Chapter 176: Preparing for the future

Leaving the Eastern Palace, Li Weizheng did not go home directly, but turned to Fang Xiaoru's mansion. He knew that Zhu Yunwen agreed alone was not enough. His ears were relatively soft. Especially after hearing what his masters said, if he wanted to make this happen, his master must pass this level. He heard that Fang Xiaoru was in good health these two days and had been recuperating at home. Li Weizheng brought two kilograms of fruit and a pack of snacks to visit.

Hearing that Li Weizheng was visiting, Fang Xiaoru did not put on any airs, but politely invited Li Weizheng into the small living room. Although he never liked Li Weizheng, he had a good impression of him in the past two months. The last time he paid homage to the prince, it was obvious that he was grateful to the prince. In the subsequent battle for the Eastern Palace, Li Weizheng did not instigate Zhu Yunwen to use those hypocritical and disgusting methods, but advised him to study hard and be a person with his duties. Not only Fang Xiaoru deeply agreed with this, but Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai.

He also praised it endlessly. In their eyes, this matter was even more outstanding than Li Weizheng's use of the Jinyiwei to kill the King of Qi. In the end, Zhu Yunwen finally won a major turn in the position of the Eastern Palace. Li Weizheng also made an indelible contribution. However, when all the officials were scrambling to express their loyalty to Zhu Yunwen, Li Weizheng was silent again and quietly retreated, which also made Fang Xiaoru's favorable impression of him. He obviously felt that Li Weizheng's former youth was gone, and he had more stability and maturity. Therefore, although Fang Xiaoru was ill, he still received Li Weizheng very politely.

Li Wei did change a little after being demoted. At least he no longer contempts Fang Xiaoru and others as before, but regards them as seniors. He also knew that Fang Xiaoru and others could determine their destiny to some extent. In order to win the support of Confucian ministers such as Fang Xiaoru, Huang Zicheng, and Qi Tai, Li Wei was working hard because Zhu Yunwen acted according to their preferences in his interactions. For example, today when he visited Fang Xiaoru, he did not take any valuable things, nor did he deliberately use any famous calligraphy and paintings to give gifts, but ordinary fruits and snacks. He neither had the sense of respect for human feelings nor the vulgarity of the people. He greeted him in plain manner, which felt as if the friendship between gentlemen was as light as water, which made Fang Xiaoru not feel oppressed to receive gifts. Therefore, when he sat down, he showed a rare smile.

"I haven't seen Lord Li for several days. What's Lord Li busy with?" Fang Xiaoru spoke very slowly, but he bit every word and said clearly, giving people a sense of calmness.

Li Weizheng quickly bowed and smiled, "I have nothing to do. I'm at home with my wife and daughter, or read books, just wait for the little prince to enter the East Palace."

"I heard that Mr. Li has a pair of twin daughters, which is really enviable."

"They are my sweethearts. I just learned to run recently and played with them at home. It's really fun."

Fang Xiaoru smiled slightly and said, "Of course it is unreasonable for Lord Li to feel sorry for his daughter. However, a real man should still put his career first. I wonder what Lord Li plans for his future?"

Seeing that he was on the road, Li Wei sighed and said according to his words: "I am a person who has no knowledge, is not knowledgeable, and cannot govern any prefectures and counties. If possible, I still think of going to the local area to lead troops and provide protection for the young prince to eventually ascend to the throne in the future."

Fang Xiaoru heard what Li Weizheng was hiding. Zhu Yunwen's future ascension will not go smoothly, which is also a matter of great concern to them. Zhu Yunwen is a generation of polite and kind monarchs they carefully cultivated. If he can ascend the throne, he will definitely become the "Confucian Emperor" who has been unique throughout the ages. In him, Fang Xiaoru and others can display their talents as much as possible, govern the country with benevolence, righteousness, filial piety, and politeness, and wash away the cruelty of the early Ming Dynasty. It can be said that whether Zhu Yunwen and others ascend the throne successfully is related to their

Fang Xiaoru of his lifelong political dream, of course, also knew that Zhu Yunwen's surrounding environment was dangerous. His dozens of emperor uncles were all eyeing him, and most of them held heavy troops, forming a situation where the foreign vassals were strong and the crown prince was kind. Zhu Yunwen would enter the Eastern Palace like his father, and he would be a crown prince without soldiers. Although Li Weizheng was a little ruthless, he was also his own person after all. If he could lead troops outside and support the little prince, those vassal kings would be somewhat afraid of doing things.

Thinking of this, Fang Xiaoru asked, "I wonder what Mr. Li has specific ideas?"

"I want to go to Liaodong to defend Goryeo."

Li Weizheng said his plan without any concealment. He repeated what he said to Zhu Yunwen, and finally said: "Emperor knows that the vassal kings have the intention to seize the throne, such as the King of Qin, King of Jin, King of Qi, and others, he only gave small warnings to their extraordinary actions, but did not move their muscles and bones, and still let them lead their troops. This is tantamount to promoting their ambitions. The emperor even said explicitly: There are no righteous ministers in the court, and there are evil internally. The prince is on standby. The emperor secretly ordered the kings to command troops to fight and pacify them. Wouldn't this make the prince's recruitment of troops legal and provide a grand excuse for mutiny in the future? If the emperor makes a slight mistake and the throne is not smooth, how can these vassal kings miss their chances? Therefore, we must prepare for the future and help the young prince ascend the throne. As an internal help, I am a foreign aid, and the internal and external aid are the safe way. I don't know that sir can agree with my point of view."

Fang Xiaoru fully agreed with Li Weizheng's view. He also considered foreign aid, but he considered that he was descendants of Chang Sheng and Li Jinglong, but did not take Li Weizheng seriously. Today, Li Weizheng took the initiative to propose to be foreign aid. Fang Xiaoru agreed with him, but he was a little hesitant. After thinking about it, he asked, "I heard that King Yan and King Ning valued Lord Li very much. If they rebelled in the future, which side would Lord Li stand?"

This is Fang Xiaoru's cuteness. He is ignorant and does not understand the worldly ways. He doesn't know that some words can only be thought of but cannot be said, but he just says whatever he thinks in his heart, so that Li Weizheng can see his bottom line all at once.

Li Weizheng shook his head and said sincerely: "King Yan, King Ning values ​​me, but that is just a personal relationship and has nothing to do with justice. In the early Han Dynasty, he governed the country by inaction, and gave the people a rest and rest. With the rule of Wen and Jing, and with Xiao Rules, Cao followed, and finally became the prosperity of Han and Wu. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, he followed the Sui system, equalized the land, lighted the labor taxes, valued famous scholars, and worked hard to govern for a hundred years, and finally achieved the prosperous era of Kaiyuan. However, in the current situation of Yuan Dynasty losing control and rushing around the world, the emperor expelled the Tartars with his great talent and strategy, and the world returned to his heart, creating a foundation for the Ming Dynasty. The emperor also lighted the labor taxes and paid less taxes and rested with the people.

But the administration has been deposed for a long time, and the emperor has used strong medicine to govern officials. But the emperor also knew in his heart that lenient and gentleness was the way to go, so he did not give any effort to teach the prince with great scholars and teach his benevolent monarchs. Unfortunately, the prince died prematurely, but the emperor finally chose the same kind-hearted and kind emperor Changsun. He also hoped that the second generation of wise rulers would govern the country with benevolence and righteousness and realize his dream of benevolence in his heart. The emperor took the world as his thoughts and entrusted the country with the country to the eldest grandson. This is the great righteousness of the country. Although I, Li Weizheng, came from a humble background, he also knew that the people wanted to return, and dared to abolish him with selfish intentions. Mr. really looked at me."

Li Weizheng said something and felt ashamed. He quickly stood up and bowed to apologize and said, "Your words are as clear as thunder, Xiaoru's heart is narrow. I'm here to apologize to the Lord."

Li Weizheng hurriedly replied, "We should give up our past grudges and serve our benevolent king of Ming Dynasty."

Fang Xiaoru raised his head and looked at Li Weizheng's clear and firm gaze. He was excited and said with great excitement: "I am willing to support the public's strategy and do my best!"

In the afternoon of the same day, Fang Xiaoru found Zhu Yunwen's other two masters Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai, and informed them of Li Weizheng's plan to respond to the outside world. Although Huang and Qi were not as excited as Fang Xiaoru, they also recognized that Li Weizheng's strategy was correct. Zhu Yunwen did need foreign aid, but the two had another selfish intention. They did not want Li Weizheng to stay by Zhu Yunwen's side, for fear that his former reputation as the Jinyiwei would tarnish Zhu Yunwen's name of benevolence and righteousness, and even more afraid that he would promise his sister to Zhu Yunwen to control their students and seize their positions in the future. Therefore, Li Wei was about to go to the distant Liaodong to deal with the Goryeo people, which was the best. However, the three of them thought about it and decided to finalize the matter. Even if the emperor had no such intention, they would take the initiative to ask Li Weizheng to be transferred to other places to lead troops.

Li Weizheng came out of Fang Xiaoru's mansion and went home directly. He did not go to find Zhu Zhi. It was not yet time to do it. Too much ink would arouse Zhu Yuanzhang's suspicion.

Opportunities are always left to those who are prepared. After nearly half a year of planning by Li Weizheng, the goddess of fate finally smiled sweetly at him at the trough of his life. The next morning, several palace guards found Li Weizheng in the Central Army Mansion, and the emperor ordered him to enter the palace immediately.

Zhu Yuanzhang accidentally saw a letter from the Central Army Office while reviewing the memorial. The title of the memorial was "Beware of changes in Liaodong". This title hit Zhu Yuanzhang's heart. He was worried about this matter these days. He received a news report from the Liaodong Dusi to report that there was a fight within the Jurchens. This incident made Zhu Yuanzhang feel a sense of ominousness. He began to doubt the sincerity of Goryeo's withdrawal. After Goryeo withdrew its troops, it would take half a year to investigate the Jurchens, but the result of the investigation turned into a fight.

After repeated consideration, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to establish a vassal state in Liaodong. This was the plan he had considered for nearly ten years. It was originally used to defend Mongolia. However, as the Mongolian power gradually declined, he gave up the plan. However, as Goryeo continued to expand northward, Zhu Yuanzhang could no longer bear it and finally decided to establish a vassal state in Liaodong to suppress Goryeo's northern expansion. He chose his fifteenth son Wei Wang Zhi among many sons. He was twenty years old this year and was skilled in archery and horses, just to deal with the Goryeo people. Originally, Zhu Yuanzhang was preparing to change his title to Zhu Zhi in the second half of the year, but the ominous feeling of Liaodong made him decide to establish a vassal state in Liaodong immediately. As Li Weizheng guessed, he called Zhu Zhi, who had just returned to the fief after attending the funeral of the prince, and he called back with an edict.

However, the memorial from the Central Army Office also stunned Zhu Yuanzhang. He suddenly realized something and quickly turned to the end. This memorial with thousands of words was indeed written by Li Weizheng.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, and he turned to the front again and read it with concentration. Li Wei wrote in the memorial: "I know that Goryeo is a person who is betrayal of faith and righteousness. His king has long been a plan for a long time. In his early years, he respected the Celestial Empire and secretly confronted the Northern Yuan Dynasty. All his thoughts and plans are for our Celestial Empire. Now he is forced by the situation on the Tanluo Island and has to retreat south. Once Danluo Island returns to him, Goryeo will break his promise and return to the north. Your Majesty's benevolence and righteousness are finally taken advantage of by the silence. I think that the Ming Dynasty has been benevolence and righteousness, and Goryeo Li Chenggui and others cannot be convinced by force. If Your Majesty is determined to conquer Goryeo in the south, I am willing to offer three strategies for Your Majesty..."

Zhu Yuanzhang finished reading Li Weizheng's memorial in one breath, and he sighed softly. He knew that he was indeed a little hasty in handling the matter on Danluo Island. He believed in Goryeo's sincerity and returned the island first, then asked him to withdraw his troops, and finally agreed to delay the handover for half a year. Now it seems that Li Wei's rightful statement is likely to be hit by him.

Zhu Yuanzhang had a great advantage that he could correct his mistakes. Although he also wanted to save face and would make a fuss about the method and time of correcting his mistakes, he would not make mistakes and be stubborn to the end.

For example, he deposed Li Weizheng, and afterwards he soon learned the truth about the bombardment of Busan and the tragic famine in Shandong, but he did not immediately pardon Li Weizheng. After half a year, he pardoned him with the excuse of sweet potatoes. Li Weizheng's memorial was just right today, and his words were concise, which even made Zhu Yuanzhang a little doubt whether Li Weizheng had received any news. It was impossible to think about it. No matter how fast the news was, it would definitely be faster than himself. Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly had an idea that he wanted to see this young man who had not seen for eight months.

Soon, the guards came in and reported that Li Weizheng had already been brought here. Zhu Yuanzhang immediately summoned him to meet him. With a sound of footsteps, Li Weizheng walked into the imperial study room. He stepped forward and knelt down and said, "My minister Li Weizheng met Your Majesty, I wish Your Majesty a long life."

Zhu Yuanzhang did not ask him to get up immediately, but looked carefully at this young third-rank official who was almost destroyed by him. His appearance seemed much more mature than last year, and his jaw also had short beards on his jaw. The ostentatiousness and sharpness that emanated from him before was gone, and replaced by a calm and mature temperament.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and asked, "Li Weizheng, do you still hate me in your heart?"

"I dare not. After half a year, Your Majesty made me come back, and I am full of gratitude."

"I made you come back because you made great contributions to the introduction of sweet potatoes. I am also a farmer and know very well what food means to the people. In fact, I have promised you that if you can really produce thousands of kilograms of sweet potatoes per mu, I will grant you a title, but your mistakes in the sea ban have made me feel dissatisfied. I will cancel my promise to grant you a title. You should calm down first! Lift your head."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Li Wei stood up, but he looked up, but was suddenly surprised. After only eight months of sight, Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to have been ten years old. His hair was completely white, his face was haggard, and his body was terrifyingly thin. Li Wei couldn't help but sigh secretly. The pain of losing his son in his old age seemed to have severely hit the founding emperor.

But now is not a sad time. Today, Zhu Yuanzhang's summoning will change his life's destiny. He cannot make any mistakes. Li Weizheng immediately said sincerely: "Making mistakes on the sea ban is caused by my impulse when I was young. I always want to lead the navy to open up the territory for Your Majesty. I have not mastered the size for the time being. Please forgive me."

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at him, and after a while he suddenly asked, "If I ask you to lead the navy to Xiaoliuqiu Island again, will you kill those fishermen who betrayed the Ming Dynasty for me now?"

Li Weizheng suddenly mentioned it. He knew that this seemingly careless sentence was actually Zhu Yuanzhang's biggest test for him. Once the answer was wrong, he would not have any chance. The answer could only be one of the killing and not killing, and he would not be allowed to play the edge or make ambiguous words. In Zhu Yuanzhang's slightly cold gaze, Li Weizheng had to bite the bullet and said, "I have never killed the unarmed people. This was like this in the past, but it is still like this now. It has nothing to do with the sea ban."

Zhu Yuanzhang still didn't say anything. He seemed to be giving Li Weizheng a chance to correct his mistake, but Li Weizheng did not correct his answer, but raised his head and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang firmly.

A smile suddenly appeared on Zhu Yuanzhang's face, very good! Li Weizheng's answer made him very satisfied, not because of his answer itself, but because he always adhered to his principles, and his honesty was not changed due to setbacks. The country was easy to change, but his nature was difficult to change. Li Wei would not kill those fishermen in the past, so he still would not kill them now. What Zhu Yuanzhang admired the most was his honesty. Now this honesty is still there, which made Zhu Yuanzhang quite relieved.

He took Li Weizheng's memorial from the table and asked him, "Why do you say that Goryeo will definitely betray his faith and break the contract and return to the army?"

"I am based on my understanding of the Goryeo people. I wonder if Your Majesty still remembers a book written by me last year. The above me made a deep analysis of the Goryeo people. From the Goguryeo's policy of riding the Tang Dynasty and the Turks, and the later capriciousness of Silla's Tang Dynasty, we can see that the Goryeo people's tradition since ancient times is to focus on reality. They have been eroding the land of our Celestial Empire from decades ago. How could the efforts of decades and generations of people willingly give up in an accident? In the 25 years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, they have surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, but on the other hand, they have been constantly marching northward. What they want is tangible interests. The vassal state of the Ming Dynasty is just their beautiful diplomatic words."

Zhu Yuanzhang was quite confident when he heard him say it, and couldn't help but smile coldly: "What if Goryeo keeps his promise this time, returns the land he occupied to the Ming Dynasty, and sincerely becomes a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty?"

Li Weizheng sighed and said, "Your Majesty is a talented and wise monarch, and he is broad-minded about the vassal state, but this does not mean that Your Majesty will be deceived by others. I believe that Your Majesty actually understands more in his heart than me."

"Li Weizheng, you are very brave and dare to tell the truth, but I will not blame you for telling the truth. You are right. I do have some doubts about Goryeo Li Chenggui's sincerity, but I still want to take a look at it to see if he dares to really betray his faith. If he really dares to do so, then I will never let it go!"

Speaking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Li Weizheng, and suddenly he had an enlightenment in his heart. Li Weizheng was very eager to get up from Goryeo again. When he found this, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled slightly, but he did not say it out loud, and said, "I summoned you just to ask you what you think of Goryeo people. Now I already know, you should step down!"

Li Wei knew that before the exact news came, Zhu Yuanzhang would not make any statement to him. This matter was absolutely in a hurry and could not make Zhu Yuanzhang suspicious. He was about to retreat, but Zhu Yuanzhang called him again. He pondered for a moment and said, "There is something I want to tell you in advance that I have decided to establish the crown prince to inherit the Eastern Palace. You must assist my eldest grandson."

"I will do my best to assist His Highness, Changsun, please rest assured!"
Chapter completed!