In the Jinluan Hall of the imperial palace, Prince Ji Yuan was sitting at the top. After Yanzhou's victory, he looked down at the ministers below with a good look on his face and a smile on his face.
"My dear friends, you must have heard about the great victory in Yanzhou yesterday, right?" Prince Ji Yuan asked with a smile.
After a pause, the prince continued: "Today's morning meeting, let's leave aside other matters for the time being. I mainly want to discuss with you dear ministers the matter of rewards based on merit."
At this time, Chen Yuanli, Minister of War, stepped forward and asked in a deep voice: "I wonder how Your Highness would like to award the reward?"
The prince said: "Yanzhou won a great victory in the first battle. All the soldiers sacrificed a lot. They shed their lives and blood for Daxia. Of course, I, Daxia, cannot treat them badly."
At this time, Uncle Dingyuan frowned slightly. He stepped out of the queue and said, "Your Highness, I have something to report."
"Say." The prince nodded slightly.
Uncle Dingyuan said: "I think you should not be rewarded."
When the prince heard this, he frowned and said, "Why?"
Dingyuan Bo said: "In the battle of Yanzhou, although I won the battle in Daxia, the victory was extremely difficult, and more than hundreds of thousands of people died. Adding in the dead soldiers, the number was over a million, not to mention the current situation.
Now that Yanzhou is in a state of ruin and waiting for development, the national treasury is empty, and there will be many places where the money will be used. Please take it back, Your Highness."
"I second the proposal." At this time, Uncle Wu Wei also came out and agreed with Uncle Dingyuan's point of view.
The prince frowned and said: "However, Yanzhou was a great victory and all the soldiers worked hard and made great achievements. If there is no reward, wouldn't it be unjustifiable?"
"I believe that they will understand His Highness's difficulties." Uncle Dingyuan lowered his head and said.
At this time, Uncle Wu Wei said: "Your Highness, given the current situation in Daxia, it is really not easy to be extravagant and wasteful. This reward can only be given verbally. It will not be too late to make up for it in the future."
The prince's face darkened and he said: "You also said that so many soldiers died in this battle. Could it be that they even risked their lives for Daxia, so I can only reward them verbally? And Duke Liang
, he also died on the border, do I also want to give him a verbal reward?!"
Uncle Dingyuan said loudly: "Your Highness, this matter is very easy. For Duke Liang, just give him a good posthumous title. After all, His Highness has repeatedly warned Duke Liang not to go, but it was Duke Liang who insisted.
So, no wonder Your Highness, there is no need for Your Highness to be sad."
"I second the proposal." Wu Weibo supported from the side.
Duke Liang had repeatedly opposed Uncle Dingyuan and Uncle Wu Wei in court. They had been unhappy with Duke Liang for a long time. Now that Duke Liang died at the border, not only did they not feel sad at all, but they felt happy.
"You mean to say that Duke Liang has lost his mind?" the prince asked in a deep voice.
"I don't mean that." Uncle Dingyuan shook his head.
The prince suppressed his anger and said: "What about Gu Chen? In the battle of Yulong City, he killed an army of 120,000 barbarians by himself. Shouldn't he also be rewarded?"
Speaking of Gu Chen, Uncle Dingyuan became even more excited. He said calmly: "Your Highness, it is completely untrue that Gu Chen killed an army of 120,000 barbarians. When manpower is limited, Gu Chen is not a martial arts master in the innate realm.
Grandmaster, what ability do you have to achieve this? Rumors in the market are always exaggerated, so please be sure not to believe them, Your Highness."
"The letter was written personally by Yan Jing, the envoy of Yanzhou Jingtiansi, to this palace. Could it be that he is exaggerating?" Upon hearing this, the prince snorted coldly, obviously very dissatisfied with what Uncle Dingyuan said.
Hearing Yan Qing's name, Uncle Dingyuan's expression froze. At this time, Uncle Wu Wei stepped forward to help him out of the siege and said: "Your Highness, once Yanzhou is lost, Yan Qing will be the one to blame. Now that Yanzhou has won a great victory, he is grateful.
It is right to seek more benefits for these people, but as the Crown Prince, His Highness should be able to distinguish right from wrong and make decisions based on the situation. Please think twice."
"Are you saying that I don't have the ability to distinguish right from wrong?" The prince's face darkened.
"I don't dare." Uncle Dingyuan and Uncle Wu Wei said in unison.
The prince never expected that after Yanzhou's great victory, these two people would dare to jump out and stop him. From the bottom of his heart, he hated Uncle Dingyuan and Uncle Wu Wei to the extreme.
He knew very well that these two people were very close to the eldest prince, and maybe they had secretly taken refuge in the eldest prince, so that was why they were like this.
In the court, because of the prince's character, his right to speak is indeed not very important.
At this time, I heard Uncle Dingyuan say again: "Your Highness, there is one more thing. If Gu Chen really massacred 120,000 barbarian troops, then this matter is worthy of consideration. This son is so murderous and has nothing to do with the Demon Sect.
What's the difference between evil and evil? Nowadays, the evil reputation of other people's massacre has spread all over the world. I, Daxia, are the orthodox people of the Central Plains. How can I tolerate such deeds? If word spreads, it will have a profound impact on Daxia and your highness's reputation.
."
The prince was really angry this time and laughed. He said, "According to your opinion, not only should I not reward Gu Chen, but I should also punish him?"
"That's very good." Uncle Dingyuan nodded, and Uncle Wu Wei seconded.
"Fuck your motherfucker!"
At this time, a military general couldn't bear it any longer. He stood up, pointed at the noses of Uncle Dingyuan and Uncle Wu Wei, and cursed: "Two old guys who have never been on the battlefield, the soldiers of the Great Xia on the border, and Duke Liang."
Where were you when I shed my blood for you? I am not enjoying the blessings in Tiandu! That's all. But when it comes time to award the reward, you stand up and obstruct it in every possible way, and you dare to say something wrong with Duke Liang. Since you know that Liang is
The Duke is old, why didn't you two dare to stand up and fight on the border for Daxia? I think you are just greedy for life and afraid of death!"
"How presumptuous! This is the Jinluan Palace. There is no room for you to say such dirty words. Someone, pull him down!" Uncle Dingyuan said in a deep voice.
"You are the one who is presumptuous, Uncle Dingyuan. What do you think of this place? I haven't spoken yet. Is it your turn to give orders?!"
The prince finally became angry. He stared at Uncle Dingyuan and Uncle Wu Wei coldly. After all, he was the prince, and he still had an aura about him.
When Uncle Dingyuan saw this, he quickly knelt on the ground and said respectfully: "I don't dare."
Uncle Wu Wei explained to him: "Your Highness, Uncle Dingyuan is just in a hurry. He made great contributions to Daxia when he was young. Please bypass him..."
"You two old people who rely on your old age and sell your old age are still bringing up the matter of sesame seeds and rotting millet with me? You two have made meritorious service on the battlefield, but what do Gu Chen and other soldiers mean to you? Come on,
Pull these two old guys away to me, I don’t want to see them!"
As soon as the prince finished speaking, the Imperial Guards immediately stepped forward and pulled Uncle Dingyuan and Uncle Wu Wei up.
Uncle Dingyuan and Uncle Wu Wei suddenly changed their expressions when they saw that the prince was really angry. In the past, the prince always looked weak. Even if he was not angry, he would not dare to show his anger in public.
The officials all knew the prince's character, and no one really took him too seriously.
If it were not for the support of King Huai, the prince would not be able to accomplish anything.
Compared to a thoughtful emperor, obviously, the ministers prefer a puppet-like human emperor, so that they don't have to worry about accompanying the emperor like a tiger.
This was the first time that the prince had become angry since he came to power. It was very rare. All the ministers were a little confused. No one stood up to speak for Uncle Dingyuan and Uncle Wu Wei.
The two of them knew that they had miscalculated. They did not expect that the prince would be uncharacteristically uncharacteristic and so tough today.
"Your Highness... Your Highness..."
No matter how Uncle Dingyuan and Uncle Wu Wei called, the prince ignored them. His expression softened somewhat only after the two men completely disappeared.
At this time, the prince looked at King Huai and said, "Uncle, how do you think this matter should be handled?"
When King Huai heard this, he said calmly: "That's what your Highness does."
"good."
The prince nodded, then took a deep breath and said: "As long as you are loyal to Daxia and you live up to Daxia, I will never let you down. I have ordered that everyone who participates in the battle of Yanzhou will have merit.
I will reward you based on your merits."
Immediately, in the Jinluan Hall, the chief companion of the East Palace gave different rewards according to what the prince had prepared in advance, from the guard envoy to every soldier.
As for the Duke of Liang, because he sacrificed his life for the country, the prince specially named him "King Zhongwu", and he was worthy of enjoying the imperial temple and being buried with generous gifts.
At the end of the day, it was Gu Chen's turn.
The head companion of the East Palace said in a unique high-pitched voice: "In the battle of Yulong City, Gu Chen risked his life and risked his life to defend Yulong City. At the same time, he also saved millions of innocent people. I would like to express my gratitude to him for his contribution."
Confer Gu Chen the title of Marquis of Wu'an!"
"Is it a Marquis?!"
Although the ministers all had a premonition that the crown prince's reward for Gu Chen would be unusual, they still did not expect that the crown prince would directly confer a title on Gu Chen.
Princes in their early twenties, no matter what dynasty or generation they belong to, are extremely rare.
This reward is not unimportant, and from this we can see how much the prince values Gu Chen.
King Huai agreed, and naturally no one among the ministers objected anymore. After all, they had all seen the prince's anger just now, and there was no need to bring trouble to the prince at this time.
Soon, the prince's reward was spread throughout the whole capital without intention, and everyone knew about the prince's reward for those who participated in the battle in Yanzhou.
…
Gu Mansion.
Today, Gu Chengfeng was taking a break and was practicing martial arts in the small courtyard of Gu Mansion, when a colleague suddenly came to the door.
"Lao Gu, Lao Gu, something big is coming to our door." Gu Chengfeng's colleague said excitedly.
"What happy event can I have?" Gu Chengfeng shook his head, with a hint of sadness on his brows.
Gu Chen has been going to Yanzhou for more than half a year now. During this time, Gu Chengfeng's family has been worried about not eating well and sleeping well.
Several times, Xu Qing'e woke up from nightmares, dreaming that Gu Chen's chest was cut open with a knife on the battlefield and he died an untimely death. His hot heart was eaten alive by the barbarians on the border.
In particular, bad news often comes from Yanzhou, how many people die every day, and where they are attacked by barbarians. Every time Gu Chengfeng's family hears the news about Yanzhou, they are frightened and pray in their hearts every time.
, I hope Gu Chen is okay.
It took a lot of effort to wait until the news of the great victory in Yanzhou came, but Gu Chen has not returned home for a long time. Without seeing Gu Chen for a day, Gu Chengfeng's family still felt uneasy.
As for the rumors about Gu Chen Rentu's name and the massacre of 120,000 barbarian troops in a single room, Gu Chengfeng didn't pay attention to it at all, didn't take it seriously, and didn't tell his wife and daughter.
He felt that these were pure nonsense and did not believe them.
"Lao Gu, your nephew has made his mark. Did you know that I have a brother who works in the imperial city? This morning, the prince rewarded everyone who participated in the battle of Yanzhou based on their merits. Your nephew has been made a marquis!"
"What?!"
When Gu Chengfeng heard this, he was immediately shocked. At this time, Xu Qing'e and Gu Qingyan's mother and daughter also came out of the back room and heard the news.
"What are you talking about? Da Lang (eldest brother) has been granted a title of marquis?!" The mother and daughter also looked shocked.
"Of course, this matter is absolutely true. It will spread all over the world in a short time. If you don't believe it, you can go out and ask later and you will find out." Gu Chengfeng's colleague said with determination.
But the next moment, the imperial edict from the palace arrived.
"Gu Chengfeng accepts the order."
Yanzhou is far away from Tiandu, and it will take some time until Gu Chen comes back, so the prince ordered someone to deliver the imperial edict to Gu's mansion first.
Gu Chengfeng, Xu Qing'e, and Gu Qingyan's family are still confused. They accepted the imperial edict in a daze until the father-in-law who read the edict left. They even forgot to give the wedding money.
Of course, the eunuch didn't dare to ask for it. After all, he was on duty in the palace, but he knew very well that Gu Chen was now a popular person in the eyes of the prince. As Gu Chen's family members, he naturally did not dare to offend Gu Chengfeng and others.
"Lao Gu, what's up? I told you I didn't lie to you, right?" Gu Chengfeng's colleagues winked at him and said, "When you become famous in the future, don't forget us old brothers."
Gu Chengfeng was confused, looking blankly at the imperial edict in his hand, and murmured: "Is Dalang a Marquis?"
The same was true for Xu Qing'e. Their whole family didn't react. After all, this incident was too sudden. Yesterday they were still worried about Gu Chen. But today, the imperial decree came and Gu Chen was made a marquis?
It wasn't until a long time ago that Gu Chengfeng's family confirmed that all this was true. However, they couldn't rest assured that Gu Chen failed to arrive in Tiandu one day. Even if they were granted the title of marquis, they were not very happy.
Now they just hope that Gu Chen can return safely.
Time passed, and a period of time passed in the blink of an eye. Finally, after more than a month or even nearly two months, Gu Chen and his party, who left Yanzhou, finally arrived in Tiandu on this day!