153. The Edict of Feng.

153. The Edict of Feng.

Without armor, Yuan Congyun fought with exceptional bravery.

The soldiers vividly recalled the bitter victory years ago, the battlefield strewn with corpses, and their fallen comrades.

From Chu Hechao to his subordinates, a surge of anger burned within each man, fueling their desire for vengeance.

On the eve of the army's departure, Yang Zhongfa sought out Chu Hechao for drinks. After a few cups, tears streamed down his face as he choked up to Chu Hechao, "General, I am old. I do not know if I will live to see the day the Wuhuan are annihilated, the day we avenge our brothers and my son..."

Chu Hechao simply replied, "We will."

Yang Zhongfa believed him.

As the arrows flew, the fierce battle commenced.

Archers would first decimate the enemy's ranks, while soldiers advanced steadily under the protection of shield-bearers.

Chu Hechao and Guli Chi engaged in a direct confrontation, matching their forces against each other. In such a head-on clash, only the general's leadership and the sharpness of their cold weapons would determine the outcome. Only the strength and courage of their soldiers would prevail.

Bodies fell one after another at the forefront, replaced by reinforcements from the rear. The dead were dragged away, while the severely wounded were swiftly carried to the back for medical attention.

The Youzhou soldiers had been trained to maintain order on the battlefield, even amidst the chaos of combat.

This time, the Wuhuan campaign brought along over a hundred physicians, far exceeding the number of physicians in other armies.

In order to promptly treat the injured soldiers, every march was accompanied by several carts of medicinal herbs along with the food supplies.

It is because of the presence of Yuan Li's herbs and medical staff, the soldiers knew they would receive treatment after being injured, so they dared to risk their lives and achieved great success for Yuan Li.

All the soldiers from Youzhou remembered that they ate Yuan Li's food and meat. The armor on their bodies, as well as the winter clothes and boots, were all prepared by Yuanli for them.

The governor treated them with such care and provided such good conditions, how could they not fight for Yuan Li?

Where else would a governor go to such lengths for lowly soldiers?

The soldiers of Youzhou were so grateful to Yuan Li, their gratitude even exceeded others' imagination. They were willing to sacrifice their lives and shed blood for Yuan Li without hesitation.

Unlike the Northern Border Army, who were completely loyal to Chu Hechao, the soldiers of Youzhou, trained entirely by Yuan Li, had already surpassed their loyalty to Chu Hechao, even though Chu Hechao was the one who often led them in battle.

Chu Hechao naturally noticed this, but he did not interfere and chose to let things take their course.

Yuan Li had such grand goals, there had to be a military force completely loyal to him.

When the arrows of the Youzhou soldiers rained down, Guli Chi felt a cold sweat on his forehead.

The arrow rain was too intense and dense, with a range much farther than that of Gulichi's archers! Starting off at a disadvantage, Guli Chi gritted his teeth and roared, "Move forward."

But there was absolutely no retreating on the battlefield, that was a major taboo!

Once they got closer, the arrow rain lost its effectiveness. Guli Chi breathed a sigh of relief and immediately sent troops to press forward.

The Wuhuan infantry ahead roared and swung their swords at the soldiers of Youzhou, thinking that they would not be able to withstand the blow. However, the soldiers of Youzhou did not flinch and also met them with their big swords.

As the two clashed, the Wuhuan troops were shaken to the point where their hands were numbed, almost dropping their weapons to the ground.

They widened their eyes, unable to believe when had these Central Plains soldiers become so formidable!

In their moment of hesitation, the soldiers of Youzhou raised their large swords against them.

*

Ji County.

Yang Zhongfa's wife burned incense and prayed everywhere, hoping for a victory in the battle.

Upon returning home, she saw Yang Zhongfa leading his teary-eyed son Xuan'er out of the ancestral hall.

His wife had a faint guess in her heart, her nose tingling with a sour sensation. She approached and asked, "Why did you think of going to the ancestral hall?"

Yang Zhongfa's eyes were also red as he lowered his head and touched his son's hair, "I took him in to pay respects to his two older brothers, and offer incense to their memorial tablets."

Unable to hold back her tears, Yang's wife silently wept.

Their ancestral home was not in Youzhou, so the ancestral hall did not have the memorial tablets of their ancestors, only the empty memorial tablets of their two sons.

The deaths of these two sons were an eternal pain in the hearts of the couple, a pain they dared not even touch. They never entered the ancestral hall except on memorial days because they couldn't bear it.

When Xuan'er was young, the couple had never taken him inside, and now at the age of nine, for the first time he learned that he had two older brothers who were no longer around.

Seeing his wife crying, Yang Zhongfa felt a surge of bitterness in his heart and said angrily, "It's a pity that I am old and useless, otherwise I would personally go to the battlefield and chop off the head of that Wuhuan leader!"

"You better not go!" Yang's wife, with a trembling voice, slapped him hard and said, "I despise those Wuhuan people and am extremely afraid. Both of our sons were killed by them. With your old arms and legs, how could I dare let you go to their battlefield?"

Seeing his mother cry so miserably, Xuan'er couldn't help but cry too. However, he was a well-behaved child. He wiped his tears and held Yang's wife's hand, saying, "Mother, don't be afraid. When I grow up, I will go to the battlefield on behalf of father and avenge our brothers."

Pale-faced, Yang's wife quickly hugged him and repeatedly said, "No! You must not go to the battlefield!"

Xuan'er, with widened eyes, dared not say a word.

Yang Zhongfa wiped his face, "Dear, you scared Xuan'er."

Yang's wife let go of her younger son, tears streaming down her face. She forced a smile and said, "Xuan'er, promise me, you will never go to the battlefield in the future, you will never have any contact with the Wuhuan people, okay?"

Xuan'er took these words to heart, nodded earnestly, and reached out to touch Yang's wife's face, saying, "Mother, I promise you, don't be sad."

Looking at her son's solemn expression, Yang's wife was momentarily stunned but burst into even more tears. She held her son close, patting his back repeatedly and saying, "Good Xuan'er, my good son..."

At the frontline, when the battle was fierce, Dadan and Puyan had each taken over the soldiers under the two Wuhuan leaders they had attacked.

After Dadan and Puyan left Liaoxi County and Youbeiping County, Yuan Li immediately assigned people to clear any traces left by the Wuhuan people in these two counties, firmly securing control over them.

Wang Er expressed some concern, "Lord, allowing Dadan and Puyan to take over the remaining forces of the two Wuhuan leaders, is this not nurturing a problem?"

"I don't think so," Guo Mao stroked his beard and had a different perspective, "In my opinion, this is actually a good thing. The Lord's intention in subduing Dadan and Puyan should be to have them balance each other out."

All eyes turned to Yuan Li, who smiled and nodded, "Dividing one Wuhuan into two, making them wary and hostile towards each other, isn't this a good move?"

Indeed, it is good!

Wang Er's eyes lit up, his mind spinning, "Dadan and Puyan will become the leaders of the two Wuhuan factions in the north and south respectively. We didn't need to do much, they have split themselves, this is great!"

Zhou Gongdan appeared pensive, "Where there are two tigers on one mountain, Dadan and Puyan will definitely be dissatisfied with the situation of having two leaders. In this situation, they will both do their best to please the Lord. Whoever can win over the Lord will be able to suppress the other."

Liu Jixin also smiled and said, "From now on, they will listen to the Lord's words a thousand times more than before. If they are tasked with dealing with the Xiongnu, they will compete to give their all."

Indeed.

Yuan Li nodded slightly, got up and walked out the door, looking towards the northeast.

The warm glow of the setting sun shone on his white jade-like face, making Yuan Li's eyes seem to shimmer with golden light.

He murmured, "I hope they return victorious soon."

Although Liaoxi County was at war, other counties were not affected by the flames of war and were busy with the autumn harvest.

When people were drying wheat everywhere in Jixian County, the news of Chu Hechao's victory finally reached them.

He had captured the head of Guli Chi!

Upon receiving this news, the entire Jixian County was overjoyed, eagerly awaiting the return of the victorious army.

Before Chu Hechao returned, another group of people arrived from Yangzhou.

- It was the imperial rewards team for Yuan Li.

This group of imperial envoys brought gold, silver, jewels, and the imperial edict, as well as a custom-made ducal court dress for Yuan Li, and they flattered him excessively upon meeting him, expressing gratitude for his actions against Wu Shanshi.

Sending Wu Shanshi and his accomplices to Yangzhou was definitely the right move by Yuan Li.

The emperor was delighted to see this rebel who claimed the throne executed, personally witnessing Wu Shanshi's beheading, and sending a team of palace attendants with the imperial edict and rewards to Youzhou immediately, wanting to confer the title of duke on his beloved loyal minister Yuan Li.

The emperor loved Yuan Li too much, considering him to be the best person in the world after Prince Chen. To give a decent status to his favorite servant, the emperor generously sent various treasures and fabrics to the north.

However, the emperor forgot that he didn't have any money and was staying in Yangzhou, so the rewards he gave Yuan Li actually came from Prince Chen's treasury.

Naturally, Prince Chen was not pleased, but this was something the emperor had already announced publicly, so even if Prince Chen was unwilling, he had no choice but to smile and use his own treasury to save the emperor's face.

Seeing the imperial edict granting him the title of duke and the elaborate court dress, Yuan Li's subordinates were ecstatic, exchanging glances with each other, unable to contain their excitement and joy.

They had finally waited for this day.

Finally, their lord was being conferred a ducal title!

The difference between the ducal title and other titles was huge, as except for princes and dukes with different surnames granted since the founding of the Northern Zhou dynasty, there were few instances of ducal titles being bestowed in the three hundred years that followed.

The reason for this was that the founder of the Northern Zhou dynasty discovered the drawbacks of granting princes and dukes with different surnames and was unwilling to share the land with others, so for several generations, emperors dared not easily confer ducal titles.

Preceding princes, following dukes, the position of duke was only one step below prince, superior to marquis and higher than other titles. After being conferred with the ducal title, Yuan Li could have his own fiefdom and enjoy absolute rule like Chu Hechao within his own territory.

He could establish a government with secretaries, chamberlains, and ministers, like a small court within his own fiefdom.

In today's world, aside from the emperor and Prince Chen, as well as Chu Hechao, the two different surnames princes, the next in line in terms of status and position is Yuan Li.

He was like having his own country, able to become the sovereign within his fiefdom, and even able to call himself "Gu."

Prince Chen and Prince Chu naturally possessed these powers as well, but the late Prince Chu struggled for survival in the eyes of the emperor and never exercised much authority as a different surname prince. Chu Hechao grew up in the military camp and did not have this awareness.

Prince Chen was gentle and humble in front of the emperor, naturally not showing off, and Yuan Li had not seen them truly display their grandeur.

The sincerity given by the emperor was genuine, or perhaps it was the sincerity given by Prince Chen. Whether intentional or unintentional, the imperial edict completely ignored Chu Hechao's merits and entirely assigned the provinces of Bingzhou and Jizhou to Yuan Li, designated as his fiefdom.

This was familiar manipulation and sowing of discord.

Yuan Li's smile remained unchanged as he stood and listened to the palace attendants read the imperial edict.

At this moment, he had taken a big step towards his goal. However, Yuan Li's mood was calm and composed, with joy but without being blindsided by power.

After the envoy finished reading, he eagerly lifted the imperial edict in his hands and respectfully said, "Please receive the decree, Duke."

All eyes were fixed on Yuan Li, eager to witness this scene worthy of being recorded in history. Liu Jixin, Guo Mao, and several others who had imagined this scenario many times before were flushed with excitement, their eyes moistened involuntarily.

But Yuan Li surprised them all. He smiled faintly, clasped his hands together in a slight bow, displaying a refined and elegant demeanor, and gracefully said, "I thank Your Majesty for the honor, but I truly cannot bear such reward. Please, take the decree and rewards back to Yangzhou."