The turmoil in Zuo Tunwei’s camp was once suspected by Yu Wenshu and Yun Dingxing to be political enemies. They deliberately spread and exaggerated rumors to cause unrest in the army, embarrassing Yu Wenshu’s party, Chen Yingliang and Qu Tutong and other indirect parties also had incidents. Similar doubts. However, after the mystery was revealed, everyone was stunned—the source of the rumor turned out to be an attendant of a civilian official. After hearing his master laughing at the military officer's dilemma, he couldn't control his mouth and spread it everywhere, and it happened to spread to some Zuo Tun In the ears of the generals at the grassroots level, it caused riots in the barracks of Zuo Tunwei.
As a result of the riot, the heads of several impulsive low-level generals fell to the ground. Zhu Can, who murdered without batting an eyelid, was secretly instigated by Yun Dingxing to kill these low-level generals with his own hands on the spot. The riots were barely quelled. But the battered old general Yun Ding Xingyun knew very well that what he did was just to suspend the execution for a few days. The real test is yet to come. What kind of turmoil, Old General Yun did not dare to imagine.
The reward discussion meeting held the next morning became the last life-saving straw for General Yun. General Yun did not dare to expect that Emperor Sui Yang would double his military rewards as promised before the war. If you can give 60 to 70%, General Yun will be satisfied, but if it is lower than this reward, General Yun will not be so sure about appeasing the army. The lower the reward, the more likely Zuo Tunwei will be. Unrest, in direct proportion.
It has something to do with the high-ranking officials and positions I have earned through hard work and flattery. Old General Yun did not dare to be negligent. He came to wait outside the imperial city before Maoshi the next day. The imperial city had just opened at Maoshi. The old general was the first to enter the imperial city again, and even came directly to wait outside the gate of General Zuo Yiwei's mansion, so that the guards of the imperial city couldn't help but praise, "No wonder you can get promoted even if you are related to the deposed prince. Look at his diligence, he came so early today even if he didn't go to court, which is much better than those officials who are lazy and come late."
It was early winter, and the weather was very cold. I waited for a long time in front of General Zuo Yiwei's mansion rubbing my hands and stomping my feet. When the gate of the general's mansion opened, Old General Yun couldn't wait to rush into the lobby, hugging the freshly lit charcoal Pan was trembling, and after a while, General You Yiwei Lai Huer was the second to come to the lobby. Old General Yun knew that Lai Huer, the second person in the military, never liked him, so he didn't dare to talk to Lai Huer after saluting. The son talked a lot, and Lai Huer sat in the first place on the left side of the lobby, staring at the beam in a daze, with a terribly gloomy expression.
Soon, Duan Wenzhen, General of the Left Guard, Zhao Cai, General of the Left Guard, Xue Shixiong, General of the Left Guard, Feng An, General of the Left Guard, Qu Tutong, and others also came to the hall one after another. Only then did the atmosphere in the hall become a little more active. During the low-pitched discussion, General You Wuwei Chen Yingliang was the last to come to the hall, and as soon as he entered the hall, he bowed his hands and apologized to everyone, saying: "Excuse me, seniors, I just met Pei on the road. Uncle Yun, I was stopped by him for a conversation, so I'm late, so please don't mind, seniors."
"It's okay, as long as you don't be late." Lai Huer, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke up, and asked Chen Yingliang again: "Yingliang, did you finish what I asked you to do yesterday?"
Hearing this, Chen Yingliang, who has always respected Lai Huer, was uncharacteristically, not only did not answer, but also lowered his head slightly. When Lai Huer saw this, he was desperate, and said helplessly: "It seems that this is not good news, it's okay, just tell me, Let me have a bottom line."
Chen Sangliang's face became more embarrassing, and he walked up to Lai Hu'er after a while, and said in Lai Hu'er's ear: "Uncle Pei Ju, he didn't directly tell the national treasury how much food he planned to reward the soldiers, he just showed me An edict, His Majesty issued an edict to Jiangdu yesterday, ordering Jiangdu to build 3,600 dragon boats and eighteen water halls, and also asked for regulations to be larger than the dragon boat water halls that were burned down by Yang Xuangan's rebels before."
The expression on Lai Hu'er's face suddenly froze, and then quickly turned green and black, and he leaned on the back of the chair weakly, with a haggard look, as if he had aged a few years all of a sudden. Elder General Yun saw that something was wrong, he quickly waved Chen Yingliang to his face, and asked in a low voice, "What did you say to Lai Zhuguo? Why is his face so ugly?"
Chen Yingliang remained silent, neither worried about letting Yun Dingxing know about the secret exchange of news between him and Pei Ju, nor could he bear to tell him the cruel truth. When Yun Dingxing was about to ask again, Yu Wenshu's cough suddenly came, and everyone couldn't help it. Dare to be negligent, quickly stand still according to the military order, and salute Yu Wenshu who walked into the lobby from the main entrance. Said: "It's all here, it's good when it's all here, it's cold, let's go to the warm pavilion in the back hall to discuss."
Everyone sang promises, and hurriedly followed Yu Wenshu into the warm pavilion in the back hall. Yu Wenshu first ordered his servants to serve hot tea for everyone, and then drove away all the servants and closed the door tightly. Said: "You all know why I called you here today, so I won't repeat myself. Before discussing the rewards, I have some bad news to tell you. You must be mentally prepared."
"Yuwenzhu Kingdom, let's talk." Lai Huer said with a gloomy expression: "I can't just give no money and food to the soldiers, right? How much is Your Majesty going to give?"
Yu Wenshu was silent, and his expression was terribly gloomy, and he said after a long while: "Your Majesty called me into the palace yesterday, and gave me a hint that if the soldiers who participated in the Yanmen defense battle can't make meritorious service, they will be directly promoted to the sixth-rank Jianjiewei. The standard of reward for Yang Xuangan's rebellion has been promoted step by step since the ninth rank Lixinwei, and I roughly calculated that out of the 17,000 city guards, only about 1,500 can get the honor."
Hearing this, the other Weifu generals who did not participate in the Yanmen Defense Battle were better off, but Lai Huer, whose direct lineage had suffered heavy casualties in the Yanmen Defense Battle, turned ashen as black as hell, and asked in a hoarse voice after a while: " What about the rewards? Your Majesty promised at that time that ten bolts of silk and satin will be rewarded to the soldiers who have made meritorious service, and double the amount to the soldiers who died in battle. How much is His Majesty going to give?"
Yu Wenshu's face became more gloomy, and he said in a low voice: "The soldiers who died in battle will be given five bolts of silk and satin each. There are no soldiers who died in battle. We must understand the difficulties of the treasury... No."
Lai Hu'er stood up abruptly, the veins on his forehead were throbbing violently, his knuckles were clenched white, he glared at Yu Wenshu, his eyes were about to breathe fire, while Yu Wenshu lowered his head, not daring to confront Lai Huer's anger eye contact. Fortunately, Lai Hu'er also knew that Yu Wenshu could not be the master of this matter, and knew that Yu Wenshu's Zuo Yiwei elite lineage also suffered heavy casualties in this Yanmen defense station, so he didn't vent his anger on Yu Wenshu's head Going up, he took a few breaths, then sat back on the chair again, with a livid face and stopped talking.
"Yuwenzhu Kingdom, what about our King Qin's army?" Old General Yun asked tremblingly, with tears in his voice, and asked, "What kind of rewards will we give out to King Qin's army?"
"About King Qin's army..." Yu Wenshu's face remained gloomy, and he said, "Thanks to Nephew Yingliang, this battle was fought beautifully, and Shibi Chieftain was captured alive. His Majesty is very satisfied, so he decided to fight as normal The rewards... half of the usual war rewards."
With a plop, Yun Dingxing fell directly to the ground, his face was pale, and foam was forming at the corner of his mouth. Chen Yingliang's mind was blank. He couldn't believe that Emperor Sui Yang could push himself to this point. After winning such a big battle and ensuring the safety of northern Xinjiang for at least 20 years, Emperor Sui Yang would be so mean and stingy. reward.
"There is more." Yu Wenshu added in a low tone: "Your Majesty also hinted to me, let me try to get you to take the initiative to reduce it again, so as to reduce the burden on the national treasury."
There was no sound in the warm pavilion. Even Duan Wenzhen, Zhao Cai, Feng An and others who did not participate in this battle could not help but look at Chen Yingliang and Yun Dingxing and other unlucky fellows with sympathetic eyes. There was more foam, and his eyes turned directly into the appearance of dead fish. Chen Yingliang's face was ashen, his eyes were dull, and he instantly turned into a walking corpse. If he had known this before, he might as well not have taken credit for the gains, and should have let people like Chen Yingliang and Yun Dingxing fight all the battles.
"Nephew Yingliang, you are the commander-in-chief of King Qin, you decide." Yu Wenshu gave Chen Sangliang another knife, and said, "Your Majesty opened the mouth of gold, and how much to reduce the burden on the treasury, you decide."
Chen Yingliang laughed back angrily, and said with a smile: "Yuwen Zhuguo, I just said numbers are easy, but how can I explain to the soldiers?"
Yu Wenshu also laughed, and said, "Aren't I the same? Once the reward is announced this time, who can run away from the eighteen generations of my ancestors?"
"To each other, to each other." Lai Huer also smiled, folded his hands on his chest, and said with a smile: "This time, I am the commander in chief of defending the Yanmen. My 18th generation of ancestors will not be lost, maybe even the 10th generation of ancestors." Nine generations will suffer accordingly."
After all, Lai Huer took the lead in laughing loudly, Yu Wenshu and Chen Sangliang laughed, but there was no joy in their voices, Yun Dingxing cried directly, choked up and said: "What should I do? Zuo Tunwei was in trouble yesterday, once the reward was announced, those Qiu Ba had to smash the Zuo Tunwei camp directly? They smashed the Zuo Tunwei camp at the foot of the emperor, it was like smashing my head .”
"We must not let Zuo Tunwei make trouble!" Yu Wenshu said viciously, "Not only will you lose your head, but I will also be implicated!"
"But with such a low reward, how could those Qiu Ba not cause trouble?" Yun Dingxing replied with tears.
Yu Wenshu turned his head away, and said bluntly: "That's your business, figure out a way for yourself."
Yun Dingxing sobbed even more, and Yu Wenshu turned his gaze to Chen Yingliang again, and said, "Nephew Yingliang, is it a blessing or a disaster, and you can't avoid the disaster. You can decide for yourself. How can you reduce the burden on the treasury?"
Chen Yingliang's face was as pale as paper, and he answered after a while: "Yuwen Zhuguo, if the younger generation wants to get half of the usual reward for the soldiers, how about it?"
"Whatever you want, this is your freedom." Yu Wenshu kicked the ball back in front of Chen Yingliang, and said again: "But my nephew, I have to advise you, don't make fun of your own head, and besides, you think you are doing it for me." King Qin won half of the usual reward, those Qiu Ba will not hate you anymore? Or are you still being angry at both ends?"
"But how can I be worthy of those King Qin soldiers who threw their heads and blood?"
Chen Yingliang wailed, and he dared not express his position to continue reducing the reward. Yu Wenshu remained silent, and did not force Chen Yingliang to express his position immediately, but General Feng An of Zuo Wuwei, who stayed out of the matter, said: "Why don't you do this, restrain the generals as much as possible, and don't allow them to deduct money?" Rewards, distribute all the rewards that can be won to the soldiers one by one, so that the soldiers may complain less."
In the army, Chen Yingliang, who had been strictly prohibiting the deduction of soldiers' rewards, remained silent, and Yu Wenshu and Lai Huer, whose soldiers would not receive rewards at all, remained silent, but Duan Wenzhen, the general of Zuo Houwei who was also the Minister of the Ministry of War, suddenly said: "Actually The national treasury is not completely out of money and food. As far as I know, there are still more than 400,000 guan of money in the account of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and more than 200,000 pieces of silk. The reward expenditure of this Yanmen War is roughly It is estimated that the money is 800,000 guan and 300,000 pieces of silk, even if it is not enough, we can find a way to increase income and reduce expenditure, so as to scrape together the money and food."
"Duan Shangshu, how do you know the accounts of the Ministry of Civil Affairs?" General Zhao Cai, the right-waiting Wei, asked curiously.
"Fan Zigai, Shangshu of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, has been appointed as Taiyuan's left-behind, and the affairs of the Ministry of Civil Affairs are temporarily in charge of Wei Anshi, the servant." Duan Wenzhen explained: "I have a small friendship with Wei Anshi, and the rewards for the army have to be issued by the Ministry of War, which I am also in charge of. , During official business, I quietly asked him about the situation of the Ministry of Civil Affairs."
"So, the treasury is still rich?" Zhao Cai asked puzzledly, "Since the treasury is rich, why does His Majesty cut rewards like this? His Majesty is usually generous in rewards, why is he so mean this time?"
Chen Yingliang and Lai Huer, who already knew the inside story, didn't say a word, but Yu Wenshu was quite frank, and said directly: "Your Majesty's Qianjuan is still very useful, don't even think about it, if it wasn't for Yingliang's virtuous nephew this time Well played, Your Majesty even wants to save half of the usual reward."
"Is there still a big use?" Everyone murmured in their hearts, secretly said: "What else can it be useful for? It's nothing more than a practice palace and a ceremonial building."
At this time, Lai Hu'er, who always loved the soldiers, spoke again, and said with a blank expression: "If I can get this money and food, I would really like to donate it all to His Majesty to reward the soldiers, but unfortunately I don't have it."
"If I have it, I am willing too." The eldest brother Tan Yu Wenshu also nodded, and said without blushing: "If I have as much money as the Guanlong Ba family, I would be more than happy to donate the money and food to help His Majesty Solve the urgent need, and appease our hard-working soldiers, but unfortunately I am a poor man with no power."
Everyone, including Yu Wenshu's buddy Yun Dingxing, rolled their eyes, and they all scolded Yu Wenshu for being shameless. He had the nerve to call himself a pauper even though his family had a mountain of gold, silver and jewels? Only Chen Sangliang's heart moved, and he blurted out subconsciously: "Yuwen Zhuguo, what did you just say?"
"Nephew Yingliang, what's wrong with you? Didn't you hear what I said just now?" Yu Wenshu asked in confusion.
"Forgive Zhuguo, this junior was distracted just now." Chen Yingliang pleaded guilty and asked, "Yuwen Zhuguo, you said just now that if you are as rich as someone else, you are willing to donate the money and grain to relieve His Majesty." Urgent?"
"The eight masters of Guanlong." Yu Wenshu said casually: "If I am as big and deeply rooted as the eight masters of Guanlong, and my warehouse is full of money and grain, I will donate the money and grain to help His Majesty reward the soldiers."
"The Eighth Masters of Guanlong are so rich?" Chen Yingliang asked in amazement: "Eight hundred thousand guan for military expenses and three hundred thousand bolts of silk, can they easily spend?"
Everyone rolled their eyes at Chen Yingliang's stupid question again, but Yun Dingxing was the only one who was loyal enough and explained: "Nephew, you still lack knowledge. Wealth is incomparable to a country, and it is not easy to take out this money and food, but it is definitely not a big problem."
Chen Yingliang was overjoyed, and blurted out: "Since this is the case, why do we need to ask His Majesty to reward the soldiers with treasury money? Why don't we find a way to get the Guanlong eight families to pay this money?"
"Chen Yingliang, are you stupid?"
Almost everyone was surprised, but Lai Huer's heart moved, he quickly raised his head and said, "Nephew Ying Liang, could it be that you want the Li family to pay this money?"
"Exactly." Chen Yingliang nodded vigorously, and said: "Your Majesty is worrying about how to deal with Li Yuan. The punishment is too heavy to hold back everyone's pleading, and the punishment is too light. Why don't we ask Your Majesty to let Li Yuan take out the money and food for Reward the soldiers for meritorious service? In this way, His Majesty saved money by venting his anger, Duke Tang saved his life, and our soldiers received the rewards they deserved. We can also hold our heads high and speak loudly in front of the soldiers. Win-win?"
The generals were all dumbfounded, and they were all stunned by the genius idea of Chen Sangliang. Lai Huer was also moved in his heart. After pondering for a while, Lai Huer said in a deep voice: "Two questions, first, how? Can you convince His Majesty to agree to do this? Second, whoever said this to His Majesty, this is a matter of offending the Li Clan to the death, who will be the leader?"
"Nephew Yingliang, you have to come up with the solution. If you dare to be the first bird, I will do my best to assist you!" Yu Wenshu also said.
Everyone's eyes turned back to Chen Yingliang's face, Chen Sangliang made some calculations, and quickly said: "I came up with the solution, and of course I should be the one to do it, anyway, I've already done it." I offend the Li family, and I don't mind deepening the hatred. However, in order to persuade His Majesty to do so, I need the help of seniors."
"Let's talk, as long as we can do it, we will do our best to help you." Lai Nuer said, "This is also for the sake of our soldiers, we will do our best."
Yu Wenshu also echoed Lai Huer's words, and Chen Yingliang smiled and said: "It's actually very simple, just ask Yuwen Zhuguo and Lai Zhuguo to give advice to His Majesty, and ask Your Majesty to lead you to inspect the firearms team under the command of the last general. The rest can be left to the younger generation.”