My father Zhao Kuangyin

Lu Duoxun, a scholar from the Hanlin Academy, who had just returned from a mission to Jiangnan (Southern Tang), strode up the folding palace gates.

Ludoson did not dare to rush around recklessly under the pretext of announcing the "good news," so he paused outside the threshold to catch his breath.

Outside the hall, it was still Li Diantou on duty.

"Is Prime Minister Zhao inside?" Lu Duoxun asked.

Li Shenyou replied calmly, "Lu Hanlin should know that His Majesty usually speaks with Prime Minister Zhao in the capital hall, and there is no Prime Minister present to ask questions in the palace at this time."

"That's good."

Lu Duoxun let out a sigh of relief, disregarding the incestuous nature of his attire, and took advantage of the dust and mud to quickly enter the palace.

"Your Majesty!"

At this time, Zhao Kuangyin was no longer the Zhao Emperor who used to enjoy drinking wine while reviewing memorials.

In fact, after being persuaded by his eldest son that day, the old ministers all applauded and urged him to quit drinking. Helpless, he had no choice but to promise to reduce the production of the winery.

In addition, all the fine wines stored in the palace cellars were taken to the Imperial Street Market and sold at a low price, which caused a frenzy among the people of Kaifeng, and the wines were sold out in half a day.

In the sweltering summer, the opportunity to taste the imperial liquor that the emperor usually drinks, or the chilled spring-brewed Five Clouds Noodles, naturally attracted many eager individuals to be among the first to ascend the mountain.

However, although he had temporarily given up alcohol, Zhao Kuangyin was not very energetic day or night, especially in the afternoon. He was probably experiencing withdrawal symptoms. He was taking a short nap with his eyes slightly closed when Lu Duoxun called out to him, which made him a little irritable.

But when he saw the person clearly, especially the scroll in the person's hand, he immediately came to his senses.

"It's Dorson!"

"Your Majesty! Your subject... has fortunately fulfilled his mission!"

During the Song Dynasty, or even before the Qing Dynasty, respectable officials, and even eunuchs, would not kneel down casually.

Do not be fooled by Ludosen's tearful eyes and pained expression. He simply bows and kowtows, his knees standing straight without trembling.

Of course, the hardship was the long journey. While in Jiangnan, under the rule of Li Yu, Lu Duoxun ate and drank well, and his belly grew bigger.

That is, his red robe (for a fifth-rank official) was wide enough to conceal his half-prime minister's belly, so that the emperor could not see the change.

"You've truly endured three months of hardship!"

Zhao Kuangyin held Lu Duoxun's hand, not even touching the scroll, and pulled the latter to sit on the right side of the hall.

The official himself simply moved a chair aside and sat opposite him.

"You've lost weight."

Lu Duoxun sighed softly and spread the scroll out on the table with a wry smile.

"Your Majesty, please take a look."

"Oh," Zhao Kuangyin feigned surprise, "What is this?"

"I obtained the scroll from Li Yu."

Although Ludosen kept it a secret, the markings on the map were unmistakable, clearly indicating it was a strategic map.

The term "strategy" here refers to a literal strategy, which means marking the troop deployments of the Southern Tang in various prefectures south of the Yangtze River, as well as the approximate population.

"The Li family of Jiangnan controls nineteen prefectures, three military prefectures, one hundred and eighty counties, and eighty-six hundred and sixty-four thousand eighty households..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Kuangyin paused for a moment, then picked up the silk scroll, stood up, and burst into laughter.

He was genuinely happy, but Lu Duoxun had anticipated this when he arrived, since the emperor was the one who arranged this business trip.

"My dear minister, for your meritorious service in governing Jiangdong, I shall reward you handsomely!

Upon hearing the title "My dear minister," Lu Duoxun felt a slight shiver run down his spine and quickly rose to bow.

"I was sent on a mission by imperial decree, and have been traveling for several months, merely to devise this plan. How could I possibly accept any reward from Your Majesty!"

"Very well!" Zhao Kuangyin laughed, "Then I will withdraw the edict and not bestow any reward."

Lu Duoxun was taken aback, realizing that the emperor was teasing him, so he pursed his lips and said nothing.

"Judging from your appearance, am I such a stingy and petty person?"

After saying this, Zhao Kuangyin rolled up the silk scroll, sat astride it, held the scroll in one hand and rested his other hand on his knee, pondered for a moment, and then smiled.

"I see you have lost weight."

"I...have lost weight."

"Since you have lost weight, the sash binding your crimson robe has become too loose. I should bestow upon you a new one."

Lu Duoxun smiled awkwardly and said, "Your Majesty is right."

Following the Tang dynasty system, officials of the third rank and above wore purple, officials of the fifth rank and above wore vermilion, officials of the seventh rank and above wore green, and officials of the ninth rank and above wore blue.

A Hanlin Academician is a fifth-rank official, and for such a great achievement, wearing purple robes would not be excessive.

The promotion of officials below the fifth rank is easily handled by the emperor; however, the appointment of officials of the fifth rank and above requires the approval of the provincial governor.

Having said that, the question was to be asked of Zhao Pu.

Who exactly is Ludosen, this hero?

He was one of the few loyal and outspoken ministers who dared to repeatedly criticize Zhao Xianggong at the emperor's side!

Zhao Pu's ten-year tenure as prime minister was not due to the fact that there was only one prime minister. Leaving aside the "outsourced" prospective crown prince and the privy councilor, before today, there were only two officially appointed councilors, namely Prime Minister Xue (Juzheng) and Prime Minister Liu (Xigu).

Now, with the addition of Prime Minister Zhao, who is just over twenty years old, there are three vice prime ministers concurrently.

Going back to the beginning, what is it that is unique?

It is not about making decisions on both civil and military matters unilaterally, but about having sole authority over the capital.

Anyone with a little common sense knows that the Dutang was the political hall of the Tang Dynasty, also known as the Prime Minister's Hall.

In the present Song Dynasty, only two people are qualified to enter the capital.

The Emperor and Prime Minister Zhao.

That's right. The vice prime minister and the envoy were not allowed to enter the capital. Usually, the emperor and the prime minister made the decisions, which were then reviewed by the Secretariat and the Chancellery. If they passed, an imperial edict was issued and stamped; if they did not pass, they were sent back.

Of course, it passed in 80-90% of cases.

Why?

There are no trivial matters when it comes to the capital.

Major national decisions are often made with the prevailing trend. They are not decided only when a meeting is held; rather, the meeting is held only after the intention to "determine" the decision is made. For example, the appointment of Zhao Dezhao as vice prime minister.

Don't assume that only a few days had passed. The Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and even the Ministers of Commerce (Shen and Zhao Guangyi) were anxious about this several times and held many small meetings. It's just that Zhao Dezhao was away and had no way of knowing about it.

Getting back to the main point, regardless of whether this strategic map is verified or whether it is suspected to be a forgery by the Southern Tang rulers and ministers, after several months of business trips and many years of hard work, his qualifications and achievements are sufficient.

Furthermore, Zhao Kuangyin trusted this Scholar Lu not only because of his talent and learning, but also because of his courage—he dared to confront Zhao Pu and speak the truth to him.

It is inevitable that Lu Duoxun will be promoted, but the process will be difficult, and the emperor needs to carefully persuade Zhao Pu.

The reason was Lu Duoxun's own doing. When he first served as a drafter of imperial edicts, he and Zhao Pu were not on good terms. After entering the Hanlin Academy, he became even more unconcealed, only reporting Zhao Pu's faults and not his merits.

Zhao Kuangyin knew it would be difficult, but he still had to make a statement. As for when the promotion would take place, he said, "Let's take it slowly and not rush it. I'll ask my minister first."

"Alright, I'm not joking with you anymore. Tell me about the situation at the small temple in Jiangnan."

"Here you are."

Lu Duoxun calmed himself down and asked the official to spread out the map. He then tucked his sleeves in and began to point and draw the map one by one, like placing chess pieces.

"Let me speak of the Southern Army. The army capable of fighting now, including the garrisons of Jiangyin, Xiongyuan, and Jianchang, plus the six imperial guards, I estimate, is around 30,000."

This number refers to armored and armed soldiers, i.e., professional soldiers, not a standing army like the Song Dynasty's Xiang Army.

Historical records often depict military forces as extremely intimidating, not to mention fictional accounts, which frequently feature armies of a million men and 300,000 cavalry...

Even among the Liao, Jin, and Mongol armies, the number of heavily armored cavalry was limited; each death meant one less to go, and most of them were light cavalry to make up the numbers.

In contrast, the Central Plains dynasties relied on infantry to fill positions. When discussing military matters, they primarily focused on combat troops, excluding auxiliary soldiers.

"When I entered Jinling, the city was bustling and the population was thriving. The suburbs of Jiangning Prefecture were even more overcrowded, and the ditches were blocked. Li Yu's statement that there were 170,000 households is still too many. I think the number of households in Shengzhou should be around 100,000."

The number of households, or family members, is on average five. The figure of over 800,000 households marked on the map is clearly an inflated number.

Prior to this, the Song emperor and his officials, based on the deployment of the Tang army on the south bank and extrapolating from the number of troops, estimated that the number of households was roughly between 600,000 and 700,000.

The map was retrieved, but Li Yu clearly falsified it, intending to feign weakness and intimidate the Song Dynasty.

This last emperor was not good at both civil and military affairs, but that's relative. He did have wisdom, but unfortunately he didn't use it for good.

There was really no other way. To defend the Yangtze River, one must also defend the Huai River. After his father, Li Jing, lost the north bank of the Yangtze River, he lost tens of thousands of elite troops and key generals. Then he abandoned the mess and moved to the southern capital, where he died due to the change in environment.

Thinking about it this way, it's understandable that the "Emperor of Lyrics" is giving up.

Given the current situation, even if Liu Yu and Zhu Yuanzhang came, they wouldn't be able to do anything.

You mean the Northern Expedition?

With the Huai River lost, crossing the river is now a pipe dream.

It must be known that Mount Bagong is now under the rule of the Song Dynasty…