Tang Dynasty Mingyue Song Dynasty Pass

Chapter 812 The teacher returns to the court

Su Chen sat firmly in the city of Prince Xing, planning and commanding the overall situation. He sent two generals, Pan Chongche and Pan Mei, to attack Rongzhou, Qinzhou, Lianzhou, Yongzhou and other places in the southwestern border of Southern Han.

These areas are located deep in Guangxi and border Yunnan and Guizhou. Although the cities are small and the garrisons are weak, the journey is long and the mountains and rivers are blocked. If an army of 200,000 is sent to conquer them, the soldiers may become exhausted and sick, which will affect the march and the cost will outweigh the gain.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Su Chen decided to divide the troops into two groups, each with 50,000 elite soldiers, and within two months, they would clear these cities one by one, include them all in the territory of Wu, and unify the south.

For the two commanding generals, Pan Chongche and Pan Mei, this mission was just a test run and was easy and effortless.

But what Su Chen valued more was that this battle could temper the army and allow them to continue to accumulate military merits, so he let the two of them take full command and try to employ new people such as Yu Hou and generals, but he set three rules, strictly prohibiting burning, killing and looting, and making sure to enforce strict military discipline and win people over with benevolence.

"We will follow the orders of Marshal Su!" Pan Chongche and Pan Mei bowed and accepted the order.

Both of them are famous generals of the time, good at commanding the army and have good character. Su Chen naturally trusts them and is not worried about military discipline.

So, Pan Chongche and Pan Mei led their troops and marched towards the southwest.

Su Chen settled down in Xingwang Mansion, which is the city of Guangzhou, and immediately embarked on a series of reform measures: reform of the land system, expansion of the port and establishment of a shipping department. All of these were part of his strategic plan.

He was a down-to-earth man with a broad mind and a heart for the people. He was neither eager for quick success nor rigid in his actions. Instead, he adopted a strategy that was both positive and gentle, and gradually made the people of Lingnan accept and identify with his philosophy of governing the country.

Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, more than two months have passed. Su Chen has planned all matters such as the appointment of governors of various cities in Southern Han, the layout of garrisons, and the planning of the shipping department. He then sent envoys to deliver these results to Hangzhou City, the capital of the Wu State, to report to the court.

The Wu court was overjoyed upon hearing the news. Su Chen led his army to destroy the Southern Han, an achievement that even the former Southern Tang and Yue Kingdom had never achieved, but now it was achieved under Su Chen's leadership, which undoubtedly greatly enhanced his prestige and recognition in the court.

Important officials in the court, such as Han Xizai and Xu Xuan, were full of praise for Su Chen, and their words were full of respect and admiration.

  Yang Linger was also delighted when she heard the news.

She herself was not keen on power. Before, because of the restoration of the country, she was forced to be the ruler by General Lu and others. But she was a woman after all, and she did not have the ambition like Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, she herself felt that she should give the country to her sworn brother Su Chen in the future.

Moreover, this country was originally conquered by Su Chen. No matter whether it was the destruction of Chen Hongjin's forces in Quanzhou, the annihilation of Yue State, the repulsion of Song State's army, or the annihilation of Southern Han this time, it was Su Chen who fought outside in the south and the north, while Yang Linger stabilized the court in the rear. Now as Su Chen's reputation grows, he can be said to be the popular choice.

The court recognized all the suggestions made by Su Chen, and the appointment letter was soon delivered to Guangzhou, along with various commendations.

Su Chen smiled slightly when he saw a handwritten letter from Yang Ling'er. The letter showed Ling'er's thoughts and concern for him, praise for his contributions, as well as Ling'er's recent progress in learning, which made Su Chen feel warm in his heart.

Since his rebirth, Su Chen's love for Ling'er has grown day by day. He knows very well that the temptation of power can easily make people change their minds, but fortunately, Ling'er is not the kind of person who is greedy for power. Her indifference and innocence allow their relationship to maintain that rare purity and harmony.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, another two months have passed, the New Year has passed, and spring has begun. At this time, Pan Chongche and Pan Mei have joined hands to conquer several cities in the southwest and returned triumphantly.

Su Chen praised the two of them highly, and then began to prepare for the return trip.

Half a year had passed since the expedition, and Su Chen missed his family even more. The mission had been successfully completed, and he longed to return home and reunite with his family. He also hoped to return to the court as soon as possible to continue to consolidate his position and strength. After all, destroying the Southern Han was only the first step in his strategy to unify the south. Now that it had been successfully achieved, he should start planning a long-term strategy to confront the Northern Song Dynasty.

A few days later, the main force of the Wu army left Guangzhou City in a mighty manner, loaded with gold, silver, treasures, cloth, war horses, food, spices and other spoils, and embarked on the journey back to the capital, heading towards Hangzhou City.

Su Chen gained a lot in this campaign. Not only did he successfully destroy the Southern Han, but he also recruited Pan Chongche, the most famous general of the Southern Han. Pan Chongche fought side by side with Pan Mei. Both of them were talented in commanding troops, with strong martial arts and extraordinary wisdom. With the joining of these "two Pans" and the help of the great general Lin Renzhao, Su Chen's confidence in using troops in the north increased, and his chances of winning were much greater.

The army marched northward, and the soldiers of the three armies were all filled with joy. They knew that they would be promoted and rewarded generously for their outstanding military exploits.

In addition, Su Chen also mobilized some elite troops of the Southern Han. These soldiers were all unmarried men who were relatively less dependent on their hometowns. They would be taken to Jinling for training, hoping to become the backbone of the Wu army in the future battlefield. The 150,000-strong army was mighty, with flags fluttering and magnificent momentum. After half a month of arduous journey, they finally arrived outside the city of Hangzhou.

Yang Ling'er had already heard about the army's return, so she led the civil and military officials in advance, dressed in their best clothes, and went to the city to welcome them. In addition to the officials, there were also civilians who came spontaneously, and the number of people reached 100,000. The scene was spectacular and lively.

Su Chen was dressed in white armor, shining in the sun, and looked extremely handsome. He had an upright figure, and had lost the immaturity of his youth. Now at the age of 23, he had deliberately grown a short beard, which added a bit of ferocity and majesty to him.

When Yang Ling'er saw her sworn brother returning safely, a bright smile immediately spread across her face. She personally stepped forward to meet Su Chen, her eyes full of concern and joy.

"Your servant Su Chen pays homage to the King!" Su Chen bowed respectfully and called Yang Ling'er the King to highlight the distinction between the monarch and his subject.

Yang Ling'er did not claim to be an emperor, but rather the head of state, so everyone addressed him as the head of state. Upon hearing this, she quickly helped Su Chen up and said with a smile, "General Su, please stop being polite! This time, you have been on the expedition for half a year and have successfully pacified the Southern Han. This is truly an outstanding achievement and is admirable!"

Su Chen responded modestly: "This is all my responsibility, I dare not take credit for it. It is my honor to share the worries of the king and be loyal to the Wu Kingdom."

When many ministers saw that Su Chen responded modestly and without any arrogance, they liked him more and secretly praised him for being a benevolent ruler.

Han Xizai, Xu Xuan, Gao Yue and others all showed their relief when they saw Su Chen's high spirits.

They recalled that when they were in Southern Tang, they had placed high hopes on this young man. Now that they saw that he had grown into the backbone of the Wu State, they were filled with emotion.

Li Ping, Zhang Bo and other former Southern Tang new faction members, as well as the former Yue ministers, now had less resistance to Su Chen. They had already tacitly accepted the fact that one day, Su Chen would take over the power of Wu and ascend the throne as emperor.

"General Su, please enter the city!" After Yang Ling'er met Su Chen, she invited him into the city and prepared to personally confer a reward on him. Su Chen stationed his army outside the city, and then led the main generals into the capital of Wu. They ascended the throne to accept the imperial canonization and reward.

When the victorious army returned, the court would naturally reward them to encourage the soldiers to serve the country.

When Su Chen entered the city, the people cheered and sang songs to praise his great military exploits. People gradually gathered around Su Chen, and his prestige grew day by day.

Fortunately, Yang Ling'er was not an ambitious person and never thought of being an empress forever. Otherwise, in such a situation, suspicion would easily arise between the monarch and his subjects, and being more powerful than the monarch would often lead to a tragic end.

However, there is no such problem between Yang Ling'er and Su Chen.

After entering the Jinluan Palace, Su Chen explained the major events after this expedition to the king and the ministers one by one, and explained his views on changing the Xingwang Palace into Guangzhou City, setting up ports and shipping departments, and he spoke clearly. Some of his views were borrowed from the overseas strategies of the Tang and Song dynasties, and he added some wonderful ideas of his own.

Then, after he pacified the Southern Han, he brought back some gold, silver, jewelry, cloth, spices, grain, etc., especially the "Champa rice", which was particularly important. He told the court about the effect of rice being able to be harvested twice a year, which caused exclamations and praises from the court.

What Su Chen said was clear and easy to understand. It was much easier to understand than the long speeches made by officials who were used to writing classics and history. The ministers nodded frequently and understood some of his practices.

Su Chen's list was very clear, with explicit explanations of the purpose of each local measure, the effects it would produce, and the amount that could be increased. If it could be truly implemented, it was foreseeable that it would indeed increase Wu's tax revenue, enable the people to live and work in peace and contentment, and make the country rich and powerful.

"I never thought that General Su, in addition to his outstanding military exploits, had so many other achievements. I think these achievements are even more useful than destroying the Han Dynasty." Yang Linger exclaimed, and then ordered, "Come here, quickly select the rewards for General Su and other meritorious generals."

The eunuch chief Hu Zhongxian stepped forward and read the imperial edict. In the edict, Su Chen was conferred the title of King of Pingnan, General of the Nation, and Minister of the Chancellery. He was also allowed to wear a sword in the palace, which showed his noble status and supreme honor.

At this point, Su Chen's power and title in Wu State had reached an extremely high level. In the court, he truly became a person who was second only to one person and above ten thousand people.