Traveling through time and space and becoming a deposed prince, he just wants to survive!

Chapter 196: Divorce plan

Wei Rong told Cui Bingzhong of the Ministry of Revenue and Lu Xiang of the Ministry of Works about his strategy in one breath.

Lu Xiang asked in confusion, "Prime Minister Wei, your strategy is excellent, but what does it have to do with my Ministry of Works?"

The Ministry of Industry is the agency responsible for managing national engineering affairs.

All civil engineering, water conservancy projects, machinery manufacturing projects, including military equipment, munitions, military equipment, and government-run industries such as mining, metallurgy, and textiles are under its overall management.

But all of this seemed to have nothing to do with war. Even the manufacture of weapons required the approval of the Ministry of War or the Emperor himself.

"Lu Shangshu, I need soldiers first, and they are well-equipped. I invite you here to ensure the combat capability of the weapons."

Cui Bingzhong understood Wei Rong's words. This would cost money and would definitely involve the Ministry of Revenue.

General Hong Kui of the Left Guard was in the capital. He stayed at home today and did not attend court. He arrived quite late. When he saw someone in the room, he greeted and sat down.

"Prime Minister Wei is usually in charge of the civil officials. Why did he call on us, the military commander, today?"

"I know the general has been preparing for war these days, so he must be short of weapons and armor!"

With the huge benefits thrown out, Hong Kui obviously became interested.

"What do you mean? Can Prime Minister Wei help me solve this problem?"

The reason why Hong Kui has not gone to Bingzhou to take up his post for so long is that he has received news that Bingzhou is currently being sponsored by several large families, while the border troops are having a very difficult time.

Food, weapons and other supplies sent to Bingzhou would be blocked at various levels along the way.

Although the government soldiers were provided by local finances, there were 300,000 troops on the east-west border of Bingzhou. The government soldiers were present everywhere in the rotation of guards over the years.

They are all for the garrison in Bingzhou, so we must not increase one while decreasing the other. We must also have the government soldiers that the border troops have.

As a result, an unwritten rule has been formed over the years that the local soldiers will take away 10% of the silver wages paid to the border troops.

The money and equipment, which were already limited, were exploited layer by layer, and finally only a few were left in the hands of the border troops. Moreover, the border troops also needed to rely on local tycoons for survival, so in a sense, the border troops and the local tycoons were in collusion.

Even if the palace knew about this, there would be nothing they could do. In a war, who dares to say who contributed less?

Cui Bingzhong coughed lightly upon seeing this and said, "The Ministry of Revenue will give you a sum of money tomorrow, enough for you to set off."

"Money alone is definitely not enough. The Ministry of Works will provide you with high-quality equipment. Submit a memorial tomorrow and I will deliver it to His Majesty for you."

Wei Rong gave an explanation at the right time.

There was another reason why Hong Kui delayed this matter, which was that Lu Junyi from the Ministry of War was his friend, and since the Lu family was taking the lead in this matter, he didn't want to be someone else's puppet.

"My Lords and General Hong, this matter cannot be delayed any longer. The Emperor has issued a secret decree that this matter must be handled properly."

At a banquet that evening, Wei Rong spoke earnestly at the table, revealing under the influence of alcohol who had instigated this matter, and he did not want to be the blame.

Hong Kui planned that this expedition and the gathering of troops in Bingzhou would not only help him obtain manpower but also earn him great merits.

Cui Bingzhong is still thinking about expanding the Bingzhou market, and he doesn't know what other means the current people will use.

Lu Xiang has a batch of weapons and armor that are scrapped or waiting to be remade. If someone wants them this time, he doesn't mind doing them a favor.

Several people have their own ulterior motives.

Since no one had any objection, Wei Rong didn't mind letting them meet Zhao Wei.

"Greetings, Your Highness..."

Everyone left happily after having a good meal and a drink.

A few days later, Hong Kui reorganized his troops, and left the capital in a mighty procession, carrying supplies such as pay and armor, heading towards Bingzhou.

……

After the battle of Weizhou, Zhao Sheng's weapons and ammunition were severely consumed. Although they now have to recycle and reuse bullet shells, the ammunition supply is still not timely in each battle.

"This time, I'll go back and reprocess the shell casings you replaced, and also send over the ammunition."

When leaving Weizhou, Zhao Sheng said to Zhao Long.

When we went to Guangchang County, we did not encounter Tuoba Jing's troops on the way. It was not until we arrived at the county town that we learned that they were also surrounded on three sides.

"My Lord, there's news from the military town. It's been lost!"

"Ah! Are you sure which team did it?" Zhao Sheng slammed the table and asked angrily.

"The military commander is probably from the Zhang family army. There is no evidence to prove it, but from the news coming from several sources, it seems that General Zhang has disappeared."

"It's another Lu family plot. Just because they were eliminated by the expressway, is this how the aristocratic family is taking revenge?"

Zhao Sheng didn't understand. Do aristocratic families really do things without any bottom line?

If he knew that the Lu family had caused this blunder in order to obtain the throne of the Eighth Prince, he would probably have vomited blood.

The situation in Guangchang County is not good, and the military town has been ambushed. It is definitely not possible to return to Dingzhou rashly. A foolproof strategy is necessary.

"The troops gathered around Guangchang County today belong to the Lu family. They've suffered a loss but haven't left yet?"

Zhu Yongzhen lost nearly 10,000 people, and Lin Wenshou almost died in the military town. It was only a few old soldiers who fought desperately and brought back the wounded general.

"Prince Consort, I will take the rest of the people to kill these Lu dogs."

Zhao Sheng looked at Xu Shaowu who was accompanying him. He had originally planned to let Xu Shaowu provide support, but judging from the attacks on the two places this time, this person was not suitable to be the commander.

Although Zhu Yongzhen suffered a loss this time, it does not necessarily mean that he is incompetent.

Draw out five thousand men from General Xu's army and recruit some others in the city to follow me to the military town. General Zhu and the county magistrate will still be responsible for the garrison duties in Guangchang County.

With 40,000 troops deployed, Zhu Yongzhen would only command Xu Shaowu on the surface, but Xu Shaowu had independent military authority. Although he could not act arbitrarily, his military intelligence work would never be silent.

It's impossible for them not to know what's happening around them, but...

Zhao Sheng didn't trust Xu Shaowu very much. Although he wouldn't surrender to the enemy, at least his attitude towards his comrades was such that he couldn't trust this man with his back.

"Send someone to Langya to deliver the information. Who do you think is suitable?"

After the task was assigned, Zhu Yongzhen was left behind after the people around him left. He had something to report to Chen Da.

"The right general Wan Jun, his thousand-household subordinates are more clever, let him come."

Zhu Yongzhen originally intended to promote people to support the left army, but Lin Wenshou was injured and had to recuperate for the time being, and the thousand-householder Cao Hu left in the city was unable to take over.

"Go and make the arrangements. I'll write the secret letter." Zhao Sheng waved his hand to let Zhu Yongzhen make the arrangements, while he himself sat down at his desk to write the secret order.

Li Hongjun was brought in by Wan Jun, and saw Zhao Sheng still writing a secret letter, so he waited outside the door.

"Come in. It's not top secret. I want you to send a team to deliver the information safely. Unless absolutely necessary, you must ensure the security of the secret letter. If necessary, you can destroy it, or you can convey it verbally."

Upon hearing this, everyone realized the importance of this secret letter and there was no need to keep it secret from their own people, so they had to make sure it was delivered.

"I'll give you a letter and a token. You'll arrange the people to go, and you'll decide how to divide the work on the battlefield."

After that, Zhao Sheng unfolded the letter, pointed at the contents and explained:

"Look at the words on the surface of this letter. It's a divisive tactic. The language is a bit confusing, but the meaning is clear. The combination of the first and last two or three words expresses the original meaning."

Then he pointed to the token and said, "This is what we need to pass on messages."

Li Hongjun looked at the things on the table and bowed, "Prince Consort, I know what to do!"

Zhao Sheng raised his eyes and looked at Li Hongjun with a smile, nodded and pushed the secret letter over.

"Go through it yourself and then do a good job of sealing it with paint."

Li Hongjun understood what Zhao Sheng meant, clasped his fists in agreement, and then left with the letter.