Chapter 91: Welcoming General Hu Youan...
The complete destruction of the An Kingdom occurred in late autumn.
This war lasted for a long time. Even though Jingchang's army was extremely powerful, it was still dragged on until now. A small number of other vassal states joined in the middle, but overall, only Anguo was struggling to hold on.
To be honest, it's not easy. Shen Zhiwei recognizes An Guo's strength.
Prince An did not choose to surrender, but died for his country. His choice drew praise from many people. Shen Zhiwei, considering that others were already dead, tacitly accepted the world's admiration for his character. After all, dying for one's country was indeed a very courageous thing to do. The key was that it also made it easier for Shen Zhiwei to deal with the problems left over from the royal family of An Kingdom. It was a self-serving approach.
Shen Zhiwei also admired it and hoped that the princes who came after him would be so sensible.
She had originally planned to conquer two big countries this year, but An Guo dragged her to late autumn. After calculating the time, it was obviously impossible to conquer more big countries in the remaining months. Shen Zhiwei notified Hu Youan to return to the court and wait for the New Year together.
By the way, the soldiers who have been fighting outside for a year can also go home and have a good rest for a few months.
After the war, rewards must be given according to merit. Fortunately, Shen Zhiwei did not have to worry about the specific details. The officials of the Ministry of War had already drafted the memorial. Shen Zhiwei only needed to review it and then send it to the Ministry of Rites.
For example, the Ministry of Rites was in charge of awarding titles for military merit. The title itself was just a title. The benefits it brought were land, houses and slaves. It gave a poor family the opportunity to escape from poverty with a legitimate reason.
When she abolishes slavery in the future, the title of nobility will probably only sound nice. After all, the benefits of land are relatively small at present. All the land belongs to the king Shen Zhiwei, and part of it is still in the hands of the big families. Shen Zhiwei didn't care about that part. First, that part of the land accounts for a small proportion and has little impact. Second, she still has to give the nobles some breathing space to avoid fighting a civil war after fighting with the princes outside.
This is not the first time that Hu Youan has returned to the court after a great victory. She has come at a good time. There are still many battles for her to fight. When the world is at peace, she doesn't know where to go to fight.
However, for Hu Youan, it is her mission to fight for the king. If one day the king no longer needs her, she will naturally hand over the military power and stay in Jingchang. If she is lucky, she can enjoy her old age. If she is unlucky, then forget it. If she dies at the hands of the king one day, it will be a worthy death for her.
That’s right, she is so open-minded.
Shen Zhiwei hadn't thought of resorting to the tactic of "killing the running dog after the cunning rabbit dies." Her meritorious officials hadn't betrayed her in the most difficult times, so why couldn't she give them a good ending? Why was she so intolerant of meritorious officials?
Moreover, as long as she is strong enough and can firmly sit on the throne of the monarch, the meritorious officials are not fools and it is impossible for them to rebel at will and do something that would cost the lives of nine generations of their clan.
It is said to others that Chaoyang is over one year old, but in fact she is already two years old. She started speaking late, but now she can speak fluently. When Shen Zhiwei has free time, she will tell her a bedtime story, which will put the child to sleep and let the child understand the court at the same time.
In the past month, the subject of Chaoyang's bedtime story was Hu Youan, so Chaoyang had been looking forward to Hu Youan's return to the capital. For children, this was like the character in the story appearing in reality, which was particularly magical.
I don't know if Chaoyang's ancestors were really close to Shen Zhiwei's ancestors. When the child grew up, her eyebrows and eyes were very similar to Shen Zhiwei. When Shen Zhiwei held her, others thought they were real mother and daughter. Chaoyang was very smart and quick-witted. Shen Zhiwei liked smart children.
Moreover, Chaoyang has a certain respect for life. A few days ago, a raccoon slave was raised in the palace, and she would carefully stroke the raccoon slave's back, for fear of hurting the raccoon slave.
From this point, we can see that the child's character is gentle. Many people say that children need to be taught, and how adults teach them will determine what the children will be like when they grow up. But in fact, some children's character is vicious and violent from the beginning. No matter how hard such children work, they will end up being beasts.
Shen Zhiwei thinks Chaoyang is doing well, but Yanxia thinks Wang Ji is too kind and might be bullied in the future.
How can a monarch be so soft-hearted?
Yanxia didn't dare to speak directly, so she mentioned it to Shen Zhiwei in a vague way. Shen Zhiwei understood that she meant well.
"After I conquer the country, I need a gentle and benevolent ruler. She must have a heart that cares for the people. Only in this way can the people who have suffered so much and been ravaged by the turbulent times wake up from the chaos and see the appearance of a peaceful and prosperous world. She is just like this now."
A wolf's heart is what a monarch needs to develop in troubled times, because if he doesn't fight, he will die, and if he doesn't rob, his country will be destroyed.
Yanxia remained silent after hearing this, lowering her head in thought. For the first time, she was not sure whether what the king said was correct.
Because she grew up in troubled times, and because this place had actually experienced chaos for hundreds of years, what would a peaceful and prosperous era look like? People who grew up in chaos only glimpsed it from the scriptures of sages and historical records. What it was actually like, no one knew.
No one knows what kind of monarch is needed for a prosperous era.
"Besides that, there's one more thing. She's only a little over a year old now. What she'll look like in the future depends on how I raise her. Yanxia, give her some time."
Shen Zhiwei said this not only to Yanxia, but also to himself.
Before she brought the child to her, she was always thinking about how to educate her in the future. Now, after raising her for a year, she realized that there was no need to be too nervous. Raising a child is not a matter of one day or one night. With so much time, she can slowly find a suitable path with the child.
If you really follow the experts' advice when raising your children, the children you raise may grow up too fast or even go astray.
When she was growing up in modern times, there were not so many experts teaching people how to raise children. She just grew up on her own, and she was quite successful.
Shen Zhiwei looked back on the first half of her life and found that she was really an excellent person. She should not deny this. She should have confidence. Whether it was governing the country or educating her children, she would come up with a high-scoring answer sheet.
The confidence of an outstanding graduate under the exam-oriented education is that she can get high scores no matter what exam she takes!
Yanxia's somewhat anxious mood calmed down quietly after hearing Shen Zhiwei's words. She was indeed too anxious.
In a blink of an eye, Hu Youan led the army back to Jingchang. The gates of Jingchang were wide open, and the roads were full of people. The people crowded the streets, waiting to welcome their old friend who had returned from the battlefield.
Shen Zhiwei did not appear in front of people with great fanfare. Instead, he carried Chaoyang to a restaurant and stood in front of the third-floor window, letting Chaoyang look through the window at the army below. Chaoyang was a little excited and wanted to get closer.
"Don't bother, this is the third floor. If you fall down, you'll be finished." Shen Zhiwei coaxed Chaoyang, asking her to be more obedient. "Just watch here. When we return to the palace later, You'an will definitely hold you."
"Yes, I understand, mother. The general is so majestic!"
Chaoyang was very well behaved. As long as her mother didn't let her move, she would stay still. She nestled in Shen Zhiwei's arms with her eyes wide open. Her big, round black eyes were like big grapes, and when they moved, they were full of spirit, pure and lovely.
Only children can have such bright and clear eyes. Shen Zhiwei looked at Chaoyang's eyes twice and lamented that it was a pity that he could not take a photo to record such a moment.
"Well, You'an is indeed very powerful and majestic. Chaoyang, look at the general's armor, warhorse, and the soldiers who protect her. These are all the military exploits that Hu You'an has earned through years of fighting on the battlefield."
"Mother, I want to be a general in the future!"
The people below cheered and welcomed the army back to the capital. The little children were also affected by the deafening cheers, and a blush appeared on their faces. It seemed that their blood was boiling at this moment.
"Haha, you can't be the general, but you can be the one who protects the general."
"Does the general also need protection?"
Chaoyang didn't understand, because in the story, the general was the god of war, an omnipotent warrior who protected everyone from harm and repelled the enemy.
"Of course." Shen Zhiwei put the jade pendant with the royal totem carved on his waist into Chaoyang's hand. The totem of the Zhou royal family was a giant dragon, with five claws and golden dragons baring their fangs and claws, engraved on the small jade pendant. "This is the power that can protect the general, and it is also the power that can protect the people of the world."
"Strength?" Chaoyang held the jade pendant in her two small hands, but the jade pendant, which was the size of an adult's palm, seemed heavy and huge in her hands. She held the jade pendant so hard that her fingers turned white, but she couldn't do anything to it.
"Do you want to break it?" Shen Zhiwei found it quite funny when he saw this.
"The strongmen in the palace were very strong when they were arm wrestling. Mother said it has strength too. I want to know how strong it is." Chaoyang pursed her lips, held the jade pendant loosely, and placed it on her leg. She didn't have the strength to hold it anymore. "It's really strong!"
The jade pendant is intact even though the morning sun cannot break it, which means the jade pendant is very "powerful".
Shen Zhiwei was amused by the child's strange train of thought. She reached out and rubbed Chaoyang's little head, wondering what kind of wonderful ideas were in it.
"Strength isn't just about people; it's also about authority. When a general fights on the battlefield, he relies on the strength of his men and weapons. That's the visible battlefield. On the invisible battlefield, you rely on the power of authority. You must hold on to it tightly. Only when you possess supreme authority can you use it to protect those you wish to protect."
Shen Zhiwei pointed at the jade pendant and spoke to Chaoyang. Chaoyang seemed to understand, but the word "power" was engraved in her little head. She knew that only with power could she protect others.
"Chaoyang is so good. Let's go back to the palace and meet the general."
"Alright! Meet the General!"
There are only so many things a child can understand. At this moment, all her attention was taken away by Hu Youan, and she seemed to have completely forgotten what Shen Zhiwei had just said.
Shen Zhiwei was not in a hurry. She just wanted Chaoyang to have a general impression of Quan and did not intend for her to have a deep understanding of it.
On the other side, the army dispersed after walking through the street and returned to their homes.
Hu Youan and other senior generals returned home to freshen up, and then rushed to the palace to attend the welcoming banquet held for them by the king.
Originally, Shen Zhiwei planned to hold the welcoming banquet in the evening so that the generals could rest for a while in her own house. Unfortunately, Chaoyang went to bed early and got up early, and she might not have the energy to hold a banquet in the evening. Moreover, rather than tossing people around at night, the generals probably wanted to have a meal at noon, complete the day's itinerary, and go back to sleep soundly.
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