After ten years of accompanying me in my studies, the entire court begged me to shut up.

Chapter 116 No Money, No Count

The meal is finally over.

Empress Zhang's eyes were red, but she ultimately said nothing more.

She was the Empress, the mother of the nation, wanting her son to excel, yet also worrying about him.

Zhu Houzhao, on the other hand, looked very happy. After leaving the Qianqing Palace, he pulled Yang Shen and ran towards the East Palace.

"Yang, you're amazing!"

"Your Highness, slow down, don't rush. Eating right away can easily cause stomach prolapse!"

Back at the Eastern Palace, Zhu Houzhao said excitedly, "Yang, tell me the truth, did you persuade Father to let me go on the expedition?"

""

Yang Shen shook his head: "Your Highness has misunderstood, I didn't say anything."

"impossible!"

Zhu Houzhao leaned closer and said excitedly, "Father always listens to you the most, you must have persuaded him!"

Yang Shen smiled but didn't reply.

Zhu Houzhao said anxiously, "Let me tell you, Father Emperor will never let me go out to fight! From childhood to adulthood, whenever I said I wanted to be a great general, Mother Emperor would glare at me, and Father Emperor would make me study more. Today, he suddenly agreed, and I knew it must be thanks to you!"

Yang Shen looked at him and said softly, "Actually, His Majesty values ​​Your Highness very much. This expedition requires going to an extremely cold place, where the enemy situation is unclear and logistics are not smooth. If any link goes wrong, it will be a one-way trip. But His Majesty still decided to send Your Highness, which shows that in His Majesty's heart, Your Highness is capable of this great task."

Zhu Houzhao blinked, somewhat confused.

Yang Shen continued, "A empire gained through waiting is ultimately not as good as one gained through fighting. His Majesty sent His Highness to the front lines so that His Highness could see the border with his own eyes, tread the snow with his own feet, and risk his life for military merit. With such a Crown Prince, who would not submit to him when he ascends the throne?"

As Zhu Houzhao listened, the excitement on his face gradually faded. After a moment of silence, he suddenly grinned and said, "Anyway, I know you'll definitely help! With Yang Bandu by my side, I feel at ease!"

After saying that, he turned and shouted, "Liu Jin! Bring me the map of Liaodong!"

Liu Jin responded and quickly brought over a scroll of map, which he spread out on the long table in the center of the East Palace.

Zhu Houzhao leaned over the table, his finger tracing the mountains and rivers of Liaodong: "Look, this is Liaoyang, this is Guangning, this is Kaiyuan—the territory of the Uriyangkhai Three Guards is roughly here. If they go south, they will most likely take this route."

Yang Shen stood to the side, looking down at the map, and asked, "Your Highness, which route do you plan to take?"

Zhu Houzhao pointed to a route: "Starting from the capital, passing through Shanhaiguan, to Guangning, and then to Liaoyang. This route is easy to travel, with post stations along the way for convenient supplies. After reaching Liaoyang, we'll assess the situation. If the enemy hasn't retreated, we'll hold our ground. If they have, we'll push forward."

Yang Shen nodded: "Your Highness has thought this through very well."

Just then, an announcement came from outside the door; it turned out that Li Chun had arrived.

He approached, carrying a stack of documents, and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, I have brought all the intelligence from Liaodong from the Northern Garrison Command. It includes border reports from the past three years, enemy intelligence gathered by scouts, and the troop strength and grain reserves of various garrisons in Liaodong. All of it is here."

Zhu Houzhao's eyes lit up: "Quickly, bring it here!"

Li Chun placed the document on the table, and Zhu Houzhao immediately began to read it.

Yang Shen also picked up a few copies and carefully read through them.

After a long while, Zhu Houzhao raised his head: "So much information is giving me a headache."

Yang Shen put down the documents in his hand and said, "I have sorted out the situation, and the current situation in Liaodong is even worse than reported."

The snowstorm began last November, with heavy snowfall lasting for over twenty days. No fewer than ten fortresses in Liaodong collapsed, and over two thousand soldiers froze to death or suffered frostbite. The situation wasn't much better for the Uriyangkhai; their pastures were buried in snow, and countless livestock froze to death, which is why they were in such a hurry to plunder southwards.

Zhu Houzhao frowned: "So, both sides are suffering?"

Yang Shen nodded: "That's right! The Uriyangkhai are fighting desperately to move south, and we are fighting desperately to defend the city. Whoever can hold out will win."

Zhu Houzhao thought for a moment and said, "Then our strategy remains the same: consolidate our defenses and hold fast to the major cities of Liaoyang, Guangning, and Kaiyuan. All the people from the smaller forts should be withdrawn and subjected to a scorched-earth policy, leaving not a single grain of food for the Wuliangha. They won't be able to plunder anything, and they didn't bring much food with them, so they won't last long."

Yang Shen said, "Your Highness is right, but there's one more thing."

"What?"

"We must take the initiative."

Zhu Houzhao was taken aback: "Didn't you just say to tighten the defense?"

Yang Shen pointed to the map: "Contracting into defense is how we defend the city, but while defending the city, we must send out small groups of cavalry to harass their rear, intercept and kill their scattered soldiers, so that they can't seize anything and dare not disperse. When they run out of food and retreat, we can then gather our main force and chase them down."

Zhu Houzhao pondered for a moment, then nodded vigorously: "That makes sense! Just like I said today, let them not get anything, and they can't escape either, so they'll slowly wear them down!"

The two discussed for a long time, simulating everything from troop deployment and food transport to marching routes and encampment locations.

Liu Qing sat at a table to the side, eating pastries listlessly.

She couldn't understand or participate in the discussions about the war, so she simply ignored them.

Liu Jin served him at the side, quickly replacing the tea with hot tea when it got cold.

Li Chun stood there until the two had finished speaking, then suddenly said, "Your Highness, I have also learned something else."

Zhu Houzhao looked up: "What is it?"

Li Chun said, "After the incident in Liaodong, the person in the court who shouted the loudest for troops to be sent out was Wang Zongli, the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief."

Zhu Houzhao nodded: "I know him. Father Emperor has received him several times these days."

Li Chun continued, "I discovered by chance that this Imperial Censor Wang owns five hundred hectares of land in Liaoyang."

Yang Shen raised an eyebrow: "Five hundred hectares?"

"yes!"

Li Chun nodded and said, "If Liaoyang falls into war, his 500 hectares of land will suffer heavy losses."

Yang Shen smiled and said, "It seems our Imperial Censor Wang is quite wealthy!"

Li Chun said, "The Wang family has been in the medicinal herb business for generations. They import ginseng, ula grass, and various other herbs from the Northeast and resell them in the capital. Those 500 hectares of land are not all farmland; much of it is woodland, specifically for growing medicinal herbs."

He took a small jar out of his sleeve and placed it on the table.

"I heard that his family's pharmacy has a medicine specifically for treating frostbite, and it's very effective. I thought that since it's cold in the north, Your Highness might need it, so I bought a jar."

"What is this?"

Zhu Houzhao picked up the jar, opened the lid, and smelled it.

Li Chundao: "Ointment for treating frostbite."

Zhu Houzhao looked at the jar, then at Li Chun, and said with dissatisfaction, "What can one jar do? You should buy more!"

"Your Highness, please don't worry!"

Yang Shen stopped him, then turned and asked, "Commander Li, are you saying this medicine is a business of the Imperial Censor Wang's family?"

Li Chun nodded and replied, "That's right! This ointment is not only expensive, but it's also only sold at their store. It's usually sold to wealthy people."

Yang Shen looked at Liu Qing: "Miss Liu, please take a look at us."

Liu Qing was eating pastries out of boredom when she heard this. She rubbed her hands together and walked over.

She bent down and smelled it, then pinched off a small amount with her fingernail and examined it closely in her palm.

After confirming that everything was correct, he said, "This is called Mink Oil Snake Oil Ointment. As the name suggests, it is made from mink oil and snake oil, and is refined with other medicinal herbs such as styrax and angelica. It is excellent for treating frostbite."

Yang Shen asked, "How much?"

Liu Qing thought for a moment and said, "I heard my master say that this ointment is very expensive. The mink fat and snake oil used in it are not cheap, and with the other medicinal materials, the cost is very high. This small jar may cost three taels of silver."

Li Chun immediately replied, "Five taels!"

Zhu Houzhao was somewhat discouraged: "No, it's too expensive! We need a lot of them, so we have to buy the cheaper ones."

Yang Shen suddenly said, "If we don't pay, it's not expensive!"

Zhu Houzhao asked excitedly, "Should we just rob them?"

"Of course not!"

Yang Shen chuckled and waved his hand, saying, "Simply robbing is the most low-class method. I have three plans here—"

Zhu Houzhao immediately said, "I don't want the middle or inferior strategies; I only want to hear the best strategy!"