Chapter 242 Prepare!

The third year of Zhihe.

Zhao Xin had just returned from an inspection at the front line, and immediately afterwards, he heard the news that his father was ill.

The reason was that there was a heavy snowfall last night, and then his father was in the forbidden court, praying barefoot to the sky, and the snow cleared up in the morning.

As a result, I got sick!

Zhao Xin naturally hurried into the palace as well.

Your Majesty, Madam Miao, and the other ladies are all here now.

They gathered in a circle.

And Zhao Xin also slid to his knees.

“Daddy, are you okay?”

“Daddy, you can’t die.”

“Although I have long coveted your position, now is not the right time.”

These words immediately made Zhao Zhen angry.

Even the Empress felt that this statement was too bold.

Only Madam Miao has already become accustomed to this.

He quickly scolded: “Zui Xinglai, how can you talk like that!”

Zhao Xin also turned around and said, “I am just telling the truth. Dad, what’s wrong with you? Where is the imperial physician? How sick is my dad? Is there any hope?”

The imperial physician who was standing by and serving at all times was also ashamed.

Is this something I can answer?
However, seeing that His Royal Highness Prince Yu was staring at him, the imperial physician had no choice but to say, “Your Majesty must have had a stroke. He needs to recuperate well in the future.”

When Zhao Xin heard about the stroke, she was in big trouble!
at this time……

His father also stretched out a finger and pointed at him.

Zhao Xin grabbed the other’s finger and said, “Don’t worry, Daddy. I will take good care of the queen, take good care of Madam Miao, and take good care of everyone else.”

The biggest characteristic of stroke is hemiplegia and inability to speak.

The key is drooling.

Seeing his father drooling, Zhao Xin took out a towel and wiped it.

Then he said, “Daddy, don’t say anything. I know what you want to say. If I were three years old, you would have taken off my pants and spanked me right now.”

“I have to say, even though so many years have passed, I haven’t changed at all.”

“I like to irritate you so much.”

“Don’t worry about the court affairs, leave them to me.”

“You should take good care of yourself.”

“Actually, isn’t the purpose of raising a son for such a day in the future?”

“And I’m obviously better at governing a country than you, Dad!”

Then his father closed his eyes with a dead look on his face.

It seems to be saying, get out!
I don’t want to listen to you talking.

If I continue listening, my stroke will become more serious.

However, there is no doubt that after listening to Zhao Xin’s words, he felt much more at ease.

Zhao Xin also thought, maybe Madam Zhang passed away?
His father must have almost given up on living.

Although there are still Niangniang and Madam Miao, they are all old.

and……

When it comes to true love, there is only Madam Zhang.

This daily mood must be very depressing.

I think about Madam Zhang all the time.

Such a depressed mood, coupled with these natural disasters and the inaction of Song Dynasty officials, made the Song Dynasty look good, but in fact it was in shaky condition.

Then it is not surprising that praying barefoot to heaven would lead to a stroke.

When a person is unhappy for a long time, he or she tends to get sick easily.

After seeing his father.

Next…

The prime minister and civil servants were naturally very concerned about the emperor’s health.

Ouyang Xiu asked anxiously, “Your Highness Prince Yu! How is the emperor?”

Zhao Xin also said: “The official needs to rest. Just report everything to me.”

Say so.

however……

In fact, his father had not been ill for long.

After just two days of rest, he was able to speak again.

The first thing he said when he was able to speak was to ask Zui Xing to come to the palace and spank him! How could you say that about your father?
but……

It’s just casual talk.

It wasn’t as if he really wanted to spank Zhao Xin.

He just sent people to ask the ministers what His Royal Highness Prince Yu did during the two days when he was ill.

Everyone also told the truth, “Your Highness, Prince Yu didn’t do anything special. He just went to court normally.”

Zhao Zhen thought about it and it made sense.

After all, it’s only been two days. No matter how much trouble he can cause, what can he possibly cause?

But after Zhao Zhen suffered such a sudden stroke, the ministers had to consider whether to appoint a crown prince.

Although it is a foregone conclusion that His Royal Highness the Prince of Yu will become the next emperor.

However, if you don’t directly appoint a crown prince, there will be other members of the Zhao family by then.

For example, the eight kings at that time wanted to covet the throne.

Moreover, in the Zhao family, there was a case where the younger brother succeeded the elder brother.

It would be bad if there were any controversy at that time.

In fact, it is mainly to prevent something from happening.

And if a crown prince is appointed, there will be no controversy about this matter.

The censor made this proposal directly in front of everyone in the court.

Fortunately, Zhao Xin did not attend the court, otherwise his father would probably be looking at him at this moment.

In fact, Zhao Xin rarely attends court now.

Anyway…

If there is any important event, Ouyang Xiu and others will help him summarize it.

Zhao Zhen looked at the court that had suddenly become silent and asked, “Do you all think so?”

Everyone, look at me, and I’ll look at you.

Ouyang Xiu also stood up and said, “This is what we all think. This will calm the hearts of the ministers and the people of the world.”

If it were a more suspicious emperor, he might have suspected that Zhao Xin was behind this.

It’s all thanks to Zhao Zhen.

Zhao Zhen actually thought about it and decided to become the emperor himself.

But this is a big matter and cannot be decided rashly.

That night, Zhao Xin was summoned into the palace.

Then ask Zhao Xin for his opinion.

Zhao Zhen asked, “What do you think of Zui Xinglai?”

Zhao Xin said, “Dad, aren’t you interrupting my plan to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun? If I were an official, would those people still let me lead troops to fight? But Dad, your stroke is indeed a problem!”

Zhao Zhen then asked: “So what do you think?”

Zhao Xin replied: “Let’s appoint a crown prince first. This official’s status is seriously holding me back.”

Zhao Zhen looked into Zhao Xin’s eyes.

Zhao Xin also stared back at the other person without any scruples.

Zhao Zhen then asked, “Why do you like fighting so much?”

Zhao Xin said, “That’s right! It’s not that I like fighting, but some wars have to be fought. If I don’t fight, the Song Dynasty will probably fall soon. If we calculate based on the current situation, we are now almost at the eve of the An-Shi Rebellion of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty. It seems that the economy of Bianjing City is prosperous, but in fact it is already terminally ill. If I don’t do something, the Song Dynasty will go downhill. I am working hard for the Song Dynasty and for the people of the world.”

Although Zhao Zhen didn’t know how Zhao Xin was connected to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.

but……

It doesn’t matter anymore.

Then he said, “But your father needs my training.”

Zhao Xin said, “Then I will be the regent first. By then, I should be able to finish the war in a few months at most, or half a year at most. Daddy, you just need to work hard for half a year.”

Zhao Zhen thought this was fine. Finally, he said, “Then let’s do this!”

After the father and son discussed it.

The next step was to issue an edict to appoint Prince Yu Xin as the crown prince, and then, the crown prince would govern the country.

As soon as this news came out.

Suddenly…

The entire city of Bianjing was in an uproar.

Although I knew this day would come, I still feel inexplicably excited.

of course!

There were also people who felt sorry for Zhao Zhen.

after all……

After all, this official was the one with the best temper and the most benevolent one they had ever met.

Next…

Zhao Zhen immediately started to enjoy the life of the retired emperor in advance.

As for Zhao Xin.

There is no way not to go to this court.

Zhao Xin was living Zhu Yuanzhang’s life in advance.

Moreover, in order to make it convenient for him to go to and from court, he would probably have to move back to the palace.

I have to separate from Yuanyuan and the concubines.

This year.

The city of Tokyo suffered severe flooding and heavy rain continued.

The situation in the Liao Kingdom was not much better, as a locust plague broke out in Xijin Prefecture, Nanjing.

Do this.

I’m afraid we won’t be able to win this year’s battle.

But to be honest, Zhao Xin currently has little confidence in this battle.

Next…

He thought that it was necessary to fully mobilize the enthusiasm of the imperial guards in Hebei from top to bottom.

Otherwise, once a war breaks out, it would be bad if your side were full of bugs and the other side were full of tigers.

Liao.

In fact, Yelu Hongji was also a wise ruler.

At least judging from the current performance, such as balancing taxes, repairing military equipment, encouraging agriculture and sericulture, and prohibiting thieves, they are still doing something.

Yelu Hongji saw that the situation in the country had basically stabilized.

When he went to see Yelu Chongyuan, he also looked humble and showed no sign of wanting to rebel.

He felt that it was time to take action against the disobedient Song Dynasty.

Although there was a locust plague in Xijin Prefecture, Nanjing this year, which may have a great impact on next year’s military deployment, however, regardless of whether or not the troops are deployed next year, the soldiers still need to be trained in advance.

In fact, his request was very simple. He just wanted the Song Dynasty to return the Hengshan area of ​​Western Xia to Western Xia.

If you don’t return it, we can only meet on the battlefield.

As for Zhao Xin…

Chen’s father also came back in May of that year.

He also brought back several truckloads of soda ash.

It was only after he came back that Chen’s father found out that Zhao Xin was now the crown prince.

I was just about to call you His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

result……

Zhao Xin took the things he brought back and started conducting experiments in a hurry.

First, we used sand with a lot of impurities to do the experiment, adding soda ash, borax, limestone, etc.

really!

Zhao Xin’s memory was absolutely correct.

The glass was fired quickly.

only……

Since ordinary sand is used, it contains a lot of impurities, so the glass produced is not pure at all.

I guess there is too much iron in it, so the glass appears light green.

In addition…

You can also think about this chemical reaction formula again.

It is best to control the proportion of materials.

The Taoist who was refining the elixir was also surprised when he saw it and said, “So that’s how those utensils from the Western Regions were refined?”

Zhao Xin also said: “If you continue to improve in this direction, it won’t be long before we can achieve glass freedom.”

He just left Chen’s father aside.

of course!

Father Chen has made great contributions this time, so he deserves a reward.

If you give him money, Mr. Chen actually doesn’t lack money.

Then give me a lower position.

As for Zhao Xun, he also roughly obtained some map information of the Liao Kingdom.

only……

After all, the Liao Kingdom was still relatively vigilant.

Therefore, at present, all we can say is that we are not completely blind.

At the combat meeting.

Zhao Xin also looked ahead and said to everyone, “These muskets and cannons are actually not very difficult to make. Moreover, the Song Dynasty has had the habit of using bamboo and putting gunpowder inside to make firearms since the beginning. So… our technological advantage will definitely not be able to last for many years.”

“What’s more… you are all old now, and you still have a few years left. Why don’t you spend it with me like this?”

“We agreed at the beginning that you would go down in history.”

“So, I plan to take the initiative to attack Zhuozhou by next autumn at the latest. What do you think?”

Zhao Xun also asked: “What do you want to use as an excuse?”

Zhao Xin said, “This year, I asked Zhang Kang to go to Tubo to buy more horses. Tubo seems unwilling to continue selling war horses to us. Originally, they sold 20,000 horses a year, but now they are only willing to sell us 10,000 horses a year.”

Someone asked, “Your Highness, are you planning to use this as an excuse to attack the Liao Kingdom?”

Zhao Xin said, “It must be the Liao Kingdom that is interfering. That’s why Tubo doesn’t want to sell the war horses to us. Otherwise, why would they suddenly stop doing this business when it was doing so well?”

Everyone listened…

Although this reason is a bit far-fetched, it still makes sense!

Someone asked, “Aren’t they going to attack from Yanmen Village on the west route?”

Zhao Xin replied: “If we attack from Yanmen Village, the width of the battlefield is about the same. It would be better to attack Nanjing Xijin Prefecture directly, but… this battle must be fought quickly! If we are slow, by the time the reinforcements from Shangjing and other places of Liao arrive, it will be too late.”

“Next, we need to select a group of soldiers to take the lead in advance and capture the city as quickly as possible.”

“Our imperial guards are fighting on the plains. I’m worried that they will be defeated at the first blow against the Liao Kingdom due to their low morale.”

“The only way is to quickly capture the city and let them defend it. This way, they can at least have a little fighting spirit.”

“Once this battle begins, unless we can find the enemy’s main force, fight them to the death, and win.”

“Otherwise…it might turn into a melee, and then anything could happen.”

“You also need to be able to adapt to changing circumstances.”

“In short… in this battle, we can only win, not lose.”

“You should also tell your commanders that even if you or the commander’s flag falls on the battlefield during a charge, no one can retreat!”

“Next…I will optimize every command.”

“We strive to ensure that when we encounter an enemy, everyone does not think about running away first.”

After saying this to the general.

Immediately afterwards…

He also asked Wang Anshi about the situation of the grain they had stored in Hebei.

I heard that nearly 80% of the grain collected from taxes in Xuchang and Nanyang in the past two years has been transported to Hebei and is on standby.

Then Zhao Xin felt relieved.

of course!

This amount alone is not enough, we need to transport more through the canal.

(End of this chapter)