The prince is more stable

Chapter 543: Requesting to be the Deputy Envoy
Human hearts are so strange. Even though the person who knows the true story of the war is right next to him, Zhao Xu prefers to listen to the folk legend version.

What with divine thunder descending from the sky to boost his strength, what with a hundred thousand reed marshes transforming into a hundred thousand decoy soldiers, what with the Prince of Hejian opening his eyes and instantly flashing two gleams of light that killed the Liao army that was trying to assassinate him, turning them into dust...

Zhao Xiaoqian sat in his seat, digging his toes into the ground in embarrassment, and constantly reflecting on himself.

I have done good deeds and accumulated virtue all my life, and I have been loyal, filial, benevolent and righteous. Why do I have to suffer this retribution?

Zhao Xu, who was standing next to him, listened with his eyes lighting up, his eyes flashing with excitement from time to time, his emotions obviously fluctuating with the storyteller's narration.

Zhao Xiaoqian was speechless looking at his expression.

Brother, you are the emperor. How can this kind of nonsense make you so excited? From now on, all the court officials should write exciting memorials to you, okay?

After a long pause, Zhao Xu turned his head and whispered, "What he said is quite right. It's much better than your victory memorial. I didn't know your victory in the Liao campaign was so moving..."

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed helplessly, "Your Majesty may not believe me, but I didn't even know I was so powerful and invincible..."

After a pause, Zhao Xiaoqian finally couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, why don't you order the arrest of this nonsense guy and bring him to justice? He's clearly suspected of spreading rumors. Send him to Lingnan to pick lychees..."

Zhao Xu shook his head: "No, how can such a good storyteller be exiled? I will remember this brothel and come here often to listen to his stories in the future."

The storyteller paused, and just as he was reaching the climax of his speech, Zhao Xu cheered loudly, waving his hand excitedly and saying, "Reward!"

Zheng Chunhe, who was standing quietly behind him, immediately took out a handful of copper coins and threw them onto the stage. The storyteller was ecstatic. He stood up to thank him, then sat down and continued to talk nonsense.

Zhao Xiaoqian's expression became increasingly strange.

Sitting in the audience now are the initiator and planner of the Ping Liao Campaign and the executor, but they are attracted by the folk rumor version, which sounds a bit ironic no matter how you listen to it.

Finally, after the storyteller finished telling the story of the Battle of Juma River, he clapped his hands and said, "If you want to know what happened next, please wait for the next chapter."

Zhao Xu smacked his lips in satisfaction, "Interesting! Much more fun than the palace. The food, drinks, and entertainment are all better than in the palace."

After saying that, Zhao Xu pulled Zhao Xiaoqian up and said, "Come on, let's continue shopping. I remember you took me to eat soup dumplings once. I think it was called 'First Floor', right? Let's go there."

Zhao Xiaoqian reluctantly took him to the first floor. He felt like he was taking a naughty kid to an amusement park. He was tired both physically and mentally.

The first floor is still in the old location, but the owner is becoming more and more casual in opening the store. He is not very active in making money these days. Maybe he needs a loving education.

Looking at the closed shop door, Zhao Xu looked at Zhao Xiaoqian in surprise.

Zhao Xiaoqian said with ease, "Please wait a moment, Your Majesty. I will handle this matter immediately."

After saying this, Zhao Xiaoqian turned his head and looked at Chen Shou behind him. Chen Shou understood and turned away.

A moment later, the shopkeeper with a gloomy face came, and behind him, Chen Shou had a bad look on his face. Every time the shopkeeper took two steps, Chen Shou kicked him from behind. The shopkeeper stumbled, then continued walking with a smile. Chen Shou continued kicking him, like a lazy donkey that was discovered by its owner...

When he walked up to Zhao Xiaoqian, before the shop owner could even greet him, Zhao Xiaoqian kicked him.

"You're so careless opening a shop, are you obsessed with money?" Zhao Xiaoqian squinted his eyes and looked at him: "How much have you earned over the years? Are you so arrogant?"

The shop owner couldn't help but argue: "This shop is mine. I can open it if I want. Aren't you being too overbearing, sir..."

Before he could finish his words, Zhao Xiaoqian kicked him again: "That's right, you are being overbearing. If you don't agree, go and sue the authorities. Hurry up and open the door, chop the stuffing, mix the dough, and put it in the steamer!"

The crowd was overwhelming and their intentions were ill-intentioned, so the shop owner swallowed his anger, opened the door, and chopped the stuffing and kneaded the dough himself.

Zhao Xu watched Zhao Xiaoqian's performance in silence. After entering the store and sitting down, he sighed, "Today, I finally saw your playboy side. To be honest, it's really hateful. I really want to slap you..."

Zhao Xiaoqian blinked. "I'm already very kind. These guys are too lazy. They didn't give him any education, so they don't know the hardship of making money. I'm just trying to urge him to make more money so he can plan for the future."

Zhao Xu nodded. "You managed to make sense out of something so unreasonable. I'm convinced. I won't say any more. The more you talk, the more I want to spank you."

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled awkwardly: "Most of the time, I am still very reasonable..."

"Stop talking, wait for the buns." Zhao Xu sighed.

The soup dumplings were served quickly, and the steaming hot dumplings were brought to the table.

Zhao Xu couldn't wait to pick one up, blowing on it while smelling the aroma of meat in the air.

After it was half cool, Zhao Xu opened his mouth and started biting.

Since the last time I took him to eat it, Zhao Xu has learned how to eat soup dumplings and is very particular about how he eats them.

First, bite a little bit of the dough and suck the soup inside. After sucking most of the soup, swallow it in one gulp.

Zhao Xiaoqian was very pleased with Zhao Xu's performance. This was the correct way to eat it. The most unacceptable thing was to pour the soup into the bowl and only eat the meat filling and dough. It was a waste of food. "Delicious!" Zhao Xu looked very happy. Such food could not be found in the palace. The meals there were very exquisite, but the taste was hard to describe.

The king and his minister buried their heads in eating. After finishing three or four cages, they were finally full and sat in a chair in a daze.

"Zi'an, eat more. We will be going to Zhending Prefecture soon. There may not be such delicious food in Zhending Prefecture, right?" Zhao Xu said.

"That's fine. I'll try making it myself. There's no secret recipe for this thing, it's just a little troublesome."

Zhao Xu hummed, then asked, "Is the Dragon Guard Battalion still stationed on the south bank of the Juma River?"

Zhao Xiaoqian put down his chopsticks and said, "Yes, in the two previous battles with the Liao army, the Dragon Guard Battalion lost over ten thousand men. I later incorporated ten thousand local soldiers into the Dragon Guard Battalion to replenish its strength. Before I left the camp, I instructed Zhong Jianzhong to train them daily. Now, those ten thousand soldiers are relatively strong."

Zhao Xu pondered for a moment and said, "Thirty thousand Dragon Guard soldiers equipped with firearms are more than enough for defense, but for offense... I'm afraid it won't be enough."

Zhao Xiaoqian said, "Yes, the attack is indeed not enough. The Liao army's scouts are watching our camp day and night across the river. Any unusual movement by our army will cause the Liao army to be nervous. Thirty thousand soldiers are enough to defend the south bank, but if we plan to attack Yanyun..."

Zhao Xu nodded in understanding. It was impossible for him to be so naive as to think that Yanyun could be recaptured by relying on 30,000 soldiers. He had never dreamed of such a perfect outcome.

"If we launch an offensive against the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, how many troops will be needed?" Zhao Xu asked seriously.

Zhao Xiaoqian thought for a moment and said, "At least 100,000 soldiers, all of whom must be equipped with firearms. Not only that, every soldier must be proficient in the use of firearms."

Zhao Xu smiled and said, "Zi'an, guess how many flintlock rifles and ammunition has the Bian Jing Firearms Supervision produced during the six months you've been stationed at the border in Zhending Prefecture?"

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, I dare not ask about this matter. Judging from your expression, you probably made quite a lot, right?"

Zhao Xu laughed heartily. "That's right. After you took office in Zhending Prefecture, I ordered the expansion of the Firearms Bureau and recruited thousands of craftsmen. Now, the Firearms Bureau has produced over 100,000 flintlock rifles."

"As for ammunition, since you later improved it, paper shell bullets are much simpler to produce. We've accumulated quite a bit now, enough to support a war of at least 100,000 people."

Zhao Xiaoqian pursed his lips. He knew what Zhao Xu meant by these words.

Zhao Xu was as anxious as ever, eager to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.

As an emperor, he was naturally calm in doing things. He had no lack of strategic determination. However, deep down in his heart, Zhao Xu still hoped to recover Yanyun as soon as possible. Whether for his rule or his reputation in history books, recovering Yanyun was an urgent matter, and he had to seize every minute.

However, Zhao Xiaoqian did not rush to express his opinion.

A large-scale battle is the beginning of an open and formal falling out between the two countries. When two powerful countries go to war, there are too many things to consider.

Economy, military, diplomacy, etc., all aspects must be taken into consideration, and sufficient preparations must be made in advance before officially entering war mode.

Zhao Xiaoqian hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I wonder how much grain the treasury received last year? Can it supply the needs of my 100,000-man army in time?"

Zhao Xu smiled happily upon hearing this.

He had discussed the matter of recovering Yanyun with Zhao Xiaoqian last year, but Zhao Xiaoqian was opposed to it at the time because of insufficient preparations. Whether in terms of military, manpower, weapons, food, etc., they were not enough to support a major war.

But at this moment, Zhao Xiaoqian no longer objected, but asked seriously about food and grass, which showed that he was confident enough to declare war on the Liao Kingdom, and now what he needed to know was the situation of logistics and supplies.

Delighted, Zhao Xu hurriedly said, "Last year, the Song Dynasty had a bumper harvest. Furthermore, Zhang Dun's new policies have been implemented for over a year, and they have yielded positive results across all prefectures and cities. The national treasury has seen a significant increase in revenue. We now have ample grain reserves, enough to sustain a 100,000-man army for at least six months."

Seeing Zhao Xiaoqian remained silent, Zhao Xu added, "It's already midsummer. In a few months, the autumn tax will be collected. Don't worry about the food and fodder. I swear I won't cause you any trouble. I also know the disaster that would befall a large army if its logistics were cut off."

Zhao Xiaoqian calculated and said, "Since we have all the food, soldiers, and weapons, then..."

Facing Zhao Xu's hopeful gaze, Zhao Xiaoqian smiled: "I am willing to go on an expedition for the emperor, to recapture Yanyun and fulfill the long-cherished wish of the previous emperors of the Great Song Dynasty."

Zhao Xu was overjoyed. He slammed his hand on the table and laughed out loud, "Okay, okay! I've been waiting for you to say that!"

Before Zhao Xu finished laughing, Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly said, "I have another request, please grant it."

Zhao Xu was in a good mood: "You can say whatever you want, I will agree to everything."

Zhao Xiaoqian spoke slowly, pausing each word, "I request that the emperor select a trusted official and appoint him as the Deputy Envoy for the Administration and Appeasement of the Western Hebei Route to assist me in the Northern Expedition against Yanyun."

Zhao Xu's smile froze, his eyes showed surprise and suspicion, and he looked Zhao Xiaoqian up and down.

Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes were clear and calm, he just looked into his eyes quietly.

After a long pause, Zhao Xu slowly said, "Zi'an, what does this mean?"

"Since I took office as the Governor-General of Hebei West Route, I have been overwhelmed with official duties, both large and small, which has forced me to distract myself from leading the troops and has only added to my worries. I would like to ask the emperor to appoint a deputy governor to handle these trivial matters for me."

(End of this chapter)