Chapter 274 Champion Marquis

Chapter 274 Champion Marquis

Chapter 274 Champion Marquis (Part 1)
Dayu Dynasty, Yingtian Prefecture, Yannian Palace.

In this solemn and dignified palace, Xu Qing's good news came back like snowflakes.

This victory news was like a ray of light breaking through the darkness, sweeping away the weak and decadent trend of the Dayu Dynasty in foreign wars over the past hundred years.

It brought about a great victory that had not been seen in a century.

The recapture of Jiugang and the successful re-establishment of the Jiugang Xuanwei Office were both great military achievements that had only been achieved during the reign of Emperor Chengzu.

As the news spread, the entire Dayu Dynasty was immersed in a sea of ​​​​jubilation.

Inside and outside the capital, lights and decorations were hung everywhere, and the people ran around to tell each other, their joy was beyond words.

The ministers did not dare to slack off in the slightest and they all rushed to write congratulatory messages, with their words full of praise and commendation for this great achievement.

All major newspapers, whether they were authoritative official gazettes or vibrant tabloids from the public, spared no effort in writing about this event, using eye-catching headlines and lengthy reports to spread the glory of this victory to every corner.

Looking back to the previous dynasties, there was an allusion to "paper being expensive in Luoyang". This was because paper was scarce and expensive at that time.

Today in Yingtian Prefecture, paper is also expensive, but this is purely because the demand for paper has reached an astonishing level.

The Jiangning Chamber of Commerce was even more wealthy and spent a huge amount of money to purchase hundreds of thousands of related newspapers and distributed them free of charge to people from all walks of life in Southern Zhili.

This generous act not only allowed more people to learn about the details of the victory, but also caused the demand for paper to soar further, and the price of ink also rose accordingly.

The printing workers in the newspaper room and the staff in various positions were all grinning from ear to ear. The busyness during this period made their wallets fatter and they made a lot of money.

Moreover, they feel proud of it deep in their hearts.

After all, Xu was one of the important shareholders behind many newspaper houses in Nanzhili, and in a sense was their boss.

The most influential of these was the Daming Daily, which Xu Qing personally participated in founding. Now that their boss has made such a great contribution, they, his subordinates, feel very proud.

At this moment, the most important issue for the court was how to appropriately reward Xu Qing and Meng Yuxuan for their outstanding military achievements.

As a military officer, Meng Yuxuan's rewards can be carried out according to the established procedures and standards, which is relatively simple and clear.

However, Xu Qing's situation was quite special, which really made everyone feel troubled.

Emperor Wanshou also broke the long period of tranquility of meditation because of this incident, and personally convened a grand court meeting to try to solve this thorny problem.

"Lord Huo, has the cabinet reached a conclusion regarding Xu Qing's reward?" Emperor Wanshou sat upright on the dragon throne, looking calmly at the cabinet chief Huo Jing. Although his voice was not loud, it echoed clearly in the empty hall.

Huo Jing had been lowering his head with a sad face. When he heard the emperor directly asking by name, he secretly groaned in his heart, but he could only bite the bullet and step forward, saying respectfully: "I think Xu Qing's contributions to the country are so great that he can protect his family. His wife and children should be given titles, and his ancestors should be posthumously honored to demonstrate the court's great grace."

"Of course it should be, but what else?" The emperor nodded slightly, his eyes still fixed on Huo Jing.

Huo Jing knew that this matter was unavoidable, so he gritted his teeth and said with determination: "In my opinion, Xu Qing should be made a marquis!"

Once these words were spoken, it was like a huge rock thrown into a calm lake, causing a huge wave of disturbance among the civil servants.

Since the founding of the country, there have been very few civil officials who have been awarded the honor of being conferred a title of nobility, except for those founding heroes who followed Emperor Taizu to conquer the world.

In the eyes of civil servants, being granted a title of nobility is not always a good thing.

Because once one is granted the title of nobility, it means one has entered the ranks of nobles and has completely parted ways with the civil service system.

Huo Jing proposed to confer the title of nobility on Xu Qing, which was undoubtedly intended to remove this leader of the Fushe Society and sage of the New Learning from the ranks of civil servants.

"Old Huo is really brave!" everyone exclaimed in their hearts.

But from the perspective of legal principles and achievements, expanding territory is an unprecedented achievement, and being granted a title of nobility is indeed a matter of course.

Although in the Yu Dynasty, the achievements of ministers could often be attributed to the wise leadership of the king, it would be a loss of face if the emperor was really so proud of himself.

Being conferred a title of nobility was undoubtedly a great honor for an official. The title of nobility was a super-ranking one, and in theory, it was higher than any civil official position. Huo Jing's suggestion put the other civil officials in a dilemma.

If you object, this is the title of Marquis, what an honor.

If they really stand up and oppose, and if Xu Qing has something he desires in his heart, then they, the opponents, will be hated by Xu Qing and will suffer the consequences in the future.

But if he supported them, Xu Qing might think that these people were plotting against him behind his back and wanted to kick him out of the power core of the Dayu Dynasty, which would also cause Xu Qing's dissatisfaction.

For a moment, everyone was secretly complaining: "Huo Jing is cheating us!"

However, the nobles headed by the Duke of Wei were gloating over the other's misfortune.

Duke Wei secretly gave a thumbs up and praised in his heart: "Well done, Lord Huo! This method is really brilliant. Those who can sit in the position of the Prime Minister of the Cabinet are indeed not simple characters."

The other nobles were watching the show and were even secretly excited in their hearts.

Recalling the great war a hundred years ago, the noble group was severely damaged and had been suppressed and decadent by the civil service group for nearly a hundred years. Only top noble families like the Duke of Wei and the Duke of England, relying on their profound foundation and connections, had not been greatly impacted.

The rest of the nobles did not have an easy life either, their lives were only slightly better than those of the royal family who were kept in captivity.

Now, with the joining of a god-like being like Xu Qing, their group of nobles seemed to see hope for regaining their glory, as if they had seen a bright future of restoring the glory that the nobles had at the beginning of the founding of the country.

Some nobles have even begun to imagine that in the future, the noble group will once again occupy an important dominant position in the court and compete with the civil service group.

After a brief uproar and commotion, the hall gradually quieted down and everyone fell silent.

At this time, Emperor Wanshou slowly raised his hand and struck the jade chime. The clear and melodious jade sound echoed in the hall, as if reminding everyone to return to the topic.

The emperor looked calm and said calmly, "It seems that everyone has no objection to conferring the title of marquis on Xu Qing."

Then he turned his gaze to Huo Jing and continued to ask: "Mr. Huo, in your opinion, what title should be given to Xu Qing?"

Huo Jing bowed slightly and replied respectfully: "I think that Xu Qing has made outstanding contributions throughout his career, and he has made such an extraordinary achievement at such a young age, so it is better to confer him the title of Champion Marquis."

When these words were spoken, all the ministers were shocked.

Since ancient times, there have been two people who have been conferred the title of Champion Marquis. One was one of the two pillars of the empire, who fought on the battlefield since he was a teenager, established immortal merits, and became a role model admired by military generals in later generations;
The other was a powerful relative of the emperor. Although he was autocratic and domineering, he also left a significant mark in history.

Of course, the young imperial confederate mentioned above was also a relative of the emperor’s wife. Although his style of doing things was a bit domineering, he was not autocratic. It was just his outstanding military exploits on the battlefield and his legendary experience of becoming famous at a young age that made him the focus of everyone’s attention.

To some extent, these two champion marquises were both powerful and famous in their respective times.

Xu Qing's current achievements and influence are somewhat similar to those of the two champion marquises. The only difference is that Xu Qing is not a relative of the emperor.

There is no need to say much about the great achievements of the former Marquis of Guanjun. As for the latter Marquis of Guanjun, in a sense, he could also be regarded as an important minister entrusted with the care of the young emperor like Huo Guang, but he ended up in a miserable way.

But what’s interesting is that the younger brother of the young champion marquis was Huo Guang. Although Huo Guang’s final ending was not good, during his reign, he successfully revived the Han Dynasty and continued the glory of the Han Dynasty.

The title proposed by Huo Jing is really intriguing. From the negative side, this title seems to have a hint of cursing Xu Qing to have a bad end or even die young.

After all, the two champions in history did not have perfect endings. But from a positive point of view, this undoubtedly showed that the old emperor had given Xu Qing the deepest trust and respect, which was quite like entrusting him with the country.

However, if one really wanted to express his willingness to entrust his country to others, directly conferring the title of Loyal and Martial Marquis might be the best choice. This is because Loyal and Martial Marquis is a title exclusive to the Zhuge family. Zhuge Liang devoted his entire life to the country and died for it. His loyalty and wisdom are admired by later generations. This title represents an absolutely positive image.

But if we consider his age and achievements, the title of Marquis of Guanjun is indeed more appropriate. Moreover, does this also mean that the old emperor still has the ambition to conquer the grasslands in the north and seal the Wolf's Lair?
At this moment, those ministers who were sharp-minded and intelligent had already realized that this matter must have been discussed in advance between the old emperor and Huo Jing.

They could not find any reason to object, so they could only shout: "Holy Wise!"

Just like that, Xu Qing's title was settled in this grand court meeting.

...

...

"Lord Huo, what do you mean today? Xu Gongming is popular all over the world. Even if he becomes a noble, he can still control the court and the country, and even lead the nobles to compete with us for power." After the court session, Hong Xuan, the Grand Councilor and Minister of War, stopped Huo Jing and questioned him directly.

There were many smart people among the civil servants. After the court session, many of them realized that Xu Qing becoming a noble was not a good thing for everyone.

But during the grand court meeting, no one was willing to stand up and oppose.

Because they were not sure whether Xu Qing and the old emperor had reached a tacit understanding.

In the Great Yu Dynasty, as long as the old emperor and Xu Qing reached an agreement on something, even the emperor himself could not object.

And what if it's to lure the snake out of its hole?

They don't want to be beaten.

I've been beaten enough by Xu Qing over the years.

So it’s better to pick soft persimmons because they are easier to squeeze.

Hong Xuan said nothing during the court meeting. After the meeting, he went straight to Huo Jing to question him.

The old guy also has bad intentions.

He questioned Huo Jing not only to vent the anger of the ministers outside the court, but also to establish the authority of Huo Jing as the Prime Minister and increase the power of the Grand Council.

To put it bluntly, power is fought for.

From the moment it was established, the Grand Council had to compete for power with the Cabinet, otherwise wouldn’t the Council have been established in vain?

Huo Jing knew exactly what Hong Xuan was thinking.

He said calmly, "Xu Gongming is a man who works for the public good. There is no such thing as a power struggle. Lord Hong, do you think Xu Gongming is a mean person with selfish thoughts? I'm sorry, Huo, I don't agree with that."

After all, Huo Jing had been the head of the Inspectorate for many years, and he was very good at arguing.

Hong Xuan was indeed a little young, and he wanted to give Lao Deng a warning, but he didn't expect to be outwitted.

He was used to changing his attitude according to the situation, and said with a smile: "Justice is in the hearts of the people. Since Lord Huo is unwilling to speak, I dare not ask any more questions. Goodbye."

He left in style.

Huo Jing cursed inwardly, what a shameless person.

When they can't win the argument, they just make a fuss and make indirect accusations.

Well, this is also a skill commonly used by civil servants.

It doesn’t matter whether someone kills or not, just destroy their heart and throw dirty water on them, and then disgust your opponent.

Huo Jing is now very clear that it is best not to explain anything. The worst that can happen is that he will just spit in his own face.

However, after he left the court, he immediately wrote a sincere letter of congratulations to Xu Gongming, and sent his wife to greet Feng Wu.

He now felt more and more that being the Prime Minister was meaningless, being stuck between the old emperor and Xu Qing and being punched by them.

If we return to the capital, with the addition of Prince Yu, we will be attacked from three sides. Who can bear it?

Lao Liang is really smart.

Huo Jing now had to admire Lao Liang's foresight in running away.

If this prime minister is not as strong as Zhang Tai'a, it would be better for him not to be the prime minister.

If I had known earlier that I would have offered a price to sell it to Wang Gong, wouldn't he have been very happy to become the Minister of Rites or the Minister of Personnel?

However, if he became the Prime Minister, the weight he would receive in history books would be different. Huo Jing really didn't want to never become the Prime Minister in his lifetime.

Well, just make do with what you have. Can you still resign?
...

...

"Great uncle, do you mean that His Majesty has taken a fancy to the Master Tianling whom my husband sealed?" Feng Wu frowned.

The emperor of the Dayu Dynasty had the dragon aura of the emperor and was blessed by the fortune of the dynasty, so he was not afraid of Taoist masters. When they fought in Taihe Mountain, almost all the forces from all over the world were martial arts masters.

Therefore, even though the leader of Heshan Dao was so powerful, he did not dare to go to Taihe Mountain.

The same goes for the Living Buddha of Snowland.

Only a creator like the Black Mountain Old Demon, who is the world's number one master, has such courage and means.

What's more, the true body of the celestial demon can also be regarded as a martial arts immortal.

The head of Chaotian Temple nodded slowly, "Your Majesty may not really want it, it may be a test. If Gongming does not hand it over, he may continue to force it, or he may pretend that nothing happened."

Feng Wu knew clearly that her husband's current position would inevitably lead to a conflict with the imperial power.

In fact, the old emperor and her husband are more like a couple now.

They are interdependent, but friction is inevitable.

The key is to grasp the degree well, otherwise both sides will suffer losses. In the future, when facing many powerful enemies such as the Black Mountain Old Demon, the Living Buddha of the Snow Region, and Master Murong, they will inevitably suffer heavy losses, and no one will end up well.

She pondered for a while and said, "Thank you for your reminder, great uncle. I will discuss this matter with my husband and make a decision later."

(End of this chapter)