Just as Song Qingshu was feeling excited, Minister Chen Ziqiang smiled and said, "Young master, you should be thanking Minister Han for this matter."
Seeing Song Qingshu's confusion, Wu Qian explained, "Originally, the Emperor only intended to bestow the title of Prince of Langya. It was due to Minister Han's insistence that the Emperor decided to raise the title."
Song Qingshu's eyebrows twitched. From Prince of Langya to Prince of Qi, it was more than just an increase in rank. The title of a Prince of Langya was lower than that of a Prince, and there were two types of Princes. The first type was titled after the name of the county, which was commonly known as the Prince of Hailing, Prince of Lanling, Prince of Fufeng, and so on. The second type was titled after the name of the country, which was commonly known as the Prince of One Word.
Among the Prince of One Word, the four titles were 'Jin', 'Qin', 'Qi', and 'Chu'. Amongst them, 'Prince of Jin' was the most exalted. This was because these four titles represented the most powerful states during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods. Following them were 'Zhou', 'Lu', 'Zhao', 'Wei', 'Liang', 'Yan', 'Dai', 'Han', 'Song', 'Wu', 'Yue', and so on. Due to the Song Dynasty, the title of Prince of Song was specially reserved and not bestowed upon anyone.
Although the Prince of Qi was only ranked third, this title was already extremely high. Moreover, Song Qingshu's power and territory were similar to that of the State of Qi. It was most fitting for him to be bestowed the title of Prince of Qi.
In the beginning, Song Qingshu was extremely shocked that the Song court would be so generous. However, his thoughts quickly turned and he quickly analyzed the reason. The Southern Song Dynasty must have learned from the failures of the Ming Dynasty and the Northern Song Dynasty. It must be known that the Han regime had always been very strict when it came to bestowing the title of Prince. Even if one had made great contributions, it was not guaranteed that one would be given the title of Prince.
However, those nomadic regimes obviously did not have so many rules. As long as it was beneficial to them, they would give out all kinds of titles as if they were free. The reason why the Manchu Dynasty was able to conquer the Ming Dynasty with only a few thousand Eight Banners was because they used all kinds of generous conditions to entice the various Ming warlords to fight the Han. The Ming court's reaction was very slow. Often, they were still stingy about whether to reward the frontline commander of the First Prince or Second Prince.
The Song Dynasty had suffered many similar losses. Back then, the warlords who surrendered to the enemy state and some rebel armies in the Central Plains were rewarded well by the Jin Dynasty. Dynasty was far from the Mongol Dynasty. Many times, Song Gou Shu's Jin's power and Jin's Dynasty's Yang's Wen's Dynasty.
The power of the Golden Snake Battalion was very important. To Zhao Gou, who was living a peaceful life, the Golden Snake Battalion could serve as the Southern Song Dynasty's barrier in the north. Then, he could enjoy peace. If the Golden Snake Battalion was roped in by the enemy state, he would not be able to eat or sleep well. Because he had learned from the mistakes of the past, he very generously bestowed the title of Prince of Qi. After all, the other party's army and power were ready-made. He only needed to provide an empty title.
Even though he had figured out the trick, he still had to respond to Han Xingzhou's olive branch. Song Qingshu hurriedly thanked him. Han Xingzhou chuckled and stroked his goatee. Even though his words were polite, his eyes were filled with pride.
During the banquet, a group of people were toasting each other. Han Xingzhou suddenly opened his mouth and said, "Prince Song, oh no, I should call you Prince of Qi now."
Song Qingshu's face darkened. "Minister Han, you are too kind. With our friendship, there is no need for such a title. From now on, just call me Qingshu."
Han Xingzhou was obviously very satisfied with Song Qingshu's "understanding". "Hahaha, in that case, I won't stand on ceremony. But, Qingshu, you don't have to call me Minister Han in the future. Just call me by my courtesy name — Jiefu."
In this world, only people who were very close to each other could call each other by their courtesy name. Han Xingzhou was obviously trying to get closer to each other. Naturally, Song Qingshu would not be stupid enough to refuse. He agreed with a slight "excitement".
"Does Qingshu know of our dynasty's Prince Xin and Prince Fu?" Han Xingzhou asked.
Song QingShu nodded. "There's no one who doesn't know of Prince Xin and Prince Fu's fame. They're our empire's western barrier. Back then, they defeated the Golden Crow Technique in the west and stabilized the situation. They can be said to be the greatest contributors to the imperial court's ability to maintain half of the empire …"
The reason why Song Qingshu praised the two was that, firstly, he truly admired these two heroes. Secondly, there were members of the Wu family sitting at the banquet. It didn't cost him anything to say a few good words, and he could easily win the Wu family's favor. Why not?
Sure enough, Wu Qian and Wu Gong revealed excited expressions. Han Xingzhou glanced at the two and smiled as he introduced them to Song Qingshu. "Qingshu, they happen to be members of the Wu family. Yifu (Wu Qian) is the younger brother of Prince Xin and Prince Fu, while Wu Gong is Prince Fu's son."
"The Longgan Wu family is indeed full of talented people. Everyone in the family is loyal to their cause. I'm impressed …" Song Qingshu said with admiration.
With Song Qingshu's current status, Wu Qian and Wu Gong immediately felt very honored and quickly returned the greeting. After chatting for a while, Song Qingshu suddenly asked curiously, "Oh right, why don't I see Prince Xin's son?"
Wu Qian's and Wu Gong's countenances changed slightly. Han Xingzhou smiled bitterly and said, "Qingshu, you might not know this, but Prince Xin's lineage is inherited by his son, Wu Ting. He took on the role of the commander of the Dragon and Divine Guards, but he passed away at an early age, causing this lineage to decline. Thankfully, there is a successor. Some time ago, I was saved by Prince Xin's grandson, Wu Xi, Wu Tiande. Like father, like son. Not only is Wu Xi highly skilled in martial arts, but he is also a very chivalrous person.
Song Qingshu's heart skipped a beat. Wasn't the Wu Xi and Wu Tiande they were talking about Linghu Chong in disguise? It was one thing for Han Xingzhou to not know Wu Tiande in the past, but why did the Wu family not recognize that he was a fake?
Despite the doubts in his heart, Song Qingshu still praised, "Brother Wu is indeed righteous and a gentleman through and through." This was different from the many pleasantries he had exchanged earlier. He was praising Linghu Chong sincerely. After all, Linghu Chong was worthy of the title of a gentleman.
Wu Gong suddenly sighed emotionally, "Back then, Uncle and Father guarded the land of Bashu, which was the imperial court's western barrier. It's a pity that our generation is unworthy. Most of us don't have much ability and can't inherit our father's legacy."
Chen Ziqiang consoled him, "Nephew, there's no need to belittle yourself. The elites of the imperial court are all in the Imperial Guards, and the elites of the Imperial Guards are all in the three offices. For you to be in charge of one of the three offices at such a young age, you've already done Prince Xin and Prince Fu a great honor."
Although the Privy Council of the Song Dynasty was the highest authority in the military, it only had the power to mobilize troops and had no right to train them. Normally, the military was controlled by the three offices: the Front Hall Department, the Horse Commander of the Imperial Guards, and the Infantry Commander of the Imperial Guards. As the Commander of the Horse Commander, Wu Gong could be said to be one of the three heavyweights in the military to a certain extent.
"My nephew Tiande, in terms of family background, experience, martial arts, and character, originally had a great chance to be the Commander of the Sun Supporting Army and the Sky Martial Army. It's a pity that someone got in the way and rejected him at the last moment!" Wu Gong said bitterly.
In the Imperial Guards of the Song Dynasty, the Sun Holding Army, the Sky Martial Army, the Dragon Guard, and the Divine Guard were called the four armies. The Sun Holding Army was the cavalry army, and the Sky Martial Army was the infantry army. The Dragon Guard was the Horse Commander of the Imperial Guards, and the Divine Guard was the Infantry Commander of the Imperial Guards. Each army was divided into the left and right divisions. Therefore, the officers of the Sun Holding Army and the Sky Martial Army were called the military governors of the four divisions.
Song QingShu's heart stirred, and he began to drink without batting an eyelid. These people were echoing each other, and it was obvious that they were deliberately saying it for him to hear. He did not know what their intentions were.
Wu Qian comforted him, "This is actually expected. The Commander of the Front Hall Department, Wang Ziteng, has two sisters. One is married to Jia Shidao, and the other is married to Xue Ji. Everyone knows which faction he belongs to. How could they let our people develop into the Front Hall Department?"
Song Qingshu smiled bitterly in his heart. These people were talking about the hostility between them and Jia Shidao's Group in front of him. Obviously, they thought he was on the same boat as them. Now, he had to listen to them even if he didn't want to.
Han Xingzhou said, "It's not a bad thing that Tiande couldn't be the Commander of the Sun Holding Army and the Sky Martial Army. Now, he has a better chance."
"Jiefu is referring to Sichuan?" Chen Ziqiang asked thoughtfully.
Song Qingshu's heart moved. If he got rid of Moqi Suo, the contract between Han Xingzhou and Mongolia would be effective again. Now that the messengers from both sides were communicating, it wouldn't be long before Sichuan returned to the Song Dynasty. The western battlefront of the Southern Song Dynasty had retreated to Chongqing. If they could retake Sichuan, the pressure on the west would be reduced by several levels with the Sword Garret and Yangping as natural strongholds. After Sichuan returned, there would be a lot of vacancies, which became the focus of the competition between the various forces.
"Yes." Han Xingzhou laughed and said, "Jia Shidao is too greedy. The Front Hall Department doesn't want us to intervene, and Sichuan wants to be under our control. How can there be such a good thing?"
Chen Ziqiang frowned and said, "But according to the news I got, the emperor has decided to appoint Cheng Song, the Grand Secretary of the Hall of Assistance, as the Sichuan Controlling Commissioner. Cheng Song's sister, Cheng Miaojing, is the wife of Lü Wende, the Controlling Commissioner of Jinghu, and Lü Wende is a direct descendant of Jia Shidao. I can imagine that Sichuan is also under his control."
It was no wonder that Chen Ziqiang was so pessimistic. The Controlling Commissioner was a temporary position set up during the war of the Southern Song Dynasty. The original intention was to be in charge of the war, but in practice, it was often in charge of civil affairs and taxes. It could be said that it was the highest official in a place.
Han Xingzhou, however, was not in a hurry. He smiled mysteriously and said, "Cheng Song has great ambition but little talent. He doesn't have the ability to really control Sichuan. I plan to nominate Tiande to be the Commander of the Imperial Army stationed in the Xing State, as well as the Governor of the Xing State and the Pacification Commissioner of the West Road of the Li State. With the Wu family's many years of business in Sichuan, and Tiande's ability, it won't be difficult to make Cheng Song a mere figurehead and actually control Sichuan."
Wu Gong smiled bitterly and said, "It's such an important position. Jia Shidao will definitely come for it. As far as I know, he has recruited Guo Jing and Huang Rong, who are under Lü Wende's command, to the capital. I think he's going to recommend Guo Jing for this position."
Wu Qian's face was also filled with worry. "This is troublesome. This Guo Jing has a very high reputation in the hearts of the world. At the same time, he is highly skilled in martial arts and can lead troops into battle. Tiande has no advantage over him at all."
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