Qiu Yizhi, who had not spoken for a long time, coughed lightly and frowned, saying, "We can neither disbelieve nor completely believe what this assassin said... However, no matter what, the poison of the old captain will be cured as soon as possible, so we should set sail for Fuso as soon as possible."
Qiu Yizi's statement was perfectly reasonable, and the other three had no objection.
Li Zhi then said, "In that case, I will not do business in the Central Plains any more. I will set sail for Japan. As for Mr. Qiu... if you are interested in visiting Japan, I will accompany you. If you are unable to travel due to official duties, please do as you wish. I have other valuable gifts for you."
Qiu Yizi shook his head and said, "I have not only failed to accomplish any service for the old ship owner, but also caused him great trouble. How can I accept the kindness of the old ship owner?"
Li Zhi was very happy to hear Qiu Yizhi's words. Just as he was about to say something humble, he heard Qiu Yizhi continue, "I just want to borrow something from the old ship owner, but this thing is too valuable, and I don't know how to ask the old ship owner."
Li Zhi thought: Although Qiu Yizi's way of speaking and doing things is different from others, he is still a bureaucrat and is naturally no exception - his so-called "borrowing" is just a slightly more elegant way of saying "bribery".
Thinking of this, Li Zhi felt a strange mixture of disappointment, pride, and emotion. However, Li Zhi was a man of great experience and wisdom. He endured the pain in his legs, smiled, and said to Qiu Yizi, "Master Qiu is too polite. If I have anything, just tell me. Let alone borrowing it, it's not a big deal even if I give it to you for free."
"I would like to borrow four days from the old ship owner! Please ask the old ship owner to wait here for four more days." Qiu Yizi said.
As soon as he said this, Li Zhi, Li Shengjie and Lin Shuhan who were present were all shocked - you know, Li Zhi was already deeply poisoned, and every day of delay would increase the danger. They really didn't know why Qiu Yizi wanted to keep Li Zhi in Mingzhou for four days for no reason - they all opened their eyes wide and stared at Qiu Yizi as if they were looking at a monster.
Qiu Yizi knew that once he said this, it would certainly cause everyone present to be surprised and suspicious. Without waiting for them to ask, he said, "I just thought of this, so it's no wonder that you are confused. I wonder if the old ship owner has pen, ink, paper and inkstone in his room. I have a few documents to write. You can make a decision after you read them."
Li Zhi naturally had the four treasures of the study in his room, and Li Shengjie found them without much effort. So Qiu Yizi dictated and Lin Shuhan wrote, and they drafted a document in just one meal.
Lin Shuhan was indeed a man of real talent and learning. When Qiu Yizi was narrating, he mostly used a casual speaking tone. Since Lin Shuhan's writing was not relevant, he changed it into classical Chinese. Qiu Yizi took the document and read it twice, but could not change a single word.
So Qiu Yizhi gently blew the ink dry, handed it to Li Zhi, and said, "Old Captain, please take a look and see if this document is worth your four days of time?"
Li took the document from Qiu Yizi's hand and read it carefully.
There were only three or four hundred words on this thin piece of paper, but Li Zhi spent nearly a quarter of an hour reading it. Finally, he raised his head, holding the feather-light document as if it were a precious treasure, and asked, "Lord Qiu, this... this document..." But he didn't know how to start, and finally couldn't continue.
Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "To be honest with you, old captain, although I am only a seventh-rank minor official, I was born in the army of Youyan Dao, and I have a say in front of the current princes and Prime Minister Zhongli. These nobles are all people with broad vision and long-term thinking. After I send this document to them, I believe they will present it directly to the Northern Palace, and with the wisdom of the current emperor, he will definitely make some decisions." He was not in front of the emperor, so he didn't know what ideas his adoptive father would have, so he didn't dare to say everything.
However, although Qiu Yizi did not say it as a foregone conclusion, Li Zhi was already so excited that he burst into tears and said with a sob: "If the emperor can approve this memorial from Lord Qiu, then you will be the great benefactor of me, no, the entire Li family!"
As he spoke, Li Zhi stretched out his hand and beckoned Li Shengjie over, saying, "Jie'er, your father has difficulty walking, so kneel down quickly and kowtow to Master Qiu for me!"
Li Shengjie didn't understand what was going on. After hearing Li Zhi's instructions, he stood there in a daze, not knowing what to do.
Li Zhi was already anxious, and said, "Jie'er, are you deaf? Master Qiu is the benefactor of our Li family, please kowtow to him for me!"
Li Shengjie has been spoiled by his father since he was a child. Not to mention being beaten, he has never heard Li Zhi say a harsh word. Today, he was actually a little scared when he heard his father's order so bluntly, but he still did not kneel down.
Qiu Yizi hurriedly laughed and said, "Old Captain, why do you have to be like this? The emperor is still in the limbo about whether to approve this matter. It's too early to even say 'thank you'."
"No way! No way!" Li Zhi was still excited. "I am extremely grateful that Your Excellency has this heart. Even if it doesn't work out in the end, at least His Majesty knows our hard work and difficulties. This is also a blessing that our Li family has earned in several lifetimes."
Qiu Yizi quickly turned the topic back to the main topic: "I just said that I want to 'borrow' the old ship owner for four days. These four days are for nothing else but to send fast horses to and from the capital. I wonder if the old ship owner is willing to wait another four days before setting sail?"
"Yes! Of course I am!" Li Zhi said hurriedly, "Not to mention four days, even forty days, four months, or four years, I can wait. Even if I am not blessed enough to wait for the imperial edict, my son Shengjie will wait here till death."
Qiu Yizi was very pleased to hear this, and was about to say a few words of praise, but he heard Li Shengjie beside him say: "My father and I know what Master Qiu meant. It's just that the capital is thousands of miles away, and it's difficult to travel back and forth in four days!"
Qiu Yi waved his hand and said with a smile: "Young Captain, don't worry. I have nothing but my horse, which is a rare treasure. This horse can travel a thousand miles a day and eight hundred miles a night. The land from Jiangnan to the capital is flat. If we travel overnight, we will definitely miss the trip."
Qiu Yizi swallowed his saliva and said, "Okay, there is no time to lose. I still have to bind and seal the documents, and then choose a reliable person to send them to the capital Luoyang. Now I'm going to say goodbye." After that, he led Lin Shuhan out of the room under Li Zhi's grateful gaze.
What Qiu Yizi needs to do is more than just binding and sealing.
As soon as he entered the room, he dismissed his attendants and closed the door. He then said to Lin Shuhan, "The pirate incident has become so serious that I'm afraid it can't be concealed. Besides, we need to explain the cause of Li Zhi's incident, and we also need to explain the pirate incident. In short, we must report the pirate incident to the emperor, but I don't know how to put it most appropriately. Please consider it carefully, sir."
Lin Shuhan slowly waved the folding fan in his hand and said calmly, "I have known for a long time that you are worried about this matter. When I walked all the way here from the old ship owner's cabin just now, I had already thought of a solution. I am just afraid that the idea I came up with in a hurry is too crude and you will not be satisfied with it!"
Qiu Yizhi heard that Lin Shuhan was keeping her in suspense again, so he hurriedly said, "I'm at a loss as to what to do, so I don't have the energy to think of such a thing. Now that Mr. Lin has an idea, please teach me quickly!"
Lin Shuhan said, "This matter had to be explained clearly, but we couldn't involve Miss Wen, the Saint of the Tianzun Sect. It was originally very difficult. But thanks to Yin Tai, we can make things clear through him."
Lin Shuhan suddenly smiled and said, "This Yin Tai has always been against us. I didn't expect that he could play such a role unintentionally. Lord Qiu must thank him very much this time."
Qiu Yizi is a smart man. If he has enough time, he can guess the deeper meaning of Lin Shuhan's words from these two ambiguous ones.
However, time was running out, and Qiu Yizi was so confused that he couldn't guess what Lin Shuhan meant. He had to put down his airs and bowed deeply to the resourceful but arrogant "Mr. Bansong". He said, "Sir, please share your good ideas. Thank you in advance."
Lin Shuhan then said proudly: "It's not a good idea at all. We just need to adjust the time sequence."
He gently waved the folding fan in his hand a few times and said, "Your Excellency can report this to His Majesty. After Yin Chengliang did something bad, his son Yin Tai not only did not appreciate Your Excellency's grace of not killing him, but instead intensified his activities. In order to ensure the long-term stability of Jiangnan, Your Excellency conducted an in-depth follow-up investigation, but unexpectedly, Yin Tai was secretly communicating with the Tianzun Sect. Because the matter was urgent, Your Excellency had to act on his own and go to the Tianzun Sect's Dharma Assembly to arrest him..."
When Qiu Yizi heard this, he laughed: he had done a lot of incognito visits like this in Guangyang City in the past, so it was indeed reasonable to say this.
Lin Shuhan continued, "However, when the capture was about to be successful, it turned out that Yin Tai was not only very close to the Tianzun Sect, but also colluded with the Japanese pirates. He relied on the Japanese pirates to resist the capture on the spot. Lord Qiu was caught off guard and not only did he fail to capture Yin Tai, but he almost lost his life."
"Later, Yin Tai became so crazy that he actually invited the Japanese pirates to attack Mingzhou City. His crime is truly heinous and he must be cut into pieces!" Qiu Yizi said immediately.
Lin Shuhan also nodded and said, "Yes, that's right. In this way, we can connect the two lines of Tianzun Sect and the Japanese pirates together, and naturally lead to Li Zhi and Li Shenshi. It will be much easier for Lord Qiu to speak in front of His Majesty."
After hearing this, Qiu Yizi praised, "Alas! Fortunately, Mr. Lin is by my side. If I had reported the truth with my previous temper, I might have been scolded by the emperor! Maybe I would not be allowed to work as an official, and I would be punished to reflect on my mistakes in seclusion in Guangyang City!"
After hearing what Qiu Yizi said, Lin Shuhan became polite instead: "Master Qiu, I feel ashamed when you say that. But speaking of that, how should we treat Li Zhi and his son? I wonder what suggestions do you have for His Majesty?"
Qiu Yizhi thought for a moment and said slowly: "Among the Han Dynasty's neighbors, Korea, Bohai, Annan, Siam, Loulan, Qiuci and other countries mostly follow the Han Dynasty's lead. It goes without saying that the Turks have been enemies of the Han Dynasty since ancient times. Japan is also at odds with the Han Dynasty, but it's a pity that it is far away from the sea and out of reach. Now Li Zhi has a lot of power in Japan, and it would be great to use him to control Japan. In my opinion, pardoning Li Zhi and his son for the crime of smuggling is the minimum, and it would be best to give him some honorary title to win him over..."
"That's right!" Lin Shuhan praised, "Your Excellency agrees with me. But you should be more confident. It would be better to suggest that the emperor confer the title of general on Li Zhi, and it would be better to add a noble title, so that the emperor can consider it and have some room for discussion with the court officials. Don't just suggest a thousand households or a hundred households, and end up getting away with it. Your Excellency really can't say it..." (To be continued)