Li Kexiu was well aware of the Song Dynasty's system of conferring titles to kings. The number of kings was strictly controlled.
The highest rank was the king, such as the King of Qin, the King of Jin, and the King of Chu. Usually, those who received these titles were either extremely favored princes who had the potential to inherit the throne, or they were special people. For example, Chai Zongxun was conferred the title of King of Zheng, Meng Chang was conferred the title of King of Chu, Li Yu was conferred the title of King of Wu, and Qian Ti was conferred the title of King of Deng. These people were once true emperors who surrendered after being defeated by the Song Dynasty.
Of course, there were also some ministers who had made great contributions and could be conferred the title of king. For example, Zhao Pu was conferred the title of King of Han, Cao Bin was conferred the title of King of Han, and Wang Anshi was conferred the title of King of Shu. However, without exception, they were only conferred the title of king after their deaths. None of them could enjoy this honor while they were still alive, let alone have their own kingdoms and armies.
The second rank was the King of Heirs. These titles were usually passed down through the royal family, and had nothing to do with outsiders.
The third rank was the King of Jun, such as the King of Runan and the King of Qinghe. They were usually conferred to princes and grandsons. Conferring the title of King of Jun started with Tong Guan, and before that, ministers' titles were not higher than Duke.
At first, Li Kexiu thought that he would be thankful if he could get the title of Duke. If he could be conferred the title of Prince of Guangling (Guangling was the ancient name of Yangzhou), he would be so lucky. Who knew that Moqi Suo would give him the title of King of Wu, and a real king who had a kingdom and an army!
Seeing Li Kexiu's shocked expression, Moqi Suo stroked his beard proudly. He had his own difficulties for being so generous. After all, he knew his current situation better than anyone else. Although he was the head of the Prime Minister, his actual power was divided by Han Xingzhou, Jia Shidao, and Shi Miyuan. His value was to be used by Zhao Gou to balance these two groups, so that the court could reach a delicate balance. Once the time was right, he and Zhang Jun, this transitional group, could be abandoned at any time.
Of course, they didn't want to end up like this. Now, all their power came from Zhao Gou, and they didn't have their own foundation like Han Xingzhou and Jia Shidao. Zhang Jun was fine. After all, as one of the Four Great Generals, he had some influence in the army, and he had the Loyal Army's Zhang Rou as external help. Moqi Suo's situation was much worse. When Qin Hui fell, Moqi Suo's minions were also taken care of, and he himself had been living in the wilderness for many years. Now that he was called back to the Prime Minister's office, he was almost a commander without an army. Therefore, he desperately wanted his own people, and the powerful Li Kexiu was his best choice.
Therefore, he was more active than anyone else in wooing Li Kexiu, and his conditions were much better than Han Xingzhou's.
Li Kexiu's expression changed, and he suddenly said, "But I have already agreed to serve Song Qingshu …"
Hearing this, a smile appeared on Moqi Suo's face, because he knew that Li Kexiu had agreed. He said, "Don't worry about that, I have my own way to deal with him."
Li Kexiu frowned and said, "Minister Zuo may not know how powerful Song Qingshu is. His martial arts are so high that it's rare in the world. I think even if the Ruyang Mansion and the masters under Han Xingzhou join hands, they won't be able to defeat him. Once he realizes it, he will fly into a rage and lead the Golden Snake Camp to the south. I … I don't have the confidence to defeat him. "
Although Li Kexiu had 100,000 Green Camp under his command, and the number of troops was greater than Song Qingshu's Golden Snake Camp, Song Qingshu had defeated the 100,000 elites of the imperial court of the Qing Kingdom. Although Li Kexiu claimed to be a famous general, the imperial court had sent people like Prince An Yue Le, Tu Hai, and Sabusu, all of whom were famous generals.
If they really fought, Li Kexiu didn't have the confidence to win. Even if he won, it would be a pyrrhic victory, and he would definitely suffer heavy casualties. Now, the army was his capital. If the losses were too great, the surrounding forces that were eyeing him covetously wouldn't mind devouring this fat piece of meat.
"The Golden Serpent Battalion is nothing but a group of bandits. The only reason why they are invincible is because of Song QingShu. Without Song QingShu, what can that motley crew achieve?" Moqi Ying said in a meaningful tone.
"That's right. Without Song Qingshu, I have the confidence to annex the territory of the Golden Snake Camp within a month." Li Kexiu said dejectedly, "But Song Qingshu's martial arts are so high, who in the world can keep him here?"
Moqi Suo smiled, pointed to the young man behind him and said, "I brought this grandson here to deal with Song Qingshu. Gui 'er, quickly come and greet Master Li."
The young man took a step forward and bowed, "Moqi Gui greets Master Li."
If Song QingShu or Di Yun were here, they would surely exclaim in shock, because this Moqi Gui was shockingly the man who had used despicable methods to seize Di Yun's childhood sweetheart, Qi Fang, from the Jing Prefecture City — Wan Gui!
Wan Gui's father, Wan Zhenshan, was the son of Moqi Suo's concubine. After Qin Hui's death, Qin Hui was liquidated, and Moqi Suo was soon forced to retire. In order to avoid the revenge of their enemies, their family changed their surname to Wan. Wan Zhenshan and his son were sent to Jianghu to search for the legendary treasure of Emperor Liang Yuan, which would be used for the Moqi family's comeback.
Later, when Song Qingshu, Ding Dian, and Di Yun caused a ruckus in Jiangling City, Wan Zhenshan was worried that they would seek revenge, so he brought his son, Wan Gui, and daughter-in-law, Qi Fang back to the family in advance. Coincidentally, Moqi Suo was re-recruited by Zhao Gou as the Prime Minister and urgently needed help. So their family followed her to Lin 'an and hid in the imperial court.
No wonder Di Yun couldn't find out Qi Fang's whereabouts even with the help of the flying guillotine's intelligence network.
"Young Master, please rise!" Li Kexiu looked at him in surprise. Suddenly, he frowned and said to Moqi Suo, "Forgive me for speaking bluntly, but although Young Master looks talented, I'm afraid your martial arts …"
He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear. Li Kexiu, after all, had spent a lifetime in the military and was also a person with martial arts skills. He could tell that although this young man had martial arts, it wasn't very high. He probably couldn't even defeat himself, let alone Song Qingshu.
"Pretty boy!" This was the true reaction in Li Kexiu's heart.
Moqi Suo smiled but didn't say anything. Wan Gui answered, "Lord Li, you've misunderstood. Song Qingshu's martial arts are unparalleled. Naturally, it's impossible to defeat him with martial arts. The one who wants to defeat him is not me, but it." He took out a wooden box from his luggage and placed it on the table with a solemn expression.
Seeing his serious expression, Li Kexiu's interest was instantly piqued, "What is this?"
Wan Gui didn't have time to answer her. He focused all his attention on opening the wooden box. He was very careful throughout the process, afraid that he might break something if he moved too much. A thin layer of sweat appeared on his temples.
Li Kexiu frowned and looked inside. She saw a glass bottle in the wooden box. Sealed inside was a lotus flower, but each leaf was shining like gold.
When Li Kexiu saw Wan Gui's serious expression, she was filled with anticipation. But when she realized that there was only a flower in the box, she was instantly disappointed. She couldn't help but say in a sarcastic tone, "Young Master, do you plan to use a flower to defeat the unparalleled Golden Snake King Song Qingshu?"
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