Jiuxi

Chapter 127 Chapter 126 [Two Dukes in One Day]

October 12, the 28th year of Qi Jianwu's reign.

The almanac says that the birds do not sing.

At three o'clock in the morning, before dawn, the square in front of the palace was already crowded with important officials. Except for a few senior officials who were not in the capital, all the officials from the seventh rank and above were waiting here.

Civil servants and military generals each have their own groups. Although it is not absolutely clear-cut, one can generally see relatively fixed circles.

There were palace people holding torches around the square. With the flickering light of the fire, most of the people's eyes were focused on the east corner, where stood twelve frontier military generals, who were also the absolute protagonists of today's court meeting.

The three commanders Chen Lanyu, He Gui and Huo Zhen stood at the front, and were arranged in order by military rank at the back. Everyone stood upright and solemn, revealing their sharp and sharp momentum.

After the seven captains, there is a young man and woman with the lowest military rank currently.

Even in this slightly dim light, Lu Chen and Li Bingxue still looked like a perfect couple, particularly attracting everyone's attention.

"Why do I feel like those adults are looking at monkeys?"

Lu Chen laughed at himself softly.

Li Bingxue smiled and said: "This is why I hate the capital. By the way, did you eat more before going out?"

Lu Chen responded: "I've eaten a lot, and I'm still a little full now."

Li Bingxue said leisurely: "That's good, today's court meeting will definitely last for a long time."

Before he finished speaking, the palace door in front slowly opened.

As Censor Jiuyi sang, all the officials filed in.

After several expansions, the Imperial Palace of Qi State now consists of Duancheng Hall, Chui Gong Hall, Chongzheng Hall and Wende Hall. Among them, Wende Hall is the place where the emperor conducts daily business and privately summons important ministers, and Chongzheng Hall is where the emperor lectures. , Chui Gong Hall is the place where court meetings are held, and Duancheng Hall is where the great court meetings are held.

Under the guidance of the officials of the Ministry of Rites, the officials entered the palace from the left and right gates according to Wendong and Wuxi respectively, went up to the grade bridge, passed through the Fengtian Gate, came to the square in front of the Duancheng Hall, and entered Duancheng according to their positions according to the grades. temple.

Lu Chen and Li Bingxue stood in the middle and rear of the row of military attachés, about seven or eight feet away from the dragon chair above the imperial steps.

Immediately the drums sounded.

When the drums stopped for the third time, and the magnificent and moderate Shao music was heard again, the emperor led the troops and marched down to Lin Duancheng Hall.

Danbi's great music was played, the officials of the Ministry of Rites shouted, and all the officials paid four obeisances to the emperor.

At this point, the etiquette is complete.

The ministers knew the procedure very well and did not make any mistakes. Lu Chen received instructions from the eunuch in the palace yesterday, so he was able to follow it in a decent manner.

He knew that this was just an ordinary court meeting, not a court meeting such as Zhengdan or Daqing. Relatively speaking, the etiquette was relatively simple, which only highlighted the majesty of the Tianjia to a certain extent.

The atmosphere in the palace was calm, and all the officials were solemn.

On the dragon chair, Li Duan looked around at the ministers below. When he passed a corner, he paused for a moment, then continued to move to the side, and said calmly: "My lords, today's meeting is a little late. I originally wanted to It was held in the middle of the month. Considering that no detailed and accurate battle report had been sent from the north, it was postponed for half a month."

His tone was as usual, neither overtly eager nor exaggerated.

The officials knew exactly what the battle report from the north meant.

Li Duan looked at one of the civil servants and said gently: "Ding Shangshu."

Ding Hui, Minister of the Ministry of War, immediately came out and said: "I am here."

Li Duandao: "Let Aiqing tell you about the battle report in the north."

"The minister obeys the order."

Ding was slightly happy when he met, as if he was sincerely proud of the victory achieved by the frontier soldiers. He said unhurriedly: "The war in Northern Xinjiang started on April 25th. The puppet Yan Dongyang Road troops brazenly invaded our Chaohuai The northern border of the state. Finally on August [-]th, Meng Zhixiang, the guard of Jianghua City on Moyang Road in the pseudo-Yan Dynasty, surrendered to the city."

"This battle lasted for three and a half months. The soldiers of our dynasty worked bravely and united as one to achieve great victories in Guangling, Qingxia and Jiangbei. They annihilated and captured more than [-] puppet Yan and Jing Dynasty soldiers, and recovered Yingze, Yongchun, Yang The seven cities of Zhai, Jianghua, Jiangle, Youxi and Xunyang, Jingzhou and Huaizhou are now connected and no longer separated by the puppet Yan army."

"Millions of people in the North returned to the rule of Da Qi. The conspiracy of the puppet Yan was directly defeated. This is a great victory that has been celebrated by the whole world for twelve years. I congratulate you! Congratulations to your majesty! Long live my emperor! !”

Ding Hui's tone gradually rose, and his loud voice echoed in the hall.The ministers shouted long live the mountain. No matter what they were thinking in their hearts, the expressions on their faces were all roughly the same at this moment, and they were all filled with excitement and generosity.Especially some veterans who were over fifty years old, after listening to this brief but detailed battle report, tears flashed in their eyes, and they couldn't help but kowtow to the emperor on the dragon throne.

"All the ministers are alive." Li Duan looked at this scene and was quite moved. Perhaps at this moment he remembered that the old capital fell 13 years ago, and he took on the important task of continuing the country in confusion and fear. At that time, he couldn't sleep well all night. I was afraid that when I opened my eyes, I would hear the news that Jing Chao's army had arrived at the city.

At that moment, how could he have imagined that in the past 12 years, he had not only defended half of the country south of Hengjiang, but also turned defense into offense and achieved such a brilliant victory.

The ministers gradually calmed down, and Li Duan said emotionally: "If it weren't for the loyalty of all the ministers in the court and the soldiers of the border army who sacrificed their lives for the country, how could we have achieved such a great victory? Over the years, I have always thought of the fall of the old capital and the destruction of the Tianjia Ancestral Temple. Once this happens, I always feel so guilty about how I will face my ancestors in a few years. I...I am really an unfilial descendant."

The emperor's voice trembled, immediately causing an even louder noise below.

"Your Majesty, I am incompetent and unable to share your Majesty's worries. I deserve death for my crime!"

"Your Majesty, the gloom is gradually disappearing and the light is returning. Our government will definitely be able to regain its homeland in Jiangbei!"

"Your Majesty, please be at ease and take care of the dragon's body!"

The crowd was raging, and it was a chaotic and noisy scene.

Lu Chen lowered his head slightly and watched the scene quietly without saying a word.

Li Duan sighed, raised his hand to wipe the corners of his eyes, and said happily: "Now that the seven cities in Jiangbei have been recovered, and millions of people have returned to the rule of Daqi, I can finally sleep peacefully these days. This year At the end of the great sacrifice, I will offer the prisoners of war and the fruits of victory to the Ancestral Temple to comfort the spirits of the kings of the Heavenly Family."

All the ministers nodded in praise.

Li Duan said again: "Today I want to talk to all the Qing family members about what is in my heart, which I have hidden for 13 years. Nowadays, fewer and fewer people are talking about the Yuanjia incident, and there are almost no people in the court. I I know that all the ministers do not want to embarrass me, but how can I forget? The old capital fell, the palace was burned, the ancestral temple was destroyed, the late emperor, the queen mother and all the royal brothers passed away, and Daqi suffered unprecedented suffering in the 40 years since its founding. A shame."

His eyes were slightly red, and he looked at the ministers and said: "This is a shame for me, a shame for all my dear friends, and a shame for the Qi court! I will not dare or forget it for a day!"

After hearing these words, Lu Chen felt a little weird.

He could understand why the emperor was so excited. After all, for an emperor with grand ambitions, the situation in Southern Qi was really embarrassing. There were strong enemies outside and constraints inside. No matter what he wanted to do, he had to consider all aspects of the impact.If it weren't for the support of two famous generals, Xiao Wangzhi and Li Tianrun, Li Duan might not have accomplished anything.

But there is something related to the Lu family. The fire that burned the late emperor and the prince to death in Heluo City was a revenge method that Lu Tong had painstakingly planned for four years.

Of course Lu Chen would stand by his father's side, not to mention that Lu Tong's revenge for the unjustly killed Commander Yang Guangyuan was blameless, but after all, he had not yet cultivated to the level of an old fox, so it was inevitable that he would have some entanglements in his heart.

This determines that he cannot be as defenseless against the emperor as Li Tianrun. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why he firmly wants to return to the border.

In the main hall, after hearing the emperor's sincere and inspiring words, all the officials responded with solemn silence. No one dared to jump out and sing the opposite at this time.

Li Duan calmed down a little and said slowly: "I am glad that I still have the support of all the ministers and the hundreds of thousands of men who are not afraid of life and death and fight for the Qi Dynasty, so that I can relax. They serve the country, I How can we turn a blind eye? Therefore, today I am convening a great meeting to reward these soldiers who participated in the war in Northern Xinjiang!"

This is the intended meaning of the title, and the ministers had already anticipated it.

Li Duan looked at the eunuch next to him, who then took a step forward, spread out the imperial edict and read out two rewards.

Xiao Wangzhi, the governor of Huaizhou, was granted the title of Duke of Chong'an County due to his meritorious service. He was awarded the title of Zhuguo and granted food to [-] households.

Li Tianrun, the governor of Jingzhou, was granted the title of Duke of Huai'an County for his meritorious service. He was awarded the title of Zhuguo and granted food to [-] households.

In the title system of Qi State, the founding Duke is the fourth rank, inferior to the prince, county king and founding Duke.

Zhuguo is the second level in the imperial officer system, second only to Shangzhuguo.

For the generals of the border army, such a reward was considered to be the highest level. After all, the State of Qi had always been very cautious in awarding titles. In the 12 years since Li Duan ascended the throne, he had only awarded two founding dukes when he had just ascended the throne.

Some of the officials thought that the reward was a bit excessive. After all, Xiao and Li were both earls before. Now, it would be inappropriate to directly step over the marquis and be granted the title of Duke.However, because of Li Duan's previous preparations, which elevated the significance of Jiangbei's victory to an extremely important level, it was difficult for them to oppose it at this time.

Therefore, after a short silence, there was a sound of praise for "Your Majesty, Holy Ming" in the hall.

In the military attaché train, Lu Chen suddenly turned his head and glanced at Li Bingxue without any trace, smiled and said softly: "Congratulations."

Li Tianrun is now the Duke of the County and the Commander-in-Chief of the border army with an army of [-]. His status in the court has been further improved, and he can be treated as an equal even when facing the powerful Privy Councilors and Generals.

As his most beloved eldest daughter, Li Bingxue can now be said to be a true daughter of heaven, and Li Sanlang and his like are not worth mentioning in front of her.

However, there was not much joy on Li Bingxue's face. She turned her head to meet Lu Shen's gaze, with a hint of worry in her eyes.

(End of this chapter)