Xiaopang was busy with official duties, so after eating and drinking, he said goodbye and left, and the two of them continued.
Li Qing added a glass of wine for Li Jinglong and asked with a smile: "Are you no longer quarreling with Lan Yu?"
"He's already that old, why should I argue with him?" Li Jinglong curled his lips and said, "I'm not as knowledgeable as an old man."
Li Qing nodded in amusement.
In the evening, the two of them dispersed after having enough fun.
Before leaving, Li Jinglong said, "Be more open-minded about everything. One more person is not too much, and one person less than you is not too much. Many things cannot be changed by individuals. You are not young anymore. There is nothing wrong with enjoying life."
"Of course I understand this." Li Qing joked, "You, on the other hand, look depressed and frustrated all day long."
"Oh? Haha..." Li Jinglong laughed, his smile full of helplessness, "Let's go, let's talk about it another day."
…
Li Qing spent a few days relaxing at home. During this period, Hong Xiu conceived the idea, Lian Xiang drew the picture, and Wan Ling made a beautiful headgear for him.
The headgear is very delicate, does not look bulky, and does not feel stuffy when worn.
They were very attentive and thoughtful. Wearing them did not affect eating or drinking at all. Li Qing was very satisfied.
After another two days of leisure, Li Qing went to court in the morning as usual.
At the court meeting, Li Qing's appearance attracted the attention of the officials. However, they also vaguely heard the news and knew that this middle-aged handsome man had lost his appearance.
They are all showmen, and no one would reveal anyone's scars in public. Li Qing's headgear debut did not cause a sensation.
In fact, he himself is very satisfied. He doesn't need to put on makeup anymore, which saves him a lot of trouble.
After the afternoon break, Li Qing was summoned to the Qianqing Palace. Seeing that Daoyan was there, he greeted him with a smile: "Old monk, you are still alive...are you in good health?"
Dao Yan's face was covered with black lines and he said angrily, "It won't be a problem to live for a few more years."
"Everyone, take a seat." Zhu Di pointed to the chair beside him, "I called you here today because I want to discuss with you the strategic deployment of the Northern Expedition."
After a pause, "I am ready to use all our troops against Tatar, Oara, and Ulyangha at the same time."
"Your Majesty, think twice." They both shook their heads at the same time.
Zhu Di was not surprised and said: "Tell me the reason."
"Marquis Yongqing, let's talk first." Dao Yan said reservedly.
Li Qing was not polite and said: "Your Majesty, I thought we were only going to attack the Tatars and Wala. The Uliangha forces are too weak, so there is no need to spend so much time dealing with them."
"That's not appropriate." Dao Yan shook his head and said, "In my opinion, we can just attack the Tatars;
Tatars are orthodox in the Northern Yuan Dynasty and have great appeal on the grasslands. It is necessary to fight them, but it is not necessary for Oara because their power is not as powerful as the Tatars;
Moreover, if the Tatars are defeated, they will definitely counterattack the Tatars, which can help us invisibly, not to mention that they are already willing to surrender and pay tribute, so it is not appropriate for us to attack them."
Dao Yan advised: "The best policy is to let the grassland reach a balance of power and keep it from civil strife."
"Wala should not be underestimated." Li Qing said seriously, "Your Majesty, once they become powerful, they will definitely counterattack the Ming Dynasty."
"So what?" Dao Yan said with a smile, "The strong Tatars fight against the Tatars, and the strong Walas fight again."
After a pause, "Yongqing Hou wants to accomplish all the achievements in one battle. It is simply unrealistic. Moreover, that will force the Tatars to unite. Wouldn't it help them unify?"
"I..." Li Qing was speechless and pondered for a moment, "Then let's attack the Tatars first, but I still think Wala should also be attacked."
Zhu Di thought for a while, "I think it would save a lot of trouble to let them go together."
"Your Majesty, think twice." Dao Yan said with a serious face, "Once Your Majesty does that, it will definitely speed up their unification, which is really the worst strategy."
Li Qing was silent.
Zhu Di also fell into deep thought. He still wanted to find a solution once and for all, but after careful consideration, he felt that Dao Yan's suggestion was not unreasonable.
"Then come one by one!"
Zhu Di took a breath and added, "I have built temporary granaries in several places outside the pass, which can make the army march faster, but... I feel it is not enough;
All along, the Ming Dynasty's Northern Expedition had no more than 150,000 troops, which was only hindered by supplies. Moreover, the march alone would take several months, which was a huge waste of time and gave the Yuan people time to prepare calmly and even retreat;
As the saying goes, soldiers are valuable and quick, you two are very clever, do you have any ideas?"
Dao Yan shook his head, "It's okay for me to give you some ideas, but I'm not good at fighting. Marquis Yongqing should have something to do."
Li Qing glanced sideways at Dao Yan, pondered for a moment, and said, "Your Majesty, the transportation of supplies has always been carried out by large trucks. At the last moment, it was handed over to the army. It is better to let the supply soldiers be responsible for the supplies from beginning to end.
;
In addition, changing the large cart into a small cart will prevent the march from being delayed due to supplies if it is difficult to walk, but... the cost will also be greater."
"Money is not a problem." Zhu Di said, "Sambo came back three months ago and brought a lot of benefits to the treasury. Now he has set off again and can bring back a large sum of money in two years. It's not enough.
A little money."
After a pause, "However, I still feel that it is slow. Is there any way you can do it faster?"
Li Qing smiled bitterly: "This is already the limit of manpower. If you want to go faster, you can only use war horses, but they are for war, in large quantities... Hey, it's really possible."
"What can we do?" Zhu Di asked.
"donkey!"
"The emperor can requisition... no, buy donkeys directly, buy tens of thousands of them, use donkeys to replace labor, the speed will definitely be much faster than people." Li Qing said, "In addition, this thing can also be used as supplies, donkeys
Meat roasted on fire is called beauty...Ahem, I'm going too far."
Li Qing said seriously, "Donkeys can be used and eaten, so they are perfect for hard work."
"Donkey..." Zhu Di patted his thigh, "Okay, that's it."
He smiled confidently and said excitedly: "Next year's Northern Expedition, what I want is crushing, crushing, or fucking crushing!"
Li Qing: "..."
Zhu Di said happily: "Next year we will defeat the Tatar tribe in one fell swoop."
"Your Majesty is wise!" The two of them held hands.
"Haha..." Zhu Di couldn't help but grinned, and then began to call people around again, "Okay, you both go to work. Old monk, you go to study with the eldest grandson of the Pope, and Li Qing, you go to assist the prince in governing politics.
"
"...I obey your decree."
——
In the evening, after finishing his half-day work, Li Qing returned home and rested on a recliner.
Today's Ming Dynasty has a strong national power, but the people's life is not very good, because Zhu Di spends too much money, and there is not enough money, so he can only increase taxes.
However, it was precisely because of the excessive spending that Ming Dynasty's economy circulated very quickly. Although the people's lives were hard, at least they would not go hungry as long as they were willing to work.
Because the Ming Dynasty was under construction everywhere, there was no need to worry about running out of work.
Li Qing sighed and whispered to himself: "National power and the people cannot be taken into account at the same time. Unless we can achieve an industrial leap, the interests of the country, the people, and the wealthy gentry can all be concentrated in one place, and all efforts can be directed in one place..."
Then, he smiled bitterly and said: "Not to mention that there is no such foundation now. Even if there is, it cannot be implemented due to the constraints of the feudal dynasty. Alas... Master is right."
"Sir, what are you mumbling about?" Wan Ling offered a cup of hot tea.
Li Qing took a sip of the tea and said with a smile: "It's nothing, I just remembered what Master said."
"Sir's master...is the Immortal Zhang." Wan Ling asked curiously, "What did the old man say?"
Li Qingdao: "In five hundred years, a king will surely rise. His rise will be rapid, and his demise will be sudden."
"This sentence..." Wan Ling whispered, "It seems to come from "Zuo Zhuan"."
"That's it!" Li Qing really didn't know where this sentence came from.
Over the years, he has been in the field of power. The more he understands it, the more he feels that this sentence contains the 'big road'.
"Is there anything bothering you, sir?" Wan Ling asked, "Are you worried about the country and the people again?"
Li Qing shook his head: "I'm just feeling a little emotional."
In fact, he had already thought of a way to completely control the civil servants and strengthen the imperial power.
——Completely enslave the people and further strengthen the feudal society.
Directly implement high-pressure and coercion, treating all officials as domestic slaves and not treating the people as human beings.
To put it bluntly, there is only one word, kill!
The rich gentry who were killed were completely surrendered, and the common people who were killed did not dare to be instigated by the rich gentry. In the end, the emperor must have said the right thing.
But if this is the case, it will have a very terrifying consequence, that is, the inheritance of civilization will be lost. When the people's thoughts are completely imprisoned, they will be no different from the walking dead.
Throughout all dynasties, only the Yuan and later the Qing dynasties did this.
Fortunately, the Yuan rule was too short and did not have much impact, while the Qing...
"Sir, you just think too much and are too idealistic." Wan Ling said softly, "It would be better to be more open-minded, just as Mr. just said;
In five hundred years, a king will surely rise, his rise will be rapid, and his demise will be sudden;
Regardless of whether there is a gentleman or not, someone will eventually take action, right?"
Wan Ling smiled and whispered something taboo: "Think about it, a king will appear hundreds of years later and create greater glory."
Li Qing was stunned for a moment and nodded happily.