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

Chapter 351: Appointing Generals for the Northern Expedition Next Year

Minglan listened to what Wei Shuyi said without thinking too much about it.

I just felt that my mother was sad because of my marriage.

After leaving the Sheng family, Minglan and Gu Tingye went to the Guanjun Marquis' Mansion.

Wei Yuan has been unemployed at home these days.

One reason was that the first batch of students at the Military Academy were about to graduate, and as the nominal chief priest, he had to attend their graduation ceremony.

The Military Academy is located in Yanmen, Daizhou. It is a thousand miles away and it will probably take quite a while to go back and forth.

It is also good to stay at home and spend time with your family during this period.

This time we will go to the Military Academy, and then visit the three states to prepare for the war next year.

Secondly, the military reform in the court has been completed, and Wei Yuan does not need to worry about some minor details.

As for Wang Anshi and others' reforms, to be honest, they had little to do with Wei Yuan, and he didn't want to extend his hand too far.

Since there was nothing to worry about in the court, Wei Yuan felt relaxed and wanted to take a good rest for a few days.

At this time, Zhang Guifen was already packing luggage for Wei Yuan.

Over at Chunyi Pavilion.

Wei Yuan looked at the huge courtyard that had been completely renovated, feeling very satisfied. He smiled and said to Zhang Guifen beside him:
"I'm afraid the courtyard in the palace is no more than this."

Zhang Guifen glared at him and said, "How dare you say anything."

Wei Yuan said: "There is no one else around, what are you afraid of?"

The people around him had already been dispersed by Wei Yuan, so he just said some things.

Zhang Guifen asked, "How long do you think the Northern Expedition will last next year?"

Wei Yuan thought for a moment and said, "At least two years, at most five years."

Zhang Guifen frowned and asked, "Does it take that long?"

The first Northern Expedition, which drove the Khitans out of Yanmen Pass, didn’t take that long!

Wei Yuan explained: "The first northern expedition was a national effort, and we had to fight and win quickly. Otherwise, how would the people in the south of the Yangtze River, who were heavily taxed by the court, survive? How would the people in the north survive?"

"The imperial court has prepared for this Northern Expedition for a year in advance. We can take our time and there is no need to charge into battle regardless of the cost."

Among the officials in the court, there are only a handful who truly care about the people.

Everyone is thinking about their own little piece of land.

No one cares how many soldiers and civilians were killed or injured in the First Northern Expedition.

All they care about is success or failure.

But Wei Yuan had seriously considered that issue. During the entire Northern Expedition, about five million soldiers and civilians were killed or wounded.

Many counties and cities in the north have been completely massacred. Every family is in mourning and there is no one intact in any household.

Those are all living lives.

Furthermore, during the war, in order to keep up with the financial and food demands, the imperial court imposed taxes in Hangzhou, Suzhou and other places three or four years later.

Originally, the people there, even those living at the bottom of society, could eat meat during festivals.

Now? Being able to eat enough is a blessing from our ancestors.

Wei Yuan doesn't want such a thing to happen again, otherwise, what is the point of him holding a high position?
Is it just to make his family continue? If it is really for this, from now on, he will have achieved it without doing anything.

In the past few days, he has also been thinking about what he should do next.

Recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun is one.

One of the goals is to eliminate the threats from Western Xia, Liao, and even the entire foreign lands, and to maintain a relatively long period of peace on the border.

Another thing is to leave a family business to Zhuang Ge'er.

anything else?
That means considering the people of the world more.

In the Second Northern Expedition, we tried to reduce casualties as much as possible and fight the war by farming in our spare time and raising our troops during wartime. This would also make life a little better for the people in various places.

Wei Yuan didn’t have too many thoughts. If he could really accomplish these things, his life would not be in vain.

While he was chatting with Zhang Guifen, Tian Zhen came to report that Minglan and Ningyuan Hou had arrived.

Hearing this, Zhang Guifen frowned and asked in confusion: "Isn't today the day for them to return home? Why are they here?"

Wei Yuan was also curious, so he told Tian Zhen to invite them to Chunyi Pavilion.

Later, Zhang Guifen looked at the vast courtyard and said sadly, "You spent a huge amount of money to build this extremely luxurious courtyard. If you were a descendant of a noble family, I'm afraid you would be accused of ruining your family business."

In fact, many courtyards and attics of Chunyi Pavilion have not yet been completed, and it will take at least another year and a half.

Wei Yuan said: "Fortunately, we are from Jianye's generation."

While they were chatting and laughing, Gu Tingye and his wife had already arrived here.

Seeing the two of them talking and laughing, Minglan came up behind them with the intention of teasing them and asked with a smile:

"Uncle, aunt, what are you talking about? You look so happy? Are you planning to give me another cousin?"

Zhang Guifen glared at her and said, "You are already a bride, but you are still so unruly."

After a pause, she deliberately put on a serious look and asked, "Today is the day you should return home, why are you here?"

Minglan pretended to be wronged and said, "Could it be that after I get married tomorrow, I can't come here?"

"Forget it. Since my uncle and aunt don't welcome me, I'll just leave tomorrow."

Wei Yuan laughed and said, "It was your aunt who didn't welcome you, I didn't say that."

Zhang Guifen pinched Minglan's arm and said, "You silly girl, you just want to make fun of me."

Minglan dodged quickly, "Good aunt, spare my life!"

Since Gu Tingye and his wife were already here, there was no reason to let them leave. Wei Yuan asked the kitchen to prepare some wine and food.

During this period, Wei Yuan told Gu Tingye something.

"It was originally planned that the second phase of the Military Academy would be launched in the second half of the year, and your name would be on the list."

"But the Northern Expedition is imminent. After much thought, I have decided to appoint you as a lieutenant general. What do you think?"

The duties during marching and fighting are very different from ordinary duties.

The position of Lieutenant General is actually a vague concept, which can be big or small.

When he talked about this, Minglan's face became obviously nervous.

Zhang Guifen, who was sitting next to her, kept patting the back of her hand gently, as if to comfort her.

To be honest, since the end of the national war, there have been too few places where military commanders can gain merit.

Moreover, Gu Tingye has never seriously fought against the Liao army.

He was unwilling to miss such an opportunity.
"You can go to the Military Academy anytime, but there aren't many opportunities to go to the Northern Expedition."

As he said this, he suddenly stood up, bowed and said, "I am willing to go!"

Hearing this, Minglan's face instantly turned bad.

However, it was not easy for her to refute the decision made by her uncle.

Moreover, this is an opportunity to achieve great things, and it is difficult for many generals in the Great Zhou to go there.

Now that Wei Yuan has put this opportunity in front of them, they should not have the intention of refusing.

But, they are newlyweds, and before the bed has even warmed up, they have to watch their husband go to the battlefield. Who would feel good about this?
Zhang Guifen said with a smile: "We are a family, why are you being so formal? Sit down quickly."

Wei Yuan glanced at Ming Lan and said, "Ming girl, fill up uncle's glass of wine."

The latter did so.

Afterwards, Wei Yuan said earnestly, "If you come from a military background and don't have any military achievements, it will be very difficult for you to gain a foothold in the capital. Even if you have a hereditary title, it won't guarantee you eternal wealth and honor."

Gu Tingye agreed with this.

Minglan nodded repeatedly, "Uncle is right."

In the third year of Kaiwu, in early July, Wei Yuan set out for Yanmen in Daizhou.

It was around mid-month that he arrived at the Military Academy.

Most of the first batch of students were generals from Daizhou, as well as several brothers from the Zhong family.

Wei Yuan attended the graduation ceremony and delivered an important speech.
"I hope that decades or even a hundred years from now, when future generations mention the generals of the first class of the Military Academy, they will give you a thumbs up and praise you."

"And you will also shoulder the responsibility of revitalizing the Military Academy, and let the world see how different the generals who come out of the Military Academy are."

"."

After talking for a full quarter of an hour, it was finally time to present the graduation medals.

Chen Daniu has been working very hard recently and after a long time, he has finally memorized some basic military texts.

To be honest, when Chen Daniu was learning those military strategies, he felt like he was learning by analogy.

He is a veteran who has experienced many battles. Even though he has never read any military books, he can fight several battles based on his intuition alone.

The reason why Wei Yuan asked him to come was because he wanted him to become a "regular general" after leaving the Military Academy, and he could no longer use his previous unconventional methods to lead troops in battle.

After the graduation ceremony, Wei Yuan and Xu Changzhi went to Yingzhou on purpose.

The last time he went to the three states, Wei Yuan lost interest in continuing his inspection tour to Yingzhou because he felt that the three states had been occupied by foreign races for too long and had lost the support of the people.

This time, after two years of recuperation, the local people gradually accepted the jurisdiction of the Great Zhou.

After Wei Yuan and others arrived in Yingzhou, the heads of the provincial governors of the three states also came one after another to meet him.

In the eyes of many local officials, Wei Yuan is now a well-deserved powerful official and a big boss.

His words can really change the fate of many people.

For example, if Wei Yuan said, "You have done a good job in Yingzhou," and it spread, it would be a great proof of achievement to that person.

However, Wei Yuan did not want to be involved too much in the actions of these local officials.

I simply met them briefly, said a few words, and let them go back.

Because, what he and Xu Changzhi said next could not be known by too many people.

On top of Yingzhou City, Wei Yuan held up a topographic map of the area, pointed at several steep mountain paths in the distance, and slowly spoke to Xu Changzhi beside him:

"Next year, you will lead one group of troops to attack Yunzhou and Weizhou from here, and I will lead another group of troops to attack Yunzhou."

"I have already thought about it. You will be the deputy commander, Chen Daniu and Guo Hao will be the vanguard, Liang Da will be the general of the front army, and Xiao Yuming and Shen Qing will be the commanders of the middle and rear armies respectively."

Xu Changzhi frowned and said, "Why not let me attack Yunzhou? The terrain of Yunzhou is too dangerous. Brother Wei is the commander-in-chief of the three armies, so it is not easy to move lightly."

Wei Yuan smiled and said, "I am the commander-in-chief of the three armies. Wherever I appear, it means that the main force of our army is there. The Liao army will focus all their attention on me and fight for time to seize Weizhou for you."

"If all else fails, we will retreat back to Huanzhou and fight a protracted war with the Liao army."

"Come on, follow me to take a look at Huanzhou again."

Liang Da, who was following behind the two men, said, "General Wei, General Xu, there have been Liao cavalrymen around Huanzhou recently. It's better not to go there, right?"

Hearing this, Xu Changzhi glared at him and said, "Do you think my brother and I would be afraid of this?"

Wei Yuan laughed loudly and said, "If the enemy can go, I can go too."

"What's more, the flag hoisted on the top of Huanzhou City is 'Zhou', not 'Liao'."

"You fight the Liao army several times every year. Why do you seem to be afraid of the Liao army?"

(End of this chapter)