He Jiachang's body was no longer able to support the unified army in combat. If the imperial court sends troops across the board to attack Liao at this time, it would be extremely inappropriate strategically if it only relies on Yanshan Prefecture to send troops all the way. Since ancient times, the Central Plains dynasties have attacked in multiple directions, whether they were attacking the Huns or fighting the Turks. Only sending troops to one side will be more beneficial to Bei Liao and concentrate all the troops to deal with this side.
Nowadays, almost all the military attaches in the imperial court who can replace the He family's property are concentrated on the southern front to counter the rebellion. It was almost impossible to get rid of capable people and go north to Shanxi to replace the seriously ill He family property. Therefore, Yu Mingyuan does not recommend concentrating all troops to go out for the Northern Expedition at this time. From Yu Mingyuan's point of view, at least this time is not the right time. In a long-term two-front war, the only one that can't support it is the imperial court.
At the same time, Yu Mingyuan proposed in the memorial that in the future, grain from the south of the Yangtze River to the north could be transported by sea. Zhou Zhiyuan's experience of withdrawing from Bei Liao by sea made Yu Mingyuan think that in order to ensure the supply of food and grass to the armies on the northern line, the court spent a lot of money every year to maintain the power of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. The Yongji Canal was built. The starting point of this Yongji Canal is Banzhu in the east of Jingzhao Prefecture.
In addition to the 40% provided by Hebei Road itself, the remaining 60% of the grain and grass needed by the northern frontier army every year needs to be transported to the south of the Yangtze River. Grain from the south of the Yangtze River needs to be transported to Banzhu first, and then it can be transported northward to Yanshan Prefecture via the Yongji Canal. Not only does it take an extremely long time, but due to the terrain, many places along the way also require a large number of trackers, and even some land transportation is required.
Moreover, due to the terrain of the Yongji Canal, starting from the reign of Emperor Taizong, the court had to invest a large amount of money and silk every year to dredge the Yongji Canal, which had been blocked many times as early as the late Tang Dynasty due to the weak power of the court. Dredge Yongji Canal and Tongji Canal, which are transferred at Banzhu and connect Jiangnan to Yanshan Prefecture. It has become the second largest expenditure of the imperial court every year after the Yellow River River Service.
This time, Zhou Zhiyuan's troops not only relied on sea ships to ensure the convenience of communication with him. During the retreat, not only a large number of military horses, but also a large number of captured Khitan horses and supplies could be transported back by sea. Then Yanshan Prefecture needs to transport millions of stones from the south of the Yangtze River every year. If it chooses to take the sea route, there should be no problem. In particular, the transportation capacity of sea-going ships far exceeds those of water ships.
This will not only save a lot of money for the maintenance of Yongji Canal every year, but also save the people's labor along the Yongji Canal. And there is no need to worry about floods in coastal rivers, especially the annual floods in the Yellow River, so the supply is more secure. The transport capacity of a sea-going ship is at least several hundred dan, which is far more than those of tank ships. Although the sea freezes in winter, it is navigable three seasons a year.
After receiving this memorial from Yu Mingyuan, which was tens of thousands of words long, Huang Qiong read it over and over again for a long time before putting it down. After all, I was not wrong about Yu Mingyuan. Not only did he have a long-term strategic vision, but his judgment of the current situation was also quite accurate. This was the true strategy of being mature and seeking a country. Regarding Yu Mingyuan's report, Huang Qiong, who clearly knew that this was the best and most appropriate choice for him at the moment, also readily approved Yu Mingyuan's report.
The He family's serious illness was beyond Huang Qiong's expectation. Before, he had never received a report of illness in the He family. It should be that this veteran general knows that the current situation is complicated and that most of the generals available to the court are currently in the south to suppress the rebellion. Even if he were to report it himself, it would be difficult for the court to replace him with a good general at this time. Therefore, he has always concealed his illness.
Huang Qiong has led the army into battle more than once. We know that unified army operations, whether defensive or offensive, are a serious test for front-line generals both mentally and physically. Although this time the Northern Liao invaders and the Yunzhou front line were not the main battlefields. The Liao army only sent 30,000 partial troops to launch a diversionary attack from Yunzhou to Wuzhou. Especially Wuzhou in the north is under tremendous pressure.
Although the battle on the front line in Yunzhou is not as fierce as Yanshan Mansion, the location of Yunzhou is very important. Once the Yunzhou front line is broken through, Yanshan Mansion will also defend it. And because the focus of Bei Liao's attack was different, the troops invested by the imperial court in the direction of Yunzhou were far less than those in the direction of Yanshan Prefecture. The Yunzhou front line is dominated by the former border troops and Shanxi Road local guards. Under this situation, the pressure is even greater.
Although the He family property can be regarded as experienced in wars, he is already old after all. Under the tremendous pressure and fatigue, I finally couldn't hold on anymore. After pondering for a long time, Huang Qiong, who knew that at this time, the He family property was no longer suitable to continue to fight in Yunzhou, after repeatedly considering the replacement candidate. A handwriting was issued to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Civil Affairs, ordering Zhou Zhiyuan to rush to Yunzhou immediately to take over the property of the He family.
At the same time, Mingtai Hospital selected the best imperial doctors and immediately rushed to Yunzhou to diagnose and treat the He family. If it can be supported, the veteran will be escorted back to Beijing to recuperate. But before the imperial doctor could be sent to Yunzhou, the news of He Jiachan's death had already arrived. After receiving the report from the deputy envoy of Shanxi Road Jiedu, Huang Qiong immediately sent King Shen as the envoy to welcome the spirit, and immediately went to Yunzhou to welcome the coffin of the He family back to the capital.
Half a month later, Huang Qiong's father-in-law's coffin arrived in Beijing, and a large number of Guilin County princes and royal clans were escorted to Beijing. The coffin belonging to the He family was also transported from Yunzhou to Jingzhao Mansion. When the He family's coffin entered Beijing, Huang Qiong personally led the ministers to the north gate of Jingzhao to greet him. He also issued an edict to suspend court for five days, ban weddings, singing and dancing in the capital for thirty days, and wear mourning along the way from the north gate to Hefu.
By the time the coffin belonging to the He family entered the He Mansion, the He Mansion was already filled with plain silk. Huang Qiong sighed softly when looking at Shen Bijun and the other three girls, who were still wearing filial piety, but could not hide their plump figures. But this time, Huang Qiong saw that the He family had given birth to a son, who was Nangong Rou's nominal husband. And behind him, there was Xiao Qingmei holding a child in his arms and holding two sons in his hands.
Looking at Nangong Rou with her daughter by her side and a bitter look on her face after meeting her husband, Qingmei, and their two sons. And He Yingchun, who tried hard to keep this marriage in the first place, but now looks equally complicated. Looking at the woman who was far less beautiful than Nangong Rou because she had no identity and could only wear a mourning belt on her waist, Huang Qiong shook her head. He wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing.
After signaling everyone in the He family to get up, the only thing Huang Qiong could do now was to appease everyone in the He family. At the same time, when talking to Mr. He, he also assured that the He family died of illness due to overwork in national affairs. Now that the country has lost its important minister, it is really a great loss for the world. He assured He Mansion that as long as the Da Qi Dynasty is here, He Mansion will definitely share the same family with the country and enjoy the glory and wealth forever.
Before leaving the He Mansion, Huang Qiong carefully avoided everyone's eyes and held Nangong Rou's little hand without leaving a trace to show her support. After returning to the Wende Hall, Huang Qiong immediately attached the imperial mausoleum to the He family property. Since Mrs. He was already a first-class imperial concubine, she would not give another reward. But although Mrs. He was not rewarded separately, she was rewarded with an iron coupon of the He family's alchemy book.
At the same time, Mrs. He was left in the capital to be cared for by the imperial court. Mrs. He, Shen Bijun, was promoted to a second-grade official, and Nangong Rou was rewarded with a fourth-grade imperial edict. This imperial edict seemed to give the He family a high honor. Not only was the He family's property included in the royal mausoleum, but it would be a crime to reward the He family, and it would also be an ironclad certificate of alchemy that would reduce the crime to the first level. And he was promoted to a imperial edict and sealed a imperial edict in one breath.
But no reward was given to the eldest son of the He family, and the matter of seizing the title was not even mentioned. As for the reason, there is no mention in the edict. However, the ministers in the court didn't think much about it. After all, the He family had just passed away, so it was still early to decide whether to seize the title. It will take at least three years of filial piety before this matter can be put on the agenda. But now, it is too early to say anything about the attack.
And Nangong Rou inherited the title of fourth-grade wife, which means that no one can shake the status of this official wife. He's eldest son's childhood sweetheart, even if he has a few more sons, it is impossible to be shaken. Almost no one in the court thought much about this result and reward. Only Shen Bijun and He Yingchun knew the real reason, which was that the master in the palace was venting his anger on Nangong Rou.
The childhood sweetheart of the eldest son of the He family, even though she gave birth to two sons in the He family, the court recognized only Nangong Rou as the eldest son and grandson-in-law of the He family. This undoubtedly made the eldest son of the He family somewhat embarrassed. Originally, he was waiting for the expiration of his filial piety period to reunite with Nangong Rou. He straightened up Xiaoqingmei, who had already given birth to two sons for himself. But now, he can't even think about it.
Originally, his father forced him to marry Nangong Rou. Now my father has passed away and my grandmother is over seventy years old. Now no one can suppress him. As soon as the filial piety period is over, he can do what he wants to do. But now that Nangong Rou has been granted a fourth-grade imperial edict, if he wants to bring Nangong Rou down. Unless Nangong Rou commits seven major crimes, the court will not agree.
What he didn't even know was that Nangong Rou did have an affair with someone else. Even at the beginning of the month, he went to the palace to have a romantic relationship with Huang Qiong. But the person who had an affair with Nangong Rou happened to be the current emperor. This order given to Nangong Rou was to vent his anger on his lover. Fortunately, he still thought about marrying his first wife and straightening his childhood. I'm afraid it's doubtful whether the title will still be his or not.
Although he is the eldest son of the He family, the He family has other sons. If he really angered the emperor, the title would no longer be his after an imperial edict came down. As a stepmother, it was hard for Shen Bijun to talk about this. Nangong Rou, whose heart was broken, no longer wanted to say anything to him. The only person who can persuade his brother not to do things so impeccably is He Yingchun, as his biological sister.
After the death of the He family, Huang Qiong's posthumous arrangements, except for the incident of the eldest son of the He family, were all right. Even the posthumous title, although not given to the highest level of loyalty, is still the first-class military virtue of a military attaché. Not only was he given a first-class posthumous title, he was also rewarded with a coffin made of golden nanmu. Even the mausoleum attached to the imperial mausoleum in Gong County was built by the imperial court according to the highest rank of military attache.
Compared to the grand funeral of the He family, the funeral of Huang Qiong's parents-in-law was quiet. Huang Qiong and Situ Huanshuang were not present in person because of their status. But Lehi was also sent to take full charge of the burial. When Li Hai returned to the palace, he saw Situ Huanshuang, who was exhausted from keeping vigil these past few days and was now sleeping.
Feeling that Situ Huanshuang was holding his hand tightly all the time. When I saw Situ Huanshuang, he was still in his sleep. Huang Qiong, who could see the faint sadness that always showed up inadvertently in her expression, disappeared and just nodded. After signaling Li Hai to go out, he undressed and lay beside Situ Huanshuang, holding his sleeping wife in his arms.
That night, Huang Qiong didn't call any women to sleep with him, he just hugged his wife and fell asleep quietly. It wasn't until the early morning of the next day that Situ Huanshuang woke up from his sleep and found that he was like an octopus, nestling tightly in Huang Qiong's arms in a posture he had never seen before. Although they have been married for many years, Situ Huanshuang's little face still turned red in dissatisfaction.
