GBP Chapter 267: Capture of Two More Cities
Chapter 267: Capture of Two More Cities
Concubine Li's gentle words gently touched the deepest chords in Zhao Heng's heart.
"That's true. Why not summon all the princes to the court and grant them fiefs again, so that the long-lost fatherly love can fill their hearts like the warm spring sun..."
As Zhao Hengzhen pondered, his eyes fell gently on the beauty beside him. His arms tightened involuntarily, holding Concubine Li tightly in his arms, as if he wanted to pour all his tenderness and affection into this warm embrace.
Concubine Li mistakenly thought that Zhao Hengzhen's heart had been completely melted by her gentle words. Ripples of joy appeared in her heart, and her body involuntarily moved closer to him, as if she wanted to completely immerse herself in this rare warmth.
"What Concubine Li said is absolutely right. At tomorrow's morning court session, I will issue an order to ensure that the princes return to the capital before the Dragon Boat Festival to reunite and enjoy the happiness of family."
Zhao Hengzhen's words were full of expectations for the future and admiration for Concubine Li's wisdom. The two figures appeared particularly harmonious and beautiful in this warm night.
……
After Lingqiu County was occupied, Zhao Sheng could not just sit there and let it go. Occupying a city was not only a challenge to a prince, but also a blasphemy to the court.
The Wang family needs to take responsibility for their evil deeds and occupy the city to gain fairness. The final result still needs to be weighed.
Li Xin of Dingzhou stepped forward and wrote a letter to the emperor, stating that the Wang family and the Lu family colluded with each other and seized private property belonging to Dingzhou, causing unnecessary disputes.
Bingzhou is the fief of the eighth prince, but it also represents the Lu family. As for the post-war compensation, please ask the court to revoke it.
When the memorial was delivered to the emperor, Zhao Hengzhen knew that this must have been Zhao Sheng's idea, so he held a meeting in the court and faced the court officials.
"Everyone, what do you think about this matter?"
There was an immediate whisper in the hall. Logically, Lu Yipeng and Lu Junyi should have come forward to speak, but today both of them acted indifferent.
On the contrary, Cui Mingyi, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, similar disputes have occurred many times in the court before. Most of them were settled by paying compensation or threatening to occupy other people's territory. This is not appropriate."
Although he was the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, he was speaking on behalf of the Cui family, and some people in the hall were discussing it privately.
"I think the Lu family was at fault in this matter. From what I understand, the Lu family has already paid the Dingzhou prince consort the Golden River grain. It's not like the Lu family should admit their fault in the Lingqiu County incident."
"Yes, Prime Minister Wei is right!"
"Did the Li family's passage through Bingzhou arouse public outrage, leading to the fighting?"
There was an uproar in the court, and many officials spoke up for the Lu family.
Zhao Hengzhen knew what Cui Mingyi meant, which was that these territories needed to be returned. It also revealed a signal that Yizhou had to be returned to the Lu family after it was occupied.
This will disrupt Zhao Hui's plan in Yanzhou.
"I think this conflict is not only influenced by the Lu family, but also more by the Wang family, so..."
Before Zhao Hengzhen could finish his words, the postman at the palace gate shouted, "Express delivery for eight hundred miles."
Unfortunately, the military intelligence is important, so I can only look at the expedited documents first.
"Damn it! The Xiongnu marched south again, captured Yang County, and marched straight to Guangling County, but were intercepted by the Weizhou army."
Civil and military officials were shocked. What was going on? And why didn't Dai County send troops, but instead sent troops from Weizhou?
"The report says that Lingqiu County also mobilized 80,000 mixed troops to attack Guangling County. The two sides combined a total of 150,000 troops and directly captured Guangling County. The Xiongnu soldiers retreated. I wonder if the Daijun troops are planning to abandon these areas?"
Looking at the helpless officials in the hall, Zhao Hengzhen continued to talk about the content of the urgent intelligence.
"Your Majesty, how come Guangling County was occupied by Weizhou again?" Wei Rong was confused. Although he had heard the battle report, he was angry but couldn't say it.
"Before the battle even started, the tens of thousands of troops in Guangling County fled to Changshan County, leaving the city completely deserted."
Zhao Hengzhen angrily threw away the military report, then calmed down and said, "Since Dai County cannot protect its own territory, these two counties will be transferred to Weizhou from now on."
"Your Majesty, you can't do that!" Wei Rong spoke out again to stop him.
"Why not? If we put it in Weizhou, we have people to guard it, and we can pay a lot more silver to the court every year. I have made up my mind, no need to say more!"
The two places of Weizhou were allocated to Li Xin for the construction of a free trade zone. At that time, Prince of Yan Zhao Hui told him that it was equivalent to leasing it to the son-in-law Zhao Sheng.
Now that he knew that Mr. Zhao was the sixth son in his family, he would definitely expand this territory. The key point was that the rents in these places were also high.
……
The conspiracy of the Xiongnu cavalry to march south was actually a big drama secretly planned by the Wang family of Bingzhou. Unfortunately, this carefully arranged chess game was discovered by the shrewd Lan family.
Quietly, the intelligence, like a firefly in the dark night, flew into the hands of Zhao Sheng's party. Thus, a thrilling battle to seize the city began without any warning.
Behind this game of thrones, Yangcheng, this ancient and silent land, has quietly become a tacit buffer zone for both sides, like a quiet harbor in the long river of history, waiting for the storm to subside.
In the future vision, the land of Yi Yu will be reborn and transformed into a prosperous commercial and trading area, with merchants gathering and a wide variety of goods, becoming a shining pearl connecting the north and the south.
And Yang County, this inconspicuous little town, will play a more secretive role in the undercurrent - it will become a secret channel for smuggling livestock, especially for those precious war horses, Yang County will be the only port for them to cross taboos and find a new world.
In comparison, Yi Yu's light is too dazzling. Every inch of its land is exposed to the sun, and there is no room for any shadow.
Therefore, those shady transactions naturally had to choose the more hidden Yang County as the stage, allowing all the unknown secrets to be quietly staged in the dark night.
Zhao Sheng was very clear about the interests behind this series of events. He had been planning the buffer zone for a long time, but this time the opportunity was given to him by the Wang family, so he would have to take it if he didn't.
"Son-in-law, how should we deal with this matter? If we allow Yang County to become a smuggling area, it will probably cause a lot of trouble." The strategist Xintu said worriedly.
Zhao Sheng stood up and paced around the tent. "The Wang family's move is truly insidious. We must stop smuggling, but we must not disrupt the temporary balance with the Xiongnu."
At this moment, a spy hurriedly came to report: "Prince Consort, the Wang family seems to be secretly mobilizing manpower to strengthen their control over Yang County."
Zhao Sheng's eyes flashed. "They're quite quick. Pass on my orders to intensify patrols in the surrounding areas and closely monitor the Wang family's every move."
However, things were far more complicated than Zhao Sheng had imagined. The Nalan family and several other tribes began to stir, seemingly hoping to gain greater benefits from this model.
"Prince Consort, the Lan family has also gotten involved. Will we be forced to step aside now?"
Zhao Sheng took a deep breath and said, "No matter what, we must stick to our bottom line. If necessary, we must resort to some measures."
Just as Zhao Sheng was racking his brains to think of a countermeasure, he couldn't let the border area get out of control.