Chapter 216 Great Contribution
Chapter 216 Great Contribution
You could hear a pin drop in the entire study.
The ministers were all on New Year holiday, but at this moment some people had already received the news and hurried to the palace.
After Zhao Jingcheng finished reading the letter, he handed it to Zhao Jingyu without saying a word. Prince Rui checked it hurriedly. The first part was just some normal greetings, so he skipped it and looked to the back.
Then, Zhao Jingyu shook his body and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Great, both of them are fine..."
Yin Zhengnan and Gu Zixuan, both are fine.
The letter was written by Liu Chong. The reason why it was sent urgently at an 800-mile distance was because it involved Yin Zhengnan, the son of the Grand Princess. Naturally, Liu Chong had to report his safety over a thousand miles.
After reporting safety, it was time to reward people based on their merits. If it were someone else, Liu Chong might have done something else, but Yin Zhengnan was watching the whole process, so Liu Chong didn't dare to hide anything about who had done what and who had made contributions.
Therefore, everything that happened on New Year's Eve, as well as the fact that the Huns besieged the city for 22 days, how Captain Gu Zixuan responded calmly and made reasonable arrangements to defend the city, how the army rushed back on the 22nd, how Gu Zixuan and Yin Zhengnan led their men to attack from the front and back and completely wiped out the Huns, etc., were all reported in detail.
Seeing the end, Zhao Jingyu slapped his thigh and shouted: "It's great!"
Good, that’s really great!
"Royal brother, this Gu Zixuan thinks Wensi is not as good as his brother Gu Zilu, but he is a good leader in battle. He even knows that the city wall is made of mountain food. I didn't know that!"
If it weren't for this food for defending the mountain, by the time the army returned on the 22nd, half of the people in the city would have starved to death, if not all of them had died.
Gu Zixuan has made great contributions.
Zhao Jingcheng also nodded repeatedly: "A young hero, and a top scholar, I can only say that the education of the Hexi Su family is really extraordinary."
How could the Marquis's Mansion educate such a good son? ?
He would never believe it even if he was beaten to death. Gu Zixuan must have been educated by Su Jin. Su Jin is the daughter of the Su family, which indirectly means that he was educated by the Hexi Su family. He would not accept any rebuttal! !
Zhao Jingcheng ordered someone to inform the Grand Princess, then turned around and discussed the issue of rewards with Prince Rui. Soon, the court officials arrived and naturally praised Gu Zixuan for his courage and strategy. After a unanimous decision, they promoted the two.
So the appointment was quickly issued, promoting Gu Zixuan to the fifth-rank commander-in-chief, Yin Zhengnan to the fifth-rank deputy commander-in-chief, and Song Yingjie to the seventh-rank deputy lieutenant. The appointment letters were quickly returned to the northwest.
Everyone thought that the Huns would not choose to go to war in the cold winter, but this war made everyone give up this idea.
The snow in the northwest was deep and thick, but the Huns still took the risk and attacked in the wind and snow, and even chose to launch an attack on New Year's Eve...
Zhao Jingcheng frowned, and Prime Minister Dou Qin said loudly: "Your Majesty, the Huns are coming aggressively. We will not be able to have a peaceful winter. Fortunately, Your Majesty has foresight and has increased the number of imperial examinations to select talents. He has also sent General Liu to lead troops to reinforce the northwest to take precautions in advance. Otherwise, the Huns would have broken through the four counties of Hexi and approached the capital this year!"
Dou Qin's voice was not loud, but every word he said was sharp and made everyone tremble with fear.
Yes, if the imperial examination had not been added, Gu Zixuan had not been selected, and Liu Cong had not been sent to travel in the heavy snow, would it be true as Prime Minister Dou said that the Huns would have already approached the capital?
It’s really scary just thinking about it.
At this moment, the few dissenters did not dare to say a word. The facts were the best evidence, enough to shut them all up.
Dou Qin looked around and saw that no one was refutating him, so he continued: "I suggest that we continue to allocate food and grass to support the northwest."
In one word, the study room became extremely quiet.
Many people didn't even dare to breathe loudly because it was so quiet at the moment.
Does allocating food and fodder work?
We still have to allocate money!
He Bi's army is stationed in the northwest, and all the money, food and fodder come from the capital. Now Liu Cong's troops also need money and food, but, do they have them?
What is Zhao Jingcheng worried about? Aren't there two things, one is money, and the other is the war in the northwest? ?
Now, I have both of these, which is really annoying.
Zhao Jingcheng also took a deep breath.
Although there are orders for soap, they are not as many as those for silk and porcelain. Large-scale sales may have to wait until next spring. For now, how to raise the money is still a problem.
Just as he was thinking about it, the unknown Marquis Yong'an, who had been playing the background role in the court, suddenly stood up and said.
"Your Majesty, before I came here, my granddaughter Gu Suiyu said that she hoped to do her bit for the war in the northwest. She is willing to take out all her income from business last year, a total of 10,000 taels of silver, to help the northwest."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone started to make noise.
Gu Suiyu, the fourth young lady of the Marquis' Mansion, is actually willing to pay out of her own pocket?
And he doesn’t want any of his annual income, just donate it all?
Everyone stared at Gu Zhao in surprise, and the old man continued: "I am also willing to give half of the income of the Marquis' Mansion last year, a total of 20,000 taels of silver and 100 dan of grain, to support the northwest."
Volunteer to pay?
Or is it given for free?
Gu Zhao came up with this idea after listening to Gu Sui Yu's words.
The fourth girl can give money for free to support him, so why can't I?
Being already a marginal figure in front of the emperor, how to get more exposure in front of the emperor became the most important thing in Gu Zhao's mind. Now, hasn't the opportunity come?
As long as you pay, you can use facial recognition, what a great thing!
The discussion in the court became even louder.
Zhao Jingcheng was naturally happy and even more pleased to see this kind of thing.
He had wanted to ask the court officials to pay for a long time, but he couldn't say that. If he said it, everyone would resent him. After all, no one wanted to pay out of their own pocket. But now that Gu Zhao had taken the initiative to propose it, the officials around him naturally had to express their opinion, and the object of resentment naturally shifted to Gu Zhao.
I can only say that Marquis Yong'an is a good man. He not only paid the money but also attracted all the firepower. He is a very good man!
"Marquis Yong'an is so kind! The fourth young lady is so kind!"
Zhao Jingcheng praised repeatedly.
"The fourth lady said that her husband is on the battlefield in the northwest. She is not only helping the court, but also helping herself. She must give her all her support, both publicly and privately."
Gu Zhao's words were more complete.
Who is Gu Suiyu's fiancé?
It’s Yin Zhengnan!
Who is Yin Zhengnan? He is the son of the eldest princess, the emperor's cousin, a frequent visitor to the palace, and even the empress dowager likes him.
Gu Zhao, this is just flattering Marquis Yong'an.
And Zhao Jingcheng nodded in satisfaction. As for what came next, naturally everyone had to pay out of their own pockets. It was just that no one was as wealthy as the Marquis's Mansion, so they couldn't take out tens of thousands of taels of silver at once, but eighteen hundred taels was not too little. Everyone contributed, and then the matter spread from the Imperial Study to the outside. The ladies in the harem also started to contribute money, and the palace maids and eunuchs in the palace also contributed one or two taels, and even grassroots officials like Xie Huaiguang got the news. Xie Huaiguang directly took out five thousand taels of silver, which was already considered a large donation.
Soon, this matter reached the ears of the Grand Princess.
As a result, the daughter-in-law whom he disliked actually donated all the profits for the year for his son? ?
Zhao Yingqiao was completely silent.