Chapter 1449: The Hub of State Affairs

Yet that towering silhouette alone was enough — he had seen his sovereign father.

Holding his breath, he fixed his gaze and shifted his steps inch by inch across the carpet. When only a few paces remained before the dais, he abruptly bent at the waist, then sank heavily to his knees, pressing his forehead to the carpet as well.

"Your servant greets His Majesty. Long live the Emperor, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"

A man who commanded armies beyond the passes, a true man who had rampaged a thousand li — once he arrived here, he could only bow his head in reverence and docility, daring no further impertinence. Such was the majesty of the sovereign, utterly irresistible.

After he had finished kowtowing, the figure on the dais with his back turned slowly pivoted around, shifting his gaze from the map to Zhao Song.

He was a man past thirty, with a square, resolute face. Though faint lines had begun to appear at the corners of his eyes and on his forehead with age, they did not make him look old; instead, they lent him an added air of steadiness. Despite wearing nothing more than a black cotton military tunic, with no ornaments or adornments of any kind, the suffocating pressure he exuded reached every corner of the great hall in meticulous detail.

"Rise. No need for such rigid ceremony." His voice was low, but to the kneeling Zhao Song, it rang like thunder.

"I thank Your Majesty!" Zhao Song slowly stood, yet still kept his head lowered, not daring to raise his chest and lift his head.

The Emperor said nothing more. He descended the dais step by step, walked over to Zhao Song, and looked him over.

"It's been a year or two since I last saw you. You've filled out quite a bit, haven't you?" After a long moment, he said softly, "Good, good. You look more and more like a weighty minister."

"Your servant has been campaigning in Liaodong all this time, marching and fighting alongside the troops at every moment, so my frame has indeed grown sturdier," Zhao Song replied, his heart swelling with joy at the Emperor's praise. "Thanks to Your Majesty's great fortune, our campaigns have all gone smoothly, and I have suffered no wounds..."

"Your hundred victories in a hundred battles are the result of your own good work — what have I got to do with it? The tides of war shift in an instant, and you are a thousand li away. I have never tied your hands; what could I possibly bring you?" The Emperor rebuked him, seeming somewhat displeased. "With those bold brows and big eyes of yours, when did you learn to flatter me like the others?"

"Your servant spoke from the heart — Your Majesty, see clearly!" Zhao Song's expression stiffened, and he hurriedly bowed to beg forgiveness.

Though Zhao Song knew in his heart that the Emperor was not truly angry, when the Emperor's face hardened and he delivered his rebuke, Zhao Song could not help but panic, apologizing again and again.

The Emperor had no taste for feigned majesty, nor did he, like emperors of old, enjoy calling himself 'Zhen' to put on airs. Yet that authority of his, which seemed innate, was not diminished in the slightest; rather, it had accumulated and grown heavier with the passage of time, until even a battle-hardened veteran like Zhao Song felt he could not bear it.

"Enough. Stop bowing and scraping to beg forgiveness — how can a great general lack all dignity?" Seeing Zhao Song's repeated apologies, which struck him as somewhat comical, the Emperor could not help but smile faintly and wave a hand. "Is this how you speak to the lads under your command every day?"

"Of course I don't speak to the lads under my command like this! They are all my subordinates. I lead them through life and death, and I'd sooner flog them forward with a horsewhip every day than speak to them with a gentle face!" Zhao Song hurriedly defended himself. "It's just... the moment I stand before Your Majesty, I feel Your Majesty's heavenly might. How could I dare be stubborn? Your Majesty's authority shakes heaven and earth — your servant truly finds it hard to bear."

Though these words sounded like flattery, Zhao Song spoke them from the heart. That was indeed how he regarded his sovereign.

"You're getting more and more glib." The Emperor shook his head, noncommittal. "True enough — you look like a weighty minister now."

"Zhao Song knows only to serve His Majesty with all his heart. Whether I am a weighty minister or not, I have never taken it to heart." Zhao Song straightened his back. "So long as I can labor in Your Majesty's service, Zhao Song would be utterly delighted even to hold the reins and saddle the horse!"

"You think you can be my groom just because you want to? You are, after all, a veteran and an elder statesman of the army. If you became my groom, what would outsiders think of me? Who would still conquer the realm for me?" The Emperor still rebuked him with a stern face, then suddenly shifted his tone. "Zhao Song, these past two years in Liaodong, you have been most effective in exterminating the remnant Jurchen brigands. I will not stint on what you deserve as reward... The decree will be issued tomorrow. From tomorrow onward, you shall be the Count of Xingyang of our Great Han."

A surge of wild joy instantly flooded Zhao Song's heart. This time... he had finally become a titled noble of the court... Father, your son has risen in the world. Can you rejoice beneath the Nine Springs as well?

Driven by boundless gratitude and delight, he dropped to his knees again without a second thought.

"Your servant thanks His Majesty!"

Several years ago, after His Majesty had stabilized the realm, he naturally had to reward his meritorious subjects. The Great Han's system of noble ranks followed some of the former Ming's institutions, but also introduced significant innovations of its own. The ranks were divided into five tiers — Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount, and Baron — reviving the Viscount and Baron titles that the Great Ming had abolished.

The naming of these titles followed a set of conventions: Dukedoms were all named after ancient states of the Spring and Autumn period — for example, Zhao Song's superior, Chen Sheng, who commanded the great armies of Liaodong and the lands further north, had been enfeoffed as the Duke of Ji. Marquisates were named after ancient commanderies of the Qin and Han dynasties — for instance, General Li Dajin, who was campaigning in the south, had been enfeoffed by the court as the Marquis of Yingchuan. Counties were named after ancient cities.

Viscountcies and baronies, on the other hand, had no special naming rules; they were conferred with honorifics such as "Valiant and Resolute," "Diligent and Assiduous," or "Loyal and Obedient." Thus, the higher ranks of Duke, Marquis, and Count, in the common parlance of those below, came to be called "enfeoffed lords" — though of course, since the Great Han did not grant its meritorious subjects actual fiefs or territory, calling them "enfeoffed lords" was merely a jest.

Zhao Song, who had long followed His Majesty in conquering the realm, had originally been enfeoffed by His Majesty as the Viscount of Courage and Diligence. This time — today — by His Majesty's golden words and jade speech, he was enfeoffed as the "Count of Xingyang" for his accumulated merits over the years. This signified that His Majesty had promoted him, making him one of the Great Han's most elite. From the time His Majesty first rose in Xuzhou, he had always been clear in his rewards and punishments toward his subordinates, and he had not changed that nature even now. Such magnanimity — how could he not be a true sovereign of men!

Faced with such glory, how could he not feel overwhelming gratitude?

"His Majesty's great grace to your servant is something I could never repay even if my bones were ground to dust. I shall engrave this benevolence upon my heart and devote my dying strength to His Majesty at every moment. Should His Majesty but give the command, even if it means... even if it means walking through fire and boiling water, I would embrace death ten thousand times without refusal!"

"Why speak so fiercely?" The Emperor shook his head again. "You are my cousin. Seeing you so fearless, so loyal, brave, and diligent, bringing honor to our Zhao family — I am truly pleased in my heart. You have done well, so I ought to reward you. What of it, taking a countship? Enough now, stop kneeling. Rise."

To tell the truth, the Emperor did not like his subordinates kneeling and kowtowing to him; he preferred that they salute him with military salutes. But as his power grew, his subordinates found it harder and harder to maintain military salutes toward him. By the time he had stabilized the realm, no matter how illustrious their achievements, weighty ministers and great generals all behaved with utmost deference when they saw the Emperor, kneeling and kowtowing in greeting. He had even spoken with his key ministers several times about the matter of protocol, but at their insistence, he had no choice but to allow these civil and military officials to kneel and kowtow.

Zhao Song was one of these key ministers, and he shared their views entirely.

The Emperor spoke with great warmth and intimacy, and he had always looked after him, remembering the kinship between them. But Zhao Song absolutely dared not take that warmth as genuine. He had admonished himself countless times: the sovereign father was the sovereign father. This grace did not fall from the sky, and it permitted not the slightest presumption. He dared not consider himself an imperial kinsman, and he knew he must repay these favors with a hundredfold loyalty and diligence. It was precisely because he understood these principles that he had lived well — and could live even better in the future.

"I thank His Majesty." Zhao Song kowtowed once more, then rose again.

He knew that His Majesty had summoned him today for a special audience, and it certainly was not merely to inform him that he was to be made a count. So he continued to stand at the Emperor's side, waiting for His Majesty to speak what was on his mind.

"I have said that you have brought honor to our Zhao family and that you are a capable commander with a talent for war..." After a moment of silence, the Emperor finally spoke slowly. "However, I wish to ask you — would you like your reward to rise one more tier?"

Rise one more tier? Wouldn't that mean... becoming a marquis? Zhao Song's heart jolted.

Given his seniority and status, he absolutely dared not imagine becoming a duke. But a true man has ambition in his heart, and as he campaigned north and south, watching his colleagues receive court rewards one after another, he naturally had aspirations of his own.

To follow His Majesty in conquering the realm and finally be enfeoffed as a marquis, achieving complete merit — that was the greatest wish of his life. If it could truly be realized...

"Whatever command Your Majesty gives, your servant would embrace death ten thousand times without refusal!" Zhao Song answered loudly, giving fitting expression to the longing in his heart.

"Very good." Seeing the other man so eager, the Emperor nodded with considerable satisfaction. "I did not misjudge you."

Though he was the exalted Emperor, Zhao Jin knew that he was not omnipotent after all, nor could he conquer and govern this ever-expanding empire all by himself. He needed a group of people to assist him, to govern the state and expand the frontiers on his behalf.

No one would pledge loyalty to him for no reason. To obtain these people's devoted assistance, he had to offer rewards sufficient to drive them. Only then would his system be filled with an upward yearning, and only then would they throw themselves into life-and-death struggles for him, carrying out his every plan.

Since he already possessed all under heaven and within the four seas, there was no need to be stingy in sharing a few things, to gather all the realm's heroes into his own hands.

He turned around, then walked back onto the dais, stopping before the wall where the map hung.

"Come up!"

"This..." Zhao Song hesitated inwardly; he dared not commit such a somewhat presumptuous act.

"I said come up, so come up — what are you dawdling for!" The Emperor raised his tone slightly, brooking no doubt.

"Yes!" Zhao Song responded instinctively, then hesitantly and falteringly walked up, bowing as he stood beside the Emperor.

The Emperor was still gazing at the map on the wall, saying not a word.

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