Chapter 419: Official announcement of the emperor's husband, promotion to the third rank

Chapter 419: Official announcement of the emperor's husband, promotion to the third rank

Chapter 419: Official announcement of the emperor's husband, promotion to the third rank (5k)

Inside the Fengtian Hall, as the empress spoke, the entire banquet hall fell into a tense atmosphere.

Xu Zhenguan stretched out his hand, and Mochou beside him understood what he meant and handed a letter to the empress.

Then, the female emperor on the throne looked down, pinched the edge of the memorial with her fingers, and said:

"This is the memorial sent back to the capital by Hu Ting Doctor Feng Ju a few days ago. It is about the opening of the new market. In the past few months, the court has obtained a considerable amount of silver through the new market, and this is just the beginning.

According to the amount submitted by Feng Ju, the first batch of silver sent from Hu Ting by the beginning of spring will be at least one million taels. And after the beginning of spring, when trade with the Western Regions expands, this amount will increase.”

hiss……

Upon hearing this, except for the Minister of Revenue, the Vice Minister, Dong Xuan and a few other people who knew the truth, all the other ministers in the hall showed surprised expressions.

Including Li Yanfu, everyone's breathing was slightly tight.

This money-making speed is much higher than the court had previously guessed and expected.

Of course, the most crucial thing is that this means that the "opening of the market" strategy was a great success. After the court's fiscal deficit crisis, it finally found hope to break free from the quagmire and get rid of the predicament.

"This one," the empress picked up the second memorial without opening it, and said:

"This is the initial result of the Ministry of Personnel's change to the performance evaluation system. The savings in salary expenses from the whole dynasty, just by removing redundant officials, is already an astonishing figure."

After increasing revenue, the next step is to cut costs.

Li Yanfu, the Minister of Personnel, knew this best and was not surprised.

The empress still did not stop, but picked up the remaining memorials in her hand one by one, all of which were positive signals related to the new policy.

Zhao Du'an was greatly surprised to learn that Feng Ju was not the only local official who had delivered the good news as a gift to the empress during the Spring Festival.

Wait for the empress to finish telling the story one by one.

The Minister of Rites took the lead and suddenly clasped his hands and shouted:
"Your Majesty is wise and wise, may God bless the Yu Kingdom!"

The other ministers suddenly woke up as if from a dream and began to flatter and congratulate him.

It is obvious that these memorials in the empress's hands greatly boosted the morale of her ministers.

In the past two or three years, the entire court has been in turmoil, with bad things happening all the time and good things being rare.

Now, all the hard work has finally paid off. The empty treasury has been filled, the court has an endless supply of coin-making machines, the civil service has been cleaned up, and the vacant official positions have been given to hungry scholars and local officials as a path to promotion.

If we add to that the news that Cao Mao had retired from the army and joined Duke Tang some time ago, it can be said that things are getting better and better, as if the spring has come and the Yu Kingdom is in full swing and everything is new.

The ministers in the palace could not hide their emotions. When they were officials in the court before, they were worried and pessimistic about how many years the empress could keep the throne.

But now, their attitude has changed, and they truly support and approve of the idea of ​​this female emperor ruling.

Xu Zhenguan threw the memorial on the table and waited for the ministers to finish their congratulations before he slowly said:
"The court has been able to achieve so many changes, but it is not all my own work, but the result of the joint efforts of all the people in the court. Among all the ministers, if I were to ask who surprised me the most, it would undoubtedly be Lord Zhao."

brush--

In an instant, a series of gazes were like spotlights, shining on the confused Zhao Duan.

No, what do you want to do? Shouldn’t you inform us in advance about the company’s annual meeting and the praises? I haven’t even prepared a speech to accept the award... Zhao Duan complained in his heart, but still stood up and bowed, wanting to say something.

"Zhao Qing, you don't have to speak."

The empress glanced at him, blocked his way again, and continued with emotion:

"Zhao Qing's contribution to the new policy was first to offer advice in Xiuwenguan, and then to the Taicang silver mine case and the Huting market opening. For this, he was assassinated and seriously injured...

Zhao Qing's achievements include eradicating the rebel party, removing all the rebels in the capital, uncovering the ghosts in the imperial court, and arresting the rebels of the Kuangfu Society and Tiangang...

Zhao Qing's contribution is to enhance the prestige of our country, discuss learning in Zhengyang, debate scriptures in the Western Regions, enhance the prestige of our Yu country, and intimidate the four barbarians..."

Tsk, it's becoming more and more like an annual meeting report. If a promotional video with music is played on the projector at this time, it will be more appropriate... So, should we give out awards next...

Zhao Duan was lost in thought and finally realized that Zhenbao had prepared a surprise for him.

Sure enough, after the empress finished speaking, she paused and then announced:
"With all these achievements, it would be incomprehensible if they were not rewarded. Therefore, Zhao Duan, the deputy commander of the Divine Machine Battalion, is now named the 'Grand Prince's Guardian'. Do you have any objections?"

Conferred the title of Shao Bao!

Even though the ministers were mentally prepared, they still couldn't hide their surprise when they heard about this reward.

Zhao Duan was also stunned.

The Prince's Guardian! ?
Of course, he knew that this official position was not a real power position, but rather an honorary title, enjoying the same treatment as other officials.

Throughout the dynasties, important officials who had made contributions would be rewarded with titles such as "Three Masters" and "Three Young Masters".

Zhuang Xiaocheng’s Taifu…was one of the “Three Teachers of the Crown Prince” and was extremely respected, being of the second rank.

After the empress ascended the throne, Dong Xuan was promoted to the imperial teacher and the first rank.

The "Three Young Masters of the Crown Prince", namely, Junior Tutor, Junior Preceptor, Junior Protector... were the "deputies" of the three masters, and the Yu State was in the third rank.

In other words, Zhao Duan was directly promoted from a fourth-rank military general to the third-rank.

Although it seems to be only two steps, it is like a natural chasm.

As for why he was given the title of "Shao Bao", it is easy to understand. According to the rules, Shao Shi and Shao Fu must both be powerful ministers.

Only the threshold for the position of Junior Guardian was lenient and suitable for him.

but……

Compared to the promotion to the third rank, what really confused all the officials in the court, including Zhao Duan, was:
"The Crown Prince's Guardian...but the State of Yu has no Crown Prince now..."

After the old emperor passed away, the original crown prince died, and after the empress ascended the throne, the East Palace was left vacant.

The empress doesn’t even have a formal emperor consort, let alone a son-in-law... What kind of prince’s guardian is this?

"No... I am happy with the treatment of a third-rank official, but the Crown Prince is nowhere to be seen, so who can I protect..."

Zhao Duan had a lot to complain about.

Then, he suddenly realized something: Was there any other meaning behind Zhenbao's appointment of him as the Prince's Guardian at this time?
For example...

Official announcement?

You know, his status as a mistress has never been publicly acknowledged...

"Mr. Zhao? What are you still standing there for? Why don't you come over to receive the imperial edict?" Xu Zhenguan suddenly looked at him with a smile, holding up the yellow scroll of imperial edict in his hand.

Zhao Duan was startled, stepped out of the line, and walked closer in full view of everyone:

"Your Majesty, please accept the order and thank me!"

He raised his hands, but instead of receiving an imperial edict, he touched a smooth, delicate hand.

"Please take a seat." The empress said, and pulled Zhao Duan to sit beside Yu Mochou under her extremely resentful gaze.

The throne is large, and can accommodate two people comfortably.

When this scene fell into the eyes of the ministers, even the most dull-witted ones realized the message conveyed by the empress.

Official announcement!

Official announcement of the emperor’s husband!

This action undoubtedly made the identities of the two people clear to the entire court and even the world.

It is no longer a despicable concubine like a "male concubine" who is completely shameful, has no status, and can be abandoned at any time.

Instead, he went a step further and obtained the status of the prospective emperor's husband.

Even though the empress did not explicitly mention the word "imperial husband", the act of "riding on the throne together" had already exceeded the standards for a male concubine.

This also means that after today, Zhao Duan's status will be raised again and he will become a pillar member of the "Imperial Party".

The ministers were shocked, and a slight commotion was heard in the Fengtian Hall.

Dong Xuan, Ma Yan and other imperial party officials smiled, they were not surprised by this. After more than half a year, no one questioned whether Zhao Duan was qualified.

Yuan Li and other Qingliu officials showed their feelings, knowing that if the empress could really sit firmly on the throne in the future and if nothing unexpected happened, and if she gave birth to a real prince... the Zhao family would definitely become one of the top families in the empire.

Of course - the prerequisite is that the empress can win the game with the eight kings and secure her throne, otherwise everything is an illusion.

As for Li Yanfu, who was left aside, his beard trembled slightly, and he understood what the empress meant.

The empress was responding to his impeachment with action.

"Prime Minister," Xu Zhenguan waited until the commotion in the hall subsided before finally looking back at Li Yanfu standing in the hall. He said calmly, "Are you satisfied with my answer?"

Li Yanfu said nothing.

He looked bitter and was about to sit down.

Since the empress has made it clear that she will do her best to protect him, there is no point in holding on to it.

Moreover, Li Yanfu also knew that even if there was no such drama of being promoted to a higher position, with Zhao Duan's current status, the charge of letting Zhuang Xiaocheng go would not be enough to bring him to ruin.

"Your Majesty," But at this moment, Zhao Duan suddenly spoke.

He smiled, shook his head gently, and patted the smooth and delicate back of the empress's hand with his hand placed under the table.

Then, under Xu Zhenguan's confused gaze, he stood up and said to Li Yanfu:
"I admit what the Prime Minister impeached me. In fact, I had planned to finish this matter before the end of the year, but I was seriously injured by the monk Da Jing due to an accident and I had to recuperate for two months. Your Majesty was kind and gave me until after the new year... Now my injuries are almost healed, and it just so happens that you are all here today."

He held up three fingers, raised the corners of his mouth, and said loudly:
"Within three months, I will capture Zhuang Xiaocheng and bring him to justice. If I fail by then, I will accept the punishment!"

Li Yanfu looked up suddenly with a look of astonishment.

Xu Zhenguan was also stunned, looking at him with complicated eyes.

All the ministers in the hall were moved. For a moment, they were shocked by Zhao Du'an's magnanimity, but also confused and didn't understand why he insisted on issuing a military order.

"Okay. With what Master Zhao said, we will just wait and see." Li Yanfu took the opportunity to strike the snake, and the two men reached an agreement.

Seeing this, Xu Zhenguan didn't know what to say.

Zhao Duan, however, seemed to be fine. He smiled softly and looked at the musicians and dancers in the hall to ease the atmosphere:

"What are you all standing there for? Tonight is New Year's Eve. Don't go home until you are drunk. Let's continue the music and the dancing!"

The ministers came to their senses and smiled in agreement.

The music started, the singing and dancing began again, and the whole banquet ceremony continued.

…………

The banquet lasted for another half an hour and finally came to an end.

It was late at night. There was no curfew in the city tonight and the lantern festival would continue until the second half of the night. All the ministers left the palace to reunite with their families.

The empress took Zhao Du'an, and the two of them walked alone to the outside of the Meridian Gate, near the imperial city.

Walking up the steps, I reached the parapet of the imperial city and stood on the high top of the city wall. The huge lantern, which looked like a giant lantern falling from the earth, looked like a scarlet moon.

The wives of the powerful and wealthy gathered near the big lanterns to play. Looking beyond the giant lanterns and south along the city gate, there was the wide and straight Suzaku Street.

On both sides of the street, lights were like the sea, and tourists were flocking in. Fireworks and firecrackers were rising from all directions in the capital, painting the dark, cloudless, star-studded night sky into the colors of an oil painting.

Zhao Duan stood on the wall with his hands behind his back. Next to him was Empress Dayu, who had taken off her dragon robe and crown and was dressed in white clothes and black hair again.

The two stood side by side, and the guards nearby kept their distance tacitly.

"Why did you agree with Li Yanfu on a date in three months?" Xu Zhen asked softly, looking at the sea of ​​lights in the distance.

Thanks to the weather official from Tianshi Mansion performing a ritual tonight, there wasn’t a single chilly wind or dark cloud in the entire capital city.

The moonlight shone on her face, and her moon-like beauty was even brighter than the moon in the sky.

"It's not easy to establish prestige, but it's very easy to destroy it. Your Majesty has just used the Cao Mao case to establish the image of a wise ruler. If you forcibly protect a notorious and notorious sycophant like me at this juncture, it will be easy for someone to make a big fuss about it, and the image that you have worked so hard to reverse will be ruined again."

Zhao Duan also looked at the fiery lights in the city and spoke softly.

Xu Zhenguan was stunned. She turned her head and stared at Zhao Shaobao's resolute profile.

In the darkness, her eyes were bright, and contained indescribable emotions:

"How sure are you?"

Zhao Duan turned his head, smiled slightly, and said, "Your Majesty, are you worried about me?"

Xu Zhenguan turned his head to avoid his burning gaze:

"I'm just worried that you'll get your tongue bitten by the wind. In the end, I'll have to clean up your mess."

Zhao Duan said with a smile: "How could I be a person who would act rashly without any confidence?"

Xu Zhenguan turned around and looked at him in surprise: "Do you have any ideas?"

"Yes," Zhao Duan said seriously:

"I have long wanted to settle the feud between me and Zhuang Xiaocheng. I had originally planned to do it after the New Year. I have already arranged for people to exchange prisoners with Kuang Fu Society, and it has been a long time since those prisoners returned to Kuang Fu Society.

Earlier, the spy named Wu Ling, who was sent back by me, also sent back a key piece of information a few days ago. Combined with the information from other shadow guards, I have locked the approximate location of the Kuangfu Society's headquarters. Zhuang Xiaocheng should be stationed there."

"where is it?"

"Binhai Road, Fengcheng. It is not far from the border with Linfeng Road and is under the jurisdiction of one of the two prefectures of Binhai Road."

The empress was stunned for a moment and raised her eyebrows:

"Is Zhuang Xiaocheng hiding in Binhaidao?"

This was beyond her expectations. Over the past two years, the Shadow Guards had conducted extensive investigations but had not been able to locate the headquarters of the Kuangfu Society.

Zhao Duan said:
"I will wait until the New Year is over, and then gather people to arrest this thief. As long as the leader Zhuang Xiaocheng is arrested, the entire Kuangfu Society will be torn apart. Even if we can't catch them all at once, without the core, they will just be a group of bandits who are not worth worrying about."

Xu Zhenguan's breathing quickened slightly, and he asked, "How many soldiers do you need?"

Zhao Duan shook his head and said:
"It is not appropriate to make a big fuss about this matter. It will alert the enemy. I will just arrive quietly with some experts. I only ask Your Majesty to issue a troop dispatch order. Once we arrive, we can mobilize the officers and soldiers of the Binhaidao Military Office to cooperate."

"allow!"

Xu Zhenguan did not hesitate, paused, and suddenly turned his palm over, and a piece of soft armor appeared on his palm:
"The Six Talisman Armor was damaged by Da Jing last time. Now it has been repaired and is about to be returned to you."

Zhao Duan hurriedly took it and put it into the space scroll. This armor saved half his life at the time. It was really useful.

Xu Zhenguan turned his fair palm over again and handed over a yellowish-brown gem:
"There are no extra teleportation jade pendants in the palace. I'll give you this one. Although you can't return to the capital, if you're in danger of being defeated, you can crush it and escape thousands of miles away at random. It can also save your life."

What a good stuff... Zhao Duan's eyes lit up, and his confidence in saving his life was strengthened again.

Combined with the strange things in his hands like the Black Turtle Seal and the Buddhist Green Lotus, and the fact that in extreme situations he can find a way to call out the cheat Pei Niannu... Just based on the means, he is extremely difficult to kill.

However, it would be too difficult for him to capture Zhuang Xiaocheng alone. In addition to mobilizing troops, he also had to summon several masters of the worldly realm.

But this time he was not going to ask Eunuch Hai for help again, but had other goals.

This is also one of the reasons why he still needs to wait in the capital for a while.

"His Majesty?"

In the quiet atmosphere on the city wall, the king and his ministers were silent for a moment, and then Zhao Duan spoke again.

"kindness?"

"Speaking of which, the two of us..."

"Stop imagining nonsense! Why don't you go back to be with your family?"

"I told my family that they don't have to leave the door open for me tonight..." Zhao Duan said with a grin. Suddenly, he sensed something and turned to look in the direction of Tianshi Mansion.

Xu Zhenguan arrived one step earlier and looked at the Tianshi Mansion.

……

……

Tianshi Mansion.

Tonight was equally lively. The old Heavenly Master Zhang Yanyi made a rare appearance and gathered with many priests.

However, the two red-dot boys of this generation were not present.

As the banquet was drawing to a close, Zhang Yanyi, who was tall and had narrow eyes and was sitting at the main seat, suddenly raised his eyebrows and smiled:

"Double happiness."

Beside him, the fierce-looking "little celestial master" Zhong Pan was drinking from a big bowl. Upon hearing this, his eyes lit up and he said in surprise:
"Master, could it be the two junior brothers and sisters..."

Zhang Yanyi nodded slightly.

A few of the priests present also noticed this.

After a while, two people came out of the hall together. They were the petite and mysterious girl Jin Jian, and the short, fat and sloppy Gongshu Tianyuan.

The two men were radiant and exuded a mysterious aura as they walked. One could vaguely see a faint phantom god floating behind each of them.

"Disciple pays respect to Master," Gongshu Tianyuan and Jin Jian bowed in unison, "Disciple has entered the realm of the secular world."

The priests were greatly surprised. They all knew that the two were striving for a breakthrough, but they did not expect that they would be promoted at the same time tonight.

"Congratulations to Tianshi Mansion for adding a new member to the world." A priest stood up to celebrate.

Zhang Yan smiled, his eyes full of emotion, and said:
"Now that we have entered the secular world, we should plan to travel outside after the New Year to hone our cultivation. Do you have any ideas?"

Senior Brother Zhong Pan said with a smile: "If you don't know where to go, you can come with me."

Jin Jian and Gongshu Tianyuan looked at each other, shook their heads and said in unison:

"The disciple already has a place to go."

……

The same New Year's Eve.

Jiancheng Road, in Prince Jing’s mansion.

A family dinner had just ended, and Prince Jing came to the study alone, fed himself a sobering pill, and closed his eyes for a moment.

He stretched it open again and looked at the spy leader waiting in the room: "Go ahead."

The palace spy said:
"It has been confirmed that the Governor of the Grand Canal has written a letter stating that the imperial court will gradually appoint new officials to take up their posts after the new year to replace the vacancies and implement the new policies."

Prince Jing sneered:

"My niece is getting bolder and bolder. She was lucky enough to get the lake pavilion market opened, which helped solve the urgent problem of the national treasury. She is now impatient and wants to make drastic moves and extend her hands to my territory."

The spy hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, the new policy has made all the families very dissatisfied. Can we use them to sideline the officials who have taken office?"

Prince Jing shook his head, thought for a moment, and said:
"Not appropriate. Officials and civilians are different after all. Wasn't the governor of the Grand Canal a mere figurehead? What about now? I'll think about this matter again, maybe I can try to 'resurrect'. Humph, my niece wants to promote new officials to check and balance me, but what if the official she promotes is also my man?"

That being said, careful planning is still required to accomplish this.

After a pause, he wrote a note and handed it to the latter: "Go."

"Yes."

The latter withdrew.

After the others left, footsteps were heard outside the door. The study door opened, revealing the gentle face of Princess Lu Yan'er, Princess of Jing.

"Why are you here?" Prince Jing asked in surprise.

Princess Jing looked normal. She spread out her hands and asked for the healing pills, indicating that she had finished taking the previous ones.

Prince Jing had no doubts.

After a moment, the princess turned and left. She walked in the palace, listening to the sound of firecrackers in the distance, holding the porcelain bottle of elixir in her hand, thinking about what she had just overheard.

"Wait a little longer. After you figure out the situation, report to Lord Zhao."

……

Binhai Road, an area under the jurisdiction of Fengcheng.

In a certain manor, members of the Kuangfu Society also gathered together for a rare occasion.

Under a roof, Yunxi sat on the cold steps, hugging her knees, looking at the moon in the sky.

Suddenly I heard footsteps behind me:
"Yunxi? The Master wants you to come over."

……

Correct typos first and then correct them
(End of this chapter)