The prince is more stable

Chapter 951 Su Zhe's Mission to Liao
Zhao Xiaoqian tried his best to persuade Zhao Hao to hand over his land.

There are some things that cannot be left undone. If he can't even clean up his own mess, how can he, as emperor, implement the equal taxation policy for the fields?
So you're making other people pay taxes on their land, while the land under your own father's name remains completely untouched? Is that right?

Zhao Hao eventually compromised.

He was someone who almost became emperor, and his son is already emperor; he still has that kind of vision.

Whether or not he hands over the land under his own name is crucial to whether his son's new policies can be implemented and whether the officials and powerful people in the country will accept them.

Now that the throne of the Great Song Dynasty belongs to his family, why should he care about this little bit of land?

Besides, Zhao Hao only had this one son, who was spoiled by him since childhood. When has he ever refused any request from his son?
"Hand it over! I've handed over all the land!" Zhao Hao grinned bitterly.

Zhao Xiaoqian blinked: "Why does Father look so reluctant?"

"Are you even speaking human language? The land was given away for no reason, and I'm not supposed to be overjoyed?"

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled: "There's no need to hand over everything. It's not a problem for Father to keep 20,000 mu."

Zhao Hao sighed sadly.

The original 20,000 hectares have become 20,000 mu (approximately 1,333 hectares). What a difference…

Zhao Xiaoqian picked up the sandalwood box, and Zhao Hao, with a mournful face, picked through the thick stack of land deeds, finally selecting the best 20,000 mu of land. The rest were accepted by Zhao Xiaoqian with a smile.

Holding the wooden box in both hands, Zhao Hao slowly handed it to his son. Zhao Xiaoqian reached out to take it, but found that the wooden box seemed to be attached to Zhao Hao's hands and did not move at all.

After trying a few times, Zhao Xiaoqian realized for the first time that his living father didn't seem to be just bloated; a bloated person couldn't possibly be that strong.

“Father…” Zhao Xiaoqian sighed helplessly.

Zhao Hao's eyes reddened, his grief-stricken and humiliated gaze like that of a young man who had just entered the palace and watched helplessly as the Imperial Household Department cut off his manhood...

The wooden box full of land deeds finally fell into Zhao Xiaoqian's hands. Zhao Hao swayed and almost collapsed, feeling as if half of his life had been taken away.

"Father, do not grieve. Let us look forward to the upcoming opening of the seas. We will build a fleet, explore new continents, and collect all the wonders of the world. At that time, the treasury of our royal palace will probably need to be expanded again and again, otherwise the mountains of gold and silver will not be enough to hold them all..."

Mentioning this finally cheered Zhao Hao up a bit.

If Zhao Xiaoqian's claim of ushering in the Age of Exploration is true, then the profits earned by the Chu King's Palace each year are indeed far greater than those from farming.

"Take it away, take it away!" Zhao Hao finally closed his eyes reluctantly and waved impatiently at his spendthrift son.

"Then... shall I take my leave?"

"Get out of here and don't come back unless it's important. There's nothing here for you to covet."

Zhao Xiaoqian chuckled, holding the sandalwood box, and was about to turn and leave when he caught a glimpse of several crystal-clear pearls, larger than longans, on a shelf in the corner of the secret room. Without any hesitation, Zhao Xiaoqian flicked his sleeve, and the pearls were snatched away.

Zhao Hao stared at the Chu King's mansion's assets -1, his fat cheeks twitched violently again, his face quickly turning red, as if his blood vessels were about to burst.

Zhao Xiaoqian quickly and gently comforted him, "These beads are nice. Your grandson is short of toys, so I'll take them to him to play with..."

When his grandson was mentioned, Zhao Hao opened his mouth blankly, but the curses that were about to erupt in his throat were ultimately swallowed back silently.

Okay, it's for my grandson. My grandson is more important than anything else...

This is how it is in families with only one child: the child has their parents completely under their control, and the child can't struggle against them at all.

"Get out of here, I beg you." Zhao Hao's tone was already somewhat pleading.

"I'll get out of here, I'll get out of here... Huh? What a thick and long rhinoceros horn..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Hao finally exploded, glaring and shouting, "If you don't get out of here, believe me, I'll kill myself right here!"

"Father, please calm down. You cannot die. If you die, all the things in this secret chamber will be my inheritance, and the loss will be even greater..."

Zhao Xiaoqian turned and ran away, holding the sandalwood box. Zhao Hao stared blankly at his back. For the first time in his life, he realized that his son's back looked exactly like that of a spendthrift who had gambled away his family fortune and stolen the family's land deeds to make money to win back his losses. It was almost uncanny.

"What a tragedy!" Zhao Hao stamped his foot in grief and anger.

"Someone, pass down the order: pull up all the flowers and plants in the back garden of the Prince's Mansion and plant vegetables instead. From now on, the Prince's Mansion will eat more vegetables and less meat!" Zhao Hao ordered through gritted teeth.

…………

Liao Dynasty, Shangjing.

Song envoy Su Zhe hurried along the way and, after more than ten days, finally arrived in Shangjing.

The Song Dynasty's alliance with the Liao Dynasty to destroy the Western Xia was a top priority for the Song Dynasty, and various government offices across the country had already begun preparations.

Su Zhe, as the most crucial link, dared not delay even slightly on the road. At the age of sixty, he gritted his teeth and endured the journey, eating and sleeping in the open along the way. Apart from short periods of sleep, he spent most of his time on horseback.

The Liao emperor and his ministers were quite surprised by the arrival of the Song envoy. They did not expect that, given the superficially harmonious but actually very bad relationship between the Song and Liao, the Song emperor would actually send an envoy to the capital.

Yelü Yanxi was taken aback and became suspicious.

His first thought was, "Oh no! Could it be that the Liao Dynasty's war against the Western Xia has angered the Song Emperor?"

This event did indeed happen somewhat suddenly. The Liao Kingdom had not consulted the Song Dynasty beforehand, so it was quite normal for them to send an envoy to condemn or express their opposition. The three kingdoms of Song, Liao, and Xia were all intertwined with each other and had their own interests. Their relationship had always been delicate, neither entirely hostile nor entirely friendly.

Moreover, the existence of the three kingdoms had already created a balance, whether in politics, military affairs or commerce, and this balance among the three had become a tacit understanding.

The war between Liao and Xia has undoubtedly disrupted this balance, and from the perspective of the Song Dynasty, their emperor is clearly unhappy.

Yelü Yanxi thought so, so his first reaction to Su Zhe's arrival was one of fear, and he hesitated to issue an imperial edict to summon him. After Su Zhe arrived in Shangjing, he had to stay in the guesthouse in Shangjing for two days, but he still could not see Yelü Yanxi.

Su Zhe was getting anxious. This was a matter of national importance, and even a day's delay could have serious consequences and miss the opportunity to fight.

As an envoy, to arrive in the capital of another country and yet fail to meet its emperor is a serious dereliction of duty.

The mission to the Liao Kingdom was one that Su Zhe had fought hard for. If he failed to complete the mission, he would surely leave a bad reputation in history and risk ruining his reputation in his later years.

On the third day after Su Zhe arrived in the capital, he still hadn't received an imperial edict from Yelü Yanxi to summon him, so Su Zhe got angry.

When scholars get angry, they can sometimes be more radical and extreme than military generals.

Su Zhe donned the court robes of the Song Dynasty, held the staff representing the emperor and the prestige of the Song Dynasty, and left the post station alone, walking to the Liao Palace.

When the Khitan warriors guarding the palace gates saw an old man dressed in Song official robes arrive, they were taken aback, but they still instinctively gripped the hilts of their swords at their waists and stared at Su Zhe with hostile eyes.

Su Zhe ignored them completely, and simply stood in front of the palace gate, shouting loudly like thunder: "By order of His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, I, Su Zhe, am here as an envoy to the Liao Kingdom. Our two countries are brotherly nations. Why is the Liao ruler so reluctant to summon the Song envoy? Is this not a breach of national etiquette?"

The Khitan warriors in front of the palace gates naturally dared not lay a hand on the Song envoy. After Su Zhe finished speaking, there was no reaction from inside the palace gates, but the warriors rolled their eyes.

Now you're bringing up the idea of ​​our two "brotherly nations"?

When your emperor Zhao Xiaoqian led his army to fight against the Liao Kingdom, he was ruthless. Under his command alone, a total of 160,000 Liao soldiers were annihilated and killed!
Oh, and while we were at it, we also seized the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.

Is this something a brotherly nation would do?

However, the Khitans have now witnessed the Song envoy's unrestrained style.

His Majesty hasn't even issued an edict to summon him yet, and the Song envoy has actually come to the palace gates to request an audience. Is he really that impatient? Why did the Song emperor send such an impatient envoy?

Su Zhe stood outside the palace gate and shouted a few times until his voice became a little hoarse. Finally, the palace gate quietly opened a crack.

A palace servant from the Liao court came out, smiled, and bowed to Su Zhe. He then told Su Zhe that His Majesty the Liao had decreed that the Song envoy be invited to the palace for an audience the following morning.

Su Zhe was extremely anxious, but Yelü Yanxi remained calm and composed. Moreover, Su Zhe could not appear too impatient, lest he lose ground in the upcoming negotiations. So, he could only stomp his feet and return to the guesthouse in a huff.

That evening, a mysterious Khitan man knocked on Su Zhe's door and respectfully asked him to disguise himself and leave the inn to go to an inconspicuous restaurant on Shangjing East Street, where someone had arranged to meet him.

Seeing the suspicious behavior of the visitor, Su Zhe became curious and, as instructed, disguised himself as a merchant and followed the visitor out of the back door of the inn to this restaurant.

The restaurant was empty, as if it had been cleared out in advance. Su Zhe went up to the second floor and found two Khitan men with braids waiting for him with smiles in a private room.

Upon seeing Su Zhe arrive, the two rose and bowed, their attitude being extremely respectful.

"Xiao Wuna, Xiao Fengxian, pays his respects to Mr. Ziyou."

Su Zhe was taken aback, then showed a look of surprise.

He was familiar with the names of these two men. After the relationship between the Song and Liao dynasties deteriorated, the Song court conducted a special study on the important officials of the Liao dynasty, including Xiao Wuna and Xiao Fengxian.

Xiao Wuna is now equivalent to the prime minister of the Liao Dynasty, while Xiao Fengxian is the deputy privy councilor of the Southern Court.

It can be said that these two individuals absolutely influenced the policy direction of the Liao Dynasty and the decisions of Emperor Yelü Yanxi.

Su Zhe, however, was unaware of the two men's true identities and was wary of them, only offering a perfunctory bow in return.

Xiao Wuna smiled faintly and said, "Before Mr. Ziyou arrived in the capital, I had already received a secret letter from the Emperor of the Song Dynasty. The Emperor instructed the two of us to cooperate with Mr. Ziyou to persuade the Liao Emperor Yelü Yanxi to agree to the joint forces of the two countries to destroy Xia."

Su Zhe's eyes widened in shock, revealing an expression of extreme astonishment.

These two high-ranking officials of the Liao Dynasty were deeply trusted and valued by the Liao emperor, but judging from the implication of their words, they seemed to...

An unbelievable guess popped into Su Zhe's mind.

But... how is that possible?

When did the authorities plant these two deadly pawns?
A prime minister in charge of governance and a deputy privy councilor in charge of military affairs were actually spies for the Song Dynasty.
Seeing Su Zhe's shocked expression and disbelief, Xiao Wuna didn't rush to explain. Instead, he smiled and took out a small piece of paper, about the width of a finger, and handed it to Su Zhe.

Su Zhe took the note, which contained a very brief sentence.

"That's right, they are."

Su Zhe could almost read those five words in his mind, imagining them in Zhao Xiaoqian's tone.

Upon seeing just these five words, Su Zhe completely believed it.

Because these five characters are definitely the official's own handwriting, and even the tone is exactly the same, it is very difficult for others to imitate or counterfeit them.

After reading it, Su Zhe held the note close to the candlestick, watching it burn to ashes. Finally, Su Zhe shook his head and smiled bitterly: "My admiration for Your Majesty has only grown stronger from this day forward."

(End of this chapter)