Sui and Tang Dynasty Generals

Chapter 68 Arriving in Xingyang, the Great Sui Dynasty's Reward
Xingyang City.

Fu Zihou took a carriage and followed Li Jingjie into the city.

At first Fu Zihou thought that like all the others along the way, they would all move into a small house to live in, but he never expected that the carriage would drive all the way to the gate of a mansion.

"Zheng!"

After getting off the carriage, Fu Zihou saw an exquisite plaque hanging on the gate of the mansion.

Watching his uncle Li Jingjie come forward and say something to the servants in the mansion, the servants hurried to report. Fu Zihou did not expect that his uncle Li Jingjie actually knew people from the Zheng family, and it seemed that they had a good relationship. At least in other cities along the way, Li Jingjie did not visit anyone.

Soon.

While Fu Zihou and Liu Lao were waiting, they saw a middle-aged man about the same age as Li Jingjie, wearing a scholar's uniform, hurriedly coming to Li Jingjie inside the gate.

After exchanging greetings with the man, Li Jingjie motioned Fu Zihou to come over.

"Zihou, this is Uncle Zheng! This is nephew Zihou, a descendant of the Fu family..."

Li Jingjie was the first to introduce Fu Zihou, followed by Old Liu. However, compared to Old Liu, the middle-aged man named Zheng Shanjia was a little surprised to hear Fu Zihou's name.

"Fu Zihou? Before this, my nephew was in Wanqiu City. He was the only one who noticed that the thieves had entered the city, and he deduced that the leader of the thieves was Lu Mingyue?"

Zheng Shanjia looked at Fu Zihou and asked.

"It's just my humble opinion, but I just happened to guess it right, it was just a fluke!"

Fu Zihou raised his hand, saluted, and responded softly.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Zheng Shanguo looked at Fu Zihou's humble appearance, nodded repeatedly and said three good words.

Li Jingjie stood aside and saw the appearance of his old friend, with a particularly bright smile on his face. The fact that the person he brought was praised so highly by his friend made Li Jingjie feel proud.

However, as he was laughing, he suddenly remembered that Fu Zihou was not his son-in-law, and Li Jingjie's smile instantly froze.

"please!"

Seeing Zheng Shanjia inviting him into the mansion, Li Jingjie quickly raised his hand to return the greeting, and then took Fu Zihou and Liu Lao into the Zheng mansion.

Compared with the Li Mansion in Xin County, the scenery of Zheng’s Mansion may not be as good, but its area is much larger, like a maze.

In the front yard, side yard, auxiliary yard and small courtyard, Fu Zihou felt that he would not be able to find the gate without someone to lead him.

There is also an attic in Zheng’s mansion that is specifically used to store books.

This is a standard feature of almost every county. The attic is not only used to teach the children of the clan, but also symbolizes the cultural heritage of a family.

In the attic, Fu Zihou finally figured out that in the Zheng family, Zheng Shanjia's role was the same as Li Jingjie's, both were responsible for educating future generations and did not participate in matters such as officialdom.

Soon.

Seems to know that Li Jingjie is coming.

Zheng Shanjia's uncle, Zheng Quan, who was in his sixties, and his cousins Zheng Yuanrui, Zheng Shanguo, Zheng Yuanzhen, Zheng Yuancong, Zheng Yuanxun and other middle-aged men in the Zheng family also came to the attic.

In an instant, the attic became very lively. Fu Zihou saw that there were twelve Zheng family members of the same generation as Li Jingjie, and there were more than twenty Zheng family men of the same generation as Li Lingchuan.

This is because the old lady, women, and children of the Zheng family have not come, otherwise the attic would probably not be able to accommodate everyone.

Not only Fu Zihou and Old Liu were a little confused, even Li Jingjie did not expect that so much time had passed since the New Year, and so many people from the Zheng family were actually in the old house in Xingyang.

After Li Jingjie exchanged greetings with everyone, he was originally preparing to introduce Fu Zihou to everyone, but before Li Jingjie could open his mouth, Zheng Shanjia took the initiative to introduce him to everyone in the Zheng family.

When they learned that the young boy in front of them was Fu Zihou, who guessed that Lu Mingyue was going to attack Wanqiu City that day, not only the young men of the Zheng family, but even the middle-aged men like Zheng Yuanzhen and Zheng Yuancong were surprised.

Then in Zheng Shanjia's introduction.

Fu Zihou also got to know these Zheng family elders one by one, and finally realized how important these Zheng family members in the attic were.

Zheng Quan, who was in his sixties, was the chief clerk of Shu County.

Zheng Yuanzhen, who was in his forties, was the Duke of Shen, the Right General Wuhou, and the prefect of Wencheng County.

Zheng Shanguo, who was in his forties, was the Right Guanglu Doctor.

Zheng Yuanli, who was in his forties, was the Duke of Guichang County. All other middle-aged men in the Zheng family, without exception, held titles or official positions.

What made Fu Zihou sigh even more was that right now, in this mansion alone, there were two old ladies from the Lanling Xiao family, one from the Qinghe Cui family, one from the Yuan family, and one from the Lu family. This did not include the wives of Zheng Yuanzhen and Zheng Shanguo, as well as the daughters of prominent families such as the Wang family and the Li family. Once the Zheng family's connections were exposed, it was truly amazing.

In the attic.

Seeing that Fu Zihou seemed to be shocked by the family background, Zheng Xuanxu, Zheng Xuandu and other younger generations of the Zheng family had pride on their faces. This is why others would be in awe and respect them when they mentioned the Zheng family members outside.

At this moment.

He and one of Zheng's servants came to Zheng Quan and reported that there was a court eunuch outside with an imperial edict, saying that he had returned all the way from Ji County to pursue Fu Zihou.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Quan hurriedly asked his servant to bring the eunuch to the attic.

Watching Zheng's servant leave, everyone in the Zheng family couldn't help but look at Fu Zihou, somewhat puzzled.

"It's like this. Half a month ago, in Qinghe County, the thief Zhang Jincheng led the rebels to attack Qinghe County. Since the troops from Qinghe, Xindu and other places were all mobilized to the north, they were at a loss. It was Zihou who personally led the prisoners from Xin County to defeat the rebel army outside Qinghe County, beheaded the rebel general Xu Jinpeng, and rescued Qinghe!"

Li Jingjie knew everyone's confusion, so he explained with a smile, and guessed that what the eunuch brought must be the reward from the Sui Dynasty court to Fu Zihou because of the Qinghe County incident.

"Was it Zihou who defeated Zhang Jincheng's rebels in the past?"

After hearing Li Jingjie's words, not only Zheng Quan and Zheng Shanjia, but also Zheng Yuanzhen, Zheng Shanguo and others, all looked at Fu Zihou in surprise.

Since all the Zheng family members had served as officials in Hedong and other counties in the past, and since merchants rarely traveled during the Spring Festival, by the time they learned about what happened in Qinghe County, the siege of Qinghe County had already been settled.

The Zheng family only heard that it was the reinforcements from Xin County that finally defeated the rebels led by Zhang Jincheng and saved Qinghe County from danger.

During the Chinese New Year, the Zheng family often talked about this incident.

Unexpectedly, the person leading the reinforcements from Xin County was actually this young boy in front of him.

And I heard from Li Jingjie that the support soldiers from the past were all prisoners?
"Prisoner? Can you tell me what happened in the past?"

Zheng Yuanzhen couldn't wait for Li Jingjie to speak, and couldn't help asking Fu Zihou, he was very curious.

As one of the pillars of the Zheng family, Zheng Yuanzhen led troops when he was young. Over the past few decades, he has gained a lot of experience. Now that he has seen Fu Zihou and learned about his deeds, he is naturally eager to help. "Reply to Duke Shen! Zihou was also lucky in the past..."

In front of all the Zheng family members, Fu Zihou raised his hand and saluted Zheng Yuanzhen, then told them one by one about how he selected the prisoners and set up a false army to lure away Zhang Jincheng's men.

From selecting prisoners with the help of Zhou Hao, the chief clerk of Xin County, to personally leading the troops, marching overnight from Yongji Canal and attacking the rebel army from behind.

"it is good!"

As Fu Zihou gave a detailed account, Zheng Yuanzhen's eyes lit up and he looked at Fu Zihou with excitement.

Even Zheng Shanguo, Zheng Quan, Zheng Shanjia and others were amazed, while the Zheng family members were already confused. Although they had never led troops, they were familiar with military books. It was the first time for them to see such a young boy, even younger than them, who could lead troops and fight so skillfully.

Especially when they heard Fu Zihou's analysis of Qinghe County's terrain and the cold winter morning fog, the Zheng family members all got goosebumps.

Is this what is called the weather in military books?

At this moment.

Led by Zheng's servants, several eunuchs from Luoyang have hurried into the attic.

Li Jingjie looked at the pillars of the Zheng family and looked at Fu Zihou with amazement. When he thought that Fu Zihou was no longer his son-in-law, he almost couldn't breathe and his eyes turned red.

This should be the son-in-law that Li Jingjie is most proud of!

At this moment, Li Jingjie wanted to slap himself. He had read sage books all his life, but why was he unwilling to let his daughter marry into the Fu family just because the Fu family was in decline?

At the moment, no one knows what kind of reward the Sui Dynasty court will give to Fu Zihou.

Thinking of this, Li Jingjie couldn't help but look at the eunuchs. However, just one look made Li Jingjie's pupils shrink and his eyes widen.

Because Li Jingjie suddenly saw that an eunuch was holding a wooden sign covered with a red cloth, but from the shape it revealed, it was obviously a seal.

I thought it was a seal!
Li Jingjie's scalp tingled, his heartbeat suddenly quickened, and he looked at Fu Zihou beside him with rapid breathing.

In the attic.

Not only Li Jingjie, but also the children of Zheng family were all looking at this scene with rapid breathing.

When they heard the eunuch read out the imperial edict in front of everyone, announcing that Fu Zihou would be rewarded with the title of Fenwu Cavalry Captain and stationed in Yingyang Mansion in Taiyuan to lead troops, all the Zheng family members were shocked and looked at each other.

A sixth-rank Fenwu commander and a general of Taiyuan Yingyang Prefecture!
This……

How old is that boy!!!
"Taiyuan!"

Fu Zihou was equally surprised. If he was excited and nervous when he heard that he was awarded the rank of Fenwu Wei, a sixth-rank official, then when he learned that he would be stationed in Yingyang Prefecture in Taiyuan, Fu Zihou began to feel a little worried.

"My dear nephew! Thank you!"

Zheng Yuanzhen and Zheng Shanguo looked at Fu Zihou and thought that he was stunned by the reward, so they reminded him with a smile.

Their official positions were much higher than that of Fenwu Wei, so they were more amazed and impressed by Fu Zihou.

When they were young, they both inherited their deceased father's titles and started their careers. During their training, they received help from their family elders and other elders from prominent counties.

On the other hand, although Fu Zihou was so young, he obtained this official position through his own efforts.

"Fu Zihou! Thank you, Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty!"

Upon hearing this, Fu Zihou kowtowed, held the seal, and accepted the reward.

At this moment, when Fu Zihou thought that three months later, Wei Daoer's general Zhen Zhai'er would lead 100,000 bandits to attack Taiyuan, and the Sui Dynasty general Pan Changwen would be killed in the battle, he could not get excited at the moment, and he did not even feel happy.

Taiyuan was indeed a hot commodity a year later, and those heroes who rose up in Taiyuan in later generations were all trusted officials who held important positions in the Tang Dynasty.

Compared with those famous ministers and generals who surrendered to the Tang Dynasty later, the heroes who started the uprising in Taiyuan had much more seniority and their words carried more weight.

It can be said that going to Taiyuan has always been Fu Zihou's goal.

But... it's not this time!

At that time, Taiyuan was a place where one could hardly survive without a life-threatening situation.

Unfortunately, Fu Zihou also understood that the imperial edict had already been written down. If he, who was enthroned as the Fenwu Wei, asked Cui for help to leave Taiyuan, he would probably not have the chance to go to Taiyuan again in the future.

However, since I cannot stay in Taiyuan and do not have a family background of high rank, even if I defect to the Tang Dynasty later, I will no longer have much say.

No matter how talented one is, he cannot compare to those ministers who come from famous counties. The counties behind those ministers are intermarried with each other, which fully represents the stability of all parts of the world.

Without great achievements, in many matters, those ministers who come from prominent counties will not only respect and obey you, but will also try to drive you out of the position and replace you.

A tree that stands out in the forest, a tree that is superior to others, but if it does not have enough weight, no matter how talented it is, it cannot escape the sword over its head.

"Congratulations, nephew!"

"Congratulations, nephew!"

After Zheng Yuanzhen and others returned the greetings from the eunuchs, they looked at Fu Zihou who had stood up and congratulated him.

The Zheng family members all looked at Fu Zihou with envy. The sense of superiority they had just felt due to their family background was now hard to see on their faces.

Fu Zihou tried hard to put a smile on his face and kept bowing, but he was smiling bitterly in his heart.

aside.

Li Jingjie was stunned at this moment.

Fenwu Wei!
This is different from the hereditary titles of Yunqiwei, Xiaoqiwei and Yuqiwei. It can only be awarded to those who have made great contributions to the court. It can be said that it is a kind of honor among the captains of the entire Sui Dynasty.

The sixth rank is the same level as his fourth brother Shaozhi. Shaozhi served as Gongcao in Wuyang County and was also a sixth rank official.

Looking at Fu Zihou beside him, and seeing the governor bowing and returning the greetings to these important figures of the Zheng family, Li Jingjie felt dizzy and dazed.

Li Jingjie couldn't imagine what would happen if his mother found out about this.

Li Jingjie didn't even know what would happen if his wife Zhou knew about this.

And my daughter!

(End of this chapter)