Chapter 1113: Conquering Two States in a Row, Mrs. Wang Gets Angry

The Baode Army is located in Baode County. In fact, there is no need to live in the military camp all the time. Many military lieutenant generals have their own houses in Baode County. They usually live in the county when there is no war. After all, there is nothing in the military camp. There is liveliness and comfort in the city.

However, Zhou Chen is used to the military camp. He lives in the military camp most of the time and only occasionally goes to the county seat.

He was training troops that day when he suddenly received an order from the Xiangdu commander to go to the camp meeting.

After more than an hour, the personnel were gathered together, and then everyone learned from the commander of Xiangdu.

The Xixia raided Linzhou and occupied a large area of ​​land west of the Quye River in the northwest of Linzhou. A war may break out between the Song and Xia, so everyone should be prepared, because their Baode Army is the Xiang army closest to Linzhou. If a war breaks out, they will definitely On the battlefield.

Upon hearing that a war was about to begin, the commanders of the various military camps in the camp had different expressions. Some were excited and excited, some were frowning, and some were even nervous and fearful.

Not all soldiers are brave and fearless. There are many generals and generals in the army who are just dawdling around. It's okay to let them practice and practice, but when they really go to the battlefield to fight, they are already dead before they even begin. There is a desire to retreat.

But fortunately, there are relatively few such people in their German defense army. After all, they are on the border closest to Xixia, and they usually have close combat with the Xixia army.

Soon, the camp became lively.

"Commander, as long as you give the order, my men will immediately go over and chop up those Xixia bastards."

"Yes, we are passive every day. When can we take the initiative? Now that Xixia is so provocative, we can't sit back and watch anymore, can we?"

"As I say, let's start the fight."

"What are you fighting for? There is no order from above. We can't mobilize the army at all. I think we should wait for the order."

"yes…………"

It was noisy, everyone had their own thoughts and opinions, and they couldn't unify at all. The most important thing was the court's long-term desire for peace, which made the soldiers lack blood.

Zhou Chen remained silent. He was not surprised at all by this situation. He had long been used to it in the three years since he came to the border. Even when faced with the invasion of a small group of Xixia soldiers, except for him, everyone else Didn't act too positive.

His positive performance actually made some people dissatisfied. If you work hard and I don't work hard, wouldn't it make me look like a fool?

But fortunately, he has a strong background, so no one dares to fight against him. Even his immediate boss, Xiangdu Commander, is very considerate of Zhou Chen.

The commander of Xiangdu saw clearly that in the past few years, Zhou Chen had not made great achievements, but small achievements. As a boss, he was naturally a direct beneficiary. He did not have to fight and could still get credit. Of course he liked such subordinates. .

So he stopped everyone's noise with dissatisfaction and looked at Zhou Chen.

"Shu Yuan, what do you think?"

Zhou Chen replied: "Sir, the Xixia army is indeed hateful, but this time is different from before. They have invaded our land. We can no longer decide privately whether to send troops. We must have an order from the court, so we can do a good job We are ready to send troops, but whether to send troops or not, we have to wait for the order."

The commander of Xiangdu nodded. He wanted to make meritorious deeds, but he didn't want to be the first to show off. If he sent troops without orders, even if he won the battle, he would not end well in the face of difficulties from civilian officials. So what Zhou Chen said was what he thought. of.

So he asked everyone to go back and prepare, but left Zhou Chen alone.

"Shu Yuan, if we really go to war with Xixia, I will help you and try my best to let you serve as a vanguard on the battlefield. I should be transferred soon. If you can make enough contributions, you will hopefully take over my position. ."

This commander has a good relationship with Zhou Chen's father, Zhou Yexiong, and it is precisely because of his presence that Zhou Chen has been able to let go of his hands and feet in recent years.

Zhou Chen naturally understood the other party's goodwill and expressed his gratitude: "Sir, please rest assured, I will do my best to live up to your kindness."

"Well done. I have been in the army for more than 20 years, and you are the most brave and good at fighting I have ever seen. Even your father, Lord Zhou, is far behind you. I am very optimistic about you."

He has a deep understanding of Zhou Chen's personal combat prowess, because he has personally seen Zhou Chen fight against a hundred elite soldiers alone, and win in the end. His personal combat prowess is truly invincible.

No wonder he was shocked. Zhou Chen only kept two of his remaining attribute points and added the others.

Now his physical fitness has exceeded fifty, and his strength is approaching fifty. Coupled with his rich combat experience and moves, as well as his strong recovery, he can persist for a long time even in the face of endless enemies.

Of course, the premise is that he does not encounter elite archers and heavy armored soldiers. When encountering such elite long-range soldiers and melee soldiers, he will definitely not be able to use up even a trace of internal strength.

That's right, after three years in this world, he barely developed his internal strength, but the amount was pitifully small.

As Zhou Chen expected, when the court learned that Xixia had invaded and occupied Linzhou land, the first reaction was not to start a war to take it back, but to send people to negotiate with Xixia and let Xixia return it.

Of course Xixia would not agree. Even though Xixia had a lot of land, due to its special geographical location, fertile land suitable for planting was scarce. How could it be so easy to return a piece of fertile land after finally snatching it away?

Song Fang negotiated again and again, but he never returned the money without hiding it, and kept dragging and pulling Song Fang.

In the Song Dynasty, people from the top to the officials were really good-tempered. After being pulled like this by Bu Zangying Pang, they were still weighing their concerns and never issued an order to take it back by force.

Zhou Chen has become accustomed to the weakness of the imperial court and is not in a hurry, because he knows that in the end, even if the imperial court is just for the sake of face, it is impossible for the imperial court to really do nothing. A fight will definitely be fought. As for how far it will be, whether it can be It's hard to say how to regain the lost land.

It’s quite interesting to talk about the Song Dynasty. Whenever they went to war with an enemy country, they would rather spend money to give money than pay military expenses to forcefully start a war. It was as if they were afraid of being beaten. They were really weak and used to it. Peace relied on begging. Come, not type.

They waited for two months. Finally, the court's patience may have been worn out by Xixia, and they were finally ready to use force.

After really making up their minds, the imperial court acted quickly. Not long after returning to Tokyo, the British Duke was sent to the northwest again as the commander-in-chief of this battle.

The opportunity Zhou Chen had been waiting for finally came.

Two months later, the good news returned to Beijing.

When the officials saw the good news, Long Yan was overjoyed, especially when they saw that the vanguard general Zhou Chen killed the enemy leader and was the first to regain the lost land of Quye River in Linzhou. They were even more overjoyed.

"Haha, it turns out to be Sanlang of the Zhou family. I was indeed right about him. Although he did not participate in the Spring Festival, he was still able to make such great contributions on the frontier. He is indeed a talented general of our Song Dynasty. He should be rewarded. He should be rewarded."

But he soon discovered that he was happy too early, because there were more surprises to come.

Another month later, good news came from the northwest. The Song army defeated the Xixia army and captured Yinzhou City. The British army planned a strategy. The vanguard general Zhou Chen made great achievements, annihilating the Xixia 10,000 brave army, and was the first to break through Yinzhou City. The flag of the Song Dynasty was planted in Yinzhou City.

In another two months, the Song army defeated the Xixia Xiangyou army and captured several cities around Shizhou. Zhou Chen was the first to capture the city again.

But the Song Army was blocked by the Xixia Army here. Because the Xixia Army's four legions gathered together to form an effective defense line, the Song Army was short of troops and food and grass, so it had to stop.

But even so, the Song army achieved a complete victory. With only losing more than 10,000 people, it annihilated 30,000 Xixia troops and took no prisoners. Not only did they regain the lost land in Linzhou, they also occupied several cities in Yinzhou and Shizhou. and land.

It is no exaggeration to say that this victory was the most enjoyable victory for the official in his more than 30 years in power.

When the good news came to Tokyo, the officials were overjoyed and the court was in a state of shock. The Song Dynasty had always lost ground. When had there ever been such a great victory? It captured two states in a row. It was an unprecedented victory.

Needless to say, the commander-in-chief of this great victory was the British Duke. Besides that, Zhou Chen, the vanguard general, had the greatest contribution. He was always the first to seize the city and land several times. The Xixia people fled after hearing about Zhou and killed the gods. The name spread across the border.

Xixia lost several lands in a row. Although it has resisted the Song army's offensive and is also thinking about regaining the lost territory, the British defended with all their strength and established a defensive line, making it impossible for Xixia to recover the lost territory, forcing Xixia to send People went to the Song Dynasty court to protest and so on.

When they really invaded the Song Dynasty, they were arrogant and refused to back down when questioned by the Song Dynasty. But when it was their turn to be occupied by the Song army, they jumped up like a cat whose tail was stepped on, and wanted to take it back with all their teeth and claws. If they lost ground and couldn't defeat them, they would use diplomatic methods to put pressure on Song.

Officials have always been kind and generous to the outside world, but this victory made him stand upright. This was an unprecedented victory during his reign, and it was also a rare victory since the founding of the country. It was a huge achievement of his.

Therefore, he didn't care about Xixia's attitude at all, and discussed the matter with all officials during the court meeting.

"The first contribution to the great victory in the northwest belongs to the British Duke and Pioneer Zhou Chen. Everyone, how do you think we should reward him?"

If you achieve a great victory, you will naturally be rewarded. If such a great achievement cannot be rewarded based on merit, who would be willing to fight to the death?

There are many civil and military officials present today. As soon as the officials finished speaking, one person from the military official position stepped forward.

"I feel that I should be rewarded heavily, especially since I am commanding Zhou Chen. This man is a pioneer general. Whenever he takes the lead and is the first to charge into the city, he should be the first to do so and should be knighted."

As soon as these words came out, the whole place was in an uproar.

Being knighted, this is the supreme honor of a warrior. However, since the Song Dynasty, except for the titles granted during the founding of the country, there have not been many knighthoods in the past hundred years. Even if there are, most of them are after death. seal up.

Among the officials, Sheng Hong, who was wearing a green robe and standing in the last row, felt his heart beating rapidly.

He had just arrived in Tokyo recently. He is currently serving as Chengzhiro and the new chancellor. He has only served in court a few times so far.

I still remember that when he went to court for the first time, he was scared to death because of the issue of establishing an heir. Since then, he has shrunk and will never speak unless the officials ask him to do so. Compared with being in the limelight, he still has a small life. more important.

But today he was shocked again. The difference was that last time he was scared, but this time he was excited.

Zhou Chen is his son-in-law. Although he has not officially married yet, he is still his eldest son-in-law. Now that he heard people talking about Zhou Chen in the court, and even mentioned being ennobled, it really shocked his head. ring.

Suddenly, an official in purple robes stood up and said loudly: "Your Majesty, this matter is absolutely unacceptable. The commander of Zhoudu has indeed made extraordinary achievements and can be promoted, but the matter of ennoblement is absolutely unacceptable. Please consider it at your Majesty's discretion."

Suddenly a military attache stood up and retorted: "Master Yang, what you said is wrong. General Zhou made great achievements that have never been done before in this dynasty. He conquered two states and several cities, and expanded the territory of our Song Dynasty. With such achievements, how can we not seal it?" Lord?"

"Yes, that's right, Your Majesty, the commander of Zhoudu should be knighted."

"No, rewards are allowed, but no titles are allowed."

"Fart, if you have merit, you should be rewarded. Your Majesty, I think you can be knighted."

"You, you, you cursed people in the court. Your Majesty, please expel him..."

The opposition between civil and military officials was vividly displayed today. Even swear words were used. The military attachés who came out were all in favor of the knighthood, while the civil servants who spoke were fully opposed.

On the other hand, the top civil and military officials at the forefront remained motionless and did not participate in the dispute.

The reason why the generals support Zhou Chen is not because of their good relationship with Zhou Chen, but because of the interests of the military attache. Zhou Chen is the legitimate son of an honorable noble. He is a natural military general and is so outstanding, so the generals naturally want to help him.

As for the civil servants, it was not that they had any grudges against Zhou Chen. The main reason was that they were opposed to the suggestions made by the military attachés, especially matters such as knighthood. They were not willing to allow Zhou Chen to be knighted and strengthen the military attache's reputation.

There was such a quarrel in the court that the official felt his head hurt, and he growled angrily: "Shut up, shut up."

The hall slowly became quiet, and the official's anger was still lingering. It was supposed to be a happy event, but it turned out to be so boring, which made him very unhappy.

"This matter will be discussed later, and discussed later."

"Retreat!"

Sheng Hong hurriedly ran home, and immediately took his wife Wang Ruofu to the Shou'an Hall in the backyard.

"Mom, what a great joy, what a great joy."

As soon as the person entered the house, Sheng Hong couldn't control his emotions and shouted excitedly.

Mrs. Sheng scolded dissatisfiedly: "You are the head of the family. You should be calm and calm when encountering problems. Don't lose your sense of proportion. Look at what you look like now."

Wang Ruofu and Sheng Hualan in the room looked at the excited Sheng Hong in confusion, not understanding why he was so gloomy.

After being scolded by the old lady, Sheng Hong apologized, but his face could not stop the joy.

"Mother, Madam, Hua'er, do you know what happened in the court today? Good news, great good news, a great victory in the northwest, and the two states of Xixia were captured in succession. Brother Sanlang Chen has made great achievements. There are still suggestions in the court today. I want to knight Saburo."

"A knighthood?"

Wang Ruofu stood up in shock and shouted, "Do you really want to be knighted?"

Although the old lady and Hualan did not speak, their expressions became shocked and they stared at Sheng Hong.

"Dad, are you telling the truth?"

"Of course it's true. He just mentioned the matter of knighting Saburo. There was such a quarrel in the court that the officials had to announce their withdrawal from the court."

Sheng Hong looked excited: "I think that for Saburo's great contribution, the officials intend to reward him heavily, and it is possible to be knighted. Of course, it is hard to say whether he can be knighted, but what is certain is that Saburo has made such a great contribution. For great achievements, you will definitely be promoted and rewarded heavily."

Wang Ruofu was excited with a smile on his face: "That's great, that's really great. Our uncle is really capable, good at literature and martial arts. Our Hua'er has chosen a good husband. If he can It would be great if she can be ennobled, and then Hua'er will be the Earl's wife."

The earl is the lowest title in this world. If you want to be knighted, you will start from the earl.

Sheng Hualan looked happy. Being promoted to an official position would make people happy, but what was even more joyful was that Zhou Chen's victory meant that others were fine, and she could rest assured.

However, the old lady said with a serious face: "As for Brother Chen's knighthood, you must not go out and spread rumors. This is still an uncertain matter. We can't cause trouble for Brother Chen."

"I understand, my son understands."

Sheng Hong and Wang Ruofu nodded repeatedly. Although they were excited, they still had sense.

In fact, the official is also thinking about whether to ennoble Zhou Chen. To be honest, he has a very good impression of Zhou Chen. He is versatile in both civil and military affairs and has special abilities. He helped him conquer a territory, so he likes Zhou Chen very much. .

But he also knew that being knighted was not just a matter of being granted a title. The interests and relationships involved were too complicated. If Zhou Chen was not born into a noble family, he could have been made an uncle.

But the problem is that Zhou Chen was born in the Zhongjing Marquis Mansion. If Zhou Chen is given a title again, wouldn't he be a double title?

At present, there is no double noble family in the imperial court, so Zhou Chen is confused about whether he has to break through it.

At this moment, Zhou Yexiong of the Zhongjing Hou Mansion suddenly uploaded a memorial. After reading it, the officials were silent for a long time.

"This Marquis Zhongjing is like this, no wonder he is opposed to it?"

A few days later, the rewards for Zhou Chen came down. There was no knighthood, but the title of Captain of Light Vehicles, Observer Envoy of Yinzhou, General Dingyuan, Commander of the German Army's General Command, plus some gold, silver and jewels. , a royal mansion.

At the same time, news also came out that Marquis Zhongjing himself opposed Zhou Chen's knighthood, so the officials did not grant him a knighthood.

This news is not known to be true or not, but it has caused quite a shock in the city of Tokyo. Although Zhou Chen may not be successful in being knighted, his father is opposed to his son being knighted, which is really puzzling.

If anyone wants to say who is the most aggrieved by Zhou Chen, it is Zhou Chen's future mother-in-law, Mrs. Wang.

"Oh my God, is there such a thing in the world? I am opposed to my son being knighted. What kind of reason is this? I have never heard of a father who does this. He is really partial to his throat. His eyes are Is there only the eldest son here and doesn’t care about the second son at all? This makes me so angry, so angry with me."

In the Shou'an Hall, Wang Ruofu cursed regardless of his image. He didn't care about the identity of Marquis Zhongjing at all. He wished he could rush into the Marquis Zhongjing's house and curse.

"Okay, okay, this is just a matter of catching wind and shadow. You are acting recklessly here. It would be ugly if word got out and your in-laws found out."

Sheng Hong reprimanded Wang Ruofu impatiently. He didn't think it was too strange that Zhou Chen failed to be knighted. Firstly, Zhou Chen was too young, and secondly, he was born in a prince's palace. If he was knighted again, it would be a double knighthood. This was not meaningful. It's the same, so it can be understood even if you don't have a knighthood.

But Wang Ruofu couldn't control that much. She only knew that the title was in hand, and she would soon be the earl's mother-in-law. Now she suddenly flew away, and there were rumors that the in-laws didn't want her. How could she not be angry.

"Why is it so ugly? Where did the eccentric eldest son go? He is uglier than me. This kid, Saburo, is also pitiful. He fought desperately on the front line and performed meritorious service. What's the result?"

Old Mrs. Sheng scolded dissatisfiedly: "Okay, Madam, stop talking. What's the use of being angry? This is their own business."

The old lady spoke, and Wang Ruofu finally stopped, but his face was still ugly. Having a title and not having a title are two different concepts. She was more anxious than anyone else about important matters related to her daughter.

The old lady said: "Not being knighted is not necessarily a bad thing. Sanlang is still young and showing off in the forest is not necessarily a good thing."

Sheng Hong agreed: "What mother said is, speaking of it, the official reward this time is already very good. Now Saburo's rank is three levels higher than mine, haha."

When Zhou Chen was promoted to an official, his future father-in-law naturally felt proud and took advantage of him.

"Mother, if it weren't for you, Hua'er wouldn't have such a good marriage."

Wang Ruofu muttered: "The marriage is very good, but if we don't get married for a day, I don't feel at ease. The same goes for San Lang. When can we return to Beijing to get married? We can't keep Hua'er waiting like this, right?"

Old Mrs. Sheng had just picked up the tea cup. When she heard this, she put it down with an angry 'bang' sound.

Sheng Hong also changed his expression: "What are you talking about, mother-in-law? There is a war in the border area for Sanlang. He can come back as soon as he wants. He and Hua'er are not very old, so there is no need to worry. He is now in a prosperous career. This is a good time to make achievements, don’t say this again in the future, do you hear me?”

He understands officialdom better than Wang Ruofu and is more supportive of Zhou Chen. Anyway, it has been decided that they will get married anytime, but there are not many opportunities to build a career, so they must seize it at this time.