The next day, Li Jiangyao attended the morning court in accordance with the rules and, as the commander of the navy, told Li Bing and the Manchu civil and military officials about the situation in Yiling.
The imperial naval force established a position in the upper reaches of the river, which could effectively curb the rebels' blockade and control of the entire waterway, which was of great strategic significance in the counter-insurgency war.
Although Li Bing was not very familiar with military affairs, the value of the naval fleet still held great weight in his heart. Therefore, he was very pleased that Li Jiangyao reversed the unfavorable situation of the navy in a short period of time.
Compared to saving the imperial navy and repelling the arrogant rebel fleet, the deaths of Sun Chen and the other three had already become insignificant.
This account is actually easy to calculate. Kill three people and save 40,000 people. You are the emperor. Which side do you stand on?
Li Bing was in a good mood. In front of all the courtiers, he praised Li Jiangyao and the navy officers and soldiers without mentioning a word about arbitrary killings.
However, Li Bing did not clearly say whether Li Jiangyao would be allowed to continue to be the naval commander and command the fleet to fight against the rebels.
He deliberately hung up on this matter first.
After the dispersion of the dynasty, Li Jiangyao returned to Hu Mansion under the escort of fifty elite white-robed troops. As soon as he entered the door, Mr. Hu grabbed him and whispered: "Someone from the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion is here, waiting for you."
Li Jiangyao was slightly startled: "Zhenguo Palace? Cheng Wen?"
Mr. Hu shook his head: "How is that possible? I am the eldest daughter of a married woman, and I have to choose a queen. I won't see a foreigner like you. The person here is Cheng Dong, the eldest son of Duke Zhen."
"Why did he come to me?" Li Jiangyao couldn't help but ask. After all, Lian Ji killed someone else's father, and even the dignified Protector couldn't help but feel wronged in his heart.
Hu Yufei said: "I just told you what I said. He is here to invite you to have a drink. To be precise, he is inviting you to a banquet at the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion."
Upon hearing this, three words "Hongmen Banquet" flashed in Li Jiangyao's mind. Oh my god, could the Cheng family want to call me over? Five hundred swordsmen suddenly appeared from behind the screen to avenge his father on the spot, right?
Li Jiangyao immediately dismissed this strange thought and said in confusion: "I have no contact with the Duke of Zhenguo. They invited me to have a drink. Isn't it too unexpected?"
Hu Yufei smiled bitterly and said: "The purpose must not be simple. However, Cheng Dong's explanation to the old man was that he wanted to talk about joining the army."
"Subject to the army? To what army?" Li Jiangyao was even more confused.
"Cheng Dong said that generations of the Cheng family's children have served the country by joining the army. Even Cheng Kaiyang, as a civilian official, leads the Changdao Army." Hu Yufei said: "He wants the Cheng family to participate in the war against the rebels, so Come and seek protection from the Great Protector."
Li Jiangyao laughed dumbly: "Does he want to join the Xinjiang Army?"
Hu Yufei nodded: "That's what Cheng Dong meant. He said that Zhenjiang was the strongest army in the world. It recovered the western frontier and eliminated the Turks. As soon as they entered the pass, they fought consecutively and drove the rebels directly back to the south of the Yangtze River. And most of them Hu Geng is an unparalleled general in Shengtang, so it only makes sense to join the Suppressing Army."
Li Jiangyao pondered for a moment and nodded slightly: "Old man, please sit with Cheng Dong for a while. I will change out of my official robe and go to see him."
In a short time, Li Jiangyao, who had changed into a blue scholar's uniform, came to the front living room to meet Cheng Dong.
Cheng Dong is in his thirties, has thick eyebrows, big eyes, tall and straight, and he does have the demeanor of a family of military generals. Although he was polite and courteous to Li Jiangyao and quite cordial in his conversation, Li Jiangyao was still keenly aware of the hidden hostility in the other party's eyes inadvertently.
Cheng Dong is not as simple as he appears on the surface.
"The Protector-General has a great reputation and is admired by the whole world. It is a great honor for Cheng Dong to meet you today. I hope that the Protector-General will take the time to come to my residence so that the children of the Cheng family can listen to his teachings."
Cheng Dong spoke with such sincerity that it was hard to refuse.
Li Jiangyao smiled and said politely: "Thank you for your hard work, young prince. As a martial artist, I really can't deserve the praise of being famous. Compared with the achievements of previous generations of princes, I am as unworthy of mentioning as a firefly compared to the bright moon." "
Cheng Donggong held up his hand: "The Protector-General is too humble. To be honest, I have read several military books since I was a child, and I also sat in the martial arts hall for half a year, so I have a basic knowledge of military affairs. The previous victories of the Protector-General include the Great Victory of Zijin Pass, The great victory in Weinan and the attack on Luzhou made me admire them greatly."
Li Jiangyao nodded slightly and asked: "Young Master has a great academic background. Have you never considered joining the military and serving the country before?"
"To be honest, the Protector, I feel quite helpless when I mention this matter." Cheng Dong responded calmly: "Our ancestors started practicing martial arts, and there were many soldiers in the past generations. However, when it came to my father's generation, the world was peaceful and peaceful for a long time. The children gradually lost their experience of joining the army and fighting. Especially my father, who believed in holy religion and liked poetry, encouraged his children to study for imperial examinations and not to easily join the army and put themselves in danger. Therefore, I have never been able to fight for the country and kill the enemy. This is a regret in my life. Now that my father has passed away, our brothers have become more interested in practicing martial arts, so we took the liberty to ask for help, hoping to get some advice from the Protector."
Li Jiangyao smiled and said: "Since you are determined to serve the country, you should be encouraged. Thank you Young Master for the invitation. When applying tomorrow, Li will definitely come to ask for advice."
Seeing Li Jiangyao nodding in agreement, Cheng Dong was quite happy. He stood up and cupped his hands and said, "Thank you so much for your love. You are busy with official duties, so I won't disturb you. Tomorrow, I will clean the courtyard and sweep the courtyard, and wait for the general to arrive."
-
As soon as Cheng Dong left, Li Jiangyao didn't even take a sip of hot tea, but another visitor came to the Hu Mansion.
Tian Mu, the imperial censor.
Li Jiangyao smiled secretly in his heart and ordered his subordinates to invite him.
After a moment, Tian Mu, who was neatly dressed in official uniform, walked into the living room and bowed his hands to Li Jiangyao from a distance: "I see you as the Protector."
Li Jiangyao couldn't help but laugh and said: "Master Tian, you and I are both from the third rank, how can we talk about lowering the official rank?"
Tian Mu couldn't help but be startled when he heard this, and immediately found a "good" reason for himself to ease the embarrassment: "Oh, in addition to the position of General Yunhui, the Protector of the Great War also serves as the Commander of the Navy, with the title of Commander-in-Chief, and is of the same rank as a third-rank official. In fact, it’s Shangguan, Shangguan.”
Li Jiangyao laughed loudly and asked Tian Mu to sit down: "Master Tian is not only the head of the Yushitai that supervises all officials, but also the leader of the emperor's personal soldiers. In terms of power, I should worship you."
Tian Mu thought to himself: Is power nothing? You have a bunch of desperate loyalists under your command, and all your power is just a cloud.
He laughed dryly and said, "I will forgive you for being the protector of the capital. Today I am paying you an unexpected visit because of a case."
Li Jiangyao nodded: "You know, I know, wasn't it just for this matter that I was escorted back to the imperial capital by your Nilin Division?"
Tian Mu really wanted to say, were you escorted back by Nilin Division? That's the opposite, right? It was obviously you who escorted Ni Linsi back to the Imperial Capital, right?
However, when he said it, he changed the content: "Dadu Protector's words are serious. The case of Sun Chen and the others has not yet been concluded, so it cannot be said that they were escorted back. I came here just to discuss the case with Dadu Protector. .”
It was obviously supposed to be an inquiry into the case, but Tian Mu defined it as a discussion of the case, and he was still discussing it with the criminal suspect himself. This was indeed an anecdote in the history of Yushitai and Nilinsi.
Li Jiangyao smiled faintly: "Okay, let's discuss how we want to. I will fully cooperate with you."
"Um..." Tian Mu was stunned for a moment and said awkwardly: "Actually, there is no need to go into the details of the case, including the cause and reason."
Li Jiangyao was slightly curious: "Oh? Why is this? Don't you want to give me a chance to defend yourself and plan to directly convict me?"
Tian Mu waved his hands quickly: "No, no, no, I have no such intention. I have no reason to convict you. Never mention it again. Alas, Protector-General, you must understand us, we also have difficulties."
Li Jiangyao didn't answer and looked at Tian Mu with interest.
Just listen to Tian Mu continue to speak: "Beheading generals in front of the formation is a common thing in war. Normally, there is no need to make a fuss or pursue it deliberately. I believe that you must have a reason to kill Sun Chen and the other three. , From the emperor’s point of view, as long as we can win the battle, it doesn’t matter if we kill thirty or three hundred, let alone three.”
Li Jiangyao was amused by his words and couldn't help but ask: "If that's the case, why did you summon me all the way to the imperial capital and seize my military power in disguise?"
Tian Mu rolled his eyes and said: "The trouble with this problem is that there are too many things involved behind the scenes. I think the Protector also knows that Sun Chen and the others are not directly under the navy, but they have their own sources and their own interests." Boss. As long as the three of them have not committed treason, even if they make mistakes, they should be dealt with prudently. The thunderbolt methods of the Protector of the Great Protectorate really put the Emperor and Nilinsi in a bit of a dilemma."
Li Jiangyao heard that the other party's words contained the meaning of compromise and discussion, and simply said: "Then how can you make this matter better?"
Tian Mu heard the words and quickly smiled and said: "Well, what the emperor means is that it is better to turn the big thing into a trivial matter and just gently remove it."
"Exposed it?" Li Jiangyao asked calmly: "How to expose it?"
"The Protector-General voluntarily resigned from the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Navy and gave an explanation to the court," Tian Mu said cautiously: "It would certainly be better if we could get some more silver to comfort Sun Chen and his family."
With a bang, Li Jiangyao slapped his palm on the table, causing the teacup to jump.
Tian Mu was frightened and looked at the other party in surprise.
Li Jiangyao sneered and said word by word: "Impossible!"
Tian Mu tried to ask: "When Daduhu said it was impossible, did he mean to resign voluntarily, or did he point to monetary compensation?"
"What do you think?" Li Jiangyao said coldly.
Tian Mu was not a fool. Of course he knew that Li Jiangyao rejected both proposals. However, Wei Zixuan and the others also had to give an explanation, so they had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue to persuade: "Dadu protector, in fact, this naval commander is not appropriate. Think about it, there are less than a thousand broken ships, and they have fought repeatedly. The defeated and exhausted troops will face Bao Yuchun's main fleet sooner or later. If the battle goes unfavorably later, it will affect your reputation as a victorious general, right?"
