Chapter 357 The Birth of the Little Princess

Li Yuanhao, the ruler of Xixia, was very righteous and gave up resistance and surrendered to the Song Dynasty. He also redeemed himself by bravely taking the lead in attacking Liao State, leading the elite troops of Dingnan Army to fight bravely and made great contributions to the destruction of Liao State.

The emperor praised Li Yuanhao in his imperial edict, appointed Li Yuanhao as the commander of Dingnan Army, and conferred him the title of "Marquis of Anyong". He also generously gave him Lingzhou, Xixia as his fief.

Yang Yanzhao, Cao Wei, and Gao Yingxiong, who had made great military achievements, were also conferred titles for their merits. The three young generals, Marquis of Guanjun, Marquis of Zhenbei, and Marquis of Yiyong, were dazzling and eye-catching, and the three young marquises became the new nobles of the Song Dynasty.

Zuo Dading, the Minister of Works, was indeed a talent in water conservancy. After receiving the order from the prince to send people from the Ministry of Works to Xixia to build canals, he went to Xixia in person. After three months of hard work in surveying the topography and designing a set of drawings for building canals and dams, he asked two of his direct disciples, officials from the Ministry of Works, to stay and supervise the construction, and then he returned to the capital with peace of mind.

Sima Qingyun and Zhang Junpeng recruited more than 100,000 civilian workers, and entrusted the important task of overall construction command to Zuo Dading's two direct disciples.

When Li Yuanhao returned to Xixia, the water conservancy project to transform the Yellow River had been half completed.

He rode his horse on the newly built river embankment, his heart surging. After surrendering to the Song Dynasty, although they could no longer be the ruler of a country, the people of the Dangxiang tribe benefited greatly.

His Royal Highness the Regent promised that in the future, this place would belong to the Song Dynasty, and the Song army would use its strength to ensure that there would be no invasion and slaughter by foreign enemies, no chaotic wars, and all the people of Xixia would be able to eat their fill.

The King of Chu and the King of Xiang gained a great sense of accomplishment and honor in the process of implementing the new policy. The two brothers had long forgotten their extremely noble status as princes of the Song Dynasty royal family, and devoted themselves to this great cause with unparalleled enthusiasm.

The two princes, who changed their names to hide their identities, got along well with the lower-level officials. With their outstanding talents, hard work, impartiality and integrity, they won the respect and admiration of the officials around them, and were promoted from sixth-rank officials to third-rank officials step by step.

After a busy year in Xixia, the King of Chu and the King of Xiang discussed and wrote to the emperor and the regent brother, requesting to go to the three provinces of Liaodi, which had a vast territory and a large population and had been newly incorporated into the territory of the Song Dynasty, to continue to be responsible for the supervision of the implementation of the new policy reforms.

Regent Prince Zhao Defang readily agreed, and the young emperor Zhao Wuji issued an order to promote them one level higher, and transferred them to the three northern provinces to supervise the implementation of the new policy reform from the new official position of the second-rank official.

As a result, the local officials of the three northern provinces of the Song Dynasty welcomed the two superiors "Wu Qi and Wu Ren" to come and guide and supervise government affairs.

Sima Qingyun, who had just been transferred to the highest administrative chief of the three northern provinces, laughed so hard that he held his belly and turned around in the room after hearing the news.

At the beginning, he had a bad taste in his mouth and suggested to the prince that the pseudonyms Wu Qi and Wu Ren used for the two princes were exactly the pseudonyms he, Sima Qingyun, used in Shu. The rebel leader "Wu Qi Ren" was pronounced as "Wu Qi Ren" and was given to the two princes.

I never thought that the two princes, who had been pampered since childhood, would achieve such great results under this pseudonym. I am very proud of you! The territory of

the Song Dynasty has expanded more than twice as much as ever. The vast empire is in ruins and there are some scattered resistances in the newly conquered territories. The officials of the Song Dynasty are busy and happy, and the important ministers in the inner cabinet are working day and night to handle government affairs.

The Regent Prince, who is busy with all kinds of affairs, teaches the little emperor to review the piles of memorials in the study room of the palace every day, and also takes time to go home to spend more time with his beloved wife who is about to give birth.

Regent Prince Zhao Defang gently held his wife's bucket-like waist with his right arm, held his wife's slender jade fingers with his left hand, and walked with her in the yard.

Luo Li, who was pregnant, enjoyed the love of her husband. She looked at her son who was practicing hanging upside down on a horizontal beam beside the wall, fearing that he would fall headfirst. He

warned worriedly: "Yuli, you must watch carefully, don't let Lin'er fall to the ground and hurt his cervical vertebrae."

Yuli, who was standing below with a wooden stick to protect and supervise the young master, responded without turning her head, "I know, miss, don't worry, I will watch him without blinking."

Luo Li frowned with a sudden abdominal pain, and touched her big The belly said, "Zhao Defang, I may give birth early."

Zhao Defang bent down, picked up his beloved wife and ran into the house, and hurriedly ordered, "Quick! The princess is about to give birth, quickly call the four waiting mothers over!"

Ning Xinyuan was in a commotion, and several maids were hurried. The four mothers who had been taken into the palace and were waiting in the side yard were carried by Shadow Guard Mo Ming and his three brothers.

The Empress Dowager and Mrs. Luo were also supported by the maids and old women, and they hurried to Ning Xinyuan.

Yu Li brought a few children who were practicing martial arts by the wall, staring blankly at the busy people coming in and out, not knowing what to do or how to help.

Lin'er heard his mother's painful groans in the room, raised his little face and asked with tears in his eyes: "Sister Yuli, my mother is going to give birth to a little sister for me. Will it be very painful?"

Yuli nodded, "When the young lady gave birth to you, it was in pain for two hours. The maids and old women carried out basins of blood and water, but they suffered a lot. Little master, if you are not filial to your mother in the future, you will be struck by lightning!"

Little Lin'er was not afraid of retribution from lightning, and his face was solemn, "Sister Yuli, don't worry, I am the flesh and blood that fell from my mother's belly. When I grow up, I will be filial to my mother."

Ping'er held the little The prince held his hand and comforted him, "Little prince, don't be afraid. I've overheard the midwives talking. It's much easier for a woman to have another child after her first one."

Yu Li listened to the painful moans of the young lady in the room with her ear tilted to the side, and said with a tense face, "So, you have to be doubly filial to your mother for your first child."

Little prince Lin'er nodded with tears in his eyes, "I will!"

Having experienced the first time of companionship, Regent Prince Zhao Defang ignored the midwives' advice. He squatted beside the bed motionlessly, holding his beloved wife's hand in one hand and gently wiping her sweat with a handkerchief in the other, acting as if he must accompany his wife to give birth to the child.

A midwife bravely advised, "Prince, you should get out! A man accompanying a woman to give birth... No..."

Before she could finish her words, the prince glared at her and swallowed the three words "unlucky".

The two midwives who had delivered the young prince for the princess winked at her. The taboos in the delivery room did not exist in the Regent Palace.

Ghost Hand Poison Doctor and Qin Shen Doctor, who became fellow disciples of Taiji Sect, walked into Ning Xinyuan together and sat down in the yard. The two superb doctors personally sat in to ensure that the master and the child were safe.

Luo Li clearly felt that the pain of giving birth to her second child was much less than that of her first child. She gritted her teeth and endured the contractions before giving birth. She didn't cry out in pain, and tried to conserve her strength as much as possible, waiting for the critical moment when she needed strength.

"The bone suture has opened ten fingers, Princess, you can push harder." The voice of the grandmother was filled with joy.

Luo Li gathered all her strength and pushed hard...

"Wow..." The cry of the baby made everyone's tightly clenched hearts relax, and then they smiled with joy.

"Congratulations! Congratulations, Prince, it's a lovely little princess." The voice of the grandmother announcing the good news was even more joyful.

The Empress Dowager and Madam Luo did not care about the rules of the maternity ward and waited in the outer room. Anyway, Zhao Defang had already broken the rules, and the two of them went into the inner room one after the other, one ran to her daughter, and the other took over the granddaughter who had just been wrapped by the midwife.

When the little emperor Zhao Wuji heard the news that the empress had given birth early, he threw down the pen he was using to review memorials, and hurried out of the palace with several eunuchs and guards to the prince's mansion.

The little emperor first asked the empress whether she was safe, and when he saw the cute pink face in the cradle, his eyes were filled with tender love and pity.

"Uncle, I will give my sister a name, Zhao Wuque. I guarantee that she will have everything she needs in her life."

Regent Prince Zhao Defang was unwilling and glanced at the little emperor with dissatisfaction, "Your Majesty took the initiative to give a name to my first child, and you want to compete with me, your father, for the right to name the second one. Isn't that a bit unreasonable?"

The little emperor Zhao Wuji smiled awkwardly, "Okay, uncle, it's my turn to name my sister. I won't fight with you for this matter. I will confer the title of "Kangping" Princess to my sister. Is

that okay?" Zhao Defang smiled and said proudly, "Yes! Thank you, Your Majesty, for your great grace.

I have already thought of a name for my daughter. My father gave her the full name Zhao Jinghao, which is taken from the poem "Qin Se Zai Yu, Mo Bu Jing Hao". My mother gave me the nickname Xiao Hongdou."