"Ah, ah …"
Cries of agony could be heard. Then, countless gravel flew into the air and covered the entrance of the Northern Mountain Village in a cloud of dust.
This was an accident …
The royal guards did not expect that there would be so many traps at the entrance of the Northern Mountain Village. The villagers also did not expect the royal guards to come to the Northern Mountain Village.
The warhorses fell into the trap and the royal guards did not have time to dismount. They fell into the trap as well.
The sound of horses neighing and cries of agony mixed together. It added a strange color to the morning sunlight.
The leader of the royal guards would not be killed by a trap. After he fell into the trap, he quickly climbed out of it. Then, he saw Fang Zhengzhi, who was wearing a rough robe and holding a dustpan in one hand and half a bun in the other.
At this moment, he was visibly stunned.
"Lord … Lord Fang?!" The leader of the royal guards had never expected to see Fang Zhengzhi in such a situation.
That was because news of Fang Zhengzhi had spread across the entire Great Xia Dynasty.
He only had half a year to live …
Wasn't this the time when every second was worth an inch of gold? Wasn't this the time to cultivate and break through to the Sage State?
Why was Fang Zhengzhi standing at the entrance of the village with a dustpan in his hand?
Fang Zhengzhi finally swallowed the remaining half of the bun in his mouth. Then, he carefully placed the dustpan on the ground and patted the dust off his body.
Of course, he recognized the attire of the Royal Guards in front of him. However, he did not pay too much attention to it. He only slightly raised his head to look at the morning sun and softly muttered, "Another sunny day."
…
The commotion at the entrance of the village attracted the attention of the villagers.
When the hundreds of royal guards crawled out of the trap, countless villagers of the Northern Mountain Village surrounded the entrance of the village.
"Are they the royal guards?"
"I heard that the royal guards are the personal guards of the Emperor. They are supposed to protect the palace. What are they doing here?"
"The village chief said that they might be here to capture Zhengzhi!"
"Capture Zhengzhi? Why? Zhengzhi is a rank three official now. Why are they here to capture him? Furthermore, Zhengzhi has made great contributions to the Southern Region! "
"I heard that it was because Zhengzhi deployed troops on his own …"
"How can we do that? It was not easy for Zhengzhi to return to the Northern Mountain Village. We cannot let them take him away. We must protect Zhengzhi even if it costs our lives! "
Countless villagers looked at the Royal Guards standing in front of them and whispered to each other. Every single one of them had a look of extreme vigilance on their faces.
Zhang Yangping and a few other villagers had also arrived at the village entrance. Looking at the disheveled Royal Army, their hearts were filled with worry.
In their hearts, if they treated the Royal Guards well when they came to capture them, they would naturally take care of them on the way. But now …
The Royal Guards had been tricked?!
What should they do?
What if the royal guards reported Fang Zhengzhi to him on the way back?
"Lord Royal Guards, we really didn't know that you would … come, so this trap …" Zhang Yangping looked at the ground and hesitated.
"Village chief, you don't have to apologize. We were the ones who stepped into the trap. It has nothing to do with the Northern Mountain Village!" The leader of the Royal Guards was slightly uncomfortable when he heard Zhang Yangping's apology. Without waiting for Zhang Yangping to continue, he walked in front of Fang Zhengzhi and said, "Official Fang, the Emperor has a decree!"
"A decree from the Emperor?"
"Lord Royal Guards, is the Emperor going to blame Zhengzhi for leading troops on his own?"
"This matter started because of the Northern Mountain Village. It has nothing to do with Zhengzhi. If you want to blame someone, please blame the Northern Mountain Village!"
Zhang Yangping and a few other village chiefs' expressions changed when they heard the leader of the Royal Guards.
At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi walked out and helped Zhang Yangping up. Then, he looked at the leader of the Royal Guards and said, "Read it!"
"Read it?!"
Countless villagers of the Northern Mountain Village looked at each other. In their minds, wasn't this the time to kneel down and accept the decree?
Read it …
What did that mean?
Just as the villagers were about to reprimand Fang Zhengzhi for his lack of etiquette, the leader of the royal guards took out a golden scroll from his pocket. Furthermore, from his expression, he did not seem surprised at all.
"Assistant Minister Fang Zhengzhi of the Ministry of Rites, for his meritorious service in protecting the safety of the Flame Capital City and protecting the dignity of the Royal Family, he will be conferred the title of Commander of An Bei, Commanding Ten Thousand Households, Imperial History Officer, Rank 2 Official!"
"Commander of An Bei?!"
"Commanding Ten Thousand Households!"
"He even conferred the title of Imperial Historian?!"
Shock. When the words of the head of the imperial guards came out, countless villagers of the Northern Mountain Village stared with their eyes wide open. They did not understand what these official positions were for.
However, they heard the last sentence.
Rank 2 Official!
Rank 2 Official!
That was equivalent to a Rank 6 Official!
Not only did he not blame Fang Zhengzhi for leading troops on his own, he even conferred him a rank 2 Official? The villagers of the Northern Mountain Village could not react to this sudden turn of events.
However, after a moment of shock, they heard someone kneel down.
"Village chief Zhang Yangping thanks the Emperor on behalf of Fang Zhengzhi!"
"Thank you, the Emperor!"
"Thank you, the Emperor!"
"..."
Countless voices of people kneeling down could be heard. Every single villager had tears in their eyes as they looked towards the east and kowtowed gratefully.
"Rank 2 Official?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the villagers kneeling on the ground. He wanted to stop them, but he knew that Zhang Yangping and the villagers would not listen to him.
If he asked them to stand and receive the decree like him, they would not be able to adapt to it. In fact, they might even be scolded by Zhang Yangping.
He felt helpless.
However, this was human nature.
At this moment, the sound of horse hooves could be heard from afar. Then, close to a hundred royal guards appeared in front of everyone.
"Why are there more royal guards?"
"Could it be that the Emperor changed his mind?"
"It can't be? Didn't they say that the Emperor does not go back on his words? How can he go back on his words! "
"Could it be that he is going to reward them first and then reprimand them? I heard that the Emperor is going to punish them based on merits and demerits. If they make a contribution, they will be rewarded. However, isn't it a crime to lead troops without permission? "
The villagers stared at the approaching hundred Royal Guards and their joyful expressions turned serious once again.
Very quickly, the royal guards arrived in front of Fang Zhengzhi and the villagers.
"Official Fang, the Emperor has a decree!" The Royal Guards who came over looked at the dusty Royal Guards standing in front of them with confusion in their eyes.
However, he did not ask any questions. Instead, he quickly walked in front of Fang Zhengzhi and took out a golden silk scroll from his pocket.
"Read it." Fang Zhengzhi spoke again.
This time, the villagers were not too surprised. However, they were extremely nervous as they looked at the golden scroll in the hands of the royal guards.
"Commander of An Bei, Imperial Historian Fang Zhengzhi, has calmed the chaos in the Northern Lands and protected the lives of millions of people in the Northern Lands. He is specially conferred the title: Commander of An Bei, Commanding Ten Thousand Households, Imperial Tutor, Rank 1 Official!"
"Rank 1 Official?!"
"He is even conferred the title of Imperial Tutor?!"
"Commander of An Bei!"
If the content of the previous edict had shocked and surprised the Northern Mountain Village villagers, then the content of this edict had them "dumbfounded".
Rank 1 Official!
What else could be more terrifying than a Secondary Rank 1 official position?
Since ancient times, if a family could become a Rank 1 Official, they would be able to prosper for generations to come. However, in a remote village like the Northern Mountain Village, who would dare to dream of becoming a Rank 1 Official?
However, today …
This honor had been bestowed upon Fang Zhengzhi.
Fang Zhengzhi, a poor villager from the Northern Mountain Village, had become a Rank 1 Official of the Great Xia Dynasty. Even though it was only a Rank 1 Official, this treatment was enough to drive them crazy.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you for your grace!"
"Zhengzhi, Zhengzhi … hurry, come and kneel to thank the Emperor!"
"That's right, Zhengzhi, don't just stand there. Hurry, this is a great gift from the heavens. The Emperor has conferred you the title of Commander of An Bei!"
"The Northern Mountain Village is truly blessed by the heavens. In the past, we never had an official, but today, we have a Rank 1 Official!"
The villagers were excited and in a frenzy. Tears welled up in their eyes as their bodies trembled uncontrollably. Even though this honor belonged to Fang Zhengzhi, it was no different to them.
Fang Zhengzhi looked at the excited villagers and waved his hands helplessly. Kneel? How long would they have to kneel for?
"There's more!" Fang Zhengzhi pointed into the distance.
"There's more?" Zhang Yangping and the villagers were stunned. They subconsciously looked into the distance and saw a group of Royal Guards dressed in golden armor appear in their line of sight.
…
"The Emperor has decreed … because of Fang Zhengzhi's outstanding achievements, Fang Zhengzhi will be conferred the title of General of An Bei. He will be given the title of Imperial Tutor and Rank 1 Official!"
"Imperial Tutor?!"
"Imperial Tutor, this is the Imperial Tutor!"
"Rank 1 Official!"
"The Northern Mountain Village has a general, and it's the General of An Bei!"
Zhang Yangping's face flushed red. He had never been as excited as he was today. Rank 1 Official, Imperial Tutor, General of An Bei.
This was almost the highest honor!
There was no other honor that could compare to this kind of bestowal.
How old was Fang Zhengzhi?
He was not even 18 years old. How could they believe that he was already the Imperial Tutor of the Great Xia Dynasty and a Rank 1 Official?
They knelt and kowtowed.
Zhang Yangping and the villagers were so excited that they could not speak. All of them had smiles on their faces. Smiles that were as bright as the sun.
However, very quickly …
Their smiles froze.
That was because, in the distance, another group of royal guards was rushing over. Their golden armor shimmered brightly under the sunlight.
"Again?!"
"He has already been conferred the title of Imperial Tutor, what else do you want?!"
If the first, second, and third time had made the villagers nervous and fearful, then this time, they were speechless.
Could it be that there was a rank 1 Official?
But …
What else could there be? That was impossible. A rank 1 Official was the highest rank in the courts. Furthermore, he was already the General of An Bei. What else could there be?
No one could understand.
The royal guards were already in front of Fang Zhengzhi. A few hundred of them blocked the entrance of the Northern Mountain Village. However, the leader of the royal guards still managed to reach Fang Zhengzhi.
"Official Fang, the Emperor has an order!"
"Read it." Fang Zhengzhi was a little speechless. Of course, he could tell that Lin Mubai had purposely made this happen. He had issued one imperial edict after another.
He could understand the intention behind it.
Since ancient times, there had been rules for promotions in the courts. If one did not want to attract too many dissenters, one had to go up one rank at a time.
When he was the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, he was only a Rank 3 Official and received a Rank 2 Official stipend.
As such, Lin Mubai could only slowly work his way up from Rank 2 Official. Rank 2 Official, Rank 1 Official, Rank 1 Official...
Step by step, he added more and more.
Fang Zhengzhi looked at the sun in the sky. He wondered, if he was still a Rank 9 Official, how many decrees would Lin Mubai have to issue before he could be "satisfied"?
"Due to the contributions of the General of An Bei, Imperial Tutor Fang Zhengzhi will be conferred the title of Marquis of An Bei. His mother, Qin Xuelian, will be conferred the title of Imperial Tutor!"
"Conferred the title of Marquis? He is a Marquis! "
"Even Sister Xuelian has been given a Rank One Royal Title, and Houde has been given the title of Grand Tutor. Oh my god, our Northern Mountain Village really has a Marquis!"
Zhang Yangping and the villagers were thirsty. However, they could not suppress the excitement in their hearts. Their hoarse cheers and cries of gratitude rang out in the village.
At that moment …
Another group of Royal Guards appeared in their line of sight. Dust flew behind them, and their golden armor was so dazzling.
Zhang Yangping and the villagers' expressions froze.
At this moment, they did not think that the Emperor would punish them. Fang Zhengzhi had already been conferred the title of Marquis. Furthermore, he was conferred the title of Marquis of An Bei.
However, if he was not punished, what else could he be conferred?
"Fang Zhengzhi, Marquis of An Bei, receive your orders!" The leader of the royal guards forced his way through the crowd to reach Fang Zhengzhi. Then, he took out a roll of golden silk from his pocket.
"Is there anyone else?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the sweating royal guards and then at the people behind them. Unfortunately, his vision was completely blocked. He could not see if there was anyone else behind.
"This … I do not know!" The leader of the royal guards was stunned. Then, he shook his head carefully.
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