Happy Little Scholar

The Shuzhou of today is no longer the Shuzhou of the past.

Today's Shuzhou is almost the largest treasure house in Jingguo. In just five years, it has surpassed Kyoto as the capital in terms of population and economy. Who knows what it will look like in fifty years?

A state within a state?

This is something that he absolutely does not want to see, and it is also something that the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty absolutely do not want to see.

Even if they unanimously decided to give Shuzhou to King Jing a few years ago, reputation is nothing. What a country needs is always profit.

The official walked up to Prime Minister Shen and said hurriedly: "The Prime Minister must have heard what Chen Chongshi said in the palace just now. Shuzhou is so prosperous now, and the imperial court must take back Shuzhou..."

Shen Xiang, who was walking slowly, stopped.

His eyes became cloudy, and he looked at him and asked, "What did Wei Geizhong just... say?"

The middle-aged official looked at him and repeated again: "We must take back Shuzhou from King Jing."

Prime Minister Shen asked in confusion: "Prince Jing, what's wrong with Prince Jing?"

The middle-aged official came closer to him and raised his voice: "Shuzhou of Jingguo can no longer fall into the hands of King Jing."

Prime Minister Shen said in surprise: "Shuzhou, what happened to Shuzhou?"

Middle-aged official: "..."

Shen Xiang pointed to his ears and said with a smile: "As I get older, these ears are hard to use. Don't blame Wei Ge..." A few days ago, I was still thinking that these old bones really can't hold up. I'm going down, I plan to resign from His Majesty in a few months..."

The middle-aged official was suddenly startled and said immediately: "Prime Minister Shen is the pillar of the court and a role model for our generation of officials. If you leave, who else can suppress this treacherous man in the court?"

Prime Minister Shen sighed, looked at the middle-aged official, and said: "For a country, although interests are paramount, in many cases, it cannot just care about the immediate interests, but must also be worthy of its own conscience and the conscience of the world."

The official opened his mouth: "Prime Minister Shen..."

"Without the treacherous person in your mouth, there would be no Jingguo today, let alone today's Wei Guishengzhong." Prime Minister Shen looked at him, his back was no longer bent, and his eyes were no longer cloudy, and he spoke again: "Your Majesty, how could you do this?" There is nothing to say, so Wei Geizhong doesn’t have to worry about these things.”

Before Prime Minister Shen left, he looked at him again and said, "These people standing in the court today already owe him too much. We can't owe him any more. If we owe him any more, I'm afraid they will suffer retribution..."

After Prime Minister Shen left, the middle-aged official stood there in a daze, feeling that his throat was a little dry, and he licked his lips that were even drier.

Xiang Shen's words have made it very clear. If he insists on targeting King Jing, Xiang Shen will not help him.

At this moment, he finally realized deeply that King Jing seemed to be much more terrifying than he realized.

However, he was only thinking about Jing Guo. What was wrong with him?

There was confusion and hesitation on his face, he walked slowly and disappeared in the direction of the palace entrance.

…

When Li Yi came out, soup was really simmering in the pot.

The soup that had been simmered for several hours had a very rich flavor. Ever since he realized that he had underestimated Mingzhu before, he had picked up the skill he had put down for many years.

She only had a low starting point, but her room for growth was very large, beyond Li Yi's imagination.

Shouning ran over and said aggrievedly: "I also want to drink the emperor's soup, but the emperor won't let me drink it..."

Li Yi patted her head and said: "Your imperial sister has to deal with so many national affairs every day, so she needs to take good care of her body. I will make your favorite soup later..."

Naturally, the soup Mingzhu drank was not for Shouning, not because she didn't need it, but because she was only eighteen years old now, and it would take at least a few more years before Li Yi's sense of animality and guilt could be dispelled.

After finishing the soup, they both had to work on something else.

This time I left Kyoto and came back, just to accompany Mingzhu and Shouning for a visit, and not with such a big fanfare.

Therefore, Prince Jing's Mansion, which had always been restricted to entry and exit, and only accepted gifts without giving them, finally became more generous.

Li Yi held a banquet in his mansion today. It was not a big banquet. Anyone who he thought needed a farewell sent invitations.

The first person to come to the door was Liu Yishou. He had just finished inspecting the Beijing-Hebei area. After walking into the small courtyard, he walked quickly to him with a slight excitement on his face, "Sir, you are back."

When he was still a county captain, Liu Yishou called him "sir".

This title has hardly changed over the years.

Li Yi patted him on the shoulder habitually and said with a smile: "You are already a minister, show some of the appearance and momentum of a minister..."

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice, who had always shown himself to be selfless and upright, now had an embarrassed expression on his face.

Liu Dayou and Zeng Shichun came to visit at the same time.

The two people who both came out of Anxi County Government have naturally had frequent contact in the past few years.

Somehow, Zeng Shichun actually got involved with the two of them. Two ministers and one Jing Zhaoyin already occupied three seats in the State Council.

Just as Liu Dayou and Zeng Shichun sat down, a rough voice came from Li Yi's ears.

"Hahaha, Mr. Li, after all these years of knowing you, this is the first time I have taken advantage of you. Today I will take out all the good wine you have hidden in your house. I will drink it to my heart's content!"

"Boy, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You have to entertain me with good wine and good food!"

…

General Xue and General Ma rarely united their front. There was no question of who was older or younger or who could pee higher or farther. It seemed that they were going to slaughter Li Yi.

Li Yi smiled and said, "Don't worry, old generals. I will cook for you today and treat you well..."

Li Han originally planned to sneak out with Duanwu, but was captured by Li Yi.

Looking at the whole Kyoto, Li Yi really couldn't find a more qualified fish griller than him. The fish caught from the lake of the Academy was still fresh, and there was no shortage of sauces. The only thing missing was Li Han.

Dong Wenyun came with the people of the Shen family and the Wang family.

Dong Wenyun was the son-in-law of the Shen family. The Shen family could be regarded as a family with two prime ministers, and there was a concubine in the palace, but the queen of the Wang family gave birth to the prince, so it was hard to say who was the final winner. However, at least on the surface, they were in harmony.

The next most common ones were some relatives of the Li family, but there were only a few of them. Wei Liang and Yang Yanzhou also chose to eat for free today. Li Yi estimated that he had to find a few helpers, otherwise he really couldn't handle so many people at once.

Today, from inside to outside, from the master to the servants, the Jingwang Mansion was extremely busy.

Wei Xian stood at the door of the Jingwang Mansion and hesitated for a long time, not knowing whether to step in.

After he went back, he thoroughly investigated the information about the Jingwang.

The results of the investigation kept him awake all night.

His poetry and prose are unparalleled, even children who have never read books can recite a few sentences.

Every word of his calligraphy can be sold at a sky-high price. He has never seen anyone's calligraphy sold by word.

He has reached the peak that a literati can reach.

He improved the art of torture, which led to a sharp decrease in the number of cruel officials in Jing State. He donated horseshoes and created a heavenly punishment, which made the army of Jing State invincible and unbeatable. He single-handedly withdrew the Qi State delegation and saved the face of Jing State. He founded the Academy of Mathematics, opened up new mathematics, and purged a large number of parasites in the court...

Jing State's politics, economy, military, commerce, agriculture..., all aspects that Wei Xian could think of had the shadow of King Jing.

He was therefore trusted by the emperors of the two dynasties and became the youngest Jinzi Guanglu doctor in history, and the only foreign minister who was crowned king in Jing State.

He had also reached the pinnacle that a minister could reach.

Such a person should be valued by the emperor, but for various reasons, he left the capital for five years.

Wei Xian admired King Jing very much, even prostrating himself.

The court officials let him down, Wei Xian admitted.

But Shuzhou, after all, was Shuzhou of Jing State, not Shuzhou of King Jing.

He handed the name card to the doorman and said, "Excuse me, Wei Xian, the Imperial Secretary, wants to see King Jing!"