Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 495 Confidence
According to Zhao Xing's original plan, he would take advantage of the civil unrest in Liao to build the Great Wall in the north and find an opportunity to capture Hehuang. Then he would send troops to destroy Xixia, slowly accumulate national strength, and then send troops to Liao.

However, the development of the situation far exceeded his expectations.

First, there were twists and turns in the civil strife in the Liao Kingdom, and coupled with the interference of Western Xia, he failed to take over Hehuang.

The changes in the situation in the Liao Kingdom far exceeded his expectations.

In order to persuade Zhao Xing to send troops to help her restore her country, Empress Dowager Xiao described in detail the current situation of the Liao Kingdom.

Although the overall military strength of the Liao Kingdom has not decreased much, Yelu Chongyuan rebelled and attacked the capital city, resulting in the death of nearly 200,000 soldiers on both sides.

Yelu Yixin plotted against Yelu Chongyuan and launched a fierce attack on the capital city regardless of casualties, resulting in tens of thousands of casualties.

Later, the city was captured and Empress Dowager Xiao and others were hunted down, resulting in many casualties.

As for Empress Dowager Xiao, among the 70,000 to 80,000 imperial guards in the city, not only those who surrendered, but also those who were chased all the way and sent out to resist the pursuers, tens of thousands of them died.

During these two years, more than 300,000 Liao soldiers were killed in battle.

You know, although the Liao Kingdom had an army of one million, this was only including the local garrisons.

Just like the Song Dynasty, it had more than one million soldiers, but only 800,000 imperial guards.

The main combat force of the Liao Dynasty was about 600,000.

In other words, the civil strife in Liao caused the loss of more than half of its elite troops.

The reason why the military strength did not seem to have decreased on the surface was because Yelu Chongyuan had suffered heavy losses before. He not only drew reinforcements from various tribes on the grassland, but also recruited local troops into the army to make up for the losses.

In the words of Empress Dowager Xiao, the Liao Kingdom was now severely damaged. Although the military strength had not decreased on the surface, there were no elite soldiers.

Zhao Xing did not completely believe what Empress Dowager Xiao said.

First of all, the Liao Dynasty, like the Song Dynasty, had not experienced a large-scale war for many years.

The so-called elites have almost never seen blood.

Although there were heavy casualties during the more than two years of civil unrest, the soldiers had all experienced fighting.

Today, the combat effectiveness of the Liao army is even stronger than before.

But Empress Dowager Xiao's words made Zhao Xu suddenly react.

Although the Liao Kingdom's military strength has not decreased, and its combat effectiveness has even become stronger, it now has a fatal flaw.

That is because the army's composition is too diverse.

Some were loyal to Yelu Yixin, some were loyal to Yelu Chongyuan, and some were loyal to the royal family.

If the army cannot be integrated well and is internally unstable, it will be useless no matter how strong its combat effectiveness is.

In Zhao Xing's view, the individual quality of soldiers is one aspect, but the army's generals are the most critical.

The Yue Family Army was invincible only under the leadership of Yue Fei.

After Yue Fei's death, the generals in Yue Family Army could still lead them to victory, but it was impossible for them to achieve the same glory as before.

The combat effectiveness of Liao soldiers has become stronger, but the composition of the top generals is complex.

The time was too short, and even though Yelu Yixin replaced his confidants with his own, there was no time for them to get used to each other.

This made Zhao Xing think of destroying Liao first.

Even if he could not destroy Liao, he would try his best to weaken its strength.

In this way, the Song Dynasty could then prepare well to destroy Western Xia without worrying about interference from the Liao Kingdom.

Therefore, Zhao Xing's preparation to lead the army in person and boost morale was actually just an excuse.

Zhao Xing's real purpose was to support the British public.

Previously, the Duke of England was asked to lead an army of 100,000 to protect the smooth construction of the Great Wall. With the Duke of England in the lead, the civil servants in the court would not say anything.

However, nearly half of the Song Dynasty's troops were dispatched this time, and the civil officials were definitely unwilling to let the Duke of Ying serve as the commander-in-chief.

Zhao Xing could force the appointment, but those civil servants would also slander him behind his back.

Any slight problem on the front line would be magnified countless times by them and used to attack the Duke of England.

Zhao Xing would not believe it, but if the Duke of England found out, would he be affected?

In a war like this, the slightest influence or mistake could lead to a disastrous defeat.

Zhao Xing did not dare to gamble. Only if he went to the front line could he support the Duke of Ying and let him put aside all his concerns and fight against the Liao Kingdom.

What's more, Yelu Yixin had led the army in person, so there was no reason for him not to go.

However, after he left, there was no one to take charge of Bian Jing, so Zhao Xing was really worried about leaving it to the ministers.

So he thought of asking his father to preside over the government.

"No, I won't agree!"

The emperor said with an unpleasant expression, "You are the son of a rich family, so you cannot sit in the hall. I am old now, and I don't know how long I can live. Yong Ge'er is still young, what if something happens to you?"

"Father, even if I lead the army in person, I will only stay in the city and will not go to the battlefield in person," said Zhao Xing.

"It's not as simple as you say. Emperor Taizong led the army in person, but was attacked by the Liao Kingdom, and they were separated in the chaos."

"I know you won't go to the battlefield in person. You going to the border can boost morale, but if the battle on the front line fails, will you retreat? If you retreat, morale will be completely gone, and you won't even be able to defend the city."

The emperor said seriously: "Have you considered these?"

"Father, I will not lose." Zhao Xing said.

He understood what his father meant. If he led the army in person, it would be like sending generals to fight each other before two armies go into battle. If he won, it would certainly boost his own morale, but if he lost, it would also undermine his own morale.

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, two armies often fought each other before a battle, but in fact, fighting between generals rarely occurred in ancient wars.

That's why.

Zhao Xing led the army in person. Once the situation became unfavorable, even if he did not leave, the generals and ministers accompanying him would make him leave.

Intellectually, this makes sense.

But ordinary soldiers don’t understand these principles.

"Are you sure you won't lose?"

Seeing that Zhao Xing was unmoved, the Emperor said angrily, "Even if Sun Wu were resurrected, he wouldn't be able to win every battle. How can you be so sure?"

"Your Majesty, I am really sure. As for where my confidence comes from, you will know once you follow me out of the city," said Zhao Xing.

If even my father can't persuade him, the civil and military officials in the court will certainly not agree.

Only by persuading the emperor to agree, and with his father's help, could he get all the officials to agree to let him lead the army in person.

"Ok?"

The emperor was stunned when he heard this: "What are you looking at?"

"Your Majesty will not believe me even if I tell you. If you come with me and take a look, you will understand," said Zhao Xing.

The emperor was silent for a while after hearing this, and then said, "What if I still don't agree after reading it?"

"I won't go there." Zhao Xing said.

"You are so confident. Even though I have seen it, I still won't agree, but I also want to go and take a look." The emperor smiled.

"I believe that the emperor will agree after reading it." Zhao Xing said indifferently.

"Haha, then tomorrow morning, I will go out of the palace with you to take a look."

"Then it's settled."

…………

The next day, Zhao Xing and his father left the palace and headed south of the city.

On the way, his father asked Zhao Xing several times what he was going to take him to see, but Zhao Xing just smiled and said nothing.

If the throne had not been passed to Zhao Xing and Zhao Xing was not his only son, the emperor would have suspected that Zhao Xing was trying to murder him.

It took more than two hours for the carriage to stop.

"Father, we're here." Zhao Xing said.

"Is this the Firearms Department?"

The emperor lowered the curtain and said in surprise. "That's right!" Zhao Xing nodded.

"I heard that you attach great importance to the Firearms Bureau. I want to see what makes you so confident." The emperor stood up and said.

Zhao Xing stepped forward to support his father and said with a smile, "You will know in a moment."

Cao Mian was waiting outside. When he saw the retired emperor and Zhao Xing getting off the car, he came forward to greet them.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to the Supreme Emperor!" Cao Mian bowed.

"No gift!"

The Emperor smiled and said, "You look a lot darker, but you look a lot more energetic. Is it hard to be out in this wilderness for so long?"

"It's not hard, Your Majesty." Cao Mian bowed.

"When your father first took office as the Chief Inspector of the Palace Front, he stayed in the palace all day and never went home. You have some of your father's style." The emperor smiled.

Cao An was the Chief Inspector of the Palace Guard before he took power. At that time, Empress Dowager Liu wanted to emulate Wu Zetian.

In order to protect the retired emperor, Cao An stayed in the palace for half a year.

After a brief greeting, Cao Mian invited the retired emperor and Zhao Xing into the tent.

"Are you ready?" Zhao Xing asked.

"After receiving the order from Your Majesty, I ordered people to prepare, and everything is ready," said Cao Mian.

"Father, let's go over there after we finish our tea?" Zhao Xing said with a smile.

"No more tea, let's go now."

The curiosity of the retired emperor has now been aroused by Zhao Xing.

"Then let's go now, Cao Mian will lead the way."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xing stepped forward and helped his father up.

"Your Majesty, the distance is a bit far, and we have to take a carriage." Cao Mian said after leaving the tent.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xing helped his father get into the carriage again.

"I see these are all tents. Why don't you build houses?" the emperor asked in confusion.

"Because it's too dangerous, tents are actually more convenient." Zhao Xing said with a smile.

The previous Firearms Bureau also built houses, but when accidents happened later, the houses were either collapsed by the earthquake or caught fire.

After the move, Cao Mian went to Zhao Xing and did not build a house, but only used tents.

This way you can keep your distance, and if any problem occurs, it will not easily affect others.

"Danger? What danger?" the emperor asked in surprise.

"Father will know it soon." Zhao Xing said with a smile.

"You've been keeping me in suspense!"

The emperor glared at Zhao Xing and said nothing more.

Soon the carriage stopped, and when Zhao Xing helped his father out of the carriage, the emperor was stunned.

He saw a section of city wall about a hundred or two hundred meters away. The wall was not high and only had a section, which looked very abrupt.

"What is this?" The emperor looked at Zhao Xing in confusion.

This time Zhao Xing did not keep the secret and told his father about the gunpowder and its power.

"I have heard of gunpowder before. Can't it only be used to start a fire?" The emperor frowned.

"I cannot explain the details clearly, Father, you will know after you have seen it."

Zhao Xing helped his father get off the carriage and said, "Cao Mian, introduce yourself to my father."

"Yes!"

Cao Mian bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this section of the city wall is built according to the standards of a normal city wall except that it is a little shorter."

"Let's start." Zhao Xing said.

"Yes!" Cao Mian responded, then bowed and trotted away.

"Your son says that he can destroy the city wall in an instant. Do you believe it, father?" Zhao Xing said with a smile.

"You want me to look at this?" The emperor frowned.

There was a hint of worry in his eyes. He was worried that Zhao Xing was possessed by evil spirits.

"I know that your father doesn't believe it, and you will know it soon," said Zhao Xing.

After waiting for a while, Cao Mian ran back and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty, please cover your ears and open your mouth a little, otherwise you will get hurt. The noise will be a bit loud, please don't panic."

"I understand." The emperor said disapprovingly.

He already thought that Zhao Xing had hired someone to put on a show for him.

It's not so mysterious that a city wall can be destroyed in an instant.

On the other side of the city wall in the distance, several soldiers were busy. After a while, they waved flags to give us a warning.

Seeing this, Cao Mian reminded again and then covered his ears.

The retired emperor disagreed and did nothing.

Only after Zhao Xing's urging did he cover his ears.

"boom!"

After a while, there was a loud bang, and the towering low city wall collapsed, with smoke and dust filling the air, blocking the view.

It was the first time that Zhao Xing witnessed a gunpowder explosion. Although he was prepared, he was still frightened and it took him a while to come back to his senses.

Not to mention the emperor who didn't take it seriously.

Zhao Xing came back to his senses and went to see his father's expression. Seeing that his father's eyes were dull and his face was pale, he asked anxiously, "Father, are you okay?"

After shouting several times, the father finally came back to his senses from his shock and said incoherently: "Ah... this is... what did you say?"

Zhao Xing was startled by his father's loud voice. He knew that his father must have become deaf from the noise, so he could only speak loudly to his father.

It took a while for the emperor to return to normal. The dust had settled, and the city wall, which was originally about ten meters high, had been broken in the middle, leaving only ruins.

The emperor looked at Zhao Xing, then walked towards the city wall without saying a word.

Zhao Xing hurriedly followed him and came to the city wall. The emperor looked at the big hole on the ground and the broken city wall, and looked at Zhao Xing and said, "Is this really caused by gunpowder?"

Although my father's voice is still quite loud, it is much better than before.

Zhao Xing breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "How dare I deceive my father?"

The emperor looked at the ruins for a long time without saying anything.

He originally thought that Zhao Xing was lying to him, but the loud noise just now made him believe it.

After a long silence, the Emperor said, "With such a magical object, any city would be useless. No wonder you are so confident."

It’s not that the Song Dynasty was unable to defeat the Liao Dynasty. Back then, Emperor Taizong had recaptured nearly half of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.

However, if the Liao Kingdom cannot win the battle, it can defend the city. If it drags on for too long, there will be no time to digest the captured city, and the supply of food and grass will also be stretched.

"Gunpowder can break a city, and cement can quickly build a city. With these two powerful weapons, as long as the soldiers fight for their lives, even if we cannot recapture the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun in one fell swoop, I am confident that I can greatly weaken the strength of the Liao Kingdom." Zhao Xing said with a smile.

"Why don't you bring the officials with you? It will be very troublesome to persuade me if the officials disagree." said the emperor.

Zhao Xing was delighted when he heard this and said, "Before it is used, the fewer people who know about it, the better. As for the ministers in the court, I would like to ask the emperor to help persuade them."

"I can agree to your request, but you have to agree to one condition of mine," said the emperor.

"Father, please speak."

"The Duke of Wei will lead the troops to protect you, and you can only stay in the rear city. I will give him an order, and if you violate it, he will force you back." said the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I agree." Zhao Xing agreed without even thinking.

He values ​​his life very much, and he would not go to the battlefield unless his father told him to.

(End of this chapter)