Xia Jingying asked the prince half-understanding, "Your Highness, what do you mean?"
"Do you still want me to tell you directly? Of course, we need to bring down Prince Ning's people first."
The next day, when the morning glow on the horizon illuminated the court hall, there were already many ministers in the Xuanzheng Hall waiting for the emperor to make his morning appearance. After a while, Zhang Cen, the personal eunuch, helped Emperor Han out slowly. It seemed that Emperor Han's body was no longer as good as before, but he still seemed to be in good spirits. Based on this, Emperor Han should be in a good mood.
After the Han emperor sat down, the emperor and his ministers saluted each other.
Then, Lu Zuo came out of the squad and said: "Your Majesty, now in Ningding in the west, all the generals in the Western Expedition have also been exposed to the Emperor's rain and dew. However, there is still one general who has not been rewarded. If he had not sacrificed himself in this Western Expedition, he would have opened up the world. Shanzhou City Gate, then it will be difficult for us to capture Shanzhou."
"Who is it?"
"That is General Pang Gu Pang, who is personally appointed by His Majesty as Huaihua Secretary."
Only then did the Han Emperor think of him. Pang Gu was a talented general. According to what Lu Zuo said, Pang Gu was dead? Emperor Han sighed with regret, "Why is no one reporting such an important matter to me?" His tone sounded like a reproach, but there was no change in his expression.
At this time, Xu Bingde, Secretary of the Ministry of War, came out of the squad with a scepter and said: "Your Majesty, there are many people who have died in the line of duty this time and need to be reported. Soldiers and generals enjoy different benefits for death in the line of duty. Therefore, General Pang also died in the line of duty as a soldier." The treatment has been reported.”
Cui Hao, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishments, looked at Xu Bingde rather unhappily and said: "Master Xu, General Pang is a Huaihua minister with an official of the sixth rank, how can he report the treatment as a soldier? As the Minister of the Ministry of War, you can't even understand this, right?" Even I have heard that Shanzhou City was captured this time because General Pang took the lead and opened the city gate. It is impossible that Xu Shangshu has not heard about it!" Cui Hao then bowed to the Han Emperor without allowing Xu Bingde to defend himself and said, "Your Majesty, Master Xu's actions are nothing short of knowing and breaking the law!"
Xu Bingde was speechless by Cui Hao's rebuttal, and hesitantly cast his eyes towards the prince Liu Yan who was standing not far away. Liu Yan looked calm and ignored Xu Bingde.
The Han Emperor closed his eyes slightly, twirled his white beard with his hand, and asked in a more serious tone: "Xu Aiqing, is this really the case?"
"this……"
When Xu Bingde was hesitating how to answer, a slightly bloated man with a few pockmarks on his face came out and said: "Your Majesty, Mr. Cui just said something serious. General Pang sacrificed his life for the country and deserves to be rewarded by the court. Yes, but normal procedures should be followed! According to the practice of our court, when a general is sacrificed, the aftermath needs to be verified by the Ministry of War, and then the merits are drawn up and submitted to the Zhongshu Province for decision-making, which is reviewed by the Ministry of Menxia, which means that it needs to be reviewed by the Prime Minister Li The Prime Minister agrees and then submits it to Your Majesty for your decision."
When Cui Hao saw Quan Shidao, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, defending Xu Bingde in this way, he was filled with hatred. "What Mr. Quan said is true, so why is this matter in the Ministry of War still delayed until now?"
At this time, Lu Zuo couldn't help but turn his attention to Quan Shidao. This person had been in the officialdom for more than ten or twenty years. Once he opened his mouth, he was afraid that Cui Hao would suffer.
Quan Shidao glanced at Cui Hao, smiled respectfully at the first minister standing in the literary class, and said, "Prime Minister Li must have understood this matter."
Emperor Han said: "Li Aiqing, do you know about this?"
Prime Minister Li Shizhi was slightly startled, but only for a moment, he said: "I am still discussing with Mr. Xu how to deal with this matter, because although General Pang's military position is small, his credit is not small, so how to draw up his credit, I and Mr. Mr. Xu did not dare to make any oversights, and originally wanted to wait until the discussion was finalized before reporting it to His Majesty."
Lu Zuo lowered his head and raised the corner of his mouth slightly. As he and Prince Ning had expected, in the battle for the right to inherit the throne, although Li Shizhi was the uncle of the state and the brother of the prince's own grandmother, he had always been neutral. Position, and it was precisely because of Li Shizhi's insight that the Han Emperor let him take up the always hot position of prime minister. Unexpectedly, Li Shizhi still showed his fox tail. Lu Zuo was surprised and happy when he thought of this.
As expected, Xu Bingde responded continuously: "What the Prime Minister said is absolutely true! We are discussing this matter and have not made a decision yet."
Ning Wang Liu Xun stood at the head of the class, his eyes drooped, and he glanced sideways at Li Shizhi. He had already seen through Li Shizhi's thoughts. He had never discussed anything with Xu Bingde. His remarks just now were clearly to excuse Xu Bingde. That’s all.
The Han Emperor still said calmly: "General Pang is indeed a talented general, but it's a pity that God is jealous of talents! This time the reward must not be without him. What is General Pang's life experience? Do you still have any family members at home?"
Xu Bingde reported back: "Your Majesty, General Pang has no family members according to the records of the Ministry of War!"
"In that case, let's do this. You two don't need to discuss it. I will decide this matter myself. Then I will grant General Pang the title of General Huaihua and the posthumous title of Zhongmin. What do you all think?"
After the Emperor of Han finished speaking, all the ministers knelt down and shouted, "Long live the Holy Ming."
Xu Bingde then continued to report: "There is also a special group in the attack on the city this time, which are the Fengji Mountain grass bandits recruited by Marshal Gao. I wonder how your Majesty will reward these people?"
"I have already heard from Marshal Gao about this matter. I heard that they are not willing to serve as officials in the court, right?"
Gao Jun hurriedly left the team and said: "Exactly, the leader of Fengji Mountain told me that they are used to being idle clouds and wild cranes. They said that serving as an official in the court is not as practical as guarding the border for the court."
The Han Emperor nodded and said, "Let these grassroots bandits cause trouble as officials in the court. It is better to let them guard the border in Shanzhou with peace of mind. So... Marshal Gao, how do you think we should handle this matter?"
"Wei Chen thinks what they say is reasonable. Since they are unwilling to serve as officials in the court, why not obey them and then reward them."
"Okay! Let Marshal Gao work with Xu Aiqing to handle this matter!"
After the morning meeting, the officials all went back to their respective government offices.
Entering the twelfth lunar month of winter, it is also the slack season for farmers, so even at night, the streets are still crowded with people. Furong Restaurant, located in the south of the city, is a bustling place in Kyoto, so it is naturally full of guests. In a private room on the second floor, fairy music was floating, and several musicians behind the screen were playing and singing. There were four or five young people in rich clothes sitting around the room, everyone holding their own arms. The woman with a slender eyebrow sang in time to the beat: "Beauties are wandering around, and warriors are guarding the four sides? It's better to burn the beacon tower than to spread the mountain! It's so beautiful that it's better to forget each other... "
After finishing the song, a man in white looked up to a man in green and clapped his hands and praised him: "Young Master Xia sang well! He sang really well!"
Mr. Xia has a handsome face, but he is only in his early twenties. He waved his hands quickly, "Oh, don't you dare, don't dare, how can I compare to Mr. Wu!"
Another man in green smiled and said, "Master Xia sings well, and I think this song is also well written."
Mr. Wu hugged the woman next to him with his right hand and said with a smile: "That's right! With such a beauty here, why should I be called a wolf? I am still willing to burn this beacon for the beauty!" Mr. Wu said as he finished speaking He lightly wiped the woman's red lips with his index finger and smiled evilly.
