Although Zhu Di was a rogue, he did not dare to change the ancestral system, especially the use of troops against vassal states, which was very involved and had to have a sufficient excuse.
Li Qing and Dao Yan looked at each other, both at a loss.
This does not mean that fighting can be fought. If you are not careful, all the vassal countries will turn against each other, and they may even form a group to fight against the Ming Dynasty.
Seeing that the two of them were silent, Zhu Di said displeasedly: "You two are so bad-tempered, can't you do anything about it?"
Two people: "..."
Li Qing thought for a while and prepared to find fault with the egg, "Your Majesty, if I remember correctly, Annan did not come to pay tribute this time."
He said with murderous intent: "If you don't pay tribute today, you will dare to rebel tomorrow, and Annan will not be able to stay."
"Annan's envoy came to pay tribute." Xiaopang continued, "He came earlier than other vassal countries, and the king personally led the tribute team. You were not in court at the time."
"That's it!" Li Qing said with a smile, "Then I have no choice."
Dao Yan, who had been silent all this time, suddenly brightened his eyes and said, "Has your Majesty noticed that there is something unusual about King Annan who is paying tribute?"
"I have so many things to do all day long, how can I care about these trivial matters." Zhu Di shook his head and said, "If you find anything, just tell me."
Dao Yan nodded: "Your Majesty, I remember that the Annan royal family's surname is Chen, but the king who comes to worship this time is surnamed Li. Why is he called Li?"
"Li Jiya!" Xiaopang added, "He is considered the grandfather of the former King Annan, but when they came to pay tribute, they explained the situation. Their king was gone, and he was involved in politics on his behalf."
Li Qing frowned: "Something is wrong, there is a problem, there is a conspiracy."
"Oh? What conspiracy?" Zhu Di became interested.
Li Qing cupped his hand, "Your Majesty, there are more than one or two members of the royal family. Even if the king is gone, other members of the royal family can take over!
It’s never his turn!”
Zhu Di blushed, feeling that Li Qing was secretly poking at him, "Ahem, what do you want to say?"
"Haha..." Li Qing smiled slightly, "I have a plan!"
"Do you still have a plan?" Zhu Di was surprised.
Li Qing nodded: "It's actually very simple. Send someone to find the Annan royal family, and then canonize him as King Annan and let him go back to take over the throne."
"I second the proposal." Dao Yan handed over his hand and suggested, "The emperor can ask people from Laos, Mengyang and other places to look for it. It will definitely be much more efficient than Jin Yiwei."
Zhu Di frowned, and for a moment he couldn't figure out what this had to do with the conquest of Annan.
Xiaopang answered the question, "Father, what do you think will happen to Li Ji Ya if our Ming Dynasty sends a king back?"
Zhu Di was startled and then laughed.
If it had been him, he would have been killed on the spot.
Zhu Di searched hard for Zhu Yunwen in order to kill him.
And once Li Jisu killed King Annan who was canonized by the Ming Dynasty, it would be justifiable for the Ming Dynasty to send troops.
And in this way, other vassal countries will not only not be afraid, but will be more friendly to the Ming Dynasty, because the Ming Dynasty is protecting the rights and interests of the vassal royal family.
Proper political correctness, a lesson learned from a famous teacher!
"This plan is so good, wonderful, wonderful!" Zhu Di was very happy, his face turned red with excitement, "Gao Chi, you immediately order someone to do it, and you must find members of the Annan royal family."
Zhu Di was overjoyed and said, "By the way, let the imperial kitchen prepare wine and food. Such a beautiful thing must be celebrated properly."
Xiaopang cupped his hands and said, "My son, I obey."
…
Zhu Di was in a good mood and asked the two of them to sit down and talk about sending troops.
"This is a good opportunity to promote the country's prestige." Zhu Di's eyes were clear, "At that time, I want to advance both by land and water, to pacify Annan in one fell swoop and capture it!"
Dao Yan asked: "Your Majesty, is there still money in the treasury?"
"There must be truth to this!" Zhu Di said with a smile, "Don't listen to Xia Yuanji crying about poverty, the national treasury is not that poor, and with so much money copied from the rich gentry this time, how can he not even have the money to send troops?"
Compared to Annan, Li Qing was more concerned about the situation outside the pass, "Your Majesty, how is the situation in Mobei?"
Speaking of this, Zhu Di became serious, "They are indeed integrating, but they are still far from unification."
After a pause, "Actually, this is fine. It will be easier for the Ming Dynasty to send troops together if we gather together. If we really have to fight tribes one by one, it would be too damn expensive and time-consuming. Once we make money by opening the sea, we won't send troops to them again."
Late."
Li Qing nodded, Li'er was such a Li'er, but just watching Yuan Ren grow bigger like this made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Seeing the melancholy on his face, Zhu Di smiled and said, "I know them better than you do. Don't worry, the Yuan people regard robbery as a matter of course. They cannot rob the Ming Dynasty, they can only fight among themselves, and they will never be able to unify in the true sense."
Zhu Di said, "For example, rice is harvested three times every two years. On average, one mu of farmland produces nearly 500 kilograms per year, which can feed two adults;
One acre of grassland can only raise two sheep, and two sheep can feed an adult for more than a month at most;
The difference between nomadic herding and farming is too far, and there are not enough resources, so they can only compete with each other."
"Your Majesty, please don't be careless." Dao Yan advised, "Even so, as the people of Yuan fight, their combat power will increase day by day."
"Hehe... there's no point in being spanked!" Zhu Di said sadly, "In the past two years since I took the throne, every time winter approaches, I will send border officers to go deep into Mobei, light hay, and set fire to the prairie, so that the cattle and sheep will not be killed.
Eat, can their lives be easy?
If the population cannot develop, even if we can fight again, what will happen?"
Dao Yan smashed his mouth, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the Holy Ming!"
Li Qing also sighed for a while, the fourth child is so yin, this move can be called a desperate strategy.
But in this way, a war between the two sides will not be far away.
Once the people of the Yuan Dynasty robbed each other and found it difficult to survive, they had only one option: plundering the Ming Dynasty.
However, the Ming Dynasty had strong city walls and powerful cannons, so defending the city was not a big problem.
Zhu Di stretched his body and said murderously: "Now I just want to make money, and I have no time to deal with them. When I have more time, I will make them look good."
He was full of confidence: "I will surely pacify the grassland in my lifetime."
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty." The two of them flattered each other.
Zhu Di was quite pleased with the flattery of these two people and burst into laughter.
After talking about military affairs for a while, Zhu Di turned to talk about civil affairs, such as: water control in western Zhejiang, reform of the household registration system...
Looking at the beaming Zhu Di, Li Qing felt happy in his heart. If the Ming Dynasty could have such an emperor, why not worry about being prosperous?
Although the fourth child was not a good person, he usurped power and even wanted to kill his nephew, but so what, it did not prevent Zhu Di from being a good emperor.
Xiao Xiao Zhu is a good man, with noble character and courteous corporal, but he is not the material to be an emperor.
If he keeps working, he probably won't even be able to retire, and the Ming Dynasty will be no different from the Song Dynasty.
We chatted for more than half an hour, until Zhu Di got tired of talking and stopped.
Zhu Di took a sip of tea and wondered, "Why do I feel like something is missing?"
"What's missing?" Li Qing asked.
"Young Master..." Zhu Di looked at the tea cup in his hand, came back to his senses, and cursed: "It's taken so long for the food and wine to be served, and even the bear's paws are ready!"
At this time, Xiaopang hurried back and gasped: "Father has given all the instructions."
"Ang." Zhu Di said in a bad tone, "Why haven't the drinks and food been served yet?"
"Ah? This..." Little Fatty's face heated up and he said sarcastically, "My son has already informed me that he will come down and he will be back in a moment."
Zhu Di didn't understand yet. He was just afraid that he wouldn't be able to eat, so he deliberately finished his work before notifying the imperial kitchen.
He immediately became angry, "Good boy, you're just so greedy, aren't you?"
"Father, please calm down." Xiao Pang murmured, "Give me some face in front of foreign ministers. After all, I am also a prince... Ouch, Brother Qing, please say something."
Li Qing and Dao Yan grabbed Zhu Di's arms from left to right and tried to persuade Xiaopang to escape the disaster.
Zhu Di was annoyed when he saw his son's weight, and hummed: "I'll give you half a year, if you can't lose weight, I'll help you lose weight."
"Then you'd better just help me lose weight." With Li Qing and Dao Yan helping me, the little fat man looked a little more arrogant.
Zhu Di sneered: "Get the knife!"
"...Father, I think I can lose weight." Xiaopang promised, "Starting from tomorrow, I will start exercising and eating less."
Immediately after seeing the food and wine being served, he changed his tune and said, "It's the last meal. Let your son have a full meal!"
Shame on me, how could I have given birth to such a thing in my life as a hero... Zhu Di held his forehead.
…
After eating and drinking, the little fat boy had a round belly and a satisfied look on his face.
Seeing his father angrily walking away, he whispered, "Brother Qing, can you help me lose weight?"
"Eat less, exercise more."
"It's okay to eat less, exercise... forget it." Xiaopang said, "I have tried it many times, but it doesn't work at all. Even if I drink water, I will gain weight."
Li Qing said speechlessly: "That was the water you drank after eating braised pork, braised duck, braised squab... before you drank the water."
"I'm serious." Little Fatty complained, "You are a doctor, you must have a way to make me lose weight."
"Yes, yes, but you have to suffer." Li Qing smiled bitterly and said seriously, "But you do have to lose weight. If you continue to be like this, it will be difficult to live to fifty."
"So serious?" Xiaopang was shocked, "I think my health is fine. Three times a day is not a problem."
At this point, he complained again, "What kind of medicine did you prescribe for me last time? I felt sleepy as soon as I took off my pants. It really... made me very embarrassed."
"..." Li Qing said angrily, "Then do you want to lose weight?"
"It will definitely be reduced!" Xiaopang sighed, "I don't want to be cut off by my father."
"That's it. I'll work out a recipe when I go back." Li Qing encouraged, "Although you can't lose weight like King Zhao, you can still lose weight to 180 pounds."