I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 884: Yuan Nu enters the mansion, the battlefield changes (4K6)

"what?!"

"Lord Ruyang?"

As soon as this statement came out, the whole audience was in an uproar.

Jun is a female title, although not as noble as a princess or a county lady, it is much higher than an ordinary lady. More importantly, this is equivalent to publicly recognizing the relationship between Yuan Xiaoyu and Su Yao!

Yuan Xiaoyu stood there in a daze, unable to believe her ears.

The more important meaning of being conferred a title of Lord to her was that it gave her an identity. With the title of Lord Ruyang, she would not be an ordinary concubine when she entered the Tang Mansion, but a lady second only to the main wife, or according to the terminology after the reform, a concubine of the Tang Mansion.

Concubine, that's right.

A major feature of the feudal era was its strict hierarchy.

According to Zhou Li, the emperor had one empress, three wives, nine concubines, twenty-seven ladies-in-waiting, and eighty-one imperial wives, while the princes and lords had one wife and nine concubines.

In the Han Dynasty, the harem system changed again. In addition to the empress, the emperor's harem also had many other positions, such as Zhaoyi, Jieyu, Meng'e, Ronghua, and Meiren. For princes and nobles, the positions of wives and concubines were also strictly distinguished.

For example, in the families of princes and marquises, the legitimate wife is called the queen or the marquis's wife, and concubines are divided into maids, concubines, etc. according to their status from high to low.

Now that Su Yao has broken through the rules of the Han Dynasty and been promoted to Duke, the imperial court has had a heated discussion about his fiefdom and official system, and even the status of his wives and concubines in his mansion.

It was finally decided that in the Duke's Mansion, the main wife would be called Madam, with a respected status and in charge of all affairs in the mansion; the highest-ranking concubine was called Ruren, who assisted Madam in managing the inner house and had corresponding etiquette standards and powers in many occasions; below her were concubines and other different levels, each with a clear identity definition and scope of responsibilities.

At the same time, not only because his wife was the emperor, but also in order to highlight the transcendental status of Su Yao as a duke, the court specially issued an edict stating that although the Duke of Tang was in name only, he was actually above the princes and kings, and all the etiquette and expenses in the Duke's mansion were in accordance with the royal system, and were even more honorable in some aspects.

For example, for ordinary dukes, in addition to their main wife, the Lady of the State, they also have concubines whose regulations are basically the same as those of marquises. They have two concubines and an unlimited number of ordinary concubines. Their concubines are called Ruzi or Ruren, and they only need to report to the government immediately, without official canonization.

As for Su Yao, the Duke of Tang, not only did he have as many as four concubines, but he also allowed his concubines to be called princesses, who were canonized by the court and enjoyed salaries just like other princes. He also had eight concubines who were not canonized, which was slightly more than the number of concubines allowed by ordinary princes.

In this way, Yuan Xiaoyu was named "Lord Ruyang", which actually meant that she was officially canonized as a concubine of the Duke of Tang's Mansion. Her status was second only to the main wife, Empress Wannian, and was on the same level as Princess Yun of the Xiongnu and Lord Zhen Jiang of Zhongshan, far higher than ordinary concubines.

This arrangement not only gave Yuan Shao enough face, but also cleverly brought Yuan's daughter under the control of the court.

Yuan Xiaoyu was stunned, not knowing how to react. She glanced at Su Yao secretly, and saw that he looked normal, as if he was not surprised by this arrangement.

"What's wrong? Lord Ruyang is not satisfied with my arrangement?" The voice of the Eternal Empress brought Yuan Xiaoyu back to reality.

"No, I, Your Majesty, thank you for your grace!" Yuan Xiaoyu knelt down hurriedly and saluted, her voice trembling slightly with excitement.

Wannian nodded with satisfaction and helped her up personally: "From now on, we are a family. There are not many rules in the Tang Mansion, so you can stay here with peace of mind. If you need anything, just tell Xiaochun."

Xiaochun, the former Xianbei princess, had always been just a maid due to her special status as a prisoner of war, and her attitude towards Su Yao was ambiguous.

But not long ago, after giving birth to a daughter for Su Yao, she finally officially integrated into the life of the Duke's Mansion, and even took on the responsibility of managing the Duke's Mansion for quite a period of time when the eldest wife was away.

But actually, as the head of the Duke's Mansion, it would never be the turn of a little maid like Xiaochun.

However, Su Yao's Duke's Mansion had its own special circumstances: the main wife lived in the palace and it was impossible for her to manage household affairs, and as for the two concubines, Princess Yun was a princess from an external vassal state, so she was unfamiliar with the affairs and never participated in them. The capable Lord Zhongshan Zhen Jiang was also busy with affairs, and except for being summoned by Su Yao occasionally, she was never seen in the mansion.

Therefore, the management of the Duke's Mansion fell on Hong'er, Su Yao's closest maid.

However, Hong'er didn't work as a housekeeper for long before she was called into the palace to serve Wannian, and now she was about to give birth.
The huge household affairs of the Duke's Mansion were passed down one by one and fell on the shoulders of Xiaochun, a Xianbei maid.

Now, Yuan Xiaoyu is about to get married. Obviously, no matter in terms of her background or status, this legitimate daughter of the Yuan family will be responsible for the daily management of the Duke's Mansion.

At this time, Wannian arranged Xiaochun to be by her side, who was responsible for taking care of Yuan Xiaoyu's daily life, but naturally there was also the consideration of secret surveillance.

Xiaochun naturally knew all of this. She walked forward and bowed respectfully to Yuan Xiaoyu, and the two of them were considered to have met each other.

Next, the banquet continued, but everyone's attention was attracted by the sudden event of enthroning the king.

Yuan Xiaoyu sat at the table and felt like she was sitting on clouds. Everything seemed so unreal.

She originally thought that she was only a concubine in the Marquis of Guanjun's Mansion when she came to the capital this time. Unexpectedly, in just less than half a month, Su Yao was named Duke, and His Majesty also named her a lord, making her a concubine in the Marquis of Tang's Mansion.

Such a drastic change made Yuan Xiaoyu a little overwhelmed for a moment. She could only stay calm and deal with the envious or jealous looks around her.

After doing all this, Wannian quickly left the table on the pretext that he needed to look after the prince.

Next, seeing that there was nothing wrong, Su Yao quickly prepared to retreat.

"You are tired today. I will have someone take you back home to rest. I will welcome you as soon as possible after the preparations are completed."

Yuan Xiaoyu lowered her head slightly, her cheeks flushed: "Thank you, Lord Tang, for your consideration. I will prepare well."

Su Yao nodded, turned around, gave a few instructions to the guards beside him, and left the banquet.

Yuan Xiaoyu looked at his departing back, feeling nervous and expectant. She knew that her fate was closely linked to the powerful Lord Tang. Although the road ahead was full of unknowns, at least at this moment, she felt a little relieved.

After returning to Yuan's house, Yuan Xiaoyu sat alone in her boudoir, thinking back to everything that happened today. From the panic she felt when she first met Su Yao, to the various tests at the banquet, to the surprise of being named "Lord Ruyang", everything seemed like a dream.

"Miss, what are you thinking about?" Xiao Cui asked softly.

Yuan Xiaoyu came back to her senses and smiled slightly: "Nothing, I just feel that this all happened too suddenly."

Xiao Cui smiled and said, "Miss, this is a great thing! Lord Tang thinks highly of you, you will definitely be able to gain a firm foothold in Lord Tang's mansion in the future."

Yuan Xiaoyu nodded, but she still had a little worry in her heart. She knew that she was carrying the expectations of the Yuan family, and the relationship between Su Yao and Yuan Shao was delicate. She was caught in the middle, and the road ahead might not be easy.

Just when Yuan Xiaoyu returned home to rest, Su Yao had already turned his attention back to the battlefield.

Now, it has been nearly half a month since Lujiang asked for help. The armies of Huangfu Song, Guan Yu and others have just set out and cannot be relied on for the time being. They can only see how Yuan Shao, who set out earlier, can perform.

However, due to the long distance, the strategic map could not display the local information in detail, so the court's 800-li express delivery became his main way to obtain intelligence.

So, in the next few days, Su Yao paid close attention to the progress of the southern front every day.

"Have any war reports been sent from the South today?"

Early in the morning, Su Yao asked as soon as he entered the government hall.

"Your Excellency Lord Tang, the war report from the south has just arrived." Jia Xu quickly took out a letter sealed with wax from his arms and handed it to Su Yao with both hands.

Su Yao took the battle report, opened the seal, unfolded the letter, and quickly scanned the words on it.

The current situation is not optimistic.

Although Yuan Shu performed like a piece of shit in the Central Plains War, he killed several generals in a row, and even the gold medal fighter Sun Jian was defeated in Nanyang. However, after running to Huainan, Yuan Shu immediately changed his appearance.

As the legitimate son of the Runan Yuan family, Yuan Shu himself had considerable appeal in the local area and attracted a lot of sponsorship during his escape.

At the same time, Jiangnan was far away from the Central Plains and developed barbarically. Although there were not many aristocratic families, there were many powerful people.

These people believed everything they heard and were extremely hostile to Su Yao's new policies. Yuan Shu, with his reputation as a man of three generations of high officials, maneuvered among them and won the support of local aristocratic families.

With the support of these people, Yuan Shu quickly obtained new food and manpower and reorganized a fairly large army.

In a short period of time, Yuan Shu gained a firm foothold in Huainan. With Shouchun City in Jiujiang County as his base, he not only strengthened the defensive fortifications of various passes and cities, but also plundered the surrounding counties and counties to expand his sphere of influence.

Lujiang in the west and Danyang in the south were both infiltrated by him, with a large number of powerful people attached to them. He even appointed his own prefects for Lujiang and Danyang to fight for local rule.

The Danyang prefect Zhou Xin, although an upright veteran of two dynasties, was just a figurehead. Facing the rebellion of Yuan Shu's army and local tyrants, he did not dare to fight to the death. Instead, he resigned on his own under the persuasion of the county officials and returned to his hometown in Kuaiji.

However, Lu Kang of Lujiang resolutely resisted Yuan Shu, and therefore received special attention from Yuan Shu's forces.

With the help of local noble families and powerful people, Yuan Shu, who had been planning an attack, quickly captured several county towns in the northeast of Lujiang, and his army went straight to Shu County, the capital of Lujiang.

For a while, Lujiang had powerful enemies outside and rebels inside, and the officials in the county all tried to persuade him to surrender. It seemed that the story of Zhou Xin of Danyang was about to be repeated.

Fortunately, Lu Kang of Lujiang was not an ordinary person. He was known for his righteousness when he was young. Not only had he gained experience in the northern border of the Han Dynasty, but when he took office in Lujiang, he was clear about rewards and punishments and defeated the local bandits.

Faced with Yuan Shu's aggressive offensive, Lu Kang withstood the pressure. He blockaded the county city and arrested and beheaded hundreds of local tyrants and officials who had unsteady positions and were suspected of secretly colluding with Yuan Shu. At the same time, he mobilized the soldiers and civilians in the city and vowed to defend the city to the death.

Seeing that Lu Kang was so tough, Yuan Shu ordered his general Ji Ling to lead his troops to besiege the city and attack it day and night. However, Lu Kang was well prepared, the city had sufficient food and grass, and the army and civilians were united. Ji Ling attacked for several days and suffered heavy casualties, but he was unable to break the city.

As a result, the two armies temporarily fell into a stalemate under the city of Lujiang.

However, although Yuan Shu could not take over Shu County, the seat of government, other counties in Lujiang were not so strong.

While Yuan Shu's army was besieging Lujiang, they also marched deep into the county, bypassed Shu County, and marched south along the Yangtze River, attacking cities and counties and looting on a large scale.

For a time, the people of Lujiang suffered miserably, and their cries shook the heavens. Countless villages were looted, farmland was barren, and refugees poured into Lujiang City like a tide, causing the city's originally sufficient supply of materials to gradually become stretched.

And at this time, Yuan Shao's army finally arrived at the northern battlefield.

They attacked from Nanyang, and under the leadership of generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou, they first swept Yuan Shu's stronghold in the south of Ruyang, crossed the Huai River, and then went all the way south into Lujiang County, recovering Yulou and six counties in one breath, approaching Longshu in the northwest of Shu County, and pushed the front line to the foot of Dabie Mountains in one breath.

"Hey, this Yuan Benchu ​​is pretty good."

Su Yao chuckled and said to his left and right:

"I thought he would be timid, but I didn't expect him to try so hard this time. Could it be that he has changed his personality?"

Xun Yu shook his head slightly, twisting his beard and said, "Lord Tang, Yuan Benchu ​​has always been ambitious. He is working so hard this time, but I'm afraid he is not really working for the court. In my opinion, he wants to use the name of suppressing the rebellion to expand his sphere of influence and prepare for future plots."

"If he makes great achievements in this campaign against Yuan Shu, not only will he be able to enhance his prestige among the imperial court and the literati, he can also take advantage of the situation to ask the imperial court to appoint his trusted aides to important local positions, thereby indirectly controlling Runan, Lujiang, and even Jiujiang."

After listening to Xun Yu's words, Su Yao understood.

This was one of the most common tactics used by warlords in the early period of the late Han Dynasty.

Once a piece of land was acquired, someone would be appointed as the local governor or prefect.

Because he was the one who fought for this land and achieved the credit, the imperial court itself had limited control and would often ratify such petitions.

"Yuan Benchu's plan was a good one, but unfortunately times have changed. How can I let him fulfill his wish?"

"Since ancient times, the power of personnel must not be arbitrarily controlled by Yuan Shao."

Immediately, Su Yao prepared to ask the Secretariat to draft an edict to clarify the powers and responsibilities of the appointment and dismissal of local officials.

But at this time, Lu Zhi stood up and advised Su Yao not to be too anxious.

"This move by Lord Tang will surely effectively curb the ambitions of the local princes. However, Yuan's army is already on the battlefield in Lujiang. If we forcibly interfere with their subsequent actions, it may shake the morale of the army and be detrimental to the war. It is better to postpone it for now."

At the same time, Jia Xu also pointed out that although Yuan Shao's troops advanced quickly this time, his intention to grab the credit was too obvious. Yuan Shu was no fool, and the current success might be hiding a crisis.

Su Yao frowned when he heard this: "What does Wen He mean by this?"

Jia Xu cupped his hands and said, "Mr. Tang, you are wise. Although Yuan Gonglu was defeated by Mr. Tang in the Central Plains and lost his great general Sun Jian, he still has veteran generals such as Ji Ling and Zhang Xun under his command, and he also has the support of the powerful people in Huainan."

"Yuan Benchu's advance was so smooth this time. I'm afraid it was Yuan Shu's deliberate attempt to show weakness and lure the enemy deeper into our territory."

After that, Jia Xu asked Su Yao to give orders to Huangfu Song as soon as possible, asking them to speed up their march, and at the same time strictly ordered Yuan Shao not to underestimate the enemy and advance rashly.

In response to this, Su Yao readily followed suit and immediately ordered his men to send urgent documents to Huangfu Song and Yuan Shao as fast as possible, and to mobilize troops to deal with possible changes.

However, transportation was inconvenient in ancient times and Luoyang and Lujiang were far apart. While Su Yao was dealing with the situation, the war situation in the south had changed drastically as Jia Xu had said.

Longshu City is located between the estuaries at the foot of the eastern foothills of Dabie Mountain. Yuan Shao's army advanced rapidly, but was ambushed before reaching the city.

Zhang Xun, a general under Yuan Shu, pretended to retreat and led Yuan's army into a valley. All of a sudden, ambushes rose up everywhere and arrows rained down. Yuan Shao's vanguard army was in chaos and suffered heavy casualties. It was thanks to General Wen Chou who fought desperately to break through that the army was able to escape.

However, Yuan Shu's attack was not limited to this one. Within a day, Yuan Shao's army, which had just escaped from the valley and was preparing to regroup, was attacked fiercely by the main force of Yuan Shu's army.

Even General Ji Ling, who was originally besieging Lujiang City, was transferred to launch a pincer attack on Yuan Shao's army.

Yuan Shao's army had just suffered a major defeat and its morale was unstable, so they were forced to cut off their rear to survive.

After abandoning a large amount of baggage and equipment, and paying the price of countless soldiers, Yuan Shao's army retreated all the way to Liuxian before they were able to stabilize their position.

"Does Lord Tang have anything important to do?"

Late at night, in Su Yao's bedroom in the Tang Mansion, Yuan Xiaoyu, who had just married into the family two days ago, lifted the quilt and poked her head out from under the covers, her eyes half asleep.

Su Yao took a look, sat back on the bed, covered the girl with the quilt again, and touched the girl's head:
"The war in the south has changed. I'm afraid I'll have to go see your father."

"what?!"

"But what happened to my father?"

For a moment, Yuan Xiaoyu didn't care about the pain in her body. She suddenly sat up straight and grabbed Su Yao's hand tightly.

(End of this chapter)