Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 105 The Yang Family's Trap (3)

Song Yan didn't quite understand the elaborate imperial edict, but he at least caught a few sentences.

Male from Anning County.

From now on, this is Lord Song?
Ningguo has a tradition of not granting titles without military merit. Since the founding emperor of Ningguo, the number of titles conferred by imperial decree has been decreasing. During the reigns of Emperor Yuanjing and Emperor Ninghe, Song Yan was the only one to receive such a title.

The surrounding crowd had various expressions, some envious, some admiring, and some jealous. That was a title, after all! Even the lowest-ranking baron was considered to have entered the ranks of the nobility. Even if one did nothing from then on, as long as one didn't indulge in debauchery, a baron's salary would be more than enough for a lifetime.

In particular, Song Yan was a son-in-law who married into the family.

In the more than one hundred years since the founding of Ningguo, only this one person has been granted a title as a son-in-law.

Even in the entire history, they are few and far between.

As for Linghu Rui and his fellow scholars, they were so envious and jealous that they were practically spitting out bitter saliva. How could this be? So what if they burned a few thousand Japanese pirates to death? What's so great about that? They were granted titles?
When did the titles of nobility in Ningguo become so worthless?
Especially when she thought of her previous evaluation of Song Yan—a son-in-law, utterly despicable—who could have imagined that he would reach a height she could never attain in her entire life? Her face burned with embarrassment, as if she had been slapped hard, and she felt so frustrated she was about to vomit blood.

Emperor Ninghe was truly incompetent and foolish. Instead of valuing these scholars, he insisted on giving important positions to a son-in-law who had married into the family.

They are the pillars of the nation, the hope of Daning.

A foolish ruler.

A foolish ruler.

Of course, such curses could only be muttered in one's heart; one would never dare to say them aloud.

Although Ningguo did not punish people for their words, it was still not allowed to slander the emperor in public, and even if someone was beaten to death, they deserved it.

The most important thing now is to slip away quietly. They had just humiliated the Princess and insulted Song Yan. If they wanted to settle scores later, it would be troublesome. Thinking this, the group exchanged glances. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention to them, they quietly retreated and disappeared silently into the crowd.

However, the scholars did not notice that several other people in the crowd had also disappeared.

For many time travelers who have traveled to ancient times, being promoted to high office, having wives and children granted titles, and rebelling to become emperor are probably the inevitable paths. Could this be considered as him taking the most important step?
However, compared to his identity as a baron, the strange expressions on the faces of Luo Yuheng, Luo Tianyi, Gu Banxia, ​​and even Yang Siyao and Kong Chan made him more curious.

"What kind of place is Xinhou County?" That's where the question comes from.

"That is the northernmost county town in Ningguo, under the jurisdiction of Pingyang Prefecture."

Song Yan exclaimed "Ah!" and immediately understood.

To put it bluntly, it meant facing the Jurchens and even the northern Xiongnu. Such border towns were extremely dangerous, facing countless wars throughout the year. Especially Xinhou County, which had just been plundered by the Jurchens, with Magistrate Yin Feng abandoning the city and fleeing. Now, the county town was probably just a pile of ruins.

Of course, Song Yan was not too disappointed, after all, the two types of people he hated most in his life were Japanese pirates and Jurchens, neither of whom were good people.

The Jurchens can actually be traced back to the Sushen people of the pre-Qin period. They lived in the harsh, cold lands of the far north, subsisting on fishing and hunting, and were skilled archers. Over time, the Sushen evolved and acquired different names, such as Yilou, Wuji, and Mohe, all of which were ancestors of the Jurchens.

During the Song and Liao dynasties, the Jurchen people were ruled by the Khitans. Later, the Wanyan clan rose to power, unified the various Jurchen tribes, and formed a powerful force. During the reign of Wanyan Aguda, the first Jurchen state was established: the Jin Dynasty!
After the Later Jin dynasty was destroyed by the Yuan dynasty, they resumed their fishing and hunting lifestyle.

During the late Ming Dynasty, the Jianzhou Jurchens took advantage of the internal turmoil at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and Li Zicheng broke through the capital and entered the Central Plains, thus establishing the Qing Dynasty!
The contents of various ancient books about the Jurchen flashed through my mind. I didn’t expect that the name Jurchen existed so early in this time and space, and that the Jurchen seemed to be more powerful than the Jurchen of this time period.

Of course, regardless of the time or place, the nature of the powerful Jurchens in the Central Plains—cultivating agriculture and hunting, and the weak Jurchens—to invade and plunder the borders, ultimately remained largely unchanged.

Having already shown some kindness to the Japanese pirates, they wouldn't mind sending some to the Jurchens as well.

Compared to Song Yan's calmness, and even a hint of anticipation, Luo Yuheng's reaction was completely different. Her originally gentle face was now covered in frost. Because she was so beautiful, even when she turned cold, she was still an ice queen.

"Wei Liang, what's going on?"

"Why send my Yan'er to such a place? What exactly does my brother want to do? If you don't give me a reasonable explanation today, take these two imperial edicts back and say that I, Luo Yuheng, have disobeyed the imperial decree."

The cold voice carried no warmth whatsoever.

Luo Yuheng was truly angry.

Those Jurchens, though perhaps not as powerful as the northern Xiongnu, were far more ferocious than the Japanese pirates. Furthermore, they were skilled in mounted archery; even if Song Yan possessed some ability, how could he possibly withstand the Jurchen cavalry? Wasn't this sending Song Yan to his death?
Wei Liang was drenched in cold sweat. "My dear lady," he thought, "only you could utter such words as 'disobeying imperial orders.'"

He looked around at the people with some difficulty, and Luo Yuheng waved his hand. After everyone was alone, Wei Liang also dismissed the two eunuchs beside him before cautiously saying, "Actually, His Majesty initially wanted the Prince Consort to be a county magistrate in Ningping County..."

He is now a prince consort.

Through Wei Liang's words, the chaos that had once plagued the court was gradually revealed to everyone.

Emperor Ninghe had a shrewd plan. He wanted to seize this opportunity to not only restore Princess Luo Yuheng's status and grant her some military power, but also to bring Luo Tianshu, Luo Tianquan, and Song Yan into official positions. Even if they started from the bottom, they would have a chance for promotion later.

However, Song Yan's appointment was met with fierce opposition from officials of the Yang family faction.

Ultimately, through a compromise between the two sides, Emperor Ninghe granted Song Yan an additional title and promoted him from county lieutenant to county magistrate, but he was transferred from Ningping to the new empress's residence.

Song Yan chuckled.

Is this the Yang family's backup plan?

Song Yan could almost foresee that his journey to Xinhou would not be smooth sailing, and he might encounter bandits on the way.

Even if they were to actually arrive in Xinhou, with the power of the Yang family, it wouldn't be difficult for them to make contact with the Jurchens. He could guess the Yang family's methods. Even though the Jurchens had already plundered Xinhou, as long as the Yang family promised the Jurchen tribes a certain amount of wealth and food, the Jurchen cavalry would appear at the gates of Xinhou in an instant.

At that point, Song Yan would only have two possible outcomes.

First, they perished tragically under the hooves of the Jurchen cavalry.

Second, if the army is defeated, then execute him on the grounds of poor performance in battle.

No matter what, they can't escape death.

Being able to eliminate an enemy with a small amount of money and supplies is certainly a good deal.

That's the Yang family, the most powerful clan in the entire Ning Kingdom, a force capable of shaking the imperial power. They actually used so many methods to deal with me. Shouldn't I feel honored?
Thinking this, Song Yan couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"You can still laugh." Luo Yuheng lightly patted Song Yan's head in annoyance and scolded her, "What time is it? Can't you see that your mother is almost worried to death?"

Song Yan touched his head; his fingers felt soft and didn't hurt.

“Mother, the imperial decree has already been issued. If I don’t accept it, it will be considered disobeying the decree. Do you think those old foxes in the Yang family will let this opportunity pass?” he said with a smile.

"So what? At worst, my daughter and I will lead five thousand soldiers and fight our way through, targeting the Yang family. Even if we can't wipe them out, we can at least tear a piece of flesh off them," Luo Yuheng snorted.

Wei Liang's forehead was covered in even more cold sweat.

Based on his understanding of the eldest princess, he might actually do such a thing.

As for Yang Siyao, she had a strange look on her face. Although she didn't feel a sense of belonging to the Yang family, she was still a little strange. Could she be the first one, after all, her surname was Yang?

“There’s no need for that.” Song Yan pursed his lips. “Although it’s somewhat dangerous, it might also be an opportunity, and…”

Then Song Yan turned his gaze to Wei Liang: "Moreover, I think His Majesty must have other plans, at least he wouldn't let me go to the new Empress alone, would he?"

Wei Liang smiled, his old face wrinkled like a chrysanthemum about to wither: "Your Highness is indeed wise."

As he spoke, Wei Liang pulled an imperial edict from his sleeve.

Song Yan couldn't help but wonder just how many imperial edicts this old fellow was hiding on his person.

"Now I don't have to kneel anymore, consider this a secret decree."

"His Majesty said that if the Prince Consort is unwilling to go to the new Empress, he should find a way to delay for a while, such as by falling ill, and then participate in the imperial examination next year. If he achieves good results, he will find a way to keep you here."

"If Your Excellency is willing to go to the new Empress, then this imperial edict conferring the title of General of the Vanguard will be handed to you."

"His Majesty can appoint very few military officers directly. This guerrilla general can recruit three thousand soldiers. The official position of the county magistrate can be decided at will without the need for the Ministry of War's review. However, he must also provide his own food and pay."

"Another reward of ten thousand taels of gold will be given as a commendation!"

Song Yan's eyes suddenly lit up.

what is this?
Three thousand private soldiers?

Don't underestimate this number. Although it's only three thousand, Song Yan is confident that he can turn these three thousand men into an army that even thirty thousand men cannot defeat.

What's more, there's Wan Jin. He's been in this world for so long, and he's never seen what gold looks like.

Ten thousand taels of gold should be enough to support three thousand soldiers.

(End of this chapter)