In the back hall of Bian Mansion, everyone was speechless for a while after listening to Liu Futong's narration.
After a long while, Zhang Yangquan said slowly: "To expel the Mongols, we must unite sincerely. People like Tian Feng, Chen Zhang'er, Wang Shicheng and others were defeated because they could not tolerate the Mongols!"
Zuo Junbi said coldly: "After Mao Gui's death, the East Route Army did not have a decent figure. It is normal for it to eventually be destroyed."
Qin Lingjun suddenly asked: "Shuai Liu, why do you still insist on seeing Liu Chun now that things have happened?"
Liu Chun was also full of confusion, staring at him with big eyes.
Liu Futong smiled bitterly and said: "Madam, don't be nervous. The Song army has been defeated. I will not embarrass you anymore. I just want to tell you and Mrs. Yang Ying that what happened to Brother Han was just a coincidence and no one reported it!"
Liu Chun was stunned for a moment and said, "Why didn't you say it before?"
Liu Fu said: "I said it before, but I'm afraid you won't believe it. I was suspicious of Du Zundao at the beginning, but after investigation, it was found that he did not report it. He just wanted to use this matter to win over you and deal with me." Liu Chun said 'hmm' and whispered: "I understand, I will tell the lady about this."
After the banquet, both Liu Futong and He Zhen were kindly stayed in Bian Mansion by Bian Yuanheng. The Zuo brothers and sisters left He Mansion together with Zhang Yangquan and Liu Chun.
Zhang Yangquan ordered people to send Liu Chun away.
Just as he was about to order someone to send the Zuo brothers to the post office, Zuo Junbi suddenly raised his hand.
"His Royal Highness, King of Chu, to be honest, Zuo came here this time just to see the weather in Jiangdu Prefecture, and then meet with you to decide whether to submit to your command!"
Zhang Yangquan smiled and said: "Has Commander Zuo made a decision?"
Zuo Junbi said: "As long as you agree to one condition, Zuo is willing to offer Luzhou, Anqing and Qizhou!"
"Oh? What conditions?"
Zuo Junbi glanced at Zuo Junru and said, "Zuo only has this girl. I just hope that she will not be bullied by others in the future!"
Qin Lingjun snorted and said, "You want your sister to inherit the title of Countess?"
Zuo Junbi raised his head and said, "Yes, that's the only request Zuo made!"
Qin Lingjun said coldly: "Are you threatening the king?"
Zuo Junbi's face changed slightly, and when he was about to speak, Zhang Yangquan spoke first: "Madam, it's normal for Marshal Zuo to care about his sister. I'm sure about this!"
Qin Lingjun asked anxiously: "Your Majesty, what about Zhu Yuanzhang's first wife?"
Zhang Yangquan waved his hand and said: "Just reward me with some gold and silver, just to appease me."
Qin Lingjun said solemnly: "Ma Xiuying made great contributions to persuading Zhu Yuanzhang to surrender. Isn't it true that you have done so without reward, which is disappointing?"
Zhang Yangquan frowned and said, "What about Yi Qin's opinion?"
Qin Lingjun glanced at Zuo Junbi and said: "Since Marshal Zuo has asked for it, let's make them both countesses, so no one will suffer!"
Zhang Yangquan looked at Zuo Junbi and said, "What do you think, Commander Zuo?"
Zuo Junbi thought that it would be good to win a countess for his sister. If he went too far, he would not only offend the future queen, but also make it difficult for his sister to gain a foothold in the Zhu Mansion.
"The general has no objection!"
Zhang Yangquan smiled and said: "Well, Marshal Zuo, let's go to the post house to rest first. The ennoblement will be announced at the enthronement ceremony!"
After bidding farewell to Zuo Junbi, Zhang Yangquan got on the carriage and winked at Qin Lingjun.
"Madam, your acting skills just now were good!"
Qin Lingjun pursed her lips and said with a smile: "I guess Zuo Junbi has actually guessed that we are acting, but he really wants to join us and doesn't want to point it out!"
Zhang Yangquan nodded and glanced at Yu Cuiru, who was sitting next to Qin Lingjun.
"Xiao Yu, are you really not going to follow He Zhen?"
Yu Cuiru lowered her head, twirled her skirt with both hands, and said with a blushing face: "As long as you don't chase me away, I will always follow you and Your Highness the Princess."
Seeing her pitiful appearance, Zhang Yangquan couldn't bear to chase her away any more.
"Well, you can stay in the palace from now on. I just have something to do tonight and I need your help!"
Qin Lingjun asked: "What's the matter?"
"Statistics on merit, and awards titles to civil and military officials!"
There are only five days left before the enthronement hall. Zhang Yangquan has ordered people to make detailed statistics on the achievements of civil and military officials. Tonight, everyone's title will be determined based on their merits.
Zhang Yangquan was very aware of the desire of the civil servants and military generals of this era for titles.
Official positions can be changed at any time, but titles last for life and can be passed on to future generations.
Therefore, he did not dare to be careless in this matter. If there was any injustice or bias in the title, it would definitely become a hidden danger.
Moreover, the matter was of great importance, and it would easily cause disputes if it were leaked, so he decided to take matters into his own hands and find a few reliable people to help him complete the matter.
After returning to the study, Zhang Yangquan ordered Yang Sanqiang to take the previously compiled merit files to the study, and called Shen Qianqian and Tao Ai to the study.
Shen Qianqian, Tao Ai, Yu Cuiru and Yang Sanqiang were responsible for the statistical work. He would finalize it, while Qin Lingjun was responsible for checking for omissions and filling in the gaps.
That night, two teams of guards were tightly guarding the study room, and there was no one else within a hundred steps.
Yang Sanqiang was responsible for organizing the files and then handed them over to Tao Ai.
Tao Ai then read out everyone's contribution, Shen Qianqian recorded it on a piece of paper, Yu Cuiru polished the ink for her, and finally Zhang Yangquan made the final decision.
Yang Sanqiang first stacked Guo Niansheng's merit files together and handed them to Tao Ai.
There are more than twenty pieces of paper, each of which records Guo Niansheng's contribution.
Tao Ai turned over slowly and said: "Guo Niansheng, one piece of great merit, eight pieces of medium merit, and sixteen pieces of minor merit."
Guo Niansheng is one of the three elders of Longtan Village, and has participated in almost all major and minor battles of Jiangdu Army.
Although he is responsible for all the logistics work, he can really be said to be a hard worker with high merit, so there are many medium and small achievements.
"Guo Niansheng, Duke!" Zhang Yangquan said without hesitation.
Shen Qianqian glanced at Qin Lingjun and saw that she had no objection, so she wrote it down on paper.
Yang Sanqiang handed the second stack of materials to Tao Ai. This stack of materials was much thinner.
Tao Ai slowly flipped through the pages and read: "Chen Ji has one great merit, three medium merits, and five minor merits."
Chen Ji is also one of the three elders of Longtan Village.
However, unlike Guo Niansheng and Fang Yuan, he was imprisoned in prison at first, but after being rescued, he ran around and missed several major battles of Jiangdu Army.
But this does not mean that he is not trying his best, it can only be said that he is very unlucky.
And what he did was all hard work, such as staying in Haozhou City for half a year and staying in Chaohu Water Village for several months. His role was equivalent to the proton of Jiangdu Army.
Zhang Yangquan hesitated for a moment and said: "Chen Ji, Duke."
"Husband, Uncle Chen has not done enough, he is still a marquis!" Qin Lingjun objected.
Zhang Yangquan sighed: "Uncle Chen's contributions are all invisible. If Uncle Guo is credited with hard work, Uncle Chen is the one who works hard without complaint. We cannot treat him badly."
Qin Lingjun smiled and said: "Uncle Chen's biggest wish in his life is to drive away the Tatars. As long as this can be realized, he doesn't care about anything else. Don't worry, husband."
Zhang Yangquan wanted to talk again, and Shen Qianqian followed suit.
"Sister is right. Although you can see Xiang Chen's contribution, others cannot. Especially those who are not knighted, they will think you are biased."
Zhang Yangquan pondered for a long time and said: "Okay, Chen Ji, Marquis."
The third file is Fang Yuan. He is similar to Chen Ji. He also stayed in Haozhou and Chaohu Water Village.
But he had better luck. When the 400,000-strong army attacked Yangzhou, he rushed back in time and led the navy with Li Er, severely damaging the Yuan army.
Fang Yuan also participated in almost all the subsequent battles, and his contribution is undeniable.
Tao Aina thought: "Fang Yuan, there are two great merits, four medium merits, and five minor merits."
Zhang Yangquan said: "Duke."
Neither Shen Qianqian nor Qin Lingjun had any objection to the Duke Fang Yuan.
The fourth one is Xu Baisheng. Not to mention, he is a duke. He is a real person.
"Xu Baisheng, four great merits, six medium merits, and nine minor merits." Tao Aida said.
Zhang Yangquan said: "Duke!"
Next, Li Er, Zhu San, and Liu Bowen were also confirmed as dukes.
As a result, six dukes have been confirmed, but apart from these six, the remaining candidates are not so easy to decide.
For example, Ma Yulin, Jia Ban, Hu Guangcao, He Jue, Geng San, Geng Si, Wang Da, Hou Baisi, Chang Yuchun, Bian Yuanheng, Fu Youde and others have relatively similar amounts of credit.