From the second day to the fifth day of the new year, Shen Yi could only spend a small part of his time at home with his family. The rest of the time, he spent most of his time at the Ministry of War and the Governor's Mansion.
In the Ministry of War, it is to reconcile the accounts with the Ministry of War.
The Ministry of War does not care about money, so the correct account is naturally not money, but military merit.
After all, this time the Huai'an army won a great victory. Commander Shen Yi and three generals were all awarded by the imperial court, and the awards were quite generous. Especially Ling Su and others, not only were they awarded second- and third-grade generals, the emperor also gave three of them, all in Jiankang gave him a mansion.
This also means that in the future, the three of them will have their own place when they return to Jiankang.
However, the generals under the Huai'an Army and the Ministry of War have not yet agreed on their merits.
For this matter, the officials of the Ministry of War were dragged to the Ministry of War to "work overtime" on the second day of the new year, which made these officials who could have taken half a month's rest quite uncomfortable.
But there was no other way. This was the emperor's order, and it was also the order given to them by their eminent Jiang Jian.
After all, judging from the current situation, the war in the 16th year of Hongde will not stop. The Ministry of War must complete what needs to be done as soon as possible and cannot delay the start of the war in the new year.
Originally, the military merit examination did not need to be confirmed by the generals concerned. The Ministry of War occupies the absolute leading power. However, Mr. Shen is different from ordinary people after all. Let alone his current status, just talk about his official position...
You know, Mr. Shen, who was born in the Ministry of War, has not yet taken off the title of Minister of the Ministry of War!
In addition, Jiang Shangshu was also very concerned about these matters, so the officials of the Martial Arts Department naturally did not dare to neglect, and they all came back to work overtime obediently.
As for the Governor's Mansion...
The Dudu Mansion is mainly responsible for specific operations.
In other words, combat plans, combat deployments and even specific combat personnel, according to regulations, are all handled by the Dudu Mansion. However, after the Dudu Mansion moved south, it declined severely. Only some Jiankang generals were left with temporary posts in the Dudu Mansion. , almost all the power was taken away by civilian officials.
Therefore, the current Governor's Office can only issue a battle plan and is not responsible for its specific implementation.
When Shen Yi went to the Governor's Mansion, he just said a few perfunctory words to give these generals some face.
Most of them are still in the Ministry of War.
On the afternoon of the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, in the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War, Mr. Shen finally went through all the statistics of the Ministry of War. Zheng Ling, the doctor of the Military Selection Department, showed great respect in front of Shen Yi. After making a pot of tea for Mr. Shen, he smiled. Then he said: "Master Hou, you have gone through the Huai'an Army's statistics compiled by the Ministry of War. Did you find any errors or omissions? If there are any errors or omissions, I will ask someone to correct them immediately."
Mr. Shen looked at Zheng Ling and smiled dumbly: "Mr. Zheng, you are the doctor of the martial arts department. Your martial arts department will be responsible for the performance test of the general officers. How can I, the person in charge, open my mouth to participate?"
With a smile on his face, Zheng Ling said: "Master Marquis, you are a member of our Ministry of War. Besides, the achievements of the Huai'an Army are obvious to both the government and the public. Naturally, Master Marquis's place shall prevail."
In the early years when Shen Yi was appointed as the doctor of the Martial Arts Department, Zheng Ling was only the head of the Martial Arts Department. It was Shen Yi who single-handedly promoted him and prepared to train him as a confidant.
However, later on, when the Northern Expedition broke out, Shen Yi was almost absent from the imperial court and only came back once or twice throughout the year. He was beyond his reach and had no way to interfere with the affairs of the Ministry of War.
Over time, Zheng Ling became a serious martial arts doctor, and he was the one who benefited the most.
But even so, he is also very aware of Shen Yi's status and influence in the imperial court now. Once the affairs of the Wu Xuan Division are not done well, and this Lord Shen joins him, he, the doctor of the Ministry of War, will most likely end up in the end. .
Therefore, Dr. Zheng is very sensible and follows Shen Yi in everything.
After staying in the Wu Xuan Department for a full half day, Shen Yi stood up and left. Before leaving, he took out a thousand taels of silver from his sleeve, handed it to Zheng Ling, and said lightly: "Take it."
When Zheng Ling saw that it was a bank note, his face turned pale with fright, and he quickly shook his head: "Master Hou, what are you doing? I would never dare to accept it from a lower official, I don't dare to accept it..."
Shen Yi frowned: "No face?"
Zheng Ling then took it with both hands and said with a wry smile: "Master Hou, this... this..."
"It's not all for you."
Mr. Shen yawned and said: "I should have taken a break these days. Because of the affairs of the Huai'an Army, my colleagues in the Martial Arts Department have been working hard for a few days. I will discuss the merits later. It is estimated that they will have to work for a few more days. This The annual leave is gone, and I feel really bad about it."
"Take this money, Mr. Zheng, and treat my colleagues in the Martial Arts Department to dinner and drinks on my behalf."
He patted Zheng Ling on the shoulder and said with a smile: "If my current status wasn't inappropriate, I wouldn't bother Doctor Zheng and invite him myself."
Zheng Ling quickly lowered his head: "Don't worry, Lord Marquis, I will definitely handle the matters assigned by Lord Marquis well."
After walking out of the Martial Arts Department, Mr. Shen thought about it and went to Jiang Shangshu's class room again. At this time, Old Jiang, who was supposed to be taking a rest, was looking through documents in his "office". When he saw Shen Yi walking in, he He looked up and then said calmly: "Find a chair to sit on."
Mr. Shen sat down with a smile and said, "Your Majesty did not rest at home today, but came to the Ministry of War? I just heard Doctor Zheng talk about it, and only then did I know that Your Majesty was in the Yamen."
The Minister of the Ministry of War is in charge of the four departments of the Ministry of War. It is only the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War that is working overtime these days, so he, the Minister, does not need to be present.
Old Man Jiang glanced at Shen Yi and said angrily: "I'm here to see if my grandson who was abducted by you is on the Huai'an Army's list of meritorious deeds, or whether he has died in the north."
Shen Yi quickly smiled and said: "Jiang Ming is already an outstanding general. He made great contributions to the attack on Dengzhou and Laizhou last year. This year I am going to give him a thousand households."
Old Man Jiang raised his eyebrows: "Did he make the contribution himself, or did he rely on my reputation?"
"Of course he did it himself."
"Last year, he followed the vanguard of the Huai'an Army and captured two counties in Dengzhou, and also recovered several counties in Laizhou."
"These are all real achievements and cannot be faked."
Jiang Shangshu was silent for a while, shook his head and sighed: "When he was a child, his family forced him to study and take exams every day, but it was useless. He never thought that his way out would be on the battlefield."
"It seems that I was destined to be appointed to the Ministry of War."
Old Man Jiang sighed a few words, then looked at Shen Yi and said, "Today I came to the Yamen. In addition to looking at the documents of the Huai'an Army, I also looked at the documents of the West Route Army for the entire year last year."
Hearing these words, Shen Yi was startled, then understood and said, "General Pei is back?"
Jiang Jian was a little surprised after hearing this.
"Your newspaper office is spread all over Jiankang, don't you know?"
Shen Yi shook his head slightly and laughed softly: "Your Majesty, the newspaper office in Jiankang is not under my control."
"and…"
Shen Yi said softly: "The newspaper department I am in charge of is only responsible for delivering news in Jiankang and rarely inquires about news."
"I am in Jiankang, and I don't need them to inquire about Jiankang."
Old Man Jiang gave a thumbs up and said with a smile: "What else would I say about you, Shen Qijing? You don't do any taboo things."
After saying this, Jiang Shangshu looked up and looked outside, and said: "I should have arrived in the morning. I have already entered the palace by now, and I should be meeting the saint."
He looked at Shen Yi and said quietly: "After he met with His Majesty, the court will most likely discuss the candidate for the Northern Expedition coach tomorrow. I, the Minister of War, will definitely go there, so I will come to the Yamen first to take a look at the west The battle report of the Route Army for the whole of last year, so as not to talk about it tomorrow and say nothing."
Shen Yi touched his chin and asked: "My lord, I think this Northern Expedition coach..."
Jiang Jian looked at Shen Yi and shook his head slightly.
"My advice is, don't rush."
"This job may not be enough for you now."
Shen Yi nodded, stood up and held his hands in his hands.
"Thank you for your guidance, sir."
…………
In the Ganlu Palace, Pei Jun, dressed in the uniform of a second-grade military general, half-knelt in front of the Emperor, lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty, Pei Jun, is here to greet you."
The emperor raised his hand and motioned for Pei Jun to stand up and speak. After Pei Jun stood up, the emperor asked with a smile: "You came all the way back in the winter, are you freezing?"
Pei Jun quickly lowered his head.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am in good health and there is nothing wrong with me."
The emperor nodded with a smile and said, "How do you feel about fighting with the Qi people this year?"
"It's hard."
Pei Jun said honestly: "To attack the city by force will be too much of a loss."
"And even if it's an encounter in the wild, there's no chance of winning."
"Therefore, I fought in Henan for a whole year last year without any great achievements. Please punish me!"
His Majesty the Emperor touched his chin and continued to ask: "What do you think of Shen Yi? Can he be the general of the Northern Expedition?"
"Shen...Marquis Shen..."
Pei Jun thought for a while and replied: "We don't have much contact with each other on weekdays, so it's hard to say, but I must read the battle report of the Huai'an Army. When he starts fighting..."
“It’s very magical.”
"Many of the battles that I thought were unwinnable or unwinnable in a short period of time, Lord Shen was able to handle very well and won every battle."
The emperor smiled, nodded and said, "It seems that you agree with Shen Qi as the coach of the Northern Expedition."
Pei Jun bowed his head respectfully: "Your Majesty, I didn't say whether I supported Lord Shen or not. It is not for me to comment on such a big matter. Your Majesty should be the one to make your own decision."
This flattery had a very good effect. His Majesty the Emperor smiled with satisfaction and said: "You also said that this is a big deal. I am not an independent man, so I am still willing to listen to the voices in the court."
Having said this, Emperor Hong De looked at Pei Jun and said with a smile: "You must have been working hard on your journey all the way. Let's go home and rest first. Tomorrow..."
"Well, tomorrow Ganlu Palace will come at six o'clock, and we will discuss this matter together."
