Empress: Your Majesty, please respect yourself, I don't want to be promoted

Afterwards, he went to Yu and Sui prefectures to assist Xiao Yun in flood control. Now that the flood has subsided and Xiao Yun has returned to the court, he has made some achievements in this matter.

If he had to count it, in Xia Yan's case, he could be regarded as upholding justice for the court and saving a virtuous minister and the people of Yongchuan, which is also considered a bit of credit.

As for the investigation of empty warehouse cases, appeasing the local people, governing the region as the governor of the two states, eradicating corrupt officials, etc., the merits and demerits of the government have not yet been fully clarified, and the effectiveness of governing the region has not yet been revealed.

For the time being, it cannot be regarded as his political achievements.

So the ministers are not very satisfied with this.

Jump directly from the seventh rank to the third rank!

What an honor this is!

How could he, Lu Chen, be so virtuous... well, his virtue was enough, but his ability... they didn't recognize it!

So courtiers immediately stood up to oppose it.

But the objections of these people mean nothing at all.

The empress personally stood up and pushed, and the holy king said flatly: "This king thinks there is nothing wrong with this award."

Even Gu Simiao stood up and said coldly: "You say that Lu Ji is not worthy, do you think you are worthy?"

The three top bosses supported Lu Chen at the same time, and these people who felt dissatisfied instantly withered, and could only look at Lu Chen with envious and jealous eyes.

This guy...is really lucky...

Why every time something bad happens in his hands, it turns into a good thing...

Such a good thing, why can't it be their turn?

Lu Chen wanted to come out and beep a few words, but the system restrictions are there.

Words and deeds should not be too contrary to common sense, which naturally includes non-compliant refusal of officials.

There is absolutely no way to refuse.

It would be against common sense to forcibly refuse to be promoted under the circumstances of making great contributions to the court and being dedicated to the country.

In desperation, he had no choice but to stand up and accept this honor reluctantly.

Fortunately, this time the system is short-term, and the rewards are mediocre. If the long-term system comes out at the last moment, he is afraid that it will explode on the spot.

Although the long-term rewards are far inferior to those of promotion and demotion, the long-term rewards are also very generous...

So, things settled down.

The three of them each had a reward, and the rest of the participants, such as the soldiers of the Cangling Army who followed Gu Simiao to kill the demon queen, naturally also had their own rewards, but compared with Lu Chen and the others, they were far behind.

However, just when the imperial decree was about to come down, Gu Simiao suddenly stood up.

"Your Majesty, I have something to play."

Hearing this, the empress narrowed her eyes immediately, and said softly:

"Gu Aiqing, please tell me."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Gu Simiao nodded, then bowed and saluted, then cupped her hands and said:

"Your Majesty, I request to change the fiefdom."

Hearing this, the courtiers were slightly startled.

Chapter 152

Under the watchful eyes of all the courtiers, Gu Simiao spoke slowly, "I beg you to change the title of Taihe County."

Hearing this, everyone immediately showed a look of doubt.

There are 75 provinces in the three capitals of the Great Xia, and there are more than [-] prefectures and counties. It is impossible for most courtiers to remember the names and locations of all prefectures and counties, but this Taihe County is known to almost every courtier.

And also know the specific situation there.

Because Taihe County, like Xingping County, is a county under Shuntian Prefecture.

It is naturally impossible for a court official who can live in a temple not to remember the county under the Emperor's feet.

But it is precisely because they know that they are puzzled.

Although the land of Gyeonggi is extremely prosperous, it is not all fertile land. There are also many middle-level and low-level counties. That's why Lu Chen, the magistrate of Xingping County, has a particularly high gold content.

Although Xingping County is not as expensive as Luojing, it is also a prosperous place with plenty of oil and water, and with the empress's favor for Lu Chen, as long as Lu Chen is willing, he can definitely bring many wealthy households into the food town.

You can receive a lot of money, food and spirit stones just by lying down.

But Taihe County is different.

Taihe County is located in the northwest corner of Luojing, more than two hundred miles away from Luojing, and is located between two black mountains covered with coal.

The special terrain and geology make most of the land there extremely barren.

Not to mention being able to grow spiritual food with spiritual energy, even if it is ordinary food, only a small amount of farmland can grow it, and it can't feed many people at all.

Without enough fertile land, there would naturally be no population. The entire county has a population of less than [-] households. There are very few wealthy households, and most of them are poor.

Not to mention being compared with Jiangling County, which has a population of one million, it is also far away from Xingping County.

Exchange the magistrate of Jiangling County's three thousand food towns for the magistrate of a worthless county?

They really couldn't understand, what was going on in Gu Simiao's mind?

The empress frowned slightly and asked softly: "If I remember correctly, Taihe County is the worst county in Shuntian Prefecture, with very little annual income. Gu Aiqing, you gave up the rich land of Jiangling and chose the barren soil of Taihe County. , but is there any special reason?"

Lu Chen also looked over.

Under everyone's curious eyes, Gu Simiao nodded without hesitation.

"Your Majesty is wise, the reason why this humble minister is like this is indeed because of a special reason."

Hearing this, the empress glanced at Lu Chen imperceptibly, and then asked, "Can you tell me?"

"of course."

Gu Simiao nodded, and continued:

"Ten years ago, when Wei Chen was studying in the sect when he was young, there was a senior sister from the same sect who took great care of Wei Chen and became a sister to Wei Chen. Later, during a sect training, Wei Chen and the senior sister walked together... ....”

Having said that, her voice became inexplicably heavy, her jaw drooped slightly, and her eyes dimmed a little.

In her low-pitched narration, everyone soon knew the past of this peerless hero who was once in a millennium.

Ten years ago, when she was 15 years old, she had just stepped out of the sect. During that sect training, because of her youthful vigor and arrogance, she refused to listen to the advice of her fellow senior sisters, and ended up accidentally falling into the evil trap.

In order to protect her, her senior sister died tragically under the evil claws.

This incident became the regret of Gu Simiao's life.

After talking about the past ten years ago, Gu Simiao's little hands under the sleeves tightened inexplicably.

"Senior Sister was born in a poor family. She is a girl from an ordinary family in Heitu Village, Taihe County. She told the minister before she was alive that she didn't have much ambition in this life. She only hoped that after leaving the sect, she would have the opportunity to return to her hometown and benefit the village."

"If there is still energy left, I will help all the people and benefit the poor people like her back then."

Hearing this, Lu Chen suddenly showed a look of surprise.

The Duke of Jiangling County who gave up his livelihood of [-] households and condescended to be the Duke of Taihe County was originally obsessed with his savior...

At this time, Gu Simiao said again: "Senior Sister risked her life to save this official. Her beliefs and wishes will naturally be inherited by this official. Therefore, a high official and rich salary is not what this official wants. I just want to replace Senior Sister and realize her ideals and ambitions that she has no chance to realize."

After finishing speaking, she bent her knees directly, knelt heavily on the ground, and sincerely asked:

"I wish His Majesty the best!"

After the words fell, all the courtiers couldn't help being slightly moved.

The Empress also had a strange look on her face.

The next second, before she could weigh the pros and cons in her mind, Jiang Chengdao's voice suddenly sounded in her ears.

"Promise her, Your Majesty."

Hearing Jiang Chengdao's sound transmission, the Empress was taken aback for a moment, and then said silently in her mind:

"Brother Huang was moved by Gu Aiqing's words?"

"A little bit."

Jiang Chengdao responded casually, obviously, his focus was not on this.

"It doesn't matter how this kind of thing is. What Wei Chen wants to say is that it is almost time to prepare for Wei Chen's arrangement after returning to the Cangming Realm."

Hearing this, the Empress' complexion suddenly sank.

"Is the emperor leaving?"

"Ah."

Jiang Chengdao responded lightly:

"The Holy Realm is related to the stability of the world. No matter what, no accidents can happen. It has been nearly a month since I left the country. Before leaving, the evil-sealing array arranged with the help of His Majesty's Supreme Saint Power and the Holy Spirit Power of my minister is about to reach its limit. Before the evil spirit breaks the seal, I must rush back to the Holy Realm, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous."

"Your Majesty cannot be without the support of a general, and now the only one who can make you rest easy on this matter, besides Fu Yu, is Gu Simiao."

"Although other generals from the Zhu Kingdom who have the strength to return to the One Realm have surrendered to His Majesty, their hearts are separated from each other, and their loyalty has yet to be verified. Moreover, except for Huangzhou, other borders are still under the threat of the iron hoofs of foreign races and cannot be moved lightly. , and Gu Simiao performed outstandingly in the matter of the Demon Queen..."

"So, taking advantage of this opportunity to award meritorious ministers, keeping her in Luojing and serving as your Majesty's right-hand man with Fu Wei who is about to return to Beijing is the most suitable choice at present."

After the words fell, the empress thought for a while, then nodded secretly.

What Jiang Chengdao said was correct, during the six months when he returned to the Cangming Realm with at least half of the Cangming Army to rebuild and repair the Great Formation of Fengxie, it was impossible for her to rely entirely on his supreme power as before.

Someone has to take his place to some extent.

And the strongest under the Holy King is none other than a martial artist in the Unity Realm.

Both Fu Wei and Gu Simiao are excellent candidates.

After thinking up to this point, the empress stopped hesitating, and the moment her eyes regained focus, she slowly opened her mouth and said to Gu Simiao who was half kneeling underneath:

"Gu Aiqing is so affectionate and righteous to her savior, how can I be that hard-hearted villain?"

Hearing this, Gu Simiao's expression relaxed slightly, and then she cupped her hands and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty."

The empress raised the corner of her mouth slightly, showing a meaningful smile, and then said: "It's too early to thank you now."