After all the sacrifices have been made to speed pass, who is still practicing hard skills?

Chapter 487: The Highest Official in the Country! Duke Wu'an!

The end of May in the 13th year of Yuankang.

Several days have passed since the end of the Battle of Yangping Pass, but the waves it caused are far from stopping. The entire martial arts world, especially the southern region, has been stirred up by huge waves.

It's not just because the world is shocked by Jiang Che's strength, but also because the cleansing of Yuezhou has already begun.

Starting from the three important towns on the border, after Li Kuang and others, under the orders of Jiang Che, completely subdued the 50,000 Zhennan troops in Yuezhou, they quickly began to take action against the rebels in various places.

Wherever they went, all the underworld forces and powerful families that had caused trouble were included in the purge list, especially with the support of Xuehaimen and Linyuan Wei.

The entire Yuezhou territory was suddenly plunged into a terrifying situation.

In order to completely clean up the underworld and unite all the forces in Yuezhou, the Zhennan Army raised their butcher knives. Wherever they passed, blood flowed and heads were strewn on the ground.

Jiang Che's reputation also dropped suddenly in an instant.

However, Jiang Che didn't feel anything about it.

Although reputation is good, it cannot compare to actual benefits.

Moreover, he has announced to the public that he is in seclusion at this moment, and the real people in charge are Li Kuang, Li Xian and other deputy generals of Zhennan Army, as well as Pei Hongyi, the leader of Xuehai Sect.

At the same time, as the battle of Yangping Pass escalated, Jiang Chezhen's record of killing several great masters became completely famous in the martial arts world, and he not only earned the title of a god.

He was also directly ranked third on the list of the most powerful people by the imperial court.

As for the first and the second, both are powerful immortals who are famous in the world. Jiang Che has reached this step in such a short time, which has directly created an insurmountable gap between him and all his peers in the world.

After all, among the many young heroes in the last Martial Realm Battle, there were some who had entered the Divine Phase and achieved Grand Master status, but so far, no one has met the judging criteria for the Fengyun Martial Arts Ranking.

Therefore, when the warriors in the martial arts world mentioned Jiang Che, no one regarded him as a member of the younger generation anymore. He had already reached the level that could be compared with the real strong men in the martial arts world.

Moreover, Jiang Che ranked third on the list, which was far ahead of most of the venerables.

He is known as the most top-notch soul master under the Martial Saint.

Suddenly, the limelight was overwhelming.

The same is true in the capital.

The stories of many warriors who have had interactions with Jiang Che are complicated and indescribable.

Like Chen Qingfang, the divine envoy of the Black Ya, Jiang Che was originally just his junior. Even though he later ascended to the position of divine envoy and seemed to be on equal footing with him, there was actually still some gap between the two.

But after the victory at Yangping Pass, he could no longer regard Jiang Che as his junior.

But they are true colleagues at the same level.

And what is very crucial is that he is far inferior to Jiang Che. Although he is also included in the list of the best, he only made it into the top 20 and is still far from the holy realm.

But Jiang Che is different. Although his cultivation has only just entered the Yuanshen stage, who in the whole world would regard him as an ordinary Venerable?
That is the future Martial Saint!
It is almost certain that he will be the martial arts saint.

Now that the potential has been revealed, who wouldn’t be in awe?

Therefore, after learning about this, he immediately began to prepare to ask for a reward for Jiang Che.

In comparison, the third prince Ji Changsheng was ecstatic. Before Jiang Che left Beijing, he had already made it clear that he would support him in every possible way. This was no secret in the entire martial arts world.

Now that Jiang Che has gained momentum, he can be regarded as his greatest helper.

He was even somewhat fortunate, because at the beginning he only valued Jiang Che's potential and the Divine King Ji Chengdao behind him, but now, Jiang Che's own strength was enough to give him a status comparable to the eldest prince and the second prince.

At this moment, he thought of his mother who had slept with Jiang Che.

After learning the news, he quickly went to the Queen's bedroom and vividly recounted Jiang Che's world-famous achievements in defeating the Baiyue people. Xue Bai'er was frightened when she heard it.

A hint of worry unconsciously appeared on his face.

She didn't know why, but after having several in-depth exchanges with Jiang Che, she seemed to be possessed. After Jiang Che left, she missed him almost day and night.

It's as if I've developed a sense of dependence.

She even had the idea that she didn't want Jiang Che to achieve success, but wanted Jiang Che to stay with her in the capital forever. However, this idea was only fleeting.

After all, Jiang Che was not hers alone. In fact, the relationship between her and Jiang Che was a little abnormal. Perhaps in Jiang Che's eyes, she was just a woman with some status.

But that's about it.

Otherwise, Jiang Che would not have never contacted her since he left.

"Mother, are you unhappy?"

After Ji Changsheng finished his excited story, he did not see any joy on his mother's face. Instead, he noticed something was wrong.

Xue Bai'er's eyes flickered and she sighed softly:

"Sheng'er, now the whole capital knows that Jiang Che supports you, but at times like this, you must remain calm. Even if you are happy, you must not show it too much.

Otherwise, it might not only cause trouble for you, but also for Jiang Che."

"I naturally understand what your Majesty Queen said."

Ji Changsheng smiled when he heard this, and then seemed to have thought of something:
"It's a pity that there is always something between Envoy Jiang and me. Envoy Jiang is now in a high position and might even replace Li Chengguo. I'm afraid that when the time comes..."

"Don't worry, Envoy Jiang is not someone who goes back on his word."

"Haha, mother convinced Jiang Che in the beginning, so I naturally believed it. However, I did have some conflicts with Envoy Jiang after all, so I will contact Envoy Jiang in the future.

I hope my mother will take more care of me."

Ji Changsheng said quickly.

In fact, this is exactly why he came here.

Because the bridge of communication between him and Jiang Che is his mother, even if it is to deepen their feelings, it should be done by his mother.

Xue Bai'er's heart skipped a beat and she glanced at Ji Changsheng's expression, as if she was checking whether he had found anything wrong. But after watching for a moment, she breathed a sigh of relief.

I thought that with Ji Changsheng's intelligence, he shouldn't be able to discover anything wrong.

After a pause, she changed the subject.

In the royal palace, in the royal study.

The candlelight is bright and the aroma is lingering.

The entire imperial study was filled with an inexplicable pressure. Just as Empress Xue Bai'e had worried, Yuan Kang Emperor Ji Wenhao was very happy that Jiang Che was able to stop the invasion of the Baiyue coalition, but she was also very wary.

Isn’t Jiang Che today the same Li Chengguo of the past?

Moreover, its power far exceeds that of Li Chengguo.

Although Li Chengguo controlled Yuezhou and had 100,000 elite soldiers under his command, he was ultimately just a Yuanshen Venerable, far from being a Martial Saint. In the eyes of the imperial court, he was just a minor illness.

But Jiang Che is different. His talent is known to the world, and he will become a martial saint in the future. The Battle of Yangping Pass undoubtedly pushed Jiang Che's prestige to the peak, and he guarded the gate of Yuezhou with a determination to die.

This will surely win the hearts of the people in Yuezhou.

Now he is in charge of the Zhennan Army, and the power in his hands far exceeds that of Li Chengguo. The most important thing is that after this battle, Jiang Che's prestige in the Baiyue land must have reached its peak.

Once Jiang Che Chengsheng develops the desire to secede, he will be nurturing a tiger to harm himself.

But no matter how worried he was, Jiang Che's achievements were known to the world, and he could not fail to reward him. He could not transfer Jiang Che away from Yuezhou at this juncture. Moreover, Ji Chengdao was behind Jiang Che.

Even though Jiang Che had once expressed his attitude of submission to him, Ji Wenhao had already seen some problems in many things that happened afterwards and no longer believed in Jiang Che's loyalty.

And with the protection of the true god Ji Chengdao, he could not suppress him even if he was afraid of him.

Even more, Jiang Che and Ji Chengdao, one is guarding the southern border and the other is guarding the northern border. If Ji Chengdao gives an order, wouldn't it be a pincer attack from the north and the south?
Now the threat from the southern border has been resolved. Although the victory in the northern border cannot be said to be a great victory, under Ji Chengdao's planning, not only a northern barbarian martial saint was killed, but the invading troops were also forced to retreat.

It can be said that apart from the pressure from Tianyuan, the situation of being surrounded by enemies on three sides has been alleviated a lot.

If we clash with Ji Chengdao and Jiang Che at this time, the consequences will be unpredictable.
It was for this reason that, after learning about the great victory in southern Xinjiang and the war in northern Xinjiang, he was now caught in a complicated situation. As an emperor, he naturally hoped to win.

However, as an emperor whose prestige was not enough to intimidate the world, he hoped that his subjects would not become too successful and threaten his throne.

"Your Majesty, it's time to rest."

The red-robed eunuch Li Chengzhong who had been waiting suddenly spoke up to remind him.

Ji Wenhao opened his eyes and exhaled:
"Chengzhong."

"The servant is here."

"What do you think about the war in Southern Xinjiang?"

"I congratulate Your Majesty. The Marquis of Guanjun defeated the Baiyue coalition. This battle not only wiped out the rebellious Li Chengguo, but also frightened the Baiyue countries. If nothing unexpected happens, there may be no more wars in southern Xinjiang for decades."

A smile appeared on Li Chengzhong's face.

"What about the people in the capital?"

"According to the news from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, not only the people of the capital, but also the people of all states and prefectures are jubilant, especially the people of Yuezhou. Many of them have even built a shrine for the Champion Marquis."

"The ancestral temple."

Ji Wenhao's face showed no emotion. After a moment of silence, he asked again:
"Then in your opinion, how should I confer the title of Champion Marquis?"

"I have a narrow vision and dare not speak nonsense."

Li Chengzhong quickly lowered his head, seeming a little frightened.

"I forgive you for not being guilty."

Li Chengzhong glanced at Ji Wenhao cautiously. As the emperor's personal attendant, how could he not know that the emperor was wary of Jiang Che and Ji Chengdao? After thinking for a moment, he spoke:
"I think that we should let Marquis Guanjun inherit Li Chengguo's title and give him some additional fiefs and rewards."

Ji Wenhao sneered:
"If this is the case, wouldn't it make the world laugh at me?"

"That's not what I meant, slave."

"Forget it. If even a servant like you thinks that I am not broad-minded enough, how can I rule the world in the future?" After glancing at Li Chengzhong, Ji Wenhao had already made up his mind and waved his hand to signal to return to the palace to rest.

Li Chengzhong didn't dare to say anything more and gave instructions carefully.

The next morning, there was a court meeting.

Although the news of the great victories at Yangping Pass and Northern Frontier had already reached the capital, the actual rewards still had to be announced at the court meeting. Of course, the emperor had already met with many ministers in private to discuss rewards and post-war relief.

The court meeting is just a formality.

At this court meeting, a piece of news quickly spread throughout the world.

As for the rewards to Ji Chengdao, the emperor only gave him some empty titles and fiefs. After all, as the emperor's uncle, Ji Chengdao was already a god-king in the court.

He was the number one person under the emperor, and there was nothing more he could do. He could only distribute these rewards to the generals and soldiers under Ji Chengdao, and he himself could not get much benefit.

Of course, the emperor also knew what kind of person Ji Chengdao was. Although he was afraid of Ji Chengdao's power, he was not afraid that Ji Chengdao would be disloyal. After all, Ji Chengdao really had the qualifications to depose and enthrone the emperor.

In comparison, Jiang Che's reward seemed very grand.

This was not only because Jiang Che was young and had a lower rank, but also because Jiang Che's results were even more gratifying, killing nearly twenty great masters of the Divine Appearance and more than 100,000 elite Baiyue soldiers.

And keep the enemy outside the country, and decide the outcome of the battle in one go.

Although the battle in the northern border was won, it was a tragic victory. Although Ji Chengdao was in charge of the overall situation, he could not withstand the fierceness of this battle. Not only were there the royal cavalry, but also the Qingtian Sect was colluding with him from both inside and outside.

As a result, the imperial court suffered a series of defeats at the beginning.

It was not until the end that Ji Chengdao turned the tide. He set up a formation to kill a Martial Saint and more than ten Grand Masters, and also dealt a heavy blow to the Northern Barbarians' Royal Court. However, even so, the Northern Barbarians' Royal Court was still looting in Youzhou.

Causing heavy casualties among the people
For this reason, even when the imperial court intended to publicize it, Ji Chengdao still ordered it not to be allowed and tried to minimize the impact, as if he was building momentum for Jiang Che.

Therefore, with such a comparison, Jiang Che's side appears to be more legendary and more able to attract the attention of the people and the martial arts world. Of course, there are also many people who understand the huge difference between the wars in the northern and southern borders.

But the imperial court is trying to reduce the impact, who dares to go against Ji Chengdao?
Among the rewards, the imperial court not only gave Jiang Che a large amount of training resources as post-war pensions and rewards for military merits, but also continued to promote him to higher positions.

Originally, many people thought that Jiang Che might still be conferred the title of Marquis, but only the Marquis of Zhennan and Jingnan. However, the emperor seemed to want to show his favor and directly conferred the title of Duke on Jiang Che.

He is ranked below the king and can be said to be the highest official in the country.

Apart from the emperor, princes, and kings of different surnames, Jiang Che's title has reached the first level, and he is named Duke Wu'an, which means to secure the world with Wu'an. Besides this, Jiang Che also holds the posts of Governor of Yuezhou and General Zhennan.

And even with such a reward, the emperor still did not take back Jiang Che's position as the Black Ya Divine Envoy. It can be said that Jiang Che is now a high-ranking official.

It's certainly not that the emperor doesn't want to, but now that Jiang Che's achievements are known to the world, it's difficult for him to deprive Jiang Che of his real power, so he can only reward him in this way.

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