"Haha! Li Qi, I didn't expect that you are already a father after I haven't seen you for a few days. What a joy and congratulation!"
As soon as Li Qi came to the front hall, he heard the sonorous voice of Master Zhong. He raised his hands and shouted: "Master Zhong's voice is like a loud bell, his energy is full, and his body is better than before. This is the blessing of my Song Dynasty, and it deserves congratulations!"
"
Zhong Shidao laughed and said: "You have become a father, why do you still like to talk such nonsense?"
"Every sentence is spoken from the bottom of my heart."
Li Qi then raised his hands towards Zhao Mingcheng and his wife and said, "Prefect Zhao, Mrs. Zhao, you are well."
"Congratulations, congratulations. However, I am no longer the prefect."
"Yes, yes, I almost forgot, you should be called Zhao Shaoqing."
Zhao Mingcheng chuckled and nodded to Li Qingzhao beside him.
Li Qingzhao handed over a small box with both hands and said with a slight smile: "This square Duan Inkstone was originally given to me by a scholar from the University of Suzhou. It has been with me for more than twenty years. I am giving it to you today as a small gift. It is not a sign of respect."
"
After all, Li Qingzhao was an out-and-out literati. Of course she would not give any gold, silver or jewelry as gifts, nor did she. Sending inkstones was a common occurrence among literati.
Tsk tsk! Both Su Dongpo and Li Qingzhao used it. It is of great commemorative value and must be kept well.
"Thank you, thank you so much." Li Qi smiled, took it, and said, "I must accept this gift."
Li Qingzhao was stunned and didn't know what he meant, but he didn't ask any more questions and nodded with a smile. As everyone knows, when Li Qi raided Wang Fu's house, he had already obtained many of the best Four Treasures of the Study and was preparing to give this gift to Li Qingzhao.
Isn't it just the right time?
"You three, please sit down, please sit down."
Li Qingzhao suddenly said: "I want to visit the Hong slave mother and son first. Is it convenient?"
She knew that later on in the conversation, they would definitely talk about business matters, and the fact that Zhao Mingcheng wanted to abandon the city and flee had always been a knot in her heart. She really didn't want to listen anymore, so she simply ignored it.
"Convenient, of course it's convenient. Mrs. Qin happens to be here too."
Li Qi immediately called someone and said, "Take Mrs. Zhao to the backyard."
"yes."
After Li Qingzhao left, the three of them sat down one after another.
Li Qi smiled and said: "Brother, Young Master Zhao, when did you arrive in Beijing?"
Zhong Shidao said hehe: "I arrived last night. I heard that people in the capital were rumoring that you had recently given birth to a son. At that time, I wanted to come and have a look, but I heard that the Bai Mansion couldn't accommodate it, so I chose to come today.
Come here, unexpectedly, you will meet Mingcheng and his wife at the door, what a coincidence."
Zhao Mingcheng nodded with a smile and said: "My husband and I arrived in Beijing this morning. We also heard that the economy has brought happiness to our family, so we asked my servants to put our luggage in the post house first. We came here to congratulate you first."
"Xiao Xianggong is interested." Li Qi smiled and said with concern: "By the way, have you found a place to live? If not, I can help you arrange to live in Taishi College, just in case you find it too noisy."
Zhao Mingcheng shook his head and said: "Thank you very much for the economic envoy's kindness. The imperial court seems to have arranged a place for me."
After Li Qi heard this, he didn't force it. He said: "That's good, that's good."
Zhao Mingcheng suddenly asked: "By the way, I heard that it was Grand Master Cai who recommended me to return to Beijing this time. I wonder if this is true?"
Li Qi was stunned and immediately understood. Once bitten by a snake, you will be afraid of the rope for ten years! Cai Jing had made the Zhao family miserable, and the two families had become enemies. Cai Jing suddenly recommended Zhao Mingcheng
When he came to the capital, Zhao Mingcheng couldn't see Cai Jing's intention, so he couldn't help but feel suspicious, fearing that Cai Jing had evil intentions.
It would be better to explain this matter clearly, so as not to worry him all day long. Li Qi also fully understood this and believed that anyone who had experienced the Yuanyou party membership incident would be suspicious. He smiled again and said: "That's true. But the Grand Master's move was also for the sake of the Song Dynasty. You must have heard that the imperial court has recently attached great importance to diplomacy with neighboring countries. In order to strengthen diplomacy, it even appointed His Highness the Prince as Minister of Honglu Temple, and the Grand Master appreciated it. Because of Mr. Zhao’s diplomatic skills, and because Mr. Zhao has held this position before, I recommend you to His Highness the Crown Prince. I have no other intention, so Mr. Zhao can rest assured.”
Seeing that Li Qi's words were so simple and clear, Zhao Mingcheng felt relieved, nodded and said: "That's it." After a pause, he added: "Oh, the solution to the siege of Laizhou this time also depends entirely on the economic envoys in the court. Thank you very much, Mingcheng."
Li Qi raised his hand and said, "Don't say these words again. This is my responsibility, and I don't dare to accept this thank you."
Zhong Shidao laughed and said: "Although I am in the northwest, I have heard a little bit about this counter-insurgency. This battle is not bad. It showed the momentum of our capital's forbidden army. Yue Fei and Niu Gao really didn't order I am disappointed."
Zhao Mingcheng added: "What Mr. Zhong said is that the fighting methods of these two generals are really amazing and admirable."
Li Qi chuckled and said, "It's not all thanks to your good teaching sir."
Zhao Mingcheng snorted and said, "It turns out he is the breeder's disciple. No wonder, no wonder."
Zhongshidao smiled, waved his hand, and said modestly: "I have only taught them for a long time, and I have never led them to fight, so I can only be regarded as half a master. This is all their own ability."
"The stud is humble."
Li Qi chuckled, and then said seriously: "Brother, you have only been back for less than a day, but I'm afraid you don't even have time to have a leisurely meal. Li Qi is really sorry!"
Master Zhongdao smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. Not only that, I am also very interested in this military exercise to protect the capital. Haha, interesting, interesting! In addition, I am also very satisfied with your arrangement and want to use it to test it." Let’s look at the strength of Yue Fei and Niu Gao and see whether they relied on strength or luck in the battle at Kunyu Mountain.”
Li Qi patted his chest and said, "I'm finally relieved that the breeder said this. I was worried that the breeders' guild would be dissatisfied with this."
Zhong Shidao asked curiously: "Why do you think so?"
Li Qi said hey: "I'm not afraid that if Yue Fei and Niu Gao win by chance, this apprentice will defeat the master. How shameless."
Master Zhong frowned and said: "I, Master Zhong, am not a narrow-minded person. Victory and defeat are common matters for military strategists. Whoever stipulates that the older one will definitely win, and who stipulates that the apprentice cannot defeat the master? Yue Fei, If Niu Gao can beat me, I won't be happy before it's too late. This proves that I have someone to succeed the Song Dynasty. However, if they want to win, it may not be that easy. I am determined to fight with them this time."
Just think of it this way, it's best to beat me to death, otherwise the meaning of the exercise will be lost. Li Qi's words were obviously intended to inspire the teacher.
Zhong Shidao looked at Li Qi with a smile on his face and suddenly realized what he was saying.
Li Qizhi had been noticed, how could he admit it, and said quickly: "Yes, yes, it is the junior who judges the gentleman with his villain's heart. In fact---in fact, I am the kind of narrow-minded person mentioned by the father-in-law. Speaking of which, I am also ashamed. Since I was named the Golden Knife Kitchen King by the Emperor, many people have wanted to challenge me, but most of them have been rejected by me."
Sure enough, Li Qi diverted Zhong Shidao's attention, and asked curiously: "Why is this? I thought that cooking skills also need to be competed and competed to make progress."
Li Qi said hey: "That's true, but if I beat them, everyone would take it for granted. And if I tell others who I won, no one else knows who the other person is. If I lose, the other person will
You can brag loudly that I won the Golden Knife Chef King, but this competition is unfair."
This was the first time Zhao Mingcheng encountered Li Qi's straightforward temperament. It was a bit too much. He couldn't help laughing and said: "Economy makes sense, what you say makes sense!"
Zhong Shidao also nodded and said with a smile: "Then I will be at a disadvantage."
Li Qi exclaimed: "What the hell, I have never budgeted for the impossible situation where the breeding guild will lose."
The Taoist Master raised his hand and said: "You kid, please give me a trick, so as not to make Mingcheng laugh at my jokes later."
Zhao Mingcheng smiled and shook his head. He suddenly thought of something and said seriously: "Oh, by the way, actually I am here today, firstly, to congratulate the economic envoy, and secondly---."
At this point, he hesitated to speak.
Looking at his expression, Li Qi knew that he must have something to ask for, and said: "Mr. Zhao has something to say, but it doesn't matter. I have the power of veto."
Zhao Mingcheng chuckled and said: "If the economic envoy said this, I would be relieved. In fact, several friends asked me to tell the economic envoy if I could meet with them. The economic envoy also knows this person."
Li Qi groaned, pondered for a moment, and suddenly a bright light flashed in his eyes, and he asked with a smile: "Could it be that Mr. Zhao is talking about Tengji and Iga from Fuso?"
Zhao Mingcheng was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "The economic envoy is really a mastermind."
Li Qi asked again: "Have they arrived in Beijing?"
Zhao Mingcheng said: "Yes. You came with me."
Coming so early, it’s still very early before New Year’s Day! And if you want to buy weapons, just come to me directly. Why bother? It doesn’t seem to be the case. Could it be ---. Li Qi probed: "They are here to buy.
Weapons?"
Zhao Mingcheng hesitated for a moment and said: "It doesn't seem to be the case. I don't know the specific details, but judging from their tone, it seems that they have something to ask for."
Do you have anything to ask? Li Qi raised his eyebrows, stood up suddenly, and walked back and forth in the hall, seeming to be thinking about something. He suddenly smiled and said: "Since he is a good friend of Mr. Zhao, he is also a good friend of me, Li Qi. I
Just meet with them. Let’s do this, tomorrow, tomorrow I will meet them at the Ordnance Supervision---."
Having said this, he waved his hand again and said: "No, no, no, let's do it the day after tomorrow. I will meet them at my manor in the western suburbs the day after tomorrow."
Do I have such a great reputation? Zhao Mingcheng couldn't help but feel a little puzzled when he saw Li Qi's agreement. He just said: "Okay, I will tell you the truth." (To be continued...)