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

Chapter 333 Minglan comes of age. Uncle, will she look good tomorrow?
Although Wei Yuan did not participate much in the Yanbian War.

But at that time, Wei Yuan was personally appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition, in charge of all the troops in the world.

Moreover, the strategy of sending Tibetan troops to cooperate with the Zhou army to force the Western Xia to withdraw was also proposed by Wei Yuan.

In other words, whether it was Li Liangzuo of Western Xia or Yelu Xinxian of Liao, they were both defeated by Wei Yuan at this moment.

When Wei Yuan arrived at Xuan Zheng Hall and saw the two of them, he realized that they no longer had the heroic and arrogant look they had when they first met.

Instead, there is a fatigue and aging that is visible to the naked eye.

It seemed that after experiencing a national war, both of them had grown mentally.

"Taifu, I asked you to come here today mainly because the two of them wanted to see you."

Zhao Xi, who was sitting on the dragon throne, pointed at the two of them casually.

The two of them bowed to Wei Yuan one after another.
"General Wei, we meet again."

"Today is the day when our three countries sign an alliance. I hope that after this alliance is signed, our three countries will be able to maintain peace forever."

"."

Originally, Da Zhou had already negotiated a ceasefire agreement with them, which required them to pay a sum of silver as compensation to Da Zhou every year.

Now, it is just to confirm it and add some terms. The countries will exchange letters and formally sign the armistice treaty.

Wei Yuan didn't say anything, but looked at Zhao Xi tacitly.

The little emperor actually coughed twice, said he was not feeling well, and left immediately.

As soon as the emperor left, Wei Yuan immediately let go of himself, looked at Li Liangzuo and Yelu Xinxian, and said sarcastically:

"You think a piece of covenant can ensure peace forever?"

Li Liangzuo frowned and said, "General Wei, the war is over."

Wei Yuan snorted coldly: "You and I both know why this war happened. There is no need to pretend to be confused."

"I don't know how many alliances you have broken. All along, my Great Zhou has been very kind to you two countries."

"But what about you? How can I say good things about you? Say that you are uneducated? That you are a nation of barbarians?"

Yelu Xin first clasped his fists and said, "General Wei, today the two of us have reported to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Zhou that we want to see you. We want to see you, the hero. Otherwise, I don't know when I will see you next time."

Wei Yuan sneered, "Do you remember how many innocent people your Liao army has killed since they came south? How dare you come to my Great Zhou? Did Yelu Hongji send you to die?"

Yelu Renxian had already died, and Yelu Yixian was only suitable to be a vanguard, not to lead troops in battle.

If the Yelu royal family wanted to control the army, they could only rely on Yelu Xinxian.

Yelu Xinxian said with a look of disappointment: "General Wei, you and I are both soldiers. We should know that in war, there is no reason for no casualties. The warriors of my Great Liao were almost killed in your Great Zhou territory."

Wei Yuan said: "If you had not invaded my Great Zhou, how could there be casualties? Besides, the dead in your Liao army are soldiers, but what about those innocent people in my Great Zhou? Are they considered to have died in vain?!"

Yelu Xin was speechless.

Wei Yuan said: "The two clauses in the treaty must be written clearly. First, from now on, Liao and Xia will regard the Great Zhou as the superior state, and you will be the vassal states of the Great Zhou."

"Second, you, Yelu Xinxian, and you, Li Liangzuo, must kneel three times and kowtow nine times in front of the newly built 'Martyrs' Monument' of our Great Zhou."

It is true that the Yelu royal family wanted to control the army and had to rely on Yelu Xinxian, but Yelu Xinxian was a deserter from the battle in the Central Plains of the Great Zhou.

His life was not glorious.

Moreover, no one in the entire court of the Great Zhou wanted to devour Yelu Xin first.

If he wanted Yelu Xin to take control of the army first and not anger the Great Zhou again, he would have to let Yelu Xin apologize first.

The Great Zhou was a country of etiquette and it was impossible to kill an envoy who had committed a heinous crime.

After all, there were no military courts in this era.

Coming from the Liao Kingdom, carrying the reputation of an envoy and operating among enemy countries was like wearing a golden medal of immunity from death.

Besides, killing Yelu Xinxian now will not benefit the Great Zhou.

Since we have decided to cease fire, let's just stop it till the end.

Yelu Xinxian and Li Liangzuo originally intended to refute Wei Yuan's request, but when they saw Wei Yuan's murderous eyes, they both became a little timid.

They discovered that there was a time when they could compete with Wei Yuan in momentum.

But now, even if the two of them work together, it is difficult to compare with the current Wei Yuan.

On April 23rd of the first year of Kaiwu, Yelu Xinxian and Li Liangzuo offered sacrifices to the monument and knelt three times and kowtowed nine times in front of it. In front of the people and officials of the Great Zhou, they shouted that the Emperor of the Great Zhou was the "Lord of the Supreme State".

On April 24, the three countries formally exchanged letters and signed a treaty, which is known in history as the First Armistice Treaty of the Three Kingdoms.

In early May, Yelu Xinxian and Li Liangzuo left Bianjing with heavy hearts.

The war between the three kingdoms is over.

However, they knew that there was a more severe war waiting for them in their own land.

It is a struggle for power, which can directly affect the future world situation.

May 6th.

The conference organized by Zhang Guifen was officially held.

Everyone knows that this conference is to find a husband for Minglan.

Therefore, almost all the single sons of nobles in Bianliang came.

This son-in-law selection conference became the headline news in the entire Bianjing.

So much so that over the past ten to twenty years, people in the capital have been talking about this matter.

The final winner was Gu Tingye, who had not yet left Beijing.

After she won, Zhang Guifen asked Minglan in the newly built courtyard behind the meeting,

"Then Gu Tingye, do you like him?"

Minglan said, "I heard that the Gu family's son is a playboy by nature."

Zhang Guifen asked, "You are so smart, do you really think that Gu Tingye is the person that people say he is?"

Minglan lowered her head and said nothing.

Zhang Guifen smiled and said, "How this matter turns out in the end depends on how you two interact with each other."

In short, until the day of Minglan's coming-of-age ceremony, Gu Tingye, who should have left Beijing long ago, did not leave, but instead gave her a very valuable gift.

When Sheng Hong saw the generous gift, his eyes lit up.

He had figured it out a long time ago.

As a father, there is no way I can influence Minglan's marriage.

It would be better to plunder as much as possible before Minglan gets married.

Minglan's coming-of-age ceremony was originally scheduled for April, but for various reasons it was delayed again and again, and it was not officially held until around May 10th.

The main reason was that Zhao Zhen passed away in late March or early April last year. Although Zhao Xi abolished the cumbersome custom of ministers wearing mourning clothes for three years, it was not appropriate to hold grand banquets before and after the death of the previous emperor.

Especially since Minglan is Wei Yuan’s niece.

Minglan's coming-of-age ceremony was extremely extravagant.

Not only did the emperor personally give gifts, even the wealthy and powerful people from far away north and south came.

Among the eight kings since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the foundation of the Zhao royal family, five princes sent gifts to Minglan.

In the capital, almost all the civil officials, led by Wang Anshi and Fan Chunren, came to celebrate.

There is no need to say much about the military generals.

The entire coming-of-age ceremony is like a court meeting.

And all this was done deliberately by Wei Yuan.

After Minglan has her coming-of-age ceremony, she will be married in less than two years.

When she gets married, he, as her uncle, will no longer be able to help her.

Now, holding such a grand coming-of-age ceremony for her is to tell the world that Ming girl is of a higher status than a princess.

For a normal coming-of-age ceremony, it would be fine if a few relatives and elders came, but for Minglan's coming-of-age ceremony, Wei Yuan brought the entire court. The small Sheng family simply couldn't accommodate them.

Sheng Hong and his wife were extremely busy.

Wang Ruofu stayed in the backyard and greeted the noble ladies from Beijing.

There is no need to say much about Wei Shuyi's status nowadays. But even though he is respected, he has no intention of arguing with Wang Ruofu.

So, the task of taking care of the noble ladies in the capital was left to her.

Wang Ruofu originally thought that as the official mistress of the Sheng family, she still had some dignity.

But to be honest, what is the Sheng family?

The reason these noble ladies can come today is all because of Wei Shuyi's mother and daughter and Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan invited all the dignitaries in the capital, just for the coming-of-age ceremony of a concubine's daughter from a small family. To be honest, this made some people unhappy, and they secretly spoke ill of Wei Yuan.

"Those who know would think Minglan is Wei Yuan's niece. Those who don't know would think she is his biological daughter."

"Well, be careful, there are ears on the other side of the wall, speak softly. Now, that Wei Taifu is your Majesty's teacher and the benefactor of our Great Zhou Dynasty."

"What benefactor? My husband said that if I can't even drive away the Liao bandits while commanding hundreds of thousands of troops, I might as well die."

"."

The person who said this was neither a powerful official in the capital nor a founding noble who followed the Zhao family.

They were more like old ministers of the previous dynasty, who were loyal to the Chai family in the early years of the founding of the Great Zhou.

Later, because of the Chenqiao mutiny of Emperor Taizu of Zhou, he was crowned with the yellow robe. In order to prevent those big families loyal to the Chai family from feeling resentful, he had to appease them and conferred many of them titles and honors.

It just keeps them away from the center of power in the court.

"Hmm? Is that Princess Chai? Why is she here too?"

"What? It's Princess Chai?"

"Why is Princess Chai here too?"

"."

The current Princess Chai is only 28 years old, in the prime of her life, of noble status, pretty appearance, and polite behavior.

In this era when there are no princesses or princesses, the three words "Princess Chai" represent a girl with the most noble status.

Princess Chai was named "Chai Wei", which is a homonym of the word "Cai Wei".

Princess Chai had only been to Bian Jing a few times. On weekdays, including her, the entire Chai family stayed away from the court, making a living by doing business and moving around near the banks of the Yellow River.

At this moment, Zhang Guifen was chatting with Princess Chai.

"How come the princess has time to attend my niece's coming-of-age ceremony?"

"You didn't invite me to your wedding, so why don't you want me to come to your niece's coming-of-age ceremony?"

"My Lord, what are you talking about?"

"Alas, my sister Fen's status has changed. Now she is the wife of the king. I guess she doesn't listen to me, the princess, anymore."

"."

Zhang Guifen knew that Princess Chai came here not because of her or Wei Yuan.

But it was because of Xu Changzhi.

As everyone knows, Emperor Zhao Xi arranged for Princess Chai to marry Xu Changzhi.

This is an "honor" for the Xu family.

After all, Zhao and Chai are a close family.

In the early years of the Great Zhou Dynasty, for a considerable period of time, the Chai family was to the Great Zhou what the Xiao family was to the Liao Dynasty.

Before the coming-of-age ceremony began, Princess Chai went to see Minglan specially and gave her a very valuable piece of jewelry.

Minglan felt quite flattered.

In fact, she had been feeling this way all day.

After all, it was just her coming-of-age ceremony, but she invited so many people, and they were all important figures related to her family, the country and the world.

How could she not be shocked in her little heart?
Just think about it, I am just a concubine's daughter in the family, and there is no hope in this life.

But ever since her uncle, who was far away at the border at the time, sent someone to give her a hairpin, she felt that her destiny had changed.

It can't be explained clearly.

Wei Yuan specially invited an old scholar from the Ministry of Rites to hold Minglan's coming-of-age ceremony.

In short, this coming-of-age ceremony allowed everyone to witness the power and connections of the Guanjun Marquisate.

It was only from today that everyone realized and understood.

The Marquis of Guanjun was already a powerful official.

A powerful official whose words could determine the rise and fall of a country.

The fate of many people is tied to the giant ship of Guanjun Marquis Mansion.

If one day, the ship of the Marquis of Guanjun's Mansion capsized and fell into the sea, then a tsunami would break out in the entire Great Zhou.

It is very likely that many people will die and Da Zhou will suffer serious damage.

Perhaps even the government officials at that time and even Wang Anshi did not realize it.

Killing Wei Yuan is actually very easy.

However, it is very difficult to kill the Grand Tutor, Marquis of Guanjun, General of the Cavalry, Prime Minister, and Supreme Pillar of the State.

Since a girl's coming-of-age ceremony is usually arranged by her parents, Wei Yuan watched the entire process of Minglan's coming-of-age ceremony.

Just, unexpectedly.

Minglan, who was wearing a hairpin, suddenly bowed to where Wei Yuan was sitting and said with a smile: "Uncle, do you look good today?"

That smile brought out all kinds of charm.

That smile represents the sharp transformation from a girl to an adult woman.

Wei Yuan nodded and said earnestly: "She looks good. Our girl Ming looks good no matter when and where she is."

His thoughts gradually returned to the time when he first arrived in Yangzhou and left Yangzhou.

Ming was still young at that time.

She ran out of the city, crying and shouting at her uncle not to leave.

At that time, Wei Yuan made up his mind.

Calling him "uncle" brings her peace.

Minglan didn't know what Wei Yuan was thinking now.

She just smiled foolishly at the person she thought was closest to her, the person who loved her the most, and the person who could give her the most fatherly care.

The next day.

After Minglan's coming-of-age ceremony, Gu Tingye visited the Marquis Guanjun's mansion again.

This kid now looks trembling with fear when he sees Wei Yuan.

It was drizzling today, so Wei Yuan didn't let him into the house and just let him get wet.

Coincidentally, Wei Shuyi also came at this time.

She was called by Zhang Guifen.

Wei Shuyi carefully looked at Gu Tingye standing in the rain, thought for a moment, and then said to Wei Yuan:

"Let the child come inside and change his clothes, so he doesn't catch a cold."

For a warrior who has been in the army all year round, how could he catch a cold if he got caught in the rain?

Wei Yuan knew that this kid Gu Tingye had already passed the test of Wei Shuyi.

(End of this chapter)