Chapter 699: How to award rewards, rebuke and punish
After Zhao Shen finished speaking, Zhang Jun and Shi Hao started thinking!
After a moment, Shi Hao spoke first and said, "Your Majesty, before this, I have already given Shen Tang many rewards.
Nowadays, Shen Tang is only in his weak years and is already a very popular minister, so I think it is not appropriate to reward him generously.
With Shen Tang's ability, he will definitely make great contributions to the Song Dynasty again in the future. If the reward is too heavy, how will your Majesty reward him in the future?"
There was a slight pause in the words, and then Shi Hao said in a serious voice again, "Even in the future, what will happen if Your Majesty has no seals and no rewards?"
"joke!"
As soon as Shi Hao finished speaking, Zhang Jun on the side spoke dissatisfiedly!
"The reason why His Majesty rewarded Shen Tang before was, firstly, to give Shen Tang a suitable status to fight for the country. Secondly, at the critical moment, Shen Tang rushed for the country. Although it was a matter of duty, it was enough to show his loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. This is also a reward given by His Majesty for his loyalty.
Moreover, because of the villain’s slander, all of Shen Tang’s official positions were wiped out, and the final facts proved that this matter was an injustice to Shen Tang, shouldn’t there be some compensation?”
"This time, Shen Tang has made great contributions. If he doesn't reward him, how can he show His Majesty's fairness?
Who will be willing to contribute to the country in the future?"
"Is it necessary to neglect a loyal minister who fought to the death for his country just because of a ridiculous reward?"
Zhang Jun and Shi Hao are both considered to be the main militant faction, and their relationship on weekdays is extremely harmonious, but this time they have conflicts on this matter! In fact, this is not unexpected! Shi Hao is a civil servant, but Zhang Jun is Military general! What Shi Hao said is not unreasonable, but what Zhang Jun said is definitely not nonsense! We have different positions and different opinions.
"Your Majesty, I think you should not only be rewarded, but also be rewarded heavily!"
Ignoring Shi Hao, Zhang Jun directly spoke to Zhao Shen, "It is rare for our Song Dynasty to win such a great victory in foreign campaigns. This is the glory of our Song Dynasty and the scenery of our Song Dynasty! It is because of Your Majesty that you reward Shen Tang so much." Rewards and punishments have their own measure! If we don’t reward them, wouldn’t it make our millions of soldiers of the Song Dynasty feel cold?
If there is no reward for such a great victory, then who of our Song Dynasty soldiers will be willing to fight to the death for the country in the future?
Who is willing to go to the bloody frontier!"
"This battle is easy to talk about, but we only vaguely see how brutal and difficult this battle is from the battle reports.
But, how much did Shen Tang and our Song soldiers pay?"
"It is not easy for ordinary people to borrow some money. Now Shen Tang is borrowing troops for the second time. Who knows the difficulty?
Leading troops to attack thousands of miles in ten days, even good horses have to run non-stop. Who knows the difficulty of this?
He had no soldiers, no generals, no money and no food! Even the veteran didn't know how Shen Tang persisted.
Although we, the Song Dynasty, won this battle, we still suffered tens of thousands of casualties! Was the blood of these tens of thousands of men wasted in vain?
If there is no reward, how can the souls of these soldiers who died in the battle be able to rest in peace?"
"Your Majesty, for the sake of our great Song Dynasty for thousands of generations, this must be rewarded, and it must be heavily rewarded!"
As a soldier, Zhang Jun can understand the hardships and difficulties of this battle! Others may only see the victory and defeat and some numbers, but he knows that behind these victory and defeat are the lives of tens of thousands of Song Dynasty soldiers. Yes, these simple numbers represent living lives! Therefore, he wants to be dissatisfied for Shen Tang and the soldiers of the Song Dynasty!
"Why!"
Zhao Shen sighed softly, "Zhang Aiqing, there is no need to be anxious! How could I not know this?
Rewards must be given, otherwise, wouldn’t it chill the hearts of our Song Dynasty soldiers?
As Aiqing said, if such great contributions are not rewarded, then how many people will be willing to contribute to the Song Dynasty in the future.
Shi Aiqing, you don’t need to say anything! Shen Tang is a loyal minister and a good general, not a treacherous minister. Although I dare not compare myself to the Qin Emperor and the Han Dynasty, I still claim to be the Qing Ming monarch. Therefore, what you are worried about will not happen.
Moreover, even if it does happen, it will be in the future, but it cannot be the reason for not being rewarded for this military achievement."
Shi Hao hesitated for a moment, but did not speak again.
In fact, he had no objection to being rewarded to Shen Tang. He just said what he just said to Zhao Shen out of the heart of a courtier!
Zhao Shen thought for a long time, and then said in a solemn voice, "Shen Tang is young after all, so there is no need to change his official position for the time being.
However, you can be awarded the title of Earl Shen Tang!"
The highest title in the Song Dynasty was king, but the title was basically exclusive to the royal family and was rarely awarded to foreign ministers.
Below the king is the duke! For ordinary ministers, it is extremely honorable to be awarded the title of duke! However, it is not easy to be awarded the title of duke.
Even if it is as decadent as the Song Dynasty, it still requires great merit to receive this award.
Below the Duke is the Marquis! Anyone who can be granted the title of Marquis is a veteran in the military or a top figure in the court.
And after the marquis comes the earl!
Zhao Shen was able to confer an earl title on Shen Tang, which means he paid great attention to Shen Tang!
Zhang Jun's eyes lit up and he nodded hurriedly! There are definitely two levels between being knighted and not being knighted. You must know that if it is just an official position, no matter how high it is, it will only be a temporary glory, but if you are knighted, even though it is not hereditary, it will not be hereditary. , and at least two or three generations of wealth.
"As for the details, the two beloved ministers will consider and discuss them before agreeing. The remaining gold and silver rewards and other rewards from the Shen family will remain as usual!"
Once the main problem is solved, the rest will be easy.
"So, how should we negotiate with the Song Dynasty and Tubo in the future?"
Zhao Shen asked again.
"We, the Song Dynasty, are a country of benevolence and righteousness. This war is about Tibet's invasion of our country, the Song Dynasty. Therefore, Your Majesty should issue an edict to rebuke!"
Shi Hao raised his hands and said!
Zhao Shen couldn't help but frown slightly when he heard this, and then he looked at Zhang Jun beside him.
Zhang Jun grinned, "Your Majesty, since Tubo has lost this battle, it will naturally have to pay a price! First of all, although this battle is about to end, almost all of the money and food consumed in this battle was Shen Tang's reliance on Lianli City. Only through the efforts of the Shao family and others can we persevere until now.
It is a taboo for a minister to raise an army on behalf of the emperor! Previously, the imperial court had no time to reimburse the army for military pay and food and grass, so this was just an emergency. However, the court should still compensate Shen Tang for the food and grass.
Moreover, Your Majesty promised that the food and grass for the troops sent by the Kingdom of Jin will also be supplied by the Song Dynasty!"
"Although there is no exact number yet, it is definitely a lot.
Since this war was entirely Tubo's fault, why should we, the Song Dynasty, waste it?
Therefore, Tubo should naturally compensate us, the Song Dynasty, for these money, grain and grass!"
"Secondly, this time Tubo killed our people of the Song Dynasty and invaded our territory of the Song Dynasty, so they should naturally be punished.
Since they were defeated, wouldn't it be appropriate to cede the plain land bordering the Song Dynasty to the Song Dynasty?
If you make a mistake, you have to bear the price. How can just a few words of scolding make Tubo feel pain?
Only severe punishment can let them know that I, the Song Dynasty, are not something they can offend."