September in the third year of Chuping.

After the war, the Xiliang army stationed in Chang'an, and many generals gathered in the court. Although they had their own thoughts, Li Jue and Guo Si's military strength were the highest among the people. Under the stake, the rewards and dispatches for the generals were finalized one after another.

After just waiting for the court meeting to reward merits, the troops and horses of the Xiliang Army were stationed in Guanzhong counties. The General of the Chariot and Cavalry, Li Jue, who was in charge of Chang'an, ruled the Xiliang Army of various troops, became the biggest winner.

In addition, the second largest military force among Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou and Zhang Ji, Hu Zhen and Yang Ding, who each had troops, Yan Xing and Duan Wei, who were moving when they heard the news, Ma Teng and Han Sui, Li Ru, who advocated power, Jia Xu, who was in charge of the government and the country, and the old Han officials who conspired to support the country were also paying attention to this court meeting.

Therefore, under the attention of everyone, this court meeting for rewarding merits was finally held grandly in Weiyang Palace in Chang'an.

It was dawn and the rooster was crowing. Outside the front hall of Weiyang Palace, there were already a group of guards in the palace raising fires to protect them, and many guided eunuchs were busy running under the light of fire, preparing to go to the ceremony.

When the hour of Mao was approaching, all the civil and military officials who entered the palace checked their ranks from the palace gate and came to the empty field outside the hall to gather one after another. Then the officials were divided into ranks and positions, and were guided by the essays in charge of the ceremony, and climbed up the steps and led to the palace gate.

Yan Xing, who entered the court, was also among the court officials. He wore a turtle crown and court robes. After walking in the section with the same green ribbon and silver seal, he first untied his sword outside the hall gate, took off his shoes, held a tablet in his hand, and only wore his feet. Following the guidance of the eunuch, he stepped over the threshold of the front hall and walked slowly into the hall.

Yan Xing was tall and walked over Duan Wei and others in front of him. He looked around and saw a wide and flat palace displaying chariots and cavalry guards, erecting Han flags, and surrounded by erect palace guards, with distinctively dressed and long soldiers in hand, guarding the central hall from afar.

There were hundreds of men on both sides of the hall, with majestic figures, wearing armor and halberds, clamping the steps, and standing left and right.

After all the ministers entered the palace, the guided evangelists followed the rumors and rushed to guide them. The civil and military officials followed the court ceremony and each took their positions. The military officials were headed by Li Jue, Guo Si and others, arranged in the west in order, facing eastward, while the civil officials were headed by Zhao Qian, Chunyu Jia and others, arranged in the eastward, facing westward, and there were nine exiled people, responsible for conveying the imperial edicts of the emperor in the palace.

The civil and military officials were classified and clearly divided. Except for the three sitting alone, the ministers sat in the seats, each of whom was solemn and upright.

This was the first time Yan Xing participated in a court meeting. Seeing such a grand atmosphere in the Han Dynasty, although he knew it was just a royal ceremonial war on the surface, he still couldn't help but secretly called himself a surprise in his heart.

This set of Han rituals was formulated by Shusun Tong in the past to convene Confucian scholars and according to the Spring and Autumn etiquette and laws, for the newly established Han dynasty. The original intention was to distinguish the ranks of the monarch and ministers and highlight the honor of the emperor.

No wonder Liu Bang, who had just ascended the throne, sighed after the grand ceremony, "I know it is the most precious thing for the emperor today!"

Duan Wei, who was kneeling on the side, seemed to have eyes. He could see Yan Xing, who had just looked at the palace court curiously. He held the tablet in his hand, staring blankly, and said in a low voice to Yan Xing.

"Yanming, this is the first time I have been to court today."

When Yan Xing heard this, he quickly calmed down and answered in a low voice:

"It's indeed the first time Yan has been to court. If there is any misconduct, please ask Duan Gong to correct me!"

Unlike other generals and schools such as Yan Xing, Duan Wei was born in a family of generals and was of the same clan as the late Taiwei Duan Yi. When he was under Dong Zhuo, he was also a prominent Zhonglang general. He had participated in many court meetings. Compared with Yan Xing, the Zhonglang generals who had already become popular, the Zhonglang generals had naturally different knowledge.

"Haha, Yanming is a person who is interested. If there were any misconduct in the palace in the past, there would be a guest correcting it. Now, there are many people who have misconduct in the court. You and I just need to keep the duties of the ministers."

Although Duan Wei's voice was low, he still heard Yan Xing's eyes flashing. He still respectfully responded:

"Yan, I've been taught!"

Duan Wei smiled slightly and stopped talking.

Yan Xing blinked his eyes and knew that Duan Wei had just pointed out, but what was the deep meaning in his words, but he didn't understand it for a moment. He remembered that he had few interactions with Duan Wei. He also met in a hurry in front of Jia Xu's mansion and did not talk deeply. Today, he suddenly talked about these things with him. Could it be?

Thinking of this, Yan Xing glanced at the direction of the leader and saw Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou and others wearing court robes, kneeling on the seat, with a proud look, arrogance, or impatient, and even more, they clumsyly posed on the tablets and twisted their straight waist unnaturally. With a greedy look, they looked around the magnificent palace of the Emperor.

Yan Xing withdrew his gaze in time and also alerted himself that he no longer looked at everything in the court. He imitated Duan Wei's appearance, held his breath and sat upright.

After not sitting for a long time, the emperor's carriage had already arrived outside the hall.

For a moment, bells and drums were ringing and music was played to welcome him. The twelve-year-old emperor Liu Xie had a crown and a bellows, a black suit, a colorful dress, a twelve chapters of the sun, moon, and stars. He held the carriage with his hand and slowly got off the chariot. The guards leading the way in front immediately heard a warning, and the young emperor followed the steps up the stairs, until he ascended to the imperial throne.

Then, with the praise of the eunuch, the ministers and officials left the seat one after another and came to visit the emperor. Yan Xing also followed the crowd and, under the guidance of the eunuch, worshipped the young emperor according to the court.

Liu Xie stood high on the imperial throne, behaved dignifiedly, and responded freely to court etiquette, and had a somewhat mature attitude. Some old Han officials saw it and were secretly happy in their hearts that although the emperor is often stolen by powerful officials, he is talented and intelligent, and has the demeanor of a sage of the emperor.

But in Yan Xing's eyes, Liu Xie was just a smart boy. No matter how grand the Han Dynasty's court ceremony was or how noble the Han emperor seemed, the protagonist today was destined not to be the young man on the imperial throne, but the generals and generals of the Xiliang army in the hall with troops.

After visiting the Emperor, the court officials and officials sat down in sequence in sequence, and the main topic of this court meeting to discuss merits and rewards also began.

A graceful and dignified Huangmen Minister stood in front of the hall with an edict and began to read the emperor's edict to the civil and military ministers.

"In the autumn of the third year of Chuping, Gengwu, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty said: The poem says, "I am the king's army, and I am the time of upbringing. The time is pure and magnificent, so I use the Dajie." I first ascended the ranks, but my virtue was not carried out, and the country was invaded by the Rong and Di. I could not overcome difficulties by stopping the expedition and punishment, and I could not settle the border without striking the attack..."

"Now, Li Jue, the general of the Central Army, defended the enemy and defeated the enemy, supported the emperor, and was the best of all the generals. Therefore, he was appointed as the General of the Chariot and Cavalry, appointed as the Marquis of Chiyang, and was appointed as the Chief of the Secretariat, and was appointed as the Chief of the Secretariat, and was appointed as the Chief of the Crown Officer, and was appointed as the Crown Officer. He was appointed as the Chief of the Crown Officer, and was appointed as the Crown Officer. He was appointed as the Chief of the Crown Officer. He was appointed as the Chief of the Crown Officer. He was appointed as the Chief of the Military and Military Officer. He was appointed as the Chief of the Military Officer. He was so proud of him!"

Li Jue, who was proud and satisfied, endured the excitement in his heart, bowed to worship and bowed loudly according to the etiquette he practiced in advance, and praised:

"My minister - Li Jue - is in charge - thank you!"

After rewarding Li Jue, it was Guo Si, Fan Chou, Zhang Ji and others.

"The General Guo Si of the Central Army was appointed as the Hou General, and was granted the Marquis of Meiyang, the General Fan Chou of the Central Army was appointed the Right General, and the Marquis of Wannian Hou, and the General Zhang Ji of the Central Army was appointed as the General of Zhendong, and the Marquis of Pingyang."

"My minister-Guo Si--responsible--thank you!"

"My minister—Fan Chou—responsible—thank you!"

"My minister——Zhang Ji——responsible——Thank you!"

The three of them thanked each other and saluted each other. The Huangmen Minister continued to read the edict. His sonorous voice echoed in the hall again, and he rewarded Hu Zhen, Yang Ding and others. When he was thinking about Yan Xing and others, Yan Xing couldn't help but erect his ears and listened carefully.

"The General Duan Wei of the Central Army was appointed as the General of Pingdong, and was granted the title of Guanneihou, with a fief of 800 households. The General Yan Yan of the Central Army was the prefect of Hedong, the General of Pingbei, with a fief of Guanneihou, with a fief of 500 households. The Chief of the Central Army was appointed as the General of Yingyang...

After the edict was finished, there were many generals and schoolmen who had left this round. They bowed to the court according to the etiquette and etiquette, and praised them:

"I am hereby commanded - thank you!"

After thanking each other, everyone returned to their seats in order. Seeing Li Jue-Jie leading the generals, Guo Si, Fan Chou and others were granted the title of general, but he only received the title of Hedong Prefect, the miscellaneous general, and a marquis of Guannei who was just a show. Finally, because he learned about it in advance and had some expectations in his heart, Yan Xing was not very disappointed.

But the fact that Li Jue and others were granted the title of marquis just now aroused Yan Xing's alertness.

It is not surprising that Li Jue was granted the title of Marquis of Chiyang. This is because the Jingzhao Yin, where he stationed his troops, was the capital of Kyoto, so it was naturally impossible to divide the cities and use them to split the land and be granted the title of Marquis.

However, Guo Si's army was garrisoned in Zuo Fengyi, but was granted the title of Marquis of Meiyang, and Fan Chou's army was garrisoned in Youfufeng, but was granted the title of Marquis of Wannian, which was unexpected.

Meiyang County is in Youfufeng, Wannian County is in Zuofengyi, and the fiefs of the two are exactly opposite to each other's resident. Isn't this intentional planting the root of the gap between the two?

However, Zhang Ji's army stationed in Hongnong, his fief was in Hedong. This is not obvious. Do you want to use Zhang Ji to check and balance and suppress his newly-appointed Hedong Prefect?

For a moment, Yan Xing, who had returned to the seat, looked slightly calmer, and his mind was constantly changing, thinking about the pros and cons of this matter. Duan Wei, who was sitting next to him, had his face as usual after being sealed. He rolled his eyes intentionally or unintentionally, and silently paid attention to the change in the expression of the young man beside him.

At the same time, among the ministers rank in the east, there were several pairs of eyes quietly looking at Yan Xing's body.

···

"This is a plan of power for the generals of all sizes. I think it must be Li Ru's plan."

After the court meeting, the generals of the Western Liang army were very proud and called their friends to celebrate their achievements. Yan Xing and Gan Ling also retreated from the palace together and rode out of the city to return to their camp. They learned that Yan Xing had been appointed as the prefect of Hedong, appointed as the General of Pingbei, and were granted the title of Marquis of Guannei. Gan Ling Jin was the General of Yingyang General, from generals such as Zhai Hao, Ma Lin, and ordinary soldiers, all of them were happy and celebrated.

This series of glory of their own generals also means that the status of these lieutenant generals and the army has increased.

For ordinary soldiers in the camp, after the court rewarded merits and practices, the many rewards such as wine, meat, wealth, etc. that followed were enough to make them happy for a while.

However, there were also people in the camp who were prepared for danger in times of peace. After listening to Yan Xing's account of many things that happened at today's court meeting, Xi Zhicai thought for a while before speaking to Yan Xing in a deep voice.

Yan Xing nodded, he thought for a while, and said:

"It is normal for Li Jue to command the generals and make some open conspiracies. Guo Si and Fan Chou restrain each other, so Li Jue can mediate and reap the benefits of the fisherman. However, he wanted to use Zhang Ji to go out to Hongnong in the town and check and balance me. Zhang Ji was not a person with force in the battlefield for a long time, but we had to guard against it."

Speaking of this, Yan Xing paused, looked at Xi Zhicai and said:

"Do you still remember that you met Duan Wei in front of Jia's house a few days ago."

After hearing Yan Xing's words, Xi Zhicai nodded quickly and said:

"This person is a general of Dongying. This time he entered Beijing, he was also very coldly treated and was inferior to Li, Guo and others. Could it be that the person intends to connect and can help Hedong?"

Yan Xing shook his head when he heard this and continued:

"Duan Wei's court meeting today was a vague hint to me that he was quite indignant about the domineering behavior of Li, Guo and others. However, I had no close relationship with him in the past, and now I am just a brief discussion. I can only say that he is stationed in Huayin and is neighboring Zhang Ji. He may be a potential ally of ours, but it is too early to attract help from Hedong."

"Governor Gan Zhonglang once said that when he led his troops to Zuo Fengyi, when he passed by Huayin, Duan Wei had the opportunity to go out of the city to attack, but he defended the city and allowed him to leave. It can be seen that he is also a person with far-sighted vision. If the general is interested, he can first use this matter and find an opportunity to make friends with him in the name of Governor Gan Zhonglang, and tell him what he intended. After we return to the army to pacify Hedong, we will determine whether to send envoys and make an alliance."

“This plan is very good.”

After Yan Xing discussed this matter with Xi Zhicai in the tent, he kept hearing the sound of soldiers in the camp singing happily outside the tent. He smiled and waved his hand, saying to Xi Zhicai:
Chapter completed!