The prince is more stable

Chapter 642 Preparing for War and Testing the Waters
When Zhao Xiaoqian announced his plan to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, the generals were all excited.

The Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun were, in a sense, the obsession of everyone in the Song Dynasty.

The history of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms was chaotic and cruel, with frequent changes of dynasties in the Central Plains, just as the saying goes, "Emperors take turns sitting on the throne, this year it's my turn."

The alternation of emperors is a historical choice, but one dynasty called the Later Jin Dynasty had an emperor named Shi Jingtang who did something extremely shameful. He handed over the strategically important Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun to the Khitans and shamelessly called himself "Son Emperor" to them.

To preserve one's throne, the depths to which a person's moral compass can plummet are exemplified by Shi Jingtang.

From then on, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun fell into the hands of the Khitan, and the Song Dynasty lost an important strategic barrier.

Geographically disadvantaged, the Song Dynasty was constantly hampered and restrained by the Liao Dynasty. It can be said that the constraints imposed by the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun were one of the fundamental reasons for the Song Dynasty's weakness.

The Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun were what the emperors and subjects of the Song Dynasty cared about most deeply.

A century has passed, and Yanyun is no longer just a strategic location fought over by military strategists; it has become a deep-seated obsession in the hearts of emperors, ministers, and common people, and a symbol of washing away humiliation.

Whether a country is poor or rich, whether its military is strong or weak, no amount of talk will change anything. Only by reclaiming the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun will I acknowledge you as a true hero.

This roughly reflects the thoughts of the people of the Song Dynasty towards the imperial court.

So when Zhao Xiaoqian announced his plan to recapture Yanyun, the generals present cheered and laughed excitedly. As they laughed, Xu Jiangzhong and others gradually sobbed, and finally burst into tears.

"Finally, the day has come!" Xu Jiang cried, tears streaming down his face. "If I can witness the recapture of Yan and Yun in my lifetime, I will die without regret!"

Zhong Jianzhong, Zong Ze, and others wiped away their tears, crying like children.

"I am willing to die fighting in Yanyun, die fighting in Yanyun!" Zong Ze cried out.

"Your Highness, send out the troops now! This humble general is fully prepared!" Zhong Jianzhong cried.

Seeing the generals' agitated emotions, Zhao Xiaoqian sighed: "Calm down, everyone. This battle is a matter of national destiny; we can't just start something without a plan."

The generals then gradually calmed down.

That's right, just packing up and going on a trip is called travel, but you can't do that in war.

To launch a major war, provisions, weapons, and warhorses must be prepared, soldiers' training must be standardized, and the two countries will experience friction, probing, and various strategies and diplomatic means.

Finally, the main army sets out for battle, and the fighting takes place on the front lines.

"Let's go into the main hall and beat the drum to summon the generals," Zhao Xiaoqian ordered.

The group headed toward the main hall of the former Flying Fox Military Command. At the same time, the drums beat rapidly, and high-ranking generals under Zhao Xiaoqian, including the commander-in-chief, rushed toward the main hall.

After the third drumbeat, Zhao Xiaoqian was already seated in the main hall, with dozens of generals sitting neatly below him.

Zhao Xiaoqian looked around at his generals and asked, "Are Zhe Keshi's five thousand troops still in the Northwest?"

Zhong Jianzhong said, "Yes, by order of His Highness, Zhe Keshi led 5,000 troops to harass and deter the Western Xia army. Military reports were delivered every two days. According to Zhe Keshi's report, the results were quite good."

"After harassing the Western Xia for nearly two months, nearly 10,000 Western Xia border troops were killed by Zhe Keshi's troops. With the cooperation of Zhang Jie, the border commander of the Northwest Army, our Song army captured three Western Xia cities and more than 20 fortresses. The Western Xia border troops were no match for them and retreated in defeat."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded in satisfaction: "What was Li Qianshun's reaction?"

Zhong Jianzhong smiled and said, "Li Qianshun was naturally shocked and furious. He sent envoys to Bianjing and Xiazhou one after another to question the Emperor and Commander Zhang about why the Great Song had started a war without cause."

Zhao Xiaoqian looked at Xu Jiang and said, "Please ask Mr. Chongyuan to write a letter and send it to Xixia to be presented to Li Qianshun in person."

"Tell Li Qianshun clearly that our Great Song Dynasty will immediately launch a war to recover Yan and Yun. If the Western Xia dares to cause trouble, form some kind of ambiguous alliance with the Liao Dynasty, or launch a pincer attack, then don't blame me for temporarily abandoning the attack on Yan and Yun. I will lead my troops westward to completely destroy the Western Xia before taking over Yan and Yun."

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, "Mr. Chongyuan, you might as well use a more stern tone in the letter and make the words more concise and straightforward. These barbarians won't understand anything too profound. You'd better point your finger at them and curse them. That's the kind of thing they'll fall for."

The generals present burst into laughter.

Xu laughed and cursed, "Disgusting!"

Zhao Xiaoqian laughed and said, "Master Chongyuan is the top scholar of our Great Song Dynasty. For the top scholar to write a letter to Li Qianshun is a great honor for him."

Then, looking at Zhong Jianzhong, Zhao Xiaoqian said, "Ordering Zhe Keshi to lead his troops back to the Juma River camp and harassing the Western Xia is just a warning. We can't go too far, otherwise we'll really push Li Qianshun to the brink, which will be a troublesome matter for us as well."

Zhong Jianzhong cautiously asked, "Should the cities and fortresses of Western Xia occupied by Zhe Keshi be returned to Western Xia?"

Zhao Xiaoqian opened his eyes wide in confusion: "The territory we conquered is of course ours. I took it by my own ability, so why should I give it back? If the Western Xia people are so capable, let them take it back themselves."

"Let Zhang Jie guard the Northwest and let him wrangle with the Western Xia for a while. Let the negotiations drag on and buy us time to recover Yan and Yun. Once we have recovered Yan and Yun, we can then teach the Western Xia a lesson."

"Return the cities and fortresses? Don't even think about it. Not only will we not return them, we'll continue to occupy new ones."

The generals laughed again; Zhao Xiaoqian's words were exactly what they wanted to hear, and they were quite pleasing to the ear. If time were to rewind ten years, even if the Song Dynasty had gained the upper hand on the battlefield, the court would have been filled with unease, and calls for peace talks would have been deafening.

Times have changed; the Song Dynasty is truly different now.

"Zhong Jianzhong, how is the firearms manufacturing of the 'Honeycomb' I built doing in the military?" Zhao Xiaoqian asked.

"The artisans in the military's ordnance department have worked day and night to build more than 40,000 guns and more than 200,000 rockets and arrows."

Zhao Xiaoqian frowned: "It's not enough. Have the Firearms Bureau continue to produce them. This quantity is barely enough to support two major battles. It's far too little."

Xu said from the side, "After they all rushed to the court, the emperor ordered the Bianjing Firearms Bureau to manufacture them. In about a month, Bianjing will probably send tens of thousands of firearms and hundreds of thousands of rockets."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded and said, "Then I'll trouble Mr. Chongyuan to urge the Bianjing Firearms Bureau more. Your influence is more effective than mine."

Zhao Xiaoqian continued, "This time I brought 50,000 Imperial Guards from Bianjing, which, together with the existing troops in our Juma River camp, totals more than 100,000 men. Moreover, every single one of them is equipped with firearms. It can be said that this is the most elite Imperial Guard of the Song Dynasty, without exception."

"Gentlemen, this is all the troops we have used to recover Yan and Yun. The Emperor and the court have staked the nation's foundation this time. If we lose this battle, the Song Dynasty will suffer a major blow and will be forced into a passive defensive posture, making it difficult to recover within a hundred years."

"If we win this battle, our Great Song will dominate Yan and Yun, and look north to Shangjing. The Liao Kingdom will surely be crippled and its destruction will be just around the corner."

The generals grew even more excited upon hearing this. After a series of clanging sounds from their armor plates, they all stood up, clasped their fists, and roared, "We are willing to die for the Great Song!"

"The primary issue now is that the 50,000 Imperial Guards I brought from Bianjing must be integrated as soon as possible. Whether in terms of tactics, strategies, or personal feelings, they must be integrated with our veterans as quickly as possible."

"In the next few days, we will wait for the supply of food and provisions from the south. Before the war begins, all the generals present should immediately take command of 50,000 new recruits and transfer 10,000 veterans from the original Dragon Guard Battalion to teach the new recruits practical tactical drills."

The generals accepted the order, and Zhao Xiaoqian looked around and asked, "Where is Zhang Rong?"

Zhang Rong, clad in armor, stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Your subordinate is here."

Zhao Xiaoqian pondered for a moment and slowly said, "I will give you five thousand soldiers, with enough food and ammunition, to cross the Juma River to the north and advance towards Xijin Prefecture. If you encounter the Liao army, you can engage them in small-scale battles to test their strength. The goal is not to annihilate them, but to harass them."

"See how the Liao army will react to your troops crossing the border. Send the scouts further away and find out the approximate number of Liao troops stationed in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun."

Zhang Rong clasped his hands in a fist and said, "As you command."

Zhao Xiaoqian hummed in agreement and said, "Disperse. Take advantage of these peaceful days to reorganize the troops and tell the soldiers that this battle is very important and the merits are considerable. The Emperor has promised that the top ten who make the greatest contribution in the battle to recover Yanyun will be ennobled."

The generals were overjoyed and stepped forward to volunteer as vanguards, but Zhao Xiaoqian decisively waved them off.

"Shut up, all of you. Let your battle achievements speak for themselves. I don't need that many vanguard officers. When it's your turn to lead your troops into battle, just put in as much effort as you can to do justice to the emperor. I'll keep track of your battle achievements and ensure that everything is fair and just."

The generals had no choice but to disperse sheepishly.

Zhao Xiaoqian sat alone in the main hall. The hall, which had just been bustling with noise, was now suddenly silent, and Zhao Xiaoqian found it hard to adjust.

"These ingrates, it's been so long since we last met, and they didn't even offer to treat me to a meal to welcome me back..." Zhao Xiaoqian muttered.

…………

After a long and tiring journey, Zhao Xiaoqian returned to the camp and immediately convened a meeting to discuss matters. After finishing all the tasks, he yawned, looking somewhat exhausted.

After getting up and walking around the screen in the main hall, Zhao Xiaoqian headed towards the backyard, intending to get a good night's sleep.

In a few days, we will be setting off for the campaign. From then on, we will only be able to sleep on the hard bed in the commander's tent, continuing the days of sleeping in the open and eating in the wind during our previous campaigns. Even taking a bath will become a luxury.

Before heading off to war, I'll linger a little longer on the comfortable, soft bed, take a hot bath, and have someone snatch a decent young woman from the neighborhood to scrub my back.

Rub all four sides.

Walking into the backyard, Zhao Xiaoqian headed towards his bedroom, but then he paused.

After frowning and pondering for a long time, Zhao Xiaoqian murmured, "I always feel like something's missing, or rather, I've forgotten something..."

"What did you forget?"

Standing in the center of the courtyard, Zhao Xiaoqian was deep in thought when suddenly a faint female voice came from behind him: "Is there any possibility... that you've forgotten me?"

Zhao Xiaoqian felt a chill run down his spine as background music suddenly started playing in his head.

"For all the pain of persistence of love, for all the hurt of persistence of hate..."

Zhao Xiaoqian's legs went weak; now he finally realized what he had forgotten.

(End of this chapter)