Yongjia East City, an exquisite and elegant manor.

The light fragrance in the flower hall is curling, and the sound of tea flowing is extremely pleasant.

The military department Shang Shuding will be dressed in regular clothes, respectfully take the cup from the old man's hand, and humbly say, "Thank you for giving tea." ”

The old man said indifferently: "Lord Shangshu doesn't have to be polite. ”

His tone was very polite, but Ding Hui didn't dare to be rude a little.

Although he is already a second-grade military secretary, a high-ranking official in the ministry that most people in the world are difficult to see in this life, he does not dare to be careless in front of this old man, because the other party is the left minister who is in charge of the power of the court, and he is the head of the Jinlin Li family's generation.

It is joked that without the unsparing support of this left minister, today's son may not be able to ascend to the throne.

Twelve years have passed in a flash, and the Son of Heaven has sat on the throne and developed quite strong power in the government and the opposition, but the name Li Daoyan is still one of the symbols of the Southern Qi court.

Ding Hui knew the reason why he was summoned here today, so he took the initiative to clarify the words and said: "Xiangye, the lower official has already sorted out the information of the border army generals who were summoned to the capital this time. ”

"There's no hurry."

Li Daoyan's expression was indifferent, he took a sip of fragrant tea, and said slowly: "In Ding Shangshu's opinion, what does Your Majesty plan to do this time?" ”

If it were to be taken elsewhere, Ding would have kept this kind of topic secret, lest he accidentally leak the news and be taken by the loyal eagle dogs of the warp weaving department.

But in this manor, the eyeliner of the warp weaver will be completely isolated, and he doesn't need to worry about this, so he thinks about it: "Back to Xiangye, the lower officials think that His Majesty wants to take advantage of the opportunity of the victory in Jiangbei to let those young generals of the border army ascend to high positions. Over the years, although the governor's offices of Huaizhou and Jingzhou have been important, the court's previous rewards have been limited to gold, silver and money, and there is no room for Xiao Wangzhi and Li Tianrun to continue to expand their power. ”

Li Daoyan bowed his head slightly, motioning for him to continue.

Ding Hui said: "Your Majesty probably still has the obsession of the Northern Expedition in his heart, but the Beijing Army's Northern and Southern Offices are very stable, and he has no suitable time to make a move." This time, the Dingwei army commanded Xu Wen to be arrested and taken to prison, the Xu family was confiscated, and the warp weaving department did not dig up more useful information for nearly two months. ”

When he said this, a teasing smile appeared on his face, and he invisibly showed Li Daoyan his ability.

After all, if you want to know the warp weaver's angry behavior, you need some hidden relationships.

Li Daoyan said leisurely: "Qin Tiju is loyal to the country, which can be an example for the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty. ”

Ding Hui hurriedly put away his smile and said: "Xiangye is a model of being a minister, and the government and the opposition are all admired." ”

Li Daoyan smiled faintly, noncommittal to his straightforward sycophancy, and turned to say, "How many people has Your Majesty summoned this time?" ”

Ding Hui had already prepared for this, and said without thinking: "There are a total of twelve people, except for Chen Lanyu, the chief general of the Huaizhou Zhenbei Army, He Gui, the chief general of the Lai'an Army, and Huo Zhen, the chief general of the Jingzhou Guangji Army, the remaining nine are all very young, and they are basically at the two levels of captain and captain. The youngest of them is Li Bingxue, the captain of the Feiyu Battalion of the Jingzhou Governor's Office, who turned 19 a few months ago and will only be 20 years old in late spring next year. ”

Li Daoyan asked, "That's Li Tianrun's eldest daughter?" ”

Ding Hui nodded and said: "Yes, although this Captain Li is a daughter, he is extremely talented in martial arts, and he has the words and deeds of Li Dadu, and he also has keen insight on the battlefield." Previously, Yan Jing's army crossed the Shuangfeng Mountain Range and attacked Guangling, but she led the four thousand cavalry of the Feiyu Battalion to break through the enemy's formation, and exchanged it for a rare victory at a very small price. ”

Although the authority of the military department is not as good as that of the Ministry of Officials, because of the existence of the Military Selection Division, Ding Hui naturally treasures the exploits of these military generals.

Li Daoyan fell into deep thought, his eyes as deep as a lake.

Ding Hui continued: "The second youngest is Lu Shen, the inspector of the Huaizhou Governor's Office, who will be twenty years old at the end of this year. This person is even more proficient, if Xiao and Li, the two governors, did not exaggerate, then from the Huaizhou army marching north to attack Qingtian City, until the two governors cooperated to take the seven cities of Jiangbei, this series of strategies came from the hands of this Lu Shen. ”

Li Daoyan said slowly: "What is the origin of this person?" ”

Ding Hui replied: "Lu Shen's father, Lu Tong, is a well-known wealthy merchant in Guangling City, who is quite popular in Huaizhou, and also has some official connections. ”

He only knew so much, so he didn't add to it.

Li Daoyan bowed his head slightly, and said in a deep voice: "In this way, Your Majesty hopes to use these young people to stir up the situation in the DPRK and China. ”

Ding Hui was slightly puzzled.

Although the credit for the victory in Jiangbei this time is great, the big head must still fall on Xiao Wangzhi and Li Tianrun, it is nothing more than a mention of the title and a reward for the gold and silver fields, and it is impossible to allow them to open a mansion and build a tooth.

As for young people with outstanding performance like Lu Shen and Li Bingxue, their qualifications are too shallow, so they are exceptionally given a four-grade dismissal, and then the military rank is raised again, that's all.

Elder Li Daoyan's eyes flashed, and he said slowly: "Your Majesty knows your thoughts very well, and there won't be much resistance to the promotion of these young people." After all, they are indeed meritorious people, and clear rewards and punishments are the basis for the normal operation of the imperial court. In this matter, there should be no objection from the DPRK and China, and then His Majesty's goal can be achieved. ”

Ding Hui's heart froze, and some thoughts vaguely popped up, and he still said respectfully: "Please teach Xiangye." ”

Li Daoyan played with the precious tea utensils and said with a smile: "The ascension of these young people is unstoppable, and the promotion of the lieutenant to the rank of lieutenant may even become a general at the level of commander and envoy, and the same is true for the lieutenant. But the framework of the border army is very stable, and there are only so many high-level military positions, after they are promoted, how will the original generals be placed? ”

Ding Huiden came to his senses and muttered, "So Your Majesty also summoned several commanders to enter Beijing. ”

Li Daoyan said calmly: "When that time comes, Your Majesty can put the choice in the hands of the courtiers. First, a new army was set up in the Jingzhou Governor's Mansion to accommodate those rising newcomers, and the seven cities in Jiangbei also needed troops to garrison them anyway. Second, to maintain the size of the border army, it is necessary to transfer generals such as Chen Lanyu to the Beijing army. ”

Ding Hui couldn't help but feel a slight toothache.

Of course, he was able to sit firmly in the military department, and of course he didn't just rely on whiskers and horses, and he soon realized that this was a dilemma.

If the scale of the border army is not expanded, it will be inevitable that those generals will enter Beijing, because Chen Lanyu and others are all meritorious ministers, and they can't be sent to the remote governor's mansion, so how do the people of the world view the imperial court?

Like Li Tianrun and Xiao Wangzhi, they can be rewarded in vain, because they themselves are the governors of the first rank, and the power in their hands is large enough, and it is easy to create a situation where the outside is strong and the middle is strong, and the government and the opposition can understand it.

But middle- and lower-level generals like Chen Lanyu and Lu Shen naturally can't be justified for blindly treating them.

After pondering for a while, Ding Hui said slowly: "Xiangye, the lower officials can do a little bit of tricks in the verification of military merits, and try to concentrate the credit on the two major governors Xiao and Li, so that this problem may be solved." ”

"It's not that simple."

Li Daoyan was still calm and composed, and analyzed unhurriedly: "The twelve members of the border army entered Beijing, this is a situation that has never been seen in the past twelve years, how can Your Majesty allow you to arbitrarily reverse black and white." On the other hand, His Majesty has endured for so many years, and he is not isolated in the DPRK, but he has always been calm enough to show his wrists easily until the critical moment. ”

Ding Hui frowned, he understood the true meaning of these words, although the various forces in the DPRK and China had the same attitude on the Northern Expedition, they still often opposed and fought in ordinary times, which gave the Son of Heaven room to show his calmness.

In short, there must be ministers of the Son of Heaven among the important ministers of the court, and they will naturally come forward when needed.

Li Daoyan saw the anger between his eyebrows, so he said gently: "You have to understand a truth, although we do not support the Northern Expedition, but in addition to this matter, we and Your Majesty can be called honor and disgrace and share weal and woe. Without the Son of Heaven presiding over the overall situation, all parts of Jiangnan will fall apart in an instant. In the same way, without our support, His Majesty would not be able to balance the situation. ”

"In essence, we can only seek common ground while reserving differences with Your Majesty, we can have the heart to fight, but we can't directly lift the table."

He said this with a slight accent.

Ding Hui's heart was awe-inspiring, and he hurriedly lowered his head and said, "The lower official has been taught." ”

"As for the matter at the moment......"

Li Daoyan raised his hand and gently tapped on the tabletop, and said slowly: "It's not a dead knot that can't be untied. Meritorious service will be rewarded, not to mention gold and silver fields, and military promotion is also the proper meaning of the question, and we cannot face His Majesty in this matter, so it is very unwise. ”

Ding Hui blessed his heart at this moment, and said cautiously: "Xiangye's intention, we can leave these people in the capital?" ”

Li Daoyan smiled slightly and was silent.

Ding Hui suddenly opened up, his thoughts opened up instantly, and he said with a little excitement: "After all, the Beijing officials are more noble than the border army, and it is easy to cram nine people into so many yamen. We can also set the official positions of these nine people higher, no matter who can find fault, we can also explain the past on His Majesty's side. ”

Li Daoyan reminded indifferently: "It is impossible for Li Tianrun's daughter to stay in the capital, no matter what, she must give this metropolitan governor dignity." ”

"Xia Guan understands."

Ding Hui hurriedly nodded and said with a smile: "If it's just Li Bingxue alone, it doesn't matter to the overall situation." The remaining eight people stayed in the capital, promising to be a high-ranking official, and after a long time, they would naturally get used to and like this prosperous capital, and the poor life in the frontier would definitely be left behind. When that time comes, even if His Majesty wants them to go to the border again, these people may not be willing. ”

He also had some words that he did not clarify, if necessary, the family of gate lords in the capital could easily win over those border generals who had never seen the world.

Li Daoyan said again: "As for Chen Lanyu and other border army generals, the rewards for titles can also be appropriately relaxed. It is not easy for soldiers to fight on the frontier, and the reward should not be too stingy. ”

Ding Hui said understandingly: "Yes, Xia Guanhui and Ning Shangshu and the others will consider it carefully. ”

When Li Daoyan heard this, he picked up the teacup and said with a little approval: "This matter will bother Lord Shangshu a lot. ”

"It is the responsibility of the lower officials, please rest assured!"

Ding Hui stood up and saluted with great eyes.

The hall finally quieted down, but when he heard the faint autumn breeze outside the window, Li Daoyan looked at the autumn courtyard scenery with an extremely calm expression.

(End of chapter)