Chapter 117 Double Orange Follower (4k)
After seeing off the newly promoted Shouyang Princess Yuan Juli, who was crying in tears, Princess Chenliu returned to her mansion and said to her maid Lu Zhu:
"This is the imperial family, this is what is called the grace of the heavenly family."
Lu Zhu also liked Yuan Juli's character. This member of the Wei royal family was not as domineering as other princesses and governors. She was the most kind to her servants and recently she often went to Longhua Temple to listen to Buddhist teachings. Such a good person was actually married to the grassland by the order of Empress Dowager Hu to marry the Rouran King who was more than ten years older than her.
Lu Zhu suddenly remembered Princess Chenliu's previous comments on the King of Rouran and asked, "Your Highness, didn't you say that the King of Rouran was ambitious and not truly loyal to the Wei Dynasty? What if he rebels in the future? How will Princess Shouyang deal with it?"
Princess Chenliu said coldly: "A married woman must obey her husband. How can she cope with this? She can only hope that her husband wins the fight. If he loses, the outcome will be even more miserable."
Lu Zhu still couldn't accept it. She said, "Your Highness, can you save Princess Shouyang?"
"I save her? I marry the Creeper King?"
Lu Zhu quickly said, "That's not what I meant."
"I know that's not what you mean, but if she wants to be saved, she has to save herself first. If she keeps acting like this, why would so many people save her for no reason? Is it just because she's beautiful?"
Lu Zhu was silent. Just when the atmosphere became sad, Princess Chen Liu suddenly smiled and said:
"I'm curious about one thing."
"What are you curious about, Your Highness?"
"If the King of Rourou dies on the way, what will become of Juli?"
Lu Zhu did not follow Princess Chen Liu's train of thought, so Princess Chen Liu continued to ask:
"Is she considered a widow? If Juli put on mourning clothes, I'm afraid someone would be unable to control themselves, right?"
Thinking of someone, Princess Chenliu felt anxious again. That guy was going to go to war with Li Chong, and no one knew when he would be back.
-
Su Ze arrived at the Tunqi Camp in the morning and announced the news that he would follow Li Chong into the battle. He said a few words to encourage morale and then asked the soldiers to return home to prepare.
Su Ze had just left the Tunqiying when he ran into Yu Jin.
"Brother Yu?"
Yu Jin said to Su Ze, "Brother Su, I heard that you have been appointed as the assistant general of the imperial court by General Li, and will be accompanying the army on the northern expedition?"
Su Ze nodded. It was not yet the time after the Six Garrisons Uprising. Since the Northern Wei rose from Daibei, it had almost always won against the Rouran.
Just like when Yuan Yao went to Jizhou to quell the Mahayana rebellion, the young men in Luoyang saw this as an opportunity to gain military merit.
Therefore, Li Chong's plan to select soldiers from the imperial guards to march north received unanimous support from the court and also calmed the dissatisfaction within the imperial guards.
For military officers, if they could make achievements in the north, they could obtain official positions and rewards from the court.
For the soldiers, several battles against the Rouran had yielded rich spoils. According to the court's custom, a portion of the spoils would be rewarded to the soldiers. As long as they could rob some livestock, their families would be much more well-off. This would make much more money than waiting to get a share of the spoils from the smuggling of southern goods.
Yu Jin prepared himself for a long time and finally mustered up the courage to say, "Brother Su, can you please introduce me to General Li? I also want to join the army."
Su Ze understood Yu Jin's intention. This time, the court gave Li Chong generous treatment when he went on the expedition, including the title of Envoy with Special Powers, the title of Chief Minister, and the Grand Commander of the Northern Expedition. The most generous of these was the title of "Chief Minister".
Opening a government office means setting up a government office and appointing officials. It first began in the Han Dynasty, when only three people were allowed to open a government office.
After the Three Kingdoms and Wei and Jin Dynasties, generals who went on foreign expeditions were granted the power to "open a government office", allowing them to recruit subordinates and appoint officials.
When the troubled times ended, the title of Kaifu in the Sui and Tang dynasties became an honorary title again, called "Kaifu Yitong Sansi".
Nowadays, the power to establish a government in the Wei Dynasty is very heavy. Li Chong can establish a government, and the subordinates he recruited will have official status. After Li Chong returns to the court, the military government will be disbanded, but the officials he recruited will also be reallocated to other positions.
Some officials in the court today obtain their official positions through this roundabout route.
However, Li Chong's establishment of a government office was different from those ministers who were sent to local areas.
For example, Erzhu Rong was also the first chieftain and had his own government, but now not many people were willing to join him.
The reason is very simple. These military headquarters in local areas are permanent. If nothing unexpected happens, a hereditary military headquarters like Erzhu Rong will basically stay in Xiurong for the rest of his life, and there are only a few channels to be transferred back to Luoyang.
It was different for Li Chong, who was temporarily ordered to go on an expedition. After the battle, he would return to Luoyang and hand over the military headquarters. The officials in the military headquarters would naturally be integrated into the bureaucratic system of the Wei Dynasty, which was very attractive to the children of Luoyang.
So ever since the news of Li Chong's going to war spread, there has been a constant stream of people coming and going in front of his residence, and people are waiting to establish connections and give gifts.
The Yu family has fallen into decline, and Yu Jin is not a direct descendant of the family, so naturally he cannot establish a relationship with Li Chong. So he came to the military camp to find Su Ze with the idea of giving it a try.
After listening to what Yu Jin said, Su Ze immediately promised, "That's no problem. I'll go see the general tomorrow and recommend Brother Yu to him!"
Originally, Yu Jin didn't have much hope. He and Su Ze didn't have a close relationship. Su Ze might not be able to help with such a big favor. Even if he could help, he might not necessarily do it. He just came to Su Ze with the mentality of giving it a try.
But when Yu Jin heard Su Ze agree immediately, he felt a little embarrassed. Su Ze actually helped him so much.
Yu Jin bowed to Su Ze and said, "Brother Su, I will repay you for your kindness today!"
Su Ze helped Yu Jin up and said, "Brother Yu, what are you talking about? I recommended you to General Li for the sake of the country, not for personal gain. How can I ask for repayment? We will all serve under General Li in the future, so we should support each other."
Yu Jin was even more moved. He said to Su Ze, "Brother Su, I have a book I want to present to General Li."
Handing a scroll of bamboo slips to Su Ze, Yu Jin said:
"My ancestor, Yu Gong, whose real name was Di, once accompanied Grand Chamberlain Zhu Changsheng on a diplomatic mission to Gaoche in the 14th year of Taihe. At that time, the King of Gaoche, Afu Zhiluo, humiliated Yu Gong and my ancestor. Both Yu Gong and my ancestor refused to kneel down and worship the King of Gaoche. Later, they were imprisoned by the King of Gaoche. My ancestor was able to return to Luoyang only after he went on a hunger strike."
"During the period of imprisonment in Gaoche, my ancestor wrote down his experiences in Gaoche in three volumes of bamboo slips. Unfortunately, his descendants were unworthy and only this volume is left. This volume records in detail the secrets of the various departments of the Gaoche royal court."
Yu Jin added: "My ancestors once taught me the Rouran and Gaoche languages, and I also know a little about the languages of the various tribes on the grassland."
Su Ze looked at Yu Jin in surprise. He didn't expect that this future Eight Pillars of the State was also a foreign language talent from a diplomatic family?
The fourteenth year of Taihe was 490 AD, twenty-eight years have passed since then, but the situation regarding the Gaoche tribes must have been very important to Li Chong.
Su Ze thought about it and said directly to Yu Jin: "Don't wait until tomorrow! I will take you to see General Li right now!"
"what?"
Su Ze took Yu Jin to Li Chong's mansion. The doormen in the mansion knew Su Ze and knew that he was Li Chong's guest of honor, so they directly led Su Ze into the hall.
As expected by Su Ze, after meeting Yu Jin, Li Chong asked him about the situation in the northern grasslands, and Yu Jin was able to answer all the questions fluently.
Li Chong was overjoyed. He asked Yu Jin about military tactics. Although Yu Jin had never led troops himself, he was able to give Li Chong some insights that made him feel enlightened. Li Chong pulled Yu Jin aside and said, "If I can get a talent like you, I will be able to drink water from the Yinshan Mountains! As long as you are willing to follow me, I will be able to conquer the Wolf's Lair!"
Apart from anything else, Li Chong is indeed good at making promises. After listening to him, Yu Jin immediately knelt on the ground and expressed on the spot that he was willing to join Li Chong's military office.
Li Chong immediately recruited Yu Jin as an assistant military officer to assist him in handling military affairs.
Coming out of Li Chong's house, Yu Jin felt as if he had dreamed. Entering the officialdom, which was once considered an insurmountable step, was actually easily crossed. He looked at Su Ze and said, "Brother Su's kindness will never be forgotten! I will repay it in this lifetime!"
Su Ze pulled Yu Jin and said, "You and I are brothers, there is no need to say more about this. We must help each other in the army in the future."
Yu Jin nodded heavily and said, "Of course!"
-
After bidding farewell to Yu Jin and returning home, Su Ze finally waited for the time to refresh the system!
After completing Li Chong's task, Su Ze's shop slots became seven. According to the rules summarized before, he should be able to refresh high-quality followers or items this time, right?
The system refresh countdown returned to zero. Su Ze looked at the orange and purple light in the store and couldn't help but smile!
Indeed it is!
Su Ze first looked at the orange column!
Follower!
Su Ze rubbed his eyes and checked the follower nervously.
【Calm Armored Cavalry】
Grade: Orange;
Effect: Steady and reliable armored cavalry. This follower can greatly improve the morale of the cavalry unit in the team;
Comment: "Where is the iron armor now? The iron armor is still there!"
Price: 800 Wen Tai and 100 Baht coins, and a monthly maintenance fee of Wen Tai and Baht coins is required. The unit must be provided with meat for three meals, and the warhorse also needs professional riding slaves to take care of it.
Looking at the icon in the store, this is a cartoon figure of an armored cavalryman riding a horse, holding a long weapon like a lance or a spear. Just by looking at this icon, you can tell that this follower is extraordinary!
However, Su Ze was not planning to summon him now. After all, it was too scary to see a strong man in armor and riding a horse in the house.
Eager to summon the orange follower, Su Ze turned his attention to the second grid, which was still an orange follower!
Double yolk eggs!
[A military judge who strictly enforces the law]
Grade: Orange;
Effect: This follower can improve the team's discipline and resist the negative effects of the "corruption" follower in the team. Used as a supervisory team, it can improve the organization of the army;
Comment: "He is kind but cannot be used, he is loving but cannot be commanded, he is chaotic and cannot be governed. He is like a spoiled child and cannot be used."
Price: 800 Wen Tai and Wu Zhu coins, and a monthly maintenance fee of 100 Wen Tai and Wu Zhu coins is required. This unit can be equipped with military law books. The stricter the military law books, the higher the discipline can be improved.
The icon of this follower is a middle-aged military officer holding a bamboo slip, wearing armor on the upper body and a long sword on the waist. Just by looking at the icon, you can tell that he is a majestic character.
Two orange minions at a time! This time I really made a lot of money.
Looking at the third grid, there is another purple follower!
[A skilled Yulin scout]
Grade: Purple;
Effect: None;
Comment: "A scout with excellent riding skills, but without a horse."
Price: 500 wen tai and 10 baht coins, and a maintenance fee of wen tai and baht coins is required every month.
What a stingy system. Purple followers don’t have horses, right?
The scout wore light leather armor, carried a short bow, and carried a long sword.
It's a simple and unpretentious evaluation, but Su Ze knows that this kind of follower without any shortcomings is the most useful.
Compared to Su Lin’s description of [a Yulin Knight who is good at shooting], as both are positive entries, it should be that [Yulin Knight] is a higher level soldier than [Yulin Scout], so Su Lin is an orange follower, and this Yulin Scout is a purple follower.
What remained were the blue and green followers, and this time Su Ze did not disappoint.
[Reckless Armored Cavalry], blue follower, no horse.
[Corrupted Western Trader], blue follower, no horse.
[Corrupted Messenger], green follower, no horse.
[The blood-shy Yulin cook assistant], a green follower, without a horse.
Su Ze was so angry that he laughed when he saw it. This dog system definitely has no horse!
But looking at his seven followers, Su Ze's mood improved again. This could be said to be the most generous thing the system had done!
The greedy Su Ze was still praying silently, hoping that he could take on one or two more tasks on the way to the Six Towns.
Su Ze planned to wait until tomorrow and summon these seven followers on the way to the military camp. The next step would be to prepare for the northern expedition.
-
At the residence of King Jiangyang Yuan Yi, Yuan Yi was also seeing Hou Gang off.
As his follower, Yuan Yi was quite righteous. He said to Hou Gang: "Back then, Yang Gong was also demoted to a soldier in Yingzhou after the Battle of Zhongli, but was soon reinstated by the court."
Yang Gong is Yang Dayan. Hou Gang still lowered his head and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for intervening on my behalf. I was able to save my life. It's a pity that I can no longer serve Your Majesty."
Yuan Yi pulled Hou Gang aside and said, "There is a long way to go, so don't worry about the short term."
Then Yuan Yi said, "This time, Prince Guangyang took the lead and recommended Li Chong to go to the battle. This is a good move. The Queen Mother will rely more on Yuan Shen in military affairs."
Hou Gang felt bitter. If it weren't for his son's incident, he could have fought for the position of the Northern Expedition Commander with his qualifications. But now he was exiled to Qinzhou to serve as a soldier.
Hou Gang was Yuan Yi's supporter in the military. If Hou Gang's arm was cut off, Yuan Yi's voice in military and political affairs would be further reduced.
Yuan Yi said, "You can wait a few days before leaving. An old friend is coming to Luoyang."
"Old friend?"
Yuan Yi blinked his eyes and said, "After receiving news of the military situation in the north, Erzhu Rong, the chieftain of the Xiurong tribe, petitioned the court to personally escort the war horses to Luoyang! I received the letter today, and he will be able to enter Luoyang City in two days."
Yesterday my computer suddenly started smoking, I was scared to death.
Luckily I have a spare notebook, but don't worry, I will update it as usual in the evening
(End of this chapter)