Chapter 671

Occupy the west corridor of the river

Talking about business is far happier than talking about politics, and Shi Bin and Jia Rudao both relaxed after talking for long, as if the previous tension had never appeared. Because the business was very good, Jia Rudao turned from worry to joy. talked about the later and still very concerned Shi Bin told Shi Bin to be cautious, especially not to fall for Ali Buge's tricks.

In order not to worry Jia Rudao, Shi Bin also told Ali Buge that he planned to ask Li Zong to crown himself as the king, but he refused to put pressure on Li Zong.

From this incident, Jia Rudao learned that Shi Bin really wouldn't mess around, so he was relieved. Since he was no longer worried, there were still many things to do on Huainan Road, so Jia Rudao only stayed in Lin'an for two days before returning to Yangzhou.

"My lord, your father-in-law still seems to be a little uneasy." Xu Feng said.

"Of course I don't worry, although I handed over the post of the front secretary of the palace, I still serve as the prime minister, the privy envoy, the commander of the guards and the horse army, and the guards and the four positions of real power. In other words, Lin'an is actually still in my hands. What especially makes my father-in-law uneasy is how the emperor should reward me next, I can't seal it soon, but he can't ask me to give up the benefits I deserve. This is very embarrassing, and it is easy to conflict again, so he is not at ease. Shi Bin said with a wry smile.

"What are you going to do?" Xu Feng asked.

"What else can I do? Naturally, we must achieve the previous goal step by step, and we must not compromise, let alone give up. Shi Bin said in an unwavering tone.

Hearing Shi Bin's words, Xu Feng felt very happy. What he was most afraid of was that Shi Bin would compromise at this time and give up half or more of the benefits he had received.

"My lord, maybe we should invite the two ladies to come and talk, in addition to the control of Yumen Pass and Jiayu Pass, we should ask for more things. Your Excellency will enter the palace tomorrow to see the emperor, and you must make sufficient preparations. Xu Feng proposed.

After Xu Feng's reminder, Shi Bin suddenly realized that he couldn't fight an unprepared battle, and he really had to invite Jia Ling and Sai Xishi, two female Zhuge to serve as staff officers. An order was given, but after a stick of incense, Xu Feng invited Jia Ling and Sai Xishi to come. You know, this is in the interests of their whole family, how can the two of them not hurry?

"Husband, Xu Feng told the slave family that you want nothing more than the control of Yumen Pass and Jiayu Pass, but you don't know what you want, right?" Jia Ling asked.

"Yes, Xiaoling. I have recovered a large area of land east of Yumen Pass this time, and it will certainly not be enough for the Emperor to only allow me to sponsor two guards and not give me a big reward. ”

"Of course it's not enough, why don't you ask to continue to serve as the front secretary of the palace?" Sai Si Shi laughed.

It was childish, but it made a few people laugh. Li Zong has finally gained a little sense of security, how can he easily lose it? How could it be possible to hand over the power of the front division of this palace to Shi Bin again?

"Xi Shi, don't talk nonsense, how can the emperor let me be the front secretary of the palace again? Impossible in any case. I think he will probably add me a false title, after all, I am already the highest in the real position, and he will never make me king. Even if he wants to crown me king, I won't accept it. ”

"That's a loss! You helped him recover a large area of land for the Zhao family, and only got two sponsorship rights and a fictitious title? Sai Xi Shi immediately said angrily after hearing this.

"Sister Xi Shi, don't worry, things won't be out of the way. But the husband is right, his actual position really can't be more, and it's best not to be crowned king, and it may be most appropriate to get a high-level virtual title. If my sister feels that she can't stand it, then let's fight for more benefits for him in addition to fighting for her husband's fame. Jia Ling immediately came out to speak.

Knowing that what Jia Ling said was reasonable, Sai Xishi could only stop being angry, so he signaled to discuss how much benefit he would fight for Shi Bin.

"Now that there is a war, and the treasury is half empty, the head of the household must be distressed, and I am afraid that he will not promise the emperor to reward me with too much wealth." Shi Bin said.

"Yes, it is true that you will not be given a lot of money. Then you don't want anything, you want the emperor to make a promise. Jia Ling said with a smile, "I want the emperor to make a promise that he will not levy taxes everywhere for five years." When promulgating this policy, Xu Feng and them should vigorously proclaim that this is something that you Qi Guogong has fought for with all your might, and the benefits you will get in this way should be more than if you get real money. ”

It turned out that they wanted to buy people's hearts, Shi Bin and Sai Xishi couldn't help but smile at Jia Ling, and nodded their heads again and again to express their appreciation.

"Well, just do as you say. I will make these requests when I see the emperor tomorrow, hoping that he will be more interesting and will not require me to put too much effort into it. ”

One night passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye, it was two o'clock the next day, and it was the most suitable time to enter the palace to see Rizong. In order to increase his momentum, Shi Bin also pulled Wang Yi and Li Shao together.

It was obvious that Li Zong did not want to see Shi Bin, especially Shi Bin, who had returned victoriously. Because he knew that Shi Bin, who came at this time, was here to collect debts, to 'fight local tyrants and divide the land'. It's just that Li Zong never expected Shi Bin to bring two helpers, which suddenly made him feel alone.

Fortunately, he still has a trace of wisdom, after Shi Bin arrived with Wang Yi and Li Shao, Li Zong only talked to them about anything practical, but in fact, he secretly sent someone to invite Zhao Kui to relieve the siege.

It didn't take long for Shi Bin to find out that something was wrong, because Li Zong was just talking to them about the situation during the war, the casualties of the troops, and the rewards and pensions for the soldiers, without mentioning the rewards and appointments of the generals at all.

Of course, this situation can't be allowed to continue, after Wang Yi and Li Shao glanced at each other, he spoke: "Your Majesty, this time the Duke of Qi led his troops to recover the Hexi Corridor and made such a great contribution, and I ask the emperor to reward him." ”

"Lord Wang is reasonable, Your Majesty, the Duke of Qi has made great contributions to my Great Song Dynasty, and I ask the emperor not to be stingy when rewarding." Li Shao echoed.

'Stingy'? Hearing these two words, Rizong's face, which was still a little smiling, immediately became gloomy. A courtier dared to use such disrespectful words to the emperor. The implication is that the emperor has always been stingy with Shi Bin...

"Li Shao, what do you mean? Do you mean I'm stingy? Ritsune shouted angrily.

"Please calm the emperor's anger, Weichen doesn't mean this, the emperor has always been generous. The minister just asked the emperor to think carefully about how to reward the Duke of Qi, and not let the world misunderstand that the emperor was stingy. ”

This is quite passable, and Li Zong no longer cares, so he continues to make peace with Shi Bin.

It's just that no one can stand it for a long time, and Shi Bin finally interrupted Li Zong's words very rudely, and said: "Your Majesty, let's talk about how to reward the soldiers, I'm afraid it's not good to let them wait for a long time." ”

It's been delayed for two quarters of an hour, and I can't find any gossip anymore, even if Zhao Kui hasn't arrived yet, Li Zong has no choice but to get to the point, "Shi Aiqing, what do you think, what do you want to reward?" ”

Talking to Jia Ling and Sai Xishi outside the palace can be said to be the bottom line, of course Shi Bin can't directly throw the bottom line now, but should be a sky-high asking price. "Your Majesty, the ministers thought that the generals who participated in the war should first be promoted to one level, and the ordinary soldiers would be rewarded with ten taels of silver, the wounded soldiers would be rewarded with fifteen taels, the disabled soldiers should be rewarded with thirty taels, and the martyred soldiers should be rewarded with fifty taels. Second, Yumen Pass should be led by Sai Zhangfei, and Jiayuguan should be led by Xiang Shibi, a brave and resourceful person. Third, the four counties of Hexi should also choose a shrewd and capable person to serve as the governor. The grain and grass salaries of the two passes were borne by the four counties of Hexi. Fourth, the Hexi Corridor has just recovered the people's instability, and we should waive taxes for five years. Moreover, 50,000 taels of silver and 50,000 stone of grain must be allocated immediately to support the local people to resume production. Shi Bin said very seriously.

Before Li Zong could react, Shi Bin said again: "The minister is afraid that the remnants of Kublai Khan's subordinates will come to retaliate against the minister and affect the emperor, so the minister asks the emperor to let the minister once again serve as the head of the palace to check the position of the emperor to protect the emperor's safety." ”

"Your Majesty, the minister agrees with Qi Guogong's suggestion." Wang Yi said without hesitation.

"Your Majesty, the ministers also agree." Li Shao said after thinking for a while.

Everyone knows that Sai Zhangfei and Xiang Shibi are Shi Bin's people, and Shi Bin's intention to forcibly occupy the Hexi Corridor is obvious. Once he gets the inspection of the front division of the palace, Li Zong will be completely imprisoned by Shi Bin, these two items are really too much. However, Wang Yi and Li Shao actually agreed to Shi Bin's request, which made Li Zong feel very painful.

When he couldn't bear to agree to Shi Bin's request, Zhao Kui arrived. As soon as he saw that the savior was coming, Li Zong immediately became happy, and immediately told Zhao Kui the requirements of Shi Bin, Wang Yi and Li Shao, hoping to hear his 'views'.

Although Zhao Kui didn't want to get too involved in the disputes of the imperial court, he couldn't watch Li Zong being bullied like this, and finally said: "Lord Shi, you just stepped down from the palace before the battle, why do you have to take this position again as soon as the battle is over?" Isn't it child's play to exchange for this? How to let the newly appointed palace secretary be inspected? ”

"Lord Zhao, this is just a suggestion from me, and it doesn't say that this position is necessary, please don't misunderstand." Shi Bin said with a smile.

"I see, that's fine." Zhao Kui was very happy to see Shi Bin compromise. Then he said to Li Zong: "Your Majesty, it turns out that Lord Shi is just making a suggestion. But please also ask the emperor to give Lord Shi enough rewards, and don't let people gossip about the emperor. ”

After many years as an emperor, Li Zong could still hear the meaning of Zhao Kui's words, so he nodded with a smile and said: "Zhao Aiqing is reasonable, he wants to give Shi Aiqing enough rewards, and he can't let people say that he is stingy." ”

Hearing this, Li Shao on the side was furious. This is obviously only allowed by the state officials to set fires, and the people are not allowed to light lamps. Why does Zhao Kui just say 'stingy', but he Li Shao doesn't allow 'stingy'?

Seeing the resentment in Li Shao's heart, Shi Bin patted him lightly and signaled him to calm down. At the same time, he also said: "Thank you to the emperor and Lord Zhao." ”

"Your Majesty, Lord Shi has made such a great contribution again, and I ask the emperor to reward him heavily." Zhao Kui said very solemnly, "Please ask the emperor to seal Lord Shi as the king of Changsha." ”

The word 'kill' immediately flashed out of Shi Bin's mind. Although there is nothing wrong with being crowned king now, his Shi Bin's achievements have long been enough to be crowned king. But Shi Bin doesn't want to be crowned king even if he is in power, so it is too conspicuous and easy to be targeted. Therefore, Shi Bin immediately excused himself again and again, saying that it was absolutely not.

Of course, Zhao Kui's treacherous plan could not be allowed to succeed, and Wang Yi and Li Shao also said that Shi Bin could not be crowned king yet. Li Shao thinks that doing all kinds of things according to Shi Bin's proposal is the best reward for Shi Bin. Wang Yi thought that Shi Bin could be named a hussar general or a Kaifu Yi with the three divisions.

Seeing Shi Bin's bottom line, Li Zong and Zhao Kui didn't dare to stimulate too much, not to mention that it was already very good to keep the palace front division checked, and they were also content. In the end, he said that in addition to disagreeing with the inspection of the front division of the palace, the governors of the four counties of Hexi should ask the ministers to discuss and decide, and the rest of the matters were according to Shi Bin's intentions, and Shi Bin made his own decisions.

The reward for Shi Bin himself was a hussar general plus 100,000 taels of silver. In order to reduce Shi Bin's dissatisfaction, Jia Ling was also named the wife of Qi State, and Sai Xi Shi was named Shuoren.