Chapter 253: Good News from Kyoto, Letter from Home
Kyoto, on the official road outside the north gate.

Three horse-riding postmen came galloping, and before they reached the city gate, the three postmen started shouting.

"Get out of the way! Great victory in Chongshan Town!"

"Step aside!"

"Great victory in Chongshan Town!"

The urgent shouting immediately attracted the attention of the soldiers guarding the gate and the people waiting to enter the city.

After the flag officer at the gate heard it clearly, he hurriedly shouted: "Quick, get out of the way, move the barricades away!"

A group of soldiers hurriedly moved away the barricades blocking the city gate and opened the gate.

Three postmen, one holding a battle report and the other holding an identity token, rushed into the city gate like a gust of wind.

Afterwards, continuous shouts were heard in the streets of the city.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way!"

"Great victory in Chongshan Town!"

There was an immediate burst of noise on the busy street, and many people began to cheer.

The postmen reporting the victory shouted from the city gate all the way to the imperial city gate.

On the street in front of the Xuanwu Gate of the Imperial City, on a luxurious carriage, the prince lifted the curtain and looked at the three postmen who were delivering the battle report to the Imperial City, and sighed softly.

"Pity!"

"What a pity, Your Highness?" asked a handsome young man in the carriage.

"It's a pity that Marquis Changping cannot be used by me." The prince looked regretful.

He really has high hopes for Liang Chu and really wants to win him over, but he doesn't dare to contact Liang Chu at all now.

Emperor Chengping’s reprimand is still ringing in my ears!
The boy was probably eighteen or nineteen years old, and he exuded an air of dignity that could not be concealed. He was Sun Yuanrui, the eldest grandson of the Duke of Changguo.

When Wang Zheng of the Shouguo Mansion wanted to seize the position of commander of Songzhou Guard, he relied on the relationship with Sun Jizong, the eldest son of the Changguo Mansion, and Sun Yuanrui was Sun Jizong's eldest son.

Sun Yuanrui also glanced at the postman in front of the imperial city gate through the carriage window and said, "Since the Marquis of Changping cannot be contacted, why not contact the other military officers of Chongshan Town?"

The prince was slightly startled. He turned his head to look at Sun Yuanrui, then burst into laughter.

"Is Yuanrui really so smart?"

Yes, why can’t we win over other military officers in Chongshan Town?
This battle was a great victory, and all the military officers in Chongshan Town will be rewarded, and promotion and wealth are just around the corner.

He cannot win over the Marquis of Changping, but he can win over others!

Sun Yuanrui had a warm smile on his face. He was not complacent because of the prince's praise. Instead, he said modestly: "Your Highness, you are too kind. I am just a little smart!"

While the two were talking, the victory report from Chongshan Town had been presented to the emperor.

Eunuch Chen handed the victory report to Emperor Chengping with a look of joy on his face, "Your Majesty has accomplished great success in both civil and military affairs, and has expanded the territory greatly. I congratulate Your Majesty on your virtue!"

Although Emperor Chengping had only a faint smile on his face, he could not hide the joy in his heart at the moment.

Since he ascended the throne, he has fought many wars, but this is the first time he has expanded his territory.

Although the north is bitterly cold, it is still a thousand miles of territory. By expanding a thousand miles of territory for Darong, he, as an emperor, will be able to leave his mark in the history books.

After he read the good news, the joy in his eyes became more obvious.

"Very good. This battle has demonstrated the prestige of our country. We deserve congratulations and rewards!"

"Call all the ministers of the cabinet, the six ministers, and the left and right commanders of the five military governors' offices to come into the palace to discuss matters!"

……

When Emperor Chengping received the victory report, the Cabinet, the Five Military Commanderies and the Ministry of War also received the news.

At the Ministry of War, Minister Wang Qing couldn't believe it when he heard the report from his subordinates.

It’s not that he didn’t believe that Chongshan Town could defeat the Donghai Hu tribe, but he was a little surprised that Chongshan Town broke through Fushan City so quickly.

He had been the Minister of War for ten years, and he knew the situation in Chongshan Town very well, especially when Zhang Shouwang was in charge of Chongshan Town. He still remembered the fury of His Majesty when Zhang Shouwang was defeated in Fushan City.

But it has only been a few years, and Chongshan Town has only been on the expedition for a few months?

Fushan City was breached!

He originally thought that the war would last at least until the end of the year, but in late June, news of victory arrived from Chongshan Town.

This caught him somewhat off guard.

Are the soldiers of Chongshan Town so powerful now?
Wang Qing called several assistant ministers of the Ministry of War and told them the news of Chongshan Town's great victory. He said, "Everyone, get ready. Chongshan Town has won a great victory. His Majesty will definitely reward you generously. Think about it first and prepare a reward charter in advance!"

……

Zhou Mao, Duke of Ningguo, who was in charge of the Central Military Commandery, also received the news, and his news was even more detailed than that from the Ministry of War. After delivering the victory report to the imperial city, the postman who delivered the victory report also gave him a detailed battle report.

Looking at the battle report in his hand, Zhou Mao, with his gray hair, stroked his long beard and sighed.

"It would be great if Lan'er was a man!"

Although Darong did not prohibit women from joining the army, women were subject to many restrictions in official circles and their achievements would not be too high.

Even though Zhou Lan was born in the Ningguo Mansion, she was unable to break through these restrictions.

It is already extremely difficult to become a lieutenant general. As for promotion again, it is almost impossible. The best you can do is a lateral transfer.

The better Zhou Lan performed, the more regretful Zhou Mao felt. "But it's better this way. Let's go back to Kyoto first!"

Zhou Mao's mind was turning. He was thinking about the current situation of the Ningguo Mansion. The Ningguo Mansion now seemed glamorous and powerful, but he understood the principle of prosperity and decline.

Your Majesty is old, so it would be better for the Ningguo Mansion to keep a low profile.

He looked at the battle report in his hand again and his eyes fell on the name Yang Zhengshan.

Zhou Mao was extremely familiar with Yang Zhengshan.

He often heard this name, both in public and in private.

There is no need to say much about the relationship between Yang Zhengshan and Zhou Lan, and Zhou Xu also highly respects Yang Zhengshan.

Yang Zhengshan's personal relationship with the Ningguo Mansion is much deeper than imagined. He just has never met Zhou Mao.

"His strategy and bravery are both extraordinary, and his cultivation may have reached the ninth level of the acquired realm!"

The battle report stated that Yang Zhengshan had defeated Meng Temu. It was well known that Meng Temu had the ninth level of acquired cultivation. The fact that Yang Zhengshan was able to defeat him was enough to prove Yang Zhengshan's cultivation and strength.

He is at the ninth level of the acquired realm, and is considered a strong man in the entire Darong.

Zhou Mao pondered for a long time, called the attendant outside the door and ordered: "Go and tell the eldest son to prepare a gift for the Yang family!"

Since Yang Zhengshan is so extraordinary, the Ningguo Mansion will naturally try its best to make friends with him.

Although Yang Zhengshan relied a lot on the Ningguo Mansion in the past, Zhou Mao knew very well that favors should be accumulated as much as possible.

The favor was owed by Yang Zhengshan in the past, but he couldn't think that Yang Zhengshan should obey the orders of the Ningguo Mansion.

……

There was a lot of discussion in Kyoto about Chongshan Town's great victory, but Fushan City was still in a state of solemnity.

Although they captured Fushan City, there were still many remaining forces of the Donghai Hu tribe, so after a few days of rest, Liang Chu ordered his Zhenbiao Battalion and the three reinforcement battalions of Liu Nanbo, Zhao Tianhai, and Zhou Yuchun to go out together to wipe out the remaining Hu tribes.

Zhou Lan and Wang Bin were left in Fushan City.

There was no way. The soldiers under their command had suffered heavy losses, and they had already made enough contributions. There was no need to fight for the credit anymore.

Yang Zhengshan was also relieved about this.

He had been on edge ever since leaving the country, and now that he had finally relaxed, he felt exhausted both physically and mentally.

He rested in the camp for several days before he recovered.

"Sir, there is a letter from home!"

In the tent, Yang Mingzhen handed a letter to Yang Zhengshan.

Yang Zhengshan's eyes lit up and he quickly took the letter and opened it.

Although they have always been in contact with Jiacheng, and he has written letters home to report his safety, this is the first time he has received a letter from home.

The main reason for this was that it was easier for them to send letters back, as they could send them along with the team transporting food and spoils or when sending battle reports.

It would be much more troublesome for his family to send him a letter, and it might not even reach him.

Looking at the contents of the letter, Yang Zhengshan felt a tenderness in his heart.

The letter was written by Yu Qingyi, probably a month ago.

In the letter, Yu Qingyi first talked about the situation at home. Everything was fine at home. At the end of April, Liang had given birth to a boy for the Yang family. Now the three brothers of the Yang family all had children, which was a great joyous event.

Secondly, Lin Zhan and Wang Yunqiao became warriors one after another. Calculating the time, they both became warriors not long after they turned fifteen years old.

In addition, this year Lin Zhan participated in the county examination and achieved the first place in Anning County. From then on, Lin Zhan embarked on the road to imperial examination.

In addition to the good news, there were also some bad things. In mid-May, Lu Qi from the Lu family, who was the original body's mother-in-law, passed away.

Yang Mingcheng and Yang Yunxue returned to Anning County to attend the funeral on behalf of Yang Zhengshan.

Seeing this news, Yang Zhengshan's heart was slightly touched.

He had seen life and death on the battlefield and was ruthless in killing people, but he still felt a little sad when he saw someone familiar pass away.

He had only met Lu Qi a few times, but the old lady gave him a good impression and was a sensible old person.

Finally, Yu Qingyi talked about her own situation. She was fine and the baby in her belly was also doing well.

When he saw her talking about the baby in her belly, the sadness in Yang Zhengshan's heart quickly dissipated, and was replaced by tenderness.

According to the calculation, Yu Qingyi's due date should be in September. If nothing unexpected happens, he should be able to rush back to see the birth of the child.

After reading the letter three times, Yang Zhengshan took out his pen and wrote a letter home.

In fact, he had already written a letter the day before yesterday, but he knew that Yu Qingyi was worried about him. If a letter could make Yu Qingyi worry less, he didn't mind writing a few more.

At the same time, he also wrote a letter to Lu Songhe, expressing his grief over Lu Qi's death, and also briefly talked about the situation on the battlefield.

The reason why he talked about the situation on the battlefield was, on the one hand, to share the joy of the great victory with the Lu family, and on the other hand, he also wanted to talk about his own military exploits.

Although Yang Zhengshan's remarriage created some rifts between the Yang and Lu families, the two families are connected by blood. The Lu family is the maternal family of the three brothers Yang Mingcheng, and this relationship cannot be severed.

Whether now or in the future, the Yang family and the Lu family are the closest relatives.

The higher Yang Zhengshan's official position, the more benefits the Lu family will receive.

Yang Zhengshan has made great contributions on the battlefield and will definitely be rewarded next time. This is a good thing and the Lu family should be happy about it.

(End of this chapter)