The emperor winked and whispered to Eunuch Zhang to investigate.
Eunuch Zhang didn't even need to investigate, he just told the story of how Lu Yan broke into the Marquis's mansion at night after the Crown Prince and Qin Wan's marriage was settled.
The emperor calculated the time and was speechless: "This kid is really vindictive."
The two men did not avoid Qin Zhan when talking, after all, it was his house that Lu Yan broke into.
Qin Zhan gloated over his misfortune. "He deserves it, but what on earth did His Royal Highness the Crown Prince do? He's so busy right now, how could he have the time to set a trap for Marquis Pingyang?"
The fruit had been washed, cut, and tested for poison, and was served. Eunuch Zhang took the fruit and placed it next to the emperor, saying with a smile, "Look at what you said. Does His Royal Highness really need to do this himself? With just a word from His Royal Highness, the Young Master of Duke Du's Mansion can do it."
"Oh? Tell me about it." The emperor also became interested and wanted to hear some gossip. He picked up a grape and took a bite. "Sweet! So sweet! Delicious!"
Eunuch Zhang handed the emperor a handkerchief. The grapes were sweet and juicy. He took a bite, and the juice overflowed. He smiled and said, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that now that the world is at peace, it's difficult for soldiers to get promoted in the army, so he's holding a military competition. Judges from the five armies can also participate. The first place winner will receive a reward of 1,000 taels of gold."
Eunuch Zhang held up a finger.
One thousand taels of gold is ten thousand taels of silver.
Lu Yan was a judge, which was a position and also a general term for the entire government office. There were a total of 41 judges, scattered in the military throughout the country. Lu Yan was in charge of all the judges, experiencers, governors and other officials of the Five Military Commandery.
In the position of judge, it is not easy to make achievements without going to the battlefield.
The last time Lu Yan went to Shenyang to provide disaster relief, it was a rare opportunity to make merit. He did make merit and was rewarded, but although the reward seemed generous, he actually didn't get any of it.
He promoted his fifth sister in the palace and gave a dowry to his married eighth sister. Not only did he give him enough face, but he also promoted him to a nominal position. This position only sounded good, but there was no actual salary.
The emperor's reason was also very fair. That is, Lu Yan had just been promoted, and it would be inappropriate for him to be promoted again and transferred from the position he was familiar with. Therefore, he gave him great respect to benefit his family. As for the others, who benefited their families because of this disaster relief? None.
Lu Yan had no words to express his grievances, he would rather exchange these rewards for silver.
Because he had to pay back 100,000 taels of silver to the emperor. If the emperor rewarded him with tens of thousands of taels, wouldn't the money come out?
Now, not only is there no reward, but the debt is also being demanded, and the news has been made known to the whole world, letting the people know that Marquis Pingyang owes the national treasury one hundred thousand taels of silver.
Lu Yan sold a lot of things and shamelessly accepted the silver given by his two wives at home. Only then did he collect enough silver to give to the Ministry of Revenue.
Lu Yan is very short of money now, so this military competition is open to experienced judges and governors. As the leader of the judges, he can naturally participate as well, and he will definitely participate.
The emperor was not familiar with Lu Yan's martial arts skills. "Oh? The Marquis of Pingyang has been at the border for eight years, so his martial arts skills must be quite good. He's definitely going to win the prize money for this competition, right?"
Qin Zhan sneered without waiting for Eunuch Zhang to reply.
The emperor looked at him in surprise: "My dear minister, do you seem to have something to say?"
Qin Zhan was very casual with the emperor, speaking boldly and without holding back: "That Pingyang Marquis may be good at deploying troops, but his leg skills are very weak. He couldn't beat my Wan'er when they were young, and he couldn't beat her when he grew up. He couldn't even beat Wan'er, so isn't he getting beaten in a military competition?"
Eunuch Zhang suppressed a laugh and said, "Your Majesty is right. Pingyang Hou's martial arts skills are not good, so Prince Lu found some people to beat Pingyang Hou first, and then pretend to be defeated by him with one blow."
Qin Zhan strongly disagreed with this approach, saying it was dishonorable: "Once or twice, it's fine if he can't see it, but if it happens too many times, how could he not know that there's something fishy going on?"
The emperor knew what Xie Qing was thinking. He nodded at Qin Zhan and said, "It won't be too obvious."
"Yes, Your Majesty truly understands Your Highness." Eunuch Zhang smiled and said, "The competition has a certain number of defeats. A few defeats will place you in the losers' bracket, and a few victories will advance you. The losers' bracket can also have a revival match, and this can repeat several times..."
The emperor was really interested: "So where is the progress now?"
Eunuch Zhang pulled a competition schedule from his sleeve and presented it to the emperor. "Look, it's been a month now, and we're halfway through the tournament. Now it's the 18-to-15 round. In another half a month, it's the 15-to-10 round. On the third day after each round, there's a resurrection match, and those who resurrect will advance. Oh, and your majesty, the finals are on Mid-Autumn Festival. Would you like to go?"
The emperor looked at the match schedule. Eunuch Zhang was always considerate. In each match, Lu Yan's wins and losses, as well as the win and loss numbers of the soldiers with outstanding performance, were all recorded on the schedule.
The emperor was truly tempted at this moment. "Okay, we'll go and see when the time comes. Order, first place will receive an additional reward of 500 taels of gold, second place, 400 taels, and so on. Fifth place, 100 taels. Fifth to tenth place, 100 taels of silver each."
Eunuch Zhang bowed and replied, "Yes, I will send someone to tell Prince Du right away. The soldiers in the army will be pleased."
Although this match seemed to be aimed at tormenting Marquis Pingyang, wasn't it also an opportunity for the unknown soldiers in the army to come forward?
Look at these highly skilled soldiers, some of whom are still small soldiers, fighting for a future for themselves in the arena in a fair and honest manner.
In the eyes of the emperor, these soldiers were also fighting for a future for the Great Zhou Dynasty - only with good soldiers could the border be stable.
Qin Zhan's blood boiled with excitement. "What a shame! The registration period has passed. Otherwise, I have a few useless clansmen in the army, and I would have let them sign up as well."
The emperor got angry whenever he mentioned this. He glared at Qin Zhan and said, "Isn't it because you Qin family members are cautious? The Qin County Princess is just a woman, and her martial arts are so good. How could the members of your family be any worse? You just like to hide your strength and bide your time. If I don't say I want to use you, you won't show up!"
Qin Zhan showed a silly smile: "Your Majesty, you are wrong. It is because our clansmen are not good at martial arts and are afraid that if they act rashly, they will not be able to defeat others and thus bring disgrace to our ancestors. Your Majesty, I suddenly remembered that I have something else to do, so I will leave first."
After showing off enough, he also learned the whole story of how Xie Qing punished Lu Yan. Now that it involved a sensitive topic, Qin Zhan retreated decisively and went home to tell Qin Wan about it. She would definitely be happy!
Isn’t it?
Qin Wan was delighted to hear this: "There's a half-month interval between each round. As long as he's not injured or broken, he'll be almost fully recovered in half a month. Even if he's a little more seriously injured, half a month's recuperation will allow him to hold on for another round. If he keeps fighting like this, the Marquis of Pingyang will suffer."
Qin Zhan felt that this method was a bit insidious: "Actually, we can just pick a fight with him. This method is a bit damaging after all."
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