My younger brother Lü Fengxian

Chapter 307 Lord
"In the first year of Zhongping, on the tenth day of the tenth month, the emperor issued an edict saying that the prefect of Yanmen County, Lü Yi, was brave, loyal and resolute. He defeated the Xianbei, pacified the Xiongnu, and defeated Zhang Jiao. He has made many contributions to the country and should be a role model for ministers. He must be rewarded. I specially make him the Marquis of Han Jiuyuan Pavilion, with a fief of 300 households, and also reward him with ten jade disks, a hundred catties of yellow scarves, and a thousand pieces of silk. Below Lü Yi, Lü Bu, Gao Shun, Zhang Xun and others will all be rewarded..."

Inside the Yanmen prefectural government mansion in Pingcheng, the shrill and piercing voice of the eunuch representing the emperor floated in the main hall.

Lu Yi and the others knelt respectfully before the eunuch, but they did not show any displeasure in their hearts. Instead, they were immersed in deep excitement.

After years of conquests, Lu Yi finally reaped the rewards of his labor today. Although his intentions were not simple, the biggest beneficiary was still the imperial court.

If it weren't for Lu Yi's help, Liu Hong's life would probably be even more difficult now.

Not to mention Zhang Jue and the Huns, the Xianbei, who were uncontrollable a few years ago, were a thorn in the side of the Han court. Without the role played by Lu Yi, even if the Han Dynasty could win in the end as in history, the impact it would have suffered would certainly have been far less than it is now.

Therefore, the words in the imperial edict were not wrong.

Lu Yi's contributions have reached the point where he deserves to be rewarded, so he now deserves to be promoted to the position of marquis and be granted a fiefdom.

Although Tinghou was the lowest rank among the marquises, below county marquis and township marquis, he was still a member of the nobility.

From then on, as long as Lu Yi abided by the laws of the nobility, Jiuyuanting would be his marquisate, and the taxes payable to the court by 300 households could be legally withheld by him as his salary as the Marquis of Jiuyuanting.

Li Guang, the Flying General in the Western Han Dynasty, was a fearsome man among the Huns and had unparalleled seniority in the Han army. Unfortunately, he was unlucky and missed the opportunity to be granted a title of nobility every time. He never got the coveted title until his death, which became a lifelong regret for him.

Although Lu Yi's position of Tinghou was nothing among the nobles, he had already risen above the ordinary ministers and became the second-rank princes under the emperor. It could be said that he had been reborn in the true sense of the word.

Besides, the chaotic times have just begun, and there will be many opportunities to gain merit in the future. Tinghou naturally cannot be the end of Lu Yi's title.

"Lord Lu, the imperial edict has been delivered. Why don't you come and receive it quickly?"

The imperial edicts of the Han Dynasty were far less complicated than those of later generations. They usually ended after explaining the main things.

After the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict finished reading it, he looked at Lu Yi with a smile. His attitude was much better than that of the eunuch who had now become a nobody and whom Lu Yi had met in Lu Zhi's army before.

"Your Highness, I bow to thank the Emperor for his grace..."

Lu Yi didn't understand what was going on, but on the surface he remained very respectful. After all, the little eunuch in front of him represented the most powerful man in the Han Dynasty.

After Lu Yi respectfully took the imperial edict, he then spoke politely to the eunuch.

"My young master has come from afar and is exhausted by the journey. I feel really bad for you. Although Yanmen is located in a remote area and the products are not abundant, we still have some special products. I hope my young master will not be polite and accept them with a smile."

As Lu Yi spoke, he signaled to Lu Bu behind him. The latter immediately led two of his personal guards to place a whole box of copper coins in front of the eunuch. It was roughly estimated that there were tens of thousands of copper coins in it. The stench of the copper coins made the eunuch stagger and he almost lost his balance.

Lu Zhi was a man of upright character and disdained to bribe eunuchs, but Lu Yi did not have his mental obsession. He thought that these eunuchs were more likely to cause trouble than to help, so he could just think of it as spending some money to bribe the little ghosts to ward off disaster. Otherwise, Lu Yi would have lost far more than this box of copper coins.

"Oh, no no no..."

Although the eunuch was dazzled by the huge amount of copper coins and couldn't take his eyes away, he still waved his hands repeatedly, which made Lu Yi even more confused.

"What's the matter, young master?"

"To be honest, my godfather is the eunuch Zhao Zhong. When I came here, my godfather told me not to ask for bribes from Lord Lu. How dare I disobey my godfather's order? I hope Lord Lu will take back his order."

Although the little yellow-haired boy showed some regret on his face, his attitude was still very polite.

"So they are Eunuch Zhao's family..."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yi suddenly realized that Zhao Zhong once thought that he was the son of the late emperor Liu Zhi and was deliberately trying to befriend him.

Although Lu Yi was certain that he was Liu Zhi's adopted son based on Zhao Zhong's indirect questioning, especially the birthmark on his chest, he did not admit it because he was worried about the risks involved.

I didn't expect that after I took the initiative to deny it, he was still obsessed with me. It seems that either this person has a loyal heart, or Liu Zhi has extraordinary means to win people's hearts.

"Since they are Eunuch Zhao's family, then I, Lu, must express my gratitude!"

However, Lu Yi insisted on giving it as a gift, and even asked Lu Bu to bring two more boxes of copper coins and continued.

"It would have been fine if Lu didn't know about it, but since you are a member of Eunuch Zhao's family, please ask you to pass these two boxes of Yanmen specialties to Eunuch Zhao."

"Godfather was right about Lord Lu!"

The eunuch couldn't help but feel moved when he saw this, and suddenly lowered his voice and whispered to Lu Yi.

"In fact, the emperor was reluctant to confer the title of Marquis to Lord Lu at first. He wanted Lord Lu to redeem him with money so that he could make some money. But Eunuch Zhao kept speaking well of Lord Lu, and the emperor finally agreed to confer the title of Marquis. Lord Lu really should thank his godfather."

"Oh, there is such a secret?"

When Lu Yi heard this, he showed surprise on his face, but in his heart he cursed Liu Hong.

This miser is so stingy to those who have made great contributions. He is truly unfit to be a leader. If he had not died too early due to excessive indulgence, this big man would have surely perished in his hands!

"In that case, two boxes of local specialties are not enough to express my respect for Eunuch Zhao. Come on, bring out ten more boxes!"

Lu Yi thought for a moment and felt that Zhao Zhong seemed to be obsessed with Liu Zhi, so he thought he could make friends with him.

Having someone in the court is not as good as having someone in the palace, and having someone in the palace is not as good as having someone in the room.

Lu Yi was not able to send women to Liu Hong, but it would be of great benefit to him if he could keep some connections in the palace.

If Zhao Zhong had not spoken up for this title, Lu Yi would have had to pay Liu Hong at least tens of millions more coins as tribute to get the title of Marquis of Ting as he wished.

"Haha, Lord Lu, don't worry. The money you have today will only help you more in the future!"

The eunuch got the benefit and happily led the crowd away.

After the imperial envoy left, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became relaxed.

After he left, Lu Yi's teacher Cai Yong and his daughter Wen Ji were the first to come forward to congratulate him.

"Sixiao has now been granted the title of marquis, which is truly a cause for celebration. As your teacher, I am also honored to have him."

These years in Bingzhou were the most comfortable time in Cai Yong's life. Not only did he have no worries about food and clothing, but he also enjoyed a high status because of his disciple Lu Yi. With Lu Yi's financial support, the number of his collection of books doubled in the past few years, so he became less and less interested in becoming an official.

Lu Yi was also worried that Cai Yong would repeat the mistakes of history after taking office, which would lead to Cai Wenji being abducted by the Hu people in the future. Therefore, he urged Cai Yong to stay in Bingzhou. Cai Yong, grateful for Lu Yi's filial piety, went along with it and no longer mentioned taking office.

“It is because of the teachers’ good teaching that students can achieve success.”

Lu Yi, however, appeared very respectful and humble.

"No way, my father spent all day traveling around the mountains and rivers under my rule, and didn't spend any energy teaching me. All of this was achieved through my own hard work."

Lu Yi was humble, but Cai Yong's daughter Wen Ji obviously disagreed and blushed to speak up for Lu Yi.

"This little girl has become more and more beautiful over the years."

Lu Yi glanced over and saw Cai Wenji, who had been so excited just now, immediately lowered her head shyly, which made Lu Yi sigh in his heart.

"You are a girl who usually talks to me about history and the present, and you are sharp-tongued. But now you are so shy when meeting your senior brother. It's really a case of one thing conquering another!"

Cai Yong knew very well what his daughter was thinking, but as a great scholar of the time, it was impossible for him to do something like Zhang Shang did and give his daughter away. If Lu Yi was also interested in Cai Wenji, he must take the initiative to propose marriage. Moreover, Lu Yi already had a wife, and if he married Wenji to him, she could only be a concubine. Therefore, Cai Yong had some resentment in his heart, but fortunately he pretended not to see his daughter's feelings for Lu Yi.

Seeing this, Lü Yi was a little confused. He already had two children at home, so it was not impossible to have another one. However, he was worried that the family would be disturbed. He had to find an opportunity to discuss this with the two children at home. He could only talk about it later. After Cai Yong congratulated them, Tian Feng, Chen Gong, Lü Bu, Gao Shun and others looked at each other and came to Lü Yi with solemn faces.

"Two military advisors and Fengxian... what are you doing...?"

Seeing how serious they looked, Lu Yi couldn't help but ask with some confusion.

"In the past, you only had an official position but no title, so we all addressed you as your subordinates."

"Now that you have been granted the title of Marquis by the Emperor, and have already established a kingdom, we are all willing to serve you as our Lord!"

Tian Feng bowed to Lu Yi first with a solemn expression.

"The sky is not bright without the sun, and people cannot act without a master. Your Excellency is kind and righteous, and you should be our master!"

Before Lu Yi could react, Chen Gong also knelt down in front of him.

"Even though there are thousands of troops, from now on, if the lord has a mission, Bu will definitely defeat him!"

After Tian Feng and Chen Gong, Lu Bu also bowed to Lu Yi like pushing a golden mountain and overturning a jade pillar.

"My lord, Gao Shun pays homage to you. I will be loyal to you and repay you with my death!"

Gao Shun followed closely behind and bowed solemnly.

"My lord, although I have been struck by the axe, Guan Yu has no second thoughts. Heaven and earth can all bear witness to this!"

"Me too!"

Afterwards, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei also came to Lu Yi and bowed.

"My lord, we pledge our loyalty till death!"

Then generals such as Cheng Lian, Hou Cheng, Song Xian, Wei Xu, Zhang He, Gao Lan, and Cao Xing also came forward one after another and bowed before Lü Yi.

"Brother-in-law, although you and I are relatives, if it weren't for the Lu family, my Zhang family would not be as prosperous as it is today. From now on, the Zhang family is willing to serve the Lu family as their master, and the entire Zhang family is willing to serve the master from now on!"

Zhang Xun followed closely and bowed down before Lu Yi with his brother Zhang Liao.

"Hahahaha... How can we miss the Zhongshan Zhen family in such a scene?"

"When I came here, my father told me that the Zhen family has staked the entire clan and placed all their hopes on you. From now on, the Zhongshan Zhen family will follow your lead. My lord, please accept Zhen Yi's greetings!"

Zhen Yi, who had been standing behind the crowd, couldn't help but laugh when he saw this and walked forward to bow in front of Lu Yi.

"you……"

These people are either tall and strong with excellent martial arts, or talented in literature and extraordinary wisdom.

Lu Yi looked at the people kneeling on the ground in front of him, and couldn't help feeling touched by the recognition.

"In this case, I will accept your respect."

"If you become rich and powerful, don't forget me!"

"Lord!"

When everyone saw Lu Yi agreed, they couldn't help but look excited.

A dual monarchy was practiced at the end of the Han Dynasty.

The emperor is the master of the princes, and the princes are the masters of their retainers.
My lord’s lord is not my lord.

A minister of a household is not a minister of the emperor.

The title of lord is not something that just anyone can bear.

Ordinary people, even if they are servants in the house, can only be addressed as the head of the family or the master by the servants at most.

It turned out that Lu Yi had no title, so naturally he had no qualifications to become a ruler.

Now that Lu Yi has finally been granted the title by the emperor, he can naturally become the lord of everyone.

Lord of Heaven and Earth, personal teacher.

It is the Confucian moral code.

Now that everyone has worshipped Lu Yi as their master, legally speaking, Lu Yi's authority over them is even greater than that of their parents.

In this era, being unfilial to one's parents is a serious crime.

However, if one betrays his lord, he will be despised by the people of the world.

No matter how capable the second minister is, he can never rank ahead of the loyal retainer.

Everyone's life is deeply tied to Lu Yi's honor and disgrace.

If the lord is humiliated, the minister will die; if the lord is honored, the minister will be honored.

Therefore, even if Lu Yi openly rebelled and became an enemy of the imperial court in the future, Tian Feng, Chen Gong and others would have no choice but to follow Lu Yi to the end.

Conversely, if Lu Yi becomes successful, they, as Lu Yi's retainers, will naturally be qualified to enjoy the afterglow of Lu Yi's glory.

"My lord, my lord!"

"We also want to worship the Lord!"

At this time, Lu Yi's two sons, Lu Tong and Lu Rong, who had been hiding behind the door and watching for a long time, found it novel and interesting, and could not help but rush out from the inner hall and bowed to Lu Yi like everyone else.

These two delicate little people do not know the serious significance of the behavior of the adults present. They can only learn the basics but do not know the true meaning.

"You two little guys, I'm your father, who are you worshipping?"

Lu Yi picked up the two of them helplessly, and with some helplessness, he used his beard to poke the two little men together. The two little guys giggled with joy.

Tian Feng looked at his disciple Lu Tong and couldn't help but sigh, thinking that he still had to arrange Lu Tong's studies in the future.

"You two young masters are smart and sharp, and your future achievements will definitely not be inferior to our lord's!"

However, Chen Gong liked his disciple Lu Rong's liveliness very much and objected to Lu Yi's smile.

"That may not be the case. With the assistance of all of you heroes, I will surely soar to the sky. It will be easy for these two brats to surpass me in the future, but it may be a bit difficult to find heroes like you..."

When everyone saw that Lu Yi was praising them, they couldn't help but feel pleased, and the atmosphere in the hall became even more cheerful.

(End of this chapter)