The first of the three main halls of the palace is the place where the coronation ceremony, the emperor's birthday, major victories, and the Yuan Dynasty meeting are held. It is also the place where such celebrations and banquets are held, which are rarely opened in normal times. The first of the three halls of the Luoyang Palace is called Qianyang Hall. It is much taller and more spacious than the Daxing Hall, the first hall of the Daxing Palace. Even if seven or eight thousand people enter to eat, it is not crowded. However, the Qianyang Palace at this moment was full of people.
Yang Guang, who was condescending, looked down from the throne and saw all the generals at all levels wearing armor. Under the sunlight coming in through the window, the generals' armor reflected the dazzling light, while the imperial officials in court uniforms It's less than 10%.
Yang Guang happily picked up the merit books and discussed the merits and rewards one by one.
As the commander-in-chief of the three armies, Yang Ji was the first to win this battle. What's more, he led the army to defeat the enemy many times and burned nearly 100,000 people in Yantong Mountain and Goguryeo City to death. His position as the number one is untouchable and undisputed. However, since he had already been conferred several times before, Yang Guang praised him a few times, conferred the title of Duke of Duifang on his third son Yang Chang, and also gave him material rewards.
The second hero is also undisputed. Yang Lun took the risk to attack Gaimou City and Anshi City, and regained Changli County (Liaodong Peninsula). He successfully cut off Gao Yuan's retreat route, disrupted the enemy's morale, and played a huge role in the final victory of the Liaodong battlefield. After that, he He also ambushed the enemy at "Qiansan-Bishahe River" and annihilated Ulchi Eui-deok's 60,000-strong army without even using a single soldier. This was a remarkable display of his commanding style that shocked the world. Based on his merits, Yang Guang was granted the title of General Zuo Xiaowei and Shangzhu Kingdom, increased the number of 1,000 households in the city, and granted him 10,000 taels of gold and ten husks of pearls.
The third meritorious official is Yang Yichen, who has been promoted to Duke of Hu and Chief Protector of the Andong Protectorate. However, he has also been canonized by Yang Guang. This time, his eldest son Yang Quanzhong was awarded the title of County Prince and an additional five thousand taels of gold.
The other deputy general managers of the march, Pei Ju, and Wei Jin are all among the same brothers, and each has made outstanding achievements. Yang Ji gave them reasonable rankings based on their merits.
In terms of military exploits, Yang Ji has always been a practical person who attaches great importance to practical achievements. He also cannot find any fault with the distribution of meritorious deeds among generals at all levels. Yang Guang was rewarded with official positions and property based on his merit, and everyone was very happy.
Then the pension policy for casualties was promulgated, and the Youzhou Army, Jizhou Army, Sumo Army, and Xi Clan Army who could not come to Luoyang also received the same rewards and pensions.
These rewards were received by Yang Ji on behalf of the entire Eastern Expedition Army.
After the rewards were handed out one by one, the officials at all levels who had been listening with bated breath also turned their eyes away from Yang Guang and looked at the majestic and heroic Yang Ji, feeling strange and complicated feelings in their hearts.
Although this prince was the Minister of Order, the General of the Left and Right Guards, and the Minister of the Ministry of Military Affairs in the Central Committee, his most important position was actually that of Liangzhou Mu. However, the emperor said nothing about this.
It seems that the emperor is planning to let him enter the center and take charge of the ministerial province. In addition, Liangzhou Mu is also real. If this is true, then Yang Ji will be the first person in the Sui Dynasty to hold the title of the head of the central government and the top official position in the local government.
This is too young, too young!
Of course, age is not enough for some officials to criticize. The key is that this person is too capable. Once he enters the center and dominates the Shangshu Province, no one can have a good life of happily collecting money.
When Yang Ji retreated in front of the generals, Yang Guang announced that a banquet would be held in the palace and military camp to entertain the returning victorious soldiers.
Yang Ji and some high-ranking and mid-level generals enjoyed the royal banquet with the emperor and civil and military officials in Qianyang Hall, while the lower-level generals were invited to the Xuanzheng Hall in the west.
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At the same time, Empress Xiao also held a banquet in Wencheng Hall to the east of Qianyuan Hall to celebrate the great achievements of the Sui Dynasty. More than 2,000 guests came to the banquet, making the whole hall full of birds and birds, colorful and fragrant.
Judging from the way Empress Xiao raised her eyes to look at the palace door from time to time, there were still guests who had not yet arrived; and judging from the order of seats, it turned out that the protagonists, King Wei's family, were not present. At this time, the ladies were talking and laughing to themselves. Yan, the atmosphere is harmonious.
Speaking of which, fights between fate wives are easier and more intense than fate officials. At a banquet like this, there will always be someone showing off and someone competing; and the reasons for their fights are even more bizarre, and some people even even... Everyone’s hair styles were judged, and then the battle began.
Of course, most people would not be stupid enough to disgrace the Queen. However, the reason why weirdos are weird is because they can do things that others dare not. For example, Yang Xuangan's wife Zheng was very dissatisfied with the Wei Wang family volume that had not yet arrived.
Just when she was about to show off, a female official entered the hall, saluted Queen Xiao and said, "Queen, Princess Wei has arrived with her family."
"Please come quickly!" Empress Xiao's pretty face showed a look of joy. She knew that the reason why Xiao Ying, Liu Rumei, and Pei Shuying arrived late was mainly because they were waiting for Zhang Chuchen and Murong who were ordered to go out with the army. Crescent moon, fresh fragrance, catkins. Of course, the four girls did not have to come to the banquet, but the problem was that Empress Xiao still ordered her to be sealed, and they could not attend the banquet dressed casually like men, so they had to go back to the palace to change into formal clothes.
They were just Yang Ji's concubines and their status was not high. If they came back after the fight, all the ladies in the palace would definitely catch them and ridicule them, so Xiao Ying, Liu Rumei, and Pei Shuying simply waited.
With Princess Xiao Ying here, who dares to bite anyone?
After a while, Xiao Ying, accompanied by her sisters, walked into the hall.
Xiao Ying's beautiful eyes are like stars holding the moon, and her beautiful face is shining with crystal luster in the sun, like the finest jade. She is dressed in a formal purple palace dress, revealing some slender white shoulders and warm and lovely The human collarbone; and the belt that gently ties the waist, just right to show off the pregnant belly. Behind her, Liu Rumei and Pei Shuying were dressed in different colors and accessories, but they also used belts to show off their pregnant bellies.
The gentle and gentle wives and noble ladies in the palace understood that pregnancy was not easy. When they saw that the three concubines of King Wei were pregnant, a look of relief suddenly appeared on their faces: It turns out that Queen Wei and the concubine were both pregnant. Could it be that it was too late? A little more.
When I think about it, the dissatisfaction in my heart instantly disappears.
"Mr. Yang Xiao brings the wife of the family to see the queen!" Xiao Ying looked at the welcoming Yong Ronghua Queen Xiao, bowed and saluted.
"You are pregnant, please get pregnant quickly!" Queen Xiao came forward and helped Xiao Ying, Liu Rumei, and Pei Shuying up with her own hands. Then she gently winked at her sister with her smiling eyes, and said softly and caringly: "Aying, are your sisters seriously upset?"
Xiao Ying understood and smiled sweetly: "The children may have noticed that their father returned to Beijing in triumph today and was more active and noisy than before."
"It is said that father and son are connected by heart, and father and daughter are connected by heart. This is normal. The more active, noisy, and strong the child is, this is a good thing!" Empress Xiao smiled and said: "You should take your seats first!"
In a few words, Xiao Ying and others' tardiness was determined to be a serious disaster, which made it difficult for anyone to criticize.
Empress Xiao held her sister's hand and walked slowly towards the seat. The palace was deep and wide, and whether it was for the sake of pregnant women or etiquette, she couldn't walk too fast, so she asked softly as she walked: "Why isn't Auntie coming?"
Xiao Ying replied: "My mother-in-law has always said that I am Princess Wei, and I should be the master of the palace. I cannot rely on her for everything. From now on, except for family banquets and clan banquets, she will no longer participate in such banquets or feasts. Now I still have some accounts to settle, so I won’t come.”
"My aunt is free and easy-going, and she doesn't like to socialize with others. Some of her comments are completely normal." Empress Xiao said with a smile: "In this aspect, Vajra Slave is very much like her."
Xiao Ying responded softly.
At this time, a chamberlain quickly walked in and saluted Queen Xiao: "Queen, the saint has been canonized and a banquet has been announced to entertain the triumphant army."
There was silence in the main hall.
Many married women looked at Xiao Ying and the others who were walking in the middle with jealous eyes. They couldn't bear to be jealous. After all, Yang Ji was the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. If nothing else, Prince Wei's family would be promoted again.
When Empress Xiao heard this, she let go of her sister's hand and let her sit down on her own. Knowing that everyone in the hall was looking forward to the news, she returned to the main seat and sat down. Then she asked the chamberlain, "I wonder what the saint's reward is?"
"Queen, the saint appointed King Wei as the first meritorious service, and named Chang Gongzi as the Duke of Fanggong; appointed King Teng as the second meritorious service, and appointed King Teng as General Zuo Xiaowei and Shangzhu Kingdom; appointed Hu Guogong as the third meritorious service, and named the prince as the county. Son..." The chamberlain told the news coming from the front one by one.
Most of the ladies in the palace are their husbands' "right-hand assistants". They understand the national affairs and current affairs, and know that this battle has great influence and far-reaching significance. They thought that Yang Ji would receive a heavy reward again, so they became jealous of Xiao Ying's family. But after listening to the chamberlain's account and hearing that the saint only conferred Yang Ji's third son Yang Chang as a county prince, his mentality immediately changed. Some people even thought that Yang Ji's meritorious service had shocked the emperor, so they all gloated about his misfortune.
The wives and concubines of Teng Wang Yang Lun were extremely happy. Judging from the saint's canonization, "Alang" was not the first meritorious service, but it was better than the first meritorious service. However, among the various houses in the royal family, the Teng and Wei families had a very good relationship, so while Princess Teng was happy, she was also worried about Prince Wei's family.
What they were worried about was that Yang Jigong's high performance would shock the Lord.
On the contrary, Xiao Ying, Liu Rumei, Pei Shuying and others were as stable as Mount Tai and looked calm. They felt that such a canonization would be a good thing for the Palace of Prince Wei, not to mention that the emperor had conferred it several times before. If they were accumulated one by one, they would be more powerful than Yang Lun, Yang Yichen and others. It's even more numerous and heavier, so there's nothing to envy or feel unfair about.
As Yang Guang's pillow, Empress Xiao knew better than anyone else the emperor's trust and attention to Yang Ji. Regarding Yang Ji's great achievements, the emperor laughed even in his dreams and said, "King Kong slave is worthy of being my teacher." The disciples who came out are almost half as capable as me."
Queen Xiao almost died laughing at this. If Yang Guang hadn't said this in his dream, she wouldn't have known that Yang Guang, who was usually serious, could be so shameless! However, sleep talk such as "almost half as capable as me" also let the ice-snow and smart Empress Xiao know that Yang Guang trusted Yang Ji very much. After all, Yang Ji didn't even have half of his abilities, so what did he have to worry about?
After asking the servants to retreat, Empress Xiao slowly said to everyone: "According to what I said, Goguryeo has steep mountains, poor roads, and harsh weather. However, its national power is strong and it has trained 700,000 to 800,000 elite soldiers using our Central Plains military training method. It is also well-equipped and well-disciplined, so this country is even more powerful than the Eastern Turks."
"Our army is fighting in a foreign place with tens of thousands of elite soldiers, but our army can annihilate them in a few months. This shows how difficult it is for our army and how powerful King Wei is as the commander-in-chief!"
After a pause, Empress Xiao emphasized her tone: "We in the Sui Dynasty are very lucky to have such powerful soldiers, such a famous commander and a military god!"
After listening to Empress Xiao's words, some married women suddenly had gloating smiles on their faces:
Is the Queen "standing up" for Princess Wei? But in this, is the queen thinking about her sister, or is it the saint?
Just when everyone was having different thoughts, Queen Xiao's beautiful eyes looked at Xiao Ying who was already seated, and finally settled on the seat at the back and said: "Are Zhang Chuchen, Murong Xianyue, Xian Yufang, and Liu Xu, the wives of Prince Wei's palace, here? "
"My wife is here!" Zhang Chuchen, Murong Xianyue, Xian Yufang, and Liuxu already knew that they had a reward and that it was announced by the queen herself. After hearing this, they stood up and came to the middle aisle to obey orders.
The four girls were listed in the clan and had their own royal titles. Queen Xiao naturally recognized them. She picked up the silk on the table, opened it and read: "The married women Yang Zhang, Yang Murong, Yang Xianyu, and Yang Liu are Shushenxing." Cheng, who is virtuous, intelligent, knowledgeable and righteous, granted Yang Zhang the title of Madam of the Third Grade. She was given fifty kilograms of gold, a golden vase made of pearls, two thousand pieces of silk, ten thousand stones of rice, and a thousand sheep. She was granted the title of Yang Zhang. Murong, Yang Xianyu, and Yangliu are the wives of the fourth rank. Each of them is given twenty kilograms of gold, a silver vase made of gold sand, a thousand pieces of silk, ten thousand stones of wheat, and five hundred sheep. I admire this!"
Empress Xiao actually knew that this reward was actually earned by the four women for their military exploits and had nothing to do with Yang Ji; but she also knew that bringing women into the military camp had been a taboo since ancient times.
If the generals secretly bring concubines into the camp, everyone will turn a blind eye, and the court will not know about it; if they say it in public, the nature of the problem will be different. Therefore, the content of this edict was written in a very vague way, making people think that it was due to Yang Ji's merit.
Zhang Chuchen, Murong Xianyue, Xian Yufang, and Liuxu didn't care about this. They each rose to the top and were extremely happy in their hearts. But compared with their rank and property, what they were most happy about was being awarded the title in front of so many people. They saluted and thanked each other together: "The Yang Zhang family/Yang Murong family, Yang Xianyu family, and Yang Liu family thank the saint and queen for their kindness!"
Empress Xiao closed the silk and said with a smile: "The fish cards and belongings will be sent to the palace later! Take a seat!"
"Here!" The four women bowed and returned to their seats.
"Congratulations!" Xiao Ying, Liu Rumei, and Pei Shuying all congratulated each other. They were honored that their family members were awarded the title in public.
Zhang Chuchen looked at Empress Xiao and saw that her attention seemed to be no longer here. He whispered excitedly: "Auntie, what else should we do?"
"After the banquet, a female official will go to the palace to measure your body so that the palace people can make formal clothes. With the formal clothes, I will take you to the palace to meet the queen with a new level." Xiao Ying paused and said with a chuckle: "While you're waiting for formal wear, just learn the court etiquette at home. It's not difficult for you."
Zhang Chuchen, Murong Xianyue, Xian Yufang, and Liu Xu breathed a sigh of relief; they all have good skills, and some court etiquette is not difficult for them.
"Pass the meal!" Queen Xiao said to the female officer when she saw everyone was gathered.
"Here!"
