Achievements
In the hall of Han's mansion, Han Shizhong was reviewing border intelligence, but saw Liang Hongyu hurriedly walking in with Qiu Feng.
Han Shizhong smiled and said, "Hongyu, are you finally awake?"
"General Han, that's not the point," Liang Hongyu said. "Do you agree to the 'triple-row ridge' I mentioned earlier?"
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Seeing that Han Shizhong remained silent, Liang Hongyu continued, "If General Han feels that this method is not feasible, I can first lead my personal guards to open up a test field. Once this method is indeed feasible, we can promote it on a large scale."
"There's no need to open a test field. Just do as you said. During the few days you were in a coma, I had people research this method, and everyone thinks it's indeed feasible." Han Shizhong said, looking at her again, "However, you seem to have forgotten one thing."
"What is it?"
"I forgot to eat."
After Liang Hongyu woke up, she couldn't stop thinking about the "triple ridge" project. She hadn't expected Han Shizhong to agree so easily. She had thought it would take a while. She was delighted, but his reminder made her feel even more hungry. After all, she hadn't eaten or drunk anything in three days of sleep.
Seeing that she was moved, Han Shizhong ordered his men to prepare food.
In just a moment, Liang Hongyu saw the table piled with a variety of food. She felt very hungry and began to eat voraciously.
Han Shizhong saw her eating and couldn't help but laugh at her, "Hongyu, you've been disciplined in the palace for many years, haven't you gotten over your habit of wolfing down food as soon as you see it?"
Liang Hongyu, hearing what he said, recalled the days when Concubine Pan had troubled her in the palace. Back then, Concubine Pan had hired a maid to teach her how to behave in the palace, and she had been tortured. Even though she had martial arts skills, she had endured so much because of the ridiculous palace rules. Did he still blame her for entering the palace as a concubine? It was because she was forced by the emperor.
Liang Hongyu replied while eating, "General Han, you're joking. As a female general of the Song Dynasty, if I had the ability to chew slowly and carefully, the enemy would have broken through the city long ago."
Han Shizhong thought to himself when he heard this: She is still as eloquent as ever, yet Concubine Pan makes things difficult for her in the palace. Is it because of the emperor that she tolerates her so much?
After a hearty meal, Liang Hongyu said to Han Shizhong, "Thank you, General Han, for your hospitality today. I have important business to attend to, so I will go back home first." After that, she stood up and prepared to leave.
"Hongyu, have you ever fallen in love with the emperor?" Han Shizhong regretted what he said. Liang Hongyu had been very cold to him, and this question would push her further away.
Liang Hongyu didn't look back at him. She knew that no matter how the world changed, her entry into the palace as a concubine would always be a thorn between her and him, not to mention the vows she had made. That kiss on the city wall that night was only because she hadn't received it, that was why she felt so ecstatic.
So she replied: "The emperor is truly a rare talent. Any woman would be attracted to him."
The moment Liang Hongyu walked out of the government office, a crystal tear suddenly flowed from her eye.
After leaving the house, Qiu Feng asked, "Miss, it's clear that General Han still has feelings for you, so why did you say that just now?"
Liang Hongyu suddenly stopped when she heard this and replied, "Why do you think the emperor can let me leave the palace? Because I swore to the emperor that I would never have any private relationship with General Han again."
Qiu Feng didn't expect that her girl had endured so much. How could she not have thought that an emperor would not let his woman leave so easily?
Romantic affairs always consume one's energy. Liang Hongyu put all her thoughts into rebuilding Chuzhou City.
The ridge method was quickly promoted, and deep ditches and high ridges crisscrossed, cutting the plain into pieces like a chessboard.
This method not only greatly improved land utilization efficiency, but more importantly, it invisibly changed the topography. Such terrain made it difficult for even the most agile warhorses to move forward, not to mention the Jin army's iron pagodas, forming a natural barrier that was perfect for stopping cavalry.
At the time of autumn harvest, the grain output in the entire Chuzhou area was 40% higher than that in previous bumper years!
The military and civilians were jubilant, and Liang Hongyu's prestige reached its peak in Chuzhou.
However, Liang Hongyu saw further. She knew that victory or defeat in war depended not only on the strength of soldiers and horses, but also on wisdom and calculation.
She looked around the army and found that although her female soldiers were brave, most of them were illiterate, which ultimately made them weak in troop deployment and logistics.
So she did another shocking thing - she set up a girls' school in the army.
She personally stepped in and hired a failed scholar who had fallen on hard times due to the war, paying him a large sum of money. She did not teach him poetry or songs, but only two books - "The Art of War" and "Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art".
The former taught them what was normal and strange, real and fake, attack and defense; the latter taught them how to calculate food and grass, dispatch troops, and build fortifications.
This was the first time in the entire Song Dynasty and even in the entire history of China.
For a time, in Chuzhou City, the daytime was filled with the deafening sounds of military drills, while the night was filled with the sounds of reading aloud.
An unprecedented vitality is surging in this city that has been reborn from the ashes.
Liang Hongyu's achievements in Chuzhou flew into the imperial city of Lin'an like snowflakes and were placed on Zhao Gou's desk.
Inside the imperial palace of Lin'an, Zhao Gou gazed upon the staggering figures and deeds in the report, his expression unremarkable. He marveled at Liang Hongyu's extraordinary talent, yet he also grew increasingly wary of her past relationship with Han Shizhong.
Han Shizhong, with his vast military command and impressive military achievements, was already enough to give him a headache. Adding Liang Hongyu, a capable administrator, a skilled military trainer, and a trusted advisor, would be enough to keep any suspicious monarch awake at night.
Even today, he still remembers the day when Liang Hongyu rode away on horseback. Her red robe fluttered in the heavy snow like tongues of flame in a blazing fire. Only her resolute back and the flying snow raised by the horse's hooves were left outside the city wall.
He treated her so well. For her, he could go against all the ministers. For her, he could dismiss all the women in the harem and keep only her. But even so, he still couldn't keep her. He was the king of a country, but he couldn't keep the woman he loved. Whenever he thought of his beloved woman lying in the arms of another man, his heart ached like tears of blood.
It's time to remind her of that oath again.
A few days later, a grand royal procession arrived in Chuzhou City.
Eunuch Rong held the imperial edict in his hand and read out the commendation to Liang Hongyu in public - he awarded her one thousand taels of gold, one hundred pieces of brocade, and conferred her the title of "Lady Protector of the Country" with a fief of five hundred households.
The soldiers and civilians in the city knelt on the ground to express their gratitude and shouted "Long live the emperor".
Liang Hongyu did not feel any joy in her heart, but a sense of inexplicable worry surged in her mind.
Sure enough, after the decree was announced, the eunuch smiled and pulled out an exquisite rosewood box from his sleeve. He handed it to her and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "General, this is a private letter from the emperor. The emperor said that he is always grateful for your loyalty, dedicating your heart and body to the Song Dynasty. It is a blessing for the country to have a loyal minister like you. The emperor also said that he hopes you will pay more attention to the military and political affairs of Chuzhou and not be distracted by mundane affairs, as this would be a betrayal of the emperor's grace and would bring trouble to others."
"Involving others" and "mundane affairs", each word was like an ice-cold needle, piercing Liang Hongyu's heart.
She took the wooden box and it felt cold to the touch.
She didn't even need to open it to know what was written inside. It wasn't a reward, but a warning, a chilling reminder.
In front of her were the covetous Jin people, and behind her was the suspicious monarch. She was like walking on a tightrope as thin as a hair. Han Shizhong and the people around her must have secret guards planted by Zhao Gou. If they were not careful, he and Han Shizhong would be in danger of their lives.
She felt like she was being drawn tighter and tighter by an invisible net, and she could hardly breathe.
After the imperial edict was read, Liang Hongyu was still hesitant to stand up to receive it. Han Shizhong noticed her abnormality and called her softly beside her: "Hongyu, why don't you thank me quickly!"
Upon hearing this, Liang Hongyu suddenly turned around and glared at Han Shizhong: "General Han, you and I are just comrades. Please call me General Liang."
She took a deep breath, suppressed the turbulent emotions in her heart, and then knelt on the ground. Her voice was calm and without a trace of emotion: "Your servant Liang Hongyu thanks the emperor for his grace. I will fulfill my duties and be loyal to my country, even if it means death."
Upon seeing this, Eunuch Rong nodded with satisfaction, turned around and left, and Liang Hongyu also followed him out of the tent.
Han Shizhong was stunned by Liang Hongyu's words and was unable to come back to his senses for a long time. He only stood up after being reminded by his personal guards.
After seeing off Eunuch Rong and the honor guard, Liang Hongyu climbed up the highest corner tower in Chuzhou City alone. The cold wind made her clothes rustle.
She looked towards the south towards Lin'an City with a dark and unclear look in her eyes.
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