Tang Dynasty Mingyue Song Dynasty Pass

Chapter 813 Brother and sister talk again

Except for Su Chen, Pan Mei and all the generals under him were blessed by the emperor and received titles and rewards, and the whole army was very happy.

Although Liu Xiong, the last emperor of the Southern Han Dynasty, was captured and taken to the capital, Yang Ling'er was magnanimous and pardoned his crimes. He also granted him the titles of Jinzi Guanglu Dafu and Jianxu Taibao, and conferred him the title of Enshe Hou. The profound meaning of this move was obvious.

This was only because he wanted to show this to all enemy countries, that he could be lenient even to the incompetent ruler of Southern Han, in order to undermine the enemy's will to fight to the death, and to pave the way for Wu's future northern expedition to fight against Song, Northern Han, Liao and other countries.

After the court meeting ended, the civil and military officials gradually dispersed, except for Yang Linger, who stayed with Su Chen and went into the depths of the palace to reunite.

Away from the hustle and bustle of the court, the two of them got along more naturally and intimately, just like brother and sister. They sat around the desk in the palace, chatting about family matters and recounting every little detail and interesting things they had seen and heard during the past six months of battle.

"Brother Su Chen, I have heard frequent news of success in the capital. I know that you are a master strategist and a skilled commander, and you win every battle. I am so happy!" Yang Ling'er said with a smile.

Su Chen responded modestly: "It's all thanks to the collective efforts of all. General Pan Mei is a rare talent. His achievements this time are also outstanding and should not be underestimated."

"Brother Su Chen is still so humble!" Yang Ling'er raised the corners of her mouth. She was sixteen or seventeen years old, and her smile hid the charm and innocence unique to a girl.

As she grew older and had adequate nutrition, and as she practiced martial arts to improve herself, her figure became taller and more curvaceous. The skinny little girl of the past has transformed into a graceful and beautiful young lady.

Su Chen smiled slightly and said, "Humility makes people progress, and pride makes people fall behind. I am still young and cannot be complacent or arrogant. Otherwise, there will be no room for improvement."

"That makes sense!" Yang Ling'er nodded in agreement. Although Su Chen's words were simple, they contained deep meanings, which touched her deeply.

Su Chen asked: "Ling'er, are you used to staying in the palace?"

Because there was no one else in the palace, all the palace maids and eunuchs had been dismissed, so he could call her Ling'er. If there were outsiders, he could only call her the Lord.

If he was not careful with his words and actions in front of many palace maids and eunuchs, it would be spread out, and then it would bring a lot of trouble and negative comments to the two of them.

After all, at this time, the relationship between the monarch and his subjects still existed. As long as Su Chen had not taken over the country, he had to maintain the attitude of a subject in front of others. This was the rule in the ancient political power.

Yang Ling'er forced herself to raise the corners of her mouth, with a barely perceptible bitterness in her smile: "This palace looks magnificent and splendid on the outside, but it's like a cage on the inside, restricting people's freedom. Every day, memorials pile up like mountains, and court affairs come one after another, requiring constant discussions with ministers. Many times, I just listened quietly, watching the ministers express their opinions and argue endlessly. Fortunately, you, Brother Su Chen, have selected several military ministers for me in advance. They can put forward pertinent opinions on the handling of state affairs, so that I can rely on them when making the final decision. Whenever I encounter major resolutions, I will write a letter and send it to you for review to ensure that all progress is in accordance with the strategic deployment you secretly instructed." Su Chen nodded, understanding Ling'er's pressure, because as the king of a country, the workload is too heavy, and these ministers are as shrewd as foxes, and it is really not easy to fool them.

Even if he were in his place, if he did not have a thinking consciousness and ideological cognition that was a thousand years ahead of this era, he would not necessarily be better than these ministers, let alone their solid knowledge of Confucian classics.

"Thank you for your hard work, just hold on for a few more years!" Su Chen said softly.

Yang Linger looked at Su Chen and understood what he meant. Perhaps in a few years, when Su Chen realized his dream of a northern expedition, he would take over this important task.

"Brother Su Chen, are you really going to attack the Song Kingdom in the north? They are very powerful. I heard that Emperor Zhao is not only skilled in martial arts, but also an expert in commanding troops and fighting. He is currently leading his troops to attack the Northern Han. According to our intelligence, the Song Kingdom has twice as many soldiers as us, with strong troops and horses and a rich treasury. In comparison, our strength is indeed slightly inferior."

There was some worry in Yang Linger's tone. She had heard Su Chen's strategic idea about unifying the north and the south and achieving great things. To her, this goal seemed too grand and unattainable.

She once had a simple wish: to lead the descendants of Heiyundu back to the land, capture several cities, revive their homeland, and establish a separatist regime in one area, so as to ensure their survival and not be wiped out by foreign enemies. In this way, she could fulfill the wishes of the descendants of Heiyundu and also reappear the glory of the ancestors of Yang and Wu.

However, she never imagined that Su Chen, with his powerful force, led his army to successively destroy the Kingdom of Yue, repel the Song army, and take over the territory of Southern Tang. Now he has destroyed Southern Han and unified the south. His achievements are so outstanding that no one can match him.

However, even at this point, she noticed that Su Chen seemed to be still unsatisfied, and had a great ambition to unify the country. This made Yang Linger worried that Brother Su Chen's goal was too big, and that it might be an unrealistic fantasy that would lead to disaster.

Su Chen said solemnly: "I want to do this to speed up the process of historical unification and stop the division. Otherwise, the more separatist regimes there are, the more courts there are, and wars will continue to break out. In order to increase their strength and protect themselves, each court has continuously increased the corvée and taxes of the people, and the people of the world have no good life. Only when we achieve unification and eliminate wars can we promote civil governance, reduce taxes, and let the people live and work in peace."

"I don't hate Song, nor do I resent Emperor Zhao. In fact, I admire Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of Song. He is a man of great talent and strategy. But we have different positions, so there must be a war. Our Wu and Song are facing each other from north to south. Even if we don't provoke them, Song will lead its army to attack us in the future. How can we let others sleep soundly on our bed? Even if our generation can stop them, our next generation may still perish. So, it's better for me to try to deal with Song, and let our Wu take control of the world, govern the nine provinces, and create a peaceful and prosperous era!"

When Su Chen said these words, he had great compassion and great ambitions in his heart, and they were definitely not for his own selfish interests.

After Yang Linger finished listening, she seemed to understand something. She knew that there would be an inevitable decisive battle between Wu and Song. "I understand, Brother Su Chen, just give it a try. I will be at the back and will support you unwaveringly!"

"Okay!" Su Chen's eyes flashed with determination, "Just give me another three years, and perhaps our overall national strength will be able to keep pace with the Song Kingdom, or even surpass them."

His tone was full of confidence because he brought back Champa rice, a crop that could be harvested twice a year and greatly increase grain production. At the same time, he also planned to develop various commercial workshops to promote foreign trade and increase national wealth. In addition, with the population growth after the unification of the south, more able-bodied men could be selected to bolster the army. The gap between them and the Song Dynasty would gradually narrow, and the future was promising.