The prince is more stable

Chapter 632 Encountering a Famous General Again
The case of the young prince is delicate and sensitive, and even the lawless Imperial City Guard dares not touch it.

The three murderers were found but escaped. Wei Jie and his associates could not bear such serious responsibility, so Zhao Xiaoqian had no choice but to take the blame.

What Zhao Xiaoqian wouldn't say is that those three people are probably living in a dark and hopeless life in a dungeon in some village outside Bianjing.

Zhao Hao said he would use these three to finish off Zhao Ji, and Zhao Xiaoqian agreed. With these three pieces in hand, Zhao Xiaoqian had gained the upper hand.

The reason we are not attacking Zhao Ji now is because the time is not right. If the opponent is playing one against three, we can't just throw out our trump card.

The steaming hot soup dumplings were served, and the shopkeeper stood by with a resentful look on his face, angry but not daring to say anything.

Zhao Xiaoqian carefully picked up a small soup dumpling, placed it in the bowl to cool for a while, then used a soup spoon to scoop it up, bit through the thin skin, and gently sipped the hot soup. Once the dumpling was no longer too hot to eat, he shoved it into his mouth.

Wei Jie couldn't help but express his admiration to him: "Judging from the way Your Highness eats soup dumplings, you must be a gourmand who understands fine food."

Wei Jie wasn't particular about eating soup dumplings. He picked one up with his chopsticks and stuffed it directly into his mouth. Then his eyes widened in shock, quickly filling with tears, and his expression became extremely distorted.

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed and said, "Fool, if it's too hot to swallow, just spit it out. No one will laugh at you. Why force yourself to keep it up?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Jie spat out the soup dumpling with a "plop" sound, looking at the shopkeeper with teary eyes.

"You bastard, did you deliberately make it so hot?" Wei Jie roared, "Do you want to test the sharpness of my sword?"

The shopkeeper was almost in tears. A freelancer living in Bianjing who never caused trouble was suddenly struck by misfortune. Not only was he forced to go to work, but he was also inexplicably scolded.

Zhao Xiaoqian tapped the table and said, "Is it fun to bully a small business owner? Even dogs in the countryside test the temperature of poop with their noses before eating it. You swallowed it whole without a second thought, so who's to blame?"

Wei Jie sat down dejectedly, tears still wet in his eyes, probably from being badly burned.

Zhao Xiaoqian ignored him. After eating two baskets, he was already seven or eight tenths full, so he got up, patted his belly, and pointed to Wei Jie at the innkeeper: "He'll pay the bill."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

With a steamed bun in his mouth, Wei Jie grabbed Zhao Xiaoqian and asked, "Where does Your Highness intend to go?"

"Oh, it's like this. Yesterday, a woman told me she was pregnant, but she wasn't sure who the father was, so she summoned all the men she'd recently been with to try and identify the real father. And I just so happen to be one of them..."

Wei stared in disbelief, the soup from the dumplings dripping down his chin.

Zhao Xiaoqian rubbed his hands together and let out a cackling laugh: "The thought of a group of men standing in a row, silently accepting the moment of being chosen by fate, is actually a little exciting..."

Wei Jie felt as if he had been struck by lightning, as if the sky had collapsed.

"Your Highness, are you serious?" Wei Jie's ferocious expression made it seem as if he wanted to drown that shameless woman in the river.

Zhao Xiaoqian didn't say anything, but silently gave him a look of concern for the mentally challenged, then turned and left.

…………

On the western outskirts of the city, a newly established camp stands.

This is the Imperial Guard camp. In the past few months, the imperial court has selected 50,000 Imperial Guards from the three upper armies and equipped them with firearms. These 50,000 Imperial Guards are temporarily stationed here.

The 50,000 troops were selected from different armies, and each one was an elite among elites.

The Liao Dynasty in the north often referred to the Song people as "Southerners," which was actually a derogatory term meaning that Southerners were physically weak and even less capable in battle.

Of course, there is some truth to that. Objectively speaking, there is indeed a gap in physical fitness between southerners and northerners. Can the physical fitness of those who eat beef and mutton as their staple food be the same as those who eat whole grains as their staple food?

However, there were also tall and strong men among the southerners, such as the 50,000 imperial guards selected from the three upper armies.

Today, Zhao Xiaoqian planned to inspect the camp and see how the 50,000 troops that Zhao Xu had selected for him were of good quality.

After leading Chen Shou and the others out of the city, Zhao Xiaoqian rode his horse straight to the western suburbs.

After traveling more than ten miles, the main camp finally came into view. Facing the howling wind, Chen Shou suddenly pointed ahead and said, "Your Highness, there is someone lurking around the main camp ahead. I don't know what kind of person he is."

Zhao Xiaoqian glanced over and saw the person as well.

The man had his back to them, crouching low as he looked at the camp ahead. His appearance and demeanor made him look anything but a good person.

Zhao Xiaoqian raised an eyebrow. "Damn, are the spies from enemy countries really this arrogant? They dare to openly spy on our army camp in broad daylight. Are they all so brainless?"
"Take him down," Zhao Xiaoqian ordered.

Chen Shouyi waved his hand, and several imperial guards behind him quickened their pace and rushed forward, quickly encircling the man. They then dismounted and prepared to capture him.

Surprisingly, this man was quite skilled in combat. Three or five imperial guards surrounded him but failed to subdue him. Instead, the guards took several blows themselves.

Zhao Xiaoqian was greatly surprised: "Whose subordinate is this, that he is so brave?"

The imperial guards surrounding the man were humiliated by Zhao Xiaoqian's attack and became even more enraged, fighting even more fiercely.

The last Imperial Guard, unable to bear the provocation any longer, drew a short-barreled flintlock pistol from his waist and suddenly pressed it against the man's forehead.

The man seemed to be frozen in place, instantly too afraid to move. Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes flashed; he realized that this man seemed to recognize a flintlock pistol. Otherwise, if it were an ignorant fellow, being held to the forehead by such a strange object wouldn't have made him so afraid to move.

Riding on horseback, Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly shouted, "Hey, do you want to bet that his gun isn't loaded?"

The man glanced quickly at Zhao Xiaoqian and slowly shook his head: "I dare not gamble."

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed; this answer was nothing like Yan Shuangying's.

Chen Shou, who was standing nearby, shouted, "Tie him up!"

Soon, the man was bound hand and foot and brought before Zhao Xiaoqian, but he still looked defiant and arrogant.

"I use my fists and feet, but you use firearms. This is unfair and not the behavior of a true hero!"

Zhao Xiaoqian laughed: "You know about firearms?"

"Nonsense, I sneak around the camp every day just to get a better look at the firearms."

Zhao Xiaoqian was taken aback again. Was he really so open and honest, with no intention of hiding anything at all?
He frowned and looked him up and down. He saw that the man was burly, with broad shoulders and a thick waist, and a slightly protruding belly. As for his appearance... well, he could only be described as having a human-like appearance, but his beard was a huge, messy clump that almost covered his facial features.

"Who are you? Why are you openly spying on my camp?" Zhao Xiaoqian asked.

The man was tied up and seemed very uncomfortable. After struggling for a few moments to no avail, he could only snort angrily, "Don't mistake me for a spy. I am a dignified military officer of the Great Song Dynasty."

Zhao Xiaoqian glanced at him and said, "State your name and official title."

The man, however, arrogantly looked up at him and said, "Who are you? What right do you have to ask me that?"

"My name is Zhao Xiaoqian, the Prince of Hejian in the Great Song Dynasty. As for my official title, it's a long list, so I won't go into details," Zhao Xiaoqian said with a smile.

The man was startled, his eyes widened as he scrutinized him intently. After a long while, he suddenly exclaimed, "Oh dear, it really is His Highness the Prince! Oh dear, it must be a misunderstanding!"

"For offending Your Highness and speaking disrespectfully to Your Highness, I deserve to die!"

Zhao Xiaoqian said calmly, "I still prefer your unruly demeanor from earlier. Please try to regain your composure..."

"No, no, I have a short temper. If I had known it was Your Highness in person, I would have killed myself rather than dare to be disrespectful to Your Highness."

"Your Highness once swept through Western Xia, captured the capital, and was invincible. Later, you defeated the Liao army several times, turning the tide of the Song-Liao offensive and defensive battles and bringing glory to our Great Song. The whole world regards Your Highness as a renowned hero and the undisputed number one hero. This humble general has been disrespectful in front of Your Highness and deserves to die!"

Zhao Xiaoqian chuckled: "You say you're a military officer, where did you learn all this flattery? Tell me your name, your rank, and what your true intentions are in spying on the camp here."

The man wanted to clasp his hands in greeting, but he was bound hand and foot and could not move. He could only say, "This humble general is named Guo Cheng. He is under the command of Zhang Jie, the border commander of the Northwest Army. He is officially appointed as the official in charge of the Jingyuan Road. Several years ago, Your Highness swept through the Western Xia. At that time, I was ordered to guard Yan'an Prefecture. I regret that I was unable to see Your Highness's face."

Zhao Xiaoqian blinked.

Guo Cheng?

The name sounds familiar; it seems he was indeed a prominent figure in historical records, a famous general of the Song Dynasty.

This man was originally from Ningxia in Northwest China. Later, he was appreciated by Zhang Jie and made many military achievements.

Guo Cheng had one strength: he was good at defense. In later history, Guo Cheng was stationed in Pingxia City and defended the city so well that the Western Xia people could not shake it.

Guo Cheng is not yet at the height of his fame; he is currently just a court official.

Zhao Xiaoqian never expected that he would meet this famous general in Bianjing today.

"Are you Guo Cheng? A general of the Northwest Army? Why are you in the outskirts of Bianjing?" Zhao Xiaoqian asked.

"This humble general was ordered by Commander Zhang to return to Bianjing to report the military situation to the Ministry of War. Just now, when I passed by the camp, I heard gunshots inside. I was so intrigued that I dared to stop and spy on it."

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled: "Have you ever seen a flintlock gun?"

Guo Cheng sighed, "Back then, Your Highness led five thousand light cavalry into the territory of Western Xia, relying on these flintlock muskets that were invincible. I was extremely envious at the time. If every soldier on the border of our Great Song Dynasty were equipped with firearms, what would we have to worry about in the world?"

Zhao Xiaoqian dismounted and personally untied the ropes binding him, saying, "Just wait, that day will come. The Song Dynasty now has 100,000 troops equipped with firearms, and there will be even more in three to five years. The Northwest Army will come sooner or later."

After the ropes were untied, Guo Cheng knelt on one knee in front of Zhao Xiaoqian and apologized to him again. Zhao Xiaoqian helped him up.

"You've come to Bianjing to report on military affairs? Has Western Xia made any unusual moves again?"

Guo Cheng laughed and said, "No, it's because our army has made some unusual movements."

"His Highness once ordered Zhe Keshi to lead 5,000 troops to the northwest border to harass the army and villages of the Western Xia. Zhe Keshi has achieved many victories in recent days, and the Western Xia is already in a state of panic. The King of Western Xia, Li Qianshun, sent an envoy to Xia Prefecture to ask Commander Zhang what our Song army's intentions were in initiating the war."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded: "That's right, it was my order. It seems Zhe Keshi did a good job; Li Qianshun has broken down..."

(End of this chapter)