The prince is more stable

Chapter 544: Trust between the Emperor and His Ministers
Zhao Xiaoqian volunteered to be the deputy envoy, certainly not for the reasons he stated on the surface.

The Deputy Envoy of the Western Hebei Route Administration and Pacification seemed to be just Zhao Xiaoqian's deputy, but he had great power.

The deputy envoy not only had direct jurisdiction over the prefectures and counties in the western part of Hebei Province, but also had command authority over the army. More importantly, the deputy envoy also had the right to make direct secret reports to the court and the emperor.

What does that mean?

The deputy envoy also had a secret mission, which was to supervise and monitor the chief envoy Zhao Xiaoqian, to prevent military generals from having too much power and harboring the intention of rebellion.

The Song Dynasty had garrisons on all four borders, and appointed military governors and pacification envoys. For example, in the west of the Song Dynasty, Zhang Yu was the military governor and pacification envoy of Huanqing Road, who was responsible for conducting strategic and tactical attacks and defenses against the Western Xia.

Last time, Zhao Xiaoqian was appointed as the deputy envoy of Huanqing Road and went to the northwest to fight against Western Xia. At that time, Zhang Yu and the generals of the Northwest Army were cautious about Zhao Xiaoqian.

Why was he so cautious? It wasn't because of Zhao Xiaoqian's power, but because of his other secret mission as a deputy envoy, which was to monitor and supervise the Northwest Army.

If the deputy envoy noticed something, or wanted to frame someone, as long as a memorial was secretly sent to Bian Jing, the emperor and all the civil and military officials in the court would take it seriously and dismiss those who should be dismissed and punish those who should be punished.

Therefore, the official position of Deputy Envoy of Jinglüe and Anfu was actually the emperor's spy and imperial envoy.

Of course, Zhao Xu understood what Zhao Xiaoqian meant. What about being busy with official duties and being distracted and troublesome? It was all bullshit.

As the emperor, doesn’t Zhao Xu know what the deputy envoy means to a place or an army?

Now Zhao Xu was just full of doubts. He didn't expect that Zhao Xiaoqian would actually take the initiative to propose to appoint a deputy envoy to Hebei West Road. Wouldn't this just make things difficult for him?
Who would want to command the army and issue orders while a deputy envoy stands by, watching his every word and action, secretly taking notes in a small notebook...

Especially in such an important battle to recapture Yanyun, having multiple deputy envoys around was definitely not a good thing for Zhao Xiaoqian's command.

Zhao Xu stared into his eyes seriously, his expression more serious than ever before.

"Zi'an, do you know what you are saying?" Zhao Xu said in a deep voice.

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded and said frankly, "I know."

"Don't tell me about being busy with official duties and being distracted. I just want to ask you why you appointed a deputy envoy."

Zhao Xiaoqian was silent for a moment, then sighed, "At the beginning, I only had 30,000 Dragon Guard soldiers under my command. This number is not a concern, and I don't need a deputy envoy."

"But now, to recapture Yanyun, I will have a hundred thousand soldiers and horses under my command. Your Majesty, even Duke Zhou was afraid of rumors. I am only an ordinary man, how can I be immune?"

"Some words, when spread from the frontier to Bianjing, often have a different meaning. I hope to be a clean official and do my duty well. That's all."

Zhao Xu's face darkened. "You think I'll be suspicious of you, so you've taken the initiative to ask for my permission to appoint a deputy envoy, so I can place a spy around you and keep an eye on you all day?"

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said gently, "Your Majesty and I are brothers. Your Majesty trusts me and has entrusted me with important tasks. I also trust Your Majesty. With your ambition and wisdom, you will never doubt me at this critical juncture."

"But, Your Majesty, there are some things you and I know, but do the entire court, the civil and military officials, and the people of the world know? If I hadn't been appointed Deputy Envoy, I would have been commanding the soldiers at the front to capture cities and plunder land, while the court in Bianjing would have been filled with countless memorials impeaching Your Majesty daily, warning you to guard against military commanders gaining too much power and to guard against my intentions of rebellion..."

"The memorials are piling up. How should the emperor deal with them? If I were to say something taboo, would the emperor become more suspicious if the memorials were to contain such plausible content?"

"Instead of this, why don't you just send a deputy envoy, or a few more officers and generals to the army? They can report to the emperor whether I am loyal or treacherous. I won't have to repeatedly defend myself for my personal honor and safety. This will also solve a problem for me."

"Does your Excellency think what I said makes sense?"

Zhao Xu's face was a little gloomy, and his eyes were deep. He stared at Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes intently, as if a sharp sword was about to penetrate his eyes and pierce his soul.

"Zi'an, do you really think so? Do you believe my trust in you?" Zhao Xu asked seriously.

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, "Of course I believe it. I just want to save the emperor and myself from some trouble. If the emperor appoints a deputy envoy, we can avoid these troubles, right?"

Zhao Xu was silent for a long time, then suddenly smiled. He looked up at Zhao Xiaoqian and saw that he was smiling too. The two looked at each other frankly and smiled brightly.

They are all adults and they know what they are saying and doing.

Of the two people now, one is a qualified emperor and the other is a qualified minister, that’s all.

Regardless of personal feelings, whether trust or suspicion, a sober adult should know what to do and when, and this should not change due to personal feelings.

The kind of emperor who would stick his neck out and say with rich emotions, "I trust you, I will never send a deputy envoy, it is a stain on our brotherhood" or something like that, is definitely a rare idiot in history.

The country and the people, the power of 100,000 soldiers, which emperor would dare to treat it like this? Does he really think that personal feelings and trust can override the country?
As Zhao Xiaoqian said just now, when he had only 30,000 soldiers under his command, Zhao Xu could safely hand over the military power to him, but when he had 100,000 soldiers under his command, the situation was completely different.

If Zhao Xiaoqian had any rebellious intentions, with just one order, 100,000 soldiers equipped with firearms would turn around and attack Bian Jing. Would Zhao Xu still be able to hold on to his position as emperor?

Any emperor with even a modicum of common sense would not take such a risk. Zhao Xiaoqian was also aware of this, and he knew even better that as long as he had 100,000 troops under his command, even if Zhao Xu said nothing, the court officials would never allow it. They would force Zhao Xu to appoint a deputy envoy and send more spies to closely monitor Zhao Xiaoqian's every move.

Rather than making Zhao Xu embarrassed, it would be better to take the initiative to break the window paper so that everyone can get a decent result.

The two looked at each other for a long time. Zhao Xu sighed and said, "I understand what you mean, but I still have to tell you..."

"Zi'an, from my own selfish point of view, I have never doubted your loyalty."

Zhao Xu said deeply, "You are actually quite lazy. If you could, you would probably rather be a playboy who only eats, drinks and has fun all your life."

"You don't like to hold power, especially military power. It's too dangerous. But I need your ability, and the Song Dynasty also needs you to stand up, so you have no choice but to do it."

"You have ability, but no ambition. Any emperor who is lucky enough to meet someone like you would regard you as a treasure and entrust you with important tasks."

In just that brief moment, Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly looked a little dazed.

His mind recalled the words Zhao Hao said to him in a stern voice last night.

The government uses you only because it needs you, not because it trusts you. Make sure you understand this.

At this moment, Zhao Xu's eyes were extremely clear, without any hypocrisy in them.

Yes, from a personal perspective, Zhao Xu trusted him, but from the perspective of an emperor, Zhao Xu had to be on guard against him.

People who have not sat in this position will probably never understand this contradictory yet reasonable idea.

But Zhao Xiaoqian understood.

Emperors have been ruthless since ancient times. It is not easy to be as ruthless as Zhao Xu. It can be said that Zhao Xu is one of the kindest emperors in history.

"Your Majesty, please select a trusted court official to serve as your deputy envoy," Zhao Xiaoqian smiled. "Of course, my personal preference is that this person be easy to get along with and not a bad person. Especially when I'm commanding the army, they won't interfere too much with my military decisions. Otherwise, if I lose the battle, I won't be able to explain my responsibility."

Zhao Xu also smiled and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely choose someone with a suitable personality."

After saying this, the two of them laughed again, and their expressions looked very relaxed.

This was the first time that the king and his minister touched upon such a sensitive and taboo topic, and at the same time, they resolved the issue very tacitly and were very calm with each other.

Everything was put on the table, and what was rare was that after it was resolved, the two of them did not have any unhappiness, but instead felt relaxed and relieved.

The two looked at the table in front of them. The soup dumplings on the table had already gone cold.

Zhao Xu leaned in and sniffed it: "Is it still edible? It's not as fragrant anymore..."

Zhao Xiaoqian also moved closer to the steamer, staring at the remaining soup dumplings. "It's only been a short time since they've gone cold. It's obvious the shopkeeper didn't put his heart into it. How about I call the shopkeeper over and give him another beating?"

Zhao Xu glanced at him and said, "He was an awe-inspiring commander commanding the troops on the frontier. Why is he so domineering and arrogant back in Bianjing?"

"My majestic demeanor is an act. After all, I must maintain my dignity in front of the soldiers. Being domineering and overbearing is my true nature. Your Majesty, in fact, more than 99% of the troubles and disputes in the world can be resolved with a slap in the face."

Zhao Xu was stunned: "Really?"

Zhao Xiaoqian said seriously, "Really? If you don't believe me, next time those old guys try to blackmail me or act unreasonable in front of me, I might as well give them a slap. They'll definitely kneel before me and cry and repent, never daring to fart again..."

Zhao Xu was slightly moved, and clearly had some intentions. Then his eyes regained clarity, and he smiled bitterly and shook his head: "I have to go back to the palace, otherwise I will really be led astray by you..."

Zhao Xiaoqian continued to slander him, saying, "Your Majesty, give it a try. If you give it a try, you will no longer be a child... Try Zhang Dun first."

"...Zheng Chunhe, hurry and return to the palace. There are always treacherous ministers deceiving the emperor! We cannot stay here for long."

…………

Life remained peaceful, there was no war on the border, and Zhao Xiaoqian simply stayed in Bian Jing.

The next day, Zhao Xu asked Zheng Chunhe to convey his imperial edict, ordering him to select 80,000 soldiers from the remaining three armies in Bianliang. Once Zhao Xiaoqian was reinstated, he would take the 80,000 soldiers to Zhending Prefecture and combine them with the 30,000 soldiers of the Longwei Camp into one army, all under the command of Zhao Xiaoqian.

Zhao Xu did not mention the appointment of a deputy envoy, but Zhao Xiaoqian knew that he was also seriously considering the candidate.

(End of this chapter)