Li Shan was still doing thankless operations and caring for the wounded in Mayi City. Except for Liu Shirang who occasionally asked a few questions, everyone else ignored him.
But Chang'an ushered in a grand ceremony.
There were Turks in the north and Jianghuai rebels in the south. Chai Shao, the Duke of Qiao, led the army to repel the Tuyuhun, defeated several times of the enemy, beheaded two kings, captured the Khan alive, and made him voluntarily attend the Hajj. This was a great victory in stabilizing the morale of the army.
Not to mention, this was Li Tang's first battle against foreign tribes after he changed his banner. Li Yuan sent the prince and Princess Pingyang to Changlepo to welcome him, and held a banquet in the palace to celebrate Chai Shao.
Although he was not in a good mood recently, Li Yuan praised Chai Shao very much and granted him a real estate of 700 households on the spot...a grant of 1,000 households in the city. This is normal for the rank of a prince, but the actual grant of 700 households is considered A very grand blessing.
Chai Shao was a prudent person and refused repeatedly. After failing to do so, he turned to praise the general's merits. Today, there are three people accompanying him to the palace to see him, namely Ma Sanbao, Kan Leng and Su Dingfang.
Ma Sanbao was an old man. He had led the army with Princess Pingyang and contributed a lot. This time he went into battle as the right Xiaowei general. Kan Leng was Du Fuwei's adopted son. He had previously served as the left leader general and the governor of Yuezhou, but these were empty posts.
Li Yuan did not hesitate to reward him, and gave him Ma Sanbao on the spot as a male from Xingxing County, and Kan Leng was even granted the title of Marquis of Linji County.
Ma Sanbao was born as a slave and became a county man.
The Jianghuai army was wreaking havoc in the south of the Yangtze River, and Kan Leng was granted the title of County Marquis, which was obviously deliberately showing mercy.
Li Yuan's eyes fell on the burly Su Dingfang, "Is this Huairen's personal guard, Shandong Su Lie?"
"Su Lie pays homage to the saint." Su Ding had a resolute face and a calm expression.
"As fast as thunder, he beheaded generals and captured flags. He was both unmatched in bravery and mastered the mysteries of military art. Huairen is a man of knowledge." Li Yuan said with a smile, "For this great achievement, and in addition to Shandong's military achievements, I will not hesitate to reward him."
Su Dingfang bowed his head and said: "I don't dare to praise him as a saint. I have not yet become an official. I have killed Tang generals in battle. I just hope that I can offset my failure with merit."
Li Yuan was stunned for a moment. Did he kill the Tang general?
Li Shimin came forward and whispered a few words. Su Dingfang's adoptive father Gao Yaxian was beheaded by Li Shiji's generals in the battle of Luoshui. Su Dingfang beheaded him in revenge the next day.
Li Jiancheng on the side just felt unlucky, this guy was too bad at talking... Why did he say this in this situation?
Princess Pingyang and Chai Shao exchanged glances. Su Dingfang may not be unable to speak, but maybe there was Li Shan's instigation.
Well, actually it's not necessarily true. Historically, after Su Dingfang broke through King Jieli Khan's tent, he was not promoted for more than 20 years... Whatever the reason, it is certain that he will not be an official.
After Li Yuan thought for a moment, he awarded Su Dingfang the title of "Zhonglang General of the Left Guard" and "Captain of the Mounted Cavalry".
The Zuowei Zhonglang General is the fourth rank, which is already a senior military position. In the Twelve Guards system, it is second only to the General and the General, and is a position of real power.
The Captain of the Mounted Cavalry is the sixth rank among the twelve ranks of Chaozhongxunguan, which is equivalent to the fifth rank.
Taking into account Su Dingfang's meritorious service in the Shandong war, this western expedition killed King Tianzhu and captured the Khan alive. Such great achievements did not lead to a title, so it is appropriate to be awarded Zuowei Zhonglang General.
This banquet broke up soon after a ban on alcohol was issued and water was used instead of wine. Su Dingfang went straight back to Sun Moon Lake to see his mother as soon as possible.
His father died early, and his mother and son depended on each other for life. Su Dingfang was very filial to his mother, and never slacked off in the morning and dusk.
"Not knighted?" Su's mother was a little disappointed, but then she asked in detail, and then said: "General Zhonglang...who is General Zuowei?"
"Fufeng County Duke Dou Cong."
Mother Su's eyes lit up, "I must support the people of the Fengdou clan."
"The younger brother of Duke Dou Gui of the Kingdom of Fu."
Looking up at the joy on his mother's face, Su Dingfang hesitated for a while and then said: "Mother, I want to resign from the military position."
"What?!" Mother Su suddenly stood up and yelled: "Da Lang, what are you going to do?"
Su Dingfang didn't say a word, he just prostrated himself deeply.
After a moment of silence, Mother Su said angrily: "Are you still chasing Dai County?!"
"Bang bang bang."
At this time, the knock on the door interrupted the conversation between mother and son. Ling Jing walked in slowly with a calm expression, "Why are you so speculating on Huairen?"
This sentence is obviously aimed at Su's mother.
The reason why Su Dingfang followed Chai Shao on the expedition was, on the one hand, to be appreciated by Chai Shao, and on the other hand, Li Shan did not want to see Su Dingfang stay with him as the leader of the personal guard.
But Su Dingfang's side... mainly came from Su's mother's promotion.
For Su's mother, she was grateful for Li Shan's life-saving grace, but she didn't want her son to work wholeheartedly from now on... Who wouldn't want his talented son to make great achievements?
Li Shan had long discovered Su's mother's thoughts, and he understood it very well.
But neither Ling Jing nor Su Dingfang himself agreed with this.
On the one hand, it is the kindness of saving his mother, which may not be repaid in a lifetime. On the other hand, Su Dingfang and Li Shan are already one in terms of political stance.
Faced with Ling Jing's faint accusation, Su's mother was speechless and allowed the other party to pull her son away.
"Don't worry." Ling Jing raised his wine cup, took a sip, and said to Su Dingfang, who was sitting across from him, "Huairen will set off immediately after the good news comes."
"Before leaving, Huairen said that the person who made the prescription is a famous general. How can he stay at his side?"
Su Dingfang was not stupid, and he quickly understood the implication of this sentence... If he did not make a great contribution this time, Li Shan would be waiting for him to go to Dai County with him.
But he had made great achievements, so Li Shan immediately left for his post, in order to prevent himself from being embarrassed... He had to be rewarded by the government. Could it be that Li Shan would watch him resign his official position and come to join him?
This is not something Li Shan can do.
"That boy is quite attentive." Ling Jing sighed as he stroked his beard.
Su Dingfang drank all the wine in the cup and lowered his voice: "I promised to become a slave that day, but I had to treat him like a brother with kindness, so much love and righteousness..."
"Now that Huairen has gone to Yanmen, there will be war. Although Jun Hao is brave in charging into battle, commanding troops is not his specialty. How can I sit in Chang'an peacefully?!"
After a pause, Su Dingfang added: "I heard that Fufeng County Duke and Zuowei General Dou Cong had a rift with the King of Qin in his early years."
Ling Jing nodded, "It's true."
"But if you rush to Dai County now, what can you do?"
"Liu Shirang was appointed Sima of Daizhou and was ordered to conduct a military campaign in Mayi. General Li Gao of Zuo Wuwei moved to garrison Yanmen." Ling Jing shook his head and said, "Huairen can't control the whole situation. He can only lead his personal guards. Jun Hao is enough."
"The left-back Zhonglang general is a good position... maybe in the future..."
Su Dingfang's eyes lit up, "Does Huairen have an explanation?"
"That's not true." Ling Jing was about to continue speaking when he heard the sound of a horse neighing outside the door.
It's already dark, how come someone is coming? The opposite side is Li's house.
Su Dingfang stood up and opened the door, carefully identified it, and shouted: "Fan Shiyi!"
Fan Shiyi, who had a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, jumped off the horse and said, "Brother Su is back, where is Mr. Ling?"
"An urgent letter from Mr. Lang."
Ling Jing was a little nervous. He had read the Shuozhou battle report yesterday. Yuan Junzhang led more than 10,000 troops to invade the south. Now Mayi is fighting... At this time, Li Shan was anxious to write, could something happen?
After opening the letter and reading ten lines at a glance, Ling Jing first breathed a sigh of relief, then read it carefully, handed it to Su Dingfang, and said with a smile: "Huairen is lucky."
After Su Dingfang read it, a smile appeared on his lips.
"You can do it anywhere!" Ling Jing cursed with a smile, "But if you want to spread some rumors in Chang'an, it's not that easy..."
"This matter cannot be ignored... I am an official of Tiance Mansion and cannot get involved."
Ling Jing looked at Su Dingfang and said, "Dingfang should take a trip. It's better to leave this matter in the center."
"Princess Pingyang?" Su Dingfang nodded slightly.
