Chapter 323: Wanhuhou Champion!

Chapter 323: The Marquis of Wanhu - Champion!

Wei Yuan had just undergone bone scraping and poison treatment, how could he fight with others?

He said this to reassure the three armies.

The brothers from Daizhou also cooperated with Wei Yuan. No one said that they wanted to compete with Wei Yuan at this time.

"General Wei, you are a martial arts master. Whether in our army or in the green forest, you are well-known. How dare I fight with you?"

"I still remember the last time I competed with General Wei in hand strength. This arm could not be lifted for three days. I was afraid."

"General Wei is brave and brave, like the Overlord in the world. I dare not compete with you."

"."

At this time, Shen Qing was standing behind Wei Yuan, looking at everyone with a gloomy face.

As if to say, whoever dares to compete with General Wei at this time will not have to go to the camp tomorrow.

Wei Yuan laughed and said, "Tell the generals that I am fine. After the army rests for two days, we will set out for Linzhang immediately!"

The generals said "yes" and retreated immediately.

After calming the army, Wei Yuan sat back on the bed. His face turned pale again, and beads of sweat gathered on his forehead, looking extremely weak.

The doctor hurriedly took Wei Yuan's pulse and said earnestly:

"General Wei, even if your blood and qi are much stronger than ordinary people, you can't move around just after scraping the bone. Once you damage your vitality, you can't make up for it."

Wei Yuan nodded, "Isn't your nephew here? With her serving me, I'm fine."

The doctor sighed lightly, shook his head, and said no more.

Not long after, the doctor and his "nephew" left temporarily, not daring to continue to disturb Wei Yuan's rest.

Later, he told Shen Qing,

"Yelu Xinxian will definitely lose this battle. Xu Changzhi has set up a trap on the way to the south. He will only seek death if he goes there. But the fear is that he will go north to join forces with Yelu Renxian."

"Order Qin Zhen to lead 60,000 people out of Daming Prefecture and go north to Cheng'an. If you encounter the Liao army, fight to the death."

Shen Qing clasped his fists and retreated.

Wei Yuan ordered someone to call Zhou Tong and said, "When I was guarding the big flag, you stayed by my side all the time?"

The latter knelt on one knee and said, "I think you and the big flag are related to the overall success or failure, so I stayed by your side."

Wei Yuan smiled and waved his hand, saying, "When I lead the troops, kneeling is never a custom in the camp. Stand up and talk."

"Yes." Zhou Tong stood up slowly without being humble or arrogant.

Wei Yuan looked at this burly soldier with youthful heroic spirit, and couldn't help but think of when he first joined the army.

Similarly, he was appreciated by Zhang Fu for his bravery after fighting several battles, and then became the direct disciple of the Duke of Ying.

Presumably, at that time, Zhang Fu did not accept the generals of his line as apprentices, and he also considered weighing certain factions in the army?

"You joined the army at the age of thirteen, you are younger than when I joined the army."

Wei Yuan joined the army at the age of fifteen, two years older than Zhou Tong.

If he accepted Zhou Tong as his apprentice, then this boy's future would be limitless.

Zhou Tong clasped his fists and said: "General Wei gave up his pen to join the army because of Duke Wuxiang, and fought bravely for the country. I am far from being able to compare."

Wei Yuan couldn't help but smile after hearing this.

This boy is no different from himself in the past, and his flattery skills have reached perfection.

But then again, isn't this a kind of inheritance?

Wei Yuan smiled and said: "Would you like to worship me as your master?"

Hearing this, Zhou Tong was stunned and looked quite surprised.

Wei Yuan looked at him, waiting for his response.

After a long time, he knelt on both knees and said solemnly: "I am willing to follow General Wei until death in this life."

Wei Yuan nodded, "During the expedition, all secular etiquette is exempted. From now on, you can call me teacher."

Zhou Tong kowtowed heavily, "Yes, teacher, I will remember it."

Perhaps even Wei Yuan did not expect that many years later, Zhou Tong accepted a disciple named Yue Fei.

Or perhaps Wei Yuan had already thought of Zhou Tong's identity in history, but it was too long since the previous life, and some memories had been forgotten.

In the last years of Zhou Zhenzong, Zhang Fu became a disciple of the old Korean Duke and became the first military merit.

Wei Yuan became a disciple of Zhang Fu and became the leader among the young military generals today.

Now Zhou Tong is a disciple of Wei Yuan, just like in the past. I wonder what kind of storm he will stir up in the future.

Of course, there can only be one Wei Yuan in this world.

No one can replicate Wei Yuan's career and growth process.

The current emperor is not Renzong.

Wei Yuan met the best emperor and grew up wildly in the best era, but it is difficult to find a person like him for many years.

He had everything, but when you open the thick history books, it is not difficult to find that many words are full of regrets.

Yue Fei did not meet an emperor like Adou, and Yu Qian, who saved the people but could not save himself.

The reason why these great men have regrets is that no matter the time, place, or people, they can't compare with Wei Yuan.

In the whole Zhou Dynasty, it is enough to have a general like Wei Yuan, and there can't be a second one.

The next day, in the evening.

The doctor who scraped Wei Yuan's bones, 'Junior Nephew', was carefully changing the medicine for him,

"My Lord, my uncle said that the medicine on your arm should be changed every day, otherwise the wound will pus, which is not good."

Wei Yuan nodded.

When she changed the medicine and was about to leave, Wei Yuan suddenly stopped her and asked:

"Why did your uncle want to keep you by my side?"

She was speechless and didn't know how to answer.

Wei Yuan said jokingly: "Let me guess, you should not be married this year?"

She nodded.

Wei Yuan said: "No women can be brought into the army, this is an iron rule, and those who violate it will be sentenced to death. Your uncle is worried that I will settle accounts with you later, so he simply sold you?"

She knelt down and kowtowed, "Please forgive me, General Wei, it's me. I insisted on serving in the army, it has nothing to do with my uncle."

Wei Yuan waved his hand and said: "Fortunately, few people know your identity, otherwise, even if you saved me, you can be exempted from the death penalty, but you can't escape the living crime. You stand up and answer."

She stood up obediently.

Wei Yuan asked: "What's your name?"

She said: "My surname is Zhang. When I was a child, the elders in my family called me Zhang Xiaomei. When I grew up, they called me Zhang Xiaoniangzi or Xiaomei."

Zhang Xiaomei?

Hearing this name, Wei Yuan instantly thought of Su Shi's sister Su Xiaomei.

When he was in Hangzhou, he saw Su Xiaomei. She looked very pure and spoke eloquently, living up to the name of a talented woman.

Now she is married to Qin Shaoyou, the magistrate of Hangzhou.

It is said that Qin Shaoyou's original wife seemed to have died of illness, and Qin Shaoyou did not remarry for many years.

Once Qin Shaoyou and Su Shi were drinking, and Su Xiaomei was also there. She was moved by Qin Guan and Qin Shaoyou's infatuation, and then the two fell in love and could not stop.

Wei Yuan was interested in this. He learned that after Qin Shaoyou's wife died, Qin Shaoyou often lingered in the brothel and left many poems.

If it were someone else, including Su Xiaomei, they would think he was a talented man.

But in Wei Yuan's view, even after his original wife died, there was no hope of promotion in his official career, so he simply stopped pretending, and went whoring when he should and played when he should.

When he saw Su Xiaomei, such a soft girl, he was tired of playing and wanted to settle down again.

Wei Yuan felt that Zhang Xiaomei and Su Xiaomei in front of him had similar temperaments and looks, and they were both soft girls.

"Zhang Xiaomei"

Wei Yuan murmured first, and then said: "How can you, a girl, endure the hardships of marching?"

Zhang Xiaomei asked back: "General, with flesh and blood, how can you endure the pain of scraping bones?"

Wei Yuan was stunned.

Zhang Xiaomei said: "I am a woman, I don't know what the righteousness of the country is, but I know that you are the real heroes of the Great Zhou. It is you who fought to the death and killed the enemy and defended my Great Zhou paradise."

"I don't have much ability, I can save one more person, and the people I save can kill one more Liao thief, which is also considered to save one more citizen of my Great Zhou."

Wei Yuan was a little surprised. He never thought that this weak woman in front of him could have such a broad mind.

"I will arrange a separate residence for you, and stay in the army for the time being. When this battle is over, you can go back to where you came from. There is no need for Mulan in my army."

Wei Yuan spoke slowly.

Although it was a good intention, Zhang Xiaomei frowned and said, "General Wei, do you look down on us women?"

Wei Yuan shook his head and said, "No."

"I just think that the men who can fight in the Great Zhou are not dead yet. We fight to the death with the enemy, just for our women and families to have a stable life."

"After all of us men of the Great Zhou die in battle, it will not be too late for you women to go to the battlefield and kill the enemy."

Zhang Xiaomei's eyes lit up, "General Wei, do you think that women are not inferior to men?"

Wei Yuan asked curiously, "You girl, you have a weird idea."

——

In the eighth year of Jiayou, on the evening of May 25, Liang Da led an army of 400,000 to attack Yelu Xinxian.

This battle lasted for a whole day and night, and both sides suffered casualties. The Liao army was exhausted. When they were preparing to evacuate northward, they were attacked by the Danglu army and were defeated.

Originally, there were nearly 200,000 troops. After several days of fighting, Yelu Xinxian now had less than 100,000 soldiers, almost half of whom were killed.

Now, for him, there are only two situations. One is to continue fighting fiercely under the siege of the Zhou army. The final result is also obvious, and he will be annihilated by the Zhou army.

The other is to quickly leave the battlefield and move north or south.

After thinking again and again, Yelu Xinxian finally decided not to join forces with Yelu Renxian's army for the time being, but to detour to Damingfu and quickly move from south to north to try to retain his manpower.

Many Liao generals were puzzled by this and asked:

"The Marshal had already sent scouts to tell you to move north at all costs, why are you moving south now?"

"If we take a detour through Damingfu and are caught up by the Zhou army, our army will be in danger of being destroyed at any time!"

"Please think again, General!"

"."

In response, Yelu Xin first explained: "Everyone knows that our army can join forces with the Marshal by moving north, how could the Zhou army not know? They will definitely lay a net on the way north. If our army suddenly moves south, the Zhou army will be caught off guard!"

In this way, the Liao army began to retreat from the south.

Liang Da and Chen Daniu chased them closely.

On the way of retreating from the south, Yelu Xinxian sighed to his confidants more than once:

"From the beginning, Wei Yuan's real goal was not Xiangzhou, but our army."

"Under such a situation, no matter who it was, they would definitely send troops to help the commander-in-chief."

"Wei Yuan anticipated this and made a series of deployments."

"From this point of view, Wei Yuan's ability to march and deploy troops is far superior to mine, and he is on par with the commander-in-chief."

In his opinion, the generals in the world who caught his eye were divided into two categories.

The first category was Yelu Renxian, Zhang Fu, Yeli Wangrong, etc.

The second category was him, Wei Yuan, and Li Liangzuo.

And now, they are still in the second tier, while Wei Yuan has become the first tier.

The eighth year of Jiayou, May 26.

Wei Yuan was on his way from Xiangzhou to Linzhang.

An angel came and asked:

"My Lord, His Majesty wants to ask you, now that the Western Xia army has increased its troops in Yanbian, General Zhong and his men are having a very difficult time fighting the Western Xia army, do you have any good ideas?"

This is Zhao Xi asking Wei Yuan in a tactful way whether he can transfer some troops to support Yanbian.

However, Wei Yuan's attitude was also very resolute,

"I have submitted a letter to the emperor before, the focus of the battle in Yanbian is not in our country, but in the territory of Western Xia."

"If you want to resolve the war in Yanbian, you can let Tubo send troops to attack Western Xia, so that Western Xia will withdraw its troops."

"Afterwards, if Western Xia intends to attack Tubo, after our army has dealt with the Liao army, we can help Tubo at any time."

The angel didn't understand the war, so he had to return to the capital and planned to relay Wei Yuan's words to Zhao Xi.

——

In the eighth year of Jiayou, on May 27, the grand court meeting.

Zhao Xi was listening to the officials summarizing the recent political affairs, feeling a little annoyed. It was the same things over and over again, and new problems arose after they were solved, which was very annoying.

Just then, a scout from the front line hurried in outside the palace.

Zhao Xi hurriedly summoned him, and before he could kneel, he could not hold back his excitement and stood up to ask:

"How is the battle going?"

The scout knelt on one knee because he was wearing armor, and shouted:

"Your Majesty, Xiangzhou has been recovered, and our army won a great victory in the battle of Linzhang, killing a total of more than 173,600 enemies! After this battle, the Liao army's strength is less than 200,000!"

A great victory?

Before Zhao Xi could react, all the officials started to speak:

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, God bless our Great Zhou!"

"The Liao army has suffered heavy casualties, and will not be able to fight against our Great Zhou within ten years!"

"Congratulations, Your Majesty."

"."

Zhao Xi was also filled with joy and laughed: "It seems that the Liao army is not invincible. Compared with our great Celestial Empire, it is vulnerable!"

"When the army returns, I must reward them heavily! No, I will reward them now! I will reward Wei Taifu."

Thinking of this, he hesitated.

All the officials were stunned in their place.

Another reward?

After a long time, Zhao Xi suddenly said something shocking: "Confer the title of Wei Taifu to the title of Champion Marquis! The fiefdom will remain the same!"

Wei Yuan was obviously a marquis, so why can he be conferred the title of Champion Marquis?

That's because the Loyal and Brave Marquis had no fiefdom, while the title of Champion Marquis has always had a fiefdom since ancient times.

For a marquis without a fief, the court only rewards him with a certain amount of food, but it is far from the level of a marquis of ten thousand households, and even worse than a marquis of a thousand households.

Because without a fief, it is impossible to collect taxes from the people in the fiefdom, and how much tax each household should pay, this is the meaning of a marquis of ten thousand households.

And within the territory of the marquis of Guanjun, there are at least ten thousand households, and the taxes of these ten thousand households should all belong to the marquis of Guanjun, so it is called a "marquis of ten thousand households".

In the current political system of the Great Zhou Dynasty, there are less than five marquises and dukes with fiefdoms.

Moreover, among these five, except Wei Yuan, I am afraid that several of them have been stripped of their titles by the court for various reasons.

It can be seen how much favor Zhao Xi has for Wei Yuan.

In other words, although Wei Yuan is not a duke yet, his status as a marquis of ten thousand households is far higher than that of many dukes, even the old dukes such as the Duke of Qi and the Duke of Lu are far inferior.

In terms of the status and power of the title, the only ones who can be compared with Wei Yuan, the Marquis of Wanhu, are the Duke of Ying and the Duke of Han, and even the Duke of Fuguo is not as good as him.

After all, the Duke of Fuguo has no fiefdom, and although the Dukes of Ying and Han do not have any either, Britain and Han were both countries in the Spring and Autumn Period. Later, Britain was destroyed by the State of Chu. The Britain referred to here is a small country established during the Xia Dynasty, known as ancient Britain.

In theory, the Dukes of Ying and Han can collect taxes from the people in the area of ​​Han in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period in their original fiefdoms, such as the Duke of Han.

Of course, no one has ever done this.

However, Wei Yuan's title of the Marquis of Wanhu actually has a fiefdom, the Champion Marquisate, and Zhao Xi intends to give him all the taxes from the people in that area.