Chapter 118 Chapter 118 Fake Death
The following day, the emperor's carriage finally set off from Jiangdong. Although this was a victorious return to the capital, apart from the guards who had always protected the emperor and the army that escorted him, the main force remained in Jiangdong.
The emperor took Su Mu with him. Over the past year, Su Mu had always been the one to coax the emperor back to his senses whenever he threw a tantrum. He was very good at understanding the emperor's thoughts and always managed to maintain a delicate balance between him and Pei Wu.
Even on many occasions when he wanted to harm Pei Wu, it was Su Mu who dissuaded him. He had already seen through the situation and therefore tried his best to protect the emperor.
Now that he could finally return to Bianjing, Su Mu was not so happy. Instead, he tried several times to persuade the emperor to stay at the border, but he could not persuade the emperor to go back. The emperor insisted on returning, so he had no choice but to go back with him.
Before leaving, he transferred a deputy privy councilor to guard the place for him, and only then did he agree to return with the emperor.
Su Mu's desire to protect the emperor may be due to the late emperor's instructions, which is why he is now staying so close by, as if he is afraid that Pei Wu will harm him.
Pei Wu knew his ulterior motives, and since things hadn't gone smoothly yet, Pei Wu wouldn't take action against him for the time being.
Apart from the emperor and Su Mu, the rest of the troops had arrangements. Except for those who were to stay behind to continue garrisoning the several prefectures in Jiangdong, most of the rest of the army were to follow Pei Wu to Yanshan.
After resting for a few days, the army set off for Yanshan Prefecture.
Just as the emperor arrived in Bianjing, the letter sent to Bianjing had already reached Jiang Ru's hands. When the army returned to the capital, she was still looking forward to it, thinking that Pei Wu would also come back. But to her surprise, the emperor's carriage arrived first, and there was no sign of Pei Wu.
Among them was a familiar figure, Xue Zhong, whom I had met in Nanzhao. He was riding a horse in front of the imperial carriage. The emperor had returned victorious, and the people lining the road stopped on both sides, saying things like "Long live the emperor."
Since it was the emperor's trip, the palace guards blocked the imperial carriage completely, so Jiang Ru could hardly see anything. But even if she couldn't see anything, it didn't stop Jiang Ru from getting annoyed just by hearing him, since the emperor was indeed a very annoying person.
Pei Wu didn't return, so Jiang Ru simply stopped looking. The imperial carriage passed by, and Jiang Ru sighed. Just as she was about to look away, a servant knocked on the door, and then a courier who followed her in handed Jiang Ru a box. It was specially sent to Jiang Ru by Pei Wu.
Jiang Ru opened it and glanced at it. On top was a letter, and below were various trinkets. Perhaps because of the victory of the Great Xia, Pei Wu had the time to specially buy some specialties from Weizhou and Lu State and send them to Jiang Ru. However, none of these mattered to Jiang Ru. She just missed Pei Wu.
She listlessly opened the letter. In fact, she had known for several days that Pei Wu would not return to Bianjing, but she still held onto the hope that Pei Wu might come back for a visit. Today, she did not see Pei Wu, which was expected, but she could not help but feel sad.
The Great Xia had been constantly suppressed and attacked, but now it had finally won a victory. The people were elated, and the restaurants in the city were packed. Storytellers gathered in the restaurants, telling stories of how King Liang led his army to reclaim the lost territory, which was a blessing for the Great Xia.
The emperor personally led the expedition, but the storytellers didn't talk about how mighty and domineering the emperor was; instead, they all talked about the King of Liang.
Pei Wu was already quite famous among the people, and now with this kind of hype, everyone knows that Pei Wu turned the tide and that he was a promising young man.
Along with this, the Nanzhao commander who went to provide support was also given a name. Xue Zhong had been guarding Nanzhao diligently for so many years, and hearing the people's praise, he even walked with a vigorous stride.
This was all part of a propaganda campaign planned by Jiang Ru and Cheng Hao. If Pei Wu wanted to usurp the emperor's power in the future, he needed the support of the people. If the people had a good impression of him first, they would be less resistant to him in the future.
In addition, Cheng Hao has been paving the way for the emperor in the court this year. First, he sent the emperor to Jiangdong to be with Pei Wu. Since there was no one else in charge in the court, that person was Cheng Hao. With the cooperation of Song Pingzhang's protégés, he now has complete control over the power in the court.
Pei Wu now has military merits, and if he can successfully reclaim Yanshan Prefecture in the future, it will be another bargaining chip for him.
A change of dynasty was inevitable, but they hoped it could be as peaceful as possible.
Meanwhile, Pei Wu's army marched for nearly a month and arrived at Zhen Ding Prefecture, where Song Pingzhang and others were located.
Xie Jun and his men were stationed in Zhen Ding Prefecture. From Zhen Ding Prefecture, they could travel directly to Yan Shan Prefecture.
Xie Jun is now leading the troops in Yanshan Prefecture. If they can recapture Yanshan Prefecture, which has been occupied by the Qi Kingdom, then the Great Xia might still have a chance to survive.
Otherwise, if Northern Yan had destroyed Qi first, then the next one would have been Great Xia.
After a year apart, Song Pingzhang was in high spirits and full of energy. Upon seeing Pei Wu, before Pei Wu could even bow, he gave him a bear hug, patted Pei Wu's shoulder hard, and praised him, "Well done, it's no wonder I value you so much."
Zhen Ding Prefecture borders Yan Shan Prefecture, and troops have been stationed in the several prefectures that were taken back. These days are a period of rest and recuperation, so Pei Wu will be able to see Xie Jun and Song Pingzhang when he comes over.
After a year of guarding the army, Pei Wu's body became even stronger. When Song Pingzhang slapped him, he accidentally hurt his own palm. He withdrew his hand, looked at Pei Wu, and wept with joy.
Pei Wu comforted his teacher for a few moments, then looked up to see Xie Jun standing with his arms crossed, looking at him with a half-smile.
Noticing Pei Wu's gaze, he raised an eyebrow: "Let's go inside and talk."
Pei Wu nodded in agreement.
The group entered the tent, which belonged to Xie Jun. The tent was clean and tidy. Xie Jun pointed to the tent next to him and said, "You'll stay next to mine."
The three sat at the table and, without being asked, each recounted what had happened to them over the past year.
Xie Jun and Song Pingzhang were stationed on the border with Yanshan, while Song Shu lived in Zhending Prefecture. If there was no war, she would often come to see Xie Jun and Song Pingzhang.
The year had been filled with war, and the arranged marriage, while not particularly grand, was not treated hastily either. A few months ago, when the fighting eased up a bit, Xie Jun and Song Shu were married in Zhen Ding Prefecture.
Pei Wu expressed his delight, and Xie Jun accepted it with a smile.
Xie Jun asked about Jiang Ru again. Although the two sisters wrote letters from time to time, they could still get some information from Pei Wu and win Song Shu's favor when they returned.
They chatted like old friends until evening, first discussing personal matters, and then getting down to business.
There was also communication between the two sides that year. Xie Jun and Song Pingzhang naturally knew what had happened on Pei Wu's side that year, including Pei Wu being enfeoffed as the Prince of Liang and his regency.
The reason why Song Pingzhang hadn't brought it up before was because he had concerns. After all, the emperor was someone he had raised. Even though the emperor had plotted against him behind his back, Song Pingzhang was reluctant to take drastic measures. Now that he had met Pei Wu, he knew that Pei Wu could only advance and not retreat. After much deliberation, he only said, "If possible, spare his life."
Everyone knows that sparing the emperor's life is giving him a chance to make a comeback. After all, he is the legitimate ruler, and if given the chance, he will definitely retaliate.
So after saying that, Song Pingzhang hesitated for a moment, then changed his mind and said, "Never mind."
Everyone tacitly stopped talking about this topic. Song Pingzhang pretended that he hadn't said anything, and the group continued to discuss their future plans.
With Pei Wu leading troops to support them, they can no longer be as conservative as before. Now that Qi is preoccupied with the Northern Yan, they can seize this opportunity to reclaim their lost territory in one fell swoop.
Given this, the battles will become more frequent. They all know they need to act quickly and resolve the situation with the State of Qi first, then things will be easier to discuss later.
After a few days of rest, the Great Xia army began its attack on the Qi Kingdom. Upon arriving at Zhen Ding Prefecture, Pei Wu automatically handed over the command to Song Pingzhang. Several of the generals in the army recognized Song Pingzhang, but none of them tacitly said anything.
Song Pingzhang is now very prestigious here. He is known to the outside world as a hermit invited by Xie Jun. Not only does he not need to hide his identity, but he can also make great strides here.
In the blink of an eye, another winter has passed. Last year, the Great Xia army was invincible, capturing three prefectures in succession. Victory reports were constantly sent to Bianjing, and everyone in the court and the public praised them, saying they were finally able to hold their heads high.
That year, Zhang Xingjun led his rebel army to rest and recuperate at their garrison, preparing to attack Bianjing later. He was very strong in martial arts and gradually replaced the position of the Prince of Taiping in the rebel army.
Everything was going well. The following spring, Northern Yan had almost annexed most of Qi. With the two sides working together, Qi would soon be destroyed.
But at this moment, news came that the ruler of Northern Yan had died during a campaign.
The death of a king is like the loss of a country's lifeline. The king of Northern Yan, Temuyan, had just come of age and had no children. At this critical moment, his death would inevitably lead to the disintegration of the country.
A few days later, the State of Qi sent envoys to Da Xia to negotiate peace, hoping to cooperate with Da Xia and take this opportunity to annex Bei Yan together.
Tiemuyan really did die on the battlefield, witnessed by Qi soldiers.
The news spread like wildfire, even halting the Northern Yan offensive and forcing the army to temporarily withdraw. This inevitably led to internal strife within Northern Yan.
The peace talks with Qi are so timely. There are no permanent friends, only temporary enemies. If Xia cooperates with Qi now, it will be twice as effective with half the effort.
News of the peace talks had not yet reached Bianjing, and time was of the essence; a decision needed to be made quickly.
That night, as the group sat around the tent, Song Pingzhang asked Pei Wu, "Zhimiao, what do you think we should do?"
If Song Pingzhang wanted to agree, he wouldn't have asked Pei Wu so directly, so Pei Wu naturally replied, "No."
Song Pingzhang smiled and asked, "Why not?"
The map on the table shows the territories of Northern Yan and Qi. Most of Qi has been conquered. Pei Wu pointed at the map: "Qi borders us. If we help them destroy Yan, we will have to cross the heart of Qi. I don't trust Qi."
Although the State of Qi cannot be trusted either, compared to the State of Xia, the State of Northern Yan, which does not border the State of Xia, is not a significant threat for the time being.
Pei Wu paused for a moment, then said, "Besides, no one knows whether it was Temuyan who died or his twin brother Temuce."
The reason Qi dared to take action was precisely because they had the prince of Northern Yan in their hands. Now that the ruler of Northern Yan was dead, they could easily support him to take the throne, and the territory of Northern Yan would be within their grasp.
Pei Wu paused for a moment, then continued, "Or perhaps, Northern Yan wants to take this opportunity to have an excuse to attack Great Xia."
If it were the Xia Dynasty of the past, Qi alone could have destroyed it without even needing Northern Yan, let alone any excuse.
Of course, even if Northern Yan were to attack Great Xia, Great Xia would still have room to resist.
After speaking, Pei Wu looked at Song Pingzhang: "What do you think, teacher?"
Song Pingzhang originally didn't want to go to the trouble of seeking something closer, and now he was just asking this question. If Pei Wu had said that he wanted to attack Northern Yan, he would most likely have stopped him. Now that Pei Wu had expressed his thoughts, Song Pingzhang naturally nodded: "What Zhi Miao said is absolutely right."
Then the two of them looked at Xie Jun together.
Xie Jun: "..."
After a long pause, he managed to utter two words: "You didn't even ask for my opinion."
However, when he met their gazes, he waved his hand and said, "You decide for yourselves. Asking me is pointless."
Xie Jun was not good at studying, otherwise he would not have come to the border to fight. Now he is good at fighting, but he still needs the guidance of a strategist. Previously it was the Grand General, and now it is Song Pingzhang.
The matter was settled, and soon after, the Great Xia first rejected the Qi state's invitation for peace talks, and then continued to recover the lost territory according to the plan.
After a month of fighting, news came from Northern Yan that Temuyan's younger brother, Temuze, had ascended the throne. Temuze was even more skilled in warfare than Temuyan. In just a few days, the Northern Yan army swept through the Qi Kingdom like locusts.
Just as Pei Wu had guessed, either Tiemuyan was not dead at all, or Northern Yan had a backup plan.
When the news reached Bianjing, it caused Jiang Ru a lot of worry. Although Pei Wu’s choice was right, no one expected that this Timuyan would be so cunning. He first gave Qi hope of a counterattack, and then sent a strong army across the border. What room did Qi have to resist?
From then on, the State of Qi could no longer withstand the attacks and sent peace talks to both the Northern Yan and the Xia. However, this time, the Northern Yan was aiming to completely annex the State of Qi, so these requests naturally failed to sway them.
After the start of summer, most of the lost territories of the more than ten prefectures in Yanshan were recovered, and the State of Qi became a subordinate prefecture of both Xia and Yan, and could no longer cause any trouble.
Jiang Ru counted down the days until Pei Wu's return, but a few days after the good news arrived, she received an urgent letter.
The letter stated that Pei Wu was seriously injured and on the verge of death, and urged Jiang Ru to rush to Yanshan as soon as possible to see Pei Wu one last time.
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