The prince is more stable

Chapter 194 Military Report Arrives in Beijing
Beacon fires were still the fastest and most effective way to transmit military information in ancient times.

On a cold midnight, the bunker's beacon was lit without warning. Then, another bunker several miles away saw the beacon and immediately lit its own.

Bunker after bunker received intelligence of the enemy attack, and beacons were lit one by one to pass it on.

A long horn sounded in the cold midnight, and the sound was heard everywhere.

At the same time, the Song army soldiers stationed in the first bunker that was attacked were slaughtered and strangled by the Western Xia army, and none of them escaped alive.

This bunker, which cost a lot of manpower and material resources to build, successfully became a trophy of the Western Xia army.

Half an hour later, Zhang Yu, the governor of Huanqing Road stationed in Shimen City, beat drums in his tent to gather his troops, blew horns to review their plans, and ordered the Song army to assemble and set out to resist the invading Western Xia army.

An urgent military report of 100,000 troops was sent from Shimen City by express horse and headed straight for Bian Jing.

Zhang Qie looked stern and his face was as dark as water.

He knew that this was not a small-scale war. From intelligence reports from the front line, he learned that the Western Xia had dispatched at least 20,000 troops in this night attack.

Their purpose was self-evident. The Song Dynasty's method of encroaching on Western Xia by building bunkers and fortresses on the border had already made Western Xia increasingly uneasy. Every bunker and fortress was a thorn in their eyes.

If these nails are not removed, how can Empress Liang and the powerful people of Western Xia sleep peacefully?
The invasion of 20,000 enemy troops marked the official start of war between the two countries. Zhang Qie had to write a memorial and submit it urgently to Bian Jing.

The war came so suddenly.

…………

The city of Bianjing is still full of flowers.

Later generations wrote a poem, "Treat Hangzhou as Bianzhou". Although the irony was about the Southern Song Dynasty's rulers and ministers who were content to live in a corner, in fact, the literati and officials in the Northern Song Dynasty were not much better off during this period.

As long as the war does not reach the capital, the world is a paradise for scholars and officials.

Who wants to care about things outside of heaven?
In this negative era where everyone is content with their situation, even Zhao Xiaoqian has unknowingly been infected with the disease.

It’s good to be alive, and it would be even better if you can live a fulfilling life.

The Firearms Bureau is manufacturing muskets and gunpowder, the Dragon Guard Battalion is training soldiers, and the Military Service Law is slowly being implemented by overcoming obstacles. If the court is given a little more time, the Song Dynasty will be able to switch from a strategic defensive to an offensive position.

Everything is proceeding in an orderly manner as planned. Now all the Song Dynasty needs is time.

So during this peaceful time, Zhao Xiaoqian could still live a life of idleness and wait for death, without caring about anything else.

Just last month, Zhao Xiaoqian ordered the salt-making workshop under the name of the Chu Palace to organize a caravan to send the first batch of snow salt, about 2,000 kilograms, to Huanglongfu of the Liao Kingdom.

The consignee was Xiao Wuna, the governor of Huanglong Prefecture and commander-in-chief of the Liao Kingdom's Northeast Road.

When Xiao Guangjing was planted as a chess piece, one of the conditions of the agreement was that the two families would trade with each other. With the first batch of snow salt being delivered, the Xiao family of Liao could no longer wash away the charge of collaborating with the Song Dynasty, and it also confirmed their secret cooperation with Zhao Xiaoqian.

There was another official in the Imperial City Administration who had never met him. Zhao Xiaoqian passed on orders to him. In just two months, he was ordered to arrange spies in the identity of businessmen to contact the upper class of the Liao Kingdom in a normal way.

An airtight net, under the arrangement of Zhao Xiaoqian, slowly formed threads, laid out, and crisscrossed.

But Zhao Xiaoqian himself didn't seem to have such a hard time.

Theoretically, he was still in his honeymoon period, and he and Di Ying had sweet duo rehearsals every day, like a hardworking old ox, tilling this fertile land.

The yard in late autumn is covered with golden ground.

Zhao Xiaoqian squatted beside the yard and cut pieces of meat with a kitchen knife himself. Each piece of meat weighed two or three pounds. After cutting, he hung them up with iron hooks.

No one likes to eat pig intestines. The ancients have always despised this kind of offal and thought it was dirty, but in Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes, it is a treasure.

Of course, it is important to wash it clean, otherwise you will really eat shit.

He washed it over and over again, and even used soap nuts because he was still worried. After checking every wrinkle inside and out several times, Zhao Xiaoqian was finally relieved.

There are many ways to eat large intestine, you can stew it directly or stuff it into sausage.

The sausage uses a lot of ingredients, such as peppercorns, platycodon, salt, sesame oil, etc., which are mixed together with chopped meat and then stuffed into the large intestine little by little.

He ordered people to fetch some pine branches and sawdust from outside the city. He found a sealed room in the palace, hung the meat and sausages from the beams, and lit the sawdust and pine branches below to smoke the meat. It would take at least ten days for the magical power to be fully developed. The Southern bacon recipe was probably unheard of in the culinary desert of the Song Dynasty.

Looking at the pieces of meat and sausages hanging on the beams, Zhao Xiaoqian stared for a long time, and his expression suddenly became as lonely as snow.

"As expected of me, I can amaze the world in any field." Zhao Xiaoqian sneered arrogantly.

The skill of making bacon alone is enough for the chefs in the palace to learn for a lifetime. If they open a shop with this skill, they will have no worries about food and drink for at least three generations.

With bacon, bacon fish is a must.

In the twelfth lunar month, we use big blue carp from the river. Dozens of kilograms of blue carp are chopped into pieces and cooked in the same way as bacon. They are steamed in a pot and sprinkled with some green onions, garlic and peppercorns. It is a great dish to go with wine at the end of the year.

To catch big black carp, you have to go to the river, and there are several rivers in the city of Bianjing.

Just do it when you think of it, but fishing is a very complicated job. Zhao Xiaoqian is not sure if he can do it, so he might as well ask Zhang Xiaoyi to buy it for him.

I turned around and went back to the house, planning to change my clothes before going out. My clothes were covered in grease from making bacon.

When I entered the room, I saw Di Ying sitting cross-legged on the bed, her eyes lowered as she embroidered a lotus flower, the corners of her mouth slightly raised, her face rosy and smooth.

Seeing Zhao Xiaoqian coming in, Di Ying just smiled and went to greet him, but saw that he took off his outer clothes without saying a word. Di Ying's face changed suddenly, and she subconsciously closed the door, her face flushed.

"You're going to die! You won't let me go even in broad daylight!" Di Ying stomped her feet and said angrily.

Zhao Xiaoqian was startled: "What?"

Di Ying blushed and gritted her teeth, "How can you do this in broad daylight?... No, no! My lord, can you please bear with it a little longer? Just bear with it until dark. Please, if this gets out, I won't be able to live like a human being."

Zhao Xiaoqian was shocked. "What are you talking about, Madam? Why do you have such evil thoughts in broad daylight?"

Di Ying was stunned: "Sir, isn't it..."

"I just went back to my room to change clothes." Zhao Xiaoqian said innocently.

Di Ying's face quickly turned from red to purple, and finally to the color of liver.

At this moment, I was filled with hatred and felt ashamed.

Zhao Xiaoqian added with a smile, "But I still like your idea just now, Madam. Let's just put aside the business and follow your idea."

As he said this, he took off his outer clothes and was about to pounce on her.

However, at this moment, Yuan'er's voice was heard calling from outside the house.

"Marquis of the County, the palace maid has arrived. The emperor has urgently summoned you. There is no time to delay."

Zhao Xiaoqian was stunned and looked down at himself: "I took off my pants..."

Di Ying, who was howling beneath him, chuckled, pushed him, and said angrily, "Hurry up and put on your official uniform and go into the palace. You can't disobey the order. I will help you change your clothes."

Zhao Xiaoqian, full of resentment, put on his official uniform, walked out with an unhappy look on his face, and hurriedly got on the carriage.

Yeonbok Palace, Government Affairs Hall.

At this time, the emperor and his ministers were all present. Zhao Xiaoqian was a little late when he entered the hall. After paying his respects, he honestly found an inconspicuous corner and turned on the transparent mode.

I had intended to stay here for a long time, but for a long time there was no movement in the hall, and the court officials around me didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

Zhao Xiaoqian finally realized that the atmosphere was not right and hurriedly looked around.

Seeing the gloomy faces of the emperor and his ministers, a thick low pressure filled the air. Zhao Xu sat in the main seat, tightly clutching a memorial in his hand.

Judging from everyone's expressions, Zhao Xiaoqian felt that something must have happened, and it was definitely not good news.

Sure enough, after a long while, Zhao Xu gritted his teeth and said, "The Western Xia invaded, seized over twenty of our fortresses and strongholds, massacred over two thousand of our border troops, and abducted tens of thousands of Song Dynasty border residents."

"Gentlemen, how do you respond?"

(End of this chapter)