"I would like to express my gratitude to His Majesty for His grace."
Sugatha bowed her head and thanked her.
Although she has a strange alien face, all her movements and words are like those of a Qin person who has been trained countless times, and they are very standard.
Just like the "concubine" she calls herself.
The so-called servant is a humble person. Men are called ministers, and women are called concubines.
The two words "concubine" and "concubine" together refer to those who surrender and are ruled.
The word Sujatha is used here very delicately, showing her proficiency in Zhuxia culture.
Such a decent response made many courtiers slightly nod, a little more acknowledgment of this polite and courteous noblewoman of the Yuezhi.
The civilized world naturally welcomes people who know etiquette.
Qin Shihuang, who was sitting on the imperial couch, paused for a moment on Sugatha's face, curiosity flashing in his eyes.
But it was only for a moment, and then he looked away again and regained his composure.
Rewards and titles are still continuing, and this time the meritorious soldiers in the Northern Expedition have basically received the rewards they deserve.
Under Zhao Tuo, General Wang Li was promoted to Zuogeng because of his achievements in defeating the enemy in numerous battles.
Li Shiqi, the chief of the right concubine, was promoted this time because of his contribution to planning strategies and coaxing the Xiongnu Chanyu. Like Wang Li, he became Zuo Geng. From then on, he was qualified to participate in political affairs in the court. Such a reward,
It was also worthy of him taking the risk to go to the Huns camp.
Guo Qing, who was originally just a cavalryman, was supported by Zhao Tuo. Due to the merits of the cavalry in this battle, he not only entered the main hall to receive the emperor's reward, but was also promoted to the rank of right concubine.
While he was thanking the emperor for his reward, he also secretly glanced at the young monarch.
If it were not for the noble king, he, a small horseman, would not have the honor of going to the temple to be rewarded today. My heart is filled with gratitude.
The generals in the palace are receiving rewards from the emperor.
Outside the hall, Chen Ping, Fan Kuai, Xiao He, Cao Shen and others were equally excited and knelt on the ground, listening to the audience read out the imperial edict awarding them.
Everyone's faces were excited and their bodies were trembling.
"General Shi Chenping... was promoted to a high official."
"General Commander Shi Xiaohe... was promoted to a high official."
"Fan Kuai, the lord of two to five hundred...captured and killed the Xiongnu King Yougu Li, and was given the rank of Zuo Shu Zhang."
"Five hundred Lord Cao Shen... will be promoted to the rank of Duke."
…
This great victory in the Northern Expedition not only eliminated the barbaric problem in the northwest of Great Qin, but also opened up a vast territory.
Therefore, Qin Shihuang was very happy and gave very generous rewards, almost all of which were top awards.
Among them, Chen Ping and Xiao He were not promoted much because they were aides.
Cao Shen, who joined later, even went to Chen Ping's title because he was given special care by Zhao Tuo.
But compared to Fan Kuai, these people are nothing at all.
During the Northern Expedition, this dog-slaughterer relied on various methods to get into the battle first, kill the enemy and perform meritorious service, and his title soared.
What's even more terrifying is that Fan Kuai captured the Yuezhi Guishang Jihou among the thousands of troops and killed King Yougu Li of the Xiongnu.
One is the leader of tens of thousands of Kushan troops, and the other is the King of the Huns under the Great Chanyu.
Two foreign princes directly promoted Fan Kuai to the tenth rank of Zuo Shu Zhang, which was actually the same title as Li You, the lieutenant of Shu County.
"I'm Fan Kuai, the concubine Zuo?"
Fan Kuai thought about the words of the edict. Even though he had already guessed it, when he actually heard the reward in the edict, he still felt a little dizzy.
A year ago, he was the Dog Butcher of Peixian County without a title.
A year later, he was the concubine of the great Qin Empire.
It can be said that you have reached the sky in one step, which is unheard of!
"General!"
Fan Kuai's voice was trembling and his eyes were already a little red.
Except for Fan Kuai, everyone else also silently chanted the name of the person who gave them all this.
Without the support of the general, we would not have the glory we have today!
…
The reward is over, but today's events are not over yet.
In accordance with the usual practice, the First Emperor would hold a celebration banquet in the palace in the evening, accompanied by military and state ministers, and entertain the main generals of the Northern Expedition to celebrate the complete victory of this war.
After the dispersion of the dynasty, the emperor left first.
All the ministers have to wait for the celebration banquet to begin.
During this free time, many ministers from the court gathered around Zhao Tuo.
The old prime minister Wei Xiang smiled and said: "You are really a famous general of our Great Qin Dynasty. He is invincible in all battles and invincible in all attacks. In the future, it will be a matter of time before he becomes a noble lord!"
Wang Wu, the governor of Zhisu Nei, nodded and said: "Of course, I heard that the prince set a big fire under the Yin Mountain, and the burning Huns ran away with their heads in their arms, and let the Huns come to die on their own. The military skills of the prince are really incredible.
The art of testing.”
Feng Chang, Tai Pu and other important ministers from the Nine Qing Dynasty also came up and said with a smile: "I think the ability of the monarch is not inferior even to that of Sun Wu in the past, and his military skills are as good as those of Wei Gong.
Everyone, you can now write a book and explain it!"
Tingwei Li Si also came over and laughed with everyone: "Of course, if a prince writes a book based on the art of war, it can be called "Zhao Zi" in the future!"
"What Tingwei said is right, the art of war written by the prince deserves to be called "Zhao Zi"!"
"In my opinion, "Zhao Zi" will definitely be compared with "Wu Sun Tzu" and "Qi Sun Tzu" in the future and become a world-class military book!"
With every word you said to me, the ministers, you and I, have already held their martial arts prince in high esteem.
There is no way, whoever makes the emperor love the martial arts prince, the future will be extremely bright.
Under such circumstances, all the ministers were naturally full of friendship, and they all tried to show off their dignity and joined in to praise him.
But Zhao Tuo didn't feel any pleasure after being praised, and his face even became stiffer and stiffer.
"General Li, they want to harm me!"
Zhao Tuo shouted in his heart, he felt like he was sweating profusely, walking on thin ice, and felt that he was about to be pushed into the abyss by these people.
This scene is so familiar!
Zhao Tuo will never forget that the first time he participated in a celebration banquet of this level was when he returned from conquering Yan with Wang Jian and Li Xin.
It was at that celebration banquet that General Li was so heroic that he uttered the heroic words of "Destroying Chu with two hundred thousand troops".
Before that, all these high officials and ministers had also praised Li Xin in this way. Although it was not as disgusting as complimenting Zhao Tuo, they were still full of praises.
They said that Li Xin "ran thousands of miles to capture and kill Yan Dan, and he was really a flying general", and "it was really a miraculous plan when King Yan fled eastward"...
All the scenes of that year are still deeply engraved in Zhao Tuo's heart.
Now faced with more disgusting and shameless words than when he praised Li Xin, Zhao Tuo's teeth were almost broken.
He forced a smile to deal with the ministers, but he was deeply resentful and wanted to report to the First Emperor immediately.
"This Great Qin Dynasty is full of sycophants and flatterers!"
…
Fortunately, as the celebration dinner began, these flatterers restrained themselves a lot in front of the emperor, so Zhao Tuo finally breathed a sigh of relief and enjoyed the meal.
Of course, this national-level celebration banquet was still very sumptuous.
Boiled braised pork belly with cannon, and candied pork with cured sauce.
There are a variety of dishes prepared with various cooking methods, and the royal wine is enough.
It was far better than what Zhao Tuo had eaten during the war, and his stomach was finally satisfied.
However, after having had enough wine and food, Zhao Tuo still felt a little dissatisfied when he looked at the slightly primitive dishes on the food table in front of him.
Now that the war is over, foreign troubles have been resolved, and he has been granted the title of marquis, he can enjoy the blessings.
Can you come up with something that satisfies your desires?
Just as Zhao Tuo was making secret calculations in his heart, he felt that someone was always watching him.
He raised his eyes and found that it was Sugatha who was secretly looking at him.
Seeing Zhao Tuo looking over, she smiled slightly at Zhao Tuo and turned her head away, acting very naturally.
This noblewoman of the Yuezhi clan, who holds the title of Zuogeng, was naturally allowed to attend this banquet. Her elegant posture, fluent Qin language, and extremely good communication skills made many officials in the court nod secretly.
Even the First Emperor, who was sitting on the imperial couch, frequently looked at the Yue clan woman.
After all, with her excellent conversational skills and unique appearance, it is difficult not to attract attention.
However, this kind of celebration dinner basically consists of blessings and praises, but there are no special topics.
Therefore, the dinner went smoothly, and there were no surprises until the end. It was a great time for the guests and the host.
When the dinner was over and the sky outside was dark, the emperor said some more words and then left first.
"Finally I can go back."
Zhao Tuo breathed a sigh of relief, and had long wanted to go home to see his wife and children.
He said some goodbyes to Wang Ben, Li Si and others around him, and was about to leave.
But he saw a palace eunuch walking up to Sujatha and whispering a few words to her.
Sujatha was obviously stunned, then turned her head and glanced in the direction of Zhao Tuo, and then followed the eunuch away in silence.
"The emperor is looking for Sujatha?"
Zhao Tuo frowned slightly. He recognized the eunuch as the emperor's personal attendant.
The banquet had just ended, and shortly after the emperor left, he asked the eunuchs around him to come and take Sujatha away. What does this mean?
Just when Zhao Tuo felt that the emperor was a little unruly.
Another eunuch came over in small steps. He bowed to Zhao Tuo and said respectfully: "I have met you. I am here to send you an edict to meet you. I also ask you to go with your servants."