Just when Jia Heng was reorganizing his army in the Jiangnan camp - in Shenjing City
Daming Palace, Hanyuan Hall
The ministers in the palace were discussing matters. As the autumn grain collection gradually took over the theme of the political life of the Han Dynasty, and the rice grain and silver payment in northern Xinjiang once again needed to be planned, the cabinet and the military aircraft department had been frequently convened recently to hold court discussions.
Yang Guochang, the chief minister of the cabinet below, had a cold look on his old face. He cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Tan Jie, the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing, has reported that since the beginning of summer in the south of the Yangtze River, there has been too much rain, which has affected the grain harvest. I ask that your Majesty, please consider it appropriate to avoid sending grain this year." Amount."
If the child suffered a defeat in the south, I think the Holy Spirit's impression of the child would also change.
Emperor Chongping said solemnly: "Now the northern frontier army is in urgent need of transporting grain, and not a single grain of grain transported from the south of the Yangtze River should be missing."
Yang Guochang cupped his hands and said, "I will write to the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing to urge the transportation of grain."
Yang Guochang finished his duties and returned to court. It was almost noon. All the courtiers were hungry and wanted to wait for Emperor Chongping to leave the court.
Emperor Chongping glanced at the courtiers below, his eyes stopped on the face of Shi Jie, the Minister of War, headed by the Military Aircraft Department, and asked: "Military Aircraft Department, is there any report from Jinling?"
Shi Jie responded quickly: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the memorial from Jinling has not been delivered in the past few days."
Because the news of the destruction of the Nanfang Town Navy was spreading in Beijing, Emperor Chongping did not receive Jia Heng's flying pigeon message for a while, and he was inevitably a little anxious.
Thinking it was Jia Heng, he wrote another memorial to record the events in detail and submitted it to Beijing.
Emperor Chongping was silent for a moment.
At this moment, behind the palace, through the hanging bead curtain, an eunuch poked his head out and winked at Dai Quan, who was serving beside Emperor Chongping.
Knowing that something was going on, Dai Quan went to the inner prison, took the brocade box containing the paper, paused slightly, and quickly returned to Emperor Chongping.
"Your Majesty, Uncle Yongning's flying pigeon is delivering a message."
After hearing this, Emperor Chongping took the paper from Dai Quan, couldn't wait to read it, and said: "Okay, as expected of Ziyu!"
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of several cabinet ministers and court officials below changed slightly, and they secretly thought, what do you mean?
Emperor Chongping put down the paper, looked down at the expectant and doubtful eyes, and said: "Just now, the flying pigeon delivered by Jia Ziyu said that on August 16, the army won a great victory at Haimen, and the bandits were defeated. Three hundred Jurchens were captured in the battle, and four thousand pirates were captured. The Donglu did not dare to attack Jinling by boat again. Detailed military reports will be delivered today by a 600-mile expedited horse."
Because the amount of information that flying pigeons can convey in a letter is limited, there is not much text on the paper, but fortunately there is still classical Chinese at this time. Although Jia Heng does not understand Shannon's information theory, he can simply encode the information with the help of later generations' spy war knowledge. It’s better to know something and try to strike a balance between information distortion and simple compression.
However, the homing pigeons were still affected by the weather on the way. They could have arrived earlier, but they didn't want to arrive now.
As soon as these words came out, the Hanyuan Palace seemed to have set off a stormy sea, which was unbelievable.
How long has it been since Yongningbo achieved another great victory? Is it really like a rainbow of martial arts, victorious in every battle?
Just when the ministers were having different thoughts, Liu Yu, who was drinking wine at the Imperial Academy not far behind Yang Guochang, frowned and his eyes flashed. He held a wat tablet and went out to play. He said: "Your Majesty, Zhen Haijun is here. They were destroyed on August 15th, and the bandits were sent to the Jiangbei camp the next day. Will this flying pigeon pass the message..."
Well, Liu Yuzhong was clearly influenced by the scenes such as "Jia Ziyu cleverly recognized the false news, Emperor Chongping fainted in Xihe Palace", "Jia Ziyu boldly showed his loyalty, and Queen Xuefeng of the Song Dynasty was suddenly attacked", etc. His heart was blessed and his mind was activated. , want to see through the authenticity of the letter passed by Fei Ge.
Liu Yuzhong's words obviously also played some role.
Pang Shilang, the Minister of Rites, paused for a moment, and said in a deep voice, "What Mr. Liu said is not unreasonable. Could it be that they have already been defeated, and the bandits deliberately delayed our court's decision-making and response?"
After these words were spoken, the ministers in the palace looked at each other in shock. After thinking about it, it seemed possible.
"The battle in Henan was not
So? The false news was intended to disrupt my central vision. "At this time, Cen Weishan, the Minister of Punishment, nodded and said solemnly.
Emperor Chongping: "???"
Did these people do this on purpose? Bringing up past events and uncovering scars?
"This is a homing pigeon specially trained by Jinyi Mansion. It took several homing pigeons to transmit the information. How can it be fake?" Emperor Chongping said in a deep voice, holding back the anger in his heart.
But Liu Yuzhong stubbornly said: "Your Majesty, I think it is prudent to err on the side of caution, and we need to wait for the follow-up memorial to prove what I said."
Emperor Chongping looked at the Imperial Academy's sacrificial wine with his slender brows, feeling angry and laughing at the same time.
Is this Liu Yuzhong a fool of himself in his studies?
However, Liu Yuzhong's words were quite recognized by the officials of the Department of Science and Technology. For a time, several chief censors came out to agree with him.
Emperor Chongping's face was as calm as the abyss. He looked at Yang Guochang and said, "Yang Qing, what do you think?"
"Your Majesty, we still need to wait for the memorial to report the good news. If the news is good, it's not too late to celebrate." Yang Guochang cupped his hands and said.
"Han Qing."
Han Huang hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to answer at first, but he couldn't resist the emperor's aggressive gaze, so he had to bite the bullet and said: "Wei Chen believes that in military affairs, if you are more cautious, you will never go wrong."
Emperor Chongping was silent for a moment, speechless.
Just now I said I was asking about the good news, but in fact I was asking about the attitudes of the Qi and Zhejiang parties towards Jia Heng. As expected, due to the promotion of the Military Aircraft Department, he gradually valued Zi Yu, and the officials from the Qi and Zhejiang parties began to form a vague consensus of rejection.
This might not be a bad thing.
Just when the ministers in the palace were quiet for a moment, suddenly, from Danbi outside Hanyuan Palace, a young eunuch hurriedly ran in and entered the palace panting, with sweat still on his forehead and temples, holding a Brocade Box, loudly said: "Your Majesty, Yong Ningbo's military information has been delivered urgently and densely."
Because Emperor Chongping had specifically stated that if Jia Heng’s military information was discovered, it should be delivered to the palace as soon as possible. No matter what he was doing at the time, he should report it. After the report came quickly, the report finally arrived. Arrive at Shenjing City.
As soon as the eunuch said these words, the palace suddenly fell silent, and all the courtiers were shocked.
"Dai Quan." Emperor Chongping ordered. "My slave is here."
Dai Quan responded, took a fly whisk, came over from the golden luan, took the secret box from the young eunuch, quickly opened it, took out a memorial from it, turned around and trotted to present it to Emperor Chongping.
Under the attention of the civil and military ministers in the palace, Emperor Chongping took the memorial and read the text.
Compared with the brief text of "The Carrier Pigeon", the narrative of the battle report recorded in the memorial is undoubtedly more detailed and sufficient. It records in detail that after the defeat of Zhenhai, Jia Heng went to Tongzhou to defend the port to help, and then picked up the remaining troops in Tongzhou to defend the port, using strong tactics. Cleaning up military discipline, motivating generals, and also mentioned the matter of rewarding generals for killing enemies.
Then Jia Heng led the navy to attack the Japanese invaders. He fought against the enemy at Haimen and defeated the Japanese pirates. Zhengbai Banner had three hundred flag soldiers.
The army was annihilated and four thousand pirates were captured. It was a great victory.
Emperor Chongping read it and read it again, his cheeks flushed. He couldn't help but take another look at the seal and signature. After confirming it, he felt even more happy.
Well, what Liu Yuzhong just said finally made the emperor suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder.
After all, if you fall into the same pit twice, you will die of shame.
Emperor Chongping saw that there was no abnormality, so he picked up the memorial and said with a smile on his face: "Dai Quan, show it to all the ministers."
This time, there will be no lies!
Upon hearing this, Dai Quan quickly took the memorial and walked towards Yang Guochang, Han Huang and others.
After a while, the ministers circulated it, with shock on their faces.
Did Yong Ning Bo really win?
Emperor Chongping looked at Liu Yuzhong who was looking at the memorial and asked, "Liu Qing, do you still see any doubts?
Not everyone in the civil and military dynasties is Ziyu!
Liu Yuzhong took the memorial and saw nothing unusual. He looked sullen for a moment and handed it to someone.
Wang Shu, the minister of Dali Temple nearby, cupped his hands towards Emperor Chongping and said, "The humble minister is stupid and cannot tell the truth from the false."
Emperor Chongping looked at Shi Jie at the military station and asked, "Where is Shi Qing? Shi Qing has read the memorial before. Do you know whether it is true or false?"
Speaking of it, it was also because he was so deeply wounded by the false victory last time that Emperor Chongping simply took the risk this time and asked the courtiers below, as if he subconsciously wanted to wash away the original shame in this way.
Shi Jie cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the memorial contains the code mark previously agreed upon by Yongning Bo. This will be used as a secret to confirm the authenticity."
As soon as these words came out, Liu Yuzhong's face was slightly shocked, while Yang Guochang's face darkened, and he was slightly shocked.
Han Huang, the Second Assistant to the Cabinet, also narrowed his eyes. This Jia Ziyu is really scheming. Does a minister of the Privy Council also have a secret code mark?
When Emperor Chongping heard this, a bright light flashed through his heart, and he suddenly said: "When Shi Qing said this, I seem to have remembered that Ziyu mentioned at the beginning that the military and political affairs ministers contained in the dense brocade box of the Military Aircraft Department were for the purpose of It must not be leaked, so the memorial should have a secret code for the appointment. I forgot about it just now, so the pattern of the memorial is dotted with bird patterns, long and short..."
Ziyu had mentioned it to him before, but he was so busy with government affairs that he didn't think of it just now.
Shi Jie quickly became solemn and interrupted, "Your Majesty... this method cannot be used frequently."
Emperor Chongping nodded and said: "I forgot my feelings for a moment, Shi Qing reminded me.
It is indeed difficult to make this kind of secret appointment known to the public.
The ministers below listened to the monarch and his ministers almost singing in unison, describing the key points of the secret box of the Military Aircraft Department. They all looked confused. What else could they, the ministers outside the Military Aircraft Department, not know?
Emperor Chongping looked at the ministers below and said: "My lords, the ministers of the military and state affairs are related to the danger of the country, and communication must be kept confidential."
There is an indescribable feeling in my heart.
Ziyu was really a minister who planned the country and had far-sighted plans. If the Ministry of War had kept secrets when delivering official military reports, how could there have been false reports of success in the past?
The ministers below were so surprised that they were speechless.
Han Huang, the second minister of the cabinet, sighed in his heart. The emperor relied more and more on the military department, and they, the cabinet ministers, became more and more distant from the central affairs. This is the normal law of a bad country!
Just when the ministers had different thoughts, Emperor Chongping said: "My lords, this time Jia Ziyu led the navy to achieve a great victory at Haimen. He defeated the bandits in one battle and wiped out the Jurchen white flag. His contribution is not small. , I have to reward you.”
The ministers were shocked again when they heard this.
The Holy One is going to give Jia Ziyu a title again. If he is granted a title because of his merits, he will not be rewarded in the future. Is this okay?
At this time, Yang Guochang, the chief minister of the cabinet, hesitated for a moment, then went out and handed over his hands and said: "Your Majesty, Uncle Yongning was promoted to the first rank not long ago. Your Majesty was so kind to him. It was at the time when Uncle Yongning was carrying the Jade Dragon and he was grateful for the emperor's favor with tears, how can we do it because of this?" Rewards for small achievements?"
Emperor Chongping said: "Yang Qing, Yongningbo defeated the pirates, how can you not be rewarded for your merits?"
Pang Shilang, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, came out of the class and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, although this merit is commendable, it is by no means enough to make you a prince! In the past, Taizu established the system. Unless you have made great contributions to the country, you cannot be granted the title of prince. "In the Taizong Dynasty, there were people who made great achievements in the southwest and northwest, and the highest they could do was to become a prince. I ask your Majesty to think again."
Fang Huan, the minister of the Ministry of Personnel, cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the famous utensil of the country's duke is related to the ancestor's method of making it. How can it be ruined by the skill of the ruler? As the saying goes, the person who first made the figurines has no descendants, and the ministers are dull. I only ask your Majesty to think twice."
At this time, Cen Weishan, the Minister of Punishment, also held up his hands and said: "Your Majesty, Yongning's uncle is not as good as the weak crown. Since he became an official, he has risen from a white man to a super-ranked earl. His grace has been unprecedented and grand. It is precisely because of his exhaustion and dullness that he has served the country. At that time, if you were rewarded again and again, you would not be promoted to a noble title, and I think it is not a long-term way to preserve it."
At this time, as Pang Shilang and the two ministers of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Personnel were about to step forward, another minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Zhou Tingji, also handed over and left to present his report.
The censors in charge and the officials of the Sixth Section of the Imperial Court came out one after another to agree, quoting scriptures and proving from various angles that Jia Heng's meager merits were not enough to make him a marquis.
Although Xu Lu, the censor of Zuodu, did not leave his post,
He agreed, but also paid attention to Emperor Chongping's movements. If he proposed to be granted a title, he would obviously object to it.
Qin Ye looked at the court officials who came out to oppose each other, frowned, sighed in his heart, and looked around at Ziyu's enemies in the court.
He was still a little embarrassed to support his father-in-law. Seeing this scene, Jia Zheng was also secretly anxious.
At the beginning, the meritorious service that Shi Jia Xian's brother made in the northwest seemed not to be very significant, and he was still granted the title of marquis. Why can't Ziyu be granted the title of marquis now?
Emperor Chongping looked down at the courtiers who had invited him, his face gradually became as cold as stone, and in his calm voice with a hint of sullenness, he said, "When did I say that I would make Uncle Yongning a marquis?"
Pang Shilang, Cen Weishan, and Ke Dao Yanguan: "...."
No, is this an overreaction? But the emperor seemed to be very interested just now?
Emperor Chongping said coldly: "According to the memorial, the Jurchen Prince Duduo is still fleeing across the rivers and seas, and there is still the possibility that sea pirates will come to invade our territory of the Han Dynasty. Now Yongning Boti has mobilized the land and water troops and horses from the camp in the south of the Yangtze River and in the north of the Yangtze River to rectify the situation. There are still a lot of battles to be fought in order to ward off the bandits. Even if you want to be promoted to a noble title, you still have to wait for Haiyanhe to be clear and the military affairs to be settled! As for the so-called sudden reward of becoming a marquis, one reward and another reward, so on and so forth, to the envoy Jia Ziyu If I can wipe out the Eastern captives in one year and reach the county king in cloth, why should I be so stingy?"
As soon as the emperor said these words, the entire Hanyuan Hall was silent, and immediately, the hearts of all the ministers were shocked.
But having said that, there is no problem in destroying the Donglu and making a county king.
Emperor Chongping glanced at the ministers below and said in a deep voice: "My lords, now that Jia Ziyu has become the Yongning Bo, he can still be promoted to a higher position and give him praise first and a small reward for his merits. As far as I know, there is no posthumous gift from his ancestors." , How can I bear it?"
To put it bluntly, the merits of being granted the title of Marquis are obviously not enough, but one can posthumous gifts to the ancestors and be promoted personally.
Yao Yu, the Minister of Rites, thought for a while, held the wat tablet in his hand, and went out to announce: "Your Majesty, the mother of Uncle Yongning has been posthumously conferred the posthumous title of Mrs. Jia Mao Yide. Her father has not yet been conferred the posthumous title, so she should be posthumously granted the title."
Because, in the "Cijue List" quoted in Jia Heng's official resume, it was Jia Heng's mother who raised him through all kinds of hardships, so she was posthumously given the title of Madam Chaopin.
Moreover, in fact, imperial edicts are often given to mothers and husbands.
As for people, as for fathers, it is generally not common to give gifts, but it is not impossible.
Emperor Chongping pondered for a moment and said: "The Ministry of Rites has decided to give Jia Heng a beautiful posthumous title as a posthumous title to show his legacy. In addition, the cabinet will draft an edict."
As he said that, he looked at Han and Yang.
"The humble minister is here." Han Huang, the second assistant to the cabinet, holding an ivory and jade scepter, came out of the class to play.
Seeing this, Yang Guochang endured the irritation in his heart. He also held the ivory jade wat and cupped his hands and said, "I'm here, my old minister."
In the current cabinet, because Zhao Mo is still on his way back north and Qi Kun is still patrolling salt, only the first and second assistants are left. The two parties of Qi and Zhejiang are clearly divided.
Emperor Chongping looked around at the officials and said loudly: "I have appointed Yong Ning Bo and Jia Heng, Minister of War, as the crown prince's Taibao. This official title is still not enough to reward his merits. After the peace and stability of the sea area, he has other meritorious deeds and will be promoted to the title."
Previously, when Jia Heng was the governor of Henan, he was appointed Minister of the Ministry of War. At that time, he barely had an official rank of 1st rank. However, when he resigned as governor, his civil official title was still only 2nd rank. This was also the highest rank for all civil servants in the Han Dynasty before joining the cabinet. The position, that is, the second rank is already the pinnacle, but after adding the crown prince and Taibao, it will always be the first rank.
If he were not too young and the Han Dynasty had already appointed Li Zan, Minister of the Ministry of War, as a Shaobao, it would be impossible to add a Shaobao.
As for Li Zan, who became a bachelor of Wuying Palace and was promoted to an official rank from the first rank, he was also the crown prince's Taibao.
As for Emperor Chongping, he wanted to add an official title first, and remember part of the credit for this time. When he has accumulated enough merits for making him a marquis, he would naturally give Jia Heng a title. After all, this time he fought against the Donglu and annihilated thousands of people. The invincible three hundred white flag bannermen.
When Yang Guochang and Han Huang heard this, their expressions were clouded, and they cupped their hands and said, "I respectfully obey the imperial edict."
The promotion of civil servants from the first rank to the crown prince and Taibao is much more valuable than the first rank from the military attache to the governor, and the status is comparable to that of a cabinet bachelor. As for the posthumous gift of the first examination, it is even more glorious.
Uncle Yong Ning's momentum was so strong that he really couldn't hold it back, and
Moreover, the Military Aircraft Department that it advocates needs to be particularly vigilant. The Qi and Zhejiang parties have also recently recruited military personnel, and they have to wedge themselves into the Military Aircraft Department.
After Emperor Chongping finished speaking, he felt a little excited and said with emotion: "Jia Ziyu fought well in this battle. The navy of the navy was defeated first and then won. This shows that it is not that the navy of Chen Han is unable to fight, but that it lacks a capable general to command the troops. .”
In the past few days, the unspeakable anxiety deep in his heart completely dissipated. Ziyu did not disappoint him. Even against Donglu, he still won every step of the way, maybe even in water battles that he was not very good at.
Listening to the emperor's joyful words, the ministers in the palace felt a little complicated and inexplicable.
Qin Ye below heard the emperor's words of encouragement for the official appointment, and his face was filled with excitement.
Jia Zheng was also overjoyed. In the solemn Hanyuan Hall, he finally resisted the urge to twist his beard and had only one thought in his mind.
Prince Taibao, this kind of official title cannot be given to ministers who are not highly virtuous and respected. Ziyu is so young, his name will be remembered in history, and his reputation will be passed down for generations. According to this trend, it is impossible to say that he will be able to enjoy the imperial temple in the future and be worshiped forever.
