Chapter 131

Xu Zhan, the Imperial Commander-in-chief, quickly said, "The Chancellor is right. Last year we crushed the barbarians thoroughly, so they have been much tamer this year. If Your Majesty grants me more troops again, I guarantee I will slaughter them without leaving a single armor by next autumn!"

"You only know how to fight and kill," Liu Ling shook his head. "You want Me to provide more troops, and I also want to give you more. But tell Me, how much food does an army of 100,000 consume every day? The drought has just ended, and the crops in the fields have not been harvested yet. Where can I get food to feed this army?"

"This..." Xu Zhan lowered his head in embarrassment. "Your Majesty's words make perfect sense."

"Let's recuperate for two years," Liu Ling said. "Fighting every year is tiring. It's time to rest."

Hearing his intention to prepare for a ceasefire, although dissatisfied, Xu Zhan did not dare to say more.

"Do you have anything else to say?"

It seemed there was nothing more to discuss.

Just as the Chancellor and the Imperial Commander were about to take their leave, the Left Chancellor Song An suddenly said, "Your Majesty, I have a minor matter to report."

"Let's hear it."

"It's like this," Song An said. "Some days ago, an ingenious contraption was sent from Yizhou Prefecture. I found it quite interesting and wanted to show Your Majesty."

Liu Ling's face clouded with displeasure.

Although old, he still wanted to govern diligently and did not indulge much in pleasures.

And Song An had always been dedicated to state affairs, never trying to curry favor. Why was he going against his nature today, wanting to show some ingenious toy?

The changes in Liu Ling's expression did not escape the keen eyes of the Right Chancellor Zhu Zilin.

Although he was the Right Chancellor, with higher status than Song An, Zhu Zilin knew that Liu Ling's most trusted person was probably still Song An.

He and the Crown Prince had covertly set traps for Song An many times, but the Emperor had gently helped Song An overcome them each time.

Even when his nephew Song Feng was clearly guilty of embezzling official silver, just to accommodate Song An's affections, he had only demoted Song Feng to the county magistrate of Yizhou, without stripping his official rank.

Such favor was enough to make Zhu Zilin envious and jealous. So today, catching Song An's pigtail, how could he not take the chance to provoke him?

"Chancellor Song, this is where you've done wrong," Zhu Zilin said. "Don't you know that His Majesty has never cared for such things?"

"The Right Chancellor is right," the Crown Prince Liu Chen chimed in. "And Father is frail and needs rest and recuperation. How can he be bothered with useless trifles? Let's forget about this matter and dismiss the court."

Hearing their words, Liu Ling's gloomy expression suddenly cleared up again.

"Don't be hasty," Liu Ling said. "Song, bring what you mentioned for Me to see."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Zhu Zilin and the Crown Prince exchanged glances, full of resentment.

To accommodate Song An, the old Emperor had openly rejected their advice in front of everyone, not giving them any face at all.

Soon, some eunuchs brought in a tricycle and a bicycle to the garden.

Never having seen them before, everyone looked on curiously.

"Song, what are these?"

"This is called a bicycle," Song An explained. "Powered by manpower, its speed can surpass an average warhorse."

"This thing can outrun a horse?" Xu Zhan laughed upon hearing this. "Chancellor Song, you must have been tricked. Also, one of them only has two wheels. I reckon it can't even stand steadily, let alone run."

"That's the ingenuity of the bicycle," Song An said. "Not only does it not fall over with two wheels, it can run even faster than the three-wheeled one."

"Hahaha..." Xu Zhan laughed loudly, his face turning red. "Let someone try it now. I want to see today how one rides this bicycle."

Song An signaled, and a eunuch immediately brought out the bicycle, pedaled twice, and leapt on.

To prepare for today's "performance", Song An had already trained him for months, so the eunuch rode with great familiarity.

Not only could he accelerate over short distances, when he reached the wall, he could perform a beautiful emergency stop with one foot on the ground, turning the bicycle around in the blink of an eye.

Seeing the eunuch's wonderful display, Xu Zhan's eyes opened wide in astonishment.

"It really doesn't fall over? What principle is this?"

"Haha, Commander Xu," Song An laughed. "The bicycle not only does not fall, it is also very nimble. And it costs very little, at most a dozen or so taels of silver. More importantly, it requires no fodder."

The others immediately realized the implications. Requiring no fodder meant huge annual savings in expenditure.

"But it still cannot replace warhorses," Xu Zhan said. "One cannot possibly fight battles riding this."

"I didn't say you should use it for fighting," Song An said. "But what about using it to transport troops and provisions? The two-wheeled bicycle doesn't carry much, but the three-wheeler can bear heavy loads, easily 300-400 catties per cart.

Xu Zhan listened more convincingly. This would indeed help logistics.

But eventually he shook his head: "It's useless in the rain."

"You're right, that's also a shortcoming of bicycles," Song An said. "While unsuitable for military use, they can still be used by civilians. Now countless small merchants and peddlers in Yizhou are already using bicycles for business."

Everyone understood the importance of commerce.

The more active the merchants, the faster money circulates, and the more taxes collected, strengthening the nation.

Hearing this, Liu Ling nodded slightly. "Which ingenious artisan made this?"

"Replying to Your Majesty, this was invented by the village woman Li Yao from He Wan village, Baichuan County, Yizhou."

At the mention of Li Yao's name, the Right Chancellor's expression shifted subtly.

He finally understood Song An's abnormal behavior today.

The memorials from Yizhou, especially those concerning Li Yao, had all been suppressed by him on the excuse of "too trivial to bother His Majesty".

It seemed Song An today wanted to expose this matter.

"You said a commoner woman?"

"Has Your Majesty not heard of the name Li Yao?" Song An asked.

"What is the Chancellor implying?" the Crown Prince Liu Chen said. "His Majesty cares for all under heaven. How would he know a commoner's name?"

"You're right, I overthought," Song An said. "I merely heard that the county magistrate Song Feng had submitted several memorials, trying to reward the commoner woman Li Yao for her achievements. I assumed His Majesty would have some impression after reading them."

Liu Ling frowned. "Reward for what achievements?"

"This..." Glancing at Zhu Zilin, Song An hesitated. "Your Majesty, this is not within my responsibilities. Perhaps the Right Chancellor should explain."

Zhu Zilin resented inwardly that Song An had pushed the matter to him.

But feigning ignorance would be dereliction of duty.

So he reported: "Your Majesty, Song Feng did send some memorials, but I deemed them trivial matters, so as not to disturb You. However, I have instructed the Prefect of Yizhou to commend Li Yao."