Chapter 145: Say goodbye to the old and welcome the new [two in one]
When the envoys sent by Tang Ju, Fan Ying, Li Xing, Zheng Xi and others returned to Daliang one after another, the second year of Xing'an was coming to an end.
In this year, the Wei State experienced unprecedented peace. Even though the world was still in chaos and various countries were still in constant disputes, only the Wei State was calm and calm, as if it was transcending this era and was alone in a corner.
Around the twelfth lunar month, every household in Daliang City began to make bacon. At a glance, the city was full of dried meat.
For this, Chu Shuli, the governor of Daliang Mansion, was still gratified.
Whether a country is prosperous or powerful only depends on the living conditions and daily food of ordinary people. As far as the living conditions of the people in Daliang City this year are concerned, Wei's domestic economy has indeed recovered a lot compared to previous years - although it still failed.
It reached its peak during the reign of the late king Zhao Si.
This is not surprising. After all, Wei State has only been recuperating for a year. How can this mere year make up for the country's frequent overseas expeditions in the past ten years? Internal estimates from the Ministry of Household Affairs predict that it will take about one or two years before the country can
Comprehensively equaling the peak period of the late king Zhao Si's reign, and after that, it will be comprehensively surpassed.
After learning the estimation results of the Ministry of Revenue, the officials in the DPRK and the Central Government were very excited, because they realized that the most powerful Wei State in history was about to come!
Looking back on this year, many things happened in Wei State.
For example, in April of this year, there was a group of thieves in "Xuxian County" who robbed homes and occupied the mountains as kings. However, before the Daliang court could react, the group was wiped out by the "Zhaoling Army".
Therefore, the imperial court later commended Chen Shi, Wang Shu, Ma Zhang and other generals of the Zhaoling Army.
In May, "Cao Zhi", the former minister of the Ministry of Industry, passed away at the age of 69.
After learning about this incident, Zhao Hongrun felt quite sad, so he took Queen Mi Jiang to the Cao Mansion to pay his respects in person. Cao Zhi's sons were frightened, but also felt honored - although it was not appropriate to say so.
At that time, Zhao Hongrun was accompanied by Wei Jiao, Lu Mu, Mu Qing and other Zongwei who were serving in the Imperial Guard.
It is no exaggeration to say that Cao Zhi, the former minister of the Ministry of Industry, was the first minister of the DPRK and China that Zhao Hongrun and the Zongwei were familiar with. At that time, Zhao Hongrun was still living in the palace, and when he wanted to tinker with something, he would call the Zongwei and the Ministry of Industry.
Go and interact with each other, and through this back and forth, the two parties will become familiar with each other.
In Zhao Hongrun's impression, Cao Zhi, who was still serving as the minister of the Ministry of Industry at that time, was a kind-looking old man who smiled all day long and stood aside many times holding a tea cup to watch Zhao Hongrun and
The clan guards are tinkering with something, and they make some suggestions from time to time.
It is precisely because of this that among the six ministries of the imperial court, Zhao Hongrun had the best impression of the Ministry of Industry, both then and now.
It is a pity that time is not forgiving. Such an elder who was respected by Zhao Hongrun could not withstand the passage of time and passed away in the end.
During the funeral, Zhao Hongrun wrote the words "The Foundation of Wei" in his own handwriting and bestowed it on the Cao family, which moved the family members of the Cao family to tears.
After all, this was the first calligraphy gift given by a certain His Highness after he ascended the throne as king, and it was written with such high praise as "Wei Zhizhu". This was enough to become a family heirloom passed down from generation to generation of the Cao family.
After this incident spread throughout the government and the public, the government and the public also supported Zhao Hongrun even more: the people were interested in the process of Zhao Hongrun and Cao Zhi's acquaintance and friendship, and adapted many stories through the imagination of some idle people.
And the officials in the court were jealous of the comment of "the foundation pillar of Wei".
What a glorious thing this is!
As the saying goes, misfortunes never come singly. Less than twenty days after the passing of Cao Zhi, the former Minister of Rites, He Mei, the former Minister of Officials, also passed away at the age of sixty-seven.
Zhao Hongrun actually didn't have much feelings about the passing of He Mei, the former Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. After all, he was not familiar with this Minister He and had some conflicts in the past. However, considering that more than ten days ago, the former Minister of Works
When Shangshu Cao Zhi passed away, he not only went there in person, but also wrote an inscription on the spot. Zhao Hongrun felt that it was not good to favor one person over another, so he also attended the funeral.
Although Zhao Hongrun attended both funerals in person, I believe anyone with a discerning eye can see the difference: when Cao Zhi passed away, Zhao Hongrun took Queen Mi Jiang to mourn with him and held the descendant ceremony; and when He Mei passed away,
At that time, Zhao Hongrun only went there alone, without any intention of observing the descendants' rites.
The difference between the two is as vast as clouds and mud.
However, considering that the deceased was a great person and that He Mei had been conscientious in his work during his lifetime, Zhao Hongrun still wrote a letter in his own hand and wrote "The Character of a Civil Service Officer" as a gift to the He family, which greatly surprised the He family.
Afterwards, Mu Qing, the former Zongwei and now the general of the Imperial Guard, privately asked Zhao Hongrun: Didn't Your Majesty get along with that He Mei? Why did you give him the letter?
Zhao Hongrun explained calmly: I do feel unhappy with him (He Mei), but this cannot diminish his contribution to the country.
Within a few days, a certain Zongwei with a loose mouth spread this conversation, which made the government and the public admire Zhao Hongrun greatly.
For this reason, Li Huan, the former Minister of the Ministry of War, was even more happy and secretly thought that since there was a precedent like He Mei, even though he and Zhao Hongrun had many conflicts before, he believed that when he passed away, the young monarch would still give him a high evaluation.
of calligraphy.
But what bothered this old man was that he was in good health after leaving his job. The doctor who diagnosed him concluded that he could live for at least a few more years, which made people feel a little overwhelmed.
From October to November, the Ministry of Household Affairs began to become increasingly busy. During this period, local counties reported their local autumn harvest amounts for that year, and the Ministry of Household Affairs tried to regulate market prices on this basis.
Domestic rice prices must not be artificially high, but they must not fall below the price level, which would seriously harm the interests of the common people and small landowners.
It has to be said that since the Wei army has fully implemented the "military garrison" strategy this year, Wei's pressure on food has dropped sharply. After careful calculation by the court, the national grain production can not only meet the needs of the people.
, there is even a small part left - originally this small part could be stored
It was used as a war reserve, but because the Wei State had secretly entered into a criminal slave trade with the Nanyang Jie people through the Sichuan-Luo Alliance, this part of the grain was exchanged for a large number of Ban slaves for the Wei State, which greatly made up for the Wei State's loss.
After starting several major projects at the same time, we were faced with a serious shortage of manpower.
When the New Year was approaching, the married Princess Yulong of the Wei State and the Crown Princess of Qin Zhao Jue returned to Daliang of the Wei State by boat. They claimed to be returning to their parents' home to visit relatives, but in fact, they were just too bored to live in the Qin State.
.
Who allowed her nominal husband Qin Shaojun to actually be in Wei State at this moment? - When Qin Shaojun was in Qin State, she and Qin Shaojun, a nominal couple and actually good sisters, could still be companions, but when Qin Shaojun went to Wei State
, Princess Yulong will inevitably feel lonely.
Therefore, Princess Yulong simply returned to Wei State and planned to live in Daliang for a while. After all, at this moment, her father Zhao Si, who she loved and hated, had passed away, so it would not have any impact on her anymore.
Zhao Hongrun was very happy about this, but the happiest ones were probably Zhao Wei, Zhao Chuan, Zhao Han, and Zhao Chu. After all, Princess Yulong, her aunt, doted on them very much.
"Aunt, aunt, aunt——"
"Hehe, let's see what gifts Auntie brought you."
Under the temptation of a few exquisite gifts, Zhao Hongrun's three sons and one daughter were all abducted by Princess Yulong.
Zhao Hongrun just prayed secretly for this. After all, Princess Yulong was suppressed in the palace for more than ten years, and then met Zhao Yuanli, the sixth uncle, and followed him everywhere. Her temper suddenly became wild - in terms of personality, this
This princess may be more unrestrained and free-spirited than Oona who was born in the grassland. Zhao Hongrun is very worried that the four little guys have been taught bad things.
After all, Princess Yulong was led astray by Sixth Prince Zhao Yuanli. I remember she was such a peaceful princess once, but then... alas!
After returning to Daliang, Princess Yulong first went to visit Zhao Hongrun's adoptive mother, Concubine Shen Shu.
Since Concubine Wu Gui was taken to Qi State by King Rui Zhao Zhao, Concubine Shen Shu had no reason to live in the temple outside the palace. Therefore, at Zhao Hongrun's strong request, Concubine Shen Shu finally accepted her son's filial piety, although she talked too much
She complained a lot, but she was very happy in her heart. She happily moved to the newly built palace "Fuyan Palace" for her in the palace, and became another queen mother in the palace besides the "Queen Mother of Shouyan Palace".
When she saw Princess Yulong returning to the Kingdom of Wei, Concubine Shen Shu, who should now be called Queen Mother Shen, was also very happy. She held Princess Yulong's hand and chatted with her, as if she were treating her daughter who had returned home after getting married.
In fact, she is no different from her daughter. After all, after the various experiences of Princess Yulong when she was young were revealed, Queen Mother Shen felt inexplicably distressed for this miserable girl. Although she did not speak, she actually regarded her as an adopted daughter.
, and Princess Yulong also felt the long-forgotten care and care of her mother from Queen Mother Shen.
On that day, Zhao Hongrun held a banquet at the Fuyan Palace of his mother, Queen Mother Shen, to celebrate the family reunion.
In this 'little family banquet', Zhao Hongrun invited the Queen Mother Wang who lived in Shouyan Palace. After all, the Queen Mother Wang was also his mother in name.
However, the Queen Mother was more sensible and did not participate in it. She declined on the pretext of feeling unwell.
The only regret is that his younger brother Zhao Xuan, King Huan, is far away in Anyi, Hedong at the moment, and the most disobedient woman around Zhao Hongrun, Zhao Ying, is also guarding the Wei Kingdom, ready to try to get rid of Xiao Luan who is hiding in the Wei Kingdom at any time. Otherwise, if his younger brother Zhao Xuan
After leading his sister-in-law, the Korean princess, to this small family banquet in Fuyan Palace, and then catching Zhao Ying here, the family would be reunited.
However, Queen Mother Shen didn't mind this. After all, she knew that his youngest son Zhao Xuan was in Anyi and was currently busy with military camps, training and other matters, so she didn't feel worried. As for loneliness, she had her eldest son Zhao Run by her side.
Here, there is also Mijiang and Yingying
, Su Ran, Yang Yanxing, Oona, Zhao Que and other daughters-in-law, as well as their goddaughter Princess Yulong, and most importantly, Zhao Wei, Zhao Chuan, Zhao Han, Zhao who all call her "grandmother"
With these four little guys, how could she feel lonely?
She just had some regrets, regretting that the late king Zhao Si passed away too early and did not have the opportunity to enjoy this family happiness.
Of course, while she was happy, Queen Mother Shen also did not forget to remind Qin Shaojun that Yingying and Zhao Que were the only two daughters-in-law who had not yet been born.
It is worth mentioning that Queen Mother Shen also mentioned Zhao Que's sister Zhao Ying. Of course she wanted Zhao Run to have more heirs. Anyway, she did not need to think about establishing heirs.
However, something that made Empress Dowager Shen extremely happy was that after the small family banquet, Qin Shaojun Yingying, who had always been in a generous position, coquettishly told her in private that there seemed to be movement in her stomach. Empress Dowager Shen was so happy that she hurriedly called her The imperial doctor in the palace diagnosed Qin Shaojun.
After checking his pulse, he found that Qin Shaojun actually had a baby. This was really a blessing.
After learning about this, Mu Qing, the general of the Imperial Guard, said with a smile: "Shang Jun is finally born."
Ever since, Zhao Que was the only one who remained motionless. This made Zhao Que feel inexplicably sad, and she even began to make random guesses, thinking that she had taken drugs to practice martial arts when she was young, which led to infertility. She panicked because of this. , privately tried to contact her sister Zhao Ying to confirm her guess.
A few days later, Zhao Ying was worried about her younger sister Zhao Que's condition and rushed back to Daliang. After some comfort and reassurance, Zhao Que finally stopped her random thoughts.
That night, the two sisters and Zhao Hongrun had sex with each other after a long time. Well, they had a great time.
Perhaps because the New Year was approaching, Zhao Ying rarely left immediately. She stayed in the palace for a few days, dressed as graceful and luxurious as a lady.
Wei Jiao, Lu Mu, Mu Qing and other imperial guard generals who came from Zongwei certainly knew the details of this woman. Similar to calling her sister Zhao Que, they respectfully called her "Concubine Ying", but the maids in the palace I felt very puzzled. I didn't know where this charming woman who looked like a vixen came from, but I didn't dare to ask, let alone offend her.
After the New Year, Wei ushered in the "Three Years of Xing'an". On the first day of the first lunar month, Zhao Hongrun, as the king, went to the ancestral temple in person to pay homage to his ancestors. The message was written by Wen Qi. The words were gorgeous, but in summary, it means the same thing: Wei is currently prospering. , the ancestors don’t have to worry.
On the same day, Du You, the Minister of Rites, led all officials from the court to various temples inside and outside the city to pray for good weather, peace for the country and peace for the people, and to prevent any natural or man-made disasters.
After that, the Ministry of Rites became even busier, because after the beginning of spring, it was the day when "the nations would all unite in Daliang". As the new overlord of this era, Wei State called on the nations for the first time, and naturally it was going to be prosperous and prosperous. The powerful side of the country was displayed in front of envoys from various countries.
But how to show the power of Wei?
The officials of the Ministry of Rites thought hard, and even Du You, the Minister of Rites, brought this issue to the Inner Dynasty and asked the ministers of the Inner Dynasty to help come up with ideas.
But after some discussion, Du You, the Minister of Rites, was still dissatisfied and felt that it was always a little bit worse.
So Du You asked Zhao Hongrun for his opinion.
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Zhao Hongrun casually gave a suggestion that made Du You extremely satisfied: military parade!
The military parade, as the name suggests, is to allow the current armies of the Wei State to select the elites of their respective armies and come to Daliang for military exercises, so as to truly show the powerful side of the Wei State's army in front of the envoys from various countries. - Also. Is there any idea that better reflects the power of Wei than this?
Du You left with satisfaction.
He felt that although this young king was very unreliable many times, at key points, he was extremely reliable.
With this hero behind them, both Du You, the Minister of Rites, and other ministers in the court felt more confident.
In the late first month of the first month, a team of envoys from South Korea first arrived in Daliang, the capital of the Kingdom of Wei. This team was led by General Bao Yuan as the chief envoy, and two familiar envoys, Han Chao and Zhao Zhuo, as deputy envoys. They were indeed heavyweights.
You know, Bao Yuan is one of the few generals that Han Wangran trusts very much. Even though Bao Yuan suffered several defeats when facing Wei, Han Wangran still trusted him a hundred times and appointed Bao Yuan as the guard of Handan. "Note: Handan
The northern part of the county is still Korean land.』
The first one to arrive in Daliang was actually an envoy from South Korea, which surprised Zhao Hongrun and the ministers in the court.
You must know that Handan County is the richest and most convenient place in South Korea. The further north you go, the worse the road conditions become. This is why it took Tang Ju and Fan Ying two months to get from Daliang to Ji, the new capital of South Korea.
The reason for the city.
After South Korea, the second person to arrive in Daliang was Gong Ziyu of Weiguo.
This was not surprising to Wei State. After all, Wei State and Wei State were too close. It took two or three days to travel between Daliang and Wei State's capital Puyang by boat - even if Wei Gong Ziyu arrived ten days and a half later.
Come, it will be as good as the National Alliance of Nations.
Three or two days later, representatives of the Qin State also arrived in Daliang.
What surprised Zhao Hongrun was that among the Qin envoys, there were actually three royal families with the surname Ying: Weiyang Jun Ying Hua, Yangquan Jun Ying Bo, and Lantian Jun Ying Ban.
After asking Zhao Hongrun, he learned that the heavyweight representative of the Qin State this time was Weiyang Jun Ying Hua, King Qin's most trusted younger brother, and Yangquan Jun Ying Bo was mainly responsible for discussing the "arms deal" with Wei
As for Lantian Jun Ying's banishment, this dude with the surname Ying is just here to join in the fun, to see his niece Ying Ying, and to collect money from his shop in Bolangsha River Port.
From a certain point of view, Lantian Jun Ying Ban is a bit similar to Yi Wang Zhao Yuanli. They are both careless playboys. However, Ying Ban is far from the talent of Yi Wang Zhao Yuanli, let alone the latter's ability to communicate with the world.
Some time later, envoys from Chu, Qi, and Lu also arrived in Daliang of Wei one after another.
The envoy of the Chu State was Xiong Hu, Lord Pingyu, another old acquaintance of Zhao Hongrun who had known him for ten years.
As Xiong Tuo ascended the throne and became the king of Chu, Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu also rose to the top. Now he is not only one of the "Three Pillars" of Chu State, but also replaced Xiong Tuo's previous authority and controlled the huge Western Chu.
It is worth mentioning that Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu is in charge of the current transactions and wars between the Chu State and the Ba people.
Seeing Lord Pingyu Xiong Hu laughing and hugging his nephew Zhao Wei, calling himself uncle, Zhao Hongrun deeply understood what it means to be unpredictable in God's will.
I remember that when he first went on the war, he met Xiong Tuo and Xiong Hu on the battlefield, and almost destroyed Xiong Hu's legs and even killed him. Who would have thought that ten years later, the two would become relatives?
Zhao Hongrun's son Zhao Wei still calls Xiong Hu uncle.
It was really unexpected.
Compared with the envoys from Chu State, Zhao Hongrun was quite surprised by the envoys from Qi State - it turned out to be Gao Xi, the high minister of Qi State!
As far as Zhao Hongrun knew, this Gao Xi was once one of those idiots who thought that Qi was invincible. Unexpectedly, under such circumstances, this Gao Xi would actually participate in the alliance instead of hiding in his own house in fear.
This made Zhao Hongrun look at him with admiration.
People who can face their own stupidity must not be underestimated!
The envoy from the State of Lu was a combination of Gongzi Xing and veteran Ji Shu, and Zhao Hongrun was not surprised by this.
At this time, only the Yue Kingdom had not sent envoys.
It’s not that the Yue State was so bold as to ignore the orders of the new overlord Wei. According to Zhao Hongrun’s knowledge, the reason why the Yue State envoys have not been able to reach Daliang so far is purely because of Chu’s mischief and deliberately blocked the river, which harmed the Yue State envoys.
General Wu Qi had no choice but to trek to Qi State first, then take a boat from Qi State and follow the Lianglu Canal to Wei State.
Zhao Hongrun guessed that Chu State probably wanted to retaliate against Yue State. After all, Chu State's war against Yue State did not go well - it was not a matter of winning or losing. It was actually that the war with Yue State was too great to make Chu State feel sick.
Because those Yue people were hiding in the dense woods, they would shoot a few poisoned arrows or blow darts at the Chu soldiers, so that many Chu soldiers could only watch themselves or their companions.
He died of poisoning and his whole body suffered from ulcers.
Compared with the war with Qi and Lu, the war with the Yue people made Chu feel angry and disgusted the most.
Finally, at the end of February, General Wu Qi, the envoy of the Yue Kingdom, finally arrived at Daliang, the capital of the Wei Kingdom.
At this time, all the envoys and representatives from the Central Plains countries had arrived.
On the fifth day of March, Zhao Hongrun, as the monarch of Wei State, hosted a banquet for the envoys from other countries in the Zichen Hall of the imperial palace.
To be honest, the atmosphere at the banquet was not so harmonious. After all, the envoys from other countries present had conflicts with each other. After all, at this time, South Korea and Qin were still at war, while Chu and Qi
The three kingdoms of Lu and Yue are still confronting each other - the Chu army temporarily retreated just because of the lack of food and grass. After last year's autumn harvest, Chu State collected a lot of food. Therefore, Chu King Xiong Tuo inevitably launched his "annexation"
"Qilu" strategy.
After all, the king of Chu, Xiong Tuo, was absolutely unwilling to give up these two fat pieces of Qi and Lu. It is no exaggeration to say that Xiong Tuo’s goal for himself was to annex Qi and Lu in his lifetime, and then concentrate on domestic development, with the help of Lu’s
After ten or twenty years of hard work, Qi's technology and financial resources gradually caught up with Wei's pace.
But no matter how openly these envoys praised each other, as long as they were still in Daliang and still on the land of Wei, they did not dare to do anything. After all, the envoys of either party were in the territory of Wei.
An unexpected incident on the land will greatly damage the face of the new overlord Wei, and Wei will never give up.
Therefore, the envoys could only take advantage of each other verbally and ridicule each other, such as Gao Xi, the high minister of Qi, and Xiong Hu, the Pingyu king of Chu.
Halfway through the banquet, the eunuch Gao He came to Zhao Hongrun and whispered, "Your Majesty, the elite troops outside the city are ready."
Zhao Hongrun nodded and looked around at the envoys from various countries in the hall.
He believed that after a while, the power of his Wei State would shock these envoys, and they would experience firsthand the power of his Wei State!