Chapter 286 Everyone Has Their Own Desires
Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall turned their eyes to Huo Zheng.
When the emperor rewarded Shao Feiyang and others just now, he did so according to the decree that had been prepared long ago. Only Jiang Hao was the most special. He was the adopted son of the rebel leader Cao Jing, but he suddenly killed his father to seize power and defected to the court. Although he had made great contributions, this man even killed his adoptive father at will. If he was reused, there was no guarantee that he would not be retaliated against in the future.
As soon as the emperor opened his mouth, he threw this hot potato to Huo Zheng.
After all, Jiang Hao said that he had defected to the imperial court, but in fact, at that juncture he had defected to the King of Chang'an.
If Huo Zheng was unwilling to argue for him in the Council Hall, then the emperor would just give Jiang Hao a reward and take away his men. Jiang Hao would at most be a rich and idle man in the future, and he wouldn't even know when he would die.
Jiang Hao knew it in his heart, but he did not show any emotion at the moment. He just looked at King Chang'an quietly.
Huo Zheng naturally understood this very well. He stepped out of the group and bowed in reply to his father, "The credit for suppressing the rebellion in Xizhou so thoroughly belongs entirely to Jiang Hao. I hope your Majesty will reward him accordingly."
He did not say how the reward would be given, and threw the subject back to the emperor.
The emperor was very satisfied with Huo Zheng's tact. If Huo Zheng proposed to give Jiang Hao a certain rank at this time, it would be suspected that he regarded him as a cronies.
But if he didn't respond to this question, it meant that Jiang Hao was not his confidant.
The emperor said in a deep voice, "Since that's the case, then I'll reward Jiang Hao according to his merits and confer him the rank of Third Rank General Pingxi."
The court officials were immediately in an uproar when they heard this:
"Third rank?"
"From being a rebel leader to becoming a third-rank official in the imperial court, there's no precedent like this in our dynasty!"
"Your Majesty, please reconsider..."
Some of the ministers said that Jiang Hao had made great contributions and deserved such a reward, while others said that it was too much to confer him a third-rank rank right away, and asked the emperor to think twice before making a decision.
The emperor said: "Those who have made contributions to the court should be rewarded generously. You ministers do not need to persuade us any further."
The ministers finally stopped thinking.
Jiang Hao then stepped forward and saluted the emperor, "Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace."
"Get up." The emperor said and glanced at Eunuch Xu beside him.
Eunuch Xu understood and immediately said loudly: "If you have something to say, please speak again. If not, please withdraw."
The most important thing today is to reward those who have made contributions to Xizhou. Now that the rewards have been given, the only thing left is who Princess Xiling will marry.
Prince Chang'an refused to marry her and would rather offend the emperor than not be with his beloved wife and young son.
The remaining candidates...
As soon as Grand Tutor Wang mentioned this matter, the emperor frowned, said that the matter should be discussed later, and then withdrew from the court.
The emperor left the dragon throne, and the ministers bowed and left the council hall. The ministers who had just kept their distance from Jiang Hao came forward to congratulate the upstart.
"Congratulations, General Pingxi."
"The general is a young and talented man. It's truly a cause for celebration!"
On the contrary, Huo Zheng, who was conferred the title of King of Xizhou, was much quieter around him. Several old ministers who thought that he would become the crown prince due to his great contribution in pacifying Xizhou looked at him with extremely regretful eyes, bowed to him and left one after another.
Even though Huo Zheng had already told his subordinates not to get too close to him in public and to act distant, it was still too cold.
Only Shao Feiyang followed Huo Zheng unwaveringly and walked with him.
Shao Feiyang looked at those people flattering Jiang Hao and distancing themselves from Prince Chang'an, and his face couldn't help but look a little ugly.
Huo Zheng smiled and said to him, "It's extremely rare for you to become a fourth-rank general at your age. You should be happy."
"I feel sorry for the prince," Shao Feiyang said, "The prince was the one who made the greatest contribution to the pacification of Xizhou, but now Jiang Hao has taken advantage of it!"
Huo Zheng said calmly, "You can't say that. Everyone has their own wishes. It's good enough if they are fulfilled."
As the two of them walked out together, Rui Wang Huo Yang suddenly caught up with them, "Seventh brother, wait a minute."
Huo Zheng heard the voice and turned to look at Huo Yang, "Brother Rui Wang, please walk slowly and be careful with your legs."
Prince Rui Huo Yang had been recovering for several months since he broke his leg in a fall from a horse. He had just put down his crutches a few days ago, and he was still limping a little when he caught up.
He acted so sincerely that he was seriously injured and has not recovered yet.
"My body is really useless. I haven't recovered after so long. Unlike my seventh brother, who can do anything without any problem."
Prince Rui has lost a lot of weight since he fell off a horse and injured his leg. He has not attended court for a long time. Today, because Huo Zheng returned, he followed him to the Council Hall to attend court.
The person who was originally supposed to go to Xizhou to quell the rebellion was Prince Rui Huo Yang. However, he fell off his horse and was seriously injured shortly after leaving the palace, so Huo Zheng went to Xizhou instead.
The emperor was not stupid. Although he did not find any evidence that Huo Yang had hurt himself, he was quite disappointed with his son. His attitude towards him had been to turn a blind eye to him recently.
Huo Yang also felt regretful. If he had known that Jiang Hao would kill the rebel leader and surrender to the court, he would have gone to Xizhou to quell the rebellion.
The great achievements that Huo Zheng made in Xizhou should have been his.
In other words, Huo Zheng himself was confused. He did not want the country but the beauty. He rejected the marriage proposal of Princess Xiling and wanted to take his wife and children to Xizhou to be a vassal.
Huo Yang looked at Huo Zheng in front of him, feeling deeply moved. He said, "If I hadn't suddenly fallen off my horse and injured my leg, I wouldn't have had to trouble my seventh brother to go to Xizhou and endure so much hardship and suffering on my behalf."
Shao Feiyang got angry when he heard this. What did you mean "go for him?"
Huo Zheng used his eyes to soothe Shao Feiyang, and said calmly, "Brother Rui Wang, you are too kind. I went to Xizhou to do those things for the country and the people's livelihood, not entirely for you, Brother Rui Wang. There is no need for you to blame yourself so much."
Huo Yang couldn't help but pause when he heard him say this, then slowly said: "Seventh Prince, you really care about the people."
"I'm just doing my best." Huo Zheng said, "I have something important to attend to, so I'll be leaving first. Brother Rui, please take good care of your injuries and make sure you don't get a relapse."
Huo Yang felt miserable, but he still had to put on a smile, "Seventh Prince, go ahead and get busy."
Shao Feiyang and Huo Zheng strode away together, leaving Prince Rui Huo Yang, whose leg injury had not yet healed, behind.
Huo Yang turned around to look at Jiang Hao who was surrounded by ministers. He wanted to go over and say a few words, but just as he took a step, he saw Eunuch Xu coming with two eunuchs and rescuing Jiang Hao from the crowd.
Eunuch Xu said, "General Pingxi, please stay. The Emperor has summoned you."
The ministers stepped aside very consciously. Jiang Hao said "Excuse me" to everyone and followed Eunuch Xu away.
Huo Yang turned around and left the palace again.
At this time, at the palace gate, Shao Feiyang jumped on his horse and continued to follow behind Prince Chang'an.
Huo Zheng smiled and said, "I'm going to the Song residence for a banquet. Where are you going?"
Shao Feiyang smiled and said, "I'm going to the Song residence for the banquet too."
Huo Zheng was slightly surprised. "When did you become so close to the Song family?"
"Last night." Shao Feiyang said, "The princess asked me to take Miss Song back to the Song residence. Miss Song personally invited me to attend the banquet today."
"I see."
Huo Zheng understood as soon as he heard it.
Chunzhi has chosen Shao Feiyang for Song Wan'er and is already trying to arrange a marriage.
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