Chapter 260: Commander of the Guards, Lady of Imperial Concubine

The incense table was set up, and everyone knelt down.

Eunuch Zhang walked to the incense table with the imperial edict in his hand and read aloud: "By the Emperor of Heaven and the Mandate of Heaven, Yang Zhengshan, the garrison commander of Anyuan City, is both virtuous and talented, brave and resourceful, and is able to plan and march forward on the battlefield..."

The first few words were all praising Yang Zhengshan, and Yang Zhengshan was a little confused.

Although he had read a lot of books after coming to this world, and his level of ancient Chinese had improved by at least three levels, he was still confused when he heard the imperial edict.

"Sharp talents and brilliant virtues"

"Since he has the wealth of armor and weapons in his chest"

"He can be said to know about military affairs"

These words made Yang Zhengshan feel a headache and he had some difficulty understanding them.

But fortunately, he knew that this was a compliment to him, and knowing this was enough.

Soon, Eunuch Zhang read to the end, and Yang Zhengshan finally heard what he wanted.

Yang Zhengshan, the garrison commander of Anyuan City, was promoted to the commander of Tenglong Guard and was granted the title of General Dingguo and Honor Guard.

Yang Zhengshan thought the imperial edict was over, and he was ready to kowtow to express his gratitude, but he didn't expect that eunuch Zhang took a deep breath and continued to read: "The imperial edict says: Ministers should be loyal to the public, and use their inner virtues to make friends. The court has the grace of a distant title and treats all husbands equally. The virtuous example is more prominent and Chongjia Yong. I give you the wife of General Yang Zhengshan, Yu, a beautiful woman with a moon-like room and a brocade thread through the clouds. I give you a battle robe. You are well-known for your governance and conduct, and you should also be honored. Therefore, you should be given the title of Madam, and the imperial edict should be granted in Xi. The emblem of the orchid room is like the foot of the mountains and rivers. The ceremony is grand and the laurel palace is vigilant as if it is flying. The golden paper is just coming, and the purple edict is coming from afar."

Yu Qingyi raised her head in a daze and looked at Yang Zhengshan with surprise, "Are you talking about me?"

Yang Zhengshan was amused by her confused expression.

Madam of the imperial edict!

The imperial edicts of the women of Darong can be roughly divided into the first-rank lady, the second-rank lady, the third-rank lady, the fourth-rank lady, the fifth-rank lady, the sixth-rank lady, and the seventh-rank lady and below.

The first-rank lady is preceded by the first-rank lady, the second-rank lady is just the lady, and if the official's mother is posthumously conferred the title, she is the Taifu lady.

Those without rank and title are called madam.

That is to say, Yu Qingyi could not be called Madam Yang before, but could only be called the eldest lady of the Yang family.

However, this is a formal court system. In fact, in private, as long as she is the official wife of an official, everyone likes to call her Madam, just like in the past, anyone could be called a certain general manager or a certain manager.

Eunuch Zhang finally finished reading, and Yang Zhengshan hurriedly thanked him and said, "Thank you for your grace, and long live the emperor."

The people of the Yang family also shouted long live.

"Haha, Lord Yang, get up quickly!"

"Thank you, Eunuch Zhang!" Yang Zhengshan stood up, clasped his fists to thank Eunuch Zhang again, and then winked at Wu Hai standing next to him. Wu Hai immediately understood and took out the purses he had prepared long ago and distributed them to the followers behind Eunuch Zhang one by one.

Yang Zhengshan also stepped forward and handed a small purse to Eunuch Zhang, saying with a smile: "Eunuch Zhang has worked hard all the way. My humble house is simple and I don't have anything good to entertain you. Please have a cup of tea, Eunuch Zhang!"

Although the purse is small, there are a lot of bills in it, a full five hundred taels!

The other purses are also fifty taels.

In a short while, Yang Zhengshan spent nearly a thousand taels of silver.

Later, he had to take care of the soldiers of Wuxiang Zuowei, and he had to spend several hundred taels.

Do you think it's easy to be an official?

If you don't give them some benefits, they might say something bad about you when they return to Beijing. One person saying it doesn't matter, but three people can make a tiger. If it spreads, you will become an arrogant and domineering person who doesn't know etiquette.

Eunuch Zhang also accepted the purse tacitly, and the smile on his face became more friendly, "Sir Yang, this is Madam Yang's imperial robe!"

Then two young eunuchs came forward with a gorgeous dress, and Yang Zhengshan hurriedly asked them to take it.

The wife follows the husband's rank. First, Yang Zhengshan was named the second-rank General Dingguo, and then Yu Qingyi was named Madam.

This imperial robe has a bright red round collar, decorated with rank patterns, and wears a long jacket and a long skirt inside, and wears a Zhai crown or a set of gold and silver buns on the head, which looks extremely luxurious.

However, whether it is the title of General Dingguo or the imperial wife, it is actually empty, with only rank salary, but no power.

Yang Zhengshan's two titles, General Dingguo and Guard, are both honorary titles, with rank but no real power.

Of course, having two titles is not without benefits. The most direct benefit is that Yang Zhengshan can call himself the general in the future.

If he is called up or appointed to other official positions in the future, the Ministry of War and the Central Army Command will also give priority to him.

After another round of enthusiastic courtesy and hospitality, after Eunuch Zhang had lunch at the Yang family, Yang Zhengshan also gave him ten jars of medicinal wine brewed by himself, and then sent him away.

The excitement faded, but the hearts of the Yang family were still extremely hot, especially Yu Qingyi. Since returning to the main courtyard, she changed into the imperial robes and touched herself all over.

"I am the imperial lady!"

"Master, am I really the imperial lady?"

This is the tenth time she asked!

Yang Zhengshan next to her looked at her helplessly, "Really, it's true!"

"Okay, take off this dress, go and have a rest first!"

This imperial robe looks luxurious and gorgeous, but it's really uncomfortable to wear. With so many jewels on the head, it's tiring to look at.

And Yu Qingyi probably won't have the chance to wear this thing out for a while.

The imperial robes are usually only worn when entering the palace for audience or attending important ceremonies in the court. Yang Zhengshan is not a Beijing official, so Yu Qingyi naturally has no chance to enter the palace for audience or participate in any ceremony.

Yu Qingyi still took it off reluctantly. She was a woman from the rivers and lakes, how could she have thought that she would become an imperial lady one day.

At this moment, she really felt like she was dreaming, everything felt incredible and unreal.

"Look, your son is laughing at you!" Yang Zhengshan carefully picked up little Mingzhao and let the little guy take a good look at his stupid mother.

The little guy seemed very happy and giggled non-stop.

Seeing her own son, Yu Qingyi finally came back to her senses, took off her clothes and jewelry, and took the little guy.

No matter how good this imperial lady is, she is not as important as her son.

After coaxing Yu Qingyi and the little guy to sleep on the kang, Yang Zhengshan came to the main room and stood under the eaves looking at the peaceful night sky.

Commander of the Tenglong Guard!

Other titles are empty, only this one is his official position.

After hearing the imperial edict, this official position has been turning around in his mind.

Plans can never catch up with changes.

Before, Yang Zhengshan had discussed with Zhou Lan and planned to seek the position of Jianning Guard Lieutenant General, but he didn't expect that the old emperor would directly confer an official title on him.

According to Yang Zhengshan's plan, the best position for him at the moment is Jianning Guard Lieutenant General or Songzhou Guard Lieutenant General. With the recommendation of Zhou Lan and Wang Bin, plus the support of Liang Chu and Ningguo Gong, it is not difficult for him to be promoted to these two positions.

But now he has become the commander of Tenglong Guard.

The commander of the guard is only the third rank, which means that he is only promoted by one level, but he also holds the title of General Dingguo, which is barely considered to be promoted by two levels.

The old emperor probably gave him the title of General Dingguo to make up for this, otherwise he would not be promoted by only one level with his military exploits, and the title of Lady of the Imperial Edict should also be a compensation.

However, this commander of Tenglong Guard is different from the general commander of the guard.

Tenglong Guards should be called Tenglong Four Guards, namely the four guards in front, back, left and right.

At the beginning of the founding of the Darong Dynasty, the emperor's personal army had 26 guards. In addition to the existing 12 guards, there were also Yunlong Four Guards, Tenglong Four Guards, Huben Four Guards, Miwu Guards and Shangwu Guards.

Later, Miwu Guards continued to exist, but they changed from being in the open to being in the dark, and were no longer considered as the emperor's personal army.

Shangwu Guards also continued to exist, but they were stationed in the imperial mausoleum as the imperial mausoleum guards, and were separated from the emperor's personal army. In addition, Shangwu Guards also became the place where the royal family inherited martial arts. All talented royal children would enter Shangwu Guards for training.

Therefore, Shangwu Guards became exclusive to the royal family.

The remaining Yunlong Four Guards, Tenglong Four Guards and Huben Four Guards were separated from the emperor's personal army a hundred years ago. They changed from the emperor's personal army to ordinary guards, but retained the basic structure.

Among them, Yunlong Four Guards guarded the northwest, Tenglong Four Guards guarded the northeast, and Huben Four Guards guarded the southwest.

The predecessor of the Yunlong Guard under Liang Chu was the Yunlong Four Guards.

Since the Yunlong Four Guards were separated from the emperor's personal army, they began to decline. Except for the different organizational structure, they were actually no different from other guards.

It took Liang Chu more than ten years to train the Yunlong Guard into an elite force.

And the Tenglong Guard today is similar to the original Yunlong Guard. Except for the different organizational structure, it is the same as other guards.

Yang Zhengshan was thinking about why the old emperor asked him to be the commander of the Tenglong Guard?

The Tenglong Guard is in Qinghua Mansion, and there is a Qing Wang in Qinghua Mansion.

Qing Wang!

Yang Zhengshan took a deep breath.

Is this asking him to keep an eye on Qing Wang?

The Secret Guards have been silent for several years, and Yang Zhengshan thought they had given up Qing Wang Mansion, but now it seems that is not the case at all.

The Secret Guards should still be keeping an eye on Qing Wang Mansion, and the old emperor is also worried that Qing Wang Mansion will cause trouble, so he asked him to keep an eye on it.

Why choose him?

It's actually very simple!

He helped the Secret Guard investigate the case of treason and knew some things that he shouldn't know.

And he was born in a low family, so he must have had no connection with the Prince Qing's Mansion before, so the old emperor could use him with peace of mind.

The most important thing is that he can train soldiers and is good at fighting, so it is most suitable for him to go to Tenglong Guard.

Yang Zhengshan pondered carefully, and this should be the preparation made by the old emperor for the new emperor to ascend the throne.

The old emperor believed that as long as he was still in power, even if Prince Qing had a different heart, he would not dare to act rashly.

But if the new emperor ascended the throne and the court was shaken, Prince Qing would probably take risks.

As for why the old emperor did not use a false charge to arrest Prince Qing, after all, if the emperor wanted to kill someone, there was no need to find any evidence.

Yang Zhengshan could actually understand this point.

The old emperor was a face-saving person.

Especially now that he was old, he thought more about his reputation after death.

Originally, his throne was robbed. If he killed the descendants of the former prince on a false charge now, how would it be written in history books? How will future generations evaluate him?

"Alas, this Tenglongwei is not a good place!" Yang Zhengshan sighed.

If the King of Qing really has a different mind, then Qinghua Mansion is his home base. Who knows how many arrangements he has made in Qinghua Mansion.

This Tenglongwei is in Qinghua Mansion. Do you think the King of Qing has arranged people in Tenglongwei?

Well, let's not talk about these first. Let's talk about this. If he goes to Tenglongwei, he will be a thorn in the eyes of the King of Qing Mansion. If the King of Qing wants to start a rebellion, he will probably be the first one to be killed.

The most important thing is that he cannot openly target Prince Qing. He is a prince, and I am just a third-rank guard commander. I have to be respectful when meeting a prince.

If the old emperor asked him to kill Prince Qing, he would still be willing to do it. Isn't it just killing a person? Simple.

But the old emperor asked him to keep an eye on Prince Qing, which was very uncomfortable.

Yang Zhengshan had already anticipated the days of being cautious after he went to Tenglong Guard.

He had to be on guard both internally and externally and be extremely cautious.