On the Daqing Palace, Zhao Zhen was standing on the throne, listening intently to the report of the three envoys Yan Shu, and the civil and military officials were also attracted by Yan Shu's recital, and they all stretched their necks to listen without blinking.

"Your Majesty, Su Jin, the special envoy of grain affairs, sent someone to send a report, the matter of Yangzhou has basically subsided, Su Jin urgently transferred 500,000 stone of grain to sell at the official price, and now the price of grain has been stabilized, and the trouble of the people in Yangzhou has been eliminated because of this move, it has been proved that Su Jin's policy is very targeted, the people's trouble is from the lack of food, once the food problem is solved, the incident will naturally subside; It is not comparable to the use of violent suppression. Yan Shu's voice was high-pitched, and he seemed very excited.

Lu Yijian and Du Yan frowned when they heard this, it was the two of them who strongly advocated the violent suppression of the civil uprising, Yan Shu mentioned it at this moment, obviously revealing their scars secretly, the two glanced at each other, and decided to hold back for the time being, when this good news came, it was really not appropriate to refute it at this time.

"Oh? That's great, Su Jin has grasped the key point of the matter, I didn't expect this person to be young, and there are still some means, I am very pleased. Zhao Zhen smiled, and there was a hint of relaxation in his words.

"What's more, that Su Jin not only solved the crisis in Yangzhou, but also eradicated the bandits that had been entrenched in Bagong Mountain for several years.

Zhao Zhen almost jumped up from the dragon seat, and the eyes of the Manchu Dynasty civil and military were also jumping underground, where is this Su Jin sacred, and even the bandits of Bagong Mountain were exterminated for him, how can this be reasonable? It can't be done in a few years when it should be done, and what shouldn't be done is solved easily.

"What do you say? Say it again to me. Zhao Zhen didn't believe his ears.

"Your Majesty, here's the thing, Su Jinben sent the deputy commander of the Ma Army to send Long Zhen to Luzhou to escort the grain to Yangzhou, but unexpectedly, the outlaw bandits of Bagong Mountain came out halfway and robbed all the 500,000 stone grain, so that the crisis in Yangzhou continued to ......"

"Wait...... Are you saying that the bandits robbed me of the food escorted by the Janissaries? Zhao Zhen squinted and asked.

"Yes, it is the food delivery team escorted by two hundred guards and horse soldiers."

"Two hundred cavalry, just robbed on the official road?" Zhao Zhen couldn't believe that this was the truth.

Yan Shu consciously didn't have an interface, he knew that the emperor was on the verge of anger, so it was better to make less trouble.

"How many bandits are there?"

"Your Majesty, about six or seven hundred people have been dispatched."

Zhao Zhen raised his eyebrows and was about to speak, Du Yan hurriedly stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, the minister has something to say." ”

Zhao Zhen glanced at him angrily, and said in his heart: The good talent you recommended is a shame. But he didn't want to refute his face, so he snorted and said, "Say it." ”

"I don't know how the war is going? But the minister thought that there must be a reason for this, and the deputy commander of the horse army, Long Zhen, was capable and introverted, and acted steadily, so that he would not lead 200 cavalry to defeat hundreds of bandits. ”

"Then what is the reason for that, according to you?" Zhao Zhen asked with a frown.

"The minister wants to ask about the specific date of the day of the grain robbery, I wonder if there is anything in the official report of the grain envoy?" Du Yan tilted his head, saying that he was talking to the emperor, but in fact, this sentence was asking Yan Shu.

Zhao Zhen looked at Yan Shu with a hint of inquiry in his eyes.

Yan Shu said honestly: "The letter submitted by Su Jin to the minister did not specify the date, it was around the seventh or eighth day of November. ”

Du Yan said with a cold face: "This Su Jin, the date is not even mentioned in detail in the official document, around the seventh or eighth, is it left or right?" The stakes are huge. ”

Zhao Zhen said lightly: "How come I don't know that there is such a big difference between the left and right?" Could it be that one day earlier will be able to defeat the enemy, and one day later will not be able to defeat the bandits? ”

Du Yan hurriedly bowed down and said: "Your Majesty, what you said is the crux of the problem, as far as the minister knows, there was a heavy snowfall on Huainan Road on the seventh day of the first month of November, if the grain was robbed in front of the snow, it must be that the dragon was really afraid of the enemy and neglected his duties, and as for the grain was robbed; But if it is after the seventh day of the first month, it must be invincible, not only is there no fault, but there is merit. ”

Everyone understands the snow on Huainan Road, how could Zhao Zhen not know, Yangzhou is located on Huainan Road, and it is in turmoil, the heavy snow made Zhao Zhen's heart pinch up, Du Yan means that after the snow, the bandits robbed the grain, and the cavalry could not play a role at all on the knee-thick snow, and the cavalry who was good at fighting immediately left the horse, and the combat power of the horses was not even as good as the infantry, and it was indeed difficult to resist under the attack of bandits who were several times their size.

"What you said makes sense, Yan Aiqing, you send someone to Su Jin's side to inquire in detail about the date of the robbery, and find out whether it is before or after the snow, and it is not good to casually tarnish the reputation of the forbidden army."

Zhao Zhen's anger in his heart subsided slightly, if it was the snow queen, his face would not be lost, otherwise the two hundred cavalry of his own Praetorian Guard Army would be defeated by six or seven hundred rabble bandits, and it would definitely be used as a laughing stock in the world to talk about, Zhao Zhen didn't want to see this.

"The minister obeyed the order, and the minister immediately sent someone to find out the date, and I hope that this matter will really happen after the snow."

Zhao Zhen rolled his eyes, pretending not to understand Yan Shu's words, Yan Shu's word 'wish' was actually for Zhao Zhen to say what was in his heart.

"Then how did Su Jin break the cottage? Speaking of which, I am becoming more and more interested in him, how many officers and soldiers have I brought to encircle and suppress? ”

"Back to Your Majesty, Su Jin took a thousand soldiers from Yangzhou, plus one hundred servants from Tianchang County Commander Li Chong, and two hundred horse troops we sent to him, a total of 1,300 people."

"What? Can such a few people exterminate the bandits in Bagong Mountain? How many people were killed or wounded? ”

Not only Zhao Zhen was surprised, but the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty also didn't believe it, the bandits in Bagongshan and Huainan Road mobilized nearly 5,000 soldiers from the two states to encircle and suppress it several times, but they failed to get rid of the bandits' nest, and Su Jin only took these 1,300 soldiers to pull out this heart thorn, which is incredible.

"Our officers and soldiers were killed 60 people, more than 100 people were wounded, 498 bandits were annihilated, 471 people were captured, the second leader of the bandits, Qiu Dabao, was executed on the spot, the big leader Shen Yaozu has been escorted to the capital, and is now detained in the prison of Kaifeng Mansion to listen to the will of the saint, 500,000 stone grain is missing, and the seized bandit ordnance and materials have been recorded and stored in the Yangzhou official treasury, waiting for inspection."

"Good boy!" Zhao Zhen slapped his thigh and stood up from the dragon seat, and said with a fist clapp: "I want to reward him well, Yan Aiqing, you can order Su Jin to make a book and report it, and the central Lu Aiqing will negotiate with various ministries about the reward, I can't think of it, I can't imagine it, this Su Jin really has such a great ability." ”

All the civil and military forces were also infected by Zhao Zhen's emotions, and there were many discussions, some praised it, and some nodded with their tall big fingers.

Lu Yijian stood up from the seat specially given by the emperor, glanced back at the ministers, the ministers were suddenly silent, Lu Yijian staggered to the dragon seat and saluted: "The emperor, the old minister has something to say." ”

Zhao Zhen smiled: "Lu Aiqing, please speak." ”

"Emperor Xie, the old minister thinks that the matter of rewarding meritorious deeds should be suspended, the current situation is urgent, the Northwest Yuanhao rebels are ready to move, the winter offensive is about to break out, and the grain affairs in the Great Song Dynasty are tight, at this time should not be ecstatic for a small victory, the bandits in Bagong Mountain are the disease of scabies, even if Su Jin is not exterminated this time, the imperial court will free up their hands, they will also perish; Of course, Su Jin's move to eliminate a bandit should be commended, but the minister thinks that at this urgent moment of food affairs, there is no need to exaggerate this matter, after all, the three divisions shoulder the heavy responsibility of food affairs, and Su Jin's responsibility is not to suppress bandits, but to do a good job of the grain affairs emperor, it is better to wait for the grain affairs to be done and reward them together. ”

Zhao Zhen didn't understand what Lu Yijian meant, and asked, "Where did Lu Aiqing's proposal come from?" Rewards and punishmentsSometimes, too much delay will not make the meritorious person lose motivation. ”

Lu Yijian said: "The minister is a little worried, there is a tiger in Nanshan, the emperor sent someone to kill the tiger, but this person killed another hungry wolf, but in the end the tiger was not killed, the emperor said that it should be rewarded or punished?" ”

Now everyone understands what Lu Yijian means is that Su Jin took over the food service, but he accidentally killed the bandits, and now he is giving him a reward such as giving him an official status, if he doesn't complete a serious errand in the future, wouldn't it be a joke; It is better to give an order of relief first, and wait for his food affairs to be done together and then merge the reward, which also seems logical.

Yan Shu was the first to quit, what kind of logic is this? It's obvious that he is arguing with strong words, how can Yan Shu hold back this breath.

Immediately hurriedly stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that Lu Xiang's words are inappropriate, rewards and punishments are clearly the consistent practice of the imperial court, there are meritorious rewards at this moment, and there will be punishments in the future, if the rewards and punishments cannot be timely, wouldn't it make the people who do things lose their enthusiasm and feel cold?" ”

Lu Yijian said lightly: "Lord Yan, there are some things that the old man is inconvenient to say clearly in the court, and some things are not as you imagined, Lord Yan's mood The old man understands it very well, and the person he recommends is meritorious, so he naturally fights on the basis of reason, however, the old man doubts whether you really know the inside story." ”

Everyone couldn't understand it anymore, Lu Yijian What kind of medicine is sold in the gourd, his words are getting more and more unfathomable, and he just rewards a small Su Jin, and he may not spend much money to give him a big official position, is he using such a poor vernacular with a dead face?

Not only did Zhao Zhen and everyone not understand, but even Du Yan, who had always claimed to be Lu Xiang's confidant, didn't understand at this time.

"Lu Aiqing, what you say seems to have something in your words, what is it that makes you unable to say it clearly? You're not so untruthful. Zhao Zhen said.

"Your Majesty, the old minister planned to enter the palace to talk to the emperor alone about this matter after the early dynasty, but Lord Yan happened to mention this matter, so the old minister came forward to stop it, and the emperor knew that the old minister was not a person who was not rewarded or punished, but it was just inconvenient to say something."

"Is there anything difficult to say, is it about Su Jin? The court is a place to discuss state affairs, so why not speak out and listen. Zhao Zhen's face was displeased, what is this Lu Yijian going to do?

Lu Yijian's face was embarrassed, and he seemed to be unable to speak, Yan Shu felt that he was playing tricks, so he said: "The emperor wants Lu Xiangming to say, Lu Xiang still has anything to worry about, just say it." ”

Lu Yijian glared at Yan Shu and said, "You really don't know about this?" ”

Yan Shu was confused and said, "What's the matter, I really don't know what Lu Xiang is referring to." ”

Lu Yijian said again: "Su Jin didn't talk about this matter in the official document submitted to you? ”

Yan Shu took out Su Jin's official report from his arms and said, "The full text is here, please take a look at it." ”

Lu Yijian took it and glanced at it quickly, and said casually with relief: "If you really didn't mention it, then it's fine, this matter should have nothing to do with Lord Yan, since Lord Yan has nothing to do with this matter, the old man has no worries." ”

Yan Shu felt more and more that something was wrong, what did Lu Yijian have to say? Could it be that the previous concern was actually for fear of being involved? Could it be that Su Jin's report actually concealed something?

Zhao Zhen urged: "Lu Aiqing, don't beat around the bush, say it quickly." ”