Shiro

A few days later, the army returned to the capital.General Yang Ye handed over the affairs of the general's camp to the deputy general, and he and the members of the Yang family brought Pan Bao into the palace.

All the officials who were able to go to court immediately set off to enter the palace when they heard the news that the Yang family's army had returned to Beijing.This great victory has attracted far more attention than the Battle of Yanmen Pass. One is to defend against the enemy and the other is to recover the lost land. It is obvious which one has the greater contribution.

Due to Prime Minister Pan's prestige, many people said nothing.The members of Prime Minister Pan's family consoled him, saying that it was justifiable that he was inexperienced in the battle for the first time, that Yeluxie was too cunning, it was not the son's fault, and so on.But no one is stupid in their hearts. It is clear who is who and who is wrong in this matter. There is no need for an investigation. They must be handed over to Pan Bao, but Pan Bao's ability and mentality made them worry a lot.It's just that it's easy to get on board, but hard to get off.

Although those who disdained to flatter others did not speak, their meaning was very clear.For example, Kou Zhun, he completely only recognizes the facts but not the people.This time Pan Bao acted like this, he almost didn't criticize him, it's just that it's not easy to make noise in Zichen Palace.

When Yang Ye and Pan Bao, the member of the Yang family, entered the hall, the people who had been arguing just now were poured down like cold water, and no one heard anything.

Pan Bao stood on the right side of Yang Ye, with a sluggish expression and dull eyes. He was tortured by the contemptuous eyes of the people these days.No matter how angry Prime Minister Pan was, he could only go home and clean up when he saw Pan Bao like this. His mind was spinning quickly, how could he reduce the charges.

After a while the emperor arrived.After everyone saluted, the emperor spoke, "Loves, my Great Song Dynasty has been at war with the Liao Kingdom for many years, and the Liao people cunningly seized my territory. Although there were flaws in the first battle of Shuozhou, the result was satisfactory. Shuozhou is The first piece of lost land recovered by the Song Dynasty is of great significance, and I am very relieved. In this battle, the Yang family army made the most contribution, and it was the first contribution, which should be rewarded. After the recovery, the arrangements were reasonable. Now Shuozhou has officially begun to govern , I will choose an auspicious day to go to the Taimiao to report this matter to my ancestors, so as to comfort their spirits in heaven."

Everyone shouted long live, "The emperor is holy."

The emperor promoted everyone in the Yang family to a higher rank, but Yang Ye politely declined the emperor's reward because he failed to catch the Liao army coach Yeluxie.The emperor was very satisfied with Yang Ye's knowledge and interest, so he didn't award him an official position, but the reward was doubled.The officials present were all good people, how could they not know why Yang Ye declined to be promoted, and they all praised him for being smart.I also know that if Yang Ye is not so sensible and interesting, no matter how much the emperor trusts him, he will not be able to protect the Yang family like this all the time.

Pan Bao could only follow the crowd to salute mechanically.But he forgot that he made such a big mistake, how could he go unpunished.

This kind of thing, the emperor just gave a look, and someone said, the person who came out this time is still a heavyweight, and that is Kou Zhun.

Kou Zhun stepped forward to salute, facing Pan Bao sideways, "Your Majesty, the recovery of Shuozhou is a great joyous event, which should be celebrated by the whole country. However, there are still flaws in this matter, so it must be punished. Originally, the emperor preferred the Yang family to be the commander in chief. The Yang family is the pillar of our Great Song Dynasty, and it is worthy of trust. However, General Pan said that you are a hero, and you cannot lose to the Yang family when you are young. First, before the siege, in order to gain merit, the troops were divided into two groups, ignoring the advice of the general of the Yang family. This is narrow-minded and unable to accept advice. There is no respect for the Yang family who has made countless contributions, especially General Yang. People from his father's generation speak evil words, which is a fault of virtue. At the beginning of the siege, he ignored the strategy of war and fell into the trap of Yeluxie, and was defeated and captured. I have no backbone, let down the emperor's kindness. Let the people of Liao despise my Song Dynasty's popularity, which is tolerable or unbearable. My great victory in the Song Dynasty has added stains, and must be punished, otherwise the people will be uneasy and unable to appease the public anger. The Liao people saw my Da Song joke." The more Kou Zhun said, the more excited he became, and he almost strangled Pan Bao's neck and questioned him fiercely.

Those loyal courtiers were all indignant.This is already a disgrace to Daliao. I don't know how long it will take to be laughed at. He has no backbone at all. The ministers looked at Pan Bao more and more unkindly.

There was silence for a while, and Kou Zhun persistently bowed his hands, asking the emperor to punish Pan Bao.Prime Minister Pan suddenly knelt down, tears streaming down his face, "Your Majesty, I have no way to teach my son, and I have failed His Majesty's grace. I ask my Majesty to punish my ministers."

Prime Minister Pan's paternal attitude made many people sympathize with him, but basically they were all from Prime Minister Pan's family.It seems that Kou Zhun is unmoved. "What Prime Minister Pan said is extremely true. A sage has something to say. The son does not teach his father's fault. Prime Minister Pan did not admit his fault. Your Majesty, since what Prime Minister Pan said is reasonable, we should fulfill the prime minister's love." Heart of a child."

Then he looked at Prime Minister Pan with a sad face, "Prime Minister, I heard that General Pan loves martial arts and does not like reading books. The harm of this matter can be seen. Failure to cultivate virtue is harmful to oneself. A general does not know the art of war." Those who are handsome do not know the strategy, and this is very harmful."

Prime Minister Pan almost gritted his old teeth, this Kou must have insisted that Pan Bao would not let go.What he said, not only charged Pan Bao with crimes, but also sent him to the prison. This Kou Zhun has a good tongue, and every word he speaks is bloody.

Even if Prime Minister Pan wanted to spit out old blood, he had to save his son first before saying, "Your majesty, I have no way to teach my son. I have nothing to say about how the emperor punishes me. My son is young and energetic, but he can't restrain himself. Learning, he is too eager to regain the lost land for the emperor, so he rushed forward. As for General Yang, I am ignorant, please forgive me this time, I will definitely teach him a lesson when I go back, and let him make amends to the general. I ask the emperor to demote the dog Be a small soldier and stand guard for the emperor, please let the emperor see that I only have one son, and give him a lighter sentence, I am very grateful."

Although Pan Bao was in a slump, he was still not stupid. His father passed the steps over, and of course he knew that he was going down the slope. He kowtowed hoarsely and pleaded guilty to the emperor, "Your majesty, I am eager to win. Burying the soldiers also made me humiliated, the Song Dynasty was ashamed, and I dare not be arrogant. I would like to apologize to General Yang here, and ask General Yang to forgive me. I ask the emperor to allow me to be a small soldier to do my little for the emperor. Minister I know I was wrong."

There was that minister with a transparent heart who secretly slandered in his heart, this art of speaking.It was obviously a provocation, but it turned out to be young and energetic here, so why didn't he say that he was made the coach at the beginning.Obviously they went there for the purpose of fighting for merit, but they only talked about their attitude.The soldiers who were buried were not one or two, but it was such a one-off, and the shame brought to Song Tianda was that he wanted to fool around with only his age, and he was still a soldier.If Yang Ye hadn't led the troops in time, let alone regaining Shuozhou, Pan Bao's life would have been accounted for there.In the future, if Yeluxie leads the Liao soldiers to invade again, it will be really shameful.Prime Minister Pan really deserves to be an old fox, heh.

Another old minister with beard and hair almost white came out, "Your Majesty, this old minister has never encountered such absurd things since he followed the Taizu to conquer the world. This old minister and Prime Minister Pan are also familiar with each other. What are you talking about, Prime Minister Pan?" , when the crime of defeating the army can be explained in a sentence of youthful vigor, the sons of General Yang and General Pan are all about the same age, but they are already full of military exploits, and they have never led troops alone. It can be seen that this matter should not be based on age. Besides, as a general, it is an honor to die for the country. The blood of a general should rather die standing than live on his knees. The old minister is not embarrassing the young People, but this Pan Bao has been crowned, he is an adult, he should be responsible for his own actions, there is no reason to hide behind his father. Prime Minister Pan loves his son, and I died because of General Pan's wrong decision-making and competitive heart Soldiers, should they die in vain?"

The old minister became more and more annoyed as he spoke, Kou Zhun rushed over to support him, fearing that he would faint from excitement, "No one has parents, no one has family members, those soldiers are loyal to the emperor, and they are fighting bloody battles to protect our Great Song Dynasty. Thinking of keeping their sons, do their parents want to avenge their sons? Kowtow begging for mercy, hmph, you know, if you are only defeated, you can still use victory and defeat as a common matter in military affairs, and those soldiers can be regarded as fighting for the country You deserved to die. But what you did to save your life made their behavior a joke. How can the Liao people laugh at us Song people, cowards. I see, General Pan doesn’t need to be this general anymore, so as not to harm others or himself.”

The emperor also had to speak out to appease the old man, "Chen Aiqing, calm down first, you are an old minister who followed the Taizu to fight the country, don't be angry with yourself because of a young man. I will give an explanation to the people of the world."

With the emperor's words, Mrs. Chen returned to his seat, but his eyes were still fixed on Pan Bao and Prime Minister Pan, and sparks were about to burst out.

The emperor looked at Pan Bao and then at Prime Minister Pan, "I can understand Prime Minister Pan's love for his son, but it is true that General Pan disregards my trust and loses the face of Song Dynasty. I can't stop the world from talking. Pan General, since you are convicted, I will sentence you to cut off all your official positions and demote you to a commoner to see the effect. You should apologize, and you need to appease the families of the soldiers who died because of you. And you will be punished with a cane fifty times in court. have opinions?"

It was rare for Pan Bao to be smart at this time. The emperor had already announced the punishment, which meant that he had made up his mind. What he said to the emperor at this time was for nothing.I hate that I am the one who is clearly humiliated, but they only criticize myself for those soldiers. I am the coach, and they should protect themselves. It is an honor.In the Yang family, everyone praised them for being the head coach themselves but making wedding dresses for others.

Pan Bao lowered his head, secretly resenting that in the future, your Yang family must die without a place to bury you.

Then he kowtowed, "Chen, no, the grassroots have no objection."

The emperor watched the servants bring up a stool and a court stick, and pressed down on Pan Bao to make the stick fifty-fifty thicker, blood dripping from his buttocks.Then he said to Prime Minister Pan, "Although Prime Minister Pan is very capable, he has no way to teach his son. He has been fined for one year's salary as a warning to others. You don't have to deal with matters related to the imperial examination. You should take care of your own son first."

While Prime Minister Pan was worried about Pan Bao, he desperately wondered why the emperor took away his business at this time.The prime minister has always been in charge of the imperial examinations. What does the emperor mean?

No matter how entangled Prime Minister Pan was, the rewards were rewarded and the punishments were punished, and we couldn't do too much, so we let everyone go back.