nycdaug Chapter 174 'Father'
Chapter 174 'Father'
Perhaps she was eager to return home, as the day was already dawning she lost all desire to sleep. After giving orders about military affairs, she prepared to return home.
Since Long Feiguang and others have all received rewards, there is no reason why their brothers should not receive any rewards.
Rewards are given based on merit, and there are many things to reward.
The most abundant items were gold, silver, and jewelry, as well as grain, cloth, cotton, and some more precious and practical items, and even bacon, pork heads, and so on.
The generals of each camp would report the military achievements of their soldiers. As for how to be promoted to captain or captain, that was up to the generals of each camp to arrange. In the end, they would just have to submit the roster to Zong Yanli as a formality.
As the New Year was approaching, Zong Yanli also knew that the soldiers had not returned home for many years.
Therefore, the rewards were distributed very quickly, hoping that the brothers could return home in glory as soon as possible.
"The awarded mansion may not be available until after the new year, so why don't you all stay in the army for the time being?" At noon, Zong Yanli called Long Feiguang and others and asked them about their next preparations.
"Yes, once the mansion is finalized, we will go to our hometown to bring our relatives over." Kuang Xingquan said with a smile on his face.
"Don't wait any longer. Send someone to pick her up now." Zong Yanli turned his head to look at Kuang Xingquan and said, "The New Year's Eve is over. At worst, let my sister-in-law stay at my house first."
"That won't do." Kuang Xingquan really wanted to see his wife and children, so he immediately arranged for someone to pick them up.
Huo Wenqi was also discussing returning home, and Monkie, Lu Hao and others were also preparing for this.
Bai Xiujun had already packed his luggage and left, leaving only Long Feiguang, Fu Jiashi and others in the military tent. He had no relatives at home and was unmarried.
Zhan Haoyue cordially invited Gongsun Pu to go back to the Zhan family with him to celebrate the New Year, which was considered to be a schedule.
Not many people can get the imperial mansion, but the brothers have received a lot of rewards, and can also buy a small courtyard on the outskirts of the city or in a better location. In the future, relatives can be close to each other and take care of each other, right?
These are all things that happened later. After Zong Yanli roughly asked everyone whether they were going to stay or leave, he packed up and prepared to return to the Zong Yan residence.
"Afu, go and check again. Why hasn't your brother arrived yet?" Zong Yanyin got the news early and moved back to her mother's house from the Wei Mansion two days in advance. Yesterday, when the army returned to the capital, she and her mother went to see it. Wei Songhe was carrying his daughter and was lost in the cheering crowd.
Seeing the triumphant army with his own eyes and seeing Zong Yanli sitting high on his warhorse, he was filled with joy and excitement beyond words.
From yesterday when I saw Zong Yanli off to the palace to meet the emperor, until today, I have been waiting eagerly in the mansion.
The tea in Han's hand went cold, then hot, then cold again, and finally she heard the servant running in from outside the mansion gate calling out loudly, "Here he comes, Madam! The young general is back!"
Han and Zong Yanyin stood up and went to the gate of the mansion with surprise, and saw Zong Yanli returning with more than a dozen boxes of imperial horses as rewards.
"Mother, sister." Zong Yanli stopped his horse in front of the mansion gate, dismounted and walked towards them.
"Brother." Zong Yanyin greeted him cheerfully. No matter how old she was, she was always so lively in front of Zong Yanli.
"We were delayed in the army." Zong Yanli smiled and raised his hand to ask the soldiers behind him who were responsible for transportation to carry all the rewards back to the mansion.
Han took Zong Yanli into the mansion, and Zong Yanli asked, "Why is my sister here alone?"
Zong Yanyin smiled and said, "I was worried because you didn't come back, so I asked my husband to go to the palace gate to check, but I didn't expect you to come back from the army..."
Zong Yanli also smiled when he heard it. He raised his hand and took off the helmet visor covering his head, revealing his handsome and heroic face, with sharp brows and dark eyes. After being a general for many years, his demeanor is extraordinary.
"Brother, you haven't changed at all." Zong Yanyin looked at Zong Yanli with admiration. Just as she was about to speak, she heard the voice of the nanny coming from the door: "Young lady, be careful..."
Zong Yanli looked sideways and saw the little baby who was being led by the wet nurse and walking a little unsteadily, as if he was anxious to come over.
Next to the little baby was a little kid, about three or four years old, wearing a blue jacket and holding an oil-paper bag in his hands. He also came over under the protection of his wet nurse.
Zong Yanli recognized at a glance that the toddler was Zong Yanyin's daughter, Wei Shiyan, but it took him a long time to remember who the three-year-old boy next to her was.
Seeing Zong Yanli like this, Han knew that she hadn't remembered it, so she stood up and said to Zong Yanli, "Look at you, you are busy with the war all day long, and you only have the war situation in your mind. You don't even remember your adopted son?"
"Grandson greets grandmother." Zong Yanguanghe bowed politely and called to Zong Yanyin, "Aunt."
"Good boy, come and meet your father." Han's face had a complicated expression, and she waved at Zong Yanguanghe and called out.
When Han heard earlier that Zong Yanli had adopted a son, she could hardly believe it.
It was not until Zong Yanhongjing had the child sent to Han that, although the child was raised in a peasant woman's home, he was also raised to be plump and fair. Seeing that he had reached the age of enlightenment, it was not appropriate to keep him in another family, so Zong Yanhongjing had the child sent to Han.
When he first arrived, the child was shy and cried for many days and nights.
Fortunately, Zong Yanyin came to help and took care of him, and he slowly opened up his heart, and now he can speak clearly.
Zong Yanguanghe tilted his little head and looked at the stranger who suddenly appeared in his house, and nervously held the oil paper bag in his hand tightly.
He had never seen his father, but he had heard from countless people that his father was a mighty and heroic general. Occasionally he would ask his grandmother where his father was, and they always told him that his father was fighting outside to defend his country.
Zong Yanguanghe, who was still a child, didn't understand and was looking forward to his father's death. Especially when he saw his uncle holding his little sister, the young boy also envied the feeling of being lifted up by his father.
So when his grandmother told him that his father was coming back, Zong Yanguanghe packed his favorite meat buns and wanted to leave them for his father.
"It's already this big?" Zong Yanli was in a trance for a moment. Her memory was still in the Chen family, in that barren mountain, when Chen Pingting entrusted her child to her parents and committed suicide in tears. In the blink of an eye, the child who was still in the cradle had grown up.
"Hasn't Guanghe always wanted to see his father?" Zong Yanyin also called out with a smile.
The ignorant child took a half step back in fear until Zong Yanyin stood up and squatted beside Zong Yan Guanghe and said, "Doesn't Guanghe have something to give to father?"
Zong Yanguanghe nervously hugged the oil-paper bag in his arms, turned his head to look at Zong Yanyin, and under her gentle encouragement, he carefully moved towards Zong Yanli.
The child raised his head high, held the oil-paper bag in his hand high, and called out as if holding his breath, "Father, eat."
Zong Yanli: “…”
She felt torn for a moment, even felt it was ridiculous that a half-grown child actually called her father! ?
Zong Yanli paused for a long while before reaching out to take the oil paper bag from his hand. The bun that seemed bigger than his face in the child's hand seemed to be twice as small in Zong Yanli's hand.
She didn't know how to get along with him, so she could only touch his head with a serious face, then turned to Han and said, "Mother, I'll go back and change my armor first."
Han felt extremely conflicted, knowing full well that this was her daughter, yet now she had to ask the child to call her father. This subtle emotion made Han feel uncomfortable, and her brows were filled with worry. She sighed softly as she watched Zong Yanli's departing back.
However, Zong Yanguanghe's face was still flushed with excitement because he was touched on the head by such a large hand for the first time, and his eyes were staring at Zong Yanli's departing back with sparkling eyes.
At this moment, the name "father" took shape in his mind.
When Wei Songhe came back, Zong Yanli had already taken a shower and changed into tight clothes. The ends of his hair were still a little wet. Without his armor, Zong Yanli no longer looked so imposing.
"The emperor has conferred the first-rank imperial decree on mother. I'm sure he will come to announce the decree soon." Zong Yanli also told Han the news that she had been granted the imperial decree.
Han was very surprised to hear this, but she also knew that her husband and son now held military power, and Zong Yanli was even the prince's teacher. It would be difficult to reward her with such a high status, so she was rewarded.
Zong Yanli asked again: "Did father send any letters home recently?"
Han raised her eyes and nodded, "I also asked for permission to return to the capital before the New Year, but I don't know if I can come back. If I can come back, our family can be reunited."
Zong Yanli nodded, thinking that he had never heard of any major events happening in Pingnan Camp at the moment, so perhaps it would be possible for his father to ask for permission to return to Beijing to celebrate the New Year.
Zong Yanli chatted with him for a while, talked about some daily matters, and then turned around to ask Wei Songhe about the current situation in the capital.
Han stood up naturally and said that she was going to the kitchen to check on the preparation of dishes. Zong Yanyin took the two children to stroll outside the yard, leaving the place for Wei Songhe and Zong Yanli to talk.
"The government is almost entirely controlled by Concubine Gao, and now everyone in the court supports the crown prince." Wei Songhe couldn't help but sigh in his heart when he talked about this. Concubine Gao was really amazing. A woman like her could eliminate dissidents in such a short time and support her son to sit firmly on the throne of the crown prince.
"The emperor almost never shows up now, and all the affairs of the court are controlled by Concubine Gao. Over the past year, Concubine Gao has supported many confidants..." Wei Songhe said one by one.
"My son-in-law has also been promoted now?" Zong Yanli lowered his eyes and listened, then raised his eyes slightly and looked at Wei Songhe.
"It's all thanks to you, brother, for your great achievements. I am also enjoying the good fortune along with you." Wei Songhe leaned forward and said:
"Now he has been appointed as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. If nothing unexpected happens, he will be able to take the position of Shangshu in two years." Wei Songhe was quite excited when he said this. To be able to sit on the position of Shangshu at such a young age was truly a meteoric rise to the top.
Zong Yanli nodded slightly and smiled, holding up his teacup and said, "Congratulations."
Wei Songhe quickly bowed and said, "Thank you for your kindness, brother."
Wei Songhe stopped smiling and said, "But I heard something recently."
"The Gao Kingdom seems to have learned about the coup in our country, and also learned that Concubine Gao's son is now the crown prince. It intends to borrow troops from us, and it seems that it wants to attack the Jin Kingdom." Wei Songhe said with a straight face.
"Gao Kingdom wants to borrow troops?" Zong Yanli's eyes suddenly became sharper.
The State of Jin was severely damaged by Zong Yanli, but she had not yet made any move. But the State of Gao wanted to reap the benefits?
It makes sense. Wu State is becoming more and more powerful. It swallowed up Nankang before and is now destroying Qing State. Its territory and people's strength are expanding again and again. Gao State must be worried that Wu State will recuperate before taking any action, so it started to make some small moves secretly.
The State of Gao did not dare to provoke the State of Wu, but was eyeing the severely damaged State of Jin covetously.
Is this an attempt to swallow up the State of Jin so as to compete with the State of Wu?
At this moment, Zong Yanli was thinking a lot, and then he looked up at Wei Songhe and asked, "Where did this news come from?"
"It was reported from the palace that an envoy from the Kingdom of Gao secretly came to the capital to meet with Concubine Gao." Wei Songhe was not sure, so he frowned and said, "Brother, you also know that the imperial city is now ruled by Gao mother and son."
"I understand." Zong Yanli lowered his eyes and said, "I will personally verify this matter. Please don't spread it for the time being."
"I understand." Wei Songhe nodded in agreement.
"There is one more thing." Wei Songhe thought for a moment and said, "Brother, do you still remember the Marquis of Lin'an and the Ning family?"
Zong Yanli raised his eyebrows slightly, and the first person he thought of was Ning Chi. He nodded and said, "What's wrong? What happened to the Ning family?"
She hadn't paid attention to it for a long time, but the Qin family's disaster had been over for so long. Although the Qin family fell, it did not die out, so the Ning family should not be implicated.
Wei Songhe smiled and shook his head and said, "It's the young man named Ning Chi from the Lin'an Marquis's Mansion. I heard that he was my brother's personal soldier in the past?"
Zong Yanli was silent for a moment: "That's true."
"That Mr. Ning is now the commander of the Beijing Guards. He often asks me about my brother's news. It seems that he has a lot of affection for my brother." Wei Songhe smiled and said, "The third lady of the Lin'an Marquis's Mansion has invited my mother-in-law many times."
"I don't know what your relationship with him is, and it's not easy to associate with him, so I came to ask you." Wei Songhe said very seriously.
"He's a good person. If there's no conflict of interest, you can get along with him." Zong Yanli said with a smile.
"That's good." Wei Songhe also breathed a sigh of relief.
He is now in the officialdom and has to deal with people. The Ning family and the Qin family are brothers-in-law, so it is normal for Wei Songhe to be worried.
The two talked for a long time and only stopped when Zong Yanyin brought the child back.
Although Zong Yanli returned home, he was still worried about the military affairs. After resting for two days, he started running to the army again and was always busy until very late before returning home.
"Brother is just like father." Zong Yanyin always waited for Zong Yanli to come back and gave him some snacks. When she saw her, she couldn't help but complain, "Why are you always thinking about the army?"
"..." Zong Yanli felt a little guilty about what Zong Yanyin said. He raised his head and finished drinking the soup and said, "Military affairs are urgent. It's almost the end of the year."
"You also know that it's the end of the year. You still have to go to the army tomorrow?" Zong Yanyin said unhappily, "Brother, it's been a long time since I went to the street with you to buy New Year's goods."