At the same time, in the royal study of Zichen Palace, Zhang Jun was reporting the results of his conversation with Chen Qing to Emperor Zhao Gou, accompanied by Qin Hui and Zhao Ding.
Zhao Gou was by no means a stingy king when it came to rewarding military merit. He was very generous to the officers and soldiers who had made meritorious service, and he was very generous when he promoted Chen Qing before. However, this time it was really because of the empress dowager's firm opposition that he had no choice.
After Zhao Gou listened to Zhang Jun's report, he pondered for a moment and asked Qin Hui and Zhao Ding: "What do you think, sir?"
Qin Hui understood the emperor's thoughts very well. He knew that this result was what the emperor wanted. Since he would not offend the Queen Mother and appease Chen Qing who had made a contribution, everyone was happy. He smiled and said: "Wei Chen can understand Chen Dutong's thoughts. At his age,
It was unbearable for him to be granted the title of Duke lightly. He could accept the two merits in one. Although His Majesty did not want to break the trust of the world and made him a Duke, Chen Dutong had to consider his own feelings. Since he had
Your Majesty, let him fulfill his idea!"
Zhang Jun secretly scolded Qin Hui for being shameless. It was clear that Chen Qing had to accept the arrangement of the officials, but in Qin Hui's mouth, it turned out that Chen Qing gave up his own merits and became the officials' favor to Chen Qing.
But Zhang Jun also knew in his heart that the officials wanted to hear such words, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and cooperate: "Qin Xianggong is right. If virtue is not matched, he will suffer from it. Chen Qing's qualifications are too young.
His Majesty granted him the title of Duke, which was unbearable for him. He had previously interrogated Xu Yun, the commander of the navy of Mingzhou who had surrendered to the Puppet Qi. It was not because he was dissatisfied with the title of Duke of Chen Qing that he was attracted by the Puppet Qi. He proposed that he did not want to grant the reward.
Transferring it to his subordinates is also his response to the Duke, your Majesty, let him fulfill it!"
Zhao Goulong was very happy. The two prime ministers were good at talking. In the end, they did not reward Chen Qing and instead fulfilled him themselves.
Just as Zhao Gou was about to speak, Zhao Ding said first, "Your Majesty, I have something to say!"
Zhao Gou was really helpless. As soon as this upright husband opened his mouth, he knew something bad was going to happen.
"What does Mr. Zhao have to say?"
"Your Majesty, military merit rewards are always the result of weighing the pros and cons. It is a reward for those who have performed meritorious services, and it is also to boost the morale of the entire army. Your Majesty made Chen Qing the Duke of the country. In the eyes of the humble minister, it is a good thing to buy horse bones with a thousand pieces of gold.
, he can inspire thousands of soldiers to serve His Majesty, Xu Yun is just a special situation, just one or two thorns in the fragrance of the garden, and it can never represent the thoughts of other soldiers. On the contrary, if the children of powerful people receive salary without merit, the soldiers will be aroused.
In this battle of Jingxiang, no matter the rescue battle of Changlin, the defense of Jiangling, the decisive battle of Hanyang, the Three Gorges blockade and the battle of capturing Xiangyang, it was Chen Qing's own efforts to turn the tide. In the end, the court commended him for defending Jingxiang.
Chen Qing is the only one who deserves the credit, so what will your Majesty, the soldiers in the world think?"
There was silence in the imperial study room. Qin Hui laughed dryly and said: "Xiangong Zhao has worried too much. The court still wants to commend Chen Qing for his contribution. It is just to commend Chen Qing separately. The two merits are combined into one. He will never be forgotten."
Zhao Ding glanced at Qin Hui with disgust, "This is nothing more than covering one's ears and stealing the bell. Everyone knows that the reason for the annihilation of Yang Yao has nothing to do with the defense of Jingxiang. If we insist on forcing them to get together now, it will only make the world laugh.
.”
Zhang Jun saw that the official's face was a bit ugly, so he quickly smoothed things over and said: "The puppet Qi army and Yang Yao colluded secretly, and Yang Yao was an internal collaborator. They colluded with the puppet Qi army to invade Jingxiang south. It was actually the same thing. From the captured documents and letters of Yang Yao
It also fully proves that the puppet Qi army's southern invasion was planned by Yang Yao for a long time, so there is nothing wrong with combining the two achievements into one. As for the title, it can be explained separately."
"That's it!"
Zhao Gou finally spoke, "Two meritorious deeds are combined into one. I will officially confer the title of Duke of Jing. I agree to his request and distribute his merits to his generals. I will double the pension for the fallen soldiers. In addition, I will promote him to the rank of Zhongsan."
Doctor, let’s seal it as a guard, that’s it!”
.........
Everyone dispersed unhappy, and Qin Hui turned a corner and came back.
Seeing that Zhao Gou was still sulking, he advised: "Your Majesty, don't worry. He wants to share the credit with his subordinates. What does it have to do with your Majesty? Your Majesty has not treated him badly. Besides, as long as I don't have the right to be promoted to an official or a title,
In fact, other people don’t care about their opinions, so you don’t need to think too much about other people’s feelings.”
"But Mr. Zhao is very dissatisfied!"
"Hey! Is there anything Mr. Zhao doesn't want to do that he doesn't want to do?"
"That's right! When will he let me feel comfortable with his thorny head?"
After thinking about this, Zhao Gou felt better again. He asked Qin Hui again: "As for Li Gang, do you think I will transfer him to the imperial court?"
Qin Hui was shocked. The hidden meaning of Li Gang's transfer to the imperial court was to become the prime minister. How could this be allowed? Although Chen Qing hated him, he posed no threat to him, but Li Gang was different. Once he became the prime minister, he would definitely become his biggest threat.
Political opponents.
"Your Majesty, Huguang was devastated by water thieves and bandits, and was invaded and destroyed by the puppet Qi army. Now it is necessary to restore vitality and people's livelihood. It is the right time to hire people. Li Gang has high popularity in Huguang. It is most suitable for him to restore Huguang's people's livelihood. He also
He was transferred to Huguang not long ago, so let him work for a few more years to leave some political achievements."
Qin Hui said that he would not let Li Gang return to the court. In fact, why did Zhao Gou want Li Gang, a hard-line anti-golden man, to become the prime minister? He just wanted Qin Hui to come up with an excuse for him.
Restoring people's livelihood is a good excuse. Zhao Gou said happily: "Li Gang will continue to serve as the governor of Huguang. He will be given the title of Prince Shaobao, promoted to the rank of Ziguanglu, a bachelor of Baohedian, and given the title of Duke of Xiangyang County in recognition of his fight against the puppets.
Qi Zhi Gong!"
There was a series of dazzling official appointments, but the most important thing was that Zhongshu's family was not in peace. Qin Hui was relieved and said quickly: "Your Majesty is wise!"
"Is there anything else you can do, Mr. Qin?"
"I have one more thing to report to Your Majesty!"
"What's up?"
"That's it. I was chatting with some generals a few days ago. When I talked about the reasons why Chen Qing led his army to win more and lose less, they all mentioned that Chen Qing's army had a secret weapon, which was very sharp. It was called a powder keg, and it was amazingly powerful.
, which is extremely effective in defending the city."
Zhao Gou suddenly became interested, "Is there such a thing? Immediately ask him to take out a few barrels to the weapons supervisor, make them in large quantities, and promote them to the entire army."
"Weichen has also heard that other military generals have asked for it from him. He always refuses to take it out on the excuse of keeping it secret to prevent Jin soldiers from imitating it. Weichen estimates that he will also use this excuse to shirk it."
Zhao Gou frowned, "What will happen if Jin Bing gets it?"
"As long as weapons are promoted, the opponent will know sooner or later. What are weapons and crossbows? Jin soldiers also have firearms. The key is to consider the pros and cons. Firearms are more suitable for defense, while Jin soldiers focus on offense, so they are more suitable for the Song army.
Instead of the Jin soldiers, it was more beneficial to the Song army than to the Jin soldiers. Chen Qing's structure was too small and he took his own interests too seriously. The minister's suggestion was to directly send a special envoy to Baling and take out His Majesty's handwriting.
Even if Chen Qing finds out after the fact that the powder keg is back, there is nothing he can do about it. This will save him the trouble of finding various excuses to evade and prevaricate."
Zhao Gou was also quite dissatisfied with Chen Qing's selfishness. Qin Hui's suggestion reminded him that Zhao Gou also wanted to give it a try. Will his edict work among Chen Qing's troops?
"Okay, I will write a handwriting and leave this matter to Qin Xianggong. If the firearms are sharp, they will be promoted in the army on a large scale immediately."
.........
When Qin Hui returned to the court, he immediately called for his confidants, supervised the censor Wan Qixi, handed him the emperor's handwriting, and ordered him to immediately lead people to Baling to ask for gunpowder.
Wan Qixi smiled sinisterly and said: "I have a plan. How about I get the gunpowder and say that Chen Qing's men don't recognize the emperor's decree, but only the general's order. In this way, Chen Qing can be impeached for raising a private army and be held accountable."
, what do you think, Mr. Xianggong?"
Qin Hui pondered for a moment. This method seemed good, but I'm afraid it would be self-defeating. He couldn't stand the confrontation. If he didn't tell the gunpowder in person, once he traced the whereabouts of the gunpowder and found that it had fallen into the hands of the Jin, he would have to be dismissed and imprisoned. The consequences would be disastrous.
He then said to Wan Qixi: "This matter cannot be extraneous. If the other party does not give it, tell the truth. But if it is given, do as I say. Take five barrels and give four barrels to the weapons supervisor. If
When pressed, he said that the other barrel fell into the river and was lost, do you understand?"
"I understand the humble position!"
After Wan Qixi was ordered to retreat, he immediately left Lin'an on horseback with several of his men and galloped towards Baling County.