Chapter 440 Princess Shang

Wang Yan pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, although the battle with Xixia this time was not completely successful, it also curbed the development of Xixia. According to the information obtained by the caravans that passed through Xixia during the trade in the Western Regions, the four-year war has made the people of Xixia live in misery. In my opinion, they will not have the strength to fight again within five years. Now that Liao, Jin and Lu Zhishen are fighting for supremacy in the north and have no intention of looking south, it is a good time for our Song Dynasty to restore people's livelihood and recuperate after the war.

I personally think that now we should rebuild the hard road from Bianjing to Hebei, so as to speed up the mobilization of troops and the transportation of food and supplies, and at the same time build large-scale water conservancy and other projects that are beneficial to the development of people's livelihood. In addition, this time we have obtained the horse farm and seized so many war horses, we should start training cavalry units, and when the national strength is restored and the cavalry is ready to fight, our Song Dynasty will launch an expedition to the north to restore our mountains and rivers and save our Han people."

The situation is now clear, and anyone who is not a fool knows that it is time to restore people's livelihood and reorganize the army. Of course, Zhao Ji also knew this, but he just wanted to hear many similar opinions.

After the previous war with Xixia, Wang Yan had no expectations for the monarch and ministers of the Song Dynasty. To be honest, they all knew how to make the country better and stronger. But they didn't do it, or they wanted to do it but didn't have the ability to do it. Just like the reforms of Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi before, those who were changed also knew clearly that as long as they followed, the country would be better and stronger. But they didn't see what benefits the country would have if it became stronger, but if the knife stabbed themselves, the loss would be real. So what does it have to do with me whether the country is strong or not?

After listening to Wang Yan's nonsense, Zhao Ji nodded and said, "You are right, I think so too. But you said that who should take care of the training of the field cavalry..."

"The official is a dictator, and naturally there is already a candidate in his mind. I have been focusing on business for many years, and I don't know a few civil and military officials in the court. The official should not embarrass me."

The great official Wang smiled bitterly and shook his head, begging for forgiveness.

In fact, Zhao Ji knew all his relationships, such as Wu Song, Lu Junyi, Dong Ping and some local civil servants, some of whom were recommended by him. Of course, he only recommended two types of people. One is the one who does things, and the other is the one who is capable of doing things.

The one who does things is familiar with the books of sages, and really takes it as his responsibility to help the world. He is an absolute action-oriented person, and whoever gets the job done is the kind of person who does it. Most of these people are lonely, honest, poor, but have low positions. They want to eat the flesh and blood of corrupt officials alive, but they can't change them. He helped these people to a higher level and gave them the right to do things. Of course, such people can't get high positions either, after all, they always offend people every day, and most of them work in the local area, which can be regarded as local middle-level leaders.

Those who are capable of doing things are those who don't do things. They have political wisdom, don't offend people, are cautious, and are single-minded in making money and getting promoted. He sent these people up, and they are regarded as local senior leaders to protect those who do things.

To be honest, although he has no power in the court, he can't say that there are many of his people in the local area, especially in Shandong and Hebei.

Zhao Ji knew Wang Yan would not say anything. He was sensible and smart. He might have made money in the past, but now he just wanted this money bag. He was nice to talk to and reliable in doing things. It was really rare.

He did not continue the topic, but said: "Zi Yan, I remember that you only have two concubines and have never married a wife, right?"

"That's right."

"You are both civil and military, and your family is rich. I think the door of the matchmaker should be broken. Why don't you marry?"

Wang Yan arched his hands: "Your Majesty, I tell you the truth. Those who matchmade with me are all their families who are plotting against my royal favor and financial resources. I don't want to be involved. Not to mention others, even the mother of my second concubine... The families of the emperor and his concubines all used my name to bully the good and ruin my reputation. How could I dare to marry the wives of those families again? Therefore, I rejected all of them. With my current royal favor and family wealth, it is extremely difficult to find a suitable match, so I simply did not marry. Now my two concubines get along well, have seven children, and the second wife is six months pregnant. I am satisfied. "

"Are you satisfied? You are a loyal and martial general of the fourth rank, but you don't have a wife at home. If you tell others, people will laugh at you. ”

Zhao Ji waved his hand and smiled at the confused official: "I have known you for eight years. I know you very well. You are good at both literature and martial arts, love your country and the people, and what is more rare is that you are willing to help the people. Although I have never been to Yanggu County, I have seen the changes in Yanggu County every year. In eight years, Yanggu has become a famous county from a middle-class county. It is the first in taxation in the Song Dynasty. This is all due to you. And you earn millions of silver coins with me every year, and you are planning Liao. , Jin, and Lu Zhishen, consuming the national strength.

Such merits, if only promoted to a higher rank, other meritorious officials will inevitably feel disappointed. Your talents and merits are worthy of my imperial princess. It just so happens that my eldest daughter Jiade is already eighteen years old this year and is about to get married. I intend to marry her to you. In this way, you don’t have to worry about someone using your name to do things that will ruin your reputation, and you don’t have to be ridiculed for not having a legal wife. What do you think? "

I want to rebel and usurp the throne, but you want to be my father?

"Your Majesty, this..." Wang Yan hesitated, and seeing Zhao Ji's narrowed eyes, he quickly stood up and knelt on one knee: "Your Majesty, thank you for your grace."

In fact, he had expected it before. Although he did not deliberately understand the princesses of the Song Dynasty, he still had some impressions. Just like the princess of the Jiade Emperor Zhao Yupan, who Zhao Ji wanted to marry him now, at the age of 13, 14 or 15, the eldest princess Zhao Yupan should have been married long ago. But he had not heard any movement, and at that time he thought about whether to keep it for him.

Now he was 18 years old, and he only mentioned it casually. In fact, Zhao Ji was also prepared, because Wang Yan's role was irreplaceable, and not many people knew the production methods and formulas of those products. If Wang Yan was really killed, the boss's business would be ruined. Of course, he could make money, but how could earning hundreds of thousands of strings be the same as earning millions of strings?

Maybe Zhao Ji took Wang Yan's past into consideration, and saw that he did not find a little girl of 14 or 15 years old, so he kept her until she was 18 years old. Was he considering everything?

Speaking of this age, although he, Mr. Wang, has done a lot of bad things, he really can't do it to a minor of fourteen or fifteen years old, and his major is not suitable...

Now Zhao Ji asked him to marry a princess, the princess of the Song Dynasty, to marry him, who has two concubines and seven and a half children. How could he refuse? Besides, she is the eldest princess, born by the queen. The first princess of the royal family has been married to him, Wang. This is an honor. Since he can't refuse, of course he has to recognize her as his father.

"Okay, okay, Ziyan, we will be a family from now on, no need to be polite." Seeing that he agreed, Zhao Ji happily waved his hand to let him stand up: "I think you should hurry up with your marriage. Jiade is now 18 years old and can't delay any further. It's best to get married before the end of the year."

"I have neither parents nor relatives. Only the emperor is my king and father. Everything depends on the emperor."

"Okay, okay, then it's settled. You get married soon and I can rest assured soon. You don't know that I have put a lot of thought into Jiade's marriage. It is said that most of the people I introduced to her are mediocre, but I just fell in love with you. What a blessing."

"I am here today because of the emperor."

Zhao Ji's words are worth listening to. How can a daughter of the royal family have any choice? The emperor asked her to marry, how dare she disobey? It's just to show Zhao Yupan.

Zhao Ji nodded with a smile, and said thoughtfully: "You are good at both civil and military affairs. I heard that your guards and the people of Yanggu County are well trained. The guards are good at fighting ten people at once. You are in charge of training the new army?"

Wang Yan was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, I have made a lot of money from running a business, and now I am a son-in-law. If I take charge of the army again, I am afraid that the court officials will be jealous of me. For the new army, your Majesty should choose another good general."

If he became a son-in-law, according to convention, he could no longer continue to be an official, and he would only have a way to eat and wait for death. Therefore, in the Song Dynasty, good people would never be sons-in-law, and they would look down on being sons-in-law. Fortunately, the Song Dynasty did not have many restrictions on sons-in-law. Basically, they lived a normal life as a couple, and they were allowed to take concubines, and even going out to visit prostitutes was not a problem.

If he refused, he would remind Zhao Ji, the father-in-law, that he had money and resources, and now he also had military power, which was not good, and it was easy to get into trouble.

"I know what you are worried about. Tong Guan, a eunuch, can lead the army to war. What can't my son-in-law do? I know you are talented. How can I not use your talent? Besides, I just want you to train the troops. I didn't say that I want you to lead the army to war. Even if you want to go, I don't want you to go." Zhao Ji shook his head and smiled: "But I heard that you are either taking care of the children or hunting in the mountains at home all day. You are really idle. I will find something for you to do.

The cavalry training is just outside the city of Bianjing. Another camp will be opened, and those who are skilled in the army will be selected to fill it. The fixed number of soldiers is 50,000. You can stay in Bianjing for a longer time, so that I don't miss you and can't find you."

"Minister Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. Since this is the case, I will not shirk my responsibility. "Wang Yan bowed his hands and said, "It's just that Your Majesty, I have a lot of things to do in Yanggu County. Although it seems to be idle, there are many important letters from various places every day. If one of them is delayed, the loss is tens of thousands of strings of cash. Therefore, if you ask me to lead the training of the new army, I may not be able to take care of it all the time. Please appoint a few generals to take charge. "

"I know everything, why do you need to tell me?" Waving his hand to suppress the prospective son-in-law who wanted to accuse him, Zhao Ji smiled and said, "Then this matter is settled. I will discuss it with the court officials tomorrow morning. You wait."

What else can Wang Yan say? Of course, he nodded in agreement. He chatted with her for a while, made an appointment to meet Princess Jiade on the night of the fifteenth, and then wandered out of the palace and strolled around Bianjing City as usual.

Zhao Yupan is Zhao Ji's daughter, and he is Zhao Ji's son-in-law. Li Shishi was Zhao Ji's mistress, and he had nothing better to do than to have sex with her at night, which was interesting...

As for letting him train cavalry, this was probably the most correct decision Zhao Ji made in his life, but also the most wrong decision.

It was correct because he was really professional in training soldiers. As long as the logistics of the Song Dynasty could provide them, they would definitely be the best field cavalry in the world. The Jurchens were invincible and capable, so it was no big deal. They were all cavalry hedges, so who was afraid of whom? Moreover, his industries were there, and he could build weapons and equipment for the cavalry, all of which were mass-produced. At the same time, other meat and medicinal materials could also be mobilized to ensure the training consumption of the cavalry. Of course, these had to be paid for by the Song Dynasty's treasury, and he had no reason to give them away for free.

It was wrong because he was an ambitious man who was plotting rebellion, and this cavalry team was directly handed over to him. Although he was only responsible for training and didn't care about other things, he could directly intervene, which was justified, and it was really given away for free.

Anyway, no matter why Zhao Ji asked him to take charge of cavalry training, Zhao Ji dug his own grave.

After strolling around until the evening, he ate something casually outside and returned to the house at Xihua Gate to rest.

At midnight, it was natural to go to the Imperial Fragrance Tower to steal the incense. Shishi, who wanted her lover, was always passionate. In this regard, she was more than one step ahead of Jinlian and Sanniang. Perhaps it was also related to the fragrance of wild flowers.

Of course, she also talked about being Zhao Ji's son-in-law. Li Shishi didn't care. After all, she might not even be able to enter the Wang family in this life. What did it have to do with her whether she got married or not...

In a blink of an eye, it was the brightly lit Lantern Festival. On the high tower of Xuande Gate, Zhao Ji and his ministers looked at the beautiful lights on the Imperial Street and were beaming with joy.

In the corner of the tower, Wang Yan looked at the girl in front of him, who had eyebrows like a crescent moon, big double-lidded eyes, a pretty nose, thin lips, a plump and tender face, and a few rosy clouds due to the cold weather. She was the tall girl, Princess Jiade Zhao Yupan.

The royal family's genes that have been improved for generations are not given in vain. Zhao Ji is also a man with vision. Although Wang Yan has never seen the queen, she must be good-looking. Zhao Yupan, who combines the two, certainly looks better than most people, and is at the same level as Li Shishi and Jinlian.

She was born in an imperial family and received court education since childhood. Her aristocratic temperament gave her a bit of nobleness that cannot be played with. Compared with Jinlian's lack of culture and Li Shishi's talent as a courtesan, Jinlian lost again, even though she has studied for many years. But compared with Li Shishi, she is still not bad. This princess has another style.

"How do you see me?"

"Very good." Zhao Yupan shook his head and smiled: "Daddy's word is as good as gold. Since the marriage has been granted, what can it be if it's not good?"

The little girl spoke quite aggressively... The big official asked with a smile: "Do you know my situation?"

"I know."

"That's good." Wang Yan nodded, glanced at the ministers who were always looking over here in the distance, and said: "Okay, since I've seen it, I won't say more. There are a group of old men over there watching. It's always hard to get along for too long before getting married. Tomorrow I'll have someone send you some food and drinks. You can decide to share some with your brothers and sisters. I'm leaving."

Zhao Yupan hummed, and watched Wang Yan leave to join the group of ministers. She turned around and went to the place where other family members in the palace watched the lanterns...

The situation of Princess Jiade is the same as Jinlian. There is no love affair. They get married directly when the day comes. So now it's just to see what she looks like. Cultivating feelings is a matter after marriage. Besides, he doesn't have the heart to talk nonsense with an 18-year-old girl now. When he was eighteen years old when he first came here, he still had some ideas. Now that he is twenty-six again, his mentality is different.

He tries to keep doing what he does at the age of the place he is in. Otherwise, he will not be happy with the experience even if his father lets him return to one year old. A long life brings countless experiences, but it always loses a lot of fun, or it can be said that those fun things have been experienced long ago and lack freshness. What he does is to try his best to please himself in a life without new things. But that does not include, at the age of twenty-six, talking about love with an eighteen-year-old girl. But if the location is changed to the bed, he will be very interested, but that is a different matter...

After returning to the ministers, he did not stay on the city wall for a long time. Those officials were improvising poems there. He did not like to be with a group of old guys. He apologized and went out to wander around. No one was surprised. He was a lone minister without teammates, and he was not comfortable staying here.

But it was another Lantern Festival. The poem he had written for Shishi had already spread, and people would mention it every year at this time. Many people pretended to be the original author, but they were all exposed. Now it has become a legend, and the enthusiastic storyteller has compiled a beautiful love story of a talented man and a beautiful woman, which has been widely circulated and envied.

He walked in the crowd, and as usual, he guessed the lantern riddles and won a lantern in his hand, and he was playing with thieves who dared to attack him and human traffickers who dared to steal children in front of him. He had to kill a few every year. The flow of people was so dense, and he was fast, accurate and ruthless. There were several headless cases every year, and the prefect of Kaifeng was very uncomfortable.

This kind of stealing and kidnapping children cannot be eliminated by crackdowns, but by human greed. After all, in the civilized modern times, petty thefts are common, and human trafficking is still an industry, and it is always inevitable to make money.

Unconsciously, he wandered back to the outside of Xihua Gate.

Just when he arrived, he saw someone holding an axe in front of the Yuxiang Tower suddenly shouting: "Let me in, let me in! Song Jiang, get out! I want to settle accounts with Song Jiang. Song Jiang, get out."

A group of people tried to stop the man holding an axe and shouting. The people around saw that these people were holding weapons and scattered in all directions.

Soon, two people hurriedly came out of the Yuxiang Tower. One of them stared at the man swinging the axe, wishing to kill him.

At this time, a dense sound of footsteps and horse hooves sounded in the distance, accompanied by shouting, beating and scolding, rushing in.

"Brother, the soldiers are coming, hurry up, hurry up." Someone shouted in surprise, pulling one of them and trying to run.

The man looked up at the sign of the Yuxiang Tower above his head, his feet were rooted, and he didn't want to leave. Finally, under the pull of the people around him, he turned around and ran away.

Of course, the great official is familiar with this kind of situation, which is the Yuan Ye riot in Tokyo in the play...

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