Chapter 224 Fifth-Rank Guard

Chapter 224 Fifth-Rank Guard

Regardless of whether the Hu merchant leader, whose wealth had been emptied by the Tatar nobles and royal family, felt sorrow or joy, let's just talk about Jiang Yuan, who made a great contribution under extremely accidental circumstances.

The imperial court first dispatched a team, which took more than a month to negotiate the ransom with the Tatars. Then, with the border troops' thorough and strict defenses, the princess was successfully handed over to the Tatar army.

Only then was the imperial court finally able to free up its resources to discuss how to promote and reward those who had rendered meritorious service.

Jiang Yuan, who made the greatest contribution, was promoted directly from a sixth-rank captain to a fifth-rank garrison commander, which was a jump of two ranks. The others either only got promoted one rank or only received some valuable items as rewards.

Having been promoted and granted a half-month vacation by the considerate Chang Yao, Jiang Yuan was overjoyed and, carrying the rewards issued by the imperial court, rode swiftly back to his and Xie Wanniang's small home in Yi County.

When Xie Wanniang, Haitang, Hao Yu, Chen Shi and others heard that Jiang Yuan had been promoted again, and directly from the sixth rank to the fifth rank, they were all surprised and delighted and immediately asked him about it.

Jiang Yuan was not good with words, and naturally even less skilled at telling stories vividly. He only spoke less than ten sentences to finish recounting his story of accidentally capturing the Tatar princess.

Everyone was stunned. After a while, Hao Yu turned to Xie Wanniang with a serious expression and said, "Remember to bring more guards when you go out in the future."

Xie Wanniang nodded vigorously, then turned to Jiang Yuan with the same serious expression and instructed him, "You must be more careful in the future. Whether you are in the army, in Yi County, or anywhere else, you must bring enough men with you. Don't think it's too much trouble."

Jiang Yuan hummed in agreement.

He had originally intended to remind Xie Wanniang and the others about this matter, but now that he didn't need to say anything, they had already become vigilant on their own, so he naturally didn't need to waste any more words.

To his surprise, even though he didn't intend to say anything more about it, Xie Wanniang, after giving him her instructions, also gave them instructions to Hao Yu, Chen Shi, Haitang, Xiao Yang, Xiao Mei, Atai, and others.

“You too, don’t let your guard down.” She looked around at everyone. “I don’t believe the Tatars will only take their anger out on me and A Yuan.”

Hao Yu and the others nodded in agreement. They also felt that if the Tatars couldn't find an opportunity to attack Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang, their anger would likely escalate uncontrollably.

The group made up their minds that they would never go out alone again. Even if they couldn't be like Xie Wanniang, who always had at least ten guards with her, they would at least travel in groups of three or five each time.

The group gathered together, chatted animatedly for a while, and then enjoyed a small celebratory feast.

After Hao Yu and Chen Shi left with the drowsy child, Xie Wan Niang began to distribute celebratory money to her close relatives such as Haitang, Xiao Yang, Atai, and Xiao Mei, as well as her and Jiang Yuan's guards, servants, and hired workers.

Seeing her rummaging through boxes and cabinets, Jiang Yuan hurriedly ordered people to unload the cart and bring in his newly acquired reward.

Xie Wanniang slapped her forehead, "I forgot about what you just said, that the emperor also rewarded you with something."

Now that she has no shortage of money, her focus on wealth has taken a backseat to her focus on official position. Hao Yu is only hoping that Jiang Yuan will be promoted to clear his name and make his parents regret their decision. As a result, the matter of money has been ignored by them.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that Jiang Yuan only mentioned it casually.

Xie Wanniang and Jiang Yuan, who were immersed in joy, and Hao Yu, who secretly wanted to make Jiang Yuan's parents regret not recognizing the value of Jin Xiangyu, were unaware that Hao Yu's expectation had actually been fulfilled.

If Jiang Yuan were just a fifth-rank garrison commander, his parents might not have paid much attention to this name that sounded somewhat familiar to them. However, he obtained this fifth-rank official position because he captured the Tatar princess and won another opportunity for the Great Wei to regain its prestige. This made it impossible for people not to pay attention to him.

Most people in the court, including the emperor, the crown prince, and the cabinet ministers, were curious about Jiang Yuan.

While others were contacting relatives and friends, trying to find out who Jiang Yuan was, his background, his character, his current family members, which faction he belonged to in the court, and whether there was any possibility of winning him over, his biological parents—the Earl of Anping, Jiang Tong, and his wife, Lady Han—finally remembered the name they had deliberately forgotten for a long time.

The couple, who had been estranged for a long time, suddenly found themselves sharing a common joy and sorrow because of their eldest son, who had appeared out of nowhere and whom they had long since abandoned.

They dismissed the servants and sat quietly together in the main courtyard where Madam Han lived, each sorting out their complex emotions.

If Jiang Yuan has already been recognized by them, or if the person who has worked his way up to become a fifth-rank official is their adopted second son, they will only be happy.

But the current situation is that none of the legitimate and illegitimate sons raised by Jiang Tong have Jiang Yuan's abilities. The only child of his who has his blood and the ability to make achievements on the battlefield was abandoned by him early on.

Thinking of this, Jiang Tong felt that even his breathing had become less smooth.

His wife, Madam Han, felt the same way. Ever since she confirmed that this Jiang Yuan was the same Jiang Yuan, a thought kept popping into her mind—if she brought Jiang Yuan back, would she no longer have to work so hard to help her second son fight for the position of heir?

Although her second son with Jiang Tong was their only legitimate son raised by their side, he was disliked by Jiang Tong because he was neither good at literature nor martial arts.

On the contrary, among the sons born to concubines, two were very sweet-talking and good at flattering others, so Jiang Tong thought they were clever and quick-witted, and gradually gained Jiang Tong's favor.

If it weren't for the emperor's rule from the very beginning of the dynasty that "each family's title can only be inherited by the eldest son of the legitimate wife, and if there is no legitimate son, the title will be revoked," and if she hadn't been doing her best to protect her son and prevent him from having any "accidents," Han felt that her husband would most likely not just be delaying in establishing an heir, but would be eager to establish a son of a concubine instead.

No one knows how hard she has worked or how difficult it has been for her to keep going all these years.

But is it too late for her to regret it now?

In the past, when Hao Yu came to her door, she avoided him and that child like the plague.

At that time, she felt that she had a deeper bond with her youngest son, and that her eldest son, who was raised in the countryside, would not be a help to her even if he came back, but only an obstacle. So she made the same choice as Jiang Tong without hesitation.

But now, Jiang Yuan is slapping them in the face with his actual achievements.