According to the Dayin ritual system, conferring the title of Duke was an extremely solemn and dignified matter.

When Dayin established the country, in order to confer the title of Duke, an auspicious day had to be chosen and a huge altar had to be built to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth. The emperor had to bathe and fast for a month in advance before presiding over the ceremony.

But he was a founding duke, a vassal who was to divide the land and establish his own territory.

Compared with those "founding dukes", the duke titles granted to Lu Fu and Lu Yu, one Duke of Tian'en and the other Duke of Tianyang, were much lower in style and had much less meaning in terms of their titles.

Besides, do you expect the current Emperor Jiayou, Yinyuan, to endure hunger and abstinence for a month, then go to the altar in the wind and rain, and preside over the ceremony for several hours, just to confer a title on you two?

Impossible, this is absolutely not happening!

So, when Yu Changle called out Lu Yi's name loudly, Lu Yi hurriedly patted his official robe, strode into the Fuyao Palace, and then, under the close and gentle guidance of a little eunuch, paid homage to the empress dowager and the emperor.

Like Lu Yu and Lu Yi, Lu Yu also came out to pay homage.

The uncle and nephew looked at each other. Lu Yi nodded and smiled politely, while Lu Yu had a stern face and looked at Lu Yi deeply, without any change on his facial expression.

Yu Changle handed the imperial edict, which he had drafted himself and which was signed by the empress dowager with the emperor's seal, to a eunuch in charge of ceremonies.

The eunuch in charge of ceremonies, who was tall and strong and had a loud voice, respectfully unfolded the imperial edict, stretched out his voice, and began to read out the rewards to Lu Yu and Lu Yi in a very melodious manner.

Lu Yu did not receive much reward.

According to Yinyuan's thoughts, he took this opportunity to promote Lu Yu from Marquis of Tian'en to Duke of Tian'en, just to vent his resentment that he was forced by court officials and was unable to confer the title of "Duke" on Lu Yu as he wished.

According to Yinyuan's true feelings, he was not happy about Lu Yu's contribution last night.

He wished that the rebels would rush into the Prime Minister's Mansion and start a massacre. If he could chop Zhu Chong a few times, it would be a real pleasure. Lu Yu wiped out the rebels and saved Zhu Chong and a group of court officials, but Yin Yuan was not happy!

How sensitive is the news from the palace guard?

Before daybreak, Yinyuan received a detailed report - when he was fighting against ghosts and evil spirits in the imperial city yesterday, a large group of important court officials were watching the fire from the other side of the river, in the Prime Minister's Mansion, watching the excitement of him, the emperor!

Therefore, Lu Yu's title was promoted by one level, and he was given some vanity and an additional fief of 3,000 households, but that was all.

The reward Lu Yi received was extremely generous and heavy.

When the eunuch in charge of ceremonies read out Lu Yi's rewards one by one, Zhu Chong and other officials in the court were all stunned and dumbfounded. Some even had fire in their eyes and their gazes were as sharp as knives, sweeping over Lu Yi fiercely.

How kind was the emperor to Lu Yi?

Lu Yi was granted the title of Duke of Tianyang. He ordered the Taifu to fund the expropriation of 1,500 mu of residential land in Yushunfang, and ordered the Shaofu to provide manpower, funds and materials, and to have the palace's chief craftsman supervise the construction of the Duke of Tianyang's mansion.

Lu Yi was granted a copper mine, a tin mine, and an iron mine in the Xiaocang Mountain, 8,000 li south of the city of Haojing. He was also granted a 3,000 li pasture in the south of the Xiaocang Mountain.

Lu Yi was granted three imperial farms in the Yinmaifang, a seventh-rank officialdom in Haojing, with a total of nearly two million acres of fertile land, a fief of 10,000 households, and a total population of about 100,000.

Lu Yi, in accordance with the custom of conferring the title "Jun" on members of the Dayin clan, was awarded a robe with Kunpeng pattern, a set of ceremonial weapons including a golden sword and silver knife, a golden spear and silver halberd, a golden saddle and silver stirrups, a golden horse whip and silver reins.

Lu Yi appointed thirty-six Shenwu generals as ceremonial guards, and their salaries and wages came from the Ministry of the Treasury.

Lu Yi was given 3,000 brave soldiers from the Yulin Army as guards, and their salaries were paid by the Shaofu.

Lu Yi was granted the 'jie', one large white wolf-tail banner (dao, a large flag used in ancient military marches or important ceremonies), four large blue wolf-tail banners, eight large black wolf-tail banners, and one nine-bend blue silk umbrella. He can follow the practice of 'Duke' Dayin, establish a private army, fight against disloyalty, and raise his own wages and salaries!

As the eunuch in charge of ceremonies chanted out the clauses one by one, the faces of many ministers in the hall changed again and again.

If you, the emperor, are willing to spend money on this matter, then you can do it. The area of ​​the 1,500-acre mansion is a bit excessive, but if you, the emperor, don't care, then the ministers naturally don't care either.

Granting good farmland, mines, and pastures is also a matter of course.

The newly-appointed "Duke" is a young boy at that. It is estimated that his pockets are cleaner than the shiny floor of the Fuyao Palace. If the emperor does not give him some benefits, Lu Yi is afraid that he will not even be able to support the servants required for the most basic "Duke" status.

The Kunpeng patterned robes, the golden swords and silver knives, or the thirty-six divine generals acting as the guard of honor, are all "vanity" and nothing serious. In the history of Dayin, there was once an emperor who loved a concubine so much that he actually issued an order to let the concubine's father enjoy the guard of honor of the "prince" level of the imperial dynasty.

The ceremonial guard of a prince is one level higher than that of a king.

It's just 'vanity'. Everyone is a little jealous and envious, and they curse behind his back with some righteous words like 'lucky villain' or 'favored flatterer', and that's fine.

The three thousand Yulin soldiers were transferred on the spot and became Lu Yi's guards?

This... is a bit excessive, but it is acceptable. As the Duke of Dayin, you must have your own pomp and circumstance. Without three thousand guards, you would be embarrassed to go out and greet people!

However, grant Lu Yi the title of 'Jie'!

What is a fake jiyue?

The fake imperial seal and axe, in special periods, is equivalent to the imperial power of the Son of Heaven!

The "yue" in the "Jiajieyue" refers to the golden axe in Lu Yu's hand, which has the power of life and death without prior notification.

That "Jie" is slightly inferior to the axe, and the power to execute first and report later is almost non-existent. However, the person holding the Jie can be regarded as the emperor's special envoy. When necessary, he can also use the emperor's name to raise an army to fight against disobedience!
Giving Lu Yi three kinds of large banners and the Nine-curved Green Silk Umbrella was even more outrageous!

In the Dayin military system, generals led troops outside and divided power with large flags.

The large black wolf-tail banner can command 10,000 soldiers.

The large banner with a blue wolf tail can command 30,000 soldiers.

The large banner with a white wolf tail can command 100,000 soldiers.

Yinyuan granted Lu Fu three kinds of large banners, which directly gave Lu Fu the power to command 300,000 troops.

As for the Nine-Bend Green Silk Umbrella, it is more of a 'special honor' and a 'privilege'. Anyone who travels with the Nine-Bend Green Silk Umbrella is one level higher than an official in the army, except for the generals!

Of course, compared with those senior princes of Dayin, the power to command a mere 300,000 troops is nothing. Among the princes of Dayin from all directions, some of their ancestors were only princes of the 'son' or 'man' class, but they have more than a million troops under their command.

It is reasonable for a 'Duke' to have an army of 300,000 with his status and territory.

The problem is that many "gongs" in Dayin now, such as the Duke of Lai, have more than five or six hundred thousand private armies in their own territories. However, those private armies are "private" armies and cannot leave their own territories. If they step out of their own territories without permission, they will be regarded as treason.

Now that Lu Fu has obtained these banners bestowed by the emperor, he can lead 300,000 elite soldiers and generals to roam around any territory of Dayin legally!

A private army without a banner is just a guard dog.

A private army with a big banner is a hunting wolf!

What's worse is that the emperor also granted him the title of "Jie"!

This means that if anyone becomes enemies with Lu Fu in the future, Lu Fu can come to you at any time with an army of 300,000 to cause trouble for you, and you can only passively take the beating!

When the emperor's reward was announced, not only the civil and military officials in the court, but even Lu Yu, looked at Lu Yi again and again.

As a close minister of the emperor and also a confidant of the emperor who had the merit of saving the emperor, Lu Yu only had a large banner with a green wolf tail in his hand, and he could only wander around with his 30,000 private troops.

Even so, in order to avoid suspicion, Lu Yu only brought more than 10,000 people with him every time he traveled.

Lu Yu looked at Lu Yi and felt inexplicably sour in his heart - hey, from now on, is he no longer the most important and trusted minister in the heart of the emperor?

The eunuch in charge of ceremonies was still chanting the emperor's reward.

The front part is the big part, and the back part is just some small, nice looking things.

For example, the emperor rewarded Lu Yi with a number of copper coins, a number of gold grains and silver ingots made in the palace, a number of gold melon seeds and small silver plates for rewarding his servants, a number of brocades and silks made in the palace, a number of carriages, sedan chairs, and various bronze vessels made in the palace, and a number of rare treasures such as pearls, corals, tortoise shells, and agates that were tributed by the four major states.

It is said that the current emperor is a miser who loves money more than anything else, but Yinyuan is truly generous to his trusted confidants.

Of course, it could also be that there were too many odds and ends in the Shaofu warehouse that were tributed from all the major states, and Yinyuan wanted to take the opportunity to clear out the inventory?

In the end, the rewards chanted by the eunuchs in charge of ceremonies even included thousands of giant pieces of precious wood such as golden nanmu, red sandalwood, and huanghuali, which were over twenty meters long and more than eight feet in diameter!

Lu Yu's face twitched.

With his knowledge and experience, he didn't know what to do with these huge rare woods except making coffins!

However, it's all the emperor's grace!

What else can you do except endure it?

The eunuch in charge of ceremonies read out all kinds of strange rewards for a full quarter of an hour. Afterwards, even strange things such as 30,000 kilograms of white pepper, 100,000 kilograms of black pepper, 8,000 kilograms of borneol, 3,000 kilograms of frankincense, and 2,000 kilograms of ambergris popped up.

Lu Yi could only tighten his skin and force himself to maintain a bright smile on his face.

Does he use these spices to bake bacon?

In the end, Yinyuan gave Lu Yi a huge surprise. He actually rewarded Lu Yi with thirty nannies in Jiuqu Garden who had received good etiquette training, one hundred palace maids who were proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, tea art and cooking, three hundred palace maids who knew etiquette, knew how to advance and retreat, could play and answer questions, and were understanding of human nature, and six hundred palace maids who knew the rules, were tight-lipped, efficient, and strong and healthy to do rough work.

Obviously, these maids and palace maids were prepared for Lu Yi's newly built mansion.

Even if you have money, where can you find these palace maids who have received systematic training in the palace? They are much better than the common women bought from the outside brokerage.

The civil and military officials in the court were so jealous that their eyes turned red.

Lu Yi was a little confused. He was thinking that the palace maids sent by Yinyuan did not say "salaries will be paid by the Shaofu". Did he have to support them himself?

Suddenly, Lu Yi heard the emperor's laughter.

"Lu Yu, these are all I can think of at the last minute. Think about it yourself. Is there anything else you want? Since things are going well today, I will grant you all of them."

"Be careful, in the future, if someone says that I gave you too much in reward, and that you are a flatterer seeking favor, etc., then it won't be as easy as it is today if you want benefits again."

Inside the hall, there were at least three hundred civil officials who couldn't help but snort coldly!