Zhang Xutuo took out a court certificate and handed it to Zhang Xuan and said, "This is the commendation order of the Ministry of War, you can take a look first."

Zhang Xuan frowned. It was just a commendation order from the Ministry of War. He said a little dissatisfied: "Why is it not an imperial edict?"

Zhang Xutuo shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I heard that the emperor originally wanted to issue an imperial edict to commend it, but Yu Shiji and several prime ministers advised the emperor that other officials had excellent achievements in suppressing bandits, but they did not commend the imperial edict. If they were given only to our family, it would make other generals dissatisfied and affect morale. Therefore, the imperial edict was changed to a Ministry of War. But even so, I was very satisfied."

Zhang Xuan opened the document and first saw Luo Shixin, Qin Qiong and You Junda promoted to Martial Generals, and the rewards of the generals were 30 stagnant and 100,000 pieces of silk. Zhang Xuan saw that in the end, only Yuchi Gong, Cao Sining and Wang Kuang were awarded the title of lieutenant for his army, and more than a dozen teams were promoted to brigade commanders. The other rewards were arranged by Zhang Xutuo.

Regarding Zhang Xuan's reward, there was no word mentioned in the letter. Of course, this was Zhang Xuan's own meaning. In his letter to Pei Ju, he had given his merits to Luo Shixin, Qin Qiong and You Junda, so that the Ministry of War had reason to signify the three of them as Lang generals.

Zhang Xutuo sighed, "I know you have helped me a lot, but I don't want to sacrifice your credit. Although the reward given to them by the Ministry of War satisfies me, the injustice to you is hard for me to accept. Yuan Ding, I am really sorry. I shouldn't have said those words to you in the military camp that day."

Zhang Xutuo felt extremely guilty. He knew very well that the Ministry of War was specifically targeted by Qin Qiong, Luo Shixin and You Junda, and that day he asked Zhang Xuan. He thought at first that the Ministry of War was kind, but later he realized that it was Zhang Xuan who made efforts behind the scenes, otherwise why Wei Yunqi had not come back yet.

However, Zhang Xutuo did not expect that Zhang Xuan used his contribution to get the promotion of the three people, which made Zhang Xutuo both guilty and moved.

Zhang Xuan put the letter from the Ministry of War on the table and said with a smile: "If I could be promoted every time I win a battle, then I should be a general now. In fact, most battles are only rewards but not promotions, or the head coach is promoted. This time, Qin Qiong and the other three were just compensation, and they should have been promoted long ago. But the general did not receive any rewards, which I think is unfair."

"I personally have nothing to do. But the Ministry of War has always been unfair to us. For example, this time, the reward of 300,000 yuan and silk 100,000 yuan. If it is another guard, at least the silk will be sent over. Wang Shichong is like this, but we have nothing, and we say that the journey is long, and we may be intercepted by bandits. But why don't they say that to Wang Shichong?

Let us get it from the government nearby, but the local government can take so much money, but after all, it is still indifferent to us."

Zhang Xuan was furious. This was the reward from the court? Only one number was allowed, nothing else? He was simply a group of bastards!

Zhang Xutuo saw Zhang Xuan's anger and quickly said in a deep voice: "Being angry with them will only hurt yourself, but they will not hurt the slightest. They don't care about them."

Zhang Xuan suppressed the anger in his heart and said coldly: "I can only understand that the general is not suppressing bandits for the court!"

"This is a good thing. I suppressed bandits so that thousands of poor civilians will no longer suffer from the disaster, not to please the senior officials of their Ministry of War, nor do I care about the high-ranking officials and the generous salaries. So what if they don't give rewards? Do you still want me, Zhang Xutuo, to ask them?"

Zhang Xutuo's tone was filled with anger and helplessness. Zhang Xuan finally calmed down slowly and thought for a long time and said, "Master, I have a suggestion."

"What advice do you think?"

Zhang Xutuo called Zhang Xuan from Beihai County, mainly for two purposes. One was to be grateful for his sacrifice, and the other was to discuss with him the issue of military rewards for military merits. Although the court could be misplaced, Zhang Xutuo had to take out real money and silver.

He could never make unpromising promises to soldiers like the court, but he couldn't think of any good idea for a moment, so he could only ask Zhang Xuan to discuss it together. Zhang Xuan's political acumen made him admire him very much.

Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment and said, "In fact, in Beihai County, I have considered that if you want to motivate the soldiers' fighting spirit for a long time, you must not rely on rewards once or twice. You must tie the soldiers' personal interests with the army's bandit suppression. You must let the soldiers understand that bandit suppression is to defend their own interests."

Zhang Xutuo nodded, "I have had this idea. Every time I suppress the bandits, I will distribute the spoils to the soldiers. In fact, it is to mobilize the enthusiasm of the soldiers. If you win the battle, you can make money and make money. Unfortunately, the bandits have too little oil and water, and the food needs to be used for military purposes and provide relief to the victims. The money is not much seized. Each soldier can be divided at most, which is not very meaningful. So every time I say that suppressing bandits is to protect their parents, wives and children to boost morale."

"Have the general thought of giving the soldiers too much land?"

"land?"

Zhang Xutuo frowned and pondered for a moment, "The distribution of land must be agreed to by the court, especially the consent of the emperor, and the Ministry of Revenue will send someone to measure it, determine the distribution plan, and then report it to the court for approval before it can be implemented. It is very cumbersome. If I dare to allocate land without authorization, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"The general can use a flexible method, such as selling some official fields to soldiers very cheaply. Didn't the court give rewards to soldiers? Let the soldiers use this reward amount to buy them."

Zhang Xutuo pondered for a long time, but still shook his head, "This method cannot change the essence of privately dividing the land."

"But besides the land, what other property can the Grand Marshal use to compensate for 300,000 guan of money and 100,000 pieces of silk?"

Zhang Xuan's straightforwardness made Zhang Xutuo froze. After a long time, Zhang Xutuo sighed in a low voice: "This matter makes me think about it again!"

Zhang Xuan also understood that Zhang Xutuo needed time to think about it, so he stood up and bowed, said goodbye and left.

Zhang Xutuo was the only one left in the room. He walked slowly to the window with his hands behind his back, staring at the big trees outside the window, with a lot of thoughts in his heart.

He knew that Zhang Xuan's proposal was very realistic and feasible. Every soldier was eager to obtain land, and the government had a large amount of unowned land in his hands, which could be distributed to soldiers.

But he could not explain to the court and the emperor, nor did he want to do anything that violated the court's rules.

There are contradictions between reality and his principles. How should he choose?

After coming out of the county government, his two personal soldiers had been sent back to the camp by him. Zhang Xuan walked slowly on the street alone. It was almost dusk and there were still crowds on the streets, and bustling crowds walked past him.

At this time, Zhang Xuan felt hungry in his stomach, and then he remembered that he had not eaten for a day. He touched his waist bag, and there were several pieces of broken gold.

Zhang Xuan looked around again and found a wine shop fifty steps away on the left. The business seemed to be good, so he walked over.

Zhang Xuan looked up at the wine banner hanging high above his head. The black edges and yellow bottoms were written on it, with three big words "Spring Wine House" written on it. A bartender greeted him with a smile on his face, "Is the guest official alone?"

Zhang Xuan looked at the second floor of the restaurant and asked with a smile: "Is there a seat by the window on the second floor?"

"Yes! Yes! Please come with me by the guest."

The bartender enthusiastically invited Zhang Xuan to the second floor. There were not many people on the second floor, and there were a few empty seats by the window. Zhang Xuan sat down at a table and asked with a smile: "What are the special dishes here?"

"The shop mainly features wild game, flying in the sky, running on the ground, and swimming in the water. The most special dish is braised bear paws. Do you want a plate of it?"

"No need for this. I'll give me a plate of mutton sauce, a plate of venison and roast chicken, and six pancakes, this one should have!"

"Yes! The pancakes in the shop are browned and soft, and the meat filling inside is extremely delicious, ensuring the satisfaction of the customer."

"What wine is there?"

The bartender smiled bitterly and said, "There is no rice wine, only fruit wine. The better one is Zhuojun wine, no less than Gaochang wine. Do you want it?"

"Give me a pot, and the wine and food should be faster."

"Okay! The guest is sitting for a while and you'll be here soon!"

The bartender quickly went down. Soon, another bartender brought the sauce mutton and wine. Zhang Xuan filled himself with a glass of wine and drank it in one sip. Although the bartender claimed that he was no less than Gaochang wine, he felt that it was still far inferior to Gaochang wine. However, it was already very good to drink it with wine.

Zhang Xuan ate another mutton sauce and chewed it carefully. It tasted good. At this moment, he suddenly felt someone beside him. He glanced out of the corner of his eyes and saw a woman standing quietly beside him, looking at him with a smile, which was Gao Hui from the Bohai Society.

"So it's Madam!"

Zhang Xuan stood up and bowed, waved his hand, and pointed to the seat opposite, "Madam, please sit down!"
Chapter completed!