I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

...

Seriously ill?!
This word is not commonly used, especially in the royal family, and even more so in the context of emperors and crown princes.

The crown prince, as the heir to the throne, carries the hopes and heavy responsibility for the future of the dynasty.

Moreover, Zhao Shou was no ordinary crown prince; he was the crown prince who was about to become the emperor of the Song Dynasty and even the ruler of the world. His well-being was directly related to the stability and prosperity of the country and the world.

Once this news leaks out, the seemingly stable balance in the court will shatter overnight. The usually gentle and refined imperial relatives will sharpen their fangs in the shadows; the generals who hold military power will begin to calculate their advances and retreats; and the civil officials and the literati will rush to choose sides, betting their lives on a particular prince or a particular faction.

And this was only within the territory of the Song Dynasty.

On a global scale, this could potentially lead to the disintegration of the world.

It can be said that Zhao Shou's four words, "Your subject is seriously ill," were not merely written with ink, but may have been the prelude to a change of dynasty.

Zhao Yu's heart clenched instantly, and his body even swayed involuntarily!
To be honest, it was only because Zhao Yu was physically strong that he was able to avoid serious trouble.

In any case, Zhao Yu is now a 56-year-old "old man," and the pain of losing his son in his later years must be enough to make him suffer.

Ok.

Zhao Yu had so many sons that he himself was no longer sure how many he had.

But no matter how many sons Zhao Yu had, Zhao Shou was the most important one among them.

It is no exaggeration to say that Zhao Yu devoted far too much effort to Zhao Shou, striving to cultivate him into a qualified successor.

The key point is that Zhao Yu has succeeded. Although Zhao Shou is not a perfect successor, he is certainly a qualified one.

Otherwise, how could Zhao Yu have prepared to abdicate in favor of Zhao Shou? Furthermore, if Zhao Shou were not capable, how could Zhao Yu have dared to spend his days eating, drinking, having fun, and wandering around aimlessly?
To put it simply, the reason why Zhao Yu could so confidently enjoy himself outside, and even not plan to return to the Song Dynasty's homeland, was because Zhao Yu was very confident in Zhao Shou's actions and felt at ease entrusting the world to Zhao Shou, who would then pass it down from generation to generation.
Unfortunately, life is unpredictable.

Who could have imagined that Zhao Shou, only thirty-seven years old, would fall seriously ill?!

The problem is that while Zhao Shou's health wasn't as good as Zhao Yu's, it was still quite good. To put it bluntly, if Zhao Shou hadn't been in good health, Zhao Yu wouldn't have chosen him as his successor.

However, it was in this place where nothing should have gone wrong that something unexpected happened.

'Are you lying to me?'

After calming down, Zhao Yu, who had been emperor for nearly forty years, thought for the first time that Zhao Shou wanted to use the news of his serious illness to lure him back, and then kill or imprison him, just like Zhao Huan in history tricked Zhao Ji back to Bianliang, the capital of the Eastern Capital.

The problem is, Zhao Shou doesn't gain much from doing this kind of thing.

—The world, at least the high-ranking officials of the Song Dynasty, knew that Zhao Yu was going to abdicate in favor of Zhao Shou. At this critical juncture, Zhao Shou really had no need to do such a thing and create unnecessary trouble.

Even if Zhao Shou wanted to eliminate him to prevent future troubles, he should have waited until he became emperor before taking action. Wasn't it too hasty to act now?

Or perhaps he's trying to provoke me? Does he think that if he doesn't trick me into going back now, he might not be able to?

'But I'm already prepared to hand everything over to him. Is it really necessary for him to turn against his father, who has dedicated himself to raising him and passing the throne to him? Or... is he after the money I have?'

'Could it be that someone is plotting to usurp the throne, has already taken Shou'er under their control, and is now tricking me into returning to the capital to force me to abdicate in his favor?'

"But this code was agreed upon by Shou'er and me; only my son and I know it. No one else knows about it."

'And if this secret letter was indeed written by Shou'er... either he is truly seriously ill, or he truly wants to emulate Zhao Huan?'

Zhao Yu did not speculate wildly or have any wild thoughts, because there was no need to.

Yes.

Zhao Yu has been away from the Song Dynasty for more than ten years. During these ten years, his control over the Song Dynasty has become increasingly loose, and he has become increasingly indifferent to other parts of the world.

However, this does not mean that Zhao Yu lost control of the Song Dynasty and the world.

Are you kidding me?

Zhao Yu was all too aware of the potential fate of himself and his people if he were to completely lose power.

Therefore, how could Zhao Yu possibly allow himself to completely lose power?
Ok.

Over the years, Zhao Yu transferred most of his power to Zhao Shou, but this does not mean that Zhao Yu did not retain any power at all.

First of all, never forget that all the princes of the Song Dynasty were Zhao Yu's sons, and each of them had military and financial power. As long as they were there, no one would dare to plot against him, including Zhao Shou. Otherwise, if they really united, even if the Song Dynasty was very powerful, they would definitely overthrow it.

Secondly, Zhao Yu possessed enough wealth to sustain the Song Dynasty for a hundred years. With that money, how many armies could Zhao Yu not have? How many of his sons could he not help become stronger? He could even conquer the world again if he wanted to.

Furthermore, at least for now, Zhao Yu is still the emperor of the Song Dynasty, the rightful emperor, the only emperor of the Song Dynasty, and an emperor who has made no mistakes and has unified the world, making both the Song Dynasty and the world much better. Who would dare to openly disobey his orders?

Secondly, all the prime ministers of the Song Dynasty were appointed by Zhao Yu, and most of the officials of the Song Dynasty were also appointed by Zhao Yu. Who can guarantee that they will not obey Zhao Yu's orders?
In addition, Zhao Yu still has a few strong cards to play.

The first one is that he only gave the Imperial City Division to Zhao Shou at the time, but the other three major intelligence departments have always been in his hands.

—Zhao Yu didn't give the Eastern Depot, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Military Intelligence Bureau to Zhao Shou for several reasons. Firstly, Zhao Yu wanted to be cautious and didn't want to become blind, deaf, and ultimately, a fool to be manipulated. Secondly, Zhao Shou simply couldn't afford to maintain so many intelligence agencies. These four agencies weren't funded by the court, but by the emperor. Even just one of them would cost over ten million strings of cash annually. Zhao Shou had no way of keeping four agencies. To put it bluntly, even the Imperial City Guard under Zhao Shou's command was funded by Zhao Yu. Therefore, in crucial moments, it was hard to say whether the Imperial City Guard would listen to Zhao Yu or Zhao Shou.

The second point is that the Song Dynasty's army was still in Zhao Yu's hands, especially the Shenji Army and the Four Auxiliary Armies, which Zhao Yu had personally established.

— Zhao Shou only had the power to temporarily mobilize troops; only Zhao Yu had the supreme command of the Song army.

Furthermore, the Song Dynasty's expeditionary force had always been under Zhao Yu's control.

Yes.

Over the years, Zhao Yu allowed his sons to poach many soldiers from the Song Dynasty's expeditionary force. He also sent several of his sons with portions of the Song army to North and South America to join Zhao Yu's sons, including Zhao Cheng, who had gone there earlier, in developing and building their own vassal states. Even so, Zhao Yu still possessed 300,000 troops, making him the strongest army in the world.

Moreover, Zhao Yu had generals such as Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, Wu Jie, Zhao Li, and Li Yanxian under his command, as well as numerous ministers and strategists.

To put it simply, with these 300,000 Song expeditionary troops as the seed, Zhao Yu could expand them into a million-strong army, or even a three-million-strong army, at any time.

In other words, although Zhao Yu appears to have retired and no longer cares about worldly affairs, he actually knows everything that happens in the world. The key is that if he wanted to, he could still become the ruler of this world.

The reason why Zhao Yu maintained this strength was, firstly, to ensure the quality of life for himself and his people, and secondly, because he did not want his sons to squander the world he had worked so hard to build, especially before he died.

Therefore, Zhao Yu needed to maintain the ability to suppress his sons (including Zhao Shou).

In short, if this were a conspiracy, Zhao Yu would definitely have discovered it and had a way to deal with it.

Now we'll see if this is a conspiracy or not.

Zhao Yu quickly issued orders to the Eastern Depot, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Military Intelligence Bureau, instructing them to investigate Zhao Shou's whereabouts and news from Beijing.

After some thought, Zhao Yu even allowed the Eastern Depot, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Military Intelligence Bureau to awaken their dormant spies around Zhao Shou.

Soon, the Eastern Depot, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Military Intelligence Bureau sent back messages indicating that both Zhao Shou and Beijing appeared to be normal on the surface. Zhao Shou had even attended the morning court session the day before yesterday and seemed to be in good health. However, the spies lurking around Zhao Shou discovered that he had allowed the Imperial City Guard to take over everything in the Imperial City and had secretly transferred the Divine Machine Army led by Zhao Di and Zhao Qing back to Beijing.

This clearly shows that Zhao Shou is on guard against something.

Therefore, the possibility that Zhao Shou is seriously ill is much higher.

It could even be said that Zhao Shou was wary of his sudden death, which could leave the Song Dynasty and the world leaderless.

Ok.

In response to this situation, Zhao Yu took preventative measures, namely, he had initially designated a "second crown prince" and placed the list behind the plaque inscribed with "Upright and Honorable".

The problem is that this "second crown prince" was appointed by Zhao Yu more than a decade ago. Is this person still suitable to serve as the crown prince or even the emperor of the Song Dynasty?

In addition, Zhao Shou's eldest son (who is also Zhao Shou's only son) Zhao Ziwen is almost twenty years old now. Should the throne be passed to him?

If Zhao Shou were the emperor, this would actually be one of the options, or even the best option.

The problem is, Zhao Shou himself wasn't the emperor, so how could he possibly pass the throne to Zhao Ziwen?
Another question is, if we really hand over the newly stabilized Song Dynasty and the world that is not yet fully stabilized to Zhao Ziwen, a young man who is not even twenty years old, to govern, will something go wrong?

Zhao Shou, who has ruled the Song Dynasty and the world for so many years, could not possibly be unaware of just how significant and serious this matter is. If it is not handled properly, the Song Dynasty will be in grave danger, and the world will be in grave danger!
The safest course of action at this time would be to invite Zhao Yu, the first emperor of all time who conquered the world, was wise and magnanimous, knew how to appoint people to positions of power, and whose strategies were flawless, whose armies were efficient, who laid the foundation for the great cause, and who passed it down to his descendants, to return and take charge of the overall situation.

It can be said that as long as Zhao Yu can return in time, it doesn't matter what happens, even if Zhao Shou suddenly dies.

'If Shou'er truly thinks that way, then he has truly matured, and all my efforts in teaching him have not been in vain.'

'If that's not the case, and this is a scam to lure me back... then I'll lead my army back in triumph, and who can do anything to me then?'

With this in mind, Zhao Yu issued an edict: "Return to the capital in triumph!"

It won't be so easy for Zhao Yu to return to the capital now.

Putting aside the fact that he is now almost "a hundred and eight thousand miles" away from Beijing, even by train, it would be impossible for him to return to Beijing in a short period of time.

—Zhao Yu and his entourage numbered over 400,000. If they were to use trains, at least 200 trains would be needed, but in reality, more than 300 trains would be required.

With so many trains traveling such long distances, passing through hundreds of vassal states, it would inevitably lead to chaos if not planned properly.

In order not to delay things, and just in case, after discussing with his ministers, Emperor Zhao Yu decided that he would first set off with Yue Fei and Wu Yong, leading 100,000 troops of the Song Dynasty expeditionary force. Han Shizhong and Zhao Li would lead 100,000 troops of the Song Dynasty expeditionary force to meet him, while Wu Jie and Li Yanxian would lead 100,000 troops of the Song Dynasty expeditionary force to protect Zhao Yu's concubines and other personnel and supplies before setting off.

Incidentally, after more than ten years of construction, the grand railway that Zhao Yu desired and the highway from the Song Dynasty to England have been completed, and the coastal vassal states with the necessary conditions have also completed their port construction.

In fact, many of Zhao Yu's sons were unable to build these railways, highways, and ports because their fiefdoms were remote, the roads were in poor condition, and they lacked the funds.

However, under Zhao Yu's tutelage and education, they all knew that globalization was an inevitable trend in the future, and they deeply understood that a large global market would be formed. At that time, each region would play its own role in it. Some regions would provide money, some would provide manpower, and some would provide energy or raw materials. At that stage, if they did not have smooth roads, they would definitely suffer a great loss.

Most importantly, they have their own tricks up their sleeves.

Their tactic is simply to borrow.

Who should I borrow from?
Of course, they borrowed it from their father, Zhao Yu.

Okay, so they're just freeloading off their parents and trying to mooch off Zhao Yu.

To put it bluntly, they rarely paid back the money they borrowed from Zhao Yu. The filial ones would send Zhao Yu some beauties or treasures to make up for it; the "unfilial" ones would come and stay with Zhao Yu for a long time. If they didn't get money from him, they wouldn't leave. If they did get money from him, they would never mention the money they owed Zhao Yu.

Really.

Sometimes Zhao Yu couldn't help but wonder why he had so many sons.

孽 孽!
That's what they say, but Zhao Yu was almost sixty years old and was still having children.

Far away.

Because Zhao Yu provided funds for his son, the infrastructure of their vassal states was quite good.

In particular, the grand railway that Zhao Yu desired could connect directly from England to the Song Dynasty.

Worried that a delayed return might cause trouble, Zhao Yu set off immediately once everything was ready, personally leading 100,000 Song Dynasty expeditionary troops by train. Relying on this great railway connecting the East and West, they returned to the Song Dynasty homeland without stopping...

...(End of this chapter)