Zhongwuhou Mansion.
Li Zhaoming looked at Lin Chong with deep sympathy and said:
"General Lin, Cao Bin has gone too far. Would you like me to help you seek justice?"
Lin Chong got the news on the day his wife was left overnight at Zhongjing Houfu.
While I was secretly relieved, I was also speechless. I really felt a little sorry for Lin Chong.
It’s just that the ex-wife was taken over by that boy Cao Bin, but the new wife did it again. Isn’t this bullying an honest person?
Lin Chong wore this hat so well.
The expression on Lin Chong's face twitched. He didn't know how to answer, so he had no choice but to say:
"Commander Li misunderstood. In fact, Lord Cao did not do anything to Zhuo Jing."
As he spoke, he felt a little guilty and said:
"It was Lin who had betrayed Lord Cao, so he asked Zhuo Jing to go and plead guilty on my behalf, but..."
Li Zhaoming said with a clear face:
"I understand, I understand, let's not mention this matter."
After saying that, he felt a little pity secretly.
If Lin Chong wanted to make a big fuss, he could also use this incident to impeach Cao Bin for violating etiquette and teach him a lesson.
Now that Lin Chong, the suffering master, cherished his face and kept his ears to the ground, he had no way to take the opportunity to impeach him.
But he didn't care and said with a slight smile:
"General Lin, the position of deputy commander of the Shenwu Army is now vacant. Are you interested?"
When Lin Chong heard this, he was immediately startled. He quickly prostrated himself and said with tears of gratitude:
"If Lin gets this position, I don't know how he can repay the commander."
Li Zhaoming looked like he was doing everything he could, and couldn't help but burst out laughing. He personally helped him up and said:
"General Lin doesn't have to be like this. With this general here, talented people will not be left useless."
"Don't worry, within five years, I will let you take the command of the Shenwu Army."
The Fourth Army is different from the general Forbidden Army. Its commanders are very high-level and have a very promising future.
It can be seen that Li Zhaoming really likes Lin Chong.
After drawing a pie, Li Zhaoming pulled Lin Chong and talked about some household matters before letting him leave.
At this time, Lin Chong was both excited and bitter.
What makes me excited is that the "reward of the strategy" exceeds my expectations, but what makes me bitter is that I have become a joke.
If word spread that Mr. Qu spent the night in the Hou Mansion, the world would not know how to ridicule him.
When he returned home, he still felt very complicated. Not only was he a little doubtful whether it was worth cooperating with Cao Bin's "bad idea".
Seeing his appearance, Mr. Qu immediately became serious:
"Master Cao Hou really knew what my husband was thinking."
Lin Chong was surprised and said doubtfully:
"What do you think Madam said?"
Qu said:
"I would like to ask my husband, is the reputation of you and me as a couple damaged more by this matter, or is the reputation of Mr. Cao marquis damaged more?"
Without waiting for Lin Chong to answer, Qu said again:
"When I met Lord Cao, Mrs. Pang personally promised to clarify the matter in the future..."
In fact, Cao Bin didn't care about this kind of reputation, but considering Lin Chong's concerns, he let Pang Yanyan fool him casually.
For him, it is more important to have someone to take advantage of, and it can easily add a little burden to Lin Chong, lest he fake it and make himself lose money...
A few more days passed, and it was February in a blink of an eye, and it was finally the day of reward.
For the soldiers on the expedition, this day had been long awaited, but for the imperial court, it felt like they had passed a great difficulty.
Throughout last year, the Song Dynasty fought successive wars with Xixia and Liao, which cost a lot of money and suffered heavy losses.
Nowadays, even if the Song Dynasty is very wealthy, it is a bit unbearable for both merit and pension.
But now the court is unstable and has to bleed, so these days, Wang Yanling and others are almost bald with worry.
Finally, he begged the emperor to take out the inner treasury, and finally managed to collect enough money to reward his merits and pensions.
This was also thanks to Cao Bin's several business deals the year before last, which filled the emperor's inner treasury.
Otherwise, even if the emperor drains the inner treasury, it will not help.
By now, the emperor has regretted his decision to attack Xixia so much that his intestines are green...
After losing so much, they only gained the Hengshan area in the northwest, which also attracted the entire Liao Kingdom to attack.
The treasury was in short supply, but the key was the loss of hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers and the emperor's body.
"Now" can be said to be the weakest time in the Song Dynasty since the current emperor ascended the throne.
But the generals don't care much about these. What they care about is the rewards from the court.
As the messenger read out, the first person to be rewarded was Cao Bin:
"Zhongjing Hou Cao Bin, with outstanding bravery and skill in using troops, defeated the Liao army and saved the country from danger. He should be the first to do so!"
"Now Jin Ziguanglu, a doctor, has entered the army to protect the army. He has been given the title of 'Shenwei Zhongjinghou' and has 1,900 households. He is also the military governor of Zhenjiang and the observation envoys of Run, Chang and other prefectures..."
"In addition, the eldest daughter will be given the title of third-class uncle, and one person will be given a seventh-grade imperial edict."
The last two items were the emperor's previous promises, and Cao Bin was not surprised.
To his surprise, the emperor changed his title.
Everyone has two characters, but he has four characters, and the food town has been promoted from 1,000 households to the highest level of marquis.
However, the titles after the two Jin Dynasties were only virtual titles and did not include fiefdoms, so the titles were mostly based on the emperor's evaluation and expectations.
It's not a big deal for the emperor to add two more words. Perhaps he felt that Cao Bin was very skilled in martial arts and wanted to praise him specially.
As for not being promoted to Duke, it was also within Cao Bin's expectation.
There are no county or county princes here, only first-class princes.
The Marquis is from the third rank.
Although Cao Bin has made great achievements, it is impossible for him to be promoted to four levels in a row.
Raising his estate to the level of Marquis is already quite a promotion.
Besides, he is only twenty-one years old, and the emperor will not promote him to the highest level so quickly. It is not a good thing to give him no reward.
In addition, Dr. Jin Ziguanglu is a civil servant, which determines Cao Bin's grade. He can wear purple court clothes and goldfish bags in the future.
The most significant reward this time is undoubtedly the Jiedushi. Although it has no actual military power, it is the top honorary position of the military, starting from the second rank.
Cao Bin is also the youngest person to be awarded the title of Jiedu since the founding of the People's Republic of China.
In general, Cao Bin's current official position is only half a step behind that of Military Attaché, second only to Lin Zhaoming.
Upon hearing these official positions, the ministers were already in an uproar. It was true that Cao Bin was promoted too quickly.
But he has the merit, and if others want to question it, they really can't find a reason...
The Yang family was subsequently awarded the title, and Yang Zongbao was appointed to the deployment of the Hebei Military and Horse Command, and was promoted to a first-level honorary rank.
Di Qing was instrumental in quelling the "Nong's" rebellion in the southwest, and was appointed commander of the Pengri and Tianwu armies...
In the next few days, Uncle Fu held several banquets to celebrate Cao Bin's meritorious service and promotion.
After a period of time, Cao Bin had a leisurely time. In addition to recruiting troops to replenish the trapped troops, he spent most of his time collecting dude points.
The imperial court was also busy recruiting troops, because most of the imperial army had been lost and had to be replenished as soon as possible.
On this day, a flower boat from the south of the Yangtze River gradually approached the Bianhe pier.
Two women were sitting in the attic on the boat, observing the bustling Bianjing City.
The girl in white with a gauze face said:
"Sister Pang, I heard that Cao Bin likes to hang out in brothels. Is there any chance to kill him this time?"
The woman in green beside her shook her head and said:
"Our purpose is to find out the situation of the imperial court, and the saint does not want to cause trouble."
The woman in white's eyes were filled with resentment:
"My aunt was killed by him, and I must pay with his life."
The woman in green's eyes wandered and she said:
"Cao Bin is not easy to kill. I advise you not to be impulsive."
After saying that, he ignored the girl in white and took out a copy of "Maitreya Sutra" and started to read silently.
Seeing this, the girl in white quickly took out the same scripture and recited it silently, then asked:
"Senior sister said that the Holy Master is also in Bianjing? Should we go to see him?"
