The old fox, Zhao Pu, who was able to regain his position after being dismissed several times, truly had a way of adapting to circumstances that few could match.
"Oh? It seems you old fellows haven't gone senile after all. In that case, supervising the execution will be your responsibility!"
"Do a good job, I'm counting on you~"
Li Shimin walked up to Zhao Pu, patted him on the shoulder twice, and said with a playful smile.
Zhao Pu was stunned. He had thought he could extricate himself from this matter, but it ended up falling on him after all.
If the news of him supervising the execution of Pan Renmei reached his aunt, Concubine Pan, who knew how much she would speak ill of him to the Emperor.
After hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth, made up his mind, walked up to Zhao Guangyi, bowed, and said.
"Your Majesty, Pan Renmei disregarded the safety of the border for personal revenge. His crime is equivalent to colluding with the enemy!"
"According to the law, his entire clan should be exterminated!"
"I request Your Majesty to issue a decree to depose Concubine Pan!"
Strike first to gain the advantage, strike later to suffer. Since he couldn't avoid supervising the execution, he might as well strike first and depose Concubine Pan, saving himself from her machinations later.
Zhao Guangyi stood there dumbfounded. It had escalated to the point of deposing a concubine?
Thinking of Concubine Pan's slender waist and her captivating allure in bed, he couldn't bear to part with her.
"Bang!"
Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, Li Shimin kicked him.
Zhao Guangyi stumbled and fell to the ground. Seeing Li Shimin's disappointed gaze, he quickly got up and said.
"Depose! Depose! You immediately draft a decree and send it back to the capital by swift horse!"
"Useless for not beating you!" Li Shimin cursed disdainfully and turned to walk towards the front hall of the yamen.
The group stayed in Huanzhou City for two days. Pan Renmei and Zhang Shen were deposed, and Yang Jiye naturally became the new Grand Marshal.
His injuries were treated with a first-aid kit by Wang Xuance. As soon as he recovered slightly, he requested to lead troops to take the initiative to attack.
After Zhao Guangyi ascended the throne, he had also taken the initiative to attack to showcase his military prowess.
However, the result of that battle was being chased by Empress Dowager Xiao of the Liao Dynasty.
Since then, the fellow had become timid, focusing on formations and never mentioning personally going into battle again.
Therefore, he was hesitant about Yang Jiye's request.
Li Shimin and Fang Er were fishing by a lake outside the city when this fellow scurried over.
"Your Majesty Emperor Taizong~~"
"Keep your voice down!" Li Shimin pointed unhappily at the float and then turned to him, "What is it!"
Zhao Guangyi quickly lowered his voice, leaned in, and said, "Your Majesty Emperor Taizong, Marshal Yang has requested a decree to attack proactively. Do you have any instructions?"
Li Shimin slapped him directly, "Instructions for your grandpa!"
"You are the Emperor of the Great Song. Do you need to ask me for advice before going to war? Is your head filled with shit?"
Zhao Guangyi: ~~~~~
What emperor gets beaten up every day?
Fang Er looked at his wronged expression and said, "Father, you are an emperor who has conquered the world from horseback. The Song Emperor must be seeking guidance from you."
Zhao Guangyi nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes, yes, Duke Fang is exactly what I was thinking. I humbly request Your Majesty Emperor Taizong to bestow your wisdom!"
Li Shimin put down his fishing rod and looked at him again with a gaze full of disappointment.
"Leave professional matters to professional people!"
"War is Marshal Yang's profession. You come to ask me instead of him. Were you kicked in the head while riding a donkey cart?"
Zhao Guangyi was so choked that he couldn't speak, his face turning red and then purple.
In the Battle of Gaoliang River, the Song army was scattered by the Liao army, and he himself was hit by two arrows.
Because the arrows hit him in an awkward place, he couldn't ride a horse and had to flee south in a donkey cart. This incident left him with a psychological shadow regarding the battlefield and became a stain on his reign as emperor.
After a while, he finally mustered up the courage to speak again, "Your Majesty Emperor Taizong, I, I have a presumptuous request. Can you sell some of that to me?"
"I believe with this, Marshal Yang will be able to achieve a great victory in his expedition."
"After all, the Song Dynasty inherited from the Tang Dynasty. You wouldn't want to see your soldiers sacrifice themselves in vain, would you?"
Li Shimin turned his head and stared at him intently upon hearing this.
Did this fellow want to get his hands on the guns and then shoot him in the back?
"Why do I feel like you're trying to get revenge? Have I been hitting you too lightly these past two days, making you bold enough to set conditions?"
Zhao Guangyi's face immediately lost all color, and he knelt down with a thud.
"Your Majesty Emperor Taizong, it's a misunderstanding, a complete misunderstanding!"
"You are a wise ruler of all ages. Being personally trained by you is a great fortune. How could I harbor any thoughts of revenge?"
"How about you hit me again?"
Considering the casualty rate of wars fought without firearms and the current power of the Great Tang, Li Shimin's heart softened. He beckoned Fang Er to his side.
"Anzhi, do you think you can give him the guns?"
Fang Er replied almost without thinking, "Yes, as long as he can afford the price!"
It wasn't that he trusted Zhao Guangyi completely, but rather that he had confidence in Wang Xuance and others.
With them guarding the surroundings, even if Zhao Guangyi had firearms, he wouldn't have a chance to shoot him and Li Shimin.
Moreover, he didn't plan to stay in this era for too long.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Guangyi immediately guaranteed, "Duke Fang, please name your price. As long as I have it, just say the word, and I promise to have it delivered immediately."
Fang Er smiled slightly and then extended a hand.
Zhao Guangyi flinched back several steps in fear, saying in shock, "Where have I offended Duke Fang? Please speak frankly."
Fang Er was speechless, "What are you thinking? I mean, five hundred taels of silver per gun, and an additional one hundred bullets for each gun."
"Five, five, five hundred taels?" Zhao Guangyi's expression was somewhat shocked.
"What, is it too expensive?" Li Shimin rolled his eyes at him contemptuously.
Zhao Guangyi waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, no, no, I didn't expect it to be so cheap. If possible, I'd like to buy a thousand guns, what do you think?"
Damn it, did I set the price too low?
Fang Er felt like he had eaten a live fly, feeling extremely depressed.
But since he had already said it, it would be too embarrassing to raise the price now.
"Since you've already said it, I'll sell you a thousand guns."
"However, since it's for use against Liao, let's invite Marshal Yang over. I'll teach him how to use them."
The workshop's production of AKs had never stopped. Fang Er had at least three thousand rifles in storage that could be retrieved at any time.
As for bullets, they had long since been unlocked in the open mall. He could get as many as he wanted.