My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 105 Conferring a Marquisate?

Li Jiancheng was also flustered at this moment.

Today, Li Yuan hurriedly returned to his residence, and soon Li Jiancheng learned some earth-shattering news from his father.

The angel will arrive soon.

Li Jiancheng was also startled and quickly began to help his grandfather prepare to welcome him.

Both Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng knew that the angel's arrival was for the copper mine matter, likely to announce the outcome of the Zheng family's punishment and to bestow rewards upon their own families. Li Yuan was quite pleased, believing he was likely to receive a promotion.

After much preparation, the angel indeed arrived in Guancheng.

The angels seemed to be in a great hurry, arriving covered in dust and dirt. This was understandable, as saints are always in a rush, treating everyone the same way. When he sent envoys to various places, he strictly required them to make round trips, punishing those who exceeded the time limit. This turned what used to be a desirable mission into a daunting task.

Traveling through the night, even the angels were almost forced to become couriers.

After the angel arrived, he read the imperial edict to Li Yuan.

First, there was the outcome regarding the Zheng family. As Li Yuan had predicted, Zheng Qilin's branch of the family could not be saved. The emperor ordered the prefect to immediately send men to Luoyang to be executed.

He spared the others, but the Zheng family members in the court must have suffered a great deal of losses, and Li Yuan felt a pang of heartache just thinking about it.

Another aspect was the reward given to Li Yuan himself.

The emperor praised Li Yuan in the edict, but there was no real reward, not even a single coin. However, there was a change in his official position.

Li Yuan appointed him as the governor of Loufan and ordered him to take office within two months.

Li Yuan was not entirely satisfied with this reward.

Loufan was certainly not as wealthy as Xingyang. The place had a smaller population and less money. More importantly, Loufan was not a superior prefecture, so being the governor there would be a demotion. However, many things cannot be judged that way.

Although Loufan has a small population, it is strategically located as the northwest gateway to Taiyuan. It has many mines, horse farms, laborers, and soldiers. There is also a position of Superintendent of Pastures here, which is responsible for providing troops to the surrounding important counties.

It's easier to make a name for yourself here, easier to earn money, and of course, easier to get things done.

Thinking about it this way, Li Yuan felt much better.

At least it's a place where I can really show my skills, and I won't feel as restricted there as I am in Xingyang!

However, the angel then claimed to have an imperial edict for Li Xuanba, which stunned Li Yuan and the others.

Is the emperor's edict going to my son?
Li Yuan recalled that he had asked Zhao Yuanshu to put in a good word for his son, mentioning the matter of Qianniu Beishen. But even if he wanted to promote his son to Qianniu Beishen, it didn't seem like he needed to issue a special edict, right? It's not like he was a high-ranking official!
Li Yuan hurriedly ordered Li Jiancheng to send someone to summon his younger brother, while he himself invited the angel into the main hall and began to eavesdrop.

When Li Jiancheng brought Li Xuanba here, Li Yuan was chatting happily with the angel, telling him some interesting local stories. The two got along very well.

Upon seeing Li Xuanba arrive, the angel rose again.

He carefully took out the imperial edict and began to read it aloud.

Li Xuanba naturally rushed to accept the imperial edict.

The edict was very simple. It began by praising Li Xuanba, saying that he was indeed worthy of being a descendant of a military family. At such a young age, he already knew how to serve the country, leading his followers to defeat the bandits and making meritorious contributions. He should be emulated by everyone.

Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng listened intently, their brows furrowed as they wondered what the sage intended to do.

After praising Li Xuanba lavishly, they finally got something concrete to say.

"He is enfeoffed as Marquis of Bocheng, with a fief of one thousand households, and granted a certificate of merit and iron.

Li Xuanba raised his head blankly.

Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng were also stunned at this moment.

what?
To be granted a title of nobility?
Of course, the promise of a thousand households was just a figure of speech. After the sage ascended to the throne, these fiefs were granted nominally, and money was directly distributed. As for the imperial edict, it was not the same as the "golden token of immunity from death" as understood by later generations. This thing was equivalent to a certificate of being enfeoffed as a marquis. Everyone who was enfeoffed as a marquis had such a thing as proof.

But how could he be granted a title? Li Yuan's first thought was of the money he had given to Zhao Yuanshu.

Seriously? This kid actually got his money and did the job?? He got his son a marquisate for that little bit of money??
But soon, Li Yuan remembered the recent reform of the nobility system by the emperor, and he instantly understood something.

After Yang Guang ascended the throne, he felt that there were too many noble titles in the country and that it was necessary to abolish them. So he simply retained the three ranks of nobility: king, duke, and marquis. He dismissed many people from their titles and repeatedly emphasized that in order to obtain a title, one must have military merits. Those who did not have military merits would have their titles revoked. If one's father or grandfather had military merits but one's son did not, his title could also be revoked!

When he argued with the nobles who held opposing views, he denounced the nobles of the time for having no military merits, not understanding soldiers, and being completely unworthy of being marquises.

If you look closely, Li Xuanba did indeed achieve military merit. After all, the memorial stated that Li Xuanba led the local soldiers to discover the rebels' illegal minting operation, and then fought a major battle with the rebels, defeating them and capturing their leader alive.

Killing rebels was also a major source of military merit.

So, is this reward for the sake of a title? The sage encourages everyone to make military contributions, and as long as they make military contributions, regardless of their age or status, they can be granted a title.
Li Yuan guessed this in his heart, but he couldn't say for sure what the real reason was. No one could say for sure what the sage was thinking or what he wanted to do.

Li Yuan hurriedly reminded him, "Xuanba! Why aren't you bowing and thanking him yet!"

Li Xuanba hurriedly bowed, "Your Majesty, I thank you!"

The angel chuckled and helped Li Xuanba up, looking him up and down. "Truly extraordinary!"

"His Majesty has praised you highly, saying that at such a young age you have been able to understand the hardships of a sage, defeat thieves, and achieve military merit. He said that all the sons of nobles and officials in the world should be like you, and not always think about inheriting their fathers' titles, but should strive to achieve merit on their own!"

"Your Excellency is still young. His Majesty has said that once you are a few years older, you will be invited to the palace to serve as a Qianniu Beishen (a high-ranking military officer)!"

"Your Majesty's grace!"

Li Xuanba bowed again.

The angel wanted to say something more, but remembering the deadline the emperor had given him, he could only grit his teeth and look painfully at Li Yuan, "Duke of Tang, do you have any more horses here? I'd like to borrow them. I'll send someone to return them to you after I return to Luoyang."

Seeing the rather pitiful angel, Li Yuan was quite generous and quickly sent someone to get some good horses.

At this moment, Li Xuanba still stood there blankly, still somewhat bewildered. He had been granted a marquisate? What had he done to deserve such a title?
Li Jiancheng watched his father leave before walking up to Li Xuanba with a wide smile, unable to suppress his joy.

"Great! My brother has been granted a marquisate!"

"From now on, won't we have to address each other as 'Lord'?"

Logically speaking, among Li Yuan's sons, only Li Jiancheng will have a title in the future. He can inherit Li Yuan's title of Duke, while his other brothers will have nothing. In fact, according to the Emperor's current plan, it seems that there are some questions about whether Li Jiancheng will be able to inherit the dukedom in the future.

After all, the sage had been targeting these powerful nobles.

The sage targets everything; there's nothing he doesn't target. He takes away the land granted to women, the privileges of the soldiers of the Eagle Banner Army, and the titles of the nobles. Basically, he takes everything away, but he rarely gives anything back.

He usually showed great respect for scholars, but if a scholar's writing was too good and made him feel embarrassed, he would also punish him, even take the scholar's life, and then question him, "Can you still write such good things now?"

Li Xuanba frowned. "Brother, I have a feeling this isn't a good thing."

Before he could say more than a few words, Li Yuan had already returned.

Li Yuan was even happier than Li Jiancheng.

"Hahaha, my family has gained another lord!"

Li Yuan strode over, scooped the new marquis into his arms, lifted him high, and then joked, "This title is indeed different, truly precious. Being granted a marquisate has made it so much more weighty!"

Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng discussed the rewards with smiles, and both planned to hold a banquet to celebrate.

Just then, Madam Dou, accompanied by Li Xiuning, hurriedly walked towards them, her face full of anger.

"What exactly did you say to Zhao Yuanshu?!"

"How could there be such a reward!"

(End of this chapter)