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Chapter 870 Southern Tour
Su Ning, who was far away in Jiangning Prefecture, naturally heard about the Gu family's split up, but he did not feel any complicated feelings, because everything today was the fault of everyone in the Gu family. Instead, he was a little surprised that Gu Yankai was willing to let his third son Gu Tingwei be adopted by the Xiangyang Marquis Mansion, which made Su Ning feel confused and puzzled for a while.

You should know that although both the Ningyuan Marquis and the Xiangyang Marquis families have the surname Gu, and the first generation of the two marquises are brothers, the Xiangyang Marquis family has always been small in population. A long time ago, they adopted a son from the Ningyuan Marquis Gu family, and in the current generation, they adopted Gu Tingwei from the Ningyuan Marquis Gu family. It can be seen that the Gu surnames of the Ningyuan Marquis and the Xiangyang Marquis can be said to have a long history.

Su Ning knew that Gu Yankai had been arrogant all his life, and the only time he bowed his head was for his useless clansmen. Unexpectedly, this time he was willing to bow to the Marquis of Xiangyang for his youngest son. This reminded Su Ning of the saying that parents who love their children will plan for them in the long run. It was obvious that Gu Yankai and Xiao Qinshi were just eyeing the title of the Marquis of Xiangyang.

"Master, do you want to find a way to teach this Marquis of Xiangyang a lesson?" Jinyiwei commander Su Yi knew best that Su Ning wanted to teach the Gu family a lesson, so he couldn't help but look at Su Ning in front of him and asked.

"Forget it! From now on, these trash from the Gu family have nothing to do with me. Whether they live or die is up to them. As for the Marquis of Xiangyang's Mansion, it naturally has nothing to do with us." Although he already owned the fertile land of Jiangnan, Suning did not expand his hatred in an overbearing manner.

"Yes! Master."

"Su Yi, has there been any movement from the Liao Dynasty and the Western Xia recently?" Suning then asked about the situation in the north and northwest. These two jackals would definitely not sit idly by and watch him develop.

"Master, ever since the Song army obtained war horses and sophisticated firearms from our Ningyuan Army, and with our Ningyuan Army's training and instruction provided by our instructors, the Song army immediately launched a counterattack against the Liao and Western Xia. They have already recaptured the lost Zhending Prefecture. Naturally, the pressure from the Khitan and Western Xia has doubled, and they have set their sights on our Ningyuan Army."

"Hmph! Cowards are cowards after all! Even if we give them the Song army's magic weapon, they are still hesitant. I don't think there is any hope of saving the Song Dynasty." Suning felt ashamed of the Song army's hesitation, as if the Chinese people have always had these weak traditions.

"Master, the Song Dynasty is urging our Ningyuan Army to go north as soon as possible to attack the Liao Dynasty. How should our Ningyuan Army respond?" Su Yi then mentioned the urging of the Song Dynasty court again, and then looked at Su Ning in front of him and asked about the next arrangements.

"Just say that I am not in good health and not suitable to send troops immediately. Also, let the Jinyiwei increase the exploration of Bohai Bay. The next step is to stab the Khitan's anus." At this time, Suning immediately stated the next arrangement, and suddenly showed a vicious expression.

"Yes! Master, since the Song Dynasty is so terrible, why don't you just replace it?" Su Yi, an AI robot, looked at Suning with some confusion and asked. It only takes a round trip along the river to destroy the Song Dynasty court.

"Su Yi, although you are just AI robots, you have a wealth of knowledge stored in you. You should understand the resistance and destruction of Chinese culture by future generations. I just want to preserve our Chinese cultural heritage as much as possible, so naturally I need to adopt relatively gentle means to deal with Bianjing."

"Master, the Liao and Xixia factions are preparing to send people to Jiangning Prefecture to contact you, and they also want to obtain firearms from us."

"Hmph! It would be a waste not to kill the rich man who came to our door on his own. A Mauser 1888 costs thirty taels of gold, and twenty taels of bullets for ten rounds." Suning sneered and doubled the price of the arms. He also wanted to use these advanced firearms to make a killing for them. Anyway, these natives couldn't make them.

"Yes! Master."

"By the way! I heard that the General Construction Bureau of the Song Dynasty is imitating the Mauser 1888?" Then Su Ning looked at Su Yi in confusion and asked.

"Yes! But the progress was not smooth at all. For this reason, the government even executed several managers of the Ministry of Works and set up a considerable bonus."

"Hehe, bringing out these groundbreaking firearms ahead of time might actually allow China's technology to advance a significant step forward, so let the old emperor of Bianjing and his men do whatever they want."

"Yes! Master."

Suning had never thought about fighting side by side with the soldiers of the Song Dynasty. If he really pulled his Ningyuan Army to the frontier, the friendly forces might cause more harm to him than the enemies in the north. You must know that the people of the Song Dynasty are best at making trouble for others and fighting among themselves. Besides, if the Ningyuan Army really went to the border obediently, the logistical lifeline of the Ningyuan Army would naturally be under the control of the ministers in Bianliang. So Suning planned to start the attack directly from the Bohai Bay, the heartland of Khitan. Anyway, he has always preferred to fight alone.

…………

In fact, Suning has been secretly preparing to popularize compulsory education in the south of the Yangtze River, and then completely abolish the old private schools and aristocratic academies, so as to seize the public opinion and cultural positions from the hands of the literati. Its own AI robots are the best teaching assistants. You must know that the amount of knowledge stored in Suning's AI robots far exceeds that of ordinary people, so Suning plans to build a large boarding school in the south of the Yangtze River.

"Father-in-law, you helped build my palace very beautifully. It seems that I should consider giving you more responsibilities." The construction of Prince Ning's Palace has been completed for some time. Suning has not figured out how to continue to use Sheng Hong, simply because Sheng Hong is too complicated.

"Sheng Hong thanks His Highness." Sheng Hong couldn't help but feel surprised when he heard Su Ning's praise and recognition of him.

"Well, father-in-law, please take a look at this construction plan first. I intend to build one in each state, capital and county, so this is a very large project." Then Suning took out the planned campus construction sketch and prepared to hand it over to Sheng Hong in front of him to be responsible for the construction.

"Oh? Your Highness, what is this complex of buildings used for?" Seeing that they were all two-story brick and wood structures, Sheng Hong felt a little strange.

"Military camp! A very big military camp." Suning knew that his plan would definitely cause fierce resistance from the soldiers, so he naturally needed to keep it secret for the time being, and then he made up stories to fool the father-in-law in front of him.

"Ah? Military camps? So many and such big military camps?" As expected, Sheng Hong widened his eyes in shock at this moment, feeling that the young King Ning in front of him was definitely a lunatic.

"Yes! If we want to defend the prosperous land of Jiangnan, we naturally need to maintain the strong military strength of our Ningyuan Army." Su Ning didn't care about being a warmongerer, as long as he could make others always fear him.

"Ah? Your Highness, those who love war will surely perish!" Sheng Hong couldn't help but persuade Su Ning at this time.

"Father-in-law, I will continue to fight to support my war effort. I believe the treasury will never be depleted."

"........."

At this moment, Sheng Hong really wanted to persuade the belligerent Su Ning again, but he swallowed the words back when they came to his lips. After all, he and Su Ning had not been together for a long time, and he didn't know whether Su Ning was the kind of person who would listen to advice. What if Su Ning had a hot temper? If he angered Su Ning again, it would be a loss.

The Sheng family is now too deeply tied to Suning, so it is extremely difficult for Sheng Hong to break free from the control of the Ningyuan Army. Regardless of whether Suning is a warmongering warmongerer or not, Sheng Hong and the entire Sheng family have no choice but to go down the same path. Moreover, Sheng Hong also wants to fight for the title of prince for his little grandson.

When Sheng Hong returned to the Sheng family in Jiangning Prefecture, Old Lady Sheng noticed Sheng Hong's expression and guessed that Su Ning must have given Sheng Hong another difficult task. "Hong'er, you have completed the task of building the palace. Is the prince planning to give you a promotion?"

"Mother, please take a look at this construction plan sketch." Sheng Hong did not answer Mrs. Sheng immediately, but instead handed the plan to the old lady.

"Oh? What is this?" Old Mrs. Sheng immediately took it and looked at it in surprise.

"Mother, the prince said that he would build a complex like this in each city of prefectures, states and counties to be used as garrison camps for the Ningyuan Army." At this time, Sheng Hong explained with a helpless smile. In such a large Sheng family, only the old lady in front of him could give him advice.

"Impossible! If they were truly building military camps, they couldn't possibly be this luxurious and sturdy. Wouldn't it be easier to just hand it over to the local garrisons?" Looking at the detailed construction plan and various engineering parameters, Old Lady Sheng decisively shook her head and analyzed. "Ah? Mother, what do you mean?" Sheng Hong's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Old Lady Sheng.

"Hong'er, although our Prince Ning is still young, he holds great power and always plans carefully before taking action. I suspect this must be a grand plan of unprecedented magnitude, and it is likely that the opposition he will encounter will be very fierce, so he has to deliberately hide his true intentions."

"Mother, isn't the prince planning to build a military camp?"

"Humph! Hong'er, even if the First Emperor were still alive, he couldn't build a military camp of this scale."

"Mother, it seems that the prince still doesn't trust me."

"Hong'er, this just proves that the prince's true plan is too grand. Even with his unrestrained personality, he has to be treated with caution. So from now on, just focus on construction and don't worry about anything else."

"Yes! Mother."

……

The news that the Liao and Xixia had sent people to contact Prince Ning of Jiangning Prefecture quickly reached the ears of the ministers in Bianjing and the old emperor. Naturally, the old emperor was furious and smashed many teacups, "Evil son! Evil son! How can you support the northern barbarians like this?"

"Your Majesty, the price of firearms and ammunition sold by Prince Ning to the Liao and Western Xia is twice that of our Song Dynasty. Perhaps His Highness Prince Ning is also trying to raise military pay for the Ningyuan Army!" Several ministers looked at each other in confusion, and were also somewhat confused about Su Ning's true thoughts.

"Hmph! The Ningyuan Army has already occupied the fertile land south of the Yangtze River. Why does it need to rely on selling firearms to raise military pay?" The old emperor did not agree with the ministers' speculation. You must know that the entire fertile land of the Song Dynasty is in the hands of the Ningyuan Army.

"Your Majesty, I was mistaken in my words." Mr. Fu, who had just spoken out what they were thinking, bowed and apologized quickly.

"It doesn't matter."

"Your Majesty, Prince Ning has no ties in Bian Jing right now, which is very disadvantageous to the Song Dynasty court." Then Prime Minister Shen on the side also realized how powerful Su Ning was, and then looked at the old emperor in front of him and reminded him.

"Oh? Lord Shen, do you have any ideas?" The old emperor looked at the old fox in front of him and asked with understanding.

"Your Majesty, it is rumored that Prince Ning trusts Sheng Hong's family very much. In addition to the fact that the Sheng family has two daughters who are Prince Ning's concubines, Sheng Hong himself is also the person in charge of the construction of Prince Ning's Mansion in Jiangning. Recently, Prince Ning also intends to entrust the important task of building the Ningyuan Army camp to Sheng Hong. Your Majesty, why don't you order Sheng Hong to be promoted to an important official in Bian Jing?" As expected, Prime Minister Shen made a very sinister suggestion, which was nothing more than to let Su Ning stay in Bian Jing as a restrained object.

"Oh? What official position does Lord Shen think is appropriate to give to Sheng Hong?" The old emperor soon understood Lord Shen's intention, which was nothing more than to let Suning's father-in-law and his family come to Bian Jing as hostages.

"Minister of Works."

"Well, what are your opinions, gentlemen?" The old emperor then looked at the other gentlemen without comment and asked.

"Return to the emperor, I second your proposal."

"Very well! Issue an immediate decree to promote Sheng Hong to the position of Minister of Works, and have the entire family relocate to Bianjing immediately."

Although the area south of the Yangtze River was actually out of the control of Bianliang, it was still nominally under the jurisdiction of the Zhao Song court. Suning probably had no way to refuse the transfer of officials, so this "hostage plan" could be said to be an open conspiracy.

In fact, the original intention of the old emperor and the ministers was to let Suning come to Bian Jing to settle down, so that it would be easy for Suning to lose control of the Ningyuan Army. Unexpectedly, Suning was so lazy and shameless. He refused every time on the pretext of being seriously injured, and also refused to immediately send the Ningyuan Army to the northern border Khitan with the same excuse.

When the old emperor returned to the Funing Palace in the harem, the Empress Dowager handed him a letter with a smile, "Your Majesty, Huirou wrote back saying that she is now pregnant, and that Prince Ning loves her very much. She also expressed her gratitude for choosing a good husband for her."

"This evil creature! They have quite a lot of offspring. I heard that the two daughters of the Sheng family gave birth to a son each for Prince Ning?" At this time, the old emperor took the letter, but felt extremely jealous of Su Ning.

"Yes! The eldest son is Su Zheng, and the second son is Su Tong."

"Hmph! Peace and harmony among the people?" The old emperor soon guessed Suning's intention.

"Huh? I guess so." Suddenly hearing the old emperor's speculation, Empress Cao nodded in agreement.

"Evil creature! You didn't even ask me for permission to name a few of your children." Soon the old emperor felt depressed again. After all, Suning was nominally his adopted son.

"Your Majesty, since Prince Ning is unwilling to come to Bian Jing, why don't we tour Jiangning Prefecture ourselves? In addition to allowing Prince Ning to feel your favor, we can also let the people and officials of Jiangnan enjoy the emperor's grace." After all, Empress Cao came from a prominent family and was adept at all kinds of struggle methods.

"Oh? But touring Jiangnan costs too much. You know, our Song Dynasty is facing difficulties everywhere." The old emperor naturally understood Queen Cao's intentions easily, but he became a little worried about the expenses of the southern tour.

"Your Majesty, it is naturally Prince Ning who will provide the financial and labor support when we arrive in Jiangning Prefecture. It is very convenient to take a boat from Bianjing to Jiangning Prefecture."

"Empress, do you also want to go out for a walk?" Sure enough, the old emperor was persuaded by Empress Cao. After all, the wealth of Prince Ning's Mansion was a well-known fact.

"Sir, we are already at this age, and it is time for us to go out and see the beautiful mountains and rivers. Besides, we can't just listen to the reports from our subordinates. We must go to Jiangnan to see the Ningyuan Army in person, right?"

"Well, that's fine! I'm also very curious about Prince Ning's luxurious palace. Then, send an edict to Prince Ning and Princess Huirou of Jiangning Prefecture, telling them that you, the Queen, and I are about to tour Jiangnan."

……

(End of this chapter)