"...Now, Wei Yan is hereby specially granted the title of Marquis of Jing'an, with a fief of two thousand households and a hereditary estate of sixty hectares, the title of Marquis of Jing'an to be inherited by his descendants for generations..."

At the victory banquet, Emperor Chengtai directly bestowed upon Wei Yan the highest-ranking hereditary marquis title.

Although a marquis is not as high a rank as a duke, this title was earned by Wei Yan himself, and it has a completely different meaning from inheriting the title from the Duke of Anguo's family.

The latter was simply born into a good family and benefited from his ancestors' good fortune.

The former, however, demonstrates formidable strength.

To rise to high office and be granted a noble title without relying on family background or personal connections is an achievement that countless people dream of.

Wei Yan achieved such success before he was even twenty years old, which is enough to show what a genius he was!

As soon as the imperial edict of investiture was read, those who had previously thought Wei Yan was crazy because he had severed ties with the Duke of Anguo's family began to look at him with new respect.

"The muskets that swept through the iron cavalry of Xilin Kingdom were actually designed by him. No wonder he had the confidence to sever ties with the Duke of Anguo's family."

"The Duke of Anguo's mansion has suffered a huge loss this time. If the kinship hadn't been severed, and the Wei family army had muskets at their disposal, they would have volunteered to fight. Wouldn't all the glory now belong to the Duke of Anguo's mansion?"

"Hahahaha, Duke Anguo is probably regretting it to death now. He thought he had given up a rotten winter melon, but he didn't expect it to be a gold nugget."

"..."

Wei Zhenghong truly regrets it.

If he had known that kid would cause such a stir in the firearms battalion, he definitely would have refused to let him break off his marriage.

After the death of Emperor Gaozu, life became difficult for the various dukes' mansions. Some had their property confiscated, some had their titles demoted, and some had their military power revoked.

The Anguo Duke's family has been pragmatic, honest, and low-key for generations, which is why they have survived to this day.

However, Wei's army has not been on the battlefield for many years and is almost worn out.

They urgently need to solidify their position and maintain their strength through victories.

This is also why he values ​​Wei Teng so much.

Wei's army needs a wolf-like leader.

How could a sick cat like Wei Yan, who is not even good at riding and archery, lead the Wei family to a revival?

What's more, he even managed to lose both of his arms.

After severing ties with Wei Yan, Wei Zhenghong completely lost all hope in him.

Who knew he would create such a powerful weapon?

Wei Zhenghong had only experienced the artillery fire on the night of the autumn hunt and had not witnessed the demonstration by the firearms battalion, but just by looking at the result of "annihilating 80,000 iron cavalry with 1,500 men", he could imagine how powerful these new weapons were.

Even if he were in his prime, leading an army of the same size as the Xilin Kingdom, he might not be able to defeat them.

As everyone knows, the Xilin Kingdom's iron cavalry has never suffered a defeat in the past twenty years.

Even the Yun family army, which was once known as the "strongest army in the Great Xi Dynasty," was no match for them.

Such a powerful weapon was actually made by his son.

Wei Zhenghong felt both proud and heartbroken.

If Wei's army had muskets and cannons, he would have volunteered for battle immediately; it would have been the Fifth Battalion of the South that got to steal the spotlight.

The inner army should focus on protecting the capital; why should they steal the credit from the legions responsible for defending and expanding the territory?

Wei Zhenghong hated Yi Shuihan to the core.

Yi Shuihan was awarded the title of Grand General for his meritorious service in this battle.

A general at the age of twenty is unprecedented and will likely never be seen again.

Wei Teng was in a much worse mood than Wei Zhenghong.

From childhood to adulthood, all the compliments were directed at him, and Wei Yan could only look on with envy.

Now it's completely reversed.

All the compliments around him were directed at that good-for-nothing Wei Yan!

What merit or right does Wei Yan have to be granted a marquisate?

All he did was invent a musket!

What's so great about that!

That is to say, he never thought of delving into these kinds of random things, which is why he didn't create them.

If he had also joined the firearms battalion, he would have already developed firearms before Wei Yan, led the Wei family army against the enemy, and won the title of Grand General.

Wei Teng was incredibly frustrated.

The only thing that can comfort him now is that Wei Yan is a cripple with all four limbs missing, and even if he is granted a marquisate, he will die without a complete corpse.

But this only bit of comfort vanished when Wei Yan kowtowed to express his gratitude and reached out to receive the imperial decree.

"Didn't he lose his hand?"

Upon seeing Wei Yan receive the imperial decree, Wei Teng was so shocked that he blurted out.

It was freezing cold, and the people attending the banquet were wearing several layers of clothing, making them look quite bulky.

Therefore, when Wei Yan stepped forward to receive the imperial edict, Wei Teng thought that what was hanging beside him was an overly thick, empty sleeve.

I never expected it to be an arm!

How come he still has arms?!

When he was asked to be named the heir apparent, he went to Ning's residence to find Wei Yan and saw with his own eyes the appearance of Wei Yan with his severed arm, and he firmly believed in this fact.

At this moment, however, this fact has been completely overturned.

He wasn't the only one shocked.

Wei Zhenghong and others who knew about Wei Yan's severed arm were also very surprised.

"Didn't they say that Marquis Jing'an lost both arms in the firearms camp?"

"Are his hands real? Or are they mechanical hands?"

"Could it be that he ate some kind of magic pill and his severed arm grew back?"

"..."

Their curiosity suddenly reached its peak.

He couldn't wait to rush over and grab Wei Yan to get to the bottom of things.

Fortunately, Wei Yan did not disappoint them and quickly provided an explanation.

"I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's favor in bestowing upon me the title of Marquis. I will certainly devote myself to serving Your Majesty with utmost loyalty and filial piety, and remain steadfast in my duty as a subject to repay Your Majesty's kindness..."

After receiving the imperial decree, Wei Yan first expressed his gratitude for the emperor's favor.

Then the conversation shifted.

"Besides His Majesty, Yan also wants to thank three other people."

"The first person I want to thank is Yan's mother."

"Yan was frail from childhood, but thanks to his mother's meticulous care, he was able to grow into adulthood."

"No matter what choice Yan makes, his mother will support him. Even after Yan lost both arms in an explosion, he still insisted on developing firearms, and his mother supported him as always."

"When Yan was young and ignorant, he caused his mother a lot of worry. In the future, Yan will definitely be filial to his mother and let her be a carefree and happy old lady."

Ning's eyes welled up with tears as she listened from below the stage.

The surrounding ladies were filled with envy.

When Ning divorced Duke Anguo, they thought she must have gone mad.

Who would give up being a duchess and divorce to become an ordinary citizen?

That's incredibly stupid.

They didn't even bother to come over and gossip about why she got divorced.

Without the title of Duchess, Ning was no longer in the same social class as them, and she wouldn't even bother to greet them if they met on the street.

It hasn't been long, and that sickly son born to Lady Ning has already been granted a title.

Having a successful son is the best thing ever!

From now on, Ning will be in charge of the entire Marquis's mansion. She won't have to serve men or be subservient to anyone. She can live a very carefree life.

That's so enviable!

They changed their previous attitude and all asked Ning for advice on raising children.

"Madam Ning, how do you teach your children? Please teach us!"

Ning said frankly, "It's all because the child is ambitious. As his mother, I haven't done anything except take care of his food, clothing, and shelter."

These people felt even more heartbroken after hearing this.

Comparing yourself to others will only make you miserable.

Why is it that other people's children are raised by their parents, while their own children make them so angry they feel like hanging themselves?

Wei Yan had no idea that she had become the envy of everyone, and she thanked the second person on stage.