Soon, His Majesty the Emperor arrived.
All civil and military officials stood up one after another and bowed to the emperor.
"See Your Majesty."
The emperor now put on a blue winter uniform, pressed his hands gently, and said with a smile: "Everyone, sit down, everyone, sit down."
Only then did all the ministers sit down again. Shen Heng sat opposite Shen Yi. He turned around and looked at the officials around him. His scalp felt numb. He whispered: "Brother, here are all officials of third rank or above. I'd better leave." …”
Shen Yi looked calm: "It's just a banquet, it's not a court meeting, you just sit here and eat."
Shen Heng then bit the bullet and sat down again.
Shen Yi looked at him and asked, "Is there no one in the court to take you to the Qinhuai River this year?"
Shen Heng shook his head quickly: "No, the people in the middle school have a lot more errands this year, and they are very busy with official business..."
Mr. Shen poured him a glass of wine and said with a smile: "It's not that I won't let you go. If you want to go, it's okay to go by yourself. Don't let others scheme against you."
Having said this, Shen Yi paused and then said: "But now, it should be better than before. There are probably not many people in the court who dare to scheme against you."
As Shen Yi's status and power rise, many things are slowly changing.
In the past, there might have been people who wanted to influence Shen Yi in disguise by taking advantage of Shen Heng, but now, except for that kind of fool, there are not many people who dare to do such a thing.
After all, Shen Yi's strength is rapidly expanding now, and he can already crush those miscellaneous fish to death with his hard power, without having to take into account any rules.
While the two brothers were whispering, His Majesty the Emperor spoke a few words to several nearby prime ministers, then looked at the officials participating in the banquet and said, "Your Majesty."
As soon as he said these words, everyone stood up immediately, bowed their heads to the emperor, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty."
With a smile on his face, the emperor raised the wine glass in front of him and said, "This glass is for the Huai'an army."
Everyone raised their glasses.
"The Huai'an army is mighty!"
After finishing a glass of wine, the emperor waved his hands with a smile and said, "Okay, the rest will be discussed at the meeting tomorrow. Today's banquet is to welcome Shen Aiqing and several generals of the Huai'an Army."
"Everyone, let's start using it."
When he said these words, it meant that the banquet had officially begun.
As soon as the emperor sat down, the five prime ministers first toasted the emperor with a glass of wine, and then raised their glasses in a tacit understanding. When they came to Shen Yi, they all smiled and said: "Congratulations, Zhongcheng, for this great achievement."
"The blessings of the country are the blessings of the great Chen Dynasty."
"We propose a toast to the Prime Minister."
The two brothers Shen Yi quickly stood up, raised their wine glasses, and bowed their heads in return: "You are so polite, sir. If it weren't for your strong support, the war in Shandong would not have gone so smoothly."
After the polite words were said, everyone drank.
Shen Heng stood behind his brother, looked at the five prime ministers in front of him, swallowed, and then tremblingly finished his glass of wine.
These old men... are all prime ministers!
He even took the initiative to toast his eldest brother!
This kind of arrangement...
Little Mr. Shen was already a little confused.
Even in this reception banquet, this is the top treatment. You know, even if a prince like the King of Yue is sitting here, there is no way that the five prime ministers will come over and offer a toast.
After the five prime ministers finished drinking, except for Cui Yu, the other four patted Shen Yi on the shoulder, then looked at Shen Heng with a smile, and then returned to their seats.
Mr. Shen was also very sensible. He held the wine glass and offered a glass of wine to several old men one by one.
During the entire banquet that followed, almost all the officials present came over to toast Shen Yi.
The same "treatment" was given to the three generals of the Huai'an Army brought by Shen Yi.
After the banquet was over, Mr. Shen glanced at Ling Su, Xue Wei and others who were already drinking and had red faces, and shook his head secretly.
He, Shen, was a Hanlin scholar born in the second rank of Jinshi, and now he is a second-rank official, and he has made great contributions. Therefore, even in this banquet where he was at least a third-rank official, the person who truly has a higher status than him, Not a lot.
When people come to toast, Mr. Shen drinks half the glass in a symbolic gesture, and others don't say anything.
But Ling Su and the others, even Ling Su, a second-grade military general, couldn't take a place in this banquet. When others came over to propose a toast, they had to respond one by one, and then give another toast in return.
Shen picked up the wine glass, walked to the table where the three of them were sitting, looked at the three people who were all red in the face, and whispered: "If you can't drink, drink less. You can't be disrespectful in front of the emperor."
The civil servants have always despised the military generals, and now they are trying their best to drink them, hoping to see them make a fool of themselves.
After hearing this, the three people all became more awake and nodded quickly.
"Yes, sir!"
Shen Yi turned back, pointed at several tables, and said softly: "In a moment, you are all going to have a drink with the prime ministers, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and the generals in the Governor's Mansion."
"But it's enough if you mean it, you don't have to drink too much."
"After the banquet is over, go back to your residence and rest. Don't run around."
Mr. Shen whispered: "The doorways in Jiankang City are no less than those on the battlefield, and sometimes even worse."
"Go back and sober up. Early tomorrow morning, put on your official uniform and wait for me at the gate of the imperial city. I will take you to court."
Xue Wei blinked and asked: "Shen...Master, where will we stay tonight?"
Shen Yi rolled his eyes at him.
"If the palace doesn't arrange accommodation for you in a while, the Ministry of War will arrange it for you."
"Don't worry, I know Jiang Shangshu well and I won't let you live on the street."
The three people raised their glasses together and gave Shen Yi a glass of wine.
Mr. Shen then returned to his position leisurely.
After the banquet, all the Huai'an soldiers, including Shen Yi, "drank too much." Ling Su and others were helped away by people from the Ministry of War, while Shen Yi was helped back home by his own family.
After arriving at home, Mr. Shen immediately sobered up and looked at his two children, then Shen Heng's son and his newborn daughter.
Holding his infant niece in his arms, Mr. Shen pinched the baby girl's cheek and smiled at Shen Heng: "Our Shen family has finally blossomed."
"It's no longer you and me, brothers, living together."
Shen Zhang and Shen Heng who were present were a little sad when they heard this.
Shen Yi called over Shen Yuan, who had grown to his ribs, reached out and touched his head, and said with a smile: "Next spring, if my father is unavailable, you will go back to Jiangdu with your second uncle in my father's stead to offer sacrifices." Ancestor, please pay homage to your grandmother again.”
Having said this, Mr. Shen thought for a while and continued: "If I have free time as a father, our family will go back to Jiangdu together to take a look."
Shen Yuan nodded quickly.
"Dad, the kid has remembered it."
………………
The next day, there was a meeting at Deqing Hall.
Shen Yi and the three generals of the Huai'an Army knelt on the ground respectfully.
The great eunuch Gao Ming held the imperial edict in his hand and sang loudly.
"Ling Su, the commander-in-chief of the Huai'an Army's right-wing army, experienced dozens of battles in the Shandong War. He rarely suffered defeats, won many battles, and made outstanding achievements."
"Awarded to the General of Zhenguo, he will still lead the Huai'an Army's right army."
"Su Ding, the leader of the left army, defeated Qingzhou Prefecture and Jinan Prefecture. He has made outstanding achievements and was awarded the title of General of the State..."
"Xue Wei, the leader of the Pioneer Army, conquered Dengzhou, and for his meritorious service in Laizhou, he was awarded the title of General Zhaoyong."
The three people knelt on the ground and kowtowed respectfully: "I, my ministers, would like to thank Your Majesty for His grace."
Eunuch Gao took out another imperial edict, unfolded it, cleared his throat, and read: "Shandong Governor Shen Yi."
"Leading the Huai'an army to the north, he successively recovered Nanzhili and Shandong provinces, and captured the entire territory of Shandong. This achievement has rarely been achieved since the founding of the People's Republic of China."
"Immediately I will be conferred the title of Marquis..."
"Ennobled Jing'an."
"Appreciate this..."
Shen Yi knelt on the ground and bowed his head.
"My ministers, please thank Your Majesty for your kindness."
"I am feeling frightened and uneasy after accepting this title. I beg your Majesty to think again!"
His Majesty the Emperor is sitting on the throne with a smile on his face.
"This title was granted to you before. There is nothing to refuse. You just accept it."
At this point, the emperor touched his chin and said, "Yesterday Shen Qing said in the palace that there was a big gift for me..."
"Did you drink too much, or is it true?"
Hearing this, Shen Yi quickly lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, the generous gift arrived in Jiankang last night."
"Your Majesty, please come to the palace."
The emperor chuckled.
"Accurate."
