Chapter 85: Big Speech
Seeing that chaos was about to break out on this frontier again, how could the General Headquarters, which was in charge of the soldiers' winter clothes, dare to let the soldiers go to the battlefield wearing winter clothes that were leaking everywhere?
That is a serious crime that will cost the whole family their lives!
However, the silver allocated by the imperial court was limited, and it was not easy to purchase high-quality winter clothes.
Either the price is high but the quality is high, but the quantity is insufficient, or the price is low but the quantity is large, but the quality is questionable. In short, it is difficult to have both.
But this time, a cost-effective option has emerged.
Although the price is slightly higher than the lower-priced ones, it is still within an acceptable range.
However, the embroidery studio that provides the fabrics is too small, and since the winter clothes are about to be distributed, it may be difficult to catch up with the deadline.
The officials of the Consulate General were a little regretful at first and were about to refuse, but when they heard that it was the Su family embroidery room, they immediately changed their minds.
There is an imperial tutor behind the Su family's embroidery room. How could he not know?
What's more, it is rumored that the Su family has a close relationship with King Xuanming.
Seeing that the Su family obviously has few people, yet dares to come and compete, how do we know that they don’t have the secret support of King Xuanming behind them?
Thinking of this, the experienced official from the Consulate General did not refuse immediately.
He then thought of the fact that Cheng Shoubei's youngest son was studying at the Su Family School, so he found Cheng Shoubei in a roundabout way.
Firstly, if it weren’t for King Xuanming’s instructions, Cheng Shoubei would naturally not react, so it would be fine for him to refuse.
Secondly, if it was really King Xuanming who instructed him to do so, it would be a good idea for him to go along with it and do him a favor.
Who here doesn’t need to deal with King Xuanming?
But no one can openly connect with this line.
The officials of the Consulate General had made up their minds and immediately went to see Cheng Shoubei.
Cheng Shoubei was also quite fond of the cloth, so he immediately ordered the soldiers to wear several sets of clothes made by the general for training.
Compared with fabrics produced by other cloth shops, this product is the best in terms of warmth retention and moisture absorption.
You know, the climate here is special, and there is always a period of time when it is unbearably hot.
Especially when the soldiers were training and fighting, their sweat would freeze directly into ice. After a battle, it was a horrific sight.
But clothes made of this fabric are not easily worn out even after being rubbed and rolled over, and it seems to be able to absorb all the sweat.
After actual training, not only the officials of the Consulate General were highly impressed, but even Cheng Shoubei was also very fond of it.
When he heard that it was provided by the Su family, Cheng Shoubei had heard his youngest son talk about that female teacher every day. When he heard that the material was provided by her, he immediately wanted to meet the real master.
After all, he was a grown man and had no chance to meet this lady in private.
Seeing that Cheng Shoubei, who was in charge of coordinating the soldiers' winter clothes, was also quite satisfied, the Consulate General did not hesitate to ask someone to find Su Shengsheng.
When Su Shengsheng received the news, she was checking the accounts at Shixianglou.
When she heard that she had been selected, but needed to go to the Nanjiao Camp in person to explain the principles of the fabric to Cheng Shoubei, she did not refuse.
When Qing Ning heard that she was going to the barracks, she immediately handed the purple python cloak that had been put away for a few days to Su Shengsheng, saying, "General Xie hasn't come these days, and General Mu hasn't come either."
Su Shengsheng didn't want to take it at first. If Cheng Shoubei saw it, he would definitely misunderstand that she had a backer.
But thinking about what Qing Ning said about Xie Xuan never showing up, it might be related to Miss Jun, and perhaps he will never appear again.
She didn't have the chance to return the cloak to him, so she asked Qing Ning to wrap it in cloth and take it with her.
On the carriage heading to the southern suburbs camp, Madam Jiao, who came with Su Shengsheng, was very nervous.
Of course, she hoped to get this business, so that even if the situation at the border changed, the embroidery room would not have to worry about having no business.
But if she really wants to get this business, it means providing cloth to hundreds of thousands of soldiers. How can she not be nervous?
There was other work to do in the embroidery room, and the Second Madam couldn't leave. This time, Su Shengsheng went with her, and Jiao Shi felt a little more at ease.
"Why do you think this Chief Cheng must see you?" Jiao still couldn't understand why Chief Cheng had to see Su Shengsheng.
Su Shengsheng held the cloth bag, propping up her small chin. "Maybe he wanted to see what the woman who spoke so outrageously looked like?"
I have to say, she guessed 70% to 80% right this time.
Last time in school, she threatened to cover all the fields in Tianqian Pass with quilts, which was always treated as a joke by the students.
How could the students’ parents not know about such exaggerated remarks?
When Jiao heard this, she became nervous. "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Seeing that her aunt was so nervous that she kept rubbing clothes, how could Su Shengsheng dare to make her feel even more uneasy?
He just waved his hand and said, "It was just a joke on the students."
After hearing this, Jiao Shi saw that the carriage would soon arrive at the southern suburbs camp, so she immediately sat up straight.
This was the first time for the two to witness the magnificence of the barracks up close. They saw endless tents standing on the ground like mountains.
"The military tents here look quite cold-resistant." Jiao's attention was quickly attracted by the tents outside the car window.
The soldiers here are different from others. They need to conduct frequent mobile operations and often need to change their garrison locations to prevent the enemy from knowing the whereabouts of the army.
Therefore, even in extremely cold or hot environments, the soldiers did not dare to build fixed houses, but instead used military tents that could be moved at any time as their residence.
…
In the general's tent, Mu Ze happened to return from border patrol.
In addition to Xie Xuan sitting in the main seat, there were also more than a dozen deputy generals there, and they were discussing military intelligence together.
"Heng Hongbo was originally the governor of Yunzhou," said General Jiang, a veteran who had experienced the tragedy of those years. His voice was heavy. "More than twenty years ago, the general guarding the pass was tragically killed in battle, so he surrendered the entire city to the Baishang Kingdom. This allowed the enemy forces of Baishang Kingdom to bypass our army, leaving tens of thousands of soldiers vulnerable."
Speaking of this, General Jiang's eyes were filled with tears. Even after so many years, he still found it difficult to control his inner sadness and anger.
He slammed the table heavily, unable to calm down the anger in his heart.
"If it weren't for this cowardly person, how could the old general and the prince have fought alone and been defeated, and were slaughtered before they could even wait for reinforcements..."
Although Yunzhou had been recaptured by Xie Xuan long ago, the tens of thousands of soldiers who died there could never be resurrected.
Speaking of Heng Hongbo's subsequent actions, General Shen gritted his teeth. "This fellow later fled to Baishang Kingdom, where the previous ruler used him as an example to the world and slap our dynasty in the face. Later, through marriage with a noble, he unexpectedly gained a position of power. When the ruler of Baishang Kingdom passed away and the young ruler was still young, he even usurped control of the government and rose to the highest position. The Queen Mother Xia, who was ruling from behind the scenes, supported the young ruler until he reached adulthood, and she was always looking for an opportunity to eliminate him. This time, thanks to the general's clever plan, the letter of surrender was delivered to the Queen Mother Xia through a planted person, giving her an excuse to strip Heng Hongbo of his military power."
Having said that, everyone felt very happy.
He sighed worriedly, "This young ruler has now grown up, but Queen Dowager Xia still refuses to let him rule. To protect himself, Heng Hongbo even had the ruler ask our Southern Dynasty for troops, intending to overthrow Queen Dowager Xia. This is either due to circumstances, or he has a desire to divide the country."
They provoked civil unrest in Baishang Kingdom in response to the court's policy of reducing troops.
For Xie Xuan, if he wanted to avenge the murder of his relatives, this was undoubtedly the best time.
It was also because the Northern Rong invaded the south many times that Nanling was unable to resist the troops of both countries at the same time, otherwise it would have taken over the Baishang Kingdom long ago.
Ever since the King of Baishang Kingdom passed away, Queen Mother Xia, in order to monopolize the government, was not only suspicious of her own son, but also never let down her guard against Heng Hongbo, who had come to rely on her entire family.
The letter of help sent by Baishang Kingdom made everyone fall into deep thought. They didn't know what choice Xie Xuan would make as a son who was unable to take revenge personally.
Inside the meeting room, many deputy generals temporarily suppressed their anger and looked at Xie Xuan, who had not expressed his opinion.
If he handed the letter to the court, Nanling, which was seeking a truce, might ask Xie Xuan to send troops to help.
But doing so would mean asking the soldiers to shed blood for their enemies, which is really not worth it.
However, if this letter is not passed on and the news leaks out, it would be a crime of deceiving the emperor.
However, Xie Xuan resealed the letter with sealing wax and sent it to the imperial capital at full speed.
When several deputy generals saw this, although they praised him for his selflessness, they couldn't help feeling annoyed.
After the deputy generals finished their meeting, they returned to their respective places to guard the passes. However, Xie Xuan called Chu Zhao alone.
"Disclose this matter to Queen Mother Xia."
After just a few words, Chu Zhao understood Xie Xuan's deep meaning and left. "Yes."
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