During the private conversation between the emperor and the empress, another wave of cheers erupted in the venue. The competition has entered the fourth round. The archers are each showing their talents. The person who caused the cheers at this time is a young officer, fifty paces. Outside, the horse was galloping, and two arrows were fired at the same time. Both of them hit the bull's-eye. This kind of skill can be called a miraculous skill.
Even Emperor Liu paid more attention in this warm atmosphere, pointed at the officer, and ordered Chao Yantuo: "Go and ask, who is this?"
"Yes!" Yantuo was ordered to step down without any delay and went to investigate.
Seeing this, Empress Fu chuckled and said, "Is the official happy to see the hunter again and starting to love talents?"
Emperor Liu replied naturally: "I have always been like this! At any time, the most important thing is talents. I naturally hope that there will be an endless stream of talents in the world to share the prosperous age of the Han Dynasty and the era of peace!"
"The magnanimity of the official family is as broad and broad as ever!" Empress Fu also said some compliments. Of course, it was half truth and half false. Emperor Liu's style has always been narrow-minded for selfish reasons, but Yu Gong always took the overall situation into consideration. Full of capacity.
"You and I, husband and wife, don't need to be so complimentary and courteous!" Emperor Liu said this, probably because he was used to Fu Hou's dignity and solemnity, and Emperor Liu was not used to people saying flattering words.
Soon, Yantuo returned, walked quickly to the front of the imperial court, stood up, leaned forward, and said respectfully: "Guan family, this young general's name is Chen Jia. He is from Jincheng in Yingzhou. He belongs to the first army on the left side of the Longqi Army. His military rank is Hundreds of generals who participated in the Northern Expedition, fought bravely and with meritorious service, were later transferred to Beijing to supplement the Longqi army, and were famous for their riding and shooting. For this hunting trip, they were selected by the Palace Chief to perform in front of the emperor..."
Yan Tuocha's questions were quite detailed. After listening to his report, Emperor Liu raised a slight smile and said, "He is from the Longqi Army!"
After all, the Longqi Army was the army founded by Emperor Liu. With this relationship, it is equivalent to blessing the soldiers of the army with a special glory. After so many years and more than 20 years, it has always been the best among the Sanya Forbidden Army, overwhelming The whole army is not only known as the "pro-army", but also known as the strongest army in the world.
Yantuo naturally understood Emperor Liu's closeness and affection for Longqi Army, noticed the smile on his lips, and immediately praised him: "Thanks to the kindness of the officials, Longqi Army has many talents!"
Hearing what he said, Emperor Liu twitched the corner of his mouth. As the first army of the Sanya Imperial Guards, it enjoyed the most abundant resources. Soldiers both inside and outside were eager to join. All the elite soldiers and generals were transferred there, and naturally talented people emerged in large numbers.
Seeing that Emperor Liu didn't react much to his compliments, Yantuo didn't care. After all, he didn't always please Emperor Liu and get positive feedback.
"Does the official intend to summon him?" Seeing Emperor Liu's interested expression, Yan Tuo took the initiative to ask for instructions.
But Emperor Liu refused: "No, carry on as usual!"
Today's Emperor Liu is no longer like in the past, sparing no effort to exert influence and win over the morale of the army. A small general, no matter how superb his riding and archery skills are, cannot easily catch the eye of Emperor Liu. The Han army is now stable. There are a lot of talents, and there is no need to go to great lengths to find and conquer talents like in the past.
Of course, what really touched Emperor Liu was that this was another officer who made his fortune from the bottom, without any background or backing. In recent years, the rising stars in the Han army are undoubtedly the second and third generations of the army.
Lord, those who have achieved some fame are either the sons of meritorious officials or the descendants of famous generals.
This is unavoidable. Heroes and nobles have gone through life and death to achieve great achievements. In addition to power and wealth, sheltering their descendants is also an important pursuit. The second and third generations of the military have risen, gradually inheriting the glory of their ancestors, following their footsteps, and developing in the military.
Forging ahead is also in line with the laws of nature and human nature.
And these people, with the abundant resources given by their fathers and grandfathers to make use of, a good foundation, and high qualities that are different from ordinary people, are naturally more likely to be promoted. In recent years, the veterans have gradually withered away, or have gone behind the scenes. Although they are still
A group of veteran generals are still standing in front of the stage, but after the distinguished generals, they gradually rose up to replace the elderly, occupy important positions, and became the backbone of the army.
This is an irresistible general trend, and it has already been reflected in the Kaibao Northern Expedition. The old commanders and veterans still exert their residual enthusiasm and even take charge of the overall situation, but the younger generations also perform well. After the beginning of spring, the Privy Council's review of the army's
During the reorganization, a group of young and middle-aged generals were indeed promoted and took on more important military positions, and most of them were the second generation of nobles.
Emperor Liu was naturally well aware of such a situation, and for a long time he had been happy to see it succeed. The military aristocracy was a product of Emperor Liu's support and compromise in order to defend the imperial power and consolidate the ruling class.
, on the premise of ensuring that it will not backfire, we will not deliberately suppress it.
At this point, Emperor Liu was confident and at ease. In the past twenty years or so, the implementation of many policies and the establishment of systems were based on balancing considerations and centered around this core idea.
However, Emperor Liu allowed the existence and growth of a class, but did not allow its expansion. Therefore, he began to balance the military aristocracy. This was not difficult to achieve. After all, there were many factions within the aristocracy.
They were also based on the hills, and the power to mobilize troops was always in the hands of the imperial court. The power to manage the troops was also controlled and influenced by the imperial court.
At the same time, there is support for common people bureaucrats. In recent years, it has been particularly obvious. Zhao Pu's appointment as prime minister is the most representative measure.
On this basis, the promotion of officers and soldiers from the Han clan is also in progress. For example, last year, Emperor Liu personally received several officers and soldiers who returned to the Han Dynasty from Mobei, personally rewarded and promoted them, and promoted an originally penniless man.
Aries, a low-level soldier, was promoted to an officer of the Suwei Army. It also had the intention of supporting these soldiers who were outside the military aristocratic group. At the same time, it also inspired all the soldiers from poor families in the world to work hard and make progress.
As an emperor, every move, word and deed of Emperor Liu was inevitably subject to political considerations, and these had almost become his instinct.
In the riding and shooting competition, there were no surprises in the final winner. The winner was the young general named Chen Jia. Not only was he an eye-catching and stunning move, but he also won the top spot because he had the highest total points after several rounds.
, won the first prize in one fell swoop.
After the results of the riding and shooting skills were achieved, each was given a reward. Chen Jia received a complete set of BMWs, fine armor and weapons. The rest of the personnel, even if they were slightly inferior, were considered rich. In addition to material rewards, there were also internal merit records in each army.
Getting promoted is a natural thing. After all, for the officers selected for the imperial competition, this itself is a gold-plated experience.
About an hour later, Zhang Yong came to report that the hunting expedition had ended, and the prince and the participating nobles had returned one after another.
"Who hunted the most?" Emperor Liu asked Zhang Yong with a little curiosity.
Zhang Yong replied eloquently: "Your Majesty, according to statistics, Suwei camp general Guo Shilong hunted the most, 5 pheasants, 2 rabbits, 3 deer, 4 raccoons, and a leopard, a total of 15 different sizes.
prey!"
"You son of a general, son of the Guo family, you live up to the style of your ancestors!" Emperor Liu smiled and said immediately: "Reward!"
Guo Shilong is the grandson of Shangdang Gong Guo Congyi.
The princes also participated in the hunt. Of course, the two brothers Liu Fang and Liu Min, who were the most skilled in martial arts, were not there, so naturally none of them were outstanding. If anyone really performed unexpectedly well, Emperor Liu would be suspicious.
However, Emperor Liu at this time was more concerned about the performance of the Thirteenth Prince Liu Ye. The performance of the boy just now in front of him was still effective, at least it aroused his interest.
"Where's Liu Ye?"
"The Thirteenth Prince has also returned to camp!"
"Xuan!"
Soon, Liu Ye was summoned to come for an audience, which attracted almost everyone's attention. The emperor treated him specially, and the ministers and guests were naturally very interested.
Liu Ye was still dressed as before, but he looked tired and had some dirt on his body, making him look a little embarrassed. However, his expression looked a little serious.
However, he was holding a gray rabbit in his hand, its fur stained with blood, and said with a hint of regret: "I am incompetent, I only hunted one rabbit!"
Emperor Liu was really surprised this time. He looked at the dead rabbit and then noticed Liu Ye's calm face. There was no tension or discomfort about killing at all, and he sighed in his heart.
"Hunting rabbits may not be easier than shooting tigers. It also tests your shooting skills!" Emperor Liu chuckled and sighed: "Little Thirteen, it seems I have underestimated you! Tell me, what reward do you want?"
Hearing this, Liu Ye finally showed a smile on his face, and there was obvious excitement in his eyes. It was an emotion recognized by Emperor Liu. He shook his head slightly and said excitedly: "I don't want a reward, I just ask dad to accept this rabbit."
!”
"Okay!" Emperor Liu responded without any hesitation: "I accept your proposal!"
He waved to Liu Ye, asked him to come forward, and caressed the back of his head. It was probably the first time that Emperor Liu treated him so gently and kindly: "Today, you will only hunt a rabbit to offer to dad. Dad will wait for you to grow up.
Now I’m hunting enemies for my father!”
"Yes!" Liu Ye nodded seriously, his face full of solemnity.