The emperor would rather have a

Chapter 18 Rewards based on merit
"Brother Yi, are you going to be the commander of the Inner Palace Guard?"

Ma Renyu, who followed behind, was even more excited than Li Yi when he heard what Zhao Kuangyin said.

Of course, Li Yi was not unexcited, but he had not had time to recover from his surprise when he heard about this.

He originally thought that the reward the emperor promised was at most a military commander.

Even so, it was enough to make him excited and unable to sleep.

But now someone suddenly told him: "What's the point of being a military commander? The emperor appointed you as the commander of the inner palace!"
This feeling is simply indescribable... How can I describe it with just one word "refreshing"?
Although the Nei Dian Zhi had only one army, it was not as strong as the main forces of the Imperial Guard such as Long Jie and Hu Jie.

But after all, it is a unit with its own independent bugle call.

Its status is higher than that of ordinary army-level units such as the Longjie Left Wing First Army and the Hujie Right Wing Second Army.

The chief general of the Inner Palace Guard is roughly equivalent to the level of Xiangdu Yuhou.

More importantly, the Inner Palace was directly under the emperor's personal guard, and people like Li Chongjin and Zhang Yongde had held this position.

Is this something that ordinary people dare to think about?
Li Yi forced himself not to lose his composure, clasped his fists and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Lord Zhao Yu, for coming all the way to tell me!"

Zhao Kuangyin's current job is Sanyu Hou, and he temporarily serves as the deputy general of the emperor's personal guard, which is one level higher than Li Yi, the yamen runner.

This is probably why he was the first to know what rewards Li Yi would receive.

"You're too polite, Li Yaya."

Zhao Kuangyin smiled and waved his hand, saying, "I didn't come here on purpose. I just passed by the Inner Palace Guard's camp and let them know."

"It will also allow Li Yaya to prepare in advance for tonight's celebration banquet."

When Li Yi heard Zhao Kuangyin mention the celebration of victory, he immediately understood that Chai Rong had just killed a large group of military officers and soldiers in the afternoon.

Now it is natural to quickly reward the meritorious officials to stabilize the morale of the army.

It has to be said that authority is established through military law and grace is shown through rewards.

Chai Rong really handled this tactic of combining kindness and severity just right.

"Li Yaya, I'll be leaving first. We'll talk again at the celebration banquet later."

"Have a good time, Zhao Yuhou!"

Watching Zhao Kuangyin and his companions leave on horseback, Li Yi couldn't help but feel suspicious.

Did Zhao Kuangyin come here specifically to show his goodwill to me?

Or is he here to test my attitude?

From beginning to end, Li Yi did not see anything unusual on Zhao Kuangyin's face. He even suspected that this Zhao Da was someone else impersonating him.

If it were Li Yi, he would be facing the person who beat his cousin to death and indirectly killed his aunt.

It's hard to be as talkative and cheerful as Zhao Da.

He is indeed the future Emperor Taizu of Song...

"Brother Yi, could it be that Zhao Kuangyin got kicked in the head by a horse during the battle?"

Ma Renyu's voice interrupted Li Yi's thoughts.

"Brother Ma, why do you say that?" Li Yi was confused by Ma Renyu's words.

Ma Renyu reminded him, "Brother Yi, have you forgotten the lawsuit between you and the Zhao family last month?"

After hearing this, Li Yi understood what Ma Renyu meant. It seemed that he also felt that Zhao Kuangyin's behavior was unreasonable.

Li Yi couldn't figure this out, so he just made up a story: "Perhaps it's just as you said before we went to war. Zhao Kuangyin saw that we were going to be successful, so he didn't dare to offend us, so he took the initiative to show goodwill."

"Yes, that must be the reason!" It seemed that Ma Renyu really thought so.

But Li Yi is not so naive. If it were someone else, this might be possible.

The other party is the future Emperor Taizu of Song, how could he give in so easily?
Later generations said that Zhao Kuangyin was merciful for giving up military power with a cup of wine, but if his brothers were ungrateful, do you think Zhao Kuangyin would be lenient?

Who among those who emerged from the Five Generations was a good person?

In contrast, Li Yi was more willing to believe that this was Zhao Kuangyin's delaying tactic.

Paralyze yourself by actively showing goodwill, and then strike a fatal blow when you are relaxed.

It’s a pity that Zhao Kuangyin never thought that he was facing a time traveler who had been keeping a close eye on him in secret.

At this time, Ma Renyu beside him suddenly sighed and said, "We both said that we would become Jiedushi in the future. Brother Yi, you have found your place now, but I still don't know where my reward is... Sigh!"

Nima!

Why are you still thinking about your reward?

Li Yi couldn't remember how many times Ma Renyu had mentioned the word "reward" in front of him. He almost wanted to ask everyone about it.

In short, this guy is crazy. If he gets a reward that far exceeds his expectations, he might even faint from excitement on the spot.

It’s just like a later skit about “Postpartum Care for a Sow”.

Li Yi was not good at conversation therapy, so he could only perfunctorily say, "Didn't Zhao Kuangyin say that there would be a celebration banquet later? We'll know then, won't we?"

"Hey, that's true."

……

In the evening, Li Yi and Ma Renyu rushed to the military camp outside the city.

Although the emperor temporarily rested in the government office in Luzhou City, the central military camp remained in the main force outside the city.

The celebration banquet was held here.

By the time Li Yi and the other arrived, many people who were to be rewarded had already arrived.

The space in the central military tent is limited. Only senior military generals and ministers accompanying the army are qualified to enter. Others can only wait outside for the emperor to summon them.

Li Yi stood in the crowd and glanced around, and found that there were less than a hundred people who were rewarded tonight. Logically speaking, after such a great battle, these people should not be the only ones who made contributions.

But if you think about it carefully, tonight's celebration banquet should first reward those who have made greater contributions.

The rest will be rewarded in batches.

At the same time, those who were waiting outside the tent to receive the reward were all very excited.

Many of them were like Li Yi, originally just middle and lower-level lieutenants, or even ordinary soldiers.

Now there is an opportunity to reach the sky in one step.

Who could not be excited?
When these people get together, they will inevitably talk about what achievements they have made.

Li Yi pricked up his ears and listened for a while, and found that most people's achievements were made when the Northern Han army was retreating.

Basically, the competition is about who kills more people. A certain lieutenant claimed that he chased and killed more than a hundred people.

Another soldier said that he was lucky because when he was chasing the remnants of the Northern Han army, he caught a man dressed as a civil official and killed him.

Unexpectedly, he found out that the other party was Wang Yansi, the deputy privy envoy of the Northern Han Dynasty.

Everyone was very envious when they heard this.

After all, the price of a high-ranking military officer's head is not the same as that of an ordinary soldier's head.

It is far better to kill a commander than to kill a dozen soldiers.

As they talked, everyone started discussing who was the main contributor to the Gaoping battle.

"That must be Li Yi, the inner palace guard!"

"Yes, it is said that at that time, Zhang Yuanhui, the most powerful general of the Northern Han Dynasty, was about to rush to Your Majesty. Li Yi shouted "Die for Your Majesty" and rushed forward, stabbing Zhang Yuanhui to death with a single shot!"

"No, no, it's not that easy. I heard that he first fought hard against Zhang Yuanhui's personal guards, knocking down more than a dozen of them by himself, and then shot Zhang Yuanhui to death with a single arrow."

"You two are both wrong. Li Yi just rushed the fastest, which is why he was lucky enough to kill Zhang Yuanhui.

There were quite a few people who rushed forward at the time, like Ma Quanyi and Ma Renyu, whose contributions might not be less than his..."

Listening to many people arguing about whether he was the main contributor, Li Yi, the real person, stood in the crowd and stayed out of it.

Perhaps these people who were arguing with each other with red faces would never have thought that the protagonist they were talking about was standing right next to them.

But this is not surprising. Li Yi was just a small captain that not many people knew before, but now he has become famous for killing Zhang Yuanhui in battle.

But among so many soldiers in the Later Zhou imperial guards, only a few had actually seen him.

I have no idea what he looks like.

In comparison, it is his height that is more eye-catching, and he is the best among the entire imperial guards.

From time to time someone would look over here.

Li Yi turned to look at Ma Renyu beside him, only to see him staring at the tent door with an eager look on his face.

This guy is really crazy about the reward, he has become a little neurotic.

Where is the free and unrestrained spirit before going to the battle?
No wonder they say money corrupts people's hearts...

The temptation of power and wealth does have a great impact on a person.

(End of this chapter)