Chapter 65 Silly child, let's go home.

Reminded by the sky, Ren Heng finally remembered that there was such a person.

Unlike the greed of the Eastern Khan and the cunning of the Western Khan, he had no impression of this person.

Xiao Yichun knew more about the Central Khan. The power of the Northern Barbarians in the central region had declined, and the Central Khan's strength was far inferior to the other two. He probably didn't have the energy to invade other regions.

Of course, regardless of what the two deputy khans think subjectively, the main issue is that they can't make an appointment.

Zhuang Shi was still on his way to fight the Western Khan, but halfway there he heard that the enemy was gone, so he had to return home disappointed. At this moment, Wolong beside him quickly reminded him: Since we came here for military merit, even though we've lost the first and second merits, we can't go home empty-handed! One of the three deputy Khans is dead and another is captured, but there's still one left, isn't there?

Zhuang Shi was immediately tempted and broke camp to head towards the Central Khan's territory. Wolong wiped his sweat and reminded him: "However, I heard that the Central Khan has also sent an envoy; it seems they intend to surrender."

He made a lot of sense, but Zhuang Shi dismissed it with disdain, saying: "What do you mean you're going to surrender? Where's the messenger? I haven't seen the messenger, so doesn't that mean you're not going to surrender? Young man, you still need to train. Let's get our military merits first, and you don't need to worry about anything else."

Seeing the situation was turning against him, the Khan of the Central Kingdom had already sent envoys to surrender. However, before the envoys could even reach the Ning Dynasty's camp, they discovered: "Huh?! Oh no! Where is my old superior?! He's been raided!"

Cheng Zhuoran laughed heartily: "Brother Zhuang, your Yuan Chu is quite interesting."

Zhuang Ziqian: "..."

Zhuang Ziqian had been quiet and composed his whole life, never expecting his son to be like this. This unexpected turn of events caught him completely off guard and caused him to lose his balance.

What do you mean by ignoring the enemy's surrender? Are you really not afraid of getting into trouble?

However, Zhuang Shi was clearly not afraid at all.

As an unfortunate soul left behind in the capital, with no parents to care for him and no brothers to protect him, his shamelessness surpassed even that of the future Emperor Zhongzong.

He looked at the sky, but since Cheng Rong was still beside him, he couldn't show it too obviously. He just chuckled to himself: What a joke, refusing credit that's been handed to him? Absolutely not.

Those who frequently surrender themselves know that if you truly intend to surrender, you must announce it to the world beforehand. Poor Zhong Khan wasn't skilled enough; he was easily defeated by Zhuang Yuanchu, who then included it as a military achievement in his year-end report.

The military officers: "..." Poor thing, how can they possibly become proficient?

The way Tianmu talks makes it sound like he could surrender several times over.

The old Khan waited and waited, unaware that the reinforcements he had been waiting for had all vanished. He tried to struggle in his death throes, but struggled... but could not. Emperor Zhongzong was not in a hurry at all, slowly sealing off the city, harassing it in shifts at night, running away when it came, and chasing it when it retreated, his main goal being to annoy it.

This went on for more than two months. The old Khan couldn't take it anymore. Reinforcements were slow to arrive, and he was so tired of staying in the city that he was practically eating people. He had no choice but to surrender.

In October of the third year of the Jinghua era, the Northern Di formally surrendered, marking the end of their kingdom. After 149 years of rule, the Ning Dynasty's greatest threat was finally eliminated.

On the sky, a scroll slowly unfolds.

The old Khan, his hair already white, stepped out of the city, holding a letter of surrender. Behind him, the still-living high-ranking officials and nobles of the Northern Di capital followed closely, begging for surrender from Emperor Zhongzong.

In early October, under a clear blue sky, the old Khan bared his chest and breasts, and performed the highest tribal courtesy to Zhongzong.

With everything settled, the flags were changed, and the entire northern grasslands were brought under our control.

Under the sky, everyone sighed almost imperceptibly. Ning Dynasty's century-old nemesis had finally seen the dawn of victory in their generation.

However, the previously faint drumbeats suddenly became intense, and a figure lunged at them from the side.

All the onlookers could see was the man's face flushed with excitement, and the dagger he held horizontally in his hand, as he lunged straight at the emperor on the high platform without hesitation.

At Emperor Zhongzong's side, the guards rushed forward to stop him. However, just as the assassin dodged and was about to reach the emperor, the emperor, who had been motionless, suddenly moved.

Instead of retreating, he calmly drew his long sword from his waist, strode forward to meet the assassin head-on, and with a sideways movement, kicked the assassin onto the steps behind him.

With a sickeningly loud thud, the assassin crashed to the ground, his pupils dilating uncontrollably, his vision filled only with the emperor's cold face.

Emperor Zhongzong, positioned high above, swiftly drew his sword. The assassin, unable to react in time, was instantly pierced through the heart and lungs by the sword. He convulsed, his eyes wide open, and could no longer move.

The chaos was fleeting. The old Khan, not far away, was deathly pale, as if he had lost his parents, and suddenly aged ten years.

The expressions of those around him became even more unpredictable. The guards rushed forward and arrested everyone present. The head guard rushed to Emperor Zhongzong and saw that the emperor's expression was calm, except that his hands were stained with blood, which dripped from the tip of his sword, but his robes were spotless.

Emperor Zhongzong exchanged a glance with him, then took out a handkerchief and slowly wiped the long sword in his hand clean while saying, "Let Hulu Khan handle this matter."

Hulu was the old Khan's name. The two were not far apart, and he clearly saw the cold glint in the Ning Dynasty emperor's eyes. He hurriedly kowtowed, "Yes!"

Everything happened so fast that he even suspected it was a setup. But he dared not gamble and could only follow the emperor's orders, diligently beginning his investigation.

There are many different analyses of this story. According to the final investigation by Hulu Khan, the perpetrator was his brother's subordinate. After hearing the conclusion, Emperor Zhongzong immediately had the ashes scattered. Before leaving, he patted Hulu on the shoulder and praised him for doing a good job, saying that his control over the Northern Di was truly remarkable.

After reviewing materials from recent years, I've summarized three main interpretations. The first is the praise type. This viewpoint suggests that while Emperor Zhongzong's initial entry into the northern deserts might have resulted in insufficient inspection by his personal guards, his ability to perfectly resolve these issues demonstrates his exceptional skill and prowess, making him a true hero.

Secondly, the skeptical type. This type is the opposite of the above. They think that Emperor Zhongzong had been fighting for more than ten years and had subdued at least eighty to eighty surrendered generals. How could he possibly be defeated so easily? You are best at entrapment and your style of doing things is exactly the same as Zhuang Yuanchu's. Who knows if this assassin was planted by yourself so that you could continue to suppress the Northern Di and wipe them out in one fell swoop? —The uploader must comment that this type of person should be an undercover agent sent by the Northern Di.

Thirdly, the "using a plan to their advantage" type. This type believes that Emperor Zhongzong's subordinates shouldn't be that incompetent, but the Northern Barbarians wouldn't use their lives as bait either. Emperor Zhongzong must have known this all along and was simply taking advantage of the situation to weaken Hulu Khan's internal influence.

Zhou She was puzzled. Analyzing historical materials was fine, but why did these dialogues... feel like a fan vs. anti-fan war?

Cheng Zhuoran generously assigned Su Tianzong's eldest son, Su Miao, to him. Su Miao was more experienced than Zhou She, and had a lively and outgoing personality. Hearing Tianmu's words, he asked curiously, "So what do you think?"

Zhou She was speechless and wanted to ask Su Miao why he thought Su Miao knew.

Su Miao didn't wait for his reply, and stroked his chin as he ruled out possibilities one by one: "The first possibility is too low. It's impossible for surrendered soldiers not to know that they should be searched first. The second... you sound a bit cunning, cough, shrewd. The third possibility is the most likely."

Zhou She: "..." You mean cunning, right?

However, regardless of the reason, the final result is the same, so there's no need to delve into it. Emperor Zhongzong returned victorious, leaving his eldest daughter at the border and taking his son home with him. Before leaving, he said to Shao Junzheng: "My son is young and ignorant, and I'm sorry to have troubled you with him during this time."

Shao Junzheng naturally said he wasn't worried. After all, although the Second Prince was gentle by nature, he also didn't care about anything and only needed to act as a mascot. He wasn't afraid of a weak prince, but rather of a boss who had to step in even when things weren't going well.

On their way back to the capital, the Second Prince secretly came to ask Emperor Zhongzong: "I heard that the Duan family wanted to arrange a marriage between us back then, why did you refuse, Father?"

Duan Mingyuan was about to listen with a half-hearted attitude. As an old and established family in Yongzhou, the place where Zhongzong rose to prominence, the Duan family was clearly the villains.

No one cared about their stolen property or their children who were still taken away and put on trial even after they submitted...

However, at this moment, he instantly perked up: It's here, it's finally here!

Duan Mingyuan's eldest son passed by in a daze. Seeing his father's appearance, he said, "Father, have you forgotten that Emperor Cheng killed her brother?"

Duan Mingyuan: "???" What does that mean?

War sometimes gives birth to love, that's probably it. Otherwise, it's hard to explain why Zhong Huang and Duan Youzhi fell in love in just half a year. It can't be because Emperor Zhongzong used to take Zhong Cong and Zhong Huang to the Duan family to borrow money, right?

After hearing only half of the story of his son's love affair with the Duan family's granddaughter, Emperor Zhongzong shook his head and said, "I don't care about your love. Anyway, I didn't have any hope for you. If you really like her, I'll just send you out for a political marriage."

Emperor Hong'an seemed to be enlightened by these words, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

It's not that it's impossible... cough, it seems like it really isn't possible.

Duan Mingyuan looked at his son with great dissatisfaction: "Where is my granddaughter?"

Duan's eldest son: "..." Dad, when did I get married?

Zhong Huang finally found his own happiness. He felt sorry for his sister, having to endure hardship at the border. He mainly thought that his family had already suffered enough in the past, and now that things were much better, why should they leave his sister behind at the border?

Now he no longer doubted that his father had a problem with him; he felt that his father had a problem with his sister. The naive, foolish child chose to ask directly.

Before Zhong Huang on the sky could even ask a question, everyone had already looked away, unable to bear watching.

What a silly child, you have no idea what it means for your father to care about you.

Even Zhou Xuyan frowned deeply: This isn't naivety, it's adorably foolish. Even if he were to truly ascend the throne, he would be completely manipulated by his ministers.

Even the wealthy families with some assets were somewhat surprised. Those who frequently fought over family property knew that whoever was given power would not be able to live a peaceful life: it wasn't just pointless suffering, but rather that to support the family, one needed matching capabilities, and these capabilities couldn't just appear out of thin air.

In the sky, a man and a woman, one tall and one short, sat in a carriage. The middle-aged Emperor Zhongzong, still beardless, looked as youthful as ever, and was resting with his eyes closed on a soft couch.

Hearing his son's innocent question, he opened his eyes and asked incredulously, "You think I'm mean to your sister?"

Zhong Huang shook his head in confusion and whispered, "I just feel... why doesn't Father bring my sister back to the palace, but instead leaves her to suffer at the border?"

Emperor Zhongzong was speechless. He stared at his simple-minded son's face, looked him up and down, reached out and touched his son's forehead, and sighed, "You don't have a fever either..."

Zhong Huang: "?"

Emperor Jungjong leaned back and said, "I really don't know how your mother and I could have given birth to someone as innocent as you... Don't ask anymore, silly child, let's go home."