Chapter 265

In the hall, as Jing Sheng Di delivered a stern reprimand.

Not only did Xu Zhuo collapse to the ground, but Kong Ying's face also turned pale.

He is a descendant of the Yan Sheng Gong, highly regarded among the pure-stream scholar-officials, and his ancestors gave him the confidence to face anyone without fear.

But now that confidence seemed to have been more than half pulled out from under his feet; he stood there like a bamboo stalk bent by the wind, swaying and on the verge of falling.

Even Cabinet Minister Fang Congzhe, though not named by Jing Sheng Di, now had a face flushed and pale.

He lowered his head, not daring to look at the throne where Jing Sheng Di sat, nor at his fellow officials, his expression full of utter shame.

Jing Sheng Di, however, did not glance at them again, allowing the palace eunuch to help the collapsed Xu Zhuo back to his place in the ranks.

His gaze swept over the officials in the hall; after a moment's thought, his voice returned to that earlier neither-high-nor-low tone that made people's hearts prickle.

"In a little over ten days, the Jing Guo Gong will return to the capital with his troops; the capital must prepare for the reception."

"This time, Zi Jie will bring back the Bashang Daying's twenty thousand light cavalry and some of the meritorious officers from the northwest."

"They have fought for months, earning merit for the state; the Cabinet and the Ministry of Rites have agreed to raise the standards of this reception!"

"I, at that time, will personally lead the Feathered Forest Corps out of Yongding Gate to Lugou Bridge to meet the triumphant army!"

"In Shenjing, from nobles and officials down to all who are in the capital, none may be absent! Commoners may set up colorful canopies along the route to cheer the victorious troops!"

As soon as Jing Sheng Di spoke these words, the officials in the hall all showed faces of astonishment!

Given Jing Sheng Di's trust in Jia Zi Jie and the merit of this battle, raising the reception standards is reasonable; they were not surprised by this.

What the officials did not expect, however, was that Jing Sheng Di would actually go to Lugou Bridge to meet them!

Know that even a minister of the highest merit, upon returning to the capital, the emperor usually receives him only at Wumen, Zhengyangmen, or Yongdingmen, to show favor and courtesy!

But where is Lugou Bridge?

Taking Yongding Gate as the southern end of Shenjing's central axis, leaving through this gate means "the emperor leaves the palace to personally go to the suburbs," and Lugou Bridge lies several dozen li outside Yongding Gate.

In other words, Jing Sheng Di will go out of the city several dozen li to meet Jia Jing; such treatment of a subject is extremely rare even in history.

Of course, rare does not mean nonexistent.

There have even been instances where the emperor went to Liangxiang to welcome the triumphant troops, making officials kneel in greeting, the courtesy bordering on flattery.

Thus, although the officials were astonished, no one in the hall spoke up to stop it.

After all, Jia Jing's achievement in this battle is indeed dazzling—destroying the grasslands in one battle, defeating three states, his merit is no less than that of the founding martial achievements!

The Grand Scholar of the Cabinet and Minister of Rites, Xiong Cilü, his face gloomy, stepped forward and bowed, saying:

"Your servant obeys the edict!"

After Jing Sheng Di finished speaking about the reception, he pondered a moment and then continued:

"This time, the Jing Guo Gong defeated Hunye greatly on the Tian Mountains; he too must not go unrewarded—have the Cabinet draft another edict!"

The Cabinet officials stared, wondering if Jing Sheng Di would again promote Jia Jing to the rank of Senior Second Rank, General of the Valiant Cavalry?

But under Jing Sheng Di's sharp gaze, Chen Tingjing could not help but step out from the ranks, clasping his hands and saying:

"Your servant is here!"

"Draft the edict! appoint the Champion Grand General, Jing Guo Gong Jia Jing, to hold the concurrent title of Minister of War, to participate in deliberating major military affairs!"

"Also, grant him the construction of a Jing Guo Gong mansion near Ningrong Street in Shenjing, with specifications slightly less than those of a princely residence."

"But he may have three gates, erect halberds, set up flagpoles, use green glazed tiles, and copper gilt door nails."

Jia Jing's Jing Guo Gong mansion, ever since he was enfeoffed as a duke, has already been in preparation by the Ministry of Works.

Jing Sheng Di's edict this time mainly aims to raise the standards of his ducal mansion.

According to the Da Han system, the mansion regulations for dukes and marquises are completely different from those for princes.

For example, green glazed tiles and copper gilt door nails are permitted only for commandery-princely and princely mansions; a duke's mansion may only use gray tube tiles and gold-lacquered beast-face tin rings.

But at this moment, the Jing Guo Gong mansion clearly breaks that convention, with many aspects already being built according to the standards of a commandery-princely residence.

Even strictly speaking, a duke's residence may only be called a "zhai" or "di," not a "fu."

However, compared to the increase in mansion standards, the civil officials in the hall are actually more concerned and sensitive about Jing Sheng Di granting Jia Jing the concurrent title of Minister of War as a reward!

Given Jia Jing's current official rank, adding the concurrent title of Minister of War,

henceforth, when called upon in court, he will be addressed as: Grand General, Grand Marshal, Jing Guo Gong Jia Jing! What an imposing presence!

Although adding the concurrent title of Minister of War is more an honorary treatment than an actual appointment,

but the Minister of War is fundamentally a civil official's post; granting Jia Jing this concurrent title means he will henceforth be able to participate in discussions of Ministry of War affairs.

Even when the Minister of War position is vacant, he could reasonably intervene in all its authorities.

The Ministry of War is one of the six ministries of the court, responsible for selecting and appointing military officers, managing military registers, issuing orders, overseeing armaments, and handling courier stations,

and is the core institution whereby the civil officialdom controls military affairs and checks the generals of the Five Military Governor's Office.

The Minister of War is a "military official" among civil officials, usually held by a civil official versed in military matters, and is a very special existence within the civil officialdom!

But now the Minister of War has become a concurrent title for Jia Jing, a military commander; this inevitably makes civil officials think more and feel wary!

Moreover, previously Jing Sheng Di compared Jia Jing to Guan Zhong and Xiao He; this action's political signal is truly too thick.

Civil officials even wonder whether this means the emperor intends to let Jia Jing intervene in civil officials' affairs, even to rule the civil by military means?

At that moment, as the officials harbored various thoughts, Li Guangdi, Chen Tingjing, and other cabinet ministers felt a chill in their hearts, their expressions slightly changing.

In fact, the greatest harm from Jia Jing's rise is to the authority of these cabinet ministers; now that the emperor even has the idea of letting him meddle in state affairs, this makes them feel like a thorn in the back even more!

The Cabinet ministers actually wanted to block this ennoblement, but they did not know how to remonstrate.

Jia Jing already held a concurrent title as Vice Minister of War; now, due to his military merit, adding the title of Minister of War is quite reasonable.

Some even feel the reward is a bit low; there's really nothing to say.

Zhang Tingyu's gray-white eyebrows twitched, his eyes flashed, and he resolutely cast aside the thoughts in his mind of wanting to remonstrate, choosing instead to avoid the sharp edge!

As for this person Jia Jing, he really finds him somewhat incomprehensible!

Whether it be Jia Jing's civil and military strategy or the emperor's extraordinary trust in him, he simply cannot understand!

As for people and matters he cannot comprehend, Zhang Tingyu's choice is to intervene less, meddle less, and avoid conflict.

Minister Xiong Cili furrowed his brows, silently sighing that Emperor Jing Sheng Di's handling of state affairs has become ever more clever!

When Jia Jing's victory report arrived and the very gate of the court that had just been warned about, now appointing Jia Jing as Minister of War, who dares to step forward and voice dissent?

Stepping forward now means not only facing Emperor Jing Sheng Di's thunderous might, but also placing oneself among the treacherous slanderers of meritorious officials.

However, this matter is not without a solution.

Since we cannot stop the Son of Heaven from rewarding Jia Jing, we can only promote a civil official versed in military affairs to Minister of War, to spar with Jia Jing!

Wang Ziteng's merits are sufficient, and his long-standing discord with Jia Jing makes him a suitable candidate!