Chapter 473 Victory Banquet
The sudden victory news disrupted the rhythm of the entire morning court.
Holding the victory news sent by the messenger from thousands of miles away, Li Shimin smiled with a confident victory, which was justified.
The prime ministers who saw the victory news with their own eyes breathed a sigh of relief.
The war between Tang and Tuyuhun naturally had only one result, victory, but the sooner it ended, the sooner the pressure could be relieved.
The court officials looked at each other, and then stood up together to congratulate.
The Tang Dynasty followed the court etiquette of the Han Dynasty. All the ministers had cushions to kneel on, and only those who made requests needed to stand up.
And for a victory news like this, according to the etiquette, the emperor should wear a gorgeous robe and come to the Liangyi Hall to accept the congratulations of the civil and military officials.
But since the victory news had been announced here at this time, the civil and military officials could only stand up together and not congratulate in unison.
For Li Shimin, this victory news had other meanings.
For example, according to later records, the pacification of Tuyuhun was an event in the ninth year of Zhenguan.
Moreover, Tuyuhun was cunning at that time and fled thousands of miles. It was only because of the Tang's brave soldiers who kept attacking and searching that they defeated the enemy. There were also many lucky chances in between.
But in this victory report played by Li Jing at this time, the situation before and after this battle was clearly described in brief words:
The troops from Liangzhou attacked Qinghai in four directions, and lured the Dangxiang as guides, thus forming a situation of encirclement.
The light cavalry carried thunder bombs to intercept, and the sound of the thunder was so great that the thieves and Hu thought they were gods.
They gathered in Qinghai and wanted to resist stubbornly, but the mighty fire cannon used the power of heaven to break the thieves' courage and calmly captured Fuyun Khan.
The cannon was made according to the map of later generations, and the name was ready-made, but in order to distinguish, it was named the mighty fire cannon by Li Jing.
The thunder bomb was thrown by Wu Lei Shu with a thick pottery pot filled with gunpowder and thick mud, and then thrown with a net bag or hanging rope to destroy the enemy, hence the name.
In this battle alone, the power of gunpowder has been fully demonstrated.
But Li Shimin also knew clearly:
The gunpowder of the Tang Dynasty today is no more than a child's sword dance in the eyes of future generations, which is laughable.
If you want to improve, you need to study the way of science and the method of mathematics, and finally you will be able to make the theory of gunpowder clearer and create an unprecedented dynasty.
Holding this victory report in his hand, Li Shimin was overjoyed, and he walked back and forth in front of the throne for several circles, but he couldn't suppress his excitement.
So it was natural that some pardon edicts rushed to Li Shimin's mouth. He only needed to open his mouth to declare the emperor's grace with victory, and the emperor's majesty might be changed to the greatest extent.
But as soon as he raised his hand, Li Shimin keenly felt that someone was staring at him.
It was Chu Suiliang who followed him into the palace and stood quietly afterwards.
The newly appointed recorder kept his eyes fixed on the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and kept writing and drawing with his hands, performing his duties as a recorder too faithfully.
Although the Tang Dynasty now has Yan Liben's painting master who can faithfully restore the appearance of characters, their daily words and deeds still need to be seen from the record.
His goal is to be the emperor of all ages, how can he be so happy and lose his composure because of this little Tuyuhun?
After coughing and reorganizing his mood, Li Shimin reservedly ascended the throne again, and after careful consideration, he re-announced the edict:
"Give a banquet to attend, congratulate the Duke of Dai and congratulate the Tang Dynasty."
The solemn morning court turned into a victory banquet halfway through, which caught all the civil and military officials off guard.
But for the fifth-rank civil and military officials present, this banquet was a good opportunity to show off in front of His Majesty, so they lined up with wine bottles.
The main theme of this banquet was to scold Tuyuhun for not knowing how to live or die, praise the Duke of Dai as the pillar of the country, and praise your majesty for his wisdom, bravery, and ability to judge people.
The prime ministers did not need to do this, so they simply gathered in groups of three or two to discuss in a low voice.
"The victory of this battle was largely due to the things of the Five Thunder Office. Since the Duke of Dai has not returned, why not praise the achievements of the Five Thunder Office and reward the officials in the office?"
Wei Zheng bluntly expressed his confusion. In his opinion, the achievements of the Five Thunder Office were more worthy of being written about.
How many people have been called military gods like the Duke of Dai, Li Jing, from ancient times to the present?
As long as the Five Thunder Office succeeds, the court only needs to send any general, and he will be considered a famous general for the Hu Yi.
Perhaps it will fundamentally solve the dilemma of famous generals: "Those who are brave and strategic are in danger, and those who have made great achievements are not rewarded."
This possibility was very tempting to Wei Zheng, but Changsun Wuji pondered it for a moment and shook his head:
"Your Majesty has your own considerations... If the reward is announced here, the Five Thunder Office will be exposed to the public."
"Now the Western Regions are not pacified, there are jackals and Turks, the East has Japanese slaves sending envoys with evil intentions, and the three countries on the Korean Peninsula are also showing signs of connection."
"If you claim the merits of the Five Thunder Office and record it in Jingzhong, it is tantamount to showing the pearls to the thieves in order to steal them."
Changsun Wuji responded tit for tat, thinking that it was a good thing that His Majesty did not point out the merits of the Five Thunder Office, otherwise he could not imagine how much trouble it would be if the barbarians spied on it.
"This is a lack of magnanimity and Chinese spirit."
"Does Xuancheng mean to reveal the secret of gunpowder to others, so that my Tang Jianer will suffer this disaster?"
"Duke Zhao's words are full of innuendo!"
Seeing the two blushing, Du Ruhui and others on the side hurriedly pulled the two apart, and persuaded them with a smile:
"Now there is only this good news, why is Xuancheng so anxious?"
"If we talk about the merits of the Five Thunders, we can wait until the Duke of Dai returns to report his achievements."
In this way, the two were separated, but several prime ministers also thought about their argument in their hearts.
From Du Ruhui's point of view, he felt that what the two said had their own reasons.
As successful as the Wulei Department is, if no reward is given, the craftsmen will inevitably be discouraged; but if the work is praised, it will inevitably attract foreigners to spy on its secrets. If it is not good, it will be like an enemy.
And among this, it seems that we need to find a solution that has both ends.
However, there is no need to rush into this matter. After all, as mentioned before, it is still early for Li Jing to return the thieves to the capital, and there is still plenty of time.
At the end of the celebration banquet, Li Shimin once again announced that he would not have a bath today and would discuss everything tomorrow.
Although Wei Zheng complained, he could not go against the elegance of the officials, so he could only accept the one-day leave half-reluctantly.
He no longer summoned the Prime Minister, and Li Shimin left the palace alone with his guards, intending to visit the Five Thunder Department. Of course, there was Chu Suiliang beside him who couldn't get rid of him.
Seeing the living man with a normal expression, Li Shimin suddenly became a little curious when he remembered that Chu Suiliang did not drink or attend the banquet and only wrote.
"Can you take a look at Dengshan's note with me?"
Chu Suiliang shook his head and said:
"The daily notes are not recorded in the annals of history, but record the words and deeds of the king. Only by not avoiding good and evil can future generations understand your majesty's gains and losses. I have never heard of the emperor reading his own daily notes."
Li Shimin disagreed. After all, as far as he knew now, he could only say that the idea was very beautiful, but then he remembered something:
"Don't remember what I just said."
"Ministers' duties should be written down, and kings' promotions must be recorded."
Li Shimin suddenly became furious:
"What I said just now will make future generations think that I am a narrow-minded person."
Chu Suiliang glanced at Li Shimin in surprise, and then calmly said:
"Your Majesty's words should be remembered clearly."
Li Shimin missed the old Master Zheng even more.