Chapter 169: Conferred the Title of Champion
In the front hall, Jia Cong sat in the main seat, and the two chief stewards stood on the left and right with their backs bent! Originally, Jia Cong wanted them to sit down, but they refused to obey.
Xia Shouzhong thought to himself that before in the palace, the emperor and empress sat on the left and right with this gentleman. How could he be worthy of the treatment of the emperor and empress? Therefore, even if Jia Cong persuaded them again and again, they refused.
On the side, the eunuchs who came from the palace stood in two rows on the left and right. After the maids who came over served tea, they also stood respectfully on one side.
After half an hour, a guard came to report that everyone from the West Palace was coming!
Jia Cong wanted to stand up to greet him, but Chief Steward Zhou stopped him. "The Lord's injury has not healed yet, so let's send someone in to announce the decree! Otherwise, if the Lord's health is affected, Chief Steward Xia and I will not be able to explain to His Majesty and His Majesty when we return!"
Xia Shouzhong nodded repeatedly and directly ordered a eunuch to let everyone in.
A moment later, everyone from the West Mansion, led by Lady Jia, entered the hall.
The situation in the hall made Grandmother Jia tremble in her heart. How could this grandson go so far? Even if these two stewards were servants, they were still servants of the emperor and the empress.
Before Grandmother Jia could speak, Jia Cong stood up and said, "My grandson has not returned for many days. I am sorry that you missed me!"
After saying just one sentence, Zhou Zongguan walked forward and directly supported Jia Cong, "Master, let's announce the decree first!"
Seeing Jia Cong nodded, Xia Shouzhong immediately took out the imperial edict, "Everyone in the Jia family, listen to the order!"
The rest of the people knelt down, and Jia Cong subconsciously wanted to kneel down as well, but the two frightened stewards rushed up and held Jia Cong on the left and right.
"Master, please forgive me!" Xia Shouzhong said with a sad face, "His Majesty and His Majesty are very concerned about your injury. They have already promised you not to kneel. If you kneel, I will be beaten when I go back! You can just sit down and listen. I think His Majesty and His Majesty will not blame you."
Jia Cong argued for a few sentences, and finally both sides had to take a step back. Jia Cong was supported by Manager Zhou to stand, and Xia Shouzhong continued to read the imperial edict.
Obviously, this matter should not be stated explicitly, so it was only said that Jia Cong had made great contributions in rescuing the emperor and was given the title of Marquis of Guanjun!
When Jia Cong's reward was read out, not to mention the people in the two mansions, even Jia Cong was shocked! The Champion Marquis is a first-class national marquis, which is six levels higher than the second-class earl! Moreover, just based on the two words "champion", even if the Ning and Rong brothers were resurrected, they would have to show courtesy to Jia Cong, the Champion Marquis.
It is more accurate to say that it is an unparalleled honor rather than a conferment of a title!
Let's take a look at who were given the title of Guanjunhou in history. The descendants of Huo Qubing don't count, because they inherited the title. The eunuch Wang Fu in the late Han Dynasty was given the title by Emperor Ling of Han without any reason, so he doesn't count. The remaining three people can be counted.
The first one is Huo Qubing who has turned on the cheat! With his own navigation and cheats, he went deep into the northern desert and sealed the Wolf Mountain!
The second one was Jia Fu, a general under the command of the great mage Liu Xiu during the period when Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty! He ranked third among the twenty-eight generals of Yuntai. He helped Liu Xiu attack Xindu, attack Handan, fight Zhending, and break Yecheng, and made great contributions to Liu Xiu. When Liu Xiu ascended the throne, Jia Fu was conferred the title of Guanjun Hou. However, he was lucky to be crowned Guanjun Hou because he was born in Guanjun County, which was the fief of Huo Qubing! However, even so, the title of Guanjun Hou was later changed to Jiaodong Hou.
The third one is Dou Xian, the descendant of the first foreign relative family of the Han Dynasty! Dou Xian led 30,000 troops deep into the northern desert, defeated the Xiongnu at Jiluo Mountain, and then chased them for 3,000 miles! Finally, he climbed Mount Yanran, carved a stone to record his achievements, and was named Guanjunhou.
What later generations called "Inscription on the Yanran Stone" and "Sealing the Wolf's Lair" actually referred to Dou Xian and Huo Qubing.
Since then, the title of Marquis of Guanjun has never appeared again in all dynasties, which is enough to show how important this title is!
In fact, the dispute in the court regarding Jia Cong's title of Champion Marquis was extremely serious! Even among the founding dynasty, there were many voices of opposition, until the end, Emperor Longxing shouted angrily, "Is my life not worth a title?"
Then, the retired emperor asked Dai Quan to convey an oral order, agreeing that Jia Cong should be conferred the title of Marquis of Guanjun, and the matter was finally settled.
As for the countless rewards from the two emperors and the empress, no one cared about them. No matter how many rewards there were, they were just some external things, but the title of Marquis of Champion could bring glory to the ages.
"My Lord, please accept the order!" Xia Shouzhong said with a smile, bending his body.
"Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace!" Jia Cong bowed three times in the direction of the imperial palace. He really didn't expect that the emperor would give him such a big surprise.
"Originally, His Majesty was going to confer the title of Duke on the Marquis. However, His Majesty had previously promised the Marquis the title of Champion Marquis, so he was given the title of Champion Marquis! However, His Majesty specially granted him a dragon robe and jade belt, and all the etiquette and regulations were the same as those of a Duke!"
Jia Cong thanked him again, and Xia Shouzhong asked, "My Lord, is there anything else you want to tell me?"
Seeing Jia Cong shaking his head, Xia Shouzhong said, "Then I will go a step further and give these servants some instructions, so that the Marquis will not have to worry about it later!"
"You were personally selected by me to take care of the Marquis! His Majesty and His Majesty appreciate the Marquis, and there is no need for me to tell you. You all know it! In the Marquis's mansion, if anyone dares to be arrogant, the Marquis may be kind, but I will not be so easy to talk to!"
"My Lord, His Majesty has already given orders to these people. If they offend my Lord, they should be beaten to death without mercy!"
After finishing speaking, Xia Shouzhong bowed and said, "My Lord, I will take my leave first. If you need anything, just send someone to find me!"
After everyone had left, the old lady asked in astonishment, "Grandson, this..."
Jia Cong pulled the old lady to sit down, "Second Brother Lian, there are some imperial doctors outside, sent by His Majesty to take care of my injuries. Please help arrange one or two. There are still many empty courtyards next to the courtyard where the personal soldiers live in front!"
Jia Lian didn't dare to say more and left quickly.
"First Madam, Second Madam, please go to the inner courtyard first. Sister-in-law, take the two ladies there! In addition, the old lady has finally arrived at our East Mansion today. Sister-in-law, please prepare a banquet and let the old lady stay for a day."
"Brother Bao, Brother Huan, and Lan should also go! The sisters will probably be here soon, so let them go directly to the inner courtyard and don't need to come here."
"If there's nothing else, I'll go back to the yard first!" Jia She looked a little ugly. The brighter Jia Cong looked, the more incompetent he seemed as a father. At this moment, he didn't want to stay here for a moment.
"Then the elder master will go back first. I will have my personal soldiers escort you!"
Jia She was too lazy to pay attention. He bowed to the old lady and turned away.
