However, if you don't like it, you don't like it, and the current situation makes Chai Rong have to suppress this feeling, and pretend to be very appreciative to deal with the other party, opening a Yangguan Avenue for himself, for the Later Zhou court, and for tens of thousands of forbidden army soldiers to return to Kaifeng City safely.

Therefore, after a short period of cold play, Chai Rong took the initiative to break the silence: "Since the two Aiqing and Aiqing's brothers raised volunteers to help the imperial court in early April, they have fought successive battles, not only driving the Khitans out of the land of clouds in one fell swoop, but also beheading nearly 100,000 people and capturing nearly 100,000 people before and after. You and other brothers have such a record, which can be called the first hero of my Great Zhou's Northern Expedition. This time, I summoned the two Aiqing to come, just to listen to the two Aiqing tell about the process and results of the expulsion of the Khitan barbarians and the restoration of our Chinese homeland by the brothers and the 'righteous army' under their command, so that the court can reward the meritorious deeds of the brothers and the meritorious soldiers who defeated the Khitans and recovered the sixteen states of Youyun. ”

"Bixia praised it." Wang Kunjun replied, "This time, the Youzhou rebels were able to win, one was to rely on Bixia Hongfu, two to rely on the lives of the soldiers, and three to rely on the full support of the people of Youyun. Our brothers are just the favor of Bixia and the wrong love of the people, and they have become the leaders of this 'righteous army', and they have done their best to recover the clouds and expel the Khitan barbarians, so how dare they bear the name of the first hero of the Northern Expedition. If you say that this is the first hero, the minister thinks that it should be the soldiers of the 'righteous army' and the people of Youyun. ”

"Wang Aiqing is too modest." Chai Rong praised, "This battle 'Youzhou Righteous Army' and the local people are naturally indispensable, but if it weren't for Aiqing and Aiqing's brothers who spent a lot of money to gather tens of thousands of 'volunteers', if there was no Aiqing and Aiqing's brothers or strategized, or took the lead, or raised food and grass, or built weapons, even if the people of Youyun had the ambition to expel the Khitan barbarians, how could they defeat the wolf-like Khitan soldiers and horses with their bare hands." Therefore, it is by no means an exaggeration for me to say that your brothers are the first heroes of the Northern Expedition, and you deserve this title. ”

Seeing that this polite remark would be endless, and that he and Lao Ba staying in the camp of the Later Zhou Army for too long would inevitably cause the anxiety and uneasiness of the brothers outside, and then make them make wrong judgments. Therefore, after a few more words of humility to Chai Rong, Wang Kunjun no longer had a polite conversation with Chai Rong, but changed the topic and began to talk eloquently in the imperial tent, and brought together several very important, representative and major battles in the battle of Youyun in which the crossing team was armed.

Relying on sharp firearms, excellent command, and heroic soldiers, 40,000 horses and horses defeated the Khitan army, which was several times its size, and in most cases completely annihilated, killing more than 100,000 enemies and capturing nearly 100,000 enemies, while its own losses were only more than 4,000 and less than 5,000, of which no more than 800 were killed in battle. Some of the ministers also had expressions of admiration or fear.

calmed down his agitated mood a little, and Chai Rong said to Wang Kunjun and Xu Shaoan: "With 40,000 against 300,000, it is really rare to achieve such a record. Now that the war has subsided, we should be rewarded for our meritorious deeds. What rewards and needs do you and other brothers want, although in general, the court will never treat you and other meritorious heroes badly. ”

Hearing Chai Rong say this, Wang Kunjun knew that the critical moment had come. Since Chai Rong asked him to make a request, he naturally hoped that there would be a bargaining process, so that he could ask for the price all over the sky, and then he could sit on the ground and repay the money. However, Wang Kunjun didn't want to give Chai Rong this opportunity, now the initiative is in his own hands, if he can let the other party take the initiative to give himself and his brothers official positions according to the content of the previous "Ten Thousand People's Fold", then the prestige and reputation of his own people in the eyes of others should be better than asking Chai Rong for merit and reward. …,

Therefore, as soon as Chai Rong's voice fell, Wang Kunjun replied: "Bixia Mingjian." The reason why the ministers and their brothers scattered their wealth, raised righteous divisions, responded to the imperial army, and drove the Khitan barbarians out of the sixteen states of Youyun was to respond to the people, so that the people of Youyun could get rid of the sea of suffering as soon as possible and avoid being poisoned by the war, and they were definitely not greedy for their own selfish interests. Now that we have done it, our brothers are willing to return to the land and be a free-spirited, unrestrained rich man, with no intention of coveting power. ”

Although Wang Kunjun's tone was extremely sincere and his attitude was extremely firm when he said this, and he didn't see any signs of unrighteousness, Chai Rong after the imperial case didn't believe a word. In Chai Rong's view, the more the other party refuses and refuses like this, the stronger the desire for power and status in his heart. If not, the other party would not have encouraged the local gentry and common people in Youzhou to write the "Wanmin Fold" -- if it was to say that the "Wanmin Fold" handed over the day before yesterday had nothing to do with the "Qingyuan" brothers, Chai Rong would not have believed it even if he was killed.

If it was not Wang Kunjun and Xu Shao'an who were standing there at this time talking to themselves, but any other Jiedu envoy who held heavy troops and divided one side of the party made such a request to himself, then Chai Rong, who was using various means and opportunities to weaken the strength of the feudal town and take the local power under the ownership of the imperial court, would not hesitate to come to "borrow the slope to get off the donkey", "push the boat down the river", and "reluctantly" agree to the other party's request, and give the other party a high-ranking official Houlu without giving him any substantive power. Take it to the capital to live the rest of your life comfortably. It's a pity that standing in front of him at this time are Wang Kunjun and Xu Shaoan, the leaders of the "Qingyuan" brothers with heavy troops. said that the other party has no intention of retiring to the mountains and forests and becoming a rich man, even if the other party really has such an idea, I am afraid that he will not agree to the other party's request after thinking about it again and again. Because throughout the history since the end of the Tang Dynasty, there have been endless examples of subordinate soldiers instigating or even coercing the commander to take risks and raise flags to rebel for their own glory and wealth. Not to mention, the fact that Taizu of this dynasty was able to ascend to the throne was also the starting point for the soldiers under his command to wrap the yellow flag around Taizu for their own interests.

Therefore, no matter how sincere and true Wang Kunjun said there, Chai Rong would not agree to his request to "retire after success" and "return to the field" under any circumstances. Otherwise, no one dared to guarantee what kind of actions those "Qingyuan" private soldiers stationed around Youzhou and surrounded the imperial army would do. So, without waiting for Wang Kunjun to continue to show how loyal he and his brothers were to Da Zhou and how indifferent they were to fame and fortune, Chai Rong waved his hand to intercept the other party's words and said, "Aiqing's words are wrong. It is important to know that the law of the imperial court is 'meritorious service is rewarded, and fault is punished", Aiqing and Aiqing's brothers have made great contributions to the imperial court, and the imperial court should be rewarded for meritorious deeds. Otherwise, not only will the court lose its trust in the people, but I will also lose its trust in the world. Could it be that Aiqing and Aiqing's brothers want to see the court lose face, and I become a faint monarch who is insincere, untrustworthy, unkind and unrighteous in the mouth of the world? ”

Speaking of this, Chai Rong paused slightly, picked up a copy of the fold from the top of the imperial case, patted the thick stack of rosters placed on the top of the imperial case, and continued: "Besides, there is also the 'Wanmin fold' that the gentry and people of Youzhou jointly inherited and supported you and other brothers to guard Youyun. If you and the other brothers insist on not accepting the reward of the imperial court, it will inevitably chill the hearts of the gentry and the common people. In this way, I am afraid that it will run counter to the original intention of your brothers to save the people from fire and water and let them live and work in peace and contentment. ”

Speaking of this, Wang Kunjun felt that the "heat" was almost over, and if he continued to entangle with Chai Rong, he was afraid that there would be no other benefits except for increasing the other party's disgust and disgust on his side. Therefore, Wang Kunjun hurriedly said in surprise: "There is such a thing, the gentry and people of Youzhou actually promised to the court the 'Ten Thousand People's Fold'. The ministers and their brothers really don't know about this matter, otherwise they will never repeatedly refuse Bixia's kindness and the court's reward. If it weren't for Bixia's mention, the ministers and their brothers almost chilled the hearts of the people of Youyun, and they really deserved death. ”…,

Chai Rong waved his hand again and again when he heard this: "Aiqing and Aiqing's brothers are indifferent to fame and fortune, do not admire glory, and do not covet power, this is exactly the character that a minister should have, and what is Aiqing's crime." ”

After that, without waiting for Wang Kunjun to excuse his resignation again, he waved his hand to Ma Ping'an, who was waiting on the side, and said: "Aiqing and Aiqing's brothers have repeatedly made meritorious contributions in the Northern Expedition Youyun Battle, and they can be called the first heroes of the Northern Expedition, and they should be rewarded. In addition, the people of Youyun have inherited the 'Ten Thousand People's Fold', and their support for you and other brothers is also overflowing. Therefore, I have decided to conform to the will of the people, change Youzhou City to Beiping City, build Beiping Army, and govern the land of You, Ji, Tan, Shun, Xin, Fei, Confucian, Wu, Yun, Ying, Huan, Wei, Shuo, Ping, Ying, and Luan. With Wang Kunjun as the envoy of the Beiping Army, the Taibao of the inspection school, the general of Zuo Wuwei, and the holder of the Jieyue, he was crowned the Duke of Beiping County, and the commander-in-chief of the sixteen states of the Beiping Army; With Xu Shao'an as the deputy envoy of the Beiping Army, the inspector Taibao, and the general of the right military guard, he was crowned the Marquis of Beihou. ”

Chai Rong did not give any explanation for the three states of Ying, Mo, and Zhuo, which were intended to be recovered by the imperial court's soldiers and horses, to the three states of Ping, Ying, and Luan, which were originally not within the scope of the sixteen states of Youyun, and Wang Kunjun and Xu Shaoan did not raise any objections, and the two sides accepted this arrangement tacitly.

Chai Rong's dictation was just a beginning for rewarding the "Qingyuan" brothers, and he had just finished orally sealing the official positions of Wang Kunjun and Xu Shaoan, and Ma Ping'an next to him immediately unfolded the holy decree that had been held in his hand, and read aloud the official decree that had been prepared to Wang Kunjun and Xu Shaoan, who had already knelt down to listen to the decree. In addition to the official rewards for Wang and Xu that Chai Rong personally said just now, this holy decree also gave Wang Kunjun Shangfang the sword in the name of resisting the Khitans, and granted him the power to kill and seize the officials and guards at all levels in the sixteen states of the Beiping Army, and only need to report to the imperial court afterwards. In addition, he was also an indefatigable addition to the other "Qingyuan" brothers, and gave the brothers a lot of money and property.

After Ma Ping'an finished reading the holy decree, Wang Kunjun and Xu Shaoan kowtowed together and replied in unison: "The ministers are grateful." The ministers should do their best to protect the territory and the people for the imperial court and expand the territory for Bixia. ”