In the Purple Palace, Zhao Huan, who hadn't been seen for many days, made a rare appearance for the morning court. Frankly, this bastard emperor was truly incompetent. Unlike the wise rulers in history who worked tirelessly on government affairs, he was, like the incompetent rulers, obsessed with his harem and beautiful women.
According to Li Gang's previous temperament, he would have led the civil and military officials to the harem long ago. Fortunately, they now knew that although the emperor appeared to be incompetent, he was actually very smart. He simply pushed some government affairs to these regents.
Of course, this was risky; even the most loyal people had their own selfish motives. Faced with all sorts of temptations, it would be a lie for the four regents not to be tempted. Whether it was personnel appointments or other matters, they preferred to recommend those loyal to their faction.
This could easily lead to cliques and factions, but Zhao Huan had his own ways to deal with it. Li Gang and his team could handle reports on rice paddies, irrigation, grain taxes, and transport. However, after processing, the reports needed to be sent to the palace for Zhao Huan's review.
Zhao Huan would only occasionally draw a portion and then see if these people handled it well. If they did not handle it satisfactorily, Zhao Huan would scold them in the Wende Hall.
Li Gang had been scolded, He Li and Duan Rong were scolded as a daily occurrence. Even the incorruptible Meng Gu Rao had been scolded to the point of rage by Zhao Huan. These four regents were already treading on thin ice as they handled government affairs, and if Zhao Huan caught them making a mistake and brought them to the palace, they would be scolded.
Furthermore, the memorials handed to Li Gang and his men were merely copies, originally meant to be sent to the palace. However, Zhao Huan generally ignored them, being lazy. He would occasionally glance through them, primarily to prevent anyone from withholding them and concealing them.
Furthermore, when encountering major events, Li Gang and the other three would discuss and deal with them when Zhao Huan was away. If Zhao Huan was in the palace, the emperor would make the decision himself.
During the Ming Dynasty, there were several strange emperors who did not like government affairs. Some emperors even did not attend court for several years. However, the state machinery continued to operate normally, and it seemed to be running well. This is because they knew how to use Rao.
Zhao Huan was generally cautious about personnel appointments and dismissals. While he hadn't read many history books, he had watched plenty of cringeworthy TV dramas. To prevent cliques and illicit activities, he implemented a series of measures. For example, when Li Gang and He Lirong were appointed, Zhao Huan would usually send his Hu Yasi (official officials) to conduct a secret investigation. If he was certain there were no problems, he would not appoint them according to their recommendations.
For example, Li Gang suggested Zhang San be appointed as the Hexi Grain Transport Commissioner, while He Li suggested Li Si be appointed as the Hedong Grain Commissioner. Zhao Huan would then switch the two positions, appointing Li Si as the Hexi Grain Transport Commissioner and Zhang San as the Hedong Grain Commissioner. Of course, this couldn't be repeated all the time, as it wouldn't allow these ministers to figure out his tactics.
When Li Gang and his men discovered that the morning court sessions of the Song Dynasty were the same whether Zhao Huan was present or not, and sometimes things could be done better when the emperor was not around, they turned a blind eye to Zhao Huan's habit of staying in the palace.
However, Zhao Huan still felt a little guilty. Every time when he got up from the bed of a concubine at noon, he would sigh: "I am sorry for my ancestors, I have neglected state affairs, I feel guilty." But the second one was still the same as me.
I don’t know what happened to this morning’s court, but Zhao Huan actually presided over it himself.
"Long live His Majesty, long live His Majesty!" The ministers bowed in salute.
Zhao Huan nodded slightly. "Yes, I've made up my mind. I must strive for progress and not be decadent any longer. I feel so sorry for my ancestors and for neglecting state affairs. I feel guilty."
The ministers looked at each other in confusion, wondering what the emperor was up to. However, Zhao Huan immediately turned back to business: "Where is the Inspector of Military Equipment?"
Jiang Fan, the Military Equipment Supervisor, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty."
"Let me ask you, what is the current status of the firearms equipment in the armory?" Zhao Huan asked.
"Your Majesty, the Military Equipment Supervisor works day and night without fail. The current firearms can easily equip a hundred thousand men."
The ministers were buzzing with excitement. There were so many. Song Dynasty firearms referred to weapons like thunder bombs and lightning bolts, but there was also another type: the red cannon.
Zhao Huan nodded in satisfaction: "I want to know, has the red cannon been built?"
Jiang Fan hurriedly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, we have already manufactured over seventy red-coated cannons, and they are one-third lighter than the previous ones."
Zhao Huan was overjoyed. With over seventy cannons, there was no need to fight. With so many magical weapons, wouldn't it be possible to crush the Mongols all the way?
"Good! Kubule of the Mongol Empire tore up the Song-Mongol agreement and has repeatedly provoked our Great Song. As everyone knows, the Iron Wolf Army fought a brilliant battle in Shanxi, annihilating over 10,000 Mongol soldiers from Gert and capturing Quanzhou. This is a good thing for the Great Song, so I have decided to seize all of Western Xia in one fell swoop, return it to the territory of the Great Song, and drive the Mongols back to the grasslands to graze. I, have decided to lead the expedition myself! Conquer Western Xia!"
Imperial Guards Kang Huojian, Wang Zongchu, and Wu Ge were already impatient and eager to fight. Wu Ge was the first to speak up: "Your Majesty, I am willing to accompany you!"
Surprisingly, none of the ministers objected this time, likely believing that the emperor's personal expedition was a sure win. Instead, many began to flatter him, wishing him a successful start and a swift return.
"Wu Ge, listen to my orders. I order you to guard the capital and protect the foundation of the Great Song Dynasty. Kang Huojian and Wang Zongchu, you two will be my left and right vanguards and follow me into battle!"
Kang Huojian and Wang Zongchu were overjoyed: "We obey your orders!"
Wu Ge hung his head, looking dejected. It wasn't that Zhao Huan didn't want to use him; Wu Ge had made great contributions during the previous campaign against the Jin. Furthermore, Wu Ge had just given birth to a son, and his mother was seriously ill, so Zhao Huan wanted to keep him in the capital as a filial duty.
"The Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, the Privy Council, the Military Equipment Bureau, as well as the Imperial Guards Cavalry Department and the Imperial Guards Infantry Department, please all make preparations. I will also mobilize the Jingxi Army to set off together." Zhao Huan invested heavily this time, claiming that an army of 100,000 would be sent to Shanxi.
Among them were a 7,000-man heavy armor battalion, 20,000 divine arm crossbowmen, a 5,000-man firearms battalion, and a 30,000-man cavalry battalion. The rest were infantry phalanxes. The sheer scale of this military outpouring was unprecedented.
Zhao Huan's goal was clear: Shanxi would be the main battlefield. Hebula's men, frustrated in Quanzhou, would undoubtedly mobilize a large army to counterattack. This would leave Yue Fei relatively relaxed, and the Koreans would not dare to make any rash moves.
Although the newly appointed King of Goryeo, Li Ziqian, was controlled by the Mongols, he was also acting for his own purposes. At least for now, he was watching the fire from the other side of the river, and he wanted to first observe the game between the Song and the Mongols in Xixia.
If the Mongol Empire won and crushed the Song army, Goryeo would seize the opportunity to join forces with the Mongols in the north to attack Yue Fei's army from both sides. If the Song Dynasty won, he would have to think carefully about how to cooperate with the Mongols.
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