Our family has been rebelling for generations, and you've become the top scholar in the imperia

The Emperor can say that.

This proves that this matter is true.

The Alitan tribe is finished? They were decimated in the first war?

Do not!

To be precise, the Alitan tribe was completely wiped out, leaving only about a thousand people. It is impossible for them to recover in the future, and other tribes on the grassland will inevitably annex them.

"I have summoned you all here today to discuss the matter of rewards. The Ministry of Revenue needs to come up with a plan as soon as possible on how to reward the soldiers of Pingsha Pass."

These words were spoken.

The courtiers below then realized what was happening.

It's pointless to investigate how Pingshaguan managed to do it now.

Rewards are the key.

General Gou is easy to deal with; he has remained at the border, and whatever rewards he receives will not have any impact on the court.

But Qin Feng is different. He will return to the capital in the future, so what should be rewarded?

He was only appointed as the commander of the Imperial Guard not long ago, and now he's going to be promoted again?

The problem is, this guy is now holding both civil and military positions, so what official rank should he be awarded?

"Your Majesty, this matter is of utmost importance. I urge Your Majesty to have the Grand Secretariat discuss it with the Ministry of Revenue. However, regarding the amount of silver mentioned in Lord Qin's letter, this old minister believes that we can send someone to deliver it first."

Grand Tutor Wang stepped forward with his hands clasped, and said in a deep voice:

"Furthermore, regarding the border prefectures and Commander Ding mentioned in the letter, sending officials there now might not be fast enough. It would be better to let Qin Feng handle this matter. Ping Sha Pass has a full 20,000 troops, which is sufficient to deal with it."

Everyone looked at Grand Tutor Wang, completely bewildered by his meaning.

Should we let Qin Feng handle it?

These are officials from several prefectures, including Commander Ding Yitao.

The enemy also has tens of thousands of troops under their command.

If something really happens, it will be a big deal.

"Your Majesty, Qin Feng possesses a royal sword and should handle this matter. We can dispatch officials from the court to assist him, and the cabinet will recommend several people to go with him to help Qin Feng investigate."

Zhou Zhengde was slightly surprised.

The reason he suddenly summoned his ministers to court today is actually because this is the very thing he wanted to discuss most.

The problem of officials in border prefectures.

If what Qin Feng said in his letter is true, then those several prefectures over there are rotten to the core. Millions of taels of silver were transferred over, but after layers of embezzlement, in the end only a fraction of the money was distributed.

How could the soldiers on the border possibly defeat the wild boars of the grasslands if they did this?

This is proof enough; Qin Feng replenished the silver, so the wild boar hide was no threat.

"The silver will be transferred first. As for the issues in the border prefectures, could I ask Grand Tutor Wang to make a trip there personally? Qin Feng has no experience after all. Let him assist Grand Tutor Wang in investigating the officials in the border prefectures. Anyone who embezzles grain or funds shall be executed."

Zhou Zhengde stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and asked with a smile.

"Your humble servant obeys the imperial decree!"

Grand Tutor Wang agreed.

Many officials of the Southern Forest Party seemed to understand something.

This is an attempt to curry favor with Qin Feng.

You have to understand, how many officials are involved in investigating corruption in border prefectures and counties, and how much illicit gain is involved?

Finally, there's the matter of appointing officials. Although they don't have the authority to appoint directly, they can recommend officials to the imperial court.

"The Ministry of Revenue and the Cabinet should discuss as soon as possible what reward should be given!"

Zhou Zhengde glanced at the officials who were still in a daze, then waved his hand to signal the old eunuch to announce the end of the court session.

Send silver...

It must be delivered by a close relative to ensure that no problems arise.

According to Qin Feng, the Ministry of War would deduct a portion of the silver, and this was even more pronounced in the various prefectures and counties.

The old eunuch would be a good candidate.

Standing in front, Grandpa Miao felt a chill run down his spine as he was stared at by a cold gaze.

The Emperor has something he wants to arrange for him.

but……

What could it be?

Surely we won't send him to the border?

The food and sleep there are terrible. At his age, will he be able to come back alive?

……

While the discussion took place in the imperial court.

Qin Feng led five thousand men, carrying only two days' worth of rations, and rode towards the grassland trade market.

This place is about 500 kilometers away from the border. If you ride a horse, it will take a day and a night to get there.

Moreover, this time I won't reveal my identity when I go there.

They came purely to seize this place.

However, since carriages were not allowed, each person could only carry a limited amount of belongings and could only take away valuable items.

"grown ups……"

"Pah, young master, I forgot again. We're almost at the border market. With so many of us going in rashly, I'm afraid..."

A general from Gou Family Army rode forward on horseback and whispered.

"Are we almost there?"

Qin Feng nodded slightly.

I looked up at the sky, which was about to brighten.

"Spread out and find a place to wait. We can't make a move during the day, and even if we do, it will have to be at night. That's how it works..."

"I'm taking a few men into the trade market to take a look around and familiarize ourselves with the situation. I'll send someone to inform you when to make our move tonight!"

"Niu Wu, take a few brothers and go!"

Qin Feng had no idea what the border market was like, although the Gou family army knew a little about it.

but……

I'm not a professional.

To put it bluntly, these people are all laymen when it comes to knowing what goods are valuable and what items can fetch a lot of money.

We must take some people in advance to check out what goods are available in the market, and also to find out what kind of merchants from the Great Zhou Dynasty are here, and what their main businesses are.

The market housed shops belonging to both grassland tribes and merchants from the Great Zhou Dynasty.

They were mixed together.

Most importantly, Qin Feng needed to know whether these merchants were really smuggling goods openly, just as he suspected.

As long as the profit is enough, they even dare to bring out weapons and armor to sell privately.

"Isn't this too dangerous? Maybe..."

"You don't need to come along. You're not as professional as Liu Tu and his group at this. Hmm, they used to work in a pawnshop, so they know the value of different goods. Go check it out beforehand, and tonight you're mainly responsible for robbing them!"

At this point, Qin Feng waved and called over several generals.

Continue to give the other person instructions on how to do this.

Everyone knows how to fight a war.

But how a robbery is carried out, what the procedures are, these people couldn't possibly know.

"Ask the Imperial Guards what to do after they go into the market at night. Don't let them all rush in and loot. Let me tell you, when it's time to take stock, if anyone is stupid enough to bring someone else's sheep back, don't blame me for dealing with them!"

"The division of labor is clear, still five people per group, responsible for searching, moving, carrying, etc. There can't be any chaos!"

"Someone come here, and spend a day properly teaching them how to do this job!"

In conclusion.

Qin Feng simply waved his hand and called over some of the village's veterans.

Anyway, there's a whole day, enough time to teach these soldiers some precautions for robbery.

Don't let it end up like this: you've come all this way, only to bring back some worthless stuff.

That would be a huge loss.

"Brother, what the adults are talking about..."

"Come here, you lot. Let me tell you the first thing. There are some things the adults can't say outright, but I'll remind you: when you do this job, the goods you bring back will be sold for silver based on their value. Each team of five will get a commission. Do you understand what that means?"

Several people nodded.

The village elder licked his lips and began to speak in a low voice.

"Gold and silver jewelry is the first category, given priority..."