Chapter 537: The Duke of Ten Kingdoms

The third year of Zhenguan, spring.

Zhu Deyu led his army back to Luoyang.

Although the war lasted for three years from September of the first year of Zhenguan, it was actually less than two years. During this period, Zhu Deyu, as the Grand Commander of the Southern Expedition appointed by Li Yuanhui, supervised the military affairs of Huainan and Jiangdong counties. It took only 20 days to complete the war of annihilation against the Eastern Wei, and then successively pacified the counties of Jiangdong.

In July of the second year of Zhenguan, Feng Ang, the head of the Feng family, a prominent family in Lingnan that had controlled Lingnan for generations since Dayan, and who was appointed General Zhennan by the Eastern Wei, submitted a petition to return to the Tang Dynasty and sent troops to help the Tang army eliminate the remaining resistance forces and bandits of the Eastern Wei.

Li Yuanhui also took out the Jiangdong governance plan that he had discussed with the emperor when he came to Luoyang. He set up Ningzhou in the Jiangdong counties and established Jianye as the capital.

Li Cheng'an, the Prince of Zhao, was appointed as the governor of Ningzhou, Yin Gong was appointed as the commander-in-chief of Ningzhou's military affairs and Duke of Danyang. Feng Ang was appointed as the Grand Protector of Lingnan and Duke of Cangwu.

Zhu Deyu led the army to stay in Jiangdong for more than a year. After completing major government affairs in the entire Jiangdong, such as registering the people, abolishing slavery, setting up officials, and land investigation, and at the same time clearing out the bandits caused by the war, he submitted a petition requesting to return the army to Luoyang.

After taking Jianye, Li Yuanhui's first military order was to let Zhu Deyu take the opportunity to sort out the issue of Jiangdong's land. The Jiangdong local tyrants had always owned a large amount of land and hidden households. The father and son of the Cao family established their regime with their help, and had to rely on their strength to march north, so they could not take action against the Jiangdong local tyrants.

But as a conqueror, Zhu Deyu led hundreds of thousands of northern troops, and later another 100,000 troops came from Jingzhou. The 200,000 troops of the Tang Dynasty in Jiangdong were the guarantee that the powerful people in Jiangzuo could bow their heads.

It was also because of this that after the initial unstoppable momentum, the resistance in the Three Wu regions never stopped, and the fighting continued until the beginning of the third year of Zhenguan, when the issues of Tuduan and Yinhu were almost resolved.

Li Yuanhui also recruited the Jiangzuo clans such as Gu, Lu, Zhu, Zhang, Shen, and He to serve as officials in Chang'an and Luoyang respectively, which could be considered a slap in the face and a sweet date.

Zhu Deyu led the victorious army back to Luoyang. Li Yuanhui directly raised the emperor's flag and went out of the city to welcome him.

Earlier, Li Chenghui, the Prince of Jin, led his army back to Chang'an and presented captives to the Imperial Ancestral Temple. The reception in Luoyang was naturally not as high-profile as that in Chang'an.

But Li Yuanhui also took out the reward he had asked for from the court.

Zhu Deyu was granted the title of Duke of Wu, with a fief of 2,500 households, and was promoted to Jinzi Guanglu Dafu, and appointed as the General of the Left Wuwei. His wife was granted the title of Second Rank County Lady, and his four sons were given official positions.

Chang Yanheng was granted the title of Duke of Zhenguo, with a fief of 2,000 households, and was promoted to Jinzi Guanglu Dafu, and appointed as the General of the Right Wuwei. His wife was granted the title of Second Rank County Lady, and his two characters were used to represent his position as an official.

Zhang Jian was granted the title of Duke of Xu, with a fief of 2,000 households, and was promoted to Jinzi Guanglu Dafu and appointed as General Zhenbei. His wife was granted the title of Second Rank County Lady, and his two sons were given official positions.

Zhang Zhen'e was granted the title of Duke of Jiang, with a fief of 2,000 households, and was promoted to Jinzi Guanglu Dafu, and appointed as Grand Protector. His wife was granted the title of Second Rank County Lady, and his six sons were given official positions.

In addition, Liu Fuwei was the Duke of Peng, Chen Zhen was the Duke of Yan, Xiao Shizhi was the Duke of Xiang, and Yu Zhongheng was the Duke of Yi.

They all had fiefs of 2,000 households, were awarded the title of Silver and Green Guanglu Dafu, and were appointed as generals.

Li Yaoshi, who were originally dukes, and Lu Qin and others all had their fiefs increased by one thousand households and were granted the title of Pillar of the State. Li Yaoshi was appointed General of the Left Guard, and Lu Qin was appointed Protector-General and Grand Commander of the Navy.

In addition, dozens of people including Li Qinglian, Xu Qiande, Fu Weixue, Hu Kuohai, Xiahou Yuanhong, Guo Xing, Tang He, Deng Youde, Tang Wu, and Wang Bi were granted the title of county duke, and all of them granted titles to their wives and sons.

The number of dukes in Luoyang Bafu directly reached ten. Including Zhang Lin, the grandfather of Zhang Jian of Li Yuanfeng, there was one.

The war to destroy Eastern Wei directly conferred eight dukes. Is that a lot? Not much.

In fact, compared with Guanzhong generals such as Liu Zongxun and Dou Cong who had long been granted the title of Duke and general, Zhu Deyu and others had already been qualified for the title of Duke and general due to their military merits.

But after all, the center of the imperial court was in Guanzhong, not in Luoyang, so its status as a hegemonic government was naturally lower. But after the destruction of Wei, Li Yuanhui reported to everyone and asked for official titles, and there was no resistance or noise.

In Qianyang Palace, Li Yuanhui prepared a grand celebration banquet to entertain all the heroes.

Most of the heroes were drunk before returning home.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang, as the chief contributor, was helped to the car by his nephews and nieces, he sobered up after getting in the car. This made Li Bao and Zhu Wenzhen feel a little magical. How could he sober up suddenly?
Old Zhu said helplessly: "I haven't been home for three years. If I get drunk when I come back, I won't be able to explain to your aunt and uncle."

When they got home, Mrs. Guo had already prepared some sobering tea. Although they hadn't seen each other for a long time, the couple didn't talk much. Instead, their four sons and two daughters came around one by one.

He asked about their schoolwork one by one and talked to them for a while before sending all the children to rest.

The couple sat on the couch and talked.

Old Zhu said proudly: "I have finally achieved success this time. Hehe, how about I earn you a second-rank wife?"

Mrs. Guo smiled at his smug look, and then said, "Then I have to thank you very much." "Hehe, we are a family, why should we be polite? Thank you."

Madam Guo said, "You have made great contributions this time, and you have been awarded the title of Duke and General. You are considered to be in the highest position among officials. But at this time, you should be more cautious. Sometimes, too much fame and prestige is not a good thing. What do you think?"

Old Zhu was sipping his tea, but after hearing what Mrs. Guo said, his expression turned serious.

After a moment of silence, he shook his head and said, "I have known the king for a long time. The king is a man who cherishes the past. Besides, the world is not yet settled. The king and Chang'an have a very subtle relationship. How could he be suspicious of me at this time?"

Madam Guo said, "You are right, but now that you have such a great reputation and are the king's confidant, the emperor in Chang'an will be even more afraid of you. Have you considered this?"

Old Zhu smiled and said, "No matter what, I was promoted by the king. It was the king and Liu Xuanji of the Northern Han who brought me out of the temple. Otherwise, I would still be ringing the bell in the temple. With this great favor, I will definitely protect the king to rule the world. As for Chang'an, what can they do to me?"

On the other side, in Changchun Hall, the thirteen-year-old Li Chengdao was sent to rest after meeting his father.

Li Yuanhui didn't drink much. After all, at normal banquets he just drank as he pleased while others drank. If he didn't want to get drunk by drinking this way, he would definitely not get drunk.

Concubine Zhang Yan had already prepared tea for him to sober up.

Li Yuanhui leaned on the couch, picked up the tea bowl and took a sip. The temperature was just right.

"You haven't seen your brother for a long time, right? Go visit your third brother's house tomorrow."

Zhang Yan heard this and said, "Silang, the Zhang family is a little too famous now. My third brother and seventh brother, including my grandfather, are all dukes. There are three dukes in one family. I have never heard of any family with such glory before."

Li Yuanhui was a little surprised after hearing this. It was the first time that Zhang Yan said such words in more than ten years of marriage to him.

"Are you worried that I'll just turn my back on you?"

Zhang Yan said: "I know you are not such a person, but the Zhang family is originally from a wealthy family. Although they are rich, they are not from a high family. Now that you have suddenly gained a high position, there must be people who are jealous. It's okay now, but we can see in the long run..."

"Okay, what are you worried about when I'm here?"

“I’m worried about Cheng Dao.”

Li Yuanhui finally understood a little. It turned out that he was worried that his son Li Chengdao and the Zhang family would be involved in the fight for the throne?
But I haven’t got that position yet, aren’t you guys worrying a little too early?
Smart people know how to prepare for a rainy day. Li Yuanhui understood that Zhang Yan was worried that her son and the entire Zhang family would fight with the eldest son Chengping, who was supported by the Xianbei nobles.

In fact, there are already signs of this happening now.

However, because the Qi Wang Mansion is still the dominant one, the conflict over the succession is not yet acute. If he were to take the throne, it would be like a storm brewing.

Li Yuanhui still opened his mouth to comfort her: "Sixth Lady, don't worry. I have made arrangements for Chengping and Chengdao."

Although he said this, as long as he thought about the situation of his two sons, Li Yuanhui would especially understand those who wanted to depose the eldest and enthrone the youngest.

In the past, he was skeptical and thought that this was a way to bring disaster. If he were the emperor, he would definitely not do this. But now, he really understands it a little.

Now he just hoped he wouldn't become that person.

The next day, the King of Qi, accompanied by his concubine Zhang Yan, Madam Zhang, and two of Zhang's sons and daughters, went to Zhang's residence in Luoyang.

Most of the Zhang family members had moved to Luoyang. Zhang Jian's grandfather, Duke Rong of Luoyang, Zhang Lin, brought his second son, fourth son, and a group of family members to welcome them.

Zhang also prepared a very sumptuous banquet to welcome the arrival of King Qi and his entourage, and both the guests and the hosts were delighted.

Li Yuanhui treated Zhang Lin with great respect and courtesy, after all, the old man was of higher generation and age. Zhang Lin was not arrogant either, and when talking to Li Yuanhui, he treated himself as a subordinate and did not overstep the line.

After seeing off Li Yuanhui and his party, everyone in the Zhang family dispersed, and Zhang Lin only left his two grandsons, Zhang Jian and Zhang Zhen'e, to talk.

Zhang Jian and Zhang Zhen knew that their grandfather must have something important to tell them, so they stood aside and listened attentively.

Zhang Lin didn't say much to them, but it was enough to wake them up.

"My Zhang family is now considered to be extremely prominent in Luoyang. As the confidants of the King of Qi, as well as relatives by marriage and generals, you must be cautious in your future actions. Don't forget Dou Xian and He Jin of the Later Han Dynasty."

(End of this chapter)