Dao Yan did his homework every day, very religiously, and the wooden fish beat the ground rhythmically, which was not interrupted by Li Qing's arrival.
Li Qing did not interrupt, and sat down on a futon, waiting for Dao Yan to finish.
A quarter of an hour later, Muyu stopped, and Dao Yan asked with a smile, "Why do you have time to come here today?"
"The Emperor said that you are sick and asked me to treat you." Li Qing said, "Since you are not feeling well, it is better not to do your homework and take a good rest."
"It's normal to get sick when you get older." Dao Yan didn't take it seriously, "I'm used to doing homework. If I don't do it for a day, my thoughts will not be clear."
Li Qing smiled, asked about it, and wrote a prescription.
"Take it once in the morning and evening, after meals."
"Thank you, Marquis Yongqing." Dao Yan put away the prescription and said with a smile: "Marquis Yongqing has superb medical skills, but he doesn't have the means to restore his appearance?"
"You..." Li Qing said angrily, "I'm kind enough to treat you, but you expose my scars?"
Dao Yan smiled and pointedly said: "Hou Yongqing seems to be different from others."
"Everyone is different." Li Qing interrupted, "Take you as an example. You are almost eighty and your body is still strong. I guess you won't have a problem living for a few more years."
Dao Yan: "..."
After a pause, "The poor monk is good at yin and yang calculations. He can predict a person's fate from his face. Marquis Yongqing, would you like to let the poor monk do the math for you?"
You want me to take off my hood and eat my shit... Li Qingdao: "Since you can pinch and calculate, you might as well calculate the fortune of the Ming Dynasty."
"What is the fate of the country?"
Dao Yan was startled for a moment, then smiled and said, "Does this still count?"
"What's the meaning?"
"The previous dynasties have only lasted three hundred years, so how can the Ming Dynasty be exempt from the secular rule?" Dao Yan said, "If we talk about the national destiny of the Ming Dynasty, now is the highest point. After the Yongle Dynasty, the national power will definitely weaken and continue to weaken...
"
Li Qing was silent for a moment and argued, "If the next king is like the current emperor, the country's power can still remain at its peak."
"The national power continues to flourish, but the people cannot bear it!" Dao Yan sighed, "The current emperor is wise and powerful, and he is a rare saint king, but the Ming Dynasty cannot withstand the second such saint king, at least not in a short period of time;
And as time goes by, even if the successors have this intention, they will not be able to do what the emperor is like."
"Time is destiny." Dao Yan said helplessly, "The general trend cannot be violated!"
Li Qing sighed lightly and asked: "Master, where do you think the so-called general trend should be?"
"Heaven, earth, people!"
"It's too mysterious." Li Qing said, "How specific."
Dao Yan stood up and said, "Let's go to the side hall and talk."
"Well, okay."
The old monk still has two skills, and Li Qing also wanted to hear the difference between the old monk's general trend and his own understanding.
The two came to the side hall, and Li Qing specially locked the door and signaled to Dao Yan: Speak freely, and whatever comes out of your mouth will reach my ears.
In this way, Dao Yan no longer had any scruples and asked, "Which one do you want to hear first?"
"sky."
Although Li Qing is a Taoist priest, he does not believe in the Great Way of Heaven and Earth. As a good young man in the 21st century, he only believes in science.
"Heaven moves..."
"Don't talk about these useless things." Li Qing interrupted, "Let's talk about reasonable and well-founded things instead of talking about Buddhism and Taoism."
"Haha... Marquis Yongqing is also a real person." Dao Yan nodded, "Then let's start from the end of the Shang Dynasty and the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty."
Li Qing was speechless: "Why don't you follow the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors?"
"It's been too long, and the historical data has no reference value." Dao Yan shook his head, "Do you still want to listen?"
"Uh...you say."
Dao Yan said, "The poor monk is familiar with the classics and history and has read many historical materials about that time period. According to records, during that period, the world was frozen and everything was desolate...
Although history is exaggerated, there must have been a long period of extreme cold at that time. This should not be wrong. The people depended on the sky for food, and there was no harvest in the fields, so they had no choice but to rebel."
After a pause, "During the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, historical data once again recorded this extremely cold weather, and this weather did not last for one or two days, nor did it last for one or two years;
It will last for a long time, and it will not recover instantly, but will get better little by little. In the process, the population will be reduced to such an extent that it is simply terrifying;
Don’t think that the sharp decline in population is caused by war, and that natural disasters are the culprit.”
Dao Yan took a sip of tea and continued, "At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, and the beginning of the Song Dynasty, at this time point, severe cold weather appeared again, and the impact it caused... Alas!
This kind of extreme cold occurs again and again. Do you think this is a coincidence?"
Without waiting for Li Qing's reply, Dao Yan continued, "According to the poor monk's calculations, this kind of weather will come as promised in two hundred years at the latest, and it cannot be changed by manpower."
Li Qing was silent for a long time, then asked: "Where is the land?"
"Land annexation." Dao Yan spread his hands, "Land annexation has happened in all dynasties, but it cannot be changed or avoided by all dynasties;
Is it because those in power don’t want to?
No, it can't be!
The emperor is also a human being, and an individual cannot govern the world. The emperor manages the people and needs bureaucrats to act as agents.
If the bureaucrats have no power, they cannot control the people. The emperor must give the bureaucrats power and privileges.
But bureaucrats are also human beings, and everyone has selfish motives. In addition to seeking benefits for the emperor, they will also seek benefits for themselves and their families.
Therefore, bureaucrats will rely on their power to annex land, which is the root cause of why emperors and scholar-bureaucrats have ruled the world together throughout the ages."
Li Qing breathed a sigh of relief: "Tell me about people!"
Dao Yan was so thirsty that he drank all the tea in one breath, and then continued: "Let's talk about the people first!
If all the wealth of the Ming Dynasty is compared to a big cake, then it is divided layer by layer from top to bottom. When it reaches the hands of the people, there will be only a little bit of crumbs left. Now the Ming Dynasty is still young, and the government is relatively clear.
In addition, there are comparisons with the end of the previous dynasty, so they will not be confused.
However, with the greed of human nature, the restraint on officials decreases during the change of kings, and the exploitation from top to bottom will become more severe. When the interests of the people are continuously compressed to the limit from top to bottom, they will rebel!"
Li Qing nodded, he also understood this clearly, but Dao Yan said it more thoroughly.
"Good advice, Master."
"Haha..." Dao Yan smiled, "After talking about the people, let's talk about the officials!"
“Since ancient times, civil and military affairs have been incompatible. It can be said that since the establishment of the dynasty, the contradiction between civil servants and military generals began;
To put it bluntly, the civil-military struggle is a struggle for power and a struggle for interests.
The country was conquered by military generals, so at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, most civil servants were no match for military generals, but this situation would not last long.
Because to govern the world, we need civil servants!
At this time, civilian officials must compete with military generals for power. Of course, military generals will also fight back, but with the passing of the founding heroes, their influence will seriously decline;
During this period, if the military generals are willing to act, it will cause great turmoil. If not, then the military generals group must make compromises.
As an emperor, he will never let his generals risk their lives, so throughout the dynasties, civil and military battles have always ended with the victory of the civil servants."
Dao Yan took a long breath and said with a smile: "The above are the poor monk's interpretation of heaven, earth and man. Does Yongqing Hou think so?"
Li Qing smiled bitterly and nodded: "Thank you, Master."
Daoyan explained the so-called general trend very thoroughly, but it is precisely because of his thoroughness that it makes people even more desperate.
At this point, Li Qing finally fully understood his master's words: the trend is irreversible and one must follow the trend.
…
The two chatted for a long time. During this period, Li Qing asked many questions. Dao Yan was a wise man and could basically answer them.
During this process, Dao Yan was also amazed by Li Qing, because many of Li Qing's theories, although too idealistic and impossible to implement, were extremely amazing.
It wasn't until dusk fell that Li Qing ended the topic.
Dao Yan sighed: "If one day the dynasty falls and a new dynasty is established and the order is re-established, these theories of Marquis Yongqing may not be impossible to implement."
Li Qing was startled for a moment, nodded slightly, and then smiled and said: "Listening to your words is better than ten years of reading. Li Qing has benefited a lot."
"You're welcome, Marquis Yongqing." Dao Yan also smiled and said, "Actually, there is no need to be pessimistic. The world has always been like this, changing from good to bad, and from bad to good."
"Amitabha." Daoyan gave the Buddha's name and concluded with a very philosophical statement: "It will be good and it will be bad; it will be bad and it will be good;
Seasons change, dynasties change, over and over again, endlessly.”
…
The next day.
Li Qing went to see Sanbao.
Sanbao has been wandering at sea for these years, and every time he comes back, he is immediately busy going to sea for the second time. This time, Zhu Di gave him half a year's leave.
Zhu Di said he felt sorry for Sanbao, but in fact he wanted to expand the scale and let Sanbao supervise the construction of more ships.
Years of exposure to wind and sun have made Sanbao look much older. He just turned 40, and he looked as if he was 50.
Sanbao welcomed him into the living room and asked his servants to prepare wine and food, and the two of them ate, drank and reminisced.
Li Qing raised his glass and said with a smile: "Three treasures, your achievements will surely go down in history."
"They are all the emperor's great talents and great strategies." Sanbao raised his glass and touched it with him, and said reservedly, "If it were someone else, he wouldn't be any worse than me."
"Hey? Work is work, why belittle oneself." Li Qing drank the wine in the glass and said with a smile, "How is life at sea?"
"The sea is magnificent and vast, I never tire of it!" Sanbao put down his wine glass, "Sir, if you have a chance, Sanbao would really like to take you to see it."
Li Qing smiled bitterly: "I'm afraid that if we don't have this opportunity, the emperor would like to make me work every day, so he won't let me go."
He didn't want to go to sea, he couldn't think of it. The main reason was that it would take more than two years to go to sea, which was too time-consuming.
He has a lot of time, but the three women are different.
"Let's talk about things at sea." Li Qing said with a smile.
"That's a lot." Speaking of this, Sanbao became more energetic, "Trading is too boring. Let's talk about fighting pirates, sir."
Li Qing nodded, "Are there many pirates on the sea?"
"How can I stay calm after traveling to so many countries?" Sanbao laughed, "In addition to fighting pirates, I also represent the Ming Dynasty, helping small countries mediate disputes, promote national prestige, and at the same time promote peace among countries, and it's not just about trade.
"
…
Sanbao talked tirelessly about fighting pirates and interesting things that happened in his exchanges with other countries.
He spoke with great interest, and Li Qing listened with great interest.
The two of them had a drinking session that lasted for two hours before it ended.
Sanbao said regretfully: "I really want to take Mr. and Prince to the sea to share what Sanbao has seen and heard, so that you can also see the vastness of the ocean and the spectacular sights that cannot be expressed in words."
"There will always be opportunities in the future." Li Qing smiled.
——
The court is calm, the boss is doing the work, the second boss is picking on the boss, and Zhu Di is taking charge of the overall situation.
The fight for heirs still continued, but they were all played within the rules set by Zhu Di. The construction of the capital and the construction of the canal were also carried out in an orderly manner.
Li Qing saw that there was no difference between him and him, so he asked Zhu Di for a leave.
In fact, Zhu Di refused at first, but later Li Qingxiao used reason and moved her emotionally, and Zhu Di agreed.
He took leave this time not to take his three daughters on a sightseeing tour, but to go to the previous Taoist temple to see if the master was there.
It has been ten years since Zhu Di came to Beijing. In these ten years, Master Zhang Sloppy has not shown his face even once.