Nine Princes Struggle for the Throne: The Mad Prince

Chapter 133 Welcome Banquet, Granting a Special Imperial Examination

Late November.

All matters concerning the Southern Qi have been handed over.

Qin Wu left a large army and generals in Southern Qi to maintain order, and then led an army of 600,000 back to the capital.

At the same time, they also took their spoils with them to the capital.

Finally, just before the end of the year, the army returned to the capital.

The Emperor of Eastern Qin personally led his officials out of the city for 30 li to welcome the army back to the capital.

"Your Highness, His Majesty is waiting with his officials a mile away."

A scout reported to Qin Wu.

"Yes, Qi Ye, make the arrangements. We'll head ahead so His Majesty won't have to wait."

Qin Wu waved his hand, signaling the scouts to leave, and then gave instructions to Qi Ye beside him.

A quarter of an hour later.

Qin Wu, along with the Marquis of Zhennan and other generals, came before the Emperor of Eastern Qin.

"Greetings to Your Majesty."

"No gift."

"Thank you for your hard work."

The Emperor of Eastern Qin said with a smile.

These were the generals who helped him expand his territory and were the meritorious officials of his Eastern Qin.

The Emperor of Eastern Qin was very pleased to see these people.

"My son, you've worked hard. Come, follow me to the palace. The banquet in the palace has been prepared. Today, I will host a welcome feast for all the generals."

The Emperor of Eastern Qin spoke to Qin Wu.

He knew very well that if Qin Wu hadn't personally led the troops, the war against Southern Qi probably wouldn't have ended so quickly.

"it is good."

Qin Wu didn't say much and immediately agreed.

The generals have indeed worked hard during this period and deserve a good rest.

Afterwards, the Emperor of Eastern Qin pulled Qin Wu directly onto his imperial carriage and led the civil and military officials back to the palace.

When they arrived at the palace, the banquet was already fully prepared.

The families of all the military officers were also waiting there to welcome their loved ones home.

The generals guarding the border of Southern Qi were especially excited to see their loved ones.

They have been guarding the border for many years and have not seen their families for several years. How could they not be excited to meet this time?

Qin Wu was very satisfied with this.

These generals guarded the borders for the country, separated from their families for many years, all for the sake of protecting the country, ensuring the peace and well-being of the people of Dongqin.

They were all heroes of Eastern Qin.

This is also why Emperor Wu of Qin was more tolerant of his generals and soldiers.

Without their contributions, Dong Qin would not be where it is today.

Without them, the people would not be able to live and work in peace and contentment.

In Qin Wu's eyes, soldiers are the most respectable people.

In his previous life, it was because of these fearless soldiers that he built lines of defense for everyone, giving everyone a chance to survive. It was also under the protection of these soldiers who risked their lives that he was able to gradually grow stronger.

Although he ultimately died in battle, he had to admit that without the protection of the soldiers, he would have turned to dust long ago and died in the mouths of monsters when the apocalypse first broke out.

Qin Wu took his seat and quietly watched the soldiers reuniting with their families. At that moment, his heart also became peaceful.

After the generals reunited with their families, everyone took their seats.

The Emperor of Eastern Qin raised his cup: "Come, today our generals have returned victorious, which is a great joy for Eastern Qin. I would like to toast all the generals here to thank you for expanding the territory of Eastern Qin."

After Emperor Dong Qin finished speaking, he tilted his head back and downed the wine in his cup in one gulp.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. It is our duty as military generals to expand the territory of Eastern Qin. We respectfully thank Your Majesty."

The generals also raised their wine cups and drank the wine in one gulp.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, on leading our Eastern Qin to grow stronger day by day and conquering Southern Qi."

The officials also raised their cups.

After finishing his drink, Qin Wu began to chat quietly with Jiang Pingle and Qiao Danxue beside him.

Especially Jiang Pingle, whom Qin Wu hadn't seen for months, and he even missed his little princess.

"Xiao Jiu, stop being so affectionate with your wife and come have a couple of drinks with me."

The Emperor of Eastern Qin looked at Qin Wu and couldn't help but chuckle.

This was the first time he had ever seen his son like this.

Qin Wu usually treated him with a cold face.

"it is good."

Qin Wu was in a good mood today and did not refuse. He raised his wine cup and toasted the Emperor of Eastern Qin.

The father and son then began to talk.

The main purpose was for the Eastern Qin Emperor to learn about the situation in Southern Qi from Qin Wu.

Now that the Southern Qi dynasty has fallen and been incorporated into the Eastern Qin dynasty, it will take quite some time to digest the situation.

The Emperor of Eastern Qin still wanted to see if Qin Wu had any good ideas.

"Yes, the shortage of officials is indeed a problem. I have heard that many people in the Eastern Qin are studying. Why not hold a special imperial examination to select talents from among the people, so that they can have the opportunity to enter the court as officials and contribute to the development of our Eastern Qin?"

After Qin Wu listened to the troubles of the Eastern Qin Emperor,

Then he brought up the matter of the imperial examination, but you should know that there is no such thing as the imperial examination in Eastern Qin at this time.

Officials are selected primarily through recommendations.

It was virtually impossible for ordinary people to become officials in the imperial court.

This also led to the fact that the officialdom of Eastern Qin was almost entirely monopolized by clans.

But things are different now. With the conquest of Southern Qi, the territory of Eastern Qin has more than doubled.

Since Eastern Qin could not use the officials originally from Southern Qi, it could only select from within Eastern Qin. However, there were so many positions that even clans and court officials could not divide them all.

This gave Qin Wu an opportunity—a chance to break the clan's monopoly on officialdom.

The Eastern Qin took this opportunity to reform, and once it started, it would be impossible for clans and noble families to oppose it in the future.

When Emperor Dong Qin heard Qin Wu mention holding a special imperial examination to select talented individuals from among the common people, his eyes lit up.

He had long wanted to change the current situation in the officialdom of Dongqin, but he could not act rashly.

Otherwise, it would threaten the interests of the powerful, and even if he were the ruler of a country, he wouldn't dare to defy public opinion.

However, now is indeed an opportunity.

However, he didn't quite understand what Qin Wu meant by the special imperial examination.

"What are your plans regarding Enko?"

The Emperor of Eastern Qin inquired.

"No rush, let's talk about it later. Today is a welcome banquet, not the time to discuss this."

After Qin Wu finished speaking, he looked around.

Emperor Dong Qin immediately realized he had gotten too excited and changed the subject.

Seeing Emperor Dong Qin chatting with Qin Wu, the officials below began to relax, toasting each other and making the whole hall much more relaxed.

Especially the military generals.

They lived in the army year-round and were used to straightforwardness, so they were not used to this kind of palace banquet.

Now that everyone has relaxed, some people have even started drinking contests.

Some people even wrestled in the hall, which made many people cheer.

The princes above frowned as they watched this scene.

Some people even wanted to yell at them.

"I'm in a good mood today, so don't spoil my fun."

Qin Wu directly warned the group.

"Xiao Jiu is right. As long as nothing serious happens, let everyone relax today and let the officials see the demeanor of our Eastern Qin generals."

The Emperor of Eastern Qin also rebuked King Zhou and others.

These generals are his treasures now, and he won't let his soldiers lose heart.

In the end, King Zhou and his entourage had no choice but to give up and drink their sorrows away in their seats.

There was no way around it; Qin Wu had gained complete recognition from the military generals because of the war against Southern Qi. It could be said that Qin Wu was now the leader of all the generals in Eastern Qin, and his prestige in the army was even higher than that of the Grand Commandant who commanded all the troops in the country.

This is not good news for them.

The greater Qin Wu's power, the greater the threat he poses to them.