Great victory!
A rare victory!
Da Zhou, Bei Rong, and Xi Liang gathered more than 100,000 troops and fought a major battle on the prairie.
This battle lasted for nearly half a month.
The Duke of Lu personally supervised the battle, with Pei Meng as the vanguard, confronting the Beirong cavalry head-on.
Liu Zhao led his border troops to encircle the flank and ambush Xiliang halfway.
Blood flowed like a river and corpses were everywhere!
The sky and the earth changed color!
The green grassland was dyed red with blood.
The balance of victory tilted towards the Great Zhou.
As Xiliang retreated, Beirong had no choice but to retreat and retreat deep into the grassland.
Rest and recuperate, and fight again another day.
A large-scale field battle and victory over Beirong and Xiliang were rare in the hundreds of years of war history of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
In the past, victory meant holding the pass and the city, not surrendering and persisting until reinforcements arrived.
Now, the Great Zhou army took the initiative to walk out of the pass wall and won the war.
After several years of training, we finally achieved brilliant results.
The Great Zhou army was not only capable of fighting in the field, but also of winning battles.
When the news reached the capital, the whole city cheered and every household decorated their homes with lanterns and colorful decorations.
It was even more rare in the refugee camp, where thousands of fat pigs were slaughtered and all the refugees had a share, and everyone enjoyed the feast together.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees danced with joy.
Eating the greasy pork, every cell in my body is celebrating with excitement.
I haven't tasted meat for several months and I miss the delicious fatty meat very much.
Although each person only got a few slices of meat and a bowl of bone soup.
Everyone's face was filled with a sincere smile from the heart.
"The imperial army has won, and the battle is almost over. If we rush home now, we can still plant a new crop."
"Don't even think about going home yet. We've only temporarily repelled Beirong and Xiliang. Sooner or later, these two ambitious bastards will lead their troops south."
"So, this war is endless?"
"Haven't you heard that Beirong is so poor that they have nothing to eat? If they don't plunder our Great Zhou, they will starve to death. Only by killing all the Beirong people can this war be over."
"How many people are there in Beirong?"
"I'm not sure. With so many tribes combined, there must be at least 700,000 or 800,000 people."
"More than that! In the early years, Beirong abducted hundreds of thousands of civilians from border towns. After so many years of multiplication and development, I'm afraid they already have a population of over a million. My eldest brother-in-law's brother-in-law's cousin's uncle was a soldier. I heard that this time Beirong marched south, the people rushing in the front were all the Han people who were abducted to Beirong back then."
"Traitor running dog!"
"You've forgotten your roots!"
"He even forgot his ancestors. Such a person deserves to die."
The refugees were outraged.
"After so many years, the children of those who were captured have grown up. Now that Beirong has no food to eat, the first ones to be killed are the elderly Han slaves."
"Bei Rong is cruel and inhumane, killing people to save food, damn it!"
"It would be best to kill all the Beirong people, including those Han people who have forgotten their ancestors."
"It's not easy to kill all the Beirong people."
"It's not easy, but we have to kill him."
"And Xiliang. He's two-faced and a piece of shit."
"His Highness the Crown Prince is truly formidable. I heard he led a group of border troops who had only been training for over six months, and actually stopped 20,000 cavalrymen from Xiliang. He gave the Xiliang people a miserable defeat."
"His Highness the Crown Prince has made the greatest contribution this time. The newspapers all said that if the Crown Prince had not retreated to Xiliang in advance, once the Xiliang cavalry joined forces with Beirong, the Northwestern Army would have been defeated. The reputation of the Marquis of Lu would have been ruined in an instant."
"Don't listen to the nonsense in the newspapers. I don't believe that the border troops, who have been training for half a year, can match the prestigious Northwest Army. Even if Xiliang and Beirong join forces, the Northwest Army can still win this battle."
"You're just boasting. No matter how powerful the Northwest Army is, it can't take on Xiliang and Beirong alone. It's good enough that they can preserve their strength and retreat slowly."
"No matter what you say, in my eyes, the Northwest Army is the strongest, and Marquis Lu is mighty."
The refugees argued endlessly about who had made the greater contribution.
The court's attitude was unified and silent.
A great victory, worth celebrating.
However, the credit for this great victory cannot be attributed to the Duke of Lu, nor can the Duke of Lu and his son be praised.
The Northwest Army under the Marquis of Lu was too powerful to be controlled and only obeyed orders but not announcements.
Publicizing the achievements of the Duke of Lu would only bring trouble to oneself.
The imperial court will not do anything that will only end up hurting itself.
Then how about publicizing the achievements of the eldest prince Liu Zhao?
The court officials were all silent. It all depended on Your Majesty's attitude.
If Your Majesty has no objection, it would be a good idea to bring out His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for some publicity.
At least it can suppress the arrogance of the Northwest Army.
Now that they finally had a capable army, the court officials were finally free from the fear of being dominated by the Northwest Army for many years.
But looking at His Majesty's attitude, it seems that His Majesty is not very happy!
Your Majesty is really hard to please. You are not happy even after winning a battle.
The court officials secretly criticized Liu Zhao, but no one stood up to speak a fair word for him.
However, if you win a battle, you must reward people according to their merits.
If we don’t reward them, I’m afraid it will discourage people.
The court officials were like worms in Emperor Wende's stomach. Knowing that Emperor Wende was reluctant to award the title, they took the initiative to make the proposal.
"Why not follow last year's example and reward gold and silver."
The Ministry of Revenue was a little unhappy, but did not raise any objections.
Compared to titles, gold and silver are at least one-time transactions.
However, unexpectedly, Emperor Wende did not respond.
The ministers were surprised.
Could it be that the stingy Emperor Wende was not only unwilling to reward the title, but also unwilling to give gold and silver?
"Your Majesty, please decide how to reward your meritorious officials."
Emperor Wende left without saying a word.
Chang En shouted, "Withdraw from the court!"
Then he ran away too.
The court officials looked at each other in bewilderment.
The princes laughed secretly in their hearts.
No matter how great Liu Zhao's achievements were, he still could not gain the trust and favor of his father.
It’s better for them to stay in the capital. They don’t have to go to the front line to live a hard life, and they can often show their faces in front of the emperor.
Is Emperor Wende angry about rewarding meritorious officials?
Not exactly.
When Emperor Wende returned to Xingqing Palace, anyone with eyes could see that he was not angry.
"Has the secret letter arrived?"
Chang En bowed and nodded, then took out a keyed wooden box. He took out the key and opened it in front of Emperor Wende.
Emperor Wende took out the secret letter from the wooden box.
In the end, Emperor Wende still sent eunuchs to the border to supervise the troops.
The secret memorial in his hand was written by the military supervisor who was far away at the front line.
Emperor Wende opened the secret letter and read it carefully.
The war situation is no longer just a few brief sentences in the battle report.
The secret report detailed what the author had seen and heard, the conflicts between the two sides, how to achieve cooperation, etc.
No matter how big or small the matter is.
Emperor Wende watched and thought.
"It is still necessary to establish the Northwest Military Governor's Office. At least it can curb the expansion of the Northwest Army."
"Your Majesty is wise."
"Liu Zhao doesn't care about government affairs, he only cares about training troops and fighting wars. This is really wrong."
Chang En lowered his head, his lips twitching, and secretly complained in his heart: His Royal Highness the Crown Prince really dares to interfere in local political affairs, His Majesty will be anxious again.
"The Duke of Lu is indeed domineering, but his ability is unquestionable. This time, the battle plan was formulated by the Duke of Lu. He has a great sense of the overall situation and has made great contributions. However, I have no reward for him."
"Your Majesty, could you please follow the same approach as last time and reward us with gold and silver?"
"Such a great victory, simply rewarding the heroes with gold and silver is not enough to repay them."
"Your Majesty, what you say makes sense."
Chang En didn't dare to say anything more.
Emperor Wende walked back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back, thinking about this problem alone.
Meritorious officials should be rewarded, but how to reward them is a big question.
The title of Marquis of Lu, at least under Emperor Wende, was already the highest, and it was impossible for him to be promoted to Duke.
However, Pei Meng led the troops by example and deserves a generous reward.
There is also Liu Zhao, who has made such great contributions. We will have to rely on him to suppress the Northwest Army in the future, so he must be rewarded.
Emperor Wende already had an idea in mind.
"Summon Lord Lu, I have something important to discuss with him."
Lord Lu went to Xingqing Palace to meet the emperor.
The king and his minister closed the door and talked for two hours.
No one knows exactly what was discussed.
The next day, Emperor Wende summoned all the princes and grandchildren to test their knowledge.
Yu Ge'er is very low-key and tries to appear as mediocre as possible.
Emperor Wende did not comment on this, nor did he expose him.
Instead, she sternly scolded him, "You're young, but you have a lot of ideas. Why don't you want to go to the palace to study?"
Yu Ge'er secretly complained: He had clearly stated the reasons in the previous book, why is he suddenly asking again?
Yu Ge'er answered honestly, "Your Majesty, there are great scholars in Shanhe Academy. I want to verify their views."
What a load of bullshit.
Emperor Wende's beard twitched.
Just casually asking, "Who are you going to ask for confirmation?"
"Reporting to the Emperor, Grandfather, I intend to seek the confirmation of Mr. Sanyuan."
"It's a good idea, but it's too willful and naive. You're not sociable, understand?"
"My grandson will remember the teachings of my royal grandfather."
Emperor Wende waved his hand and did not delve into the matter. Instead, he continued to test the princes and grandchildren on their studies.
The court officials were confused as to what Emperor Wende was up to.
Instead of rushing to decide on rewards for meritorious officials, he was more interested in examining the performance of the princes and grandchildren. The court officials shook their heads in disbelief.
"Is Your Majesty trying to escape?"
Maybe it's possible.
"Escape won't solve the problem. Failure to reward such a great victory would only chill morale."
"Who is willing to go before the Emperor?"
"Let's go together, let's go together."
The thing that court officials loved to do most was to force the emperor to abdicate.
If the emperor could be forced to compromise, the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction would be unparalleled.
Of course, forcing the emperor to abdicate comes at a price.
If you meet a violent emperor, your head might fall off in a snap.
Therefore, forcing abdication requires careful timing and strategy.
The timing is just right now, and I believe those nobles and generals will come forward to help.
Ask the civil officials why they are so selfless and generous in seeking rewards for a group of military generals?
Of course not!
The fundamental purpose of the civil officials was to test Emperor Wende's bottom line.
This matter concerns the Marquis of Lu and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Both of them are hurdles that the emperor cannot get around.
This is a great opportunity. If I don't take advantage of it to test it out, all these years in officialdom would be in vain.
The civil servants were very cunning and submitted a letter to force the emperor to abdicate.
Emperor Wende kept all of them in his palace and did not send them out.
The more excited the civil officials became, the more they seemed to be pushing Emperor Wende into a desperate situation.
Just when they were getting ready to fight, two imperial edicts came like two bolts from the blue, knocking the court officials unconscious.
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