Being a high-ranking official is actually not easy. On the day he took office, he was so busy that he didn’t go to sleep until halfway through the second watch. When the fourth watch arrived, Chen Sangliang had to crawl out of the bed, yawned with panda eyes and left Pei Hongce’s mansion where he was temporarily staying overnight, and followed his uncle. You line up outside the gate of the imperial city to prepare to go to court, and then you have to pretend to be a grandson with a smile on your face to a large group of colleagues. He followed Yu Wenshu, Lai Huer and Feng An in a well-behaved manner, and entered the court cautiously, for fear that his actions were not standard, and some censor would catch him and impeach him. General Wei Li Zixiong has suffered such a big loss.
I thought that the early court should have nothing to do with me, and I was still thinking about how to deal with the military affairs that piled up after the court was over. Who would have thought that after discussing some political affairs, the right prime minister Su was rescued from the Turkic camp by Chen Sangliang's subordinates? Wei suddenly came out of the line, holding a jade wat in his hand, and said: "I would like to report to your majesty, when the Turks surrounded them in the past, in order to boost morale, your majesty issued a decree that all soldiers who have made meritorious deeds in defending the city will be promoted directly to the sixth rank and rewarded with ten pieces of silk and satin. It has also issued a decree that those who have meritorious service in killing the enemy will be re-rewarded by King Qin's officers and men. I dare to think that honor is too high, so I should reconsider it, please allow your majesty."
As soon as Su Wei finished speaking, the generals of the sixteen guards including Lai Huer, Chen Yingliang and Yun Dingxing raised their heads like flying, and all focused their eyes on Su Wei's face. Their eyes were full of anger, and their hearts were full of anger. All of them yelled at Su Wei for being nothing. He intentionally harmed the soldiers and his generals. Chen Sangliang was still yelling in his heart: "I don't die! Old man! I forgot who saved you? If it wasn't for those soldiers throwing their heads and spilling blood Serving your life for the imperial court, you old man is still eating horse grass in the Turkic camp! There are really not many ungrateful people like you!"
"Is what Su Aiqing said inappropriate?" Emperor Sui Yang opened his mouth, and said hypocritically: "During the siege of Yanmen, it was thanks to the brave soldiers who defended the city that I was able to protect my security and persist until Chen Yingliang and other Aiqing led the army Come to help, you have worked hard, how can I take back the promise I made at will?"
"Oops!" Lai Hu'er, Feng An and other senior generals all changed their expressions. It was immediately clear from Sui Yang's hypocritical tone and attitude that Su Wei's remarks were already in Sui Yang's appetite. General Zuo Yiwei of the military Yu Wenshu hung his head and remained silent. Lai Huer, Feng An and others who had been hanging out in the temple for many years also understood in their hearts. These remarks might have been a hint or even an instruction from Emperor Sui Yang—when the emperor wanted to break his word, even if it was Emperor Sui Yang, he would have to find a scapegoat to take the blame, right
Although it was only the second time to participate in the early court, and he didn't know much about the situation in the court, but after hearing the hypocritical tone of Emperor Sui Yang, Chen Sangliang, who has been a man for two generations, immediately felt that the situation was very bad, and quickly shut his mouth. Don't dare to speak casually. As expected, Su Wei immediately said plausibly: "Your Majesty, you have no worries. In the whole world, is it the land of the king, the shore of the land, or the king's ministers? The whole world is your people, and the officials, soldiers and civilians in the whole world are all your subjects." I love you, now that the state is struggling and the treasury is tight, in order to save your majesty's expenses and reduce the burden on the treasury, I think the generals of the Sui Dynasty will understand your majesty's difficulties and voluntarily give up the rewards you deserve."
"This..." Emperor Sui Yang showed embarrassment, and then turned to Yu Wenshu and asked, "Yu Wenqing, you are General Zuo Yiwei, who is in charge of the world's military. What do you think of Su Aiqing's words?"
Although he is notoriously flattering, the smile on Yu Wenshu's face this time was somewhat forced, and he said with a smile: "Your Majesty, what Prime Minister Su said is true. I think that the previous rewards are too heavy and need to be paid." Reconsider."
Emperor Sui Yang nodded, and followed Yu Wenshu to look at the ranks of military officers. Lai Hu'er, Feng An, Chen Sangliang and others were all worried, for fear that Emperor Sui Yang would force them to express their views. Fortunately, Emperor Sui Yang didn't bother to continue going through the motions , and quickly said: "Since you all should reconsider, let's do this, Yuwen Aiqing, you will renegotiate the reward with several generals of the Weifu, and report the result to me, and then you Reward the soldiers with new rewards."
Yu Wenshu tremblingly agreed, and respectfully received the decree. His mood obviously improved, and then Emperor Sui Yang waved his hand and said, "Let's leave the court if there is nothing to do, and retreat."
After all, Emperor Sui Yang slapped his ass and took the lead to leave. The civil and military officials paid homage to see him off. However, as soon as Emperor Sui Yang left, the civil officials headed by Pei Ju and Su Wei immediately slipped away. Poor Xu Guogong Yuwen General Shu was surrounded by a large group of generals, and looked at Yu Wenshu with different eyes. The high-ranking and prestigious Lai Huer was still full of anger. Said in a loud voice: "Go out of the palace first, and talk outside the palace."
Surrounded by a group of generals, he walked out of the hall and on the way out of Miyagi, Yu Wenshu kept talking with Lai Huer in a low voice, and introduced to Lai Huer what happened by the Ningbi Lake yesterday evening. He was almost desperate, and at this moment, another servant came to summon Yuwenshu to the palace for an audience. Yuwenshu, who was in a state of desperation, seemed to be pardoned, and hurriedly confessed to Lai Huer in a low voice, and then impatiently followed the servant and slipped away. Lai Hu'er asked all the generals to follow him to leave Miyagi in a low voice with a gloomy face.
After leaving the palace city from Yingtianmen, and leading the military officers to a remote place far away from the palace gate, Lai Hu'er whispered to everyone: "There is no way to save it, I can only make concessions, you all go back and think about how to reduce the reward Only then can we explain to the soldiers and draw up some regulations, and when Yuwenzhu Kingdom finds time, we can get together and discuss carefully."
Chen Yingliang, Yun Dingxing, Qu Tutong and other poor people agreed in low voices with sad faces, among them, Chen Yingliang was still the hardest one. When everyone dispersed, the nurse called Chen Yingliang alone, and whispered to Chen Sangliang. Said: "Ying Liang, you need to worry more about this matter. Wang Shichong does not belong to our Sixteen Guards Mansion. We are inconvenient to say some things to him. You are the coach of King Qin and his son-in-law. How will he explain it?" I will leave it to you. Remember, you must let him appease the soldiers under his command, and you must not let the soldiers make trouble in the Eastern Capital!"
"I will do my best." Chen Yingliang agreed with a sad face.
"More." Lai Nuer said in a low voice again: "Pei Zuoxiang, you should also go to find out the news and see how much money the treasury can provide to reward the soldiers. We cannot undo this matter, but we must try our best to fight for the soldiers. A little reward."
Chen Sangliang agreed again with a frowning face, and Lai Huer, who was not bad in character, patted Chen Yingliang on the shoulder and sighed: "I'm making things difficult for you, and this happened just after I took office. But, you also have to understand that Yuwen and I Zhu Kingdom’s difficulties are also difficult for us. Also, in this Yanmen defense battle, 17,000 soldiers defending the city, all of them are me and Yuwen Zhu Kingdom’s left and right elite guards, so we are even more miserable!"
Chen Sangliang bowed his head and said nothing, sighing secretly in his heart, "Yang Guang, Yang Guang, you really know how to kill yourself, you can do such a thing, aren't you forcing the soldiers to stop working for you in the future? Are you Are you really out of money? The Luokou Warehouse next to Luoyang, you only need to take out 10% of the stored grain, it is enough to pay for the expenses of the Yanmen War!"
Sighing, he returned to the General Youwuwei's mansion in the imperial city. Dugu Sheng and Huangfu Wuyi, who also participated in the early dynasty, had already been waiting in the lobby. As soon as they met, they couldn't wait to ask Chen Yingliang about the specific situation. Weeping even more, he said: "Forgive me, the two seniors. The younger generation doesn't know much about the situation now, so I can only tell you when I have accurate information. To be on the safe side, please keep this matter secret, and you must not spread it out, so as not to Shake the morale of the army."
Dugu Sheng and Huangfu Wuyi, who were about to be alienated inside and outside, nodded, their expressions were extremely depressed, while Chen Sangliang said: "Also, Duke Xu and Duke Rong have already said that this matter is irreversible. Let's find a way to reduce the reward as much as possible, let's discuss it quickly to see how to reduce the expenditure for the court?"
"Deliberate? How?" Dugu Sheng said with a wry smile, "Being a soldier eats food, and killing the enemy for meritorious deeds in exchange for rewards has been a matter of course since ancient times. We lowered rewards for no reason. It's a wonder if the soldiers don't fall out."
"How can I explain to the soldiers?" Huangfu Wuyi coughed and wailed, "Although I did not participate in this battle of King Qin, I organized the Dongdu Qin King Army as General Youwuwei. The casualties of the soldiers are relatively large, and if the rewards of the soldiers are reduced, what face do I have to meet the soldiers?"
Chen Yingliang didn't wail aloud, but he wailed even worse in his heart, "I'm the one who is the most miserable! This Yanmen battle, I am the commander of the whole army, and I have recorded and summarized the military exploits of all the soldiers and horses. As soon as this reward is reduced, no matter what kind of king's soldiers and horses they are on the way, they will even hate me! It just so happens that I was awarded such a high title this time, so it's no wonder those old Qiuba are not more angry with me!"
Wailing to wailing, Emperor Sui Yang personally finalized the matter, Chen Yingliang and Dugu Sheng, who didn't have the guts to be Hai Rui Bao Longtu, had no choice but to discuss behind closed doors how to reduce the reward, because Emperor Sui Yang had previously Because they had promised to double the rewards of King Qin’s army, Chen Yingliang, Dugu Sheng and others quickly came up with a reduction plan, and decided to try their best to get 80% of the rewards for the soldiers, and at least 50% of the normal rewards—that is, let the soldiers get The rewards of peacetime warfare.
The reduction plan for military merit rewards has been set, and no one knows whether it will pass or not. At this point in the matter, Chen Yingliang can only temporarily put You Wuwei's official duties on hold, entrusting them to Dugu Sheng and Huangfu Wu for the time being. Yi acted as an agent, and he left the General's Mansion in a hurry, preparing to go out of the city to the camp of King Jiangduqin's army to meet his father-in-law Wang Shichong, and secretly inform him of the news, so that Wang Shichong would be mentally prepared and also do a good job of appeasing Jiangdu's soldiers, so as not to The soldiers were dissatisfied and made trouble, which led to the situation getting out of hand.
The entourage was still waiting outside the gate of the imperial city, so Chen Yingliang of course continued to walk through Ruimen to return to the city, but just as he found his entourage in front of the gate of the imperial city, two unexpected figures suddenly came in front of Chen Yingliang, and they immediately turned to him as soon as they met. Chen Yingliang knelt down, and when Chen Yingliang took a closer look at the person, he was also taken aback, and blurted out: "Brother Shimin, Brother Sichang, why are you?"
It was Li Er and Chai Shao who came here. The two wealthy sons who used to be dressed in brocade clothes were uncharacteristically this time. They all put on very simple coarse clothes and knelt on one knee in the cold wind of late autumn and near winter. Some were trembling, looking very downcast. Seeing this scene, Chen Yingliang couldn't help being even more surprised, and quickly came to help them with his own hands, and asked suspiciously: "Brother Shimin, brother Sichang, what are you doing? You are not outsiders, why do you have to do such a big gift? Hurry up, I have something to say Please stand up and speak."
Both Li Er and Chai Shao refused to stand up. Chai Shao knelt in front of Chen Sangliang without saying a word with a gloomy face, while Li Er had tears in his eyes, his expression very similar to the one after he killed two brothers in history. Grief-stricken, he choked up and said to Chen Yingliang: "Brother Yingliang, I know that our Li family is sorry for you, and my father is even more sorry for you. Even if I say a thousand or ten thousand sentences of sorry, you will not forgive our Li family. But I still have to be cheeky and beg you, please agree."
"It's coming again!" Chen Sangliang cried out in his heart, and quickly changed his indifferent expression, interrupting: "My dear brother Shimin, if it's about your father, then please don't talk about it, your father's It's a personal case, I have no right to intervene, nor have the guts to intervene, and I don't want to be involved!"
"Brother." Li Er cried out, and said with tears, "Are you really so cruel? My father did something that I'm sorry for you, but he also made a lot of contributions to the court and you in this war of King Qin. , I dare to ask my brother to ask himself, if there is no Taiyuan King Qin army, my father, and our Li family, would you be able to win such a big victory and make such great achievements in this battle of King Qin?"
"Whether your Li family has merit or not is judged by the laws of the country." Chen Yingliang, who had suffered a great loss, refused to be fooled again this time, and said with a straight face: "How to deal with your father's crimes is also governed by the laws of the country like a mountain." The law judges, His Majesty the emperor who is illuminated by the holy candle personally judges! I am already an outsider, and I will not participate in it anymore!"
"Brother, are you really so cruel?!" Li Er cried loudly, and immediately hugged Chen Yingliang's legs—the pitiful appearance was just like how he sucked Li Yuan's breast after killing two brothers in history.
When Li Er and Chai Shao had such a quarrel, the attendants of all the officials who were idle outside the imperial city had already surrounded Chen Yingliang and the others. The situation was not good, so he hurriedly shook off Li Er, and said with a straight face: "Brother Shimin, have you had enough trouble? I have already said that your father's matter is an imperial case, and I am not an official of the Third Envoy. There is no right to interfere with this case, you asked me to save your father, you are asking the wrong person! I still have official duties, so leave!"
After finishing speaking, Chen Yingliang rode on the horse brought by his entourage and left, but at this moment, Chai Shao, who had never said a word, suddenly spoke up and shouted: "Stop!"
When subconsciously reining in his mount, Chen Yingliang was surprised to see that Chai Shao flipped his right hand and revealed a stone that he had picked up from nowhere. Said: "Chen Yingliang, the enmity between my father-in-law and you is all because of me! I was the one who forced you and my sister to break off the engagement, and I was the one who beat you. I! I have the head of the injustice and the owner of the debt. Today I will take this life to apologize to you. I only ask you to show your noble hand and save my father-in-law! His kindness to me is as great as a mountain, and I am willing to exchange my life for his. !"
There was an uproar in the audience, Li Er, who did not expect Chai Shao to have such a skill beforehand, was also taken aback, and hurriedly stopped him, and the guards of the imperial city also rushed up, raised their knives and guns and surrounded Chai Shao, but Chai Shao showed no fear, He just blushed and yelled at Chen Yingliang: "How about it? As long as you nod, I will finish myself in front of you!"
There were more people watching, and Chen Yingliang shook his head and sighed. He had no choice but to get off his horse, walked up to Chai Shao, and said helplessly, "Brother Sichang, you really haven't changed at all. What kind of crime is causing trouble outside the gate of the imperial city?"
"As long as my father-in-law is safe, what crime am I afraid of?" Chai Shao pushed away Li Er, who came up to stop him, with a green face, and shouted: "I have a bowl-sized scar on my head! In order to save my father-in-law, I will do nothing!"
"Filial piety is commendable, but it's a pity that you are too stupid to be sold and count the money for others." Chen Yingliang looked even more helpless, and sighed: "If I guessed correctly, it was Li Erlang who forced you to beg Mine? Why don't you think about it, why did he do this? Why did he drag you to kneel and beg me in front of the imperial city gate? He didn't want to save your father-in-law, but to make trouble about your father-in-law Even bigger, it made trouble in front of His Majesty, and took the opportunity to drag me into the water, putting me in a dilemma."
Shaking his head and sighing, Chen Yingliang turned to Li Er, and said again: "Erlang, you are indeed a smart man, so smart that you are almost vicious. You know that brother Sichang has a bad temper, and he is extremely guilty of your father. In order to save your father, what did he do?" I can do everything, and I know that I am kind-hearted, so I will definitely not refuse outright. As long as I agree with a little soft-heartedness, it is tantamount to being dragged into the water by you. You can also take the opportunity to muddy the water, and then save your father Hope, you can take the opportunity to pour dirty water on me, right?"
Li Er's intentions were exposed, but tears were still rolling down his face, and he cried and denied: "Brother, you have wronged my younger brother too much, you have wronged my younger brother to death, my younger brother has missed ten times and hundreds of times, how can I make mistakes again? Dare to be malicious towards you?"
"A good man is afraid of a bad man, this sentence is true through the ages."
Chen Yingliang made a sarcasm, then turned to Chai Shao and said, "Brother Sichang, don't pretend to be a desperado, I still say the same thing, Tang Guogong's case is a Qin case, and it is decided by its own national law. I am not an official of the third division. , I have no right to intervene, no matter how much you force me to beg me, it is useless, I will not violate the law and exceed my authority."
"More." Chen Sangliang added: "Brother Sichang, I also want to remind you, think about your wife, think about your mother and sister, and think about your sick father , you died out of a moment of anger, what will they do? You are their last hope, this time you have made great contributions in the battle of King Qin, and let them see their last hope. If you die, what will they do? Don't you For a moment of righteous indignation, do you want to kill them too?"
Hearing Chen Yingliang's earnest words, Chai Shao, who actually didn't want to die deep down in his heart, was somewhat shaken, and his hand holding the stone trembled a little. He pressed down on the ground, and then Li Er was naturally held down by the soldiers of the Imperial Army. Chen Yingliang shook his head and sighed, but did not stop him, but said: "Brothers of the Imperial Army, be polite to them, this Mr. Li Shimin is a relative of the emperor. , To maintain the dignity of the royal family. This Mr. Chai Shaochai is my family friend, so give me some face."
The soldiers of the imperial army agreed one after another, and they did not beat or kick Li Er and Chai Shao, but tied them up. Chen Yingliang said to Li Er with a gloomy expression: "Brother Shimin, congratulations, your bitter plan has succeeded!" , the matter of you sacrificing your life to save your father may cause trouble to His Majesty, and I may also be dragged into trouble by you. But don't get too excited, even if Your Majesty asks me about this, I will only answer In a word—please give me your majesty's order."
Li Er looked dejected and held down by the soldiers of the forbidden army, but he snorted coldly in his heart: "Don't be too happy, it is that idiot Chai Shao who is making trouble near the imperial city. It has nothing to do with me, but it has something to do with you. Besides, the You dragged yourself into the water, do you think you can get away with just saying 'Please Your Majesty's Holy Judgment'?"