Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 116 Opening a Banquet and Introducing the Ancestral Tent (1)

Lianzhu arrows, the weight of several arrows between the fingers of the right hand is not light, and the string must be pulled stably. It is really difficult to practice.Zhao Xingde also practiced hard repeatedly before he acquired this skill.

What Zhao Xingde didn't know was that Yuwen Bingxin, who taught him the unique skill of Wulianzhu arrows, was shocked inside when he saw that he actually used a three-stone strong bow to shoot Wulianzhu.It is very rare to see a sharp archer who can open a three-stone bow. Lianzhu arrow skills require a lot of stability in strength. Zhao Xingde can do this, and Yuwen Bingxin finally boils it down to his extraordinary talent.

"From now on, you will be my Cheng Yingjun." Zhou Yuanzhong patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile.

Zhao Xingde bowed to thank the general for his encouragement, but when he lowered his head, a wry smile flashed across his face.Only then did he realize that he had gone to the wrong place for the school examination, and the school where the Tiger Wing Army recruited new sergeants was in another place.The commander of the Tiger Wing Army, Chen Ang, is the younger brother of the emperor, and the commanders of the Tiger Wing Army in all generations have been very prestigious, holding this position can restrain the hereditary descendants of the army.However, Yong Wang Chen Ang was a humble man, and when Zhou Yuanzhong wanted to select Zhao De into Chengying Camp, he immediately agreed.

Things have come to this point, Zhao Xingde can only hope that he can retire safely after a few years.In Xia Kingdom, except for a few cities that are governed by chambers of commerce, the system of sergeant-led shady households is implemented, and the whole country follows orders and prohibits them.There is also a system of suing for 'rape', and fleeing people without household registration will be prosecuted wherever they go.It's like when Shang Yang was persecuted and fled in Qin, but no one took him in.

"Brother Zhao, you and I will be in the same camp from now on." Jian Cheng cupped his hands to Zhao De.

Zhao De also cupped his hands and returned the salute: "Brother Jian, I don't know what rules are there in Chengying Camp? What are the benefits?" He had a puzzled look on his face, "Why are so many soldiers rushing to vote first?"

Jian Cheng smiled and said: "Without military merit, how can you get into the ranks. Chengying is the camp leader who fought most frequently in my Great Xia. If you want to win military merit, it is naturally the best place."

It is the founding father system of Daxia to record meritorious service and enter the rank.This is a pyramid-shaped structure. According to the records of the Prime Minister's Mansion, the number of Chinese with titles is less than one-twentieth of the country's population.The rest of the countrymen are all shadow households without titles.Entering an official career only asks about ability, not about background.The children of Yin households can strive to be promoted to official careers through various skills such as military service, education, and craftsmanship.There are also many sons of scholars who have no skills and cannot be promoted to scholars, so they cannot obtain titles and fall into the shadows.

All sergeants, scribes, and craftsmen have at least the lowest title of "Master".If Zhao Xingde really joined the Tiger Wing Army, then he would be a scholar with the title of "Master".And if you join the Chengying Camp, which is said to be formed by the elite of the Forbidden Army and has the most frequent battles, you only need to gain one or two military merits to obtain the title of "Material Officer".The veterans of the Chengying Battalion were not knighted under the "Shang Zao".

The hereditary titles include Founding Duke and Founding Marquis. These two levels of titles are the real hereditary nobility.The following are the four titles of Shangqing, Yaqing, Shangdafu, and Dafu. There is no fiefdom. Although they can be hereditary, they can be reduced from generation to generation. The eldest son of Shangqing can only be named Yaqing, and the grandson can only be named Shangdafu .Further down are the five non-hereditary titles of Chehou, Shuchang, Shangzao, Caiguan, and Gongshi.The system of the Xia Kingdom is based on merit, and the higher the title, the more the title and salary, and the more people from the shaded households that can be recruited and sheltered.

Jian Cheng's ancestor, Jian Cheng, was a centurion who followed the founding emperor to conquer the country. Later, his family fell into poverty. , was once again successfully promoted to sergeant, and retired with the title of "Material Officer". His father Jian Bi revived his family reputation.Now Jian Cheng is the tenth commander of the Tiger Wing Army, but because he has no military merits, he is still only the title of "public servant".

The military merit reward system also has another function, which is to make wealth and materials flow to those legions that fight frequently and perform a lot of meritorious service in the form of honors, and indirectly subsidize the losses of those border counties that have been fighting barbarians for many years.It also attracted many vendors to transport various materials to the border areas.

After Jian Cheng explained to Zhao Xingde the rules of military merit promotion in detail, he paused for a while, and then said: "The battles carried out by the Chengying Camp are mostly dispatched military affairs. According to the military system of our dynasty, the dispatched military affairs offices will not get any spoils. It needs to be handed over to the treasury, and it is only distributed among the sergeants participating in the battle according to the rules. This is an opportunity to make a fortune. Although those who went to Chengying Camp never talked about the spoils of war, we all guessed that these guys are very rich Oil."

Zhao Xingde nodded slightly, and asked: "Is it really just for rewards and money?" The so-called independent dispatch of military affairs is actually fighting alone.The drudgery that should be avoided by everyone is hard and dangerous. Even if there are some rewards and extra money, it is not worth these sergeants' rushing for.

Jian Cheng smiled, approached Zhao De, and said in a low voice: "Of course it's not the only thing. Dispatching military affairs is the easiest to get ahead. In battles above the army size, most military affairs are dead orders. The wording of dispatching military affairs is simple, such as 'clear A certain general of the enemy country', 'destroy a certain horse bandit', 'protect a certain caravan', etc. There is a lot of room for how to complete the task."

"The most important thing is," Jian Cheng lowered his voice and approached Zhao Xingde and said, "After completing the dispatch of military affairs, the battle process may be directly reported to the General's Mansion." With a longing look, he sighed: "Think about it." Look, when others are still struggling for qualifications in obscurity, the General's Mansion will remember your name, if there is a vacancy in the future, who will the Military Mansion give the opportunity to?"

Zhao Xingde nodded, and said in a low voice: "If you don't want to be a general's soldier, you are not a good soldier."

"Brother Zhao is right, that's exactly what it is." Jian Cheng slapped his thigh, and the sergeants on the left and right looked at him, and he said with a smile, "I just heard that there are still family members in the post, Brother Zhao should hurry up and find them. The supply department asked for a mansion to be allocated to accommodate family members. The battalion only needs to recruit all the soldiers, and they will go to the desert for training soon. In the next few years, it will be very difficult to take care of the family.”

Zhao Xingde nodded silently, when he heard that most of the "dispatch military affairs" carried out by the Chengying Camp, he guessed that there was such a thing.

After the two bid farewell, Zhao Xingde returned to the post and told Li Ruoxue about entering Chengying Camp by mistake.

Li Ruoxue frowned slightly, and said in a low voice: "As long as Yuan Zhi is safe and sound, everything will be fine here." Under the dim candlelight, a blush appeared on her face, suppressing her shame, turning her tenderness Slowly leaning against Zhao Xingde's arms.

The two leaned on each other, through the thin clothes, Zhao Xingde also felt Li Ruoxue trembling slightly, he whispered: "Ruoxue," gently stroking her hair with his right hand. "Three years sooner, five years later, I will definitely leave Chengying Ying." Zhao Xingde said softly, "At that time, I will have a lot of time to accompany you."

Li Ruoxue didn't speak.When she fled from home with Zhao Xingde, she had thought about everything that might happen, but she did not regret it. "It would be great if I could stay in this moment forever." Moist eyes were foggy, her eyes flickered for a moment, and she pressed her head closer to his chest.On Zhao Xingde's right lapel, unknowingly, a little white 'lu' was left.

Prime Minister Xia's mansion does not occupy a very large area, but it is extremely quiet and elegant.The prime minister's carriage stopped at the gate, and Liu Yi lowered his head and got out of the carriage.After reviewing the official documents today and returning home after dark, Liu Yi couldn't help feeling a little guilty.He turned around and took out a beautiful flower paper bag from the car, held it in his hand, and then stepped inside.

Mrs. Lu Sanniang was already waiting at the entrance of the front hall. When she saw Liu Yi, her eyes were filled with joy. She took the gift box from him and complained in a low voice, "It's not necessary to be late for a while."

Liu Yi stroked her shoulder lightly, and said softly, "Open it and have a look?"

Lu Sanniang lowered her head and let out a "hmm", and pulled the silk thread outside the flower paper bag with her slender hands, and a glass bottle 'revealed' came out, shining crystal clear light under the candlelight, and inside the bottle was a deep red color. The 'liquid' in it has not opened the lid, it has exuded a strong fragrance, which makes people fascinated.

"Is it 'Ruohua Soul'?" Lu Sanniang exclaimed in surprise. This Ruohua Soul is a specialty of Xia Kingdom. Flowers and herbs such as peonies, roses, lilies, roses, orchids are planted in large areas in the Western Regions. When the flowers are in full bloom, crush the petals and throw them into the water. After waiting for a while, a layer of fat will float on the water surface, and then collect it with special tools.To extract such a small bottle, the craftsmen have exhausted their efforts, and more than [-] peonies are needed.Merchants transported it to Chang'an, Luoyang, Bianliang, Jinling, Samarkand, and Dongying. It was immediately worth tens of thousands of gold, and there was no market for it.Even though Lu Sanniang was the Luoyang oiran named "White Peony" at the beginning, and many wealthy businessmen spent a lot of money on her, they rarely used this rare treasure.

After the surprise, Lu Sanniang raised her head, looked at Liu Yi's gentle smile, and said in a low voice, "Why did Mr. Xiang give me such a precious thing?" She was wearing an elegant Ru skirt and a jinshu jacket, Although she was nearly forty years old, her face was flushed, as if she had returned to her shy girlhood.

"Could it be that my lady forgot?" A trace of tenderness flashed in Liu Yi's eyes, "20 years ago, when you and I first met." Picking up, whipping and galloping away from Luoyang together. "In the past 20 years, I have been busy with military and political affairs, and I owe a lot to my wife, which I can't repay." Liu Yi's tone was apologetic.

He was successful at a young age, and spent most of his life in the army, fighting for the country. Two years ago, he became the prime minister, and the noble worshiped the Marquis of Yan. But in the 18 years, the time when the husband and wife got together, Less than three hundred days.

Lu Sanniang's eyes were covered with mist, and holding the gift in her hand, she choked up and said: "Mr. He raised his head and said in a low voice: "I am honored to serve my husband, and I have no regrets about being a concubine."

Liu Yi sighed, gently stroking her shaved shoulders, carefully hiding the beauty's occasional flower hair in the dark clouds.The flowers are blooming, and the years are perishable, leaving the lingering fragrance like the soul of the flower.