The palace is towering and solemn.
Qin Wangzheng glanced at the ministers lined up on both sides and said calmly: "General Zhao led his troops to destroy the country of Dai, captured the bandits Zhao Jia and Yan Xi, and defeated one hundred thousand Hu soldiers. This can be said to be a good deed. I have heard that I will not be rewarded. If the time is exceeded, I want the people to quickly get the benefits of doing good. The punishment will not be moved, and I want the people to quickly punish the harm of doing bad things."
"Therefore, today we should discuss merits and rewards, to show the merits of our officers and men, and to make clear the rewards of our Qin Kingdom."
Qin Wangzheng opened his mouth and started today's topic.
Normally, when it comes to rewarding meritorious deeds after destroying a country, one should wait for the soldiers who destroyed the country to escort the two captive kings, as well as the ministers of the country to come to Xianyang to present the prisoners, and then reward them in the main hall. It is only right, just like the Qin Dynasty before It was the same when Wei and Chu were destroyed.
Now that the King of Qin intends to take advantage of the situation to conquer Qi, it is naturally impossible for him to let the Qin army stationed on the front line rush back to Xianyang for a reward, and then set off to the east again after receiving the reward. This kind of operation is directly ruled out for the Qin people who have always been pragmatic.
But on the other hand, after the country is destroyed, the rewards for meritorious soldiers cannot be delayed. Otherwise, it will not only violate Qin law, but also reward and punishment will be overdue, which will dampen the enthusiasm of frontline soldiers to fight.
So this time, referring to the previous situation of Wang Jian stationed in Zhongshan after destroying Zhao, Xianyang issued titles and rewards after verifying the merits of the generals in front.
As for the method of verification, in addition to the handwritten silk letter by the general Zhao Tuo, there are corresponding reports from the censors and military judges accompanying the army on the front line, as well as relevant reports from the Hengshan County Sheriff and Lieutenant. There is no problem with the authenticity.
Seeing the king speak, Lieutenant Zhao Hai stepped forward.
The grey-haired veteran announced the reward in a serious manner.
Meng Tian, the chief of the right concubine, had the merits of capturing Zhao Jia, the king of the generation, Ju Wu, the Taifu of Yan State, and leading the cavalry to attack the Xiongnu. He could be promoted to the rank of Zuo Geng.
[In view of the general environment,
The fifth official, Su Jiao, had the same credit as Meng Tian. He personally captured the acting king Zhao Jia and the Taifu Ju Wu. His ability to capture the kings naturally allowed him to rise one level to the rank of Zuo Shu Zhang.
There is also the Duke Lu Wan, who was promoted to the fifth rank after crossing two ranks because of his ability to capture King Xi of Yan and his role in dividing the country and destroying it.
Except for these three people, all Qin generals, including Zhao Tuo, were given monetary rewards and did not receive any promotion in title.
Qin Wangzheng raised his brows and said, "Can Zhao Tuo be promoted to a noble title because he led the army to destroy the country?"
Zhao Hai shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, although Daiguo is called a country, it is only one county. It is not as good as the past achievements in destroying Han. If it were made by a great leader, it would still be a little short of that."
"The Lord Lieutenant is really strict."
The ministers looked at Zhao Hai's serious face and shook their heads secretly.
Zhao Hai is an old minister who stayed from the era of King Zhaoxiang. He has always been strict and unreasonable in his behavior.
Since he became Lord Lieutenant, except for the special cases where the King sometimes personally issued an imperial edict, such as the case of conferring a title on Li You. He was very strict about normal title promotions.
However, this was also an intentional move by the Qin royal government. Since Lao Du used sycophants to become marquises, cultivated party members, and won over courtiers, the number of titles in the Qin Kingdom once tended to increase.
Therefore, after the Qin Dynasty came to power, it was about to standardize the rewards and punishments of titles with Zhao Hai, an old-fashioned minister.
It's just that now this veteran minister doesn't quite understand the king's thoughts.
Qin Wangzheng was not angry, and asked calmly to the ministers in the palace: "Do you have anything to say about the reward?"
The Lord's lieutenant and the state lieutenant are always responsible for the matter of discussing the title, and the other ministers are not qualified to intervene. Now that Qin Wangzheng is asking in public, his intention is obvious.
Immediately someone close to the situation came forward.
"Your Majesty, Li Si, believes that General Zhao's meritorious service is more than that, and he is qualified to be promoted to the rank of Grand Master."
Li Si's voice was raised very high, making all the ministers look at him sideways.
Most of the people present had heard of the incident between Li You and Zhao Tuo, so the ministers were quite surprised that Li Si came forward first.
The corners of Qin Wangzheng's lips curled up slightly and he said: "If Ting Wei has any objections, he should
Can be blunt. "
Li Si immediately said: "I believe that in addition to destroying the country of Dai, General Zhao also achieved great success by capturing King Yan and defeating the Hu soldiers."
"In the past, our Qin army attacked and destroyed the country of Yan, but the king of Yan fled without knowing his whereabouts. As a result, the destruction of Yan was still incomplete. If the king of Yan was not captured, the people of Yan would still have the ambition to restore the country and be lucky. Now that General Zhao has captured the King of Yan, he can cut off the Yan people's intention of restoration and help our Qin State completely rule the Yan land. This contribution cannot be underestimated."
"Moreover, the King of Yan surrendered to the Xiongnu and wanted to use the Hu soldiers to restore the country. His crime was very serious. At this time, General Zhao not only captured the King of Yan, but also defeated one hundred thousand Hu soldiers. This was not only a victory for our Qin army, but also a great victory for our Xia Dynasty. The victory of Yi and Di."
"If this matter is publicized, everyone in the world will know that our army of Qin defeated the Yi Di in the north on behalf of the people of Xia. Such achievements are no different than the achievements of the king of Zhou in the past when he attacked the xinyn in the north. General Zhao is no less good than Nan Zhong, Yin Jifu and other good generals of Zhou Dynasty."
"How can we ignore such a great achievement in repelling the invaders!"
As soon as these words came out, all the officials in the palace looked at Li Si in surprise.
Originally, Zhao Tuo only defeated the Xiongnu army and beheaded more than 10,000 people.
Calculated purely based on the number of heads captured, it is not a lot, and it is difficult to be promoted.
But according to Li Si, the number of beheadings is no longer important, but it has been sublimated into the great achievement of the Xia's repelling the barbarians. This meaning is completely different from a simple capture.
Beheading?
If it doesn’t exist, that’s called fighting against the foreigners!
Especially when the Qin State has just engulfed the five kingdoms and the people of the five kingdoms have not yet completely returned home, if Zhao Tuo's achievements in repelling the barbarians and defeating the Hu were publicized, it would definitely be very good for the image of the Qin State and equate the Qin State with the Zhuxia With the relationship, maybe he can win a lot of people's hearts.
In this sense, how can you not appreciate this hero who fought against the barbarians and defeated the barbarians!
At this moment, not only did the ministers nod when Li Si opened his mouth, but even Qin Wangzheng nodded slightly, with a flash of satisfaction in his eyes.
He liked Li Si's mouth.
His tongue is not blunt, he still has the same demeanor as when he wrote the "Book of Admonitions and Chases Guests" in the past.
Seeing Li Si speak, Wang Wu, the governor of millet, also followed suit and said, "I agree with what the imperial officer said. I also think that General Zhao's skill of offering wheat flour can make wheat enter the army's treasury, and the people are also happy to grow wheat, which strengthens our Qin Dynasty." This is also a great contribution to the country’s national strength.”
Seeing that among the nine ministers, Tingwei and Zhisu Neishi all thought that Zhao Tuo could be promoted to a noble rank due to his merits, others could not see the situation clearly and agreed one after another.
Qin Wangzheng turned to look at Zhao Hai and asked, "Can you be promoted to a noble rank for your merits in destroying a country and fighting off barbarians?"
Zhao Hai glanced at the expressions of the ministers, and then at the expectant gaze of Qin Wangzheng. After a moment of pondering, he cupped his hands and said, "What Tingwei and Zhisu Neishi said is reasonable. General Zhao can be a great leader."
Qin Wangzheng smiled and nodded. Seeing the convinced expressions of his ministers, he was satisfied.
Li Si looked up and saw the smile on the king's face, and he was satisfied.
Those words just now were enough for the king to know who was his intimate person in the affairs of King Qin.
Soon, Qin Wangzheng officially issued an edict.
"The young master made Zhao Tuo, led his army to conquer the land of Dai, destroyed the kingdom of Dai, and captured the king of Dai, Zhao Jia, and the king of Yan, Yan Xi. He defeated a hundred thousand Hu soldiers and boosted the prestige of the Xia Dynasty. This was a great achievement in driving away the barbarians and defeating the Hu. He was promoted to the first rank and became the Great creation!"
…
After the court meeting, the king withdrew from the court and left, and the ministers and generals also dispersed.
During the middle watch, Li Xin left the hall in silence and walked outside.
Li Xin's face was expressionless, his shoulders sank, and his body was slightly hunched. There seemed to be a special barrier around him, preventing others from approaching.
No one wanted to face Li Xin's cold face.
"General Zhao is really powerful. Before he was twenty years old, he had already led an army to destroy an entire country. He was awarded the title of Grand Superior. It seems that such a person has never appeared in our country of Qin, right?"
"Yes, and General Zhao has made many military exploits since he was in the army. He can almost be said to have won every battle. Even the Marquis of Wucheng could not compare with him when he was young."
The discussions of several ministers reached Li Xin's ears.
"Zhao Tuo...victorious in every battle, has
Destroy a country and become a great creation. "
Li Xin left the hall and walked down the stairs, his eyes a little blurry.
The young man who was guarded by him at the beginning has grown up and no longer needs his protection and support, but has grown into a figure that even he, Li Xin, must look up to.
But the more this happens, the less Li Xin can face Zhao Tuo.
"Sooner or later he will become a marquis. Compared with Zhao Tuo, I, Li Xin, am just a loser."
Li Xin murmured, his eyes full of sadness.
At this moment, an eunuch walked over quickly, saluted Li Xin, and said, "Li Zhonggeng, the king has summoned you."
"Your Majesty summoned me?"
Li Xin was stunned for a moment, and then his originally dark eyes suddenly lit up.
He remembered that a few months ago, the king had asked him to think about ways to deal with the barbarians in Liaodong.
Although it is not stated explicitly, the meaning is obvious.
Your Majesty, I intend to ask Li Xin to conquer the land of Liaodong and expel the barbarians.
His eyes were moist.
"Your Majesty, you still have me, Li Xin, in your heart!"
