Chapter 557 All the credit goes to you
King Yun and his men brought the situation in the palace under control.
Meng Ang and his gang were arrogant for more than ten days and held power in the Southern Palace for more than ten days. They died without knowing the true identities of Xie Shang and Jiang Fenghua, and they were never willing to accept it.
Xie Shang also personally interrogated Song Peng about his identity. They only knew that he was a member of the pirates, but they did not know that he had any connection with the vassal state.
Xie Shang went to see the Prince of Nan again.
The King of the South was already paralyzed, but he was still very excited when he saw Xie Shang, "Your surname is Xie, you are from the Great Zhou Kingdom..."
Xie Shang quickly stopped him, saying, "I am just an ordinary merchant now, Prince Nan, there's no need for such formalities."
The King of the South said, “The ancestors of the Meng family once received help from the emperor of the Great Zhou Kingdom, which is why the Southern Kingdom came into being. The ancestors of the Meng family once decreed that their descendants should not be called emperors, but only kings. This was because our ancestors knew that the Southern Kingdom and the Great Zhou Kingdom were inseparable, and that there would be no Southern Kingdom without the Great Zhou Kingdom.”
Xie Shang had read the history of the Great Zhou Kingdom and knew that in addition to having a close relationship with the Great Zhou Kingdom, the Southern Kingdom was also a bulwark for the Great Zhou Kingdom. Therefore, Xie's ancestors had said that as long as the Southern Kingdom did not take the initiative to provoke war, the Great Zhou Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom would be on good terms forever.
This is also the reason why the Southern Kingdom and the Great Zhou Dynasty exchanged trade and culture.
When Xie Shang came out of the Southern King's palace, he saw Jiang Fenghua, Jiang Jinyan and others waiting outside the door.
Xie Shang said to Jiang Jinyan, "The internal strife in the South has been quelled. Send the message out that Lord Yuan and Lin Feng should speed up the process of eliminating the pirates in the South."
"Yes," Jiang Jinyan replied.
Meng Yao will be the new king of the Southern Kingdom. At the same time, the Southern Kingdom will soon truly become part of the Great Zhou Kingdom. There will be no need for trade and cultural exchanges; the Southern Kingdom will voluntarily submit to the Great Zhou.
Prince Yun was appointed as the Grand General of the Border Garrison, while Lu Yang continued to serve as the Commander of the Customs. Now they were both officials of the Great Zhou Kingdom.
Meng Yao continued to appoint the Prince of the South to govern this land. His power was not great, as Meng Yao was unwilling to become a high-ranking official and knew he did not have the ability to do so.
Xie Shang allowed him to continue as the Prince of the South, also out of consideration for the ancestral friendship between the Meng and Xie families. Like other princes of different surnames in the Great Zhou Kingdom, the Prince of the South could inherit the title, but it was not hereditary. Later generations would need to make achievements and accomplish great things before they could continue as the Prince of the South.
The land of the Southern Kingdom is under the protection of the Great Zhou Kingdom. Meng Yao originally did not want to get involved in politics; he only liked doing business. He was able to increase the tax revenue of the Southern Kingdom, which could be considered his achievement, and the Meng family would also have more opportunities.
Xie Shang's decree will also be delivered to them, as he and the Prince of Nan had agreed upon, but that's a matter for later.
Xie Shang took Jiang Fenghua directly out of the palace.
Jiang Fenghua asked him, "Is the matter in the South resolved just like that?"
Xie Shang said gently, "All the credit belongs to you."
Jiang Fenghua said, "What merit do I have? I'm just wondering how we managed to capture all the rebels without losing a single soldier when it was clearly a dead end."
"How could we say we didn't lose a single soldier? Miss Jiang fought a great battle against a hundred men single-handedly. Even without you, we would still have to fight this battle," Xie Shang said.
Jiang Fenghua was stunned, and then asked, "What official position do you hold in the Great Zhou Dynasty? What rank do you have to order City Lord Yuan to obey your commands?"
Xie Shang said, "I hold a position that is neither too high nor too low. I just happened to be ordered to come to the Southern Kingdom. Lord Yuan's official position is also within the territory of the Great Zhou, so he is just following orders. I am merely conveying the imperial decree."
Just then, Meng Yao came out and said, "Miss Jiang, please wait."
The two stopped and waited for Meng Yao to approach. He gave Xie Shang a slight bow. He already knew Xie Shang's true identity from his father, but he had ordered that it not be revealed.
Meng Yao naturally dared not say anything in front of Jiang Fenghua. Now that his father had agreed to let the Southern Kingdom submit to the Great Zhou, he was also a subject of the Great Zhou.
However, Jiang Fenghua's identity is self-evident. Who else could be the wife of the Emperor of Great Zhou? She must be the Empress.
He didn't know why she came to the Southern Kingdom, why she lost her memory, or even why she and the Emperor had been acting with her all along. He still wanted to come and see her off, not knowing if he would ever see her again.
Seeing that he seemed very afraid of Xie Qiyun, Jiang Fenghua asked again, "Is there something you need?"
Meng Yao said, "I am very grateful for Miss Jiang's help these days. If it weren't for Miss Jiang, I would be dead. I have no way to repay Miss Jiang's great kindness. Please accept my bow."
Before he could kneel down, Jiang Fenghua quickly helped him up, saying, "Your Highness, there's no need for such a grand gesture. When I first came to the Southern Kingdom, it was Your Highness who took care of me. I should be thanking you."
"It is Meng Yao who should thank the young lady," Meng Yao said first.
Seeing the two of them thanking each other repeatedly, and with Jiang Fenghua's hand still being held by Meng Yao, Xie Shang stepped forward and pushed them apart, saying in a deep voice, "The person the Prince of Nan should thank the most is me."
Xie Shang gave him a sinister threat, staring at him coldly.
Meng Yao was too frightened to say more, "Thank you... thank you for your help, young master." Soon, the Southern Kingdom also had the surname Xie.
Xie Shang held Jiang Fenghua's hand tightly and said to Meng Yao, "Perhaps we will have another chance to meet in Shengjing City. Prince Nan should work harder to improve the lives of the people and ensure they have enough to eat and wear."
As for border security, that's someone else's concern. He's only responsible for making money, which can be considered a contribution to the Great Zhou Kingdom.
Meng Yao said, "Young master, please rest assured, Meng Yao will work hard, and I will definitely try my best to go to Shengjing City when I have the opportunity."
After leaving the palace, Jiang Fenghua asked him, "Why do I feel like Meng Yao is afraid of you?"
"Am I that scary? Why is he afraid of me?" Xie Shang laughed it off again: "With such a beautiful face, how could anyone be afraid?"
"You're so vain," she said.
"I am the most handsome man in the world. Only someone with my looks can be worthy of a beauty like Miss Jiang Ruan." He boasted to Jiang Fenghua again, afraid that she would dislike him if she didn't know that he was also very good-looking.
At this moment, Jiang Fenghua realized that he had been holding her hand the whole time. She quickly pulled her hand away, not wanting to feel awkward, and quickly changed the subject: "Will you go back to Da Zhou next?"
Xie Shang didn't press her for a response, and deliberately said, "I've been out for too long, it's time to go back. I'm leaving, will you miss me?"
“Who would miss you? I’m going back to find my parents too. I was just asking casually, thinking you would stay to deal with the pirates.”
"Oh, so you're going back to Shengjing too? Then we can go the same way."
"It's not like there's only one way back to Shengjing. I'm going to take a different route than you. What can you do about it?" She wanted to choose a different path, one by water and one by land.
After saying that, she left.
He caught up with him and said, "Your older brother will definitely stay here to handle things. He's also worried about you going back to Beijing alone. You can only go with your fiancé."
"I've never acknowledged you as my fiancé." For some reason, Jiang Fenghua suddenly felt a little flustered.
Song Peng, who was hiding in the shadows, finally saw the two of them come out of the Southern King's Palace. He had run away immediately, but luckily he was fast.
He wondered to himself: What exactly are the identities of these two people in the Great Zhou Kingdom?
His eyes were fixed on Jiang Fenghua, a cold glint flashing in them.
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