Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment and said slowly: "Do you still remember the first time we asked you to be a royal guard?"
Li Qing fell into memories:
Lao Zhu: Do you want to be a royal guard?
Him: I don’t want to.
Lao Zhu: Think again.
"Remember." Li Qing's blood pressure soared.
Zhu Yuanzhang asked: "Then do you know why we let you be a royal guard?"
"Um..." Li Qing rolled his eyes, "Isn't this a reward from the emperor for my meritorious service in diagnosing and treating the empress?"
"There are so many rewards available, why do you want to be a royal guard?"
"...I am stupid." Li Qing reluctantly handed over his hand. He had no choice. With Lao Zhu's mentality, he might not be able to live up to it for another hundred years.
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "We didn't think about anything else at the time. We just wanted you, a rare doctor, to stay by our side. Jinyiwei only takes orders from us, so it's the best fit for you."
"Then why don't you let me go to the Imperial Hospital?" Li Qing asked.
"If you go to Tai Hospital, you may be led astray by the bad atmosphere there." Zhu Yuanzhang said angrily, "Those idiots are all afraid of taking responsibility, so what's the use of having the best medical skills?"
Li Qing scratched his head and said nothing.
Zhu Yuanzhang continued, "Later, when you wrote poems in a brothel, we saw your talent, so we began to think about letting you develop into a civil servant at the same time."
"Then the reason why I am not allowed to enter the civil service system is also to prevent me from being led astray?"
"Well, children can be taught." Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and nodded, "Later, you proposed to replace taxes that were difficult to save with money; and the courage in the Ouyang Lun case showed us your courage and your courage.
patriotism;
From then on, we decided to let you develop in the direction of Guchen."
Li Qing stopped talking and continued to listen to Zhu Yuanzhang.
"That's why we offend you both civilly and militaryly." Zhu Yuanzhang sighed, "Don't blame us, we know that you are dedicated to the good of Ming Dynasty, but so are we. In a sense, we can be regarded as like-minded friends.
.”
Li Qing slandered: People like you don't deserve friends.
"The above are just small things. What really makes us regard you as a Tuogu minister and spare no effort to cultivate you is your treasure economic theory;
Otherwise, your limit is to recruit and surrender Naier without spending any money, and you will never be allowed to accompany the army to sweep Beiyuan as a supervisor."
It was rare for Zhu Yuanzhang to express his true feelings, "We have been together for so long, and we know who you are. We know that you do not care about high officials and generous salaries, and all you want is three meals a day, food and shelter.
To be honest, it is not difficult to find a patriotic person like you. There are many people who are loyal and patriotic, but most of them are foolish and loyal;
People who are capable and so transparent are so rare;
Li Qing, do you know how much we love you?"
"..." Li Qing secretly rolled his eyes, "Your Majesty is so...frank, aren't you afraid that I will be disappointed?"
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "After more than ten years, if we still can't see through a person, then we are no longer Emperor Hongwu;
Do you know?
Over the years, we have never given up monitoring you..."
"How is this possible?" Li Qing looked in disbelief.
It's not that he is conceited. With his ability, no matter how slack he is, he can't possibly not notice it at all.
Zhu Yuanzhang was not annoyed at being interrupted and said with a smile: "Who said that when you monitor a person, you can only monitor him or herself?
We know you are capable, so we are monitoring the people you come into contact with."
Li Qing completely lost his temper, but he didn't understand why Lao Zhu would tell him this.
Zhu Yuanzhang saw what he was thinking and explained: "I tell you this to reassure you and let you know that you are the person we have devoted all our efforts to cultivate;
No matter how turbulent the current situation is, you, Li Qing, will never be affected in any way."
Li Qing's mood was complicated, he was touched, but more importantly he was resentful of being teased and applauded, and felt powerless, but he couldn't hate Lao Zhu.
If you look at the entire ancient history of China, you won't be able to find many emperors like Lao Zhu.
"Okay, don't be unhappy." Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile, "We have told Yunwen about this dispute in advance. He will not be grudged against you because of it. You two will have more contact in the future."
"I obey." Li Qing sighed and nodded slightly.
Zhu Yuanzhang also sighed and said bitterly: "We know what you are thinking, Yunxi is incapable, and Yunwen is no better than him;
But fortunately, he is more mature and cautious, so we have no choice but to pick a taller one among the shorter ones."
…
The two chatted for a long time. Zhu Yuanzhang was too lonely. Especially at his age, it was really difficult to find someone who could talk to him and who could talk to him intimately.
In fact, Li Qing didn't add a few words. Most of the time, Lao Zhu was talking. He was just a listener.
Zhu Yuanzhang took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "A person with superb medical skills and strong martial arts like you has a good body and bones. He should be able to live for a long time. Please promise me something, okay?"
Looking at Old Zhu with white hair and wrinkled face, Li Qing was also filled with regret. Old Zhu really didn't have a few more years to live.
In the first half of my life, I was wandering on the edge of life and death, and in the second half of my life, I spent all my energy playing political tricks. It is not easy to still live to such an old age.
Li Qing nodded lightly: "Your Majesty, please speak."
"For the rest of your life, please help us take good care of it. It is still young, even immature, and there is still a long way to go before it can prosper. If you can help, do your best."
"I obey." Li Qing bowed his hand.
Zhu Yuanzhang saw that he was so cheerful and asked suspiciously: "Can you draw cakes for us?"
"...I am extremely loyal."
"That's good." Zhu Yuanzhang hummed, "We have accomplished all the cakes we drew with you. If you dare to betray us, I won't be able to help you."
Li Qing nodded with a smile, chatted for a while, then stood up to leave.
"Go back and have a drink with Lan Yu." Zhu Yuanzhang warned, "Educate him well."
"I understand."
…
Liang Guogong Mansion.
The door plaque has been changed from "Liang" to "Liang", and the whole house is full of joy. Lan Yu's wife, concubines, and children are all celebrating in the front yard. There are also confetti from firecrackers at the door, just like the Chinese New Year.
"I have met Marquis Yongqing." Lan Yu's eldest son came forward and bowed his hands.
Li Qing clasped his fists in return and asked, "Isn't your father at home?"
"Yes, Marquis Yongqing will wait a moment. I will go and invite my father."
Not long after, Lan Yu came out with a gloomy look and looked slightly embarrassed when she saw Li Qing.
"Let's go into the house and talk." Lan Yu stepped forward, took Li Qing's hand, and said to his son, "Baby, go and prepare some wine and food."
"Yes, father, the child will be prepared right now."
…
The two came to the living room and sat down. Lan Yu looked ashamed: "Brother Li, it's my brother who has caused trouble for you this time."
Li Qing smiled bitterly, pretending to be a victim, "Who knew the result would be like this."
"Alas...!" Lan Yu sighed, feeling warm in her heart, "Lanyu will remember the brother's act of righteousness in his heart. You don't have to worry. Even if Zhu Yunwen ascends the throne in the future, Brother Youwei will be here, and he won't be able to touch a finger of yours.
.”
Lan Yu was indeed moved. Li Jinglong also went there last night. Li Qing did not help Li Jinglong, but stood with him, abandoning his neutral stance for him.
This favor is not a small one!
Human beings have shortcomings, but they also have advantages. Lan Yu has a lot of bad habits, but she attaches great importance to friendship.
He felt uncomfortable in his heart and said apologetically: "Originally, I wanted to give you a hand, but who would have expected... Oh!
I really don’t know what the emperor is thinking.”
Li Qing knew what Lao Zhu was thinking, but he couldn't say it, so he had to comfort Lan Yu.
Unexpectedly, Lan Yu felt even more uncomfortable after doing this, feeling that she owed Li Qing too much.
Lan Yu said sternly: "Brother, although we had quarrels before, I still recognize you in my heart. I am not an ungrateful person. How great your contribution was in the battle at Yuerhai, my heart is open.
;
I, Lan Yu, only obey those who are capable, but I will not tolerate those who are just fooling around."
Li Qing knew who Lan Yu was talking about and advised: "Don't look at the monk's face and the Buddha's face. Even for the sake of the emperor and the old general, it's better not to make it too ugly;
He is young, and getting angry with him will only lower your status."
"Ang." Lan Yu said in a muffled voice, "Actually, I don't have any grudges against Li Jinglong. I just look down on him. He has no ability. He only relies on his father's shadow, and he likes to fool around.
You act like you are awesome, but in fact you are nothing;
I don’t see him when I’m working, and I only catch him when I’m eating. Damn it, that grandson’s bet was right again this time. We won’t be able to get along with each other from now on. When we do it next time, you should try to hide as much as possible.”
"..." Li Qingxin said: Li Jinglong, Li Jinglong, Lan Yu is depressed right now. If you don't open your eyes, I won't care if you beat me to death.
After the food and wine were served, the two of them toasted and ate and drank, Lan Yu's anger was slightly relieved.
The two drank until evening. Lan Yu drank too much and hugged Li Qing and kept talking.
After dilly-dallying for a long time, Li Qing was able to escape.
As soon as he left the house, a group of distinguished nobles came towards him. They were quite polite when they saw him. They cupped their hands and said, "Hou Yongqing!"
Li Qing cupped his fists and returned the salute: "Everyone, this is...?"
"If you're bored and have a drink with Lan Shuai, Marquis Yongqing might as well come with you."
"No, no, I'm already drunk." Li Qingqian smiled and said, "Liang Guogong also drank a lot, so don't drink him again later."
After a few brief greetings, Li Qing bid farewell to everyone and walked home.
Meeting Jiang Gu on the way, Li Qing stopped to pay attention to the worldly ways, but seeing that Jiang Gu seemed to be in a hurry, he ended the conversation and went home.
After returning home, he drank a bowl of sobering soup, which made his stomach and intestines feel more comfortable. Li Qing reclined on his chair, looked up at the sky, and listened to Wanling playing the piano, feeling peaceful.
Suddenly, an urgent warmth came over me.
I looked down and saw that Lianxiang was playing the flute...