"The Marquis?"

Li Duan calmly repeated Wang Yan's words.

Wang Yan mistakenly thought that the Son of Heaven was against this proposal, so he respectfully explained: "Your Majesty, according to the minister, Lu Shen has three great achievements in this battle, and the lord of the non-prince is not enough to reward him. ”

Li Duan raised his eyebrows and asked, "Oh?" Which three? Wang Qing said in detail. ”

Wang Yan calmed down and said slowly: "First, according to the military report submitted by Governor Xiao of Huaizhou earlier, it can be seen that the battle of the Northern Expedition began in the late autumn of last year, and the overall strategic plan came from Lu Shen's hands. The ministers will not ignore Xiao Dudu's leading decision-making, but they cannot ignore Lu Shen's painstaking efforts. Without the ingenuity of this young man, the Battle of the Northern Expedition would not have gone so smoothly. ”

As soon as these words came out, the expressions of many important ministers immediately became serious.

Before, they only knew that the border army had won consecutive battles, and Lu Shen would definitely play a role in it, but it was unknown what kind of role it was.

Now that Wang Yan has disclosed some secrets of the Privy Council, everyone understands that Lu Shen is not only a powerful general who charges into battle, but also that the Northern Expeditionary Army is actually from his handwriting.

In this way, the twenty-year-old prince does not seem to be unacceptable.

Wang Yan continued: "Second, Lu Shen led the Ruishi battalion to rush into battle many times, and he was present in several key battles. The battle of Yongquan Pass, which sounded the horn of the Northern Expedition, the battle of Wanting, which annihilated the mobile force of the pseudo-Yan Dongyang Road, the great victory of Lei Ze, which defeated the main force of the Jing army, and even now Kefu Heluo, Lu Shen has excellent performance and solid military achievements. ”

Li Duan bowed his head frequently, and it could be seen that he recognized these evaluations very much.

Wang Yan glanced at the Son of Heaven and said: "The third is to restore Heluo, let the banner of Daqi flutter again at the head of Heluo City, this move will undoubtedly greatly boost the morale of the people and the army, and at the same time let the people of Jiangbei know that Daqi has not forgotten them." In terms of far-reaching significance alone, Kefu Heluo is even more than the recovery of the entire territory of Dongyang Road. ”

"Your Majesty, based on the above three points, the minister thinks that Lu Shen should be crowned the marquis!"

He bowed and saluted, and his attitude was so sincere that it was impossible to tell whether he was killing Lu Shen or sincerely promoting his juniors.

All the courtiers were waiting for the Son of Heaven's reaction before they could make a more secure choice.

Li Duan suddenly let out a light sigh of incomprehensible significance, and then said: "What was sent to the capital today is not only a good news, but also the handwritten performance of Lu Shen, the commander of the Ruishi Battalion. ”

Li Daoyan suddenly raised his head, and the light in his old eyes was slightly revealed.

Li Duan turned his head to look at the great eunuch Lu Shizhou who was standing beside him, and nodded, "Read it." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Lu Shizhou bowed his head, turned to face the important ministers of the court, took out the thick book from his sleeve, and read it out meticulously.

"Chen Lu Shen played: Your Majesty, the officers and men of the Huaizhou Army and the Jingzhou Army have lived up to your high expectations, not only recovering Dongyang Road, but also retaking Heluo City! The minister's letter was written on the night of the attack on Heluo, and he couldn't wait to send the good news to the capital, so the chapter was written by the minister himself, and he definitely didn't find someone else to write it. It's just that the minister hasn't read much, and he can't compare to the adults in the court, so please don't blame Your Majesty. ”

In the solemn Dongnuan Pavilion, some people couldn't help but laugh.

Li Daoyan shook his head with a smile, while Xue Nanting feigned anger and said, "What nonsense. ”

"Don't be held accountable by the right minister."

Li Duan said gently: "He is young after all, and he really hasn't taken the imperial examination seriously, so his words are inevitably coarse." ”

The ministers couldn't help but sigh in their hearts, the Son of Heaven's appreciation and favor for Lu Shen was almost on his face, and there was obviously a sense of pride in his tone at this moment.

Lu Shizhou waited for the Son of Heaven to speak, and continued to read: "There is a few good news, and the minister wants to tell His Majesty immediately. On the day when the puppet emperor Zhang Can broke in Heluo City, he opened a killing ring in the palace, and asked the Praetorian Guards to slaughter the puppet Yan courtiers, killing more than 200 people on the spot, and the puppet emperor was also splashed with blood, and the puppet Yan court was paralyzed! From today onwards, there will be no pseudo-swallow country in this world, congratulations to Your Majesty! ”

Another thunderbolt fell in the hall, and many courtiers couldn't even believe it.

Beiyan actually died in the country?

Everyone thought about it, but it made perfect sense.

Heluo City is broken, the puppet emperor is dead, and the court is paralyzed, if this is not considered a dead country, then what is it to count?

Wang Yan and Guo Congyi glanced at each other, a little helpless.

They thought that Lu Shen was better than Xiao Wangzhi, but now it seems that a mere prince of the country may not be able to send that young man.

How many people can do the work of destroying the country?

Even though Beiyan was only a vassal and puppet of the Jing Dynasty, it was indeed a country that had stolen the land of Great Qi Longxing.

Hearing this good news, all the ministers shouted long live and clamored.

Li Duan raised his hand and pressed it weakly, the smile on his face became thicker, and he motioned to Lu Shizhou for him to continue reading.

"Your Majesty, the reason why the puppet emperor did this is the credit of those secret agents of the Warp Weaving Division, and the ministers dare not grab their heads. It is precisely because of the warp weaving department's plan to make the pseudo-Yan civil strife, the minister led the troops to attack Heluo more smoothly, and the minister implored His Majesty to reward the warp weaving department! ”

Lu Shen's words did not exceed the expectations of the ministers, in fact, Li Daoyan and the others looked at Qin Zheng.

Li Duan's mood was very complicated, of course he knew that this matter was still the credit of Lu Shen, but at the moment, Zhai Lin Wang's line could not be made public, so he said to Qin Zheng: "The warp weaving department has done a good job. ”

Qin Zheng, as the only person who knew about it, looked calm at the moment, bowed down and said, "Your Majesty Xie praises." ”

The rest of the important ministers remained silent very rationally, and they would rather have a stronger border army than to boost the momentum of the warp weaving division.

Lu Shizhou continued: "Your Majesty, the second good news is that when the minister broke through Heluo, he captured the daughter of Qing Yugong, the marshal of the Southern Court of the Jing Dynasty, Qing Yuhuaijin, the lord of Yongping County. ”

At this moment, the important ministers of the palace were already a little numb.

"As far as the minister knows, Qing Yugong loves this Yongping county lord very much, and the minister did not kill her for the time being and did not want to kill her, and was ready to use her and the captured Jing Jun to find Jing Guo to exchange war horses. The minister roughly calculated, if the north agrees, our army can get tens of thousands of excellent war horses this time! Your Majesty, the minister knows that these war horses should be distributed and disposed of by the imperial court, but the minister wants to beg Your Majesty, can you leave the war horses in the border army? ”

Lu Shizhou's voice became weaker and weaker, and his expression was a little strange.

There is no problem with the previous words, but the last request has a taste of pampering and pride.

"Keep reading."

Li Duan turned his head, his eyes meaningful.

Lu Shizhou's heart sank, and he hurriedly cheered up and said: "Actually, the minister has been thinking about it all this time, can he hold it after defeating Heluo?" Taking into account all considerations, the minister felt that it was difficult to hold on, and it would put great pressure on the imperial court, so the minister planned to use this time to make as much benefit as possible and then return to Dongyang Road, and asked His Majesty for permission. ”

"In addition, the minister wants to use Qing Yu Huaijin's identity to force the Jing Dynasty to negotiate peace, and I also ask Your Majesty to send a delegation to Heluo as soon as possible, because the minister is really not good at this kind of lip service."

Li Duan chuckled, "This guy ...... Ladies and gentlemen, do you think Lu Shen's idea is advisable? ”

Li Daoyan said slowly: "Your Majesty, although Lu Shen is not beautiful in words, he can accurately analyze the battle situation. Chen thought that his judgment was very correct, and that the attack on Heluo City was enough to prove my determination to go on a northern expedition, and that withdrawing from Heluo was the best strategic choice. If we take this opportunity to negotiate peace with Jingguo, one can sign an alliance of peaceful coexistence, the other can completely abolish the pseudo-Yan, and the third can win a certain amount of rest and recuperation for our border army. ”

Li Duan's eyes were slightly condensed, but he did not deny the old man's thoughts, and asked indifferently: "Then according to Zuo Xiang, who can go north to be in charge of peace talks?" ”

Li Daoyan groaned: "In the humble opinion of the old minister, this candidate is none other than Lord Xu in the imperial history. ”

Xu Zuo, the official residence in the imperial history, once made a splash at a court meeting last year, and forcefully brought down Qu Fenghua, the waiter of the Ministry of Works.

He is resolute and eloquent, and he is indeed the best person to be responsible for negotiations between countries.

Li Duan thought for a while, and said, "Xu Aiqing, this important task will be handed over to you." ”

Xu Zuo came out of the class and said: "The minister will do his best not to fall into the respect of the Great Qi, not to weaken the prestige of the border army, and to live up to His Majesty's trust!" ”

"Good."

Li Duan smiled slightly and encouraged him a few more words.

Lu Shizhou received the instructions of the Son of Heaven again, looked at the last few paragraphs on the recital, and calmly read it out loud.

"Your Majesty, at this point in the war, our army has completed the set strategic objectives. The minister knew that His Majesty and the central government had spared no effort to support the border army, and the adults in the court definitely did not want the Northern Expedition to stop there, perhaps they wanted the border army to fight all the way outside the capital of Jingguo. The minister also wanted to do this, but according to the minister's shallow knowledge, when the manpower was finally exhausted, forcibly lengthening the front line was likely to lead to the loss of previous efforts. ”

Li Daoyan and Guo Congyi could still hold it, but the expressions of the other ministers were obviously a little embarrassed.

Is this Lu Shen a rectum who doesn't understand human feelings, or is he trying to sarcastically say a few words in the back?

What does it mean that the ministers of the DPRK and China want to fight outside the capital of Jingguo?

Lu Shizhou's hands trembling slightly, but his voice remained calm: "...... After thinking about it, he felt that the Northern Expedition should be stopped for a while. The recovered territory needs to be digested, the border army needs to rest, and the imperial court needs to take a breath when it has been using troops for the past two years. If the adults in the court think that the ministers are not enterprising, then let them scold the ministers, in short, the ministers think that it is really necessary to stop, and ask Your Majesty to cut it. ”

"Your Majesty, the fist of the border army retracted not because it was afraid of Jing Jun, but because it was gathering strength to swing a more ferocious blow. One day, the men in our army will finally calm the four seas and eight wildernesses for Daqi. ”

Lu Shizhou stopped.

There was a dead silence in the hall.

Xue Nanting looked at the music in the hand of the great eunuch, and suddenly understood why the Son of Heaven sighed softly.

Many people in the center tried every possible means to interrupt the process of the Northern Expedition, and made a fuss about the military exploits of Xiao Wangzhi and Lu Shen.

But right now, Lu Shenming is telling the important ministers of the palace that you don't need to rack your brains, and the border army will naturally stop temporarily.

The reason is simple, reality does not allow for war to never end.

Just like his simple words, the recovered territory needs to be digested, the border army that has been fighting hard for two years needs to rest, and the imperial court needs to recover its vitality after spending a lot of money, grain, and grass.

It has nothing to do with selfishness, this is the words of public loyalty to the country.

Comparing the two, it is no wonder that the Son of Heaven sighs.

In the silence of the hall, Zuo Prime Minister Li Daoyan said with a complicated expression: "Your Majesty, I heard what Lu Duwei said, the old minister felt guilty, and he wanted to spend decades of his life as a young man, but he could not see it more thoroughly than a young man. In the opinion of the old minister, His Majesty may wish to approve Lu Duwei's proposal, and at the same time, the imperial court will step up efforts to determine the rewards for the generals of the border army, and maintain the existing structure of the border army. Wait for the situation on the border to be completely stable, and then let the generals enter Beijing to face the saint and inherit the grace of heaven. ”

Li Duan looked at him quietly, not expecting the old man to make such a decision.

Li Daoyan did not support the Northern Expedition, but he never regarded the border army as an enemy, because he knew very well that without the protection of the border army, the Jing Dynasty army would have crossed the river and headed south, killing people with blood and pestles.

After a while, Li Duan said gently: "Just follow the words of the left minister." ”

At the end of the court meeting, the ministers walked out of the Wenhua Palace.

Li Daoyan looked up at the bright sunshine of early spring, and suddenly sighed in his heart.

On the surface, the other courtiers still respected him with great respect, but the old man knew very well that because of his last words in the palace, those important ministers who supported the family must be slandering him.

These people......

The official uniform on the old man's body symbolizes his status in the court, but at this moment his figure is slightly lonely.

At this moment, a neutral and peaceful voice sounded beside him, and a strong palm wrapped around the old man's right arm.

"Old man, let's accompany you out of the palace."

Li Daoyan turned his head to look, and what fell in sight was Xue Nanting's angular face.

The old man hesitated slightly, then smiled and said, "Okay." ”

The sun was like mist, and the two rulers of Daqi walked side by side, followed by more than twenty high-ranking ministers.

The scene seems to be extraordinarily harmonious.

And with a bit of a looming chill.

(End of chapter)