Chapter 141: The Opportunistic Shangyao Meiren Wang

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Zhao Yu strongly suspected that the Shangyao officials had deliberately let him eat so much tiger and deer meat.

This left Zhao Yu with boundless energy all night, as if he hated the heavens for lacking handles and the earth for lacking rings.

Zhao Yu could not use this strength to grasp the heavens or lift the earth—he could only direct it all at the "originator," namely Wang Wen and the others.

Afterwards.

Zhao Yu drove out all the other women except Wang Wen. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to sleep properly that night.

After the women finally found their clothes, dressed reluctantly, and left, Zhao Yu said to Wang Wen: "You lead them in their mischief—see how the Empress and the Palace Inspector will deal with you."

Wang Wen muttered softly: "It wasn't us of the Chenqie Sect who ate the tiger and deer meat."

Zhao Yu pinched Wang Wen's tiny nose and pulled her close, locking eyes with her: "As Director of Shangyao, shouldn't you have warned me beforehand about the medicinal effects of tiger and deer meat?"

Wang Wen continued to argue: "We carefully inspected all ingredients—they were all non-toxic. We followed protocol and tasted them first; there were no signs of poisoning. Only after ensuring absolute safety did we dare let His Majesty consume them. As for tiger and deer, they are food, not medicine. Though they offer some tonic benefits, for His Majesty they replenish the kidneys, enhance essence, strengthen the spleen, and stimulate appetite—harmless, not harmful. What fault have we committed?"

Zhao Yu had long known Wang Wen was sharp-tongued, but he hadn't expected her to stubbornly defend herself even when cornered, so he replied with a retreat: "Fine. If the Empress and the Palace Inspector accept your claims and do not punish you, I have nothing to say."

Wang Wen wasn't afraid of Zhao Yu, because Zhao Yu was not strict with palace women—no, he was extraordinarily lenient.

Moreover, Wang Wen could feel Zhao Yu held a strong liking for her. She had simply never found the right opportunity; otherwise, she could have already been granted the privilege of sleeping with him.

Had it not been for this, even ten thousand guts would not have let her dare do this.

But while Zhao Yu's approval was easy to win, Zheng Xiansu and the Palace Inspector—who tolerated no sand in their eyes—would likely not accept her excuses.

Perhaps, upon hearing what she and the Shangyao women had done, Zheng Xiansu and the Palace Inspector wouldn't even listen to her—they'd punish her outright.

Wang Wen knew that only Zhao Yu could save her now.

So Wang Wen clung to Zhao Yu's arm, swaying gently as she pleaded in a soft voice: "I am nearly twenty-five. If I am not granted the privilege of sleeping with His Majesty again, I must leave the palace and fend for myself. I entered the palace as a child; I am accustomed to palace life. My parents and brothers are all gone. I do not wish to leave. I cannot bear to part from His Majesty. Simply following behind you, watching you from afar, is my greatest happiness. Only then did I lose my mind and willingly accept His Majesty's punishment."

Zhao Yu knew that in the harem, there were indeed palace women like Wang Wen—growing older without being favored—who faced the prospect of being expelled. For women raised within the palace walls since childhood, ignorant of the outside world, this was a life-altering upheaval.

Wang Wen's eyes held a mixture of pleading and sorrow, as if Zhao Yu were her only refuge in this deep palace—if he did not save her, she was doomed.

Zhao Yu gazed at this beautiful-faced Wang Meiren, her eyes filled with pleading, and felt a surge of pity. He understood that in this gilded palace, every person's fate drifted like duckweed, at the mercy of currents beyond control. Wang Wen was but one of these duckweeds, yearning for warmth, for a foothold.

Moreover, how could Zhao Yu truly punish these women who merely wished to bear him children?

"Tomorrow, I'll send someone to inform the Empress and the Palace Inspector," Zhao Yu said.

Wang Wen was overjoyed and immediately attended to Zhao Yu with eager devotion as he prepared to sleep.

Perhaps because of her age, Wang Wen had more courage than most palace servants. She knew the chance to sleep with him was rare—she didn't know how long she'd have to wait for the next opportunity—so as soon as she lay beside Zhao Yu, she crept closer again…

…

Although the Four Auxiliary New Armies were important, they could never be as important as Zhao Yu's Shenji Army.

This was not only because the Shenji Army was Zhao Yu's personal guard, the elite among elites, the crème de la crème, but also because only by controlling the Shenji Army could Zhao Yu feel secure deploying so many troops around him.

Historically, Cai Jing had proposed building the Four Auxiliaries to guard the capital and stockpile hundreds of thousands of troops to wage war against the Liao and recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.

At the time, Zhao Ji approved Cai Jing's plan.

But the scale of the Four Auxiliaries was so immense that before construction was even complete, rumors had already spread.

Namely: "At the time, slanderous rumors claimed that Duke Lu had built this to imprison the sovereign."—that Cai Jing intended to use the Four Auxiliaries to imprison Zhao Ji.

This matter was likely baseless.

But the problem was, Cai Jing's actions at the time had indeed been open to criticism.

On one hand, Cai Jing appointed nearly all his Four Auxiliary commanders as his relatives or old associates.

On the other hand, for the Four Auxiliary New Armies, Cai Jing "increased rations, raised monthly stipends, and exempted them from garrison duty"—in short, his favorite old trick: using state funds to raise salaries and benefits to buy loyalty.

Zhao Ji watched all this—how could he let Cai Jing succeed?

Moreover, at that time, Cai Jing's economic reforms had already borne fruit, filling the Northern Song treasury, first recovering the Qingtang region, then decisively defeating the Western Xia, elevating his prestige and power beyond any previous chancellor of the Zhao Song dynasty.

Zhao Ji feared Cai Jing's growing power might become uncontrollable, so he capped the strength of each Auxiliary at under twenty thousand troops.

The subordinate officials, seeing this, naturally understood it was the Emperor suppressing the Chancellor—and so they all dragged their feet or paid lip service while secretly resisting.

In the end, the total strength of the Four Auxiliaries never exceeded fifty thousand troops, their systems were never fully perfected, and they became nothing more than a hollow, showpiece project.

Soon after, when a comet appeared as an omen, Zhao Ji began using it as an excuse to suppress Cai Jing: first by reshuffling central appointments to weaken Cai Jing's influence, then dismantling the Yuanyou Factional Monument, pardoning the Yuanyou faction members to repudiate Cai Jing's policies, and finally dismissing Cai Jing from his chancellorship for the first time.

At the same time, Zhao Ji issued an edict ordering increased authority for court envoys (eunuchs) in frontier command posts.

It was under these circumstances that Tong Guan rose to power.

One must admit, Zhao Ji's move carried the suspicion of self-mutilation—but from the Emperor's perspective, he didn't seem entirely wrong.

Now, it was Zhao Yu's turn to make this decision.

Zhao Yu certainly could not cripple himself—he had to find a way to make himself immune to any challenge.

How could he achieve this?

In Zhao Yu's view, nothing was more effective than directly controlling the most powerful armed force.

And the Shenji Army was precisely that most powerful force.

For this reason, Zhao Yu naturally gave the Shenji Army the best—including its commanders.

As for the Shenji Left Army and Shenji Right Army, whether commanded by Zong Ze and Wang Bing, or Zhang Shuye and He Guan, both pairs performed admirably.

For the Shenji Front Army, Shenji Central Army, and Shenji Rear Army, Zhao Yu must also assign the very best commanders.

After repeated screening and recommendations from Zhang Chun, Zhao Yu finally decided.

The commander of the Shenji Front Army would be Liu Zhongwu, father of Southern Song general Liu Qi; the military supervisor would be Zhong Dao (Zhong Dao initially held a civil post; due to his strategic acumen, he later switched to military service, distinguished himself in resisting the Western Xia, and became a renowned general, respectfully called "Old Zhong"—the superior of Lu Zhishen in Water Margin).

The commander of the Shenji Central Army would be Yang Zongmin, grandson of Yang Ye, younger cousin of Yang Wenguang, and maternal cousin of Zhe Jimin; the military supervisor would be Zhan Du, the defender of Zhongshan during one of the Five Great Defenses of the Two Song dynasties.

The commander of the Shenji Rear Army would be Zhong Zhong (i. e., "Young Zhong"); the military supervisor would be Zhe Yanzhi (second son of Zhe Keshi).

These five Shenji armies had no unified command under normal circumstances; neither the Privy Council nor the Three Armies could mobilize them—they answered only to Zhao Yu.

Of course, Zhao Yu had no time to personally oversee these five Shenji armies, so he assigned his trusted eunuch Li Lin (yes, that Li Lin) to monitor their construction and training.

That day, Zhong Dao, Liu Zhongwu, Yang Zongmin, Zhan Du, Zhong Zhong, and Zhe Yanzhi had all gradually arrived in the capital.

This is Zhao Yu's absolute confidant; no matter how busy he is, Zhao Yu must go see him.

So Zhao Yu sent Zhang Shuda and others to the camps of the Divine Mechanism Left Army and Divine Mechanism Right Army—the training grounds of Kaifeng Prefecture—and went himself, accompanied by Li Lin, disguised as a man.

On the training grounds, banners flapped in the wind, warhorses neighed, and the soldiers of the Divine Mechanism Left and Right Armies stood in formation, majestic and spirited, their momentum soaring. Zong Ze and Wang Bing stood before one army, Zhang Shuye and He Guan before the other.

Zhang Shuda and the others looked at these two invincible armies from the northwestern battlefield, their hearts filled with mixed emotions.

How to put it?

For strong armies, Zhang Shuda and the others had their own understanding.

Strict discipline, well-trained troops, high morale, and superior equipment.

Yet the Divine Mechanism Left and Right Armies before them…

How to describe it?

It was that the Divine Mechanism Army was too disciplined, too well-trained, too high-spirited, too well-equipped—it surpassed their very understanding of armies.

More crucially, on the battlefield, the Divine Mechanism Army utterly crushed its enemies.

It was as if the Divine Mechanism Army and all other armies—whether Song or enemy—belonged to entirely different eras.

The Divine Mechanism Army's equipment—the Divine Arm Crossbow, Thundering Bomb, and Tiger Squat Cannon—were weapons far beyond their time; any cold weapon encountering them was instantly destroyed, as if history's wheel rolled mercilessly, leaving no room whatsoever.

The only thing to be grateful for was that the Divine Mechanism Army was their own force, and the epoch-making weapons in their hands were their own weapons, weapons they would soon lead and use.

Soon, Zong Ze and the others received word that Zhao Yu's party was arriving immediately, and prepared to receive the imperial procession.

Zong Ze and Wang Bing, Zhang Shuye and He Guan ordered their subordinates to quickly tidy their armor and uniforms, greeting Zhao Yu with the most solemn demeanor.

The atmosphere on the training grounds instantly became solemn and reverent; every soldier's eyes shimmered with reverence and anticipation for this young Emperor.

Then, under Zong Ze's lead, all senior officers and supervisors of the Divine Mechanism Army emerged to welcome Zhao Yu.

Zhao Yu wore a dragon robe but no crown, stepping calmly onto the training grounds with an approachable air. Sunlight streamed through the clouds, gilding him in golden radiance, adding further majesty and sanctity.

Li Lin followed closely behind; due to her pregnancy, she had grown rounder, yet fortunately this did not diminish the martial spirit in her brow. Combined with the deep impressions she had left on Zong Ze and the others—her mastery of military affairs, her competence, her familiarity with the new army's tactics—no one dared underestimate her.

Zong Ze and the others knelt and bowed before the Emperor, their voices unified and thundering: "Your humble subjects humbly welcome Your Majesty's sacred arrival! May Your Majesty live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years!"

Zhao Yu raised his hand in a gentle gesture of support and spoke with warmth and strength: "Rise, all of you."

Then Zhao Yu began inspecting the Divine Mechanism Army, warmly inquiring after the soldiers, even personally touching their uniforms to check if they were warm enough.

Zhao Yu personally told Zong Ze and the others that he would have Huang Jingchen deliver a cotton quilt to every soldier of the Divine Mechanism Army.

At present, cotton quilts had just become popular in Dongjing Bianliang; a standard-sized quilt with medium-thickness cotton cost ten guan, while higher-quality quilts with thicker filling, fine craftsmanship, and ornate decoration sold for over twenty guan.

And yet, with a wave of his hand, Zhao Yu granted each soldier of the Divine Mechanism Army one such precious quilt.

Upon hearing this news, every soldier of the Divine Mechanism Army was ecstatic.

He then visited the soldiers' quarters and saw they were plainly built, some leaking wind and rain; Zhao Yu immediately issued an edict ordering the Ministry of Works to send personnel to rebuild the barracks and construct a cuju field and a polo field for the soldiers.

Next, Zhao Yu inspected the soldiers' food.

After viewing it, Zhao Yu specifically instructed that every meal for the Divine Mechanism Army soldiers must include both meat and vegetables, with ample oil and water—even auxiliary troops must be fully fed.

Zhao Yu also examined the procurement lists posted at the camp gate, carefully totaling the figures, and even summoned Li Yan and Yang Jiong to report the prices in Kaifeng Prefecture.

Seeing no one dared embezzle from the Divine Mechanism Army's rations, Zhao Yu let the matter of food drop.

Zhao Yu's actions stirred an unprecedented warmth in the hearts of the Divine Mechanism Army soldiers. Their eyes shimmered not only with reverence but also with profound gratitude and a resolute determination to serve him unto death. Each soldier deeply felt that this young Emperor was not a distant, aloof monarch, but one who sincerely cared for their cold and hunger, their hardships and well-being.

Zong Ze and the others watched this scene, growing ever more awed by Zhao Yu. They understood clearly: a ruler who so deeply considered his soldiers would inevitably win their loyalty and devotion—and they were no exception.

After inspecting the army, Zhao Yu led the Divine Mechanism Army's officers to the Privy Council.

There, Zong Ze and the others experienced an unprecedented shock…

…

(End of Chapter)