Chapter 352: A Hard Walnut
Li Shu pleaded urgently to sell them another batch of weapons. They had urgently recruited 20,000 soldiers in the country, and they were all trained according to the weapons requirements of the Shenwei Army under the leadership of veterans. If they had no weapons to use, all their efforts would be in vain.
After hearing his introduction of the situation, Zhao Yulin had no choice but to sell it.
He thought about it and said that he would give another 10,000 people equipment, as there was no more, and told Li Shu to carry out the secret deal. Otherwise, if Dali knew about it, the New Song would definitely be in trouble.
Li Shu nodded repeatedly in agreement, took the handwritten letter from Zhao Yulin, and immediately said goodbye and went to Chengdu.
Zhao Yulin looked at Li Shu who left in a hurry and shook his head, very puzzled. He picked up the conch and said he would give it to the medical officer to check whether it was poisonous or not. He wanted to give it to Guangshun as a toy.
Zhidi was very happy and said that her son Guangshun was very blessed because her brother seldom gave gifts to children.
Zhao Yulin felt very guilty as he had rarely taken care of each of his children since they were born, especially Zhao Guangshun who had always been by Zhidi's side and they had only seen each other a few times from a distance.
The next day, Zhidi handed over the affairs of Guiyang to Madam Zhen to take care of, and slowly returned north with him. Zhao Yulin and Zhidi returned to Sifangjing in Renhuai.
Mrs. Shun was overjoyed to see her beloved grandson bringing his great-grandson Zhao Guangzhi back, and she called Zhao Guangshun "brother, brother".
Shunzhidi took out the exquisite conch shell and asked her to call him daddy, saying that it was a tribute from the State of Yue sent to her by daddy.
The little girl was not shy at all. She took the conch shell from Shunzhidi and started to blow it. Woo, woo, woo. The sound of the conch shell continued to echo in the yard.
Zhao Yulin carried Guangshun on his back and walked around the yard. When the little girl saw the golden loquats, she asked for some. He asked the child to ride on his shoulders and pick them. Guangshun picked them one by one and shared them with them.
Zhao Yulin was very happy. He felt that Zhidi had taught the child well and the child was very well behaved.
They went to visit Chen Zhongshun together, and the old man told him that he had sent Chen Xiaoshu back to Cuiping Mountain to study. He said Zhao Guangshun would also go to school, in Cuiping Mountain.
Zhidi said that the academy in Cuiping Mountain was built early and was the first to implement Yulin's new school of thought. Guangshun would definitely learn a lot of good things there.
Only then did Chen Zhongshun feel relieved.
A few days ago, the old man personally went to Chengdu and saw Zhang Xiangyang busy at Caotang Academy and also disciplining his own children. He was indeed very busy. Knowing that his idea was unrealistic, he did not mention a word about Chen Xiaoshu's studies.
After the two of them had a drink, he returned to Cuiping Mountain and sent Chen Xiaoshu to Cuiping Academy. He left Aunt Wu at home to take care of the children, and he returned to Sifangjing alone.
Zhao Yulin said that as long as their children are diligent and studious, they will be successful in anything they do. The key is to be willing to work hard.
Chen Zhongshun said with some emotion that he now has two sons and one daughter, and that he is content with his life and only hopes that the children will grow up.
Zhao Yulin comforted Chen Zhongshun by saying that he was still there and that he would have many children and grandchildren and live a long life.
His mother happily ordered the maid to add more wine and food and continue drinking.
In the northern grassland empire, the grassland Khan summoned the princes to discuss matters after the weather warmed up. Although the empire's eastern expedition to Goryeo had made some gains last year, the results were minimal, and the Khan was very dissatisfied.
The Khan was very dissatisfied. His troops could not defeat the Shenwei Army. Conquering Goryeo should be no problem, but how come they couldn't even take Goryeo?
Therefore, the Khan decided to send troops to Goryeo again and conquer it.
Moreover, the princes, princesses and generals of the empire also felt that the Shenwei Army of the New Song Dynasty in the west was indeed a hard nut, so it was better not to touch it, otherwise it would break its teeth if it was not careful. They all requested to fight against Goryeo and sent troops to Jiangdong and Huainan.
They believed that these places had large populations and densely populated cities, and they could easily find fat and juicy meat wherever they went.
The most crucial thing is that the combat effectiveness of the Song army in these places is not good, and they are too weak, so they can easily grab more gold, silver and treasures.
After making up their minds, the grassland royal court quickly got things moving.
This time, the Khan sent Hubili to lead his troops south.
Logically, Hubili should be happy that he is highly valued by the Khan, has a large army and holds great power, but he just can't be happy.
His sister Hu Lan disappeared. He searched for her for a long time but couldn't find her, which made his mother cry with red eyes.
Hulan was the best sister among them since childhood. The disappearance of the innocent and straightforward sister made her personality change drastically and she became taciturn.
Look, the Khan was calling him, but this guy was so lost in thought that he didn't hear it. It wasn't until the voice next to him reminded him and the Khan called him again with a slightly dissatisfied tone that he woke up from his dream and hurried out of the class. He fell to his knees and shouted, "Long live the emperor!"
Hubili was highly valued by the Khan of the grassland in the royal court, and he won many victories in battle. His fame gradually spread throughout the northern desert, and even the Eight Cities who were fighting in Europe knew about it.
Coincidentally, Badu and Mengge were drinking together and discussing world affairs.
In the past few years, Badu and Mengge have swept across various countries in Western Europe, invincible, occupied large tracts of land, and expanded their strength to the point where they can compete with the grassland royal court in the east.
Badu reminded Mengge to pay attention to the east. He received reliable information: the Khan had been drinking and fighting with beauties for a long time, and his health was getting worse day by day. His death might not be far away.
At this time, we should plan to regain the Khanate.
When the Khan came to power, he poisoned Mengge's father, Tulei, with foot washing water, and the account has not been settled yet. This man has been working hard to govern the country and prepare for war, in order to regain power one day.
Badu laughed and said that his brother was no ordinary person. Many princes and dukes in the royal court praised Hu Bili for his wisdom and courage. The leading generals believed that he had great military talent and was the reincarnation of the God of War.
This was both a compliment to Hubili and a reminder to Mengge Wangting about the people's support. No one wanted to see brothers turning against each other and killing each other in order to compete for the position of the boss.
After hearing what Badu said, Mengge became excited after drinking a few bowls of wine. He thought about his dream of returning to the East to become the Khan. He decided to lead his troops back to Mobei to compete for the Khan throne.
At this time, Zhao Yulin had returned to Cuiping Mountain. Zhao Feiyan and Yangjin had given birth to a son and a daughter respectively, and the family was busy.
Zhao Guangshun ran into the yard and shouted, "Wow, what a big yard! It's much bigger than her home in Sifangjing, and there are so many brothers and sisters."
The little girl ran around the yard happily, and from time to time she picked up her conch and blew it for everyone.
Zhao Yulin's mother greeted him cheerfully: Slow down, slow down, oh my little darling grandson.
In the evening, he called Ma Yuan and other older kids to his study to give them a lecture.
Zhao Yulin told them that he was over twelve years old and was not young anymore.
Chen Liu immediately became excited and asked him excitedly: Daddy, are you going to ask them to go to the battlefield to kill the enemy?
Zhao Yulin was drinking tea and almost spit it out.
Why does this kid want to go into battle and kill enemies all the time?
He shook his head and said it was still early, but the military camp in Cuiping Mountain would be moved soon, and he wanted all the brothers to go to the military camp for training, taking turns to serve as squadron leaders and company leaders to receive training. Remember, they must train hard, sweat more in peacetime so that they can bleed less in war, and they are not allowed to neglect their studies.
Several little ones including Wu Jing were very excited at first, but they immediately lost interest when they heard he was going to the military camp for training.
Zhao Yulin encouraged them, saying that the Cuiping Mountain military camp would be changed into a military school for teenagers, and they would become young soldiers . After two years, they would go to Qingcheng Mountain to formally join the army, and could go to the battlefield after passing the training.
The dolls finally came to life.
Zhao Yulin counted on his fingers and told them that he went to the battlefield at the age of seventeen. They trained in Cuiping Mountain for two years and then went to Qingcheng Mountain for another two years. Ma Yuan was exactly seventeen years old and had to bring his younger brothers and sisters with him. The average age was less than seventeen years old.
Ma Yuan was dissatisfied and asked him why he had to wait until he was seventeen to go to the battlefield.
Zhao Yulin said that the Shenwei Army has rules, and rules are rules, how can they be changed at will?
He said that he felt that seventeen was still young, and that his bones and muscles had not yet matured and he was going to the battlefield to fight. Compared with a strong man, his physical strength was far behind, and a slight mistake could mean the loss of his life, so he could not be careless.
Zhao Yulin took his children to Zhulin Beggar's Chicken for dinner. A group of kids rushed in. His mother was very happy to see them, but she also laughed at her son for being able to have children.
Yangjin said shamelessly that she would give birth to a few more children before going to Lhasa City.
His mother immediately covered her mouth with laughter.
Zhao Yulin was feeling embarrassed when he heard Zhao Guangshun shouting, "I want chicken legs, big brother, give me chicken legs." The other children were all pulling for the chicken legs.
Zhao Yulin was delighted when he saw the older kids like Ma Yuan, Chen Liu, Wu Jing and Zhu Fugui tearing off chicken legs and handing them to their younger brothers and sisters. It was great that brothers and sisters could live together without suspicion since childhood.
When he got back, he called his eldest son Ma Yuan to the study to question him. Ma Yuan told him that he just wanted to follow his father to the front line to kill the enemy.
He looked at his eldest son kindly. Ma Yuan was a strong man with a broad back and a sturdy body. He looked very much like his deceased uncle Ma Jin. Zhao Yulin couldn't help feeling sad and his eyes soon became moist.
Zhao Yulin quickly supported his head with his hands and lowered his head.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Ma Yuan suddenly lowered her head to the table and asked Dad what was wrong? Was he feeling unwell?
Zhao Yulin shook his head and said that sand had fallen into his eyes.
After rubbing his eyes, he told Ma Yuan that Uncle Zhou Ping, the chief of the navy, had established a South China Sea fleet. In the future, our fleet will sail on the sea and travel around the world to demonstrate the power of the new Song Dynasty.
He asked Ma Yuan if she wanted to join the navy.
If you want to go, go to Uncle Zhou Ping's South China Sea formation for training.
The little guy's eyes lit up immediately, and he jumped up with joy, and ran out without saying hello. After walking a few steps, he turned back and stood in front of him and said, "I'm willing." He wanted to go out and do things like his father did.
Zhao Yulin had recovered his composure and said with a smile, "Don't tell anyone that he is his son. He is just an ordinary soldier." He had changed his mind and wrote a letter to Zhou Ping, saying that he would release his eldest son and let him take care of him.
Ma Yuan took the letter happily and went out, but before she could leave the house, she was stopped by Chen Liu, Wu Jing and others.
