Sunlight flows in through the cracks in the door. The furnishings in the house seem to be plated with gold, and dust floats in the beam.
Li Qing's eyelids moved slightly, then he slowly opened them, turned over, and stared at the beam of light for a long time before sitting up.
"Hmm~"
Stretching his limbs, Li Qing got out of bed and put on a dark robe. He opened the door and saw green branches and buds everywhere. The fresh air was filled with the smell of spring. The magpies on the branches were frightened and fluttered their wings away.
.
"Look up and be happy, today is a good day." Li Qing smiled, holding the wooden basin to fetch water and wash up.
Bathed in the warm sunshine, his whole body felt at ease. He had not experienced this leisurely and unstructured feeling for a long time, and he felt comfortable all over.
…
Duke Cao's Mansion.
In the pavilion, Li Qing and Li Jinglong sat opposite each other. On the table were exquisite side dishes and soft wine.
"Will you stay here for a long time this time?" Li Jinglong asked.
"Ah," Li Qing put down his wine glass, "It will take at least two or three months, maybe even longer."
Li Jinglong brought a pot and filled it for him, "You have a prince, so don't bother. Sometimes doing too much is not a good thing. People will feel that they are being robbed of the limelight, and they may not appreciate it."
"It makes sense." Li Qing listened to the advice, "I didn't want to bother with it at first. The main thing is to control the situation. The prince and the factory guard will handle all the big and small matters."
The two of them were holding cups one cup at a time, bragging and talking about the mountains, and laughing loudly.
Li Jinglong was getting older and his drinking capacity was no longer what it used to be. After drinking two bottles of wine, he was sixty percent drunk. Seeing this, Li Qing stopped drinking and started chatting instead.
Drinking with friends is not just about drinking. Most of the time, they are about enjoying open-hearted conversations while being drunk.
"Brother, I'm really lonely here alone." Li Jinglong is a sentimental person, even more so after drinking some wine. "There are only so many hours in a person's life, and every day is less and less. In these last days,
Brother, I want someone to talk to."
His face was red and his eyes were red.
"Sigh... Brother, my life has been in vain. I haven't accomplished anything, and my reputation is not good. The only reward I have is you as my close friend."
"Don't say that," Li Qing comforted, "I don't have a good reputation either. In fact, we are almost the same."
Li Jinglong smiled bitterly: "It's different. I can't compare with you and Lan Yu. In the battle of Yuerhai, I was just a soy sauce. In the battle of Jingnan... I was nailed to the pillar of shame."
"In the future...I will clear your name." Li Qing promised.
Li Jinglong sneered and shook his head. How could he believe it?
"Brother Li, please stay." Li Jinglong advised, "My health is getting worse day by day. I don't know how long I have to live. You are more than ten years older than me. We are not young anymore. Let's live a good life."
Let’s live a comfortable life.”
"Don't worry, it won't be long." Li Qing said happily, "After I finish what I have to do, I will come back and enjoy life."
"Forget it, it's up to you." Li Jinglong knew Li Qing's character, so he stopped trying to persuade him and started talking about other topics.
~
In the afternoon, Li Qing went to the palace.
Although the emperor does not live in the imperial palace in Jinling, it is taken care of every day, and it is no different from before.
Zhu Zhanji is dressed in princely clothes. He has a handsome face, but his face is darker, and he also has a big stubble on his face. It is not the kind with a three-foot long beard, but the kind of beard that Li Kui has, but he has not grown it yet, otherwise it will be fine.
'Li Kui' second.
However, in terms of appearance alone, Zhu Zhanji can be called handsome, although not as handsome as Er Li.
In this day and age, a thick beard is a plus.
"Where did you drink?" Zhu Zhanji sniffed his nose, "It's office time now, can you be more serious?"
"Aren't you the same?" Li Qing said angrily, "What did you say you did?"
"I..." Zhu Zhanji choked and said, "Shouldn't we start with the vassal king first? The vassal king hasn't come yet."
Li Qing asked again: "Didn't your father ask you to purge the officials?"
"It's not urgent." Zhu Zhanji said, "Let's handle the affairs of the feudal king first. With the lessons learned from past mistakes, officials will naturally become more honest and their resistance to punishing corruption will be greatly reduced;
Even the feudal lord has not been spared, so naturally they have nothing to complain about. The opening of the sea is imminent, so it is not a good idea to use weapons and weapons. Now is the time to employ people, so just give them a wake-up call and let them know to restrain themselves. "
Zhu Zhanji smiled and said: "To purge officials, it does not necessarily require severe punishment and wielding a sword, as long as the goal is achieved."
After a pause, he said with murderous intent: "Of course, if they don't repent, I don't mind killing them!"
Li Qing nodded, agreeing with Zhu Zhanji's method.
What a good kid, he has the ruthlessness of the fourth child and the gentleness of the chubby kid. He is good in every aspect, but a little dark.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty."
"Hey, Uncle Qing, you know how to praise people!" Zhu Zhanji exaggerated, saying: If you can speak, just say a few more words.
It's a blessing to praise you... Li Qing didn't pay attention to him again.
After sitting for a while, Li Qing asked: "Do you want me to live in the palace and protect you?"
"Do you think this is necessary?" Zhu Zhanji said proudly, "I'm not bragging, just my skills..."
"Farewell."
It’s not that you just listen to me, okay...Zhu Zhanji’s face was full of black lines.
In fact, it is indeed unnecessary. The total number of factory guards who came this time alone totaled nearly 3,000. It is not easy to enter the palace. Even if someone does come to assassinate you, there will definitely be no return.
Unless the army rushes into the palace, this situation is impossible to happen.
Moreover, Zhu Zhanji has not taken action against officials, at least not yet, so naturally no one will be stupid enough to do anything against him.
Li Qing was quite relieved and continued to live in his Yongqing Marquis Mansion.
I spent the whole day drinking wine and chatting with Lao Litou, and my life was relaxing and comfortable.
Anyway, the person taking the lead in the work is Zhu Zhanji, and Li Qing is just a foil, so naturally he won't rush to work. The prince is not in a hurry, he is in a hurry.
Zhu Zhanji was not like Li Qing. Although he made no big moves, he kept making small moves and constantly sent factory guards to inquire about major and minor matters related to the opening of the sea.
He has not even left the palace, but his spies are all over Jinling. Even Suzhou and Hangzhou have his spies. He is sitting in the palace, and news comes from all directions.
Seeing how capable he was, Li Qing simply stopped working and enjoyed it every day.
The comfortable time passed very quickly. In the blink of an eye, more than half a month passed. Prince Ning arrived first from the waterway.
Zhu Zhanji also had a certain understanding of the Seventeenth Master who had been promised by the emperor to "share the world".
I think back then, the Seventeenth Master was suddenly in a mess, holding the Duoyan Three Guards, and once overshadowed the Emperor's grandpa.
Although Zhu Zhanji was born late, he was raised as an heir since he was a child. He learned all the history of this dynasty.
King Yan is good at fighting, King Ning is good at planning!
It can be said to be widely circulated, how could he not know about it.
Nave.
When Prince Ning looked at the heroic Zhu Zhanji, he seemed to see his fourth brother. The grandfather and grandson were so similar, not only in appearance, but also in spirit.
When thinking of Fourth Brother, one has to think of ‘sharing the world’.
When he thought of 'sharing the world', Zhu Quan couldn't control his anger.
At the beginning, he gave all the three guards of Duoyan to the fourth son. After the fourth son won the world, it was fine not to share them with him, and he also relinquished his military power.
Even if he took back the military power, he was also enfeoffed to the west of Jiangnan.
They all went to grandma's house.
"Prince Ning."
A clear voice interrupted Zhu Quan's thoughts and brought him back to his senses from the pain.
People under the eaves had to lower their heads... Zhu Quan glanced at Li Qing, lifted his robe and said, "I am here to see His Highness the Crown Prince."
"Prince Ning, there is no need to be polite." Zhu Zhanji supported him in advance and said affectionately: "We are all our own people. Come and serve tea."
"Your Majesty, you're welcome." Zhu Quan cupped his hands and consoled himself: Forget it, they will be their emperor, I will make my fortune, and no one will offend.
The young eunuch served the tea and then left, leaving only three people drinking tea in the main hall.
"Your Royal Highness, do you know when to worship your ancestors?" Zhu Quan asked.
"There's no rush. Lord Ning has been working hard all the way. Let's rest for a few days before talking." Zhu Zhanji said with a smile.
Zhu Quan is of course anxious. He has a huge stall now, and he has to make decisions on many things. If he stays here for one more day, he doesn't know how much money he will lose.
"Ancestor worship is a top priority, so it's better to do it as soon as possible." Zhu Quan looked sad, "I miss Emperor Taizu."
Li Qing: "..."
Zhu Zhanji smiled and said: "That's right. It's not just us who are worshiping our ancestors this time. I also called King Xiang, King Jing, King Huai, and King Liang. They will probably arrive in a few days. By then,
Everyone together."
Zhu Quan's heart suddenly thought, and he immediately felt that he was overthinking. These feudal kings were all Zhu Zhanji's younger brothers, so there was nothing wrong with letting them come to worship their ancestors.
To take a step back, what would happen even if we really noticed it?
The national policy of opening up the sea was issued by the imperial court, and maritime trade was not illegal. He, the dignified Prince Ning, was just evading taxes. How could Zhu Zhanji, a junior, still detain himself?
Thinking of this, Zhu Quan calmed down and said with a smile: "In that case, I will take my leave first. When they arrive, I would like to ask His Highness the Crown Prince to inform you."
"Definitely." Zhu Zhanji stood up with a smile, "I'll see Prince Ning off."
"Your Highness, you are welcome."
…
Duke Cao's Mansion.
Li Jinglong was basking in the sun when he suddenly heard a report from his servants: "Prince Ning is here to visit."
With a guilty conscience, he was at a loss as to what to do, "Tell him that I'm sick..."
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard Prince Ning's loud voice asking, "What's wrong with my nephew?"
"..." Li Jinglong was older than Zhu Quan, but not as senior as him. He had no way to defend himself, so he had to hold his nose and admit it.
"It's not a serious illness, it's just a cold infection." Li Jinglong yelled, "Come here, serve tea, serve good tea."
Zhu Quan sat down with a smile and whispered: "The merchant ship to Japan has returned. Guess how much you made this time?"
How could Li Jinglong have the time to guess? He was now filled with a sense of guilt.
"How much is it?" he asked sarcastically.
"One hundred thousand taels." Zhu Quan added, "A net profit of one hundred thousand taels."
"Oh? So much?" Li Jinglong couldn't bear to feel guilty anymore, "Isn't it too easy to make money?"
"Hehe... That's right, the most indispensable thing in Japan is money." Zhu Quan said with a smile, "Among the nobles in Nanjing, you have the highest title and the highest qualifications. You can help me pull the strings and let's expand the business.
"
Li Jinglong said in surprise: "Can't you eat it yourself?"
"You can eat it, but..." Zhu Quan lowered his voice and said, "It's not good to eat alone. It's impossible to completely hide such a big business. If you don't give people some soup, sooner or later there will be jealous people.
Go up there, we can't lose a big thing for a small thing, right?"