At the end of February of the second year of Longwu, the Daqin Minister of War, Han Sheng, arrived at Bozhou with the money, goods, and imperial edicts bestowed by the Emperor to the soldiers who had rendered meritorious service.
At this moment, the Bozhou army had already been distributed. Once the Emperor's orders arrived, they could move to a new base to be stationed.
Everyone eagerly awaited the Emperor's imperial edicts for rewards.
For Han Qian, this was not necessarily a bad job.
Since the establishment of the Daqin, the original six ministries had been split and reorganized. A large number of departments were separated from the original six ministries and became independent departments. The Ministry of War was divided into several parts.
Now, the most important department was the staff department of the former Minister of War, Liu Huangshang. It was not a simple department that only had the authority to investigate, fill in information, arrange promotions according to the Emperor's orders, and issue orders.
The Minister of War of the Daming Dynasty had a high position and power. The Minister of War of the Daqin Dynasty was basically a data manager. He had no real power at all. He could still use the power of the previous dynasty to put on a show. It was hard to say what the Minister of War would be like in the future.
But Han Sheng was not worried. As one of the people who bet on the treasures, they had been appointed by the new dynasty after abandoning the previous dynasty.
He was not worried about other things. Han Sheng knew very well that the Emperor had sent him to arrange the soldiers' rewards to gain experience and fame for him to lay the foundation for entering the Cabinet.
By the same token, Xu Guangqi had been sent out to take care of the locusts in order to lay the foundation for Xu Guangqi to enter the Imperial Cabinet. Right now, there were only three Cabinet Ministers, which was far from enough to satisfy the Emperor's needs. The Emperor believed that he needed at least seven Cabinet Ministers to meet the daily needs of Great Qin.
The Emperor also complained that he was now shouldering the work of the other four ministers. He did not treat the Emperor as the Emperor. If the Emperor did everything, what was the point of having ministers?
But Han Sheng was not a fool. He understood the Emperor's leisurely and contented mind. He knew the Emperor's happy mood when he said such words. Naturally, he did not dare to take it seriously.
However, he also knew that it was true that the Emperor wanted him to enter the Cabinet after he gained experience. The Emperor did indeed need more intelligent and capable helpers to handle government affairs. After the scale of the central government expanded, the amount of work suddenly increased. Han Sheng himself had clearly discovered this.
Now, all the ministers had the possibility of entering the Cabinet as ministers in the future. Everyone was on the same starting line and competing fairly. However, if the Emperor favored someone and gave that person the opportunity to go out and gain experience, no one else could be envious.
It felt good to be looked upon favorably by the emperor.
At least, that was what Han Qian thought.
The reward given to the 160,000 soldiers and a large group of chieftains was also a test given to him by the Emperor. He had to arrange everything carefully, then preside over the change of location for the army, build up the local defenses, and then lay the foundation for the next phase of the plan. This was Han Sheng's specific mission.
It would take at least two or three months to complete.
Han Sheng arrived at Bozhou at the end of February. Accompanying him were the rewards from the Emperor. The spoils seized from the Sea Dragon Fleet had basically been registered and sent to the capital to be presented to the Emperor. Other than Qi Dayong, who had been transferred back, only Commander-in-Chief Zheng Ying and six other generals of the main force had to return to the capital with Han Sheng after the war.
Now, Qi Dayong was already on his way back to the capital. His rewards would be given to him by the Emperor in the capital. The rewards here belonged to the former Black Tortoise Camp army.
Zheng Ying and the others had been anxiously waiting for Han Sheng. Of course, the chieftains were even more anxious than Zheng Ying and the others.
However, when Zheng Ying arrived at Bozhou, it was in the afternoon. After exchanging greetings with the generals, Han Sheng expressed that he was very tired from the journey. Therefore, he announced that he would bathe and change his clothes the next morning and set up the incense table before reading the imperial edict.
No one found it strange. In the evening, a banquet was held to welcome Han Sheng. The soldiers were arranged to unload the Emperor's rewards, and then they ate and drank.
Song Seong-eun, An Jiangchen, and the others had something on their minds. They used the convenience of their status to toast Han Sheng and tried to get close to him, hoping to get some inside information. However, after three rounds of drinking, Han Sheng expressed that he was drunk and dizzy, so he went back to the camp to rest.
The chieftains looked at each other in dismay. On the contrary, the generals enthusiastically pulled the chieftains over and gave them a fervent drink. Basically, they were all drunk.
Zheng Ying announced that the banquet was over. Everyone went back to the camp to rest. After arranging for the night patrol, Zheng Ying also returned to his own tent and turned off the lights to rest.
More than two hours later, Zheng Ying changed his clothes. Led by two bodyguards, he quietly snuck into Han Sheng's tent.
At this moment, Han Sheng was sitting on the bed, waiting for Zheng Ying's arrival.
"Minister Han, I haven't come too late, have I?"
Zheng Ying smiled and cupped his hands at Han Sheng. Han Sheng also stood up and returned the greeting. He smiled and said, "It's not too late. However, if it were any later, I would have fainted as well. I am really not very good at drinking, and those tribe leaders were really anxious to persuade me."
"With something on their minds, they were naturally anxious to persuade me. Those chieftains have been restless these past few days, wondering how Bozhou will be handled."
Zheng Ying sneered. "How would they know that His Majesty has already made arrangements?"
Han Sheng also smiled and said, "His Majesty has naturally made arrangements, but all of this needs time to be arranged. Has the place been arranged? Can we start at any time? "
Zheng Ying nodded.
"Yes, we can start at any time. Once the bestowal is over, the largest piece will be given to Song Seong-eun and An Jiangchen will be rewarded with items. The five ministries and seven families will only be rewarded with their ancestral lands and some money. Then everything will proceed smoothly according to plan. Within two or three years, the southwest will not have a day of peace."
Han Sheng nodded, his eyes shining.
"When they are at their weakest from internal friction, that will be the time for us to act. His Majesty is wise and farsighted. He began making arrangements more than two years ago. This way, we will be able to accomplish our goal. At that time, the merit will not be any less than this time."
Zheng Ying hurriedly waved his hand. "The merit belongs to His Majesty. How could we dare to covet it?"
Han Sheng also understood. "Yes, it is all His Majesty's."
The two looked at each other and smiled.
"All right, let's not talk about anything else. Zheng Shuai also wants to know how His Majesty has arranged Black Tortoise Camp, right? Please sit, we will slowly talk. "
Zheng Ying's expression turned solemn as he sat down with Han Sheng: "May I ask Commander Han to inform me if this matter has already been decided? How has His Majesty arranged for us? The news of the reshuffling of the seven battalions has reached our ears for quite some time now. How has His Majesty arranged for us?"
Just now, Han Sheng had given Zheng Ying a meaningful glance, and Zheng Ying had made some arrangements. Now, a secret agent had come here in the middle of the night, acting like a secret agent, precisely to find out how the Emperor had arranged for the reorganization of the seven camps. This was the most important thing to Zheng Ying and the others.
Han Sheng nodded.
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