Zhao Song: My father was Emperor Taizu of Song

Chapter 43 Valuable

That night, the stars twinkled, and a lonely crescent moon hung in the sky.

The former residence of Zhao Kuangyin when he was a prince is now the residence of Zhao Guangyi.

After Zhao Kuangyin ascended the throne, in order to show his trust in his younger brother, he specially cut off half of his former residence as a prince and gave it to Zhao Guangyi as a sign of favor.

As for the remaining half, it was left untouched. In the words of the Taoist priest, this was to prevent the dragon's energy from leaking out.

Of course, whether it's useful or not is another matter entirely.

Led by the servants of the mansion, Shi Zaixi hurriedly pushed open the study door with a solemn expression. Inside, the candlelight flickered, and Zhao Guangyi was frowning as he carefully examined a scroll of array diagrams.

Living in a chaotic world, how could Zhao Guangyi not know the importance of military strategy? He would study it often, but he had a particular fondness for battle formations.

"Your Majesty, news has arrived from the palace: Li Jun has rebelled!"

Before Zhao Guangyi could speak, Shi Zaixi hurriedly recounted the intelligence that Zhang Dejun had given him earlier that day.

"This is exactly what Your Majesty wanted." Zhao Guangyi smiled slightly, showing no surprise whatsoever.

The new dynasty had just been established, and his brother had seized the throne without bloodshed. If no one stepped forward to make an example of him, it would be difficult to control those arrogant and fierce soldiers.

Therefore, Li Jun's rebellion was something his brother had been eagerly anticipating.

"Your Majesty, there is another piece of news. Today, Pan Mei went to see the Emperor and claimed that he had discovered a rare book on military strategy in the marketplace. He presented it to His Majesty, who was immediately impressed by his talent and ordered Pan Mei to find the person who wrote it."

Shi Zaixi then quickly delivered the second piece of news.

This statement caught Zhao Guangyi's attention.

Zhao Guangyi closed the battle formation diagram, sat up slightly, and asked, "What book?"

"It is called 'The Romance of the Three Kingdoms'." Shi Zaixi took out the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" that he had specially bought from the bookstore that afternoon and handed it to Zhao Guangyi.

Zhao Guangyi flipped through it and examined it closely for a while, his eyes showing amazement. He even unconsciously repeated a certain sentence several times when he saw it.

"I'd rather betray the world than let the world betray me... That saying is truly..."

He only said half of what he had said before realizing that Seok Jae-hee was still beside him, so he stopped talking.

Shi Zaixi, however, misunderstood and said with a smile, "That's far too arrogant and conceited. No wonder Sima Yi usurped the Wei throne and established the Jin dynasty; isn't it just the cycle of cause and effect?"

Zhao Guangyi smiled noncommittally, but what he was thinking was:

"This isn't just arrogance; it's solid, undeniable reasoning!"

"This is a cannibalistic era. If I don't eat people, they will eat me. I can betray the world, but the world must never betray me!"

"Only such a person possesses the true nature of a ruthless hero and achieves great things!"

"Cao Mengde should be considered my senior!"

He himself didn't realize that, besides this statement, he also shared Cao Cao's fondness for married women.

Of course, they haven't dared to reveal it yet.

"Let's find a way to make the author of this book work for us!" Zhao Guangyi said solemnly, putting aside his many thoughts and closing the book.

After saying that, he paused, then added with even greater seriousness, "At all costs!"

He is at least a bit like his older brother.

That is the ability to recognize talent.

Historically, he was the one who discovered and invested in great talents such as Lu Duoxun and Lü Duan. Therefore, he was very confident that the writer's talent was worth making great use of!

My brother, you will certainly not let such a talent slip by. Similarly, if you can recruit him into your ranks in advance, it will be a great help to him.

"Here you are."

Knowing Zhao Guangyi's temperament well, Shi Zaixi understood the importance of the matter and was already scheming in his mind how to win this person over.

Wealth? Sex? Power?

There are only three types...

……

The next morning, Zhao Dezhao got up early.

Seeing that it was not yet time to pay respects, Zhao Dezhao picked up a stick from the side, went into the courtyard, and began his daily morning exercise.

In addition to military strategy, Zhao Kuangyin also passed on his Panlong Staff Technique and Changquan (Long Fist) to his son and Li Jilong.

Therefore, Zhao Dezhao's daily tasks have been expanded to include one more item.

The first thing he did upon waking up in the morning was to review his staff techniques and long fist techniques. He would practice for half an hour before going to pay his respects to Empress Dowager Du and Empress Wang.

It must be said that Zhao Kuangyin, as an emperor with the highest personal martial prowess, did have some skill in using a staff and fist.

After just half a month of training, Zhao Dezhao clearly felt that his physical strength and power had improved significantly.

In other words, he could beat three of his past selves now.

This shows just how terrifying Zhao Kuangyin's martial prowess must have been.

With a single dragon-patterned staff, Zhao conquered all four hundred prefectures and counties under his rule. This is not just a boast, but a testament to Zhao Kuangyin's hard work and dedication, fought his way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

"call……"

After letting out a long breath, Zhao Dezhao finished his morning exercise, washed up, went to pay his respects to the Second Palace, and then went straight to the Imperial Library.

Ludoson had been waiting at the pavilion entrance for quite some time.

The two arrived at the quiet room on the top floor one after the other. After sitting down opposite each other, Lu Duoxun could no longer hide the joy on his face and couldn't wait to say:

"Your Highness, the fish has taken the bait!"

"Besides Pan Mei, just before I entered the palace, my servant said there was another person who also wanted to see the writer of the book, and hinted that a noble person had extended an invitation!"

"Is this person named Shi Zaixi?" Zhao Dezhao raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Indeed." Ludoson paused slightly, then asked, "How did Your Highness know this?"

Zhao Dezhao smiled but offered no explanation.

Yesterday, after Zhang Dejun told him about Pan Mei's book donation, he had a sudden inspiration and asked Zhang Dejun to tell Shi Zaixi the news.

He was certain that, given his uncle's personality, if he discovered any talented individuals, he would be eager to recruit them.

Sure enough, just one night later, Shi Zaixi took the bait.

"Next, do as I told you. If someone comes to buy a book, sell each chapter for 100 strings of cash."

Zhao Dezhao confessed:

"If they come looking for someone, sell it to them for five times the price each time, and then tell them that Mr. Luo will naturally appear to talk to them after this book is finished."

At this point, Zhao Dezhao paused slightly, then said in a serious tone, "Remember, under no circumstances should you reveal your relationship with that bookstore!"

"Your Majesty, I understand. Please rest assured," Lu Duoxun replied hastily, while secretly clicking his tongue in amazement.

500 strings of cash each time, five times a day, that's 2500 strings of cash...

This Three Kingdoms story would need at least another sixty or seventy chapters, right? That means Pan Mei and Shi Zaixi alone could provide a whopping 6 strings of cash!

Lu Duoxun finally understood Zhao Dezhao's words:

Books are sold to those who want to buy them.

Lu Duoxun had no doubt that these people could come up with the money. Don't forget, in today's world, even the most powerful families don't have as much money as these Imperial Guard generals or princes and nobles.

Those who want to read about the Three Kingdoms are precisely the military generals.

These people are certainly not short of money; who doesn't have hundreds of thousands of strings of cash in their family?

They can afford to pay 100 strings of cash per chapter!

Those who are trying to find people are naturally trying to win over the forces behind them. Since it is a matter of winning over, why would they be stingy with money?

After all, in their minds, behind this book is a great genius!

A truly talented person deserves this price!

However, they weren't wrong; His Highness was indeed a rare genius!

Thinking of this, Lu Duoxun's gaze toward Zhao Dezhao became even more respectful.

"By the way, I have a task for you. If I succeed, it might earn me great merit with the Emperor. However, it's somewhat dangerous. I wonder if you..."

Before Zhao Dezhao could finish speaking, political gambler Lu Duoxun once again demonstrated his gambler's style, saying almost without hesitation:

"Your Highness, please speak freely!"