HCB Chapter 142 Asking for a Gift
Chapter 142 Asking for a Gift
When the northwest garrison saw the Qili Kingdom withdraw its troops, they also beat drums to withdraw their troops and went back to wait for the emperor's reward.
When Emperor Li Jingchen received Yu Zhenzhou's memorial, he was shocked beyond words.
Yu Zhenzhou did a great thing quietly!
Even his spies didn't know!
At almost the same time, he also received a report from the Northwest Garrison regarding the cause and effect of the Qili Kingdom's surprise attack and counterattack. The report said that Yu Zhenzhou had obtained intelligence, notified them in advance, and gave them advice and suggestions to achieve this victory.
Quietly and silently, he gave some court officials a loud slap in the face.
On the same day that Yu Zhenzhou submitted the memorial, he handed over the compensation property of Bars to Dong Shifang, asking him to verify the caravans that had been intercepted and the dead people, and give all the money to their families. Then he returned to Beijing with the letter of surrender from the State of Matan.
The traitor in the military camp was Jiao Wenbin, Ruan Tianming's follower. Because he was addicted to gambling, he was tricked by Ma Tangguo's spies and owed a lot of money. He was also afraid of death, so he was manipulated by Ma Tangguo to be the traitor.
The emperor would not listen to his excuses and show mercy.
The Jiao family was implicated along with nine clans.
Next, it’s time to reward the great contributors.
Li Jingchen has a headache.
Yu Zhenzhou was already the Duke of Zhenguo, second only to the emperor and above everyone else. Even though he had made such a great contribution this time, there was no way to promote him further.
Many houses and treasures had been given as rewards before. If he only gave these things to Yu Zhenzhou, it would seem a bit too shabby, and he was afraid of being criticized by the world.
"I am deeply pleased that you, my dear minister, have defeated the conspiracy of Matan and Qili this time. It is a great fortune for Tianxiang to have such a great general as you."
"The emperor has rewarded you."
"You have performed a great deed this time. If you have any requests, I will certainly satisfy you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Yu Zhenzhou was secretly delighted: "I would like to ask for a favor."
"Oh? Tell me."
Li Jingchen originally didn't know how to reward him so he just said it casually, but he didn't expect Yu Zhenzhou to really take over the conversation.
He was in a depressed mood, worried that Yu Zhenzhou would make some requests that would embarrass him.
"I have an adopted daughter, who is innocent and lovely, and the apple of my wife's eye." Yu Zhenzhou knelt down and said, "I beg the emperor to grant Qiling County in the extreme south to my adopted daughter Huang Mulin, so that she will have no worries through hereditary inheritance."
With his achievements this time, it would not be excessive to exchange him for a remote and less prosperous county.
As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the court.
Yu Zhenzhou’s adopted daughter?
Qiling County?
Zhao Wenbo was stunned.
Huang Mulin? The little girl I met in Bofeng County before?
Li Jingchen was also stunned for a moment.
He knew Huang Mulin.
At the beginning, Yu Zhenzhou took a long vacation and went to Linhai Town, Qiling County, saying that he was going to find his wife Yang Lijun. Later, he found out that she had adopted a five-year-old girl as her adopted daughter in Linhai Town.
He originally thought that Yu Zhenzhou and his wife had been separated for a long time and had no children, so they longed for children. When they had their own children in the future, they would probably soon forget about the little kid in a remote place.
Who would have thought that he would give up such a great achievement for an adopted daughter?
And it's a useless small county in the south.
Qiling County is located on the southernmost border, surrounded by the sea. Although it can obtain marine products and has unique economic resources compared to other counties, it also bears the heavy responsibility of maintaining border security.
If foreigners invade, a small county town will be the first to be hit.
There is even a treasure country.
"My dear Yu, have you thought it through?"
Li Jingchen said: "If you have your own flesh and blood in the future, the position of county lord cannot be replaced at will."
Unless that girl adopts Yu Zhenzhou's descendants as her own inheritance in the future.
"Yes, I have thought about it."
After a moment of silence, Li Jingchen asked him, "I want to know why."
Is it worth it for a farm girl?
"Your Majesty, I cannot have children."
There was another uproar.
Even Li Jingchen's eyes widened.
Yu Zhenzhou took the responsibility of his infertility on himself. People would only point fingers at him and feel sorry for Yang Lijun, and it would also prevent other short-sighted women from getting close to him. It was the best choice for him.
As for Yang Lijun, we’ll coax her later.
"......really?"
"I am not lying." Yu Zhenzhou looked up at Li Jingchen and said, "Your Majesty, please ask the head of the Imperial Hospital to testify on my behalf."
"...It was said that the head of the Imperial Hospital, Tan Zhao."
Tan Zhao arrived soon and carefully felt Yu Zhenzhou's pulse several times, confirming what he said.
"In his early years, the Duke of Zhenguo was injured in a vital part, and it was difficult for him to have children."
Li Jingchen waved his hand and asked him to leave.
Yu Zhenzhou stood at the head of the court officials, with his brows lowered and his posture straight, showing the calmness that showed that he no longer cared about what others thought.
The court officials received explosive news one after another and were digesting them silently. The officials who were at odds with Yu Zhenzhou only exchanged glances a few times and no one stepped forward in the end.
Li Jingchen pondered for a long time.
Yu Zhenzhou is unable to have children. It’s hard to say why he feels this way, but he always feels like a burden has been lifted off his shoulders.
What Li Jingchen hesitated about was that if the hereditary county title was given out, there must be a legitimate and sufficient reason to take it back later.
At least on the surface.
Moreover, Qiling County was ostensibly given to Huang Mulin as a fiefdom, but what could a five or six-year-old girl do?
The actual owner is still Yu Zhenzhou himself.
What does he want to do?
What can be done?
A small county and a small county lord are allowed to recruit no more than 500 private soldiers. If there is any movement from foreigners or the neighboring country, this number of people will not be enough.
If we want to borrow Ksitigarbha's soldiers, it will also be very difficult.
The southernmost part of Qiling County is the seaside, the easternmost part is a trench and is adjacent to Baoguo, the northernmost part is connected to other counties, and although there are some mountains and forests in the west, the area is not particularly large and there are no wild valleys for soldier training.
It is impossible to hide a large number of soldiers.
Could it be that he really just wanted to ask for mercy for his adopted daughter?
There are three kinds of unfilial piety, and no one is the greatest.
All the court officials were waiting for the emperor's decision.
Finally, Li Jingchen spoke.
"Duke Yu Zhenzhou of Zhenguo has won a great victory over the Matan Kingdom and assisted the Northwest Garrison in defeating the Qili Kingdom. His contributions are extremely great. I hereby decree that Qiling County be granted to the adopted daughter of Duke Zhenguo, Huang Mulin, as a personal subordinate fiefdom. It will be inherited by the descendants and cannot be taken back unless there is a serious mistake."
"I will also give you a thousand taels of gold, ten pieces of brocade, and a pair of jade ruyi..."
At this moment, Li Jingchen fully demonstrated the emperor's generosity.
"Thank you Lord for your grace."
Yu Zhenzhou bowed respectfully.
Li Jingchen also rewarded the generals stationed on the northern border and in the northwest according to their merits.
The next day, a group of people came out of the palace and headed for Qiling County.
After a few days, Yu Zhenzhou asked the emperor for a long vacation and rode a fast horse to Linhai Town.
At this moment, Huang Mulin didn't know what was about to happen to her.
A few days after his birthday, after Yang Lijun and others had dinner and went back, only the Huang family was left in the yard. Seven people were exercising in the yard, and Huang Mulin suddenly remembered that the chili sauce he made before the New Year had not been opened!
Huang Jinlin slapped his head, annoyed that he had forgotten about this.
It was really because it was near the end of the year and there were too many things to do. Later, I spent another month going back and forth to Tianjing Mansion, and then I prepared for Huang Mulin's birthday. It was one thing after another, so fulfilling and busy that I completely forgot about the chili sauce.