The prince is more stable

Chapter 639 Setting Off North
Prince Chu's Mansion.

The Crown Prince is hosting a grand banquet tonight, and those invited are all current prime ministers, ministers, and ministers.

In the afternoon, the servants of the Prince's Mansion began to set up. They not only cleaned the front and back courtyards, but also invited the most popular courtesans and a troupe of singers and dancers from the brothels of Bianjing. A stage was set up in the front courtyard, facing the Yin'an Hall of the Prince's Mansion, to entertain the guests with songs and dances.

As evening fell, several carriages stopped in front of the Prince's Mansion, where Zhao Hao and his son Zhao Xiaoqian personally greeted the guests.

The carriage stopped, and high-ranking officials such as Zhang Dun, Zeng Bu, An Tao, and Cai Jing, the Minister of Revenue, alighted from the carriage and greeted Zhao Hao and his son with smiles.

After the formalities, Zhang Dun smiled and looked at Zhao Xiaoqian, saying, "Zian, you've worked hard guarding the border. I see you seem to have lost some weight. With so many border affairs, you must be having trouble sleeping day and night."

Zhao Xiaoqian blushed slightly: "Uh, it wasn't that hard..."

That's the truth. It's really not hard work. He's always been a hands-off manager. After Xu Jiang, the deputy envoy, took office, Zhao Xiaoqian became even more irresponsible and didn't care about anything.

An Tao, however, was a wise and experienced man. He glanced at Zhao Xiaoqian meaningfully and said with a smile, "I don't think Zian is having such a hard time. If he were really having a hard time, why would he have the leisure to send troops to intercept the Liao princess on her way to her marriage and settle her in his own backyard?"

The three old rascals burst into laughter, and even Zhao Hao, who was standing next to them, couldn't help but laugh, his eyes filled with an ambiguous, irritating look as he looked at Zhao Xiaoqian.

Even the usually serious Zeng Bu laughed and said, "Xu Jiang wrote to me, saying that Zi'an doesn't stay properly at the Juma River camp, but often goes to Zhengding City because his wives and concubines live there."

Zhang Dun laughed and said, "It's understandable for a young man to be attracted to beautiful women. We've all been young once. Compared to the dull and boring days in the camp, who wouldn't want to immerse themselves in the pleasures of life?"

Zhao Hao said with a proud look, "My son's trip to Zhen Ding City was not in vain. During that time, one of my son's concubines became pregnant. Haha! My Chu royal lineage finally has an heir!"

Everyone was taken aback, then offered their congratulations to Zhao Hao, and the scene became very lively, as if the Chu Prince's Mansion was celebrating a full moon celebration.

The father and son led the guests into the Yin'an Hall. As the servants served wine and dishes, melodious music from the string and wind instruments filled the high platform in front of the palace, and the dancers danced gracefully to the music.

Today's guests are all distinguished individuals, and all are important officials in the court. Any one of them could be a powerful figure whose mere presence could shake the heavens and earth.

Of course, Zhao Xiaoqian was no less impressive. He was influential enough to be treated as an equal by the bigwigs. Although the guests present were distinguished, none of them dared to treat him as a junior. They all spoke to him in a very equal and respectful tone.

Zhao Xiaoqian didn't invite you to the banquet at the Prince's Mansion tonight for nothing.

After several rounds of drinks, Zhao Xiaoqian dismissed the geisha and got down to business.

"In a few days, I will be ordered to set out on an expedition. This battle will be different from the past. This time, I will lead 100,000 elite troops of the Song Dynasty northward to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun and wipe away the century-old humiliation of my Song Dynasty," Zhao Xiaoqian said emphatically.

The hall fell silent for a moment, then An Tao suddenly lowered his head and wiped away his tears with his sleeve.

The other guests also looked saddened and disheartened.

After a long silence, An Tao choked up and said, "I never imagined that I would live to see the day when the royal army recovers Yan and Yun. I thought there was no hope within a hundred years, and I would only be able to go to my grave with regret..."

Zhang Dun sighed and said, "Yes, it feels like a dream. In just a few years, the Song Dynasty has become so powerful. How fortunate we are to witness the Song Dynasty recovering Yan and Yun. Heaven has been kind to us!"

Zeng Bu wiped his eyes and laughed, "If I can see the recovery of Yan and Yun, even if Heaven makes me die on the spot, I will have no regrets. When I meet the emperors of the past in the afterlife, I can hold my head high and tell them that we, the civil and military officials of this generation, have not failed their long-cherished wish."

When the topic of recovering Yan and Yun was brought up, everyone present was filled with emotion.

The century-long national humiliation of the Song Dynasty has been wiped away in a single battle today, and all of you here can witness it with your own eyes. Isn't this one of the greatest joys in life?

Even Zhao Hao, whose reputation as a playboy was well-known, couldn't help but feel sad at this moment.

"Since the establishment of the Song and Liao dynasties, Shi Jingtang, that dog, offered Yanyun to the Liao people to amuse them. It has been more than a hundred years. During this hundred years, all the emperors and virtuous ministers of the Song Dynasty have looked north with longing, hoping that Yanyun would return to the Han land. In the end, they could only die with regret and could not rest in peace."

Zhao Hao turned his gaze, patted Zhao Xiaoqian's shoulder with emotion and pride, and said, "I have never liked to praise my own son in front of outsiders, but with the changes in the Song Dynasty in recent years, I have to shamelessly praise Qian'er. The Song Dynasty is fortunate to have you."

The prime ministers and envoys present nodded in agreement. Their expressions were serious, with no hint of joking. Clearly, none of them thought there was anything wrong with Zhao Hao praising his son; every word he said was the truth.

Zhao Xiaoqian blushed a little from the praise of the old men and shifted uncomfortably, saying, "Gentlemen, you flatter me. How could I possibly be worthy of bringing about such a change in the Great Song? It is only thanks to the wise decisions of the Emperor and the assistance of all of you present that the Great Song has achieved this."

"I dare not accept this credit without shame; it would shorten my lifespan."

After a pause, Zhao Xiaoqian stood up, picked up his wine glass, and toasted everyone.

Then Zhao Xiaoqian got down to business: "This recapture of Yanyun is a matter of great importance to the fate of the Song Dynasty. The Emperor has ordered me to be the commander-in-chief, and I have no choice but to give it my all. Even if I die on the battlefield, I cannot return defeated." "Today, I dare to invite you gentlemen here, hoping you will do me a favor. After the army sets out, I entrust the logistics of the court, including provisions, weapons, armor, and warhorses, to you. Please do not delay or cause unrest among the soldiers at the front, which would jeopardize the battle."

Zhang Dun's expression turned serious, and he solemnly said, "As the Prime Minister, I will personally supervise all supplies, including provisions and military equipment. We all know how much His Majesty values ​​the recovery of Yan and Yun. The court will do its utmost to ensure that Zi'an has no worries. On the front lines, Zi'an, please go all out."

The other two high-ranking officials of the Privy Council, Zeng Bu and An Tao, also nodded in agreement.

"Rest assured, Zian. We are all subjects of the Great Song Dynasty and know the priorities. From the day Zian leads the army to the expedition, the recovery of Yanyun has become the most important matter for the court. Everything else in the world must give way to the recovery of Yanyun. If anyone dares to delay the battle in terms of logistics, not only Your Majesty, but we will not tolerate it either."

Zeng Bu smiled and said, "After Zi'an goes on his expedition, the Privy Council will set up more than a hundred fast horse relay stations between Bianjing and Yanyun to specifically transmit military reports from the front. Any military reports about Yanyun will be delivered by express courier, and the Privy Council will approve and resolve them as soon as possible after receiving the reports and report them to the Emperor."

Cai Jing, the Minister of Revenue who had remained silent until now, stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "You can rest assured about the grain supply. Since last year, His Majesty has been planning to stockpile grain in Jiangnan. The granaries in the cities along the route from Bianjing to Zhengding Prefecture are also full and ready to be used by the army at any time."

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled sincerely.

Whether it's a blessing or a curse to be born in this era is hard to say.

Unfortunately, the Song Dynasty was ultimately dominated by civil officials and scholar-officials, and the court retained all the problems of cowardice, infighting, and selfishness.

Fortunately, despite the years of turmoil and infighting between the two factions in the imperial court, the Song Dynasty remained prosperous.

Don't underestimate the word "abundance"; to be honest, these two words brought Zhao Xiaoqian immense convenience.

War is essentially a war of economics. The economy represents the food supplies, military pay, weapons, armor, and so on during wartime, all of which are built with money.

What if you run out of money? You can only gamble on even greater casualties to increase your chances of winning.

If the Song Dynasty had been a poor country, Zhao Xiaoqian would have had to wait at least another one or two decades to recover Yan and Yun.

With ample food and military supplies, and a steady stream of logistical support, Zhao Xiaoqian was able to focus all his attention on the enemy without any worries.

Tonight, Zhao Xiaoqian is hosting a banquet at the Prince's Palace to entertain the high-ranking officials of the court, and that is the purpose of this event.

Treat the big shots with utmost respect, ask them to give you some face, and in the future, when the army goes to war, ask them to help you with logistics so that the soldiers don't go hungry.

Seeing that everyone in the hall made solemn promises, Zhao Xiaoqian smiled with satisfaction.

In fact, the army's expedition is a matter of great importance. Even if we do not host a banquet for the prime ministers tonight, they will not cause us any logistical problems.

However, hosting banquets is a matter of social etiquette. Those fools who don't communicate with each other in private and take the government's authority for granted are so incapable of even this basic social etiquette that they will inevitably suffer a great setback sooner or later.

The banquet lasted until midnight before everyone finally left, having had their fill of fun.

…………

Three days later, at dawn, banners covered the sun and armored soldiers stood like a forest on the parade ground of the northern suburbs.

Fifty thousand soldiers stood in formation, all eyes fixed on Zhao Xiaoqian on the high platform.

Today, Zhao Xiaoqian is also clad in armor, his black fish-scale armor gleaming in the sunlight. Standing on the high platform with his hand on his sword, he appears even more majestic and awe-inspiring.

The soldiers stood in the drill ground for half an hour before finally hearing the drums at the gate. A guard from the Imperial Guard came to report that the Emperor's carriage had arrived.

Zhao Xiaoqian hurriedly lined up with his generals to welcome him. After a while, surrounded by the imperial guards, Zhao Xu, dressed in a yellow robe, walked up to the high platform with a smile on his face.

Standing on the high platform, Zhao Xu looked at the 50,000 soldiers densely packed on the training ground. He saw that the soldiers were full of energy and their faces were filled with excitement. They were clearly full of ambition and determined to make great achievements on this trip north and secure a future for their descendants.

Zhao Xu was very satisfied with the 50,000 troops. He turned his head and secretly raised an eyebrow at Zhao Xiaoqian, as if to show off to him, "These are the troops I selected. I didn't disappoint you, did I?"
Today is the day Zhao Xiaoqian leads 50,000 troops on a northward expedition. With these 50,000 troops joining forces with the Dragon Guard Battalion at the Juma River Camp, Zhao Xiaoqian will have 100,000 troops under his actual control.

One hundred thousand elite troops equipped with firearms are enough to recapture Yan and Yun.

After inspecting the 50,000 soldiers, Zhao Xu turned around, looked deeply into Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes, and said, "Zian, I entrust everything to you on this journey to Yanyun."

Zhao Xiaoqian bowed and clasped his hands: "Your Majesty, I will certainly not fail in my duty. I will take back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun and incorporate them into the territory of my Great Song Dynasty, so that they may submit to the rule of the Great Song Emperor!"

(End of this chapter)