Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World.

Chapter 88 Rewarding Meritorious Service!

It was the end of May in the eighth year of the Jiayou era.

Hezhou, Military Council Hall.

Transport Commissioner and Pacification Commissioner Jiang Zhao sat in the main seat, holding a brocade cloth, and glanced at it indifferently.

The so-called Xuanfu Shi (宣抚使) means to announce the imperial decree, appease the military and civilians, and take charge of military and political affairs.

This official position was not a permanent government post, but a temporary appointment, and it was an official position without rank.

Generally speaking, it was only during special periods such as war, famine, or rebellion that an emperor would personally appoint someone to oversee the affairs of a region.

More than 20 years ago, Han Zhang had held this official position, overseeing affairs on the northwestern frontier and joining forces with Fan Zhongyan to resist the invasion of the Western Xia.

For Jiang Zhao, this assignment brought more prestige than anything else.

Last year, the initial expansion and development went smoothly. With the support of the six Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet, it was decided that the Duke of Yingguo, the Marquis of Ningyuan, and the Marquis of Zhongjing would support the frontier, with Jiang Zhao as the leader.

Civil servants support each other, and civil servants trust each other.

This decision is perfectly justifiable.

However, the Duke of Yingguo, Zhang Fu, the Marquis of Ningyuan, Gu Yankai, and the Marquis of Zhongjing, Zheng Shun, were all first-class nobles with real power.

In terms of official rank, all three of them held the second rank, which was above Jiang Zhao.

It has a negative impact when someone of lower rank leads someone of higher rank.

At the same time, it could also make the three main military commanders lose face.

As a result, Jiang Zhao was given the additional post of Pacification Commissioner, which nominally put him in charge of all frontier affairs.

Inside the military council hall, civil and military officials, starting with Jiang Zhao, sat on the left and right respectively.

On the civil service side, the main figures were Wang Shao, Zhang Heng, Xue Xiang, Shen Kuo, and Jiang Zhiqi, with some other nobodies of the sixth or seventh rank.

Since the newly expanded frontier has not yet been assigned to any territory, it is temporarily assumed that the Shaanxi Circuit will govern it.

Zhang Heng served as the Chief Clerk of the Ever-Normal Granary Office of Shaanxi Circuit, whose responsibilities included tea and salt trade.

Therefore, Jiang Zhao entrusted him with the responsibility of maintaining and managing the tea-horse trade and the salt-horse trade.

On the military side, the main generals were Duke Zhang Fu of Yingguo, Marquis Gu Yankai of Ningyuan, Marquis Zheng Shun of Zhongjing, junior general Gu Tingye, and Zhong E, with some minor generals as well.

Among them, Zhong E was the son of the famous general Zhong Shiheng.

Zhong Shiheng was the founder of the Zhong Family Army.

More than 20 years ago, Han Zhang served as the Pacification Commissioner and had long assisted Zhong Shiheng in resisting the Western Xia.

During the expansion of the territory, Zhong E used Han Zhang's connections to join Jiang Zhao's army as a general.

Jiang Zhao, sitting in the main seat, patted the brocade cloth, and dozens of people turned their attention to him.

"Expanding territory has always been a great achievement."

Jiang Zhao looked at the dozens of officials and said in a deep voice, "It has taken two years to expand our territory to seven prefectures, totaling two thousand li. Such achievements deserve a great reward."

"Report all the achievements of your subordinates and yourselves. I will do my utmost to secure the rewards that I deserve."

Since capturing Lanzhou and Lezhou in February, the surrounding armies have been building fortifications and implementing a policy of land reclamation.

Even now, the Western Xia regime is unstable and dares not make any rash moves.

The Tibetan Empire was internally divided and was already in decline.

With 200,000 soldiers stockpiled, the overall situation was already settled.

Thus, it came time to determine who would reward those who had contributed.

Jiang Zhao, as the Pacification Commissioner, was in charge of everything. Whoever made a contribution would have their merits attributed to him, and his achievements were undoubtedly remarkable.

The achievements of the soldiers below are not difficult to count.

Military judges, clerks, and household affairs officers were all responsible for compiling statistics on soldiers' military achievements.

If the exact number of people beheaded is verified and the discrepancies are not significant, then the verdict is accepted.

Occasionally, a soldier who commits a ten-man kill will be given special attention by the military commander, who will then promote him to a higher position.

The achievements of the commander are beyond doubt, and the achievements of the soldiers are obvious, but the achievements of the generals under his command are not so clear.

As a general, apart from actions like "beheading," "first to scale the walls," "breaking into enemy lines," and "surprise attack," which are particularly easy to demonstrate a general's ability to lead troops, there is a lot of room for debate regarding other achievements.

Jiang Zhao glanced at everyone, finally looking at Wang Shao: "Zi Chun formed a new army, launched a surprise attack on Dingqiang City, persuaded Yu Kelong to surrender, and participated in expanding the territory of Hezhou, Taozhou, Lanzhou, and Lezhou. Can he be credited with the greatest merit?"

Wang Shao was present in four of the seven prefectures he expanded the territory to.

Generally speaking, the head coach does not interfere with the ranking of subordinates' achievements.

Wang Shao's achievements naturally deserve the highest honor below the commander-in-chief. "Such achievements are indeed a first-rate merit," Gu Tingye cupped his hands in agreement.

The surprise attack alone was enough to demonstrate Wang Shao's military prowess.

It was Wang Shao who initially proposed this idea.

The remaining dozens of officials nodded in unison.

Wang Shao's military achievements were indeed quite outstanding.

"In that case, Zichun is the one who has made the greatest contribution."

A single word can define it.

In a corner of the hall, Zhang Zai picked up his pen to record.

These are all things that need to be submitted, and they are also the most important reference for determining merits and rewards.

“Zhong Huai formed a new army, feigned an attack on the market city, persuaded Yu Kelong to surrender, stabilized Hezhou, and ambushed and annihilated the Tibetan elite troops.”

"British officials participated in the conquest of Minzhou, Diezhou, and Dangzhou."

"The Marquis of Ningyuan participated in stabilizing Hezhou."

"The Marquis of Zhongjing participated in the capture of Lanzhou and Lezhou."

Jiang Zhao listed the military achievements of several people in succession, and then pondered for a moment before saying, "Duke of Yingguo, Zhonghuai, Marquis Zhongjing, Marquis Ningyuan. How about this order?"

Generally speaking, a commander-in-chief can make decisions independently.

However, the matter of distributing rewards still needs to be discussed to avoid any omissions.

Led by Duke Zhang Fu of England, the generals exchanged glances and nodded in unison.

"Very good!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Tingye secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

A spoiled brat has risen to prominence!

"Ah."

Jiang Zhao nodded slightly and looked towards the civil officials.

Apart from Wang Shao, the other civil officials did not have any outstanding achievements.

In comparison, scholars primarily focused on the mobilization of grain and supplies.

In terms of merit, it is relatively vague.

Fortunately, when civil officials rewarded meritorious service, the "first merit" was not considered.

When military officers are rewarded for their merits, the difference in reward can be quite significant, even if the officer is ranked just one rank higher.

On the civil service side, since there were no outstanding achievements, there was actually little difference in rewards.

Ultimately, there were only four main civil officials.

"Xue Xiang, Shen Kuo, Zhang Heng, and Jiang Zhiqi. The four of you should discuss among yourselves and agree on an undisputed order. As for the civil officials, please list out exactly what they have done."

"Yes." The four bowed in unison.

Jiang Zhao hesitated for a moment, then looked toward the generals.

"In this reward ceremony, those who have made great contributions will accompany me to the capital. However, the border regions are volatile and must be guarded; therefore, someone needs to be stationed there. Who is suitable?"

As the Pacification Commissioner, Jiang Zhao would certainly have to go to the capital to reward those who had rendered meritorious service.

In particular, how to deal with the seven prefectures of Xihe is the real focus of rewarding those who have made contributions.

(As shown in the picture: Xihe opened up the border, expanding the territory by two thousand li, almost separating the Tubo and Western Xia)

"I, Zhang, am willing to remain," said Duke Zhang Fu of England, bowing respectfully.

In the world, there are very few people who have the ability to manage 200,000 soldiers.

He is one of them!

"In that case, I'll have to trouble you, General Duke of Ying!" Jiang Zhao nodded.

As he spoke, Jiang Zhao looked down and said, "The battle merit statistics must be compiled quickly, and the news must be relayed to the soldiers to stabilize morale."

"promise!"

Dozens of people bowed in unison.

(End of this chapter)