Chapter 301 Firearms Department
Yelu Chongyuan gave his son 50,000 soldiers and horses to ambush the troops that Yelu Yixin had transferred back from the border.
Unfortunately, the plan failed because of the news that the Song Dynasty was sending more troops.
Even so, Yelu Chongyuan did not let Yelu Nerugu bring the troops back, and continued to keep an eye on the south to prevent troops from there from coming.
These 50,000 soldiers were the most elite troops in his hands, but he did not expect that they would be destroyed by Yelu Nerugu.
Yelu Nerugu covered his face and looked at his father.
He has narrow eyes and a gloomy face, and when he looks at people, he gives people a very uncomfortable feeling.
Even though he was his own son, Yelu Chongyuan felt very uncomfortable.
"Tell me, what's going on!" Yelu Chongyuan shouted.
"I received the order from my father and held my troops still. The governor of Danzhou sent someone to contact me, saying that he would surrender the city to my father and invite me to enter the city..."
"Have you entered the city?"
Seeing that Yelu Chongyuan was about to get angry, Yelu Nerugu quickly said, "I only agreed to the surrender of the governor of Danzhou, and I did not enter the city."
"How did they get ambushed? You're such an idiot, aren't you on guard at all when you heard that the governor of Danzhou surrendered?" Yelu Chongyuan said angrily.
"No, I was prepared. It was the governor of Danzhou and Mubatu who jointly launched a surprise attack. Although I was prepared, the enemy troops were too large and we were outnumbered, so we were defeated." Yelu Nerugu said.
In fact, he did not tell the truth. The governor of Danzhou surrendered voluntarily and sent people to deliver food and wine to reward the army.
Yelu Nerugu was in a good mood and felt that Mubatu would not launch a surprise attack, so he summoned the generals in the army to drink together.
All the generals were drunk and their camp was attacked, so it was soon breached.
Yelu Nerugu managed to escape thanks to the desperate protection of his personal soldiers and the chaos at night.
Although Yelu Chongyuan would know all this sooner or later, he was angry now and dared not say it.
"waste!"
Yelu Chongyuan kicked Yelu Nerugu down without even looking at him, and ordered his men to call his generals to discuss countermeasures.
He launched a sneak attack, but he didn't expect that Yelu Yixin had the same idea as him.
However, his sneak attack failed, while Yelu Yixin's sneak attack was successful.
That's 50,000 elite soldiers, and the most elite troops under his command only number 100,000.
Now that half of it had been lost, Yelu Chongyuan's heart was bleeding.
In other words, Yelu Nerugu was his son, otherwise he would have wanted to kill him.
The loss of soldiers and generals is not a big deal; the biggest impact is the shaking of military morale.
If he can't stabilize the morale of the troops, he will have no choice but to retreat.
This was something Yelu Chongyuan was unwilling to accept.
In fact, Yelu Yixin's side is stronger than his.
It’s just that it’s not difficult to completely control Yelu Yixin.
If he withdrew his troops and gave Yelu Yixin time to integrate his forces, it would be hard to say who would win or lose.
…………
Zhao Xing had no idea about the situation in the Liao Kingdom.
He handled government affairs in the palace for a day, tried on the newly made dragon robe, and returned to the East Palace in the evening.
In the main hall of the East Palace, Zhao Xing drank some tea and Cao Mian walked in.
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you!" Cao Mian bowed.
"No gift."
Zhao Xing waved his hand, asked someone to let Cao Mian sit, and said, "I plan to set up a firearms department under the Military Equipment Bureau, and I want you to be the director of the firearms department. What do you think?"
The Cao brothers were in charge of the left and right guards of the Eastern Palace.
Now Zhao Xing has no son, and after he ascends the throne, the Eastern Palace will be empty.
The Cao brothers could only enter the Dianqian Division.
However, the commander-in-chief of the Palace Front Department was their father Cao An. If they also entered the Palace Front Department, the Imperial Guards would become a one-man show of the Cao family.
As the emperor's personal army, Zhao Xing certainly could not allow such a situation.
It’s not a question of trust or not, but a necessary balance is definitely necessary.
However, he had just ascended the throne, and it was difficult to replace Cao An in a short period of time, so he could only arrange for the Cao brothers to move elsewhere.
It just so happened that Zhao Xing had already had the idea of researching firearms, but had never put it into action.
He planned to set up a firearms bureau and let Cao Mian manage it.
"Your Highness has given the order, and I naturally have no objection. But I know nothing about military equipment, and I am afraid of disappointing Your Highness' trust." Cao Mian said.
Although he didn't know what the Firearms Bureau did, he knew what the Military Equipment Inspectorate did.
The Military Equipment Inspectorate was specifically responsible for researching and manufacturing military equipment. Since Zhao Xing said that the Firearms Department would be established under the Military Equipment Inspectorate, it must be related to military equipment.
"You don't have to worry about these. I will mobilize manpower from the Military Equipment Bureau and the Ministry of Industry. I will arrange what to do when the time comes. Your task is to ensure that the secrets of the Firearms Bureau are not leaked at all." Zhao Xing said.
"I obey your order!" Cao Mian replied.
"There is a piece of wasteland about ten miles west of the city. There are no civilians nearby. The Firearms Department will be built there. All the soldiers under your command will be assigned as guards of the Firearms Department. Once the construction is completed there, you will lead your men there." Zhao Xing said.
"Then what about His Highness's safety?" Cao Mian asked worriedly.
"By that time, I will almost be enthroned. I will not leave the city, so I will not need so many guards." Zhao Xing waved his hand.
"Yes!" Seeing Zhao Xing say this, Cao Mian didn't ask any more questions.
"You go back first." Zhao Xing waved his hand.
Zhao Xing didn't expect to be able to make guns and cannons, he just wanted to research some more powerful gunpowder.
The power of current gunpowder is too weak. If the power of gunpowder can be increased, it will be enough to blow up the city even without guns and cannons.
Both the Liao Kingdom and the Western Xia occupied many cities.
Even if the Liao and Western Xia were greatly weakened by internal strife, the Song Dynasty would still suffer heavy losses if it wanted to destroy the two countries.
But it’s different with gunpowder, it can completely blow up the city.
The next morning, Zhao Xing was processing the ropes.
A eunuch came in and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, the Shao Yin of Kaifeng Prefecture, Sheng Hong, wishes to see you."
"Let him in."
Zhao Xing put down his pen, picked up the teacup and took a few sips.
As soon as the teacup was put down, Sheng Hong walked in.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince!" Sheng Hong bowed.
"No gift!"
Zhao Xing smiled and said, "I wonder why Lord Sheng came to see me?"
Sheng Hong held a bundle of paper in both hands and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, I have already found out what you asked me to do. Please have a look at it!"
"I won't read it. Lord Sheng, please tell me about it." Zhao Xing waved his hand.
"Yes!"
Sheng Hong said: "The eldest lady of the Kang family, Lady Kang Wang, has used various means to kill nine concubines in the family over the years. The evidence is irrefutable."
"It's really appalling!" Zhao Xing said with a gloomy face: "Sheng Aiqing, according to the law, how should the crime committed by this Kang Wang be dealt with?"
"According to the law, he should be exiled three thousand miles!" Sheng Hong said.
The so-called exile of three thousand miles is just a saying. It is not even known whether the area of the Song Dynasty is three thousand miles in width and length.
Zhao Xing frowned and asked, "Nine lives, why is the punishment so light?"
"Your Highness, all the people killed by Prince Kang had indentures. This punishment is completely in accordance with the law," said Sheng Hong.
Zhao Xing frowned even deeper when he heard this. Although the ancient laws provided certain protection for servants and concubines who sold themselves, the laws ultimately favored the powerful and wealthy.
It was only because Prince Kang killed more people, otherwise he would have been punished with a beating and that would have been the end of it.
"Bian Jing is the best place in the country. If this matter were to spread, it would be too shocking. Forget about exiling him. Just send him directly to the Ministry of Punishment." Zhao Xing said calmly.
With the Wang family's care, exile won't be much hardship.
This is too cheap for the Kangwang family.
"Yes!"
Sheng Hong responded, bowed and said: "I am guilty!"
"Oh?" Zhao Xing looked at Sheng Hong with a half-smile and said, "What crime has Lord Sheng committed?"
"The Queen of Kang is my wife's elder sister. My relative committed such a serious crime but I was unaware of it. It is indeed a serious crime!" Sheng Hong bowed and said.
"In that case, I'll just deduct half a year's salary," Zhao Xing said.
He naturally knew that Sheng Hong's claim of not noticing was a lie, and Sheng Hong had even helped cover up for the Kang Wang family.
But this kind of thing was too common in ancient times.
If we really investigate, which of those wealthy families hasn't beaten to death a few servants?
Who reported to the authorities first according to the law?
It's not like he was beaten to death. Just fine him some money and the matter will be over.
This is the social structure, and it cannot be changed even if Zhao Xing ascends the throne and rules the world.
"Thank you for your forgiveness, Your Highness!" Sheng Hong secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The reason why he took the initiative to ask for forgiveness was that he guessed that Zhao Xing should know what he had concealed from Wang Weikang.
Now it seems that Zhao Xing really has no intention of pursuing the matter.
"This time, Lord Sheng has sacrificed his own family for the greater good. I am now busy regulating the country, and the affairs of the Kaifeng government office require your attention. Thank you for your hard work," said Zhao Xing.
Sheng Hong was very excited when he heard this and said, "This is what I should do."
Although Zhao Xing did not say it explicitly, his words implied that when he ascended the throne, he would let Sheng Hong take over the position of prefect of Kaifeng.
After sending Sheng Hong away, Zhao Xing continued to handle government affairs. However, he had not been busy for long when Empress Cao sent someone to invite him over.
Zhao Xing was a little confused. He had been regent for some time, but Empress Cao had never sent anyone to look for him.
With doubts, Zhao Xing went to Renming Palace.
As soon as I arrived at the palace gate, I heard the voice of Queen Cao talking to someone.
Entering the hall, Zhao Xing saw that in addition to Queen Cao, there was also an old lady in her sixties, wearing imperial robes, who was sitting and talking to Queen Cao.
Zhao Xing walked in, and Empress Cao and the old lady both looked over.
When the old lady saw that it was Zhao Xing, she stood up quickly.
"Your son pays homage to the Queen Mother," Zhao Xing said with a salute.
"Wang Liu pays respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." The old lady bowed.
"No need to be polite." Empress Cao waved her hand and said with a smile, "Fuer, this is the widow of the late Grand Tutor Wang."
Zhao Xing was stunned at first when he heard this, and then he sneered in his heart. He thought Sheng Hong was honest, but he didn't expect that he would play tricks on him.
As soon as Sheng Hong reported the results of the investigation to him, the old lady of the Wang family came to the palace. It was obviously Sheng Hong who revealed the information.
After all, Old Lady Wang was not in Bianjing. She was so old, how could she suddenly come to Bianjing?
However, Zhao Xing remained calm and said with a smile, "Madam Wang, there is no need to be polite. I was taught by Grand Tutor Wang when I was a child."
(End of this chapter)