Chapter 66: Reward
“Da da da…da da da…”
A group of cavalrymen from outside Luoyang City rushed straight towards Luoyang City, shouting as they charged, "Urgent information from Liangzhou, 800 miles away. Open the gate quickly!"
The soldiers guarding the city did not dare to delay and after receiving the urgent information from eight hundred miles away, they hurriedly opened the city gate and let them pass.
The hurried sound of horse hooves and footsteps woke up countless people in Luoyang, and countless officials were once again awakened by the knocking of the palace guards on the door.
Before dawn, all the ministers gathered in the court.
Liu Hong's face was extremely pale. The destruction of the country's destiny seemed to have caused irreversible damage to him. He could already feel that his end was approaching and it seemed that he would soon die.
"Four hundred thousand Qiang troops rebelled, and more than half of the territory of Liangzhou has been lost?" The ministers could not believe the news they heard.
"Tell me, what happened to the Han Dynasty?" Liu Hong was furious. He threw the intelligence in his hand to the ground. Looking at the ministers who were silent as a mouse, he wished he could kill all of them.
"Yuan Huai!" Liu Hong began to call out names. The Yellow Turban Rebellion had destroyed the country's destiny, and then there was the rebellion of the Qiang people in Liangzhou. Was the Han Dynasty really going to perish in the hands of him, Liu Hong?
"Your Majesty!" Yuan Huai stepped out in surprise. The Qiang people in Liangzhou were in rebellion, so why would the emperor pick trouble with him first?
"Yuan! Ai! Qing! It was you who recommended Han Sui of Jincheng back then! Now he is causing chaos in Liangzhou!" Liu Hong was furious. It was the aristocratic family and these damn parasites.
"Han Sui? Han Wenyue? Your Majesty, I am innocent, I am innocent." Yuan Huai dug out the memories about Han Sui from the corner of his memory, and immediately knelt down and begged for mercy loudly.
Han Sui was indeed a disciple of his Yuan family. He did not expect that the Qiang rebellion was actually initiated by Han Sui.
"Hmph! Considering that you are unaware of the matter, I will deduct one year's salary and ask you to reflect on your mistakes at home." Liu Hong also guessed what Yuan Huai meant from his reaction. It turned out that it had nothing to do with the aristocratic family?
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace." Yuan Huai stood up, but the seeds of taboo in his heart had already blossomed.
The Yuan family's students are spread across most of the Central Plains. If everyone can be like Han Sui, then their Yuan family...
"Your Majesty, the most urgent task is to quell the rebellion in Liang Province. I heard that Hedong Governor Dong Zhuo is still returning to the court. Why not let him return to Liang Province to quell the rebellion first, and then come to Luoyang to report on his work. Then we can reward him together!"
After seeing Yuan Huai's joke, the vanguard He Jin remembered his staff's advice and hurriedly stepped out to make a report.
"How come this butcher is so clever?" Yuan Huai was a little puzzled. Normally, it was good enough that He Jin didn't take advantage of others' misfortunes, but today, why did he take the initiative to change the subject and help him get out of this situation?
Liu Hong was also a little confused. His elder brother-in-law was originally unpromising, but how come he seemed like a different person after the last time? Not only did he know how to act, but he was also becoming smarter day by day.
After thinking about it, Liu Hong agreed with He Jin's advice. Dong Zhuo was from Liang Province and had elite soldiers who had just put down the Yellow Turban Rebellion. He was indeed a good choice.
"Okay, General, please get started!" Waving his hand, Liu Hong put aside his messy thoughts and ordered He Jin to take full responsibility for the matter.
“Yes!”
"By the way, my dear ministers, have you reached any conclusion on the rewards for the heroes who helped suppress the rebellion?" When Liu Hong mentioned the victory in suppressing the rebellion, his expression became much better.
In his view, these rebellions were minor matters and could be resolved if the court responded promptly.
Liu Hong actually had a good impression of the generals who had defeated the Yellow Turbans.
If it weren't for the damn Yellow Turbans and the damn Zhang Jue, he wouldn't feel that his time is running out now.
He wanted to depose Crown Prince Liu Bian and enthrone Prince Liu Xie as emperor, but there were too many things involved behind Crown Prince Liu Bian. If he still had time, these would not be a problem, but now he really felt that he was unable to do so.
A list of rewards after discussion by the ministers was handed to Liu Hong. From Guo Hao to every main general, all the rewards were included.
At the same time, General He Jin was also reading out the lists of rewards. These lists were the products of direct compromises among various forces and parties. For Liu Hong, these were also political prices that had to be paid.
The money donated by the ministers before was for this moment.
However, for Liu Hong, balancing the forces in the court was enough, and he could do nothing about the rest. After all, without the aristocratic families, the world would always be difficult to govern.
"Huangfu Song was appointed as the second-rank General of the Left Cavalry, Governor of Jizhou, and was granted the title of Marquis of Huaili."
"Zhu Jun was promoted to the rank of Right General of Chariots and Cavalry, and appointed Governor of Henei, and was granted the title of Marquis of Xixiang."
…
"Guo Feigong was appointed as the fifth-rank General Hu Lie, and was appointed as the governor of Beiliang County and was granted the title of Guannei Hou."
"Why is the reward for Guo Fei of Liangzhou so low?" Liu Hong was shocked. Guo Fei was the main force in killing Zhang Jue, and in Huangfu Song's letter requesting merit, he was the first meritorious official in pacifying the Yellow Turbans. How could this reward be so different from what he expected?
"Your Majesty, Guo Fei is only eighteen years old. Although he has made great contributions, the title of nobility is already the limit for him. If you rashly grant him a high official position, it may cause harm to state affairs." He Jin immediately stepped forward to report.
Originally, various forces wanted to win over this young talent, but Guo Fei was too young.
In the entire history of the Han Dynasty, Huo Huqi was the first one to be granted a title of nobility. Could he be directly granted a high-ranking official title? If he had made more contributions, would he still be able to be a general?
Where does this put him, a great general?
It was for this reason that He Jin even gave in to Zhang Rang and increased Dong Zhuo's reward in order to suppress Guo Hao's reward.
If Liu Hong had not made a prior intention to make the one who captured Zhang Jiao a marquis, he would not even want to make Guo Hao the Marquis of Guannei, and would have just given him a miscellaneous general.
The ministers were whispering below, but more people were looking at the silent Yuan Huai, the silent Zhang Rang, and the silent general. No one was in a hurry to stand up, but waited coldly for what would happen next.
Everyone knew what He Jin was thinking, but the concessions he made were big enough that all forces acquiesced to this result.
"What state affairs has been delayed by Guo Fei? General, tell us." Liu Hong, who was at the top, suddenly lost his expression and became more and more dissatisfied with He Jin.
Ever since he planned to depose the eldest son and enthrone the youngest, he has become more and more disgusted with the He family. If it weren't for He Jin's perfect performance recently, he would have found a way to deal with He Jin long ago.
But Liu Hong is different. All the people under heaven are the emperor's subjects. As the emperor, how could he not know your little thoughts?
He understood He Jin's thoughts, but knowing it made him even more dissatisfied.
It is his little trick to depose the eldest son and enthrone the youngest son. He hasn't even started to show his intentions yet, but you, He Jin, have already started suppressing capable people. Where do you think I, the emperor, should be placed?
Liu Hong sold official positions and titles, but he knew how to promote some capable people to guard the country.
For example, he knew that He Jin was a fool and that Yuan Huai and other children of noble families were unreliable, so he would deliberately promote some capable people, such as Lu Zhi, Huangfu Song and others.
