Chapter 165: Combing Up and Down (Part 1)
Parading the troops and distributing rewards is undoubtedly a strenuous job.
From the high-ranking officials, ministers, and generals to the lower-ranking soldiers, everyone works very hard because everyone has to do a lot of repetitive work.
Of course, the soldiers below might feel better because they received real gold and silver rewards.
Relatively speaking, from Emperor Zhao's perspective, he should have had some spiritual satisfaction or some kind of compensation... For example, tens of thousands of victorious troops shouted "Long live the emperor" in unison, and the emperor rode his horse sideways along the banks of the Bian and Huang rivers, feeling heroic. As the saying goes, life is like this, what else can one ask for... This is nonsense!
To be honest, having experienced so many battlefields, especially having seen the scene of the Battle of Yanling where 70,000 to 80,000 troops launched a general offensive, Zhao Jiu didn't feel anything about this kind of military parade. After a whole morning and noon, he just felt tired.
The prime ministers, as well as officials from the provincial capitals and the Privy Council were in an even worse mood... because they were the ones who spent money, and seeing that the money was almost gone, everyone felt a little uneasy.
In fact, it stands to reason that the Song Dynasty must have money. The southeast, Jingxiang, Lianghuai, and Bashu were all saved, and the redundant officials and soldiers during the Jingkang Incident, as well as the waste of the royal family, were also solved by the Jurchens in disguise. According to past experience, as long as the transportation to the remaining places was connected, it would certainly be no problem to support the 200,000-strong army of the imperial camp... The two routes of Huainan alone cost millions of silk in a year. Is this false?
However, we must also see the current reality that Henan is empty and the southeast is not stable... If the southeast cannot be stabilized quickly, there will still be financial problems; as for Henan, to put it bluntly, it is a bottomless pit.
Therefore, after all the money and silk accumulated in Xiangyang and Nanyang were spent, people at all levels could not help feeling a little uneasy.
However, it must be said that this kind of uneasiness is essentially a kind of progress... When Emperor Zhao had people scrape off the Taoist golden body in Bozhou, and when all officials in Shunchang Prefecture shared two buckets of "Minister Jiang", they were at the end of their rope, but they didn't seem to have any uneasiness.
The current uneasiness is obviously because the Song Dynasty has regained the appearance of a formal court, and the specific troubles that have arisen from the idea of running a formal court.
As for the several ministers who caused a big commotion in front of the emperor last night, for some reason, they are more obedient than the others today.
Of course, there is also a lot of things that should be installed.
Han Shizhong, wearing a jade belt, with his chest and belly sticking out, was taken by the emperor to review the whole army, but he repeatedly stepped forward to hold the emperor's horse when Emperor Zhao got on and off the horse; Zhang Jun listened to someone's advice and actually gave half of the Shu brocade he received last night to reward his own troops who had worked hard in this battle; Li Yanxian had hung up the flag of "Mainstay" early, and just now he sat under the flag like a wooden sculpture...
But Yue Fei, Wang Yan, Wang De and Lu Xing were just being honest.
Let me tell you, there is a reason for this.
According to what Emperor Zhao said in the south of the city after his arrival yesterday, although it has not yet been implemented, there is no doubt about the first three of these generals, and the ranking is clear.
Han Shizhong was the Grand Tutor and the Jiedushi of two towns, ranking first;
Zhang Jun was the Grand Tutor and the Jiedushi of a town, so he was obviously the second;
Li Yanxian was only a military governor of a town, but he also had the title of Yongxing Army General and Pacifier, which was not in the military rank. Half of the Yongxing Army was still under the control of the Song Dynasty. This title was much more significant than Yue Fei's questionable pacification envoy and Wang Yan's governor of the enemy-occupied area. What's more, he was also the commander-in-chief of the imperial camp's central army.
Therefore, Li Yanxian is undoubtedly the third.
But later on, the ranking of Wang Yan and Yue Fei was deliberately vague by Emperor Zhao in order to protect Yue Fei, and there was not much discussion. In other words, it feels like there must be five of the so-called Four Heavenly Kings… Therefore, in today's military parade, it is basically the first three who are being honest and pretending, and the remaining four are just being honest. Even Wang De, who was the most noisy yesterday, seems to be pretending to be dead today.
In short, at this grand military parade held north of Heyin City and south of the Yellow River, because of their different identities, although everyone had their own thoughts, their attitudes were completely different.
However, today's protagonists are destined to be more than just these people, and today's highlight is not just the grand military parade that lasts from morning to noon.
In the afternoon, the military parade ended safely. Although there was not enough wine and meat, they still tried their best to hold a comprehensive banquet... Rewards, rewards, and a delicious meal was always indispensable.
Emperor Zhao himself also held a public imperial banquet on the reviewing stand. Unlike the small banquet last night, this time all the military commanders and above, including Niu Gao, whom Emperor Zhao had previously nominated for promotion to commander, and those generals in Yue Fei's army who were relegated to the commander level, such as Li Kui, Tang Huai, Li Bao, Li Zhang and others, that is, the powerful officers who actually led the troops, were all able to feast in front of the emperor.
The officials sat in the center, with the prime minister on the left, the general and the commander-in-chief of the imperial camp Wang Yuan on the right, the chief of the eunuch department and the deputy commander of the imperial guard standing by. Then the heads of the six ministries, nine temples, five prisons and six academies, the Hanlin scholars, and important officials of the Censorate followed the prime minister. Dozens of commanders and chief officers of various ministries followed the general... In total, there were more than a hundred seats, including those with real power, civil and military officials.
If Wanyan Talan had mustered up his remaining courage, launched a surprise attack, secretly crossed the Yellow River as a Meng'an, and then passed through the military camps that stretched for dozens of miles, and finally succeeded in raiding this place, I'm afraid the Song Dynasty would have really perished in Heyin... Of course, it's a good thing he didn't come.
After three rounds of drinking, to celebrate the emperor's birthday, to congratulate the great victory, and to mourn for the prime minister, everyone was a little drunk, but seemed a little restrained.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!
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