Chapter 400 Decent
Luoyang, August.

Li Yuanhui had just returned to Luoyang when the imperial edict from Chang'an arrived.

Li Yuan approved all of Li Yuanhui's requests.

Li Yaoshi was the governor of Qingzhou and his title was Marquis of Linzi. Another great hero in this battle, Chang Yanheng, did not get a promotion because the twelve generals above him were all assigned to different positions. So Li Yuanhui asked for a title for him, Duke of Kuaiji County. He was the first general of the Jianghuai line to be awarded the title of Duke of County.

Apart from the two princes of the royal family, Li Xuandao and Li Xiaojie, Chang Yanheng had the highest title after Li Yuanhui.

He was also given the title of Yinqing Guanglu Dafu, with a fief of 2,000 households.

Wang Bi was given the same title as Chang Yanheng, Duke of Huaiyuan County, with a fief of 1,200 households.

In addition, generals such as Murong Sanzang, Huang Junhan, Liu Yuanqing, Chen Zhen, He Gui, Chen Qiong, and Jia Xiong were all given the title of county duke, and their fiefs were all 800 households.

Li Qinglian and Dugu Ying were also promoted to Taizhong Daifu for their contributions in making plans, and Li Qinglian was also granted the title of Heyuan County Master because of this title.

Although Dugu Ying was not granted a title, Li Yuanhui appointed him as the Chief Clerk of the Qi Wang Palace and the Left Prime Minister of the Shandong Xingtai. The trust and respect he showed was very obvious.

During the following period of time, Li Yuanhui did nothing else, and three more wives were added to the Prince of Qi's Mansion.

Pei Yu, the daughter of Pei Minzhi, the governor of Xuzhou, and Cao Feng, a member of the former Wei clan and granddaughter of the last emperor of Wei. And Zhang Chuchen, the fourteenth daughter of the Zhang family.

It was not strange for a woman from the Wenxi Pei family to enter the Qi Wang Mansion, after all, they were from a famous family. As for the Guangling Zhang family, they were the most influential relatives in the Qi Wang Mansion, and they had contributed a lot to the many achievements of the Qi Wang. In addition to Concubine Zhang, bringing in another wife could also be considered to consolidate the bond between the two parties.

But many people are very puzzled. Didn't the last emperor of Wei die without an heir? Where did the granddaughter come from?
But the King of Qi said that she was a member of the former Wei royal family and the granddaughter of the Emperor of Wei, so she was a member of the former Wei royal family and the granddaughter of the Emperor of Wei.

This move is also seen as a psychological attack on Jiangdong and Eastern Wei. As for the effect?
It could be very good.

Because at this moment in Jianye of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, the Emperor Cao Yuanjing of the Eastern Wei Dynasty was already on his deathbed.

Cao Yuanjing was also considered a great hero. He started out as a private salt dealer, and later he led an army to rebel against the Yan Dynasty. He traveled all over Jiangdong without encountering any rivals. As a descendant of the Cao Wei royal family, he became a beacon of the anti-Yan movement, and he established the Eastern Wei Dynasty and ascended the throne as emperor.

But after traveling across the Yangtze River and taking over Jiangdong, they suffered a lot when facing Li Yuanhui's Jianghuai Army.

In the past ten years, there were five northern expeditions, but all failed, and the army suffered heavy casualties. They even failed to defeat the Jianghuai Army in naval battles.

The last northern expedition to Ruxu was a disastrous defeat. Zhang Hongping, his first meritorious minister in assisting him in establishing the Eastern Wei Dynasty and whom he compared to Zhuge Liang, also died of illness.

In fact, his health had been poor since the fifth battle of Ruxu. Facing the increasingly powerful Tang Dynasty, he felt powerless.

Considering the psychological pressure of defeat, he was considered to be open-minded enough to have managed to hold on until now.

Cao Yuanjing lay on the couch, looked at the ministers in the hall, and let out a long sigh.

"I thought I would be one step ahead of Zhang Sikong, but I didn't expect that Zhang Sikong would be one step ahead of me. It must be that God doesn't want me to achieve success. Otherwise, how could he take away my Mr. Zhang so quickly?"

The people lying on the ground below were all sobbing, and Cao Yuanjing turned his head with some difficulty, "Crown Prince and King Wu, come forward."

Before Cao Yuanjing became emperor, he had only three sons. He was busy during the years as emperor and gave birth to seven or eight princes. However, only Crown Prince Cao Yan and Prince of Wu Cao were the sons who followed him to conquer the world, so the relationship was different.

"The Tang Dynasty occupies the Central Plains and is the center of the world. The father and son of the Li family are both heroes of the time. We must not underestimate the enemy. If it is possible, you two brothers should work together to fight in the north and recover the world of our Great Wei. If it is not possible, you should find your own way. Just one thing, don't bring shame to the Three Ancestors and the One Clan. How fierce was the fall of the Han Dynasty. How sad was the fall of our Great Wei?"

The three ancestors and one clan of Cao Wei refer to Emperor Taizu Wu Cao Cao, Emperor Wen Cao Pi, Emperor Ming Cao Rui, and Emperor Taizong Xuan Cao Mao, who seized power back from the aristocratic families.

Cao Yuanjing was indeed at the end of his life, and he sighed a lot in his words. He knew that since he had not completed the Northern Expedition, his children and grandchildren would naturally have no chance of succeeding in the Northern Expedition.

The Tang Dynasty in the north had already occupied the entire Central Plains and Guanzhong. The only country in the world that could compete with the Tang Dynasty was Northern Yan in Hebei.

Although Jiangdong was rich, no one had ever unified the country from south to north since ancient times. It was naturally difficult for the Eastern Wei to have such an opportunity.

So he no longer required his sons to complete the Northern Expedition, but told them to do whatever they wanted, but hoped that the end of the Eastern Wei regime would be more dignified. Cao Yan and Cao Ze cried and said repeatedly, "I will follow my father's teachings."

Afterwards, Cao Yuanjing spoke a few words to his brother, the King of Chu, and his old brothers, General Miao, the Front General, the Rear General and others.

Finally, he looked at Crown Prince Cao Yan again, and said, "It's good to do it," and passed away suddenly.

When the emperor passed away, there was wailing in the palace and the whole Jianye was filled with sorrow.

The people of Jianye were still very satisfied with Emperor Cao Yuanjing. After all, compared with the heavy taxation during the reign of Emperor Zhaowu of Former Yan, although Cao Yuanjing had been fighting wars for years, he generally cared about the people's strength.

Moreover, Jiangdong had well-developed water transportation, which meant that during the Northern Expedition, food was transported by water, so consumption was relatively low and the people could still afford it.

Cao Yuanjing also came from a humble background and was relatively popular, otherwise he would not have been able to become emperor.

So after Cao Yuanjing passed away, the people of Jianye City also cried for the emperor.

Crown Prince Cao Yan succeeded to the throne and became the second emperor of Eastern Wei.

After handling the funeral of the late emperor, Cao Yan also held a formal ceremony to ascend the throne. He appointed Princess Miao as the empress, his eldest son Cao Xing as the crown prince, his brother Wu Wang Cao Chi as the king of Zhao, the general of the army, and the commander of all military forces at home and abroad. His third brother Cao Bing was made the king of Yue and the general of the army.

The other brothers were still very young and had not yet been crowned kings.

My father-in-law, Miao Xianyun, the general who assisted the country, was promoted to Taibao, Duke of Qi, and commander-in-chief of all military forces at home and abroad.

His uncle, Cao Cheng, King of Chu, was promoted to the position of Grand Commandant and commander-in-chief of all military forces at home and abroad.

A number of ministers, such as the front general Li Xiong, the rear general Liu Changyan, the left general Lu Gongren, and the right general Zhu Jun, were also promoted to higher positions.

Afterwards, Cao Yan announced that a new army would be formed based on the guards of the Eastern Palace and the central army that the emperor had previously led.

This incident naturally caused some fluctuations, but because it had not yet affected the power and army in the hands of the old ministers, the new emperor simply took out the old emperor and his own troops to form a new army, which was understandable.

Therefore, no one was in a position to say anything, and they all planned to wait and see before responding.

After the court session, Cao Yan and his brother Cao Chi walked in the palace and sighed, "No wonder Aye's previous northern expeditions all ended in failure. Just looking at these people in the court, it's difficult."

Although he had some understanding of the situation in the court before becoming the crown prince, when he actually sat on the throne of emperor, what he saw was somewhat different.

"Brother, are you planning to form a new army based on the Central Army and the Eastern Palace Guards to be used for the Northern Expedition?"

Cao Chi asked.

Cao Yan nodded: "You also know the crux of our Great Wei. When Aye conquered Jiangdong, he got the support of the Jiangnan nobles. After becoming the emperor, he naturally had to return the favor. But these Jiangnan nobles are also greedy. How can they be satisfied? And now when it comes to the Northern Expedition, they begin to shirk responsibility with all kinds of excuses. Now even my father-in-law and our second uncle have begun to hang out with the nobles all day long. Aye's health is certainly affected by the defeat in Ruxu, but in the past year or so, he really can't see the hope of the Northern Expedition succeeding."

Cao Chi was somewhat depressed after hearing this, and then he said, "Can you do what Aye can't do, big brother?"

After hearing this, Cao Yan laughed and said, "Who cares if it can succeed or not? Just do it first!"

"Was it difficult for Emperor Wu to fight at Guandu? If he had given up, would there be a Wei Dynasty? We are all descendants of Emperor Wu. Although we don't have his great talent and strategy, we must learn his character."

"In the four hundred years of the Yan Han Dynasty, there was the Restoration of Emperor Guangwu and the final stubbornness of Shu Han. What about our Wei Dynasty? Even if we withdraw, even if we perish, we cannot lose face for our ancestors! After the last emperor of the Former Wei Dynasty crossed the river to the south, he still reveled every night, and when Jianye was finally captured, he was still enjoying himself."

"Even if destiny is not on my side, I, Cao Yan, will die on the road to the Northern Expedition!"

"Second brother, are you willing to help me?"

Cao Chi let out a long breath and said, "Brother, if you have any orders, I will not refuse even if I die."

(End of this chapter)