The small courtyard at the back door in Gao Xi's Qi State Mansion was arranged as it was back then, Wang Shichong was wearing a good purple silk civilian clothes, sitting in the living room of this small courtyard, full of emotion, he even remembered that he followed Changsun Sheng and Pei Shiju to this time together, and the feeling of excitement when he sat here, but now he has long lost the excitement that he didn't even dare to say when he saw Gao Xi, and now he can completely face this emperor who is still powerful on the surface.

A steady footsteps from far and near, Wang Shichong stood up, and saluted Gao Xi, who was also dressed in casual clothes at home, Gao Xi didn't say anything, sat a gesture to avoid courtesy, and walked directly to the high-backed chair of the main seat, the guest and the host sat down, and the two children offered refreshments and bowed their heads and retreated.

Wang Shichong looked up at Gao Xi, he hadn't seen him for more than half a year, Gao Xi was obviously much older, there were only a few white hairs, but now at least one-third of them have been dyed like frost, and the wrinkles on his forehead and the corners of his eyes have also increased a lot, Wang Shichong is also a little sad, and said: "Gao Shichong has worked hard for the country, but he still has to take care of his body." ”

Gao Xi smiled slightly: "Xingman, you are tired of running around for the country, going thousands of miles to the machine, it is you who work hard for the country, and the old man is just doing his duty in the court, do you know why the old man wants to call you here at night today?" ”

Wang Shichong said with a straight face: "It should be tomorrow's court meeting, and the reward for the Ningzhou expedition will be officially announced, but this expedition, how to reward it, the opinions of the emperor and Gao Servant have not yet been unified, Shichong speculated in vain, and asked Gao Servant to advise." ”

Gao Xi's expression was calm. The eyes are not as sharp as they were a few years ago. Today he is more like a kind old man. He raised his hand and said, "Why do you say this, tell me your judgment." ”

Wang Shichong smiled slightly: "In the past, the rewards of the army and the promotion of meritorious personnel were completed within a day or two, because according to the military report of the army, it is a clear thing to make rewards according to the corresponding system of the imperial court, together with the battle of General Zhou Fashang in the same period to pacify the battle of Li Guangshi in Guizhou. General Zhou has not returned to Beijing yet, but the reward has gone directly to Beijing. Therefore, Shi Chong dared to guess that there is still no unified opinion on how the imperial court will judge Marshal Shi this time. ”

Gao Xi nodded approvingly: "Okay, then what kind of reward do you think the imperial court should give Marshal Shi this time?" ”

Wang Shichong said without thinking: "With his merits, he will be promoted to the first level and ascend to the pillar country." ”

Gao Xi's face changed slightly: "Xingman, is this really your true thoughts?" ”

Wang Shichong nodded very firmly: "Marshal Shi took the lead in this battle, broke the barbarian army, and fought thousands of miles. The merit surpassed Zhuge and captured the rebel leader. With this great achievement, such a reward is not excessive. ”

Gao Xi sighed: "But what about privately accepting gold and letting the tiger return to the mountain?" ”

Wang Shichong was not surprised at all by Gao Xi's super intelligence ability, Shi Wansui's tricks could only hide from Wan Zhiguang, but he couldn't avoid Gao Xi's eyes in the army at all, and even helped Shi Wansui pass the test, he already knew the Tao nine times out of ten, so Wang Shichong said calmly: "This matter has to be said twice, one is to see the follow-up development of Ningzhou, and the other is to see the emperor's attitude towards this matter." ”

Gao Xi let out an "oh", picked up the teacup at hand, took a sip, and asked, "What do you say?" ”

Wang Shichong said with a straight face: "Now that there is no rebellion in Ningzhou after all, and the consequences of Marshal Shi's consonance have not appeared, and it is only an invisible consequence to deny Marshal Shi's current merits, and Shichong thinks it is biased." What's more, His Royal Highness the King of Shu did not seize Marshal Shi's gold on the spot, and the so-called bribery and arsonance of the enemy is not valid, and the emperor has always been a saint, and it is impossible to treat Marshal Shi for the crime of just relying on the words of King Shu. ”

Gao Xi looked at Wang Shichong's eyes and shook his head: "This matter has reached the heavens, the emperor has his own eyeliner in the army, although the golden Shenjiang strategy you gave to Marshal Shi is good, but it has not been hidden from the emperor's eyes and ears, this matter is not something I can hide and cover, you are right, the emperor is making trouble about how to deal with Shi Wansui these days." ”

Wang Shichong was more surprised by this incident, and his face changed: "The emperor even knows that I came up with the idea?" ”

Gao Xi nodded: "The emperor has ascended to the throne as the prime minister, and the control of intelligence is also all the time, the general's expedition, and the eyeliner was installed early, even I don't know, it's full of lines, it's a shame that you didn't hit your own Xiao Jiujiu this time, take the opportunity to make a fortune for yourself again, this time you are dedicated to the country, if it weren't for this, I wouldn't have called you over at night today." ”

Wang Shichong secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, he couldn't care about Shi Wanzai now, how Yang Jian saw himself was the most important thing, but he still made a relaxed expression and asked: "Then may I ask Gao Servant, in the past few years, you have rarely called your subordinate officials to the Qi State Mansion anymore, and you often discuss politics in the Shangshu Mansion, why did you call me today, Yitong, who also concealed something in the Southern Expedition?" Aren't you afraid that the emperor has ideas? ”

Gao Xi shook his head: "You have passed the test with the emperor, the emperor appreciates your dedication to the country this time, and privately said that if he is in your position, he may not be able to have a better choice, and he also said that Wang Shichong can be of great use." I'm here today to hear your opinion on Shi Wansui, do you still stick to the opinion you just made? ”

Wang Shichong said firmly: "Shichong still insists that Marshal Shi has made great contributions to the country, although he accepts gold and indulges the enemy, but it is also because Marshal Shi judged that Ningzhou is no longer capable of rebelling, even if the thief returns to the mountains and forests, it is impossible to set off a big wave, the gold matter has no real evidence, the so-called catching thieves and taking stolen goods, if there is no evidence that Marshal Shi is directly caught taking bribes, according to the national law, he cannot be punished, and he can only be rewarded according to the law."

Besides, Marshal Shi took bribes alone, but the officers and soldiers of the whole army did not get the slightest benefit, everyone fought thousands of miles, people did not disarm, went deep into the wilderness, and were born and died, and after all, we established such a great achievement, just because of Marshal Shi's relationship, and let the merits of the officers and men of the three armies not be rewarded, Shichong also thought it was inappropriate. ”

Gao Xi looked at Wang Shichong's eyes, and his voice became a little cold: "Xingman, do you really think that as the main general, you can also be rewarded if you completely disregard the country and only for personal selfish interests during the war?" As soon as this wind opens, it is also appropriate for the generals who will lead the troops to fight in the future to fill their own pockets? ”

Wang Shichong said loudly: "Shichong thinks that merit is merit, and it is wrong, the two cannot be confused, Shi Wansui has meritorious service in the southern expedition, and the promotion and promotion are the rewards he deserves, as for his fault of taking bribes and arsoning with the enemy, if the imperial court is on official business, it can send the imperial history to investigate, if there is enough evidence in Ningzhou to prove that Shi Wansui was bribed, then it can naturally be investigated and handled in a separate case, but this is not the same thing as the reward for military achievements." ”

Gao Xi's expression relaxed, and he nodded with satisfaction: "Xingman, it seems that the experience of the past few years has made you become a lot more mature, your views are the same as those of the old man, merit is merit, and it is faulty, and it cannot be confused, let alone deprive the soldiers of the whole army of honor because of Shi Wansui's decision alone." In the past few days, the old man has also had a disagreement with the emperor on this matter, so the reward has not been decided. ”

Wang Shichong said "oh": "Does the emperor insist on punishing Shi Wansui?" This is not quite in line with his usual practice of treating generals leniently. ”

Gao Xi sighed: "Xingman, this time you conquered Ningzhou, and you don't know much about the other Guizhou crusade, and the imperial court has been concealing the handling of this matter, do you know who the commander of the Guizhou crusade is?" ”

Wang Shichong did not return to the military department after returning to Beijing this time, and he was really unclear about the other way, and only heard from An Suiyu's news that Zhou Fashang had killed Li Guangshi. He shook his head and said suspiciously, "Isn't it Wang Shiji?" ”

A trace of sadness and sadness flashed in Gao Xi's eyes: "The earliest coach was not Wang Shiji, he also took over temporarily, the first coach to take command of the expedition was the right servant of the former Shangshu, and Yu Qingze of the Shangzhu State!"

Wang Shichong was shocked and stood up directly: "How can it be Yu Zhuguo?" So what's wrong with him now? ”

Gao Xi nodded, and said sadly: "Yu Zhuguo has been secretly arrested and imprisoned, and the emperor deserves to be sentenced to death for his crimes, and he may be sentenced in the next few days." (To be continued......)