The prince is more stable

Chapter 744 Time waits for no one
The worst thing about human nature is that even though we are all slackers, we don't like to see that others are slackers too.

This is perfectly exemplified by Zhao Xiaoqian and the manager of the First Floor.

Zhao Xiaoqian was not a diligent person. To him, if he were diligent, what difference would he be from being a cow or a horse? Having finally been given a second chance at life, was he really going to repeat the cow or horse life of his previous life?
Seeing how lazy the manager of the First Floor was, Zhao Xiaoqian became furious again.

I'm a salted fish because I was a beast of burden in my past life, so why the hell do you deserve this?

You make money while eating hot pot and singing songs?

Chen Shou kicked the shopkeeper all the way from his home to the shop entrance, and then Zhao Xiaoqian took over, kicking the shopkeeper all the way from the shop entrance to the kitchen. Even when the shopkeeper was chopping filling and kneading dough, he would get kicked every now and then.

No need for grand principles; a good kick to the butt is the most unforgettable lesson.

"Chen Shou, keep an eye on him. If this guy dares to secretly spit into the filling, you shove his head into the latrine bucket," Zhao Xiaoqian ordered.

Chen Shou responded loudly, the shopkeeper looked miserable, but Zhao Xu was already laughing so hard he was doubled over at the table in the first floor.

"Haha, this is so much fun! It was worth it even if I didn't eat soup dumplings today! It's so much more interesting to come out with Zian. I've never seen anything like this before." Zhao Xu slapped his thigh and laughed.

Zhao Xiaoqian said with a forced smile, "It's just routine work, nothing fun about it. I'm familiar with the manager, I know what kind of person he is. If you don't prune the tree, it won't grow straight; if you don't beat the person, he'll be a real pain..."

Zhao Xu laughed again, and Zhao Xiaoqian sighed. He suddenly felt that being an emperor was quite pathetic. There was nothing funny about it, yet he was laughing like a foolish son of a landlord. Look at him, so ignorant of the ways of the world…

Before long, the shopkeeper brought over two steaming baskets of soup dumplings. After setting down the baskets, the shopkeeper stood by the table with a forced smile, but his hands were tightly covering his buttocks, making one wonder if he was actually from Chengdu...

Zhao Xiaoqian ignored him and was about to put a bun in the steamer for Zhao Xu when he saw a person quickly walk in from outside the shop. The person respectfully took the small bowl, turned his back and took a bite, and then remained silent.

Zhao Xiaoqian was stunned for a long time before he realized that it was a eunuch testing poison.

There was no process of pricking the food with silver needles; it was simply a matter of eunuchs tasting the food. If they didn't die from the poison after a while, it meant they were safe, and only then would it be the emperor's turn to eat.

Zhao Xiaoqian didn't have time to wait for the eunuch to be poisoned. He picked up a soup dumpling and put it in his own bowl, then smiled apologetically at Zhao Xu: "I won't stand on ceremony. I've been away from Bianjing for so long, and I've been craving this for so long. I just couldn't resist."

As he spoke, Zhao Xiaoqian blew on the bun to cool it down, then bit a small hole in the bun skin and sucked out the hot soup inside. After sucking out most of the soup, he stuffed the bun into his mouth in one bite, chewing and letting out a comfortable sigh.

“That’s right, this is exactly what I’m looking for!” Zhao Xiaoqian said with a satisfied smile.

Zhao Xu swallowed hard and turned his head impatiently to look at the eunuch who was tasting the food.

The eunuch was unharmed and showed no signs of poisoning. Zhao Xu was too lazy to wait any longer, so he picked up a bun himself and followed Zhao Xiaoqian's procedure, first biting a little bit of the skin, sucking out the soup, and finally swallowing it in one bite.

"Comfortable! It tastes just like it did back then, not a bit different." Zhao Xu laughed loudly, but after a few laughs, he suddenly started coughing, and the cough was quite severe.

Zheng Chunhe hurriedly stepped forward to pat his back, while Zhao Xiaoqian sat opposite him, watching him with worried eyes.

After coughing for a while, Zhao Xu quickly wiped his mouth and waved to him with a smile: "It's nothing. I've had this cough for more than half a year. I cough every day. It will be fine after this."

Zhao Xiaoqian forced a smile: "Yes, I cough a few times occasionally, but it's fine once it passes."

The atmosphere suddenly turned somber; the previously harmonious and pleasant atmosphere became somewhat stiff and cold, and a faint sense of sadness permeated the air.

With nothing to say, the emperor and his ministers continued to eat steamed buns in silence, one basket after another.

Seemingly trying to prove his good health, Zhao Xu ate quite a lot today, showing off three baskets of soup dumplings. Zheng Chunhe, standing behind him, looked worried and hesitated several times before speaking.

Zhao Xiaoqian didn't try to persuade him, but silently ate with Zhao Xu, consciously keeping a pace of eating fewer than him.

After a long while, Zhao Xu looked at the remaining steamer baskets and sighed; he really couldn't eat anymore.

Thinking back to how I ate and showed off just now, I can't help but feel a bit childish; it was all just self-deception.

"After Zi'an left Yanyun, General Xu took over the military affairs. When do you think our Great Song can launch a northern expedition?" Zhao Xu asked in a low voice.

Zhao Xiaoqian knew very well that this was actually just a request for his advice, not a discussion or decision.

Upon returning to Bianjing, Zhao Xiaoqian's status was at best that of a military advisor to the imperial court.

After careful consideration, Zhao Xiaoqian said, "The Northern Expedition can be launched at any time, but it depends on the state of the grain and fodder stored in the national treasury and local granaries. As long as the grain and fodder are sufficient, the soldiers can fight at any time."

Zhao Xu remained silent for a moment, then shook his head and said with a bitter smile, "The national treasury is already running out of funds... After the recapture of Yanyun, the sixteen prefectures in the area were in chaos. The officials sent by the court to take over all submitted memorials to the court requesting assistance, asking the national treasury to allocate grain and fodder to relieve the local people and farmers."

"For months, I have emptied the official granaries in various parts of Jiangnan, just to ensure the stability of the government and the people in Yanyun. Even the autumn tax that has not yet been deposited into the treasury this year has been paid out in advance by me."

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed and said, "In that case, I suggest that we rest and recuperate for the next year or two, stockpile grain, money, and weapons, and build up our strength. We can then launch a northern expedition in two years." Zhao Xu looked disappointed and murmured, "Two years... I'm afraid I won't be able to wait that long."

"Your Majesty, war is a matter of great importance to the nation. We must not act rashly, for haste will only lead to unforeseen consequences. The Northern Expedition is a gamble with the fate of our nation. If we fail because of logistical problems, all the gains we have made will have to be lost in the future, and the Song Dynasty will be crippled," Zhao Xiaoqian advised.

He knew that Zhao Xu was a little anxious now, and ultimately he still hoped to complete this great feat in his lifetime, destroy the Liao Kingdom, and gain a good reputation after his death.

However, with the Song Dynasty's treasury now empty, Zhao Xiaoqian absolutely did not approve of a northern expedition.

A massive army of 100,000 men was waging a fierce war against the Liao Kingdom. But halfway through the war, they discovered that their supplies had been cut off. That could lead to a major disaster, possibly even a mutiny. No one could guarantee what the brave soldiers, bloodthirsty and starving, might do.

Even if Zhao Xiaoqian had personally led the troops at that time, he would not have been confident in controlling this hungry army.

The so-called "using war to sustain war" is utter nonsense. Don't try to emulate Huo Qubing in everything. He used war to sustain war because he had a small number of men, ranging from 800 to 10,000 cavalry. He would invade the Xiongnu grasslands, plunder a few tribes, and barely be able to feed his soldiers.

But now the Song Dynasty has a full 100,000 soldiers on its northern expedition. Where are we going to find so much food to feed the war effort? Unless we eat the Khitans like sheep.

Fortunately, Zhao Xu was quite rational. Although he had developed a bit of a tendency to be ambitious and eager for quick success over the years, it wasn't serious.

He was well aware that the Northern Expedition against the Liao Dynasty was crucial to the rise and fall of the nation. Without adequate supplies, launching the expedition rashly could easily make him a villain in history.

After a flash of disappointment in Zhao Xu's eyes, he immediately smiled brightly: "So be it, let the future generations take care of it. In the few years I've ruled in my own right, I've managed to get things done to this extent, that's enough."

After a pause, Zhao Xu changed the subject, saying, "After you were made a prince, I didn't bestow a mansion upon you. I remember I once bestowed upon you a mansion, even larger than your father's Chu Prince's mansion, but for some reason you seem to have never lived there..."

Zhao Xiaoqian hesitated for a moment, then said, "I am still a baby of just over two hundred months old. I cannot live alone without my father, or I will starve to death..."

Zhao Xu was silent for a moment, then sighed: "Your shamelessness is just like this soup dumpling, it's still the same as it was back then."

"Fine, stay wherever you like. I heard that since the Prince of Chu and his wife divorced, he has not remarried. It is perfectly reasonable for you to show more filial piety to the Prince of Chu."

Zhao Xu glanced at him quickly and said in a low voice, "There's one more thing. Now that you've returned to the capital, you might as well advise your father to be more careful in his daily life."

Zhao Xiaoqian's eyelids twitched: "Your subject is foolish, what has my father done this time?"

Zhao Xu's cheek twitched slightly, and he sighed, "A man without a wife to keep him in check will be a worry even at eighty... Last month, I received many memorials from censors impeaching your father for moral depravity and immoral conduct..."

Zhao Xiaoqian was shocked: "Huh?"

"Your father... has a habit of seducing widows in Bianjing, and many rumors have already reached my ears. Now it's gone too far; he's actually seducing married women, and their husbands are all officials: a judge in Kaifeng Prefecture, a director of the Ministry of Revenue's Department of Finance, and a supervising censor in the Censorate..."

Zhao Xu looked incredulous and said, "Other things are one thing, but to seduce the wife of the Censor-in-Chief? What was your father thinking? I really don't understand. Everyone knows how foul-mouthed the Censor-in-Chief is, always arguing even when there's nothing to say. How dare he seduce the Censor-in-Chief's wife..."

"Your father is really... not picky about food at all."

Zhao Xiaoqian's face turned a deep purplish-red, and he almost crawled under the table.

"You wicked father, you wicked father!" Zhao Xiaoqian cried out in anguish.

"No, no, that's going too far... Pfft!" Zhao Xu couldn't help but burst out laughing, but quickly adjusted his expression and returned to a serious demeanor.

"It's just a matter of morality, well, there are some flaws. Zian, you can give your father some advice when you have time," Zhao Xu said, forcing a smile.

"Your Majesty, I don't want this father anymore. Your Majesty, issue an order to lock him up in a pig cage, parade him through the streets, and then drown him in the river," Zhao Xiaoqian sighed.

"Haha... Uh, no, no, how could I bear to be so harsh on my uncle? You must persuade him, you must persuade him..."

"The main thing is that you have to be careful when you try to seduce a married woman. Try not to mess with the wife of the censor. I can't afford to offend those censors."

Zhao Xiaoqian sat listlessly opposite Zhao Xu, completely losing his appetite for soup dumplings.

Zhao Xiaoqian returned to Beijing this morning and had a brief reunion with his father. He was completely unaware of the shady things his father had done.

I never imagined that during my time away from Beijing, my father had done so many immoral things.

Don't spout nonsense about tarnishing your reputation or numbing the eyes and minds of your ministers; Zhao Xiaoqian doesn't believe a single word of it now.

He's just a lecherous old man, a pure one.

(End of this chapter)