smiled bitterly and said: "It's too difficult to distinguish. In order to improve efficiency, we won't check it now. No matter whether it is a Japanese pirate or not, as long as it is a Japanese pirate under the guise, we will treat it as a Japanese pirate and bombard him with big cannons..."
After a pause, "However, the navy is still very intimidating. At this stage, they have restrained themselves a lot."
Li Qing frowned and said, "In the face of such huge profits, even though the navy is strong, it probably can't stop them from pursuing profits, right?"
"My godfather is wise." Li Hong nodded: "I think they must have moved to the north."
"Have you informed the emperor?"
"My child mentioned it before. However, the emperor doesn't seem to care very much. It may be that... someone in the court is causing trouble." Li Hong frowned, "Actually, most of the caravans pretending to be Japanese pirates are from official and gentry families. However, I guess they don’t get involved themselves and are operating secretly.”
Li Qing nodded slowly: "Well... that's about it. It seems I have to go to Liaodong."
Even if you don’t go to Jianzhou Jurchen, you still have to go there.
Li Hong smiled bitterly and said, "Dad, you just came back, are you going to leave again?"
"It's not that urgent. Now that I'm back, I must stay in my house for a while." Li Qing said with a smile, "No matter what happens, I have to drink the little guy's full moon wine, right?"
Li Hong: "..."
~
The food and wine were ready, and the two of them chatted while eating.
Then, Li Hao came back, Qiang Rong came in, and the topic shifted from the navy to maritime trade.
Now the Li family is undergoing transformation, from production to processing, releasing part of the industry to others, focusing on building the Yongqing brand and taking a high-end route.
Li Hao has good achievements in business, but Li Hong, a father, has nothing to say.
Seeing that his son was having a lively chat with his godfather and it was nothing to do with him, Li Hong directly expressed his deep fatherly love.
Li Hao was stunned, and asked calmly: "No, dad, why did you hit me?"
"My hands are itchy, can't I?"
Li Hao said angrily: "You... if you want to do this..."
"How are you doing?"
"I feel sorry for your hand." Li Hao said aggrievedly.
"..." Li Hong's face was full of black lines, "It's a worthless thing."
Li Hao was annoyed: "Why, do I have to fight with you to be successful?"
Li Hong was delighted: "Good boy, let's do it!"
"I can't beat you. Even if I can, I can't beat you!" Li Hao mumbled and said with a smile: "The weather is nice today, how about bringing your eldest grandson?"
Hearing this, Li Hong immediately turned from cloudy to sunny, "Well, let's go."
The little guy was less than half a month old. He was fluffy in the sunshine, his skin was tender and white, and he exuded the fragrance of milk. He was so small and looked so healing.
Maybe this is the charm of babies... Li Qing hugged the quiet little guy, and his heart became quiet and peaceful.
"Uncle Li, give the child a name." Li Hong said, "The little guy hasn't named it yet."
Li Hao quit: "Why, this is my son, not his son!"
"Hey! You're looking for a fight, right?"
"Okay, okay, let's let Xiao Hao take over." Li Qing said with a smile, "He is the father of the child, so he should take over."
Li Hao was delighted: "Look how sensible Mr. Qing is!"
Li Qing's smile faded, and Li Hong became angry.
…
Li Hao covered his face with both hands and said angrily: "Give me my son back."
Li Xueer: "Hahaha..."
"Believe it or not, I'll beat you up?"
"..."
…
~
Late at night, at the northern foot of Purple Mountain, Li Jinglong’s tomb.
Li Qing sat in front of the tombstone, drinking a glass of wine, and said, "I haven't seen you for a long time. Now the Li family's descendants are prosperous, Cao Guogong's lineage is excellent, and my little Li Hong also has grandchildren..."
After chattering for a long time, Li Qing got up and went to the Blue Jade Tomb again.
Another long chatter...
This is the imperial mausoleum and the tombs of the founding heroes of the Ming Dynasty. Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Li Wenzhong and other founding generals are buried here.
The blue jade boy joined the army and fought throughout his life. His achievements were extremely brilliant. Even though Zhu Di was very unhappy with him at first, he could not deny his contribution to the Ming Dynasty and buried him here.
Speaking of which, Li Jinglong is buried here, which is a bit... high.
At first, many people were dissatisfied, but Li Qingming helped him and acted like "I've said it, who can object?" No one dared to say it openly.
No matter what, the ending for these two people is still good.
Li Jinglong's tomb is next to Li Wenzhong, and Lan Yu's tomb is next to Chang Yuchun. Come to think of it, they are not alone underground.
After chatting with the two brothers, Li Qing went to toast Xu Da, Li Wenzhong, and Chang Yuchun, whom he had never met before, a glass of wine each.
Forefathers planted trees for future generations to enjoy the shade. Without these people, there would be no Ming Dynasty.
They ended the troubled times and established a new dynasty. Although Li Qing had never interacted with many of them, it was appropriate to raise a toast...
Literature Museum
