Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Actually, Li Zexuan didn't have any other intentions when he wanted to help Li Zexuan keep the Academy's confidential files. It wasn't because he coveted Li Zexuan's knowledge and wanted to take it for himself.
The scrolls themselves were of no use to him, as only the people of the Yanhuang Academy could understand them. The reason why Li Er wanted to personally take over the safekeeping of the academy's scrolls was mainly to prevent the scrolls from being stolen by people from other countries. Overall, it was a form of protection for the academy!
But no matter what, those confidential files were the core secrets of the Academy, and the crystallization of the wisdom of all the Academy's teachers and students. Once Li Er touched those files, Li Zexuan would inevitably have a knot in his heart. That was why he came up with such a method of raising the first and then suppressing the second, but Li Zexuan rejected it!
It had to be said that Old Li truly valued Li Zexuan. Otherwise, he would not have been so cautious and overcautious. In any era, capable people would not only be respected, they would also receive preferential treatment. In the entire Great Tang, the only people who could receive such treatment from Li Zexuan were probably Fang Xuanling, Zhangsun Wuji, Qin Qiong, and the other founding ministers who had accompanied Li Er in his campaigns!
"Xiaoxuan! You …! "
Hearing Li Zexuan reject Li Zexuan's reward again, Niu Jinda couldn't help but feel anxious. He wanted to persuade him, but Li Jing stopped him.
"Jinda, don't be rash. Xiaoxuan should have his own considerations!"
Li Jing's eyes flashed with wisdom as he spoke softly to Niu Jinda.
"But …! Sigh! Forget it, this old man won't meddle in other people's business! "
Niu Jinda still wanted to say something, but when he saw Li Jing shake his head slightly, he sighed softly and said.
Sitting at the head of the table, Li Er was silent for a moment. Finally, he looked at Li Zexuan and said, "Since you insist on not receiving a reward for this matter, then I will not force you. However, you must be rewarded for curing civil and order and eliminating the plague of locusts. Marquis Yong 'an, if you have any reward you want, feel free to tell me!"
Li Er was slightly disappointed that his wishful thinking had failed. However, he did not blame Li Zexuan because he did not want to create a rift between him and Li Zexuan. After all, the files in the Academy only recorded part of Li Zexuan's knowledge. Compared to those inanimate objects, Li Zexuan's value was undoubtedly greater. There was no need to make Li Zexuan feel uncomfortable because of some inanimate objects.
Capable people all had pride. Li Er understood this very well. He could also tolerate such people. That was why Wei Zheng could often point at his nose and scold him in court. If Li Er could tolerate Wei Zheng, then naturally, he could tolerate Li Zexuan.
Standing below, Li Zexuan was slightly stunned. He thought to himself that Li Er had given him a blank check to fill in.
But could he really fill in whatever he wanted to fill in as he pleased?
Obviously not!
Anyone with a bit of intelligence would understand that he could not be too arrogant at this time.
Li Zexuan cupped his hands and said, "Thunder and rain are all thanks to Your Majesty's kindness. From a commoner to today's Marquis of the Tang Empire, it is all thanks to Your Majesty's support. I am already very grateful and dare not ask for more!"
Li Zexuan felt that Li Zexuan was a little strange today. As for what was strange, he could not pinpoint it at the moment. If he really had to pinpoint, it would probably be that he was too "attentive". There were some rewards that Li Zexuan did not want but Li Er insisted on giving them to him. This made Li Zexuan feel that something was wrong, so he might as well reject all the rewards that Li Er gave him!
After all, some of the rewards were hot and he did not lack money or status now. Why should he take the risk?
"Ha! You brat! "
Although Li Er did not understand what Li Zexuan was thinking, he was still angered by Li Zexuan's slippery personality. He pointed at Li Zexuan and said, "You do not dare to ask for extravagant things, but I want to reward you!"
After saying that, he looked at the officials in the hall and said loudly, "Marquis Yong 'an has performed meritorious service by treating the civil officials and eliminating the locusts. I wish to promote him to the Crown Prince's Junior Tutor and bestow Weinan County as his fief. I will also reward him with 100,000 yuan and 1,000 pieces of silk! The children of the Han and Mei villages who participated in the disaster relief will each be rewarded with 10 pieces of silk! Do any of my beloved officials have any objections? "
This time, Li Er only promoted Li Zexuan by one rank, from the original Junior Tutor of the Crown Prince to the current Junior Tutor of the Crown Prince. He still did not promote Li Zexuan's title, because above the Marquis was the Duke. A 15-year-old Duke was too shocking to hear. Unless Li Zexuan had made a great contribution by destroying a country, Li Er would not allow Li Zexuan to be promoted to the position of Duke in such a short period of time.
However, among these rewards, the most important one for Li Zexuan was his fief. Li Er directly bestowed the entire Weinan County to him as his fief. This was not a small amount. One had to know that Weinan County was under the jurisdiction of Chang 'an like Lantian County. Every inch of land in the capital was worth an inch of gold. This was not only the case in modern times, but also in ancient times. Usually, the counties near Chang' an were not directly bestowed to officials. However, Li Zexuan was different. His fief actually covered two counties near Chang 'an!
No one in the current Imperial Court could compare to this kind of favor!
Right now, there was not a single Marquis or Duke who could surpass Li Zexuan in both quantity and quality of fief!
At this moment, the officials in the imperial court couldn't help but look at each other after hearing Li Er's reward for Li Zexuan. This reward was indeed not excessive based on Li Zexuan's contribution in eliminating the locust plague. However, Li Zexuan already had Lantian County as his fief. Wasn't giving him Weinan County a little too much for a Marquis?
"Your Majesty, Marquis Yong 'an's Sky Rooster Brigade has saved countless lives. This subject has no objections to this reward!"
Xiao Yu stepped forward and cupped his hands.
Li Zexuan cured Li Gang. This made Xiao Yu have a good impression of Li Zexuan. Furthermore, Li Zexuan's contribution in eliminating the locust plague was completely worthy of Li Er's reward. What reason did Xiao Yu have to not support this?
"This subject also has no objections!"
Wei Zheng also stepped forward.
"This subject has no objections!"
Finally, all the civil and military officials expressed their support.
Li Er smiled and said, "Good! Then the reward for Marquis Yong 'an is decided! "
Since both the emperor and his subjects had agreed to this reward, what reason did Li Zexuan have to object? He could only bow and say, "This subject Li Zexuan thanks Your Majesty for the reward!"
Li Er nodded and then looked at the officials and said, "Everyone, if you have something to report, please report. If not, the court is dismissed!"
This meant that today's morning court had officially begun!
After a moment of silence, Wei Zheng stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this subject has a report!"
Seeing that it was Wei Zheng, Li Er couldn't help but rub his eyebrows and said, "Dear subject Wei, please speak!"
Wei Zheng didn't hesitate and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, this time, Yanhuang College's secret files were stolen. Although Marquis Yong 'an eventually took them back from Wu Jie, everyone knows how dangerous it was. If this happened again, who can guarantee that those secret files would be recovered? And if those files that recorded the key technologies of Yanhuang College fell into the hands of outsiders, it would be a huge threat to our Great Tang. Thus, this old subject pleads Your Majesty to allow the imperial court to safeguard these secret files for Yanhuang College! "
The moment the old troll said this, the officials immediately broke out into discussion. This was because they had also thought of this problem before!
Li Er raised his eyebrows. Although he had this idea from the beginning, he definitely did not collude with Wei Zheng beforehand. Wei Zheng, who had always opposed him in the past, was secretly helping him today for the first time. This made Li Er feel a little uncomfortable for a moment.
"Your Majesty, Left Minister Wei's words are reasonable!"
Unexpectedly, the one who stood out to support Wei Zheng wasn't from the civil officials camp, but from the military camp, Qiu Xinggong. Under Niu Jinda's furious gaze, Qiu Xinggong clasped his fist and said,
"Your Majesty, Marquis Yong 'an's engineering has indeed created many advanced tools and weapons, which have greatly improved our Great Tang's civil and military affairs. But if these things fall into the hands of outsiders, they will become sharp weapons for them to attack Great Tang! We have to guard against them! Thus, this subject agrees with Left Minister Wei's words! "
"Qiu Xinggong, you …!"
Niu Jinda couldn't hold it in anymore and was about to step forward to reprimand Qiu Xinggong. Fortunately, Li Jing's eyes were sharp and his hands were fast enough to pull him back.
At this moment, a few more officials in the Taiji Palace bowed in agreement.
…
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