Dahan: A 100-year-old veteran, I will build the strongest family

Chapter 73: Senior general position in the Han Dynasty + Grand Marshal in the court, is he on par with Wei Qing?

"Your Majesty actually appointed Li Hong as General of Chariots and Cavalry. That's General of Chariots and Cavalry, which is only below the general and general of cavalry among the military generals. It is above the general of guards, the general of the front, the general of the rear, the general of the left, and the general of the right. He can already have his own government, with one chief secretary, one secretary, two assistants, 29 subordinates, and 31 subordinates of the censor. Isn't this too heavy a position?"

An old official standing next to Cao Song immediately pulled his beard and exclaimed in shock.

"But there's more than just the General of Chariots and Cavalry, there's also the Grand Marshal. The Grand Marshal, that's the Grand Marshal, the head of the Three Dukes, in charge of military affairs. If there's a military event, the Grand Marshal is in charge of it, and in normal times, the Grand Marshal is still there to prepare for the unexpected, in charge of daily military administrative affairs. This... The General of Chariots and Cavalry is given the Grand Marshal, is this trying to emulate Wei Qing's Great General and Grand Marshal?"

A General of Chariots and Cavalry and a Grand Marshal made a group of officials restless. When Cao Song heard the voice, his face immediately fell.

"And there is Marquis Chengji, he is a county marquis. My God, this is a step to heaven. It was difficult for Li Guang to be made a marquis, but today Li Hong was directly made a county marquis. With a fief of 3,000 households, this reward is too great."

Ten miles outside Luoyang city, as the words rang out that Liu Hong would appoint Li Hong as General of Chariots and Cavalry, Grand Marshal of the current dynasty, grant him the title of Marquis of Chengji County, and give him a fief of 3,000 households, all the civil and military officials could no longer sit still.

It was really because Liu Hong was too generous in rewarding Li Hong.

As a senior general in the Han Dynasty and the Grand Marshal in the court, is Liu Hong trying to emulate Wei Qing?

They admitted that Li Hong fought well in this battle, but, it was just one battle, right?

The charming and attractive Queen He Lian looked at Liu Hong and Li Hong with her beautiful eyes in shock. She didn't understand what the two had said. Why did Liu Hong suddenly re-confer so many titles to Li Hong?

"Your Majesty, is this reward too hasty? General Li has made outstanding contributions, but..." Sikong Yuanfeng stood up, but before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Liu Hong who was standing on the dragon chariot.

"Sikong, what do you mean? You said that I was too hasty?" Liu Hong looked at Yuan Feng who jumped out first, and said unhappily.

"This..." Yuan Feng was stunned and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, I am not saying that Your Majesty is careless, but I am just saying that such a reward is a bit too much, isn't it?"

Li Hong was also shocked when he heard the reward from Liu Hong.

I came to my senses and saw Yuan Feng jumping out.

Li Hong didn't say anything either. He wanted to see how Liu Hong would respond.

Li Hong knew that if he presented Liu Hong with the plan to conquer the southern and northern grasslands of the desert in advance, Liu Hong would be very happy.

They may even make greater use of themselves.

However, Li Hong never expected that Liu Hong would reward him so generously.

He is the General of Chariots and Cavalry, the Grand Marshal, and the Marquis of the County!
Any one of them is a position that many officials cannot reach in their entire lives.

Li Guang, the ancestor of the Li family, spent his entire life in military service and guarded the Han border for decades but was never granted a title of nobility.

He actually skipped the titles of Tinghou and Xianghou and was granted the title of Xianhou?

Li Hong took a deep breath and wanted to see what Liu Hong would say.

On the dragon sedan, Liu Hong also saw a group of civil and military officials looking at him in unison, as if wanting him to give an explanation.

Liu Hong immediately became a little impatient. What did he want him to say or explain?
Should he tell him what Li Hong had just told him about the strategy to capture the grasslands south and north of the desert?

What a joke! The less people know about this, the better.

Liu Hong must have his own considerations for suddenly conferring such a high title on Li Hong.

Winning over Li Hong is one.

Increasing the rewards and publicizing Li Hong's achievements were a disguised way of saying that Liu Hong's achievements were second to none.

Li Hong had a feasible plan to conquer the grasslands south and north of the desert, and he had the hope of achieving an unprecedented feat that even Emperor Wu of Han had never achieved. This was the third point, and it was also the key point that made Liu Hong make up his mind.

As for the reward being too heavy?

Liu Hong didn't feel that way. In Liu Hong's opinion, any official position could be sold as long as it could be sold at a good price.

The Li family is quite capable and has made great contributions to the Han Dynasty, but they are aloof and wealthy, so Li Hong has never bought any official positions for the family in the past few decades.

Now, Li Hong can conquer the grasslands of the south and north of the desert for Liu Hong and expand the territory for the Han Dynasty, which is tantamount to buying an official position in disguise. However, what Li Hong paid was not money or real gold and silver, but the vast grasslands, which was an achievement that Emperor Wu of Han had never achieved.

This was money to buy an official position, and it was also Liu Hong's way of winning over Li Hong.

Of course, if Li Hong fails to do it in the future, it would be equivalent to Li Hong’s failure to buy an official position, so they would find a reason to remove Li Hong.

Facing everyone's gaze, Liu Hong was very dissatisfied with Yuan Feng who immediately stood up and opposed him in public, and said coldly:

"Sikong and Li are both members of the Three Dukes. If Sikong feels that General Li's achievements are not equal to those of the Grand Marshal, one of the Three Dukes, then does Sikong feel that his achievements to the Han Dynasty are greater than those of General Li?"

Liu Hong naturally knew Yuan Feng. It was obvious that Yuan Feng felt that Li Hong had suddenly become the Grand Marshal, the head of the Three Dukes, and was on an equal footing with him, and he was a little uneasy.

However, Liu Hong was dissatisfied with Yuan Feng's open opposition to him.

"This..." Yuan Feng was speechless when he heard Liu Hong questioning him whether he thought Li Hong's achievements were not as good as his as he was the vacant boss of the Third Company.

Not to mention that Li Hong guarded the Han border for decades.

Just this once.

Li Hong led his troops to the north, slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Xianbei people, and rescued 800,000 Han people. He made great military achievements. Not to mention Yuan Feng, even if Wei Qing and Huo Qubing came, they would not dare to say that their military achievements were better than Li Hong. Yuan Feng relied on family connections to get to the top, so how could he directly say that his achievements were better than Li Hong's?

Li Hong looked at Yuan Feng and snorted, but did not say anything.

"I dare not!" Yuan Feng bowed to Liu Hong and whispered.

"You, Yuan Feng, are Sikong Ce, one of the Three Dukes, but you don't dare to say that your achievements are better than those of General Li. How dare you oppose my enthroning General Li? Why don't you step down?" Liu Hong said in a light shout.

Liu Hong had no good feelings towards officials from aristocratic families in the court.

Yuan Fengyi bowed and retreated. Although all the civil and military officials felt that Liu Hong had rewarded Li Hong too much, Yuan Fengyi had lost his temper because of Liu Hong's questions, so they naturally could not say anything.

Of course, Li Hong's positions as Grand Marshal and General of Chariots and Cavalry mostly fell within the scope of military power and had no fundamental conflict with them, so they did not need to compete with Li Hong for anything.

However, Empress He Lian and a group of civil and military officials all looked at Li Hong, a man with gray hair, a very strong body, and a powerful aura. Their eyes became complicated, but they felt that Li Hong was made a marquis and a general, and was promoted to the position of Grand Marshal of the court. The rise of the Li family was unstoppable, and he was even stronger than the Flying General Li Guang hundreds of years ago.

Especially in the military!
The Li family’s prosperity is inevitable!

"General Li, why don't you accept my order?"

Seeing that no one objected, Liu Hong smiled and reminded Li Hong, who had been silent.

Although Li Hong didn't understand why Liu Hong rewarded him so highly, he was already excited at this moment.

The Grand Marshal of the Jin Dynasty, General of Chariots and Cavalry, was granted the title of Marquis of Chengji County and had a fief of 3,000 households!
Li Hong has struggled for so long and finally got himself a title of nobility and a general!

"I, Li Hong, would like to thank Your Majesty for the reward. I will do my utmost to maintain the stability of the Han Dynasty's borders!" Li Hong bowed to Liu Hong and said solemnly.

On that day, Liu Hong went out of the city ten miles to welcome him and conferred the title outside the city.

Upon learning that Li Hong was conferred the titles of marquis, general, and grand marshal on the spot, the onlookers became even more crazy and the scene was filled with noise and bustle.

Li Hong and his lieutenant general entered the palace to attend the celebration banquet hosted by Liu Hong.

There was an endless stream of people who came to toast and congratulate him on being made a marquis and a general and becoming a top official of the Han Dynasty. Li Hong was in high spirits and accepted all the guests. Relying on his strong physique, he drank more than a dozen officials than the Emperor Liu Hong in a drinking contest. In the end, he still kept a clear head and left the palace under the protection of Dian Wei and the imperial guards. He walked towards the Li family with firm steps.

(End of this chapter)