The prince is more stable

Chapter 192 Martial Arts Training
On the wedding day, after a day of tiring work, kowtowing to ancestors, riding horses in a parade, and being drunk by guests, isn’t it all for that last thrill on the wedding night?
How could Zhao Xiaoqian miss it?

What were those grooms thinking when they slept like dead pigs in the bridal chamber on their wedding day?
Even if I have to pay myself for my hard work all day, I have to grit my teeth and clean up the house no matter how drunk or tired I am, otherwise it will be a big loss.

Zhao Xiaoqian was indeed not the kind of person who would treat her badly. The bed in the bridal chamber shook all night long.

The red plum blossoms have bloomed and the crabapple rain has stopped. Zhao Xiaoqian, who was originally in sage mode, thought about how hard and tiring the day was and felt that it was still difficult to make up for it. He immediately stood up again, jumped on his horse and galloped away again.

But the one who suffered was Di Ying. On the night she lost her virginity, her husband turned into a little Teddy and tormented her the whole night. She almost fainted, so she had to grit her teeth and hold on, with only one thought flashing through her mind.

That obscene picture album is a complete lie!
For several days in a row, Zhao Xiaoqian lived a dissolute and immoral life.

Every day he flirted with Di Ying in the backyard of the palace, and occasionally he flirted with Jiang Miaoxian and Yuan'er. In the middle of the night, when Di Ying was asleep, he would sneak into Jiang Miaoxian's room and do some sneaky things to steal her, which was quite exciting.

There was no way the three girls could sleep together. No matter how good their relationship was, it was impossible for them to fulfill Zhao Xiaoqian's secret wish.

Class is a gap that can never be bridged. One is the wife from a prominent family, one is a concubine of low status, and the other is a maid who has an even lower status than the concubine.

It is impossible for three people to appear naked in bed at the same time, waiting for the official's favor.

The dignity and respectability of the wife would never allow her to do so. Otherwise, Di Ying would not be able to control the family, and the concubines would lose their respect, and the backyard would be on fire, a real "fire".

After the wedding, Zhao Xiaoqian took Di Ying to Fanglin Garden to meet Feng.

Three days later, Zhao Xiaoqian and Di Ying returned to Di's house and met their father-in-law and mother-in-law.

The son-in-law Chenglong returned home with his daughter, and the Di family received him solemnly.

During the sumptuous banquet, his father-in-law Di Zi told Zhao Xiaoqian that the Chu Palace and the Di family had integrated their respective shops and caravans, and both sides had invested in forming a new caravan that would travel exclusively on the Silk Road.

The caravan passed through Western Xia and then went west to trade with the Western Regions countries such as the Uighur Khanate, Kucha, and Khotan.

In terms of silver and money, the two families each contributed half, and then the Chu Palace sent goods, focusing on snow salt, and the Di family provided warriors to protect the caravan, and the two families shared the profits equally.

Zhao Xiaoqian could only express his agreement and promised that he could handle the official matters.

The marriage between the two families only showed its true significance at this point.

A marriage is not just about a man and a woman sleeping together. What is important is the reorganization and combination of the resources of the two families, with the marriage of their children as the cornerstone, and the deep bundling of the interests of the two families, ultimately achieving the goal of creating greater benefits.

At the end of returning home, Di Zi told Zhao Xiaoqian with some regret that although the two joint venture caravans had been combined, the trade route to Western Xia was difficult to open up.

The current situation is that the ruler of Western Xia is young and the country is in doubt. Just like the early years of the Song Dynasty, the empress dowager is in power and the foreign relatives have monopolistic power. The young ruler Li Qianshun is only eleven years old this year, and the emperor's power is controlled by the Empress Dowager Liang.

In order to divert the increasingly acute conflicts at home, the Xixia court chose to engage in hostile activities against the Song Dynasty.

On the border between the two countries, Xixia often took the initiative to provoke friction and disputes, and several small-scale wars have broken out in recent years.

Given the current relationship between the two countries, it is extremely difficult for the Song Dynasty's caravans to pass through Western Xia, and the risk is too great.

Father-in-law Di Zi looked helpless. They were clearly talking about business, but they couldn't avoid the topic of country and army. If the Song Dynasty had conquered Western Xia in the early years, there wouldn't be so many troubles today.

Zhao Xiaoqian was very calm. In many of his conversations with Zhao Xu, the emperor and his minister had actually already had a rough outline of the future strategic deployment of the Song Dynasty.

In the past few years, the Song Dynasty has made some targeted arrangements against the Liao Kingdom and the Western Xia Kingdom, mainly using spies to lurk secretly against the Liao Kingdom.

As for Western Xia, the Song Dynasty planned to launch a severe blow to it after its musketeers became proficient in training. This was the first time that the weak Song Dynasty shocked the world, and Western Xia was probably the first to be hit by a bullet.

Therefore, there was no rush for the two families to do business. Soon Xixia would receive a slap in the face and would behave itself. Of course, these words were confidential, and Zhao Xiaoqian was not in a position to tell his father-in-law. He only advised him to be patient and not to rush. If he was really bored, he could take in more concubines and have more beautiful daughters.

…………

Ten days after the wedding, life finally returned to normal.

No matter how turbulent the situation is, it will eventually calm down. Every day will be full of passion and love will be devoted to you. That is the life in Grandma Joan's book.

The seasons are changing and winter is approaching.

Outside the city of Beijing, the Dragon Guard Camp is stationed.

Zhao Xiaoqian walked behind Zhao Xu, and behind the emperor and his minister were a group of civil and military officials.

On the vast training ground, the imperial guards of the Dragon Guard Camp were practicing changing formations. The two teams were fighting fiercely under the command of the generals.

Unlike the usual military exercises, this time both sides used musketeers as the main force in the center, while the flanks of both armies were supplemented by light cavalry and sword and shield soldiers.

The muskets were lined up, firing rounds and rounds of volleys, and dense bullets were shot towards the enemy camp.

Of course, since it was a drill, we couldn't go too far. The gunpowder and bullets of the muskets were modified, with very little gunpowder, and the bullets were changed to softer hemp paper bullets.

This kind of hemp paper is soft in texture, and it will certainly hurt when it hits people. If you are unlucky, it may even leave a bloody hole, but it is still much weaker in lethality than solid iron balls, and is suitable for martial arts training.

The generals on both sides used all their life's knowledge, and as the flags were waved, they kept changing their formations and slowly advanced towards the opponent's position, swallowing them up.

Zhao Xu stood on the command platform, looking at the soldiers on both sides with high morale, his eyes shining with excitement.

Zhao Xu has inspected the Longwei Camp more than once or twice, and on average twice a month, which is more frequent than a woman's period.

Soldiers were required to perform martial arts exercises during every inspection, and various forms of martial arts exercises were practiced, such as muskets against swords and shields, against cavalry, against bows and arrows, etc.

The protagonists are all musketeers, and Zhao Xu even promised a generous reward. Any general who can break through the musketeers' line will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins and promoted to a higher rank.

Obviously, the flintlock rifle was very effective. No matter how the generals thought about the formation and tactics, they could not break through the musketeers' first line of defense.

In the face of absolute strength, any tactics appear so fragile and will collapse at the first blow.

Looking at the high-spirited soldiers from both sides fighting fiercely on the training ground, Zhao Xu's face turned red with excitement.

The civil and military officials behind him also showed expressions of surprise.

In the impression of these ministers, such high morale and fighting spirit seemed to have not been seen for many years.

In their eyes, the Song Dynasty's imperial guards were still loose and would collapse at the first sign of enemy defeat. This was also the reason why the civil officials of the Song Dynasty had not dared to talk about war for many years.

Amid the roars and cries of battle on the parade grounds, an excited Zhao Xu turned his head to glance at the civil officials and said calmly, "Gentlemen, I know that you are somewhat dissatisfied with the military service law. After watching the martial arts performance of my Dragon Guard Battalion today, I wonder if you still have any prejudice against the military service law?"

Zhang Dun and other civil officials lowered their heads and remained silent.

Zhao Xu's tone gradually became firmer as he spoke, "I am not a foolish ruler, and the military service law is not a foolish policy. Look at the high morale of the Song Dynasty's imperial guards. If the entire Song Dynasty's army were like this, why would I fear the Liao cavalry? Why should I endure the Liao in silence?"

(End of this chapter)