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Volume 1: The Border Town of the Empire Chapter 281: New Journey

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    Chapter 281 New Journey

    Mu San followed Fang Jie with a tray in both hands. He actually smiled happier than Fang Jie.  In the tray was a brand-new viscount crown uniform, as well as the token of a fifth-rank ranger general.  This was a reward from the emperor. It came suddenly, and it was considered a surprise for Fang Jie.

    I originally thought I would get nothing, but who would have thought that I would actually come back with a full load.

    The real titles of the Sui Dynasty, from high to low, are prince, prince, prince, prince, county marquis, county marquis, township marquis, county uncle, township uncle, county son, township son, and township boy.  Everyone from the county level to the prince level has their own food town, and the people they belong to do not need to pay taxes to the court.  Those who are granted the title of king have their own fiefdom and can have their own private soldiers, but the number cannot exceed the limit of the court, otherwise it will be regarded as a serious crime of treason.

    Except for princes, counties and kings, every title is divided into three levels.

    For example, among the Dukes, the highest one is the first-class Duke, and the lowest one is the third-class Duke.  Fang Jie was made a viscount by the emperor. He was not a county son, but a first-class township son.  Originally, at the beginning of the Sui Dynasty, all the sixth-level real nobles had their own towns and people. However, this law was abolished during the reign of Emperor Taizong.  There is no other reason. Every year, many meritorious officials are awarded the title of real noble, which means that every year, some people will no longer pay taxes to the court.

    In the beginning, no matter how many heroes were found in the founding of the Sui Dynasty, they could only be counted.  But later on, the descendants of these heroes also had titles.  Just twenty years later, the number of people with real titles was ten times as many as at the beginning of the founding of the country.  Soon after Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, he abolished this rule set by Taizu and redefined it as only those above the county marquis level could have their own fiefdoms and food towns.  In the reign of Zhenzong, it was changed to those with county and marquis level and above to be granted land and food fiefdoms.

    Although Fang Jie's first-class country boy is not a very high title, as long as it is a real title, it means that he has escaped from a poor family.

    "My slave congratulates Master Xiaofang."

    As he walked, Mu San smiled and said, "Oh, look at your mouth. From now on, I have to address you as Lord Fang."

    Fang Jie smiled and shook his head: "I don't have any red envelopes for you today, so it's useless no matter how sweet you talk."

    What he was thinking about was what the emperor said just now. If the emperor's reward surprised him, then after hearing the emperor's errand, he didn't feel any surprise at all.  For this job, the emperor had to give Fang Jie a decent-looking identity.

    "It's just the first place in the martial arts academy entrance examination, but it's not very good."

    He and Mu San didn¡¯t talk much along the way. It was obvious that Fang Jie was worried, so Mu San simply stopped talking, but he was grateful for his good vision.  If he had stayed away from Fang Jie when he was imprisoned, I'm afraid it would be difficult to have a relationship with this popular Mr. Xiao Fang now.

    The icing on the cake is never as good as providing help when it is timely.

    When Fang Jie returned to the shop, it was already dark and he couldn't see his fingers. When he got off the carriage, Fang Jie still gave Mu San a silver note of a large denomination.  Mu San did not refuse this time and simply accepted it.  Fang Jie would give Mu San money bills every now and then, just because he didn't want to be emotionally involved with him.  It would be better if the relationship between the two of them is just based on interests.  Talking about feelings with eunuchs is nonsense.

    Shen Qingshan and others stood up one after another when they came back.  Fang Jie rubbed his frowning brows and smiled at everyone: "Guess what gift the emperor gave me?"

    Mu Xiaoyao looked at his expression and couldn't help but sigh: "No matter what gifts the emperor gives you, they are not as important as the gifts he asked you to give him."

    Fang Jie smiled slightly bitterly: "You are the only one who is smart."

    Shen Qingshan smiled and said, "It's all written on your face. Tell me, what did the emperor ask you to do that was difficult to accomplish?"

    Fang Jie leaned on the chair and stretched his body.  Mu Xiaoyao walked behind him and raised her hand to rub his shoulders.  Fang Jie smiled tenderly at her: "It's not something that's not easy to do. At least it's easier than playing hide-and-seek with Prince Yi. And it happens to be a place I'm interested in, so I wanted to go."  This time the emperor allowed me to spend public funds to eat, drink and have fun all the way, so there didn¡¯t seem to be anything uncomfortable about it.¡±

    "Then you are still frowning?"

    Shen Qingfan asked.

    Fang explained: "The key is that I really want to go to that place, but it's not the right time yet. It's at least several years earlier than I expected."

    "Where?"

    "Southwest of the Great Sui Dynasty Yongzhou."

    Hearing these words, the expressions of Mu Xiaoyao and others all changed.  She subconsciously looked at the big dog, only to find that both Fang Jie and Shen Qingshan were looking at her.  The movements of Mu Xiaoyao's hands froze, and a trace of fear flashed in his eyes.  Fang Jie kept staring at her, and the fleeting fear did not escape him.Understanding eyes.

    "What's wrong?"

    Fang explained the question.

    Mu Xiaoyao shook his head: "I'm just surprised. We escaped all the way from the southwest. Although we have never been to Yongzhou, thinking about the places we have walked through makes me feel a little uncomfortable. Why should we go to Yongzhou? The emperor asked  Are you going to see Luo Yao? "

    Fang Jie hummed and said, "I don't know if Luo Yao took the wrong medicine, but he actually had the courage to write a letter to ask Your Majesty for a marriage. He wanted Your Majesty to betroth the adult princess to his son Luo Wen  What good deeds has this Luo Wen done in Chang'an City? Doesn't he, the father, know? At this time, he sent someone to ask for a marriage from His Majesty Luo Yao doesn't know what his plans are. "

    "Then what are you going to do?"

    The big dog couldn't help but ask.

    Fang Jie said: "Your Majesty said that because the eldest princess is his most beloved daughter, even if he wants to go to the southwest, he must send someone to see the environment, climate, customs, etc. of the southwest first, and then report to the eldest daughter truthfully.  The princess discussed that if the eldest princess is not willing, there is nothing to say. Now that all the important officials in the court are busy, the emperor thought of me as an idler, so he gave me the title of a first-class countryman and a full fifth.  It is the duty of a general to taste the ranger.¡±

    Shen Qingshan was silent for a while and asked: "The emperor doesn't want to marry the eldest princess to Luo Yao's son?"

    Fang Jie nodded: "Of course I don't want to If you want to, why do you need to arrange it like this?"

    ¡­¡­

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    Fang Jie took a sip of tea to moisten his throat: "Although I don't know what kind of medicine Luo Yao sells in his gourd, it is inevitable that he has no good intentions. The northwest army was defeated and Chang'an was in chaos. At this juncture, Luo Yao sent people to Chang'an to ask for help.  Your Majesty granted you the marriage. On the surface, he feels that his status is not high enough, so he wants to be a relative of the emperor. On a deeper level, it may not be a test. "

    Shen Qingfan said: "The emperor asked you to go just to see the local customs?"

    Fang Jie nodded: "That's what he said. It's nothing more than procrastination. The emperor gave me half a year. He said that if I didn't wander around Yongzhou for half a year, he would come back and immediately put me in a cage at the Imperial Guard's Office."  . Half a year In half a year, the emperor will be able to mobilize troops from all over the Sui Dynasty. At that time, the emperor will personally conquer the northwest. The marriage of the eldest princess will naturally be postponed. When the northwest is pacified the emperor will still be afraid of Luo Yao.  ?¡±

    Big Dog said: "I understand, Luo Yao just wants to take advantage of the situation."

    Mu Xiaoyao shook his head: "How can it be such a simple thing? Everyone knows that the most elite troops in the Sui Dynasty were the soldiers of the Sixteenth Guards, and the most elite of the Sixteenth Guards, except for the Sixth Army of the Emperor, were those stationed in the southwest.  The left vanguard. Because the left vanguard has never stopped fighting, they use troops against the barbarians every year. Although the scale is small, the men and horses of the left vanguard take turns to fight, and the soldiers always have murderous intent. "

    "But when the emperor sent troops to the northwest, he did not mobilize troops from the southwest. This time the northwest army was defeated, and the 700,000-strong army was lost in the hands of the rebels. It would only be a while before the emperor wanted to mobilize troops again. Luo Yao must be  I already knew about the defeat of the Northwest Army, so I came up with such a way to test the emperor. "

    Fang Jie rubbed his nose and smiled: "In short, the emperor does not trust Luo Yao as much as he seems, and Luo Yao is not as loyal as he seems. So this trip is not easy, in case Luo Yao really saves something.  With rebellious intentions, our trip will be in danger."

    "going or not?"

    The big dog asked.

    Fang Jie said: "Go, of course I have to goI just said, even if this thing hadn't happened, I would still have to go to Southwest Yongzhou sooner or later. I planned to go there in a few years, after I have the strength to protect myself.  Go again. But now that I have this opportunity, I¡¯ll just go ahead.¡±

    "just in case¡­¡­"

    The big dog murmured: "What if Luo Yao really has a disobedient heart?"

    Fang Jie looked at the big dog and said seriously: "Then our lives will be left to you. Your nose must be more sensitive then."

    The big dog smiled bitterly: "I thought I could have a good rest after Prince Yi's rebellion, but I had to rush all the way to the southwest again."

    "It's not about rushing."

    Fang Jie smiled and said: "It's procrastination. It's not too urgent or too delayed along the way. It will take two months to get to Yongzhou. It's four months to go back and forth. We only need to stay in Yongzhou for two months."  Didn't the emperor want us to see the customs, climate and environment of the southwest? Then we could go around and treat it as a sightseeing tour. Even if Luo Yao really had some dirty intentions, we could escape back then.  , now we are much stronger than before, can't we escape? Besides we have people sent by the emperor to follow us this time."

    Mu Xiaoyao's expression is still a little weird, although she canThe control still seems a little unnatural.  Fortunately, Fang Jie and Shen Qingshan stopped staring at her, which made her feel relieved.

    "Since you have to go, you have to prepare."

    "There is nothing to prepare for."

    Fang explained: "This time the emperor gave two super bodyguards. If they are used well, they are unparalleled in the world. If they are not used properly, it will be like raising two venomous snakes. They may bite back."

    "Chen hum Chen ha?"

    Shen Qingshan asked after being stunned for a moment.

    Fang Jie nodded: "It's those two living treasures"

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    Station

    The light was still on in the innermost room, and four strong men stood like nails outside the room.  It can be seen at a glance that these four people are from military backgrounds, and they carry a cold murderous aura.  At the door of the inn, there were also four strong men standing there holding the hilts of their knives. The cold aura emanating from them made no one in the inn dare to approach.

    In the room, a middle-aged man of medium build, slightly thin but with a somewhat vigorous look picked at the wick with a needle, and the room suddenly became brighter.

    He looked back at the man sitting aside, and after a moment of silence he said, "What do you mean, Your Majesty? Do you still need to go to a lot of trouble to send someone to the southwest and then come back?"

    "not sure."

    Sitting on the chair is a man in his mid-twenties, about 1.8 meters tall, with broad shoulders and a slim waist. You can tell at a glance that he is a fierce general.  Although he was wearing regular clothes instead of armor, the military temperament that could only come from being on the battlefield was still very clear.

    This man¡¯s face is like a crown jade, and his appearance is majestic.

    And the middle-aged man who looked about forty years old was much uglier.  Moreover, there is a long scar on his face. Looking at the length of the scar, you can imagine how serious the injury must have been at that time.  If the knife wound had been one more point off, his right eye would have been destroyed.

    The young man said: "It is true that the emperor loves the eldest princess. Maybe he is really worried that the eldest princess will not adapt to our life in Yongzhou. Originally to be the consort, one has to stay in Chang'an, but the general only has a son like the young general, so he must  I hope to stay with you. It¡¯s good that your Majesty didn¡¯t reject the general¡¯s request, but it doesn¡¯t matter if he sends someone to take a look to the southwest.¡±

    "I hope so"

    The middle-aged man was silent for a while and said: "Lu Ou, I heard that Your Majesty seems to have entrusted the matter of going to the southwest to a new talent named Fang Jie."

    The young man named Lu Ou hummed: "I've heard of this guy before, and he's said to be a talented guy. But since he comes from a military background, he shouldn't be as pedantic and sour in his work as those literati."

    "Tomorrow I plan to meet this Mr. Xiao Fang."

    The middle-aged man smiled and said: "Although this person's status is not high in the marriage between the eldest princess and our young general, he cannot be underestimated."

    "Go ahead."

    Lu Ou looked at the package on the table and said with a smile: "Don't say that money can make people push their wheels. If there is enough money, it won't be a problem. Since he is a newly appreciated person, it is not a problem even if he thinks about it.  The kind of person who is not short of money. As long as he is willing to collect money, what can't be done? "
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