P.S. This chapter is quite hard to come by. Considering the reform of the Great Song, I thought about it for a long time. It can be considered as a big foundation for the later chapters. I'll work hard and write another chapter later, but it'll probably take until midnight.
"Father, the Yang family's people have been brought back and settled down in the Yang family's mansion!”
In the study, Zhao Xuan reported to the Eight Virtuous Kings.
The Eight Virtuous Kings put down the book in their hands and walked to the side. They first picked up a soaked face cloth and wiped it on their faces. Then, they asked Zhao Xuan,"Why do you think the Yang family came back this time?”
Zhao Xuan thought for a moment." The Yang family is guarding the border. The Matriarch did not hesitate to leave Bianjing and move her family to the border. Clearly, she is wholeheartedly doing this for the country!"”
"And the Yang family has returned to the capital this time, even revealing their marriage with me, obviously they must have encountered a problem! The Yang family had always been loyal and not greedy for small profits, so the problem they encountered was definitely the Liao Kingdom!”Zhao Xuan analyzed.
The Eight Virtuous Kings nodded. This son of his was indeed a monster. He was able to see the leopard in a narrow corner and had an outstanding mind. He only knew the purpose of the Yang family this time after receiving the letter from the She Matriarch.
"That's right. The Matriarch has already sent someone to send me a letter. The scouts at the border have detected that there are abnormal movements in the Liao Kingdom's internal army. It is suspected that they are gathering in Chang Province. The Matriarch is afraid that the Liao Kingdom will attack Chang Province, so she sent her eighth sister to report to the imperial court with the intention of asking for help from the imperial court!”The Eight Virtuous Kings said to Zhao Xuan seriously.
Zhao Xuan frowned." If that's the case, why didn't you send an urgent report through the border?"”
The enemy of the Northern Song Dynasty had always been the Liao Kingdom, so they did not dare to relax their intelligence on the Liao Kingdom. From Changzhou to Bianliang, they even opened an urgent military report line to facilitate the rapid arrival of intelligence.
"This is where the problem lies!"
"Right now, the scouts at the border have only detected the movements of the Liao army, but they don't have concrete evidence to prove that the Liao Kingdom has intentions to harm the Great Song. According to the alliance agreement between the Great Song and the Great Liao, the Great Song doesn't have a heavy army stationed in Chang Zhou. Similarly, the Liao Kingdom doesn't have one either. Both sides are currently in a period of peace on the surface. If the Great Song rashly sends more troops, it will definitely cause a backlash from the Great Liao. At the same time, the officials in the court might not agree. After all, Song Liao had been at peace for decades. If they were to start a war rashly, the lives of the people would be plunged into misery!”The Eight Virtuous Kings said emotionally.
"Then what does father mean?"
"We have to increase the number of soldiers. Although I've never been willing to start a war, we have to defend Chang Province. The Liao Kingdom has many cavalry. Once they break through Chang Province and march straight in, I'm afraid it won't be long before they reach the hinterland of our Great Song.”
"So, Father is worried about how to persuade the officials to send more troops?”Zhao Xuan immediately understood the worries of the Eight Virtuous Kings.
"That's right." The Eight Virtuous Kings nodded."Matriarch She has given me a big problem!" This army had to be increased, but how and where? How to get the officials to agree to the increase, how to make the Liao Kingdom not mind sending more troops, these are all problems that this king needs to solve! "In the end, our Great Song is still too weak. If our Great Song had the strength of the Han and Tang Dynasties, why would we be afraid of the Liao Country sending more troops?”
"Actually, I have a way that might be able to resolve this matter!”Zhao Xuan said softly.
"What is it?" The Eight Virtuous Kings looked at Zhao Xuan and asked seriously.
"Change defense!" Zhao Xuan said with a smile.
"Changing guards?" The Eight Virtuous Kings looked confused.
"That's right. Let me give you an example. Right now, my Dragon Stallion Guards have fifty thousand soldiers, while the total number of soldiers in Chang Province is only one hundred thousand. Among them, there are probably more than half of the old, weak, sick, and disabled. We can use the excuse of letting them retire to station soldiers and change the guards. During this period, if we replace the commoners with the elites of the Imperial Army, we can transfer more than one hundred thousand soldiers into Chang Province. This way, we won't have to fear the Liao army coming south!”Zhao Xuan said carefully to the Eight Virtuous Kings.
The Eight Virtuous Kings frowned and looked at Zhao Xuan."You want to go to Chang Prefecture?"
A father knew his son best. How could he not understand what his son was thinking? It was obvious that his suggestion was to drag the Dragon Xiang Guards down to Chang Province and fight the Liao people.
" That's right. This time, if the imperial court were to send troops, it would be extremely difficult. It must be known that before the soldiers and horses move, food and rations will come first. Even if it's tens of thousands of soldiers, the mobilization of soldiers, horses, and rations will cost a lot. If the Liao people really attack our Great Song, then it's fine, but if the Liao people don't move, then the responsibility will be huge!”
"Moreover, when the time comes, whether these tens of thousands of troops will return empty-handed or continue to be stationed will be a big problem. I'm afraid there will be another debate in the imperial court!”
"Instead of that, I think it would be better to let the Dragon Xiang Guards move out. Moreover, the Dragon Xiang Guards are well-equipped and the princes are looking forward to it. If they really become the palace's honor guard, wouldn't it be a joke?”
"Moreover, the Dragon Stallion Guards have millions of soldiers. There are many people in the court who want to use this money.”Zhao Xuan said indifferently.
"Your Dragon Guard has just been established, and you have the confidence to fight against the Liao people?”The Eight Virtuous Kings said seriously. Military affairs were not child's play. What he was worried about was the strength of the Dragon Xiang Guards.
Zhao Xuan shook his head helplessly when he heard the words of the Eight Virtuous Kings.""Father, the soldiers of the Dragon Xiang Guards are the elites of the elites of the Imperial Army. They are already very powerful, and I only need to train them for three months to make them obey orders.”
The Eight Virtuous Kings nodded in understanding. He had forgotten that this son of his was the elite of the Imperial Army who had emptied out a million soldiers.
These people were originally excellent soldiers. With a little training, they could form an army!
"That's good. This way, you won't attract attention in the capital!”The Eight Virtuous Kings thought for a moment and nodded.
He didn't mind Zhao Xuan going out. After all, he had been away for several years when he went to Europe. He almost thought that his son had died outside.
With the support of his father, the Eight Virtuous Kings, Zhao Xuan's heart calmed down. As for Zhao Zhen, he did not need to worry at all. Right now, the person who wanted to see the Dragon Xiang Guards 'battle results the most was probably Zhao Zhen.
It was just that everyone probably did not expect that Zhao Xuan's true goal was actually on the two words 'changing defense'!
This was Zhao Xuan's first move to deal with the problem of Great Song's soldiers.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。