"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
"Rise, all my beloved subjects!"
In Taiji Palace, after a round of greetings, the morning court session officially began.
"Before the morning court session, I have a piece of good news for all my beloved subjects!"
Li Er seemed to be in a good mood today. Before the officials went forward to report to the court, he spoke first.
Hearing this, all the officials in the palace perked up and listened carefully to what Li Er was about to say.
Li Er paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Last night, with the help of Doctor Sun, Daoist Xuan Qing, and the Marquis of Yong 'an, Teacher Wen Ji is out of danger. He only needs to rest for a few days to fully recover!"
"What? Wen Ji's illness is cured? "
Hearing this, the palace was instantly filled with the whispers of the officials. Li Gang was an old official of four dynasties. Not only did he have a good reputation among the scholars, but he was also familiar with many of the officials under Li Er's rule. Xiao Yu was one of them!
Previously, when they heard that Li Gang was seriously ill, Xiao Yu and the other old officials had even 'formed a group' to visit Yunshan, but they were all stopped by Sun Simiao. Now that they heard that Li Gang's illness was cured, Xiao Yu and the other old officials who had dealings with Li Gang were all overjoyed.
"Teacher Wen Ji has been through four dynasties. He is upright and outspoken, serving the country and the people. It can be said that he is loyal to the core. Fortunately, the Marquis of Yong 'an, Doctor Sun, and Daoist Xuan Qing have saved Teacher Wen Ji's life and saved our Tang Empire from losing a good official. This is a joyous matter.
Congratulations, Your Majesty! "The first person to stand up was not Xiao Yu. There was someone who was even more enthusiastic than him, and that was Wei Zheng. This time, the old flame didn't scold anyone. Instead, he stood up to congratulate Li Er. This made Old Li wonder if the sun had risen from the west!
"Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
All of the civil and military officials, regardless of whether they were familiar with Li Gang or not, all of them clasped their hands towards Li Er with joy.
This was the reputation of an old official of four dynasties!
Li Er was in a good mood. He laughed heartily and said, "Haha! Good! Actually, the Marquis of Yong 'an played a huge part in Wen Ji's recovery! I'm sure all of you know that before yesterday, the Marquis of Yong 'an was still at Longmen Pass, which is six hundred kilometers away. After receiving the news of Wen Ji's critical condition, the Marquis of Yong' an rode a fast horse and rushed back to Yunshan within a day. According to what I know, if the Marquis of Yong 'an had arrived a moment later, Wen Ji would have been in danger! "
When the ministers heard this, they all looked at Li Zexuan with respect.
Li Zexuan had transmigrated here. Although his skin had become thicker, he still couldn't handle so many "hot" gazes. Hence, he quickly stepped forward and cupped his hands. "Your Majesty, you flatter me! This official only did what he should have done! "
What he said was the truth. Li Gang was a teacher from Yanhuang College. This time, he was injured because of Yanhuang College. Treating Li Gang was his duty. He had never thought of this as a merit. On the contrary, treating Li Gang was equivalent to redeeming himself for Li Zexuan.
Seeing Li Zexuan being so humble, Wei Zheng couldn't help but secretly nod. Ever since the water wheel was used to solve the drought problem, Wei Zheng found Li Zexuan more and more pleasing to the eye. However, Li Zexuan didn't let Wei Zheng have his way. According to Wei Zheng, Li Zexuan was a talented person and should have taken the path of a civil official. However, not only did he take on the position of Black Armored Army Adjutant, he even fought a battle with the Turkic army at Longmen Pass. He was deviating further and further from the path of a civil official!
"Haha! You don't have to ask for a reward, but we can't not reward you! However, this is not the only merit you have earned this time. Later, I will reward you for all your merits! "
Li Er smiled and waved his hand as he spoke.
In fact, the reason why Old Li was so concerned about Li Gang's matter and specially brought this matter to the morning court was inseparable from Li Er's appreciation of Mr. Li Gang's personality and charm. According to the official history, Li Er invited Li Gang to be Li Gang's teacher the second year after he ascended the throne. One had to know that Li Gang had been Li Chengqian's and Yang Yong's teacher before. Yet, Old Li was willing to let such a sensitive person be his beloved son's teacher. This was enough to show how much Li Er admired and acknowledged Li Gang's knowledge.
In addition, in the official history, every time Li Er attended court, he would always have Li Gang, Fang Xuanling, and Wang Gui accompany him. Later on, when Li Gang fell ill, Li Er not only sent Fang Xuanling to his home to express his condolences, he even went there personally. This kind of treatment was probably only possible for Li Er's most trusted officials.
Although Li Zexuan's transmigration to Great Tang caused a small deviation in history (Li Gang didn't become Li Chengqian's teacher, but came to Yanhuang College as a teacher), Old Li's respect for Li Gang had never changed.
"Reward him for his merits!"
Hearing Li Er say these four words, the civil and military officials in the hall all looked at Li Zexuan with a complicated and surprised expression. One had to know that Li Zexuan was only fifteen years old this year, but he was already a Marquis of Great Tang. If he was rewarded again, then … it would be too frightening!
Niu Jinda, Li Jing, and the other generals who were close to Li Zexuan didn't show any surprise on their faces. They were only happy for Li Zexuan's achievements!
Li Er, who was sitting at the head of the table, said, "Half a month ago, a locust plague broke out in the Guanzhong region. The people were in a constant state of panic. At the same time, under the influence of some people with ulterior motives, rumors spread among the people. At this time, the Marquis of Yong 'an led a Sky Pheasant Brigade made up of more than a hundred thousand chickens and set off from Lantian County.
In just half a month, the Sky Pheasant Brigade destroyed the locust plague in more than seventy counties, benefiting millions of villagers. Not only did it stabilize the people's livelihood, it also stabilized the people's hearts!
Since ancient times, every time there was a locust plague, there would be countless people who would leave their homes and become homeless. The tragedies of selling children and children would be endless! But now, our Great Tang is facing a locust plague. The scale and severity of the locust plague far exceeded the past, but with the help of the Marquis of Yong 'an's Sky Pheasant Brigade, not only did Great Tang not have a large number of refugees, the locust plague was also stabilized and controlled in the shortest time possible! The Marquis of Yong 'an has contributed greatly to all of this! "
It had been nearly half a month since the locust plague began, and the Sky Pheasant Brigade's disaster relief work was nearing its end. In the Great Tang, more than one hundred provinces and counties had been affected by the locust plague. In this half a month, the Sky Pheasant Brigade had saved more than seventy provinces and counties. There was no time to save the remaining twenty to thirty provinces and counties. This was because half a month was enough for the locust plague to finish eating all the crops. The people of these provinces and counties could only rely on the Imperial Court to provide relief food!
But speaking of which, it was much easier for the Imperial Court to provide food for thirty-some provinces and counties than for one-hundred-some provinces and counties. Given the Great Tang's current grain reserves, there was no problem in providing relief food to thirty-some provinces and counties at the same time!
Thus, Li Zexuan's Sky Pheasant Brigade had done Li Er a great favor this time! Otherwise, the Great Tang would have suffered a great loss. At the very least, once the disaster relief was over, the Imperial Court would not have the energy to organize an army to attack the steppe!
Li Zexuan's Sky Pheasant Brigade had greatly reduced the losses caused by the locust plague. It was precisely because of this that Old Li had the confidence to issue a war mobilization order to the officials of the Six Bureaus. Within three months, the officials of the Imperial Court would organize an army of three hundred thousand and set out for the steppe!
"Your Majesty, the Marquis of Yong 'an first built the waterwheel to alleviate the drought and feed the people. Now, he is using the Sky Pheasant Brigade to eradicate locusts and stabilize the people. This old subject believes that the Marquis of Yong' an has rendered great service to the country and should be rewarded!"
As soon as Li Er finished speaking, Wei Zheng stepped forward and said.
Although Wei Zheng was unwilling to see Li Zexuan promoted too quickly, Old Wei was wholeheartedly convinced by Li Zexuan's great contribution in eliminating the locust plague. In the words of the modern people, Li Zexuan did not deserve to be slandered this time!
Fang Xuanling frowned and wanted to object. However, after thinking about it carefully, he felt that it would be unreasonable if he did not reward the Marquis of Yong 'an's great contribution. This was a contribution that would make people wholeheartedly convinced and unable to have any thoughts of objecting. Thus, he stepped forward and clasped his hands. "Your Majesty, the Marquis of Yong' an has put an end to the locust plague and prevented the Great Tang from starving. He has rendered great service to the country and the people. He should be rewarded!"
Zhangsun Wuji's eyes flashed and stepped forward. "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Fang is right. This old official agrees!"
The old cunning fox's thoughts were actually quite complicated. Li Zexuan became the Marquis of the Great Tang Empire at such a young age. To be honest, even he was shocked by the speed of his promotion. Now that Li Zexuan had made another great contribution, Zhangsun Wuji was no longer as fearless as his name suggested. To be honest, he was starting to feel some fear towards Li Zexuan. He was afraid that in a few years, Li Zexuan would directly replace the positions of these old fellows. As for these old fellows, they could only 'retire early'!
However, even though he had fear in his heart, Zhangsun Wuji could not directly object at this moment. This was because Li Zexuan was also a staunch official of the Crown Prince's faction. If he were to object at this moment, wouldn't he be leading an internal strife? The influence would be very bad!
"Your Majesty agrees!"
Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji expressed their opinions one after another. Very quickly, the position of the civil officials appeared to be one-sided.
"Your Majesty agrees!"
The military camp led by Niu Jinda and Li Jing also bowed and seconded at this moment.
This was Li Zexuan. If it was someone else, they might not be able to get the support of both the civil and military camps at the same time.
As the person involved, Li Zexuan could be said to be extremely conflicted at this moment. Firstly, he really did not want to be promoted. This was definitely not a lie. He really did not want to be promoted. His current official position was enough for him to live a carefree life for the rest of his life. The higher the official position, the greater the responsibility. If Old Li were to arrange another important position for him, wouldn't he be busy to death every day?
But on the other hand, if he were to reject the reward under such circumstances, wouldn't he hurt the hearts of people like Niu Jinda and Li Jing who were sincerely thinking for him? Would he be labeled as someone who did not know what was good for him?
After weighing the pros and cons in his heart, Li Zexuan gritted his teeth and finally took a step forward. He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the matter of the Sky Pheasant Brigade going up north to exterminate the locusts was not done by me alone. That was done by His Highness King of Shu, Cheng Chumo, and hundreds of children from the Han Family Village and Plum Village who worked tirelessly for thousands of miles. Until today, they are still exterminating the locusts in the north. Compared to them, this little bit of merit that I have is not worth mentioning! If Your Majesty wants to reward me, I implore Your Majesty to reward me along with these children. If not, I will not be able to accept this reward! "
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