Father can be an enemy country

Chapter 816 Seems to be an old friend

After breaking Li Cunyi's second leg, Li Shanchang packed up and hurried to Beijing.

He knew very well that he no longer had the capital to be arrogant. Whether the old Li family could continue, and whether the Korean Duke's title would last forever, all depended on his subsequent performance.

Although he was mentally prepared, when the ship arrived at Jiangdongmen Pier, no one came to greet him, which still made the old prime minister feel uncomfortable when he returned to the imperial capital after many years.

"That group of people is really true. There should be a limit for people to leave and drink tea." His son, Prince Consort Li Qi, supported the Korean prince and stood on the deck. Looking at the pier where no one was greeting him, he couldn't help complaining:

"When the old prime minister returned to Beijing, no one came to pick him up. It's too much."

"Don't talk nonsense. There is no prime minister in the Ming Dynasty, let alone an old prime minister." Li Shanchang first educated his son, and then sighed:

"Besides, I promoted Hu Weiyong after all. The emperor has called me back to the capital at this time. I don't know if he wants to punish me. Who dares to get close to me?"

"So what if I come to pick him up? Can my father eat him?" Li Qi said depressedly: "When my father left Beijing, there was a quarrel over the empty seal case. The atmosphere was equally tense. Hu Weiyong still led hundreds of officials to see him off. Let's see him off. The emperor knows that the ministers have their own positions and are not his slaves. This is very important!"

"Alas, the world has changed..." Li Shanchang sighed in a deep voice: "The Prime Minister was abolished and the Central Secretary was withdrawn. The era of checks and balances between the monarch and the prime minister was over, and the era of the emperor's dictatorship came. The emperor became the most powerful emperor in history, and all officials followed him. What’s so different about the emperor’s domestic slaves?”

After speaking, he reminded Li Qi: "Let's just talk about these words on the boat. Don't say a word after we get off the boat. I will be my good house slave, and you will be your good son-in-law. For the sake of the survival of the old Li family , we must serve the emperor well."

"My son understands." Li Qi nodded depressedly.

~~
Although no one came to pick him up, Li Shanchang unexpectedly met an old friend when he got off the boat.

Then they saw Song Lian, who had also been an official for a long time, getting off another boat with the support of his second son Song Can.

"Tai Shigong." Li Shanchang greeted with a smile. "We are so destined to meet each other thousands of miles away."

"Korean Gong..." Song Lian had long seen Li Shanchang's magnificent ship, as well as the banners of 'Korean Gong Li' and 'Prince Consort Duwei' on it.

He didn't want to confront him, but he didn't avoid it anyway.He had to force a smile and salute. "I haven't seen you for so many years, but you still look like your old self."

"It's still a piece of shit. The loess is buried up to the neck." Li Shanchang happily took Song Lian's hand and asked with a smile: "You were also summoned by the emperor?"

"Oh, no. The old man is now guilty and has come to the capital to accept the crime." Song Lian shook his head and said dejectedly.

"Alas..." Li Shanchang patted Song Lian's hand and comforted him: "Relax, if you can do it by yourself, it means everything will be fine."

"Thanks to the good advice of Mr. Han Guo." Song Lian smiled, he was already prepared for the worst.Of course it would be better to pass the test.

"Where are you going, I'll take you there." Li Shanchang really wanted to talk to Song Lian.

"No need to bother, His Highness the Crown Prince has sent a car to pick me up." Song Lian smiled gratefully and pointed to a carriage slowly approaching, surrounded by guards.

"The prince really respects his teachers." Li Shanchang said enviously: "Then let's talk later."

"If there is a chance." Song Lian cupped his hands again and got in the car.Li Shanchang watched the prince's carriage pick up Song Lian with a smile on his face, and spat: "Damn, you're showing off!"

"I heard that he was going to be executed by the whole family, but the prince and the emperor slammed the table to save him." Li Qi lowered his voice and said: "Not only Song Lian, but most of the civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty this time also lost their lives to the prince. I saved it."

Li Shanchang smiled teasingly, but didn't say anything.

~~
In that room, Song Lian was taken directly to Chunhe Palace.

But when it was time to light the lamp, the prince returned to the palace with a tired look on his face.

"I know the teacher is going back to Beijing today. I wanted to come back to see you earlier, but I postponed it until now." The prince walked into the hall with an apologetic smile.

"Prince, I really don't know how to thank you." Song Lian knelt down in front of him and kowtowed with tears in his eyes: "The whole family of this old man depends on the prince for his safety. It's really a mess and I can't repay him!"

"Hey, get up, the teacher thanked the wrong person." The prince hurriedly helped him up from the ground and said with a smile: "If you want to thank, just thank the King of Chu. It was he who came forward to intercede and saved the teacher."

"King Chu?" Song Lian was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that Lao Liu, who should hate him so much, would actually come to the rescue.

"Yes, that's my sixth brother." The prince smiled and pulled him down and said, "A little surprised, right?"

"It's a bit." Song Lian smiled. For a gentleman like him, the feeling of being rescued by his enemy was not pleasant.

"To be honest, I'm quite surprised." The prince said, praising Lao Liu's face: "At that time, I was having a dispute with my father, and it was Lao Liu who suddenly stood up and said that Song Lian is the conscience of the Ming Dynasty. I don't believe it. He will participate in the rebellion, even if he knows and refuses to report it, it is impossible, I am willing to guarantee him!"

"His Royal Highness the King of Chu would say that?" Song Lian said in disbelief: "I haven't had much contact with him. It seems that I only listened to other people's descriptions, which is indeed unreliable."

"Yes." The prince said with deep understanding: "I know that because of Guozi University and the three reforms, Shilin's view of him is inevitably biased. But in fact, Lao Liu is very kind and well-organized. Senior Brother Song is here Da Bentang has taught him for a while, so he should know his character."

"Yes..." Song Can nodded quickly. He remembered that the sixth child had been fooling around with the second child and the fourth child all day long. "Liu Bowen's students are definitely good."

"Actually, Lao Liu is also a disciple of my Confucian school. He founded Guozi University not because he wanted to deceive the masters and destroy the ancestors, as they said, but because he wanted to cultivate Confucian scholars with both political integrity and talent for the court." The prince continued:
"Teacher should know very well that my father is very dissatisfied with the current situation of Confucian scholars who are only obsessed with classics and ignorant of political affairs. Therefore, Lao Liu wants to cultivate Confucian scholars to govern the country, and I also agree with this."

"So that's it. It seems that the misunderstanding is indeed too deep...Shilin thought that His Highness the King of Chu was going to destroy Confucianism, so his reaction was naturally a bit extreme." Song Lian forced his mind to shift from personal life and death to the great cause of Confucianism. After thinking for a moment he said:

"If the purpose of His Highness the King of Chu is to cultivate Confucianism, I think it might as well give it a try. Today's Confucian scholars are indeed too worldly, and we Confucians will eventually join the world."

"Right, I just said that you two can talk together." The prince smiled happily: "In the end, with the persuasion of Lao Liu and I, my father finally agreed to let the teacher teach at Guozi University, and the matter was over. ."

"What?" Song Lian was stunned: "You want me to teach at Guozi University?"

"Yes, that's what it means." The prince nodded affirmatively.

(End of this chapter)