Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 1016: Li's transformation
"Fan Huai" looked sincere, while Li Jilin still had a kind smile on his face.

"Haha, Mr. Fan, you are too serious."

"Why would you say we are trying to win him over... I just share the same ideals with Mr. Fan, and we hit it off right away, right away..."

"Huai wants to be open with Lord Li, but why does Lord Li doubt me?" Huang Huai came closer and looked directly into Li Ji's eyes. "Has Lord Li ever thought about what the Ming Dynasty wants to get from us, Da Yue?" Huang Huai said.

Li Ji looked at "Fan Huai" deeply, feeling a little hesitant. He was not sure if "Fan Huai" was sincere in what he said.

After all, his mentor was the King Zhou of the Ming Dynasty.

He hesitated whether to open his heart to "Fan Huai".

After thinking for a while, he tentatively said, "I think it is to spread education and promote the learning of saints..."

"Hahahaha." "Fan Huai" laughed. "It would be fine if the corrupt scholars and ignorant people believed this. But Lord Li is a dragon among men, how could he believe this reason?"

"You don't have to hide the truth. You must know that Dai Viet was also part of Ming territory a hundred years ago. What Ming wants is for Dai Viet to bow down and submit to Ming, becoming its vassal. Even Dai Viet..."

"Incorporate it into his Ming territory!"

At this point, "Fan Huai"'s eyes were filled with anger, almost bursting out.

This time, it was Li Jili who was surprised. You know, this is the territory of Wuqu Academy controlled by King Zhou of the Ming Dynasty. How could this "Fan Huai" have the courage to say such nonsense here?

He quickly stood up, poked his head out the window and looked twice, confirming that there was no one else outside, and then he breathed a sigh of relief. Then Li Jiyi turned around and looked at "Fan Huai", and said solemnly: "Why do you say that, Mr. Fan?"

"Dai Viet was originally a tributary state of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Emperor personally listed the countries that would not be conquered. How could the Ming Dynasty have such ambitions?"

"Korea was also a country that was not conquered, so where is it now? Japan was also a country that was not conquered, so where is it now?" "Fan Huai"'s face turned red, and he looked like a typical angry young man. "Mr. Li, do you know how the King of Zhou taught me on a daily basis?"

"He often tells me about his kindness to me and asks me to lurk in the court of Dayue in the future to make profits for the Ming Dynasty... In the future, he will find ways to recommend me as a prime minister so that the Ming Dynasty can remotely control the court of Dayue." "Fan Huai" said.

"I, Fan Huai, am also a seven-foot-tall man. Lord Li, do you know how humiliated I feel in my heart even though I pretend to be submissive? It's hateful that my Great Yue is full of corrupt officials and the government is corrupt. A weak country and weak people must suffer such humiliation..."

Li Jilin remained silent, but his heart was slightly shaken.

"Huai is unwilling to become a traitor to the country just because of a little kindness from the King of Zhou. But looking around, I see that they are all corrupt officials. I don't know who has the ability to revive Dai Viet and resist the Ming Dynasty in the north. The reason why I asked Lord Li whether he is willing to protect the writings of all the students in the academy is to confirm whether Lord Li is unwilling to go along with other corrupt officials who bring harm to the country and the people, and whether he has the ambition to make Dai Viet rich and strong." "Fan Huai" spoke passionately, and there was no doubt that he looked like an angry young man.

"Since Lord Li is willing, it shows that he is determined to eliminate the malpractices of the imperial examination system and rectify the country."

"So now, I am sure of Lord Li's intentions, so Huai dares to speak out. Lord Li, I am really willing to serve you. Huai does not want to rely on the Ming Dynasty and become a traitor who sells out his country for fame. I am only willing to follow Lord Li, to rectify our Great Yue country, to enrich the country and strengthen the people..."

"Fan Huai" looked at Li Jili with more sincerity. Li Jili was slightly ashamed. The reason why he was willing to issue a guarantee letter was actually because Fan Huai was a disciple of King Zhou of the Ming Dynasty. After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to spend a lot of money to win him over. He really didn't think about eliminating the malpractices of the imperial examination system or rectifying the country.

But he was so smart that he would not reveal any flaws. After listening to "Fan Huai"'s words, he did not comment. He just sighed as if someone had spoken his mind and said, "After listening to what little friend Fan said, I realized that I am not alone."

"My dear Fan, since the Ming Dynasty covets our Great Viet, that's why they train you. But you are still young this year. Even if the Ming Dynasty supports you as the Prime Minister of Great Viet to control our Great Viet government, it will take at least ten to twenty years."

"In the past ten to twenty years, my Li family has also been pretending to be friendly with the Ming Dynasty and using the power of the Ming Dynasty to develop Annan. What's wrong with that?"

"Of course it can't be done that way." "Fan Huai" shook his head and said, "I've said before that Lord Li wanted to use me to gain the support of the Ming Dynasty, but this move was in vain."

"The ultimate goal of the Ming Dynasty is to use some means to remotely control the court of Great Viet. The Ming Dynasty would trust and control a poor boy like me, but would never trust and control a Prime Minister of Great Viet like you, Lord Li."

"Therefore, in the next 20 to 30 years, the Ming Dynasty will definitely hope that the court of Annan will be in chaos, rather than that one party will dominate. Only in this way can the Ming Dynasty gain more benefits from it."

"Fan Huai" analyzed.

Li Jilin frowned, he felt that what "Fan Huai" said was right.

If the Ming Dynasty really had ambitions for Dai Viet, then a Dai Viet court in chaos would be the most beneficial to the Ming Dynasty. Le Qui Ly was already the prime minister of Dai Viet, the most powerful official of Dai Viet. If he could get support from the suzerain state, the Ming Dynasty, he would definitely unify the Dai Viet court and have the final say in the court...

Instead of this, the Ming Dynasty might as well support the Nguyen family, encourage the Nguyen family and the Le family to fight each other until they are bloody, and shatter the Dai Viet court... This is the situation that the Ming Dynasty would like to see most.

Then thirty years later, the "great scholar" Fan Huai, whom they trained, came to power. Whether to manipulate the Dai Viet court to submit to the Ming Dynasty or become a vassal of the Ming Dynasty without sovereignty, all depended on the thought of the Ming Emperor... The weak "Annam" would be completely at the mercy of the Ming Dynasty.

In short, in the Ming Dynasty's plan, supporting the Li family is the least in line with the Ming Dynasty's interests.

"Could it be that Mr. Fan has a way to break the impasse?" Li Jili asked "Fan Huai" solemnly.

He had ambitions, very big ambitions, and no matter what, he did not want his political enemy, the Nguyen family, to grow strong enough to compete with the Le family.

If the Ming Dynasty supports others, it will inevitably share his power. He absolutely does not want to see this happen.

"Yes. Huai thought about it and came up with this method." "Fan Huai" still said sincerely.

"In fact, Huai originally wanted to wait patiently, relying on the power of the Ming Dynasty, and wait until the Ming Dynasty promoted Huai to a high position, and then take drastic measures, initiate reforms, and strengthen our Great Viet..." "Fan Huai" said. "But if we waited for a long time, I'm afraid that Annan would have suffered a lot. Now, there is a better way."

"I heard that Lord Li's ancestors were originally surnamed Hu, or were they descendants of the Han people?"

"Huh? Yes." Li Jilin nodded, not knowing what this matter had to do with what he was talking about now.

"In that case, why doesn't Mr. Li change his surname back to Hu?" "Fan Huai" suggested sincerely.

"If Mr. Li changes his surname back to Hu, in the eyes of the Ming court, it is tantamount to claiming that he is a descendant of the Han people, which will surely make it easier for him to gain the trust of the Ming court."

"Then, instead of waiting 20 or 30 years to push a poor boy like me to the throne, the Ming Dynasty should directly assist you, a 'descendant of the Han people' who has already become a prime minister."

"As long as you are in charge of government, it means that the 'Han people' are in charge of government for the Ming Dynasty."

"If they can achieve their goals faster, why wouldn't they accept this better and quicker method?"

"When the time comes, you can use the support of the Ming Dynasty to promote the reform of my Great Yue and make my Great Yue stronger and stronger. As long as my Great Yue is strong, the Ming Dynasty will naturally not dare to covet it..."

"Fan Huai" was still speaking, but Li Jilin couldn't stop being amazed in his heart.

Yes, there is also this method. His "Han" origin is the most powerful weapon to win over the Ming Dynasty and get close to the Ming Dynasty.

He naturally did not consider himself a Han Chinese. But if he was, and his Han Chinese identity could bring him benefits, why would he refuse?

This level can't even be considered as sleeping on straw and tasting gall. For the sake of his great ambition, he just temporarily bowed down to the Ming Dynasty...

"... This matter is of great importance, I need to discuss it carefully with others." Li Jiyi said to "Fan Huai" after thinking for a long time. After he made many impassioned speeches and promises to "Fan Huai", he stood up and said goodbye to "Fan Huai", and said that "Fan Huai" was welcome to visit him at any time.

"Fan Huai" had no objection and "expressed his true feelings" to him, saying that he was willing to follow him to "help support the country". Then he personally sent him out of his courtyard and returned to this house.

When he returned to the house, Zhu Su was already sitting in the seat where Li Jizhen had sat before, drinking from the teapot.

"Master." "Fan Huai" turned back to Huang Huai, his face no longer showing the passionate expression of a young man, but rather respectful. Zhu Su looked at him and chuckled, "Good acting skills. Even I, your master, almost believed your impassioned speech."

"Master, please don't laugh at me." Huang Huai smiled bitterly. "After all, I have said these words hundreds of times yesterday under the urging of Master."

"As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. Even if I am a useless person in this field, I will be polished into something useful by you, Master."

The identity of "Fan Huai" is fake, but it is true that Zhu Su accepted Huang Huai as his disciple. His disciples were not precious positions. Fang Xiaoru, Yang Shiqi, Xie Jin, and many other scholars in the Imperial College of the Ming Dynasty were his disciples.

Only in this Annan Kingdom, his status as a disciple is precious. Huang Huai has real talent and knowledge, so Zhu Su will naturally not be stingy with a disciple position.

The performance of "Fan Huai" just now was naturally directed and written by Zhu Su himself, and after countless rehearsals with Huang Huai, it was finally presented in front of Li Ji'e. The purpose was to make Li Ji'e believe that "Fan Huai" was sincere in his service, so that "Fan Huai" could enter the power center of the Li family and "give advice" to the Li family.

"After that, Li Ji'e will definitely recruit you and ask you to secretly inform him. Then, just wait for his news." Zhu Su said. "If there are other things, you also need to concentrate on planning for the Li family and gain Li Ji'e's trust first."

"When the time comes and Li Jili trusts you more, I will need you to take charge."

"Yes." Huang Huai replied respectfully. He frowned slightly and said, "Master, will Li Jizhen really trust me?"

"What if he doesn't act as we expect? Wouldn't that just be a waste of time for the Li family..."

"No." Zhu Su smiled. "Some mistakes and omissions in key intelligence often lead to completely different inferences."

"He thought you were from Annan, so he naturally didn't expect that you would serve the Ming Dynasty wholeheartedly. And in his mind, you have established the image of a scholar with lofty ambitions."

"Li Jizhen thought he had concealed his intentions very well. He certainly would not have thought that we knew about his ambitions from the very beginning."

"These two pieces of intelligence were enough to cause Li Ji'an to make a wrong judgment, making him believe that he could successfully subjugate you and use you to serve the Li family's ambitions."

Huang Huai thought about it for a moment, then nodded in agreement. Not to mention Li Ji'e, even he didn't know how his young master knew about Li Ji'e's ambitions from the beginning and made arrangements in advance.

With this ability to know the future, it can be said that he is always ahead of Li Jilin. No matter how capable Li Jilin is, he cannot find any clues.

"The Li family has lost the upper hand. Even if Li Jizhen is as treacherous as a devil, he can only drink our foot washing water." Zhu Su said. "You don't have to worry. And you don't have to feel guilty."

"Li Ji's nature is the same as his son Li Cang. He will not look down on you, a 'low-class pariah' who is 'born from a merchant family'. The reason why he treats 'Fan Huai' with courtesy is just out of interest."

"So, you don't have to feel that you have owed him anything."

"Master, rest assured, I won't be that pedantic." Huang Huai said. "Besides, Li Jizhen...is not someone who really wants to change Annan."

He recalled what he had seen during his time in Annan.

The displaced people, the slaves who were forced to rise up and fight, the scholars who were suppressed by the nobles and could only be depressed for the rest of their lives...

He, Li Jiyi, was already the prime minister of Annan. If he really wanted to change all this, why did he wait for "Fan Huai" to surrender?

You know, the people of this land were once the people of China. Now, because your majesty has driven out the Tartars, the people of the Ming Dynasty have finally lived a peaceful life after a hundred years, but the descendants of the Chinese people in Annan are still in dire straits.

"Since you are unable to govern this ancient Chinese land, then the Ming Dynasty, the legitimate dynasty of China, should take it back."

“This is the righteousness.”

Huang Huai thought to himself.

……

On the other hand, Li Jili, who had left Huang Huai's residence and was apparently persuaded by Huang Huai's "advice", was summoning his trusted advisers to discuss the pros and cons of changing his surname back to "Hu".

(End of this chapter)