Chapter 171 A Blessing in Disguise, Ascension

On June 22, Yang Chang handed over the prisoners to the Dali Temple.

He completed the handover procedures in the morning, went out of Xihua Gate and came to the vicinity of the East Corner Tower. He wanted to find the old hotel where he had stayed before, while Sun An and the soldiers who were traveling with him were waiting outside the city for pick-up.

As soon as Yang Chang walked into the lobby of the inn, he heard a familiar voice, who was booking a room with the innkeeper.

"Dean Dai?"

"Butler Yang Yang?"

During the time when Yang Chang was in the Dali Temple, Dai Zong saw Su Yuanjing also staying in the inn. He waited for a reply before rushing back to see Song Jiang, but he did not expect to meet his old friend from Liangshan by chance.

The two men hadn't seen each other for half a year. Yang Chang wanted to know whether the campaign against Wang Qing was going smoothly, and Dai Zong also wanted to ask Song Jiang about the latest situation of the people in Qinzhou. It would be better to meet by chance than to invite each other.

After writing down the rooms one after another, the two found a nearby restaurant, ordered some food and drinks, and chatted while eating.

"Cai Jing sent Fang Zhizhou to frame you for rebellion? Wasn't it him who recommended you to be the military commander? Why did you do that suddenly?"

"It's possible that we made enemies in Liangshan, and this old fox deliberately left me in Qinzhou, probably intending to frame me using official tricks. Fortunately, the enthusiastic people of Qinzhou reported it."

"turn out to be."

Dai Zong suddenly realized, thinking, is this the method used by high-ranking officials in the court? It is really a soft knife to kill people with dirty tricks. When he sees Brother Gongming again, he must remind him to be careful.

"Dean Dai? Dean Dai?"

"Ah? What did the steward say?"

"Haha, what are you thinking about? Did you fight well in Huaixi?"

"Nothing, I am just happy for the general manager. As for the Huaixi expedition against Wang Qing, the war ended two days ago and the army will return to the capital soon."

Yang Chang was surprised after hearing this. He remembered that Wang Qing was quite powerful among the four bandits. How could Song Jiang have quelled the rebellion so quickly?
If you think about it more carefully, it seems reasonable that it took Hirata Tora only five months or half a year to defeat Wang Qing.

"Are you guys all right?"

"Wang Qing was very powerful. He led more than 100,000 soldiers, but lost half of them. Although the brothers of Liangshan were injured, none of them were in danger of death. However..."

"But what?"

"Except for Qiao Daoqing and Ma Ling, all the other generals who surrendered from Hebei Province were killed in battle or died of injuries."

When Dai Zong finished speaking, he saw Yang Chang sighing.

He thought that it would be the same as the expedition against Tian Hu, and that some leaders of Liangshan would also die in battle early.

After all, his appearance changed the plot, and he also intercepted several powerful generals in Qinzhou. Unexpectedly, the surrendered generals became cannon fodder.

Wait, last year when we conquered Tian Hu, five people died, but this year when Song Jiang conquered Wang Qing, not a single person died.

Is it because of me?
While Yang Chang was lost in thought, Dai Zong suddenly stopped him and asked politely, "How long will General Yang stay in Beijing? I met with General Su tonight and will return to the army to deliver the letter tomorrow."

"I guess we have to wait a few days. We have to wait for the results of the Dali Temple's review. We can't leave without knowing the reason."

"That's right. This time, we've put Cai Jing in a difficult position. If he tries to stop this, you might have a hard time in the future. It would be more reassuring to have a result."

"Yes."

Although Yang Chang nodded in agreement, he didn't think that Cai Jing could easily get away with it.

If Tong Guan intended to help, he would let Wang Yuan take Fang Shen and others away and kill them before returning to Beijing.

As long as a person dies, all the sins can be taken away and no one will speak nonsense.

It's a pity that Tong Guan and Cai You are going back to Beijing to receive their rewards, and they will not create trouble just to help Cai Jing settle the matter.

No matter how good the friendship is, it is worthless in the face of interests.

I have done my best to help delay the time.

Dai Zong recalled their separation in Qinzhou. Song Jiang was angry because Lin Chong and others did not follow the team. Now that the Liangshan army has pacified Huaixi, they will surely be rewarded when they return to Beijing.

Yang Chang only got an eighth-rank official position, while Su Yuanjing promised Song Jiang a red robe, which meant a high-ranking official position above the fifth rank.

How happy would Brother Gongming be when thinking of the feeling of being looked down upon by the man in red robe and the man in green shirt?

We have to let Yang Chang stay for a few more days!

"All the good brothers of Liangshan will probably return to the capital to report at the end of this month or the beginning of next month. Since General Manager Yang is in the capital, why don't you stay for a few more days? Let's have a good gathering in Tokyo. Many brothers are thinking about you."

"I can only say I will try my best. You also know that when you are in the government, you have to follow orders."

"Haha, I'm just giving you a suggestion. Business matters are more important."

Yang Chang has other things to do this time, and he will leave as soon as he steals the princess. How could he stay to meet with you? But he still has to say polite words.

Dai Zong saw Yang Chang speaking in an official tone and thought to himself, "You really take yourself seriously. Is the deputy general manager of Qinzhou's army a big deal?" It was similar to Qin Ming's time in Qingzhou. When Brother Gongming returns to the court this time, he might be appointed as a military governor.

The two men each had their own thoughts and their friendship was not very deep, so they had a quick meal and went back to their rooms when they returned to the inn.

As night fell, Yang Chang changed into plain clothes and went out to the streets, scouting the area around the palace in advance to prepare for his plan to sneak into the palace.

He led people to hunt in Qinzhou several times, but in the end he only got two [Camouflage Feathers]. Including the one Yang Jian got from killing a chicken, there were only three [Camouflage Feathers] in total. Even with the sketch of the Forbidden City obtained from Lei Long, he did not dare to waste the invisibility item easily.

He would use one when he entered the palace, and he and Zhao Fujin would each use one when they left the palace. There were no extras to try, so this guy was extremely cautious.

Furthermore, the disappearance of the princess would inevitably cause shock in the palace.

If Yang Changruo took any action while in the capital, it might arouse suspicion from the emperor and Su Yuanjing, so he planned to pretend to return to Qinzhou to create an alibi after entering the palace to meet the emperor.

He stayed in Tokyo for five or six days and walked around the streets of the Imperial Palace several times. As a result, the Dali Temple had already executed Fang Shen and others who had rebelled, but he did not wait for Huizong to summon him.

After meeting with Cai Jing and Su Yuanjing, Zhao Ji planned to summon Yang Chang to the palace alone the next day, but was interrupted by important matters of Prime Minister Wang Fu.

The situation reported by Wang Fu was a thousand times better than what a father-in-law would say to his son-in-law, that is, Zhang Jue, the general who rebelled against Liao and surrendered to Jin, secretly surrendered to the Song Dynasty in June.

Yes, he had to rebel against the Jin Dynasty again because he misjudged the situation.

When Guo Yaoshi rebelled against Liao and returned to Song, he brought Yizhou and Zhuozhou to the Song. Although the Jin people had conquered Yanjing at that time, Luanzhou (Luanxian), Pingzhou (Luolong), and Yingzhou (Changli) were still controlled by Liao generals. These three counties belonged to Pingzhou (the state and county had the same name) under the jurisdiction of Nanjing Road of Liao.

Luan, Ping and Ying are within the Great Wall, and the easternmost one is Yuguan (Shanhaiguan), so the Pingzhou area became the weak point of the Song Dynasty.

The Jin Kingdom retained this place as a strategic forward point, allowing it to easily enter the pass and move south at any time, so this piece of land was the most fiercely contested place in the negotiations between Song and Jin.

Huizong was obsessed with ensuring the integrity of the Great Wall's defense line. He would even rather give up Xijing Datong and take the entire Yanjing area, but the Jin people ultimately did not agree (Liao Xijing Datong was north of the Great Wall).

Zhang Jue was forced to surrender to the Jin Dynasty due to the situation. Aguda listened to the advice of the Liao ministers and appointed Zhang Jue as the governor of Pingzhou, intending to stabilize the situation first and then deal with it slowly.

With the news of Agu's death, the news that Emperor Tianzuo was harassing the northwest, and the news that Xiao Gan, the Liao general who fled to Yanjing, proclaimed himself emperor on the territory of the Xi people, Zhang Jue made a serious strategic misjudgment. (The territory of the Xi people is the area north of Yanshan Mountain, the southern part of the former Liao Zhongjing, and its sphere of influence borders Yanjing and Pingzhou)
The struggle for power in the Liao Kingdom was very serious. Zhang Jue subconsciously believed that Aguda's death would cause the Jin Kingdom to fall into civil strife and decadence, and the remaining Liao forces might revive. So he killed the Liao minister sent to Pingzhou by Wuqimai, and raised the banner of rebellion in response to Xiao Gan.

Due to food shortage at that time, Xiao Gan did not dare to go north to provoke the Jin army. Instead, he went south to attack the Yanjing area. He was later defeated by Guo Yaoshi.

Not long after Zhang Jue raised the flag of rebellion against Jin, he discovered that Xiao Gan had become a "paper tiger". It was too late for him to regret. In order to have a way out, he had no choice but to surrender to Song. He sent an envoy to meet Wang Anzhong secretly.

The Song-Jin alliance stipulated that the borders of both sides must not be changed, and neither side could accept rebel generals. Accepting Zhang Jue would be tantamount to breaking the alliance. Wang Anzhong did not dare to make the decision, so he secretly sent the lobbyist to Tokyo.

The Song Dynasty paid a huge price and made great concessions in the process of regaining Yanjing.

Now that he could easily take back Pingzhou, Song Huizong was naturally tempted, but he was opposed by court officials represented by Zhao Liangsi. Although the opposition voices were not many, they were fierce and well-founded enough.

Zhao Liangsi had been on diplomatic missions to the Jin Kingdom many times and knew how strong the Jin army was. He predicted that a war would break out between the Song and Jin dynasties, so he took the initiative to resign after taking back Yanjing, but his resignation was not approved by Huizong.

Zhao Ji was immersed in the fantasy of becoming the greatest emperor of all time. On the surface, he approved of Zhao Liangsi's opinion, but he wrote to the deputy governor of Yanjing, Zhan Du, without telling his ministers, and even sent two letters of guidance in one day.

First, Huizong asked the officials in Yanjing to sit on the mountain and watch the fight. He believed that the Jin people would send troops to attack Zhang Jue. Huizong wanted to test Zhang Jue's ability, whether he could fight as well as Guo Yaoshi, and whether the Jin Kingdom's reaction would be strong.

Second, let Zhan Du secretly recruit Zhang Jue, but pretend that nothing happened to the Jin Kingdom on the surface.

At that time, the Jin Dynasty was in the process of power transfer, and Wuqimai had to deal with many internal affairs. He heard that Zhang Jue had rebelled but did not know that he had surrendered, so he sent troops near Zhongjing to question him.

Because the number of Jin troops was too small and the defenses in Pingzhou were very sufficient, they withdrew after a feint.

Zhang Jue made a big fuss about the Jin army's retreat, claiming that he was the one who killed the generals and defeated the Jin army, and sent a fast horse to Tokyo to report the victory to Huizong.

Huizong was so delighted when he heard this that he did not wait for Zhan Du and others to verify the situation. He immediately appointed Zhang Jue as the governor of Taining Army and ordered Li Anbi, an envoy stranded in Tokyo, to bring back the imperial edict. He also wrote a letter of appeasement on gold flower paper with his own calligraphy and asked Zhang Jue and his brothers to deliver it personally.

The ministers in the court did not know much about accepting Zhang Jue, and Zhao Liangsi still firmly opposed it. He excitedly demanded the execution of Li Anbi, which eventually angered Zhao Ji and he was demoted and exiled to Chenzhou.

After Zhao Ji finished dealing with the urgent matters at hand, he summoned Yang Chang to the palace to meet him on the last day of June.

Yang Chang entered the palace and gave silver to the eunuch who led the way. He kept asking him about the architectural layout of the palace to confirm how much difference there was between it and the sketch.

They arrived at Ruisi Hall at noon. After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Yang Changsu stood at the bottom of the steps.

Zhao Ji looked at Yang Chang kindly, as a father-in-law would look at his son-in-law, and waved his hand with a smile, saying, "Mr. Yang, come closer. Let me see what's written on this screen."

"Subordinate to the order"

Yang Chang didn't know what it meant. He took a few steps forward and walked behind the screen. He was shocked to see the words written on it: Bright Heavenly Lord, Tian Hu of Hebei, Wang Qing of Huaixi, and Fang La of Jiangnan.

"Your Majesty, you..."

"Don't think too much, Yang Qing. This happened when you were still in Liangshan. During the Lantern Festival, someone sneaked in here and scratched off the four words 'Shandong Song Jiang'. I then added your name behind it."

"So that's how it is. This minister's title is in the Book of Heaven."

"No need to explain. I am very pleased that you have fought against traitors for the country. Before the expedition against Tian Hu last year, I promised that if you performed well, you would be rewarded with treasures when you return to the capital. Now I must fulfill my promise."

Zhao Ji finished his words and smiled leisurely. Yang Chang hurriedly bowed and saluted, thinking, "Is this a marriage?" At the same time, he bowed his head and replied in a sonorous voice, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"My precious daughter is Princess Maode, whose beauty is second to none in the world. I am now granting her marriage and inviting Yang Qing to be my consort. Are you surprised? Are you surprised?"

"Uh"

Yang Chang had guessed it long ago, but he acted very shocked, then showed an embarrassed expression, bowed again and said: "Your Majesty, I have already..."

"I know you've already married. I asked Su Yuanjing to persuade you before, but it seems he failed. So I personally arranged the marriage today. Don't you want to?"

"No, I am flattered."

When Zhao Ji asked about this, Yang Chang could only give a perfunctory answer: "I didn't know it was the princess at that time. Otherwise, my wife is skilled in archery and horse riding, and she also helps me with military affairs occasionally. If I hadn't informed you in advance, there might be trouble. Please give me time to go back to Qinzhou to deal with it, and then return to Beijing to marry the princess."

"how long?"

"Two months?"

Yang Chang stretched out two fingers to test, thinking to himself, I'm going to steal the princess away in a few days, let's see what you can marry me with then.

"Well, Qinzhou is not close to the capital, and it will take you a long time to go back and forth. You can take your time to deal with it. I am not in a hurry."

"Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty."

"According to convention, the prince consort should have stayed in the capital, but I heard that you are capable of commanding the army and have great political talent. I don't want to bury such talent. After you marry Maode, you will continue to govern Qinzhou for me."

What Zhao Ji said was not false. In order to limit the rights of princesses, emperors of all dynasties generally would not allow their husbands-in-law to hold military power. The reason why Yang Chang was allowed to continue leading the troops was because Zhao Fujin's son was almost two years old, and keeping him in the capital at this time would easily attract gossip.

There are many people, officials and gossipers in Tokyo. When Zhao Fujin gets married, she will definitely be in public, and her son will also appear in the public eye. Even if he is the son of her and Yang Chang, she cannot stop outsiders from talking nonsense.

If I stay in Qinzhou for two years first and then transfer back to the capital, I won't have this trouble.

Yang Chang thanked him deeply, then raised his head and added: "Qinzhou has just experienced war, and the people are in urgent need of recuperation. Your Majesty, please select an honest governor, and don't choose one like Fang Shen."

"Haha." Zhao Ji stroked his beard and responded, "Don't worry, my dear son-in-law. Qinzhou will not send another governor."

"I don't understand"

"As the saying goes, one thing should not trouble two masters. I heard Huanzhang praise you for your talent in both civil and military affairs. Since Qinzhou is in urgent need of recuperation and your husband has made great contributions in capturing the rebels, I have decided to confer you the title of Military Strategy Doctor, Qinzhou Surveillance Envoy and General Manager of the Army. You will be in charge of the military and political affairs of the state."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

This was a complete surprise to Yang Chang, and he hurriedly bowed to his "father-in-law".

Before leaving Ruisi Palace, Zhao Ji ordered the eunuch beside him to take Yang Chang out of the palace and go to the Ministry of Personnel to handle relevant procedures.

The rank of Wulue Daifu was the seventh rank military officer, but the rank of Chaochashi was a fifth rank official (a full-time official had a real job, while a salaried official was mostly a remote and honorary position).

Zhao Ji knew that Fang Shen was not a traitor, but he was treated as a traitor in order to help Cai Jing to quell the rebellion. Yang Chang, on the other hand, turned a disaster into a blessing and was promoted to the fifth rank, and wore the scarlet robe that Song Jiang had always dreamed of.

On the first day of July, Yang Chang received the official robe of the inspector and deliberately put it on while riding a tall white horse through the city. He wanted to create an alibi.

Follow the main street eastward, pass through the old Caomen and reach the outer city.

When he was about to reach Xin Song Gate, he was spotted by several old friends from afar.

The two people walking on the right were Song Jiang and Lu Junyi, who were also riding tall horses. Yang Changze was spotted first by Hua Rong, who was not good at talking but good at shooting.

"Brother, look, the person in front seems to be Yang Chang!"

"Hmm? It really is the Jade Lion of the Night, that's not right"

"what happened?"

"The color of his clothes"

(End of this chapter)