137, Chapter 137

Qin Fang opened Du Ke's letter. There were a lot of papers in the letter, but not as thick as the one Du Ke wrote. Du Ke mentioned three things in the letter:

The first thing: Qin Fang's contribution to the discovery of sulfur and saltpeter mines was enough to get Qin Fang promoted. But Qin Fang was a poor boy who had just been promoted to the fifth rank in March. It was not a good thing for a poor boy to be promoted too quickly, so he discussed with the emperor and decided to confer the imperial edict on his mother and grandmother. After asking Tao Shan, the old man was still in his hometown, so the imperial edict was sent directly to his hometown.

Seeing this, Qin Fang was happy. Compared with being promoted, he was happier to let his mother and grandmother be conferred the imperial edict. With the imperial edict, it was truly honorable for his mother and grandmother. When they met other wives with imperial edicts, they didn't have to bow humbly. Even if they came to Yunxiang County, if there was no imperial edict, they would still have to pay their respects to the wife of County Magistrate Yang, but it was different with the imperial edict.

So for this, he also thanked Du Ke and the emperor. At the same time, he also understood that although Du Ke implicitly mentioned that he had discussed with the emperor, in fact, these things were all decided by the emperor. How could Du Ke, a minister, make the emperor's decision? It should be that the emperor did not want him to be promoted too quickly and attract attention.

No matter what the emperor's purpose was, it is undeniable that the canonization of his mother and grandmother really rewarded Qin Fang. For this, he was very grateful to the emperor and Mr. Du.

The second thing: about Yang Haiyan's contribution to promoting the military camp land policy and discovering saltpeter ice making. If Qin Fang's contribution is to the country, then Yang Haiyan's contribution is to the people. For the emperor, the country and the people are equally important. Qin Fang's merits were attributed to Qin's mother and grandmother, but Yang Haiyan's merits were still there, so the emperor conferred Yang Haiyan the title of Xiangjun, a third-rank official. Xiangjun has different ranks, from the first to the fifth rank. Yang Haiyan is now a fifth-rank concubine, and Qin Fang is only 22 years old now, so for Yang Haiyan, it is only a matter of time before she is granted a genuine imperial decree, so the emperor conferred Yang Haiyan the title of Xiangjun as the third-rank official, a more moderate rank.

However, for Yang Haiyan, what really means is not the rank, but the title. Although the title of Xiangjun cannot be passed on to children, for women, this meaning is extraordinary. For example, if Qin Fang and Yang Haiyan divorced, then Yang Haiyan's imperial decree conferred because of her husband would be gone. But now the emperor has conferred her the title of a third-rank Xiangjun, which is her own honor. Even if she divorces her husband, her rank and title are still there, and she enjoys the salary of a third-rank imperial edict. Moreover, this salary is different from the salary of a wife who follows her husband's honor. The salary of a wife who follows her husband's honor is half of her husband's, while the salary of her Xiangjun title is the salary of a real third-rank official.

It has to be said that the emperor is stingy in some places, but as an emperor, he will not take advantage of others. In some places, he will compensate. The emperor suppressed Qin Fang's opportunity to be promoted, but on Yang Haiyan's side, he also compensated quite generously. It is equivalent to giving all the credit of Qin Fang and Yang Haiyan to Yang Haiyan.

Having said that, there is a difference between a man's promotion and a woman's title. In feudal society, women's honor is easily ignored because they cannot touch real power, but men's honor is linked to real power.

However, for the Qin family, who came from a poor family, such honor is enough.

Qin Fang felt that his wife would be happy. In the future, he would have to pay respect to his wife in a proper manner.

Lord Du's meaning was also very clear, and Qin Fang did not complain or get angry. What is the purpose of a man's hard work? It is for the family, for children, wife and parents, and now, the emperor has given his honor to his wife and his parents, what can he complain about?

Qin Fang was very grateful to Lord Du for analyzing this matter with him. Even if he would not be angry when he received the imperial edict and would not care about the credit, it was different for Qin Fang that Lord Du could write a letter and analyze the matter for him. For someone like Lord Du, if Qin Fang hadn't made Lord Du look up to him, why would Lord Du spend time telling him all this? For this friendship, Lord Du can be regarded as Qin Fang's teacher.

Some teachers teach knowledge, some teachers teach how to behave in the world, and how to behave in the world and the officialdom are far more important to Qin Fang than the knowledge in books.

The third thing: about the identity of the imperial envoy and the eunuch. The imperial envoy who came was none other than Wei Wu's elder brother Wei Ting. Wei Ting is Wei Wu's eldest brother, a doctor in the Ministry of Works, from the fifth rank. Although his official position is not as high as Qin Fang, the officials in the capital are different from those in the local government. The doctor in the Ministry of Works is in charge of all the affairs of management and construction, and the production of sulphur and saltpeter is also the responsibility of the doctor in the Ministry of Works.

As for the imperial envoy who came to announce the imperial edict, he was also the chief steward of the emperor, responsible for all matters around the emperor. Therefore, the announcement of the imperial edict was only secondary, and the real purpose was to observe the sulfur mine and saltpeter mine. The sulfur mine and saltpeter mine were so important that the emperor naturally could not send only Wei Ting.

Oh, the above three things are important things, and Lord Du added one more thing at the end, hoping that he would not be so long-winded and talk so long next time, and be able to keep it short.

Qin Fang read it and couldn't help laughing. He could imagine Lord Du's serious expression when he pointed this out.

Then Qin Fang came to the fire on the side and burned the letter directly. "Taoshan, let's go down the mountain. Old Yang, leave this to you. If the chained man wakes up immediately, send someone to call me immediately."

Captain Yang: "Yes, General."

An hour later, Qin Fang and Taoshan arrived at the gate of the East Suburbs Military Camp.

Wei Ting and General Manager Chi were admiring every plant and tree in the East Suburbs Military Camp. The East Suburbs Military Camp covers a very large area, so the East Suburbs Military Camp is also very large. However, the reason why the East Suburbs Military Camp is built so large is that it is basically based on the training ground, which can provide good training for soldiers. In addition to the training ground, the fighting field of the East Suburbs Military Camp is also very conspicuous. It has to be said that this is much better than the military camp outside the capital. The main reason is that the area of ​​the military camp outside the capital is limited, and the East Suburbs Military Camp here has an advantage in area.

Even though Wei Ting didn't know much about the military, he could see that this was a good place. Although he didn't know how poor Yunxiang County was, and he didn't enter the county town, he could accept it if he thought about living here for a year or two. After all, the mountains were high and the water was far away, and the scenery was beautiful. Especially standing on Lookout Mountain and looking at the beast mountain, he felt that the mountain was particularly interesting.

Chief Steward Chi was in his early thirties this year. He served the emperor when he was still a prince, so in the palace, even the imperial concubine had to give him some face. He came to Yunxiang County this time to convey the imperial edict, and the most important thing was to check the sulfur and saltpeter mines. Although Wei Ting led people to secretly carry out the production of drugs, the emperor ordered him to check the sulfur and saltpeter mines. At the same time, observe Qin Fang.

Chief Steward Chi looked at Wei Ting's satisfaction and couldn't help but smile and said, "I didn't expect that General Qin, who was so young and came from a poor family, would have such luck." The emperor paid no attention to luck, and even privately nagging him that Qin Fang might be the opportunity sent by God to make him famous for all eternity.

Chief Steward Chi was shocked when he heard these naggings at that time. He knew very well what this meant.

Wei Ting also smiled and said, "It's not easy for General Qin to get to this point by his own efforts." But he is indeed lucky. A 22-year-old general of the fifth rank rarely climbs so fast even in the capital. But looking closely at Qin Fang's experience, it seems normal. He joined the army on behalf of his father at the age of 16, and became a centurion at the age of 19 by his own efforts. At the age of 20, he got the opportunity and became a thousand-man captain. At the age of 22, he was selected by the emperor for a plan to settle the surrendered barbarians by breaking up the whole into pieces and became a general of Wude who settled the surrendered barbarians.

Unexpectedly, when they arrived in Yunxiang County, sulfur and saltpeter mines were discovered. Immediately afterwards, his wife proposed a land policy for military camps and discovered saltpeter ice making.

Speaking of which... Wei Ting paused. Was Qin Fang lucky? Or did his wife bring him luck? When Qin Fang became a thousand-man captain, he had just gotten married, right?

Thinking of this, Wei Ting suddenly had an idea. Could it be... that his wife was the lucky one?

Thinking of Qin Fang's wife, Wei Ting thought of the Yang family. Yang Taifu was executed, and Yang Haiyan was betrothed to the border. Later, he heard from Wei Wu about the matter of recognizing a sister. Wei Ting subconsciously crossed his legs and put them behind him.

Chief Steward Chi also laughed.

"My lords, the general is here."

Wei Ting and Chief Steward Chi looked at each other, and they said in unison: "Lead the way."

The soldiers took them to see Qin Fang, and Qin Fang also came over under the leadership of the soldiers. The three people came closer and closer, looking at each other. Wei Ting and Manager Chi only had one feeling, the young man walking in front of them was really tall. Such a tall figure, he was born to be a military general.

People always like to analyze people by appearance. For example, if they look gentle, everyone will always think that they are the material for the imperial examination, and if they look tall and mighty like Qin Fang, everyone will always think that they are the material for the military examination.

So Wei Ting and Manager Chi also had this idea when they saw Qin Fang for the first time. When they walked in again, they found that this man had clear eyes and a bit of integrity. He looked resolute and cold, and looked like a man of iron.

Qin Fang was a little nervous before facing Wei Ting and Manager Chi, but after meeting him, he was very calm. It's not that he is not nervous, but that after seeing an adult like Du Ke, he will always feel a little relaxed when meeting others. In terms of official power and ability, how can Wei Ting and Manager Chi compare with Du Ke?