Honglou: This bastard is too persuasive.

Chapter 434: Follow the advice and improve a hundredfold

The province of Dayuan.

"My son Zhao Feng--"

"Your Majesty Kublai Khan"

“——”

"Your Majesty, long live your Majesty."

A group of civil and military officials knelt on the ground at the dock.

The first thing Zhao Yurui saw was Kublai Khan in the crowd.

Kublai Khan is the deputy commander-in-chief of Dayuan and commander of the Dayuan navy. He is 52 years old this year. According to the current rules of the Song Dynasty, he will have to retire in three years.

Many years ago, when Kublai Khan just surrendered, Zhao Yurui summoned him once, but he hasn't seen him for many years.

"Gentlemen, please stand up." Zhao Yurui said with a smile: "Kublai Khan, you are old too, with a lot of white hair."

"I am old, and Your Majesty is still young." Kublai Khan said with a smile. His Chinese was getting more and more fluent. If you didn't look at his face, you would never know that he was a Mongolian.

On March 22, Zhao Yurui went to the imperial court and summoned his son Zhao Feng and all the civil and military officials of the imperial court, from the second rank and above.

Everyone talked individually, and each person talked about something different. Some just chatted, and some talked about important matters.

Kublai Khan was summoned on the 23rd.

Zhao Yurui asked him how many sons he had and what they were doing.

Kublai Khan spoke the truth. When he mentioned that he had two sons in Daming Province who were also military officers, Zhao Yurui nodded with a smile: "A good father will have a good son."

Kublai Khan's two sons, Duoerzhi and Tuohuan, are under Zhao Yi's command.

"How many grandchildren do you have?" Zhao Yurui asked again.

Kublai Khan said there were eight.

How many adults are there?
The emperor and his ministers asked and answered each other. When Zhao Yurui heard that Kublai Khan's eldest grandson had taken part in the imperial examination last year but failed, and was currently taking tutoring classes at home this year, he fell into deep thought for a moment.

After a while, Zhao Yurui said, "Back then, you led thousands of Mongolian soldiers to join the Ming Dynasty, and you played a great role in our Song Dynasty's recovery of Persia. How about this, I will let your eldest grandson take over the post. Do you want him to be a civil official or a military official?"

Kublai Khan was overjoyed and knelt to thank the emperor for his grace, then said that he wanted him to be a civil servant.

So Zhao Yurui planned to let Kublai Khan's eldest grandson go to other provinces to serve as a chief clerk.

Zhao Yurui chatted with Kublai Khan for a quarter of an hour and then let him leave.

Kublai Khan still had a smile on his face inside, but when he came out, he looked gloomy.

"Father." His third son Manggela and fourth son Namhan both followed him in Dayuan, and the two of them immediately came to greet him.

"Let's talk about it when we get back." Kublai Khan waved his hand with a gloomy face.

The three of them mounted their horses and returned to the mansion with a team of personal soldiers.

There was also Kublai Khan's second son, Zhenjin, in the family.

"Father is back." When Zhenjin saw Kublai Khan, he hurried forward and waved his hand to signal the people outside to close the door and not come in.

The father and his two sons went straight to the large courtyard at the back. There were personal soldiers guarding the gate and no one was allowed to come in.

"Is there a telegram?" Kublai Khan breathed a sigh of relief when he returned to his home.

Just now in front of the emperor, he was still very scared, afraid that he would reveal some flaws.

"King Ming's fleet has arrived in the Maldives and will soon bypass Sri Lanka and enter the Bay of Bengal." Zhen Jin said.

Kublai Khan frowned: "They want to go through Malacca?" That's Zhao Qi's territory.

"We originally planned to go through Malacca," Zhen Jin said, "but then Zhao Qi suddenly ordered, for some reason, that only two ships and two hundred people could pass through. The Ming King's fleet might be split into two, with the Ming King going through Malacca and the other ships going through the Sunda Strait."

"Where is the map?" Kublai Khan immediately came to the map.

The father and his two sons were staring at the map.

To go through the Sunda Strait, one has to pass through Jakarta, which is also Zhao Qi's territory.

But fortunately, the person stationed in Jakarta now is Niu Jun, the former military attaché of Zhao Yi Ming Province.

"Is Niu Jun one of us?" Zhen Jin asked at this time.

Kublai Khan looked confused. He didn't know this either because Zhao Yi would not tell him many things.

He could only say, "Niu Jun used to be in Daming Province, rising from brigadier general to deputy commander. Daming was still Persia at the time, and not long after the Ming King came, Niu Jun was transferred away. I really don't know if he is one of the Ming King's men."

The second son Zhenjin said: "The Ming King divided his troops into two groups. One group will go through the Sunda Strait and will definitely pass through Niu Jun's territory. Eighty-nine percent of them are our own people?"

Kublai Khan shook his head and said: "Warfare is a treacherous art. You should anticipate defeat before you anticipate victory. You can't expect everything to be so prudent."

The three sons nodded, not quite understanding.

"Does the King have any orders?"

"not yet?"

Mang Ge La then asked: "Father, what did Zhao Yu Rui say to you just now?"

"She asked me about some family matters." Kublai Khan thought for a moment and sneered, "Zhao Yurui probably knows that her rules are not good enough, and now it's too late to make up for it."

In Kublai Khan's view, Zhao Yurui's greatest failure was the abolition of hereditary succession.

Everyone worked hard to build an empire for you, but you want to abolish hereditary succession. Where is the point of everyone's efforts?

In the past, Zhao and Rui were in their prime, dominating the world and no one could disobey them.

Now that he is in his twilight years, he may no longer be able to suppress the arrogant and powerful generals under him.

"For thousands of years, the Han people in the Central Plains have always inherited the nobility and the aristocracy. Now that it's in Zhao Yurui's hands, they insist on seeking fairness."

"Haha, the lack of hereditary succession is the greatest injustice."

"Everyone fought hard to build an empire for you, isn't it just to build a foundation for your children and grandchildren? You can't inherit it, is this fair?"

The sons nodded heavily. Of course it has to be hereditary. Otherwise, we have to take the exam like ordinary people? What a joke, is this fair?

The father and his two sons were talking, and suddenly a bookcase in the room started moving.

Everyone turned their heads and a young man walked out.

The boy looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old. He was Kublai Khan's eighth son, Kokochu.

"Father, second brother, third brother, fourth brother——" Kuo Kuo took out a piece of paper: "The latest telegram from the King Ming."

Kublai Khan quickly took it and saw a string of numbers written on it.

"Give me the book." Kublai Khan didn't need to say anything, Zhen Jin beside him had already handed over a thick volume of "New Laws of the Song Dynasty".

Then he looked up at his sons. His sons were tactful and quickly stepped back away from Kublai Khan.

Kublai Khan was very cautious and his son was also on guard.

I saw him checking the numbers, opening the pages one by one, and then picking out words one by one to form a few sentences.

After reading it, his face changed slightly, then he stuffed the paper into his mouth and swallowed it.

"Father, what did the King say?" Several sons stared at him.

Kublai Khan's expression gradually turned ferocious: "Hahaha, everyone says that Mongolians would kill their sons, but it turns out that the Han people are no less than that—"

Kublai Khan said sternly: "The Ming King wants us to help him kill his father."

The faces of all the disciples in the field changed drastically. No one expected that Zhao Yi would dare to kill his father. "I saw this in Persia back then." Kublai Khan grinned, "There is nothing Zhao Yi dares not to do. For the throne, he even dares to kill his own father. He is really lawless. Hahaha, good, good, of course we have to help him--"

"Father, think twice." The second son Zhenjin frowned and said, "Zhao Yi does things by any means necessary. If he turns his back on us after the success, we will become his stepping stones."

Kublai Khan waved the telegram in his hand and said, "I have kept all the telegrams exchanged between the two sides over the years. They are all evidence."

"And this telegraph machine. Only Zhao Yi could get it. This is also evidence."

"Although Zhao Yi is vicious, he is a smart man. As long as we help him to the throne, he has no reason to cross the river and burn the bridge. What he wants is the throne, not the reputation."

Kublai Khan saw through Zhao Yi at a glance.

Zhao Yi is not the kind of person who wants to do something and pretend to do it.

Like his father, Zhao Yi would do anything to achieve great things and did not care about his reputation.

Back then, Zhao Yurui first allied with Mongolia, then allied with Jin, and then betrayed Jin. They used all kinds of despicable means and their reputation was ruined. Did Zhao Yurui care?

Don't care at all.

Zhao Yurui’s main character is shameless and thick-skinned, so he succeeded.

Zhao Yi wouldn't care. As long as he could get to the top, what did it matter even if everyone in the world knew that he killed his father?
Can the people bite him?
"Zhao Yurui is not easy to kill. The only troops we can mobilize are your father's team of fifty personal soldiers." Zhenjin sighed.

Zhao Yurui was very strict in guarding against military officers. A military commander at this level had only fifty personal soldiers.

Only the commander-in-chief and governor-general level can have one hundred people.

Kublai Khan was the deputy commander-in-chief and military commander. He had only fifty personal soldiers, which was the most force he could mobilize.

The other soldiers and horses must not move, as they will be discovered if they move.

"That's fine." Kublai Khan said, "The King has already made arrangements. We just need to wait for his orders."

He suddenly came to his senses at this moment. These arrangements made by King Ming were definitely not something that had happened in the past one or two years. They had probably been planned many years ago.

When Zhao Yurui was young, the Intelligence Department of the Imperial City Bureau, the Jinyiwei, was quite powerful and had a deterrent effect on officials from all over the country.

As his throne became more and more stable, there were no wars in the country. After he pacified the surrounding countries, the role of the Intelligence Department and the Embroidered Uniform Guard was greatly reduced, and these people had nothing to do.

In addition, as Zhao Yurui was getting older, the internal situation had been relatively relaxed in recent years. Kublai Khan estimated that Zhao Yi took advantage of this opportunity to expand his own power.

Zhao and Rui stayed in Dayuan that day, and they traveled around Dayuan the next day. They saw that there were quite a lot of rubber plants in Dayuan, and there was also a professional rubber factory.

At this time, it had been several days since Qin Chen from Hanzhou fell into a coma, but the telegram had not been sent yet, and Zhao Yurui was completely unaware of it.

On the 23rd, Zhao Yurui prepared to set off for Hanzhou and asked Quan Kang to send a telegram to Hanzhou to contact Qin Chen.

Quan Kang received a call back soon, and Qin Chen made all the arrangements and waited for the Emperor to arrive.

That afternoon, Zhao Yurui boarded the ship and set sail. His son Zhao Feng sent Kublai Khan to lead two warships of the navy to accompany, escort and guide them.

Zhao Yurui originally refused because he also had seven or eight naval warships with him, but his son was kind and thoughtful, so he did not refuse.
-
Time goes back to the second day after Qin Chen fainted.

Meng Zhijing, the commander-in-chief of Annan Province, is currently staying in Hanzhou.

Qin Chen will retire next month, and Meng Zhijing will take over. The position of Commander-in-Chief of Annan Province will have to be handed over to someone else.

Early this morning, Meng Zhijing felt his eyelids twitching.

After getting up, he practiced swordplay in the yard, but felt a little overwhelmed.

His father Meng Gong had been dead for many years, even earlier than Wang Jian.

Meng Zhijing himself is almost fifty years old.

After playing with the knife for a while, he threw it away and asked someone to bring the latest Type 40 rifle.

This is a new type of rifle from the 40th year of Yuanzhen. It is equipped with 15 rounds of ammunition, making it even more powerful.

When Meng Zhijing first joined the army, the Song Dynasty was composed entirely of cold weapon troops. In the blink of an eye, it is now composed entirely of firearms troops.

He looked at his sword reluctantly. It was a good sword, which was carefully made by Persian craftsmen after he invaded Persia.

But in the future, I'm afraid it won't be used much.

At your age, it’s better to use a gun.

Bang, bang, bang. Meng Zhijing fired a few shots and then asked to change guns.

The bodyguard brought a Type 40 revolver.

This is the second generation pistol of the Song Dynasty, with six bullets and a single-shot revolver.

Currently, pistols are only issued to battalion commanders and above in the military.

Bang, bang, bang. Meng Zhijing fired a few more shots, and then he felt that the gun was still better. He might have to put the knife away from now on.

After shooting for a while in the morning, he had breakfast and asked the people in the house what time it was. The answer was half past eight.

He immediately prepared to go out.

I made an appointment with Qin Chen the day before yesterday to discuss some handover matters at nine o'clock today, especially the important personnel arrangements in Hanzhou Province.

Qin Chen has been in Hanzhou for many years and has confidants everywhere. When Meng Zhi comes, some of them will be reused and some will have to be transferred. He has to discuss with Qin Chen and give everyone a proper resettlement. He also has his own confidants to be transferred from Annan Province.

As a result, just as Meng Zhijing was leading his horse out of the house, a group of cavalry came from a distance and quickly arrived at his house.

"Oh." A military officer jumped off his horse and knelt down first: "Greetings to Commander Mengdu."

Meng Zhijing is currently still the commander-in-chief of Annan Province and the governor-general of Hanzhou Province. He has not officially taken over the position yet, so the other party was right to call him that.

"Commander You." The person opposite was a battalion commander named You, who had previously met Meng Zhijing at the dock.

"I'm sorry, Commander-in-Chief, Hanzhou is under Level 3 martial law. All civil and military officials above the sixth rank are to stay at home and wait until you are notified."

"What?" Meng Zhijing's face changed slightly: "Why is there martial law?" Even I, the governor, don't know?

The third level of martial law can only be issued by the Governor's Office. Meng Zhijing didn't understand why Qin Chen didn't tell him.

"I am of low rank and don't know the answer. Please forgive me, Commander-in-Chief." After saying that, Commander You waved his hand and the cavalrymen behind him dismounted one after another, ran to the gate of the Meng Mansion and stood on both sides.

Wow, everyone was armed with Type 35 rifles, in uniform order, and standing still.

There is not much difference between the Type 35 and the Type 40 that Meng Zhijing just fought. It has fewer bullets and a slightly shorter range. Currently, the main equipment in the military is still the Type 35, and only a small number of troops have begun to rotate the Type 40.

These people suddenly blocked the door. He Xiong, the captain of the personal guards behind Meng Zhijing, immediately became furious: "How dare you! What do you want to do? This is Governor Meng's Mansion."

Meng Zhijing came here to take over as the governor, and he is the one who has to issue the third-level martial law order.

Commander You's face was filled with pain: "Commander He, please don't embarrass our brothers."

He Xiong was about to step forward to argue, but Meng Zhijing stopped him with his hand: "Forget it, Tao Jun."

"I am here." A sergeant among the personal soldiers stepped forward.

"Go to the Governor's Mansion, ask to see the Governor, and ask what's going on."

"promise."

Commander You's face changed slightly, and he wanted to stop him.

He Xiong asked angrily, "Is Tao Jun not of the sixth rank?"

You had no choice but to retreat.

"Let's go back home." Meng Zhijing felt his eyes twitching even more violently, and a feeling of uneasiness surged in his heart.

Qin Chen had asked him to discuss matters today the day before yesterday, but today there was a sudden curfew. This was impossible. Why didn’t he tell him about such a big thing?

(End of this chapter)