The Zhu Family Courtyard.
Without General Zhenxi by his side, Zhu Bangguo finally breathed a sigh of relief. After returning to the hall, he sat down on the chair, lost in thought.
After a long time, he remembered that there were other people in the hall, and quickly asked Wang Cheng to sit down.
Seeing that he was listless, Zhu Pengfei asked worriedly: "Dad, are you okay?"
"What can happen to me?"
Zhu Bangguo glared at him, then smiled bitterly and said: "I'm lucky to have saved my head!"
He had no idea that one of his subordinates was bribed by an enemy country, or was a younger brother of his clan. He could not escape the blame, but who allowed his son and Wang Cheng to make such great contributions?
As the immediate boss of the two of them, if they made meritorious deeds, he would also make meritorious deeds, so the merits and demerits were balanced.
"I really want to thank you this time! Without you, the rest of us would probably have to move our heads."
Zhu Bangguo looked at Wang Cheng, and his tone of voice unconsciously became polite.
Wang Cheng frowned slightly, didn't think much, cupped his fists and said, "General, you are serious."
Zhu Bangguo waved his hand, looked at Wang Cheng and Zhu Pengfei, and said, "You two will stay in the county seat. I will go back and arrange to set up camp."
He also specifically warned Wang Cheng: "You must not wander around these days. I estimate that your reward will come down soon."
"Reward? General, what reward will you receive under the bid?" Wang Cheng asked with anxiety.
"How do I know this?"
Zhu Bangguo rolled his eyes and said: "The discussion of merit is a matter between the king and the Ministry of War. We are just reporting your merits truthfully. As for the final reward, it is up to the king to decide."
After pondering for a moment, he continued: "Your contribution this time is not small. It can be said that it is the greatest contribution that the Western Army has achieved in the past ten years. The reward will not be small, and it is impossible to be promoted to general!"
Wang Cheng was startled when he heard this. If he could really be promoted to a general, wouldn't it be like smoke rising from his ancestral graves?
Zhu Bangguo stepped forward, patted Wang Cheng on the shoulder, and said: "Don't think too much, hurry up and take good care of yourself, the world will not be peaceful."
Shaking his head, he walked out of the hall without giving Wang Cheng a chance to speak.
Wang Cheng looked at this lonely figure and said, "Is there really going to be a fight?"
"Maybe." Zhu Pengfei said with a complex expression.
Both of them are military attachés, but deep down they don't want to fight at all, because fighting means killing people, and no one can guarantee that they will survive on the battlefield.
Wang Cheng said sadly: "Don't talk about the matter of making a marquis. One general can make thousands of bones wither..."
…
Qianqiu Tomb.
This is a strange scene located outside Liuyun County. There are huge mounds on the vast grassland, which look like tombs from a distance.
Because there are hundreds or thousands of such mounds, the place is named "Qianqiu Tomb".
After not seeing each other for a few days, there is already a large camp here, built under Qianqiu Tomb.
Big account.
Zhu Bangguo, dressed in general uniform, knelt in front of the desk, with two people standing underneath, both wearing battle armor.
The two people are Wang Cheng and Zhu Pengfei.
After several days of cultivation, Wang Cheng's complexion was much better than before, and there was blood on his face.
Zhu Bangguo looked at Wang Cheng and asked with concern: "How is your body and bones recovering? Can you ride a horse?"
"No problem!" Wang Cheng hammered his chest to show that he was almost recovered.
"good!"
Zhu Bangguo nodded and said to the two of them: "You two pack up and follow me to Wuping later."
"Why go to Wuping?" Zhu Pengfei was confused.
Wang Cheng suddenly thought of something. Wuping County was at the forefront of the Zhou Dynasty border. Song Huchen, the general who suppressed the west, personally led 20,000 troops and was stationed there. It was the base camp of all the Western armies.
At this time, he asked them to pack up and go to Wuping County. The only thing he could think of was that his reward might have arrived.
"Not bad! Your reward has been received! So hurry up and clean up!" Zhu Bangguo said with a smile.
"yes!"
Wang Cheng and Zhu Pengfei performed military salutes together, then looked at each other and quickly left the tent.
Wuping County.
It is currently located in the westernmost part of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Unlike the counties in the mainland, Wuping County is much more depressed.
The Western Army camp was built in Wu County, Wuping County, a county completely under military control.
The city wall of Wu County is even taller than that of Liuyun County. It is twelve meters high and nearly twenty meters thick. Small towers are built at regular intervals, extending to the sky on both sides.
There is a line of soldiers standing on the tall city wall. Those who know it know that it is a county town, and those who do not know it think it is the "Great Wall".
It was already afternoon when Zhu Bangguo and his party arrived. He led Wang Cheng and Zhu Pengfei into the shogunate.
Song Huchen, the general of Zhenxi, had already received the report from the people below, so he was waiting in the shogunate.
After Wang Cheng followed Zhu Bangguo in, many people were already standing in the meeting hall.
Song Huchen, the general of Zhenxi, was sitting high in front of the hall. Standing on both sides were officials of the shogunate, including the chief historian, the Sima, the minister, the minister, the commander, etc.
"Meet the general!"
Zhu Bangguo, Wang Cheng and Zhu Pengfei immediately stepped forward to perform a military salute.
Song Huchen waved his hand, looked at Wang Cheng and said with a smile, "That's right! We haven't seen each other for just a few days, and your complexion has already recovered to this point. It seems that in a few days, you will be back to your original state. You are worthy of being a tiger general!"
He stopped talking nonsense, and with a casual move, a man immediately came forward holding a roll of edict.
This man opened the edict, and everyone subconsciously looked solemn and prepared.
Not all of them were kneeling, because this was in the army and they were wearing armor and could not kneel down.
In fact, even in the court, civil servants and generals rarely knelt down.
He then began to read out the edict: "The edict says: Here is Sima Wangcheng, who has both talent and virtue, is loyal and courageous, and is the pillar of the country. In order to show his merits, hereby..."
After reading a long string of words, fortunately Wang Cheng was already familiar with ancient Chinese and could understand the meaning of the edict.
To his regret, he was not promoted to general, but was promoted to captain.
However, what surprised him was that he was awarded the title of Prince of Lingwu County.
Yes, a viscount.
Like that world, the titles of the Great Zhou Dynasty are also divided into five levels: Duke, Marquis, Uncle, Son, and Male. Dukes are only given to those clan members, so Marquis is the highest title that ordinary military commanders can obtain.
In addition to being promoted to an official position, he will also be rewarded with three hundred taels of gold, two hundred pieces of silk, and a precious horse.
This reward was quite generous. Even Wang Cheng, who was not interested in money, knew that King Zhou had made a mistake this time.
Everyone else in the hall looked at Wang Cheng with envy. Only then did they realize that King Zhou had given such a large reward to Wang Cheng.
They didn't envy the gold that much. What they really envied was Wang Cheng's title.
Except for General Zhenxi, who led a count, no one else was present.
The title of Viscount does not look high, but it also marks that Wang Cheng has entered the noble class.
The difference is huge!
Without a title, you are still a 996 worker in the final analysis. With a title, you are a landlord, similar to a shareholder of a joint-stock company.
This identity can be passed down forever. Unless the descendants commit a serious crime of rebellion, there is no problem in being wealthy for five generations.
"Lord Wang!"
A soft call immediately called Wang Cheng back to his senses, and Wang Cheng quickly stepped forward to receive the reward edict.
At this time, Song Huchen, who was sitting in front of the hall, said: "As a reward, I have arranged for someone to be sent to Yongxing Lane. If there is an empty house there, I will give it to you."
Wang Cheng was having a headache how to take these things back, but he didn't expect that Song Huchen had already made arrangements for him, so he solemnly saluted: "Thank you, General!"
Song Huchen waved his hand and nodded towards the middle-aged man who just read out the edict.
The middle-aged man took out another edict and read it out as before.
This edict belongs to Zhu Pengfei. He fought against the Black Eagle Army twice in a row, and Zhu Pengfei also made great achievements.
Of course, his reward cannot be compared with Wang Cheng's, it is just an official promotion and some gold.
Compared to other generals and colleges who have nothing, this is already a great honor.
As for the knights who had followed Wang Cheng and Zhu Pengfei before, the dead were awarded titles, and the living were all promoted to one level.
There is an edict at the back. This edict is no longer a reward, but Zhou Zhaowu's summary of the Black Eagle Army's planning of the rebellion in Yinshan County.
First, they affirmed the contributions of Wang Cheng and others, and then expressed their dissatisfaction with the Western Army's defense. But overall, this time the merits slightly outweighed the faults.
Finally, he asked all soldiers to fulfill their duties, step up training, and never let something like this happen again.
Later, General Song Huchen of Zhenxi also reflected on and summarized this incident.
After some chattering, it was already evening and it was time to eat.
Wang Cheng and the Zhu family's father and son stayed at the general's shogunate for another dinner. It was already dark when they returned.
The first quarter moon passed over the treetops, and the faint moonlight fell on Yongxing Lane, and the ground seemed to be covered with a layer of silver light.
Three people were riding horses, trailing long shadows.
Wang Cheng sat on Qing Lei's back and finally couldn't help but ask Zhu Bangguo: "General, where is this Lingwu County?"
"To be precise, it is not our territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty. It used to belong to Wuping County, but now it belongs to the Xia Kingdom, right next to Wu County." Zhu Bangguo said.
"The territory of Xia Kingdom?"
Wang Cheng was a little confused. What did it mean to use the territory of the Xia Kingdom to confer the title of Zhou Dynasty?
Suddenly, he thought of something and looked up at Zhu Bangguo with a look of shock on his face.
Seemingly reading his inner thoughts, Zhu Bangguo nodded and said: "That's right! Your Majesty should be ready to mobilize troops!"
He squinted his eyes and sneered: "Over the years, the king has sent women and treasures to the west. The Black Eagle Army has plundered our border with Zhou Dynasty every once in a while. The king has never ordered the dispatch of troops."
Wang Cheng had heard of these things long before he came to Huangzhou. Zhou Zhaowu had been criticized by several neighboring countries of Xia Kingdom in recent years.
Fifteen years ago, the massacre in Kyoto had such a huge impact that the Five Kingdoms attacked Zhou and almost broke Zhou's backbone.
Over the years, Zhou Zhaowu has swallowed his anger externally and recuperated internally. This is seen as a sign of spinelessness by many people in Dazhou, but who knows that Dazhou can no longer bear the torment.
"Perhaps everyone thinks that the king is just seeking pleasure after sitting in that position, and is afraid of losing his position. Even many military attachés think so."
Zhu Bangguo said meaningfully: "Only our old subordinates know that the king will never be able to tolerate it forever. Back then, he was also a general who led troops and fought in battles. From a prince who was never welcomed by the late king, he suddenly became a Your Majesty, how can your Majesty’s methods be seen through by others?”
Wang Cheng nodded secretly. In fact, he also had a premonition that the war was coming soon!
…
