"I'm glad you have that."

Li Duan's tone became more and more kind, and he said softly: "Since I have already spoken, how can I break my word, and besides, you have made outstanding achievements in escorting Beijing this time, and it seems that I am mean and unkind if you don't reward you." I have decided to expand the Flying Feather Battalion into the Flying Feather Army, which can command 12,000 cavalry, with you as the first commander. ”

For Li Bingxue, this is indeed a good reward.

She got up a little excitedly and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty Longen!" ”

In just over two years, the Flying Feather Battalion has grown from 4,000 to 8,000 people, and then to 12,000 full staff, which gives Li Bingxue a broader world, allowing her to give full play to her abilities and realize her wish to defeat the enemy as soon as possible.

Lu Shen was also happy for her, the Son of Heaven really knew how to win over his courtiers.

Li Duan smiled and said: "But I must tell the truth, there are not so many war horses in the imperial court, and the war horses that Lu Shen got from the north have been carved up. I will not deduct the supply of the Flying Feather Army in other aspects, and the ordnance, armor, and food will all be satisfied, but you have to find your own way for this lack of war horses. ”

Li Bingxue raised his head slightly and said: "Your Majesty, rest assured, the ministers will snatch more and more war horses from the northerners!" ”

Li Duan approvingly: "Good ambition." Although I can't give you enough horses, I finally have a decent thing to reward you. ”

As soon as the words fell, the great eunuch Lu Shizhou held a brocade box, cautiously walked in front of Li Bingxue, and then opened the brocade box, only to see a white jade ruyi inside.

Mo said that he was used to seeing the prosperous ice and snow in the world since he was a child, and even Lu Shen's house did not lack this kind of gorgeous ornaments, but white jade Ruyi was quite rare, and more importantly, it was given by the Son of Heaven.

The so-called wishful thinking naturally means that everything goes as expected.

As long as Li Bingxue is willing, as long as Daqi still exists in this world, she can use this Ruyi as a family heirloom, and her children and grandchildren can benefit from it.

Li Bingxue knew the symbolic meaning of this object, and couldn't help but hesitate: "Your Majesty, this is too precious......

"Take it, and your father will understand my intentions."

Li Duan's face was still gentle, but his tone was a little tougher.

Li Bingxue thought about it, then saluted: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace." ”

"Sit down and talk."

Li Duan raised his hand and pressed it weakly, then looked at Lu Shen on the side and asked, "What about you?" ”

Lu Shen was stunned: "Your Majesty, what's wrong with the minister?" ”

Li Duan said: "This rebellion was able to be quelled, because of the tacit cooperation between Ling and I, and that night was also thanks to you for taking the lead in fighting bravely." If there is a mistake, it should be punished, and if there is merit, it should be rewarded, this is a principle that has been true since ancient times. Liu Shouguang, Zhang Xu, Shen Yulai, Han Zhongjie and others have all been rewarded, how can I forget you, the biggest hero? ”

Lu Shen said humbly: "Your Majesty, the minister doesn't need it, right?" ”

Li Duan raised his hand and nodded at him, and said with a smile: "This will be polite to me?" ”

It is not difficult to see that the Son of Heaven has a slightly different attitude towards the young man and woman.

For Li Bingxue and Li Tianrun, who was standing behind her, the Son of Heaven's respect and appreciation were not false at all, but they were still limited to the scope of monarchs and ministers.

For Lu Shen, he obviously has some intimacy, a bit like a gentle-tempered elder looking at the motivated children of the family, rather than the son of heaven who changed the pattern of the court between the landslides in front of him, calmly executed thousands of lives, and understated it.

In Li Bingxue's view, if you use a not very respectful description, it is that the Son of Heaven has a little more ordinary temperament when facing Lu Shen.

Lu Shen would not be sincerely frightened because of the words of the Son of Heaven, and smiled honestly: "Your Majesty, you really can't reward your ministers anymore." The minister was only in his early twenties, and he was already the Minister of Military Affairs and the commander of the Beijing Battalion, and he was afraid that he would float up if he was rewarded. ”

Li Duan said meaningfully: "I didn't expect you to have such a sober understanding. ”

"It's not that the minister thinks about it."

Lu Shen recalled for a while, and said seriously: "It is the principle of the world that prosperity must decline, and lack of greed is the root cause of disaster. This is the original words of Old Xiangye Li, and the minister feels that it makes special sense, so he quietly wrote it down. In terms of the way of being a man and an official, the minister can't catch up with Mr. Li in his life, so he can only learn from him, and most of the time he won't make mistakes. ”

Li Duan said leisurely: "Well, since you are so sober, I will save some silver." ”

"Silver?"

Lu Shen's eyes lit up, and he smiled and said, "If Your Majesty's reward refers to silver, then it's not impossible. ”

Li Bingxue couldn't help but want to laugh.

She had never seen this guy look so lazy, where was there still a trace of majesty and domineering when commanding thousands of troops.

Li Duan couldn't help but smile and said angrily: "Guangling Lu family is rich in Huaizhou, how can you look like a poor ghost?" Last time, you went to the Jinwu camp to distribute silver to subdue the army's heart, and you didn't go to the household to tear up, and ran to me to entangle for a long time, and you were forced to grind away 100,000 taels, what do you want to do with the silver this time? Your father has worked hard all his life, and the silver he has earned is like mountains and seas, is it not enough for you to spend? ”

"Your Majesty, these are two different things."

Lu Shen argued: "It was a business to ask Your Majesty for money that time, after all, Le Qinyi relied on his own Household Shangshu and deliberately owed the salaries of the soldiers of the Beijing Army, and the minister was afraid that he would go to the Household Yamen and couldn't help beating him, so he had to come to Your Majesty." As for this time, if His Majesty is willing to reward the silver, of course the minister has to accept it, after all, during this time, the Lu family's business in the capital has been closed down, and a lot of capital has been lost. ”

Li Duan raised his eyebrows slightly, and said with a smile: "It's better to teach people to fish than to teach them to fish, why don't I say hello to them, no longer be embarrassed by your family, and let the Lu family business spread out in Jiangnan, how about it?" ”

Lu Shen hurriedly shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, my father is old, so he shouldn't work too hard, and the minister doesn't want him to continue to run around." In fact, the minister had already thought about it, so it was enough to simply shut down the Lu family's business in Jiangnan and guard the foundation of Huaizhou. ”

Li Duan was slightly stunned, and said slowly: "It doesn't have to be like this. ”

Lu Shen said freely: "Your Majesty knows that the ministers don't like those things of intrigue, this time the Jiangnan clan died in the hands of the ministers, if the Lu family business continues to grab food with them in the Jiangnan territory, I don't know how much trouble there will be in the future, it is better to simply do it, anyway, the business in Jiangbei is enough to make money." ”

Li Duan looked into his eyes and said, "You have indeed considered it very comprehensively. ”

The two of them talked happily, but Li Bingxue had a complicated emotion in his heart.

This will make her react, the Son of Heaven asked her to choose her own reward, most likely to see if she will tell her true relationship with Lu Shen.

The Son of Heaven must have learned from some sources that she and Lu Shen are more than just a friendship with each other, perhaps when Lu Shen was assassinated in Xiliu Lane two years ago and she insisted on taking Lu Shen back to her home, the Son of Heaven noticed a hint of clues.

Although Li Bingxue had a clear conscience, as the Son of Heaven, he obviously didn't want to see hundreds of thousands of border troops have too close a relationship with a certain person.

From this move, in the dialogue between the Son of Heaven and Lu Shen, the pair of monarchs and ministers quietly completed a test and response.

The Son of Heaven intended to let the Lu family firm develop and grow in the Jiangnan realm, undoubtedly wanting to see Lu Shen's true intentions, and Lu Shen politely refused this proposal in the name of filial piety, which was naturally to show his will to the Son of Heaven.

Thinking about these questions, Li Bingxue sighed secretly in his heart.

The Son of Heaven's favor for Lu Shen is obvious to all, but this does not mean that Lu Shen can act recklessly, on the contrary, he must be more cautious, and every statement and choice must be cautious.

The so-called thunder, rain and dew are all gentlemen, and it is a lie to accompany you like a tiger?

Even if Li Duan is not the kind of emperor with a violent temperament and moody temperament, he is the emperor who controls the national fortunes of Great Qi after all.

Forgiveness and gentleness do not mean that he is weak and can be bullied, and the thousands of people who are about to be beheaded must have felt deeply about this.

As soon as she thought of this, Li Bingxue understood more and more the weight of Lu Shen's reminder when she entered the palace, so she warned herself to be calmer and not to affect Lu Shen.

Over there, Li Duan changed his words and said: "Li Jingda's secret report arrived in Beijing the day before yesterday, and Jingjun's army has indeed shown signs of adjusting its garrison recently, and he promised me that he would not attack without authorization. With Xu Zuo there staring, I wasn't worried that he would come nonsense, but just in case, I still gave a secret decree to both Xiao and Li, especially Xiao Wangzhi's side. They would assist in the defense of the Dingzhou front, and if necessary, Xiao Wangzhi could unify the command of the armies of Dingzhou and Huai. ”

Lu Shen's heart moved, and he said seriously: "Your Majesty's arrangement is foolproof. With the current combat strength of the border army, as long as they guard the pass carefully, it will be difficult for the Jing army to gain an advantage. His Majesty gave Governor Xiao the right to unify his command, and even if Qing Yu was in person, he would not rush into attack. As long as Emperor Jingguo's temperament does not change drastically, the frontier will probably become a stalemate in the past two years. ”

He knew that the Son of Heaven must have another meaning in this arrangement.

Li Duan immediately said: "Only when the frontier is stable can the rear recover." On the other hand, I want you to finish your unfinished business. ”

Lu Shen said: "Your Majesty refers to Shazhou?" ”

Li Duan's head said: "For Daqi, there are many internal and external troubles. The enemy in the north is naturally the strongest, but I believe that the border army can hold them back for the time being. Now that the court and the Beijing army are gradually purged, the Nanzhao Kingdom is not to be afraid, and the worry in my heart is still the seven departments of Shazhou. Before the Second Northern Expedition, I hoped that in addition to the strong enemy in the north, Daqi would no longer have other hidden worries, so that the imperial court could wholeheartedly support the border army. ”

Lu pondered for a moment, recognized the judgment of the Son of Heaven, and said calmly: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, the minister will do his best." ”

"I know you've worked so hard this time that I can't let you spin."

Li Duan sighed lightly and said slowly: "It's just that time is not waiting for me, and I hope you can be considerate." ”

Lu Shen hurriedly responded: "Your Majesty's words are serious, and the ministers dare not slack off." ”

Li Duan groaned: "That's it, the case of the chaotic party is still a little bit late, and the rectification of the Jinwu camp also needs you to draw up a charter, I will give you a ten-day vacation, you can rest for a while, and then go to Shazhou." ”

Lu Shen bowed his head and said: "The minister obeys the order." ”

Li Duan glanced at Lu Shizhou, who was standing next to him, and said in a slow tone: "Lu Shen, there is something I have promised you for a long time, and you can't keep delaying it." As the saying goes, start a family, you are now the Minister of Military Affairs of the Marquis of Great Qi, it is not good to be alone anymore, and I will not bear it when I look at it. ”

For some reason, Li Bingxue's heart suddenly tightened, and her hands were subconsciously clenched, but thinking of the words she had just warned herself, her fists slowly loosened again.

Lu Shizhou carefully took out a volume of bright yellow holy decrees, and said loudly: "Shanyang Marquis Lu Shen receives the decree." ”

Lu Shen stood up and arched his hands, and Li Bingxue also stood up and stood beside him.

Lu Shizhou continued: "Fengtian carries the emperor, and the edict says, the three colors are the three-colored, and the Hongxi gathers. Marquis of Shanyang, Minister of Military Affairs, and Lu Shen, the commander of the march of the Jinwu battalion, has been in the army for three years, and his meritorious deeds start in the army. Today, there is the Lin family, the daughter of the leader of the Northland Righteous Army, who is noble but not ashamed, humble and benevolent, beautiful and natural, and white and flawless. There is also a daughter of the Xunyang Wang's family, young and tactful, long and virtuous, walking the scriptures of etiquette, and saying that the history should be drawn. Tan Zhi Yingxiang, good fate made in heaven, today the decree to marry the three of you, Lin's, Wang's are awarded a product of Mrs. Fate. You can choose your own marriage date, hope that you and others will be of one heart and one mind, respect the country, and do not live up to your wishes. ”

Li Duan looked at Lu Shen with a smile, and then glanced at Li Bingxue as if unintentionally.

Lu Shen was silent for a moment, and then received the order to thank him.

Li Bingxue didn't seem to notice the gaze of the Son of Heaven, and after Lu Shen received the holy decree, he raised his hand according to the etiquette in the army, and said with a smile: "Lu Hou, great joy!" Congratulations! ”

There was nothing wrong with the smile on her face, as if she was indeed just Lu Shen's comrade, and all her expressions were so normal.

Lu Shen turned his head to look at her eyes, those clear eyes didn't seem to be different from before, but became a little brighter, so he lowered his head slightly and said, "Thank you." ”

Li Bingxue smiled: "It's not enough to just say thank you, remember to invite me to drink happy wine then." ”

Lu Shen said seriously: "Definitely." ”

(End of chapter)