Do you know: I am Yuan Wenshao

Chapter 214 Zhao Ceying

Empress Shen frowned slightly when she heard this and said: "Your Majesty, Congxing and Zou have a very close relationship. Wren just passed away, so I'm afraid he would be reluctant to renew their relationship. And I also asked him before, Congxing's It means that I want to marry Zou’s sister.”

Zhao Zongquan waved his hand and said: "Today is different from the past. Congxing is now the uncle of the country and a dignified marquis. How can the Zou family be worthy of him? If Congxing promotes the Zou family, let her be a side wife. That’s it.”

"But Mr. Zou died to save me after all, and I also heard that the British father-in-law was very attached to this little daughter. If he let her continue the relationship, the British father-in-law would not be happy. If your majesty wants to get married, it is better to let Ying'er Marry her." Queen Shen said.

Although the Zou family is not of high status, their appearance is not inferior to that of some ladies from famous families.

Not only is she harmonious with Shen Congxing, but she also has a very good relationship with her sister-in-law.

Zou died trying to save her, and before he died, his thoughts were with his two sons.

Empress Shen felt that Shen Congxing's continued marriage to Mrs. Zou's sister was not only good for the two children, but also repaid the Zou family's kindness.

Of course, she also knew Zhao Zongquan's purpose in letting Shen Congxing marry the British government.

So he proposed to let Zhao Ceying marry the daughter of the British duke.

In her opinion, Zhao Ceying is more suitable than Shen Congying. After all, Zhao Ceying is the eldest son, the future prince, and the future emperor.

If Zhao Ceying marries the British Duke's daughter, the British Duke will be loyal to their family.

"No!" Zhao Zongquan objected with an ugly face without even thinking about it.

It is indeed more suitable for Zhao Ceying to marry the daughter of a British duke than Shen Congxing. However, given the British duke's prestige in the military, if Zhao Ceying's identity is added to the equation, he will not be able to sleep if the two become husband-in-law.

Although Shen Congxing is Zhao Ceying's uncle, there seems to be no difference between Shen Congxing's marriage and Zhao Ceying's marriage.

But actually the difference is huge.

Shen Congxing married the daughter of the British Duke. If Zhao Ceying wanted to rebel, Shen Congxing would probably help, but the British Duke would not interfere.

If Zhao Ceying is allowed to marry, Shen Congxing and the British Duke will help him if he wants to rebel.

Although Zhao Zongquan felt that Zhao Ceying would not rebel, he was young now, only in his 30s, and he felt that it would be perfectly fine for him to be emperor for another few decades.

Can Zhao Ceying be willing to be the prince for decades?
This was also the reason why he did not make Zhao Ceying the crown prince after he ascended the throne.

"Why?" Queen Shen asked.

Although she was from a low background and had no scheming ideas, Zhao Zongquan's reaction was so great that she still felt something was wrong.

Zhao Zongquan had told her in private before that the reason why he did not establish a crown prince was because Zhao Ceying was young and energetic, and he wanted to polish him for a few years.

But now it seems that it is not that simple.

Zhao Zongquan also knew that he was a little too excited just now, so he squeezed out a smile and said: "I don't trust many people now. Geng Jiechuan and Duan Chengyong are mediocre in ability and cannot be used. The only ones who can be trusted are Cong Xing and Gu Tingye." Yes. I need the two of them to help me gather military power. Gu Tingye is from the Gu family of Ningyuan Marquis Mansion. Although his brother has inherited the title, he is frail and sick. He only has one daughter and it seems that he will not live long. "

"I didn't give him a title because I wanted him to inherit the title of Marquis Ningyuan. Because of the Gu family's prestige in the military, I promoted him and I didn't worry about anyone being dissatisfied. But Cong Xing is different. He was just a commander of the Xiang Army before. As an ambassador, it is difficult to convince the public when he suddenly ascends to a high position. If he marries the daughter of an English duke, all this will not be a problem."

After hearing this, Queen Shen gave up her suspicions and said worriedly: "But I'm afraid Congxing won't agree."

Zhao Zongquan said: "You should talk to him carefully. He is not a person who doesn't care about the overall situation."

"When he comes back, I will persuade him." Queen Shen said with a sigh.

Zhao Zongquan nodded and said, "Your sister, I want to marry him to Marquis Zhongjing's brother, what do you think?"

The Zhongjing Hou Zheng family is one of the few families among the nobles that has been prosperous from the founding of the country to the present.

The Zheng family has a very strict family tradition of loyalty, with each generation having children serving in the military. The previous generation, Marquis Zhongjing, was just in his early twenties and died in the war with Xixia more than ten years ago, leaving behind two young sons.

A few years ago, the eldest son came of age and inherited the title. Although his official position was not high, the Zheng family's prestige in the military was second only to that of the British Dukes. Neither the Gongsun family of Dingguo, who was in the northwest, tried to make concessions.

Queen Shen was stunned when she heard this and said, "Your Majesty, didn't I mention to you before that I wanted to marry Yuzhen to Zhonghuai?"

Gu Tingye saved Zhao Zongquan and his son several times and lived in the Zhao family for a while.

After several contacts, Queen Shen also intended to marry her sister to Gu Tingye.

At that time, Gu Tingye concealed his identity and lied that he was a child of a small aristocratic family in Bianjing. However, at that time, Zhao Zongquan was just a training envoy of a regiment, and Shen Congxing was the commander of the Xiang Army. Their official positions were not high, but they were the right match in Yemen.

Although it is now known that Gu Tingye is the legitimate son of the Hou family, their family has also become a royal family.

It sounds like the two of them are still a good match.

Moreover, the Zheng family has a very strict family tradition, so marrying her sister with her personality will definitely lead to hardship.

But the Gu family is different. Gu Tingye only has one stepmother, and the relationship is not good. With the support of her, the queen sister, life will not be difficult.

What's more, Gu Tingye will inherit the title in the future. After marrying, she will become the eldest daughter of the Marquis Palace. The title of the Zheng family was inherited by the eldest son. Even if the second son marries her sister, he will only be reused at most. There will definitely be no hope for the title in a short time. Even if he achieves meritorious service in the future, he will only be an earl at most.

"I have also thought about this matter carefully. Gu Tingye was compatible with Ying'er's brother before and asked him to marry your sister. How will Ying'er face him in the future?" Zhao Zongquan said.

If it were anyone else, marrying Gu Tingye would indeed be appropriate.

But Queen Shen's sister couldn't do it. He also wanted Shen Congxing and Gu Tingye to take charge of the military. If Gu Tingye became Shen Congxing's brother-in-law, the relationship between the two would be too close.

"Your Majesty, you have promised before." Queen Shen said.

She had mentioned it to Zhao Zongquan when she was still in Yuzhou. At that time, Zhao Zongquan said that Gu Tingye was still in the mourning period and it was not appropriate to mention it. He should wait until Gu Tingye's mourning period was over.

"This is not one moment, another moment. We have a shallow foundation now and are walking on thin ice. We have to think more about everything." Zhao Zongquan said.

Queen Shen sighed after hearing this and said, "Then your Majesty will see to it."

She knew that their family's status was different now, and they had to consider the gains and losses in everything they did.

……

"Erlang, wait for me."

Yuan Wenshao turned around, looked at Zhao Ceying who was running over, and quickly bowed and saluted: "I have met His Highness King Huan!"

"Hey, Erlang is now separated." Zhao Ceying said displeased.

"Your Highness, etiquette must not be abolished. If I don't follow the etiquette, I'm afraid the admonishers will impeach me." Yuan Wenshao said with a smile.

"Alas." Zhao Ceying sighed and said, "You are right, now that your identity has changed, you have to be more careful, but you are not as comfortable as before."

"As the saying goes, if you want to wear a crown, you must bear its weight, and you have to learn to adapt." Yuan Wenshao said with a smile.

"Haha, you're right. Let's talk while walking." Zhao Ceying said with a smile.

"Yes." Yuan Wenshao responded, half a body behind Zhao Ceying. "You, you, walk faster, I have something to ask you." Zhao Ceying said.

"Your Highness, please speak." Yuan Wenshao cupped his hands and said.

Zhao Ceying and Yuan Wenshao walked side by side and whispered: "What do you think of this war with Xixia?"

Yuan Wenshao pondered for a while and said: "I will definitely return in triumph."

Zhao Ceying glared at him and said, "What I want to hear is the truth. Don't fool me by saying nice things."

"Your Highness, what I said is the truth." Yuan Wenshao said.

"Oh?" Zhao Ceying said in surprise: "I would like to hear the details!"

Yuan Wenshao thought for a while and said: "Your Highness, although the Xixia Lord has been in charge for a year, the Queen Mother and her family have been in chaos for so many years. After the Xixia Lord took charge, it will take a long time just to clean up the internal affairs. Xixia this time The sneak attack was entirely because I learned about King Ni’s rebellion and thought that our great Zhou Dynasty was internally unstable.”

"The reason why several important cities were able to be conquered was because Xixia sent troops too suddenly and with too many troops, the border troops were unprepared. Even so, Duke Ding was able to stop Xixia's offensive. This shows that Xixia was completely hasty. There was insufficient preparation for mobilizing troops.”

Zhao Ceying nodded when he heard this and said: "Continue."

"But our Great Zhou Dynasty is different. When the new emperor ascends the throne, the border soldiers will definitely want to perform meritorious service in front of the new emperor. With the unity of everyone, they will definitely be able to repel the invading enemies of Xixia." Yuan Wenshao said.

Emperor Renzong was lenient, and for the generals in the army, even if he lost the battle, it might not be a big deal.

But now that there is a new boss, they can't figure out the new boss's character, and they are afraid that they will become the new boss's prestige.

And the soldiers all know that this is the first battle for the new boss after he takes over. If he defeats the new boss, he will definitely be rewarded heavily.

When fighting a war, they will inevitably fight tooth and nail. In addition, Xixia is not well prepared, so it will not be difficult to defeat them.

What's more, Zhao Zongquan did not change his commander before the battle, and the reinforcements sent were still assigned to Duke Ding.

"After hearing what you said, I am relieved." Zhao Ceying said with a smile.

Not only Zhao Zongquan was worried about this battle, but he, his son, was also very worried.

"Your Highness is ridiculous. I'm just talking on paper. I can't guarantee the outcome." Yuan Wenshao cupped his hands and said.

He only remembered that Zhao Zongquan did fight after he put down the rebellion, but he didn't know whether it was with Xixia or Bei Liao.

But he knew the result, and he did win.

That's why he dared to be so confident.

"Haha, Erlang is too humble." Zhao Ceying smiled and asked: "Erlang, if we want to regain the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun, what do you think we should do?"

Yuan Wenshao was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect that Zhao Ceying would ask him this.

After pondering for a long time, Yuan Wenshao shook his head and said: "For the time being, the Great Zhou Dynasty does not have the strength to regain the sixteen states of Yanyun."

"Tell me carefully," Zhao Ceying said.

Yuan Wenshao pursed his lips and said: "Since Taizu, except for the late emperor, every emperor has tried to take back the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun, but they have all ended in failure. The fundamental reason is that in so many years of defense, Beiliao has After adapting to the defense of the city, plus there are a large number of Han people in Northern Liao, their equipment is not much behind that of the Zhou Dynasty, and there are also Xixia to contain them, it will be very difficult to regain the sixteen states of Yanyun."

The Han people and the nomads each have their own advantages. The advantage of the nomads is that all the people are soldiers, and they are all cavalry.

In addition, the nomadic people live in a harsh environment and are very aggressive and aggressive.

However, nomads are not good at defending and attacking cities.

On the contrary, the Central Plains Dynasty was indeed no match for the nomads in terms of individual soldiers, but they were good at making various advanced equipment and utilizing the city.

However, Bei Liao occupied the sixteen states of Yanyun and had already adapted to defending the city. In addition, Bei Liao valued Han skills and treated those craftsmen well.

The Han people pay attention to scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, but in the Northern Liao Dynasty, the status of craftsmen was the highest among the Han people.

Moreover, the Northern Liao Dynasty also learned the Han people's method of using barbarians to control barbarians very thoroughly. They divided the southern and northern courtyards and used Han people to manage Han people.

Seriously speaking, Bei Liao is the founder of one country, two systems.

It can be said that the failure of the kings of the past dynasties to regain the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun was not just due to the emphasis on culture over military affairs.

If it were just because he valued culture over military affairs, then Emperor Taizu could unify the world. As the founding emperor, it goes without saying that he was capable. However, several Northern Expeditions ended in failure and he failed to regain the Sixteen States of Yanyun.

"Erlang means that if you want to regain the Yanyun Sixteenth Prefecture, you must first deal with Xixia?" Zhao Ceying said in surprise.

"That's right!" Yuan Wenshao nodded and said: "We can maintain the three-legged situation in these years thanks to Xixia. If we don't destroy Xixia first, it will be difficult to regain the sixteen states of Yanyun."

When Xixia has the upper hand in Northern Liao, it will help Dazhou.

When Da Zhou gained the upper hand, he turned around and helped Bei Liao.

The emperors of the past dynasties were too obsessed with the Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures and did not learn lessons. They always attacked the Northern Liao Dynasty.

Instead, Xixia became stronger step by step, and finally established an independent country.

Zhao Ceying frowned slightly and said, "But if troops are launched against Xixia, Beiliao will not just sit idly by."

It's not that no one thought of this before, but when fighting Xixia, Bei Liao would also send troops. In comparison, Bei Liao was a greater threat.

Yuan Wenshao shook his head and said: "If we attack Xixia, Bei Liao will not send troops immediately. They will wait until Xixia can't hold on before sending troops, hoping to reap the benefits. Therefore, if you want to deal with Xixia, you must quickly The battle will be decided quickly.”

"This is impossible. Xixia has hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses. It is impossible to destroy Xixia in a short time." Zhao Ceying said.

"So I say that the Great Zhou Dynasty currently does not have the strength to regain the Sixteen Yanyun Prefectures. If you want to regain the Sixteenth Yanyun Prefectures, you must first quickly destroy Xixia, and you can only increase your national power first." Yuan Wenshao said.

In fact, in his opinion, it is unrealistic to deal with either Xixia or Beiliao now.

What is more important is to resolve internal shortcomings.

At present, the problem of three redundancies is very serious.

If this problem is not solved, the court will not have enough money and food, and any talk will be empty talk.

"How to improve national power?" Zhao Ceying asked.

Yuan Wenshao changed the subject and said: "Your Highness, Xixia has been exploring the Western Regions and Tubo in recent years, especially Tubo. Many tribes have been annexed by Xixia. The internal turmoil in Xixia previously suspended the annexation of Tubo. After this battle, Xixia will inevitably It will continue to annex Tubo, and if it annexes all the tribes of Tubo, Shu will also have to face the Xixia army."

If you want to improve national power, you must talk about reform. Yuan Wenshao does not want to talk about this topic.

Since ancient times, how many good outcomes have come to those who advocated reform?

(End of this chapter)