In the next few days, Zhao Yan and Su Shi went to Jiaohe County almost every day, and sometimes they simply lived in Jiaohe County. This was because Zhao Yan wanted to make a batch of fermented tofu before leaving. First, let Zhang Zai taste the taste so that he could know it. Second, he could use these fermented tofu to persuade merchants to pay for the workshop.

Generally speaking, there are four steps to make fermented tofu, namely, make mucor grow on the tofu → add salt to marinate → add braised soup to bottle → sealed and marinated. The first three steps do not take much time. Generally speaking, it can be completed in ten to fifteen days, and it can be eaten as long as it is sealed and marinated for a few days. However, the longer the sealing time, the better the fermented tofu tastes. It is best to store it for a year before taking it out for consumption. At that time, the best taste is.

Unfortunately, Zhao Yan and Su Shi were unable to stay in Jiaohe County for a long time. It took five days to grow moldy tofu alone, and it took seven or eight days to marinate with salt. But just after pickling the moldy tofu, the team that Liao Kingdom came to greet him had reached the border, so Zhao Yan and the others had to leave. In this case, Zhao Yan had to hand over the next thing to Zhang Zai. As for whether it could be successful, it all depends on Zhang Zai.

The group of envoys is about to set off tomorrow. Zhao Yan came to Zhang Zai's county yamen house for the last time. He first looked at the fermented tofu with salt, and then tasted tea and chatted with Zhang Zai. Zhang Zai asked at this time: "Prince Prince, why didn't Brother Zizhan come with the Prince today?"

"The mission will set out tomorrow, and some things need to be prepared. Brother Zizhan, as the deputy envoy, just happened to have some things that he needed to deal with, so he couldn't come!" Zhao Yan replied with a smile. In fact, his words were half straight and half false. Although Su Shi was very busy today, he deliberately avoided the other party and came to Zhang Zai alone because he had an important thing he wanted to discuss with the other party, and it was not advisable to let Su Shi know about this matter.

"So that's it. Prince, you will leave the Song Dynasty tomorrow. Although the Liao Dynasty guarantees the safety of the mission, with the Liao Dynasty's attitude towards our Song Dynasty, some Liao people will be very arrogant. If the prince encounters such a person, don't bother with the other party. Everything is the overall situation first!" Zhang Zai then instructed Zhao Yan in turn. Since he came to Jiaohe County, he also understood the arrogance of the Liao people. In addition, he was worried that Zhao Yan was young and energetic, so he persuaded him like this.

"Haha, thank you for your reminder from Brother Zihou. But I have been prepared for this trip to Liao Kingdom and will not lose the big picture because of a small amount." Zhao Yan smiled and said, while hesitating in his heart how to raise the thing he planned in his heart?

But at this moment, Zhang Zai thought for a moment and suddenly spoke: "Prince Prince, I have a question, and I have always been very confused. Zizhan was here before, so I didn't ask much. Now I want to ask the Prince for advice!"

"Oh? What's the problem?" Zhao Yan was stunned when she heard this, so she had to put down the thoughts in her heart and asked.

"As far as I know, the reason why your mission of the Prince and your country was sent to the Liao Kingdom this time was mainly to celebrate the birthday of the Liao emperor. However, this kind of thing was enough for His Highness Ying to go to the Liao Kingdom. Why did even the Prince and the Prince serve as deputy envoy to go to the Liao Kingdom?" Zhang Zai stared at Zhao Yan with a bright look at him and asked. He had been hiding this question in his heart since he first met Zhao Yan, but he had never been able to ask.

When Zhao Yan heard Zhang Zai ask about the reason for his trip to Liao Kingdom, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. After thinking about it, he didn't hide it. He immediately wrote a letter to tell him about his trip to Liao Kingdom and his party on the condition that the Liao army did not build grass valleys for three years.

"It's too much!" After hearing Zhao Yan's words, Zhang Zai immediately slapped the table and said angrily. With his talent, he naturally could see at a glance that although the Emperor of Liao was called inviting Zhao Yan, he was secretly threatening.

Seeing Zhang Zai's angry look, Zhao Yan smiled bitterly again: "The Liao Kingdom was originally bullying people. Although Yelu Hongji promised to restrain the Liao army for three years, he would definitely not take it seriously. But even if he knew this, I had to go to the Liao Kingdom. Otherwise, in the next few years, the borders of our Song Dynasty would probably be harassed by the Liao Kingdom."

Hearing Zhao Yan's words, Zhang Zai stood up and bowed to him solemnly: "Prince Gao Yi, for the people of our Song Dynasty, it is a blessing for the people of our Song Dynasty to endure humiliation.

Zhao Yan couldn't help feeling a little fluttered when he was praised by Zhang Zai, but he quickly calmed down, especially thinking about the purpose of coming to find Zhang Zai today, so he thought for a while and said, "Brother Zihou, I'm here to find you today, mainly for another important thing, and I want to ask for your opinions."

"Oh? Please tell me!" Zhang Zai said curiously when he saw Zhao Yan's serious look.

"This matter is related to a secret matter. Except for me, my father and I, only a few people know it. But today I can tell you that at the beginning of this year, I and Yang Huaiyu, the son of the veteran General Yang Wenguang, jointly opened a military academy. The so-called military academy is an academy that specializes in training military generals for me in the Song Dynasty..."

Zhao Yan introduced the military academy in detail with a serious look on his face, and finally said to Zhang Zai: "The military academy is still in the forging stage and needs a large number of talents to join. Although I served as the school supervisor, I may not have much time to manage the affairs. As for Yang Huaiyu as the chief instructor, he still has to be responsible for the management of all aspects of the military academy, which is beyond his ability. Therefore, the military academy now needs a real person to coordinate management. I was still worried about this person, but when I met Brother Zihou, I immediately made me make up my mind that this important task must be Brother Zihou!"

Although the framework of the military academy was built, in fact, there were only three managers of Zhao Yan, Yang Huaiyu and Zhou Tong. Zhao Yan was not in charge of affairs. Zhou Tong had just joined the military academy and was taken by Zhao Yan as a bodyguard this time. In this way, Yang Huaiyu was left in the entire military academy, and he could be said to be too busy to manage nearly 200 students. Therefore, Zhao Yan had long wanted to find a few more people, preferably a management talent, and also know about military affairs. Zhang Zai was the most suitable candidate in front of him.

When Zhang Zai first heard the word "military academy", he immediately became energetic. After listening to Zhao Yan's words carefully, he slowly showed an excitement on his face. With Zhang Zai's knowledge, he naturally saw the meaning of the military academy at a glance. He also knew that if the military academy was allowed to grow, it would be possible to change the current situation of civil servants' group controlling the government in the future. However, he didn't care about these things at all, because he was a person with a broad mind and would not care about any gains and losses of interests, nor would he classify himself as a group. Even in his opinion, as long as it could be beneficial to the people of the world, it would not matter even if he was a peddler.

What's more, Zhang Zai has always been self-conceited and has not only been proficient in Confucianism, but also spent a lot of effort on military tactics. This is also the main reason why he can easily destroy the bandits in the county with the help of the village bravery. When he was young, he always dreamed of leading troops to destroy the Western Xia and the Northern Liao Dynasty. Although his knowledge has increased a lot, the heroic spirit in his heart has not yet been erased. The military academy proposed by Zhao Yan is very suitable for him. If he could personally train a group of future generals of the Song Dynasty, his dreams when he was young could be realized by these students.

Thinking of the above, Zhang Zai felt that his blood was boiling again when he was young, and he even wanted to agree to Zhao Yan's request now and then return to Tokyo to preside over the construction of the military academy. However, he was a very rational person. He soon thought of the situation in Jiaohe County. He couldn't help but remain silent for a long time. Finally, he said: "Your Majesty, the subordinates are very eager for this military academy, but the affairs of Jiaohe County have only been done halfway. If I leave now, I am afraid that the whole Jiaohe County will soon return to its original appearance. So please ask the prince to give the subordinates a period of time, at least I must solve the finances in the county, and then train the township warriors so that I can leave with peace of mind."

"No problem, I'm going to go to Liao Kingdom too. Do you think this is good? When I come back from Liao Kingdom, I will report your affairs to my father. At that time, as long as my father nods, I can send someone to take over your position as the county magistrate. At that time, Brother Zihou can also return to Beijing to assist me." Zhao Yan agreed generously. Zhao Yan was also very satisfied with Zhang Zai's ability to think of the people of Jiaohe County at this time, because it shows that the other party is a person who has a beginning and an end to work. He can hand over the military academy to someone like Zhang Zai to manage, which can also reassure him.

"Thank you for your understanding!" Zhang Zai said excitedly, but then he thought of something and said in a little embarrassed manner, "Prince, the situation in Jiaohe County is special, and the training of the village warrior also needs a commander of the army, so that he can resist the Liao army going south to capture Caogu, so the subordinate officials want to recommend one person to replace me."

"Oh? If you can get the recommendation of Brother Zihou, I believe this person must be extraordinary. I wonder who this person is?" Zhao Yan said with great interest.

"I'm ashamed to say that this person is the disciple of the Xiaguan. His surname is You, his name is Shixiong, and his courtesy name is Jingshu. He just passed the Jinshi exam last year. Uncle Jing not only learned everything, but also was very good at military affairs. With him as the magistrate of Jiaohe County, he could train the village warriors into a strong soldier and ensure safety in the area!" Zhang Zai said embarrassedly at this time. Although he did not avoid relatives, there were very few people who could do this. At least Zhang Zai could not do it completely now.

"Haha, this matter is easy to deal with, and the other party is from a Jinshi, so there is no problem with this!" Zhao Yan said with a smile. Although he did not have the power to appoint officials, he had also heard of You Shixiong. He was said to be one of Zhang Zai's most outstanding disciples, and he was also both civil and military. As long as he begs for such a talent from Zhao Shu, and the military academy is the top priority, so there should be no problem.

Zhao Yan was also very happy to get Zhang Zai, who was willing to assist in managing the military academy. After returning, Zhao Xu told Zhao Xu about this. As a result, Zhao Xu was very satisfied with it and even took charge of transferring You Shixiong to Jiaohe to replace Zhang Zai. Next, Zhao Yan and his team rested in Yingzhou for the last night. The next morning, the Song Dynasty delegation finally set off again and crossed the border and entered the territory of the Liao Kingdom. (To be continued) r655
Chapter completed!