"Stay in Changyang City. Please take care of yourself, my lord." Jia Zhou stood up and handed over his hands. "My lord can rest assured that Madam and I are here to handle matters in the village. If anything goes wrong, please return to the village as soon as possible."
Xu Mu also clasped his fists firmly, "Having Wenlong help me is the greatest blessing in the world."
"My lord, I'm a little sore."
Jia Zhou smiled and stopped staying. Guarded by several dead soldiers from Hutang, he calmly disappeared in front of Qingshi Alley.
Xu Mu thought about letting Jia Zhou stay in Changyang to help, but he didn't trust Zhuangzi after all. After all, with Jia Zhou here, unless a large group of people surrounded and suppressed him, he should be safe.
"Brother Mu, do you want to eat?"
Sitting on the doorpost, Si Hu raised his head while eating with his mouth full, and asked worriedly.
"Brother Mu probably won't eat what he ate in the palace."
"Why don't you eat it? My wife made it for me!"
"Brother Mu, eat less."
…
After New Year's Eve, it's the first month of the year.
According to the Qin Tianjian and those old officials, the first day of the first lunar month is an auspicious day for ascending to the throne.
Putting up lanterns and colors is a no-brainer. Early on, not only the palace, but also the entire Changyang City was filled with excitement and celebration.
The elders couldn't wait to pay homage to the new emperor. They rarely wore the cleanest robes and crowded the streets outside the palace with excitement, kneeling on the ground for a long time.
Carriage after carriage rolled over the wet snow. Following the shouts of the coachmen and guards, the old officials who had entered the official service, as well as the wealthy gentry who claimed to be patriotic, also began to get out of the carriage, walked into the street in front of the palace, and sat on the street in front of the palace. Inside the shed that was built early, I looked up happily and looked into the distance.
"The time has come——"
The old eunuch standing in front of the middle door suppressed his blush, and as if he had exhausted all his strength, he sang loudly in a high-pitched voice.
In an instant, countless firecrackers and fireworks burst into the sky, forming a big ball with the dark sky.
Thousands of people, walking along the entire Palace Street, knelt down in unison and shouted three times, "Long live."
Wearing silver armor, Xu Mu raised his head slightly and looked at the figure of Yuan An in front of him, clearly with a bit of trembling. Following the old eunuch who announced the salute, he stepped onto the built deer platform step by step.
"It is a great honor for me to ascend the throne today, and it brings happiness to the people. After I ascend the throne, I shall practice benevolence and filial piety, govern the country with propriety, and govern the country with filial piety..."
"The foundation is established in the prosperous age, and the appropriate year is Yongchang. I sincerely edict."
Yongchang, eternal prosperity?
Xu Mu became inexplicably silent.
"I want to imitate the two emperors Yingwu and recruit talented people... I am pardoned and made Yu Wen, deputy lieutenant of Zhaowu, a third-grade Golden Sword Guard, leading four thousand Yulin troops."
…
"Chen Changqing, the mighty general of the tiger, has served the dragon for his meritorious service. He has been granted the title of General of the Conquest of the South, and has been appointed the Marquis of the South. Three thousand households have been added to his settlement."
As soon as the imperial edict came down, the happy shouts of the Muyunzhou Iron Guards could be heard from all around. You must know that there are very few princes in Daji. With a foundation of more than 400 years, the number of princes is less than fifty.
Xu Mu immediately frowned, feeling slightly unhappy.
Needless to say, Yuan Tao, even his ancestor-in-law Li Rucheng, had achieved military exploits with one sword after another for more than thirty years.
"Fourth-class Viscount Xu Mu is a man of great virtue and integrity. His first meritorious service is to serve as a dragon. He is granted the title of first-class Prime Minister and Assistant, the Marquis of Zhongyong, and increases the number of households by three thousand households."
At this time, many palace guards, commanders, and even the eunuchs Gong'e in the nearby places cheered in surprise from time to time.
Xu Mu's expression was calm, neither sad nor happy.
If it were a prosperous dynasty and he was so young, he could consider continuing the family name and incense.
Unfortunately not, this is a turbulent time.
Moreover, to be honest, there is not much difference between his and Chen Changqing's conferments. Of course, he also understood what Yuan An meant, which was a means of balancing, allowing him and Chen Changqing to check and balance each other.
"Thank you Lord for your kindness." Xu Mu said solemnly.
…
After the enthronement was completed, the court dispersed, and some matters were discussed with the new emperor. Accompanied by Yu Wen, Xu Mu slowly walked out of the palace at dusk.
"General Xu...it's time to change his name and call him Xu Zaifu." Yu Wen was still excited, "I said, Xu Zaifu was the first to defeat Changyang, and your majesty will definitely be kind to him."
"I will follow Xu Zaifu from now on to help the country and the country."
"That's easy to say."
After saying goodbye, Xu Mu was about to turn around.
"Xu Zaifu, Marquis Zhongyong."
Xu Mu's eyes suddenly turned cold. He turned around and found that at some point, Chen Changqing had come over with thousands of iron guards in a majestic manner.
Yu Wen had a cold face and stood tightly in front of Xu Mu.
"Jin Daowei, you are very mean. You are afraid that I will kill someone." Chen Changqing smiled.
"Brother Yu, let him come over." Xu Mu sneered, "General Chen, why don't you and I go over there and talk."
Chen Changqing narrowed his eyes, "I don't dare, I'm afraid you really want to kill me. Look, I wear inner armor and outer iron armor all day long."
"Not only that, there are thousands of Iron Guards."
"Jin Daowei, I have something to discuss with Xu Zaifu, how about you leave first?" Chen Changqing tilted his head, his tone a little impatient.
Yu Wen looked at Xu Mu, and after seeing Xu Mu nodding, he reluctantly held his fists and retreated behind the middle door.
Chen Changqing raised his head and looked at the dusk sky.
"I dare to guess that there are no less than a few hundred dead soldiers lying in wait around Xu Zaifu, and by the way, there is also a tiger. However, my people are not bad either."
"What do you want to say?" Xu Mu frowned.
"Did the Marquis leave you a message?"
"How to say."
"No grievances, otherwise why would you keep staring at me?"
"Why aren't you staring at me?"
Chen Changqing looked unhappy, "You and I both know that the new emperor is not a great talent. If he had enough time, I don't think the young prince would choose him."
"General Chen, be careful what you say."
"No problem. The only thing the new dynasty can rely on is the two of us, Xu Zaifu. How about this. You and I shake hands and make peace?"
Chen Changqing put on a smile and said, "As you know, I have an army of 30,000 in Changyang, and even in Muyun Prefecture, I still have an army of 20,000 staying behind."
"It's not because I'm arrogant, but because I'm thinking that you and I are the people left behind by the Marquis, and we shouldn't be so tit-for-tat."
"Chen Changqing, you know why the young Marquis chose me to be the Minister of Tuogu, but not you."
"Why." Chen Changqing narrowed his eyes.
"I will only tell you this once, please listen carefully." Xu Mu said with a cold face, carefully holding down the long sword under his waist.
Chen Changqing hurriedly put his head over.
Qiang——
A burst of sword light struck his armor, setting off tiny sparks and cutting off a strand of hair on his forehead.
"Xu Mu! How dare you!" Chen Changqing was so shocked that he retreated back again and again and retreated into the formation of the Iron Guards.
Xu Mu returned the sword coldly.
"Wear your armor securely and avoid me like a dog every day, otherwise you will die one day without knowing how."
The thousands of iron guards looked angry. As soon as Chen Changqing gave the order, they immediately charged with their swords.
But at this time, there were also black figures on the palace walls at both ends, falling steadily behind Xu Mu.
As long as Chen Changqing dares to take action, it will definitely be a melee.
"You madman, what do you want to do?" Chen Changqing gritted his teeth. If he hadn't worn two layers of armor, he would have been seriously injured.
"I will only say this once. In Changyang, under the new emperor, I, Xu Mu, have the final say." Xu Mu said coldly, "If you take the weapons and armor in the arsenal without telling me, steal your home and kill everyone, the truth will come first. I'll kill you!"
