Emperor Chengping became interested.
There was no need to wait. The next moment after the eunuch finished reading out the gifts, Zhao Lin's gift was delivered.
It is a very long line, covered with red cloth, very mysterious.
When they arrived in front of Emperor Chengping, the red cloth was lifted and everyone immediately stretched their necks to look.
After a brief silence, a uniform exclamation was heard:
"Is this rice?"
“Is this rice?”
Emperor Chengping asked.
Not only that, Bai Hongbin also asked Zhao Lin in shock.
Zhao Lin smiled and said, "Why not? Sixty ships of rice, exactly. Congratulations to Your Majesty on your sixtieth birthday."
What appeared before everyone were sixty ships made of bronze. Each ship was ten feet long, half a foot wide, six stories high, and inlaid with gems.
Each layer is filled with rice.
However, the rice stems were made of silver and the ears were made of gold. The yellow and white colors complemented each other and almost blinded people's eyes.
In addition, there are wild grasses and flowers made of gold, silver, jade, birds flying in the sky, etc.
For this gift, Zhao Lin put in all the gold he got from suppressing bandits and rebellions and confiscating property. He also specially asked Su Di to mobilize the craftsmen of the Su family to make it secretly, keeping it secret from everyone. Now it has become a huge hit.
Bai Hongbin couldn't help but ask Fu Chengwang, "Master Fu, isn't Zhao Lin's move a waste of money and manpower?"
Fu Chengwang said with a straight face, "As long as it doesn't harm the people, it's not a big deal."
The ministers nearby all sneered.
Li Chengqian said, "I didn't expect that Master Fu would be so hypocritical."
Fu Chengwang said seriously, "Lord Li, you are wrong. The so-called labor and waste of money only requires laboring the people. If Zhao Lin used his own money to grow rice without using the people's blood and sweat, then there would be no labor."
"But it will cost a lot of money, right?" Li Chengqian asked.
Fu Chengwang still looked very serious: "It is indeed a bit costly. Zhao Lin, don't do this again in the future."
Zhao Lin listened to the advice and said, "Father-in-law is right."
Li Chengqian and the ministers around him were so angry that they laughed.
You, Minister Fu, just acted like you were concerned about the country and the people, but now that it has happened to your son-in-law, it seems like you will never do it again.
Why didn’t I realize that you, Fu Chengwang, are so shameless before?
"This gift must cost at least hundreds of thousands of taels of gold and silver, right?" someone whispered.
Zhao Lin said frankly, "One hundred thousand taels of gold, five hundred thousand taels of silver, not counting the other bronze and jade, it's just right for your Majesty's sixtieth birthday."
Maybe Zhao Lin’s gift was not the most expensive, but it was indeed the one that Emperor Chengping was most satisfied with.
Zhao Lin stood up and bowed to Emperor Chengping from a distance: "I wish Your Majesty a long and prosperous life."
Emperor Chengping said happily: "Good! Good! You are indeed my beloved minister. I like you very much. Reward..."
Emperor Chengping thought for a moment and asked Zhu Zhongyan, "What would be a good reward for him?"
Zhu Zhongyan quickly said, "Zhao Lin will soon be appointed Governor of the River. It will be difficult to get things done without people under his command. It would be better to let the Qingzhou Army continue to accompany him."
Emperor Chengping nodded and said, "Okay! Zhao Lin, originally General Xuanwu, will be promoted to General Xianwu and appointed Commander-in-Chief, continuing to lead the Qingzhou Army."
Everyone's expressions changed.
Especially some military generals, they all glared at Zhao Lin.
They fought hard on the battlefield, with their heads hanging on their belts, but now they are only fourth or fifth rank, serving as guards and pacification officers.
This guy just gave a gift to the emperor, and he unexpectedly became a fourth-rank Xianwu General? And he even became a general?
Isn’t this love too great?
Someone immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, wait a minute. The commander-in-chief is a senior official of the state, extremely important. It's not appropriate to give it to a young man like this, right?"
Emperor Chengping's happy expression suddenly darkened, and he asked, "What's wrong?"
"Xiong Guangli, a third-rank officer in the Northwest Frontier Army, was awarded the rank of General Dingyuan two years ago."
Seeing the man standing up, Fu Wenqi immediately introduced him to Zhao Lin in a low voice.
"Someone from the Xiong family." Zhao Lin laughed.
The Xiong family originally wanted to take revenge on him, but they were entangled by Song Huaian and were so overwhelmed that they have no time to spare.
If Xiong Guangli had not stepped forward at this time, Zhao Lin would have forgotten about the Xiong family.
Xiong Guangli said, "General Xianwu is a highly honorable military rank, and it can only be awarded after sufficient military achievements. May I ask, Your Majesty, what merits and achievements did Zhao Lin possess to deserve the title of General Xianwu?"
"Yes, if Zhao Lin's military achievements were sufficient, we would have nothing to say, but giving him the rank of Xianwu General just for the gift is indeed a bit too much."
"Your Majesty, please revoke your order."
Many generals stood up.
There are people here who are on good terms with the Xiong family, but there are also people who are not related.
These irrelevant people stood up to oppose Zhao Lin being awarded the title of General Xianwu, and even more so to oppose his appointment as the commander-in-chief.
If General Xianwu is just an honorary title, it sounds nice.
Then the general is different.
This is real power.
There are three types of generals. The first is the general of the border town, such as Zhao Jingzhou. In addition to the troops stationed in Zhenbei Pass, he can also mobilize troops from the three provinces in the border town.
The second is the inland general, who can deploy troops across provinces.
The third is the general of the Beijing camp, who can maneuver across the country.
No matter which one Zhao Lin gets, it will be enough to make him an extremely important member of the military system in an instant.
Therefore, the generals did not want Zhao Lin to be the commander-in-chief.
But how could they stop Emperor Cheng Ping?
If it could be stopped, Emperor Chengping would not be so stupid.
"Asshole! You want me to swallow back what I said?"
Emperor Chengping was furious.
Xiong Guangli and others knelt down and said they didn't dare.
"That's not what I meant. Zhao Lin is too young, and it's not good for him to be promoted to a high position suddenly. If Your Majesty really wants to give him a title, you can let him go to the border to hone his skills for a few years." Xiong Guangli said.
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