That night, Zhuo and his group, Nangong Yiyu, Meng Changping and the Queen Mother went to Tang Zhuguo's residence.
That night, Fu Xiaoguan and others stayed at He Sandao's house until dawn.
All the festive lanterns and window decorations that had just been hung in Tang Zhuguo's mansion in preparation for the New Year were taken down. He did not hang up white cloth. After all, he was stronger than Zhong Yu.
"Your Majesty was originally going to come, but San Dao's wife was shocked and might go into premature labor, so she might not be able to come for the time being."
Tears glistened in Tang Zhuguo's old eyes. He touched his grandson's cold and stiff face in the coffin and said, "Don't let Your Majesty worry about this matter anymore."
"My Tang family... has been a family of soldiers for generations. Qianjun's father died in the war with the Yu Dynasty, so it's only natural that Qianjun died in the Northern Expedition."
"As a soldier, dying on the battlefield is your destiny. When he chose to continue being a soldier, I was already prepared... I just didn't expect him to die so young."
"Master Meng, Qianjun's departure...has delayed your granddaughter Meng Yilian. Please, Master Meng, apologize to Yilian on my behalf."
As soon as Tang Zhuguo finished speaking, a woman rushed in from the wind and snow. She rushed straight to the coffin in the yard. She looked carefully at the person in the coffin, burst into tears, and then her eyes went black and she fainted on the snow.
She is Meng Yilian, and she and Tang Qianjun had originally agreed to get married after they returned from the Northern Expedition.
She had been waiting, looking forward to it, and even thought about how to hold the wedding.
But now all the girls’ dreams have been shattered, and the lovers they loved... are now separated from each other.
…
…
Early morning, He Mansion.
Fu Xiaoguan and others did not sleep all night, and were all waiting anxiously in the side room.
Nangong Piaoxue brought a group of midwives into Zhong Yu's room and never came out again. The lights in the room were on all night, and Zhong Yu's shrill screams could be heard from time to time.
Finally, the sound of a baby crying was heard in the room. Fu Xiaoguan stopped hesitating and looked towards the door of the room.
Another half incense stick of time passed, and Nangong Piaoxue came over with a tired look on her face but still very happy.
"Okay, mother and daughter are safe, Zhong Yu gave birth to a girl."
Fu Xiaoguan and the others finally felt relieved. "Is there any danger from premature birth?"
"It's no big deal. Zhong Yu has a good physique, so the baby will be born a month early. With careful care during the confinement period, there won't be any problems."
"Okay," Fu Xiaoguan turned around and instructed Zhao Hou, "Go to the palace and get a few maids... and call two imperial chefs over. Have them serve Zhong Yu and her child well."
Zhao Hou bowed and left. Fu Xiaoguan then whispered to Nangong Piaoxue, "Thank you for your hard work."
Nangong Piaoxue glanced at him, took a deep breath, and looked a little lonely: "Hey... Miss Zhong Liu is also strong. This man is the pillar of the family. She, she... Let's go. There is no place for you men here."
"Let's go back together."
Fu Xiaoguan and others left He Mansion.
Zhong Yu lay on the bed and opened her tired eyes. She looked at her daughter sleeping beside her and a smile appeared on her face.
She reached out and touched the rosy little face, whispering, "It's a pity that he didn't even look at you. But with mother here, the sky of our He family...will not fall."
…
Imperial study.
Fu Xiaoguan did not listen to Nangong Piaoxue's advice to go back to the harem to rest, but came to the imperial study.
Liu Jin lit a charcoal fire and stood solemnly at the door.
Fu Xiaoguan sat down at the table and made a pot of tea.
He rubbed his temples and instructed Liu Jin, "The court is about to begin. Go and get the three chancellors to come to me."
Liu Jin bowed and left. Fu Xiaoguan then took a sip of strong tea and began to think about what he had to deal with next.
The three prime ministers, who had also not slept all night, came hurriedly, covered in snow and wind. Fu Xiaoguan stood up to greet them, asked them to sit down, and poured them a cup of hot tea.
"You already know everything."
"This Northern Expedition was a great strategic victory, but He Sandao and Tang Qianjun died. Ten thousand marines also perished, and over thirty thousand of the 400,000 Great Xia Army soldiers were killed."
"Because we had to cross the Great Snow Mountain, we couldn't bring back their bodies, so we had to burn them and bury their ashes in a foreign land."
"On the way back, I kept wondering, can Daxia's external wars ever be stopped? After much thought, I don't think wars on land will happen again in the short term, but at sea..."
"The national policy of the two Silk Roads cannot stop because of their sacrifice. The dead are gone, but the living must continue."
"The rise of an empire is accompanied by bloodshed. This is inevitable."
"Only when the day comes when Daxia's navy has earned a reputation as invincible, when Daxia's fleet sails freely across the five lakes and four seas, and when no one dares to touch Daxia's merchant ships as long as they fly the Daxia flag, will the world... be truly peaceful."
He glanced at the three ministers and said, "So we have a long way to go."
As soon as he said this, Zhuo and his three companions breathed a sigh of relief.
They were originally very worried that the young emperor would be devastated and unable to make any progress after this battle, but it was obvious that they were overthinking it.
Just as Fu Xiaoguan said, on this continent, Daxia's caravans can travel freely, and all the surrounding small countries have great respect for Daxia's dragon flag.
Trade on land has been carried out in an orderly manner under the trade rules established by Daxia, and Daxia's currency has been accepted in all countries on this land.
The rest is at sea.
The seaport of the Leah continent has been built, and Daxia’s three major fleets have also been stationed on the Leah continent.
A powerful empire is rising throughout the world, and they are eager to see that day, rather than His Majesty giving up.
"The next two years will be a period of stability, development, and exploration for Daxia. During these two years, Daxia will not initiate any further invasions. But after two years... once the sea routes have been further explored and Daxia has established nine major naval fleets, that will be the time for Daxia to travel freely throughout the world."
"I invited you here, firstly, to share my thoughts on the future of Daxia, and secondly... I plan to posthumously confer the title of Duke of Zhengbei on He Sandao and Duke of Wu'an on Tang Qianjun. What do you think?"
The three prime ministers were suddenly shocked. Duke?
Your Majesty has not conferred any title on anyone since ascending the throne. Even though these two died on the battlefield, they were all promoted to Duke...
Zhuo Yixing bowed and said, "This old minister thinks... it's too high. This old minister sympathizes with their sacrifice, but I still want to advise Your Majesty that such a high title is not a good thing."
Nangong Yiyu and Meng Changping seconded the motion. Nangong Yiyu said, "This old minister believes that although the contributions of these two are immense, Your Majesty is benevolent and can posthumously confer the title of Earl upon them. Earldom is hereditary and this is already a great favor from Heaven. Any higher title... I'm afraid there will be criticism."
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