I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 126: Trophy: Also a Princess
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At the end of August in the first year of Jianzhong, the Shenji Left Army, which had fought bloody battles in the northwest for more than five months, returned to Tokyo Bianliang City for rest.

Zhao Ya personally went to Jinglong Gate to watch the victory ceremony.

Jinglong Gate is located in front of the Baolu Palace in the corner of the imperial city. Every year during the Lantern Festival, the gate is ablaze with dazzling lanterns, attracting a constant stream of visitors.

The welcoming ceremony was a grand affair, with drums and flutes playing, and the imperial guards standing in neat rows on both sides, welcoming the Shenji Left Army into the city.

Shen Ji Zuo Jun made Zhao Ya proud this time, and it can be said that he was invincible in Qing Tang.

This not only greatly intimidated the enemy, but also made the Western Army realize that Zhao Ya had an army that was stronger and more capable of fighting than theirs, allowing them to restrain their rebelliousness.

It is worth mentioning that Zhao Ya’s personal guards, the Golden Spear Squad and the Yulong Archers, also went to the battlefield with the Shenji Left Army this time.

Both armies performed very well.

Of course, you can also say that in most cases, these two armies fought against the Shenji Left Army with favorable conditions, and their true combat effectiveness could not be seen.

But no matter what, these young masters have really been to the battlefield, seen blood, and killed people. At least they will not see the scene where the emperor was assassinated by a cook while he was out shopping, and more than a hundred guards around him just watched. They should also not see the ridiculous scene of the Truth Church uprising, where two hundred believers attacked the Forbidden City and massacred a hundred palace masters.

It is worth mentioning that among those who were promoted seven levels in a row by Zhao Ya, two were from the Golden Spear Squad and the Imperial Dragon Bow and Arrow Squad. One of them was named He Qingyan and the other was named Chen Keli.

According to the memorials sent from the front line and the secret reports from the military supervisors of the Shen Ji Left Army, He Qingyan and Chen Keli always charged ahead every time they killed the enemy. They also had the extraordinary merit of one being the first to climb the ladder and the other beheading a general.

Furthermore, during the Jingkang Incident, two Song army commanders defending the city refused to abandon it and fought bravely, ultimately sacrificing their lives for their country on the city walls. Their names were He Qingyan and Chen Keli. Of the many officers and generals defending the capital at the time, these two were the only ones who sacrificed their lives for their country at the most crucial moment.

Zhao Ya didn't know whether these two young men among his guards were the heroes who could die for their country at the most critical moment, but just because they were his personal guards and had the extraordinary merit of being the first to reach the enemy and kill the generals outside, it was an honor for him.

Therefore, Zhao Ya promoted He Qingyan and Chen Keli seven levels each, making them the leaders of his personal army, to demonstrate his generosity in rewarding those who had made meritorious services.

Soon, the soldiers of the Shenji Left Army were wearing cotton armor, carrying flags and tiger squat cannons on their shoulders, thunder bombs on their waists, and crossbows on their shoulders. They walked with strong and powerful steps, like a torrent of steel, and slowly passed through the Jinglong Gate.

The sunlight shines on their resolute faces, illuminating every pair of eyes filled with glory and pride.

Wherever they walked, a murderous aura swept over, making the guards on both sides dare not look them in the eye.

Zhao Ya stood on the high platform, looking at this powerful army tempered by the flames of war, and he became more and more satisfied.

Beside Zhao Ya, Li Lin, who was disguised as a eunuch, was even more satisfied. She planned to wait until Zhao Ya had more money, and then she would suggest that Zhao Ya train three more such Shenji armies, and then form Shenji Front Army, Shenji Rear Army, Shenji Left Army, Shenji Right Army, and Shenji Center Army.

With five such armies, Zhao Ya may not be able to sweep the world, but he should be able to control the military force without fear of any force.

Zhang Shuye, He Guan and the Shenji Right Army under their command were also among the welcoming group.

Seeing the success of the Shenji Left Army, the Shenji Right Army was both envious and under immense pressure, fearing they would not perform as well as the Shenji Left Army once they entered the battlefield.

——As soon as the Shenji Left Army and the Shenji Right Army have changed guard, the Shenji Right Army will also set out for the Qingtang battlefield.

Zhao Ya returned to Daqing Hall and accepted congratulations from his ministers.

Soon, Xia Zheng and Long Zha, who were brought back by the Shenji Left Army, as well as the Khitan princess, Xixia princess, and Uighur princess who were married to Qingtang Tubo, were taken to the Daqing Palace to present a letter of surrender to Zhao Ya.

Earlier, some ministers of the Zhao Song Dynasty hoped that Zhao Ya could release Long Zha and let him control Shanzhou as the representative of the Zhao Song Dynasty, just like the Zhe family controlled Fuzhou.

But this has been denied by Zhao Ya.

Zhao Ya had already made up his mind to implement the county system in the Qingtang area. To this end, he even condoned the Western Army soldiers on the front line to massacre the entire families of the resisting Qingtang Tibetan nobles. Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back.

It is said that because the Western Army soldiers on the front line were carrying out the "flattening of wheels" incident, many people impeached Zhang Dun, saying that Zhang Dun did not manage his subordinates strictly, which led to such a tragic incident in the army, which was a shame for the Song Dynasty. Some censors even pleaded with Zhao Ya to severely punish Zhang Dun and those Western Army generals in order to rectify military discipline and reassure the people.

Zhang Dun was ready to take the blame for Zhao Ya.

Who would have thought that Zhao Ya was not ambiguous about this matter. He took the initiative to take the responsibility and said bluntly: "Zhang Aiqing is not at fault. This is a permanent solution. The order was issued by me and has nothing to do with others."

Unlike when Zhao Ya was not yet firmly seated on the throne and was somewhat hesitant in doing things, now that he has completely taken back the imperial power, Zhao Ya is absolutely responsible and never shirks responsibility.

This alone is extremely rare for an emperor.

In addition, Zhao Ya gets up at the hour of Mao every day. It can be said that no matter how crazy he plays the night before, he never delays his work.

Zhao Ya also stipulated that whenever there was a battle report from the front line, no matter when, even in the middle of the night, he must wake himself up immediately to read the report.

During this period, Zhao Ya has fully demonstrated his wisdom, magnanimity, diligence, love for the people, clear rewards and punishments, and ability to appoint people to the right positions.

Furthermore, Zhao Ya was tolerant of censors and listened to their advice. Even when some of their suggestions angered Zhao Ya to the point of breaking his defenses, he never actually banished any of them from the capital. The key point was that if Zhao Ya realized he was wrong, he would definitely change.

The monarch and his ministers had been together for a long time. Although they could not be said to be particularly satisfied with Zhao Ya, both the ministers of the New Party and the ministers of the Old Party were convinced of Zhao Ya and were willing to help him.

The reason why Zhao Ya looked down on the two Zamps, Xia Zheng and Long Zha, was because, in history, Zhao Ji chose a system of controlled rule. Who would have thought that Long Zha made a big promise in front of Zhao Ji, saying that he could cut off Lang Ak Zhang's head and present it to Zhao Ji. But after Long Zha returned to Xihe Road, he only dared to hide in Minzhou and did not dare to move forward. The Zhao Song Dynasty had no choice but to acknowledge the established fact that Long Zha's brother Xi She Luosa had restored the country in Shanzhou City.

In other words, Long Za is just a piece of junk and is of no use at all.

And the blind conquest that has no justification and only knows how to massacre is even more useless.

Compared with the two kings Xia Zheng and Long Zha, Zhao Ya was actually more interested in the three princesses who married into Qingtang Tubo.

Unexpectedly, after meeting them, Zhao Ya found out that the youngest of the three princesses, the Uighur princess, was already over 40 years old.

This made Zhao Ya lose interest in them immediately.

Therefore, after accepting the surrender letter submitted by them on behalf of Qingtang Tubo, Zhao Ya waved his hand and let them go without giving them a chance to say anything.

As for how to deal with these useless people, we will talk about it later. Tong Guan, who came back with Shen Ji Zuo Jun, saw Zhao Ya's disappointment and smiled slightly.

Tong Guan then presented Zhao Ya with twenty-four beauties from the Qing and Tang dynasties, many of whom were from the Western Regions.

Tong Guan told Zhao Ya that there were also several daughters of Xia Zheng and Long Zha among them, and they could barely be considered princesses.

In fact, if it weren't for presenting these beauties to Zhao Ya, Tong Guan would not have come back in person.

You know, this is the God-given opportunity that Tong Guan has been waiting for for many years to achieve great things, especially since he has the magical army like the Shenji Army that can help him gain military merits.

But after so many years of ups and downs, Tong Guan had long realized that many times, you can't succeed just by having the ability. If you want to achieve something, you need the support of noble people so that you can stand out.

Having been with Zhao Ya for so long, Tong Guan knew very well that Zhao Ya had no other problems except that he was a little fond of women.

Then Tong Guan would definitely cater to his needs.

Let me put it this way, after arriving in Qingtang, in addition to fighting, Tong Guan was helping Zhao Ya collect beauties.

Tong Guan not only collected the books himself, he also asked Wang Hou, Wang Shan, Zhong Pu and others to help him collect the books.

What Wang Hou and other Western Army generals feared most was that while they were ready to work hard, the imperial court would change its mind and not destroy Qingtang Tubo.

Wang Hou and his group weren't doing this without a purpose. Too many similar incidents had occurred over the years.

Just recently, the imperial court almost ordered them to withdraw from the Qingtang area.

Therefore, bribing the emperor and getting him to support them in achieving great things was the common wish of many frontline generals.

Besides, Tong Guan had already made it clear that he would not embezzle their credit, and he would report truthfully whoever made the contribution.

The key is that this rare opportunity to have an intersection with the emperor, and even the opportunity to let the emperor know their names, who can not be dedicated? In fact, many people want to send their daughters to make up the number.

Don’t you see, Guo Cheng’s career soared to fame just because his daughter became the imperial concubine?
What’s more crucial is that sometimes, leaders may not be able to remember who gave gifts, but they will definitely remember who did not.

Therefore, the beauties in the Qingtang area were collected by Tong Guan and a group of Western Army generals and presented to Zhao Ya.

The ministers gave gifts to express their respect and loyalty to Zhao Ya. Zhao Ya accepted the gifts, which to a certain extent made the ministers feel the emperor's acceptance, helped to strengthen the emotional connection between the monarch and the ministers, created a harmonious atmosphere of coexistence, and made the ministers serve Zhao Ya more loyally.

In addition, accepting gifts carefully prepared by his subjects can demonstrate Zhao Ya's noble status and supreme authority as an emperor, strengthen the symbolic significance of imperial power, make his subjects more respectful of imperial power, and maintain the feudal ruling order.

But then again, excessive acceptance of gifts can also bring many disadvantages, such as breeding corruption and encouraging extravagance. These negative effects were more obvious in the late Qianlong period in history and also had an adverse impact on the rule of the Qing Dynasty.

But generally speaking, the emperor accepting gifts from his subjects would undoubtedly strengthen his rule. From the emperor's perspective, he would definitely accept the gift.

So Zhao Ya said to Tong Guan: "My dear minister, you are so thoughtful. Good."

Tong Guan was overjoyed when Zhao Ya said "OK". He then reported, "Your Majesty, I have led the army on a campaign for several months and the expenses are enormous. However, I have carefully calculated everything and now I have a hundred large pearls, six thousand taels of gold, as well as rhinoceros horn jade, money, silk, and some local specialties. I will present them to you later."

Zhao Ya knew clearly in his mind that this was not something saved by Tong Guan, but was clearly the spoils he obtained from Qingtang Tubo.

From Tong Guan's actions, Zhao Ya had guessed that the Western Army must have made a lot of money this time.

Come to think of it, this time Zhao Ya issued a killing order, and most of the powerful chieftains entrenched in the important routes of the Silk Road were eradicated by the Western Army. The wealth they had accumulated for countless generations fell into the hands of the Western Army. Who would believe that they did not make a fortune?

Zhao Ya casually asked, "Are you the only one who saved military funds?"

When Tong Guan heard Zhao Ya's words, he quickly took out a large list of gifts and presented it to Zhao Ya, saying, "When I arrived in the northwest, I told the generals that the emperor has been tightening his belt to recover Qingtang. We must save as much as possible. Therefore, the generals have also saved some gold and silver and are willing to present them to the emperor. I hope the emperor will take a look."

Zhao Ya took the gift list and took a look. These Western Army generals all gave out a lot of money according to their rank and power.

Zhao Ya guessed that his recent anti-corruption efforts in other regions might have frightened the generals of the Western Army, which was why they each offered him some benefits and tributes in an attempt to buy peace.

At this time, Zhao Ya must have the support of the Anxi Army. If the Anxi Army rebelled, it would be impossible to suppress it, and he, the emperor, would have to resign.

Zhao Ya handed the gift list to Huang Jingchen, and Huang Jingchen naturally understood that Zhao Ya wanted him to accept all of it.

At this time, Zhao Ya commented on the Western Army: "The Western Army fought well this battle. Keep up the good work."

With Zhao Ya's words, Tong Guan felt relieved, and the generals of the Western Army could go to war with peace of mind.

At this moment, Zhao Ya remembered something: "Shen Ji Zuo Jun..."

Tong Guan said hurriedly: "My Shenji Army has strict military discipline. This time we go out to fight, we march strictly according to the new military regulations. No one will harm anyone. All captured spoils will be confiscated. We will not destroy houses even if we freeze to death, and we will not plunder even if we starve to death."

The Western Army's bandit-like military discipline is ingrained in their bones and is almost hopeless. Zhao Ya is not planning to change this army, at least in the short term.

But the Shenji Army is different. They are the hope of the Zhao Song Dynasty. Zhao Ya doesn't want them to become like the Western Army.

Zhao Ya had already instructed Tong Guan about this matter.

Zhao Ya estimated that Tong Guan should be able to handle this small matter, otherwise he would not be worthy of being a traitorous minister.

Besides, there is the firewall of Zong Ze and Wang Bing, as well as the military supervision system and new ideas throughout the Shenji Army. The military discipline of the Shenji Army should not be the same as that of the Western Army.

As soon as he returned to the harem, Zhao Ya saw the twenty-four Qing Tang beauties presented to him by Tong Guan, especially several beauties with faces from the Western Regions.

How to describe these beauties?
Zhao Ya could only say: "Sure enough, our ancestors didn't attack the Western Regions just for those two taels of raisins!"

……

(End of this chapter)