The prince is more stable

Chapter 359: Integration and Reconciliation
Zhao Xiaoqian never expected that martial arts really existed in the Song Dynasty, and the famous Tai Chi.

In his previous life, by chance, he also obtained the unique secret manual and formulas of Tai Chi.

A watermelon is round and round. Split it in half with a knife. You take half and he takes half. If I give it to you, you don’t want it. If I give it to him, he won’t take it…

You can still get martial arts secrets without falling off a cliff, which is the bonus of the information age.

Now looking at Jia Shi holding the cart with both hands, Zhao Xiaoqian felt a little confused.

This guy's skills are probably not very good at splitting watermelons. Under normal circumstances, he should treat the enemy's head as a watermelon...

Only then did Zhao Xiaoqian realize that his father had really found him a few masters. Seeing the awe and admiration on the faces of Chen Shou and the imperial guards, Zhao Xiaoqian felt that these ten or so masters were probably not simple. If there was a ranking list of martial arts masters in the world, Jia Shi would at least be in the top ten.

Zhao Xiaoqian is ridiculous. He has never made it into the top ten of Forbes in his two lifetimes...

Pulling out a dozen or so golden leaves from his pocket and handing them to Jia Shi, Zhao Xiaoqian patted him on the shoulder and said, "Give them to the brothers. Consider them my greetings. What do you mean by looking at me like that? Do you think I'm snobbish?"

Jia Shi lowered his head and said, "I dare not. I have absolutely no such intention."

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, "Why should I be afraid? I am indeed a snob, but I still can't be too low-key. You are low-key, so I think you are fake and I am not in the mood to pay attention to you. But you showed off your skills just now, so I think you are a hero, so naturally I will treat you differently."

"People in this world are snobbish. Emperors and generals are all like this, and I am no exception. Anyone who comes up to you and calls you brothers without knowing the details is either a fool or has a conspiracy. My snobbery is the normal behavior of a human being."

Pushing the gold leaf into Jia Shi's hand, Zhao Xiaoqian said, "My life will depend on you guys protecting me from now on, so I can't afford to offend you, and I have to be polite to you to win you over. This is also snobbish. Other bigwigs are more reserved, but I'm different. I speak openly, and everyone feels comfortable."

Jia Shi and a group of masters all laughed.

After the actual contact, everyone felt that this prince was indeed an open-minded person. Even though he was a snob, he behaved frankly and was a person worth making friends with.

Turning around and looking at Chen Shou and his fellow imperial guards, Zhao Xiaoqian took out a handful of gold leaves from his arms and handed them to them.

"You've been my old comrades for many years. If you don't treat me equally, it's easy to spill the water. So, divide it among the brothers. Whether it's drinking or visiting prostitutes, spend it as you like. Just don't cause trouble for me outside."

Chen Shou didn't bother to be polite with Zhao Xiaoqian. He just took it with a grin. All the brothers in the imperial guards bowed and thanked him gratefully.

Pointing at Jia Shi, Zhao Xiaoqian said to Chen Shou, "Let the comrades below who can cook help them. Look at what they are eating. How can they have no pursuit in life?"

This time, Chen Shou no longer objected, but instead gave Jia Shi a respectful smile.

In the eyes of a warrior, strength represents everything, and Jia Shi's strength has earned Chen Shou's respect.

Looking at Chen Shou and Jia Shi gathered together, Chen Shou shyly asked Jia Shi to teach him kung fu, and Zhao Xiaoqian smiled with satisfaction.

Although we don't expect them to show unity and friendship, it's not a bad thing to have fewer conflicts among the people below. Otherwise, if the two groups fight each other, who will have time to protect him?

Zhao Xiaoqian entered the general's tent alone and enjoyed a roasted leg of lamb. The leg of lamb was roasted by Chen Shou himself. The taste was... hard to describe. He forced himself to eat half of it and couldn't eat any more.

Not long after, Chen Shou reported from outside the tent that Zhao Xin, the imperial city officer, wanted to see him.

Zhao Xiaoqian hummed in the general's tent, and soon Zhao Xin lifted the curtain and came in.

Zhao Xin was the clerk in the past. He almost reached the threshold of promotion several times, but failed every time.

At that time, Zhao Xin was almost mentally collapsed. He seemed nervous while doing his work in the Imperial City Office. He often walked around in circles in the courtyard of the Imperial City Office alone, muttering something to himself.

Zhao Xiaoqian and Wei Jie were both a little frightened. Fortunately, Zhao Xiaoqian set an ambush in Xiangzhou and killed over a thousand of Zhao Ji's assassins. In that fight, Zhao Xin didn't even care about his own life, charging forward with a desperate tactic, which frightened the enemy assassins. It was also in that ambush that Zhao Xin became famous, and Zhao Xiaoqian and Wei Jie naturally promoted him. His official position remained that of a Gou Ya officer, but he was given the title of "Wu Gong Dafu", which was equivalent to a seventh-rank official.

This time when he was sent to Zhending, Wei Jie was left in Bian Jing, and it was Zhao Xin who accompanied Zhao Xiaoqian on the Imperial City Division.

Zhao Xin, who has become an official, is now full of vigor and vitality. He walks with the official gait of an official. He pauses for a moment after taking a step before taking the next step. He is just like a white-faced treacherous minister on the stage.

Seeing Zhao Xin walk into the general's tent, Zhao Xiaoqian frowned and looked displeased.

Pointing at him, Zhao Xiaoqian said, "If you behave like this again, I will remove you from your position and send you back to being a clerk."

Zhao Xin was startled and quickly calmed down and returned to normal.

The Imperial City Administration was directly under the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, and the appointment and dismissal of internal officials did not need to go through the Ministry of Personnel and the Council of State Affairs. Zhao Xiaoqian had this power.

Seeing Zhao Xin behaved, Zhao Xiaoqian said with satisfaction, "I was granted the title of Duke of a County, and was appointed General Manager and Governor, a third-rank official. Yet, you still don't know how to sit or eat properly. How dare you, a seventh-rank official, act so arrogantly in front of me?"

Zhao Xin laughed dryly and said, "I have been in a lowly position for too long, and now I've been promoted so suddenly. I simply couldn't help myself. I will never do that again. Please forgive me, Lord."

Zhao Xiaoqian hummed a sigh and said, "I am now taking up my post in Zhending. The Imperial City Office must cooperate with me and send someone to inform Zhen Qing, the official stationed in Zhending Prefecture, to prepare for the transfer of responsibilities. All intelligence networks, secret bases, and the list of spies lurking in the Liao Kingdom will be taken over by me."

"Yes. I will do it right away."

"The Emperor attaches great importance to my appointment to Zhending Prefecture. From now on, the focus of the Imperial City Administration will shift from Bianjing to Zhending Prefecture. The officials and informants below, as well as all the stations and directories, must be integrated and used by me."

"Also, send someone to contact the Liao Kingdom's spies in Shangjing to inquire about the situation of our envoy Su Shi. There has been no news for so long. Could this old man have been killed by the Liao Lord?"

"He still owes me several pieces of calligraphy."

…………

The Liao Kingdom came to the capital.

The Liao Dynasty originated from the Mohe tribes in the north, which had always been at odds with the Central Plains dynasties.

As early as the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, when Li Shimin was on an eastern expedition to Goguryeo, the Mohe tribe colluded with Goguryeo and stabbed the Tang army in the back. Li Shimin's eastern expedition to Goguryeo could barely be considered a draw. There were many reasons for this, and the stab in the back by the Mohe tribe was undoubtedly one of them.

The world has changed, and the sea has changed.

The Mohe tribe seized the opportunity to rise and established the now powerful Liao Dynasty.

Shangjing was the capital of the Liao Dynasty. Contrary to what people might imagine, the capital of the Liao Dynasty was not poor and simple. In fact, Shangjing was as prosperous as Bianliang of the Song Dynasty.

The reason is not difficult to guess. The country's military power was strong, and the Central Plains dynasty had to swallow its anger. Although the annual tribute was only 500,000 taels, the act of sending annual tribute was undoubtedly a huge loss to the country's credibility.

The Liao Kingdom used its powerful military force to show the world the way of kingship and hegemony, which naturally attracted a large number of merchants and spontaneously promoted the prosperity of Shangjing.

It has been nearly half a month since Su Shi, the envoy of the Song Dynasty, arrived in Shangjing.

Over the past half month, Su Shi had been having quite a few unpleasant encounters with Liao officials, and they quarreled every time they met. To this day, the Liao Emperor, Yelu Hongji, still had not summoned him, but had left him alone in the inn, ignoring him.

Su Shi was angry and depressed, but helpless.

The Liao emperor didn't want to see him, so what could he do? Should he break into the Liao palace alone?
(End of this chapter)