When Wang Cienweng, Sima Guang and Pei Ji came to Ziwei Hall together, they happened to meet Zhuge Liang who was also here with His Majesty the Emperor.
"How many members of the Qing family have finally drawn up the reward?"
Li Qian looked at Pei Ji, with a bit of dissatisfaction on his face: "Servant Pei, after I ordered you that day, I thought the results would be available that day, but I didn't expect that you have been delaying until now."
He stood up, stared at the three servants, his face was slightly cold, and he slowly walked down the steps with his hands behind his back.
"I also asked the Ministry of War to write a letter to Jizhou that day, asking about the details of this great victory, so that I can publicize their great achievements to the officials in the court and the people of the world. I thought that the Ministry of War would draft the reward soon and send it together with the document of inquiry. When I arrived in Jizhou, I didn't expect that the reward would not be issued for a long time. Instead, the document left the capital the next day."
"The soldiers of Jizhou finally won a great victory, but what they were waiting for was not a reward from the court, but an inquiry from me. From this point of view, it seems that I did not believe their military reports and immediately sent someone to question them. Already?"
Pei Ji was stunned for a moment, and when he came back to his senses, there was a hint of panic on his face, and he immediately leaned down and bowed down: "I have done injustice to Your Majesty, and I deserve death!"
The other two ministers were stunned for a moment, and then they also bowed down.
Although His Majesty the Emperor mainly reprimanded the Ministry of War, with so many world-wide rewards still pending, could it be that the relationship between the two families has ceased?
The three of them came this time with the intention of testing His Majesty the Emperor's opinion, and then went back to compete with each other to come up with a result.
But when they came up, they were scolded with a slap in the face, and judging from His Majesty's attitude, if they dared to propose going back to discuss it, I'm afraid things wouldn't be that simple...
"What's the result of your discussion?"
Li Qian ignored their thoughts and did not ask them to get up directly. Instead, he asked impatiently: "After so much time, there should be an explanation, right?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Ciweng immediately took out a document from his arms and presented it with both hands: "Your Majesty, this is my minister..."
Before he finished speaking, Li Qian took it away.
He took it apart and glanced at it, then shook his head in disappointment. He picked up the document and returned to the table. He picked up a pen and wrote on it. Eucalyptus."
"What's so difficult about giving rewards? Whoever makes great contributions will be rewarded more, and whoever has less merit will be rewarded less."
"Such a simple thing has made all the ministers in the court very anxious. If it were spread outside, it would only make people laugh..."
The faces of the three people who spoke these words were all dry, and His Majesty the Emperor specifically mentioned the Minister of Manchu Dynasty, which shows that he is not completely ignorant of the things that have happened in recent days...
After thinking about it, Li Qian quickly wrote out the reward and threw it directly in front of their faces.
"Zhongshu will use the seal and the Ministry of War will send it to Jizhou."
"I have to leave Beijing before closing today."
The three of them were stunned, and turned to look at the document in Wang Ciweng's hand. They saw lines of approval written on it with a vermilion pen. Judging from its general meaning, it affected Qin Hui, Zuo Weiwei, Wu Sangui's border troops, and even this one. The civilians who mobilized logistics during the war were all rewarded.
His physique was probably based on the military reports, but from a rough look, the rewards for the generals and soldiers of Zuoweiwei were slightly larger, comparable to Qin Hui's personal soldiers. There were also rewards for the border troops, but because these people had fought consecutive battles before, A losing streak was considered a sin, so it was offset a lot.
In their haste, the three of them had no time to take a closer look or think about it. Wang Cienweng wanted to say something else when he saw the words on the document, but Pei Ji and Sima Guang on the side responded first.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I obey your orders."
After saying that, they both stood up. The former also took the document from Wang Cienwen's hand, and then the two of them retreated out of the hall, not even paying attention to Wang Cienweng.
At this time, he didn't care about anything else. He stood up in a hurry and followed the two people. There was a bit of haste and embarrassment in his steps...
After they all left, Li Qian's face darkened and he snorted: "Qin Hui, you idiot!"
Then he wanted to continue to say something serious, but after a moment of pause, he flicked his sleeves and returned to his desk angrily.
At this time, Zhuge Liang, who had been standing aside, finally spoke out: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Qin must just want to assert his authority. As the chief official of a state, he has a group of arrogant and powerful generals under his command. If he cannot obey Everyone, we will definitely not be able to carry out the decree and fail to fulfill His Majesty’s expectations.”
"Of course I know that he is doing this to establish his prestige. If I hadn't thought that he was someone sent by the Central Government, I wouldn't have mentioned him in the reward document!"
Seeing this, Zhuge Liang didn't try to persuade him on this topic. He didn't mean to say good things for Qin Hui, but the emperor cursed the right minister in front of him. He couldn't pretend to be deaf and dumb, and he couldn't also join in the curse. , and gave a symbolic advice.
But Li Qian was still angry and couldn't stop talking when the conversation started.
"I don't care what this idiot does, but how can he make a fuss about the military exploits of the frontline soldiers?"
Li Qian said coldly: "By provoking articles in the military newspaper, do you really think you can cover up the truth and hide it from everyone?"
There have been many disputes between the DPRK and China over this matter these days, and Li Qian is certainly not ignorant of it.
As for Qin Hui's manipulation in the military report, Li Qian also noticed it in the past few days.
When I first looked at the military report, it was full of figures of the frontier troops. After making a decisive decision, they lured the enemy deep into the enemy's territory and fought back, which was an outstanding achievement.
But if you calm down and reflect for a moment, you will find that Zuo Weiwei's contribution is definitely not as small as that of the frontier army. The preparation in advance, the timing of cutting off the retreat, and the real fighting with swords and guns when annihilating the enemy... This is definitely not Just saying "Break the bridge and cut off the enemy's path" can cover it up.
To be fair, Li Qian did not meet Zhao Kuangyi very much, but at this time, military exploits were military exploits. The more chaotic the war, the more absolute rules must be established.
If today Li Qian turns a blind eye to Qin Hui's behavior based on his own likes and dislikes and acquiesces to his detaining Zuo Weiwei's military merit, this will definitely be a bad start.
I would like to ask if even the due rewards will be discounted after performing meritorious service, will Zuo Weiwei still be willing to fight for the imperial court wholeheartedly?
When other soldiers from all walks of life met Zuo Weiwei, the imperial army who had made great contributions to the imperial court and won the first great victory, all suffered the same fate. Will it damage their confidence? Will they hesitate to move forward?
Therefore, even if it is Zhao Kuangyi who he cannot see, the reward he deserves must not be less.
In addition, Li Qian originally wanted to lower Qin Hui's reward by one level, lower than that of Zuowei Wei and the border army, as a warning.
But after thinking about it, for the sake of the overall situation, I still didn't have the heart to do this.
After all, this was the chief officer sent by the imperial court to lead the military affairs in Jizhou, and the only one he could rely on was the imperial court.
If Li Qian gave him this kind of "special treatment", then the soldiers and generals below would probably think that Qin Hui had no one to rely on, and they might become even more reckless in the future.
If that were the case, Qin Hui might not be able to carry out his future work.
Li Qianyi was afraid that without the restraint of Qin Hui, the left Weiwei, the border troops, and the government troops, imperial troops, border troops and other miscellaneous troops arriving one after another would cause trouble if they were not restrained and integrated.
The second is that he is afraid that Qin Hui will resort to some stupid tricks in order to reestablish his majesty. If he overpresses the soldiers below, causing them to resist, causing civil strife, and dragging down the battlefield, then everything will be over. Already.
"Your Majesty has clear rewards and punishments, and your generals will be exhausted and brave."
Zhuge Liang praised him from the side, but in his heart he felt that this was not the only reason that made the Emperor so angry.
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Prime Minister Qin's army report has been sent up. If His Majesty really awards the reward as written above, then Zuo Weiwei, who was treated unfairly, will definitely not only complain about Qin Hui, but also feel resentful towards His Majesty the Emperor.
The frontier soldiers who got a free advantage may not necessarily be grateful to the court and the emperor. Instead, they may be tempted by it, thinking that it is so easy for the court to trick them, and they will become more cunning and cunning in the future.
This is the disadvantage of the reward-punishment metaphor.
What's more important is that this is a metaphor for rewards and punishments personally caused by His Majesty the Emperor under the guidance of Prime Minister Qin.
In other words, in order to establish his prestige in Jizhou, Prime Minister Qin dragged His Majesty the Emperor who was far away in the capital into trouble, and divided the blame between rewards and punishments equally with him. How could His Majesty the Emperor not be angry under such circumstances?
With his character, it would be fine if he didn't cause any trouble to others. How could he possibly help Qin Hui take such a blame for nothing?
Nowadays, instead of issuing formal orders and instead rewarding military exploits, it can really be said that the overall situation is taken into account.
I don’t know why Prime Minister Qin came up with such a foolish move. He had spent a year with His Majesty the Emperor, so he should have a general understanding of his style, right?
Inexplicably, Zhuge Liang thought of a saying, "Remember to eat but not to fight..."
Outside the palace, under the blazing sunshine.
After Wang Ciweng and the other three came out of the palace, they looked at each other speechlessly.
Wang Ciweng wanted to ask the two of them why they behaved like that just now, but he couldn't say it. The three parties were not on the same side and had different opinions and positions. How could he ask the two of them to be of the same mind as him?
But when he lowered his head and looked at the document written by His Majesty the Emperor, especially the reward given to Qin Hui's personal soldiers was the same as that of Zuo Weiwei, Wang Ciweng felt a little unwilling.
"What do you two adults think?"
Wang Ciweng turned to look at Sima Guang and Pei Ji. This incident happened suddenly. No one expected that a trip to Ziwei Palace would directly determine the outcome.
Pei Ji's mind seemed not to be on this matter anymore, and he just said: "Since Your Majesty wants the edict of the reward to leave the capital before sunset, then there is no need to delay any longer."
"I also ask Mr. Wang to arrange it as soon as possible. When the application is sent to our military department, I will not accompany you much."
After saying that, he turned around and headed south, walking a little faster than when he came.
Wang Cweng looked at his figure, his brows already furrowed tightly.
"Pei Butang is busy with something, but I have nothing urgent to do at the moment."
Sima Guang smiled and said, "Why don't I accompany Mr. Wang to Zhongshu and his disciples to complete the official document process?"
Wang Ciweng was silent for a moment, but still refused: "Thank you very much for Sima Budang's kindness. I will go back and seal it with Wan Shilang, and then send it directly to the door. I guess it won't be delayed for long, so I won't bother Sima Budang to make this trip." .”
Sima Guang was rejected, and he smiled and stopped insisting, but turned around and left.
On the other side, Pei Ji has hurriedly returned to the Ministry of War.
Just now, Sima Guang and Wang Cweng saw that he didn't care to say anything, so they left directly. They thought that Pei Ji had been reprimanded by His Majesty the Emperor and could not save his face, so he came back directly.
But this is not the case.
Although you need to pay attention to face and have integrity when serving as an official in the court, you must also know how to distinguish between the object and the occasion. If you insist on self-respect indiscriminately before you make a mistake, your path will only become narrower and narrower.
Of course Pei Ji understood this. The reason why he lost his composure just now was because he thought of another thing.
In fact, when he was questioned by Li Qian just now, Pei Ji was very confused and confused.
After coming out of Ziwei Palace with Li Jing that day, he and Lu Yin also divided their work according to His Majesty's orders.
Pei Ji went to discuss the reward with Zhongshu Province and the Ministry of Rites, while Lu Yin was responsible for the latter matter and wrote an inquiry to Jizhou.
After the work was divided, Pei Ji never asked about Lu Yin's affairs. After all, the two parties were colleagues, not superiors and subordinates. If he asked about Lu Yin's affairs again, it would be as if he was worried that Lu Yin would not do well. He would easily offend if he did this frequently. people.
But Pei Ji didn't expect that Lu Yin had already sent out the document of inquiry, and His Majesty the Emperor seemed to know everything about it...
Pei Ji did not go back to his check-in room, but went straight to Lu Yin's side.
"Pei Butang?"
Lu Yin, who was on duty, looked up from a table of paperwork and saw Pei Ji at the door, with a bit of surprise on his face.
But he calmed down immediately. Due to the frequent wars these days, the Ministry of War was very busy, and Li Jing was away, so there were many opportunities for the two to communicate.
"What's wrong with Pei Butang?"
He closed the documents on the table and asked Pei Ji to sit down with a smile: "I heard that the Zhongshu Province and Marshal Zhao have been having a quarrel over the reward in recent days. Has the result finally come out?"
Pei Ji paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes, I just went to interview the Holy Spirit with the Minister of Public Affairs, Wang Shilang, and the Minister of Rites, Sima Shilang. The results have been obtained. Your Majesty has decided on a reward plan. Today we will To be sent out of the capital."
A smile appeared on Lu Yin's face: "That's good, it seems that Pei Butang finally no longer has to worry about this matter."
Pei Ji did not continue to say more on this topic, but asked: "Lu Butang, your Majesty asked you to send letters to Jizhou a few days ago to inquire about the details of Neihuang's great victory. Have you done it?"
"Natural did it."
Lu Yin looked at Pei Ji with a confused look, but it quickly dissipated: "Although the ministry is busy, how can your majesty be neglectful?"
"The official had already drafted the documents and sent people out that day."
As he said that, he also noticed something was wrong with Pei Ji. He frowned and asked, "Master Pei, what's wrong? Is it possible that the official did something wrong? Something went wrong?"
Pei Ji's lips moved, and finally he smiled and said, "It seems that it must be a misunderstanding."