Are you crazy? Trying to trick him into military service? He's the number one dragon on the fro

"This humble general, Zhang Tuo, greets His Majesty and pays respects to the Prime Minister!"

The messenger entered the hall of state affairs, first paying homage to the two men, then raising both hands to present a battle report:

"Lord Lu has decisively defeated the Northern Hu Gule tribe at White Wolf Mountain, and has specially ordered this humble general to come and report the good news!"

"Haha, great!"

Emperor Dehong laughed heartily, and in his excitement, he personally stepped forward and picked up the battle report. However, after unfolding it, he immediately handed it to Zhou Kang for review.

"Prime Minister, look! Look!"

"Minister Lu truly knows how to bring us quite a few surprises from time to time. From the great defeat of the Black Sand Tribe to now, he has managed to keep coming back. He is truly a tiger general of our Great Zhou... no, he is a lucky general of our Great Zhou!"

While he was speaking, Zhou Kang had already quickly scanned the contents of the battle report, and now he nodded with a smile:

"Your Majesty is right. The Great Zhou is truly blessed to all its people with Lu Xiao!"

"Your Majesty, the battle report indicates that in this battle, the chieftain of the Gule tribe personally led an army of 8,000 to attack. Although the White Wolf camp only had 4,000 soldiers, with the support of the troops from Yuyang County and the eastern and western border defense camps, they were defeated in one fell swoop!"

Zhou Kang couldn't help but exclaim in admiration as he spoke:

"How dare my Great Zhou Dynasty be so radical in the past!"

"If Lu Xiao hadn't had the bad habit of exaggerating his victories, this great victory would have deserved a grand reward!"

As the prime minister of the country, Zhou Kang has always worked hard for the prosperity of the Great Zhou Dynasty, even if he is misunderstood.

Therefore, upon hearing the news of the great victory, he felt extremely happy, and even his physical ailments improved considerably, making him feel better than before he fell ill.

That breath was finally exhaled!

Upon hearing this, Emperor Dehong nodded emphatically, pondered for a moment, and then said:

"How's the General of the Cavalry?"

"Does Your Majesty find this appropriate?"

Zhou Kang's rhetorical question instantly calmed the fiery heart of Emperor Dehong.

Actually, his thinking was very simple.

The Great Zhou Dynasty had four generals, from top to bottom: the Grand General, the General of the Flying Cavalry, the General of the Chariots and Cavalry, and the General of the Guards.

Among them, the General of Chariots and Cavalry and the General of the Guards were mainly related to the defense of the imperial city and were important figures in protecting the capital and heartland of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Emperor Dehong knew that Lu Xiao's talents could not be confined to the capital, so he planned to directly appoint him as a General of the Cavalry and let him continue to lead troops in battle outside!

Zhou Kang shook his head, his eyes revealing undisguised disappointment:

"Now, Lu Xiao is already the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery. Although there are still several ranks of marquis to be granted, if His Majesty directly promotes him to General of the Cavalry, then he will be only one step away from becoming a Grand General."

"What should be done if they perform great service in the future?"

"I was indeed short-sighted just now."

Emperor Dehong easily displayed humility in front of Zhou Kang. At this moment, he earnestly admitted his mistake and, after some deep thought, said:

"In that case, let us appoint Lu Xiao as General Who Conquers the North and Marquis of Champion. What is the Prime Minister's opinion?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Kang looked thoughtful.

Below the Four Generals were the Four Expeditionary Generals, the Four Garrison Generals, the Four Peace Generals, and the Four Pacification Generals. They held equal positions and were the most powerful military officers after the Four Generals.

Logically speaking, Lu Xiao was responsible for guarding the territory at White Wolf Mountain and should have been the General Who Guards the North. However, Emperor Dehong has now appointed him as the General Who Conquers the North, presumably hoping that he can sound the horn for the Great Zhou's northward advance!

As for the remaining four An and four Ping generals, they focused more on pacifying the borders, governing the subordinate tribes, and quelling internal strife.

It's completely unsuitable to bestow the title upon Lu Xiao.

However, because the ranks of the generals of the Four Garrisons and Four Expeditions did not satisfy Emperor Dehong's excitement and his high regard for Lu Xiao, he compensated him by promoting him to the rank of Marquis.

The original Marquis of Zhongyong was actually a Pavilion Marquis, while the higher ranks were more prestigious marquises such as Township Marquis and County Marquis.

The title of Marquis of Champion is the highest-ranking county marquis title!

Above that, the only titles available are those of a Prince of the Second Rank or a Prince of the First Rank.

Looking at Emperor Dehong, whose eyes were gleaming, Zhou Kang pondered for a moment and then smiled, "Your Majesty's ingenuity is truly gratifying to this old minister."

"Although the title of Marquis of Champion is quite heavy for Lu Xiao now and he is somewhat overwhelmed, judging from his performance in recent times, he will eventually obtain this title one day."

"His Majesty appointed him as General Who Conquers the North. Does he intend to wait until he has settled things at the White Wolf Camp before heading south to take over Qian Yu's position?"

"That's right!"

Emperor Dehong felt the encouraging look in the other person's eyes and nodded in response:

"General Qian has suffered too great a defeat and is no longer suitable to lead troops to fight against the State of Chu."

"In addition, with the exchanges over the years, the Chu Kingdom has long since figured out the combat styles of our Zhou generals at all levels."

"Sending anyone would be worse than sending Lu Xiao, whose reputation hasn't even reached the Chu Kingdom yet!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Kang nodded in satisfaction:

"This old minister originally planned to bring up this matter in front of Your Majesty in a couple of days after Lu Xiao arrives in the capital. Since Your Majesty has already made up your mind, this old minister will not waste any more words."

"Prime Minister..."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Dehong immediately stepped forward, extremely nervous, to explain himself:

"It was only because I heard of the great victory that I..."

"Your Majesty need not blame yourself."

Zhou Kang waved his hand, indicating that Emperor Dehong need not be nervous:

"Seeing that Your Majesty has already demonstrated considerable insight into military matters, this old minister can rest assured; at least the burden on my shoulders is lighter..."

Over the next few days, Emperor Dehong would summon Liu Xianya from time to time to inquire about her progress in learning etiquette and to offer assistance with the wedding.

It can be said that he has done his best as Liu Xianya's family member.

Not only was Liu Xianya granted the title of Princess, but a house was also specially prepared for her.

Not to mention dowries and other valuables like gold and silver.

Emperor Dehong truly kept his promise to Liu Xianya that day: Junior Sister only needs to consider what to wear on the wedding day, and he, her senior brother, will take care of everything else!

In addition, Emperor Dehong frequently inquired about the Prime Minister's health, ordering the imperial physicians to be on standby for twelve hours a day, fearing that Zhou Kang might not be able to find anyone to diagnose him if he felt unwell!

That morning, Emperor Dehong had just finished processing several memorials and was about to check on the preparations for his junior sister's wedding attire when he suddenly saw Zhou Kang walk in with a sullen face.

He paused for a moment, then asked:

"Prime Minister, what has happened?"

"I haven't seen the Prime Minister's face look so grim in a long time."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Kang waved his hand, silently sat down in his chair, and after a long while said in a low voice:

"The Northern Hu sent their high priest, Bagulun, as an envoy to our Great Zhou."

"He said that the Hu King intended to send the Northern Hu princess to Lu Xiao for a marriage alliance, and Lu Xiao had already agreed. Now, they have left their Northern Hu princess, Yuezhen, in the White Wolf camp."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Dehong was startled, and after a moment he hurriedly said:

"Lu Xiao isn't that kind of person; there might be some misunderstanding!"