"Fengtian carried the emperor and said: Lin Xiao, the commander of the overseas rebel army...... Loyalty, Diligence, Sports, and Nation...... Slay countless enemies...... The thief chieftain Kong Youde was ambushed...... I am very relieved! …… Lin Xiao was promoted to be the governor of the right army, and he specially entered to capture the general, and opened the palace with the three divisions...... Bestow the title of Marquis of Qinchuan...... I hope to make persistent efforts to return my rivers and mountains...... Don't live up to my hopes. …… Chin this! ”

I'm a marquis? Or the Marquis of Kotogawa?

Lin Xiao didn't quite understand the pedantic text on the holy decree, but he still heard the basic meaning clearly, and suddenly fell into a state of confusion.

After Hu Chengen finished reading the holy decree, he saw that Lin Xiao was still kneeling on the ground in a daze, and hurriedly said with a smile: "Qinchuan Hou, thank you." ”

"Thank you, Lord Longne!" Lin Xiao hurriedly took the holy decree with both hands and got up dizzily.

"Qinchuan Hou, congratulations to Master Hou!" Hu Chengen smiled and said sharply.

“……”

Seeing that Lin Xiao really didn't understand the rules of officialdom, Qu Shiyun on the side hurriedly took out a small ingot of silver from his sleeve that had already been prepared, and said with a smile: "Grandpa Hu, thank you for your hard work." ”

Hu Chengen hurriedly took the silver and said with a smile: "Lord Qu is polite, the emperor has an edict, Lord Qu will listen to the order." ”

Qu Shiyun hurriedly knelt down to listen to the order.

"The emperor's dictation: What to do next, Qu Aiqing knows."

"The minister obeys the order!" Qu Shiyun heard the words and responded with a straight face.

Then, Hu Chengen called the little eunuch holding the tray behind him, and said to Lin Xiao: "Master Hou, this is the iron coupon and official uniform of the Imperial Gift Danshu, a set of court clothes and regular clothes, this is the official seal...... You take it, we will retire first! ”

Lin Xiao came back to his senses and pretended to be respectful: "There is a father-in-law, father-in-law walks slowly, and I will not send it far!" ”

sent out of the door, but saw Ding Shuai standing outside the door with a hippie smile, and shouted in a strange voice: "The last general has seen Master Hou!" Congratulations to Master Hou! Congratulations to the Marquis! Hou Ye's red envelope is sent! ”

Lin Xiao's face turned slightly red, and he stretched out his hand to hit Ding Shuai, but Ding Shuai stuck out his tongue and turned around and ran.

Lin Xiao turned around and entered the house, but saw Zheng Guo's face on the side of the door pale, and he bowed down and said, "Congratulations to the last general!" …… The last general is reckless, and I hope that Lord Hou will not remember the villain, and spare the last general. ”

"General Zheng doesn't have to be like this! You and I just need to train our troops well, serve the court, protect the people, and live up to our conscience. ”

"Yes, yes, the last will retire!" Zheng Guo hurriedly withdrew from the house.

……

"Congratulations to Master Hou! The emperor's meaning, the Hou Ye can enter the palace immediately to see the driver, but the emperor can't wait to meet you, a great hero. ”

As soon as Zheng Guo left, Qu Shiyun said with a smile.

"Master Xie! Not only did the adults think carefully, but they even gave me money and a reward of silver...... It's really embarrassing for adults. ”

Lin Xiao smiled embarrassedly, and then said to He Shouxin: "Shouxin, are you rich?" Borrow some. ”

On the side, He Shouxin immediately took out an ingot of Annan silver, about ten taels, and handed it to Lin Xiao, Lin Xiao personally returned it to Qu Shiyun, he knew that the imperial court was holding up the façade, and he might not be able to pay salaries to the courtiers, and Qu Shiyun did not have enough money, maybe he came all the way to visit his son from his hometown.

"Hey! A eunuch has to stretch out his hand to ask for a bribe when he reads the holy decree, and the country has become like this, and this bad habit still does not change. ”

Lin Xiao looked at the silver and said with a reluctant face.

"This kind of bullshit thing, don't mention it, let's hurry into the palace, right? There is something to say on the road. Qu Shiyun saw that it was not early and urged to go on the road.

This time, Qu Shiyun didn't sit in a sedan chair anymore, and rode his horse and Lin Xiao side by side, followed by He Shouxin, Situ Zheng, Yu Cheng and other seven or eight guards.

"Master Inspector, what kind of official is the Governor of the Right Army?"

Lin Xiao tugged at the sleeve of the official uniform he had just changed into and asked, his clothes were similar to the colors and styles worn by Qu Shiyun, but the embroidery patterns of the complements were different.

"You're a first-class member now."

Qu Shiyun pointed to the complement and said: "Here is embroidered with a unicorn is a first-grade martial arts, embroidered with a lion is a second-grade martial arts, and the third or fourth is embroidered with tigers and leopards." ”

"Oh...... So how many products is Zheng Guo? ”

"He is the chief military officer, from the second rank of martial arts."

"Understood, I'm two levels above him, and he's like that." Lin Xiao snorted coldly.

"That's a big difference, don't look at the difference of only two levels, the emperor has kindly allowed you to open the palace with the three divisions, that is, you can now recruit subordinates from the shogunate, and the specifications are equivalent to the three dukes, no less than Sun Kewang, which is what a small general soldier can hope for?" Qu Shiyun patiently explained.

"Really? I see. Lin Xiao turned his head and smiled.

He is not interested in opening the mansion, anyway, he is according to the set in his army, which does not need anyone's permission, because what they really want to save is the world of the Han people, not the world of his old Zhu family, but he understands in his heart that this result is all mediated by Qu Shiyun for himself, and he is still very moved in his heart.

"Speaking of Zheng Guo, in addition to guarding against it, it's better not to conflict, although Sun Kewang has ill intentions, but now that the mountains and rivers are broken and the court is weak, the emperor still wants to rely on him, after all, he controls the two provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou, and he has also transported some grain from time to time before." Qu Shiyun admonished.

"yes, got it." Lin Xiao knew that in the eyes of the imperial court now, as long as there were soldiers in his hands, it was a life-saving straw, "What kind of military position is Sun Kewang?" ”

"The governor of the five armies no longer exists, and although he is expected to be the king of Qin, his actual position is only that of the governor of the left army, with the seal of the hussar general...... Now the emperor has you as the governor of the right army, on the one hand, to check and balance, and on the other hand, he hopes that your two anti-Qing forces can cooperate with the Northern Expedition on the left and right, and each perform its own duties, which is the best situation at the moment. ”

"Understood...... It's still the same as the king's ministers. Lin Xiao's eyes were dark, and he said lightly.

"Isn't that forced by circumstances?"

Qu Shiyun smiled and said, "There is also Jiao Ruiting, the emperor intends to confer the former military governor, the special entry general of Xiaocai...... As for Yuanbo, he will specialize in Jingwei, so that the rear can be guaranteed, and you don't have to worry about it in the future, running back and forth. ”

"Xuan Guogong and Brother Yuan are both talents, with their great help, I don't have to worry that my Ming Dynasty will not recover its glory."

……

Although Nanning Prefecture in Guangxi Province is a big city with hundreds of thousands of people, most of the people who come into view are low-rise adobe grass houses and wooden houses, there are very few decent high-rise mansions, and the streets are quite narrow.

Except for the refugees, there are not many serious pedestrians on the streets, and there are few customers in the shops, except for a few teams of soldiers who patrol the streets and the fast trappers who wander around, the rest of the people rarely speak, and there is no laughter at all.

There was an old woman on the side of the crossroads, slightly hunchbacked, with a bundle of firewood on her thin body, and she struggled along the street with a bamboo stick, and she bent forward with all her might, leaning on the bamboo stick, and went further, half a step back, and staggered forward.

Not far away, there were a few mountain people squatting on the street corner, with a few piles of mountain goods spread out in front of them, some in front of a few skins, some small piles of dried fruits and dried mushrooms, and a person in front of a broken bag containing something like herbs......

Few of the people who passed by in a hurry on the street came forward to ask, and the mountain people didn't bother to shout, squatting in the corner with their hands on their sleeves, looking at passers-by with blank faces, without a trace of life in their eyes.

"War is always cruel, whether it is good or evil, as long as it is war, it is all guilty, and it is always the people who are harmed......"

Looking at the depressed scene in front of him, Lin Xiao sighed in his heart.

……