A sickly fellow ridiculed by the entire army? I'll be the most beautiful woman in the barracks!

"Lord Xiao, we civil officials praise His Majesty's virtue in order to demonstrate the unity between the monarch and his subjects, and to let the world know that the merits of the border soldiers are remembered by both the court and His Majesty."

"On the contrary, it is the general's eagerness to refute and insistence on separating the merits of the ruler and his minister that truly makes the world misunderstand that there is a rift between them. I cannot agree with that!"

"Lord Xiao, you're turning around and accusing us instead of distinguishing right from wrong. Are you perhaps trying to deliberately create conflict, to discourage His Majesty, and to alienate the soldiers?"

"If you insist on accusing me of sowing discord, and this causes His Majesty to harbor resentment towards the border generals, then the one who instigated the trouble will likely not be us civil officials, but Lord Xiao yourself!"

Prime Minister Gu Yanqing's ability to distort the truth was already masterful; he shut Xiao Zhiyuan down with just a few words.

"Zhao Daxuan is merely a border commander. He has become arrogant and domineering after his lucky victory. If we reward him handsomely, it will only fuel his arrogance and make him even more difficult to control in the future. To prevent him from becoming a threat, we must not reward him handsomely!"

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, granting Zhao Daxuan the title of Viscount is already an immense favor from Your Majesty; anything more would be inappropriate."

Gu Yanqing's few words interrupted Zhao Daxuan's path to promotion, and Xiao Zhiyuan was immediately furious, his face turning red.

He originally thought Zhao Daxuan was a promising talent, having achieved such results at such a young age, and perhaps he could become the next leader of the military officers, so he intended to support him.

But unexpectedly, they encountered such a huge obstacle in the imperial court.

Now that Prime Minister Gu Yanqing has drawn such a conclusion, he has essentially ruined most of Zhao Daxuan's future. How could he not be angry?

Ultimately, however, the main reason was that although Zhao Daxuan's achievements were remarkable, they were still not enough to dominate the entire scene.

Moreover, their eagerness for quick results provoked resistance from the civil service, leading to this situation.

Xiao Zhiyuan's face turned ashen, and he lowered his head in silence, secretly regretting his and others' haste.

Emperor Liu Zhao, sitting on the dragon throne, was invigorated as he watched his subordinates' argument nearing its conclusion.

He looked around and yawned impatiently.

In truth, he didn't care whether he was promoted to captain or not; as long as his subordinates could give a reasonable explanation, he would agree.

However, the civil and military officials were unable to reach a conclusion, so he could only wait here in vain.

Fortunately, the outcome was about to be revealed. The emperor's lips curled slightly, and he thought to himself, "It's finally going to end. I can go back to my beauties now."

Just then, a series of urgent shouts rang out from outside the palace.

"Report—!!"

"Your Majesty, a rapid report of victory has arrived from Zhenbei City, 800 li away!!"

In an instant, the once noisy court fell silent, and everyone turned to look outside the palace.

A soldier, covered in dust and drenched in sweat, tumbled and crawled into the main hall.

After the soldier entered the main hall, he crawled a few steps on his knees, raised a letter of victory high with both hands, and shouted loudly. His hoarse but clear voice reached everyone's ears.

"Your Majesty, Commandant Zhao Daxuan of Zhenbei City led 3,000 elite troops deep into Youyun Beiting, ambushed the Tartar army, beheaded 1,000, and captured 3,000!"

"Furthermore, they occupied the Black Mountain Pass, blocking the vital route for the Tartars' southward advance. Now that the Black Mountain Pass has been reopened for repairs, the Tartar army will no longer be able to drive straight south into the territory of the Great Xia."

"On the small plain outside the Black Mountain Pass, tens of thousands of Tartar soldiers from two tribes have been captured, and the Black Mountain Plain has returned to the territory of our Great Xia!"

"Now that the passes are secure, the northern frontier is safe! His Majesty's blessings are boundless, may our Great Xia dynasty prosper for ten thousand years!"

The soldiers kneeling on the Golden Palace spoke each word slowly and deliberately, like heavy hammer blows striking the golden bricks of the hall.

Shen Qingci taught the soldier these few words by hand, making him memorize them for several days on the road, repeatedly instructing him to recite them word for word in the Golden Palace.

Now, this passage was read aloud in one breath without any pause, with excellent effect, directly stunning everyone in the Golden Palace.

Everyone in the Golden Palace stared in disbelief, unable to recover for a long time.

A moment later, the Privy Council and the pro-war military officers were the first to react. Their eyes shone, their backs were straight, and they were full of vigor.

The soldier's words were like a refreshing iced drink on a hot summer day, making them feel incredibly comfortable from head to toe.

Listen to these battle achievements, who else can compare?

In the past ten years, we have only lost territory. How could we have won such a great victory as reclaiming territory and capturing the Black Mountain Pass?

This is truly a momentous occasion for the entire nation, a time for celebration.

The military officers felt a surge of pride and were no longer afraid of the sarcastic remarks of the civil officials.

They initially thought it was just about supporting a new force, but within a few days, this new force became their mainstay.

"Excellent! Your Majesty, Zhao Daxuan is indeed a talented general. Your Majesty must reward him handsomely. This will demonstrate Your Majesty's ability to recognize talent and will also reflect Your Majesty's wisdom and prowess."

Immediately, one after another, military officers jumped out to request Zhao Daxuan to be commended once again.

"Your Majesty, this time not only should Zhao Daxuan be promoted to the rank of Colonel, but his title should also be changed from Viscount!"

"Your Majesty believes that the title of Viscount is insufficient to honor Zhao Daxuan's achievements. I suggest that Zhao Daxuan be granted the title of Marquis to recognize his merits!"

"Indeed! Your Majesty, I believe the title 'Marquis of Zhenbei' is most fitting and truly deserves it. Zhao Daxuan is fully worthy of this title!"

The military officers also knew that the position of Colonel was Zhao Daxuan's ceiling for a short period of time, after all, the next step up was Lieutenant General, which was a general level.

So they started with titles, and boldly bestowed upon Zhao Daxuan the title of Marquis.

They knew that the civil service would definitely object later, so they figured they could just raise the bar and they wouldn't go wrong.

They stood tall and proud like victorious roosters, looking down at the group of civil officials with disdain, as if they had forgotten that just a quarter of an hour ago they had been suppressed and humiliated by the civil officials.

The civil officials and dignitaries who had just been spitting and vehemently criticizing the government officials were now pale-faced and frozen in place. All their previous accusations, schemes, and mockery instantly turned into slaps to their own faces.

The long-bearded, white-faced civil official opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know how to refute it, after all, he was also shocked by Zhao Daxuan's achievements.

That was about conquering cities and seizing territory, reclaiming some of the lost lands of Youyun and Beiting, and more importantly, guarding the Black Mountain Pass, thus blocking the Tartar army's path to advance south at will.

Not only was the border town safe and sound, but even the powerful and wealthy people who enjoyed their riches and honors in the capital no longer had to worry about waking up one day to find that the Tartar army had already reached the city.

"Even if it's a great victory, he still deployed troops without authorization, which is against regulations, and... he shouldn't be rewarded so generously..."

The long-bearded, white-faced civil official, being the most vocal among the civil officials, naturally had to jump out and object at this moment.

His words came out haltingly and without conviction, and he couldn't even convince himself.

The other civil officials looked at each other, unsure of how to respond.

In the end, they could only look helplessly to the Prime Minister Gu Yanqing at the head of the table, hoping that he could stand up and suppress the arrogance of the military officers.