Chapter 738: Great Victory in the South
The He family's affairs were "perfectly" resolved. The divorce letter was carefully kept by the wife of Marquis Wenxin, and all her previous worries about Zhou Yuchang's future were gone.
Zhou Yuchang and her daughter's "illness" was cured without any medicine, and smiles appeared on their faces again. Tang Ning stayed in Rong's house to accompany Rong Yue and others for a few days, and went to the academy for a while. After meeting with Shi Changan and others, when she was about to return to the palace, good news came from the South.
The rebels were defeated and Marquis Wenxin captured King Pingshan alive.
The capital was already bustling with the New Year approaching, and the pacification of the war in the south brought even more joy.
The people don't care who the emperor is, nor do they care about the power struggles and conspiracies in the court. They just hope to live in peace and have peace in the world.
During the reign of the deposed emperor, the government was not clear. Xie Tianyong was obsessed with power and did not pay attention to the people's livelihood. Although the people were not living in dire straits under the power of the aristocratic families, the common people did not have a good life either. On the contrary, after the new emperor came to the throne, he suppressed the aristocratic families and restrained the court officials. Because his methods were too cruel, no one in the court dared to challenge him. Those officials who occasionally bullied others in the past also seemed particularly "well-behaved".
There was heavy snow outside the capital and the court provided timely disaster relief. Without the power of the aristocratic families, even the merchants had a much better life. In addition, there was the previously announced imperial examination and this great victory in the south.
The new emperor was deeply loved by the people and his reputation among the people rose to a new level.
After the morning court session, Xiao Yan kept several old ministers including Cao Dejiang and Liang Guangyi to discuss the follow-up of the war.
Liang Guangyi looked at the emperor sitting high on the throne and felt so powerless for the first time. They knew that the situation was over. This young emperor had already firmly established himself in this position. Both the court power and the military power were in his hands. Now he had the hearts of the people.
No matter how reluctant they were, they had no choice but to bow to the emperor.
A rare smile crossed Xiao Yan's face. "A great victory in the South. Marquis Wenxin has sent word back to the capital. He will be returning to the capital with Prince Pingshan soon."
"Congratulations, Your Majesty." Everyone bowed their heads, and someone said, "Your Majesty, to receive this good news before your coronation ceremony is truly blessed by God."
Xiao Yan frowned at this. "The victory in the South was achieved thanks to Marquis Wenxin, General Yin, and the bravery of so many soldiers who fought bravely on the battlefield without regard for their lives. What does this have to do with me?"
The person who spoke suddenly froze.
Xiao Yan glanced at him and stopped talking, turning to the others. "Now that the rebels in Pingyang County have been eliminated, and Shuipan, Yuanchuan, and Longkang have all been recaptured, Lord Cao, please discuss with Lord Liang and the Ministry of Personnel and quickly select suitable officials to take over these areas."
"Also, regarding the Ministry of War, the Pingyang County garrison was instigated by the King of Pingshan to revolt. The leader has been captured, and all his troops have surrendered. The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel will discuss and select a suitable candidate for me within three days. I will reorganize the garrison as quickly as possible without any mistakes."
The people from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel were all nervous and quickly said yes.
Xiao Yan looked at Qian Baokun again and said, "Minister Qian, select two people from the Ministry of Revenue. Once the new officials for the Southern Territory are appointed, they will go with them to Pingyang County to settle the accounts of the Pingshan Palace and the three prefectures of Longkang, as well as the post-war losses and the compensation owed by the court."
Qian Baokun said seriously: "Yes."
Xiao Yan gave the instructions in an orderly manner, one item at a time, to each person.
The people below, who had originally thought they could relax a little after the war, felt the pressure surge up again after hearing the new instructions.
When they came out of the imperial study, the people who were happy before all had bitter faces.
"Isn't our Majesty a little too diligent? The war in the South has finally ended, and the New Year is coming soon. Can't he take it easy?"
"Yes, the coronation ceremony will be held in five days. Your Majesty, can't you take a break?"
"Still resting? Your Majesty is treating us like donkeys."
The person who was speaking was the new Minister of War, Yan Bai. As happy as he was when he was favored by the new emperor and surpassed others to get the position of Minister, he was just as tired now.
Yan Baiben is a practical man, and he is happy to meet a wise master who appreciates him, but he cannot treat people like donkeys. Since he became the Minister of War, he has lost a lot of weight in just over a month. His originally plump cheeks have become sunken, his face is sallow, and the dark circles under his eyes are almost hanging on the bridge of his nose.
He had not returned home for six or seven days in a row, and his wife thought he had a mistress.
Yan Bai seemed to have been drained of energy, and his words were weak: "Lord Cao, please persuade His Majesty to let him rest. The affairs of the court cannot be completed in a short time, and there are still many days to come..."
If they die of exhaustion, where can Your Majesty find such a good sucker?
Cao Dejiang chuckled when he heard this: "Isn't it good for Your Majesty to be diligent in government?"
"It's good, but it's too frequent..." someone muttered.
Most of them are honest people, and some of them were promoted later. However, no matter how diligent a person is, he does not want to die of exhaustion in office.
Seeing that they all looked listless, Cao Dejiang softened his smile, sighed softly, and said, "Your Majesty also wants to rest, and doesn't want to force you all like this, but time is of the essence. I'm sure you all know the news that came back from the northwest a few days ago."
The expressions of the people who had originally complained changed.
A few days ago, news came back from the northwest that Beiling suddenly made an unusual troop movement and pretended to attack Luoyan Pass. Di Shuangcheng led his troops to meet the enemy, but he did not expect that the Beiling bandits would make a feint and send their elite advance troops to bypass Luoyan Pass and attack the border town of Zhaozhou. Even though the Longting Guards and Zhen'an Army sent reinforcements in time to save Zhaozhou, there were still heavy casualties on the other side.
The two border towns below Zhaozhou were completely looted, and no one survived wherever the Beiling cavalry passed.
The massacre of the city by foreigners was extremely brutal.
When the news reached the capital, His Majesty was furious, and the generals in the court even clamored to fight Beiling to death to seek justice. However, the war in the south was not over at that time, and the new emperor and the deposed emperor were fighting. Xie Tianyong's private army was still being confiscated. The southern border was already in the midst of war. If the north broke out again, it would be difficult to support it in terms of manpower, material resources and troops.
The matter was suppressed in the court, and only some important civil and military officials knew about it. When Cao Dejiang mentioned it, everyone stopped complaining.
Cao Dejiang looked at the group of people who had calmed down and said, "Your Majesty needs to pay attention to everything in the court. He is more tired than anyone else, but the current situation does not allow for complacency. Now that the war in the south is settled, given Your Majesty's temperament, he will definitely fight Beiling. You all should also know the importance of this matter."
"Furthermore, Your Majesty has always been clear about rewards and punishments. Although you are a bit busy, Your Majesty will definitely not treat you lightly."
Everyone fell silent after hearing this. His Majesty treated them very well indeed. Although those who did wrong would not have a good ending, as long as they did their job diligently, they would all be rewarded.
Your Majesty is generous and never treats people harshly. Not only have salaries increased, but daily rewards are also extremely generous.
Although these people were tired, they all received large sums of money as "compensation". This was different from the previous corruption. It was earned through hard work and was used openly without any need to hide.
Yan Bai and the others who had complained of being tired earlier all had a look of guilt on their faces.
Cao Dejiang stopped when he saw that things were going well, and said with a relaxed expression: "Alright, everyone go back and finish the work at hand. Don't make any mistakes."
Everyone responded.
"yes."
Qian Baokun stood aside and watched Cao Dejiang fool people with just a few words, feeling full of guilt, and silently gave him a thumbs up.
Liang Guangyi, however, watched the crowd disperse and sarcastically said to Cao Dejiang, "Lord Cao is really good at winning people's hearts for Your Majesty."
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