klisemfg Chapter 797 The First Duke of Dayan
Chapter 797 The First Duke of Dayan
Looking at Su Wuan's embarrassed smile, Shen Changgong couldn't help but smile and said,
"I have done what I promised you. Now that we have met, don't look at me anymore. Hurry and go over."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Su Wuan was overjoyed, gritted his teeth, and rushed towards Yang Hongying who came to greet him.
Yang Hongying cleverly dodged his hug and at the same time raised her knee and hit Su Wuan's stomach.
Su Wuan immediately bent over, holding his stomach, grinning and said,
"Hongying, what are you doing? We haven't seen each other for a few years. Why are you hitting me right away?"
"Beating you is the least of my worries. You always use such disgusting names in your letters to me. I've been wanting to beat you up for a long time."
"Murder your husband?"
"Whose husband are you? Shame on you!"
Su Wuan chuckled, straightened up, and whispered to Yang Hongying in a mean voice that he missed her.
Shen Changgong said to everyone,
"Everyone, today the Western Army has returned victoriously and successfully joined forces with our army. It's a rare occasion for the main forces of Dayan to gather together.
The commanders of each army will have their generals set up camp first. You will accompany me to pay my respects to His Majesty. When it gets dark, those above the rank of general will come to the palace to drink, while the rest of the soldiers will drink in the camp."
"As ordered!"
Guan Shouchang and others rode on horses and walked on the red carpet as they followed Shen Changgong and others into Yingdu.
The people here, except for the commander-in-chief and the deputy commander-in-chief, can be said to be all the most powerful people in the entire Dayan military.
The group arrived at the palace. Although it was already afternoon, the empress still went to the main hall in person to greet them.
"Long live my emperor! Long live!"
All the generals knelt down and saluted.
"All the generals, please stand up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The generals stood below and looked up at Yan Fuyao who was wearing a dragon robe and an imperial crown.
Guan Shouchang looked at the empress with eyes full of admiration.
He vaguely remembered that the empress had issued an order to capture all the powerful and influential people who had committed crimes, send them to the parade ground, and let them kill each other before being executed.
Seeing those powerful people who were arrogant and domineering and oppressed the people die like wild dogs one by one, Guan Shouchang felt so happy.
It was also at that time that the four words "loyalty to the emperor and serving the country" were formed in his heart.
He did not have much contact with the emperor, but his feelings for him were deep, and that was a feeling of loyalty to the emperor.
And he has deep feelings for Shen Changgong, which is the feeling of a good horse meeting a good horse trainer.
These two are the people that Lao Guan admires the most, so Lao Guan is the one who most hopes that the couple can continue to be happy. If they break up, Guan Shouchang doesn't know who to help.
Yan Fuyao looked down and said with a smile,
"General Guan, it has been almost two years since I last saw you. The last time we met was in Tianshui County.
Now, time has passed quickly, and you have already destroyed two countries.
When you went out to fight, I gave you 300,000 men, including the Mighty Tiger Army, the White Robe Army, and the Peerless Army.
How many enemies have you annihilated with these 300,000 men?"
Guan Shouchang immediately said,
"Reporting to Your Majesty, 300,000 Qi troops have been annihilated on the Qi-Liang border.
Five hundred thousand Qin troops were annihilated at Yulei Pass.
Three hundred thousand Qin troops were destroyed in the north of Xianyang City.
Four hundred thousand Sichuan troops were annihilated south of Xianyang City.
One hundred thousand Sichuan troops were wiped out in Bazhong.
One hundred thousand Sichuan troops were captured in Chengdu.
A total of 1.7 million people."
If I don't know, I was surprised when I said it.
When this number was calculated, everyone present was dumbfounded.
Yan Fuyao nodded and said,
“When we set out, there were 300,000 men, and after defeating 1.7 million, the team size expanded to 450,000.
Guan Shouchang is famous throughout the world and deserves to be called the world's number one general! "
The people around, such as Yu Huatian, Nie Bei, Zhang Han and others, congratulated Guan Shouchang and praised him loudly.
Guan Shouchang felt a little embarrassed by the praise, and when he was about to speak, Yan Fuyao spoke again.
"Shen Changgong."
"The minister is here."
Shen Changgong stood up and saluted.
"Given Guan Shouchang's contributions, what do you think is the appropriate promotion?"
"Your Majesty, according to the Great Yan military merit system, Guan Shouchang's accumulated military merit is enough to be awarded the title of a third-class duke."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's eyes lit up and they looked at Guan Shouchang with envy.
"A third-class duke?"
Yan Fuyao thought for a moment, then shook his head and said,
"inappropriate."
When these words were spoken, everyone's faces were filled with surprise.
Does Your Majesty think it is too high?
That's true. After all, there is no one in Dayan who has been awarded the title of Duke based on military merit. The title of Duke cannot be obtained simply by accumulating military merit. One must have extremely outstanding contributions. It certainly cannot be awarded easily.
However, given Guan Shouchang's record of conquering two countries, should it be enough to make him a Duke?
Yan Fuyao continued,
"Guan Shouchang expanded the territory, annihilated enemies six times his size, and brought great military power to Great Yan. He never made any mistakes from beginning to end.
In the far west where food and fodder supplies were difficult to transport, in the mountains and hills, and despite overcoming difficulties and obstacles and running out of ammunition and food, they were still able to achieve such results.
Guan Shouchang commanded a large army and was far away from the court, but he remained loyal and had no intention of disobeying the court's orders. This in itself was extremely rare. Such loyalty and courage could not be rewarded by a third-rank duke.
This is the first duke of our Great Yan. If he is to be conferred a title, it will be a second-class duke.
I will leave you a way out, Guan Shouchang, when the battle to destroy Qian comes, I hope you will fight bravely and make more military achievements.
At that time, I will confer upon you the title of First-Class Duke.
But you need to fight for the title of Supreme Duke yourself."
Hearing this, Guan Shou was shocked and immediately knelt on one knee and said,
"Your Majesty, how can I be worthy of the title of Duke?
When going to war, it was the soldiers who fought with their lives, and when making plans, it was Chen Qing, Bai Wuan, Su Wuan and others who came up with brilliant ideas.
When their troops were divided into groups to fight, they also made many military achievements.
This is the credit of the entire Western Army. Guan has only stolen the position of commander-in-chief. How dare I steal the credit of the entire army?
I hope Your Majesty will revoke your order. I would rather die than accept it."
Shen Changgong smiled and said,
"Why? Do you think the offer is too low?"
"How dare I? I have absolutely no such intention."
"So do you think His Majesty's rewards and punishments are unfair?"
"Nothing more."
"Since Your Majesty's reward is fair, why not accept it? Get up quickly.
Thunder, rain, and dew are all gifts from God.
You should accept the reward given by the emperor. If you, Guan Shouchang, do not deserve it, then no one in the entire army deserves it. If the title of Duke is not given to you, how can it be given to others?
You are going to kill off all the other dukes."
Hearing this, Guan Shouchang stood up and said solemnly,
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Yan Fuyao waved his sleeves and said,
"Guan Shouchang, the Marquis of Shouting, was known for his loyalty, his achievements, and his bravery, unrivaled among the three armies.
Therefore, today I confer upon you the title of Duke of Loyalty and Bravery!"
"My lord, thank you for your kindness!"
"Please stand up. Your duke's badge and identity token are all ready and are in the palace. I will send someone to deliver them to you shortly."