Do you know: I have a different surname: Wang, uncle Minglan.

Chapter 289 Just based on these three things, the Marquis is also worthy of being recorded in history
The seventh year of Jiayou, mid-July.

The news of Wei Yuan's assassination reached the capital.

At this moment, in the Xuanzheng Hall, Fan Chunren and many central ministers were discussing this matter.

At present, Crown Prince Zhao Xi still serves as regent.

Although Zhao Zhen survived the dangerous period, his mind was no longer as sharp as before, and he could no longer handle the complicated state affairs.

So, he would gradually give up his power. When he died, Zhao Xi could legitimately take over the entire dynasty.

"Although Wei Yuan has no position in the court, he is still a marquis of our Great Zhou and the tutor of the crown prince. The Liao Kingdom must give an explanation for his assassination."

"Although all the evidence points to the Liao Kingdom as the culprit, I still think this matter is not that simple."

"Everyone knows that Lord Wei is an extremely skilled martial artist. Sending an assassin to kill Lord Wei is like shooting oneself in the foot, right?"

"."

Zhao Xi listened carefully to their discussion.

He thought that this matter could not be let go, both morally and logically.

But the assassination of Wei Yuan was not just a simple assassination, it was more like a political conspiracy, and he had to act with caution.

"The Marquis of Wei enjoys a very high prestige in our court. The court cannot sit idly by when he is assassinated."

Fan Chunren looked at Zhao Xi and continued:

"I do have a suggestion. Let the Liao Kingdom send someone to assist our dynasty in investigating the truth behind the assassination of Marquis Wei, and then give an explanation to the people of the world."

Wei Yuan was assassinated, so logically speaking, he should be given an explanation.

But his affairs are not just his personal affairs.

"Investigate? How to investigate? Those Liao bandits were all burned by the Marquis of Wei. Even if they were not burned, the dry weather would make it difficult to preserve their bodies."

"Besides, if we start investigating from the body, I'm afraid we won't find anything."

Sima Junshi is considered to be Bao Xiaosu's student, and he has some unique insights into judging cases.

Logically speaking, even if the Liao Kingdom really wanted to assassinate Wei Yuan, it would not have sent an assassin who looked and dressed like a Liao person.

All the real culprits behind this assassination seemed to point to the Liao Dynasty, but in fact they all pointed to Western Xia.

But the simpler and clearer the answer was, the more incredible Sima Junshi found it.

Fan Chunren said: "It is better to investigate than not to investigate. Even if the final result of the investigation is as we expected, it is the result of the investigation together with the Liao people. In short, we cannot have the sole say in this matter."

He worries that it would be difficult to silence the public by directly pointing the finger at a certain country.

Zhao Xi nodded subconsciously and said, "What Mr. Fan said makes sense. If Mr. Xiaosu were here, he would be able to get to the bottom of this case with his godlike ability to solve cases."

"But Duke Xiaosu is no longer around. If we want to investigate, who should we send?"

Fan Chunren bowed and said, "Your Highness, Master Bao is indeed gone, but he has two proud students."

"One is the Minister of the Imperial Court, Sima Junshi, and the other is the Junior Tutor, Wang Shangshu."

"We only need to send someone to Jiangnan to investigate this matter together with the Liao people. Given time, we will surely be able to give the world a satisfactory answer."

Hearing this, Sima Junshi was the first to shake his head and said, "I am currently editing a book, so I am afraid I cannot go to Jiangnan."

Fan Chunren said, "Then it can only be Shangshu Wang, Lord Wang. Now that the reform of the Ministry of Personnel has been completed, Shangshu Wang happens to have some free time to go to Jiangnan."

At this time, Wang Anshi, who was standing next to Zhao Xi, was looking at Fan Chunren with his eyes narrowed.

As we all know, Wang Anshi’s formal teacher was not Bao Xiaosu, but Ouyang Yongshu.

Fan Chunren's words were obviously an excuse to get himself out of the capital.

Why does the other party do this?

The reason is also very simple.

The current prime minister is Fan Chunren, and the regent is the crown prince.

Regarding decisions regarding state affairs, the prince would first consult Wang Anshi before making a decision.

Wouldn't Fan Chunren's position as prime minister then become a mere formality?

He finally became the prime minister and was planning to create an era of his own, so he naturally could not allow the existence of the 'hidden prime minister'.

Otherwise, he would feel very frustrated as the prime minister, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that he would be the most frustrated prime minister since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Therefore, Wang Anshi had to leave the capital.

Fan Chunren believed that even if he only served as prime minister for one year, he must hold the power of prime minister firmly in his hands during this year and then create an era of prime ministerial power that belonged only to him.

As for whether it can be done well and how well or poorly it is done, let future generations judge.

But as long as Wang Anshi was in the capital, he, as the prime minister, would not have much freedom.

The emperor is critically ill and will not live long. The national government is facing a change of government.

As long as he can stabilize the political situation during this period, he deserves to be featured in history books.

He didn't want Wang Anshi to "share" this credit.

Zhao Xi naturally did not want Wang Anshi to leave the capital. He looked at Sima Junshi and asked word by word:

"Is it necessary to write that book?"

Sima Junshi and Wang Anshi both seemed to have close ties with Bao Xiaosu.

But in fact, the two of them disliked each other.

In Wei Yuan's previous life history, Sima Junshi often said that the laws of ancestors cannot be changed.

Wang Anshi often said that our ancestors were not worthy of emulation.
This shows that the two have serious differences.

Sima Junshi responded, "Your Highness, the book I wrote has been written up to the Warring States Period. I want to write up to the Qin Dynasty in the shortest possible time so that your Majesty can have a look."

Now that he has said this, what can Crown Prince Zhao Xi say?
Saying that he is not allowed to write is tantamount to not allowing a subject to be loyal, and he will also be labeled as unfilial.

If he were to continue writing, Wang Anshi might leave him.

He is still young and needs help at such a critical moment.

Wei Yuan is gone, so he can only rely on Wang Anshi. If Wang Anshi leaves again, he will be left with no one around him.

At this time, Fan Chunren continued to fan the flames and said, "Your Highness, if Minister Wang can investigate this matter thoroughly, it will be a good thing."

"After all, Minister Wang is the Junior Master, and Lord Wei is the Junior Tutor. The people are also happy to see the results of Minister Wang's investigation."

No matter what, Wang Anshi must leave the capital.

For a moment, Zhao Xi was at a loss and had to look at Wang Anshi.

The latter had great ambitions and wanted to change the ancestral laws and give the Great Zhou a new lease of life.

Therefore, at such a critical moment, we must remain dormant and must not offend Fan Chunren, who has extremely deep political resources.

After much thought, he could only leave the capital temporarily.
"Your Highness, I am willing to go to Jiangnan to investigate the assassination of Marquis Wei."

Hearing this, Zhao Xi was stunned. He obviously did not expect Wang Anshi to make this decision.

He opened his mouth, not knowing what to do.

Fan Chunren took the opportunity to say, "Since Minister Wang also wants to go, why don't you help him?"

Zhao Xi sighed, "In that case, I'll have to trouble Master Wang."

Wang Anshi bowed and said, "Your Highness is very polite." When the matter was settled and everyone was about to leave the hall, Zhao Xi deliberately kept Wang Anshi and asked him earnestly:
"After the Royal Master leaves, if I encounter any problems, who should I consult?"

"Mr. Fan is a good man, but my father said that we should use the prime minister, but we should not rely on him."

Wang Anshi understood what he wanted to express, thought about it, and said seriously:
"If Your Highness encounters something that cannot be solved, you can go to the Han Mansion to see Prime Minister Han."

Although Han Zhang had been dismissed from his post, he still remained in the capital.

This was also what Zhao Zhen did deliberately.

He was worried that Fan Chunren would not be able to handle the storm after his death.

If it really comes to that, Han Zhang will step forward to stabilize the situation.

Wang Anshi recommended Han Zhang to Zhao Xi without any selfish motives, simply because Han Zhang was indeed a very capable person.

In late July of the seventh year of Jiayou, Wang Anshi left Beijing for Jiangnan.
-
at this time.

Wei Yuan has arrived in Jiangnan.

The angel who brought the imperial edict to Zhao Zhen had also caught up with Wei Yuan.

The latter was immediately beaten with a stick in the court. Although he did not vomit blood, his skin was torn and flesh was exposed.

This is the power of the government.

Even though Wei Yuan already held a high position, as long as there was an imperial decree to beat him with a stick, he had to be beaten. No one dared to act carelessly. After all, it was a matter of life and death.

Afterwards, the angel almost knelt down to Wei Yuan.

"Lord Wei, I am also doing my duty under the order of the emperor. I hope you won't blame me. If you are angry, just hit me a few times. I will tell others that it was an accidental bump."

Wei Yuan, who had just been beaten with a stick in the court, was supported by Lin Zhaoyuan and said earnestly:

"Angel, your words are too kind. I only hope that after the angel returns to the court, he will report the truth to the emperor and say that I know I was wrong and I admit it. I also hope that the emperor will not get angry and must take care of his health."

The angel heaved a sigh of relief and said quickly, "Please rest assured, sir. When we return to the capital, we will report the truth to His Majesty and tell him that you have been beaten to the point of vomiting blood and fainting. Please rest assured, sir."

Wei Yuan gave the angel some money.

That night.

Wei Yuan lay on the bed and Xie Yuying applied medicine to him.

Seeing that his butt was torn and bleeding, I felt no other emotion except heartache.

While applying the medicine, Xie Yuying didn't dare to use force, for fear of hurting Wei Yuan again, so she had to apply it gently.

But as long as she felt any discomfort in Wei Yuan's body, she would immediately stop and ask softly, "Did you hurt my Lord?"

Wei Yuan shook his head and said, "It's okay, continue to apply the medicine."

Xie Yuying nodded and applied medicine to him again.

This time, two tears suddenly fell from her eyes and happened to fall on Wei Yuan's thigh, and her voice began to choke.

Wei Yuan seemed to have noticed something, turned sideways and looked at her, "Why are you crying?"

Xie Yuying stopped crying immediately, "I feel sorry for you, Lord. These days, I often hear people around you say that you fought against Liao and Xia and you were always on the verge of death. You have made great contributions to our Great Zhou."

"But the emperor still wants to punish the marquis like this. He beat the marquis so harshly that I feel sorry for him."

Wei Yuan asked with a smile: "Do you really feel pain?"

Xie Yuying nodded with red eyes.

Wei Yuan did not respond, but asked her to continue applying the medicine.

After a few days, Wei Yuan was barely able to get out of bed and walk.

After all, he is a warrior who has experienced many battles. Even though he was beaten to the point of skin and flesh being torn, his recovery ability is amazing.

Otherwise, ordinary people would find it difficult to get out of bed within half a month.

At this time, Wei Yuan and his party had arrived in Fuzhou.

They patrolled the coastal areas, inspecting maritime defense.

At first, officials from Fujian Road, Fuzhou and other places all wanted to visit Wei Yuan, but now was a sensitive period after all, and Wei Yuan had just been punished by Zhao Zhen and was unwilling to get involved.

I simply rejected them.

If this had happened when he first came to the southeast, even if Wei Yuan had refused those officials, they would have found ways to come and see him.

But things are different now.

Fuzhou coast.

Wei Yuan felt indescribable pride when he saw the newly built watchtowers, beacon towers, coastal Great Wall and other buildings, as well as the workers who were busy working on them.

If, starting from their generation, the people living on this land had attached importance to maritime military affairs, then thousands of years later, even though the country's strength would have declined due to the drawbacks of autocracy, the country would still be strong.

Relying on the maritime military power that has developed from ancient times to the present, we can avoid some tragedies as much as possible.

Wei Yuan stood by the sea, hearing the sound of the waves hitting the shore. He felt relaxed and happy, and said to the generals around him:

"I have never been to the coastal areas of Haizhou and other prefectures, but I have seen that Fuzhou's maritime defenses are gradually being built. This is a good thing and will benefit future generations."

Guo Hao stood behind him, bowed deeply and said, "Please rest assured, big brother. This is something you have tried your best to promote and want to accomplish. I will keep a close eye on it and will not make any mistakes."

What he said was true.

He had read the sea map compiled by Wei Yuan and thought about it in detail. If Wei Yuan's perfect blueprint for the coastal area could be successfully realized, it would definitely be a matter worth recording through the ages.

Although a general like him is greedy for money and lustful, it is undeniable that he also works hard.

What we are afraid of is some officials who are greedy for money and lustful, and do not do practical work.

Wei Yuan said earnestly: "Many people in the court do not agree with the construction of the coastal Great Wall. They are all waiting for something to go wrong. We must connect the coastal Great Wall in series. We are also standing in this position to be responsible for future generations."

Once the plan of building a coastal Great Wall is realized, it will be able to prevent overseas countries from landing on the beaches to a great extent.

Of course, connecting the 'Great Wall' along the coastal areas is not a task that can be completed in one generation.

Wei Yuan was not in a hurry about this.

"Speaking of which, I was able to become the commander-in-chief of the Palace Front Department because I was lucky enough to be valued by the government."

"To be honest, I have done very little over the years. To sum it up, it is nothing more than guarding Yanmen Pass and resisting the enemies of the country."

"There are only three things that I am most proud of. The first is the military reform in Yanbian, the second is the establishment of the navy, and the third is the construction of the coastal Great Wall."

Lin Zhaoyuan was moved and bowed deeply, saying, "Just based on these three things, my Lord, you have done, it is enough to be recorded in history."

At this moment, Wei Yuan suddenly looked towards the north and murmured, "Not enough."

In one's life, as long as one can accomplish one thing, it is already a great achievement.

But Wei Yuan wants to accomplish more than just one thing.

What he wanted to do most was to take back the land that had been lost for nearly a hundred years, and make future generations give him a thumbs up and say something nice when they talked about him.

General Wei Yuan is quite good at marching and fighting, so this is enough.

"How is Zhang Rui doing in Quanzhou?"

Wei Yuan came back to his senses and asked Guo Hao.

After being in Southeast for so long, this was the first time he asked about Zhang Rui.

(End of this chapter)