At the beginning, his wife came to him, and he became rich by selling kidney treasures.

After learning about Xu Hu's situation, Ren Hao asked, "Brother Wu, how are my three followers doing in Guanzhong?"

"If we talk about relationships, your three retainers are very good friends with me and Xu Hu. They often invite Xu Hu and me to drink."

"In other aspects, your three retainers are doing very well." Xu Qing sighed when he said this.

He said that the reason why Chen Fei, Zhang Kuai, and Wu Chu were not doing well was that they were ostracized by some veteran generals in the army.

There are three reasons why this is so ostracized.

Firstly, they led a mixed new army and were therefore called "sweeping generals" by the veteran generals. Although they were determined to die on the battlefield and had petitioned many times to go out and kill the enemy, they were rejected each time and could only do some post-mortem work such as cleaning up the battlefield.

Second, they were not generals from Huaixi.

Thirdly, it is still a question of identity. The ancestors of Chen Fei and Zhang Kuai were the remnants of generals from the previous dynasty. Although Wu Chu's ancestors were clean and were craftsmen, he was captured by the Northern Wei Dynasty. Although he finally escaped and returned to the Central Plains, he was still criticized.

Zhang Kuai, in particular, was the most marginalized of the three.

Zhang Kuai was straightforward and had a bad temper. He often clashed with veteran generals and even fought with them, and was punished every time.

From the initial thirty beatings with the stick, to the position of Left Cavalry Captain, he was demoted again and again.

"A few days ago, he secretly drank alcohol and got into trouble again. Brother Zhang Kuai has now been demoted to a gatekeeper." Xu Qing sighed.

He actually admired Chen Fei, Zhang Kuai and Wu Chu, and even wanted to help them, but his father was more partial to the Huaixi generals, and he really had little influence and was unable to do anything.

But he could also understand his father. After all, those Huaixi generals were brothers who had been through thick and thin with him. When there were good things that could gain military merit, he would think of them first.

Ren Hao could only sigh bitterly at the experiences of Chen Fei, Zhang Kuai and Wu Chu. He could not help the three of them in the court, after all, he was a civil servant in the Ministry of Revenue.

We can only rely on Xu Qing to take good care of me when he returns to the army.

"Brother Ren, don't worry. I will take good care of you without you having to tell me."

"If I hadn't been the one who often interfered, I'm afraid that Brother Zhang Kuai would have been punished by military law many times." Xu Qing said.

"Thank you for your concern, brother." Ren Hao clasped his fists. Among the three of them, the one he was most worried about was Zhang Kuai.

But now with Xu Qing's guarantee, he felt more or less relieved. At least Zhang Kuai's life could be saved.

"Don't ask me if it's a thank you or not. This is what I should do." Xu Qing smiled and patted Ren Hao's shoulder, then prepared to go to the palace with Ren Hao to attend the morning court.

After all, the list of titles of nobility in his hand still needs to be presented to His Majesty.

However, unlike Ren Hao who wore court robes, military generals needed to wear armor when entering the court, but their armor was not the iron armor worn in wartime, but rattan armor woven with rattan wood, also known as official armor.

Its significance is also to distinguish between civil officials and military generals.

When Ren Hao and Xu Qing came to Linde Hall to attend the morning court, all the ministers were present.

Ren Hao and Xu Qing entered the hall together. Zhao Ping'an and the ministers of various ministries immediately looked at Xu Tianyin.

That look seemed to be saying, didn't your Xu family draw a clear line between you and Ren Hao? Why is your nephew hanging out with Ren Hao?

"I have nothing to do with Ren Hao, you all have seen it. As for why my nephew is hanging out with Ren Hao, that's none of my business, don't look at me." Xu Tianyin hurriedly distanced himself from the matter and pretended to be ignorant.

"His Majesty the Emperor has arrived!!!"

Following a loud shout from the old eunuch standing below the emperor, all the officials in the palace fell silent.

When Wen Yan, dressed in imperial attire and wearing a crown, appeared, all the officials bowed their heads and greeted him respectfully, saying, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."

"My dear ministers, please don't be polite." Wen Yan walked to the front of the emperor, sat down, and waved his hand.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

All the ministers and officials expressed their gratitude and then stood up in an orderly manner from front to back.

Wen Yan's gaze finally fell on Xu Qing and asked, "General Wu, I heard last night that you were injured and returned to the capital. Is the injury too serious? Do you need me to send some imperial doctors to you?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness. My injuries have been treated by Lord Sikong, and I will be healed after a period of rest." Xu Qing knelt on one knee and said, then took out a bamboo slip from his arms and continued, "I also have a list of names of those who will be conferred titles, please take a look, Your Majesty."

"Present it up." Wen Yan waved her hand, and Xu Qing raised the bamboo slips in his hand above his head.

The old eunuch walked up to take the bamboo slips, then walked to the front of the emperor and presented them to His Majesty.

Wen Yan took the bamboo slips, opened it and immediately frowned in dissatisfaction.

There were a total of twenty-one people who received the title, including eleven who were posthumously awarded the title after dying in battle, eight who were marquises of a hundred households, and two who were marquises of a thousand households.

The issue that made Wen Yan frown was not the number of titles, but the place of residence.

Except Xu Hu, all of them are from Huaixi.

Could it be that there were no other generals who could win military merit in this battle? They were all generals from Huaixi.

Ren Hao took in all the expressions on Wen Yan's face. Although he had not seen the list of titles in the bamboo slips, he guessed that the titled generals on the list were all from Huaixi.

"This matter is pending discussion." Wen Yan closed the bamboo slips and placed them on the imperial desk.

Xu Qing was about to say something, but Ren Hao stopped him with a look.

After the court session ended, Xu Qing found Ren Hao who was about to go to the Nangong Palace and asked, "Brother Ren, why did you stop me from giving advice to His Majesty? If His Majesty doesn't confer the title of nobility as soon as possible, it will greatly affect the morale of the army."

Ren Hao pulled Xu Qing to a corner and asked quietly, "Brother Wu, do you know why His Majesty said this matter is pending?"

"Why?" Xu Qing looked puzzled at first, then suddenly realized and asked, "Is it because the treasury is empty?"

Ren Hao was speechless and immediately said, "Even if the treasury is empty, Your Majesty has never been stingy with his meritorious officials."

"Do you know how the pig died?" Ren Hao looked at Xu Qing who seemed puzzled.

Xu Qing blurted out: "How did the pig die? Wasn't it just slaughtered and eaten for meat?"

"Hehe." Ren Hao was completely speechless.

He has said so much, why can't he wake Xu Qing up?

But think about it, Xu Qing's talent is all in martial arts, so it's normal that he is not smart.

"Brother Ren, just tell me directly and don't play tricks on me." Xu Qing said anxiously.

"Your Majesty said this matter is pending because you are dissatisfied that all the generals on the list are from Huaixi, and only Xu Hu is from other places."

"Is it possible that only the people from Huaixi can be granted titles of nobility and appointed as generals in this world, and there are no other people from Jianglang from other places?" Ren Hao said meaningfully.