Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 513: Hehuang Military Action
"Don't cry!" Zhang Guifen glared.

Although Yongger couldn't speak or understand, after being scolded by Zhang Guifen, he was about to cry, but immediately changed his look to look innocent and looked at Zhang Guifen.

"Why are you scaring him? He is still young, what can he understand?" Zhao Xing said.

Zhang Guifen took her son, dragged him around with both hands, and said helplessly: "Your Majesty, I am not trying to scare him. Although he doesn't understand, he is very smart. Look at him."

Just now, Yongger had his back to him and Zhao Xing did not see his expression.

Only then did he see his expression. He didn't look like he wanted to cry at all. He was looking at him with an innocent face.

Zhao Xing: "..."

Wow, at this age you already know how to pretend to cry?

And also know who not to mess with.

"Your Highness, you saw it. He was just pretending to cry." Zhang Guifen pinched her son's face and smiled bitterly.

The little guy had his face pinched. He looked up at his mother, stretched out his little hands, and cried out "ah ah".

It seems to be saying, I'm not pretending anymore, why are you still pinching me?

"Haha, it's better to be more refined." Zhao Xing laughed and said, "This boy is like me!"

Zhang Guifen: “…”

Now it was Zhang Guifen's turn to be speechless. Born into a family of military honors, Zhang Guifen had a rather straightforward personality.

She also felt that her son's personality was different from hers.

Sister Jing was attracted by the laughter. She buried her head in her mother's arms, then came out of her mother's arms and turned around to look at the excitement.

When Zhao Xing turned around, he saw his daughter watching the excitement with a smile on her little face.

Are you eating melon?

"Come, let father hug you." Zhao Xing stretched out his hand.

The little girl was so scared that she buried her head in her mother's arms again.

Zhao Xing: "..."

Zhao Xing finally held his daughter in his arms. He took turns holding his sons and admired them for a while. Perhaps because they had been together for a while, he was not so afraid of strangers anymore.

It is also possible that after seeing her younger brother being hugged, the little girl finally changed from how she was at the beginning. When she saw Zhao Xing, she would touch him on the back of his head and even gave him face by letting her hug her.

Compared to her noisy son, Jing Jie'er was much quieter. She was held in Zhao Xing's arms. The little girl hugged Zhao Xing's neck and was very well-behaved.

This made Zhao Xing very happy.

He has always liked daughters, and Jingjie is his only daughter at present.

After dinner, Shulan and the other girls took their children and left.

"Your Majesty, please go to Sister Li's place tonight," said Zhang Guifen.

"Ah."

Zhao Xing nodded and held Zhang Guifen's hand.

Before, Shulan and the other girls were very happy to see Zhao Xing, except Li Yunchu, who was in a bad mood and seemed to be hesitant to speak several times.

Zhao Xing could guess something, it was just about Li Liangzuo.

…………

Li Yunchu was lost in thought when the palace maid came over and saluted, "Your Majesty, the prince has fallen asleep."

"Well, you all go down and have a rest." Li Yunchu waved his hand.

"Yes!"

The maid bowed and left, and soon came back in hurriedly.

"Your Majesty, your Majesty is here!"

Li Yunchu was stunned when he heard this, and hurriedly got up and walked out.

As soon as I walked out of the hall, I saw several palace maids holding lanterns leading the way, and Zhao Xing was walking behind.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!" Li Yunchu bowed.

"No gift!"

Zhao Xing waved his hand and walked into the hall.

Sitting down in front of the main seat, Zhao Xing sent away all the serving palace maids and eunuchs and looked at Li Yunchu who was standing there.

"Sit down and talk."

"Yes!"

Li Yunchu responded and came to sit next to Zhao Xing. For a while, the two fell into silence.

"Your Majesty, I would like to ask, did your royal brother really die suddenly?" Li Yunchu asked.

"I thought you would ask about the current situation of Western Xia and whether the Song Dynasty would send troops against Western Xia." Zhao Xing said.

Li Yunchu heard this and said bitterly: "I am just a woman, I can't influence the world situation. Whether the Song Dynasty will send troops to Xixia is not something I can stop."

"As for Li Liangzuo's death, Western Xia announced to the outside world that he died suddenly. But as far as I know, it should be the work of the Liang family." Zhao Xing said.

"I knew the Liang family had bad intentions, but my brother wouldn't listen."

As Li Yunchu spoke, tears began to flow.

When her father passed away, she was still very young and didn't remember anything or feel anything.

Although she was a princess, her life was not easy as the government was controlled by the Queen Mother and her family.

When Li Liangzuo was old enough to remember things, his mother had lived in another palace all year round and had many male lovers. The government affairs in the court were completely controlled by his uncle, who did not take him seriously at all.

The two have the same father but different mothers. It was under such circumstances that the two siblings depended on each other and established a sibling relationship.

Li Liangzuo first married his uncle's daughter, and Empress Liang was his cousin's wife.

However, Empress Liang always entered the palace under the pretext of visiting her sister-in-law and had an affair with Li Liangzuo.

Li Yunchu also found out about this matter when he accidentally saw Queen Liang coming out of Li Liangzuo's bedroom.

At that time, she felt that things were not that simple and reminded Li Liangzuo.

But Li Liangzuo said that if he wanted to regain power, he had to rely on the Liang family.

Li Yunchu didn't understand all this, and after several attempts to persuade him failed, he stopped trying.

Zhao Xing waited for Li Yunchu to speak, and said, "I thought you would ask me to help Li Liangzuo get revenge."

"If Your Majesty wants to mobilize troops against Western Xia, I will naturally avenge myself. If Your Majesty has no such intention, there is no point in me saying anything." Li Yunchu said.

Zhao Xing was stunned. He didn't expect Li Yunchu to be so calm.

"In fact, whether I send troops or not, the Liang family will have a hard time. Empress Liang was abducted and taken back to the Song Dynasty. Without Empress Liang, the Liang family is no match for the Tangut nobles of Western Xia."

"News came from Western Xia that the Dangxiang nobles of Western Xia have supported your brother's son to succeed the throne. Although the Liang family has not been destroyed, it has been marginalized. Now the Dangxiang nobles of Western Xia are fighting for power, and when things come to an end, they will probably take action against the Liang family." Zhao Xing said.

Queen Liang and her son were both important to the Liang family's control of power in Western Xia.

But if you really think about it, Queen Liang is more important than the Crown Prince of Western Xia.

After all, the Crown Prince of Western Xia was still young, and he was just a puppet after he succeeded to the throne.

If Empress Liang was still alive, the power of Xixia would fall into her hands. Although Liang Guangchuan was the prime minister of Xixia, most of the officials in the Xixia court were still Tangut nobles, especially the army, which was almost all in the hands of Tangut nobles.

With the support of Li Liangzuo, Prime Minister Liang Guangchuan will be able to control the real power.

The effect would be the same if Queen Liang were still alive.

But now the young emperor of Western Xia is just a puppet and cannot hold real power. The Tangut nobles of Western Xia will never let Liang Guangchuan become the person who controls the puppet.

"None of this matters anymore." Li Yunchu shook his head.

In Western Xia, she only cared about Li Liangzuo.

Now that Li Liangzuo is dead, she actually no longer cares whether Western Xia will be in civil strife or whether it will perish.

Zhao Xing smiled and said that this was a good idea.

No matter what, Li Yunchu gave birth to a son for him, and Zhao Xing didn't want to banish her to the cold palace.

If she has her heart set on Xixia, who knows what she will do when the Song Dynasty sends troops to attack Xixia in the future.

However, Zhao Xing did not feel relieved because of what she said.

Zhao Xing will definitely have people keep an eye on Li Yunchu. It would be fine if she really didn't care about it, but Zhao Xing would not be merciful just because she gave birth to a son for him.

…………

"Your Majesty, this is the reward drawn up by the Privy Council based on your merits." Zeng Gongliang said, holding the letter in both hands.

Sanshui stepped forward, took it and handed it to Zhao Xing.

Zhao Xing took it and unfolded it to read. As the leading general, the Duke of Yingguo naturally received the highest reward.

However, the reward for the Duke of England was not much, only some gold, silver and farmland.

Zhao Xing frowned when he saw this and asked, "Why is the reward from the Duke of Ying so small?"

"Your Majesty, many people in the court have impeached the Duke of Yingguo. Although your Majesty has suppressed them, if you give them too many rewards, I'm afraid those people will not give up." Zeng Gongliang said.

"So you compromised and gave a reward, but not much. But have you ever thought that doing so is tantamount to admitting that it is true that the Duke of England extorted benefits." Zhao Xing said indifferently, with no emotion showing.

Zeng Gongliang looked at Zhao Xing's face and said, "Your Majesty, no matter what, it is true that Duke Ying accepted bribes. Doing so is good for the court and Duke Ying."

"Good for the court? Good for the Duke of England?"

Zhao Xing sneered when he heard this: "Then tell me what to do?"

Zeng Gongliang fell silent after hearing this.

"Why don't you speak?"

Zhao Xing said coldly, "Then I will say it. By doing this, the court can save on rewards and it can also reassure the civil servants. The Duke of Yingguo doesn't have to worry about being too successful and shocking the emperor. So it's good for the court and it's good for the Duke of Yingguo, right?"

Zeng Gongliang was silent for a while, then smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, this is the painstaking effort of the Duke of Ying."

"Painful?"

Zhao Xing looked at Zeng Gongliang coldly and said, "Duke Ying is a military commander. There are some things he can't figure out. Don't you understand?"

"Have you ever thought about what the consequences would be if I pretended not to know and acquiesced to this matter?"

"The civil officials will think that I want to suppress the military officers, and the military officers will be disheartened!"

"During this Northern Expedition, most of the soldiers had never experienced war, and many of them were local soldiers. But why did they fight so bravely on the battlefield?"

"It's for the reward I promised! You scholars have read the books of sages, but the soldiers have not."

"When the granaries are full, people know etiquette; when they have enough food and clothing, they know honor and disgrace. Soldiers can't even support their families, how can you expect them to fight bravely on the battlefield? Only when there is a big reward can there be brave men."

"Yes, I acquiesce to this matter. The soldiers do not know the inside story. But what about the generals in the army? Will they be worried that they will also learn to defile themselves in the future, or even dare not to make achievements?"

Zhao Xing did not think there was anything wrong with restricting the rights of military generals.

Under this ancient system, there was nothing wrong with restricting the rights of military generals and preventing them from commanding their own troops, whether from the perspective of political intrigue or the stability of the world.

But all this is based on the premise of world peace.

Who would put away the bow after the birds are all gone? Why would you destroy a good bow before the birds are all gone?
Restricting the power of military generals and preventing them from causing chaos was something that happened after the Liao Dynasty and Western Xia were destroyed.

And even if he did so, Zhao Xing would not have thought that the Song Dynasty would be so sick now.

The Duke of Ying had good intentions, but Zhao Xing wanted all the soldiers in the world to see his attitude towards military generals.

"Your Majesty, no matter what, it is a fact that the Duke of England accepted benefits," Zeng Gongliang said.

In fact, he knew what the Duke of England had done from the beginning and had even advised him against it.

But the Duke of England said that the court was in a difficult situation and he had made great contributions, so he must be rewarded.

As the commander-in-chief, he cannot refuse the reward, otherwise what will happen to the other soldiers?
Therefore, this was the only way to prevent the court from rewarding him.

Moreover, he is a relative of the emperor. He already has a high prestige in the army. Coupled with his status as a relative of the emperor, his high position is not good for the court.

Zeng Gongliang admired the Duke of Ying for his profound understanding of justice and was convinced by him.

Zhao Xing frowned slightly. This was indeed a problem.

Although he suppressed the voices of impeachment in the court, some soldiers in the army could guess that the Duke of England was trying to defame himself. Naturally, there were some simple-minded people who could not see the inside story.

If Zhao Xing didn't take it seriously at all, then what would these people think?
After a long silence, Zhao Xing said, "The rewards will be as above, and Duke Ying will be appointed as the Deputy Envoy of the Privy Council!"

Although such a reward is not enough to show his merit, it is not light either.

No matter what the soldiers think, there is an explanation.

"Yes!"

Zeng Gongliang saw that Zhao Xing had a determined face and did not try to persuade him any further.

It was quite common for a military general to serve as a deputy privy councilor, and this would not touch the sensitive nerves of the civil officials.

Zhao Xing looked at the rewards for other soldiers and saw that there was no problem. He put down the note and said, "The rest will be done according to what is written in the note. But we need to send someone to supervise and ensure that the rewards and pensions can be paid in full. In addition, the families of the fallen soldiers who have difficulties should also be taken care of by the local government. If the rewards of the meritorious soldiers are deducted by anyone, don't blame me for being rude!"

"Your Majesty, rest assured that I will supervise carefully. However, one person acts for personal gain, while two people act for public benefit. It is not appropriate to leave this matter to the Privy Council alone. I think the Censorate should be involved in the supervision!" Zeng Gongliang said.

"Yes, I'm sure."

Zhao Xing nodded and asked, "By the way, where is the reward for Gu Tingye and the 30,000 soldiers?"

"Your Majesty, the Western Xia has not sent an envoy yet, so it is not appropriate to reward Commander Gu and his soldiers now." Zeng Gongliang said.

After all, the Song Dynasty and Western Xia had an alliance, and Gu Tingye's initiative to send troops was considered a violation of the alliance.

In addition, whether or not to release Queen Liang back to Western Xia would depend on the outcome of the negotiations between the Western Xia envoys and the Song Dynasty.

If they were to release him, they might have to punish Gu Tingye to show Xixia.

"Do you think Xixia wants Queen Liang to go back? After Queen Liang was abducted, Xixia demanded that Song Dynasty return Queen Liang. If they wanted to send an envoy, they would have arrived long ago." Zhao Xing sneered.

The Tangut nobles of Western Xia didn't want Queen Liang to go back at all.

However, the Liang family was eager to welcome back Queen Liang.

But the Liang family didn't send anyone, which means that the Liang family was at a disadvantage in the internal strife in Xixia.

"Your Majesty, since Xixia does not want to see Queen Liang return, I think the Song Dynasty should let Queen Liang go back."

Zeng Gongliang smiled and said, "It's different now than before. The Liang family is in a weak position. Even if Queen Liang returns, it will be difficult to reverse the situation in a short time. This will inevitably make the civil strife in Xixia last longer."

Zhao Xing was silent for a while after hearing this. Just as he was about to speak, Sanshui hurried over and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, urgent news has come from the northwest. Hehuang has mobilized troops against Xixia!"

(End of this chapter)