When Xiao Guozi saw Zhang Yuan and saw the other party's unlucky look, he felt relieved.x.

Let you show off your strength and be ungrateful, forget who helped you when you were in trouble, and let you shout at me...

Because Zhang Yuan had already learned one step ahead that he had been exiled to guard the imperial tomb, he was like a dog who had lost his previous momentum at this time, and he had completely lost his previous momentum and sat on the ground and did not get up for a long time.

"Eunuch Zhang, go back early. Your Majesty will not see you." Xiao Twisted Zi said with a stern face.

Zhang Yuan raised his head and looked at Xiao Tiaozi eagerly: "Little Tiaozi, tell Your Majesty that our family is outside the door and I want to tell him apart in person."

Xiao Guozi shook his head apart: "This is your personal order, there is really nothing I can do! In fact, the young man also told Your Majesty about your situation, but Your Majesty refused to see you. What can we do as slaves?"

Zhang Yuan's eyes flashed with some kind of brilliance, as if he felt that he had a way to save his identity and status. He stood up and walked to Xiao Tiaozi quickly and whispered: "Xiao Tiaozi, please come in and pass on a message. As long as your Majesty can give you a meeting, our family will give you 10,000 taels of silver. What do you think?"

Xiao Tiaozi frowned: "What does Eunuch Zhang mean? You want to bribe the young man? The young man can't afford your ten thousand taels of silver... If you have the money, Eunuch Zhang, please stay for your retirement!"

Perhaps because he was afraid that Zhang Yuan would continue to use some means to coerce and induce others, Xiao Guozi simply ignored what the other party said and turned around and walked into the door. Zhang Yuan wanted to follow him but was stopped by the guards.

Xiao Tiaozi quickly walked into the door, but heard Zhang Yuan shouting behind his back: "Your Majesty, the Northwest Victory... Your Majesty, come and see the old slave!"

Hearing this, Xiao Tiaozi was shocked and looked back at Zhang Yuan, obviously feeling incredible about what Zhang Yuan said. Then he realized that it was not suitable to stay at this moment, so he didn't hear anything in the bento and quickly stepped inside.

After getting inside, Xiao Guozi was still extremely nervous and muttered: "Great victory in the Northwest? Why don't I know this news? When did this happen? No, no, if this is the case, Zhang Yuan might escape... I have to go and talk to Concubine Li!"

Xiao Zhuozi hurried into the inner room to see Concubine Li. When she arrived at the place, she found that Concubine Li was meeting a deputy Qianhuo of Jinyiwei. This man Xiao Zhuozi knew him, and he was Liao Han who had just been promoted.

Liao Han is Lifei's "godson". Of course, it's just that Liao Han said so himself. Lifei did not admit it at all, and Liao Han dared not reveal it in front of outsiders.

"Empress, the young man has told you everything he knows, so he will give up!"

Liao Han didn't know the relationship between Xiao Taozi and Lifei, but he only knew that the two sides had cooperation, so he didn't dare to say too much in front of Xiao Taozi, because he regarded himself as Lifei's person, so it would be better to keep a certain distance from Xiao Taozi.

After Liao Han left, Li Fei took a sip of tea, her orchid fingers slightly raised, looking calm and gentle, and asked, "Why are you so panicked when you are so scared? You didn't send someone in advance to communicate?"

Xiao Tiaozi said, "Empress, as you expected, Eunuch Zhang was sent to guard the tomb of the late emperor by His Majesty, but... he shouted outside, saying that it was a great victory in the northwest. Could it be that the good news came from Shangshu Shen? I was afraid that there would be troubles outside the festival, so I came to discuss with the empress first."

Concubine Li smiled and said, "The victory in the northwest is reasonable. Didn't I tell you before that Shen Zhihou, the Minister of War, has the ability to be in heaven and has never been defeated since he led the army? This time he defeated the strong with the weak and killed the Tatars and fled... Your Majesty's knot should be able to be opened!"

"Then, I'll tell Your Majesty the good news!" Xiao Taozi almost laughed out loud when he heard this, and was about to see Zhu Houzhao immediately to report the good news.

Concubine Li raised her hand and stopped her, "Why are you anxious? Even if you want to report good news, you shouldn't be angry..."

"Yes, yes, it should be Empress Li who came to congratulate her!" Xiao Taozi said happily.

Concubine Li shook her head slightly: "None of us can go... Can I tell you the truth in detail? We are the people around His Majesty. After all, we should learn the news from His Majesty. If you pass on the good news, such a big thing will actually pass you first. This is a sin... Why do you know the news earlier than the Ministry of War and the local governor's yamen?"

Xiao Taozi was stunned. He was a smart man, so he naturally knew what Concubine Li meant. Suddenly he became nervous again: "Empress, I understand. It is justified that it is up to Mr. Lu and Lord Wang to report the memorial... However, since Mr. Shen is safe and has won another great victory, Eunuch Zhang's crime is not so important. He is likely to be restored to his post. His Majesty's words before may be taken back."

Concubine Li had a confident smile on her face: "It's all up to twist her father-in-law to do things actively. If you hadn't sent the memorial to impeach Eunuch Zhang to Your Majesty first, Your Majesty wouldn't have made such a decision under tremendous pressure... But since the matter has been settled, and you have no jokes, how could Your Majesty go back on his word?"

Xiao Zhuozi said: "Empress Li, you may not know the situation at that time. It was Mr. Lu who said that the army of the Nine Borders was unstable and needed to boost morale. His Majesty reluctantly agreed to dismiss Eunuch Zhang and investigate. Now that Lord Shen has won the battle, His Majesty has no reason to continue punishing Eunuch Zhang!"

Concubine Li shook her head again: "There is a punishment! This victory was not something that Zhang Yuan fought. Why should Your Majesty be kind to him? This is also the key to who will repay the victory... Let Lord Lu and the others repay you. Your Majesty is happy. The next step is naturally to rely on the army to expand the results of the war and continue to encourage morale. Will Your Majesty go back on his word and let Lord Lu and the others down? What is the significance of protecting Zhang Yuan to Your Majesty?"

Xiao Taozi suddenly realized that he had not had enough brains, but he could still understand what Li Fei said, and felt that it was simply the ultimate truth.

"Yes. Your Majesty not only needs to rely on Lord Shen to continue to expand the results of the battle, but also rely on Minister Lu and others to mobilize their troops. What is the point of leaving an incompetent Zhang Yuan?" Xiao Taozi said to himself.

Concubine Li smiled and said, "So, the biggest contribution of impeachment to Zhang Yuan this time should be recorded in the old man's hands. If you hadn't sent the memorial to Your Majesty first and asked Your Majesty to settle the matter, it's hard to say what the final result would be... Often, just rely on this step to take the lead. After taking the lead, it will no longer be just an advantage in one corner, but an advantage in the whole game. Zhang Yuan would never have expected that he would lose in this step!"

Xiao Zhuozi said happily: "Your Majesty, please give me some advice."

The smile on Concubine Li's face suddenly faded away, and she said with a serious expression: "You must remember that you must not let Zhang Yuan see Your Majesty. If Your Majesty intends to meet, you must also argue with reason. Now is not the time to speak for Zhang Yuan. Your Majesty is too soft-hearted, and Zhang Yuan is usually very hard-working and has made great contributions. If he cried in front of His Majesty, then Your Majesty may really take back his life... The most important thing now is to let Lord Lu make suggestions to Your Majesty and let Your Majesty print the new ceremonial supervisor as soon as possible, so that Zhang Yuan will have no chance to turn the tables."

"Yes, everything is listened to you, Empress." Xiao Tiaozi said.

...

...

Xiao Guozi had already admired Concubine Li before, and now he respected Concubine Li as a god.

Zhang Yuan, who couldn't even bring down Chen Xi, collapsed in a few strokes of Concubine Li, which made Xiao Guozi feel even more like he had defected to the right person.

After leaving Li Fei's yard, he quickly spread the news of the "Northwest Victory", but in fact he didn't need to do anything. Lu Wan, Wang Chang, and Wang Shouren had already come to the other courtyard again. This time, Hu Lian, Xu Tai and other civil officials and generals who were in charge of the army were also here with them.

Xiao Guozi led the person to the backyard where Zhu Houzhao was temporarily living. Without even informing him in advance, he went in and told Zhu Houzhao that several adults were visiting again.

Zhu Houzhao frowned when she heard this: "Have I heard of them?"

Xiao Twist knelt down with a "thump" and said chokingly: "Your Majesty, it's important. I have to invite them in first. Your Majesty... When you see them, you will know my hard work... Woooo, the northwest is a great victory!"

Although Concubine Li warned Xiao Guozi not to overthrow the victory, Xiao Guozi felt that since Lu Wan and others had already arrived, he would just give the victory first. Zhu Houzhao would not think that he learned the news before the Ministry of War and the military system, so that Concubine Li was worried about no longer exists.

"You...you say it again!"

Zhu Houzhao widened her eyes and her voice trembled a little.

Xiao Tiaozi raised his head, his face full of tears. He was really happy for Zhu Houzhao and the Ming Dynasty, and said with a convulsion: "Your Majesty, I don't know the details... For details, I have to ask the adults outside... I don't know what Your Majesty wants?"

Zhu Houzhao seemed to have recovered suddenly, and stood up suddenly and strode towards the outsider. Xiaotiaozi didn't react for a while.

Zhu Houzhao went straight out of the main house, but when he saw Lu Wan and others waiting outside, the few people obviously did not expect Zhu Houzhao to come out in person, so they were still talking to each other.

"His Majesty?"

Wang Shouren was the first to see the emperor and hurriedly bowed.

The remaining few people were awake and followed suit.

Zhu Houzhao raised his hand: "You guys don't have to be too polite. Let's talk about what's going on with Mr. Chen?"

Lu Wan bowed and said, "Reply to Your Majesty's words, there were urgent documents from three sides. Minister Chen of the Ministry of War was trapped on the north bank of Yuxi River for three days, and fought with tens of thousands of Tatar soldiers and horses in three bloody battles. He finally won a complete victory, killing and capturing more than 50,000 Tatar bandits, and sending a letter to report the victory!"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Zhu Houzhao seemed to be crazy and suddenly burst into laughter. This strong transition of sorrow and joy made his emotions difficult for a while.

But then he thought of something, Zhu Houzhao hid his smile again and asked, "You are not... fooling me, right?"

Lu Wan submitted the memorial in his hand and said, "This is a joint report from the cabinet Xie Zhengfu, the governor of the three sides, and the deputy general of Yansui, General Hou, the deputy general of Yansui... Please read it with Your Majesty!"

Zhu Houzhao couldn't wait to step forward and wanted to take the battle report and take it carefully. Who would have thought that he staggered and almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Xiao Tiaozi reached out to support Zhu Houzhao in time, so he did not make a fool of himself.

Xiao Guozi shouted, "Mr. Lu, why don't you submit the certificate of victory to Your Majesty?"

Lu Wan was stunned. It was obviously unruly to do this, and in theory it should be submitted by the eunuch. However, Lu Wan knew how to adapt to the times and saw that Zhu Houzhao was too excited, so he no longer cared about the terms and conditions. He personally submitted the battle report. In the end, Xiao Tiaozi passed it over and submitted it to Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao's hands trembled constantly. After seeing the good news, his expression was dull, his eyes widened, and his mouth could almost be stuffed with a salted duck egg.

"God blesses my Ming Dynasty, helps me to pacify the grasslands and destroy Tatars! Father, my son has done what you have not done!" After a moment of dazed, Zhu Houzhao whistled to the sky, his emotions were almost out of control, and he cried with joy. His emotions quickly infected Xiao Tiaozi, and Xiao Tiaozi couldn't help but wiped tears.

When Zhu Houzhao called the person inside, he asked roughly the situation, and finally asked with concern: "What's going on with Mr. Chen now? Can you return to Yansui Town safely?"

Lu Wan replied: "Your Majesty, with Yansui's memorial, it seems that Shangshu Chen led his troops to pursue the Tatars and went deep into the grassland again. He has not entered the Yulin Cangcheng at present. Because the news was issued two days ago, the specific situation... we have to wait for the follow-up war report. Judging from the current situation, the pursuit is to expand the results of the war. After this defeat, the Tatars were unable to organize the counterattack. There should be no problem with Shangshu Chen's safety... Everything happened as expected."

Zhu Houzhao really wanted to say, who had expected that he would eventually turn defeat into victory before? Everyone thought it was not easy to protect Mr. Shen, but now he is here to check the good words.

When people are in a happy mood, Zhu Houzhao doesn't want to argue with the civil servants present and shouts: "Mr. Chen must pay attention to safety. As the saying goes, don't pursue the enemy in poverty, and military strategists also advocate stopping..."

Zhu Houzhao talked for a long time and was already a little incoherent, so he was full of joy at this time and didn't know what to say.

As the emperor, Zhu Houzhao suddenly picked up a "big advantage". The foolish monarch who had been ignorant of learning and implicated the three armies suddenly became a wise monarch forever and was remembered in history, and it was difficult to adapt for a while.

Xiao Guozi reminded: "Your Majesty, should you reward the meritorious soldiers?"

“Yes!”

Zhu Houzhao then remembered it and said with a smile, "The next step is to reward the three armies. One of the soldiers participating in the war must be counted and one of them must be remembered for great merits... Everyone under Mr. Chen's command must be rewarded well."

Lu Wan said: "The war has not yet ended completely. I am afraid that there will be any inappropriate rewards in advance. At this time, we should inform the Yansui local government to complete the statistics of the military merits first. After the Secretary of Chen returns from the war, it will not be too late to reward him on the merits."

"good!"

Zhu Houzhao completely lost his opinion at this time. He felt that everything others said was reasonable. Xiao Taozi said he wanted to reward him and agreed. Now Lu Wan said he would delay reward him. He also felt that it was okay. As long as he could win, all suggestions could be followed.

When Xiao Guozi saw this attitude, he quickly gave the people present a wink, as if reminding them to quickly implement Zhang Yuan’s affairs, and it would be best for Zhu Houzhao to directly appoint a new eunuch in charge of the seal, so that he can feel at ease.

But Lu Wan and others never thought about mentioning Zhang Yuan. After all, in their opinion, the emperor's decisions would not be changed easily. Zhu Houzhao did not miss Zhang Yuan, an irrelevant person, and was immersed in the great joy of achieving the decisive victory of the grassland tribe.

Zhu Houzhao said: "Mr. Chen has worked hard and made great contributions. I must give him a good reward, give him a higher title, and enjoy the highest courtesy of the Ming Dynasty..."

Zhu Houzhao said this, but Lu Wan and others disagreed. In their opinion, Chen Xi could no longer be promoted to the Minister of War. If he was promoted to the Minister of Personnel at the same level, he would only be promoted to the Minister of Personnel at the same level. Unless he would add some titles and rank to Chen Xi, Chen Xi was already the young tutor. Could he add a pillar country to Chen Xi?

However, no one gave advice at this moment, because in the eyes of Lu Wan and others, it is really commendable that Chen Xi can win against the weak and strong. When everyone felt that Chen Xi was in a desperate situation, Chen Xi not only did not lose or die, but also led troops to kill the Tatars without leaving any armor. This achievement is enough to be remembered in history. As for how the emperor would award rewards in the future, it is a later story. For them, it is the most important thing to do a good job in post-war recovery.

...

...

Lu Wan and others asked for some more things, including arranging people to assist Yansui Town in cleaning the battlefield, and at the same time ordered all parts of the nine sides to go out to sweep the Tatars, etc.

These are all responsibilities that a minister of the Ministry of War, and Zhu Houzhao agreed to them one by one.

What Xiao Taozi is most looking forward to is that Lu Wan and others clearly state Zhang Yuan’s affairs, but these people did not realize this issue and did not mention it from beginning to end. Because it was involved in the dispute over interests with Zhang Yuan, Xiao Taozi knew that he was not suitable for Zhang Yuan’s affairs, so he had to give up.

After the hearing was completed, Zhu Houzhao asked Lu Wan and others to retreat. After the ministers left, Zhu Houzhao finally stopped tolerating it, like a child who had obtained a treasure, crying and laughing, with a sense of pride, and was full of tits and claws there, not knowing what to do.

Xiao Tiaozi watched from the side and hesitated whether he needed to avoid it, because Zhu Houzhao rarely loses his composure in front of outsiders, and he was afraid that Zhu Houzhao would estrange him afterwards.

No one wants people to see their own unbearable side.

However, Zhu Houzhao seemed to care at all. She looked back at the only person present and asked, "Xiao Taozi, do you think Mr. Chen is the most powerful person in ancient times? He can win by fighting ten. Where can he find such a genius as he is?"

Xiao Zhuozi smiled and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, it is your Majesty's wiseness that there will be such a minister to serve you!"
To be continued...