Northern Song Dynasty: Starting from the son of Song Renzong

Chapter 139 Two-in-one
As soon as Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi returned to Tokyo, they had to inspect various areas within two days.

At the same time... Zhong Yi of the Zhong family was not treated much better. At least, he didn't have to leave Tokyo City.

Lecture Hall.

Zhao Xin met Zhong Yi.

And when Zhong Yi saw Zhao Xin for the first time, he was probably also confused.

I came all the way from the northwest, right? Just to play with a little kid?
Although he himself is actually not that big.

However, at the age of thirteen or fourteen, he was actually old enough to fight.

If you want to compete with others in strength, I will definitely not be able to win, but I can ride a horse, shoot arrows, and launch sneak attacks.

We can even do some intelligence gathering in front of the enemy's camp.

He can still do these little things.

only……

He probably could never have imagined that the so-called Prince Yu was so young!

Then wouldn't I be just teasing a child?
to be frank!
After meeting Zhao Xin, and imagining my future days in Tokyo City.

Instead, he might miss his days in the Northwest even more.

first……

There are too many rules in Tokyo.

Secondly...

I really don't want to take care of children.

When we were in the Northwest, it was so free and unrestrained with my brothers!
Unfortunately, the imperial edict had already named the youngest son of the Zhong family.

Zhong Yi found that he really couldn't adapt to this wealthy life.

"I greet His Royal Highness Prince Yu!"

Zhao Xin also asked: "What's your name?"

"Reply to Your Highness, Zhong Yi."

Zhao Xin said, "Zhong Yi, I have heard about your father's deeds. It's a pity that such a smart man died too early. Otherwise, he would have made more contributions and become more famous in history."

"Do you know why I asked you to come to Tokyo City?"

Zhong Yi just shook his head.

Zhao Xin asked, "How old are you this year?"

Zhong Yi: “Thirteen.”

Zhao Xin said, "Eight years later, you will be only twenty-one. Twenty-one years old, just the right age to become a general under me. Do you know the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty? Oh, no, do you know the Emperor Taizong Wen of the Tang Dynasty?"

This kind of family should have some education.

Zhong Yi immediately said, "I know."

Zhao Xin said, "Perhaps eight years at the latest, I will send troops to the northwest. You are from the northwest, so you should know the northwest very well?"

Zhong Yi was a little stunned.

Zhao Xin added: "When the time comes, someone like you who is very familiar with the Northwest will most likely be appointed as a forward by me."

"I, Zhao Xin, will restore the territory of the Song Dynasty to that of Emperor Taizong Wen of the Tang Dynasty... well... at worst, it can't be less than the other party's."

"So... next, even if I bring you to Tokyo Kaifeng City, you must not be too lazy and don't let the bright lights and feasting outside dazzle your eyes."

"Eight years later, are you willing to join me in expanding our territory and achieving unprecedented achievements?"

……

Zhong Yi originally thought he was here to play with the kids.

At most, when children are out, they line up in the streets to maintain street security.

did not expect……

Then he said he would.

Zhao Xin asked him if he liked reading.

Zhong Yi said it was okay.

And he has a lot of books at home.

Zhao Xin asked someone to give him a lot of military books, and then found someone and took him to a military camp fifty miles away from Tokyo City.

When Zhong Yi saw those three thousand people training there, he was a little dumbfounded.

No!

When he came, his brothers also said that this was a good position.

Although I am far away from the front line, at least I can be with the noble, and maybe I can get an official position in the court in the future.

If there is someone in the family who has a say in the court, it would be a good thing for their entire family.

But who would have thought...

He did not follow the example of his father, who first became the chief clerk of the Imperial Household Department, then the assistant magistrate, and then the prefect. Instead, he went straight into the military camp.

Good guy!
then……

Everyone also looked at the newcomer.

After that, we started to get to know each other.

Zhong Yi asked who they were.

Is there any need to ask?
Of course he was a soldier! However, the overall feeling he gave to Zhong Yi seemed a little different from that of a soldier who had been to the battlefield.

"We are called the Li Yuan Army, and we are soldiers under His Royal Highness Prince Yu."

Zhong Yi then asked, "Your Highness Prince Yu is only seven years old, and he already has a military service?"

"What's so strange about this! Speaking of which... where are you from?"

Zhong Yi said, "The Northwest battlefield."

"Hmm~Have you ever fought in a war?"

Zhong Yi: "I was still young, so I just watched from the sidelines, but my brothers basically fought against the Xixia people."

Everyone didn't dare to look down on him anymore, and just asked, "Then what are you doing here?"

Zhong Yi also wanted to ask.

I could only answer, "I don't know either. Anyway... the court arranged this, so I came."

Then...

Zhao Xun is here too.

Everyone saluted Zhao Xun, and Zhao Xun said to Zhong Yi and everyone else: "Now that you are so familiar with each other, you can train with him from now on."

After some time.

Zhong Yi asked everyone curiously again, "Why do we have to sing during training?" Also, the Qin military song at the beginning is naturally easy to understand, but who taught the military song at the end?
Everyone said, "This is all taught by His Royal Highness Prince Yu."

Zhong Yi didn't say anything else.

Everything is very strict in the military camp here. If something happens, you have to report. Before and after training, you have to line up and you can't walk around. From time to time, you have to shout one, two, three, four.

Anyway...

Even he had never seen such strict requirements.

of course!

Although it is strict, there are still some interesting things.

Take Cuju for example. There is no one in the army who doesn't like it.

At the middle and end of each month, the soldiers can take two days off to go home.

Everyone had a war horse.

The round trip is more than 300 miles.

It is said that some people were not very skilled at riding before, but nowadays, basically there are no problems.

When you go back, you still have to abide by some military rules.

For example, you cannot trample on farmland when riding a horse. If you do, you have to help others restore the land. If someone reports it and brings it to the military camp, you will be dealt with by military law. Also, you cannot bully the people, you cannot show off in front of the people just because you are a soldier, and you cannot molest women, etc.

Anyway...

It is said that every once in a while, someone would go to investigate and ask the people around them how they were doing.

Of course! Maybe it was just to scare them, but normally, no one would deliberately trample on farmland.

This is because they were all poor people in the past and they all knew how difficult it was to get such land.

When almost everyone in the barracks had left, only Zhong Yi and some people who did odd jobs in the barracks were left.

Like a cook, etc.

And it’s also a matter of fact.

The food in this military camp is much better than what ordinary people eat at home.

Mutton can be eaten every five days.

The other chicken, duck, fish and meat are served in turns.

Eating meat every day also allowed Zhong Yi to learn from the cook that the Li Yuan Army was the elite troops under the command of His Royal Highness Prince Yu.

They need to be trained to become elite soldiers.

No wonder the treatment is so high.

No wonder the soldiers can accept such strict rules.

If you could eat meat every day, you would stand straight when you line up and you would not tease women.

The cook told him that the other side had never seen soldiers like these.

Although it is less murderous now, because I haven't been on the battlefield yet.

But it feels...

Judging from the appearance from the outside, it doesn't look too bad.

It’s a pity that His Royal Highness Prince Yu is still young!
If His Royal Highness Prince Yu could grow up quickly, perhaps he would be able to see the day when this army sets out.

Zhong Yi had no choice but to ask the other party more about His Royal Highness the Prince of Yu.

however……

In fact, the cook doesn’t know much.

but……

His Royal Highness the Prince of Yu has come to him more than once to adjust the diet because he is worried that people are either tired of the food or that it lacks nutrition.

After training every day, I sweat like crazy. Almost every day is high-intensity training, so I really need to eat better.

However, some of the people around also gained a lot of benefits.

Zhong Yi then asked what the benefits were.

The cook then reminded him who usually washed his clothes.

Zhong Yi immediately said, “So that’s it!”
Many things in this military camp have to rely on the people around, especially some elderly women.

The clothes in this army are all washed by aunts.

Of course, the aunt did not suffer any loss, as she found a very stable income.

Then like raising chickens, ducks and so on.

There are more and more of them around.

They are all raised by local people.

Then the military camp purchased from the people.

otherwise……

How can they eat meat every day?

What I am most worried about now is that we eat so well every day, but when the war really comes, will we be able to withstand it?

When the war really breaks out, we may not be able to have such good food.

Of course!
If such a thing really happened, Zhao Xin would definitely deal with it separately at that time.

When Zhongyi was living an ordinary life.

For Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi, the days were much more intense.

After some investigation, Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi began to submit lists of officials to be dismissed to the court one after another.

Many officials who were inactive were dismissed by the two.

This number accounts for at least one-fifth.

Everyone told Fan Zhongyan not to be impulsive, as the country has been plagued by problems for a long time and needs to be addressed slowly.

What happened to these two people?

One fifth of it was cut off in one go.

But there’s nothing I can do!
Since the lists have been submitted.

Even if it is one-fifth, he must be removed from office.

If you want to blame someone, you can only blame these one-fifth of the people. It's because they are not doing their best.

of course!

There must be officials who submitted memorials. Isn’t this too sudden?

All of a sudden, the person was fired.

after……

How do this family of old and young live?
Zhang Dexiang didn't mean to speak for those useless and redundant officials, but as a prime minister, many people responded to him in this way, so he couldn't help but stand up and say something.

Yan Shu, on the other hand, is very smart.

He doesn't talk at all.

only……

If we go by the standards of Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi, it seems only a matter of time before Yan Shu is dismissed.

In fact, Yan Shu had never accomplished anything great, and all he did day after day was indulge in romantic affairs.

You can tell from the words he wrote.

When wars were frequent in the northwest, Yan Shu was criticized by Ouyang Xiu in a poem, saying that the soldiers were fighting for their lives in the northwest. However, Yan Shu, as a Privy Councilor, was still drinking and enjoying the snow with others in his garden.

Of course, this was at least three years ago.

But it is enough to prove Yan Shu's role in the court.

If we only look at the performance in the recent period, Yan Shu's performance can only be described as very ordinary.

At least there's no sign that he's presided over any major events.

The same goes for Zhang Dexiang.

Voices of dissatisfaction gradually filled the entire officialdom.

nowadays……

The biggest complaint of officials is that they have probably forgotten the words of their ancestors that they should treat scholars and officials well.

This made Zhao Zhen very embarrassed.

Can it not be embarrassing?
Zhao Xin didn't want to confront his ministers, and Zhao Zhen naturally didn't want to do that either.

Zhao Xin had no choice but to encourage his father, "Don't be afraid, Dad! They can't eat you up! Just think about it in your mind. Those who were fired by Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi were officials who also ran their own businesses and had several houses and gardens. They cried poor and couldn't make ends meet in front of you. Dad, if you just think about their ugly faces, you will find that it is not unfair to fire these people. In fact, Dad, you will even think that this fire came too late! They were all fat and big-eared, but they didn't contribute anything to the country! These people are simply parasites of the country!"

"Dad, look, after you think about it this way, you will feel much better."

As he spoke, Zhao Xin stroked his father's chest with his hand.

Zhao Zhen: "..."

Seeing his father rolling his eyes at him, Zhao Xin added, "Either you put the blame on Fan Zhongyan and say that it was Fan Zhongyan who asked you to do this, but father, I think that if you want to be a good official, you must at least have the courage to take responsibility."

Zhao Zhen then asked, "Why didn't you step up and take responsibility at the beginning? Did your father have to do it?"

Zhao Xin said, "I know clearly that throughout history, no one who has presided over a reform has had a good result. If I stand up to preside over this matter, won't all the ministers be my enemy? If you pass away, how can I succeed to the throne? The ministers will not trust me anymore."

"So... it's best to let you do this, Daddy. Anyway, you probably won't live for another twenty years. Don't you want to accomplish something earth-shattering while you're still alive? Let the world remember you from now on? If you do this, when I succeed to the throne, I'll also have a Song Dynasty with better national finances!"

"Daddy, have you ever heard of the saying that when parents love their children, they will plan for them in the long run? In the end, what's yours will still be mine, and what's mine will still be mine!"

Zhao Xin finished speaking.

then……

The sound of spanking was heard in the room.

(End of this chapter)