Li Qi smiled bitterly and laughed at himself: "Your Majesty, how can traitors like Qin Hui and I have the nerve to say that we are the Emperor's right-hand men? If the Emperor is making a mockery of us, I will think this is a very good satire.↖"
"No, I am not sarcastic at all." Zhao Kai shook his head, "As for Qin Hui, there is no doubt about his ability. With him, he can help me deal with many difficult problems. It's a pity that this person is too ambitious.
, and cannot tolerate others.”
Having said this, he smiled and then continued: "If you are here, we can work together to suppress him so that he does not dare to mess around. But if you leave, Zheng Yi and Mao Shu will not be his opponents."
, then I will have no choice but to get rid of him, but this is easy to say, but very difficult to do. Qin Hui is too smart. He is very eager for power, but at the same time, he knows that too much power may lead to death.
, so he has been working hard to manage his power. He has power in all major states and counties across the country, and he has also won the support of many people, especially those Confucian scholars. It is not difficult for me to kill him, but once I attack him
If he picks up the butcher's knife, he will definitely kill a lot of people. Killing innocent people indiscriminately is inevitable. I'm afraid there will be another bloody storm in the country. This is the last thing I want to see, because I have experienced it once and don't want to do it again.
This is the second time, so on the premise that you leave, it is undoubtedly the best result for me for him to leave in this way."
Li Qi gently turned the tea cup, "That is to say, if I leave alone, the emperor will immediately pick up the butcher's knife against Qin Hui."
Zhao Kai nodded without any hesitation.
Although the emperor has supreme power, he cannot kill anyone he wants, especially those at the prime minister level. If the prime minister has too much power, he will be his accomplices in the court and in the court, and he will also have the support of the people. Once you use the butcher's knife, you will be killed.
The situation may immediately get out of control. Qin Hui's wings are not full yet. If Li Qi leaves, Qin Hui's power will increase a lot. By then, if Zhao Kai comes to deal with Qin Hui again, even if he is the emperor, he will probably be tied up.
, so once Li Qi leaves, Zhao Kai will immediately drive Qin Hui out of the government and the public, because he knows Qin Hui too well.
"As for your words."
Zhao Kai continued: "Let's put it this way. If Qin Hui left, I would never touch you."
Li Qi was flattered and said: "Your Majesty's words sound a bit hypocritical!"
"No matter how hypocritical you are, I can't compare to you." Zhao Kai cursed with a smile and suddenly sighed, "What do you think of my father?"
The Supreme Emperor? This guy won't settle old accounts with me, right? Li Qi was stunned for a moment and said cautiously: "The Supreme Emperor is very smart, but he is not used in the right place. In other words, he is not suitable to be an emperor at all. He is more suitable to be a wanderer."
The prince who plays with mountains and rivers, in that case, at least he can go to the south of the Yangtze River to view the granite at any time instead of transporting the granite to Bianjing."
The implication is that he is still criticizing Song Huizong.
Zhao Kai didn't understand and smiled. "On the eve of my taking the throne, I talked with my father for a whole night. During this conversation, my father mentioned you many times. Do you know how my father is?
Evaluate yours?"
Damn! It's definitely not a nice thing to say! Li Qi smiled and said: "Actually, to be honest, I am indeed sorry for the Supreme Emperor. I understand this in my heart, but even if I am given another chance, I will definitely choose this way. After all, fish and bears
You can’t have it both ways.”
Zhao Kai chuckled: "So, do you think that your father must be speaking ill of you?"
"Isn't it?"
Li Qi looked at Zhao Kai in astonishment.
Zhao Kai shook his head and sighed: "My father told me that as an emperor, you can be credulous or partial, but you can never believe everything. Therefore, whether it is Taishi Cai, Wang Fu, Cai You, Liang Shicheng, Tong Guan and others,
My father may occasionally believe their words, but he has never fully believed in them. From the beginning to the end, they are just pawns in the hands of his father. They have never threatened his imperial power for even a moment, but
, My father has only trusted one person, and this is you, so that’s why the coup happened. But even so, my father told me that you are the only one who can trust the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty, and I trust you without reservation.
You will gain a stronger Song Dynasty."
Li Qi was surprised, "Your Majesty, are you trying to fool me?"
"It's already here, do I still need to fool you?"
Zhao Kai rolled his eyes and said: "However, my father didn't say the reason, but I still believe what my father said, because my father believed in you at the beginning. Although he lost the throne, it was he who was so devoted.
Believe in you, we can defeat the Jin Army, right? You are indeed different, so when I learned that you wanted to go to Japan to become king on your own, I did not use the knife on you, but asked you to be honest. Until now, it is still the case,
I still believe in you very much."
Li Qi smiled playfully and said, "Isn't it because war is imminent? In order to fight against foreign aggression, we must first settle down at home?"
Zhao Kai was stunned for a moment and said with a wry smile: "There are some reasons for this, but not all. In fact, if you can change your mind at this moment, I can pretend that none of this has ever happened."
Li Qi was stunned for a long time, then lowered his head and smiled bitterly, saying: "Your Majesty, you know me. Once I decide something, I will not change it. I'm sorry."
Zhao Kai said slightly excitedly: "Why, now we have just defeated the Jin Kingdom and recovered the Hetao. Our Song Dynasty Empire has just begun. In the next ten years, the Song Dynasty will develop to an unimaginable level. What is your contribution to this?
Of course, you have sacrificed so much, why would you choose to leave at this moment when you are about to reap the rewards? This is really puzzling to me."
Li Qi smiled and said: "Your Majesty, you have to retire after success. This is just a lie to children. Success is like a bear's paw, and retirement is like a fish. You can't have both. If I want to choose to leave, I must choose to work hard."
Before anything happens. Yes, I know that the emperor trusts me very much, and I am very grateful for this. But this is just the emperor at this moment. Ten years from now, twenty years from now, thirty years from now, who can guarantee that the emperor will still trust me fully at that time?
Who can guarantee that I will still be loyal to the emperor at that time?
No one can guarantee it.
If I were just one person, maybe I would choose to stay, but no, I still have my family. You know, in my heart, Da Song and my family have always been the most important. I have devoted ten years to
During this period, I missed a lot. I didn’t see Zhengxi speak for the first time, nor did I see Zhengxi walk for the first time. My daughter even became very withdrawn because of me as her father.
I owe them this, so I have to make it up to them.
Maybe in the eyes of many people, my reform was very successful, but they didn't know that I also offended many people. Most of the scholar-bureaucrats and big families hated me to the core, but now that I have great power, they dare to be angry.
I dare not say anything, so I can only obey, but I will always die. Once I die, or I no longer have power, they will definitely not let my descendants go, because it was my reforms that made them lose their most precious things.
power. It was the new law that transferred their benefits to the people. It was the new law that deposed the exclusive respect for Confucianism.
Why Qin Hui was able to gain the support of many scholar-bureaucrats in a very short period of time? It’s not because Qin Hui is so powerful, but because they hate me so much. They just didn’t show it for the time being. Once it breaks out, even I can’t imagine the consequences, and neither can you, Emperor.
I know that these scholar-bureaucrat families are very powerful, and they have a deep foundation. Some families are even inherited from the Han Dynasty. This is something I cannot have.
Moreover, since ancient times, those who have reformed the law have achieved many successes, but the law often survives, and most people do not end well.
I remember that during our last conversation, Your Majesty asked me when I planned to go to Japan. I didn’t tell you at the time, but I can tell you now that since the Emperor adopted my new method, I have already started making preparations for leaving.
I had planned it, but I hadn’t chosen Japan yet. Why my new method was so successful was because I had no scruples. I wasn’t afraid that those big families would come to settle accounts with me. Anyway, I didn’t plan to stay here long, so I tried my best to do it.
Direct the hatred in their hearts to me and make them feel that all this is caused by me and has nothing to do with the Emperor or the Supreme Emperor."
Having said this, he chuckled and said: "Your Majesty should know me very well. My biggest characteristic is that I am prepared for danger in times of peace. What I fear most is that my relatives are in danger, and I will never give the comfort of my relatives to others or others.
God will decide. Although I cannot guarantee that after my death, my relatives will be safe for generations to come, but with my character, I will definitely help them do this as much as possible, and the safest way is---.
"
Zhao Kai was the first to say: "I will be the emperor myself."
Li Qi nodded and said: "Yes, whether you believe it or not, Your Majesty, in fact, I personally am very resistant to the Emperor. Once I am asked to shoulder this responsibility, it will be difficult for me to take it off. I will be walking on thin ice every day."
, I am afraid that maybe when I am forty years old, I will be as old as I am when I am seventy years old. This kind of life is not what I want. What I hope is to be safe, free, and enjoy breakfast every morning with my family.
time, until death, instead of having to go to the street to buy two steamed buns before dawn, and then rush to the palace to attend court. But the advantage of the emperor is that his destiny is in his own hands.
In addition, even if I stay in the Song Dynasty, what I have done is just the icing on the cake. I have already done what I should do. The new method has matured and has reached a bottleneck period. But if I want to break through this bottleneck, it does not depend on what I can do.
What, it depends on the emperor and the people."
Zhao Kai narrowed his eyes and said, "How do you say this?"
Li Qi chuckled: "The emperor is a smart man, how could he not see that, whether it is military, economic, or institutional, the new law has reached a critical point. Since ancient times, no one's reform can break through this critical point, because
This critical point is the imperial power. If the new law continues, it will endanger the imperial power. Qin Hui never fights an unprepared battle. Since he has planned to destroy the new law, he has a 70% certainty of doing so. He
What is the reason? The reason is that he also sees that continuing to promote the new law will definitely harm the imperial power. I don’t know what you will think, Your Majesty, but he must have expected that the Emperor will take measures to prevent this in order to protect the imperial power.
Then give him an opportunity to take advantage of it. It is not impossible to return to solemn Confucianism. If Qin Hui stays, I believe he can abolish the new law.
Therefore, the emperor said that you trust me now, but once I stay, I will definitely promote the new law, and then I will challenge the imperial power on behalf of the new law. Unless the emperor compromises, otherwise, only one of us can stand in the court.
I don't think I will definitely lose, but once that time comes, if the two of us fight, it will always be the people who suffer. This will far exceed the harm caused to the people by the fight between Wang Anshi and Sima Guang, so I choose
leave."
Zhao Kai was silent for a long time, how could he not see this. He said: "Actually, I can also see that in the past three years, your new law has been on the edge of the cliff. Every time you make a presentation, other ministers can be surprised.
I broke out in a cold sweat, but you never crossed the line. Otherwise, I don't know what to do. The same is true now. I have been thinking about this problem, what should I do?"
Li Qi smiled and said: "Let nature take its course."
"Let nature take its course?"
Zhao Kai felt a little surprised.
Li Qi nodded and said: "Your Majesty, do you think the reason why I stopped here is just because I was worried about violating the imperial power?"
Zhao Kai said: "Isn't it?"
"Yes, but not entirely. This is just one of the very important reasons, but there is another reason."
"What?"
"Didn't I just say that apart from you, the emperor, we are the common people. The quality of our common people in the Song Dynasty is simply not enough to meet the requirements of continuing to comprehensively promote the new law." Li Qi shook his head and sighed. "Actually, about
I have thought about this issue for a long time, but in the process of reform, I found that no matter how brilliant the law is, it still needs people to implement it. As the same saying goes, if it is not expensive, it is the best and the most suitable for your talents.
It is the best. No matter how good the law is, it is useless if people's execution ability does not meet the requirements.
If a country is like a big tree. No matter how luxuriant the leaves are, it doesn't mean anything. A stable foundation is the key, and the foundation of a country is its people. A truly powerful country is not about how strong its military force is, nor how strong its military force is.
No matter how rich the national treasury is, it is the quality of every citizen. The quality of the people of a country is the only criterion for judging whether the country is strong or not.
As we all know, the core of my reform is that if the people are prosperous, the country will be prosperous. In fact, there is another sentence, that is, if the people are strong, the country will be strong. No matter how strong the emperor, the privy council, or the prime minister, it is just a mirage, and it is very likely that it will disappear overnight.
Time has collapsed. Only when the people are strong can this country be truly invincible. However, part of the new law is now the limit of what you, the emperor, can tolerate, and part of it has also reached the limit of what the people can understand. If
People will not be able to implement the new law, which will paralyze the entire country. Nothing can be done in a hurry. If we go too fast, people will fall behind, which will only be counterproductive."
Zhao Kai thought for a while and said, "Then what should I do?"
Li Qidao: "It's very simple. Just prescribe the right medicine to improve the quality of every people in the Song Dynasty and let them learn to think about everything from their own future to the future of the country. In fact, I have nothing against Confucianism, especially the etiquette and benevolence in it.
, Filial piety, honesty and shame, these are the basic qualities of a good citizen. What I object to is foolish loyalty, foolish filial piety and foolish benevolence. To sum up, it means stupid people. Foolish people do not refer to how much they read, but to their thoughts. They do not
People who can think and often follow the wind will make any reform extremely fragile, no matter how good the new law is. This is the case now. As long as we give Qin Hui a little space, he may destroy the new law. This is because
The people are not strong enough yet and do not know how to think about right and wrong.
Only when the people become truly strong, the new law will naturally follow their powerful and rich thoughts and continue to move forward. This does not actually require the emperor to think about it. It just needs time to settle and let nature take its course. Of course, if the emperor kills this
, suppress the growth of the people and maintain their own imperial power. In that case, the Song Dynasty will be regressing and unable to make progress. Therefore, what I can do for the Song Dynasty now is really too little. We can only slowly improve the quality of the people step by step and wait.
Their strength is the right way."
This time Zhao Kai was silent for a longer time, then smiled and said: "I thought you would try every means to get me to make concessions to the new law."
Li Qi shook his head and said: "I am a pragmatic person. Now that the emperor has given up too much power, the people will not be able to enjoy it. It will only give some people with evil intentions an opportunity to take advantage of it. When the people become truly strong, the emperor will naturally do something
Make concessions because people are making progress, but it takes time."
Zhao Kai nodded, raised his teacup, and said with a smile: "Anyway, I have benefited a lot from your words, so I should offer you a toast."
Li Qi raised his glass and said with a smile: "I thought the emperor would give me some reward."
The two laughed and drank it all in one gulp.
After putting down the tea cup, Zhao Kai said with a smile: "It seems that no matter what I say, you are determined to leave."
Li Qi nodded.
"Oh well."
Zhao Kai smiled softly and said: "I agree to adopt the federal system you proposed and establish the Great Song Federation. Japan will become the first federal member of our Great Song Dynasty. I also hope that this system can help me open the door to the Western Regions.
"
The implication is that the federal system will become the primary policy for the expansion of the Song Dynasty.
And this system is also the reason why Zhao Kai and Li Qi are sitting here drinking tea, because Zhao Kai also knows that Japan is alone overseas. Even if it is defeated, unless all the Japanese are killed, it will be difficult to control it. Before long, Japan will
It may become independent again, which is very troublesome to deal with, and he is not willing to pay such a high price for a small island country. The Jin Kingdom has not been destroyed yet, and this federal system may be able to solve this trouble well. The most important thing is
, Zhao Kai hopes to apply this federal system to some countries far away from China, such as Central Asia and Europe.
For the Song Dynasty, Li Qi's trip to Japan was more of an experiment to see if this system was feasible. It was also a kind of exploration. In the process of exploration, it was constantly improved. It will be used in other countries in the future.
Very handy.
Li Qidao: "Your Majesty, the federal system will definitely help the Song Dynasty achieve great success and go further, because federalism will allow the Song Dynasty to gain maximum strength growth at the minimum cost. Especially for small countries, they will very much aspire to become
The federation members of the great powers in the Central Plains, because in this way, they will no longer be afraid of being bullied. And they have the same right to speak as a great power. For the Song Dynasty, they will continue to absorb member states. The Song Dynasty will become more and more powerful, and it will develop slowly like this.
Big countries like Byzantium will gradually be weakened and then be divided and absorbed by the Song Federation.
Conquering the world by force is only temporary. No matter how big the territory is, if it cannot be effectively controlled, it is better not to do it. Otherwise, it will make it difficult for the Song Dynasty to take care of itself. Sooner or later, they will be independent, because the power of the nation is bottomless and the sea embraces all rivers.
, using economy, culture, and systems to achieve unification is the kingly way. I have always had no doubts about the assimilation ability of the Song Dynasty."
"Don't say it so nicely."
Zhao Kai smiled and said: "I heard that you were launching a blue movement in Japan, which advocated overthrowing landlords, wealthy businessmen, nobles, and peasants to stand up and take charge. I was not wrong, right?"
Li Qi nodded.
"This is completely opposite to our system in the Song Dynasty."
"I know this too."
Li Qi sighed and said: "But I have no choice. I am entering Japan as an outsider. I must first gain the support of the Japanese people. Moreover, if the Japanese aristocrats become too powerful, they will also threaten me, so I
I just did this, firstly, to win the support of the people, and secondly, to completely eradicate all threats. But please rest assured, Your Majesty, this is just the beginning, and there will definitely be changes by then. What I implement on Ezo Island is my Song Dynasty system.
So once Japan's internal affairs stabilize, I will make the next change. I am a businessman, so I naturally put business first. And I also do this for the sake of the Song Dynasty."
Zhao Kai said in surprise: "How do you say this?"
Li Qidao: "Has the emperor forgotten the currency strategy? Japan's gold and silver will be the currency that the Song Dynasty needs most in the future. And I estimate that Japan's food production will not be able to meet the needs of the people in the next few years, and the gap will become bigger and bigger. This
It's because of the system, and I didn't stop it, but it also gave me a reason to exchange Japan's gold and silver for Song Dynasty's grain to meet the needs of both parties."
"It turns out there is such a meaning." Zhao Kai nodded slightly and said: "My request is very simple, that is, the blue movement cannot spread to the Song Dynasty, otherwise, it will cause great harm to me.
Trouble."
Li Qi nodded and said: "Your Majesty, please rest assured. The internal affairs have not been completely consolidated. I will adopt a policy of seclusion. However, during the seclusion period, we can communicate through Ezo Island."
Zhao Kai hummed and then said: "But I can't wait too long. You must solve Japan's domestic problems as soon as possible, return to our Song Dynasty system as soon as possible, and become a member of our Song Dynasty Federation."
Li Qi did not dare to guarantee this question. He was not a god, so he only said: "Just do your best."
Zhao Kai naturally knew that there were still some difficulties, and said: "There is also the Kingdom of Jin. There is no room for two tigers in one mountain. The Kingdom of Jin has always been a serious concern for me. I hope that you can also help me eliminate the Kingdom of Jin in Japan. This is why you originally
I hope you can fulfill your promise to me."
Li Qi smiled and said: "Of course, if the Wanyan regime does not fall, I will not be able to sleep well in Japan. However, Your Majesty, the Japanese are poor and have a small land, so the military expenses for the expedition must be fully paid by the Song Dynasty."
"no problem."
Zhao Kai smiled, in fact, how powerful can Japan be? The key is Li Qi, because the Wanyan family is afraid of Li Qi, this is his nemesis, so as long as Li Qi sends troops, it will be a big help to the Song Dynasty, no matter how much
, took a sip of tea, put down the cup and said: "I have one more request."
"What?"
boom!
"Idiot!"
ps: If nothing unexpected happens, the two chapters of the finale will be released together in the early morning tomorrow. (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel will be better and updated faster!