The poorest member of the Imperial Guard, the Empress begged me to embezzle.

"The Marquis not only killed the rebellious Murong Zhi, as well as the Jiang family patriarch Jiang Tiansheng and the Jiang family head Jiang Yue, but also slaughtered an army of 10,000 demons. He is qualified to be named the Marquis of Champion."

"No one in the government or among the people dares to utter a single word!"

Jiang Wan'er said with a serious expression.

Chu Xiu smiled and put the imperial edict away.

"My lord, this is the flying fish robe bestowed upon you by His Majesty."

Jiang Wan'er took three sets of flying fish robes from a soldier of the Imperial Guard behind her and handed them to Chu Xiu, saying solemnly.

The flying fish robe could only be bestowed upon officials of the second rank or above, and only after they had made great contributions.

"Thank you, Lord Jiang."

Chu Xiu took the three flying fish outfits, placed them on the table beside him, and said to Jiang Wan'er.

"Master Marquis, you're welcome."

Jiang Wan'er bowed gracefully and said, "Wan'er should also return to the palace to report to His Majesty."

"I'll see Lord Jiang off."

Chu Xiu extended his hand to Jiang Wan'er in invitation.

"Thank you for your trouble, Lord Marquis."

Jiang Wan'er left the main hall of the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters with Chu Xiu.

"By the way, my lord, His Majesty has already sent people to post imperial edicts and announce them to the world."

"Soon, all the millions of people in our Great Zhou Dynasty will know that the Marquis single-handedly suppressed Murong Zhi's rebellion, slaughtered the demon army, and was conferred the title of Marquis Champion."

After walking a few steps, Jiang Wan'er suddenly remembered something and said to Chu Xiu.

"Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiu bowed and greeted the palace.

Chu Xiu was not surprised that the imperial edict was posted and announced to the world.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, the granting of a title was announced to the entire world.

This has always been the practice.

However, in the Great Zhou Dynasty, no one could be granted a title without military merit!

Moreover, only those who have made truly great contributions are eligible for a noble title.

The titles of nobility in the Great Zhou Dynasty have always been extremely precious and rare.

Since the establishment of the Great Zhou Dynasty, very few people have actually been granted titles.

The vast majority of them were founding heroes of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Soon, Chu Xiu escorted Jiang Wan'er to the main gate of the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters. After watching Jiang Wan'er and the others disappear, he prepared to turn around and return.

Swish!

Lin Huaiyu suddenly appeared behind Chu Xiu and said with utmost respect, "Congratulations, Your Excellency, congratulations..."

It was clear that Lin Huaiyu already knew about Chu Xiu's ennoblement.

After all, he was in charge of the intelligence network of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

When Jiang Wan'er left the palace, the imperial edict had already been posted.

Is something the matter?

Chu Xiu turned around, glanced at Lin Huaiyu, and said indifferently.

He could tell at a glance that Lin Huaiyu hadn't come specifically to offer his congratulations.

There's no need for that.

Lin Huaiyu is not the kind of person who flatters others.

“Your Excellency is wise. I do indeed have important matters to report to you.”

Lin Huaiyu said with a solemn expression.

"Let's go to the lobby to talk."

Chu Xiu raised an eyebrow and strode towards the headquarters of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Lin Huaiyu followed Chu Xiu into the headquarters of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

After a while.

The main hall of the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters.

Chu Xiu sat upright in the main seat and said calmly, "Speak, what is it?"

"Your Excellency, I have two matters to report."

"The first thing is about Zheng Min, the governor of Yizhou."

"Through my investigation, I have discovered that the relationship between Zheng Min, the governor of Yizhou, and Cao Rong, the general of the Yizhou army, is very likely not as good as it appears on the surface."

"Zheng Min must have already been thinking about replacing Cao Rong a year ago."

Lin Huaiyu said with a solemn expression, "Promote a valiant general who has risen to prominence in the Yizhou Army in the last two years to become a general of the Yizhou Army."

"Oh?"

"Is there any evidence?"

Chu Xiu's eyes narrowed, and his expression became serious.

If this is true, then his guess is very likely correct.

It is highly likely that Zheng Min, the governor of Yizhou, did indeed reach some kind of agreement with Murong Zhi.

From the very beginning, Cao Rong was betrayed by Zheng Min.

But Zheng Min is truly a ruthless man. In order to use Murong Zhi to get rid of Cao Rong, he was willing to sacrifice 100,000 Yizhou soldiers!

It should be noted that these 100,000 Yizhou soldiers were the elite of the elite.

Moreover, the entire Yizhou army only numbered 300,000.

Of those, 50,000 were stationed at Ailao Pass, and now another 100,000 have been lost.

The entire Yizhou army was reduced to only 150,000 men!

Although the Yizhou army was able to replenish its ranks, the newly recruited soldiers were nowhere near as formidable as the elite soldiers who had crawled out of piles of corpses before.

It's still unknown how long it will take for new recruits to grow into truly elite soldiers.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, there is no evidence."

"Through investigation, I have vaguely discovered that Cao Rong, as a general of the Yizhou army and deputy commander of the Yizhou army for many years, has a very high prestige in the Yizhou army."

"And Zheng Min, the governor of Yizhou, was in charge of all military and political affairs."

"However, he mainly stayed behind the scenes, and Cao Rong was in charge of the Yizhou army most of the time."

"Especially in the past few years, Cao Rong has won many battles against the barbarians, and his prestige in the Yizhou army has been growing ever higher!"

"Therefore, in the past two years, Zheng Min has promoted a young general named Xu Fengwu."

"This young general named Xu Fengwu is a rising star in the Yizhou army. He is brave in battle and has made many meritorious contributions."

"Under Zheng Min's promotion, he rose from a captain to the rank of General Who Pacifies the Barbarians in a short period of time."

"Among the Yizhou army, he was second only to General Cao Rong, who served as the deputy commander of the Yizhou army."

"He was widely regarded as Cao Rong's successor throughout the entire Yizhou army."

Lin Huaiyu pondered for a moment, then spoke with a solemn expression.

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiu's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he said, "That alone is not enough for Zheng Min to get rid of Cao Rong."

"Your subordinate understands."

"However, there are three more pieces of news."

"It is said that there was a dispute between Zheng Min and Cao Rong in the Yizhou army."

"It was after this incident that Zheng Min began to support Xu Fengwu."

"The reason Zheng Min promoted Xu Fengwu was because Xu Fengwu, who was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), initially served as a staff member in the governor's office of Yizhou."

"It was only after the two had a dispute that Xu Fengwu entered the Yizhou Army as a captain."

"Under Zheng Min's arrangement, Xu Fengwu has made many military achievements in the past two years."

After a pause, Lin Huaiyu continued, "Another piece of news is that the 100,000 Yizhou troops led by Cao Rong this time are all Cao Rong's direct subordinates in the Yizhou army!"

"Are they all Cao Rong's direct subordinates in the Yizhou army?"

Chu Xiu said with a look of sudden realization.

If they were truly all Cao Rong's loyal followers in the Yizhou army, then it's no wonder that Zheng Min, the governor of Yizhou, was so ruthless as to directly annihilate this army of 100,000.

Because these people were not his close associates to begin with.

Keeping it would actually be beneficial to Zheng Min.

It would be better to take this opportunity to eliminate them all.