The Imperial City, Taiji Hall.
At dawn, when the first ray of sunlight spilled over the Imperial City, the assembled civil and military officials had already entered the hall and begun morning court.
Emperor Chengping was still gravely ill, and at court it was still the Crown Prince governing as regent, with Prince Cheng and Prince Gong observing state affairs.
When the two ranks of ministers had taken their places, the eunuch before the hall called out in a shrill voice, "Present memorials if there are matters. If there are none, court is dismissed!"
The Crown Prince sat below the imperial throne, his bright eyes Looking At the ministers in the hall.
Prince Cheng and Prince Gong, however, wore calm expressions, their eyes slightly lowered, as if they were half asleep and half awake.
Yet the atmosphere at morning court today was clearly different from the past two days. For the past two days, everyone had still been immersed in the joy of the great victory at Nameless Valley, so the mood had naturally been relaxed and jubilant.
But the atmosphere at morning court today carried something of drawn swords and bent bows.
The reason, when traced to its root, lay Just As the rewards for the soldiers on the front line.
After a great victory, there naturally had to be great rewards.
Leaving aside everything else, just take Yang Zhengshan, who led the soldiers of the Tenglong Guard: first he captured Qinghua Prefecture City, Songzhou City, and Chongshan Pass, put down Prince Qing's rebellion, and afterward blocked the Wuliang army at Guan Shankou, cooperating with the Imperial Guard to annihilate in one stroke the eighty thousand Wuliang Hu Cavalry who had invaded Da Rong territory, as well as twenty thousand of Prince Qing's rebel troops, thoroughly pacifying the warfare