Chapter 3486
Chapter 3486
Chapter 3486
On the bank of the Qiantang River outside Fengshan Gate in the south of Hangzhou City, a fleet is slowly sailing towards the river bank.
Although this fleet did not raise any flag, its shape and tonnage far exceeded that of ordinary ships, so it was obviously not a civilian merchant ship or cargo ship, and most of the passengers on board were wealthy or noble figures.
The Jiang'an Wharf had already vacated the berth in advance, and a team of black-clad police officers had arrived on the shore, driving away idlers and clearing out a safe area on the wharf.
Some curious people came forward to inquire who the distinguished guest was, but were impatiently driven away by the police: "Get out of the way quickly, don't interfere with official business!"
At this time, dozens of armed cavalrymen riding tall horses came to the dock, apparently to take over the defense here after the police cleared the area.
The idler, who was originally somewhat dissatisfied with the police's attitude, now became obedient and swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth.
The appearance of armed cavalry is enough to show the importance of the identity of the visitor on the river. If he dares to speak nonsense, he may be taken away on the charge of "disturbing public order".
After the assassination case that occurred in Hangzhou during the National Day last year was solved, several captured assassins were later executed by firing squad outside the city. Locals all know that they must not cause trouble in the area where important people travel. Once they are misunderstood and treated as assassins, the consequences will be too serious.
However, the onlookers did not leave the dock immediately. They had to continue watching the excitement in front of them, so that they could brag about it to their acquaintances and show off their knowledge.
After the cavalry quickly completed their deployment, several carriages drove up to the dock and several people got off the carriages. Among them was a Hai Han official wearing a dark gray coat. The most respected one was the official. Others present took the initiative to step forward and greet him.
Someone among the onlookers has already recognized the official: "Oh my! That's Lord Ning from the Executive Committee! Who is this immortal who has arrived and made Lord Ning personally come out of the city to greet him?"
At this time, the largest ship in the river fleet had already docked, and the workers on the dock pushed a mobile gangway to the side of the ship and connected it to the side of the ship.
Later, a man with gray hair on his temples appeared on the gangway, holding a child of six or seven years old.
After landing, the man walked straight to Ning Qi, clasped his hands, bowed deeply, and said, "My young master greets you, Lord Ning!"
Seeing this, the children around him also followed his example and saluted Ning Qi.
Ning Qi raised his hand and gently supported her, smiling and saying, "Li Li, we haven't seen each other for many years. How have you been?"
The person who could make a high-ranking official of Ning Qi's level come out of the city to welcome him must be a person of equal status and position, and this person was none other than the King of Joseon, Yi Seong.
When Hai Han established diplomatic relations with North Korea in its early years, Li Li was still the crown prince. At that time, he went to Sanya to study for a period of time. Many time travelers taught him. Ning Qi can be regarded as one of his teachers.
Although there was no formal ceremony of apprenticeship at that time due to Li Li's special status, the two of them were indeed master and apprentice. And Li Li was indeed very conscious of the etiquette of a disciple in front of him, and did not insist on showing the style of the King of Joseon just because it was a public occasion. However, few people in the nearby onlookers could recognize Li Li's identity. His fleet did not raise flags, and when he landed, he did not display the ceremonial guards of a king, so it was difficult for anyone to associate him with his identity.
Most importantly, he was not wearing the dragon robe that symbolized the identity of the King of Korea, but a woolen coat that was obviously of Hai Han style.
Since the Ming Dynasty, the clothing of the King of Korea has been made with reference to the level of the Ming prince. Although it is also a dragon robe, it is still obviously different from the dragon robe of the Ming emperor.
The Ming emperor's robe had nine dragons, the crown prince's robe had five, and the prince's robe had only four. The color of the dragon robe worn by the Joseon king was also strictly restricted, and could only be red or blue, never yellow.
Ning Qi obviously noticed this, and after a few pleasantries, he took the initiative to mention this: "Li Li, you are very low-key when you travel now. Outsiders should be unable to tell your identity at all!"
Li Yi understood what Ning Qi meant and quickly explained, "The young prince has been rectifying the royal family in recent years and feels that it is time to change some of the rules left by our ancestors. There is no need to continue with the old Ming Dynasty style!"
It has been many years since Korea broke away from the control of the Ming Dynasty and recognized Hai Han as its suzerain state. However, after all, it had been a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty for more than two hundred years before that, and many of the systems set by the Ming Dynasty could not be changed in a short period of time.
But in recent years, Li Yi gradually realized that he had to further strengthen his ties with Hai Han in order to consolidate his family's rule on the Korean Peninsula. Erasing the many traces of the Ming Dynasty left in Korea became one of the measures in this plan, which also included abolishing the previous dragon robe and wearing Hai Han-style clothing instead.
These may seem like just some minor issues, but Li Yi knows very well that as long as the Hai Han high-level officials see him, they will definitely notice such details, and his efforts will not be in vain.
Ning Qi did not comment after hearing his explanation, but from his expression, it was clear that he was very happy to see Li Li make such a decision.
Ning Qi reached out and touched the head of the child next to him, and asked Li Li, "Is this your youngest son?"
Li Yi replied respectfully, "This is the young prince's fourth son, Li Xuan. He just turned six years old, so I brought him out to see the world."
Li Yi's tone was relaxed, but Ning Qi had already realized that the purpose of his bringing the child to Hai Han was probably not as simple as letting the child see the world.
Li Li's eldest son, the Joseon Crown Prince Li Bai, has been studying in Hai Han for many years. Calculating his age, he is exactly 18 years old this year. Ning Qi believes that Li Li probably wants to take Li Bai back to his country, and then send a younger child to study in Hai Han.
The essence of this matter is of course not just studying abroad. Li Yi sent his child to live in Hai Han, which was actually sending him to the suzerain country as a hostage to ensure that the two countries maintained a stable relationship.
Ning Qi is the senior official in charge of cultural and educational affairs of Hai Han. Li Yi knew that he was coming to pick up the ship, so he specially arranged for the child to meet Ning Qi first, so that they could talk about studying abroad later without it seeming too abrupt.
Ning Qi said: "Li Bai has gone out to study recently. When he returns to Hangzhou in the next two days, we will arrange a family reunion."
After Li Li thanked him, he introduced his accompanying officials to Ning Qi. Minister of Military Affairs Shin Hak-yi and Imperial General An Do-seok were both high-ranking generals who held military power in the Kingdom of Joseon and both had close ties with Hai Han. Li Li's bringing them along was in line with the theme of this Zhoushan Forum.