Chapter 406: At the age of seventeen, he was granted a title of nobility and appointed as a general!
Changle Palace.
"Your Majesty, the general sent a report of the battle. Our army fought fiercely with the Loufan King's army for five days and defeated them. We also went to the northwest to completely wipe out the remnants of the Baiyang King's army and captured the Loufan King alive. We captured and killed 52 Xiongnu nobles including the Danghu, Duwei, Wanchang, and Guoxiang. We also captured 22,000 Xiongnu heads and 30,000 prisoners. We also seized one million cattle and sheep, tens of thousands of war horses, and countless other supplies.
When the Piaoyao Captain Huo Qubing and the Yingyang Captain Luo Wuzhi were traveling west to the Moyan River, they encountered the Xiongnu King Youguli. The two sides fought fiercely. The King Youguli fled, and our army captured 10,000 Xiongnu heads.
The general has led his soldiers back to Chang'an and is waiting for your inspection.
Your Majesty, another great victory!"
Liu Che was shocked by the continuous good news and laughed out loud. He walked to the geomancy map, looked at the situation between the Han and Xiongnu, and then drew a line from Henan to the west, saying: "Henan has returned to the hands of my Han Dynasty, and we have directly wiped out the Western Desert. I was planning to launch the Western Desert War again next year, but I didn't expect that my generals would win in one battle.
I can now let go and use Henan as my base to raise horses. One day, I will tell the Xiongnu that wherever the Han cavalry goes, it is Han territory!"
There are two reasons why Liu Che was so confident.
The first is that he believes that Luo Wuji and Huo Qubing are the people he has been waiting for. With these two peerless swords and Wei Qing, the iron wall of the empire, the Han army is invincible at the tactical level.
He still had not forgotten what Liu Heng said to Liu Che before his death, "Don't start a war without a strong general."
Liu Che always kept this sentence in mind and took it as his guiding principle, so he had always restrained the scale of the war, but now he felt that the time had come.
Because since he was favored by the Su Wang Shang Huang Tian and was given the reign title, Wei Qing, Luo Wu Ji and Huo Qubing appeared beside him one by one.
Liu Che believed that these three people were the divine generals who would bring his great cause to fruition. He had fallen into a childish fantasy and felt that it was his responsibility to make these three people shine the brightest for the country and the Han Dynasty.
The second reason is that the Han court had a very solid foundation. Empress Gao and Emperor Xiaohui were in a period of recuperation and recovery, but during the reign of Emperor Xiaowen, the Han Dynasty began to accumulate resources crazily, leaving him with too much foundation.
The Han and the Huns fought for ten years, and the money and goods left to him by Liu Heng had not been used up. The only thing that had changed was the food.
Even if Luo Xin improved the storage method, it would be impossible to preserve it for so many years. However, the Han court stored new grain and used old grain, so there was still a lot of grain left.
Up to now, Liu Che did not need to start levying heavy taxes and had not used various money-making tricks, because the national finances were still abundant and sufficient to support the combat needs of the Han army.
In other words, the Han Dynasty had not yet been fully mobilized, but it had already achieved such results. How could Liu Che not have greater ambitions?
"I am indeed a person blessed by the Su Wang!
My Lord Suwang, I will be the one to practice the distinction between Xia and Yi that you have passed down to me.
The glory of the Chinese nation and your holy name will spread to every corner under the sun along with the soldiers of the Han Dynasty. You will rule the heavens, and the emperor of the Han Dynasty will rule the earth until the end of time. "
Liu Che looked at the geomancy map, clenched his fists tightly, his heart filled with excitement.
…
Every victorious Han soldier had a happy look on his face. Even the dumbest person knew how great the results of this expedition were. This was the largest battle between the Han and the Huns since Marquis Jiang Zhongyi went to the grassland. Moreover, the harvest this time was more abundant than ever before. All the surviving Han soldiers would be rewarded.
Especially the current emperor, who has always been generous in rewarding soldiers who have made contributions to the country, which makes everyone start to think happily about what they can get.
"Captain Piao Yao and Captain Ying Yang will definitely be marquises and generals when they return to Chang'an this time. They are both under 18 years old, right?"
"It's really enviable. I've lived to this age but can't be awarded a title based on my own merits. I can only use some military merits to maintain the number of households in my family's fiefdom. It's really frustrating to compare myself with others."
"At least you can still maintain the number of households in your fiefdom. Look at that evildoer of the Buqihou family. He got drunk and made a big mistake, and was directly reduced by 2,300 households. The fiefdom that our ancestors fought bloody battles for was directly reduced by half. Who can we go to for justice?"
People who don't understand might think that everyone feels sad when they say this, but in fact it is not, because reducing the fiefdoms is already a favor from the emperor. If there are no fiefdoms to reduce, then the person will be executed directly.
As mentioned before, Luoxin aims to create a political environment of mutual trust between the central government and local areas, reduce internal friction between the two sides, and then use the system to shift its power outside the Xia Dynasty.
In order to build this kind of ecology, the central imperial power made certain sacrifices on the surface, but in fact it maintained the stability of the throne, because the throne was no longer a matter of the Liu family, but a common matter of the many marquises who depended on it for survival.
Liu Heng saw the benefits of this ecosystem, so he has been maintaining it. Liu Che is currently finding it very convenient to use, so he has no plans to make any changes.
Central Army.
Wei Qing also smiled and said, "This time you two will definitely be granted titles of nobility, but I don't know how many households His Majesty will grant you."
Huo Qubing said excitedly: "Uncle, I was awarded the title of marquis based on my military merits. I should be the youngest marquis in the Han Dynasty, right?"
Speaking of the youngest marquis, it is certainly not Huo Qubing. Back then, Marquis Wumu of Huaiyin had such great contributions that Emperor Gao was ready to make him a king. In the end, he gave him two marquises of ten thousand households. Even babies who were still in their cradles were already marquises. However, that kind of marquis has no reference value and has never been counted. The youngest real marquis was Huo Qubing.
Wei Qing smiled and said, "It will be very difficult to break this record between you and Master Wu Ji in the future. Whenever I think of this battle, you really gave your uncle a big surprise."
Huo Qubing laughed and said, "Wu Ji was personally designated by King Zhaosheng as the successor to Duke Zhao. Even if he gets the title of Marquis now, he will become Duke Zhao sooner or later.
By the way, Wuji, when you return this time, His Majesty will definitely confer you a title of nobility. When you become Duke Zhao, what will you do with your title of nobility?"
The Marquisates represent an entire country, and it is not something that can be thrown away at will. What is even more embarrassing is that the State of Zhao is a foreign vassal state, and there is no limit on the number of households, so it is not possible to increase the number of households in the State of Zhao, and the Marquisates can only exist independently.
Luo Wuji had already made plans for the various marquisates in his mind, and said with a smile: "Who has stipulated that a person cannot have two titles? I have two shoulders, one shoulder can carry the Zhaogong State of the Xia Dynasty, and the other shoulder can carry the Marquisate of the Han Dynasty."
Wei Qing and Huo Qubing both laughed when they heard this. They didn't expect Luo Wuji to have this idea. But after careful consideration, they found that there was nothing wrong with it, especially considering Luo Wuji's special identity.
Luo Wuji asked again: "Qubing, do you still remember the Western Regions I mentioned?
After the Han Dynasty conquers the Western Regions, I will ask His Majesty the Emperor to move my state to the Western Regions, and then I will guard it for the Chinese people for generations."
Wei Qing was a little curious when he heard this, but he didn't quite understand. Huo Qubing stopped laughing, clasped his fists and said, "The Luo family is so righteous!"
Western Regions, what does the name remind you of?
Lingnan.
Where is Lingnan?
It's a place where criminals are exiled, and no normal person goes there.
Huo Qubing could easily guess that even if the Western Regions were opened up, it would probably become a place of exile for criminals like Lingnan, and no normal person would want to go there.
After all, who doesn’t want to live in the civilized world of Central Plains with a suitable climate, prosperous commerce, and brilliant culture?
However, Huo Qubing did not think that Luo Wuji was lying, because the Luo family had always been the most proactive in exploring new areas and was always willing to sacrifice many things for the sake of exploration.
With everyone looking expectant, the army finally arrived at Jieting, thirty miles outside Chang'an City.
Of course, the army could not enter Chang'an City. Only a fool would let tens of thousands of soldiers who had just left the battlefield directly enter the capital.
Among these tens of thousands of troops, most of the conscripts returned home to continue farming after receiving their rewards. Only the imperial guards were allowed to enter Chang'an City after taking off their armor and then reorganize their ranks.
The prime minister and many high-ranking officials of the court had already arrived here with the imperial edict. When they saw Wei Qing, they immediately said, "General, please accept the edict. All the soldiers, please accept the edict!"
Wei Qing and his generals knelt on one knee to receive the imperial edict. The prime minister unfolded it and read: "The son of the Emperor Su Wang, the prince of the Xia Dynasty, the emperor of the Han Dynasty decrees:
General Wei Qing, Marquis of Changping, was a steady general who was the iron wall of the Han Dynasty. He made great contributions in defeating the enemy and killing too many captives. He was awarded an additional 1,700 households and a thousand gold coins.
Huo Qubing, the commander of the Piaoyao Army, was a man of unrivalled military power and bravery, and was given the title of General of the Cavalry and Marquis of Guanjun, with a fief of 3,700 households. He also ceded half of two counties in Nanyang to make Guanjun County, and granted the title of a fiefdom, and a thousand gold coins.
Luo Wuji, the Eagle-Flying Cavalry Captain, was unparalleled in his bravery and meritorious services. He was granted the title of General of Cavalry and Marquis of Wushuang, with a fief of 3,700 households. He also ceded half of the land of He and Luo counties to form Wushuang County, and granted the title of a fiefdom, and a thousand gold coins.
Marquis Guanjun and Marquis Wushuang are both the divine swords of the Han Dynasty. After returning to Chang'an, I will reward them handsomely.
Order the Prime Minister to reward the soldiers on my behalf and issue rewards.
Let the whole world know. "
These three rewards were all expected, but the emperor's excitement can still be seen. The number of households in the fiefdoms was extremely large, and in order to obtain the two titles of marquis, land was directly cut from other counties to create two counties. Moreover, the fiefdoms were all fertile places like Nanyang and Heluo. Compared with those fiefdoms in Lingnan or Southwestern Yi, the fiefdoms were much stronger and the value of the fiefdoms was greatly increased.
The prime minister also announced the court’s rewards to the soldiers, which were extremely generous, basically 1.3 times the reward.
"I thank your majesty for his grace!"
Countless voices from the depths of the heart rang out in this street pavilion.
(End of this chapter)
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