The prince is more stable

Chapter 79: The Beginning of Ambition
There is no question of loyalty to the emperor and serving the country. Zhao Xiaoqian is actually still an egoist.

Everything we do today is still done with the original intention of self-protection.

I have developed new weapons and new tactics, and you can go to the battlefield and beat them hard, win more battles, and ideally unify China.

I am still drinking, hugging girls, and living this damn rich and glorious life in Bian Jing.

Isn’t it wonderful if everyone gets what they need?
Compared to Zhao Xiaoqian's calmness, Zhao Xu and the generals of the Dragon Guard Camp were trembling with excitement.

Just now, Zhao Xiaoqian's order was only three short sentences.

These three sentences completely changed the war model of this era.

It turns out that muskets can be used in this way. It turns out that you can completely crush cavalry without moving.

It turns out that the Liao cavalry charge that once made the Song soldiers extremely desperate was actually not that scary.

Pull the trigger and you can break the Liao cavalry's invincible golden body.

The generals of the Dragon Guard Camp stared at Zhao Xiaoqian with fiery eyes.

Now they knew that there was a royal relative of the Song Dynasty who was given the title of "King of Chu". The King of Chu's only son had created a weapon that seemed to have the power of divine punishment.

The man who changed the Song Dynasty was named "Zhao Xiaoqian", an eighteen-year-old boy.

Zhao Xu half-closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and took a deep breath.

Deep in my heart, there is an unknown thing that pushes away the huge pressure and stubbornly and persistently sprouts green shoots.

Zhao Xu didn’t know what the thing deep in his heart was called. Maybe it was called “courage”, or maybe it was called “ambition”.

His mind suddenly recalled the conversation between Zhao Xiaoqian and his emperor and his ministers in Funing Palace.

Zhao Xiaoqian said that the soldiers of the Song Dynasty lacked courage, and the pattern of civil officials being respected and military officials being despised in the Song Dynasty was wrong. The soldiers of the Song Dynasty needed dignity and status before they were willing to sacrifice for the government.

At that time, Zhao Xu kept his words in mind, but Zhao Xu still saw no hope.

Implementing new laws and competing with his ministers in a battle of wits and courage were already making him extremely anxious. To be honest, he had neither the energy nor the courage to reform the army.

But today, facing these new weapons and new tactics, and after seeing with his own eyes how powerful the weapons were, Zhao Xu finally had some confused thoughts.

The seeds that Zhao Xiaoqian had planted in his heart sprouted not long after.

Looking deeply at Zhao Xiaoqian, Zhao Xu did not praise his weapons and tactics, but just sighed sadly.

"Zi'an is a great talent, but I underestimated you. What a pity... Alas, you shouldn't have the surname Zhao."

Zhao Xiaoqian looked at him in confusion, his expression gradually becoming shocked, and a series of heart-wrenching and bloody scenes appeared in his mind.

On a stormy night with thunder and lightning, a baby, the chosen one, was left crying in a garbage dump. The young King of Chu, who was passing by, found him and took him home, raising him with great care...

The chosen son grew up to be a handsome, sunny and cheerful boy, but the King of Chu who picked him up became fat as a ball.

"No wonder... I don't look anything like my father," Zhao Xiaoqian muttered to himself. "If we're not biological children, wouldn't it be a bit presumptuous of me to rely on him for his old age?"

It was indeed presumptuous, because when Zhao Xu heard it, he was immediately furious.

"You, you you! What on earth are you thinking about? Don't force me to spank you!"

Zhao Xiaoqian was even more stunned: "Didn't the emperor just say..."

Zhao Xu said angrily, "What I mean is, it would be much better if you weren't a relative! I would rather you weren't the biological son of Uncle Chu."

There were some things Zhao Xu was not comfortable saying in front of the generals.

Zhao Xiaoqian was so talented, and Zhao Xu was short of talented people. He really wanted to give Zhao Xiaoqian more power.

He was even allowed to lead his own army, reform it according to his ideas, and finally send it to the border to let the Liao cavalry test their prowess.

Zhao Xu really wanted to break the current situation between Song and Liao. Every year when the Liao Kingdom sent envoys to demand annual tribute, it was the most humiliating moment for Zhao Xu. He was really fed up with the arrogance of the Liao envoys.

However, Zhao Xiaoqian's clan status ultimately became a natural barrier to his future.

If Zhao Xu could give him an official position with real power, the discussions in the court might be suppressed, but military power was too sensitive, and Zhao Xu did not have the courage to do so at the moment. He was also afraid that the court would turn against him.

Thanks to Zhao Xiaoqian's magical ideas, both the emperor and his ministers today have broadened their horizons.

But Zhao Xu knew very well that although he had powerful weapons in his hands, it did not mean that the soldiers would be able to capture cities and territories and be invincible immediately when they went to war with the Liao Kingdom with the new weapons.

Such an idea is too naive. War is a very complex thing. It is not only about the strategy and combat effectiveness of the soldiers on both sides, but also about national strength, economy, logistics, public opinion, morale and other factors.

The Song Dynasty is now in a period of endless internal strife between the old and new parties. If it rashly declares a foreign war, the internal party struggles alone will kill the soldiers on the front line.

Zhao Xu looked around at the generals around him, his face darkening as he spoke slowly, "Generals, please do not spread what you have seen today. Collect all the firearms and gunpowder. I will assign people to strictly supervise them. You must continue your training as usual and do not slack off."

The generals obeyed the order with a roar.

Then Zhao Xu looked at Zhao Xiaoqian and smiled: "Zi'an, please leave the camp with me. It's getting late."

Zhao Xiaoqian finally cheered up at this time. The military camp was really a bit dull, but there were many fun things to do outside the camp.

"Your Majesty rarely leaves the palace. I will take you to see the brothels on Panlou Street. The singing and acrobatics there are quite interesting. I guarantee you will be reluctant to leave. The only problem is that the singing girls are a bit old, so let's not treat them as enemies..."

The originally fiery eyes of the generals around him suddenly became sluggish.

Why did the young talent who calmly commanded his soldiers and created magical weapons and tactics suddenly turn into a dandy second-generation rich man who flies hawks and walks birds and hangs out with prostitutes?

Boy, you make me feel strange...

Zhao Xu was also speechless. "My blood is still boiling with passion, and you're talking about singing girls in brothels..."

So, everyone is setting off fireworks, but you are setting off shit, right?
"Go back to the palace!" Zhao Xu glared at him and waved his hand impatiently.

Zhao Xiaoqian smacked his lips, his expression a little regretful.

I thought we were all young people who loved to have fun, but I didn't expect you to be so hypocritical.

…………

After a trip to the Dragon Guard Camp, Zhao Xiaoqian felt that his biggest gain might be that he had quietly changed some of Zhao Xu's thoughts.

Zhao Xiaoqian's purpose was secretive but clear. Not to mention new weapons, what he wanted to do was to connect the broken backbone of the Song Dynasty's rulers and ministers, and to keep calm and not wet their pants when facing the so-called invincible Liao cavalry.

The flintlock, gunpowder, and three-stage shooting method are just tools to boost Zhao Xu's confidence.

With confidence, wait for him to slowly develop ambition, and ambition will eventually turn into a desire to kill the enemy.

With Zhao Xiaoqian, the Northern Song Dynasty would definitely not become the Southern Song Dynasty.

Zhao Xiaoqian was so tired that he fell asleep as soon as he returned to the palace. In the middle of the night, he woke up suddenly and sat up, facing the window and shouted loudly, "Qingyang, you old idiot, give me back my money! That's my money!"

Then he fell down and continued to sleep in a daze.

The next morning, Zhao Xiaoqian forgot about it.

The deafening roar last night could be understood as an indirect madness.

After washing up early in the morning, a servant suddenly came to report that there were guests visiting.

The guest was a girl, and also an old friend.

The young lady of the Di family, Di Ying.

Zhao Xiaoqian was surprised and couldn't understand why this girl came to visit him for no reason.

To say that they were familiar with each other, in fact, he and Di Ying were not very familiar with each other. They had only met a few times and chatted a few words. Even their friendship was as bland as boiled water. In any case, it was not to the point where they could visit each other.

After getting dressed, Zhao Xiaoqian hurried to Yin'an Palace.

In the Yin'an Palace, Zhao Hao sat in the main seat with a kind face, while Di Ying lowered her head and her pretty face was a little red. I don't know what Zhao Hao said to her.

Seeing Zhao Xiaoqian enter the hall, Zhao Hao stroked his beard and smiled kindly, "My son has arrived. You young people can chat slowly. Haha, Miss Di, don't forget to give my regards to your father and mother. It's time for our two families to visit each other more often."

Di Ying's face turned redder and she stood up and bowed to Zhao Hao.

Then Zhao Hao winked at Zhao Xiaoqian, smiled in a frivolous way, and turned away.

Zhao Xiaoqian was completely confused. He returned to the main seat and saw Di Ying's pretty face was still red. He asked curiously, "Why is your face so red? Did my father tell you a dirty joke? Tell me about it and let us all share..."

Di Ying asked in confusion, "What are dirty jokes?"

"Why are you blushing when I didn't tell any dirty jokes?" Zhao Xiaoqian asked in confusion.

Di Ying rolled her eyes at him: "What do you care?"

(End of this chapter)