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The ruler and his ministers of the Song Dynasty, who were far away in Bian Jing, all felt that their hearts could not bear it. Over the past year or so, the war had never stopped and the peace talks had never ceased. However, every time the talks were about to succeed, trouble would arise, which was difficult for the ruler and his ministers, who were eager for a ceasefire, to accept.

Especially as the emperor, Zhao Zhen always felt that things were not under his control and was very uneasy, so he made a decision.

Gu Qianfan walked slowly into the hall and bowed to the emperor Zhao Zhen: "I, Gu Qianfan, pay my respects to the emperor."

"Gu Qing is here."

Zhao Zhen saw Gu Qianfan and nodded. Gu Qianfan had been in charge of the Imperial City Bureau for twenty years, had made many contributions, and was loyal. He was someone Zhao Zhen trusted very much.

"I heard that Mr. Gu and Duke Liang were both admitted as Jinshi in the same year. You two should have a good relationship, right?"

While asking the question, he stared at Gu Qianfan, trying to see Gu Qianfan's reaction.

Gu Qianfan's heart skipped a beat, but he still answered with an unchanged expression: "Your Majesty, I do know the Duke of Liang, but we are only friends of gentlemen."

Zhao Zhen nodded and asked, "What do you think of the Duke of Liang?"

Gu Qianfan obviously sensed something was wrong and answered cautiously, "Duke Liang is a famous general in the world. He is dedicated and loyal to the court. I admire him."

"Loyal?"

Zhao Zhen's heart moved, but he didn't answer. He just said, "Duke Liang is indeed an important official of the court and my confidant. I have no doubts about him. However, there have been some remarks in the court recently that are unfavorable to Duke Liang. There have even been memorials impeaching Duke Liang for holding his own troops and disrupting the peace talks between Song and Liao many times."

"Of course I don't believe what these villains say, but in order to prove the innocence of Duke Liang, this matter still needs to be carefully investigated. Gu Qing has been in charge of the Imperial City Bureau for many years and is an expert in this area. I want to send you to the northern border to investigate this matter. Make sure to investigate it thoroughly and clear the name of Duke Liang."

Gu Qianfan lowered his head and said, "I will definitely fulfill the orders of the government and immediately arrange for people to go to the border."

After Gu Qianfan left, Zhao Zhen recruited another person. He didn't know how close the relationship between Gu Qianfan and Zhou Chen was, so he was worried about Gu Qianfan alone, so he secretly sent another person.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 1018 Mission Completed, Returning to Beijing, and Becoming King

Gu Qianfan walked out of the palace and felt a cool breeze on his back. His eyes became hesitant.

"Sir, are you going to attack Duke Liang?"

He has been in the officialdom for thirty years and has seen a lot of intrigues and deceptions in the officialdom.

Ever since Zhou Chen went to the border to take charge of the army, the civil servants in the court have been criticizing him a lot. Even after Zhou Chen destroyed Western Xia and repelled the Liao army, the number of critics not only did not decrease, but increased.

In short, the meaning is that when military men take charge of the army, the country will be in chaos.

Therefore, these civil servants have always wanted to transfer Zhou Chen back to the capital from the border, and send people to the border to command the army, and the candidates are basically civil servants.

It's just that the Liao army was too powerful, and Emperor Zhao Zhen didn't dare to act rashly. After all, throughout the Song Dynasty over the past few decades, the only one who could defeat the Liao army head-on and achieve a great victory was Zhou Chen. So no matter how afraid he was, he didn't dare to act rashly.

Gu Qianfan just felt a chill all over his body. He had known Zhou Chen for more than 20 years and he knew clearly that what Zhou Chen wanted to do most was to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and he had no ulterior motives at all.

However, the official's actions undoubtedly showed that he began to doubt Zhou Chen.

Zhou Chen led the soldiers in bloody battles on the front line, while the rear was constantly trying to facilitate peace talks, and now they were secretly investigating Zhou Chen.

They said that he was asked to clear Zhou Chen's name, but in fact, they openly asked him to investigate Zhou Chen. Once he found any problems, that.

"Brother Zhou, I finally understand what you mean now. The biggest problem in recovering lost territory is not the war, but the court. Not everyone wants to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun."

He felt sad and emotional, but as a subject, Gu Qianfan could not go against the emperor's will.

He returned home, made arrangements for his wife and children, and then led his men to the northern border.

Zhou Chen knew that Zhao Zhen must be dissatisfied with him, but he didn't know that Zhao Zhen had actually sent people to investigate him. Now his main focus was still on the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and the Liao Kingdom.

Seeing that he was not far from completing the side quest, he was determined to go all out.

Since there was no room for maneuver with the Liao Kingdom, Zhou Chen simply took the initiative this time and led a large army to launch an offensive directly against the territory of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.

The Liao Kingdom obviously did not expect Zhou Chen to be so swift. He launched an offensive without giving them time to react. In a short time, they were defeated by the Song army and lost territory one after another.

Everyone in the Liao court, including the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, cursed them. They all felt that the Song side's attempt to negotiate with them was just a cover, with the purpose of making them relax their vigilance and then allowing Zhou Chen to lead his army to invade and catch them off guard.

Judging from the current situation, the Song people have obviously succeeded, but this has also aroused the anger of the Liao people. The Liao emperor Yelu Zongsheng was even more furious. He gathered the strength of the whole country, assembled an army of 350,000, and led the army in person.

Zhou Chen took advantage of the Liao people's unpreparedness and seized five states in one go. Although the Sixteen States of Yanyun had been occupied by the Liao people for many years, there were still many Han people living in this land. So when Zhou Chen led his army to attack and seized the territory, he didn't have to spend much effort to recover the lost territory and change the flag.

After receiving the imperial order, Gu Qianfan rushed to the northern border as quickly as possible. However, when he arrived at the border, he found out that Zhou Chen was no longer at the border, but had led his troops to attack the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.

What is even more surprising is that in such a short period of time, Zhou Chen had recovered five states and forced the Liao people to flee in panic.

Gu Qianfan, who heard the news, didn't know how to describe his feelings. As one of the few people who knew Zhou Chen best today, he was well aware of Zhou Chen's ambitions. Looking at Zhou Chen's attitude, he was determined to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun in this Song-Liao War.

But while Zhou Chen was pleasantly surprised by his great achievements, he also felt infinite worry in his heart.

Strictly speaking, Zhou Chen's attack on the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun did not receive the approval of the capital or the government. If the government really wanted to take action against Zhou Chen, they could convict him of this crime.

Gu Qianfan was worried, but he still wrote down Zhou Chen’s victory results in a secret letter and sent it back to the capital using the fastest method of the Imperial City Bureau.

Now he could only hope that the government would pardon Zhou Chen's sins upon learning of his great achievement in recovering the Yanyun area.

Even so, he still felt uneasy, so he briefly investigated the situation on the border. Finally, he asked his men to stay and continue the investigation, while he returned to Beijing at full speed with the intelligence.

But he didn't know that in addition to sending him, the government also sent other people to investigate.

…………

After Zhou Chen recovered the five states in a swift manner, he could no longer proceed because the Liao emperor, Yelu Zongsheng, had led an army of 350,000 to the Yanyun area in person and blocked Zhou Chen's way.

The 350,000 Liao troops outnumbered the more than 200,000 Song troops in the northern border led by Commander Zhou Chen, but the two sides did not start fighting immediately.

Upon learning that the Liao Kingdom had mobilized the entire country to recruit 350,000 soldiers to attack the border, Zhao Zhen and all the civil and military officials who were far away in Bianliang were terrified.

At this time, all officials were particularly united, and Zhao Zhen dispatched troops to the border, commanded by Zhou Chen, to meet the Liao army.

The rulers and ministers of the Song Dynasty were helpless. Even though they were extremely wary and dissatisfied with the military general Zhou Chen, at this time, only Zhou Chen could resist the crazy Liao Kingdom.

Compared to the possibility of destroying the country, nothing else matters.

Zhao Zhen not only transferred the garrison troops and local soldiers from the northern border, but also transferred the vassal troops over and handed them all over to Zhou Chen's command.

It is no exaggeration to say that Zhou Chen has now reached a height that no other military general in the Song Dynasty has ever reached. He holds the military power of hundreds of thousands of Song troops, which was simply unimaginable in the Song Dynasty.

This situation occurred because he pressed the Liao Kingdom too hard, causing the Liao emperor to desperately recruit troops to attack the Song Dynasty. In order to save his country, Zhao Zhen had to appoint Zhou Chen.

A year later, the news that Zhou Chen defeated the Liao army and recovered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun spread throughout the world, causing a sensation in the entire Song Dynasty. Even the literati in the world admired Zhou Chen very much.

Bianjing City!

"Your Majesty, this is a letter from the Liao envoy."

The eunuch carefully placed the Liao Kingdom's letter in front of Emperor Zhao Zhen, then stepped aside.

Zhao Zhen was in a good mood. The ceded Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun were recovered during his reign. Just based on this point, he could be compared with Emperor Taizu.

In recent times, he has been flattered by countless ministers and has been overjoyed, calling himself a sage.

He opened the letter from the Liao Kingdom and after reading its contents, he was happy at first, then frowned, and finally laughed, with his expression changing back and forth.

This was a letter from the Liao Kingdom requesting peace talks, and it condemned Zhou Chen for destroying the diplomatic relations between the two countries and being the culprit of the war between the two countries. It asked the Song Kingdom to immediately recall Zhou Chen and punish him, etc. Otherwise, the Liao Kingdom would mobilize the entire country to fight a bloody battle with the Song Kingdom to the end.

Although he was clearly seeking peace, the words between the lines were still full of arrogance and even threats.

The defeated party is still so arrogant. Under normal circumstances, the victorious party will definitely not give face, but the official of Song State is special.

Although Zhou Chen defeated the Liao Kingdom, the Song Dynasty had been living under the oppression of the Liao Kingdom and instinctively had a fear of the Liao Kingdom. It was only after Zhou Chen's great victory, the recovery of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, and the annihilation of nearly 200,000 Liao Kingdom troops that the Song Dynasty regained its confidence.

But as an emperor, Zhao Zhen considered more. He did not like war but preferred civil governance. The Song Dynasty had already recovered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, which was already the greatest feat and victory of the dynasty. There was no need to continue fighting.

During the two years of war with the Liao Kingdom, the national treasury had spent huge amounts of money, and even he, the emperor, had to tighten his belt and tighten his belt. If the war continued like this, who knew how long the national treasury could last?

Besides, now that the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun have been recovered, there is no need to seize the territory of Liao. He simply does not care about those barren lands.

Therefore, Zhao Zhen was more inclined to ceasefire and peace talks, but he was not satisfied with the attitude and letter of the Liao envoy. They had won the battle, and he was the one who should propose conditions.

So he immediately summoned all the officials to discuss the matter.

…………

At the beginning, Zhou Chen just wanted to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, but after more than a year of fighting, he and the Liao people had already formed a blood feud that would not end until one side died.

So after defeating the Liao Kingdom, an idea emerged in his mind to simply destroy the Liao Kingdom. Now that he was winning, maybe he really had a chance.

When the Liao Kingdom found out that Zhou Chen had led his army to invade, the whole country was terrified. Over the past year, the Liao emperor had led his own army to fight but was defeated by Zhou Chen. Most of the country's troops were lost on the border, and the country no longer had the confidence to fight again.

It was precisely because of this that the Liao Emperor sent envoys to the Song State to request peace talks.

Zhou Chen led his army to capture cities in Liao and was invincible. But at this moment, an imperial edict came from the capital, ordering him to stop fighting and return to the capital immediately.

"I was called back to the capital urgently. It seems that Zhao Zhen has seen that Liao has no strength to fight again, so he has some ideas. I just don't know what he will do to me."

Zhou Chen was of course aware of the principle that being too successful would bring trouble to the ruler, but he had to do so in order to complete the mission.

Now that things have come to this, he will not regret it, but he has already prepared himself to face it. He just doesn't know how this Emperor Renzong will deal with him.

However, a sharp light flashed in Zhou Chen's eyes. No matter how Zhao Zhen wanted to deal with him, he would not surrender. He had been in Tokyo City for nearly twenty years, and he had not really done nothing.

At worst, he would just turn the world upside down. Anyway, the Western Xia had been destroyed by him and the Liao Dynasty had been crippled by him, so he had plenty of time.

Zhao Zhen not only sent the imperial edict, but also dispatched 3,000 imperial guards to "escort" Zhou Chen back to the capital.

There were also smart generals under his command. Seeing this situation, many of them tried to persuade Zhou Chen, but Zhou Chen had made up his mind and decided to follow the imperial guards back to the capital.

However, on the eve of returning to Beijing, he secretly summoned several of his most trusted subordinates and gave them orders.

With the escort of three thousand imperial guards, Zhou Chen's travel speed certainly could not be fast. It took him a full month to get from the border to the capital.

After three years, Zhou Chen returned to Tokyo again, feeling filled with emotion.

Although he had always exchanged letters with his family, he had not seen them for three years and missed his wife and children very much.

Under the "escort" of the imperial guards, Zhou Chen could only go to the palace first to meet Emperor Zhao Zhen.

In the past, when Zhou Chen and Zhao Zhen met, they were very harmonious with each other, but this time when they met, Zhou Chen clearly felt the change in Zhao Zhen's attitude towards him.

He still smiled on the surface, but there was a chill in the depths of his eyes. Zhou Chen was such a perceptive man that he could see nothing of this.

Zhao Zhen lavishly rewarded Zhou Chen, appointed him as Grand Tutor, and conferred him the title of Prince of Changping.

It was extremely rare to be crowned a king in the Song Dynasty, not to mention that he also served as the Grand Protector. Therefore, this reward was already the highest standard.

In addition, there are countless rewards of money, land, etc.

Zhou Chen stayed in the palace for a long time before leaving. On the way back home, he keenly felt that he was surrounded by eyes, which made him sneer in his heart.

Before Zhou Chen returned home, Zhao Pan'er and others had already received the news in advance and were standing in the yard waiting for Zhou Chen.

"The prince is back, the prince is back."

He had not returned for three years, and when he returned he had been crowned king. This made the servants of the former marquis's mansion extremely excited. How could the servants of the marquis's mansion compare with the servants of the king's mansion?

Zhou Chen walked slowly into the mansion and immediately saw Zhao Pan'er and several daughters, and his own children in the center of the crowd.

Without saying a word, he went over and hugged Zhao Paner.

"Pan'er, I'm back."

Zhao Pan'er was so excited that she forced herself to stop crying and said with a sob, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."

After a while, she left Zhou Chen's arms and said, "My two sisters miss you very much, too."

Zhou Chen nodded, walked over and hugged Gao Hui in his arms. Gao Hui was not as calm as Zhao Pan'er. She hugged Zhou Chen tightly and cried softly.

After comforting Gao Hui, he hugged Song Yinzhang in his arms. Song Yinzhang was even worse than Gao Hui, as his clothes had already been soaked with tears.

After talking to his three wives and concubines, Zhou Chen looked at his children.

"We're all grown up, okay, okay."

"Daddy, Daddy, hold me."

The youngest Zhou Qin still remembered Zhou Chen and asked him to hold her loudly. Zhou Chen did not disappoint her. He picked her up and gave her a big kiss.

"Ah, ah, Daddy, your beard pricks me, chuckle chuckle ..."

Zhou Qin's happy laughter infected everyone.

Zhao Pan'er said, "My Lord, please take the children into the house."

Zhou Chen nodded: "Okay." But he did not put Zhou Qin down. Instead, he held Zhou Qin in his arms and walked into the main hall of the palace.

Zhou Chen held Zhou Qin and sat at the top, Zhao Pan'er sat next to him, Gao Hui and Song Yinzhang sat below, and the children were all standing.

After not seeing each other for three years, Zhou Chen felt infinite tenderness in his heart when he saw his wife and children. On the battlefield, he was an iron-blooded killer who had killed countless people, but at home, he was a gentle husband and master, and a majestic father.

He had not been home for three years, but there was no change at home. It was still almost the same as when he left. This made him feel very warm and relaxed, as if all his fatigue had disappeared after returning home.

A real home is warm!