I Am Truly Not a Treacherous Minister Your Majesty - Chapter 59



Chapter 59 The Emperor Arrives

Seeing His Majesty personally come to see him, Qin Ji hurriedly sat upright: “Your servant lost his manners after drinking, I beg Your Majesty to forgive me.”

“Enough, you passed out right after drinking, there’s no crime in that.” Xia Yuxiao waved his hand helplessly, “Anyway, the rumor about your low alcohol tolerance has been circulating in the army for a long time, this is just one more instance.”

Duke An Guo, Qin Ji, was not good at drinking, which many soldiers knew. So when Qin Ji led the troops before, the soldiers would never give him a chance to drink before the battle.

But after winning the battle and returning, they would deliberately get their superior drunk.

However, since Qin Ji often brought Ling Yan with him, no one dared to get him drunk. This time, Ling Yan was not around, so everyone naturally remembered their traditional skill.

“How is the reward ceremony going? Is it smooth?”

The first thing Qin Ji thought of was the reward ceremony. For Da Xia, every time after winning a battle, the soldiers would pay attention to the reward ceremony.

On one hand, the rewards from the ceremony could bring a considerable income to their families, and on the other hand, carrying the honor bestowed by the emperor was quite prestigious.

“Rest assured, everything is smooth. General Bai was awarded a gold-threaded cotton robe, promoted to Grand General, and rewarded with five hundred golden dragons; the fifty thousand soldiers below were each rewarded with one hundred silver fish, and those with merits were rewarded according to their contributions; although King Dingbei did not directly participate in the battle this time, his deployment and operations were appropriate, so I rewarded him with a large piece of land in the northern territory.”

“Mm, that’s good.”

Qin Ji said, holding his still aching head.

General Bai had always been a general, always a bit short of the Grand General position, stuck there and never moving up. Now he finally became a Grand General, which was really…

Wait!?

Qin Ji’s muddled brain suddenly cleared up.

What does this mean? The promotion of officers to the rank of general requires his nomination as the Grand Marshal. Although the emperor can indeed directly promote them legally… this involves many underlying interests.

Now Xia Yuxiao just promoted General Bai, who had been stuck for so many years, to Grand General?

Qin Ji felt his head hurt even more.

He understood what Xia Yuxiao was thinking. General Bai was now both senior and capable. If there was really a need to balance the military generals, only General Bai could do it.

But the problem is… she really isn’t afraid of him causing trouble?

“Your Majesty, did you discuss the promotion of General Bai to Grand General with the ministers in the court?”

Qin Ji asked seriously.

It’s laughable, Qin Ji knew very well that if it had been discussed with the ministers in the court, they wouldn’t have reached any conclusion. Some of the civil ministers in the court were his followers, and there were even more among the military generals, some of whom were even old soldiers brought up by his father.

Faced with such a unilateral decision by the emperor, at least half of the court would oppose such a resolution.

But now, Xia Yuxiao just did it directly.

Qin Ji didn’t understand what she was thinking, making such a move at this time was like dancing on a tightrope.

“I have discussed this matter with the Prime Minister and several generals, and they all agree with this approach. After all, General Bai has been loyal to Da Xia for so many years, it’s time to give him an explanation.”

Xia Yuxiao said calmly.

“Or do you think General Bai’s military merits are not enough to be promoted to Grand General?”

“That is not my intention. It’s just that the position of Grand General cannot be decided overnight. I believe it should be decided after proper discussion. If General Bai is promoted so hastily, it will cause trouble for his future actions if there are people in the court who do not agree with this move.”

“You have also seen that now the people of Da Xia all recognize General Bai. With such public opinion, there is no negative evaluation of General Bai in the court. Why not?”

Seeing Xia Yuxiao like this, Qin Ji laughed.

So, the emperor is such a creature…

“Since Your Majesty insists, I will follow your orders.”

Qin Ji said.

The Dragon Guard who followed the emperor was stunned for a moment. As someone specially sent to protect the emperor, she never thought that this Duke of An would be so obedient.

This is not right. The woman named Ling Yan next to him looked like she was ready to fight, and she was prepared to die for the emperor at any time. How could she suddenly become obedient?

However, as a character with high combat power, she would not understand one thing.

That is, for Qin Ji, it doesn’t really matter whether Xia Yuxiao promotes the Grand General or not.

It’s just a title. Qin Ji could become the Grand Marshal because he had the ability and connections to control military power, and he had 300,000 troops that only he could command—at least for now.

And if the emperor really wanted to control Qin Ji’s connections and military power, it would be a long-term process, not something that could be achieved by appointing a Grand General.

The ministers in the court are not fools. Yes, some of them may dislike him, but they would never be so fickle as to follow whoever the emperor appoints. Moreover… some ministers want to get rid of Qin Ji to make Xia Yuxiao lose his support, while others might want Qin Ji to get rid of Xia Yuxiao and then reap the benefits.

To put it bluntly, even if the emperor appoints General Bai as the Grand Marshal, so what? General Bai still can’t suppress the court and the public. And as for him, although he can’t compare to Xia Yuxiao in terms of legitimacy, he can completely use other means to unsettle the other party.

Ha, trying to provoke me to take the bait? Fishing law enforcement is not advisable, Your Majesty.

I would be a fool to bite.

Seeing that Qin Ji actually obeyed, Xia Yuxiao couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

“Since you also agree with my decision, I am relieved. General Bai is a meritorious official of our dynasty, and so are you. I hope you two can work together and achieve great things.”

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“Naturally.”

After saying this, Qin Ji suddenly remembered something: “Oh, Ling Yan, why don’t you quickly ask the butler to make tea for His Majesty?”

“Okay,” Ling Yan stood up, “Oh right, young master, which tea should we brew?”

“Since His Majesty has graced us with his presence, naturally the best!”

Qin Ji was troubled by his servant.

“Alright.”

“You two… are you really master and servant?”

Xia Yuxiao expressed doubt about this.

Who has ever seen such a servant and master?

“Tsk, just make do with it, can’t quit anyway,” Qin Ji said, spreading his hands.

“Ahaha, this is the first time I’ve seen you two in this state.”

The two chatted intermittently about some domestic affairs, and before long, they heard footsteps outside.

The old butler walked in gracefully, then set up the exquisite ice porcelain tea set and poured tea for the two of them.

Xia Yuxiao elegantly picked up the teacup and took a sip.

The familiar fragrance, the familiar sweetness…

Wuwuwu, my imperial tribute, my Liangchun Mountain imperial tribute…