Chapter 177 Reward
Music and dancing at night, the fragrance of bamboo.
The emperor, sitting alone at the top, was wearing a scarlet dragon robe with golden dragons embroidered on it with gold thread. It looked exceptionally bright and luxurious under the sunlight. He had a smile on his face, and seemed to be in a very good mood.
After appearing at the palace banquet, the emperor offered three times the amount of wine to the meritorious officials below, and Wu Yue played music together, which made the palace full of joy. The wine and food at the banquet were endless.
The war that had caused turmoil in the Great Zhou for so long and resulted in countless casualties, now faded away, leaving only the pleasant music and singing.
Just as Prince Cheng guessed, the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince did not attend the palace banquet held for rewards, and when the Emperor appeared, he was not accompanied by any of the princes.
After another round of drinking, the highlight finally arrived.
The emperor put down his wine glass and said with a smile, "The Xianbei violated the law and turned against their master. Their intentions are despicable. Thanks to Lin'er, the Great Zhou was able to recapture the three cities of Yunzhou and defeat the Xianbei."
"Now that the Xianbei army has been defeated and their commander has been executed, I'm sure the Xianbei won't dare act so recklessly again within the next ten years."
"I am deeply pleased to have you all here in the Great Zhou. It's a pity that General Meng is stationed at the border and has not returned. I cannot thank you in person. This is truly a great regret in my life."
"Come, I'll toast you all again for the Great Zhou." The emperor raised his glass again.
All the civil and military officials naturally stood up quickly and drank the glass of wine.
Some speculated on the emperor's intentions and said aloud: "This time we were able to defeat the Xianbei and make them dare not commit crimes again. This is thanks to Prince Cheng and Prince Xi. Your Majesty is wise and knows how to use people well. This is why the Xianbei tribe has been unable to return."
The emperor laughed heartily three times, nodded, and said, "Indeed, Afang and Ajun are still so young, yet they have achieved such military exploits. This shows that they are both skilled in both civil and military affairs, and are truly the pillars of our Great Zhou."
After saying this, the emperor looked at Prince Cheng with an extremely kind look in his eyes: "Fang'er, in the past, I only thought you were absurd, but I didn't know your inner beauty. It is your father who has delayed you all these years."
Prince Cheng simply smiled and said, "Father, I was too young in the past and didn't know how powerful I was. My actions were indeed absurd. I must thank you for your kindness, for giving me this opportunity."
The emperor laughed heartily and said, "Young man, a few years of foolishness are nothing. Now you are all right."
Prince Rong must have been seriously ill. His face looked even uglier than that of a wounded soldier. He coughed and said with a smile, "Brother Your Majesty, I think the Fifth Prince bears some resemblance to the late Emperor."
"Indeed." The emperor laughed.
Prince Rong added, "But my Royal Brother, the Fifth Prince has made such great contributions. You can't just praise him a few times and let it go. Even if he is one of your own, you must clearly distinguish between rewards and punishments."
The emperor nodded and said, "Indeed, it's not just Fang'er. Anyone who has made military achievements this time will be generously rewarded."
He turned and glanced at Eunuch Li, who handed a scroll to Grand Tutor Zhang.
When Grand Tutor Zhang stood up, his movements were a little shaky, but his expression remained unchanged after he opened the imperial edict. It was obvious that the emperor had already prepared the imperial edict before these people came back.
"By the Will of Heaven, the Emperor declares: I ascended the throne at a young age, and the world was at peace. Yet, the Xianbei rebelled. Prince Cheng and Prince Xi led their armies into battle, achieving remarkable feats. Their courage and spirit have been galvanized, and they have lived up to my expectations!"
"He went north to Yunshan, and his bravery surpassed the entire army. His meritorious service was outstanding. He is the son of the Qilin of the Great Zhou. I highly commend him, and therefore drafted this edict to confer him the title."
"Prince Cheng, Qin Fang, my fifth son, is unwavering in his resolve, and unmoved by great persecution. He closely resembles me, and I bestow upon him the title of Prince Cheng, commanding an army of 100,000 men. I hope you will continue your efforts and forge ahead."
Everyone knew that the emperor would bestow lavish rewards, but no one expected that he would directly confer the title of prince on the fifth prince. You must know that there are very few princes in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and those with different surnames have all disappeared. There is only one prince with the same surname, Prince Rong.
You must know that although the emperor is easy to talk to, the fourth prince has not been given a title over the years, while the fifth prince has come from behind and become the only prince of their generation.
If this was not unexpected enough, then the subsequent reward from Prince Xi was even more shocking.
"Prince He Jun of Xi, my nephew, is a brave warrior with great resourcefulness. He is promoted to Grand Marshal and transferred to the post of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War!"
Even though he was mentally prepared, when he read out this sentence, Grand Tutor Zhang's voice was a little trembling. The Minister of War was still Song Wei. Song Wei was the emperor's man and was always impartial.
But who is He Jun? He has been a staunch supporter of the Fifth Prince since he was a child. Could it be that after this incident, the emperor has made up his mind to support the Fifth Prince to ascend the throne?
Not only Grand Tutor Zhang made such a guess, but all the other civil and military officials also thought so.
For He Jun himself, this was not actually an imperial edict. After all, he was previously the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, a second-rank official, while the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War was only a third-rank official.
But everyone knows that he is the boss in the Censorate. That is just a show put up by the emperor. In fact, the one in charge of the Censorate is the Right Censor-in-Chief. But it is different in the Ministry of War. Their He family was born to lead troops and command generals!
Su Fengzhang was sitting not far from He Jun, and he heard He Jun's breathing suddenly become rapid. It was obvious that this was also a great opportunity for him.
The rewards continued, but gradually, Su Fengzhang heard something amiss. Rather than being a reward for this victory, it would be more accurate to say that the emperor was taking the opportunity to make a major reshuffle in the court.
Suddenly, Su Fengzhang heard his own name.
"Su Ziqing is a man of both civil and military talents, capable of safeguarding the country. He was promoted to Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and his father, Su Wenhui, was given the rank of Zhengyi Dafu, and his mother, Zhao, was given the rank of Third Rank Lady..."
If Su Fengzhang had not lived two lives and seen big scenes, he would have exclaimed in surprise.
Although novels and TV shows often feature plots of officials being promoted three levels, in reality, it was not easy to get promoted in ancient times. The probability of gaining seniority was much higher than that of getting a promotion.
Not to mention that less than a year ago, Su Fengzhang was promoted and was able to join the delegation.
And now, with just one sentence, the emperor threw him into the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. That was the Ministry of Revenue, the most lucrative ministry in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the Right Vice Minister was a third-rank official.
Su Fengzhang stood up woodenly to express his gratitude. Compared to sending He Jun to the Ministry of War, sending him directly to the Ministry of Revenue was even more controversial. At this time, the looks of many civil servants who looked at him had changed.
Su Fengzhang took a quick look and did not see the Minister of Revenue, Lord Xu Siyuan, who was supposed to be his immediate superior. Not only that, only four of the six ministers had come.
Before departure, the relationship between the crown prince and the military supply case, the relationship between Xu Shangshu and the fourth prince, and the relationship between Song Shangshu and the emperor quickly formed a complex and messy web.
Su Fengzhang looked up at Prince Cheng next to her. No, now she should call him Prince Cheng. Moreover, she was about to become the only prince who could hold military power during the Xuanwu period of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Although the emperor did not dismiss Song Wei directly, he first deprived him of his military power and threw it to Prince Cheng. He also stuffed He Jun, who had just made military achievements and was from the He family, into the Ministry of War. It can be seen that Lord Song had lost the emperor's favor.
Getting promoted and getting rich should make people happy. When they were in the palace, those who were awarded titles were all excited, but when they walked out of the palace, they couldn't help but look gloomy.
Su Fengzhang left alone, while Prince Cheng and Prince Xi were left behind by the emperor, presumably to continue enjoying family happiness.
As soon as he walked out of the city gate, Su Fengzhang saw a familiar voice and figure. Su Arong walked over quickly, suppressing his excitement and shouting: "Erlang, congratulations on your safe return home."
Seeing him, Su Fengzhang couldn't help but reveal a relaxed smile and said, "Let's go home."
Su Arong drove the carriage away slowly, unable to help saying, "I'm afraid the old lady must be getting impatient. Erlang, you were so impressive when you entered the city earlier. We were all watching you from upstairs."
Seeing familiar people, Su Fengzhang also relaxed: "Are you here too? It's a pity that I didn't see you."
Su Arong laughed and said, "It's just upstairs on the street. It's normal that you didn't see it with so many people. The ladies were very happy to see it. They kept praising you along the way. It's just that you have lost a lot of weight in the past few months."
He just lost weight. He had to march, fight, and cross snow-capped mountains to survive in desperate situations. It would be strange if he didn't lose weight.
As soon as she returned home, Su Zhao looked at her son whom she had not seen for several months, and she could not stop crying. She kept saying that he had become thinner, darker and more haggard.
Seeing that she couldn't stop crying, Su Fengzhang could only comfort her: "Mom, I'm back safe and sound. Don't worry, not even a hair has fallen out."
Hearing this, Su Zhaoshi burst into laughter, tapped his forehead and scolded him, "You're just trying to fool your mother. Later I'll have to count to see if there's any missing."
Su Fengzhang looked at his younger brother and sister-in-law next to him and smiled: "Lan Zhang has grown a lot taller, and Huihui has grown up too."
"That's right. These two children eat a lot, sleep a lot, and grow fast." Aunt Bai said with a smile.
"Second brother, everyone says that our Great Zhou won a victory, and fire fell from the sky and directly killed the Xianbei people. Is that true?" Su Lanzhang couldn't help but ask.
Su Huihui said, "Second brother just came back, don't keep pestering him."
Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "You know that Second Brother isn't very good at telling stories. If you want to hear stories, you should go to the teahouse. But if you want to hear what happened in Yunzhou, come to my room tomorrow when I'm well rested and have time. After listening, everyone will have to write a policy essay."
Su Lanzhang's face turned bitter when he heard this, but Su Huihui's eyes were shining.
After saying this, Su Fengzhang told her about the award from the palace. As soon as he finished speaking, Su Zhaoshi's tears, which had just stopped, began to fall again. This time, she couldn't stop them. "God bless you! The ancestors have appeared. Your father prayed for this his whole life, and finally, he can be posthumously awarded. I'm afraid our Su family's ancestral graves will be filled with smoke."
Su Zhao was busy going to worship her ancestors and told the news to Su Dianli's tablet.
After doing all this, Su Zhaoshi said, "You should write a letter back to tell your second uncle about this news. Let him be happy and burn some paper at your father's grave."
When Su Fengzhang heard this, he said with some guilt: "Mom, logically I should find time to go home and worship my ancestors, but looking at the situation, I can't go back for a while now."
Su Zhaoshi comforted him after hearing this: "Erlang, if your father and grandfather knew about this, they would only be happy now and would never blame you. I don't understand the affairs of the court, but I also know that a man should put the Great Zhou first. Don't rush to return home to worship your ancestors. It's okay to go back when you have time in the future."
-----------------------
The author has something to say: I have been thinking about a new romance these past two days.
I started to fall in love with sweet love haha~
The Imperial Examination is a career-oriented book, the next one must be sweeter
Come on, keep recommending
Collect it!
A sweet love story of a loyal dog~
Honey Trap
Mobile Party Point Author Column ~ Heart, heart, heart, heart
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
