Chapter 321: To Be a Quiet Prince

Under the red clouds of dusk, the silver Armor on the Cavalry seemed to have flames flowing over it.

The Wangfu Cavalry, having pursued and mopped up the remnants of the enemy, returned one after another.

They escorted the surrendered Xiliang soldiers toward Jincheng.

Right now, they were beaming with joy; this battle had been fought with such satisfaction that it finally vented the stifled frustration in their hearts.

Upon returning to Jincheng, Chang Wei reported the battle situation to Zhao Xu.

Zhao Xu was naturally not surprised by the victory in this battle.

After the tempering along this journey, if his army could not even handle this remnant force of Xiliang, then they would have eaten their meals in vain.

"The troops under Tuoba Wuji have been completely wiped out. As for what to do next, I have already told you, and I leave this matter entirely to you," Zhao Xu said slowly.

Hearing Yan Wang say this, Chang Wei sensed the subtext, "Is Your Highness returning to Yancheng?"

"It has been over two months since I entered Jinzhou. Liu Fu has asked me several times; there are some thorny administrative matters that require my personal attention," Zhao Xu said. "And there are the Three Great Academies; the students have been idle for more than two months, and I fear they have lost their focus."

"Doesn't Liu Fu boast that he can handle anything? He is simply bragging," Chang Wei said with dissatisfaction.

Yan Wang was leaving, and he was truly reluctant to let him go.

With Yan Wang present, he felt he had a backbone for every decision he made.

Knowing Yan Wang was leaving, he suddenly felt empty inside.

Zhao Xu shook his head helplessly; since ancient times, civil and military officials had been accustomed to bickering with each other.

Liu Fu and Chang Wei were naturally the same.

Liu Fu complained that the Prince's Personal Army spent Silver like water and always wanted to restrict it, requesting several times that Chang Wei submit detailed expenditure reports to the Government Office for review.

Meanwhile, Chang Wei resented Liu Fu for meddling in affairs, claiming that civil officials did not go to the battlefield yet always held them back.

However, to Zhao Xu, it should have been this way.

If everyone were just being nice to each other and smoothing things over, that would not be good.

"Enough, I know exactly what you are thinking.

I will not keep covering for you forever. If the subsequent battles are botched, do not blame me for turning against you when you return," Zhao Xu glared at Chang Wei.

"Yes, Your Highness," Chang Wei immediately put on a cheeky face.

When he first met Yan Wang, Yan Wang was both crazy and foolish at that time.

Even after the illness was cured, he only had a good impression of Yan Wang, but it did not amount to awe.

It was not until these few battles that he was completely convinced.

Not to mention the Artillery and Flintlock, even in the application of these firearms, he could not catch up.

In front of Yan Wang, he was truly like the phrase Yan Wang often said at the Military Academy: "You are just a little brother."

"Hehe, Your Highness, rest assured. If I don't fight well, I will cut off my head and give it to you as a chamber pot." Although he did not want Yan Wang to go back.

But since the order had come down, he had to execute it.

This was also a phrase Yan Wang often kept on his lips at the academy: a soldier's duty is to obey orders.

Zhao Xu smiled, "It is better for your head to stay on your neck; I have no use for such a large chamber pot."

Having said that, he waved his hand to let Chang Wei go back and discuss with the generals how to clean up the remaining mess.

Then he asked Xu Lie to prepare to return to Yancheng the next day.

The next morning.

The morning sun was clear, and the spring breeze was warm.

Three thousand Cavalry had already assembled outside Jincheng.

These were the soldiers escorting him back to Yanzhou.

Although the battle was largely over, there were still many scattered Xiliang remnants wandering the land of Jinzhou.

For his safety, Chang Wei arranged a powerful escort of three thousand men to ensure his security.

"Your Highness Yan Wang, please stay."

"Your Highness, if you leave, we will have to live a hard life again."

"Please stay, Your Highness."

"..."

After Zhao Xu finished washing, he had just stepped out of the Government Office when he saw many Jinzhou commoners kneeling at the entrance.

Some of these commoners had been enslaved in the city by Tuoba Wuji.

Besides them, there were also commoners who had come from the countryside.

Upon learning that Jincheng had been captured, those without food or clothing flooded into the city to seek help.

Thus, he had asked Chang Wei to set up porridge sheds to distribute porridge to the commoners.

"Everyone, do not kneel; please rise." Facing the pleas of the many commoners, Zhao Xu showed a helpless expression.

Jinzhou was not his fief after all, even though the Xiliang people had been driven away now.

As for how Jinzhou would be handled, there would still be a power struggle in the imperial court.

But one thing was certain: no matter how much Zhao Heng relied on him now, it was impossible to incorporate Jinzhou into his fief again.

Because if that happened, the North Territory would truly be under his sole control.

And this was something no emperor would allow to happen.

However, even so, Jinzhou was close to Yanzhou, and Jinzhou was something he had personally conquered.

He would still try his best to maintain his influence in Jinzhou.

"Your Highness, your virtuous reputation in Yanzhou has long spread throughout Jinzhou; only you can let us live a good life," an elderly man with a withered face said with tears in his eyes.

Zhao Xu helped the old man up and sighed: "Jinzhou is not my fief; I cannot act as I please here, so please forgive me."

After a pause, he continued: "If you truly cannot survive in Jinzhou, my Yanzhou welcomes you to come at any time."

After Zhao Xu finished speaking, the commoners all revealed expressions of disappointment.

What Yan Wang said was the truth; he was not the king of Jinzhou and had no authority to issue administrative decrees as he did in Yanzhou.

The old man sighed heavily and turned to the crowd, "Everyone, His Highness Yan Wang has his own difficulties and indeed has his inconveniences, but His Highness is right—if you cannot go on living in Jinzhou, you can go to Yanzhou."

The crowd nodded one after another.

In truth, unless forced by necessity, they still did not want to leave their homeland, unless they could no longer survive.

For now, they still wanted to stay and see.

If it truly became impossible, they would then find a way to go to Yanzhou.

Thinking of this, they cleared a path for Yan Wang.

Zhao Xu breathed a sigh of relief; sometimes the enthusiasm of the commoners was truly hard to refuse.

But as Yan Wang and an Imperial Prince of Great Song, he could not act willfully or recklessly.

He could not go and seize what Zhao Heng, the Emperor of Great Song, would not give him.

Otherwise, if he provoked Zhao Heng and caused him to suspect that he had thoughts of rebellion, he would become the public enemy of all Great Song.

At that time, the powerful clans and the Rich Clans of the world would likely be very happy to see that.

They would certainly cooperate fully with the Imperial Court to encircle and suppress him.

Even worse, he fully believed that these powerful clans would incite Zhao Heng to unite with the Northern Di and Western Liang to attack him.

Such things were absolutely within the capabilities of the powerful clans.

Most importantly, once that happened, trade in Yanzhou would be severed, and he would be unable to smoothly obtain various mineral resources from all over Great Song, which would severely affect his goal of leading Yanzhou toward an Industrial Revolution.

Therefore, for him, it was currently best to quietly remain an obedient Yan Wang.

This way, he would have the protection of the Imperial Clan, earn Silver, and be able to use these benefits to continuously build and develop Yanzhou, making Yanzhou grow stronger and stronger.

When the day came that he was strong enough, he would naturally have nothing to fear.

Let the winds blow from the east, west, south, or north; I shall remain as immovable as a mountain.