At the end of the meeting, the cavalry soldiers each received their respective rations.

The army is about to depart, and the monarch and the commander say their final goodbyes.

Li Zuodao: "King, as long as there is no accident, there will be good news before the beginning of the year!" ”

Zhao Xie said: "Li Aiqing, I wish you a victorious start, and the widow is waiting for good news!" ”

After saying goodbye, Li Zuoche stepped on his mount and led seven thousand cavalry to set off, and the war horse galloped forward at a medium speed.

The remaining 40,000 foot soldiers are waiting for the time being, and after all the grain and grass baggage are ready, under the command of Du Zhen and Meng Tong, they set off in an orderly manner and march forward on foot, with the grain and grass baggage behind.

In this era, the Zhao and Yan kingdoms used the Yishui River as the territorial dividing line.

It is about 700 miles from Xiangguo to Yishui River, more than 200 miles from Yishui River to Jicheng, and the distance between the capitals of Yan and Zhao is close to 1,000 li, and the cavalry marches normally, which is expected to take three days.

War horses must stop and rest every time they run, and long-distance marches can not run at full speed, long-distance running speed is generally more than ten to twenty kilometers per hour, and they must rest at night, under normal circumstances, they run three or four hundred miles a day.

——————

The next morning, Zhao Qian left the palace, got into a carriage, and went to the mansion of Guangwujun.

The entourage consisted of two personal maids (named Qiu Ju and Xing'er respectively), a doctor, and thirty Praetorian Guards.

"Meet the Queen!"

Mrs. Li and Li Zhiqi saluted Zhao Qianchang.

Li Zuoche's daughter was sick and resting in the bedroom, Zhao Qian went in to visit after a little greeting, and ordered the doctor to check, fortunately there was no major problem, but she still needed to rest for a few days.

"The little girl is just a little sick, and Queen Lao is worried!"

"Madame, don't be polite, your husband works hard for the country, braves the cold winter expedition, and has no time to take care of your family, I will come to visit you on behalf of the king."

Zhao Qian is approachable, does not put on a show, and came to Li Zuoche's house twice, and can already talk about it.

At noon, Zhao Qian stayed here to eat, which was cooked by Mrs. Li.

During the meal, Li Zhi shouted: "Queen, when I grow up, I want to lead troops to fight like my father and sweep away the enemy for the court." ”

Although he is not very old and seems innocent, this belief has long been engraved in his heart.

Zhao Qian touched his head and said with a smile: "Ambitious!" You need to learn the skills to be able to gallop like your father. ”

Li Zhidao: "In order to be like my father, I either read military books or practice martial arts every day. In terms of the art of war, even those generals in the imperial court may not be able to compare with me! ”

He patted his chest as he spoke.

Zhao Qian nodded approvingly and said, "In another four years, you will be able to serve in the army and serve the imperial court!" ”

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhao Qian felt uncomfortable in her stomach, and then she became nauseous and vomited.

Seeing this, the maid standing behind stepped forward to help the queen.

Qiu Ju was puzzled and said: "Queen, hurry back to the palace and let the doctor take a look!" ”

The doctor who followed him returned to the palace after treating Li Zuoche's daughter.

Zhao Qian was puzzled: "I don't know what's going on, I'm sick if I'm fine!" ”

Xing'er said: "Queen, the slave thinks that maybe you are pregnant!" ”

Zhao Qian was stunned and asked, "Xing'er, you can't be mistaken!" ”

Xing'er said: "I heard my mother say that soon after becoming pregnant, many will be like you now, queen. ”

Mrs. Li said: "That's right, eighty percent is pregnant, hurry back to the palace and let the doctor take a look!" ”

Even though she was not feeling well, Zhao Qian was also happy, she had been married to the king for several months, and her stomach had not moved, but now she finally reacted, thinking that she must be pregnant!

Xing'er helped Zhao Qian out of the mansion and got into the carriage.

The carriage headed in the direction of the palace, and the Praetorian Guards followed along the way.

After returning to the palace, the doctor was immediately called over and gave Zhao Qian a pulse.

The doctor's finger tapped on the pulse of Zhao Qian's wrist, looking attentive, which was to make a diagnosis based on the pulse.

Zhao Qian was very nervous, hoping that she was really pregnant, not sick.

After a moment, the doctor's fingers left Zhao Qian's wrist.

Before he could speak, Zhao Qian asked urgently, "Doctor, am I pregnant?" ”

The doctor said, "Congratulations to the queen, you are indeed pregnant!" ”

That's great! Zhao Qian was so excited that she burst into tears.

Xing'er on the side wiped the tears on her face with a handkerchief in time.

After the doctor told Zhao Qian in detail about the precautions during pregnancy, he left the dormitory.

Xing'er said happily: "Congratulations to the queen, you are about to become a mother, if the king knows this, he will be very happy!" ”

Qiu Ju also said that he was happy.

Xing'er said again: "Queen, it's better for the slave to go and tell the king about this!" ”

Zhao Qian said: "The Great Kingdom is busy, don't bother him, I'll know when I come back at night!" ”

In the morning, Zhao Xie told Zhao Qian that he was going to the military department.

Xing'er said: "Queen, wouldn't it be better to let the king know as soon as possible and be in a good mood to deal with official business!" ”

Zhao Qian thought about it and agreed to Xing'er's proposal.

In feudal society, pregnancy and childbirth were happy events, and if a boy was born, it was even more joyful.

Apricot came out of the palace, got into a carriage, and the coachman drove the carriage to the military headquarters under the protection of four Praetorian Guards.

Xing'er and Qiu Ju, as the queen's personal maids, even if they go out alone, they are protected by the Praetorian Guard.

After arriving at the military department, he learned that King Zhao was not here, and the people inside said that King Zhao had gone to the weapons workshop.

Xing'er got into the carriage again and rushed to the weapons workshop.

——————

In the territory of Zhao State, there are several weapon workshops, one of which is in the city of Xiangguo, built in the west of the city near the city wall.

Zhao Xie went out with Zhao Qian in the morning, each had his own business, Zhao Qian went to Li Zuoche's house, and Zhao Xie went to the military department.

When he was in the military department, Zhao Xie had a detailed understanding of the recent situation.

Previously, Zhao Xie had issued an order to recruit 20,000 soldiers from among the slaves of the rich and powerful, and the conscription has now been completed. Now the Zhao army has 100,000 recruits, plus veterans, a total of more than 210,000 people.

With so many soldiers being conscripted, food expenditures have increased dramatically, and the current food stock is only enough to last until February next year.

And the increase in the number of troops means that the agricultural labor force will decrease, and the grain harvest will definitely decline next year, and the large-scale conscription of soldiers can only be a short-term act, and in the long run, the imperial court will be dragged down.

Fortunately, Qi was willing to sell grain to Zhao, and the two sides had determined the amount of grain and the amount of the transaction, and agreed to trade at the border in the middle of next month.

After a comprehensive understanding of the situation of the military department in the morning, Zhao Xie had a hurried meal at the military department and came to the weapons workshop for a field investigation.

It was freezing outside, but it was very warm when you entered the workshop, and there were many furnaces used to forge weapons, and the sound of blacksmiths making weapons was incessant.

This weapon workshop has a large area and can be crafted with two types of weapons.

One is melee weapons such as halberds, spears, and swords;

The other is crossbows, which include individual crossbows and bed crossbows with a longer range and larger volume.