The servant shouted and ran excitedly towards the depths of the mansion, apparently to spread the news.

Li Huan and the dozen or so personal guards stopped in front of the gate of the mansion. Several servants who had already heard the noise ran over quickly. Some were holding umbrellas to protect Li Huan from the wind and snow, while others were holding dusters.

Dust the snowflakes off Li Huan's body.

Li Huan looked at the door of the mansion, took a deep breath, and strode towards the mansion.

The mansion had already heard the news that Li Huan had returned but was taken into the palace by the emperor. Although they knew that Li Huan had returned to Beijing, their hearts dropped, but they did not see Li Huan return. Feng, Forsythia and others were still worried about him.

.

In the hall, Forsythia was accompanying Feng. Suddenly, there was a rush of footsteps, and the servant was heard saying at the door of the hall: "Old madam, the master is back, the master is back!"

Feng Shi and Forsythia suddenly stood up, and Feng Shi said in great surprise: "Huan'er is back, come with me to greet Huan'er."

Forsythia hurriedly supported Feng, and several maids also hurriedly followed.

As soon as they walked out of the hall and before leaving the inner courtyard, they heard the sound of footsteps, and a figure came into the sight of Feng, Forsythia and others.

Compared with before, Li Huan's figure has become more and more upright, and the trace of childishness on his face has long disappeared, and he has gained a bit of calmness, giving the impression that his whole person has suddenly matured a lot.

Seeing Li Huan getting closer and closer, Mrs. Feng's face was full of joy, and she just stared at her son, looking at him dreamily.

With a pop, Li Huan prostrated himself in front of Mrs. Feng and said in a trembling voice: "Unfilial son, please pay homage to your mother!"

Not mentioning Li Huan's return to the government, but saying that in the cabinet, several cabinet elders and a number of officials looked quite busy.

As the New Year approaches, all matters concerning the court must be approved and processed as much as possible. After all, even the court will have a holiday before long.

So it seems that the cabinet is very busy at the moment.

Suddenly, a small chamberlain came in a hurry, and an official saw the person and hurriedly came up to greet him.

The little chamberlain was Liu Jin's confidant and often traveled back and forth between the Supervisor of Ceremonies and the Cabinet to deliver news, so many people in the Cabinet were familiar with him.

The official said hurriedly: "Little Eunuch Liu, why are you here? If you need something, I can just send someone over. Why bother to bother you to go there in person?"

He said this, but the official's expression was a bit solemn. This young Eunuch Liu was Liu Jin's godson. Under normal circumstances, there might not be anything important, but he couldn't be bothered to take action.

Now that this person has come in person, it is not certain that he has something important to do, and it may even be related to the person in the palace.

With such thoughts flashing through his mind, little Eunuch Liu glanced at the official and said, "Take me to see some pavilion elders."

Upon hearing this, the officials quickly led young Eunuch Liu to the side hall where the chief assistant Li Dongyang was.

Li Dongyang was reviewing the report submitted from several places, when suddenly the voice of young Eunuch Liu came to his ears: "I have seen the chief minister."

Li Dongyang raised his head, nodded slightly when he saw little Eunuch Liu, put down the brush in his hand, looked at little Eunuch Liu and said: "It turns out to be little Eunuch Liu, I didn't know that little Eunuch Liu is here, but what's the matter?

?”

Little Eunuch Liu coughed slightly and said: "Master Chief Assistant, your Majesty asked today about the report of military merits from Shaanxi. Did the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office of the Fifth Army come up with a charter? Your Majesty said that tomorrow, the cabinet ministers will

It's best to give His Majesty an explanation."

Li Dongyang couldn't help frowning when he heard this, stroking his beard and nodded slightly: "It turns out it's for this matter, I know it."

Young Eunuch Liu glanced at Li Dongyang, bowed and said: "In that case, I will leave."

Watching young Eunuch Liu leave, Li Dongyang looked solemnly and said to an official beside him: "Go and invite Mr. Yang Ge, Mr. Wang Ge, and Mr. Liu Ge."

Soon I saw Yang Tinghe, Wang Yangming, and Liu Yu coming after hearing the news.

Looking at Li Dongyang, Yang Tinghe said with a somewhat solemn expression: "Has Your Majesty asked about the military merit awards that Taifu Li requested?"

Wang Yangming and Liu Yu looked quite calm, obviously they had just learned what was going on from the officials.

Li Dongyang glanced at a few people and nodded slightly: "His Majesty said that we will give him an explanation tomorrow. Let's discuss how we will reply to His Majesty."

Liu Yu sneered and said, "How else can I reply? The people from the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office of the Fifth Army killed me. The military merits reported by Taifu Li were found to be unsubstantiated and will not be counted as military merits."

"Hmph, if we dare to tell His Majesty like this, Your Majesty will be furious when the time comes, and Liu will not take the blame."

Li Dongyang's eyes fell on Wang Yangming.

Wang Yangming took a deep breath and slowly shook his head and said: "The Ministry of War, the people in the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion have gone too far. Even if they want to suppress Mr. Li, they should not target those soldiers in the border towns to deny what others have done."

Military achievements that are earned through hard work."

Li Dongyang coughed lightly, looked at Yang Tinghe with a bitter smile on his face and said, "Jiefu, what do you think?"

Yang Tinghe frowned and said: "The people from the Ministry of War and the Fifth Army Governor's Office came back and said that the military merits submitted by Taifu Li mentioned how many Tatars were killed, but they went to Shaanxi to check, but there was no evidence.

, except for some cattle and sheep obtained from the grassland, there are no Tatar heads as evidence.”

As he spoke, Yang Tinghe glanced at everyone and said solemnly: "My Ming Dynasty has always attached great importance to military merit, and military merit cannot be rewarded indiscriminately. Without evidence, it is not without reason and basis for the Ministry of War and the Fifth Army Governor's Office to reject Taifu Li's petition for rewards.

"

Liu Yu said disdainfully: "Under such circumstances, we not only have to bring back the loot, but also guard against Tatar pursuit. How can those soldiers have the thought and effort to bring back the Tatar heads. Hulibu, Heihe

Whether the army was destroyed or not, you only need to send someone to inquire about it. However, those in the Ministry of War and the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army insist on seeing the heads of Tatars in order to be considered for military merit. Isn't this a bit unreasonable?

"

Li Dongyang glanced at a few people and sighed and said: "That's all. Tomorrow, the general ministers from the Ministry of War and the governors of the Fifth Army Governor's Office who went to Shaanxi to sign things will be summoned. Let's all go to the palace to meet His Majesty."

Ministry of War

The left minister Yu Fang and the right minister Chen Wei were looking at the officials in front of them. After listening to the official's message, they frowned, nodded slightly and said: "Tell the chief minister that I will be summoned to the palace to see your majesty tomorrow."

After the officials left, several of the lieutenants and outsiders in the Ministry of War turned their attention to Yu Fang and Chen Wei. Although the Ministry of War is now led by the elder Liu Yuyao, Liu Yu's Ministry of War is directly in charge of the Ministry of War.

The senior officials in the Ministry of War, as well as the people in the Ministry of War, intentionally or unintentionally excluded Liu Yu.

Therefore, in the Ministry of War, the two ministers on the left and right are actually the ones who are really in charge.

One of the officials said to Yu Fang with a somewhat worried look on his face: "Sir, we have refuted Li Huan's petition this time. I'm afraid that Governor Li will not be willing to let it go."

Yu Fang said lightly: "So what? Tell me, are we doing everything in accordance with the Ming Dynasty's military law? Is there any violation of the Ming Dynasty's military law?"

Everyone's eyes lit up, and one person stroked his beard and said with a smile: "What your Excellency said is true. We sent people to check it. Since there is no evidence, this military merit cannot be established. Even if Governor Li disagrees, he will fight the lawsuit.

Your Majesty, so are we."

"Yes, we didn't make any mistakes, so there's nothing to fear."

"Your Majesty must always be reasonable. If you want a reward, you can show proof of your military achievements."

For a moment, everyone said something to each other, and everyone looked very excited.

Yu Fang glanced at Chen Wei and said, "Mr. Chen, tomorrow we will argue based on our reasons. Military merit cannot be rewarded poorly. Let's see what Li Huan has to say."

Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army

Originally, the Governor's Office of the Five Armies was a military institution used to dispatch the troops of the Ming Dynasty, and nobles had always served as the Grand Governor of the Governor's Office of the Five Armies.

It's a pity that after the battle of Tumu Fort, the vitality of the Xungui Group was severely damaged, so that the Ministry of War took back the power of military affairs to the Ministry of War. The Governor's Office of the Fifth Army is now an empty frame, and everything is headed by the Ministry of War.

Ordinarily, Li Huan, as the Governor of the Chinese Army Governor's Office, can also be regarded as a member of the Fifth Army Governor's Office, so the personnel sent by the Fifth Army Governor's Office to investigate military merits should naturally be on Li Huan's side.

However, the Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Army has been divided and attracted by the civilian group. Some nobles have chosen to stand with the civilian group for their own interests or for the interests of future generations.

Moreover, even though several governors of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion came from noble families, the middle and low-level officials who actually worked were from the civil service group, which reduced the entire Fifth Army Governor's Mansion to the status of a vassal of the Ministry of War.

The Shaanxi Dudu Commandery Division is affiliated to the Right Army Dudufu among the Five Army Dudufus, and the governor of the Right Army Dudufu is none other than Changyang Hou Songzhen.

Changyang Hou Songzhen was influenced by his father's legacy and joined the civil service group early. Therefore, with the support of the civil service group, he was honored as the governor of the Youjun Dudu Mansion. It is conceivable that under such circumstances, how could the officials sent by the Youjun Dudu Mansion do so?

Stand on Li Huan's side.

Changyang Houfu

Changyang Hou Songzhen looked at one of his confidants and frowned: "You said that several elders of the palace have sent word that they will ask me to enter the palace tomorrow, meet the emperor, and report to the governor Li Huan to ask the border troops for a reward?"

The confidant nodded slightly and said: "Exactly."

Song Zhen pondered for a moment and said, "I understand."

Three sides of the land, Governor's Mansion Yamen

Yang Yiqing stood there with his hands behind his back, and several border town generals were standing beside Yang Yiqing.

The cold wind howled by, and Yang Yiqing asked: "Is there anything strange happening to the Tatars on the grassland?"

A general said: "Sir, half a month ago, heavy snow fell from the sky, and the grassland was covered with snow, making it difficult to move. The Tatars, who originally intended to mobilize their troops to go south for revenge, missed the opportunity. Even if they wanted to go south, they could only wait until

It’s time for next year’s spring to bloom.”

Yang Yiqing breathed a sigh of relief, with a smile on his face and said: "That's very good, that's very good. This way, I still have time to prepare for the border town."

After speaking, Yang Yiqing turned around, glanced at everyone and said: "The Dayan Khan who will unify all the Tatar tribes in the coming year will definitely not give up. There is no doubt that there will be another war. I hope that all generals will be more vigilant after returning to their respective stations.

If you train your troops and horses diligently, and if you can achieve military merit, I will definitely ask the imperial court for merit on your behalf."

All the generals said in unison: "General, I will obey your orders."

However, the guerrilla general Li Wu frowned and looked at Yang Yiqing and said: "Sir, the memorial that Imperial Envoy Master Li wrote for us earlier to plead for merit should have arrived at the imperial court a long time ago. But how long has it been, why did the imperial court

The reward hasn’t come out yet?”

A commander nodded when he heard this and said: "Also, the officials sent by the Ministry of War and the Right Army Governor's Office not long ago were all critical and insisted that we take out the heads of the Tatars we killed for them to examine."

As he spoke, the commander cursed directly: "Fuck the heads of the Tatars. They didn't even think about it. The Huli and Heihe tribes were flattened. They turned a blind eye to things that are well known on the grassland.
To be continued...