Chapter 229: A Candy and a Stick

The crowd knelt down.

Prince Yong smiled and said: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The Longyan Dynasty is glorious, its might subdues the Four Barbarians, it looks down upon the universe, and ten thousand nations come to pay homage. The Western Regions Protectorate has been left desolate for many years. My heart is always filled with the desire to enlighten the world, and I find it hard to sleep at night..."

"Now, Prefectural Governor Liu, your troops have reached the Western Regions, striking fear into the petty and base, and securing the..."

"The soldiers of Yinzhou, having campaigned for a thousand miles, sleep with their weapons, waiting for dawn..."

A bout of singing praises and extolling virtues—this was the necessary opening act.

And then.

The real meat of the matter finally arrived.

Prince Yong glanced at Liu Dahao: "I promote Liu Dahao to a Third-Class Baron, Marquis Outside the Pass!"

The crowd was in an uproar.

Many were filled with excitement.

He was ennobled as a Marquis!

Finally, he was ennobled as a Marquis!

And it was a proper, legitimate ennoblement!

As for the noble titles of this Longyan Dynasty, they were actually based on the title system of the Cao Wei period. After all, the Xie Family had seized the empire from the hands of the Cao Family.

The Cao Wei title system set titles into nine ranks: King, Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount, Baron, County Marquis, Township Marquis, and Marquis Within the Pass. Outside of these nine ranks, Caocao created the titles of Nominal Marquis, Marquis of Guanzhong, Marquis Outside the Pass, and Five-Rank Grandee as honorary titles to be bestowed. According to the Wei system, imperial sons were titled Kings, the sons of Kings were titled Township Dukes, the sons of heir-Kings were titled Township Marquises, and the sons of Dukes were titled Pavilion Counts...

In short.

It was quite complicated.

But over the thousand-plus years of the Longyan Dynasty's continuation, the Wei system had undergone changes.

King, Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount, and Baron remained the mainstream titles and were the true Nobles. County Marquis, Township Marquis, and Pavilion Count became titles bestowed upon non-royals and those of different surnames who had achieved great merit.

And then...

As the territory of Longyan expanded and the dynasty slowly decayed, the imperial court had no time to attend to the lands of Zhongyuan. Titles below County Marquis—Township Marquis, Pavilion Count, and so on—all became "honorary titles" without fiefs or stipends. County Marquis was slightly better; if there were vacant commanderies or counties, one could take office, but one still had to wait...

Even in a barren place like Liangzhou, one had to wait.

In those more prosperous places in Zhongyuan, many County Marquises would never wait a lifetime to take office in a commandery or county.

Therefore, gradually, titles below County Marquis could all be bought with donations of money.

Instead...

These honorary Marquises, such as Marquis Within the Pass, Marquis Outside the Pass, Marquis of Guanzhong, and so on, became precious. Because these honorary titles were all bestowed upon those with great merit, and upon generals who commanded armies to guard a region.

There is no need to mention the famous Marquises Within the Pass in history.

One was Liubang.

Another was Wei Qing.

Liubang's title of Marquis Within the Pass was bestowed upon him by the Second Emperor of Qin, with the goal of making Liubang fight for him and suppress peasant uprisings.

Wei Qing, naturally, was the same.

Over time, these honorary Marquises became the representatives of the true pinnacle of power.

So.

Someone might ask.

These suffixes are all "Marquis, Marquis, Marquis," so is it actually the Marquis rank among the Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount, and Baron?

Of course not.

This "Marquis" means a feudal lord!

Regardless of whether it is Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount, Baron, or County Marquis or Township Marquis, they all belong to the category of feudal lords. This suffix has nothing to do with the noble rank; one must not get them confused.

Therefore.

Regardless of Liu Dahao's previous titles of County Marquis or Prefectural Governor, they were actually unranked. Only this Marquis Outside the Pass, along with the Third-Class Baron, indicated that he had truly become a feudal lord!

Truly become a Noble!

Truly able to enter the inner sanctum!

Liu Dahao wept with joy: "I thank the Lord for his immense grace, I thank the Lord for his immense grace! Liu Dahao will certainly not fail the Emperor's expectations and will guard the Western Regions for the Emperor!"

Prince Yong smiled and said: "Congratulations, Prefectural Governor Liu!"

The crowd also rose one after another to offer their congratulations.

At this, Jiang Xuan, who was to the side, would not have it: "No, Prince Yong, is that it?"

He was furious: "We are here to rebuild the Western Regions Protectorate, so many soldiers died, and that's it? What about my Young Master? What about Qin Dage? What about me?"

Once these words were spoken.

The others were also filled with righteous indignation.

Although they didn't say it aloud, the atmosphere had clearly changed. An army of 150,000 had launched an expedition to the Western Regions, with so many dead and wounded, and yet, you only reward Liu Dahao alone? Of course, as the Western Regions Commissioner, it was normal for Liu Dahao to be rewarded.

But what about these generals and these soldiers?

Did they not need to have their merits evaluated and be rewarded?

"Jiang Xuan, do not be rude!"

Liu Zheng glared at him.

Prince Yong smiled but said nothing.

Liu Zheng, standing to the side, was also caught between laughter and tears.

What was this?

Giving a piece of candy, and then hitting with a stick?

Was this old Emperor complaining that his appetite was too big?

Liu Zheng suddenly felt that the old Emperor's personality was actually quite cute. This evaluation of merits and rewards felt just like a child throwing a tantrum...

"You, Prefect Liu, are trying to manipulate me?"

"I must also manipulate you right back!"

This was the personality of Xie Tianyao.

Liu Zheng suddenly had a feeling that this old Emperor must absolutely not die so early; otherwise, the world would truly be missing an interesting person.

He smiled and said, "Do not be impatient. Being able to let Father truly enter the Noble Class is already an immense favor from the Emperor; how could we dare to have excessive thoughts? Our Western Regions Protectorate will also reward everyone according to their merits, so rest assured, everyone!"

As soon as these words were spoken.

The hearts of the soldiers finally calmed down.

Who charges into battle if not for merit? If not to get ahead in life?

"Young Master is mighty!"

"Young Master has great magnanimity!"

The crowd roared in agreement, and the atmosphere surged.

Prince Yong watched from the side, sighing slightly in his heart. He also knew that the current Emperor only bestowing honors upon Liu Dahao alone was done for this world-renowned Prefect Liu to see, but was this approach truly appropriate? This was the Western Regions, after all; was he not completely pushing this sharp-edged military morale toward Liu Zheng's side?

Since Prince Yong had personally led the team to deliver these two hundred thousand prisoners and craftsmen, Liu Zheng naturally had to treat him well, with music and song every night.

In fact, Liu Zheng also very much wanted to know the current situation back home.

He had been out for more than two months already...

What would the attitudes of the various factions of the Longyan Dynasty be?

After a few cups of wine, Prince Yong laughed and said, "The Prince of Shu and the Prince of Wei have each commissioned me to bring you twenty thousand craftsmen. Prefect Liu, from now on, we are all one family!"

Liu Zheng smiled and said nothing.

The Noble Class, is it?

It seems this Noble Class still has not given up on trying to win him over.

He naturally could not reveal his stance too early.

Prince Yong paused and said, "It is just that, Prefect Liu—it is not that I, Mandarin, underestimate your ability, but among these two hundred thousand people, a full one hundred and fifty thousand are all prisoners!"

He took a deep breath: "The Yinzhou Army only has one hundred thousand men; to command one hundred and fifty thousand, this..."

He was a little worried.

That Liu Zheng would not be able to suppress these people.

One must know that those who came out of Ningguta were all fierce and wicked characters, cunning and wild individuals. These people had just escaped their cages and arrived in the Western Regions...

How could their hearts submit to a greenhorn like Liu Zheng?

Liu Zheng smiled and asked, "Does Prince Yong have any suggestions?"

Prince Yong took a sip of wine and laughed, "Prefect Liu is asking me? In this situation, isn't it still the old Method? Select talent from among them and promise them high official positions and generous salaries!"

"Kill one to warn a hundred, and use iron-fisted suppression!"

The crowd heard this and nodded one after another.

Since ancient times, it has always been this way.

Liu Zheng, however, smiled and shook his head: "I do not intend to do it that way!"

The crowd looked over in surprise.