Taken aback, Li Shimin put down his teacup and laughed, "Xiao Qiang? What brings you here, kid?"
I laughed and said, "Brother Li, haven't you been eagerly waiting for me to come—has the princess of the Tang Dynasty been prepared for me?"
Fang Xuanling asked in surprise, "This... Your Majesty, you know each other?"
Seeing the prime minister, who was unaware that he had already stepped down to the second line, Li Shimin and I both laughed. Li Shimin said, "I not only know him, but I personally appointed him as prime minister."
Fang Xuanling paled and asked, "What about me?"
I reassured him, "Don't worry, Master Fang, I won't be staying long. I'll be leaving soon."
Fang Xuanling glanced at me gratefully, wiping his sweat repeatedly.
Li Shimin asked me, "Where are you going?"
I grabbed his hand and said, "Brother Li, I'm begging you."
Li Shimin chuckled and said arrogantly, "In the past, I could only bestow upon you an empty title, but things are different now. As long as it is within the territory of the Tang Dynasty, feel free to speak up if you have any questions."
I chuckled and said, "This matter probably falls outside the Tang Dynasty's borders."
Li Shimin said confidently, "As for foreign countries, our Great Tang also has a certain influence."
I simply said, "Lend me 500,000 troops."
...Half an hour later, Li Shimin, having understood the situation, said, "You mean to send our Tang Dynasty army to fight for the Song Dynasty?"
I said, "It's not about helping the Song Dynasty people, it's about helping me."
Li Shimin paced back and forth and said, "But Xiaoqiang, you should know that the standing army of our Great Tang is only about 500,000, or even less than 500,000."
I exclaimed in surprise, "Really? So little?"
Li Shimin said, "Now that I have only recently established my kingdom, it is a time for recuperation and development. The army should not be too large, and many soldiers also need to take care of farming. I'll lend you 500,000 coins; what if there's trouble on the border?"
I placed a phone on the table and said, "Easy. Just call me when the time comes, and I won't let you down. With just one call, I'll bring Qin and Xiang Yu's troops to cheer you on. Add to that the 250,000 men from Liangshan, and that'll be almost a million."
Li Shimin's eyes lit up and he asked, "Is this really true?"
"Would I dare to lie to the Emperor? Don't worry, this phone has no monthly fee, and it can keep running for 100 years as long as there's electricity. I keep it on 24/7, and we have our server on Liangshan Mountain, so the signal is guaranteed to be full strength..." It's such a waste that I'm not selling mobile phones!
Li Shimin thought for a moment and then said resolutely, "Alright, then I will lend you 500,000 people without worry. Don't forget your promise."
I realized that Li Shimin initially didn't want to lend me the money, but he was persuaded by my offer of reciprocity. While that might be a bit unfriendly, I have to admit he's a good leader. In this world, there are no permanent friends or enemies, only permanent interests. Whether he was acting for his people or for his own rule, he prioritized the greater good of the nation.
Li Shimin tapped his forehead and said, "There's one more thing. 500,000 men is no small number. Who do you plan to let command the troops? If you can't come up with a suitable candidate, I can't agree."
I chuckled and said, "Brother Li, you've forgotten, Brother Qin and the others are still with me."
Li Shimin was slightly taken aback, then readily agreed, "That's no problem. I'll wait for your news in three days, but I'll only bring 10 days' worth of rations."
What a stingy emperor! How did I end up with such a ruler? But I did the math. The journey from the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty is quite short. Ten days' worth of provisions means I have to resolve the issue within ten days of their arrival, which should be enough.
I stood up and said, "That's settled then, I need to hurry over to Old Zhao's."
"Old Zhao?"
"Zhao Kuangyin".
Li Shimin suddenly realized and smiled, "Oh, please give him my regards. If it's convenient, he's welcome to come and visit."
I said with a worried look, "I haven't figured out how to give him the medicine yet."
Li Shimin said, "If you can sneak into the palace, it will be much easier. We emperors usually take an afternoon nap. I've talked to Old Zhao, and he's the same. You can take this opportunity to put the medicine directly into his mouth."
I nodded thoughtfully, "Then I'll be going."
Li Shimin smiled and said, "I am currently in a difficult situation, so I will have Xuanling escort you. I hope Xiaoqiang won't blame Brother Li?"
Seeing the two of us chatting so recklessly, Fang Xuanling's eyes had been wide open for a while. Only now did he suddenly come to his senses and cautiously lead the way, saying, "Lord Xiao, please."
When we came out, I saw that Fang Xuanling looked very uncomfortable, so I grabbed his arm and said with a smile, "Lord Fang, the Emperor's personal appointment of me as prime minister was just a joke we made casually, don't take it to heart. I'm just an illiterate fool, if the Emperor really took a liking to me, then he wouldn't be Li Shimin."
Fang Xuanling shuddered—back then, Li Shimin's name couldn't be called out casually. But hearing what I said, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Actually, he could tell that I wasn't cut out to be prime minister, and now that I had laid my cards on the table, old Fang was finally at ease, his expression softened considerably, and he said with relief, "What are you saying, Lord Xiao?"
I quietly asked him, "The Emperor just said that there are only 500,000 standing troops in the whole country. Is that true?"
Fang Xuanling scratched his head and said, "It depends on how you look at it. Saying the standing stock is 500,000 is correct..."
I sensed something was off about his words, so I quickly said, "If you include the reserves, the number would be far more than that, wouldn't it?"
"Hehe, reserves, that's a new name. Not bad, adding reserves makes it more."
Approximately how many?
"The population is roughly around 2 million." Fang Xuanling saw that I posed no threat to him and was also a close friend of Li Shimin, so he spoke without any restraint.
I gasped, "Two million? What about their fighting strength?"
Fang Xuanling said, “Well, these people serve in rotation, and their combat effectiveness is at the same level. You could say that these 2 million people are all standing troops, or you could say that the 500,000 people currently serving are on-duty reserves.”
Li Shimin had a very clever plan in mind!
I said with a sly grin, "Mr. Fang, I'd like to ask you for a favor."
Fang Xuanling said firmly, "As long as Xuanling can help, I will do my best."
“You can definitely help. Didn’t the Emperor promise to lend me 500,000? Talk to him and ask him to add another 100,000 or 200,000.”