frightfiction Chapter 638 Does the Emperor trust the Xiao family so much?
Chapter 638 Does the Emperor trust the Xiao family so much?
Mingde Hall.
It has been several days since the Xiao family returned to Beijing, but the rewards have not been given yet. Many people think that the emperor wants to give the Xiao family a warning so that they don't become complacent.
After all, General Xiao was a meritorious official of two dynasties and was deeply loved by the people. Almost all military power was in the hands of him and his son. Would an emperor tolerate his subjects going beyond his control?
The answer is no.
The Xiao family was already very famous during the reign of the previous emperor. In order to weaken their power in the court, Xiao Jianting and Xiao Helin were not given official positions, but were only allowed to lead troops to fight.
When it came to Qin Junyu, General Xiao and Xiao Jianting had both made military achievements. If it weren't for the two of them, this beautiful land would probably have been occupied by the Northern Wei Dynasty. How could Qin Junyu still sit firmly on the throne?
But some people also think that rewarding according to merit is not easy. Giving too much or too little will cause complaints. It is not a bad thing to consider it carefully.
After all, the Xiao family was a great contributor, and it was inevitable that they would be criticized for not receiving any rewards.
Unexpectedly, when Qin Junyu went to court today, he ordered Lin Shoude to read out the imperial edict on the spot, conferring the title of Duke of Weiguo on Xiao Jianting, and rewarding him with a house, a hundred acres of fertile land, and a hundred taels of gold. General Xiao's reward was doubled compared to Xiao Jianting's.
Everyone was dumbfounded. The officials who had speculated a few days ago that Qin Junyu wanted to give the Xiao family a warning were slapped in the face.
General Xiao and Xiao Jianting were flattered and immediately accepted the order to express their gratitude.
The imperial edict was so heavy that they could hardly hold it.
Although the ministers were jealous, no one dared to question the father and son's military achievements. This was achieved with blood and sweat! The whereabouts of the second son Xiao is still unknown. It must be said that some good things should be taken by others.
Yang Liuliang, the Minister of Rites, reported: "Your Majesty, as you said, a notice was posted ten days ago explaining the advantages and disadvantages of taking the imperial examination in advance. As of now, more than 300 people from all over the country have signed up, and the examination will be conducted according to the original rules and procedures of the imperial examination."
Qin Junyu nodded: "Well done. Although the exam has been moved up, the assessment standards remain the same, and the invigilators must not slack off to prevent cheating."
"Yes." Yang Liuliang returned to his seat.
Ma Chaoxing, the chief of the Guards of the Imperial Guard, said, "Your Majesty, at present, the surrounding countries are all abiding by the law and dare not cause trouble, but peace will not last long. Our country has just experienced a great war and has suffered serious losses in manpower and strength. We must replenish our forces as soon as possible and train a strong army so that we can fight back when the enemy invades us."
The proposal to train a new army was made by a minister half a month ago, but Qin Junyu had not responded yet. It was brought up again today, and many people followed Ma Chaoxing's lead.
Qin Junyu made a decisive decision and gave this task to Xiao Jianting.
Everyone was shocked and secretly complained: Does the emperor trust the Xiao family so much? Both father and son are leading troops in the army, but instead of dismissing General Xiao, he handed over the establishment of a new army to Xiao Jianting?
Not only the ministers were surprised, even Xiao Jianting himself did not expect it.
After receiving the order, he was determined not to let Qin Junyu down and to build an invincible team so that foreign enemies would never dare to invade again!
After the court session, Xiao Jianting was left behind to discuss the specific details of how to build the new army, and General Xiao became the object of everyone's flattery.
But General Xiao ignored everyone and hurriedly chased after Nian Chengyun in front of him.
"Old age, old age..." He chased and shouted. Nian Chengyun heard the voice and stopped to wait for him. General Xiao smacked his lips and said, "How can you walk so fast?"
Nian Chengyun smiled and looked at the crowd behind him, and said teasingly: "Old Xiao, you are the one that everyone in the court wants to make friends with. I'm afraid that if I get too close, rumors will spread in the capital tomorrow that I'm fawning over General Xiao."
"Okay, you've learned to joke after not seeing you for half a year." General Xiao couldn't help laughing.
The two of them walked towards Xizhimen together, talking and laughing.
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Qin Junyu asked the guard of honor to follow from a distance, while he and Xiao Jianting walked in front so that they could talk more conveniently.
"The injury should be healed now." Qin Junyu asked.
"I'm almost well now, except that I cough a lot when it rains, but otherwise there's no problem." At this point, Xiao Jianting was still in the mood to joke, "Luckily it was Dongfang Xuying, the best swordsman in the Northern Wei Dynasty, who stabbed me. If it were someone else, they might not be able to control the distance so well."
Qin Junyu glanced at him and said in a serious tone, "How dare you mention that sword? Who stabbed forward 3 inches and almost lost his life?"
Xiao Jianting knew he was in the wrong and did not argue with him.
Before going to the war, he made a military pledge in front of the late emperor, stating that even if he was willing to block the enemy's advance with his own body, he would never let the Northern Wei army break through the Yanmen Pass. However, the reality went against his will. He did not die, and the Yanmen Pass was not defended either.
When he was on the city wall, he thought that since he failed to complete the task, he might as well die to atone for his sin. However, he did not expect that he did not die.
Qin Junyu sneered, "If it weren't for the fact that Dongfang Xuying has a contract with you, I would never let him go in front of the battle.
As they were talking, the two of them arrived outside the Yangxin Palace.
The guard of honor did not follow in. There were people from Zhongling Palace outside the hall. Qin Junyu immediately guessed that Nian Susu was inside.
Sure enough, as soon as I entered, I saw Nian Susu leaning on the dragon throne, writing and drawing in a booklet in his hand.
A hint of surprise flashed across Xiao Jianting's face, but it disappeared in an instant.
The relationship between the two of them cannot be viewed with ordinary eyes.
"Going to court?"
"Eh? Master Xiao is here too?"
Nian Susu walked towards them and handed the booklet to Qin Junyu, "This is the list of concubines sent by the Ministry of Revenue. I still remember a few of them. They all have good looks and personalities. Remember to keep them. As for the rest... we'll talk about it later."
She left the Hundred Flowers Banquet too early that day and didn't meet many people, so she couldn't recognize all the people on the list.
"Okay." Qin Junyu took the booklet without even looking at it, obviously not taking it seriously.
Nian Susu looked at Xiao Jianting and he smiled.
"How is Mr. Xiao's injury?"
He had an idea and deliberately said in a pretentious tone: "Thanks to the Queen, my injury is no longer serious. I am very sorry to trouble the Queen to worry about me."
Nian Susu was speechless, but also found it funny, "Okay, stop it."
"By the way, has Mr. Xiao II been found...?" Her smile suddenly disappeared.
The atmosphere suddenly became heavy.
Xiao Jianting was puzzled: he had already informed Qin Junyu of Xiao Helin's death in a letter a few days before they arrived in Shengjing. Could it be that... he did not tell her the news?
Xiao Jianting glanced at Qin Junyu, who remained expressionless but his eyes told it all.
"There's still no news. It's been so long and we still haven't found him. There's not even a trace of him. Maybe... he's met with an accident." Xiao Jianting tried to give her a shot of prevention.
But Nian Susu comforted him: "Don't think so. In my opinion, the second young master Xiao may have injured his head and lost his memory. He is now living a new life on a farm."