Chapter 49: Promoted (Third Update, Vote Requested)

  Du He's two eyes stared at one place, unaware of what kind of trick Li Shimin was playing.

  But then Zhangsun Wuji walked out and said: "Your Majesty is wise and discerning, with a keen eye for talent. We are all impressed!"

  Then one by one, a large group of literati such as Chu Suiliang, Linghu Defen, Yu Zhining, Zhang Xuansu and Zhao Hongzhi came out to say some words praising Li Shimin and complimenting Du Hu.

  Li Shimin laughed heartily: "I've said it, this young Du is indeed a great general, though he's still young. He has the magnanimity of a valley and won't be arrogant or proud just because of his achievements. I can be sure of that!"

  Upon hearing this, Du He also understood that he had been deceived. It was those people who were slandering him in front of Uncle Li, saying things like "he's still young and doesn't understand things", "he needs to be tempered more to become a great talent", "if he is rewarded too much, he will become arrogant" and other nonsense.

  Then Uncle Li said a lot of good things about himself, seeing that he couldn't persuade the ministers, so he came up with this probe, exaggerating his achievements, to let all the civil and military officials in the court know that he had the magnanimous spirit of a great general.

  Uncle Li's gaze was not for himself, but for the officials to see.

  Understand the reason, Du He also admired Li Shimin's clever means, this is called using one's own spear to attack one's own shield, borrowing those literary people's words to overthrow them, and at the same time praising oneself as having a great general's demeanor with an empty yet vast mind.

  What followed was the real reward, Li Ji as the commander-in-chief of the three armies was the first achievement that everyone expected, but he had already been in the position of the Twelve Guards General, there was nothing left to reward him with, and Li Shimin could only commend him a few words, gave him all material rewards, increased his fief by a little bit, feeling a bit not worth it.

  But as Li Ji's identity, if he wants to be promoted, he can only be promoted to the Minister of War or the Prime Minister.

  The Minister of War has Hou Junji, the Prime Minister, and Li Ji is temporarily not enough, can only be so.

  As for Du He's second place in contributions, there is no dispute about this point.

  He was praised by Li Shimin, who said in a deep voice: "Du He is young and promising. At the age of twenty, he has achieved such great merit. Only the great Han general Huo Qubing can be compared to him. He is promoted to Zhongwu General and concurrently serves as Left Weiwei Middle Langjiang, specially enfeoffed as the Viscount of Wannian County, leading the flying cavalry, guarding the palace."

  For this reward, all the ministers were stunned.

  I thought it would be a decent official position for Du He, but it's just the humble Zhongwu General, and the County Magistrate of Wannian, no one takes it seriously.

  After all, Zhongwu General is a military officer, although he has the title of Zheng Si Pin, but only receives salary and has no real power. The rank of Wei is higher than that of Zuo Weiwu Zhonglang Jiang, but it is not as good as Zuo Weiwu Zhonglang Jiang. As for the son of Wannian County, it is not a very high title, but Wannian County is near Chang'an and belongs to the golden zone. It can be seen that Li Shimin's favor towards Du He is not a big deal!

  And so none of them opposed it either.

  Only those with keen eyesight will focus their attention on the leading flying cavalry.

  What is this flying horse?

  Du He himself was also a bit stunned, and he was relatively satisfied with Li Shimin's reward, which was to lead the flying cavalry. In his impression, the Tang Dynasty had an institution of flying cavalry, but it seemed that it had not yet been produced.

  Chang Sun Wuji stepped forward again, "Your Majesty, what is this flying cavalry?"

  "Ah!" Li Shimin slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "I'm so confused, I haven't even explained it yet! It's nothing much, just that the Imperial Guard has been without a good commander for a long time, and has become somewhat neglected. Therefore, I will rename the Imperial Guard to Flying Cavalry, and have it belong to the Left Weiwei!"

  Zhangsun Wuji was stunned. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, some soldiers who followed Li Yuan to start a rebellion in Taiyuan were stationed at the North Gate, and the troops they led were called "Yu Congjin Army". Although this Yu Congjin Army had been somewhat abandoned, it still had 4,000 soldiers and horses.

  Li Shimin handed over the "Yu Congjin Army" to Du He, letting him guard the imperial palace, making it clear that he had already made up his mind to cultivate Du He as a new generation of generals for the Tang Dynasty.

  Du He's official position remained unchanged, although his rank was low, the number of soldiers under his command soared from 1,000 to 5,000, with great actual power!

  "This is probably..." Zhangsun Wuji thought of an excuse to refute.

  But Li Shimin waved his hand and said: "In terms of talent, ability, and achievements! Du Ke has all the qualifications, my mind is made up, no need to say more!"

  Changsun Wuji saw Li Shimin's face showing anger, and he hurriedly closed his mouth and stopped speaking. He was cunning like a fox, knowing that provoking Li Shimin here would not bring any benefits!

  The remaining generals, including Shi Lizhi, Niu JinDa, Liu Lan, Li YeXun and Li JingYe, were also rewarded with titles. Even Luo Tong, Fang YiAi and Wang DeZheng under Du HeJi's command received their due rewards.

  It must be said that Li Shimin had a set of rules for rewards and punishments, all the generals who went on expeditions were convinced and satisfied, and the soldiers who went on expeditions received three times their military pay, which was also a great joy.

  Li Shimin then announced that a state banquet would be held that evening in the Two Instruments Hall to reward these victorious generals.

  Facing a table of delicious dishes, Du He's mouth watered profusely after eating coarse food for nearly three months, and he immediately devoured it without caring about his image. The others were no different from him, each one eating with gusto, wanting to make up for the suffering they had endured in recent days.

  Having eaten and drunk enough, after the banquet was dismissed, Du Heben wanted to go home to see his long-separated mother, but Li Shimin had someone call him to Ganlu Temple.

  "Look at Uncle Li!" Du He walked up close.

  Li Shimin personally came down to help Du He up, and laughed loudly: "You little guy really didn't disappoint my high expectations. This is your first time on the battlefield, and you've achieved such results! Even Huo Qubing wasn't as good as you! Especially in the handling of the Yan state and Nu state affairs, it's even more worthy of my intention to appoint you as the acting commander."

  Li Shimin was already a renowned general with great military achievements before he ascended to the throne. He was accustomed to killing and bloodshed. After ascending to the throne, due to his unparalleled wisdom and strategies, he transformed the mighty Tang Dynasty into the most powerful empire of its time, with all nations submitting to it, giving him an invincible feeling that seemed to touch the heavens.

  But Yan Zhou governor Bie Cong Wushi, and Nuozhou governor Ba Li Buli's betrayal, made his small vanity trampled, in his heart he already felt that foreigners are not trustworthy, must be severely punished.

  Du He's conquests in Yan and Luo states were just to his liking, especially the thousand-mile pursuit and killing of Shi Ba Li Bi, which left him in endless admiration. He was so delighted that he couldn't sleep at night.

  Especially in these days, the surrounding dozens of alien tribes have come to send envoys to pay their respects, and it is even more so that Du He said that for the alien tribes, apart from granting them kindness, they must also be treated with might, only then can they be made to listen obediently.

  Seeing Li Shimin's excessive excitement, Du He curiously asked: "I don't know what happy event Uncle Li has encountered, let me share it with you too!"

  "I'm really delighted!" Li Shimin returned to his seat and sat down, laughing: "This can also be considered as basking in the glory of your young self! Before long, it will be the Spring Festival..."

  Li Shimin's words made Du He stunned, on the battlefield marching and fighting is the easiest to forget time, he set out in September, lasted nearly three months, calculating the time, isn't it almost Chinese New Year?

  He had just calmed his mind, but then he heard Li Shimin's proud laughter: "Every year during the Spring Festival, the surrounding tribes send envoys to congratulate me in the Great Tang Dynasty. In the past, the congratulations from various tribes were only formalities and did not seem grand. But now, with this one victory, people from all over the world are shocked and intimidated. According to messages from all directions, the scale of the congratulatory missions from various tribes this time is especially large. Preliminary estimates suggest that all the missions combined number no less than tens of thousands of people, far surpassing previous years. This year's New Year's celebration, with all nations coming to congratulate us, is absolutely the greatest occasion in the history of our China!"

  Du He listened and was also moved, feeling proud of him. Suddenly, a very interesting idea sprouted in his heart.