Fengtian Temple Square.
Dozens of generals gathered here. The banquet was not large, with only five tables, but the standard was not low at all, and the delicacies of the mountains and seas were abundant.
Zhu Di and Feng Sheng were already here, but Li Qing was late again.
Fortunately, he was not too late, at least he came earlier than Lao Zhu.
Li Qing was not familiar with these generals, and he couldn't even name most of them, nor did he greet them. He just found a seat and sat down, waiting for the banquet to begin.
Two quarters of an hour later, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao came hand in hand, and everyone stood up and saluted.
"Flat body!"
Zhu Yuanzhang was very interested. He glanced at Li Qing and saw him sitting in the corner. He waved: "Li Qing, come and sit."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Qing stood up helplessly. He really didn't want to sit at the same table with Lao Zhu. It would affect his performance when eating.
Zhu Yuanzhang sat down and wine was immediately served.
After filling up the wine, Zhu Yuanzhang raised the wine bowl and said, "This battle has been a success. Thank you for your hard work. We respect you."
"To your Majesty!"
All the generals stood up, raised their wine bowls, and drank in one gulp.
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled heartily, put down his wine bowl and glanced at Xiao Guizi. The latter immediately understood, bowed and left the banquet.
After a while, a group of eunuchs came over holding wooden trays with big red envelopes and jewelry and jade on them.
Li Qing looked at the thick red envelope and secretly marveled. Lao Zhu was very picky with civil servants and was really not stingy with generals.
Based on the calculation of the thickness, each red envelope is probably not worth 300 taels. If you include the jewelry and jade, it will be 500 taels anyway.
The generals were even more happy after receiving the reward. They all bared their teeth and saluted in thanks, and the atmosphere of the banquet was high.
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said loudly: "Feng Sheng listens to the order."
"I obey the decree." Old Fengtou quickly raised his robe and bowed down.
"In this battle, you have made the greatest contribution, and I will be rewarded with two thousand stones of polished rice, two hundred bolts of silk, and one hundred sheep!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness." Feng Sheng looked happy. This reward was really a lot, and the total value was higher than a year's salary.
"Zhu Di listens."
"My son, please listen."
"You are indispensable for the successful recruitment this time. You have saved a lot of money for the court. I will use part of it as a reward." After a pause, Zhu Yuanzhang wrote lightly, "A reward of one million taels."
Good guy, he is his biological son after all!
Li Qing was stunned. The general was rewarded with five hundred taels, and the Duke rewarded him with about five thousand taels. When it came to his son, it was a million taels.
This difference... is too damn big, right?
This is not over yet, Zhu Yuanzhang continued, "You station in Benping and face Bei Yuan directly. We will hand over the 30,000 cavalry recruited to your command. We must not let Bei Yuan step into the Ming Dynasty."
"My son, I accept the order and thank you for your kindness." Zhu Di responded respectfully.
The expressions of the generals were as usual, and they did not show any envy or jealousy. He was a vassal king and the emperor's son. There was no comparison between them. They were very satisfied if they could get a reward of five hundred taels.
If the gap is too big, there will be no imbalance at all.
Zhu Yuanzhang patted Zhu Di on the shoulder, chuckled and said, "Di'er, do your best!"
"Yes, Father."
Zhu Di was slapped like this, as if he had drank two jars of soju, his face turned red, and his body was as light as four taels of cotton, almost floating.
Li Qing curled his lips secretly and said to himself: The cake painter is trapped by the cake after all, ginger is still spicy!
"Li Qing listens."
"Ah... I'm here."
It's finally my turn, Lao Zhu, you need to give me some advice... Li Qing cupped his hands and said, "I obey the order."
"This great victory is all thanks to you, the supervisor!" Zhu Yuanzhang said, "As the supervisor, you are responsible for breaking and refuting. We are very pleased."
Zhu Di:?
Feng Sheng:? ?
Generals:? ? ?
When it’s time to break, it’s time to break, when it’s time to refute, it’s time to refute?
He steals the ball and refutes the chicken!
Just listen to Zhu Yuanzhang continue, "Li Qing is suspended!
I will grant you the title of Marquis of Yongqing, with an annual salary of 1,200 dan! "
Hearing this, everyone was dumbfounded, including Li Qing.
Although Lao Zhu had been dreaming of becoming a marquis since the day he entered the palace, he never thought that Lao Zhu would actually fulfill it.
Frankly speaking, he really didn't make any plans in this battle, and was almost always in charge.
Of course, there are also merits, such as shooting the sea turtle, which prevented the Ming army from being exposed prematurely, thus paving the way for recruitment.
But even if all the credit for this battle were given to him alone, it would not be enough to make him a marquis!
For a time, Li Qing became the focus of the audience.
The generals are dissatisfied!
After more than ten years of bloody battles, there were so many generals who helped Zhu Yuanzhang conquer the country, but only 28 of them were granted the title of marquis. How could he, Li Qing, be capable?
How could they accept it if they just followed the army around for a while and were granted the title of marquis when they came back?
Although he is not a Spyker, he is still a candidate!
King Yan is a prince, and they have nothing to say, but how can Li Qing, a small imperial envoy in brocade clothes, be granted the title of marquis?
The emperor's conferment, the generals did not dare to refute, but Li Qing was conferred the title of Marquis, no one was convinced, and they could not even hide the dissatisfaction on their faces.
Li Qing felt like a light on his back, like a lump on his throat, he smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, I can't bear the responsibility!"
"We say you can afford it, then you can afford it." Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at the generals, "Do you have any opinions?"
The generals quickly raised their hands and said: "Your Majesty is wise!"
"Okay, let's eat!" Zhu Yuanzhang moved his chopsticks with a smile.
The table was full of delicacies, but all the generals had lost their appetite. Even Li Qing himself had a loss of appetite.
Damn it, Lao Zhu tricked me!
…
Nave lobby.
Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Di sat down around the table. The palace maid served sobering tea and withdrew knowingly.
"Di'er."
"My son is here."
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "A total of 30,000 cavalry were recruited this time. When we return, we will divide them into three branches. One branch will be handed over to Nai'er Buhua, and the other two branches will be promoted to two generals from Yuan Dynasty. We cannot let one family dominate."
After a pause, "Hold a bone in front of the three of them, let the three of them form a competitive relationship, support the weak and suppress the strong appropriately, so that you can have better control."
"Father is wise!" Zhu Di sighed in admiration, "My son, please remember this."
"Well, let the three more people be assigned deputy generals, and let them still control the real power, so that they can exert their combat effectiveness, but they must also be slowly penetrated." Zhu Yuanzhang took a sip of tea and said, "We will give you two years. We must train this army into an army that is truly loyal to our Ming Dynasty, are you confident?"
"My son has confidence!" Zhu Di assured.
"very good!"
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled with satisfaction, "How did Li Qing perform in this battle?"
"...Back to my father, Li Qing...has nothing to show for himself." Zhu Di said with a smile, "In terms of tactics and strategies, he has never come up with any ideas. He also fully agrees with the strategies of his ministers and Song Guogong, and has almost no effect. "
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded lightly, "Never pretend to understand if you don't understand. You know the overall situation is the most important thing, and you can be taught!"
Zhu Di: "..."
Why his father was so partial to Li Qing? He never thought about his sister, but now was the time when his father had the best impression of him, so he would not pour cold water on her.
Then he said: "However, Li Qing did make a great contribution in this battle. If he hadn't shot and killed Yuan Ren's natural spy Hai Dongqing in time, the recruitment might not have been carried out so smoothly."
"Can he shoot down Hai Dongqing?"
Zhu Yuanzhang was surprised and said, "That thing flies so high, can he shoot it down?"
Zhu Biao also looked surprised. Although he focused most of his energy on civil affairs, as the successor of the Ming Dynasty, he had never fallen behind in the military. Naturally, he knew the Yuan people's Hai Dongqing.
Zhu Di nodded. Even though he despised Li Qing's "eating people without speaking softly" behavior, he had to admit Li Qing's ability.
"The five-stone bow shoots five arrows in a row, and the arrows are as long as the full moon. You are really born with divine power!"
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled even more, "Hai Dongqing of the Yuan Dynasty is the most difficult to deal with. It seems that he will have to be allowed to go in the next general attack."
Zhu Di's eyes flashed, he stood up and bowed down: "Father, I am willing to lead the way for the Ming Dynasty!"
"Haha... get up, get up quickly." Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile, "There will be times when you can perform well, but this time... you'd better not go. Managing Nai'er Buhua's army well is what you have to do now. .”
Zhu Di was a little disappointed and said unwillingly, "Father, I will be a deputy commander, no, just be a vanguard."
"You can't bite off more than you can chew." Zhu Yuanzhang's smile faded.
Zhu Di felt a chill in his heart and hurriedly raised his hands and said yes.
Only then did Zhu Yuanzhang smile again, "Okay, you finally came here to see your father-in-law. The old guy's body is not as strong as before, so you should do your best to show your filial piety."
"Yes, my son, please retire." Zhu Di cupped his hands and said to Zhu Biao, "Brother, I will go back first."
"I'll come to the palace tomorrow and let's have two drinks alone," Zhu Biao said.
"Okay, my brother will definitely come tomorrow." Zhu Di said with a smile, "Then the eldest brother is busy first, I'm leaving."
"Um."
Watching Zhu Di leave, Zhu Biao said softly: "Father, who do you plan to put in command for the general offensive?"
"Sapphire!"
