Two days later, the eunuch who was delivering the imperial eunuch arrived. It was Qianzi, the apprentice of the eunuch Chen, the chief eunuch of the imperial palace. The Marquis of Zhenyuan went out to greet him and said, "Eunuch Qian is finally here. I heard from the servants two days ago that he would arrive in the next two days. I have been sending people to watch at the city gate every day. I am looking forward to your arrival."
Eunuch Qian said quickly, "Marquis Zhenyuan is such an honor to me. How dare I trouble the Marquis to come and welcome you in person?" The two of them exchanged polite words for a while before entering the yard.
Arriving at the reception room, the two sat down and drank a cup of tea before Eunuch Qian said, "My Lord, you know that I am here to deliver an imperial decree. Let's get down to business first! The Emperor heard from you that An Yong is good, so he came here specially to let me take a look at him for him."
Marquis Zhenyuan said, "Please wait a moment, sir. I have already called An Yong over."
As they were talking, An Yong, led by his personal guard, came to the reception room. An Yong waited outside the door while the personal guard went in to report. When the Marquis of Zhenyuan heard the personal guard's report, he said, "Let him in!"
After An Yong came in, he bowed and said, "I greet the commander."
Zhenyuan Hou introduced: "This is Eunuch Qian from the capital."
An Yong bowed to Eunuch Qian again and said, "I greet Eunuch Qian."
Eunuch Qian waved his hands and said, "General An, you are embarrassing me. I am only a lower fifth rank official, which is several levels lower than General An's upper fifth rank!" He stood up and said, "Okay, now that everyone is here, let's announce the imperial edict first!"
The Marquis of Zhenyuan had already prepared the incense table and said, "Eunuch Qian, please come in!"
A group of people came to the yard, and An Yong and everyone in the commander-in-chief's mansion, led by Marquis Zhenyuan, knelt down facing the direction of the capital.
Eunuch Qian took out the first imperial edict, opened it and read: "The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, declares: Today, our dynasty has a group of lions who have defeated the enemy and defended the territory. I have been appointed by Heaven to reward the three armies to honor their merits. I have granted them wine, food, silver, and silk to comfort them and reward their aspirations. Let us enjoy this feast, share the peace and prosperity, and show the grace and generosity of our dynasty. I decree this!"
The Marquis of Zhenyuan said, "I accept your order and thank you for your grace!"
After Eunuch Qian handed the first imperial edict to the Marquis of Zhenyuan, he took out the second imperial edict and read it out: "The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, declares: For the meritorious service of the Marquis of Zhenyuan in commanding the army, I hereby grant him a thousand taels of gold and ten thousand taels of silver. I decree this!"
The Marquis of Zhenyuan said again: "I accept your order and thank you for your grace!"
Eunuch Qian took out the last imperial edict and said, "This imperial edict is from General An. General An, please accept it."
An Yong imitated the Marquis of Zhenyuan, bowed his head to the ground, and said, "I will accept your order!"
Eunuch Qian opened the imperial edict and read out: "The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, declares: An Yong is a brave warrior who has made great contributions in killing the enemy leader. He is now specially appointed as General Dingyuan, with an official rank of the fifth rank, and is specially granted a thousand taels of silver. I decree this!"
An Yong took the imperial edict and said, "I accept the edict. Thank you for your grace!"
After the imperial edict was read, everyone thanked him and stood up under the leadership of Marquis Zhenyuan. Marquis Zhenyuan said, "Eunuch Qian, please go back and have a rest. We will welcome you in the evening."
Eunuch Qian agreed with a smile, and then, led by Marquis Zhenyuan's personal soldiers, went to the guest room specially prepared for him to rest.
After Eunuch Qian left, Marquis Zhenyuan said to An Yong, "You should also go and prepare. You can also attend the banquet tonight."
An Yong saluted, said "yes", and then left.
The news that An Yong was named General Dingyuan soon spread among the generals. Some were envious, some were happy for him, but no one was jealous, because An Yong's military achievements were real and not obtained by luck.
An Yong returned to the tent, picked out a green robe with narrow sleeves, tied his hair up again, and then went to find Captain Zheng.
When Captain Zheng saw An Yong, he came up and patted him on the shoulder and said, "Good boy, you have become the Dingyuan General of the fifth rank so quickly. You are much better than your uncle, a captain of the sixth rank."
An Yong scratched his head a little embarrassedly and said, "Uncle Zheng, please stop teasing me. Are you going to the banquet tonight?"
Captain Zheng shook his head and said, "This banquet is attended by high-ranking generals and local officials from Ye City. I am not qualified."
An Yong nodded somewhat disappointedly. Captain Zheng said, "Don't worry, the coach thinks highly of you and will definitely give you some advice."
An Yong nodded and said, "Okay, Uncle Zheng, I'll go first. I can't let others wait for me."
Captain Zheng patted him on the shoulder and said, "Go! Be smart."
An Yong nodded and turned to go to the Marshal's Mansion. At this time, many generals had already arrived at the Marshal's Mansion, including An Yong's immediate superior, General Li. When General Li saw An Yong coming, he introduced An Yong to the other generals. After getting to know each other, they gradually became more friendly.
After waiting for a while, Eunuch Qian, accompanied by Marquis Zhenyuan and Governor Yin, arrived at the courtyard where the banquet was held. All the generals and other local officials stood up to greet them. After Marquis Zhenyuan, Eunuch Qian and Governor Yin sat down at the main table, the other generals and officials took their seats.
At the banquet, the atmosphere was very lively. Governor Yin had received the news that An Yong had made great contributions this time and had been promoted by the emperor to the rank of General Dingyuan. So Governor Yin said to the Marquis of Zhenyuan, "My Lord, I heard that a general named An Yong had made great contributions this time. I wonder who he is? Can you introduce him to me?"
Zhenyuan Hou nodded and whispered a few words to the personal guard beside him. The personal guard took the order and left. After a while, he brought An Yong back. An Yong came over and saluted everyone. Zhenyuan Hou said, "Go and get a stool for General An."
After hearing this, the guards hurriedly moved a stool to the lower position, after all, An Yong was the lowest-ranking one here. After An Yong sat down, Governor Yin looked at An Yong, who was tall and handsome, nodded, and said, "This is General An. It is true that a hero emerges from youth."
An Yong quickly said, "Master Yin, thank you for your praise. An Yong is ashamed to accept it."
Governor Yin said: "General An is too modest. Everyone knows that General An killed the enemy leader and made great contributions."
An Yong said: "This is just luck. If the Marquis had not fought with the enemy leader for three hundred rounds and consumed the enemy leader's physical strength, I would not be his opponent with my skills."
Governor Yin looked at the humble An Yong and nodded, feeling more satisfied. However, he did not thank An Yong in public. After all, this was related to his daughter's reputation.
The banquet went smoothly. With Eunuch Qian present, the generals restrained themselves and did not play drinking games as usual. After the banquet, An Yong followed General Li back to the tent. On the way, General Li said, "General An, it's too late today. I'll have someone prepare a separate tent for you tomorrow."
An Yong hurriedly said: "Thank you, General!"
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