Confucian and Taoist scholar

"Absurd! Absurd! Absurd!"

"Our country, Liao, is also a country of the human race. It is simply ridiculous that we have not been blessed by the luck of the human race!"

"Why would such a thing happen? Are you looking down on us Liao people?"

"What a shame! What a shame!"

Many people from the Liao Kingdom cursed loudly in Kongcheng and could not bear the humiliation of the Yun Kingdom, even though this bit of luck for the human race was insignificant to the Liao Kingdom.

"We, the Liao Kingdom, once funded the Yun Kingdom with 30 million taels of silver, but the Yun Kingdom didn't care about our fate as a human race. It's so shameless!" Some people from the Liao Kingdom shouted and cursed.

Immediately, some people from the Yun Kingdom retorted: "No! You, the Liao Kingdom, sent troops to seize the cities in the Western Region. If you, the Liao Kingdom's half-saints, hadn't used 30 million taels of silver to sue for peace, I, the Yun Kingdom's half-saint, would have gone to the Holy Court to argue with him."

, still want to share the luck of the human race? Are you worthy?"

"You are so presumptuous!" the Liao people became angry.

"It's you who is farting! Our two countries have severed diplomatic relations, and the luck of the human race earned by our Yun Kingdom will never be shared with your Liao Kingdom!"

"Hmph! Who cares about the luck earned by your Yun Kingdom? No matter how much luck your Yun Kingdom earns, it can't compare to the luck earned by our Liao Kingdom, you frogs in the well!"

The two groups of people quarreled, but it was just a matter of words but no one would do anything extreme.

"This is all the fault of the semi-saint family of our Liao Kingdom. If they had not proposed suggestions to the court and disrupted the Yun Kingdom's economic market, they would not have forced the Yun Kingdom to sever diplomatic relations with the Liao Kingdom. How could our Liao Kingdom not be able to share the spirit of the human race?"

Luck? This is not a question of how much, but a question of shame!"

"Well said! The scholars of the Ke family have simply disgraced the face of us Liao people. They lost again and again, making us unable to hold our heads high in front of the Yun people!"

"The Ke family is just a bunch of stupid pigs. It only hurts their own family's reputation. It also affects the entire Liao Kingdom from being able to share the fate of the human race. Bah!"

More and more people in Liao are targeting the Ke family.

…………

At the foot of Qiuyuan City.

Hu Chiyan and the many grassland people still maintained their posture of half-kneeling and bowing their heads. They all looked like they were letting King Yan surrender.

King Yan took out the imperial edict and handed it to Ye Jinghong who was standing next to him.

Ye Jinghong took the imperial edict respectfully, slowly opened it, and read aloud: "The grassland people listen to the edict."

The heads of the prairie people are lower.

"The Emperor of Heaven has carried out an edict: In the past, our country of Yun was friends with the grassland, and the wells and rivers were not disturbed. However, when our country of Yun was in danger, your grassland actually raised troops to invade our borders and kill the people of my country of Yun. This is a vain attempt.

He destroyed the Yun Kingdom and committed a heinous crime. Now King Yan leads his army to attack the grassland to defeat the tyrant and bring justice to our people of the Yun Kingdom."

When he said this, Hu Chiyan's face became even more sad and angry, and she also felt very regretful.

Ye Jinghong continued: "Prairie Khan Hu Chiyan was ambitious and broke off diplomatic relations with Yun State for his own selfish interests. This caused harm to the country and the people. He should be punished by Lingchi to thank the world."

"However, my country, Yun, is a country of etiquette. It follows the teachings of the sages, is based on benevolence and righteousness, and has the world in mind. I am thinking of calling Chi Yan to punish the sinners. I am issuing an edict to Zhaoan Grassland and amnesty for all the sins of the past."

"In the name of the Emperor of the Yun Kingdom, I renamed the grassland 'Yuanzhou' and made it one of the prefectures of the Yun Kingdom. From now on, the grassland people are the people of the Yun Kingdom and must abide by the laws of the Yun Kingdom. The grassland army will be disbanded immediately.

, distribute the silver and each return to his hometown."

"I conferred the title of 'former Duke of the Kingdom' to Hu Chiyan hereditary, rewarded fifty miles of fiefdom, and reduced the Huchi royal family to a noble family."

"I admire this."

After Ye Jinghong finished speaking, all the prairie people bowed down in unison.

"Long live my emperor, long live the emperor."

After Hu Chiyan saluted, he took the imperial edict from Ye Jinghong. Although he had saved the Huchi family, he was not happy at all.

Because Hu Chiyan knew in his heart that he was the one who ordered the war between the grassland and the Yun State. If he had not died, the Yun State would still deliberately target their family.

"Congratulations, Lord Yuan. From now on, we are our own people and we don't have to fight anymore."

The King of Yan bowed his hand to Hu Chiyan. Now that his status has been determined, he should treat Hu Chiyan with the courtesy of a duke.

"Don't dare, don't dare."

Hu Chiyan hurriedly returned the gift.

King Yan stepped forward and spoke loudly to the grassland people: "Everyone, from now on you are the people of Yuanzhou of Yun State. You can go home and live and work in peace and contentment. From now on, we, Yun State, will protect this land. You go home."

!"

"Go home! Go home!"

"We can go home!"

Many grassland people cheered. They were all soldiers recruited by Hu Chiyan to deal with the Yun Kingdom, and they were not willing to fight.

So for them, being able to go home safe and sound is the best thing.

Hu Chiyan's face was even more complicated. Only then did she realize that there were so many people in the grassland army who did not want to fight. How could they defeat the soldiers of the Yun Kingdom?

With a "plop", Hu Chiyan suddenly knelt down on one knee in front of King Yan.

"Father...ah no, father, you are..."

Hu Chikuo and others looked puzzled. After seeing Hu Chiyan kneeling, they had to kneel down again.

King Yan smiled coldly and said: "Prince Yuan, what kind of song are you singing? I can't bear such a big gift from you, so please get up quickly."

"Your Highness King Yan, I know that even if I am made a Duke, the Yun Kingdom will not let me go easily, so I want to die to apologize. I only ask that the Yun Kingdom can spare my Huchi family in the future and not kill them all." Huchi.

Yan said.

Hu Chikuo and others all changed their colors.

"Father, you can't do this, I don't want you to die."

"How could you sacrifice like this? It's not worth it!"

Hu Chiyan's face became angry: "Stop talking. If my father does not die today, our family will be wiped out by the Yun Kingdom in the future. Do you want the Huchi family to be removed from the Holy Forest Continent?"

"But..."

"No but, yes, I am indeed a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death, but I can't let the Huchi family die. It's all my own fault. Today I will die to apologize, and the Yun Kingdom will not make things difficult for you, Your Highness King Yan

, please do it." Hu Chiyan said very seriously.

King Yan looked at Hu Chiyan with burning eyes.

After a moment, King Yan nodded lightly, "Don't worry, I promise that the court will not cause trouble for the descendants of your Huchi family in the future, but I also want to remind you that if your Huchi family dares to rebel on the grassland,

The Yun State used mysterious cannons to destroy the Huchi family."

"I understand, thank you, His Highness King Yan."

After Hu Chiyan finished speaking, he pulled out a dagger from his waist and wiped it across his neck with all his strength.

With a "plop", Hu Chiyan fell to the ground.

Before he died, Hu Chiyan's face was full of regret.

"Father!"

"No!"

Hu Chikuo and others wailed and cried bitterly.

However, King Yan disagreed and said slowly: "Hu Chiyan will die to apologize. The dukedom of the original country will be inherited by his eldest son Hu Chikuo. You can bury your father well and then go to live in the fief!"

"Come, enter Qiuyuan City."

The Yun State army entered Qiuyuan City.

Next, the Yun Kingdom began to take over various towns on the Yuanzhou grassland.

The King of Yan assigned generals to garrison military camps in each city, designated the city as a mansion, and sent scholars to serve.

King Yan also ordered the slaughter of sheep and cattle, and held a grand celebration banquet to reward the three armies to celebrate this great victory.

The first day of October.

All the cities in Yuanzhou Grassland were controlled by the Yun Kingdom, and the grassland people returned to their old lives.

King Yan needs to govern Yuanzhou for a period of time, so he should seize the time to use the grassland war horses to train the Yun Kingdom's cavalry army.

Once the training of the cavalry army comes to fruition, the combat effectiveness of the Yun Kingdom army will be greatly enhanced.

But Du Ning and the artillery battalion cannot stay in the grassland forever, because the rebellion between the barbarians and the Huns has not yet been quelled, so he must return to the court in advance and return the military power of the artillery battalion to the Ministry of War, which will transfer the artillery battalion to other frontiers to fight.

Strong enemy.

After the battle with the grassland people, the artillery battalion soldiers became more and more proficient in using the mysterious cannon. Even without Du Ning's command, they could still stand alone.

Ye Jinghong also wanted to return to Suzhou and continue to manage his Suzhou Literary Academy, so he escorted Du Ning back to the capital and then back to Suzhou.

In addition to Du Ning bringing the artillery battalion back to Beijing, King Yan also sent an elite team to transport a large number of cattle and sheep, as well as many gold, silver, jewelry and wealth seized from the grassland palace, most of which were transported back to Beijing.

p>

After conquering the grassland, the Yun Kingdom harvested not only cattle, sheep and war horses, but also a lot of gold and silver from the grassland palace.

Cattle and sheep can be used as food, gold, silver and jewelry can be sold into silver to replenish the national treasury, and can also be used as military pay.

There are also various weapons surrendered by the grassland tribes, which can also be directly transported to the northern and southern border wars.

This time the harvest was rich, and the Yun Kingdom obtained a lot of resources and was able to continue to fight against the barbarians and the Huns at the same time.

Noon.

The king of Yan practiced it for those who returned to the dynasty.

"Du Ning, I will return to the capital after I have finished handling many matters in Yuanzhou. I will treat you to a drink then."

King Yan looked at Du Ning with admiration in his eyes, but he also knew that people like Du Ning would go further than him in the future, so there was no way King Yan could accept Du Ning as his own

staff.

"Thank you for your hospitality, His Highness King Yan. I will be waiting for you in the capital at any time." Du Ning said with a smile.

"And Mr. Ye, if Xiao Wang is free in the future, he will come to Suzhou to have a drink with you."

"Yeah." Ye Jinghong nodded lightly.

King Yan smiled at Du Ning again and said: "You commanded the artillery battalion to fight with the Xuanji Cannon, helped our army recover the lost territory, and captured the grassland tribe. You are the person who truly made great contributions to the Yun Kingdom, and you personally designed and manufactured the Xuanji Cannon.

Yes, this technology that spans the ages will also benefit the entire human race. After you return to Beijing, the emperor will definitely make you a marquis. You are really going to be prosperous!"

After the words fell, many generals looked at Du Ning with great envy and admiration.

Be a Marquis!

This is the fame that many scholars dream of!

This is not only reputation, but also glory and real power!

Usually only royal relatives can enjoy the privilege of becoming a marquis, but it is only a false title and does not have many privileges in the court.

For those who have truly contributed to the country and are granted the title of Marquis, their status and power are equivalent to that of a third-grade official. Even if they have no official position before, the imperial court will directly vacate the official position of a third-grade official for them to take up, without leaving the job.

Any program.

After all, how can a person who can make great contributions to the country be an idle person?

But Du Ning couldn't be happy. Instead, he said with a serious expression: "Your Majesty, I have given you the reward. I have only done a little merit, and I came to the Western Regions to command the artillery battalion to fight in order to do my part for the country. Isn't that right?"

For the sake of my own fame, to put it bluntly, with my current reputation in the literary world and the accumulated royalties from "The Thousand Character Essay", even if I don't become an official, I can still live a good life."

Many people nodded silently. What Du Ning said was really not arrogant at all. "The Thousand-Character Essay" has sold well across the country, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has begun to incorporate it into enlightenment textbooks in liberal arts colleges across the country.

p>

Now Du Ning can make a lot of income even if he does nothing.

In order for the court to have money to fight the war, Du Ning also took the initiative to transfer his royalties to the Ministry of Household Affairs to serve as military pay. He did not make any announcement about this matter, but most officials in the court knew it well.

"I am just happy, because it has been a long time since any of our scholars in the Yun Kingdom have been granted the title of Marquis by the imperial court. In my opinion, your appointment as a Marquis is almost certain." King Yan said with a smile.

"Master Du is indeed a good man. If the emperor does not grant him the title of Marquis, I will definitely stand up and oppose it."

"Not to mention commanding the artillery battalion to retake the Western Region and lay down the grassland, the technology of creating mysterious cannons alone is enough to benefit the entire human race, and benefiting the human race is greater than benefiting a country!"

"That's right! Something as powerful as the Mysterious Cannon can't even be made by a half-saint. I'm really convinced by Lord Du."

All the soldiers admired Du Ning and believed that it was certain that Du Ning would become a marquis.

Du Ning smiled helplessly and shook his head.

King Yan smiled again and said: "You are about to return to the court. You are quite famous in the literary world and have excellent poems and songs. How about writing a poem based on today's situation?"

Ye Jinghong echoed: "His Royal Highness King Yan is right. Today's atmosphere is very suitable for a short poem. Du Ning, just write a poem to express your emotions!"

Du Ning nodded lightly and said: "Students have gained a lot recently, so they are shameless."

"When someone comes, I will wait for you with pen, ink, paper and inkstone."

King Yan waved his hand, and soldiers immediately brought the Four Treasures of the Study and placed them on the table.

Many military scholars also came over to join in the fun. They walked around inside and outside several times, and the atmosphere suddenly became lively.

King Yan took out the inkstone and planned to grind ink for Du Ning himself.

Du Ning was about to speak out to dissuade him, but Ye Jinghong grabbed the inkstone and said seriously: "His Royal Highness, King Yan, has a distinguished status and is not suitable to do anything. Today, Benru will personally polish Mr. Du's ink."

"Mr. Ye, I respect you as a great scholar, but this does not mean that you can snatch what I have in front of the three armies."

King Yan suddenly turned his back. He originally called himself "little king" in front of Ye Jinghong, but now calls himself "my king", which shows that he is in a very unhappy mood.

What’s even more amazing is that Ye Jinghong also claimed to be a “Ben Confucian” to show his status in the literary world.

Du Ning was extremely surprised. He did not expect that two people who respected each other would turn against each other in order to fight for him.

Vote for recommendation

Previous chapter

Chapter Table of Contents

Next chapter

Return to bookshelf