Chapter 222: The Master of Yanzhou

"Liang Chief Steward."

"Your Highness, Yan Wang."

At the entrance of the Wangfu, Zhao Xu and a group of officials and generals were waiting outside to welcome Liang Cheng.

After capturing Yuan Li, he had led his troops back to Yancheng.

These days, he had been presiding over the affairs of purging the Rich Clans of Yanzhou.

To him, these Rich Clans were a thorn in his side and a splinter in his flesh.

As long as they remained, Yanzhou would always have factors of instability.

Especially during this war, these Rich Clans had taken the opportunity to stir up trouble, causing no small amount of destruction to his fief.

According to Liu Fu's inspections over the past few days, over a thousand commoners had died at the hands of the Rich Clans' armies.

However, the commoners in the countryside of two commanderies had also made the Rich Clans' armies taste their mettle.

More than six thousand Rich Clan soldiers had died at the hands of the Rural Militia.

This was still under the condition that there was a Rural Militia System within his fief.

Yet in other commanderies, it was said that these Rich Clan soldiers had caused even greater havoc.

Because they were not protected, the commoners were slaughtered at will by the Rich Clan soldiers.

It was claimed that tens of thousands of commoners had died miserably.

It was precisely because he felt the destructive power of these Rich Clans that he ordered the Wangfu Army not to show mercy and to be sure to eradicate the evil completely.

"Defeating the Yuan Family and holding Yanguan this time, Your Highness has truly performed a great service," Liang Cheng said, gripping Zhao Xu's hand. "The Emperor is so happy that he praises Your Highness every day; my old ears have grown calluses from listening to it."

"As an Imperial Prince, this is my duty; Father Emperor overpraises me," Zhao Xu laughed.

This war had been won cleanly and thoroughly, but his losses were not small either.

Aside from the damage suffered by his fief, there were casualties among both the newly recruited soldiers and the veteran soldiers who had fought in the campaign.

His peripheral vision flickered toward the Imperial Edict; he did not care much for praise, as receiving substantial rewards was more practical.

Unlike him, Liu Fu, Chang Wei, and the others were smiling.

They were naturally happy that Yan Wang could gain the Emperor's appreciation.

"It is not overpraise at all. This time, Your Highness has truly displayed the prestige of the Imperial Clan. For this, the Emperor has given Your Highness a huge reward!" Liang Cheng winked at Zhao Xu, emphasizing the word "huge."

But he had no intention of reading the edict yet.

Zhao Xu understood; whenever there was a major reward, the eunuch reading the edict always expected some "joy money."

Liang Cheng was being mysterious, and Zhao Xu was actually starting to look forward to it.

He called Feng'er over and gave her an instruction.

Before long, two servants walked over carrying a chest.

Liang Cheng beamed and said to Zhao Xu, "Your Highness, if it were a small matter, this Imperial Edict would be given to you directly, but this matter is not small, so I ask Your Highness to receive the edict."

Hearing this, Zhao Xu looked forward to the contents of the Imperial Edict even more.

Thus, he led the officials to kneel in the direction of Jingshi.

Liang Cheng then unfolded the Imperial Edict and read: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: My ninth son, Yan Wang Zhao Xu, has governed Yanzhou from his fief, working diligently and winning the hearts of the people. Recently, he has thwarted the rebellion of the Yuan Family, held the Yanguan fortress, and turned the tide, raising the prestige of the Imperial Clan. My heart is greatly pleased. Now, I specially grant the Seven Commanderies of Yanzhou as the fief of Yan Wang, entrusting him with the responsibility of guarding Yanguan and commanding an army of 150,000. This is the decree!"

"Long live, long live, long, long live the Emperor!" After hearing the decree, it took Zhao Xu a while to come to his senses.

He had originally thought that Zhao Heng might reward him with another two commanderies.

He had not expected that this convenient father of his would give him the entirety of Yanzhou directly.

Liu Fu, Chang Wei, and the others were even more excited than Zhao Xu; their mouths were wide enough to fit a cannonball.

Chang Wei was a straightforward person; while happy, he pondered that the number of troops did not seem right and said, "Why is it only 150,000 troops?"

Liang Cheng did not blame Chang Wei for his reckless remark.

After all, the current Yan Wang was truly Yan Wang now, governing an entire province.

And he also understood that this Chang Wei was the top general under Yan Wang.

So he sighed, "It is because of the fuss made by certain people."

Although Liang Cheng did not name names, Zhao Xu understood.

To him, this result had already exceeded his expectations.

There was another reason why he had purged the Rich Clans: to guard against the Imperial Court dispatching a new Prefect of Yanzhou.

It would be annoying if this new Prefect played little tricks on him, so he simply made a clean sweep.

But this cleanup had now paved the way for him to become the true master of Yanzhou.

"No matter, even so, I am deeply grateful for Father Emperor's grace," Zhao Xu said.

He understood the thoughts of those powerful clans.

Now that the Forbidden Army had been crippled, Zhao Heng had directly handed the responsibility of guarding Yanguan to him as well.

This made him, a vassal prince, truly the northern shield of Great Song.

By limiting his military strength, after deducting the troops that must be stationed at Yanguan and Feihu Pass, there were not many troops left that he could mobilize at will.

It could be said that this was truly a bit of "cleverness."

"Your Highness is truly magnanimous," Liang Cheng gave a thumbs up.

With the Imperial Edict read, everyone was happy.

Zhao Xu ordered Feng'er to set up a banquet at noon to entertain Liang Cheng and his party.

After staying in Yancheng for a day, Liang Cheng was in a hurry to return and report, so he took Yuan Li into custody and prepared to leave Yancheng.

Before departing, Liang Cheng gripped Zhao Xu's hand again and said, "It is said that Your Highness used a very powerful type of firearm in this great victory. The Emperor was very interested after hearing about it; you understand..."

Zhao Xu smiled awkwardly.

He naturally understood that the matter of the Artillery could not be hidden after this battle, so he said, "I understand."

Liang Cheng revealed an expression of "the child is teachable," cupped his hands, mounted his horse, and departed.

"Congratulations to Your Highness, felicitations to Your Highness. The Yanzhou Seven Commanderies have all returned to Your Highness's hands; now, Your Highness's title of Yan Wang is truly deserved." As Liang Cheng's party disappeared at the end of the official road, Liu Fu bowed repeatedly.

"This is all what Your Highness deserves. The Emperor is wise; handing over Yanzhou to anyone is not as good as handing it to Your Highness," Chang Wei said loudly, his face full of smiles.

Zhao Xu was filled with deep emotion; since he woke up, every step had been arduous.

Now he had finally gained control of Yanzhou, realizing the ambition in his heart.

However, although he was happy, he simultaneously felt that the burden on his shoulders had become heavier.

At present, Yanzhou had gone through a disaster, the people's livelihood was withered, and it needed to recuperate.

And the Northern Di's strength had not been damaged in the last Battle of Yanguan; they remained the primary enemy he had to face.

Beyond the Northern Di, there was also the Xiliang, which was constantly invading eastward.

It was not as if he could sit securely in Yanzhou and be free from worry from now on.

Before these threats were eliminated, he had to remain cautious and prudent.

Of course, the benefit was that from now on, he finally did not have to be timid in his actions.

After all, the roots of the Rich Clan had been dug up by him.

Next, he could finally develop with peace of mind, store up grain, and build high walls.

"Don't be happy too early; managing seven commanderies at once will keep you busy," Zhao Xu teased Liu Fu.

"Your Highness, even if this subordinate is worked to death now, I am willing," Liu Fu said, inexplicably excited.

At the thought that he would soon be able to manage seven commanderies, he almost wanted to shout out loud.

Chang Wei laughed foolishly; Liu Fu could manage seven commanderies, and he could command 150,000 men, so his excitement was no less than Liu Fu's.

The other officials and generals were also smiling.

They were happy.

Guarding Yanzhou was one thing, but who didn't want to be promoted and get rich?

The larger Yan Wang's territory, the higher the ranks they would naturally be promoted to.

In this atmosphere, the laughter at the city gate was incessant, echoing in the sky of Yancheng.

That day.

Hundreds of Cavalry set out from Yancheng, traveling along the official roads of Yancheng toward the various commanderies and counties of Yanzhou.

They would convey the intent of the Imperial Edict to every corner of Yanzhou.

From this day forward, the entire Yanzhou Seven Commanderies would be under the rule of Yan Wang.

And the administrative seat of Yanzhou would also move from Fanyang to Yancheng.

The era of the Yuan Family ruling Yanzhou.

Had ended!