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The imperial army returned victoriously, and everyone was happy and excited.

Only General Song was somewhat unhappy. About 20% of the elite troops he sent out were lost. However, he had the least military achievements.

It was not General Zuo's fault. When General Zuo arranged the mission, he did not miss the Shenwu Camp. It was just that the Shenwu Camp had bad luck. They did not encounter the Rouran barbarians' deserters after ambush for several days. Later, General Xu volunteered to follow General Zuo to capture the people.

As a result, the great military achievement of capturing Rouran Khan alive fell on Xiaotian, an archer in the imperial guard camp. Xiaotian was not only promoted several levels, but also got a marriage grant from the emperor himself, and was about to marry Miss Tubai. This double happiness was praised by everyone. He did not dare to spoil the emperor's interest, and happily joined in the congratulations.

After the celebration banquet, all the ministers left the palace.

Song Yuan escorted General Zuo out of the palace on behalf of the emperor.

General Song saw the opportunity and waited at the palace gate on purpose. When Song Yuan was returning from seeing off General Zuo, he "coincidentally" met him.

"Commander Song, can you please have a word with me?" General Song was smiling and extremely polite.

Song Yuan raised his eyelids, glanced around, found a relatively secluded place, and went there to talk with General Song.

Think about it, ten years ago, Song Yuan was just the commander of the princess's personal guards. He was respectful and said all kinds of nice things in front of him, but he was blinded and rejected the goodwill that was delivered to him.

Ten years had passed in the blink of an eye, and Song Yuan was now the commander of the emperor's personal guards and the most trusted confidant of the empress. However, he was inconspicuous among the generals. He had to show his goodwill to Song Yuan in every possible way.

Ten years in Hedong, ten years in Hexi.

General Song sighed in his heart, but his face was full of affection: "You are busy with your duties on weekdays, so when you have free time during the holidays, come back to the Song family more often. You can't write two Song characters with one stroke. We are uncle and nephew, please don't let things get strange between us."

Song Yuan looked at General Song, who was smiling, and said calmly, "This time, the Shenwu Camp achieved the least military merit, and received the least reward. Is General Song unhappy?"

General Song's expression was a little stiff, and he wanted to say something polite, but Song Yuan had no patience to listen to such nonsense, so he continued, "The emperor has not treated the Shenwu Camp harshly. On weekdays, the military funds are sufficient, and all treatment is the same as that of other troops. This time when we go to the border to fight, General Zuo has acted fairly."

"The Shenwu Battalion was unlucky. We didn't encounter a large number of fleeing Rouran cavalry, so we killed the fewest barbarians. However, our casualties were also the least among all the armies. Military merit is not just talk, it is achieved by the soldiers fighting with their lives."

"If I were General Song, I would focus all my attention on the military camp, train the soldiers carefully, and train real elite soldiers to defeat the other armies. The emperor is broad-minded and will not care about those old things at all. The emperor will not only use those who are truly capable and talented, but also reuse them."

"Take General Zuo for example. General Zuo was originally Prime Minister Wang's man. After the emperor ascended the throne, General Zuo still listened to Prime Minister Wang. The emperor still used him as much as before! He even made General Zuo the Duke of Weiyuan. General Fan, who was far away in the border army, fought desperately to hold back the Rouran barbarians, and more than half of the border troops were killed or injured. The emperor remembered such contributions and made General Fan a marquis."

"The facts are all there. General Song, instead of envying others, you should think about how to lead and train the troops. As long as you do well enough, the emperor will naturally look at you differently."

General Song's face felt hot.

Song Yuan's words were very impolite. He almost pointed at his nose and said that he was mediocre and incompetent.

The truth is so harsh.

Yes, he is not as powerful as General Zuo, nor does he have the desperate spirit of General Fan. Compared with the calm and steady General Bao and the diligent General Sima, he is also lacking in some aspects. Even General Liu is more loyal and capable than him.

Her Majesty the Empress refused to employ him, not because of any old grudge, but simply because of his mediocre ability.

General Song cleared his throat and whispered, "Thank you, Commander Song, for your guidance."

Song Yuan's expression was indifferent: "You can't write two Song characters with one stroke. I have said everything I should say today. General Song, you don't have to come to me privately in the future. I still have to go back to report, so please do as you please, General Song!" After saying that, he walked away.

General Song looked at Song Yuan's resolute figure, feeling mixed emotions and sighed.

……

After Song Yuan returned to Zhaohe Palace, he reported to the emperor that General Song had come to talk to him.

Jiang Shaohua sneered: "This General Song, your mind should not be on the right path, thinking about these things all day long."

"In the military exercise in the fall of last year, the Shenwu Battalion came in last. This year's spring exercise only lasted for one day, and it can be seen that the Shenwu Battalion has not made much progress."

"It is human nature for a general to want military merit and promotion. I will not look down on him for this. It is just that his ability to lead troops is mediocre. If it were not for his seniority, I would have taken off his official hat long ago. There are many capable young generals who are just waiting for him to take over."

In addition, she had to consider Song Yuan's face. General Song was Song Yuan's uncle after all. If she touched General Song like this, Song Yuan would lose face.

Jiang Shaohua didn't need to explain this point, Song Yuan also understood it in his heart.

Song Yuan was silent for a moment, and whispered: "Your Majesty, don't worry about me."

Jiang Shaohua smiled and said, "It's not all for you. I have to take care of the dignity of the old ministers. General Song has no merits, and he has not made any mistakes. I can't kick him out of the barracks for no reason. I'll just use him like this! He's old, and he should retire in a few years."

By then, the position will be vacated.

Qin Hu, Meng Sanbao, Tao Daxiao, Tian and Li Tianxi, a group of young generals, have almost accumulated enough experience and can gradually replace the veteran generals in the army.

……

This little matter is just an insignificant episode to Her Majesty the Empress.

After the army returned to the capital and the celebration banquet was held, there were still many trivial matters to deal with. The list of soldiers waiting for rewards was more than ten pages long. The list of the dead waiting for compensation was even thicker.

The Ministry of War was busy calculating military merits, compiling them into memorials, and presenting them to the emperor. After the emperor reviewed and made his decision, the Ministry of Revenue was busy.

In addition, how to deal with the Rouran Khan Fu Mingdun is also a big problem.

The court officials were divided into two factions. One faction believed that Fu Mingdun should be crushed to dust to avenge the people of Daliang who died tragically.

The other faction thought that the captive should be used more effectively, using Fu Mingdun as a hostage to exchange for more tangible benefits.

The radical faction was headed by General Zuo, and most of the military generals agreed to kill Fu Mingdun.

The hostage faction was headed by Prime Minister Chen, and most of the civil servants stood on Prime Minister Chen's side.

Jiang Shaohua thought about it for a few days and made a decision. He wrote a letter himself and sent someone to deliver it to Rouran. (End of this chapter)