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Chapter 20 Desire and Restraint

Inner Palace Guard Du Yuhou!

Ma Renyu's reward was quite beyond Li Yi's expectations.

No wonder he could stay in the central military tent and dine with the emperor... The Nei Dian Zhi Du Yu Hou was slightly lower than the Jun Du Zhi Shi, so Ma Renyu was not qualified to dine with the emperor, perhaps because his merits ranked relatively high.

Moreover, Ma Renyu was not the only one in the tent who had not reached the first level.

For example, Ma Quanyi, the chief of the right guard in front of the palace, was promoted to the rank of commander of a separate army, which was only equivalent to the rank of commander of a military army.

But he was also kept in the tent and dined with the emperor.

Speaking of which, the military positions in the Five Dynasties period were really messed up, not to mention those unworthy titles such as Ma Bu Yu Hou and Ya Nei Ti Dian Jun Shi in the local vassal states.

Just talking about the internal organization of the Later Zhou Imperial Guards, there are big differences between the Du Yu Hou and the Du Yu Hou, and the Du Zhihui Shi and the Du Zhihui Shi.

Just like the inner palace guards, outer palace guards, scattered soldiers, and scattered commanders under the Palace Army.

Obviously everyone has their own independent military bugle call.

However, the commander-in-chief of the inner and outer palace guards is equivalent to the commander-in-chief of the wing, while the commander-in-chief of the scattered personnel and scattered commanders is similar to the commander-in-chief of the army.

At the same time, the Inner Palace Guards were mainly composed of cavalry, while the Outer Palace Guards were mainly composed of infantry, because the cavalry had a higher status than the infantry.

The Inner Palace Guard Commander-in-Chief has a higher rank than the Outer Palace Guard Commander-in-Chief.

Of course, if we compare it with the two main forces of Long Jie and Hu Jie under the Imperial Guard Department.

Then the difference is even greater.

The other side has more than ten thousand soldiers in one of its wing, while Li Yi, the commander-in-chief of the inner palace, only has more than three thousand men under his command.

In name, he is equivalent to Xiangdu Yuhou, but his actual military power is far less.

"Brother Yi, why did I feel like I was dreaming last night? In the blink of an eye, I became the Inner Palace Guard Du Yuhou!"

Listening to Ma Renyu's sigh beside him, Li Yi understood his feelings.

This feeling of reaching the top in one step is so great!
In fact, the military rank that Li Yi was awarded was not the highest. Several others were promoted to the commander of the wing.

For example, Zhao Kuangyin's father, Zhao Hongyin, was promoted from the commander-in-chief of the First Iron Cavalry Army to the commander-in-chief of the Right Wing of Longjie.

But Li Yi's promotion span is definitely the largest.

He worked his way directly from the rank of Dutou to the rank of Xiangdu Yuhou.

In between are the deputy commander, commander, military commander, deputy military commander, military commander, and wing commander... six levels in total!

Li Yi wanted to count on his fingers.

Of course, promotions are often not necessarily in order, such as jumping from commander to military commander, or from military commander to wing commander.

Just like Zhao Kuangyin's father... Fuck! Why use this old guy as an example again?
Perhaps it is because later generations have too much resentment towards the cowardly Song Dynasty.

In addition, the title of the future Emperor Taizu of Song was too famous.

Li Yi always unconsciously compares himself to the Zhao family... Ugh! Look at all the valuable things among your descendants of the Zhao family, how can they govern the country well?
It’s better to hand it over to someone else...

"Brother Yi, I heard that Zhao Kuangyin was given the title of Sanyuan Du Yu Hou, which is about the same as mine. I'm afraid he doesn't dare to offend you now."

Ma Renyu really brought up something irrelevant and brought the topic back to Zhao Kuangyin.

"But that old fellow Zhao Hongyin didn't do anything great this time. He's just a little older and has more experience than us, but he got the position of commander of a wing for nothing!"

Regarding Ma Renyu's idea, Li Yi really wanted to tell him that his son could become emperor in the future.

The son is a much greater threat than the father.

Unfortunately, he couldn't say this, so he just said casually: "Zhao Hongyin has been in the Imperial Guard for many years. His qualifications are there. He was originally the commander of the First Army of the Iron Cavalry, and the next step is the first level of the wing. Now he has made some military achievements. Regardless of the size of his merits, it is normal for him to be promoted to the commander of the wing."

"makes sense……"

Ma Renyu reached out to brush off the dirt on his shoes, and looked up to see Li Yi with a calm expression.

He couldn't help but say, "Brother Yi, I always feel that you are not so happy after receiving the reward."

"I can't wait to go back to my hometown in Xiajin and tell my father the news that I became Du Yuhou, so that he can know that he almost killed me by stopping me from joining the army!"

"Even if I stopped you, you would have sneaked out anyway?" Li Yi teased.

They say that wealth and honor never return to one's hometown, like a night march in brocade robes. Li Yi's excitement was no less than Ma Renyu's after being promoted to the Inner Palace Commander-in-Chief. But he knew how to restrain himself, and his thoughts were deeper, or perhaps... his ambitions were even greater!

Sometimes people are really not satisfied.

At first, I thought I would stop when I earned one million, but when I really made one million, I would want ten million, one hundred million...

Although we know that greed is insatiable, it is difficult to control the growth of desire.

Looking back, before going on the expedition, Li Yi never expected that he would receive such a level of reward.

And now... he wants to go further!

Even a more terrifying thought inexplicably surged in the depths of my heart—

Maybe I have a chance to reach the other side?

Thinking of this, Li Yi quickly shook his head and suppressed this terrible thought.

Desire is the driving force for progress, but it can also turn into a raging fire that burns oneself.

The road must be taken step by step...

……

Happy times are always short-lived.

The great victory in the Battle of Gaoping gave Chai Rong infinite confidence.

So he decided to march north to Jinyang, hoping to take the opportunity to destroy the Northern Han in one fell swoop.

Many people actually disagreed with the emperor's plan.

Jinyang is a fortified city and is not so easy to attack, not to mention that there is a behemoth standing behind the Northern Han - the Khitan.

But Chai Rong was a very stubborn person. Just as he insisted on leading the army in person against all odds, it was difficult to persuade him once he had made up his mind.

Everyone could only follow the emperor's wishes.

On March 29, Chai Rong appointed Fu Yanqing, the governor of Tianxiong Army and Prince of Wei, as the commander-in-chief of the Hedong camp and concurrently in charge of Taiyuan government affairs.

He also appointed Guo Chong, the governor of Chanzhou, as the deputy commander of the camp, and Xiang Xun, the governor of the Southern Court of Xuanhui, as the military commander of the camp.

Li Chongjin, deputy commander of the imperial guards, was appointed as the chief military officer of the field camp, and Shi Yanchao, the governor of Huazhou, was appointed as the commander of the vanguard.

Together they led 20,000 infantry and cavalry from Luzhou and marched north to attack Hedong.

Immediately afterwards, he ordered Wang Yanchao, the governor of Hezhong, and Han Tong, the governor of Baoyi, to lead troops from Yindi Pass to attack the Northern Han.

At the same time, troops from several vassal states around Hedong were dispatched to join the war.

At one time, more than 100,000 troops of the Later Zhou Dynasty marched towards Jinyang from all directions.

When Liu Chong, the ruler of Northern Han, learned that the Zhou army was coming to attack, he was immediately terrified. He had just suffered a major defeat and it was difficult for him to resist the attack of the Later Zhou army.

But Liu Chong was not willing to sit and wait for death. He sent people to dig moats and strengthen defenses, and at the same time sent envoys to ask for help from the Liao Kingdom.

Emperor Muzong of Liao, Yelü Jing, was quite straightforward and ordered Yelü Dilu, who was temporarily stationed in Daizhou, to lead the cavalry south to rescue Jinyang.

He also ordered Yelu Tale, the King of the Southern Court of Liao, to lead tens of thousands of troops from the southwest to aid the Northern Han.

"Hey, attack Jinyang City, our chance to make a contribution has come again!"

Ma Renyu seemed to have tasted success in the Battle of Gaoping, and he probably thought that attacking Jinyang this time would not be difficult.

Just waiting to take credit.

But Li Yi knew that Chai Rong's stubbornness had led to disastrous consequences.

How many people will be buried in foreign lands under the city of Jinyang?

Unfortunately, he is the only one who knows this...

　I saw someone say the description was too long-winded.

　　The main reason is that the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period is too unpopular and cannot be compared with the Qin, Han, Tang, Song and Ming dynasties. In addition, the historical materials of the Five Dynasties are confusing and not detailed enough.

　　So I thought I would try to explain certain aspects more clearly to prevent some readers from being confused.

　　But since everyone seems to be quite familiar with the Five Dynasties history, I'll try to speed up the plot. (Of course, some plot transitions are still necessary. If I were to write a sweeping, invincible story, there are many authors on Qidian who write better than me and write more exciting stories than me, so it's not my place to compete with them.)
　　
　
(End of this chapter)