Chapter 98: Stop the Crow's Mouth
Chen Yun thought that his arrangement was very good. Zhao Sihan was good at making a living and Chen Chen was in charge of supervising law enforcement, so Yibin's industry was stable.
He said that the storms will be even bigger in the future, so please be more careful, Dad. If anything unexpected happens, the family should retreat to the new town to avoid disaster.
Chen Yun immediately stared at him with eyes wide open.
Zhao Yulin took a sip of tea before saying that the Shenwei Army would surely become more and more powerful, with greater military achievements and more soldiers and horses, which were all things that Lin'an had to worry about, so they had to prepare for it.
His father-in-law was speechless and lowered his head to drink tea.
Zhao Yulin took Chen Chen away. I got into the carriage and sat in his arms, asking him in a low voice: Is it really that dangerous?
Zhao Yulin smiled and said, "Yes, are you scared?"
Chen Chen immediately blocked his crow's mouth with his clever little mouth...
On the bank of West Lake in Hangzhou, the emperor was playing with a glass peacock and asked Kuang Sisi what she thought. Of course, the beauty praised her for being very beautiful.
This is what the emperor wants to give her.
Zhao Yulin asked the craftsmen to recycle the materials that could not be used to make telescopes. When the craftsmen saw that the cups were almost finished, they started to make handicrafts.
Kuang Sisi happily took the glass peacock and put it away. She asked the maid to prepare wine and food for the emperor, then sat down to play the piano. A piece of music, High Mountains and Flowing Water, quickly flew from her dexterous hands into the emperor's heart, and he gradually felt relaxed.
It was tiring for him to be the emperor. Even at his old age, the prime minister and his mother still controlled the government. Every day in court, he either quarreled or sat on the dragon throne like a puppet.
Anyone who is a person will be driven to have problems. He envied Zhao Qi'er from Yibin.
The Imperial City Department secretly reported that Zhao Yulin returned to Yibin and married another wife, the beautiful daughter of the prefect Chen Yun. Damn it, he began to doubt how his father gave birth to him?
How come Zhao Qi'er was so lucky, making money in every business and winning every battle while guarding the border? The beauties rushed into his arms one after another.
And he couldn't even handle the sickly old man Shi.
Seeing that he was in a bad mood, Kuang Sisi walked up to the emperor, put her arms around his neck and asked him what was wrong.
How about letting our little girl Feiyan come back and have some fun?
When Kuang Sisi mentioned their daughter Kuang Feiyan, the emperor became even more depressed. His daughter was already ten years old, but her mother refused to acknowledge her. As for his legitimate dragon child, he could only follow Kuang Sisi's surname Kuang instead of Zhao.
The emperor was depressed and called back to his residence. He was immediately led by a eunuch in disguise to sit in a green-topped sedan chair.
On the morning of the second day, the emperor discussed the rewards for the Shenwei Army's recapture of Wenzhou and Jizhou. The emperor wanted to promote Zhao Yulin again, but the prime minister firmly disagreed.
The reason was that Zhao Yulin had just been promoted, so it was inappropriate to promote him again. He also said that there were frequent battles in Shukou, and if a general was promoted every time he made a military achievement, his merits would accumulate and the government would have no more positions to give him. Would he have to give up the throne?
Damn, every word is so heartbreaking.
No one in the court dared to respond.
The emperor is unhappy and won’t give any reward for recovering lost territory for the Song Dynasty?
How to encourage the three armed forces to guard the border?
It's all the fault of those spineless people.
The emperor looked at the bloated envoy and found a solution. He said that the treasury was empty, so he asked the envoy to collect 30,000 taels of silver to reward the Shenwei Army in Hanzhong.
There were more reports coming in the hall, and the emperor said that the matter had been decided and there was no need to say more. He stood up, waved his sleeves and left.
The envoy could no longer stand there for long, so he went to the side hall to rest for a while and then went to the Changshou Palace. The empress dowager said that the emperor was also a seven-foot-tall man, and he would inevitably get angry if we didn't do everything to his liking. The Grand Tutor had accumulated a lot of money over the years, so was he going to have to pay for it?
When the envoy heard the empress dowager say this, he realized that the emperor and his mother were of the same mind and both regarded him as Tang Monk.
Seeing that he still did not express his opinion, the empress dowager said that she had already brought her son back to the Privy Council to inherit his legacy , so what else did he need from the emperor?
The envoy shuddered all over and immediately bowed and took his leave.
The next day, the prime minister's office collected the silver and reported to the imperial envoy, who went to Hanzhong to swear the emperor's great grace.
Going upstream along the river, Zhao Yulin from Yibin is busy in the kitchen.
Chen Chen was hungry after tossing and turning in the carriage, so he asked him to make something delicious to replenish his body. Zhao Yulin thought of the firewood chicken in later generations, and ran to the kitchen to learn cooking skills from the chefs.
At dinner, the firewood chicken he cooked became everyone's favorite. Zhao Yulin said it would be more interesting to eat it directly on the stove. He said that if the stove is widened, bowls and chopsticks can be placed on it, and when the chicken is almost cooked, steamed buns can be baked next to the pot. This way of eating is definitely another unique way.
Chen Chen suggested building a big stage, placing pots and stoves around the stage, and having the boy go on stage to sing "Three Variations on Plum Blossoms". The young men and women in Yibin city would surely flock to the stage to eat Firewood Chicken.
Zhao Yulin happily said it was a good idea and fed her a chicken nugget.
Ma Ling saw that Zhao Sihan was unhappy and asked her what was wrong?
Sihan pouted and said she didn't want to cross the river, she just wanted to stay here with her brother. Si Niang started nagging, saying they were all going back, why?
He said that if the fourth sister didn't want to, then she could live here. Jiangbei had also made arrangements. Since the fourth sister missed her, she invited her to live over here.
Ma Ling said that our younger sister-in-law is going to be the chief housekeeper, so we should stay here to discuss matters.
His mother smiled and said that she was old and was going across the river with her second sister to take care of her grandson.
Zhao Yulin didn't want to get involved in discussing these trivial matters, so he got up and went to the study.
Zhao Sihan came in and asked him if he had forgotten about Sister Fenghuang.
Zhao Yulin looked at her blankly.
The younger sister complained about him, saying that Sister Fenghuang wrote to her every ten days asking: Has Brother Yulin come back?
How's the meal?
How was your sleep?
Zhao Yulin smiled and asked her why she didn't come and see in person.
Zhao Sihan said that he was busy with military affairs and couldn't leave.
At this moment, two heads came in from outside the door and said at the same time: Fenghuang can't leave, let's go.
Now it was Zhao Yulin's turn to be petrified.
Chen Chen and Ma Ling pulled Zhao Sihan from left to right and asked if she missed Xiao Linzi. She wanted to go to the new town and asked if they could go together.
The little girl blushed and became embarrassed, then struggled hard and ran away.
The two women immediately aimed at Zhao Yulin and stepped forward to hit his back left and right.
Chen Chen said she was very tired, so she asked Fenghuang to come into the house and share the burden.
Ma Ling said that Fenghuang really likes you, so don't keep her waiting for too long.
Zhao Yulin pretended to be dead and closed his eyes, letting the two of them torment him.
Seeing that he was actually enjoying himself, the two women exchanged glances and quickly changed their tactics, tickling his weakest spots.
Zhao Yulin was most afraid of this move of women, and his true colors were immediately revealed.
Three days later, he took Zhao Sihan and Zhu Congwen to Xinshi, while Chen Chen and Ma Ling stayed in Cuiping Mountain on the pretext of something.
Zhao Yulin saw his sister sitting by the cabin in a daze and asked her if she really couldn't let go of Xiao Linzi?
She said that when they were in Xinshi, Xiao Linzi came secretly to chat with her and gave her many rare gifts. He swore to love only her in this life.
Zhao Yulin laughed and said that all the princes of the Duan family were romantic and handsome, so they would change their character when they met Xiaolinzi?
He doesn't believe it.
Zhao Sihan said seriously that Xiao Linzi would never lie to her.
He began to look at the girl in front of him seriously. His sister would definitely marry Xiao Linzi. How to solve this transnational marriage?
Zhao Sihan is already fifteen years old. According to custom, she is at the age for marriage. She doesn't like any of the young men her family has proposed to her, so she definitely has someone she loves.
Zhao Yulin turned around, held the girl in his arms and said: His family is willing to pay the betrothal gift, so just marry him. We can talk about the future later. As long as our girl is happy, that's all that matters.
Zhao Sihan's eyes lit up immediately. The two sisters communicated without any scruples. Zhao Yulin could see her expectation from Sihan's eyes.
He said that if Xiao Linzi was willing to come, they could build a Duan Mansion in Cuiping Mountain, and if his sister wanted to marry there, he would give her 50% of the taxes from the new town as a dowry.
The taxes on the new town he was talking about were actually the taxes on a large area south of Xinshi, including Yongshan and Shimen, not just the taxes on the new town.
Zhao Sihan was very happy and didn't even say it was necessary, but she didn't know what Xiao Linzi's family thought?
Zhao Yulin pretended to be angry and said if you dare to disagree, I will lead the troops to rescue them.
Zhao Sihan quickly said no, no. Then he looked at his brother and laughed, saying that his brother only knew how to coax people, and it was simply impossible.
In the Dali Palace, the young emperor and the Prince of Zhennan were also discussing Duan Xiaolin's marriage. The year before last, Prime Minister Gao's strategist failed, leading to the defeat of the Mahujiang War. The young emperor took away half of the Gao family's military power, and the Duan family's throne was much more stable. After he quelled the unrest from the south in the past two years, although the national strength did not increase much, the imperial power was much more stable.
Prince Zhennan told his brother: Both the Gao family and the Chai family were proposing marriage to him, but Xiao Lin didn't like it. He secretly left the palace and went to Xinshi. The guards reported that he was going to have a tryst with the fourth lady of the Zhao family.
The little emperor smiled and said that it was just the same as when he was young, he didn’t like anyone in the palace, but he offended a lot of people in the world.
The old prince of Zhennan blushed and said that it was all in the past. Why did you bring up those things, brother?
Later, Duan Xiaolin was brought in. The little emperor asked him lovingly if he liked the fourth young lady of the Zhao family in Cuiping Mountain.
Duan Xiaolin was shocked and just told the truth, adding that he would not marry anyone other than Miss Zhao Si.
Prince Zhennan was angry and cursed him for what he said. He said that the son of the Duan family should continue the Duan family's thousand-year foundation, so he should marry her when he was told to. How dare he disobey?
The little emperor stopped him immediately, and said with a smile that one should not swear casually, and once sworn, one must fulfill it, and one cannot deceive the Buddha.
Duan Xiaolin also said solemnly: What he said was all true.
The young emperor knew his nephew's intention and asked him to leave.
He turned around and sighed to the Prince of Zhennan, saying that the child's choice might be right, so just let him be. He also arranged for an envoy to go to Lin'an to propose marriage and ask the emperor to grant the marriage.
This is the young emperor's request to the great emperor Lin'an to grant the marriage in order to improve Miss Zhao Si's status. If this can be realized, Duan Xiaolin's status in Dali will be 10% higher in the future.
Prince Zhennan was excited and kept saying that Xiaolin was not a worry-free kid and made his brother worry again.
The little emperor just smiled and said nothing.
He got a huge bargain.
By marrying the Shenwei Army, Dali's northern part would be stable, and he could focus on suppressing the rebellion in the south. It was said that this woman was good at mutual trade, and she might bring them great wealth.
Zhao Yulin went to Xinshi Town to inspect various villages and then came to Yongshan Village at the southernmost tip. After the Fire Phoenix's thorough inspection, Yongshan Village had become much smoother. At the beginning, the 9th Column put all the special warfare training here, and the soldiers' drills were to catch bandits and robbed people.
