Chapter 177 Zhou Nvxia is really my number one marksman in Dajing!
"Dajing's great victory in the Northern Expedition, which completely eliminated Ye Dan, a serious problem in his heart, and restored peace to the Central Plains, is a great achievement that will last forever. This achievement is the virtue of Emperor Dajing's obedience to heaven. This achievement is a great achievement.
The power of thunder among the Jing generals!"
"Confess General Wang Yan of Dajing Guard as General of Dajing!"
"Conferred Wang Ren Lieutenant Zhang Dalian as a brave general for Dajing!"
"Conferring Wang Yuluan, the son of Wang Yan, the title of Baron of Yi County, Dajing!"
"The vanguard of the Northern Expedition..."
As soon as the emperor arrived, he started the first part of the state banquet, conferring titles on generals and knights. This is also the reason why the Northern Expeditionary Army has not been awarded titles after Wang Ren's squadron returned to the court. Yuan Xiu deliberately left this part here.
In the presence of envoys from various countries, rewards are given again. Every reward is a reminder to the countries that I, Dajing, have destroyed Ye Dan!
It’s not victory, it’s destruction!
You all have taken good care of it. Anyone who dares to be my enemy in Dajing must be prepared to be subjugated and exterminated!
After conferring rewards on the Northern Expeditionary Army, Yuan Xiu called Xiao Luofeng out alone to perform the ceremony of conferring generals. In the battle of Lingshan, Xiao Luofeng defeated 2,000 men with a hundred men, which greatly promoted the prestige of the Jing Dynasty and was conferred the title of third-grade Longxiang General.
But when he was conferring a reward on Xiao Luofeng, Zhou Jinghuan's face looked very ugly.
There are as many as 100 people awarded this time, and the one with the highest reward, besides Wang Yan, is Xiao Luofeng!
There was a lot of discussion among the civil and military officials and the people who came to the banquet to watch the ceremony, saying that there was a successor to Dajing's military generals. Wang Ren succeeded Zhao Huan to stabilize the north, and Xiao Luofeng was afraid that he would become the second champion to guard the south for Dajing.
How could the ministers not understand Yuan Xiu's thoughts? They all clapped their hands and applauded with high spirits, causing the envoys from various countries to remain silent.
But all the ministers were thinking about the rewards for Wang Ren and his son.
General.
The first grade of official residence!
The leader of the generals!
This kind of reward is already a very respectable minister.
When the late emperor was on the throne, Zhao Huan once sat in this position, so people often say that Zhao Huanwen can be the Prime Minister and Wu Neng can make a general. After Yuan Xiu succeeded to the throne, the Champion King also served as a general for a period of time. After the Champion King went south, this position became idle.
The two Northern Expeditionary Army commanders who were killed by Ye Dan before were not appointed as generals.
Wang Ren was the second great general in Yuan Xiu's dynasty!
It stands to reason that such a reward is a great gift from the emperor, but it is still not as good as the expectations of officials and people. They feel that Wang Ren should be given a knighthood.
But Wang Ren was not given a knighthood, but his son was.
But just the baron of Yi County, a mere fifth-rank baron of San County, cannot be replaced hereditary.
This Sanxian man is incomparable with Wenhu's Sanxian uncle. Wenhu is from the third rank, and one step higher is a marquis. As long as he makes great achievements, he has a chance to be named a marquis.
Wang Yuluan is just here to give you a title.
I conferred a title on my son, and all the officials couldn't help but think about it, thinking that your majesty was guarding against Wang Ren!
To guard against Wang Yan, isn't it to guard against... Wen Tai?
Zhao Cheng, who was sitting in the first row of the Yanchuan square, secretly looked towards Wen Tai and saw Wen Tai's expression was calm, with no expression of joy or anger.
Zhao Cheng thought that the emperor was really suspicious, and his ministers started to be wary as soon as they made great achievements. This was somewhat similar to Yuan Shao in his previous life.
The officials had the same idea as Zhao Cheng, and they all glanced at Wen Tai subconsciously.
Yuan Xiu took in all the looks from his ministers and smiled without saying a word.
The generals headed by Wang Ren thanked him one after another. Although many people felt sorry for Wang Ren, Wang Ren himself was very satisfied and even cast a grateful look at Wen Tai's back when he left.
A few months ago, he was just an idle general retiring in the Eastern Capital. Now he has suddenly become the leader of the generals and has made great contributions that are famous in history. He is already very satisfied.
Zhang Dalian beside him was also very excited. He was a brave general from the fourth rank who was promoted to general for the first time. He was only one rank lower than Xiao Luofeng who was also promoted to general for the first time. If Wang Ren and Xiao Luofeng hadn't overshadowed him, in fact, he would have been
He was also promoted like a rocket this time!
Interested people all looked at Zhang Dalian with admiration and goodwill. They were sure that this man would be the backbone of Dajing's future generals.
The imperial edict to award the reward was from Lu Luxuan. After he stepped back, he signaled the end of the award.
Some people felt strange and kept looking at Zhao Cheng during the dinner.
The awards are over, why is Zhao Cheng not mentioned?
It would be fine if there was no ceremony for Xiao Luofeng, then people would think it was a special ceremony for the Northern Expeditionary Army. But since Xiao Luofeng is involved, why did Zhao Cheng be forgotten?
Although compared with the victory of the Northern Expedition and the Lingshan victory, Zhao Cheng's destruction of the Southern Zhou spy network was not sensational, but in terms of merit and the overall strategic situation of Dajing, it is enough to be comparable to the Lingshan victory.
Sometimes, victory in the intelligence network can even save the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers!
The Southern Zhou Intelligence Network, which took over the city of Yanchuan last time, banned General Zhaoyong, who is in the sixth rank. Everyone is still guessing whether he will directly go to the fourth rank this time, but the emperor...
It seems like he was missed?
How could you forget such a thing?
If I forget, I won't call him by name.
It must be the emperor’s intention!
Everyone noticed that Zhao Cheng's expression was even more indifferent than Wen Tai's, as if even he himself had forgotten about it.
In fact, Zhao Cheng really forgot about this...
What? I still have a reward?
No, I don't want it.
Don't give me an official title! And this General Zhaoyong, whoever wants it can take it away!
Yuan Xiu patted the armrest of the dragon chair and said: "The soldiers of the Northern Expedition have worked hard. Now that the general has been sealed, I have one more thing to announce."
As he spoke, Yuan Xiu looked at the crowd on his left, and his eyes fell on Xu Shouli's face.
"Xu, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, is getting older. He has mentioned to me that he wants to retire since the year before last. However, I have not found a candidate to replace him and have not agreed. Now, Qingdong Hou is responsible for the work of the Ministry of Revenue.
He was already very skilled and cooperated with the needs of the Northern Expeditionary Army during the Northern Expedition, stabilizing the rhythm of the army's attack on Yedan. It is no exaggeration to say that the victory of the Northern Expedition was due to Qingdong Hou."
"Although I can't bear to leave Mr. Xu, I can't be too selfish and delay Mr. Xu from returning home to enjoy the happiness of his family."
"Therefore, from now on, Qingdong Hou Xu Shouli will take over the position of Minister of Household Affairs!"
Hearing this, the Beijing officials did not react much. This was actually something they had expected. However, the local officials were surprised and wondered what was going on?
Wang Ren was originally retiring in Yanchuan City, and Xu Shouli was also retiring in Yanchuan City. Now one has become a general and the other has become a minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs.
Is Yanchuan City still that high-end retirement place?
This is obviously a blessed land!
You have to hurry up and buy real estate, otherwise housing prices will rise!
After Xu Shouli thanked him, he saw many people bowing to him and congratulating him everywhere he looked.
The Minister of Hubu in the Western Capital and the Shangshu in the Eastern Capital are completely different things.
Take charge of the entire Dajing’s economy and people’s livelihood!
Zhao Cheng nodded to Xu Shouli from a distance and sincerely congratulated him. He thought that after receiving the news, that boy Xu An would scream to the sky and shout that my father is doing his best. He finally made me stand up!
"Don't listen to me alone. There is no need to be formal at the Dajing State Banquet. You can drink to your heart's content no matter what time!"
"Eat well and drink well!"
Zhao Cheng glanced at the corner of his mouth and thought, does the emperor speak in such a down-to-earth manner? It's like going to a banquet in his previous life. The host of the banquet would often say that the food was good and the drink was good.
Zhao Cheng's position was close enough to the dragon chair, but with Zhao Cheng's eyesight, he still couldn't see Yuan Xiu clearly.
Seeing that the officials and guests were gradually relaxing, Yuan Xiu walked out of the dragon chair, looked towards the area on the right, and said: "General Longxiang!"
Although Yuan Xiu allowed everyone to drink freely, the guests still noticed Yuan Xiu from time to time. Wherever he went, people in the area would pay attention.
After being called by the emperor, Xiao Luofeng immediately came out of the queue and said: "I am here!"
"You said in the victory report that the victory at Lingshan was not your fault alone. There was also a pair of brothers and sisters who traveled around the world. Are they here?"
Xiao Luofeng instinctively wanted to take a look at Zhao Cheng, but he immediately remembered Zhao Cheng's instructions to him, so his eyes flickered a little and said: "I don't know, even if they came, they didn't go with me."
Xiao Luofeng was not embarrassed for long before Wen Hu said: "They are coming!"
Zhou Chuan and Zhou Nuo walked out.
Both of them were dressed as Jianghu people, Zhou Chuan carried a sword on his back, and Zhou Nuo carried a bow. Originally, they could not enter the palace with weapons, but they announced their identities and also reported the name of General Long Xiang.
After seeing them, the guard opened the back door for them.
This morning, they had some exchanges with Wenhu outside Yongshou Palace.
Wenhu took the initiative to announce their arrival this time, and also signaled to others that these two people have a friendship with me.
"See Your Majesty!" Brother and sister Zhou Chuan clasped their fists in salute without kneeling down.
Yuan Xiu doesn't care. He doesn't understand the rules of people in the world, but he understands the aloofness of people in the world.
"Thank you for the great victory at Lingshan." Yuan Xiu looked at the Zhou Chuan brothers and sisters. He didn't look at Zhou Nuo too much, but shot Zhou Chuan's face and body.
"I am a citizen of Dajing. It is my duty to expel foreign enemies." Zhou Chuan said seriously.
"Listen, listen!" Yuan Xiu glanced at the royal relatives and Beijing officials on his left, and said: "The people of Dajing are so strong and strong. Why worry that Dajing cannot unify the world?!"
Zhou Jinghuan's face darkened.
Prince Dayue sat next to him, noticed his expression, and said, "Just now you said you wanted to destroy Dajing, but you didn't expect that Emperor Dajing is more staunch than you, right?"
"Listen to him farting! My imperial brother is still here, he has no chance!" Zhou Jinghuan said without hesitation: "You should worry more about Da Yue, don't let a few neighbors take your turn!"
Prince Dayue rolled his eyes.
Yuan Xiu did not know the following discussion and continued: "I heard that you two brothers and sisters are both heroes in the world. Your brother is a swordsman with superb swordsmanship, and your sister is a marksman with perfect shots. Although today is a state banquet, you brothers and sisters can come.
, it makes my state banquet shine, and I feel very relieved!"
If a normal person heard what the emperor said, he would have knelt down and kowtowed, or at least expressed his gratitude in a heartfelt voice, but the Zhou Chuan brothers and sisters were indifferent.
It's not that they are arrogant, but they really don't know what to do next.
"Ahem..." Yuan Xiu cleared his throat, a little embarrassed, and decided not to be polite and said directly: "After the heroic deeds of your brothers and sisters were reported to Changsui, all the civil and military officials wanted to see your abilities. Today is a good time.
I wonder if I can show you something?"
Zhou Chuan thought for a moment and said, "I wonder what your Majesty wants to see?"
Yuan Xiu smiled and said: "Of course it's your swordsmanship and your sister's archery skills."
Zhou Nuo raised the bow without hesitation and asked: "They are all people, where can I shoot?"
"Ah?" Yuan Xiu was a little confused, feeling that he had underestimated the directness of people in the world.
As if seeing Yuan Xiu's embarrassment, Wen Hu winked at Du Xuhe who was beside him. Du Xuhe said quickly: "It is said that a sharpshooter has the ability to pierce a tree with a hundred steps, but Miss Zhou Nuo can do that in Lingshan."
Under certain circumstances, to turn the tide of victory, we definitely cannot rely on taking a hundred steps to defeat the enemy."
Du Xuhe pointed at a group of flying birds circling in the sky and said: "From a visual inspection, this group of birds in the sky does not exceed a hundred meters, and they are in motion. Can Miss Zhou Nuo kill two birds with one stone and open our eyes?"
"
Zhou Nuo said nonchalantly: "My name is Zhou Nuo, Lady Zhou."
Du Xuhe was not annoyed and immediately changed his words: "Please ask Ms. Zhou to open our eyes!"
Zhou Nuo looked up for a while and said, "These birds are very innocent. I can't bear to hurt them just to please others."
Du Xuhe smiled and said: "Is it impossible? It doesn't matter. It is a fact that Zhou Nuxia has made meritorious service in Lingshan. Now it doesn't matter even if it doesn't open our eyes, but I'm afraid it will disappoint His Majesty."
"I just said I didn't want to shoot these birds. Did I say I wouldn't shoot you?" After saying that, Zhou Nuo raised his arrow and pointed it at Du Xuhe.
Du Xuhe's face changed drastically, and he quickly stretched out his hand to stop him in front of him, shouting: "What are you doing?!"
"Tch... I see you're scared!" Zhou Nuo curled his lips and faced Yuan Xiu and said, "Your Majesty, crossing the Yangtze River at a hundred steps is really not worth mentioning to me. If someone asks someone to put a copper plate on top of their head, I will do it at two hundred steps.
How about shooting from outside and hitting the copper heart?”
"Very good!"
Yuan Xiu's eyes lit up, he clapped his hands and said: "In ancient times, there was a sharpshooter who pierced a poplar with a hundred steps, and today there is a Zhou heroine who pierced the heart with two hundred steps. This is a legend before the emperor, very good, very good!"
Zhou Nuodao: "Your Majesty, please arrange for someone."
Yuan Xiudao: "Then let's go to Zhongsan Doctor! Du Xuhe, if you propose it, you can do it!"
Doctor Zhongsan was almost crying. Two hundred steps...he shot the copper heart of the copper plate?
Still on top of your head?
Are you kidding me?
Not to mention my skills, my hands shook a little, and I wasn’t shot in the head???
Not right, not right!
Du Xuhe shook his head in his heart like a rattle, but he did not dare to refuse, but his desire to survive prevented him from agreeing.
"Doctor Zhongsan? His Majesty is calling you!" Wei You shouted from behind Yuan Xiu.
"Your Majesty!" Wen Hu came out and said: "Doctor Zhongsan is a civil servant. He usually trembles when the wind blows. Let him face the bow and arrow and he will probably pee. The copper heart only has such a small space. A distance of two hundred steps is not enough.
When you talk about how Zhou Nuxia’s archery skills are, Sir Du trembles a little, I’m afraid he’ll miss the mark!”
"Hahahahaha!!!" The ministers couldn't help laughing.
Wen Hu continued: "Let me come! I am a warrior. I can't go to the Northern Expedition this time. Let me feel the majesty of the victory at Lingshan!"
"Okay!!!" Yuan Xiu gave Wen Hu a thumbs up and praised: "Shaxian Bo is a brave man! Okay, I'm sure, let Shaxian Bo take the place of Dr. Zhongsan!"
Zhao Cheng watched from the sidelines, and the more he watched, the more interesting he became.
He just came to the state banquet, and there were only a few people he wanted to pay special attention to.
In addition to the emperor, there were the uncle and nephew Wen Tai and Wen Hu. The emperor had already seen them when he came over, and now he happened to take a look at Wen Hu.
He had always thought that Wenhu played the role of Wentai's think tank, but now it seems that this is not the case. Wenhu should be the executor, and Wenhu's think tank is someone else.
It's not that he thinks Wen Hu is not smart enough, but that the real think tanks are hidden behind the scenes and won't be so high-profile.
In fact, he knew that the purpose of Wenhu's move was nothing more than to attract Zhou Nuo's idea and give her a deeper impression so that she could make further recruitment.
But I didn't expect that Wen Hu would actually dare to put himself in danger.
At this time, Wen Hu walked 200 steps away under the guidance of the surveyors and placed the copper plate firmly on his head. Of course, he didn't know what Zhao Cheng was thinking, but he simply didn't think that this kind of thing was risky in the eyes of ordinary people.
Act as a risk.
In his opinion, if Zhou Nuo can shoot better, it means she has the ability, so she must be recruited.
If you miss or miss the target, just take action and catch the arrow!
This way you can still show off your skills in front of the emperor.
It's harmless.
Seeing that the Wenhu was in place, Zhou Nuo raised his bow, but immediately put it down and said, "I think it's better to forget it."
Du Xu and Zhengchou had no place to save face, so they immediately shouted: "If you can't shoot, you can't hit. Don't make excuses!!"
Xiao Luofeng couldn't listen anymore and said sharply: "Nvxia Zhou is the hero of the Lingshan victory and has made great contributions to the country. What does Doctor Zhongsan mean by this?"
Du Xuhe was still about to have a fit, but when he saw Wen Tai looking towards him from a distance, he immediately shut up.
"Actually, the distance of two hundred steps is already the limit for me. Shaxian Bo Jingui, I'm afraid of hurting him." Zhou Nuo said.
Everyone did not expect Zhou Nuo to speak so sincerely, and for a moment they didn't know how to respond, so they all looked towards the emperor.
Before the emperor could speak, Zhou Nuo said again: "Otherwise, let Uncle Shaxian throw up this copper plate, and I will shoot the copper heart again."
Everyone: "..."
Yuan Xiudao: "It's the same distance of two hundred steps. You think you will miss a fixed target, but now you have to shoot a moving target?"
"That's right!" Zhou Nuo said bluntly: "Since we are not sure, we might as well challenge the highest level of difficulty and try the moving target!"
Yuan Xiu thought: "What you said makes sense!"
But he said: "What do you think, Shaxian Bo?"
Wen Hu smiled heartily, took the copper plate off his head, held it in his hand, and said, "No problem."
This time, Zhou Nuo didn't change his mind. He looked at Wen Hu's hand and strung his bow.
"Nvxia Zhou, are you ready?" Wen Hu said in a normal tone, but the voice reached Zhou Nuo's ears two hundred meters away, and it was unusually clear.
Friday said behind Zhao Cheng: "Master."
Zhao Cheng rolled his eyes and said, "You want to tell me that I can't see this?"
Zhou Nuodao: "Okay."
Wen Hu stopped talking and smiled slightly, then narrowed his eyes and flipped the copper plate around between his fingers. Then he flicked his thumb and the copper plate shot vertically into the air.
At the same time, Zhou Nuo's eyes lit up and the arrow on the string shot out!
People close to Zhou Nuo only heard the sound of breaking wind!
In almost just one breath, the arrow penetrated the copper heart, and the entire arrow nailed the copper plate into the ground.
Buzz buzz——
The arrow tail swayed.
There was a sudden silence.
"Fuck..." Du Xuhe subconsciously said the essence of Chinese culture.
Snapped!
Snap! Snap!
Wen Hu was the first to applaud, and then Yuan Xiu also started to applaud. In an instant, thunderous applause erupted across the venue.
Yuan Xiu praised: "Nvxia Zhou is really our best marksman in Dajing!"
Zhou Nuo clasped his fists at Yuan Xiu and made a polite gesture: "Thank you."
"Ah..." Yuan Xiu was a little uncomfortable and said with a smile: "Haha, good, very good!"
Wen Hu returned to his seat and winked at Wen Tai on the way, his meaning was obvious.
This is indeed a real talent. It is not worth recruiting, but it must be recruited!
After seeing Zhou Nuo's ability, Yuan Xiu no longer doubted Xiao Luofeng's results. With such a sharpshooter here, he specially trained a hundred garrison soldiers to be shooters, and unexpectedly attacked the Southern Zhou army at night. It was really possible.
Possibility of success!
If you can hit a moving copper plate from two hundred steps away, wouldn't it be easy to hit the head?
At a distance of two hundred steps, how long would it take for the Southern Zhou army to reach Zhou Nuo?
"Awesome, awesome..." Yuan Xiu looked at Zhou Nuo with admiration in his eyes, and was already thinking about how to get her to serve the country.
"General Long Xiang!!" Yuan Xiu suddenly shouted.
"I'm here!" Xiao Luofeng responded immediately.
"The fact that you can meet a hero like Zhou Nuxia is not only my luck in Dajing, but also your blessing. I have decided to allocate two hundred taels of gold from my internal funds to reward you with one hundred taels and Zhou Nuxia with one hundred taels.
two!"
Xiao Luofeng immediately said: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Hearing this, all the officials were amazed. It was not unprecedented for the emperor to reward people with gold and silver from his own money, but it was very rare. This is enough to show the emperor's high regard for Zhou Nuo.
Zhou Nuo was completely unaware and even forgot to say thank you.
Yuan Xiu curled his lips and reminded himself that this person is a person in the world and does not understand the rules, but he still asked: "Isn't Zhou Nuxia too small? I am devoted to the country and am not rich in internal funds, so don't underestimate this one hundred
Two pieces of gold are already the majority of my assets!"
The very old Mu Shanyue and the ministers around him looked at each other and suppressed their laughter, thinking that His Majesty was actually explaining it to this little girl!
I have little private money.
Hahahahahaha!!
Zhou Nuo shook his head and said: "I don't think it's too little, I just think that if I can get so much money just by performing archery, then I will come here often to perform!"
"Hahaha, these are two different things!"
Yuan Xiu excused himself with a smile, and immediately hit the rails while the iron was hot: "I will talk to Nuxia Zhou about other things later. If Nuxia Zhou is interested, a mere hundred taels of gold is not worth mentioning!"
Zhou Nuodao: "I will not enter the harem."
Yuan Xiu: "..."
Ministers: "..."
"Pfft!" Zhao Cheng couldn't bear it anymore and quickly covered his mouth and bent down, for fear that Yuan Xiu would see him laughing.
Zhou Nuo, Zhou Nuo, your level of pretentiousness far exceeds that of Zhao Wu, and you even crush me!
Today, Your Majesty, I am at a loss as to what to do!
Yuan Xiu composed himself, thinking that it was a good thing that I was not interested in women, and said patiently: "I don't want you to enter the harem... Okay, let's not talk about this for now!"
As if he was afraid that Zhou Nuo would say something that would put him off the stage, Yuan Xiu immediately said: "The younger sister has already demonstrated her archery skills, now it's time for the older brother to show off his swordsmanship, right?"
"Master Zhou, can you open my eyes?"
Zhou Chuan walked out and Zhou Nuo walked back. When he passed by Zhao Cheng, Zhao Cheng said to Zhou Chuan: "Since you are here, you should be more high-profile and be better at pretending than Xiao Nuo."
Zhou Chuan seemed to have listened to what Zhao Cheng said, but he couldn't understand it!
High-profile? Pretentious?
Are you even better at pretending than Zhou Nuo?
What to do?
When Zhou Chuan was thinking about the outcome, a voice came from the foreign mission area.
"The Zhou brothers and sisters won the great victory at Lingshan under the leadership of General Xiao. We, the Southern Zhou Dynasty, were convinced of our defeat. The chief governor was fined three years' salary, and the younger governor was imprisoned for three months by the chief governor."
The speaker was Zhou Jinghuan. He came out and said, "I, Nan Zhou, are not a loser, but I am also very interested in the hero Zhou."
"Master Zhou uses a sword. In the battle at Lingshan, the sword in your hand was stained with a lot of the blood of our Southern Zhou soldiers, right?"
Zhou Jinghuan turned sideways, pointed at Chen Chong behind him, and said, "I happen to have a lot of swordsman masters in Southern Zhou Dynasty. I would like to suggest that you guys have a sparring match."