Chapter 52

Qin Jie, Zhao Ci, and the others all looked at Xu Qiu: "There is such a thing? No wonder I felt there were tens of thousands of Huang Jin troops missing. Besides, the Huang Huang Jinlishi who appeared that day are also gone!"

"It must be so; it must be that group of Huang Jin troops who took the wealth away!"

"We absolutely cannot let them go!"

Qin Jie and the others all said with envy.

Including Su Xuan, who also pretended to look envious.

But in his heart, he thought: "Keep dreaming; it is impossible for you to find this wealth from Han Zhong and Sun Xia."

Furthermore, Han Zhong and Sun Xia were his people;

He had long since given them orders that after retreating from Wancheng, they were to gather the Huang Jin troops from various cities along the way;

And while they were at it, plunder the wealth, grain, and military equipment of the gentry and powerful clans in those cities;

Then, they were to retreat directly into the depths of Mount Mount Tongbai to the east and hide temporarily, as he would have great use for them later.

"Speaking of Han Zhong and Sun Xia, I do need to find an opportunity to subdue some more mighty generals and send one to help Sun Xia and the others train those Huang Jin troops."

"Additionally, I must have Sun Xia and the others send a few of those Huang Huang Jinlishi over so I can study the principles and methods behind them."

Su Xuan thought to himself.

One day later,

Luoyang received the victory report sent from Nanyang.

Jia Yi, a manager of the Su Family Chamber of Commerce in Luoyang and a member of the Shadow Guard, presented a visiting card and met with Zhang Rang, bringing 2 million in cash.

"My lord, my master asked me to convey his greetings to you and has sent 2 million in cash and a glazed Buddha statue; please accept them with a smile;"

"Additionally, regarding the matter of rewards for merit this time, we still need you, my lord, to help put in a good word before His Majesty."

Jia Yi said to Zhang Rang with a respectful expression.

As early as when they planned to take Wancheng, Su Xuan had already had the Shadow Guard prepared.

The moment the victory report entered Luoyang, Jia Yi had come to the door immediately.

It was just to prevent anyone from causing trouble.

"Hehe!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Rang opened the box to look at the wealth inside, and finally looked at the flawless glazed Buddha statue with an appreciative gaze, nodding with satisfaction: "General Su is indeed a wonderful person; I want to meet him even more now!"

"I will accept the items;"

"Rest assured! I am a person of principle; since I have accepted your General's gifts, I will get the job done! Let your General wait for good news!"

"Tell him to perform more meritorious deeds and suppress the rebellion as quickly as possible; His Majesty likes that."

After speaking, Zhang Rang waved his hand, signaling that Jia Yi could leave.

"Then many thanks, my lord!"

Jia Yi immediately bowed, turned, and left Zhang Rang’s mansion, and sent people to pass the news back to Su Xuan.

Early the next morning,

At the morning court session,

After the Son of Heaven had someone read the victory report from Nanyang, he smiled with joy: "Haha! Good! Good! Finally, there is some good news!"

"Su Xuan, Qin Jie, and the others did not disappoint me! They finally beheaded that Zhang Zhang Mancheng and recaptured Wancheng!"

"The overall situation in Nanyang is now settled."

Heaven knows how much pressure he had been under recently.

Although the war in Jizhou was going smoothly, more than half of Jizhou had already fallen into the hands of Zhang Jiao.

And the situation in Yanzhou was even worse.

Those two useless people, General Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun, were actually being suppressed and beaten by a mere Bo Cai, retreating steadily, and had already been besieged in Changshe.

They were simply unworthy of being called famous generals.

Now that there was finally some great news, how could the Son of Heaven not be happy?

He immediately waved his hand and said: "Zhang Rang, send someone to convey my decree: Cavalry Commandant Su Xuan has performed meritorious service in breaking the city and beheading the rebel leader Zhang Zhang Mancheng; he is promoted to Commandant of Cavalry, commanding 10,000 troops. Order him to stabilize Wancheng, then immediately lead his army north into Yanzhou to assist General Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun in suppressing the Yanzhou rebellion and annihilating the Huang Jin army under Bo Cai!"

"Additionally, order Qin Jie to suppress the remaining Huang Jin troops in Nanyang as quickly as possible;"

"Appoint Zhao Ci as the Jiang Jiang Xiajun Commandant, responsible for clearing out the Jiang Xia Huang Jin rebels and other bandits;"

"Transfer the Jingzhou Inspector Xu Qiu to Luoyang to take up a post; specific arrangements will be discussed later."

"Yes!"

Zhang Rang, who was to the side, immediately bowed and accepted the order.

Lord Yuan Feng and the others heard the Son of Heaven directly announce the appointments and wanted to stop Su Xuan’s promotion, but they could not find a reason.

After all, Su Xuan was indeed the one with the primary merit this time, and he had to be rewarded.

Moreover, looking at the Son of Heaven’s attitude, it was clear he was not prepared to listen to their opinions, so they could only temporarily let it be.

At the same time, Lord Yuan Feng thought angrily: "What exactly is this Qin Jie doing? How did he let that little brat Su Xuan perform such a great service?"

"Crucially, he even reported all these merits; he is simply a complete scoundrel!"

"It seems this person already has other ideas; I must send someone to warn and knock some sense into him;"

"If he doesn't listen, then I can only find a way to replace him."

Nanyang’s location was too important, and at the same time, it was a place the Lord Yuan clan wanted to plot and expand into this time; it absolutely could not be lost.

Two days later,

Su Xuan met Zuo Feng again in Wancheng.

"In the first year of Zhongping, the Son of Heaven Liu Hong decrees: Cavalry Commandant Su Xuan has performed meritorious service in breaking Wancheng, beheading the Huang Jin rebel leader Zhang Zhang Mancheng, and suppressing the Nanyang Huang Jin rebel army; he is promoted to Commandant of Cavalry, commanding 10,000 troops. I hope you will continue to make persistent efforts. After Nanyang is stabilized, immediately lead your troops to Yanzhou to assist the government army in suppressing the Huang Jin army under Bo Cai. Respect this!"

"Hehe! General Su! Accept the decree!"

After Zuo Feng finished reading the imperial decree, he smiled and handed it to Su Xuan.

"Subject Su Xuan accepts the decree and thanks you for the grace!"

Su Xuan hurriedly stood up to receive the decree, and at the same time secretly gave Zuo Feng a wink, before retreating to the side.

Afterward, Zuo Feng continued to read the appointments for Zhao Ci and Xu Qiu, and conveyed the Son of Heaven’s oral decree to Qin Jie.

Qin Jie’s previous position as Administrator of Nanyang was merely a preliminary appointment; only by recapturing Nanyang and suppressing the war there could he sit firmly in the position of Administrator of Nanyang.

Otherwise, even if he didn't die in battle, not only would he be unable to truly take the position of Administrator of Nanyang, but he would likely also be punished.

Therefore, although there were no extra rewards now, Qin Jie had no dissatisfaction.

However, when Zhao Ci heard that he had actually been appointed as Jiang Jiang Xiajun Commandant, his brows furrowed slightly, and he couldn't help but glance at Qin Jie, feeling very resentful in his heart.

He felt that this must be Qin Jie’s doing, deliberately trying to kick him away after using him.

Otherwise, he should have at least been appointed as Nanyang Commandant, not some Jiang Jiang Xiajun Commandant.

Jiang Xia was certainly not bad, but it could not be compared to Nanyang at all.

For a time, Zhao Ci’s hatred for Qin Jie grew even deeper.

But he was also a person good at enduring; he buried this hatred deep in his heart for the time being and did not show it, instead honestly accepting the imperial decree.

"Hehe! Zhao Ci, congratulations! From now on, you are a Commandant! I hope your future is bright!"

Qin Jie did not yet know that Zhao Ci already hated him, and immediately smiled and offered his congratulations.

"Hehe! Many thanks, my lord Administrator!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ci cupped his hands with a forced smile.

He felt that Qin Jie was mocking him!

This left Qin Jie feeling somewhat confused.

He did not understand why Zhao Ci had this attitude.

When did he offend this person?

He hadn't!

He had indeed reported Zhao Ci’s merits; he hadn't deducted anything.

He was also surprised that Zhao Ci was appointed as Jiang Jiang Xiajun Commandant, but he also felt it was reasonable.

If he knew about Zhao Ci’s misunderstanding of him, he would definitely cry out that he was wronged.

He truly had no intention of kicking Zhao Ci away.

Unable to figure it out, Qin Jie did not go to stick his hot face to a cold butt, simply assuming Zhao Ci’s wings had hardened and he was no longer respectful to him.

Next, Qin Jie smiled and cupped his hands to congratulate Su Xuan to the side: "Brother Su! I must congratulate you! A Commandant of Cavalry is a high-ranking official with a rank comparable to 2,000 shi, and His Majesty even gave you the authority to command 10,000 troops, which shows how much he values you;"

"Your future is limitless! When you become successful, don't forget your older brother here."

This Su Xuan was only 17 years old!

And he was already catching up to him.