Chapter 195: Received a Real Position

Chapter 195: Received a Real Position

Chapter 195: Received a Real Position
Two days later, the Ministry of War announced the final list. Xiao Xiawen scored eight points and won the first place in the military examination with a total score of 78 points. The second place was Pei Xingyan with 74 points, and the third place was Yang Yichen with 70 points.

The first three were all granted the title of General of the Huben Guards. The first one, Xiao Xia, was promoted to the rank of General Mingwei, a fourth-rank general, with the authority to lead 5,000 troops. The second one, Pei Xingyan, was granted the rank of General Zhaowu, a sixth-rank general, with the authority to lead 3,000 troops.

The reason why Pei Xingyan's official rank was so different from Xiao Xia's was mainly because Xiao Xia had been promoted to the fifth rank General Dingyuan after the end of the Bashu Pingliao War, while Pei Xingyan was just an ordinary guard in the Han Palace.

The third person, Yang Yichen, was no longer given an official title because he had an actual position. In fact, only Xiao Xia and Pei Xingyan received actual titles.

Xiao Xia was additionally appointed as the military commander of Zhangye Army, Pei Xingyan was appointed as the military assistant of Bingzhou General's Office, and Yang Yichen continued to serve as the general manager of Shuozhou.

The rest of the military scholars were appointed as generals of the imperial guards.

It is always said that the official system of the Song Dynasty was very complicated. In fact, the Song Dynasty inherited the official system of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Xiao Xia's official position was very complicated. First of all, he had the title of Duke of a county, which ordinary officials did not have. The title was generally a symbol of nobility.

Then he also had the honor of Shang Kaifu Yitong Sansi, which represented status and position, which was very important for ordinary officials, but not for Xiao Xia. He had a title, and the honor of Shang Kaifu Yitong Sansi was meaningless to him.

General Mingwei is an official rank, equivalent to the military rank of military officers in later generations, such as lieutenant, colonel, general, etc., and is also linked to salary and benefits.

Then, Lieutenant General of the Huben Guards is his current official position. Official positions in the court are generally divided into real positions and honorary positions. If he is Lieutenant General of the Imperial Guards or Lieutenant General of the Wuhou Guards, he has troops in his hands or the power to lead troops. This is a real position.

The position of Tiger Guard General before Xiao Xia was just an empty title. Almost every grandson of the emperor had this title, but they did not have the power to lead troops, so not even twenty soldiers could follow him.

However, after Xiao Xia passed the military examination and ranked first, his rank of Tiger Guards General was promoted to Tiger Guards Lieutenant General, with the authority to lead 5,000 troops, which became a real position.

Now that Xiao Xia had the actual post of Lieutenant General of the Tiger Guards, he would normally be assigned a specific position, either as Lieutenant General in the Imperial Guards or as a Commandant in a local military office. However, Xiao Xia was given a frontier military post as the Military Commander of Zhangye.

In the imperial study, Emperor Yang Jian summoned his important ministers to discuss the military plan against Tuyuhun next year.

Just as Gao Jiong said in the examination, Tuyuhun's covetous eyes on the Hehuang Valley seriously threatened the security of Longyou, and the security of Longyou in turn affected the stability of Guanzhong and even Chang'an.

In addition, Tuyuhun's continuous infiltration into the Hexi Corridor also seriously threatened the Sui army's horse breeding, posing a strong strategic threat to the Sui army.

Therefore, using military force against Tuyuhun to attack and weaken its strength has always been the national policy of the Sui Dynasty.

However, the Sui army had just fought a great battle with the Turks last year, and the army and national strength were exhausted and needed time to recover. At the beginning of the year, Zhang Sun Sheng was sent to Tuyuhun to destroy the collusion between Tuyuhun and the Turks. By the spring of next year, the army had rested for two years, and the national strength of the court began to recover. Emperor Yang Jian decided to use military force against Tuyuhun.

Yang Jian glanced at Jin Wang Yang Guang and said with a smile: "My son, you tell me!"

Prince of Jin Yang Guang never thought that his father would let him be the commander-in-chief and lead an army of 100,000 to attack Tuyuhun. This made Prince of Jin Yang Guang flattered. He never dreamed that he would have the opportunity to lead troops to war.

Of course Yang Guang knew what this meant. This was military power, the military power that even the crown prince could not get, but his father gave it to him. This was the real power, and he still had a chance to compete for the position of crown prince.

Yang Guang suppressed his excitement, stood up and bowed, saying, "Father, all the important ministers, the time to attack Tuyuhun is next spring. It is already October now, and the earliest the army can arrive in Longyou is November. In the middle of winter, the heavy snow will cut off the roads, and war is impossible. So next spring is the best time. In addition, the Tuyuhun people are busy taking care of their newborn livestock cubs and have no time to fight. This is also an opportunity for our army."

Gao Jiong also asked: "Has Your Highness the Prince of Jin considered the plan for mobilizing the army and the plan for logistical support?"

Yang Guang said calmly, "The troops must be transported before the food and fodder. The most urgent task is to speed up the transportation of food and fodder to Longyou. If we decide to attack on three fronts, then Hexi and Lintao also need to transport food and fodder immediately. The 100,000-man army can wait until the beginning of next spring to go to Longyou. As for the specific plan, the Ministry of War is still drafting it, so I can only talk about it in general terms."

Yang Jian nodded and said to Gao Jiong, "The three-line attack has been decided. Tomorrow, the Western Expedition Marshal's Office will be officially established. The Prince of Jin will serve as the Western Expedition Marshal, Pei Ju will serve as the Chief of Staff of the Marshal's Office, and Changsun Sheng will serve as the Commander-in-Chief of the Rear Army, in charge of logistics support.

The commander of the central line is Shi Wansui, the commander of the southern line is Wei Xuan, and the commander of the western line is Xue Shixiong. A total of 170,000 troops will be sent, 20,000 on the southern line, 20,000 on the western line, and 130,000 on the central line. We also need to send another 100,000 troops to Longyou, and the logistics and food supplies will be arranged by Prime Minister Gao. "

Gao Jiong bowed and said, "I will arrange for food and supplies as soon as possible!"

Yang Jian then said to Changsun Sheng: "It is your responsibility to contact the Tanguts to join the war. We will start immediately after the beginning of next spring!"

"Your humble servant obeys your order!" The plan to contact the Dangxiang people to join the war was proposed by Xiao Xia. After discussion, Emperor Yang Jian and important ministers such as Gao Jiong finally accepted the plan.

Xiao Xia was appointed as the military commander of Zhangye. The Ministry of War required him to leave within three days. The time was rather tight and he needed to deal with many things.

The first thing was to settle the servants. Xiao Xia had only five servants. The old Tian couple continued to guard the house, while Achu and her mother and daughter were responsible for cleaning the house and maintaining the flowers and trees. Xiao Xia gave them an advance of one year's wages and daily expenses. If they encountered any problems, they could go to their eldest brother Yang Zhao.

The second was the Wanhuhou Restaurant, which Xiao Xia handed over to his elder sister Yang Feiyan. Xiao Xia promised to give her 30% of the share, believing that she would actively participate in the management of the restaurant.

In the afternoon, Xiao Xia arrived at his aunt Yang Lihua's house.

Yang Lihua admired and loved this nephew very much. Before he was even seventeen years old, he had already been promoted to the fourth-rank General Mingwei and appointed as the military commander of Zhangye, in charge of a region on his own.

"When do we set off?" Yang Lihua asked with a smile.

"Reporting to Aunt, my nephew will leave early tomorrow morning!"

"So urgent?"

Xiao Xia leaned forward and smiled, "Today is already the ninth day of October. My nephew must reach Zhangye before the heavy snow in November blocks the road. Time is very tight."

"That's true!"

Yang Lihua nodded, "Are there any difficulties that I can help you solve?"

"My nephew has no difficulties for the time being, but I am worried about Si'er's health, so I asked my master, Yuan Shoucheng, the immortal. He said that she could take the Spring Rain Pill to keep her healthy!"

The fourth daughter is Li Min's fourth daughter, Li Jingxun. All the children born to Li Min and Yuwen Eying died one after another. Only the fourth daughter Li Jingxun survived. She is four years old this year, but she is very weak and may not live to adulthood. Historically, Li Jingxun unfortunately died of illness at the age of nine, which made her grandmother Yang Lihua extremely sad.

So Xiao Xia specifically asked Yuan Shoucheng, and Yuan Shoucheng suggested that Li Jingxun take Chunyu Dan.

Xiao Xia took out a box of Spring Rain Pills and handed it to Yang Lihua, "This is the Spring Rain Pill that my mother made using the Heavenly King Pill as the base. It can improve physical fitness and will be of great use to Si'er."

Yang Lihua took the box and asked, "Isn't Tianwang Dan an internal energy medicine? It is said that long-term use will affect lifespan!"

Xiao Xia smiled and said, "The Heavenly King Pill does affect lifespan, but my mother removed the dregs and took out the essence. The Spring Rain Pill she refined again no longer affects lifespan. On the contrary, it can greatly enhance physical fitness. I am where I am today entirely thanks to it."

Yang Lihua knew, of course, that her granddaughter was weak and could easily get sick and die, so she was extremely anxious and looked for doctors and medicines everywhere, but to no avail. She had also wanted to let her granddaughter try internal energy medicine, but the impact of internal energy medicine on lifespan made her hesitate.

However, Chunyu Dan did not affect life span, and it was recommended by Yuan Shoucheng. Yang Lihua was overjoyed and nodded and asked, "I can let my child try it for a while. How to take it?"

Xiao Xia smiled and said, "One pill has a strong medicinal property. Children should cut it in half and take half a pill every ten days. You will have diarrhea the first time, but don't worry, it won't happen the second time. My master said that you will see the effect after taking it for three consecutive months."

Yang Lihua confirmed: "Take half a pill every ten days!"

Xiao Xia nodded, "That's right!"

Yang Lihua took out another scroll and handed it to Xiao Xia. "I said last time that I would pass on 30% of my property to you. This is the property list. The owner has been changed to your name, but it is still run by the Great Zhou Trading Company. The annual profits belong to you. Take a look when you come back."

Xiao Xia was moved and said, "I will always remember your kindness, aunt!"

The next morning, Xiao Xia, along with twenty of his men and Yuan Shoucheng, left Chang'an on horseback, took the Jingyuan Road, and headed towards the distant Hexi Corridor.

(End of this chapter)