The emperor would rather have a

Chapter 29 Fourth Rank Official
The weather in summer is changeable and heavy rain can come at any time.

The rain was intermittent, sometimes heavy and sometimes light, and it lasted for three or four days with no signs of stopping.

On the fifth day of June, the emperor's edict arrived in Xinzhou City, and the army stopped attacking Jinyang and prepared to return to the capital.

Chai Rong ordered the troops stationed in Xinzhou to go to Jinyang City to join him.

The next day.

Prince Wei Fu Yanqing then ordered the troops in the city to assemble and leave Xinzhou City in batches and rush to Jinyang.

"We held Xinzhou for more than half a month, lost thousands of infantry and cavalry, and ultimately returned empty-handed."

The rain curtain hanging over the city gate was blown into slanting arcs by the wind, and the water droplets splashed onto the wall and scattered in a misty manner.

Li Yi listened to Wang Shenqi's muttering beside him. He didn't say anything, but deep down he had the same feeling as him.

The army set out from Tokyo in early March, and it has been almost three months since then.

Recall the several major battles that the Later Zhou army experienced during this period.

The Battle of Gaoping was fought to stop the invasion of Northern Han, and the result of winning was nothing more than driving the enemy out of the territory.

The Battle of Xinkou was also fought to prevent the Liao army from rescuing Jinyang, but a huge price was paid only to delay the Liao army's southward advance.

The reinforcements from the Liao Kingdom are still stationed north of Xinkou, waiting for the opportunity.

As for the battle to attack Jinyang City... you can imagine how many casualties there would be in such a large-scale and powerful attack.

In the end, you pay far more than you get, it's simply a loss-making deal.

As for the territories of the Northern Han that were previously captured, it would obviously be returned to the Northern Han after the Later Zhou army withdrew.

Those Northern Han defenders who opened the gates to surrender turned around and changed their flags again.

The Northern Han ruler Liu Chong could not do anything to them and would still let them return to their original posts.

This is how it is these days. Today I surrender to you, tomorrow I surrender to him. If everyone wants to survive, they can't care about moral integrity.

Think of this.

Li Yi turned his head to look at a skinny figure standing in the drizzle, with a wisp of his iconic goatee fluttering in the wind.

Li Xing was looking at the orderly evacuation of the Later Zhou army with a complicated expression.

He was originally the military supervisor of Xinzhou. He killed the governor and the Khitan general who was assisting in the defense, and surrendered the entire city to Prince Wei Fu Yanqing.

Chai Rong directly appointed him as the governor of Xinzhou.

If the Later Zhou army could really destroy the Northern Han in one fell swoop, the deal he made would actually be worth it.

Unfortunately, things did not turn out as he expected.

Compared with those who surrendered in other states and cities, Li Xing not only killed his own governor, but also killed the Khitan troops.

I think neither the Northern Han ruler nor the Liao Kingdom will let him go.

When Fu Yanqing was arranging the evacuation, he also persuaded Li Xing to follow the imperial guards back to Kaifeng.

But after some hesitation, the other party politely declined.

Li Yi could understand Li Xing's decision. After all, his whole family was in Jinyang. If he just ran away, there was no need to describe the situation of his family.

Perhaps he was prepared to die, hoping to sacrifice his own life to keep his family alive.

But he didn't think about it. Even if Liu Chong, the ruler of Northern Han, agreed, would the Liao Kingdom be willing to let it go?

But this is Li Qing's own choice, and no one else can interfere...

"It's time for us to go."

Li Yi greeted Wang Shenqi, then rode his horse through the city gate.

Looking around, on the road outside the city, the troops of the Later Zhou Dynasty were connected in a row and marched towards Jinyang in an orderly manner.

In order to prevent the Liao army from taking advantage of the opportunity to harass, King Wei specially sent a team of light cavalry to monitor the movements of the Liao army near Xinkou.

But I think in such bad weather, the Liao army would be too lazy to invade.

……

Two days later, the troops evacuated from Xinzhou arrived in Jinyang.

The siege of Jinyang City had ceased, and the days of heavy rain had further dampened already low morale. Outside the city, a large number of simple fortifications were being built, and behind them were clusters of tents, which looked like giant grave mounds from afar.

The raindrops fell, forming small puddles on the ground.

If you step on it carelessly, you will be splashed with mud.

If it were deeper, it could even submerge your ankles.

Except for a small number of soldiers on patrol and guard, most of the soldiers were huddled in tents, enduring the biting cold and dampness.

The long period of rain not only dispelled the summer heat, but also lowered the temperature to a level that made people shiver.

Prince Wei Fu Yanqing led his generals straight to the central military camp to see the emperor.

When he met Chai Rong, Li Yi found that his face looked not very good. It seemed that the siege of Jinyang City was not going well, which made him in a bad mood.

"Prince Wei is still strong and powerful, and his prestige remains as high as it was in the past. I am deeply pleased!"

Even though he was not in a good mood, Chai Rong still smiled and praised Fu Yanqing after seeing him.

At the same time, he also rewarded Fu Yanqing with a large amount of money and treasures.

Afterwards, Chai Rong told Fu Yanqing another piece of good news: "I intend to enthrone Lady Weiguo as empress. I have already sent someone to convey the imperial edict back to Kaifeng. The ceremony will be held after the army returns to the capital."

"This, this... Your Majesty's kindness to the Fu family, this old minister is deeply grateful!"

Fu Yanqing was very excited, but it was no wonder, as he had already been crowned king and his daughter was about to become queen.

The Fu family's status in the Great Zhou Dynasty was extremely respected in the future.

To put it bluntly, this treatment is already the highest level. If you are still not satisfied, do you want to go a step further?
Listening to Fu Yanqing's words, Li Yi secretly complained: "You talk nicely, but when Zhao Da usurped the throne, I didn't see you showing any loyalty to the Guo family..."

"Envoy Li, you have performed great service again this time. I don't know what to reward you with."

Just when Li Yi was still distracted, he unexpectedly saw Chai Rong looking at him.

Logically speaking, there were also generals such as Xiang Xun and Shi Yanchao present, and their status was much higher than his.

After the emperor finished talking to Prince Wei, shouldn't he greet them first? Why did he speak to himself first?

Li Yi didn't have time to think about it and said quickly, "This is my humble servant's job, I dare not ask for any reward!"

"You deserve a reward for your merit." Chai Rong nodded in approval.

"I'll see if there are any other vacancies for the position of Governor. I'll grant you the position for now. I'll discuss other rewards when I get back."

Chai Rong then looked at Shi Yanchao and the others, "The same goes for you all. We'll make separate arrangements for your rewards when you return."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. We will not refuse even if death is the cost!"

Everyone hurriedly bowed in thanks.

Only after leaving the central military camp did Li Yi come to his senses.

I got promoted again?
The position of Inspector was higher than the Deputy Envoy of the Tuanlian Army he was previously appointed to. The lowest Inspector of a lower state was also a fourth-rank official.

Although the imperial guards generals could only command remotely, they had no actual jurisdiction.

But his status is at least equivalent to that of the top leader of a prefecture-level city in later generations.

Oh my goodness...the twenty-year-old head of a prefecture-level city?

If this happened in the future, there would definitely be an explosion of public opinion!

As for the other rewards the emperor mentioned... Li Yi didn't have high expectations.

It's nothing more than some material possessions.

Of course, Li Yi would not think that he had too much money, but compared to the improvement of his status, money and treasures were indeed not that important.

Hey!

From now on, I can also say that I am a fourth-rank official!
Li Yi suppressed his excitement and rushed to the Inner Palace Guard's residence to share this good news with Ma Renyu.

Immediately, he was met with envy from the other party.

This guy was only granted the title of Inner Palace Guard Du Yu Hou and did not receive any additional titles.

(End of this chapter)