Hearing Liu Jin's words, the officials were stunned, even the three scholars, Yang Ling and the others were no exception. But they did not dare to hesitate, hastily they stepped forward and knelt down.
With a complicated expression Liu Jin looked at the six people kneeling in front of him. He raised his voice and said, "Your Majesty is patrolling Datong incognito in order to form an alliance with the Duoyan San Wei to resist the Tatars. Today you have the Personal Army Commander, Wei Wu Bo Yang Ling, who offered advice and personally negotiated with Wuliangha Huadang, to eliminate the threat on the border and establish a marvelous service, to ensure our country's safety and security. His military service is illustrious, for more than a hundred years, our Ming Destiny has not been surpassed by anyone. His military service is rewarded with the title of Wei Wu Marquis, bestowed with the title of Right Pillar State Dragon and Tiger General! "
Immediately there was a commotion in the Palace Hall. Yang Ling's head also buzzed. For a moment he stood there in a daze, forgetting to receive the decree and express his gratitude.
For a young official who was not a relative of the Emperor, only in his twenties, to be bestowed with the title of Marquis and the title of Pillar State Dragon General, although these titles did not have any real power, but this kind of glory and favor was unparalleled. How could an official not be arrogant and negligent when bestowed with a light reward?
Immediately several officials wanted to step forward to stop it, but Liu Jin looked straight ahead and said, "Zhang Yong of the Jingwu Camp has served His Majesty with all his heart and effort, his service cannot go unnoticed. He is bestowed with the Boa Dragon Jade Belt, permitted to ride a horse and sedan chair in the Palace. He is also in charge of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Imperial Service Directorate, and other affairs."
Zhang Yong was pleasantly surprised. Trembling, he kowtowed and said, "Old Slave accepts the decree and expresses his gratitude for the Emperor's grace!"
Liu Jin continued, "Western Editing factory Miao Kui's military governor has failed, he should be punished. But Miao Kui led five thousand light cavalry deep into the barren land to disturb the enemy and relieve our border siege. It can be said that he has worked hard and rendered great service. Zhen is fair in rewarding and punishing him. He is specially bestowed with the Boa Dragon Jade Belt, gold medals and silver coins, permitted to ride a horse and sedan chair in the Palace, his salary is increased to three hundred shi.
Miao Kui put his life on the line and indeed won Emperor Zhengde's favor. He hurriedly kowtowed to express his gratitude.
"During this period of time, the three Grand Secretaries of the Imperial Cabinet were in charge of the affairs of state. They racked their brains and took care of a myriad of affairs every day, so that I had nothing to worry about. Grand Secretary Li Dongyang was specially appointed as Guanglu Daifu and was conferred the title of Taibao. Grand Secretaries Jiao Fang and Yang Tinghe were conferred the title of Zuo Zhuguo.
When the Former Emperor passed away, Li Dongyang was promoted to Grand Preceptor, Tai Fu, and Shangzhu Guo. Now he was conferred the title of Taibao, specially appointed as Guanglu Daifu, Tai Fu, and Taibao, three titles of Shanggong. He was already an extremely high official, reaching the highest position among the civil officials. If he wanted to be promoted, he would have to establish military merit and be promoted.
Hearing the Emperor's imperial edict, Li Dongyang understood the Emperor's intention. This time the Hanlin scholars had overreached themselves. In order to dissuade the Emperor from staying in the Palace for a long time, they did their utmost to suppress his military merit in Datong. Today the young Emperor immediately returned the favor by rewarding the officials who had rendered meritorious service. If the officials he brought with him to Datong all established illustrious military merit, then this time the Emperor's journey to Datong did not need to be questioned.
As for rewarding the three of them, the Emperor was just blocking the mouths of the hundreds of officials. Therefore, Li Dongyang was not happy. Instead, he was worried that the Emperor and the officials would oppose each other tit-for-tat. He was afraid that today's court meeting would be very chaotic. Jiao Fang and Yang Tinghe had already guessed Zhengde's intention, but the honor of being promoted to Shangzhu Guo was too attractive. When they heard it, they were both surprised and happy. They could not help but bow down and express their gratitude.
Hanlin scholar Lu Jin could not hold back anymore. He took advantage of the time when the three scholars stood to the side after receiving the imperial edict and expressing their gratitude. He immediately said, "Your Majesty, the matter of Datong has not been decided yet. How can the title and salary be lightly rewarded? This official asks Your Majesty to take back the edict and proceed with caution. "
Zhengde smiled slightly and said, "Outside Datong, the Tatar barbarians buried more than ten thousand corpses. If you want to talk about a conclusion, when the coffin lid was closed, I had already made a conclusion. Why do I need you to interfere?"
He suddenly stood up. His face was as calm as water. He lightly said, "Minister Lu, are you saying that I, the dignified Emperor of Ming Destiny, have lied and deceived the officials?"
Lu Jin's face turned red. He said, "Your Majesty, please forgive this official. This official did not mean that. This official is saying that the border army has falsely claimed a reward. It has been done before and is extremely bold!" As he said this, he glanced at Yang Ling and said, "This official is afraid that Your Majesty will be deceived."
Zhengde smiled pleasantly and sat back in his chair. "Lu Aiqing is overthinking," he said, "Zhen has seen it with my own eyes in Datong. If someone can obtain more than ten thousand Tatars' corpses to deceive Zhen, then Zhen hopes to be deceived several more times."
He saw that a few more officials stood up and wanted to repeat the scene from yesterday. He could not help but laugh. He raised his voice and said, "My dear ministers, I have another imperial edict to announce, Liu Jin …"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Liu Jin bowed and said in a loud voice, "Zhen and the border troops have seen with our own eyes that the officers and soldiers of the border troops, from top to bottom, are of one heart, valiant in battle, pledging their lives to serve our country. Although the Tatar Iron Cavalry is as valiant as a tiger, they are not the match of our Ming Destiny officers and soldiers.
Datong's deputy general, Wang Shouren, was valiant in battle, wise and resourceful. Under Bai Shan Mountain, he suffered a heavy defeat at Bayan's hands and rendered outstanding service. He was conferred the title of Yi Yong Bo and conferred the title of Zongbing Zongbing. The Great Harmony General Xu Tai led the troops deep into the desert and rendered meritorious service in battle. He was conferred the title of Count An and conferred the rank of Zongbing Zongbing. Datong Thousand Chief Jing Fo 'er was valiant and unparalleled, and could be called an invincible general. He was given the title of You Ji General, and was conferred the title of Ping Lu Bo. Taiyuan Guard's Commander Zhang Yin has rendered meritorious service in battle. He has been promoted to the rank of Commander and has been awarded a gold medal and jade tablet. "
Hearing this, the officials were stunned. When the Hongzhi Emperor was alive, he was very generous to his officials, but he was very careful with his rewards. He did not give titles easily. But this new Emperor was really good. He treated titles and titles as worthless trash. He even gave a small Qianzong the title of Count.
The stunned officials finally came back to their senses. They were excited and wanted to argue, but Emperor Zhengde hit them again with a big stick. Because the soldiers and soldiers of the Capital Camp are not experienced in battle and their fighting power is inferior to that of the border troops, he ordered the twelve battalions of the Capital Camp to take turns to the border troops to increase their fighting power. At the same time, he conscripted the soldiers and soldiers of Liaodong, Xuanfu, Datong and Yansui, four towns into the Capital. They will protect the Capital and train the Capital Army. The Dragon and Tiger General Yang Ling will be in charge of the four towns.
When these words were spoken, even the military officials were stunned. Conscripting the soldiers and soldiers of the four towns into the Capital and at the same time transferring the soldiers and soldiers of the Capital Camp to the border troops was tantamount to dividing the defense power of the Capital into two halves. One half would belong to the twelve battalions, the other half would belong to the border troops of the four towns. And Yang Ling would have the military power to control the security of the Capital.
A powerful figure who controlled the secret agents of the Inner Factory, who controlled the Ming Destiny, the tax and financial power behind the scenes. When he stepped onto the stage, he actually had such a huge military power in his hands. Once he had disloyalty to the Imperial Court, who in the world could control him?
This time, even the generals, who were happy to see the Emperor reward military service, became uneasy. Liu Da Xia knitted his white eyebrows. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. Although he knew that Yang Ling's power was so great that even he, the grand Minister of the Ministry of War and a senior official of four dynasties, could not shake Yang Ling in the slightest. But this was a serious matter. He really could not remain silent. He had to think of a way to stop the Emperor's absurd actions. He looked left and right. His eyes met with those of Hangul, Ma Wensheng and the others. They all secretly nodded their heads.
Yang Ling did not expect that after being provoked by the civil officials yesterday, Zhengde would use such an extreme method today. In his view, this was because he trusted him, but this was like roasting him on a fire. With this power, he could indeed be above all the officials and become the number one official below one, but what foundation did he have? Being young and weak and having an extremely high position as an official was definitely a disaster, not a blessing.
Yang Ling knew the temperament of the little Emperor. He trusted him wholeheartedly. Such an important arrangement was not without the intention of competing with the officials. At this time, he could not go forward to refuse and embarrass him in front of all the officials.
Financial power, military power, and the power to supervise the Inner Factory must be given away. If he monopolized all the power, he would be suspected by all the officials. Yang Ling's mind was spinning like a windmill, trying to think of a way to deal with it. Zhengde seemed to be very satisfied with the situation in the Golden Palace Hall where his decree had suddenly become like boiling water. To be able to make this group of stupid and rotten officials so panic-stricken, Zhengde felt that the resentment in his heart had been greatly vented.
With an incomparably carefree laugh he said, "My dear ministers, zhen has decided, the imperial decree has been issued, there is no need for you to say anything more. Three Grand Scholars, Six Ministries and Nine Ministers must come up with a plan for the mutual market between Duoyan Three Guards and Nuzhen Three Tribes as soon as possible. A man cannot stand without trust, much less a monarch among men? In a month or so, when the spring is warm and the flowers are blooming, zhen wants the mutual market between the city guards, Ming Destiny and the common people of Wuliangha's various tribes will already be in close contact! "
Brushing his sleeve, as if demonstrating, he said, "My dear ministers, what other memorials do you have? Quickly present them. Zhen's Leopard House has been completed. In a few days zhen will move to the Leopard House. If you have any memorials, you can directly present them to the Leopard House."
"What? His Majesty wants to move out of the Imperial Palace and move to the Leopard House? "The group of old officials were bombarded by the Emperor's shocking and wonderful ideas one after another until they were dizzy and dazed.
The civil officials, who originally had the same goal and the same purpose, were divided into several factions. Some were against excessive rewards, some stated that since the founding of the Great Ming, the Capital Camp was tasked with the important task of protecting the Capital, and that it must not be violated, and some requested that the Emperor must not leave the Imperial Palace and move to another courtyard. In this chaos, the effect was greatly reduced, practically no one could form a strong morale. Sitting on top, Emperor Zhengde only needed to perform some Taiji Fist, and he could easily shake off the questioning officials.
The court meeting in the Golden Palace Hall was like a market. Yang Ling suddenly noticed that Liu Jin's lips inadvertently flashed a strange smile, and his heart couldn't help shivering. He suddenly remembered that there were many unreasonable aspects of today's court meeting.
The little Emperor was young and full of vigor. He had made a great contribution, but after returning to the capital, he was suppressed and slandered by hundreds of officials. Under provocation, he wantonly bestowed rewards. Given his temperament, he could do it, but to be able to do it so methodically, to reveal several matters one by one, and to divert the attention of hundreds of officials, this kind of scheming was probably not something that Zhengde could do.
It was Liu Jin! This thought suddenly flashed through Yang Ling's mind.
There were a few close officials who could influence the Emperor. Gu Daeyong was currently currying favor with him, waiting to go to Jiangnan to fish for money. Zhang Yong and Miao Kui had similar temperaments to him. Furthermore, on the way back, they didn't have the opportunity to do this. If it was Liu Jin, given his personality, would he add fuel to the fire and help him grasp more power? The Directorate of Taxation was in his hands, and Liu Jin was still brooding over it. Would he be so selfless?
The power of the Directorate of Taxation originally belonged to the Directorate of Ceremonies, but now it was in his hands. The factory guards who monitored the hundreds of officials were originally under the control of the Directorate of Ceremonies, but his own inner factory was unique, bypassing the Directorate of Ceremonies and directly interacting with the Emperor. The 12 battalions of the capital were also single-handedly controlled by the Directorate of Ceremonies, and now …
In order to take, one must first give. There were no eternal friends in this world. He was a rock in front of Liu Jin. If he didn't move him away, he would always be the Interior Minister in name only. During this time, Liu Jin had gained a firm foothold in the capital. He was beginning to have ideas about him.
Liu Jin saw that the officials were in chaos, but most of their dissatisfaction and fear were directed at Yang Ling. He couldn't help but be secretly happy. That poor scholar indeed had some crooked talents. This plan was wonderful. Yang Ling had gone with the Emperor to Datong and made a great contribution. The Emperor would definitely reward him. Now that he had helped him and raised him to a higher position with more power, he had offended even more people. Hmph, the court and the inner palace were now dissatisfied with Yang Ling. It looked like the day he replaced him was not far away.
The court meeting did not come to a conclusion. A group of rotten scholars argued until the end of the court session. They hurried back home, preparing to light a lamp and boil oil overnight to write a ten-thousand-word memorial. They would argue again tomorrow morning. Yang Ling had an imperial decree to pay respects to the imperial harem, but he was not in a hurry to leave. After the six rewarded officials left the court to receive their rewards, Yang Ling changed into black gauze in the night watch room. Then, under the guidance of a little eunuch, he went straight to the imperial harem.
As he walked past the Baohe Palace, a military officer smiled and bowed. "Ah, so it's Mr. Yang. Lowly official Bu Xingwu congratulates Mr. Yang on your promotion."
Yang Ling raised his head and saw that this person was a military officer of the Imperial Bodyguard. He wore a parrot green official robe, red trousers and black boots. He had a light golden thin face with prominent cheekbones. Under a pair of slanting silkworm eyebrows, his eyes were bright and full of expression. Looking at his official robe, he should be a fourth-ranked officer.
Yang Ling had been promoted to the Right Pillar State's Dragon-Tiger General, a second-ranked officer. Therefore, that person followed the official etiquette and bowed deeply. Yang Ling hurriedly took two steps forward and raised his hand to help him up. He smiled and said, "General, please rise. When meeting in the palace, there is no need to be overly courteous."
The green-robed military officer stood up and smiled modestly. "Everyone in the Imperial Bodyguard has always respected you, Sir. We are also proud that the Imperial Bodyguard was able to produce such an outstanding talent like you. Seeing you, Sir, how could this lowly official not pay his respects?"
Yang Ling's gaze focused as he carefully looked at that military officer. He saw that his expression was somewhat agitated, resentful, and depressed, with hope and expectation in his eyes. Yang Ling finally understood. It seemed that the Imperial Bodyguard had been greatly suppressed by Liu Jin these past few days. It had really aroused the feelings of the entire Imperial Bodyguard to be united against a common enemy.
He smiled and said, "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. It was because of the Imperial Bodyguard that Yang was able to get promoted and achieve what he has today. Although he has now established his own organization, Yang still views the Imperial Bodyguard as a family. Has Sir Mou been well? "
Hearing him say this, Bu Xingwu seemed to let out a sigh of relief. He replied cheerfully, "Sir Mou has been well. Mr. Yang has been on his way to Datong. Sir Mou has always been thinking of you."
Yang Ling smiled faintly and said, "I just returned to the capital yesterday. Yang is worried about his family and has not yet met with his old friends. After I leave the palace, I will go and visit Brother Mou first."
Bu Xingwu's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise. He hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Yes, yes. Sir, you are busy with official business. This lowly official will not disturb you any further. Please."
Yang Ling cupped his hands in return. Their gazes met tacitly, and then they lightly walked past him, heading straight for the back of the palace. Today, the three empresses had summoned him, so he was definitely going to be reprimanded. Yang Ling had originally been a bit worried, but after putting aside her identity as the empress and thinking about Zhengde's grandmother, mother, and wife, Yang Ling had figured out what they were thinking.
With his ability to persuade people with a glib tongue, he had already thought of a way to deal with it. There was nothing to worry about. Today, Zhengde had been made a Marquis and promoted. He had doubts about Liu Jin in his heart, so he had no time to consider these problems.
Zhengde's Eight Tigers originally did not have great ambitions, but people's greed would change as their status rose. Yang Ling had never thought of them as demons or ghosts, nor did he think of them as treacherous people who only thought about harming others. However, he also did not overestimate their character and virtue.
The officials of the Imperial Court were all moral and ethical. How many of them would be able to refrain from suppressing the stumbling blocks in front of their official careers? Even Liu Jian, Xie Qian, and Hangul, those loyal and upright officials, did not spare any effort to suppress their deputy, Jiao Fang, who always overstepped their ranks to submit memorials and wanted to make a name for herself. Not to mention Liu Jin, who did not have much of a personal virtue.
Yang Ling had originally wanted to use the huge benefits of opening up the sea ban to attract Liu Jin and temporarily suppress the potential conflict between them. Unfortunately, Liu Jin, as the Internal Minister, was clearly not willing to serve him at his beck and call. In particular, most of his power had been stripped from the Ceremony Directorate, which had even more buried the line of fire that would sooner or later fight in the open and in the shadows between the two of them. Now … he could not wait.
When Yang Ling thought of this, he could not help but sigh with a heavy heart. Standing at the peak of power, there was a risk of falling from the horse if one was not careful. If someone attacked him in the open and in the shadows, the danger would be far greater than an enemy in the open. But how could it be so easy to deal with Liu Jin? The Emperor in the middle was his umbrella of protection, but was he not also Liu Jin's umbrella of protection?
Especially now. If it was said that in the past, in the eyes of the loyal officials, he was only a sycophantic official who guided the Emperor on a tour. Now, in their hearts, he was a deeply feared traitor. If he wanted to deal with Liu Jin and do what he really wanted to do, he had to withdraw from the heart of the storm and could not be entangled in the power struggle. But would Zhengde be willing to do that? What should he do? How could he dispel the suspicions of the officials?
Frowning slightly, Yang Ling walked slowly with his hands behind his back. Suddenly, someone in front of him laughed and said, "Tsk, tsk, tsk. The Mighty Marquis is in such a good mood. His footsteps are so calm and straight as if he is taking a stroll in the courtyard. If I had known that you, the Great Marquis Yang, would be so calm and composed, this Princess would not have to rush over to protect you."
Yang Ling looked up and saw two beautiful girls in snow-white silk clothes standing in front of him with a smile. Their snow-white sleeves were soft and narrow, but they were close to their bodies. Not a speck of dust could be seen, but the beautiful faces of the people in the clothes were like snow, bright and clear.
One of the girls was tall and the other was short. The tall one was slender and elegant, with a slender waist and round breasts, and the short one was petite and exquisite. Her oval face was pleasing to the eye, and there was a hint of youthfulness and innocence. Both of them had soft and beautiful hair tied up, which made their necks look even more beautiful and slender.
Yang Ling was shocked and immediately rushed forward a few steps. He bowed and said, "This subject, Yang Ling, greets Your Highness the Eldest Princess and Your Highness the Princess Yongchun!"
Princess Yongfu and he had not seen each other for many days, so the hazy feelings of a young girl in her heart had faded a little. Seeing him, she was less restrained, and more amiable and free. She smiled and said, "You may rise. Congratulations to Mr. Yang for being promoted to the rank of Marquis."
Princess Yongchun giggled and interrupted, "It's just that this newly promoted Marquis is about to be interrogated by the Grand Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, and the Empress. His face will be covered in dirt."
Yang Ling saw that the sleeves of this pair of beautiful sisters were tight, and the legs of their pants were also tight, revealing the beautiful and moving curves of their calves. He guessed that they were not wearing palace attire, so they must have just played some kind of game.
Sure enough, Princess Yongchun said with a smile, "This princess was just playing cuju with my sister, and then ran over to escort you. How are you going to thank us?"
Yang Ling did not expect that Emperor Zhengde had boasted so much in the imperial edict the day before, that the so-called 'bodyguard' was actually to send two younger sisters to help him. This was really a case of 'one's mouth has no hair, one's work is not reliable'. With three tigresses getting angry, what good would this little girl do?
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he asked, "This subject thanks the two princesses for their help. I wonder how the little princess wants this subject to thank us?"
Yongchun clapped her hands and said with a smile, "That's simple. I heard that Imperial Brother wants to move to the leopard house. There are many lions and tigers there. Imperial Brother has never taken us out to play. If you can persuade Imperial Brother to let us go out to play, then that will be a thank-you gift."
Yang Ling immediately wanted to shake his head. Wasn't this a joke? The young ladies of ordinary large families did not even take a step out of the main gate. Abducting a princess out of the palace? Then wouldn't the hundreds of officials …
Yang Ling's mind flashed, and he suddenly thought of a good way to protect himself. He smiled cheerfully and said, "A real man's promise is worth a thousand gold. It's a deal!"
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