A daughter-in-law giving birth to a child was indeed a major event, an incredible event. It was precisely because of this event that many nobles who wanted to give gifts to curry favor with Xiao Ruxun had the opportunity to do so. Giving gifts after giving birth was a common occurrence, a tradition that had been passed down for thousands of years. Thus, the Xiao family could not avoid it no matter what.
Xiao Wenkui thought about it and felt that there was a reason to accept such gifts. It was much better than those improper transactions of power and money, so he did not object. For a time, the Xiao family's courtyard was crowded with people and carriages. Those who did not know would have thought that this was the official residence of the Minister of Personnel and the First Assistant Minister of the Cabinet.
In truth, everyone had no other choice.
Last time, before Xiao Ruxun went to Korea, everyone thought that defeating the Japanese pirates would be a very easy task. But when they saw how badly the Koreans were defeated, they retreated. They had originally wanted to entrust their children to Xiao Ruxun to gain experience on the battlefield. Regardless of whether they could make contributions or not, they would at least gain experience on the battlefield and would not be too cowardly in the future. But when they learned of the ferocity of the Japanese pirates, they all retreated and shamelessly asked for their children back, afraid that they would die without descendants.
In the end, Xiao Ruxun won one victory after another in Korea, each victory greater than the last. Finally, he even fought his way to Japan. It was said that he even killed the Japanese Prince Regent and earned who knew how much silver. This was a great contribution. When the news of him being made a marquis came out, all the martial families in the capital panicked. Only then did they remember their previous unhappiness with Xiao Ruxun.
After this battle, Xiao Ruxun could be said to have secured his position as Wanli's number one general, suppressing even Li Chengliang. And compared to Li Chengliang, who was desperately trying to curry favor with the civil officials, Xiao Ruxun was the son of a martial family. He was an extremely rare talent. Who else should they curry favor with if not him? Those scions of dukes and marquises who had missed the opportunity to curry favor with him regretted it so much that they didn't even go to the brothels, casinos, and taverns anymore. For a time, the streets of the capital were no longer filled with idle scions.
It wasn't that the aristocratic scions had changed their temperaments, but that some well-informed Wu Xun had learned of Xiao Ruxun's final arrangements from their friendly civil officials.
The Dongwu Kingdom invaded the border again. The Daming couldn't stand it anymore. He decided to send General Xiao Ruxun to the south to attack the Dongwu Kingdom and destroy it!
The most important thing was that ever since Emperor Yingzong, the highest position a military official could hold was the commander-in-chief of the army, whether it was during leisure time or during wartime. But this time, Xiao Ruxun had broken this rule. He had taken command of the same rank as the commander-in-chief, and the original commander-in-chief had become the Minister of Logistics. Even though this was just an exception, it was still a significant incentive for the generals of the Daming Kingdom.
It wasn't that the aristocratic families who were kept in captivity in the capital didn't have any ambition. It was just that they didn't have any good opportunities. Whenever there was a good opportunity, they would be willing to take it. However, after the Tumu Castle incident, the path of promotion for military officials was severely restricted. The quality of the hereditary military officials was far inferior to that of the elite civil officials who had fought for millions of lives. Under such an elite political system, there was no hope for the military officials to make a comeback.
There was some hope before, but it was followed by greater despair. Zhang Juzheng, the only minister of the Daming, not only treated the civil officials fiercely, but he also treated the military officials even more fiercely. As a result, the most outstanding military officials of the Jiajing Dynasty were restricted. After the death of Zhang Juzheng in the 10th year of Wanli, the group of civil officials became even more aggressive. Although famous generals like Li Chengliang and his son appeared, they leaned towards the civil officials and formed an alliance of interests with them.
It was wishful thinking to expect them to speak for the military officials.
The quality of the hereditary military officials born under the hereditary system couldn't be compared to that of the elite civil officials who had fought for millions of lives. It was impossible for them to play politics with their brains. There was no one among the military officials to support them. Finally, there was Li Chengliang, but he turned out to be a lackey. Now that Xiao Ruxun, a proper hereditary military official, was born, everyone immediately put all their hopes on Xiao Ruxun.
It wasn't just the counts and marquises who came to befriend the Xiao Clan. A portion of the dukes also came to befriend the Xiao Clan. Other than the Duke of Dingguo, the Duke of Chengguo, and the Duke of Yingguo, who only sent stewards to deliver gifts, the other great martial clans sent their family members to personally deliver gifts. The heads of the marquises and counts sent their families to pay their respects to Xiao Wenkui, hoping to leave a good impression on him. When Xiao Ruxun returned, it would be best if he could leave a mark on Xiao Ruxun's heart.
On the night before Xiao Ruxun returned to the capital, Xiao Wenkui and his favorite concubine were also dumbfounded when they saw a room full of gifts.
Xiao Wenkui had come to the capital a long time ago to develop his career. He had struggled in the capital camp for many years, but he didn't have many connections. After all, everyone else had a noble title, while a hereditary military official without a noble title truly wasn't worth befriending.
However, after fighting two battles, Xiao Ruxun's noble title came to him, and he even jumped to the rank of marquis, stepping into the upper echelons of the Wuxun Corporation. He still had real power and could fight battles. As the only commander of the Daming, his status was even more respected. To tell the truth, if not for his young age and lack of seniority, the three top-notch noble clans of Dingguo, Chengguo, and Yingguo would have sent their stewards to deliver gifts. Everyone said that the Duke of Dingguo, Duke of Chengguo, and Duke of Yingguo were putting on airs and couldn't bring themselves to lower themselves, so they sent stewards to deliver gifts.
However, these three clans were the top-notch nobles of the Daming, and even the civil officials had to politely address them as Duke. Although they despised them in their hearts, if they said it out loud, it would be a serious crime. Xu Da, Zhang Yu, and Zhu Neng had all rendered meritorious services to the Daming, and not just anyone could casually touch them. Even a big shot like Zhang Juzheng was extremely apprehensive when facing these three clans, as well as the Duke of Wei of Nanjing and the Duke of Qian of Yunnan, and did not dare to touch them.
To put it bluntly, there were five top-notch noble clans in the Daming, and all of them were military officials. The Xu Family of Duke Ding and Duke Wei, the Zhu Family of Yingguo, the Zhang Family of Yingguo, and the Mu Family of Qian. These five clans were all top-notch nobles. Although they had no real power, their status was noble. Even the civil officials had to be polite to them, and did not dare to overstep their boundaries, unlike other military officials who could casually order them around.
In other words, in the current Daming, all military officials below the Duke rank were trash in the eyes of the civil officials. Among the Dukes, except for these five clans who were too powerful to touch, the rest were not that difficult to deal with. Xiao Ruxun and Li Chengliang were the only two exceptions, and Xiao Ruxun obviously had more advantages than Li Chengliang. Because of his youth, he even had the possibility of becoming a Duke.
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