A family banquet, Liu Chengyou left halfway, in addition to being the head of the family, he is also the king of a country, and the weight of state affairs in his heart is still more important than family affairs.

Around the end of the evening, Liu Chengyou confessed to the Queen Mother and went straight to the Chongzheng Palace. The moon is thin and the stars are numerous, under the night, the palace is majestic, after more than four months, walking between the familiar palace rooms again, Liu Chengyou has a special feeling.

"What about the ministers?" Liu Chengyou asked.

As the head of the chamberlain, after Zhang Dejun returned to the palace, he was also very busy, so he came to wait for his life. Hearing this, he hurriedly said, "All the justices are waiting for His Majesty to summon them in the East Palace!" ”

In response, Liu Chengyou quickened his pace and walked towards the Chongzheng Palace. In the hall, in the Tokyo court, several of the most powerful ministers were waiting quietly, waiting for the Son of Heaven to step inside, and they all stood up to worship. Liu Chengyou was sitting in the imperial case, and only after he worshipped did he signal him to sit down without courtesy.

I haven't seen him for more than four months, and everyone has a feeling of being born, and for the ministers in the palace, the Son of Heaven who has won a great victory with the merit of expanding the land is becoming more and more powerful, and people dare not look sideways.

Looking around, his eyes fell on Feng Dao, and Liu Chengyou said: "I am not in Tokyo, I have Lao Zhongqing, sitting in the rear, ruling the military and politics, working on state affairs, and regulating yin and yang. Ladies have worked hard! Feng Qing, this sideburns add a little bit of white, it can be seen that I am lacking, and I can't bear it! ”

"Thank you for your care!" Feng Dao immediately got up and replied respectfully: "The ministers are deeply trusted by His Majesty, and they are appointed by the state, and they feel that they have a long way to go, and they dare not neglect their responsibilities!" Now that His Majesty has returned to the court in victory, the ministers will be at ease! ”

Hearing his words, Liu Chengyou hooked the corners of his mouth slightly, took a sip, and said loudly: "This southern expedition, before and after the mobilization of 300,000 soldiers and civilians, spent hundreds of millions, fortunately, the soldiers used their lives, the ministers planned, and they were able to take Huainan and Jiangdong to surrender, which can be described as brilliant results!" ”

"This is all Your Majesty's strategy, the wisdom of the commander, and the wisdom of employing people!" Guo Wei was below, in a steady manner, saying flattering words.

With a chuckle, Liu Chengyou said: "Plotting to control the distance, using troops to win, breaking the country and capturing the city, and occupying the land to take the people, this is the victory." Is this the work of one person, the strategy of the ministers, and the courage of the soldiers, all of which are indispensable! ”

Liu Chengyou has never been a self-conscious person, nor is it so, let alone the need to compete with his subordinates, his face is kind, and he said to the ministers: "This time, I have been in Huainan and have been able to devote myself to the military, without the worries of rice and grain, ordnance, and servants, and the worries of the future are all the merits of the ministers!" ”

Hearing the emperor say this, what else can the ministers in the palace do, they all got up and bowed down, looking moved, praising Liu Chengyou's wisdom.

After simply communicating the feelings of the monarch and the ministers, Liu Chengyou described it as slight, and the atmosphere in the hall became serious, just like Liu Chengyou listened to politics on weekdays.

Not long after the end of the war, although the affairs of the imperial court have been adjusted from the wartime and gradually returned to the right track, the military affairs are still the first. Guo Wei took the lead in getting up and said: "From the forbidden army, I have returned to the camp, and I will report it to the army, and then follow up the inspection. ”

Guo Wei took out a notebook, held it in both hands, and narrated in his mouth: "In the field battles and city attacks before and after, there were 43 large and small battles, 4,375 people were killed in the forbidden army, 267 people were lost, 1,360 people were seriously injured, and 5,124 people were slightly injured!" The casualties, officers above the captain level, three hundred and twenty-six! ”

Hearing the report, Liu Chengyou inevitably sighed that "one will succeed and ten thousand bones will wither", and said: "The weakness of the soldiers of the Southern Tang Dynasty is known to me, even so, after several months of fierce fighting, the elite of our Han army still suffered more than 10,000 casualties, which is not small!" ”

Of course, what Guo Wei reported was only the damage of the forbidden officers and soldiers, and the casualties of the Huaibei and Huainan soldiers recruited in this battle were doubled. After all, it's all dirty, hard, and tiring work.

Liu Chengyou commanded directly.

"Yes!" Guo Wei and Wei Renpu responded at the same time: "Your Majesty loves soldiers, and the ministers admire!" ”

"The merits of the officers and soldiers of the Southern Expedition, the military department has been approved, the battalion commander and above, all the one hundred and sixty-five people, have been sorted out, and the matter is remembered in detail, please review it by Your Majesty, and the matter of awarding rewards and honors still needs to be discussed by Your Majesty and the courtiers! Below the battalion command, prepare another detail, according to the usual reward for merit, to be approved, you can give it! Wei Renpu also took out a letter and presented it.

Liu Chengyou weighed it a few times, it was very thick, and he could personally pass the purpose, all of which were the merits of the generals of the middle and upper military academies of the forbidden army. After a little glance, Liu Chengyou said to Wei Renpu, who looked tired: "Wei Qing has worked hard, and I will reply after reading it!" ”

"Yes!"

Weighing the book in his hand, Liu Chengyou looked at the ministers and said: "A thick book of merits, all of which are the merits of the soldiers fighting and fighting and breaking the army and occupying the city. As I said in the foreword, it is also a great achievement for the secretaries to sit in charge of raising funds and managing the government and soothing the people, and the officials of the various sections and states that cooperate with the operational dispatch cannot ignore their labor! ”

"It should also be registered, reported for verification, and rewarded by the imperial court at its discretion!" Liu Chengyou instructed Feng Dao: "This matter will be handed over to Feng Qing for disposal!" ”

"Yes! Ministers for internal and external officials, thank Your Majesty for your grace! Feng Dao said, with joy in his words.

As the ruler, the credit is determined and the fruit is shared, of course, Liu Chengyou will not favor one over the other. He also wants to declare one thing to the people of the world, as long as he has a utility to the country and the court, he will not forget.

However, in this way, the imperial court will have to spend an additional part of the money, and you can see what his temperament is by looking at the sorrowful brows of Xue Juzheng, the deputy envoy of the third division. But for this matter, we must not open our mouths to oppose it, and if we open our mouths, we will inevitably commit public anger.

Since the founding of the Han Dynasty, it has been fighting against bad finances, and since Liu Chengyou ascended the throne, the situation has been even worse. The master of great promise, every move, all affect the world, and what it brings is not necessarily the peace of the thousand years and the meritorious deeds of the eternal years......

"Your Majesty, after the southern expedition, the Iron Cavalry, Long Jie, Longqi, Xiaodi, Guardian Saint, Fengguo Zhuma Infantry Army, damaged and numerous, plus Your Majesty stayed in the two Huai departments. The number of forbidden troops in Tokyo has been sharply reduced, and it is no longer enough to defend the two capitals and the towns of Zhuguan and Zhuguan, and if there is a war, it will not be enough. Guo Wei took out another piece of music, presented it, and said:

"After discussing with the ministers, it is recommended that 20,000 soldiers be selected from the commands of various sections, defenses, and regimental training, and filled into Tokyo! Among them, the Hedong prefectures will be selected for 5,000, Weibo for 3,000, Chengde for 2,000, and the rest will be selected from other states and towns according to the system as appropriate. Your Majesty, please judge the royal court! ”

After taking it, Liu Chengyou carefully reviewed it and asked, "In this way, will it affect the border preparation?" ”

The Privy Council's strategy, of course, is very much in line with Liu Chengyou's intentions, killing two birds with one stone, strong cadres and weak branches, and if you want to cut Fang Zhen, you will collect its troops first. However, in the nearly six years since the founding of the Northern Han Dynasty, the authority of the central government has been established and has become increasingly stable, and the threat of local festivals to the imperial court is no longer as great as imagined, especially when Liu Chengyou has made another great achievement.

Although he intends to continue to strengthen the centralization of power and collect the troops of the festival, he is not in a hurry to do this, and other places are fine, but he has to be vigilant in the border state. If the local army is too weak, it will not give the alien race an opportunity to take advantage of it.

Guo Wei said: "After detailed planning by the privy council, there should be no big problem. Your Majesty returned to the court, with the current situation of Han, Liao, and Liu, the northern border defense can already meet the needs, and it can be appropriately reduced and adjusted. There are more warriors in Guanyou, and because of Meng Shu, they can be requisitioned after pressurization. The Li clan of the Dingyan army can be ordered to sacrifice warriors and fill the horse army.

The ten states in Hedong, although the land of Longxing, have not encountered wars since the founding of the country, and do not need many soldiers and horses. In addition to being selected to enter Beijing, it is also necessary to reduce the number of troops for the people, strengthen the defenses of Xin, Dai, Fu, and Lin, and ensure that the rest are basically garrisoned......"

"Since it has been discussed by the Privy Council, it is expected that there is no danger, so let's do it!" Listening to his explanation, he groaned slightly, Liu Chengyou said: "However, you should remember that this matter should be slow, not urgent, the selected pawn must be excellent, and there is no one who is allowed to fill the number indiscriminately, so issue an edict first!" ”

"Yes!"

At the same time as the decision was made, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but glance at Guo Wei a few more times.