With Li Zhi's order, a eunuch stepped forward, unfurled a holy decree, and began to read it.

In the holy decree, it is said that Pei Xingjian, the general manager of the Dingxiang Road March, has made the greatest contribution in this battle, and still receives the post of the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and also leads the general of the right guard, and seals the county prince of Wenxi, plus 100 households of Zhen Shiyi, and rewards 20 catties of gold and 2,000 horses... The left Jin Wuwei general Qiu Shenqian was promoted to the right Jin Wuwei general, plus 100 households in the food town, 5 catties of gold, 500 horses of silk... Bian Guogong, the left leader of the army Wei General Quan Xiancheng to the left Wuwei general, plus 100 households, 500 taels of gold, 500 horses of silk... Cao Huaishun, the general of the left Jin Wuwei, and Cui Xiantun, the general of the right Wuwei, remained unchanged, and each was rewarded with 500 taels of gold and 500 horses of silk; Li Zhishi is still the general of the right guard, with a reward of 300 taels of gold and 300 horses of silk, He Jiami is the general of the right guard, and Liu Jingtong is the general of the left guard, and each is rewarded with 300 taels of gold and 300 horses of silk... Zhou Daowu and Li Wenyun took up their original positions, added 100 households to eat, rewarded 200 taels of gold, and 200 horses of silk... Cheng Wuting is the general of Wei Zhonglang who is the leader of the right army, and he is still the governor of Fengzhou temporarily, rewarding five catties of gold and five hundred horses... Zuo Wei Zhonglang transferred Zhang Qianqiao to the right Qianniu Wei Zhonglang general, rewarded 200 taels of gold and 200 silk horses... After listening to it for a while, Liu Yi was a little nervous... The eunuch's shrill voice continued to read: The inspector Zuo Qianniu Wei Zhonglang will turn Liu Yi into the Zuo Qianniu Wei Zhonglang general, and he will be under the fourth grade, and lead the inspection school right Yulin Junlang general, the rank of strong general, reward five catties of gold, five hundred silk horses... Liu Yi breathed a sigh of relief, he finally heard his name, and the reward he received was almost the same as he imagined at the beginning, basically there was no difference, but the rewards in money and goods were more than those of some high-ranking generals, which may be a reflection of the size of the battle.

This is the reward of the main generals, and the rewards of other middle and low-ranking officers are announced by the military headquarters in the barracks.

After the eunuch announced the decree, Emperor Li Zhi then announced that in three days, a banquet would be held in the Lin De Hall of the Daming Palace, and all the generals who went out to return to Beijing, as well as officials above the fourth grade in Beijing, and the envoys of the various Tibetan countries should attend.

After the announcement of the generals' rewards, the eunuch read out another decree, and because of the great victory in the battle against the Turkic rebels, the name of the first year was changed to Yonglong, and an amnesty was issued—

Although Pei Yan's untimely speech stirred up the fun, the reward court meeting finally ended in great joy, and the generals who went out to make meritorious contributions were rewarded.

Although the specifications of such a reward are still lower than Liu Yi thought, he is still a little satisfied with the reward he has received, and the post under the fourth grade is not low, several levels higher than the original, and the post he received also removed the word "inspection school", he is a real Qianniu Wei Zhonglang general, and also leads the inspection school Yulin Junlang general, it seems that Wu Zetian will get it to the Yu Forbidden Army in the future, and the development of things is really going towards what Shangguan Wan'er said.

It's just that Liu Yi is still a little dissatisfied with the reward that Pei Xingjian received, Pei Xingjian made such a great contribution, and put down the Turkic rebellion in a very short period of time.

Liu Yi also knew that there must be a mystery in this, but he didn't know exactly now, and he didn't know if he could figure it out in the future.

Liu Yi went out with the flow of officials of the scattered dynasty, and after the reward of the imperial court, a celebration banquet was held, and all the generals who went out to fight were given half a month's leave, so that these generals who had just returned to Beijing in triumph could perform their duties after half a month after the banquet, Liu Yi also thought that he could rest in his home for a while, and by the way, he went to his father's grave to burn pillar incense and comfort him.

Out of Daming Palace, Liu Yi and the familiar generals bragged a few words, congratulated each other, said goodbye, and prepared to go home.

Before getting on the horse, Liu Yi also looked back at Daming Palace, and now he entered the palace, but he didn't see Shangguan Wan'er, and he didn't have a chance to say a few words to this beauty, and Princess Taiping didn't meet him, which is a bit regretful... Liu Yi took the guards, walked slowly along the empty Danfeng Street to the west, and did not stay in Chang'an for more than half a year, everything in Chang'an is still so attractive, and Daming Palace is still the same yearning.

When Liu Yi and his party were walking slowly, there was a sudden sound of horses' hooves behind them, Liu Yi hurriedly turned around, but when he saw Pei Xingjian and his party riding over, Liu Yi immediately stopped his mount.

Pei Xingjian ran to Liu Yi's side and stopped.

"I've seen General Pei!" Liu Yi hurriedly stepped forward to salute.

"Virtuous nephew!" Pei Xingjian replied immediately, "Can you be free?" Follow me to the house and have a few words!"

"Of course I'm free!" Liu Yi was overjoyed.

"Then let's go with so-and-so!" Pei Xingjian didn't say anything more, just drove his horse and galloped down the street.

"Drive!" Liu Yi shouted and hurriedly followed.

The group marched quickly, and soon came to Pei Xingjian's house, and after Pei Xingjian entered the house, he took Liu Yi directly to the study.

"General, why is the reward given to us by the imperial court for this expedition so low?" As soon as he entered Pei Xingjian's mansion and sat down, Liu Yi asked impatiently.

Liu Yi was still not surprised by the reward he received, but he still didn't understand the fact that other generals, including Pei Xingjian, were not very rewarded, and such a major victory was a little incompatible.

"Virtuous nephew, this is already good!" Pei Xingjian shook his head and said, "Now the treatment of military generals cannot be compared with the time of Zhenguan, as well as the time of Yonghui and Xianqing, when the generals who went out to fight made great achievements, and the rewards were very rich, but since the queen of heaven and the mother took charge, the rewards for military merits have been greatly reduced, and even more so since Xianxiang, the generals who have made military merits have received very few rewards under the criticism of the Chinese courtiers of the dynasty, and many people have not even received rewards, which also makes the children of the people reluctant to join the army, the sergeants and pawns of the army are not at ease to fight, and the combat strength of the army has declined..."

"This is the sorrow of the military generals of the Tang Dynasty..."Liu Yi nodded slightly when he heard this, and he was also roughly clear about these situations, the imperial court not only had a sharp drop in rewards after the soldiers won the battle, but also did not attach as much importance to the generals as they did to the civil ministers, in the court, most of the people in high positions were civil ministers, especially over the years, they could be called prime ministers, few people were military generals, and now there is only one Liu Renliang who has passed the age of eighty in the phase, which is similar to Li Shimin's Zhenguan time and Li Zhi's Yonghui after succeeding to the throne, At that time, Li Jing and Li Shiyun were in the phase for many years, and many other generals such as Li Daozong and Hou Junji had the right to speak in the court.

Maybe Li Zhi and Wu Zetian both believe in winning the world with military generals and ruling the world with civil ministers, the Tang Dynasty has been established for decades, and what the imperial court needs most is Wenchen.

Although there is some truth in this, it can't be too extreme!

Pei Xingjian's face was pale, "Since Wei Yuanzhong proposed to standardize the reward and punishment system for generals in the third year of Yifeng, this situation has only improved, but the punishment for generals has been heavy, but the rewards have not been greatly improved. This is already good..."Pei Xingjian sighed, "I hope this is a signal, a signal that the imperial court really attaches importance to military equipment again, and now the tribes around my Tang Dynasty are rebelling, and the Tubo people are eyeing each other, if you suppress the generals and despise the military equipment, it will be very bad!"

"The last general thinks that the general should make more suggestions to the emperor and the queen, and with the military exploits achieved by the general, it should be effective!"

"I don't dare to guarantee whether it will be effective, but I will definitely make a suggestion to His Majesty the Emperor and the Queen of Heaven, while guarding against the Tubo people, we must not relax our guard against the Turkic people in the north and northwest!"

Liu Yi was stunned when he heard this, "Is the general saying that the Turkic rebellion will come back?" ”

Pei Xingjian nodded firmly, "Exactly, this counterinsurgency only quelled the rebellion of a few Turkic people, and did not take further moves, not to mention cutting the grass and eradicating the roots, and even the follow-up measures were not implemented, except for these Turkic people, the other Turkic tribes have not received any blows, and there are not many tribes to show allegiance, this is not a good sign, I am worried that in the near future, the rebellion of the Turks will rise again, which is a troublesome matter... Moreover, by then, I may not be able to go on the expedition..."

"The marshal is worried about the country's ambition, the last general is very admired, and the general is still in good health, and he will definitely be able to lead the troops again!" Liu Yi also knew that this anticlimactic expedition would definitely leave many problems, and expressed his views again at the moment, "The last general still feels that only military pacification and no other coercive policies can completely quell the rebellion of the Turks. Let them feel that they are the people of the Tang Dynasty, so that the chances of the Turkic rebellion will be reduced, until it is finally completely quelled..."

Liu Yi took a deep breath, and in Pei Xingjian's somewhat surprised gaze, he continued: "The last general feels that the means to deal with the Turks, in addition to the methods mentioned by the last general and the marshal a few times ago, there is also a very practical method, that is, the son-in-law or heir of the current Turkic head who may inherit the position of the head must be sent to Chang'an, raised by my Tang Dynasty, grown up under the supervision of my court, and served in the Tang Dynasty, these people are qualified to succeed to the position of the Turkic head, after the death of the head of the head, These men returned to their native places to serve like the Persian prince Mudhath...... These people who have been cultivated by my Datang, who are more loyal to my Datang to a certain extent, and who consider the interests of my Datang, will definitely have a greatly reduced chance of rebelling against my Datang after returning to Ren Datang..."

"What the virtuous nephew said is very reasonable, but if you do this, it will definitely provoke the resistance of the tribesmen, and these people who go back are serving in the clan, and the foundation is not real, and they may not be able to convince the people!" Pei Xingjian nodded and shook his head again, but after finishing speaking, he pondered.

"General..."Liu Yi wanted to continue to elaborate his opinion, but was interrupted by Pei Xingjian.

Pei Xingjian said with a smile on his face: "Virtuous nephew, I will think about what you said carefully, and I will talk to you in detail later, and you will also write these strategies you think of into a copy, and then bring them to me to see!"

Liu Yi was overjoyed when he heard this, "Yes, General!"

Pei Xingjian's face did not change, and then asked Liu Yi: "Virtuous nephew, after you return to Beijing, has the queen of heaven ever summoned you alone?" ”

Liu Yi shook his head, "Not yet!"

Hearing Liu Yi say this, Pei Xingjian wanted to ask and stopped, but after he spoke, he returned to the topic just now: "Many of your strategies about the government and politics, I think what you mentioned is very reasonable, but I think that you can mention it in front of His Majesty the Emperor and the Queen of Heaven, it is best to mention it in front of the two of them..."

"The Admiral understands!" Liu Yi knew the meaning of Pei Xingjian's words. He is now a member of the four grades of the imperial court, and some matters related to the national economy and people's livelihood can also be mentioned to the emperor and empress in person, if they can be recognized by these two supreme authorities, it is a very good thing.

"Virtuous nephew, I think that many things in your head are very unexpected, why is that?" Pei Xingjian asked suspiciously, with some curiosity in his words.

"General, the last general just likes to think cranky, thinking about things that others don't want to think, and he often has some immature ideas!" Liu Yi replied vaguely.

Pei Xingjian's eyes that seemed to see through people's hearts kept staring at Liu Yi, and when he heard Liu Yi answer like this, he also understood that this was just a prevarication, so he didn't ask again, "That's very good!"

Seeing that Pei Xingjian didn't ask, Liu Yi breathed a sigh of relief, and also dared to ask, "General!" There will be a matter that is not clear at the end, what is the purpose of Pei Yan, the waiter of the Yellow Gate? ”

Hearing Liu Yi ask, Pei Xingjian was very surprised, he didn't know how to answer for a while, stared straight at Liu Yi, and said after a while: "Virtuous nephew, what are you asking for?" That's not something you should ask!"

"The last general is very puzzled, why does Pei Shilang want to ruin your military exploits!?" Liu Yi continued to ask, Pei Yan, who was recorded in the history he knew, was a very upright person, and when Li Jingye raised an army, he bluntly said that Wu Zetian would abdicate and the rebellion would naturally be quelled, so he offended Wu Zetian and was killed.

But Liu Yi didn't know that Pei Yan and Pei Xingjian had such a holiday.

Liu Yi also knows that Pei Xingjian and Pei Yan are from the same family, Hedong Wenxi Pei family, it stands to reason that people from the same family, for the interests of their own families, should take care of each other, especially if both of them are in high positions in the court, then they should be united.

"Maybe it's political differences, maybe it's jealousy!" Facing Liu Yi's questioning, Pei Xingjian responded lightly and signaled Liu Yi not to ask about it again.

Liu Yi also immediately changed his words, and asked another question, which was also a matter of dissatisfaction with him, "General, why was Qiu Shenyun promoted this time?" The merit he made on this expedition was not the greatest, and no one else who had greater merit than him was promoted, so why was he the only one? Ashina mud is still in his hands and escapes..."

Liu Yi's words were just an emotional vent, and he could guess why Qiu Shenxian, who was not the most credited, was promoted to the rank of general, and several other generals who were not in their original positions were not promoted to the rank of Qiu Shenxian.

This cool official, who was famous in history, was carved into the son of Qiu Xinggong, the only character in the "Six Horses of Zhaoling", has always been favored by Wu Zetian, and even sent him to kill Li Xian.

Liu Yi knew that Qiu Shenjian was also one of the people who supervised Pei Xingjian this time, and it was possible that he could be instructed to replace Pei Xingjian under special circumstances, no wonder Pei Xingjian was dissatisfied, Qiu Shenjian was promoted, which also shows that most of the rewards for the generals this time may be Wu Zetian's idea.

It is even possible that the call that Pei Yan made when he stood up may have been instructed by Wu Zetian.

"In a report from the imperial court in Anbei, he also asked the imperial court to punish General Qiu who let go of Ashdwin Fu, but I didn't expect..."Pei Xingjian shook his head, and his words were very dissatisfied, "Maybe he submitted the report of this expedition to the Queen of Heaven as soon as possible!"

"There are some unfair rewards and punishments in the imperial court!" Liu Yi muttered. Now Pei Xingjian will reveal some emotions in front of him, which makes Liu Yi feel trusted.

People like Pei Xingjian, who have experienced a lot of things and have been in the court for many years, will definitely not easily show their emotions in front of ordinary people, and express their opinions on a certain matter, Pei Xingjian will let himself know his thoughts in some things, Liu Yi thinks that Pei Xingjian has regarded himself as a person who can be trusted very much, which is something that Liu Yi feels very honored.

"Virtuous nephew, it's okay for you to scratch your hair in front of someone, but you must not say such things in front of outsiders!" Pei Xingjian whispered.

"Yes, General, the Admiral understands!" In this case, Liu Yi can only dare to say it in front of Pei Xingjian, or there is a Shangguan Wan'er, who will not dare to say it in front of others no matter what.

At this moment, there was a call of "Daddy" from outside the door, and then the door of the study was pushed open a crack, and a small head poked in.

"Liancheng, what are you doing sneaky?" Pei Xingjian asked.

With the sound of Pei Xingjian's questioning, a three- or four-year-old boy pushed open the hidden door, jumped in, ran to Pei Xingjian's side, raised his head and asked: "Daddy, what are you talking about with this big brother, it's been like this for a long time, Guangting and several brothers want to say something to their father, but the brothers don't dare to say it, so they let Guangting ask..."

Liu Yi looked at this kid who looked very cute, quite clever, and a little different, and couldn't help but smile, wanting to tease him.

Liu Yi knew that the sons born to Pei Xingjian's ex-wife had died early, and now these sons were all born to a woman who was a Kudi clan who married later, this woman was married by Pei Xingjian when he was in Anxi, and the senior members of the court married a Hu woman as his wife, Pei Xingjian was also impeached by the officials of the DPRK and China because of this issue, but under Li Zhi's tolerance, the matter was over.

Pei Xingjian smiled a little self-deprecatingly: "Virtuous nephew, this is the youngest son of a certain person, the name is Guangting, the small characters are connected to the city, and the kid is not sensible..."

"The general's little boy looks so cute!" Liu Yi squeezed his eyes at Pei Guangting, and Pei Guangting also made the same move.

Pei Xingjian smiled and patted Pei Guangting lightly, "Liancheng, you go out first, Daddy still has something to say to this big brother, I'll play with you in a while!"

"Then Daddy, hurry up," Pei Guangting said to Pei Xingjian with his little head raised, and made a cute grimace at Liu Yi, and then he jumped out.

Pei Xingjian looked at his son's naughty appearance and shook his head helplessly.

"General, the little boy has an extraordinary bearing, and there will be great success in the future, presumably the same will be true for several other sons, and he will become a great weapon in the future..."Liu Yi said, in the history he remembered, one of Pei Xingjian's sons had been the prime minister, I don't know which one of them, and some subconsciously felt that it might be this clever little boy just now.

Pei Xingjian looked at Liu Yi, and the expression on his face became solemn, "Virtuous nephew, a certain is already quite old, and because of many years of border and war career, his health is getting worse and worse year by year, but it is a pity that these boys are underage, in case one day, a certain is gone, and his clumsy wife is a Hu person, it is inevitable to be discriminated against, and I also hope that Shi Xian's nephew can give some care to a few dogs, so that they will not be bullied by the clan..."

"Entrusted by the general, the last general must be respected!" Liu Yi was shocked in his heart, and immediately got up to answer.

Pei Xingjian motioned for Liu Yi to sit down, "Now the clansmen in the court can't tolerate me, don't wait, if you go, your family will be bullied, and you have no other relatives and people to trust. I trust you like this, and I ask for forgiveness from my nephew!"

"The general is polite, the general has such trust in the general, this is the honor of the general," Liu Yi arched his hand. Getting Pei Xingjian's unusual entrustment, this unusual trust, is something Liu Yi never expected.

"Virtuous nephew, over the years, Pei Yan has won the favor of the queen of heaven, and he has gradually gained power, and he has a lot of complaints about such a person of the same clan who has been an official in the court for many years, and in the future... This person is not broad-minded enough, in the future, you have to guard against him!" Pei Xingjian said very solemnly, looking like he wanted to speak and stopped.

"I would like to tell the general in detail!" Liu Yi said in a low voice.

"Let's talk about this later!" Pei Xingjian shook his head.

Seeing Pei Xingjian like this, Liu Yi didn't ask anything anymore.

Pei Xingjian didn't say anything other important things, and talked casually with Liu Yi, Liu Yi was also interested, and immediately got up to leave.

Liu Yi, who left Pei's mansion, felt a little heavy in his heart, returning from the expedition, my expeditionary force achieved a major victory, originally thought that after returning to the court, Pei Xingjian and his generals, including himself, should be treated like heroes, but he didn't expect it to be such a scene, as the boss, Pei Xingjian was jealous at the court meeting, and the reward was too light.

Pei Xingjian said that he was entrusted with his young sons, which also shows that the famous general is still a little worried about his situation.

There is too much mystery in this, Liu Yi also knows that with the promotion of his position, there will be more and more court affairs to participate in, and there will be more and more courtiers who need to deal with him.

There is also the threat of Tubo Sheng, how to eliminate the huge threat of this reality, and return a peace to the border of the Tang Dynasty, to avenge his father, it is also a very painstaking thing, Liu Yi hopes that the next battle he will participate in is Tubo.

Although there are worries, Liu Yi is still full of confidence in everything, and he believes that everything will develop for the better in the future

(To be continued)