When the team arrived outside the East City Gate, the Empress, accompanied by the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs of the DPRK and Emperor Yuwei, and Emperor Xingwan greeted them.
It was not surprising that the empress personally greeted him, but what surprised Long Chen was that there were tens of thousands of people outside the door, and they were all gentry and dignitaries.
The city walls were also filled with people, and lights and colors were decorated everywhere, creating a perfect sense of ceremony.
To be fair, Long Chen's victory in quelling the pirates this time was not a big one. He only killed 50,000 enemies and did not capture the city. It was not as much credit as the last time he captured Caishi City.
So Long Chen felt very strange, why was the empress so grand?
"Long Cheng'en, a humble minister, pays homage to His Majesty!"
Long Chen got off his horse, and all the generals behind him dismounted to pay their respects.
Di Luoxi stood back behind the empress and looked at Long Chen with a smile.
Di Yuwei and Di Xingwan were filled with envy, jealousy and hatred.
Long Chen's meritorious service added weight to the West Palace, and the empress now valued Di Luoxi very much.
"Get flat."
The empress stepped forward and helped Long Chen up with her own hands.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Long Chen was horrified. He didn't understand what kind of medicine the empress was selling in her gourd?
Do you want to flatter yourself?
"Long Aiqing has solved the pirates who have been causing trouble along the coast for twenty years. This is a great blessing for the country. Come back to the court with me."
The empress personally held Long Chen's hand and walked back from the east gate to the Daming Palace.
The two kept holding hands, and the ministers in the court and the people in the city were talking about it.
Various gossips and scandals began to spread privately again, saying that Long Chen was actually a fake eunuch...
Wu Chuchu and Wu Xiangyun felt the most shocked.
They knew that Long Chen was favored, but they didn't expect to be so favored!
Soldiers and horses were stationed outside the city, and the generals and others followed the empress into the Daming Palace.
The empress sat on the phoenix chair, Long Chen stood at the front, behind were Zhang Qian, Wu Jian, Dugu Jiali, Wu Chuchu and Wu Xiangyun.
Bai Tingting was too embarrassed to see the empress, so she sneaked away by herself.
"The pirates plundered the coast and caused great harm. Long Chengen was ordered to do so at the critical moment. He only brought a thousand soldiers and horses to quell the pirates. He made great contributions!"
"I confer Long Cheng'en the title of General and concurrently serve as Minister of War."
"The soldiers you recruited in Qianjiang will be under your command!"
There was a commotion among the ministers of the DPRK.
Long Chen is already the Minister of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Industry, and now he is also the Minister of the Ministry of War. Of the six ministers in the court and central government, Long Chen alone has three of them. This is too much power.
Cabinet veteran Chen Li Yizheng came out to object: "Your Majesty, this is inappropriate. Long Cheng'en is already the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works. If he is also the Minister of the Ministry of War, his authority will be too heavy and will not be conducive to the stability of the court."
Other ministers also objected, saying that Long Chen had three ministers for one person. This kind of thing had never been heard of before and it must not be like this.
The empress said: "The so-called authority is too heavy because the ministers are disloyal. Long Chengen is loyal to the country, so how can he say that the authority is too heavy."
"My decision has been made, there is no need to discuss this matter further!"
The empress made the final decision, and the ministers did not dare to say anything more.
Long Chen has been in too much limelight recently, and these ministers dare not offend him.
Long Chen bowed and said, "I would like to express my gratitude to the Lord for your kindness!"
Several people behind him were secretly glad, especially the two Wu sisters. They were glad that they had chosen a good master.
Long Chen paid his respects again and said, "Your Majesty, the Wu sisters in Zhenhai have done a great job in pacifying the pirates this time. I would like to ask for credit for them both."
Long Chen looked back, and Wu Chuchu and Wu Xiangyun stepped forward and paid homage: "Daughters of the people pay their respects to the Holy Lord."
The empress was very happy to see the two of them and said: "Long Cheng'en has mentioned the affairs of your Wu family in the memorial. Your grandfather is the general of our dynasty, and your father has been loyal to the country. I will make you two captains, subordinate to Long Cheng'en."
kindness."
The Wu sisters were overjoyed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"
The empress added: "This time, General Zhang, General Dugu, and Lieutenant Wu have all contributed, and I will reward them one by one."
The three of them thanked each other at the same time.
Long Chen paid his respects again: "Your Majesty, Bai Qiulian's daughter Bai Tingting assisted the ministers in pacifying the pirates, killing 147 enemies and beheading 1 enemy general."
The empress pretended to be surprised and said: "Oh? I didn't expect the daughter of the Li family to be promising."
Bai Tingting's mother is Bai Qiulian and her father is Li Junjun. Logically speaking, Bai Tingting should be named Li, but Bai Qiulian gave her the last name Bai.
Many people think that this is because Bai Tingting is not Li Junjun's father, but Sedum Lie's father, so Bai Qiulian let his daughter take his surname.
"I know rewards and punishments clearly. If Bai Qiulian is guilty, she should be punished. If Bai Tingting has merit, she should be rewarded. So I will let her serve as a member of the Ministry of War."
The empress's move was meant to show to the ministers in the court that as long as they served the court, they could forget about it.
Long Chen paid his respects and said, "One more thing. When Wu Wenjing, the Minister of Justice, went to Zhenhai to inspect the pirates, he might have been deceived. He was not accepting bribes. He might have some grievance."
When Long Chen said this, the ministers in the court were very surprised.
The reason is very simple. Long Chen said this to give Hu Chengfu, the Minister of Punishment, a chance to survive, and Hu Chengfu was Jing Tianlie's man and Long Chen's political enemy.
Unexpectedly, Long Chen would take the initiative to vindicate his political opponents.
The empress was surprised and said: "Oh? Such a thing actually exists."
"Censor Bai, please review the case with the procuratorate. If there is any grievance, redress it immediately."
Bai Anning, the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, came out and paid homage: "I obey your decree!"
The empress was very happy and stood up and said: "On the third day of the great celebration in the capital, the ministers will each give five hundred taels of silver!"
Minister Shan expressed his gratitude.
The empress returned to the inner court, and the ministers gathered around Long Chen to congratulate her.
This time, they were no longer jealous, because Long Chen's current power completely crushed them.
The most important point is that they feel that Long Chen is truly selfless.
Hu Chengfu had always made things difficult for Long Chen before, and the head of the Criminal Department had even attempted an assassination. However, Long Chen acted impartially and took the initiative to defend Hu Chengfu. This kind of moral character was too noble.
Long Chen returned the greetings one by one and was polite for a long time. Di Luoxi was a little impatient waiting beside him and stepped forward and said: "Okay, let's all disperse!"
After saying that, Di Luoxi took Long Chen back to the West Palace.
The ministers looked at the backs of Long Chen and Di Luoxi, all lowered their heads and snickered:
"Your Highness, you can't wait any longer."
"A little farewell is better than a wedding."
"Oh, I really envy Master Long's skills. A eunuch can confuse the princess."
"She is very talented. Even if she is missing something, she is still a first-class expert."
Zhang Qian took the Wu sisters and Dugu Jiali back to the West Palace.
Entering the West Palace, Su Yourong, the palace maid, greeted him with his maids.
"Welcome the steward back to the palace!"
Long Chen looked at the hundreds of stunning beauties on both sides and felt like a rich man entering a club. The beauties around him shouted "Welcome boss".
Xiao'e and Xiao Daiyu were jumping up and down with excitement, and Su Yourong's eyes were full of desire.
Di Luoxi waved her hand and said, "Let's all disperse. I want to take a bath with Xiao Longlong."
Di Luoxi pulled Long Chen into the bathroom, while Xuan Yi and Qing Yue Pidianpidian followed behind to enjoy themselves.
Wu Chuchu and Wu Xiangyun's eyes almost fell out.
"Sister Qian, does the princess really... take a bath with Master Long?"
Wu Chuchu felt incredible.
Even though Long Chen is an eunuch, he looks just like a man on the surface.
Zhang Qian smiled and said: "What's weird? It's always been like this. You want to take a bath with Master Long, but you haven't had the chance yet."
Wu Chuchu felt speechless, and Dugu Jiali felt even more speechless.
"Let's go, there is a bath in Qiuxing Hall, let's take a bath together."
Zhang Qian and the four beauties went to the bathroom of Qiuxing Palace together.
In the West Palace Bath, Xuan Yi and Qing Yue threw all Long Chen's clothes aside. Di Luoxi was already in the water.
"come over!"
Di Luoxi stretched out her slender hand, hooked her green-white fingers, and slid her tongue on her red lips, looking extremely charming.
