The next day, Wang Han once again took Zhao Fujin, who had changed back into women's clothing, and Li Shishi to the pharmacy. Behind them, Yang Zhi and six guards dressed in armor followed closely in two rows.
"General." Upon arriving at the pharmacy, Zhang Yong, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately came to greet him.
"Hang up the sign and open for business. Also, put up the sign for guards and add a clause that you're hiring servants too," Wang Han said.
"Yes." Upon hearing this, Zhang Yong broke out in a cold sweat, but could only grit her teeth and agree. Yesterday was already chaotic enough; if they put up signs again today, it would only make things more chaotic. Many people were unprepared yesterday, but today most people will likely come prepared.
"General, aren't you afraid of another fight?" Zhao Fujin was also sweating profusely and asked in a low voice. After the fight, the patients would all need her to come and see them.
"Of course I'm not afraid, because today we'll add another rule: the guards and servants will only be selected from those who come to see the doctor. If someone who isn't sick comes to see the doctor, we'll beat them until they get sick and then throw them out." Wang Han said with a smile.
"Could you please not add this clause?" Zhao Fu's forehead was covered in even more cold sweat. Adding this clause would definitely bring even more patients, and he was already inwardly complaining, 'What have I ever done to you?!'
"Phew." Zhang Yong breathed a sigh of relief. With this addition, at least the streets wouldn't be in chaos.
“You’re not the only one seeing a doctor today; Li Shishi is here too,” Wang Han said with a smile. “If she wants to learn martial arts, she must first learn medicine and understand the eight extraordinary meridians of the human body. So today I will guide her on how to treat patients and teach her medical skills first.”
"Alright." Upon hearing this, Zhao Fujin had no further objections.
"General, aren't you going to the morning court?" Upon entering the shop, Zhao Fujin remembered this and quickly asked Wang Han. As the Divine Might General and a general serving in the capital, he naturally had to attend court.
“Going to court? No. When I came here, Emperor Huizong already said I could be exempted from these things. If something happens, someone will naturally come to summon me. If I go now, it will be difficult for your father to make arrangements.” Upon hearing this, Wang Han said with a smile, as if everything was within Wang Han’s expectations.
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Inside the palace, in the imperial court.
Just as Wang Han had predicted, Emperor Huizong of Song, who had just lost his beloved yesterday, was already eager to send Wang Han on a military expedition. If Wang Han left, he might still have a chance. Of course, this was also partly due to Gao Qiu presenting the map that Wang Han had given him yesterday.
"Last night, General Shenwei had Gao Qiu present something to me on my behalf, which made me happy all night. Today, I will show it to all the ministers so that you may share in the joy." In the court, Emperor Huizong of Song was not angry when he saw that Wang Han had not come to court. Instead, he was secretly pleased. The first thing he did at the morning court was to happily order someone to bring out the map that Gao Qiu had sent him overnight.
Upon hearing Emperor Huizong's words, Gao Qiu immediately wore a tearful expression. He had taken the blame for everything, only to reap the benefit of running errands, and yet the Emperor still held a grudge against him.
Following Emperor Huizong's words, several eunuchs soon came over with a scroll and unfurled it in front of the civil and military officials.
"What is this?" As the scroll was unfurled, all the civil and military officials in the court stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what they were seeing. It was actually a map, a map recording a very large territory. The Song Dynasty was only one part of the map; there was also the entire territory of the Liao Dynasty, the entire territory of the Western Xia Dynasty, the entire territory of the Dali Kingdom, the entire territory of the Vientiane Kingdom, parts of India, the entire territory of Tibet, the entire territory of the Uyghur Kingdom, the entire territory of the Uyghur Kingdom, and even parts of Tsarist Russia that they had only heard of. The entire territories of Korea and Japan overseas were also included on the map, and judging from the level of detail in the drawing, the records on the map must have been extremely detailed.
"At first, I also doubted the authenticity of this map, so last night I had someone compare it with existing maps of the Song Dynasty. The main mountains and rivers recorded on our Song Dynasty maps almost all correspond, and more than 90% of the roads in various places also match. The topography and mountains recorded on this map in the maps of other countries that our country has collected and preserved also all match, and 80% of the roads in various places in other countries also match," Emperor Huizong of Song said with a big laugh. "General Shenwei has presented me with a great gift! It is also clear that General Shenwei has long had the heart to make contributions to the Song Dynasty and has been preparing for it for a long time."
"Congratulations, Your Majesty!" Upon hearing this, the ministers immediately offered their congratulations in unison. The reason for sending the Divine General into battle had finally arrived.
Emperor Huizong asked, "Has there been any fighting on the border recently?"
"Your Majesty, the Liao Kingdom has occupied the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun for many years and has been harassing our Han territory for years." Upon hearing Emperor Huizong's question, a military general immediately stepped forward and said with great joy.
"How could I not know about the Liao Kingdom's constant harassment!" Upon hearing the military officer's report, Emperor Huizong of Song immediately glared at the officer, and the other ministers also glared at the officer who had spoken earlier.
Emperor Huizong wanted Wang Han to lead an expedition, but not immediately to attack the powerful Liao Dynasty. Liao was bordered by the equally powerful Western Xia, and if war broke out, Western Xia would certainly not stand idly by. Neither other countries could be ignored; both Liao and Western Xia were eyeing the Song Dynasty and were constantly plotting. Any external war could only be waged against these two countries first, but now was clearly not the time. Emperor Huizong intended for Wang Han to suppress bandits.
Ultimately, Emperor Huizong still didn't trust Wang Han. Although he placed great hopes on Wang Han, he remained uncertain about Wang Han's abilities and whether he was truly loyal to the Song Dynasty. Although he granted Wang Han immense power and prestige, these things had to be done step by step. After all, this concerned the fate of the entire Song Dynasty and could not tolerate the slightest carelessness.
Moreover, even if Wang Han is loyal and capable, entrusting such an important matter to him so readily suggests that in the future, this Divine General's power will be all-encompassing and surpass even the imperial authority.
“Your Majesty,” Zhong Shidao stepped forward and said, relieving the general of his predicament, “the Liao Kingdom has indeed harassed our Han lands many times since occupying the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun. However, these are all small-scale disturbances, and the local prefectures are able to deal with them on their own. This is not the most urgent war at present.” “However, in recent years, bandits have been rampant in several places, causing chaos among the people. Ensuring that the people can live and work in peace is the most important thing for the Song Dynasty.”
"I also believe that eradicating bandits is the most urgent task."
"We second that proposal."
Following Zhong Shidao's words, one minister after another quickly stepped forward to speak. On the matter of sending Wang Han on the expedition, the civil and military officials were largely in agreement: first suppress the bandits, observe the situation, and gradually demonstrate the value of the Divine General. Emperor Huizong clearly shared this sentiment. That's why he initially granted Wang Han the authority to mobilize 10,000 troops from various regions.
"What the ministers say is absolutely right." Emperor Huizong nodded and said, "Guards, quickly summon General Shenwei to court."
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