Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 511 Returning to Beijing
The Minister of Justice is Zhao Xing's man, and the Chief Censor Luo Hui is a man of integrity. Even if the Dali Temple is involved, the emperor is not worried about any foul play.

"Just back off."

Seeing that the emperor was determined, Yin Hanzhang did not dare to say more. He bowed and left.

The retired emperor summoned the Minister of Justice Yan Kuan, the Chief Censor Luo Hui, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and explained the matter to the three of them.

"My three beloved ministers, please investigate this matter thoroughly together. No matter who is involved, there is no need to worry. I want to see how many people in the court have connections with the rebels!" said the emperor in a cold voice.

"Yes!" the three responded.

…………

"Hello, Mr. Li!" Yu Wei bowed.

"Mr. Yu, you are so polite." Lord Li invited Yu Wei to sit down and said with a smile, "Mr. Yu, why did you come to see me?"

Yu Wei looked at the servants standing in the hall and said with a smile, "I haven't visited you for a while. I just passed by and asked for a cup of tea."

When Prime Minister Li was working in the Hanlin Academy, he once presided over an imperial examination.

Yu Wei was the one who passed the examination that time. He was able to be promoted all the way to become the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, and Lord Li also made a lot of efforts for him.

Therefore, he always called Mr. Li "Ensou" and called himself a student.

Mr. Li understood and sent the servant away.

After the servants left, Yu Wei said solemnly without waiting for Li Xianggong to ask, "Your Excellency, something big has happened. Minister Tang has been arrested. The specific reason is unknown, but the emperor has ordered the three courts to hold a joint trial, and it is a secret trial. I also learned the news from Qin Siqing."

"what?"

Li Xianggong was shocked when he heard this and asked anxiously, "He didn't say anything he shouldn't have said, did he?"

"I don't know about this. Qin Siqing has no intention of revealing it, and I don't dare to ask more."

Yu Wei said anxiously: "Sir, could it be that the Emperor knows something?"

"Why are you panicking?"

Li Xianggong took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Qin Siqing probably didn't leak it accidentally, but told you on purpose. Since he didn't say it, Tang Fangming probably hasn't made a move yet."

"Sir, even if Minister Tang doesn't confess now, who knows how long he can hold on? Once he confesses, we're all done!" Yu Wei said anxiously.

"Will not!"

Mr. Li shook his head and said, "As long as Tang Fangming is not stupid, he should know that even if he confesses, he will still be sentenced to death. So he will definitely refuse to admit it, and even if there is sufficient evidence, he will not betray us."

"If he betrays us, he will still be put to death. Although colluding with the rebels is a capital crime, the emperor is kind and generous, and he should spare his family's lives. If he doesn't betray us, we can still take care of his family."

Yu Wei was not so optimistic after hearing this. What Li Wei said did make some sense, but the emperor had abdicated after all and was now regent.

Given the official's temper, once he learned the news, how could he let Tang Fangming's family go?

If Tang Fangming was really not stupid, when there was sufficient evidence that could not be denied, he would probably use this as a bargaining chip to protect his family.

As for whether Mr. Li and the others would take care of his family, not only Tang Fangming, but even Yu Wei didn't believe it.

He wouldn't do it anyway.

After all, Tang Fangming was colluding with the rebels and helping his family. How could the government not be suspicious?
Li Xianggong saw that Yu Wei did not calm down after his comfort, and said lightly: "Warning will not solve the problem. Tang Fangming has no tricks, but you have exposed your flaws."

"Thank you for your reminder, Lord."

Yu Wei took a deep breath and said, "But now that the Central Plains is in rebellion, the emperor may be back soon. If there is no result before the emperor returns, it will be the emperor who will deal with this matter. The emperor will not be merciful, and Minister Tang's family may not be able to survive. Minister Tang may not hide it if he knows about it."

"you're right."

Mr. Li nodded and whispered, "Only the dead can keep secrets."

Yu Wei was shocked when he heard this. Although he felt that what Mr. Li did was a bit cruel, it was also good for him, so he naturally would not object.

"Your Excellency, Minister Tang is imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice. It would be difficult to take action."

"You don't have to worry about this matter. I have a way." said Mr. Li.

…………

After Zhao Xing arranged the defense of the north, he returned to the capital with an army of more than 200,000.

He originally wanted to do the same as when he came here, leaving the infantry to march slowly while he led the cavalry ahead.

However, Zeng Gongliang and others disagreed. There was a rebellion going on in the Central Plains. Once the rebels got wind of the news, Zhao Xing would be in danger.

Zeng Gongliang and others were concerned about his safety, and Zhao Xing had no choice but to follow the army.

After a few days of travel, good news came.

Cao An led 20,000 imperial troops back to quell the rebellion. He did not go to Bian Jing, but hid his tracks all the way and launched a sneak attack when the rebels attacked the city.

This surprise attack wiped out tens of thousands of rebels.

Unfortunately, the members of the Wizard Cult escaped in the chaos, and no important figures of the Wizard Cult were captured.

Next, Cao An led his troops to clear out the rebels.

Although the rebels looted the arsenals of several state capitals, they only contained ordinary weapons and armor, not even many bows and crossbows.

In addition, they were just a motley crowd and were completely unable to deal with the elite cavalry.

Although Cao An only had 20,000 men, these 20,000 men were all the imperial guards of the Palace Front.

The Palace Guards were the most elite troops in the Song Dynasty.

After Zhao Xing succeeded to the throne, he also required strict training.

These 20,000 men were cavalry, and dealing with these rebels was like a pack of wolves among a flock of sheep.

No matter how many sheep there are, they can only flee in panic when facing a pack of wolves. How can they be their opponents?

The Wizard Cult realized that something was wrong and disappeared into hiding.

The rebellion had been basically quelled at this point, but the rebels were still fleeing everywhere, causing trouble and causing considerable trouble.

Zhao Xing was not surprised by this. He withdrew his troops not because he was worried that the rebellion could not be put down quickly.

Rebellion is not the biggest trouble; the biggest trouble is the destruction it causes.

Zhongyuan was once an important grain-producing area. Now, it is not yet time for the autumn harvest, but because of the rebellion, most of the Central Plains is in devastation and the crops in many fields have been destroyed.

Next, money and food will be needed to resettle the people and restore local order and people's livelihood.

Zhao Xing withdrew his troops in order to save food and provide relief to the people.

When they were still a few days away from Bian Jing, Zhao Xing received news that the Assistant Minister of War Tang Fangming had colluded with the Wizard Cult and provided information to the Wizard Cult. He committed suicide in prison during the trial by the three courts.

Zhao Xing had already received a report from Yin Hanzhang about Tang Fangming's collusion with the Wizard Cult.

But he was out of town, and it was difficult for him to change his father's decision.

Yin Hanzhang said in his report that there were some people in the court who were involved, but unfortunately Tang Fangming was the one who came forward to contact them, and the others were hiding too deeply.

Once Tang Fangming died, the clues were gone.

However, Tang Fangming's death also shows that there must be someone else in the court who was involved, and whose status is higher than Tang Fangming. Regardless of whether Tang Fangming's death was to cover up something or he was killed by someone to silence him, this can be proved.

Zhao Xing was very angry, and now he somewhat understood Zhu.

Although the number of officials he killed after he ascended the throne was not many, it was still a lot compared to the emperors of the Song Dynasty.

But these people always challenge his patience without knowing the consequences.

This was because he had led the army in person and captured dozens of cities, and they were worried that he would recapture the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and increase his power.

Or was it because this time he did not retain the original tradition of using civil officials to restrain military generals, but instead appointed the Duke of England as the commander-in-chief?
Zhao Xing didn't want to think about it too much. No matter what the reason was, he would investigate the matter thoroughly and would not let anyone involved go.

Since killing so many before is not enough to deter them, then just keep killing.

…………

"Your Majesty personally led the expedition this time and recaptured dozens of cities, including Youzhou City. This is the greatest victory since Emperor Taizong."

Ten miles north of Bianjing City, Grand Prime Minister Han Zhang led civil and military officials to welcome Zhao Xing.

Naturally, the emperor could not come to greet him in person, so this task fell on Han Zhang.

It is said that Emperor Taizong had won victory after victory at the beginning, and had recaptured several of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun. But in the end, he was defeated outside the city of Youzhou. Under the counterattack of the Liao Kingdom, not only did he lose all the territory he had conquered, but he also lost a lot of his original territory.

This time, Zhao Xing regained the territory he had lost that year, and also regained several of the Sixteen States of Yanyun, including the city of Youzhou that Taizong had failed to capture.

In terms of merit alone, his contribution is much greater than that of Emperor Taizong's Northern Expedition.

However, Taizong is the ancestor of their lineage after all, and it is a tradition that one cannot surpass his ancestors in merit.

Li Shimin made great contributions, but no matter how great his contributions were, he could only be called the ancestor and not the ancestor.

This is not just because lazy Li Yuan was the founding emperor.

Although Taizong failed in the Northern Expedition, he did destroy the Northern Han during his reign, and had the merit of destroying a country.

"Although it is gratifying to recapture dozens of cities, we have not been able to capture Xijing. We cannot build a defense line with Xijing and Youzhou City, and we cannot hold it for long. Instead, we need to send a large number of troops to defend it, which is not a good thing."

The person who spoke first was a military general, and a civil official immediately refuted him.

Since Zhao Xing led the army in person, he was nominally the commander-in-chief, so this civil servant did not dare to say anything about why the Northern Expedition should not be launched.

He was speaking in a strategic sense.

This is not wrong. Among the cities captured by the Song Dynasty, only Youzhou City is a strong city. The other cities are not considered strong cities.

There were no strategic passes to defend, only Youzhou City, a strong city. When the Liao Kingdom counterattacked, they could just leave Youzhou City alone and attack other cities.

If Xijing was captured, Xijing and Youzhou City would form a pincer attack. Before capturing one of the two cities, the Liao Kingdom would not dare to easily bypass these two cities to attack other cities.

This shows that this person knows something about military affairs.

There were many such arguments in the crowd, but Han Zhang and others in the front did not participate in them.

"My dear husband."

Li Xianggong whispered, "Gu Tingye sent troops to raid the capital of Xixia without asking for permission and captured the queen of Xixia. There is an alliance between the two countries. This move not only destroys the alliance, but Xixia will not give up."

"Your Majesty's Northern Expedition has consumed countless money and grain. Although the rebellion in the Central Plains has been quelled, countless people are waiting for relief from the court. It is really not appropriate to make enemies with Western Xia."

"I heard that Xixia has sent an envoy, and their target should be the Queen of Xixia. Your Majesty may not agree to hand her over, and then the Grand Master will have to come forward to persuade Your Majesty."

Gu Tingye brought Queen Liang back to the Song Dynasty. Because he was worried that Western Xia would invade the border, Gu Tingye did not dare to leave the northwest border.

They could only send someone to send Queen Liang back to Bian Jing.

When the news that Gu Tingye raided the capital of Western Xia and abducted the Queen of Western Xia reached Bian Jing.

The whole court was in an uproar, both civil and military.

Although Gu Tingye said in his report that this was done with the purpose of causing chaos in Western Xia.

However, most of the civil and military ministers in the court thought that Gu Tingye’s behavior was inappropriate.

No matter how much fighting there was within Western Xia, Queen Liang was still the Queen of Western Xia. If the Queen was abducted by the Song Dynasty, how could Western Xia retain its dignity?
There is no way that Xixia would tolerate this. Even if it is just for the sake of face, Xixia would send troops.

Although the retired emperor also thought it was inappropriate, he did not deal with the matter. Instead, he said to wait for Zhao Xing to come back and let Zhao Xing handle it.

Han Zhang glanced at Li Xianggong and said, "Gu Du said in his report that he asked for permission from His Majesty before sending out the troops."

"The Grand Master knows exactly what happened. But it's not important. The most important thing is how to deal with the Queen of Xixia. If things go wrong, there may be another war in the northwest. The Grand Master personally arranged the defense of the northwest, so he knows more about military affairs than I do."

"The Liao Kingdom and Western Xia had their own ulterior motives before, but now it is different. The Liao Kingdom suffered a great loss, and Western Xia lost its queen. The two countries are likely to truly unite, which means that it will be difficult for the Song Dynasty to resist." Prime Minister Li said with a worried look on his face.

Han Zhang was about to say something when he heard the sound of horse hooves in the distance. A team of cavalry came galloping over, shouting that His Majesty's carriage was several miles away.

"His Majesty has arrived. If you have anything to say, please wait until you see His Majesty."

Upon learning that the imperial carriage was several miles away, the civil and military officials, who had been in a bit of confusion, hurriedly returned to their seats and tidied their appearance.

When they were still dozens of miles away from Bianjing, Zhao Xing separated from the army.

The army was going back to camp, so naturally they would not go into Bianliang with him.

Zhao Xing went to Bianjing City under the escort of 10,000 imperial guards.

"Your Majesty, I respectfully welcome you and congratulate you on your great victory! Long live your Majesty! Long live the Great Song!"

When Zhao Xing's imperial carriage stopped a few dozen steps away from the welcoming line of officials, all the officials shouted in unison.

Sanshui lifted the curtain of the carriage, and Zhao Xing leaned out and said, "Stand up! I am leading the army in person, and I am grateful to you gentlemen for the affairs of the court."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhao Xing returned to the carriage. Civil and military officials got on the carriage one after another and followed behind Zhao Xing.

After entering the city, there was no scene of people lining the streets to welcome them.

The emperor's carriage drove on the Imperial Road. People were not allowed to live on both sides of the Imperial Road, and their doors and windows were not allowed to face the Imperial Road.

There were roads on both sides of the Imperial Road for common people to pass through, but when the emperor passed by, common people were prohibited from passing through.

On the one hand, this was done to show the emperor's majesty, and on the other hand, it was also to prevent assassination.

When they arrived at the palace gate, Zhao Xing got off the carriage, and all the civil and military officials also got off the carriage and followed Zhao Xing into the palace.

After entering the palace, he did not go to the main hall, but went directly to the Taimiao.

The emperor led the army in person and won the victory. Naturally, he would offer sacrifices to his ancestors and tell them about the victory when he returned.

When Zhao Xing arrived outside the Taimiao, the retired emperor was already waiting there.

"Your son greets you, father!" Zhao Xing bowed and saluted.

"My prince has led the army in person and recovered dozens of cities. Thank you for your hard work." The retired emperor said with a look of satisfaction.

Although he is kind-hearted, he is not unwilling to fight.

Otherwise, they would not have sent troops when Western Xia established its own independence.

(End of this chapter)