Do you know: I have a different surname: Wang, uncle Minglan

In the second year of Kaiwu, on February 2, the dragon raised its head.

Just when everyone thought that after Emperor Daozong of Liao died and Yelu Jun ascended the throne, they would definitely rest and recuperate.

After all, the Liao Kingdom had launched countless wars over the years, but they did not achieve their goal of fighting to support war.

Now that the three kingdoms have ceased fighting, if they don’t rest and recuperate now, when will they?

However, what Wei Yuan and others did not expect was that only one month after Yelu Jun ascended the throne, he announced in a high-profile manner that he would recruit 300,000 soldiers.

At this time, in the Xuanzheng Hall.

Wei Yuan and a group of ministers were discussing this matter.

"You are recruiting troops right after ascending the throne. Aren't you afraid of ending up with a warlike end?"

"I'm afraid this is not the intention of the Liao emperor."

"It is said that Yelu Xinxian became an assistant minister."

"His brother died in my Great Zhou. Is he recruiting troops to avenge his brother?"

"Using the interests of the country to avenge his personal grudge? Yelu Xinxian is not so stupid, right?"

"."

Many ministers, including Fan Chunren and others, started to discuss.

Since the end of the war, the international situation has become simpler.

Before, for the Great Zhou, the most powerful enemy might be Xixia.

After all, Li the thief betrayed the Great Zhou and established Xixia.

This is something that cannot be tolerated for the dynasty that has always been regarded as the orthodox regime in the Central Plains.

But as time goes by, the Great Zhou suddenly discovered that Xixia just wanted to live in peace in a corner.

The strongest and most eager to make the Great Zhou die without a burial place is actually Liao.

While everyone was discussing, Wei Yuan glanced at Yan Da, the commander of the Imperial City Division.

The latter immediately said: "According to the information we have, when Yelu Hongji died, all the leaders of the ethnic groups in Liao went there, except for the Jurchen leader Wanyan Wugunai."

Wei Yuan took over the conversation and continued: "Whether Liao recruits soldiers or not, and how many soldiers to recruit, it is ultimately their own business. Even if we are the victorious country, we have no right to interfere according to the armistice agreement."

"There is only one thing that can be proved. Even if they recruit soldiers, they can't attack our Great Zhou again at this juncture. We won once, and if we lose once, it doesn't matter, but they can't afford to lose even once."

In the past, if the Great Zhou lost in a national war like this, the cost would be immeasurable.

After all, Xixia and Liao have been eyeing it covetously.

"What the Marquis of Wei meant is that no matter how the Liao recruits soldiers, the most urgent task for our Great Zhou is to reform the system. As long as the reform plan succeeds and our Great Zhou's national strength is enhanced, even if there is another world-shaking war, our Great Zhou will not be afraid?"

Wang Anshi is the person who knows Wei Yuan best. No matter what Wei Yuan says, he can always figure out Wei Yuan's intentions at the first time.

The same is true in reverse.

Although Fan Chunren is the prime minister now.

But in fact, it is Wei Yuan and Wang Anshi who are setting up the stage to perform.

Zhao Xi has said more than once that the generals and ministers are in harmony, and the Great Zhou is safe.

The generals and ministers here refer to Wei Yuan and Wang Anshi.

"Yes, reform is the top priority of our Great Zhou."

"However, the problem of Liao still needs to be taken seriously."

"The Jurchen leader Wanyan Wugunai has had a rift with Liao. We can send envoys to negotiate peace with the Jurchens and trade with each other."

"Send someone to Shangjing City to spread rumors that the Jurchens will be the next generation of masters of the grassland."

Wei Yuan used a method often used by his ancestors, that is, to make friends with distant countries and attack nearby countries.

"The strategy of vertical and horizontal alliances has been played by our ancestors for hundreds of years, and it is still not outdated today."

"But there is a big taboo in this strategy of vertical and horizontal alliances, that is, never raise a tiger to harm you."

"No matter who the owner of the grassland is in the future, it is not a good thing for our Great Zhou and the entire Central Plains, unless the owner of the grassland is us."

Wei Yuan is very clear about the development potential of the grassland.

First of all, there is extremely fertile land on that piece of land.

The Central Plains regime has also tried to occupy that piece of land, but the final price is to return empty-handed or be defeated by the newly emerging grassland tribes.

The tribes on the grasslands would grow and become stronger every time they were suppressed by the Central Plains Dynasty.

In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, the warriors on the grasslands could not wear complete armor, but today, their war horses are stronger than those of the Central Plains Dynasty, and their armor is no longer a shortcoming.

Even their arrows are stronger than those of the Central Plains Dynasty.

"In short, we must never let the grasslands produce heroes again, otherwise, it will be a disaster that will destroy the world for our Shenzhou!"

Wei Yuan made the final decision, and the policy of the Great Zhou Dynasty on the grassland regime was set.

The grasslands are often in chaos, and heroes will emerge in chaos.

If that happens, the Great Zhou Dynasty may not be able to withstand it.

——

In the second year of Kaiwu, spring came in March.

The two families of Wei Yuan and Xu Changzhi went out of the city for an outing.

One is second to none, and the other holds great power. The two marquises must be different when they go out of the city.

There are three or four hundred followers alone.

Zhao Xi doted on Wei Yuan very much, and completely copied the treatment of the princes in the Warring States Period.

Not only did he have his own fiefdom, but he also had slaves and personal soldiers.

Now, there are more than 300 slaves in the Guanjun Marquis's mansion alone.

And Zhao Xi waved his hand, increasing the number of personal soldiers to a terrifying level of 2,000.

Wei Yuan was given a royal chariot by the previous emperor, and he relied on it to travel.

And Xu Changzhi's wife is a princess, and she was also given a royal chariot.

The two families' trip was simply the ultimate representation of the rich and powerful in Bianjing City.

They came to the peach garden that Zhang Guifen had bought before.

Since they were going out for an outing, they thought that they might as well cook by themselves, which would be considered an experience of a day like ordinary people.

Wei Yuan and Xu Changzhi went fishing.

Zhang Guifen and Minglan were responsible for cooking.

Princess Chai had never been in the kitchen, and asking her to do these things was undoubtedly torturing her, so she was simply asked to take care of the children.

While Zhang Guifen was busy, Princess Chai felt a headache when playing with Zhuang Ge'er and Jing Jie'er, and said:

"Sister Zhang, these two children are so noisy, they must have upset you a lot on weekdays, right?"

Zhang Guifen smiled meaningfully, "You will know when you have your own children."

Princess Chai sighed, "I heard from the elders at home that giving birth is very painful, and I am afraid of pain."

Zhang Guifen said: "Princess, how about coming to my house another day, I will teach you a few sets of sword techniques to strengthen your body?"

When she gave birth, she also felt a little dystocia.

If it weren't for the sword techniques she practiced when she was young and her strong physique, I'm afraid she would have suffered more damage to her vitality than Wei Shuyi.

It can be seen that strengthening the body is also helpful for fertility.

Princess Chai asked curiously, "Practicing swords? Are you tired?"

Minglan covered her mouth and smiled, "Not tired, but calluses will form on my hands."

Princess Chai shook her head and said, "No, my hands are so beautiful, I don't want calluses."

As she spoke, she suddenly saw Zhuang Ge'er and Jing Jie'er running towards the lake, and she hurriedly stopped them,

"Don't run around, there are man-eating fish in the lake, be careful they will eat you!"

Unexpectedly, Zhuang Ge'er laughed and said, "Aunt Princess, it's been two years since the start of the martial arts, why are you still telling such old stories."

Originally, Zhuang Ge'er and Jing Jie'er were supposed to call Princess Chai "Aunt" according to the rules.

Princess Chai felt that this made her look old.

Zhuang Ge'er called her "Aunt" for some reason, and Princess Chai thought that "Aunt" sounded better than "Aunt", so she simply let them call her "Aunt".

Princess Chai pointed at Zhuang Ge'er, furious, "Sister Zhang, your kid always bullies me, I can't stand it!"

Zhuang Ge'er laughed and said, "Aunt Princess, it's obviously me and my sister who have been taking care of you, how come you have to take care of us?"

Princess Chai was ashamed and angry, "Where are you running! I'll beat your ass!"

They were laughing and joking.

Where Wei Yuan and Xu Changzhi were fishing, they both looked serious.

They seemed to be fishing, but they were still thinking about the court.

Wei Yuan looked at the movement on the lake and slowly said:

"The five camps have been established, and the commanders of each camp are in place. Tomorrow I will submit a letter to the emperor, and you will serve as the inspector of the five camps and inspect the five camps on behalf of His Majesty."

"This time, you should go as deep as possible to understand what the soldiers want and need, and warn the commanders of each camp that the times have changed and they should not form cliques anymore."

Xu Changzhi nodded lightly and said, "When should we set off?"

Wei Yuan's mouth corners slightly raised, and he smiled and said, "Don't worry, wait for your family to come. It won't be too late to leave after the lady is pregnant."

Xu Changzhi shook his head, "How can this be certain?"

Wei Yuan thought for a moment and said seriously, "Let's leave at the end of the month and try to get back before the end of June."

"During this inspection, you must thoroughly promote the training methods in the military training records to the entire army."

"Wang Anshi and his men are already working on abolishing the county system, and I believe there will be big moves this year."

"I plan to go north again in the spring of the fourth year of Kaiwu, just as training."

Northern Expedition in the fourth year of Kaiwu? Training?

Hearing these two key words, Xu Changzhi's expression could not help but become heavy.

"It's the beginning of spring in the fourth year of Kaiwu. It's just three years since the end of the war. In three years, the northern counties have difficulty recovering. Isn't it a bit reluctant to march north at that time?"

Wei Yuan said: "In another two or three years, the turmoil of military reform will stabilize. If we don't train soldiers at that time, how can we reflect the benefits of military reform?"

"Besides, before, it was the Liao army that went south. Now, it's our turn to gradually erode the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun."

Xu Changzhi said: "The Liao Kingdom recruited 300,000 soldiers. I'm afraid they are also worried that we will take action."

Wei Yuan "I don't care about that. Since this war will be fought sooner or later, it's better to fight early than later."

Xu Changzhi asked curiously: "What is the result of the second Northern Expedition?"

Wei Yuan said: "At least, we have to recover the three states. Now the government is still willing to listen to our suggestions. I am afraid that Wang Anshi will not want to start a war for the sake of political stability."

Xu Changzhi said: "Wang Anshi wants to be a capable minister who governs the world. As long as his reforms are not completed, he will not want to see the war."

Wei Yuan snorted, "I can't wait, and I can't wait."

——

The second year of Kaiwu, at the end of March.

Ningyuan Hou Gu Tingye returned to Beijing again to report on his work.

This time, Wei Yuan wanted to keep him in Beijing. After all, he had accumulated a lot of qualifications after so many years of experience outside.

He was fully qualified to serve in Beijing.

The first person Gu Tingye visited when he came to Beijing was Wei Yuan.

The latter said: "I went to Yanbian last year and didn't let you see me because I was worried that someone would say I was forming a clique for personal gain. This is nothing to me, but I'm worried that it will affect your future."

Gu Tingye bowed and said: "Marquis Wei is thoughtful, and I admire you."

Wei Yuan said: "You don't need to leave when you come to Beijing this time. The capital camp is still short of a deputy commander, you can take up the post."

Gyeonggi Camp?

Central camp?

Gu Tingye was immediately shocked and said: "Marquis Wei, I'm afraid I don't have the qualifications to hold such a humble position."

Wei Yuan took a sip of tea and said, "Your father, Marquis Ningyuan, has not lost his prestige in the military. You are the contemporary Marquis Ningyuan and have participated in the Battle of Weiguo. It is enough for you to go."

Gu Tingye was silent.

Wei Yuan said: "It's for you, just take it. If I knew you couldn't catch it, I would have replaced him."

The Gyeonggi Camp controls the lifeblood of the entire Bianjing City.

Of course Wei Yuan had to arrange for someone of his own so that he could sleep well at night.

"Xu Changzhi will return to inspect the fifth camp tomorrow. He will go to the north first. The central camp will be his last stop."

"When he inspects the central camp, he will help you gain a foothold in the camp. There is no need to worry about the rest."

Wei Yuan suddenly asked Xu Changzhi to inspect the fifth camp. In fact, he wanted to help the people of Daizhou Group quickly establish a foothold in the fifth camp.

He doesn't let others form cliques for personal gain, but he didn't say that he won't form cliques for personal gain.

"In the past two days, I have been looking for Minglan."

After saying this, Wei Yuan closed his eyes and rested.

Gu Tingye couldn't be disturbed, so he had no choice but to leave.

The next day.

Gu Tingye brought many gifts and went to Sheng's house to visit Minglan.

As luck would have it, Lin Sushuang was in Wei Shuyi's yard.

As the status of Wei Yuan and others rose, Lin Sushuang no longer dared to cause trouble to Wei Shuyi.

After all, the Wei family could push the entire Sheng family to the ground with just one finger.

With this gap, who would dare to cause trouble to Wei Shuyi?

"Madam, I came to see you today because I want to ask you something. In the past, I was the one who criticized you so harshly. It was all my fault. No matter how you beat or scold me, I would endure it."

"It's just that my two children, Chang Feng and Mo Lan, are innocent. Chang Feng is a child who cannot study well and has no future. Mo Lan is a concubine and cannot find a good family."

"You are their little girl, can you help them?"

Lin Sushuang asked in a pleading tone.

Only a moment later, he fell to his knees.

To be honest, as long as Wei Shu wishes to say a few words to Wei Yuan, the fate of Chang Feng and Mo Lan will be changed.

That's why Lin Sushuang shamelessly came to ask for Wei's forgiveness.

Just when Wei Shuyi was about to say something, Minglan suddenly walked out of the room angrily, helped Wei Shuyi up from the stool, and said:

"Mom, you are not in good health. It is windy right now, so you should rest in the house."

The implication is that he is unwilling to help Lin Sushuang.

At this moment, Xiao Tao came to report that Ningyuan Hou Gu Tingye had come to the Sheng family with several large boxes of gifts, and also said that he wanted to see Minglan by name.

Minglan frowned slightly and said to herself: "How many boxes of gifts? Could it be that Uncle Gu is here to propose marriage?"