I originally thought that the visit of the second and fourth princes to the prince's residence meant that the court's purpose was clear.
However, the second prince came out of the prince's residence alone.
I heard that the second prince's face was livid after he came out, and he entered Concubine Hui's mourning hall and did not move again.
The Ministry of War and the Privy Council issued an edict for the retirement of soldiers this year...
Let’s talk about the East Palace that day…~
"Dad authorized me to sell 5,000 first- and second-generation firearms and ammunition from the Workshop City Armory. These 5,000 muskets were purchased by the second and fourth brothers respectively."
"Second brother, you can use food in exchange. You can think of a way yourself. Dad allows you to use the channels of the Imperial City Division to contact Annan in the past few days..."
"As for the fourth brother, you need to recruit your team and purchase it as a merchant."
"One thing is that all muskets must be used by soldiers who have served in the new army of the country!"
This is what the prince realized from Zhao Xi's words.
"However, old things should not end just like this. Some excuses still need to be used. A large number of soldiers will retire in the near future. As for whether they can be recruited, it depends on your own ability..."
The second prince's intelligence was indeed extraordinary. After the prince finished saying these words, he simply kowtowed to his eldest brother, turned around and went out.
There are many things that cannot be said clearly, and the second prince also knows that after his father gives his eldest brother various rights, it means that he is giving his destiny to his eldest brother.
There is no point in talking more, it all depends on doing.
If he wanted to carve out a niche in Annan, he had to rely on the imperial court, or in other words, on his eldest brother, the prince.
The firearms of the Song Dynasty were not made by craftsmen from Annan or Dali. His future conquests in Annan would all depend on the crown prince...
The second prince first sent his family members back to Bianliang under any random identity through the channels of the Imperial City Division...
When he left Bianliang, he had ulterior motives and was dragging his family along with him. Unexpectedly, he came back after going round and round.
He did this just to show his feelings... From then on, he was a general of the imperial court fighting abroad, not a second prince. He also wanted to leave his family in Bianliang like other generals.
To say that I am willing, I am really willing.
Only after he was driven out by the army of the imperial court did he realize that his so-called extraordinaryness would no longer exist without the foundation of the Song Dynasty.
In recent years, if Duan Lianyi had not been worried about the Song Dynasty, he would have been buried long ago in partnership with Annan.
Otherwise, he would not have conquered such a huge territory in Annan and still have to kowtow alone at the border just to enter the country.
After this incident, he also understood that perhaps family ties are the most important thing. And the eldest brother seems to be really no worse than him, not just in terms of strategy...
Maybe it was forced by the situation, who knows.
Some things cannot be hidden from everyone in the world, or in other words, loopholes are deliberately left for the courtiers to know.
As for the retired soldiers, they all seemed to know what was going on.
…
The funeral of the Queen Mother and Concubine Hui was very grand. It was also the first national funeral since the Song Dynasty was strong.
The lonely figure of the second prince at the funeral and the isolation from all the clan members of the Song Dynasty made all the guests think that he was like a bereaved dog.
Although I am very puzzled that the officials of the Song Dynasty allowed this mourning dog to be worshiped, it is all attributed to the pedantry of the Song Dynasty...it is nothing more than governing the country with filial piety.
Just after the funeral, the second prince did not even return to Bianliang. In full view of the guests, he was escorted away by the soldiers of the Song Dynasty...
"The official family acted like this..."
Everyone in the Pavilion knew exactly what was going on. At this time, he had half-exited the court, and Wen Yanbo talked more, but he still had the mentality of a bystander.
"Aren't you worried about raising tigers?"
Han Qi was still like that, he seemed to be talking to Fu Bi.
Although Fu Bi was also a counselor of the Pavilion, it seemed that Fu Bi was close to the officials, and the officials often summoned Fu Bi.
"There is no danger of raising tigers. The official's intention is very clear. Annan and the small countries around Annan belong to the second prince as much as he can take."
"However, whether it can be won and how much it can be won depends on the support of the imperial court. Looking at the soldiers who retired this time, I seem to have seen some soldiers from the old guard camp."
"Are there any soldiers left in the old guard camp?"
"If the court says it's there, then it's there..."
When Han Qi heard Fu Bi's remarks, he felt that his question was a bit ignorant.
Obviously, the so-called desperadoes fighting in Annan are rather the forward battalion of the imperial court.
"Yan Guo, since the officials are interested, why bother? Is it possible that the country still needs to be polite to Annan?"
Maybe it’s because he’s using his brain less, maybe he’s less exposed to court affairs, or maybe the information is not flowing smoothly. Han Qi asked again.
Fu Bi looked at Han Qi. He didn't believe that Han Qi couldn't understand...
"Although our cabinet has recovered the northwest and southwest, we have not really stabilized the recovered areas. Does Zhigui think that the country can withstand a major war now?"
"Since the late emperor, after the officials improved the court's tax revenue, the court has been accumulating money and food, including a substantial increase in these years. But even so, the battle to annihilate Xixia still left the left and right treasury almost empty."
"Subsequently, the court had not yet calmed down. Because the prince was attacked, the officials had to take a tough stance to take over the southwest. Did they really think that the Song Dynasty could sweep the world?"
Fu Bi nodded casually. As for him knowing that the officials were following the situation, he believed that Han Qi, Wen Yanbo and the civil servants and generals in Ge Laoyuan all understood.
He didn't believe that among the soldiers marching to southern Xinjiang in scattered pieces at this time, there were no counselors from the Pavilion who were close to him.
As for the fourth prince...
After the funeral, the Fourth Prince's team that had dispersed gathered again, with many new people...
"Fourth brother, my father has long been worried about the trip to the east. Dad said that I should not mind some things about my fourth brother. The court has already planned the trip to the east, so this matter cannot fail!"
At this time, Zhao Xi knew what the second child had done, so he also explained to the prince what the fourth child had done.
If you surrender the fourth child, you will naturally have to give it to the prince as well.
"The journey to the east should first take Yizhou and Ryukyu as the base point, use bartering with Fusang and Goryeo as the means, and aim to explore products..."
After all, he is a compatriot with the same wife, so the prince is not polite to this fourth brother at all, and he gives instructions completely in the form of face-to-face instructions.
Perhaps the second child's talent makes me a little wary... The fourth child is just a little clever, not very courageous.
As for the second child's actions, after all, there is something obvious, and he needs the court or the father to give him the right to control him.
Perhaps some officials in the court knew what the fourth child had done, and the prince felt that he could control him completely, without even needing to borrow the court's armaments.
Therefore, the prince directly called the fourth child to the East Palace and gave the order in this tone.