Do you know: I am Yuan Wenshao

Chapter 342 Finale
Because of the arrival of Wu Chizhong, Yuan Wenshao had to stay in the capital of Tubo. He and Wu Chizhong wrote a letter respectively and sent it to Bianjing.

In Jiangnan, Zhao Ceying can be said to have been killed.

Because of Gu Tingyu's death, Gu Tingye had to stay in Bianjing to attend to the funeral.

Zhao Zongquan sent Shen Congxing to lead five thousand troops to Jiangnan to join Zhao Ceying.

After Zhao Ceying arrived in Jiangnan, wherever he went, the local salt gangs and private salts disappeared, as if there were no private salts at all.

He naturally knew that this was done deliberately by the person who manipulated the secret, just to prevent him from finding clues.

On the surface, Zhao Ceying was very grand. Every time he stayed in a state for a period of time to investigate, he would get angry if he couldn't find any clues. Then he would go to other states and counties in despair to paralyze the people behind it.

Secretly, people were sent to various states and counties to look for clues.

Before setting off, he had learned many useful clues from the officials previously transferred to Bianjing from Jiangnan states, but there was no actual evidence.

Everywhere he went, all the clues he got were cleared up, and there was no evidence at all.

However, they sent people to conduct secret investigations based on those clues and found a lot of useful evidence in other states and counties.

Those people were very bold. Zhao Ceying did not go there. They did not clean up the traces at all. Instead, they saw that Zhao Ceying seemed to be helpless against them. After a period of silence, he continued to sell private salt.

When the evidence obtained pointed to some high-ranking officials in Jiangnan, Zhao Ceying was ready to take action.

When Gu Tingye returned to Beijing, he asked Gu Tingye to ask Zhao Zongquan for instructions.

Now that Zhao Zongquan agreed and sent Shen Congxing with five thousand soldiers and horses, Zhao Ceying was even more confident.

An order was immediately issued to arrest the three magistrates, eight general judges, and dozens of county magistrates whom the evidence pointed to.

Among them, the one with the highest position is Huainan West Road Transfer Envoy.

In addition, they also wiped out three salt gang gathering points, killed and captured thousands of salt gang members, and found many account books.

For a time, all the officials involved in the salt smuggling in Jiangnan were panicked. While inciting the remaining members of the salt gang to cause trouble in various places, they asked for help from their backers.

The officials involved in Bianjing could not sit still, and they all filed petitions to impeach Zhao Ceying, saying that it was Zhao Ceying's improper handling that led to chaos in Jiangnan.

However, after Zhao Zongquan learned about it, he severely reprimanded these people without any intention of stopping.

When these people saw that something was not going well, they went to see the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother was very dissatisfied with Zhao Zongquan for sending Yuan Wenshao to lead troops to Qinfeng Road.

Now seeing that Jiangnan was in turmoil due to the investigation of salt affairs, he called Zhao Zongquan over.

Tell him that Jiangnan is an important tax-paying area in the Great Zhou Dynasty and there should be no unrest, and ask him to immediately stop thoroughly investigating the salt affairs.

No matter how willing Zhao Zongquan is, the thorough investigation of the salt affairs has reached the current stage and must be carried out no matter what, otherwise it will have a huge impact on his prestige.

Zhao Zongquan explained the powerful relationship to the Queen Mother, but the Queen Mother did not listen at all.

In the view of the Queen Mother, after Zhao Zongquan ascended the throne, he only needed Xiao Gui and Cao to follow him and maintain the situation that the late emperor managed with great difficulty.

However, after Zhao Zongquan came to the throne, basically all policies were different from those of the late emperor.

He had been patient before, but now that Zhao Zongquan had made Jiangnan a mess, he was still unwilling to stop. This was unacceptable to him.

In the end, the two broke up on bad terms.

But now that the jade seal has been handed over to Zhao Zongquan, the Queen Mother has no control over Zhao Zongquan's ability.

The Queen Mother once again had the idea of ​​​​deposing Zhao Zongquan and replacing him with an emperor.

The Queen Mother could not sit back and watch Zhao Zongquan destroy the late emperor's hard work. However, now that Zhao Zongquan has monopolized power, it is very difficult to abolish it.

There is no chance unless a mutiny is launched.

The Queen Mother hesitated for a long time, but decided to launch a mutiny to depose Zhao Zongquan.

It happened that many officials in the DPRK and central government were dissatisfied with Zhao Zongquan because of the salt affairs.

The Queen Mother contacted these officials and persuaded Concubine Liu.

Zhao Zongquan intended to make Zhao Ceying the crown prince after a thorough investigation of the salt affairs. Concubine Liu Guifei already knew this.

The Queen Mother found her, and she agreed after hesitating for a long time.

She was already more favored than Empress Shen. If Zhao Ceying became the crown prince, her end would be very miserable when Zhao Zongquan waited a hundred years.

Whether it's for her son or herself, she has to give it a try.

Zhao Zongquan has been arranging people to monitor the Queen Mother's side, and Zhao Zongquan's actions on the Queen Mother's side were quickly noticed.

He inherited the throne in the name of the late emperor, and the Queen Mother was his legitimate mother in terms of etiquette and law.

The Great Zhou Dynasty governed the country with filial piety, not to mention that there was no evidence. Even if there was evidence, he could not do anything to the Queen Mother until the Queen Mother actually launched a mutiny.

Zhao Zongquan asked people to closely monitor the Queen Mother's movements while secretly taking precautions.

For a time, the entire Bianjing was undercurrent.

At this time, the memorials of Yuan Wenshao and Wu Chizhong were sent to Bianjing.

After Zhao Zongquan read it, he ordered Yuan Wenshao to lead his troops to withdraw to Qinfeng Road. He did not agree to Yuan Wenshao's proposal to capture Yulong Pass, nor did he agree to Wu Chizhong's proposal to continue stationing in Hehuang.

When Yuan Wenshao received the imperial edict, even if he was unwilling, he could only withdraw his troops and return to Qinfeng Road.

However, not long after Yuan Wenshao withdrew his troops, Xixia launched troops against Hehuang.

Xixia wooed nearly half of the Qiang tribes and caught the rest of the Qiang tribes off guard. In just one month, they annexed the entire Qiang tribe.

The territory was expanded to thousands of miles, and after annexing the Qiang people, more than 100,000 soldiers and horses were added.

After Yuan Wenshao retreated, Mavis once again surrounded the Tubo capital.

After Xixia sent troops, he did not bother to fight with Gesang Norbu. The two of them jointly resisted Xixia, while sending people to sue for peace with Zhou Dynasty.

When Yuan Wenshao heard the news, he was very puzzled.

After Xixia annexed the Qiang people in Hehuang, they stopped moving forward and did not continue to attack Tubo.

Instead, they are rectifying the Qiang tribes.

This shows that Xixia was not fully prepared.

He didn't understand why Xixia launched troops in a hurry.

Yuan Wenshao reported to Zhao Zongquan, waiting for instructions, and ordered people to inquire about the news.

In fact, the reason why Xixia hurriedly mobilized troops was because the Emperor of Xixia himself was in poor health. When he found out that Li Xuanhuai's child was Yuan Wenshao's, he was so angry that he vomited blood.

After the diagnosis, the imperial doctor was helpless and said he had only one or two years to live.

The Xixia emperor was young and his heirs were young.

He knew the importance of Hehuang and wanted to capture Hehuang before his death. Only in this way, after his death and the new king was still young, could Xixia be saved from being destroyed by the Liao and Song Dynasties.

However, this news was blocked very tightly by Xixia and could not be detected at all.

……

In Bianjing, the Queen Mother wooed many courtiers, and Zhao Zongquan deliberately gave many conveniences. Many of the generals of the Forbidden Army were wooed by Concubine Liu's brother-in-law.

Zhao Zongquan knew that procrastinating like this was not the answer, and deliberately gave him convenience, hoping that the Queen Mother would launch a mutiny. By then, the Queen Mother would either be deposed or placed under house arrest, and no one would be able to restrain him anymore.

However, the Queen Mother was not stupid. She knew that mutiny was no child's play and she had been waiting for the right opportunity.

At this time, some officials impeached Gu Tingye's brother Gu Tingwei for selling illegal salt.

The Bai family even complained that Gu Tingye had embezzled the Bai family property.

Zhao Zongquan was furious and ordered people to arrest Gu Tingwei.

Gu Tingye, who had just inherited the title, went to the palace to intercede for him, which made Zhao Zongquan furious and directly demoted him to a soldier.

Not long after Gu Tingye was demoted, Yuan Wenshao sent an urgent report eight hundred miles away to Bianjing.

After Zhao Zongbao consulted with others, he ordered Yingying Palace to take command and lead 200,000 troops to attack Hehuang.

Among them, all the confidants who stayed in Bianjing set off with the army.

However, after this army left Bianjing, 100,000 people did not go to the northwest border, but stationed themselves in a valley a hundred miles away from Bianjing.

Bianjing has only 400,000 standing soldiers and horses, excluding the imperial army. Yuan Wenshao took away 5,000. Now the British prince has taken away 200,000, leaving Bianjing with a serious shortage of soldiers and horses.

The dispatch of troops to Hehuang this time was a trap set by Zhao Zongquan for the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother also knew that this was a good opportunity, but she was cautious and did not act in a hurry.

Instead, he waited until good news from Hehuang came from time to time before he made up his mind to take action.

That night, the Queen Mother found an excuse to host a banquet and invited the officials and family members of Bianjing to attend the banquet in the palace. After all the official family members entered the palace, they were directly placed under house arrest.

People from the Forbidden Army and the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division of the City Defense Battalion directly controlled the imperial palace and Bianjing City.

Just when the Queen Mother thought the situation was decided, she suddenly received news that the city gate was opened and a large number of soldiers and horses entered the city, led by Gu Tingye.

However, Minglan sensed something was wrong and did not enter the palace on the grounds that she was pregnant and felt unwell.

Later, the Queen Mother ordered someone to pretend to be someone from the palace to summon her to the palace, but she didn't go.

Not only that, she also had someone notify Hua Lan and other people who were good friends with Gu Tingye.

As a result, the Queen Mother did not have any hostages.

Although there were other officials and family members in hand, the Queen Mother knew that the situation was over and did not threaten her.

Overnight the rebellion was quelled.

Concubine Liu and her family were all arrested, and the Queen Mother was placed under house arrest.

After the rebellion was put down, Zhao Zongquan ordered Gu Tingye to lead the troops to Hehuang.

When Gu Tingye led his troops, British Gong Yuan Wenshao and others had been facing off with more than 200,000 Xixia soldiers and horses in the Tubo capital of Hehuang for more than a month.

After receiving the news that Gu Tingye was leading troops, the British ordered him to conceal his traces, take the opportunity to attack the Xixia military camp, and then lead his troops to fight out.

Xixia has more than 200,000 soldiers and horses, of which more than 100,000 are newly recruited Qiang soldiers and horses, who have not completely returned home.

In addition, the camp was attacked again, resulting in an immediate defeat.

Feng Rushan knew that the situation was over, so he led tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to escape back to Xixia.

It took Dazhou more than a month to completely control Hehuang and expand its territory by more than 2,000 miles.

Zhao Zongquan was overjoyed when he learned about it. At this moment, King Huan returned to the capital after thoroughly investigating the salt affairs. Not only that, he also brought back the jade seal passed down from the country.

Zhao Zongquan ordered people to build an altar and announce it to the world. At the same time, Zhao Ceying was canonized as the prince.

At the same time, the British Duke and Gu Tingye were ordered to return to the court.

The British Duke led his troops back to Bianjing, and Zhao Zongquan held a banquet to celebrate his victory.

However, he fainted at the banquet and died of illness within half a month.

After the national mourning, Zhao Ceying ascended the throne, conferred Shen Congxing as the Protector of the Country, and changed the Yuan Dynasty to Xingde.

In the second year of Xingde, the leader of Xixia died of illness, and Xixia was in chaos.

Zhao Ceying ordered Yuan Wenshao to send troops from Hehuang direction, and ordered the Duke of Guo to send troops from Lingzhou.

At the same time, Shen Congxing and Gu Tingye were ordered to lead a force each to attack Xia in four directions.

In order to prevent the Liao Kingdom from sending troops to stop him, he ordered the British Duke to go to the north and take charge.

In the fifth year of Xingde, Xixia was completely destroyed by the Zhou Dynasty.

Gu Tingye was granted the title of Duke of Wei for his meritorious service, and Yuan Wenshao was granted the title of Duke of Wu for his meritorious service.

……

Bianjing
There is a mansion not far from the imperial city, covering an area of ​​nearly two hundred acres.

This mansion was originally given to King Yong by Emperor Renzong after he entered Beijing.

After the death of King Yong, the mansion was taken back by the royal family and has been vacant ever since.

Zhao Ceying awarded the meritorious officials. Although the reward was awarded after the class teacher returned to the court, it was decided before that.

And this mansion was the Duke of Wu's mansion given to Yuan Wenshao.

When the army returned to the court, the mansion was packed up and handed over to Hualan.

At this time, in front of Duke Wu's mansion, Yuan Weichang, his wife and his eldest son Yuan Wenchun, and Hualan and his daughter and son were waiting at the door, looking towards the imperial city from time to time.

"Mom, why hasn't dad come yet?" Sister Wen asked, pulling Hualan's sleeve.

"The officials are giving rewards and they have to offer sacrifices to the Ancestral Temple. It can't be that fast. Don't worry." Hua Lan said.

"I haven't seen my father for many years, and I don't even remember what he looks like." Sister Wen said gloomily.

It has been six years since Yuan Wenshao led his troops to Hehuang.

Sister Wen was just over seven years old when he left. Now she is thirteen years old, tall and graceful, and has become a big girl.

"Sister, I don't remember what dad looks like either."

A little boy of five or six years old spoke next to him.

This boy is Yuan Wenshao's eldest son, Brother Xian.

"Go, why are you causing trouble? You won't call anyone when dad leaves. How do you know what dad looks like." Sister Wen glared.

Brother Xian shrank his neck and said, "Sister knows how to bully me. Wait until dad comes back to see if I don't tell dad."

"Go, go, go. Daddy loves me the most. If you tell him, he won't talk about me." Sister Wen said.

"If you don't tell me, tell me. I heard my mother say that she wants to marry you to the eldest son of the Zhou family. I'll see how you bully me when you get married." Brother Xian said proudly.

"Mom, I don't want to marry that dandy Zhou Lin." Sister Wen said anxiously.

The Zhou family is a family that has risen in recent years.

After the old man of the Zhou family ascended the throne, he was promoted to the position of husband-in-law.

"Mom hasn't agreed. Why are you so anxious? Besides, your father dotes on you very much. He wrote to me a few days ago saying that he can't agree. If I agree, he will probably divorce me when he comes back. You are a big girl. These things It's not your thing to worry about." Hua Lan glared.

"I think the Zhou family is pretty good," Mrs. Yuan said.

"What are you talking about? Parents make the final decision on their children's marriage. We have had enough good lives, right?" Yuan Weichang glared.

Now that Yuan Wenshao has become the Duke of the country, he has earned face for the Yuan family.

Yuan Weichang was afraid that Yuan Wenshao would be unhappy because of what happened back then.

He planned to wait for Yuan Wenshao to come back and let him inherit the Yuan family ancestral temple.

In this way, Yuan Wenshao became the head of the Yuan family, and the entire Yuan family would benefit from it in the future.

As a result, his wife still wanted to take care of these trivial matters at this time, so that he would not be angry.

"Mom and Dad, the official is back!"

At this moment, Hua Lan said excitedly.

Yuan Weichang looked for his voice and saw Yuan Wenshao wearing a python robe, riding on a horse and walking towards him with a smile on his face.

Yuan Wenshao came closer and dismounted.

"Daddy!" Sister Wen rushed over and threw herself into Yuan Wenshao's arms.

Brother Xian hid behind Hua Lan.

"Didn't you call for daddy before? Now that daddy is here, why don't you call for him?"

Hualan suppressed her excitement and pulled her son.

However, Brother Xian hugged her leg tightly and didn't let go.

"Okay, he was only that old when I left, and he thinks it's normal to have a baby. I won't leave anymore, so I have plenty of time to get familiar with him." Yuan Wenshao said with a smile.

"I heard that the officials intend to launch troops against the Liao Kingdom, won't the officials go?" Hualan said in surprise.

"Haha, some credit must be left to others." Yuan Wenshao said with a smile.

It's not that he won't go, but that Zhao Ceying won't let him go.

This time in Daxixia, he had the greatest contribution. If he were to make another contribution, he would be the master of it.

"By the way, I brought back one...two people when I came back this time." Yuan Wenshao said apologetically.

"Who?" Hua Lan asked confused.

Yuan Wenshao waved his hand and said, "Come down."

The curtain of the carriage behind him was opened, and Li Xuan walked out leading a little girl.

(End of the book)

(End of this chapter)