Chapter 649: Setting the Strategy

The icicles under the eaves of the Armament Bureau melted under the sun's rays, and the dripping ice water pitted the ground with small holes.

Zhao Xu carefully explained the principles of the pull-fire tube to Wang Ying.

"So that's how it is," Wang Ying said, suddenly enlightened.

If it were just these four materials, he would know what they were, but not why they worked.

With the Yan Wang explaining it this way, he understood why these things, when put together, could ignite the gunpowder inside the hand grenade.

Sighing softly, Wang Ying said, "I never expected this unassuming hand grenade to have such a precise structure."

Zhao Xu smiled, "This is only the beginning; weapons will only become more precise in the future, so you must be prepared."

Wang Ying nodded; he understood what the Yan Wang meant.

He needed to keep pace with the times just like Wang Chong and the others, otherwise, he, as the head of the Armament Bureau, would be phased out.

"This subject understands. Now, every day when I return home, I ask Wang Chong about the knowledge I do not understand."

"Good, that is the spirit of not being ashamed to ask questions," Zhao Xu said.

After a pause, he asked again, "Do you have the confidence to independently manufacture this wooden-handled hand grenade now?"

Wang Ying nodded, "If I cannot make this thing, then this official robe I wear would be worn in vain."

"Since that is the case, start arranging production now; it won't be long before the Prince's Personal Army will be using them," Zhao Xu instructed.

After giving these instructions, he returned to the Prince's Mansion.

The maritime alliance of Dongying had been broken by him, and yellow gunpowder and hand grenades were being produced at full speed.

Next, what he had to face was the second Lu City Alliance.

In his view, this alliance would undoubtedly reach a consensus to crusade against Yanzhou.

They must certainly realize that a long-term standoff was more disadvantageous to them.

Therefore, three to six months after the alliance ended, the war against Yanzhou would break out.

However, this timing was not entirely under their control.

Once the reserves of yellow gunpowder and wooden-handled hand grenades were sufficient, the initiative would be entirely in his hands.

Sure enough, just as he had guessed, three days later, Dongying, the Northern Di, and the powerful clans held their alliance in Lu City as scheduled.

On the fifth day, Qi sent envoys to Yancheng for the second time.

This time it was the same old tune; the Qi envoys formally told him that Dongying, the Northern Di, and the seven powerful clans had formed an alliance.

If he did not choose to submit, he would face the war of the Anti-Yan Alliance.

Regarding this, Zhao Xu naturally treated it with disdain, saying only one word: "Scram."

"Truly a fox feigning the tiger's majesty, a pig sticking green onions in its nose to pretend to be an elephant; do they think this can scare us in Yanzhou? It is simply laughable."

In the Council Hall, as the Qi envoys left in a dejected manner, Liu Fu sneered with nothing but contempt.

Chang Wei was also there.

When the second Lu City Alliance began, he had returned to Yancheng, because the Prince's Mansion had to make corresponding deployments based on the results of this alliance.

Following Liu Fu's words, he said, "Just as Your Highness said, time is on our side now. Relying on the natural barrier of the Jin River, they won't be able to send a single soldier to cause trouble in Yanzhou. During this time, we only need to wait in peace for the yellow gunpowder and wooden-handled hand grenades."

He had only just arrived in Yanzhou when he learned of this firearm, and for that, he wished he could hug the Yan Wang and kiss him a few times.

Before, whenever he thought about urban street fighting during a southward invasion, he would scratch his head.

With this firearm, capturing cities in the future would be much easier.

Moreover, he believed that this hand grenade was by no means just for street fighting.

In his mind, he already had several ways to use this wooden-handled hand grenade.

Upon returning to the military camp, he would have the soldiers practice throwing dummy wooden-handled hand grenades.

Therefore, this bullshit Anti-Yan Alliance was not worth mentioning in his eyes.

Compared to old officials and generals of the Prince's Mansion like Liu Fu and Chang Wei, the imperial court ministers who came from Jinling were all frowning.

Although they were once part of the War Faction in the Imperial Court, this Anti-Yan Alliance truly scared them quite a bit.

Just one of the Northern Di in this alliance was the nightmare of the Great Song Dynasty back in the day.

Now it also included seven powerful clans and Dongying, which lay across the sea from the Great Song.

With such a massive force united to crusade against Yanzhou, how could they not be anxious?

However, the Yan Wang and his old subordinates seemed very relaxed about this matter, which made it impossible for them to voice their pessimistic suggestions.

Yang Feng looked at generals like Chang Wei, then looked at his own former subordinates.

Immediately, he shook his head helplessly.

The longer he lived in Yancheng, the more he discovered that the officials and generals cultivated by the Yan Wang possessed a spirit different from that of the Imperial Court officials.

Especially when facing difficulties, the difference from the old ministers of the Imperial Court became increasingly obvious.

The Yan Wang and his subordinates were often fearless and high-spirited, while the Imperial Court ministers were timid and indecisive.

This starkly different situation gave him a sense of realization.

Even if Yanzhou were handed over to the Imperial Court ministers to govern, he feared it would eventually become no different from the former Great Song Imperial Court.

Therefore, at this moment, he supported the Yan Wang unconditionally, and also supported the Yan Wang in excluding the Emperor Zhao Heng from the core of government affairs.

Let Zhao Heng eat, drink, and play, and let the officials who came from Jinling hold some idle positions.

After pondering for a moment, he said, "This old subject supports Your Highness. If Your Highness has need of this old subject, I will surely go through fire and water without hesitation."

Zhao Xu looked at Yang Feng and revealed a smile.

The old court ministers who came from Jinling still had Yang Feng and Mi Yan as their core.

Yang Feng's stance was basically suppressing any dissenting voices.

Although Zhao Xu did not care at all about the voices of these old Jinling ministers.

Although Zhao Xu did not care at all about the voices of these old officials of Jinling.

However, he felt it was still necessary to maintain the harmony of the Imperial Court.

During this period, a steady stream of officials, merchants, and members of the Royal Clan have fled here from the south; in total, these people have reached a massive number of eighty thousand.

This number is not much to Zhao Xu, after all, Jinling was once a prosperous city with a population of nearly one and a half million.

These people came with wealth and have now become the main consumers in Yancheng.

He is still counting on these people to prosper the commerce of Yanzhou.

Therefore, on the surface, he still needs to give them some face.

With the support of Yang Feng, there were no more objections to the strategy for dealing with the Anti-Yan Alliance.

At this moment, a minister suddenly stepped out of the ranks: "Your Highness, I have a matter to report."

Zhao Xu looked over; this was an old minister who had come from Jinling, a member of the Royal Clan, currently serving as the Clan Order of the Clan Court, named Zhao Fan.

Realizing something, he said: "What is the matter?"

"Your Highness, since the chaos in Jinling, the monthly stipends for the Royal Clan and relatives have been suspended. Now, many of the younger generation of the clan are living in poverty. I hope Your Highness will show mercy and restore their monthly stipends and annual salaries; otherwise, if the Royal Clan and relatives end up wandering the streets, it will be a loss of face for the Imperial Clan."

When Zhao Fan said this, Liu Fu's expression changed slightly.

Throughout the dynasties, the Royal Clan has always been supported by the Imperial Court, but this has also become a heavy financial burden for every generation of the Imperial Court.

In fact, when these members of the Royal Clan first arrived in Yanzhou, someone had already brought this up, but Yan Wang had always suppressed it and did not agree.

Now, Zhao Fan, this Clan Order, is raising this issue to Yan Wang's face.

This proves that the members of the Imperial Clan are becoming increasingly anxious about this matter.