The prince is more stable

Chapter 365: Depressed Border Town
Li Qingchen was very happy about Zhao Xiaoqian's arrival.

From the perspective of the country, the border between Song and Liao became increasingly unstable, and there were occasional frictions between the two countries on the border of Zhending Prefecture. As a typical civil servant, Li Qingchen was really unable to deal with the powerful Liao army.

Although the Song Dynasty was a time when civil officials held military power, facing a powerful enemy was not something that a scholar could do just by reading a few military books.

Li Qingchen was able to govern a city, but he still lacked confidence when fighting against the Liao army.

Now that Zhao Xiaoqian had arrived, he had long heard of the deeds of this relative, the Duke of Xian. Especially his foreign wars, he was a rare hardliner in the court, who aimed to destroy the country when starting a war.

In the Song-Xia War, if Zhao Xiaoqian had not been concerned about the intervention of the Liao Kingdom and had continued to lead the Song army to fight, it would be hard to say whether the Western Xia would have been destroyed by him.

With Zhao Xiaoqian taking over Zhending Prefecture, Li Qingchen breathed a sigh of relief and sighed in his heart that the government was wise and that people were able to be used to their full potential.

A powerful enemy like the Liao army could only be dealt with by a tough guy like Zhao Xiaoqian, especially since Zhao Xiaoqian also brought the Longwei Camp, one of the four armies in Bianliang, a new-style army of more than 30,000 equipped with muskets. Li Qingchen was even more confident.

From a selfish point of view, Li Qingchen was happier about Zhao Xiaoqian's arrival.

If it weren't for the imperial court's order, who the hell would be willing to give up the prosperous days in Bianjing and run to this barren place to be a prefect?
Zhao Xiaoqian's appointment meant that Li Qingchen could hand over his work immediately and return to the familiar Bianliang to serve as an official in the capital. A beautiful, luxurious and comfortable life was beckoning him, so how could Li Qingchen not be happy?

However, when the two met, Zhao Xiaoqian looked at him with a strange smile, and Li Qingchen suddenly felt a little uneasy for some reason.

This young man...seems to be planning something.

"I am delighted that Duke Zhao has taken office. Only a contemporary talent like Duke Zhao can shoulder this heavy responsibility. I am old and can only hide in the back, fearing death. I am really ashamed..." Li Qingchen said with a look of shame.

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, "Prefect Li, you are ashamed too early."

Li Qingchen: ???

What does this mean? What does this mean? Why do I always feel like there's a huge conspiracy hanging over me?

Also, the way Zhao Xiaoqian looked at him was so strange that Li Qingchen couldn't help but feel creepy and uncomfortable all over.

After the two men exchanged greetings, a group of civil and military officials at the city gate also came forward to pay their respects.

The Song Dynasty's local bureaucracy was complex and varied, with varying degrees of power. From the prefect down, there were not only powerful judges and prosecutors, but also transport commissioners and supervisors in the western Hebei region, as well as a large number of so-called "officials with no real power but official titles."

There are permanent border troops stationed in Zhending Prefecture, and the main camp is located in the western suburbs outside the city of Zhending Prefecture. The number of border troops is about 50,000, of which about 10,000 are central imperial troops transferred from Bian Jing, and the remaining 40,000 are mostly local garrison troops.

Of course, the militia in the villages, forts and strongholds outside the provincial capital were not part of the government's organization. They were civilian resistance groups, the so-called "militia", which were recruited by local areas themselves, but the militia commanders had to be appointed by the court.

For example, Su Shi once served as the commander of the Huangzhou militia, training local militia.

As for the actual combat effectiveness of the local army...don't even mention it.

If a war is fought against foreign enemies and the local army has to be relied upon, the situation is basically hopeless. The commander-in-chief will either be ready to run away or die for his country. No one expects the local army to turn the situation on the battlefield around.

There are many military generals in Zhending Prefecture. The 10,000 imperial guards are led by one wing commander, and the remaining 40,000 wing troops are led by two wing commanders, each commanding 16 army commanders.

When they met for the first time today, Zhao Xiaoqian immediately saw the difference between the generals of the central imperial guards and the local wing troops.

The commander of the imperial guards was named Zhang Lan, a middle-aged man in his forties. He was wearing shiny fish-scale armor and looked very heroic and majestic.

The two commanders of the Xiang army were only wearing leather armor and winged helmets. The leather armor was old, with faint knife marks visible on it. The two men looked a little haggard. Even when greeting Zhao Xiaoqian, they forced smiles, which looked uglier than tears.

Zhao Xiaoqian glanced at everyone's expressions and keenly discovered a lot of information about the military and political circles of Zhending Prefecture.

The commanders of the Imperial Guard and the garrison troops were both appointed by the imperial court, but it was clear that the Imperial Guard and the garrison troops in Zhending Prefecture were not on good terms. The Imperial Guard's garrison commander, Zhang Lan, displayed a distinctly superior arrogance, while the two garrison commanders seemed to be somewhat submissive.

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, there is no rush. There will be plenty of time in the future to understand the current military and political situation in Zhending Prefecture.

At Li Qingchen's invitation, Zhao Xiaoqian and a group of officials and generals entered Zhending City, and the 30,000 soldiers of the Dragon Guard Camp he brought, led by Zhong Jianzhong, set out to the eastern suburbs outside Zhending City to find a new camping site and prepare for long-term stationing.

In order to welcome Zhao Xiaoqian's arrival, Li Qingchen prepared a carriage inside the city gate. When he was about to invite Zhao Xiaoqian to get on board, Zhao Xiaoqian waved his hand to refuse, saying that he was new to Zhending City and he planned to walk into the city to see the customs and practices of the people.

A large group of people surrounded Zhao Xiaoqian. The scene was so grand that Li Qingchen dismissed the officials and generals behind him and led Zhao Xiaoqian on foot. Chen Shou, Jia Shi and other imperial guards followed.

After entering the city, Zhao Xiaoqian's mood suddenly sank when he saw the scene inside Zhending City for the first time.

It was so desolate that there were almost no people on the streets. Half of the shops on both sides of the street were closed, and the remaining half that were open were deserted and there were few cars and horses.

There were not many people on the street, and they were dressed poorly. Everyone had a pale face and a sad expression, as if they had completely lost hope for the future, and even their livelihood for tomorrow seemed uncertain.

Zhao Xiaoqian observed everything silently, using his own understanding to silently analyze the city.

Border town, war, shadow of death, no business travel...

The bleak and desolate scene before him seemed to make sense, but Zhao Xiaoqian always felt something was wrong.

In fact, both countries have been abiding by the Treaty of Chanyuan, and the so-called war clouds are just changes that occurred within half a year.

But when Zhao Xiaoqian saw the scene in Zhending City, it didn't look like it had only been half a year.

This hopeless and depressed scene, like an antique that has existed for many years, has definitely lasted for more than just a year or two.

As he walked slowly, Zhao Xiaoqian looked around and asked, "How long has Li Zhifu been in office in Zhending Prefecture?"

Li Qingchen said, "I took up my post in the first month of the first year of Shaosheng, and now it has been exactly two years."

Zhao Xiaoqian pointed at the desolate scene around him and asked, "Has Zhending Prefecture always been like this?"

Li Qingchen smiled bitterly and said, "When I took office, the situation was even worse than this. I am incompetent, and I have only made slight improvements in the past two years. I am truly ashamed."

The city is in this state, and the counties, towns and villages around Zhending Prefecture are even uglier.

Zhao Xiaoqian couldn't help but ask, "Why is this happening? Although the border town is desolate, it's not completely barren. The imperial court allowed trade between Song and Liao..."

"Zhending Prefecture is such an important border town. Logically, merchants from both countries wouldn't miss this excellent trading location. Why does Zhending Prefecture look like it's been hit by a natural disaster? The people don't even seem to have enough to eat. Does Magistrate Li know the reason?"

Li Qingchen hesitated for a moment and sighed, "The reasons are very complicated..."

Just as he finished speaking, he saw a group of strong men in black clothes suddenly rushing out from an alley on the side of the street, each holding a knife or stick, and walking towards him with a bad look on their faces.

Chen Shou and Jia Shi behind him immediately became nervous. Dozens of imperial guards and ten martial arts masters quickly surrounded Zhao Xiaoqian and Li Qingchen, protecting them in the middle, staring at the group of strong men with ill intentions with a wary look.

Zhao Xiaoqian pursed his lips, silently reached into his arms, and tightly grasped the handle of the short-barreled flintlock rifle hidden in his arms.

At the same time, he vigilantly scanned the attic windows and roofs of the shops on the street. He slowly bent his knees and lowered his body so that the burly bodies of the imperial guards and masters could completely block his view.

(End of this chapter)