Liu Mingzhi held up his telescope and looked at the scenery in the palace for a long time before Liu Song's voice sounded from behind him.
“Master, Master Song and Master Jiang He are here.”
"please!"
"yes!"
“I am a minister of Song Qing Dynasty.”
“Chen’an Jianghe.”
“See Your Majesty.”
Liu Mingzhi put down his telescope, waved his hand and walked towards the stone bench beside him.
"There are no outsiders here, so there is no need to be so polite. Just call the third brother and the eldest brother. Please sit down."
“Yes, since I am a brother, I will not be polite to you, brother Jiang He.”
Liu Mingzhi sat down, poured three cups of tea from the pot, signaled Song Qing'an and the two of them to help themselves, picked up the tea cup, took a sip and looked at Liu Song.
“Liu Song, go and ask Sister Ya to prepare some peach blossom stuffing, and then ask the imperial kitchen to prepare some side dishes.”
“Okay, I’ll take my leave, little one.”
After Liu Song left, Liu Mingzhi looked around and then looked at An Gouer.
“Jiang He, how are you doing lately? Are the Westerners in the capital still honest? Are they doing anything sneaky?”
An Gou took out a stack of rice paper from his sleeve and placed it on the stone table, with a gloomy sneer at the corner of his mouth.
“During my return voyage, those so-called envoys who returned with the fleet sneaked into the cabin of my commander-in-chief and stole it more than once. How can they be honest now that they have arrived at Dalong Capital?
According to reports from the eyes and ears sent out by my younger brother to monitor these Westerners, 80% of them now not only purchased goods from the market, but also secretly drew maps of the capital.
For more than a year, they secretly drew maps not only of the capital city, but also of the capital and more remote prefectures.
Moreover, he entertained the officials of the court in various guises privately, gossiped about artillery, compasses and nautical charts, and even inquired, intentionally or unintentionally, how many soldiers and horses our court had.
Only 20% of the envoys and Westerners truly have awe of our dragon and wholeheartedly want to use our smooth sailing ship to achieve their goals of glory and wealth.
The remaining 80% of Westerners are all ambitious and ambitious people who harbor evil intentions.
I have summarized the general situation with Deputy General Tan. Brother, please take a look."
Liu Mingzhi picked up a stack of rice paper that An Gouer had placed on the stone table and started to read it. After a moment, Liu Mingzhi raised his brows and sneered.
“Hey! It seems that these Westerners have put a lot of thought into it. The map of the Gyeonggi Province is actually much more refined than what we drew ourselves.
The officials who were invited to the banquet made no mistakes in principle, right?"
"I haven't found any clues yet, but I guess that these Westerners who are persistent in their crimes will most likely take advantage of the Ministry of Household Affairs' opportunity to dump goods and do something small.
Honestly speaking, Western ships are not too bad, and there are even dozens of Western ships that are more outstanding in naval warfare than our big treasure ships.
If we really let it go and let them do whatever they want, I may really suffer a hidden loss in the West.
What a pity, these Westerners are so careless.
If the eldest brother hadn't told them earlier, the younger brother would have sent them back to their hometown."
Liu Mingzhi threw the rice paper in his hand on the stone table lazily and looked at Song Qing with a smile.
“Brother, you heard it, these Westerners already covet my dragon!
When you go back later, give your uncle a message, asking him to restrain the officials of the Ministry of War and the officials under his supervision, so as not to reveal the art of forging cannons.
I will also send Xiao Chengzi to inform the Ministry of Industry.
The drawings and technology in this area must not be leaked under any circumstances.
Otherwise, once the Westerners take over, we will probably have endless troubles!”
Song Qing nodded solemnly: "Okay, I will tell you.
However, continuing to keep these Westerners is tantamount to raising a tiger's nest, and I still agree with Brother Jiang He's intention.
It’s better to strike first and kill these Westerners as soon as possible.”
Liu Mingzhi looked at Song Qing's cold eyes as he wiped his neck, and gently shook his head: "The time has not come yet, so it is not appropriate to take action for the time being.
The ocean is vast and the waves are rough.
Moreover, the situation is changing, good and bad fortunes are unpredictable, and there are countless hidden murderous intentions.
We have just ended more than ten years of war. If we take the initiative now, it will not only waste people and money, but also the soldiers may be defeated due to acclimatization.
In this case, it is better to let these Westerners with evil intentions come to our door and let us wait for work.
Since they already have covetous intentions, sooner or later they will come to offend my divine power.
If you don’t dare to come, wait until we build a more powerful sea-going ship before we take the initiative.
The world has just calmed down for the time being. If we use weapons again, it will not be a good thing for the country or the people.
Our business now is to develop people's livelihood and public administration, so that people can live a good life and make the country prosperous.
However, I think that since these Westerners have begun to inquire about our troop deployment, it means that they are on the verge of coming east to invade my power.
At this time, we should stay put and wait for them to come to visit us.
The Westerners who were able to cross the ocean must be the elite soldiers and horses of the major Western countries.
As long as the elite of these invading enemies are completely wiped out, and we take the initiative to attack at that time, the local soldiers and horses of the Western countries will not be too difficult to solve in the future for the Jianghe and naval officers.
Looking forward to the West, and even the future of the future, we must make progress in cycles. Being too eager for quick success and quick gains may make us fail.
Take your time and never rush it.”
Song Qing sipped the tea and thought for a long time, then nodded calmly.
“You’re right, it’s true that I didn’t think well enough.
The world has just been unified and the people feel at ease. If we launch a war at this time, it is unclear whether we can accomplish great things for a long time, but it will definitely shake the foundation of our country, Dalong.
But have these Westerners found out the true strength of our military? What if we let them know our true national strength? What if they become afraid and cannot come?"
Liu Mingzhi raised a disdainful smile at the corner of his mouth: "All the millions of elites of my dragon are at the border.
These Westerners have not yet reached out to Beijiang, Beifu and Xinfu.
At most they have figured out the situation of the 100,000 imperial troops in the capital and the state troops in various parts of the capital.
Besides, there’s no harm in figuring out the real military strength.
We have already made two preparations. They don’t dare to come. When the time comes, we can take the initiative to send troops!”
“Well, since you have already made a complete plan in your mind, I feel relieved.
I am afraid that you will be unhappy, brother, I am really afraid that after you have unified the world, you will lose your ambition and only know how to indulge in beauty and forget about the great cause of the world."
“Don’t worry, I’m not that confused, Jiang He!”
“Huh? Brother, tell me.”
“This time we set sail, we must find ways to win over those Western countries you mentioned that are really close to my dragon.
After all, when looking to the West in the future, if any unpredictable danger occurs, these Westerners who are truly close to and friendly to me, Dalong, will give us unexpected help."
“I understand, brother. Don’t worry, brother. I will definitely treat those Western countries that are truly friendly to my dragon like my wife Luya.”
“As long as you know what’s going on in your mind, tigers must also prevent unexpected events such as the tiger falling down and being bullied by the dog.
The main reason I asked you to come here is to tell you these things. There is nothing else to say.
Above the vast ocean, far away from home and country, you just have to act according to the circumstances."
“I understand, little brother!”
“Boss, you seem to have something else to say?”
Song Qing nodded hesitantly, and was silent for a moment as he hesitated to speak.
“Brother, I can’t figure out why you want King Zhao Li Tao to enter the Palace of Ten Kings.
This child's state of mind is far beyond that of his peers. Once he enters the palace, except for niece Yue'er, none of the other nephews and nieces will be his match!
Brother Wei thinks it would be better for you to think about this matter more carefully."
Liu Mingzhi put down the tea cup with a deep look, stood up and walked towards the fence on the side, stopping at the spot where Li Zheng stood on the eve of his grand trip, staring in the direction of the imperial study room in the harem with a deep look.
"The Spy Shadow disappeared after I rebelled and became emperor. This force has a shadow master, four kings, and twelve shadow guardians who are all innate masters, and there are endless masters under them. Just like this, there was no news overnight and no trace was left.
Already.
This young master is like a ray of light on his back and a lump on his throat.
It is like a thorn in my heart, like a sharp sword hanging above my head.
Li Tao, a vassal king with a good reputation in the previous dynasty, may lure out the spy who suddenly disappeared after taking power.
At the same time, I can also fish out those officials in the court who have to submit to me because of their power, but in private they still hold the loyalty to the previous dynasty."
Song Qing was stunned for a moment, then sat up suddenly and looked at Liu Mingzhi in surprise.
“Are you going to make a fool of yourself?”
“That’s probably the case, I hope I’m being too unfounded!
If Spy Shadow truly stays away from disputes and no longer makes trouble, I am not a murderous person, so naturally I don’t want to fight again.
But if they lie dormant and try to take advantage of the opportunity to restore the previous dynasty, I can only find a way to eradicate it.
I'm not afraid, but I have to think about what will happen after my death for my children."