"How do I explain to the soldiers? How do I explain to the soldiers?! What can I do? What can I do?!"
Like Lai Hu'er, Chen Yingliang, Yun Dingxing and other generals of the Weifu, the treacherous and treacherous Wang Shichong also changed his expression greatly after hearing the report of the unscrupulous son-in-law on the reduction of rewards, and he wailed on the spot, crying and wiping away his tears At a loss, he complained to Chen Yingliang: "My son-in-law, after all, you are also the Great General of Youwuwei, an important court official, why don't you open your mouth to object? Reducing the rewards for the soldiers will make us lead troops to fight in the future? Soldiers sacrifice their lives for us?"
"Speak up to object?" Chen Sangliang smiled bitterly, and said with a wry smile: "Your Majesty opened his mouth, even Yuwenzhu Kingdom, Rong Guogong, General Feng, and General Qutu dared not speak out to dissuade me. I just did this yesterday." Do you have the guts to stand up as a young junior who has become a general? Father-in-law, you don't want me, a son-in-law, to be headed off the ground without even having time to meet your grandson, right?"
Wang Shichong's expression became even more mournful, and he asked in despair after a long while: "How much will the reward be cut? It won't be inferior to the reward for ordinary wars, right?"
"It hasn't been agreed yet." Chen Sangliang replied helplessly: "Your Majesty asked Yuwenzhu Kingdom to lead us to renegotiate the reward, and report the results to the court for discussion. It will take a day or two to discuss."
"My son-in-law, then you have to fight for some rewards for the soldiers." Wang Shichong said quickly: "My son-in-law, you are also a leader of the army. You should know what the soldiers under your command are working so hard for, right? If you break the hearts of the soldiers, it will be difficult to rule in the future, and maybe it will cause a mutiny!"
"Father-in-law, don't worry, my son-in-law will naturally do his best." Chen Sangliang comforted him, and then said in a low voice: "Father-in-law, my son-in-law came to inform you about this matter today. Do your best to restrain the army, don't let the army spread any rumors, and don't let the soldiers under your command make trouble. This is Luoyang, the eastern capital, and His Majesty the Emperor is also in the city. Father-in-law, if your soldiers under your command make trouble here, I believe you don't need to My son-in-law reminded me."
Wang Shichong, who is good at flattering, of course understands this powerful relationship. After nodding repeatedly, Wang Shichong comforted his son-in-law in turn: "Don't worry, my son-in-law, father-in-law, I am quite confident in running the army. If you are sure to restrain the army, the worst is to secretly promise the army that the next time there is any battle, the soldiers will not have to hand over the spoils of war."
Chen Yingliang also nodded, and he did have some confidence in Wang Shichong's ability to govern the army. However, at this moment, Wang Shiyun and Wang Renze's father and son rushed into the tent in a hurry. As soon as Wang Shiyun entered the tent, he shouted: "My brother , Bad thing! There are troops outside the city making trouble in the camp, and there is a possibility of mutiny! Hey, why are you here, my son-in-law? When did you come?"
"Which army is making trouble in the camp?" Chen Yingliang's face turned pale, he was afraid that it was You Wuwei or his own direct lineage of Qiao Peng making trouble.
"Zuo Tunwei!"
Wang Shiyun's answer made Chen Sangliang heave a sigh of relief, and then Wang Ren asked with a puzzled face: "Cousin, I heard that there was a disturbance in the Zuo Tunwei camp because some soldiers rumored that there would be no rewards for this Yanmen war. Only then did you encircle the generals to seek justice, and no rewards were given in the Yanmen War, is it true or not?"
"How did the news spread so fast?" Chen Yingliang was even more shocked, but he denied it flatly: "Nonsense! Who said that the Yanmen War will not give rewards? Don't spread rumors to shake the morale of the army!"
After scolding his brother-in-law regardless of his superiority or inferiority, Chen Yingliang quickly turned to Wang Shichong and said, "Father-in-law, my son-in-law has to go to the Youwuwei camp and Qiaopeng camp immediately to stabilize the army and prevent them from being affected by the riots in the Zuotunwei camp. Immediately issue an order to the entire army, declaring that there is absolutely no such thing, and prohibit the spread of any rumors!"
The matter was so important that Wang Shichong didn't dare to be negligent, so he nodded quickly and agreed, while Chen Yingliang left the tent in a hurry, led a few followers and rode straight to the nearby Qiaopeng camp. In front of the battalion, he declared loudly that the lack of rewards in the Yanmen War was purely a rumor, and asked Qiao Peng to wait patiently for the rewards from the court, and not to listen to and spread rumors at will, so as not to shake the morale of the army, and then hastily ordered Ma Sanbao and Kan General Leng and others carefully restrained the team, comforted the soldiers, and then rushed directly to the Youwuwei camp in the distance.
When leaving Qiaopeng camp and rushing to the Youwuwei camp, Chen Yingliang happened to pass by the Zuotunwei camp. Seeing that the gates of the Zuotunwei camp were indeed closed, the entire camp was under martial law, and there were many soldiers gathered together, Chen Yingliang couldn't help feeling even more anxious. , Hastily urged the horse straight to the Youwuwei camp without hesitating horsepower. But fortunately, when Chen Sangliang rode his horse and charged into the Youwuwei camp, the Youwuwei camp was relatively calm. Although the soldiers also gathered in twos and threes to chat in low voices, they did not appear in the Zuotunwei camp anyway. A large number of soldiers gathered, and at the same time Liu Changgong, Xie Zichong and other generals had already rushed to the camp just in case, and they immediately greeted Chen Yingliang.
As soon as he got off his horse, Chen Sangliang was of course immediately surrounded by a large group of old comrades who had killed the enemy side by side many times. The Youwuwei soldiers who had a deep relationship with Chen Yingliang didn't even have time to ask about the rewards, and all they scrambled to salute Chen Yingliang Congratulations, congratulations to Chen Yingliang, who finally became the number one member of Youwuwei with the full support of his own people. Chen Yingliang accepted the congratulations from his old friends and said impatiently: "I came for the sake of Zuotunwei. Giving a reward is purely a rumor, absolutely unbelievable! You have to trust His Majesty the Emperor, trust the imperial court, and don’t believe in rumors and ruin your future!”
Relying on his prestige in running the army before and his good reputation, Chen Yingliang's words deceived all the soldiers of Youwuwei present, and the soldiers of Youwuwei were relieved, and they all cursed those who spread rumors indiscriminately. Hooligans, then Liu Changgong and Xie Zichong, at the request of Chen Yingliang, went to each battalion and army to refute the rumors, stop the spread of rumors, stabilize the morale of the army, and asked the soldiers of Youwuwei to wait patiently for the reward from the court, while Chen Yingliang sent someone to contact Yunding After learning about the situation, Xing went into the Chinese Army Commander's Tent to wait for Liu Changgong and others, planning to hold a meeting by the way.
Liu Changgong and others went to refute the rumors and hadn't returned yet, but Chen Yingliang's oldest lackeys and accomplices came to the Chinese army tent to ask for an interview - these lackeys were of course Guo Feng, Chen Ci, Zhao Yu and others who had reported to the National Army. Chen Yingliang was overjoyed when he heard that, so he summoned him immediately, and personally helped Guo Feng, Chen Ci, and Zhao Yu, and asked about their health, and learned about their recent situation. It is beyond words, but also from the heart. At the same time, it was at this time that Chen Yingliang discovered a strange situation and asked, "Where is Pei Xingyan? Why didn't he come?"
Guo Feng, Chen Ci and the others quieted down, and they were still hesitant to speak. It wasn't until Chen Yingliang asked again with doubts that Guo Feng forced a smile and said, "He didn't come because he felt a little uncomfortable."
Chen Yingliang's face changed slightly, and he immediately guessed the reason why Pei Xingyan didn't come to see him. Zhao Yu over there hesitated again, and said hesitantly: "General, we don't know whether to say something..."
"If you have something to say, just say it, you are old brothers, you don't need to be polite in front of me." Chen Yingliang replied with a smile.
Chen Yingliang was hearty, but Zhao Yu's expression was even more hesitant, and he exchanged winks with Guo Feng and Chen Ci, you pushed me out of the way a few times, and then he lingered in Chen Yingliang's ear, said something in a low voice, and then Explained: "General, we didn't believe it at first, but Brother Xingyan said that this is what his father saw and heard with his own eyes this morning. He is a man who does not tell lies, so..."
Chen Yingliang was silent, Guo Feng saw that Chen Yingliang's face was unkind, and hurriedly said: "Chen Jishi, don't worry, we didn't spread the word to the soldiers. When Zuo Tunwei made trouble, some of us immediately stood up to refute the rumors, saying that you were there, we should The rewards won will definitely not be short of money, and they will be lined up to present rewards one by one as usual, and they will not be deprived of a big one."
"Thank you." Chen Yingliang nodded, and said softly: "Don't worry, I will do my best to fight for rewards for you, and I won't let you be wronged."
I don't know how many times they have died together. Of course, Guo Feng, Chen Ci and others believed in Chen Yingliang's promise, and they all nodded repeatedly. Chen Sangliang then said: "Brother Xingyan, don't bother with him, I know he is a Straight tempered, he did not intend to do this, he was forced to do so, and I will pretend not to know about it, so as not to make it difficult for you to be human."
Guo Feng, Chen Ci and the others agreed again, and Chen Yingliang forced himself to forget his unhappiness, and patted Chen Ci on the shoulder with a smile, "Lieutenant Chen, this time Shibi Bandit Chief was captured alive by your own hands, and your reward must be the heaviest." , You won’t be able to run away even if you get promoted, you say what kind of official position you want, and I will try my best to get it for you.”
"Official titles, what the court gives, what the general wants, I dare not work hard to fight for the general." Chen Ci, as always, is gentle and elegant, and said with a smile: "Actually, as long as I can continue to be with my old brothers who serve the national army , continue to be able to obey orders under your account, the general is already very happy, it is better than any reward for the general."
"It's really modest." Chen Yingliang said with a smile: "Then don't regret it. Don't tell me yourself. When I discussed your reward with Yuwen Zhuguo and the Ministry of War, if I got an unsatisfactory reward for you, you can do not blame me."
"The last general doesn't dare." Chen Ci hurriedly cupped his hands, and then remembered something, and said: "Chen Jishi, the official position is rewarded, the last general really dare not ask too much, but the last general has a small matter, I would like to invite you." You help."
"Say, I'll do my best." Chen Yingliang agreed without hesitation.
"It's like this." Chen Ci said, "I have a fellow villager who is sixteen years old this year. Yi has been friends since childhood, and went to Jingtu Temple to join my younger brother. My younger brother persuaded him to become a monk, but he was unwilling. He wanted to find an official post with his fairly good writing and ink, so as to seek development in the future. Yesterday my younger brother came Visited me in the camp, told me about this by the way, and wanted to ask me for help..."
"It's a small matter, no problem." Chen Yingliang said with a smile: "Okay, you can ask him to come to me directly, or let your brother bring him to me. I will arrange a position for him, which happens to be my account. Lack of documents. By the way, I am staying at Li Guogong’s mansion, Li Guogong in Xiuyefang, he can go there to find me directly, just report your name.”
Chen Ci was overjoyed when he heard that, and hurriedly thanked Chen Sangliang on behalf of his younger brother and friend. Chen Sangliang wanted to ask Chen Ci casually for the name of the person recommended, but his relatives outside the account rushed to report, saying that a servant had arrived at Youwuwei University The General's Mansion summoned Chen Yingliang to the palace to have an audience immediately. Chen Yingliang, who was anxious to appease the army, heard the distress, but he had no choice but to do so. Fortunately, Liu Changgong had already returned to the tent, so Chen Yingliang had to quickly confess that Liu Changgong stayed in the camp, and continued to appease the army and stop the war. Rumors spread, and at the same time pay close attention to the movement of Zuo Tunwei, then hastily bid farewell to Guo Feng, Chen Ci and others, beat the horse and rushed back to the imperial city to meet them.
"If Emperor Sui Yang already knew about the Zuo Tunwei riots, it would be troublesome, and countless people would fall to the ground. However, it seems that it is good to let Emperor Sui Yang know about it. At least he can be reminded. Put some pressure on, anyway, it is Yun Dingxing who is unlucky, not me."
With this complicated thought in mind, Chen Yingliang rode straight back to the residence of the Great General Youwuwei, first met with the impatient palace servants, and then arranged for Dugu Sheng to sit in the camp just in case, and then rushed in with the servants Palace, and was led directly to the Jicui Pavilion next to the Ningbi Pool. Emperor Sui Yang was reviewing memorials in a warm pavilion next to the Jicui Pavilion. , Chen Yingliang didn't dare to be negligent when he saw it, and quickly saluted respectfully, saying: "My humble minister Chen Yingliang, I greet His Majesty the Emperor and the Empress."
"Why did you come here now?" Emperor Sui Yang seemed in a bad mood, and asked, "How far is the residence of General Youwuwei from Miyagi? Why did you come so late?"
"The minister left the city and went to the Youwuwei camp to handle military affairs, so he came late." Chen Yingliang explained, and hurriedly pleaded guilty: "I have made His Majesty wait so long, I deserve death."
"It turns out that's the case, then forget it, let's live." Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty still admired Chen Yingliang's due diligence, and forgave Chen Yingliang's crime of being late, and asked: "Li Yuan's son and son-in-law, are you here today?" What is the purpose of stopping you from making trouble outside the city gate?"
"It turned out to be this matter." Chen Sangliang was relieved and disappointed, and hurriedly reported what happened in front of the gate of the imperial city today, and then said: "Your Majesty, I have repeatedly stated that I am not an official of the Sanju Department. I dare not exceed my authority to participate in this matter, but Master Shimin and Chai Shao have always been entangled, and Chai Shao threatened me with suicide, but I still didn't dare to agree to intercede for Tang Guogong on their behalf."
"It's about the same as what I know." Emperor Sui Yang nodded, and asked again: "Why does Li Yuan's son and son-in-law bother you?"
"Your Majesty, it may be the incident outside Daxing City last time that made them have illusions about my ministers." Chen Yingliang respectfully replied: "More than two years ago, Chai Shao and his father jointly framed my ministers, but my ministers repaid their grievances with virtue. In turn, I begged His Majesty's Ai Sun Dai Wang to forgive them. Mr. Shimin and Mr. Chai may be entangled with this minister because they think that I will repay my hatred with virtue again."
Emperor Sui Yang showed some smiles, and asked with a smile: "Now do you know the end of being a good person?"
"Wei Chen knows." Chen Yingliang quickly nodded, and said with a wry smile: "But Your Majesty, forgive me, this time I still want to be a good person, so I beg you for mercy."
"For whom?" Emperor Sui Yang asked calmly.
"Plead for Chai Shao." Chen Yingliang knelt down and said respectfully: "In this Yanmen battle, Chai Shao killed a lot of enemies. When it comes to the key role, this minister is a family friend with him, so I have the courage to ask His Majesty to give him an extra-judicial mercy to lighten Chai Shao's crime of rioting in the street."
After finishing speaking, Chen Yingliang hurriedly kowtowed, his attitude was very sincere, but Emperor Sui Yang continued to remain calm, and suddenly asked: "Then, do you plan to intercede with me for Li Yuan?"
Taking a peek at Empress Xiao and Uncle Xiao, and seeing their nervous expressions, Chen Yingliang said: "I don't dare. If Tang Guogong is only targeting this minister this time, then I can intercede for him, but he This time, it is not only aimed at Weichen, but also indirectly endangers the great affairs of King Qin. Weichen is so brave that he dare not beg for mercy for him. How to send Tang Guogong can only be punished by the state. He has neither the right nor the courage to participate in this case."
Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty remained silent, while Uncle Xiao Guo beside him said cautiously: "Your Majesty, Tang Guogong was confused for a moment and indeed made a big mistake, but it did not lead to serious consequences. Your Majesty, please investigate clearly."
Emperor Sui Yang's eyes were like knives, and he stared at Uncle Xiao all of a sudden, staring at Uncle Xiao until he was sweating profusely and his feet were trembling. Fortunately, Empress Xiao who was beside him spoke in time and said softly: "Your Majesty! , this younger brother, Chenqie, is only stating the facts, even if there is something wrong in what he said, please forgive him for his sin of gaffe."
"It's nothing to forgive him, but it would be very difficult for me to forgive Li Yuan." Emperor Sui Yang said coldly: "In order to fight for merit, he prevented the merchant from selling grain to Chen Aiqing's Qin Wang army, completely disregarding my life and death. , if such a crime is not pursued, who will care about my safety in the future?"
This is the most terrible thing about Li Yuan's misfortune this time, so that even Empress Xiao, who is deeply in love with Emperor Sui Yang and his wife, dared not tell him. He should be executed, but he still fought hard in the subsequent battle of King Qin, worked hard and made little achievements, please Your Majesty, for the sake of this, give him a chance to make meritorious deeds and atone for his sins."
Emperor Sui Yang's face was gloomy, and he was also extremely hesitant in his heart. After hesitating for a long time, Emperor Sui Yang suddenly said to Chen Yingliang: "Chen Aiqing, you just said that you don't have the courage to intercede for Li Yuan. Now I will give you the courage. You Even if I say something wrong, I don't care about it, tell me, are you willing to intercede for Li Yuan?"
The ball was kicked in front of Chen Yingliang as Li Er expected, and Chen Yingliang was really hesitant and embarrassed, and after a while he cupped his hands and replied: "Your Majesty, I don't know whether I should intercede for Tang Guogong, just as the empress said. , Tang Guogong did contribute a lot in the battle of King Qin, and he worked hard. As the coach of King Qin at that time, I saw his hard work and exhaustion with my own eyes, and I felt sorry for not pleading for him."
"But I don't want to plead for Tang Guogong." Chen Yingliang also added cunningly: "Since ancient times, the monarch has been the leader of the ministers, and the monarch has been worried about the humiliation of the ministers. Instead of focusing on the overall situation, in order to steal merit and secretly sabotage King Qin's important affairs and endanger His Majesty's safety, whenever I think about this, I wish I could lay his skin and eat his flesh to vent my hatred."
"So, I'm in a dilemma, and I don't know whether I should intercede for Tang Guogong." Chen Yingliang lowered his head, and said cunningly: "If your majesty must ask me for an answer, then I have the courage to ask you Your Majesty will give this minister a few days to think carefully about it."
Emperor Sui Yang's face was calm, and he nodded after a while and said: "You are right, I am as embarrassed as you are, if I don't kill Li Yuan, it will be hard to get rid of the hatred in my heart, but if I kill him, I feel a little sorry for his hard work. Like you, I don't know what to do."
"Your Majesty, you might as well make a compromise." Uncle Xiao suggested tremblingly, "Demote Tang Guogong and remove him from office, so that we can punish Tang Guogong's faults and reward Tang Guogong's achievements."
"Xiao Aiqing, my brother-in-law." Sui Yang's words made Uncle Xiao Guo's face change, and he said coldly: "If someone tries to kill you, I will punish him by demoting him from his position, would you like it? "
Uncle Xiao Guo was sweating profusely. He heard that Emperor Sui Yang was still dissatisfied with Li Yuan's behavior of almost killing him, so he didn't dare to make a sound. Emperor Sui Yang then said: "It seems that you don't want to, since you don't even want to , then why do you want me to do this?"
Uncle Xiao Guo didn't dare to breathe even more, while Emperor Sui Yang waved his hand and said, "Let's leave it at that, Li Yuan will continue to be imprisoned, let me think about it carefully, and then decide how to deal with him."
"Your Majesty." Empress Xiao said timidly, "Chen Aiqing is the commander of King Qin and the person involved. You might as well listen to his opinion again."
"Okay." Emperor Sui Yang finally gave his wife some face, pointed to Chen Yingliang and said, "Chen Aiqing, didn't you say that you need to think about it? I will give you a few days to think about it. After you think it over, you can decide whether to be Li Yuan or not." Plead with me."
…
"Empress Xiao is not pockmarked or pockmarked, she is called a cheater. She insisted on dragging me into Li Yuan's case. It is clear that she wants to force me to intercede with Li Yuan. The eight members of Guanlong are in the same spirit, sharing weal and woe, we If you try to persuade Yang Guang to kill Li Yuan, wouldn't that mean offending the Eight Great Masters of Guanlong at the same time?"
"Originally, it's nothing to be a good friend. If you don't kill Li Yuan, you can guarantee that there will be no major changes in history, but Emperor Sui Yang's temper is put there again. What if he suddenly hates Li Yuan and wants to chop him up? , if I intercede for Li Yuan again, don’t I put my hot face on his cold ass? Make it my own fault?”
Walking out of Miyagi in a complicated mood, just as he returned to the lobby of General Youwuwei's mansion, the hard-working Chen Yingliang was immediately stopped by Huangfu Wuyi, who then directly said: "General, Yuwenzhu Kingdom just sent someone to send a message, If you don’t go to the morning court tomorrow (the Sui Dynasty was once every two days), Yuwen Zhuguo decided to hold a meeting at General Zuo Yiwei’s mansion tomorrow morning to discuss the matter of rewards, and requires you to be present.”
"Tomorrow morning? In such a hurry?" Chen Yingliang was startled at first, and then he realized that it must have been forced by the Zuo Tun Wei riot. If the matter of military rewards is not dealt with quickly, the army will make more troubles under the eyes of Emperor Sui Yang. The big disaster, Yu Wenshu, the number one person in the military, had to walk away without food.
Knowing why Yu Wenshu was in a hurry to hold a meeting, Chen Yingliang inquired about Zuo Tunwei's situation, and learned that the disturbance in Zuo Tunwei had subsided, and then Chen Yingliang did not dare to neglect, so he had to follow Lai Nuer's request, and hurriedly took the The entourage went straight to the Shangshutai, and went to find his distant uncle Pei Ju to inquire about the state of the treasury, in order to try his best to fight for the rewards that King Qin deserved. However, Chen Yingliang was greeted with a desperate answer...