The young couple from the farm fights back

The fourth imperial edict bestowed upon General Liang, who had laid the foundation for the uprising, the title of Duke of Rong. Since Duke Rong had passed away, the title naturally passed to his son, General Liang Qing, who commanded 10,000 troops and a staff of 8,000 households.

The fifth person to receive the imperial edict was Zhou Chunfeng, whom Emperor Xiao regarded as his closest friend. He was given the title of Marquis of Guanjun, commanding 10,000 soldiers and 8,000 households of food and shelter.

Indeed, Zhou Chunfeng's conferment of the title shocked the entire court. Everyone looked at him, especially the civil officials in the capital who had never seen a person like Zhou Chunfeng.

Even Zhou Chunfeng himself was surprised. He thought that at best he could become a second-rank general, but he didn't expect Emperor Xiao to give him such an honor.

He thought that his wife would be happy for him if she knew about this, and he had fulfilled the promise he had made to her.

Next, all the generals who had always followed the Xiao family were rewarded and received military titles of different ranks, such as the second or third rank.

In particular, Deputy General Xiao, who married Xiao Ying in the army this year, is now the eldest son's son-in-law and has been granted the title of Earl of Zhongtong.

As the imperial edict is promulgated to all prefectures, the generals guarding the prefectures will immediately set off back to Beijing to report on their work.

To balance the power of the concubines' maternal families, Emperor Xiao, after careful consideration, replaced the five ministerial posts with members of the concubines' maternal families. The Manchu court also saw a flurry of new appointments. Over a decade of continuous war and unrest in the country, the government was in great need of recruiting new officials to serve the court.

Therefore, Emperor Xiao issued the last imperial decree to restore the three-year imperial examination system, to recruit talents as soon as possible to consolidate the court and select the best officials and students for the people.

The first morning court session of the new country lasted half a day. As for the founding banquet, it had to wait until the generals of various states and the relatives of the officials in Beijing returned to the city before choosing an auspicious day to hold it.

Zhou Chunfeng had to admire Emperor Xiao's way of governing the country. During the war, all the generals stationed in various states were recalled to the capital to serve as garrisons, and new generals were sent to replace them. This was because he was worried that the founding generals would consolidate their power in one area and undermine the foundation of the new dynasty.

However, the families of most officials in the capital were still displaced, giving officials enough time to bring them back to the capital for reunion and to receive titles.

Zhou Chunfeng was very happy and planned to ask for leave from Emperor Xiao in a few days and go to Changsheng Island to pick up his wife in person. Finally, the couple could be reunited. Otherwise, he would be like an abandoned husband.

After the court was dismissed, Xiao Chao was the first to catch up with Zhou Chunfeng and put his arm around his shoulders. "Old Zhou, when is my sister-in-law coming to Beijing? My wife said she wants to give her a good welcome."

Xie was a woman with an open-minded personality. When she learned that her eldest nephew Que Ge'er had always been taken care of by the eldest lady of the Zhou family, and also heard about Jiang Li's abilities on Changsheng Island, she admired this extraordinary woman from the bottom of her heart and had long wanted to make friends with her.

Zhou Chunfeng shook off Xiao Chao's hand: "We are in front of everyone, please respect yourself, Your Highness."

I didn't notice how many people were jealous of him because of his title. Even Deputy General Jiang, oh no, it should be the commander of the Five Cities Army, now looked at him with a scrutinizing look.

No matter how good his private relationship with Xiao Chao was, he had not left the palace to avoid criticism.

Xiao Chao disagreed and said with a smile: "Look at you, why are you still estranged from me after returning to the capital? The residence that my brother arranged for you still needs time to be repaired, so you can live in my residence for the next few days."

Zhou Chunfeng's mouth twitched. He really couldn't avoid suspicion. "Your Highness, I appreciate your kindness. There are so many inns in the capital, but there isn't one that I can stay in."

"I say, Lord Hou should come to my house, right?"

As soon as Zhou Chunfeng finished speaking, Liang Qing's voice came from the side.

When he turned around, he saw Liang Qing looking at them with a smile. Compared with Xiao Chao's stupid personality, Zhou Chunfeng felt that he could talk to Liang Qing more smoothly.

"My Lord, the Duke's intention is good, and I cannot refuse your kindness."

Compared to living in the Prince of Jin's Mansion, he felt more comfortable living in the Duke's Mansion.

Xiao Chao stared blankly at the words: "No, Old Zhou, we agreed that we are the best in the world."

puff~

Liang Qing really didn't want to laugh at Xiao Chao's playful nature: "Prince, please don't make things difficult for me, okay? Yours is the Prince's Mansion. If I live there, people will think I'm trying to get close to the emperor. But if I live in my Duke's Mansion, it's different. Outsiders will just think we're close friends."

Xiao Chao blinked, took a deep breath, and felt that what Liang Qing said made some sense.

But why is he in such a bad mood?

Zhou Chunfeng smiled and pounded his chest: "Let's go, find a restaurant to have a drink."

Liang Qing readily agreed: "Okay."

Xiao Chao wanted to go home to be with his wife and son, but having a drink with his buddies wouldn't be a big deal either, and he was even looking forward to it.

After years of marching and fighting, I have never felt so relaxed.

As the ministers walked, they would occasionally cast glances at the backs of the three of them. It was obvious that Prince Jin, Duke Rong, and Marquis Guanjun were very good friends.

Among them, the newly appointed Minister of Revenue Wei Song originally wanted to find an opportunity to make friends with Zhou Chunfeng. Although he had dealt with Zhou Chunfeng several times in the army before, this man was taciturn. Who would have thought that he would be so valued by Emperor Xiao.

If we can make friends with Marquis Guanjun, we will be the most powerful force in the Wei family, which will be beneficial for our grandson to fight for the position of the king in the future.

But Marquis Guanjun seems to be on good terms with the Duke, and Liang Qing is the uncle of Crown Prince Xiao Que. Can Marquis Guanjun really abandon the Duke's Mansion and get close to his Shangshu Mansion?

Wei Song thought about it and decided to suppress his thoughts and wait and see what would happen.

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

After the court was dismissed, Emperor Xiao asked Crown Prince Xiao Que to stay with him in the Yangxin Palace, and the father and son had dinner together.

The father and son have been separated for more than ten years. To Xiao Que, the relationship between them is more of a stranger and the etiquette between a monarch and his subjects, but he can't hide his deep desire for family affection.

During the meal, Emperor Xiao noticed that his eldest son had very considerate table manners. He knew that Mrs. Zhou had taken good care of the children for the Xiao family over the years, and he felt deeply moved.

After all, he is a seventeen-year-old boy. Thinking of his deceased wife, he feels more indebted to the child.

"Over the years, you and the Zhou family..." Emperor Xiao was silent for a moment after saying this, observing Xiao Que's reaction.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Que politely put down his bowl and chopsticks and replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, the Zhou family treats me very well. My aunt has never treated me as an outsider."

Emperor Xiao smiled knowingly, knowing that the child was reserved in front of him, he nodded slightly and said, "Eat."

"Yes, father." Xiao Que responded and picked up the bowl and chopsticks again.

In fact, he wanted to tell his father more, and wanted his father to know the good things about his uncle, aunt, brothers and sisters, but Xiao Que knew that some things could not be said too clearly, as doing so might not be a good thing.

Looking at his sensible eldest son, Emperor Xiao sighed in his heart. This child was still too unfamiliar with him.

Forget it, the relationship between father and son cannot be cultivated in a short period of time. Fortunately, this child has a good character and can withstand the pressure and controversy in the court. He is worthy of being a child of their Xiao family.

Emperor Xiao knew very well that the maternal families of the concubines were keeping a close eye on the position of Empress, and that all the ministers in the court were ready to make a move. As long as the position of Empress was not decided, the ministers would not be able to calm down.

In the decree issued by Emperor Xiao today, his late first wife Liang was posthumously named Empress Xiaojing. Now that the dynasty has been newly established, Emperor Xiao hopes to focus more on state affairs, but there are some things that cannot be ignored for the sake of the overall situation.