Xie Ming

As the whip cracked, a sliver of morning light quietly seeped into the palace from outside, casting long shadows of the cabinet ministers and other officials prostrate on the ground onto the red steps.

At this moment, an official from the Court of State Ceremonial stood beside the throne, and the inner attendant spoke, discussing matters with the magistrate.

"Vice Minister of War, Ma Minglu, step forward to report on matters."

As the chanting began, Minglu stepped forward from the ranks, bowed, and presented the memorial.

"Your subject has something to report."

“In recent months, our Ming army has achieved successive victories in Henan and Huaibei.”

"In Southern Zhili, there was also a force led by Li Huchen, which greatly defeated the enemy forces under Bahana and annihilated all the enemy soldiers."

"Thanks to His Majesty's grace, the soldiers are willing to risk their lives."

"This is truly a blessing for our Great Ming Dynasty."

"Now, after careful inspection and verification, thirty-five generals have been listed as meritorious generals."

"We should commend and reward those who have made outstanding contributions to boost morale."

"I present the list of names to Your Majesty for your decision."

After speaking, he set aside his official tablet, presented a memorial with both hands, and bowed to await inspection.

Without lingering, the official from the Court of State Ceremonial descended the steps to retrieve the document.

Behind the imperial desk, at this moment, Consort Hui, Shen Yuzhen, was holding the Ming Emperor Zhu Shaotan, who was in a bright yellow swaddling cloth.

Sitting close together, Empress Dowager Chen Wanxuan nervously glanced at the chief eunuch, Xiao Chunzi.

Xiao Chunzi Minghui, without needing to look too closely, simply lowered his eyes and took the folded paper from the official of the Court of State Ceremonies. He then carried it over his head with both hands, his steps light and silent, his knees slightly bent, and walked to the side of the imperial desk.

"Oh, I see."

"Please have Xiao Yuanfu review this and consider how to proceed."

The Empress Dowager glanced at the letter, only glancing at the handwriting of the compromise. She dared not be too involved in anything and hurriedly followed the procedures. When she read Xiao Chu's words, she issued the order.

After he finished speaking, the eunuch Xiao Chunzi took a half step back and returned along the same route to escort the official from the Court of State Ceremonies directly to Xiao Langhuai at the front of the steps.

At this moment, Xiao Jingchuan stood upright, wearing a scarlet robe with a large single flower, a jade belt, and black boots.

Holding an ivory tablet, he changed its shape and brought it over.

A short, jet-black mustache adorned his lips, while a beard continued to grow under his chin, giving rise to a slightly upturned goatee.

His entire face gained a more composed and dignified air.

"Uh"

As he took the document and began to read it, his eyebrows suddenly twitched slightly. He tried his best to hide his surprise and glanced back at Ma Minglu, who was kneeling. Clearly, he was puzzled.

"Your Majesty, my ministers, in my opinion, this memorial may be temporarily kept in the palace."

"Currently, the situation north of the Yangtze River remains unresolved, and battles continue to occur frequently."

"I'm afraid that if the statistics and verification can't be completed in time, it will be a bad thing."

"As the military commander of the entire country, I have always been cautious and exercised discretion in rewarding and punishing soldiers, and I would never dare to claim credit or reward unjustly."

"Moreover, the end of the year is just around the corner."

"The New Year is approaching, and in a couple of days, it will be sealed off again."

"Let's put this list aside for now."

"It's not too late to reconsider after the New Year when all the government offices have resumed their duties."

"At that time, even if there are bestowals, it will be easy to raise funds and allocate them."

Xiao Yuanfu's words were grand and dignified, but his advice was ambiguous and clearly a matter of deliberation before the event.

The reason for this is that Minglu had actually gone to the Xiao residence last night to carefully consider and verify the list of names in the memorial.

The ranking of generals and commanders, their rewards and promotions, and the distinctions between high and low ranks were all carefully considered.

However, what puzzled Xiao was that when he saw this memorial again today, the number of officials requesting rewards for their merits had increased significantly, and the promotions of the top officials seemed excessive and unreasonable.

Thinking back to what Qiu Zhizhong and Yao Zuyin had said before, it was not advisable to grant official titles and ranks too early while the Northern Expedition was still ongoing, lest it breed laziness.

Xiao Sui understood this meaning and exercised great restraint.

However, it is clear that the text presented in this hall today is not the same as the text presented yesterday.

That's why Xiao was so surprised.

However, before he could even think of it, he glanced at Minglu and exchanged a knowing look; sure enough, something fishy had happened.

Could it be that in the short time it took to get up this morning, the Ministry of War had some kind of trickery involved?

It's all a mess; it's truly difficult to guard against everything.

In the hall, officials were gathered, and the court was in the midst of its formal discussions. For the time being, Xiao Yuanfu could not say much, and could only wait until after the proceedings to investigate further. Thus, he was able to voice his intention to reject the detention order.

However, now that the matter has been brought up, Xiao Yuanfu intends to let it go and move on.

Within the halls of power, how turbulent the undercurrents are!

There were other people around, but they insisted on stirring things up, which unexpectedly went as Xiao wished.

"Heh, I say, Duke Jingguo, what you're saying doesn't sound right, does it?"

Sure enough, as soon as Xiao Jingchuan finished speaking, the old minister Li Shichun, who was standing on the other side, took the lead in launching an attack and had something to refute.

"How so?"

"It's Chinese New Year, and the soldiers on the front lines have worked hard all year round, through spring and winter."

"Fighting in the south and north, it's not easy at all throughout the year."

“I, Li Shichun, am a civil official and have never fought on the battlefield.”

"However, the people I admire most in my life are generals and soldiers like you who are loyal to the country."

"Scholars die for their principles, warriors die in battle."

"Once you're on the battlefield, you're risking your life, fighting tooth and nail."

"It's not like when the year is almost over, and people should be rewarded for their merits, but instead, someone hesitates and plots, keeping the memorial requesting an official appointment hidden in their hands."

"It's New Year's here. In the army, those comrades-in-arms are all people who have made great contributions to our Great Ming Dynasty."

"You don't care how they're supposed to get through the New Year?!"

"The sooner the reward is given, the happier everyone will be, right?"

They really love watching the drama unfold.

These pedantic people from the original Northern school, instead of getting involved in other matters, insist on stirring up trouble and creating entanglements.

It sounds nice to say that they consider themselves upright and outspoken, offering honest advice and criticism.

But deep down he still harbored ambitions of power and profit.

At this moment, seeing the situation was dire, Xiao glanced at him and gritted his teeth, about to retort and refute.

Unexpectedly, Zhizhong stepped forward to speak in his defense, stealing the spotlight.

“That is incorrect.” This is exactly what Li Shichun said.

"Grand Secretary Li, have you not heard that weapons are the most important instruments of the state?"

"We have always been cautious and respectful towards the military affairs of the imperial court."

"How can we handle this so carelessly, treating it like a child's game?"

"Lord Jing was personally appointed by the late emperor as the Grand Commander of all the armies in the land."

"Military and military affairs have always been decided by other departments on their own."

“You are ignorant of military affairs, so you should not offer such a rebuttal.”

Qiu Zhizhong is eloquent and sharp-tongued, making him a formidable debater.

"Besides, the sealing period is just around the corner."

"Such an important matter, once it is sent out from here, will be forwarded to various places north of Nanjing, and then we will receive a reply and a letter of thanks. How can we possibly keep up with the time?"

"Don't let the imperial decree be issued hastily and carelessly, and the rewards go through various levels of government but then never be issued."

"You're so quick to speak, it's satisfying."

"When a matter is delegated to lower levels, and government offices at all levels close down, what should be done?"

"The imperial court is a solemn and orderly place where things are handled properly and fairly."

"There has never been a precedent of granting only half a title and delaying the process."

"Such actions will not only throw the subordinate government offices into chaos, but what will the soldiers fighting on the front lines think?"

"What kind of situation is this? Who knows what kind of suspicions people will have about it?"

"Since you have made a contribution, you must be rewarded accordingly."

"However, as I said before, we must handle this with utmost caution."

"Never act with good intentions but end up doing bad things."

"If we do that, it will only arouse suspicion and doubt. That involves hundreds of thousands of troops. We must not joke about this matter. The consequences would be dire."

(End of this chapter)