The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 58 Monk Daoyan
Prince Yan, Zhu Di, suffered his first major defeat since the Jingnan Rebellion. He was pursued for hundreds of miles from the city of Jinan, and could only look south in panic, narrowly escaping death.

This victory greatly boosted the morale of the gloomy court. Sheng Yong and Tie Xuan became famous overnight. Sheng Yong became the Grand General who succeeded Li Jinglong, while Tie Xuan was promoted to Shandong Provincial Governor, a high-ranking official, and was also appointed Minister of War.

Li Jinglong, as in history, did not die. Zhu Yunwen spared him. When Li Qi learned of this, he merely gave a mocking smirk.

There are many theories in history about why Li Jinglong opened the gates of Yingtian City to welcome the Yan army into the city. Some conspiracy theories even suggest that Li Jinglong and his generals were impersonating Zhu Yunwen because Zhu Yunwen valued civil officials.

How ridiculous! It was Huang Zicheng who recommended Li Jinglong, and Zhu Yunwen's high regard for Li Jinglong was truly remarkable.

In Li Qi's view, the reason was actually very simple. During the Jingnan Campaign, Geng Bingwen and Li Jinglong were defeated one after another. This was not only a personal failure, but also a failure of the veteran generals. And failure meant the loss of power.

The rise of new-generation military leaders like Sheng Yong and Tie Xuan would replace them in wielding power, which Li Jinglong and his ilk could not tolerate. Therefore, selling Zhu Yunwen would be an excellent option.

As it turned out, Li Jinglong's choice was correct. During the Yongle era, he was promoted and ennobled, ranking first among the meritorious officials and enjoying great honor. However, this honor was short-lived, like a shooting star that flashed by in an instant.

The defeat in the Battle of Jinan was not the end. Soon after, in the Battle of Dongchang, Sheng Yong defeated Zhu Di again in open battle. Zhang Yu died in this battle, and Zhu Di barely escaped with his life.

This was a huge blow to the Yan army; the invincible King Yan had lost his golden armor!
The general trend of the world seemed to be returning to normal. The system created by Zhu Yuanzhang ultimately protected the central court. A mere vassal king could not overturn the heavens.

……

Zhu Di's gaze fell on Dao Yan, who resembled a fierce tiger, and he said with a deep sense of confusion, "Master, it seems that the Jingnan Rebellion is no longer feasible. Why don't I follow you and become a monk? That would be quite enjoyable."

Dao Yan remained calm and suddenly asked, "Has Your Highness ever met Li Qi, the imperial son-in-law after the twenty-third year of the Hongwu reign?"

Zhu Di was taken aback, not understanding why Daoyan would suddenly say such a thing. He shook his head and said, "At that time, I had already taken up my fiefdom, so naturally I had never seen him. However, his reputation had grown and he had changed drastically, quite different from when he was young."

When the Korean government was raided and its members were exterminated, and Li Qi and his family were exiled to Jiangpu, did they ever imagine that one day they would be able to distinguish themselves in the world of scholars?

"Your Highness has never met Li Qi, but I have."

Zhu Di was startled and asked urgently, "When did you first meet Li Qi, Master?"

Dao Yan fell into reminiscence and slowly said, "That was the thirtieth year of Hongwu."

……

In the thirtieth year of the Hongwu reign, Li Qi and Daoyan did meet once. At that time, Li Qi was very curious about this prime minister in black.

The first thing Li Qi said when he saw Dao Yan was, "If you assist the Prince of Yan, chaos will surely ensue."

In his early years, Yao Guangxiao visited Songshan Temple, where the fortune teller Yuan Gong told him, "You are a peculiar monk! Your eye sockets are triangular, like a sick tiger. It is your nature to be fond of killing, just like Liu Bingzhong!"

Hearing Li Qi say this again today, he immediately became curious and asked, "Why does the Prince Consort say such a thing?"

Li Qi did not answer the question, but only glanced at him. Dao Yan felt as if he had been seen through. Li Qi said calmly, "You know it yourself."

Daoyan then asked, "Since the prince consort says I am a person who will bring chaos to the world, why doesn't the prince consort bind me and hand me over to the authorities?"

"Did you cause any trouble? Did you sit properly?"

"Of course not!"

"Then why should I bind you to the government?" Dao Yan was speechless for a moment, then laughed and said, "Better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free, isn't that the natural order of things?"

Li Qi stood with his hands behind his back, his face calm. "Those who follow this path will inevitably suffer a backlash. They will kill someone today and be killed tomorrow."

"The Prince Consort is truly a great sage of Confucianism!"

Daoyan laughed heartily. The two talked a lot that day, mostly without empty or mystical talk. Before parting, Daoyan asked Li Qi, "If chaos breaks out in the world, who do you think the Prince Consort can defeat?"

……

As his thoughts returned to the present, Zhu Di never expected Dao Yan to stop here, and asked urgently, "What did Li Qi say?"

Dao Yan looked at Zhu Di and slowly said, "Li Qi pondered for a long time before saying, 'Those who can learn from failure, correct their mistakes, and never give up in the face of defeat will ultimately achieve victory.'"

This is what I want to say to Your Highness today: do not hesitate for a moment. From the moment we raised our army, we have no way out!
Success would be considered pacifying the rebellion, while failure would be considered treason!
Give up all illusions. Do you see Yingtian?

Take it! Break through it! That's the only thing you can do.

"Did Li Qi foresee today's situation back in the thirtieth year of the Hongwu reign?"

Zhu Di sighed with emotion.

"Li Qi was a man of exceptional talent, skilled in both literature and martial arts. He was only wasted his life because of Li Shanchang's great crime."

Such a person is most capable of seeing the big picture from small details, knowing the world is in autumn from a single falling leaf. Zhu Yunwen's current character was not formed in a day, so how could he not see it?

Has Your Highness forgotten that when the late Emperor asked Li Qi about the succession, Li Qi recommended not Zhu Yunwen, but one of the late Emperor's sons? It was only because the Prince of Qin was deemed unsuitable that the succession fell to Zhu Yunwen.

If the King of Qin and the King of Jin had already passed away that day, the throne might very well have fallen to Your Highness!
During the Hongwu reign, Li Qi declined the duties of the Crown Prince and later explained the matter of the heir apparent. During the Jianwen reign, although he tried his best to do his job, everyone knew that he was merely following the late emperor's orders.

He disliked Zhu Yunwen from the very beginning!

Dao Yan said, word by word, "Li Qi, such an exceptionally intelligent person, looks down on Zhu Yunwen so much. Doesn't that just prove how incompetent Zhu Yunwen is?"

"Your Highness, are you unable to even defeat such a despicable person?"

Zhu Di was stunned for a long time. He felt a surge of power flowing through his limbs and veins again. The courage he had lost due to defeat returned to his chest. His dejected body straightened up again, and the heroic and valiant Prince of Yan returned.

Everyone has a different place in this world.

The emperor is heaven, his words carry the law of heaven, and every word he utters is like thunder from the heavens. So-called thunder and rain are all divine grace.

Although Li Qi held a lowly official position and wielded little power, he carried considerable weight in the world, and his words carried weight!
Because he is universally recognized as the wisest person, and the words of a wise man are always taken as truth; what he praises is right, and what he opposes is wrong.

"Raise an army and fight Sheng Yong again!"

"If you don't succeed, you will become benevolent!"

Having regained all his confidence, Zhu Di decided to show the world what a true general should be!

(End of this chapter)