Chapter 531: Reward for meritorious service
Li Tai's position was rising, and he hadn't been challenged in person for quite a long time. When he first heard this man's rather unfriendly words to him, he felt a little fresh for a while. But when he turned his eyes and looked in the direction of the voice, the little bit of domineering feeling in his heart suddenly disappeared.
He ignored the barbarian chief, but turned his eyes back to Quan Zhongzun. Seeing his expression, he was a little panicked and uneasy. It didn't look like he had agreed to give him some kind of red-faced or white-faced show of power. It was probably just that he couldn't restrain his rebellious subordinates.
"General Quan, there is no need to be polite. I am entering the state today to learn from your previous contributions. It is magnificent to keep the enemy out and protect the territory!"
He also turned over and dismounted, smiling and walked towards Quan Zhongzun.
Quan Zhongzun was relieved to see that Li Tai did not care about the barbarian chief's words, and immediately introduced to the crowd behind him: "This handsome man with a striking and extraordinary appearance is Xihe Lord Li Shijun!
Li Shijun is a warrior of the country. He has made great contributions such as breaking through Jinyang and bravely capturing Heyang. The emperor has rewarded him, and everyone in the country, from Prime Minister Yuwen to the Grand Executive, has treated Li Shijun with courtesy! In addition to conquering the Eastern Bandits, Li Shijun is also good at governing the barbaric land. The northern states in the country were originally a wasteland without order. Li Shijun has been in the town for a short time, and the personnel in all states are in order and the atmosphere is impressive!"
Accompanied by Quan Zhongzun's outstanding voice, these civil and military officials of Jingzhou also came forward to greet him, but this respect was somewhat superficial, and some even stared at Li Tai unscrupulously, which was not at all like the attitude one should have when facing a superior.
Quan Zhongzun was a little embarrassed when he saw this. He tried to introduce important officials of the prefecture to Li Tai, but was interrupted by Li Tai's hand. He just said to Quan Zhongzun: "Excuse me, General Quan, has the camp for my troops been built?"
Quan Zhongzun nodded repeatedly after hearing this. He personally led Li Tai to the plain a few miles downstream of the moat in the south of the city. As for those people in Jingzhou who had not been seen by Li Tai, they looked at each other and followed.
The location of this camp is quite good. It is backed by a slope to block the wind and sand, and there are gullies in front to protect it. The overall scale is not small, and it should be more than enough to accommodate more than 10,000 people.
Quan Zhongzun led Li Tai into the central army tent, but the civil and military people of Jingzhou who followed him here were a little hesitant. Although they had not communicated with each other much, they already felt that Li Tai was a little young and arrogant. If they went directly into the tent, they would probably be controlled.
Several people paused outside the tent to weigh their options for a moment, then deliberately raised their voices to their companions and said, "Please tell the two envoys that there are still some miscellaneous matters in the garrison. Although they are not urgent, they need to be dealt with urgently. It is really difficult to stay for long..." Li Tai, who had already entered the tent, walked out after hearing the voice, holding his sword and looking around at everyone, and said, "Whose affairs are urgent and you don't have time to stay here?" As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere suddenly became a little tense. Although there were many rebellious people among these people, they were now surrounded by thousands of elite cavalry, including the barbarian chief who spoke before, and for a moment, they did not dare to directly contradict the young envoy who had already shown a rather arrogant attitude. It was Quan Zhongzun who walked up with a smile and said, "You may not know, although the southerners who invaded the border before were forced to retreat, the borders are still not stable, and they need to patrol diligently." With Quan Zhongzun's voice, the others also nodded in agreement, and those who did not want to enter the tent before also took the opportunity to raise their hands and leave. Li Tai glanced at Quan Zhongzun in silence, but he didn't think he was ostracizing him. This man was a brave general who fought against the Eastern Wei so fiercely that he was shot in the eye. Now he has become a peacemaker, which shows that the local situation is so strong that even a powerful dragon like him cannot suppress it.
However, Li Tai really did not intend to turn against these powerful barbarian chieftains immediately. He looked at the people who were leaving without showing any anger. Instead, he asked his staff to bring a few fine horses and said to them with a smile: "Although I am the chief of the town, the reason why Jingzhou can be stable is still due to the hardworking people like you who have been guarding the town for a long time.
Before I left, the Grand Secretariat also ordered me to solemnly reward the soldiers who repelled the enemy before. Today, I am waiting to record your merits for the first time. Unexpectedly, you are busy with camp affairs and have no time to attend the meeting, but don't worry about not being praised for your merits. You can make up for it later. I will also give you a few good horses that are easy to drive, please don't refuse."
As soon as these words came out, all the people present showed joy on their faces. They originally thought that the previous matter of blocking the southern troops had been exposed, but they didn't expect that there would be a follow-up. Although the Guanxi court has never been known for its generosity, it is better to have something than nothing.
As for those who said goodbye, there were also some who felt regretful and said again: "Although the camp is busy, the subordinates can do it for you. The envoy has just arrived, so you should leave this to report the state affairs in detail."
But there are still some people who are not tempted by Li Tai's words. They took the reins of the warhorse presented and got on the horse, and rode away from the camp quickly.
Li Tai didn't care about this, but just gave a look to Li Quji beside him. Li Quji nodded slightly and stepped aside temporarily.
The people who chose to stay here surrounded Li Tai and entered the tent, and their attitude was more enthusiastic than before. In addition to the reason for rewarding merits as Li Tai said, it was also because his previous act of presenting a horse showed that he was not a person who looked down on others and was not close to the masses.
After Li Tai entered the tent, he did not immediately discuss his previous merits with the masses, but said that he would first complete the handover of duties with Quan Zhongzun: "Since I was ordered, I have been traveling slowly, and I have troubled General Quan to wait for me here for a long time. Now that I have entered the country, I should naturally take charge of the state affairs and return the general to leisure."
Quan Zhongzun was ordered to do so at the critical moment. Although he successfully solved the crisis, he was also troubled by the powerful powerful people in the country who had their own demands. Naturally, he was happy to hand over this hot potato quickly. When he went out to welcome him today, he had already handed over the seal of the state capital and Take the governor's talisman with you.
After hearing what Li Tai said, he did not hesitate and handed over the talismans to Li Tai one by one. Then they agreed to inspect the government's library and other procedures in the future.
After handing over the talisman, Quan Zhongzun felt at ease, and his expression became visibly relaxed, which showed that it was really not easy for him to stay in this position. From now on, he has nothing to do with Jingzhou's personnel affairs. Even if Li Tai immediately starts a fight with the local tycoons, he will just stand back and not bleed himself.
But Li Tai still wanted to use him to make a fuss. After putting away all the talismans properly, he looked at Quan Zhongzun and said with a smile: "The preface to inherit the general's previous achievements is by no means empty words. I am here, even though I am It is used by the emperor, but it is definitely not a thief! I will prepare a small amount of money to reward the general. In addition, the money spent on the general's travels will be delivered to my fellow merchants one after another after the general returns home. "
As he spoke, he raised his hand and waved downwards, and two soldiers came forward, each holding a lacquer plate in their hands. Each of the lacquer plates contained pure gold cakes. Each gold cake weighed one kilogram. The two lacquer plates add up to a hundred kilograms of gold cake!
Quan Zhongzun was about to wave his hands and say no, but when he saw this scene, he was so shocked that he choked in his throat and could not speak out. As for the other people in the tent, their eyes widened in shock, and they almost stared at him with their eyes. The two large plates of gold cakes were swallowed up.
Based on their past experience, they only feel that even if there are rewards in the Kansai Bafu, they are probably mostly symbolic and will never contain any valuables.
But today, Li Tai, the new envoy, directly broke through the ceiling of their imagination as soon as he took action, a hundred pounds of gold, and this was just a little foreplay! The supplies consumed by the thousands of troops under Quan Zhongzun's team traveling from Shangluo to Jingzhou were also not small, and even this was reimbursed!
For a time, some members of the Jingzhou people who had not been very respectful to Li Tai suddenly felt a sense of pride in serving the new envoy!
"This, this is really too precious! The general is really, really ashamed to deserve it..."
It took Quan Zhongzun a while to take his eyes away from the two plates of gold cakes, and then waved to Li Tai again and again.
"Since I have given you a gift, please accept it with joy. There are many people in the world who enjoy a fortune while doing nothing. If such thieves are not ashamed, why should General Quan be ashamed?"
Although Li Tai is rich, he doesn't just throw money at people.
Although Quan Zhongzun resigned as governor of Jingzhou, he returned to his hometown as governor of Luozhou. The land of Shangluo is an important bridge for personnel communication between Nanyang and Kansai. If Li Tai wants to operate and develop the Nanyang Basin in depth, he must not avoid Luozhou, where the Quan family is entrenched. He also hopes that Quan Zhongzun can combine heavy goods with others in the future. play its role as a bridge.
Of course, the most important thing right now is to set an example for these powerful people in Jingzhou. I am such a generous man who spends a lot of money. You can decide for yourself how you want to treat me.
While everyone was still dazed by the hundreds of gold cakes, he said in a deep voice: "You generals jointly resisted the enemy, so you should be rewarded. But the previous work has not been completed, so I will not take credit for the time being. Although the thieves in the south had retreated, they still did not write a letter accusing them of committing a minor provocation.
Now that I have entered the town, how can I allow thieves to flourish without being punished? Immediately write to Xiangyang and limit him to send an envoy to the north within ten days from now on to apologize and ask for forgiveness, otherwise I will send troops to knock on the pass and severely punish the rebellious! "
Everyone in the tent was thinking about how much of the gold cake they could get, but they didn't expect Li Tai to turn around and talk about going to war with Xiangyang. They were all shocked and changed their faces, and they all complained.
However, Li Tai did not give them a chance to argue. He just reiterated: "Now that I have brought 20,000 fine armors into the town, am I swallowing my humiliation and asking for compromise? You and other disciples are preparing for war individually. You will be rewarded for your merits. Don't Say something else!”