Braving her way to Nanchu with just the usual secret guards, Su Rong felt the journey would be fraught with danger at every turn.
However, if she borrowed 200,000 troops from Daliang, it would be a different story. Being protected by such a large army, she expected to not even suffer a single hair loss.
She looked at the old Duke with a light sigh, "Grandpa Zhou, is this really a good idea?"
"What’s not good about it?" asked the old Duke.
"Won’t this seem like I’m taking advantage of the situation?" Su Rong fretted. After all, the current ruling power in Daliang was the Emperor himself, not Crown Prince Yan Huisheng. 200,000 troops was no small matter. If she borrowed such an immense force, for how long would she keep it? Would the Imperial Court consent? If they didn’t, wouldn’t they constantly nag Yan Huisheng, or insist on opposing it in front of the Emperor?
"You are not taking anything for granted," the old Duke stated. "Normally, troops that serve only their home country wouldn’t be lent to outsiders. But who raised these troops? Zhang Ping. And Zhang Mao and Zhang Yun came over to your side. You saved the Imperial Court from a civil war. That’s a rare achievement. Furthermore, do you think the Imperial Court can afford to maintain these troops?"
Su Rong hadn’t considered this. Upon hearing the old Duke’s words, she suddenly realized that the total number of troops seemed to be close to a million, including all the scattered troops from various provinces and counties. This massive number entails enormous payments for food, clothing, military horses, and salaries, but the national treasury was already depleted. It might not even last for two months before the Imperial Court goes bankrupt.
If the Imperial Court couldn’t afford the troops, what could it do? Reduce the size of their armies?
This was not an option, given that Dawei was constantly on the lookout for any signs of weakness, ready to break the treaty and wage war again. Just from Dawei’s alliance with Zhang Ping, it was clear that they harbored unextinguished ambitions. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
Furthermore, she and Yan Huisheng planned to join forces and divide up Dawei. Even if Dawei didn’t initiate the war, they’d have to take the offensive once they came into power.
The old Duke reminded her, "Nanchu is very rich, even richer than Daliang."
Su Rong burst into laughter, "So, 200,000 troops sound like a small number to you. Zhang Ping was supposed to have raised 100,000 troops, but he actually raised 450,000. Apart from taking the silver out of the national treasury over the years, the Zhang family must also have their own income source. Otherwise, their allocated silver wouldn’t be enough to sustain the full-bodied horses and sturdy troops that Zhang Ping gathered. How about this, since you enlightened me about this way, I will consider it with the Crown Prince. I’ll borrow 300,000 troops from the Imperial Court and set a deadline for the return. Once I take control of Nanchu, or when we go to war with Dawei, I will certainly return them. Those 300,000 troops would be my safeguard and lighten the Imperial Court’s load. It would be to our mutual benefit."
The old Duke precisely meant that, "That sounds good. If you agree with it, you should head to the frontier. After I return to the Capital City, I’ll talk more with the Crown Prince. Then, you can communicate with the Crown Prince. He shouldn’t object. Otherwise, disbanding such a large number of troops would be a true waste, and keeping them would be unaffordable for the Imperial Court."
Su Rong felt a sense of admiration in her heart, ’Older the ginger, the hotter its spice.’ With a solemn look, she said, "Thank you, Grandpa Zhou."
"Aren’t you going to call me Grandfather?" the old Duke looked at her.
Su Rong was gracious, she stood up and bowed to the old Duke, "I offer my respects to my grandfather. Thank you for considering my predicament. Rest assured, as long as Zhou Gu does not let me down in his lifetime, I will never let him down either."
These were the words the old Duke had been waiting for. He felt satisfied hearing them and waved his hand, "That’s enough, there’s no need for such formalities. Even if you were not considering my grandson, I would still think of you because of your mother. You don’t need to thank me."
Su Rong sat down again, "How about this, I will write a letter now for you to take back to the Capital City and give to the Crown Prince. That way, I won’t have to find someone to deliver the message later."
"That’s a good idea," the old Duke thought about it and agreed.
So, they brought her pen and ink, and Su Rong started to write. The quick manner in which she wrote made the content almost unrecognizable.
As the old Duke looked on, he tugged at his beard, "Your writing style is even more flamboyant than a man’s, although it’s a bit too unrestrained."
"If a person doesn’t throw caution to the wind when they are young, then they are wasting their youth," Su Rong chuckled.
The old Duke pointed at her, "You’re probably just too lazy to write properly."
With her true colors exposed, Su Rong wasn’t the least bit embarrassed, "I spent too much time practising writing under my big brother’s supervision in my childhood. Once I grew up, I naturally lost the patience."
"Hmm, at least you’ve grasped the basics of calligraphy. You can stop practising," the old Duke himself, a veteran of many military campaigns, didn’t like practicing writing either. Until his old age, he preferred playing with his large saber rather than quiet meditation with a writing brush.
The Zhou brothers were different. They had all studied calligraphy in the traditional way, especially Zhou Gu, who was scrutinized daily by the Grand Tutor Qin in the Eastern Palace, and would have had no choice but to practise hard. The eldest son, Zhou Wei, among the others, had also managed to achieve quite a decent hand in writing. After all, being part of a long-established military family, they couldn’t risk being scoffed at by scholars for their poor handwriting.
Su Rong quickly finished a letter, let it dry, sealed it with wax, and handed it to the old Duke, "Please take care of it."
The old Duke reached out to take it and put it inside his jacket, asking her, "Are you leaving tomorrow? Or do you want to stay a couple more days? Anyway, the troops have already moved to the frontier. If you don’t have any major matters, then stay with this old man for a couple of days."
"Okay, I can learn about training troops and governing the military from you," Su Rong thought there was no need to rush. As told by the old Duke, Zhou Gu and Zhang Yun had already led their massive armies towards the frontier. Anything major that happened there could be dealt with by them. So, she did not need to be in a hurry to leave.
The old Duke was quite pleased to hear this, "Good, I will teach you everything."
As a result, Su Rong stayed in the Military Camp, watching the old Duke training troops and learning his wisdom on military governance. She also shared some of her own past experiences and strategies. The wiser come with age, she found the teachings insightful, and although it was just two days, she had gained significantly.
There were certain things about the old Duke, mainly lessons of a lifetime and the wisdom that came from experience, that someone sitting on his position but remaining at the Imperial Court, like Xie Yuan, could not and would not be able to teach.
And the old Duke also realized that Su Rong was an exceptionally clever and sharp student who anyone would love to have as a pupil. With her quick grasp of concepts and her impeccable memory, he wished he could take her back to the Duke Residence to tutor her further.
He felt a-regret that he had not kept Su Rong at the Duke Residence for a while when they were in Capital City. He had intended to maintain a distance from her so that she and Zhou Gu could make it through, and he had preferred to give the young ones some space. Because of these considerations and possibly some personal biases, he had missed the opportunity to impart wisdom to Su Rong in Capital City.
Quite intuitive, Su Rong laughed and said, "If there’s no movement at the frontier, I will return to Capital City. At that time, I will bid farewell to my mother and sisters, and then return to Jiangzhou to see my father. After all, once I go to Nanchu, I won’t be able to visit Daliang for two or three years, and who knows when I’ll return."
The old Duke couldn’t decide whether he was happy or not hearing this. His grandson wouldn’t return with her to Capital City, and the grand wedding, as she was the princess and Zhou Gu her prince, would definitely take place in Nanchu. He might not even be able to drink his grandson’s wedding toast. Ah...
All he could do was nod, "All right, when you come back to Capital City, I will teach you more."
Su Rong, who never liked to study, now found herself forced to, and worse, she had to appear extremely eager to do so. All for that throne. Oh...
She nodded, "Then, you wait for me."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
