Chapter 1015 Ten Years Later, We Are on the Battlefield Again

Time passed quickly. After Xiao Qinyan's death, a new prime minister came to power, and the government returned to its previous stability.

The imperial court is never short of people, not to mention the loss of a prime minister, even if there are a few missing ministers, as long as you think about it, you can quickly make up for it.

Zhao Zhen had been the emperor for several years, but he was still just a puppet. Even when he went to court, he would sit there without speaking, or convey the orders of Queen Mother Liu Wan.

It would be better to say that he is a puppet. In fact, even his freedom in life is severely restricted by Liu Wan.

What to do every day, what to do, when to get up, when to eat, etc., etc., are all arranged.

It is really frustrating for the majestic Supreme Being of the World, the Emperor of a country, to be treated like this, and for several years.

After living in this oppressive environment for more than ten years and not daring to resist, it is no wonder that after Zhao Zhen came to power, he was still bullied by his ministers and officials.

In the sixth year of Tiansheng, Zhao Pan'er gave birth to another son for Zhou Chen. In the past few years, Song Yinzhang had never been pregnant, and Zhang Haohao gave birth to a daughter for Zhou Chen before Zhao Pan'er.

As for Gao Hui, after three years of having two sons, she successfully gave birth to two sons for Zhou Chen.

As a result, after seven years of marriage, Zhou Chen had seven children, five boys and two girls.

Sure enough, the more women there are, the more children there are.

Fortunately, the Zhou family is big enough, otherwise if there were more children, it would be difficult to raise children.

In the past few years, Zhou Chen's life has been extremely relaxed. He loves his wife and raises children. He has always had a close relationship with his wives and concubines, and his children are also very close to him.

If he didn't want to complete side tasks, this kind of life would be perfect and relaxing for Zhou Chen. He likes this kind of life.

After all, with high status, enough money, enough houses, enough women, and a life of three wives and four concubines, what modern man would not be confused?

Zhang Haohao, who had a lot of career ambitions before, has long since given up his previous ideas after having children, and never mentioned his past in front of his children. According to the standards of the aristocracy, he started to train his children from an early age.

As a mother, she values ​​the future of her children more than anything else, and she also longs for her son to gain the status of a royal wife for her in the future.

She followed Zhou Chen, and although she lived a wealthy and luxurious life, as an outsider, she was still unable to appear in front of the world as Zhou Chen's woman.

There was regret in her heart, but in fact she was very satisfied. She now lived a peaceful life with a son and a daughter by her side. This was a good life that she had never dared to imagine before.

She had already changed the maids around her, because the two previous maids had different intentions when they were serving Zhou Chen with her. When she found out, they drove them out of Tokyo city.

In this mansion, she is the mistress, so she does not allow any woman to have any dissatisfaction with her. She can tolerate the maids serving Zhou Chen, but she will never tolerate them having dissent and wanting to become the master.

Being born in the Jiaofang Division, she knew very well the thoughts of these maids and servants. Each one of them dreamed of becoming a master after leaving their citizenship, so she was always on guard against them.

Even though Zhang Haohao is just a woman who came from the Jiaofang Division, her management skills are really good. At least in this courtyard, she is extremely majestic. No servant, large or small, dares to disobey her, but she is not good at all. All signs of it will be eliminated by her.

Zhou Chen was naturally very aware of what Zhang Haohao was doing, but he had never asked about it.

He had already told Zhang Haohao that she had the final say in this yard, and unless Zhang Haohao made a big mistake, he would not take care of it.

To be honest, he really likes Zhang Haohao because Zhang Haohao is very good at all kinds of martial arts, and he often brings two maids, master and servant, into battle together.

She is not jealous, not noisy, and can satisfy any request. It is difficult for a woman like this not to please a man.

Zhou Chen is also a normal man, and he naturally likes a sensible woman like Zhang Haohao. With Zhang Haohao, he can enjoy fun that he cannot enjoy at home.

Over the past few years, Zhou Chen felt that he had fallen. This kind of ancient times was good, but it was easy for people to fall.

Why was there so little entertainment in ancient times? Some entertainments are really better than others. It is difficult for ordinary people to understand the happiness of entertainment in ancient times.

His four wives and concubines all have different personalities.

Zhao Pan'er is mature, steady, dignified and generous. She does not talk about her background, but only her ability. She is indeed worthy of the status of the eldest lady of the Hou family.

Song Yinzhang is simple, silent and cowardly, with a little bit of comparison, but he is not a monster. Under Zhao Paner's training, she is a very qualified concubine.

Gao Hui is cute and lively, with an out-of-the-box personality. She looks a bit unruly, but she is kind-hearted and loving. Therefore, even though she has a high family background but a simple heart, she has never caused any trouble after being married to the Hou family for several years. .

Another thing to mention is that she is the most coquettish among the three women in the Hou family, and she is also jealous of her son.

Zhang Haohao is the most knowledgeable of the four daughters, and also the most ambitious. In the past, she was career-minded, but now it is reflected in her children.

As time passed year by year, various places in the Song Dynasty were also very peaceful, there were no wars, and there were no major turmoils in the country.

Although Liu Wan is a woman, her ability is really good. During the years she has been in charge of politics behind the curtain, she has managed the world even better than the late Emperor Zhenzong.

Compared with Liu Wan, Zhao Zhen, the emperor, really has no sense of existence.

…………

In the second year of the Ming Dynasty, Queen Mother Liu Wan, who had been in charge of the government behind the curtain for eleven years, finally could not withstand the erosion of time and passed away in March, and the whole country mourned.

As soon as Liu Wan left, the official Zhao Zhen couldn't wait to start pro-government, and he deposed the queen Liu Wan had chosen for him that year to show his pro-government.

Although Zhao Zhen has been the emperor for eleven years and has watched the court situation for many years, it was only after he began to take charge that he truly discovered that managing a country well is not an easy task. Every day is very busy. Worried.

As Zhao Zhen began to take charge of the government, great changes took place in the court situation. He began to clean up the officials of the Queen Mother's party and promoted his close ministers.

After ten years, Zhou Chen is still standing tall. After Zhao Zhen took power, he did not target him and even named Zhou Chen a Taiwei.

It's just that this Taiwei sounds nice, and he is the highest official in charge of the military, but in fact his authority has been greatly weakened, because most of the military power is already in the hands of civilian officials.

But for Zhou Chen, this was also an unexpected surprise, which meant that Zhao Zhen still remembered his kindness over the years.

Of course, it is also possible that Zhou Chen is needed to help him stabilize the nobles and military attachés in the court.

After two dynasties, Zhou Chen's position has always been stable and prosperous. He has a very high prestige within the dynasty and is the leading figure among the circles of nobles and military officers. Therefore, even the official Zhao Zhen has no influence on Zhou Chen. Chen also adopts a policy of bringing people closer together, rather than excluding them.

"Daddy, daddy."

Zhou Chen happily picked up his youngest daughter and raised it high, making his daughter scream.

The little girl's name is Zhou Qin. She is very cute. Although she is only three years old, she is very clever. Because she is the youngest among all the brothers and sisters, she is extremely favored, naughty and cheerful.

Not far away, Zhao Pan'er, Gao Hui and Song Yinzhang were sitting together. Seeing this scene, they had long been accustomed to it. Every time Zhou Chen came back from work, he would play with his children for a long time. The children also liked to play with Zhou Chen. Chen plays together.

"Sister, Qin'er is such a happy child. Among the children, she is the best at pleasing the Marquis."

Zhao Paner smiled and said to Gao Hui next to her, because Zhou Qin was born to Gao Hui.

Zhao Pan'er has not given birth to another son since she gave birth to two sons. This is because Zhou Chen thinks of her health.

Song Yinzhang, on the other hand, after giving birth to a daughter, wanted to continue having children in order to have a son. However, the second child was still a girl. It was not until four years ago that he gave birth to a son.

But this child had been weak since he was a child and was even likely to die young. Fortunately, Zhou Chen's superb medical skills cured him.

Although he has been cured and there is no fear of his life, the child's physical condition has not been as good as that of his peers since he was a child, and he is the most cared for in the Hou family.

After Song Yinzhang gave birth to three children, his health was damaged and he became weak. It took him several years to recover.

Gao Hui, on the other hand, has given birth to two more children since they were born three years ago, first a son, and the last one is the youngest daughter Zhou Qin.

She married Zhou Chen in the end, but she gave birth to Zhou Chen the most.

Although she gave birth to four children, her physical fitness is still very good. Among the three girls, her physical fitness is the best, and she is also the one who can toss the most.

Because of her personality, the children in the Hou family all like her. Compared with the majestic and solemn Zhao Pan'er, and the frail and talkative Song Yinzhang, she is the most popular because of her outgoing personality.

Zhao Pan'er and the others often said that Zhou Qin inherited Gao Hui's character and was so lovable.

Although Zhou Chen has many children, the oldest is only twelve years old. The relationship between the mother and the children is harmonious, so naturally there will be no conflicts between the children.

Although ten years have passed, Gao Hui doesn't seem to have changed much. Song Yinzhang is a little younger than her, but now that they stand together, Gao Hui looks several years younger.

Gao Hui pinched a grape and put it in her mouth. She glanced at Zhou Chen, who was playing with a few children, and then looked at Zhou Ye, who was sitting next to him, reading a book as if no one else was around.

"Sister, our Brother Ye is the most sensible one. He started studying at such a young age. Didn't the Marquis say that he would be asked to take the imperial examination in two years?"

It was very rare for a teenager to take the imperial examination in the Song Dynasty. If he could pass the examination, he could definitely be called a child prodigy.

Zhao Pan'er shook his head and sighed: "This child has a dull temper. He is obviously still a child, but he acts like a little adult all day long. Alas."

As the eldest son, she naturally has high expectations for Zhou Ye, but the problem is that this child is very precocious. Needless to say, he has high requirements for himself. He has been studying since he was a child, and he is not at all naughty and playful like other children. , she was really worried that Zhou Ye would become a nerd.

On the contrary, Zhou Chen didn't care at all. It was a good thing for children to be willing to study. Geniuses are destined to be different from ordinary people and cannot be seen through ordinary people's eyes.

"The Marquis's birthday will be here in a few days, and we have to make good preparations."

Gao Hui and Song Yinzhang both nodded in agreement. Every year, the three of them prepare Zhou Chen's birthday together, and they are already very skilled at it.

…………

In the fifth year of Jingyou's reign, Zhou Chen's eldest son Zhou Ye passed the imperial examination and passed the examination.

That is to say, this year, huge changes occurred on the border between Song and Xia. The Dingnan Army, which was defeated by Zhou Chen, took advantage of the development of these years and became stronger. It actually took the opportunity to break away from the control of the Song Dynasty and establish the Xia Dynasty on its own, which was known as 'Xi Xia' in history. .

In the second year after the founding of Xixia, they launched another war and plundered the borders of the Song Dynasty.

Meng Cong, who had been guarding the border between Song and Xia for a long time, had returned to the capital to retire because of his old age. Although there were generals guarding the border between Song and Xia, he was in a hurry when faced with Xixia's raid. He was caught off guard by Xixia and lost several soldiers. towns.

Although the Song Dynasty, which had not fought a war for many years, rose up to resist, facing Xixia's 100,000-strong army, the Song army, which had not experienced war for many years, found it difficult to resist.

After several defeats, the official Zhao Zhen was furious and sent his generals there again, accompanied by generals from the Meng family. However, the Song Dynasty, which had many soldiers and generals, did not take advantage.

The generals on the Song-Xia border did not have rich combat experience. They were deceived and attacked several times by the Xixia army, and the entire army was almost annihilated.

When the news spread back to Bianjing, it naturally caused another huge shock.

Zhou Chen was summoned to Wende Palace and met the official Zhao Zhen.

"Your Majesty Zhou Chen, please visit the official family. Long live, long live, long live."

"Please get up, Qing Zhou."

Zhao Zhen has been in charge for several years and has become increasingly prestigious.

"I summoned Zhou Qing here because of matters on the Xixia border. Zhou Qing must have heard about the recent battle reports."

"Go back to the official's house, I already know."

Zhao Zhen looked serious: "Xixia is just a small country. It dares to offend our great Song Dynasty Tianwei. I will never tolerate it. When Zhou Qing was at the border, he almost destroyed the army, so I want to ask Zhou Qing to go to the border. , how does Zhou Qing feel about solving this problem in Xixia?"

Zhou Chen immediately said loudly: "The official's orders, I will do my best."

"good."

Zhao Zhen was overjoyed. He didn't have many good generals at the moment, so after thinking about it, he thought of Zhou Chen.

"I deeply believe in Zhou Qing's bravery and draw up the decree..."

Soon, Zhou Chen was named the general of the country, and he set out to conquer Xixia on a certain day.

It had been nearly twenty years since he returned from the Song-Xia border, and he finally had the opportunity to go on another expedition. Zhou Chen was also very concerned about it. This was a good opportunity for him to take control of the military.

If the Song Dynasty went to full-scale war with Xixia, he did not believe that Liao Ting would remain indifferent. As long as the Liao Dynasty moved, he would have the opportunity to complete his side mission.

Although he is over forty years old, with his old skills, his physical fitness will not weaken with age until he is a hundred years old, so he can still maintain his peak condition.

In nearly twenty years, he has practiced Pure Yang Jue to a great level. Even if he faces hundreds of elite soldiers, he is not afraid. He can escape even if he cannot defeat them.

He was not worried at all, but when the women at home heard that Zhou Chen was going to the battlefield, they were all worried and couldn't even sleep well.

Before departure, Zhou Chen comforted several girls and arranged everything at home.

Zhou Chen also specially called his eldest son to him and told him: "Ye'er, once dad leaves, you will be the eldest man in the family, so you must take good care of your mother and younger brothers and sisters. Do you hear me?"

Zhou Ye has been the most sensible person since he was a child, so he very solemnly promised Zhou Chen that he would protect the family so that Zhou Chen would not have to worry.

Zhou Chen cruelly said goodbye to Zhao Pan'er and the three daughters, and then put on his armor and left. Zhao Pan'er and his daughters followed him and watched him lead his army to leave Bianjing City.