Chapter 134: The Real Power of "Flag Bearer"

  The toad was extremely pleased, and he held the imperial edict of reward in his hand, his mouth had been open for a full minute, occasionally bursting into loud laughter. His eyebrows were flying and his face was beaming with joy, exactly like the expression of "a small man achieving his goal".

  "Hmph, you little brat......" Luluo couldn't bear to watch and was about to lash out with words, but just as he opened his mouth, Tuer glared at him: "What's with the 'little brat'?! Hey, shouldn't you be addressing me as Baron now?! Hahahaha, Baron, Lord Baron......"

  Baron! This is a baronial title! With this letter of appointment, Xia Ya will become a noble from now on. No longer the little turtle that crawled out of the mountain, no longer the unknown hunter, but with a flick of his sleeve, he became "Noble Lord".

  Lu Ruo's eyes stared blankly at Tu Bie, and in his heart, he had an urge to strangle this guy to death.

  Damn it, I've been fighting for my life all these years, joined the army for many years, through rain and shine, life and death, just to earn a viscount title. This young kid is not even twenty years old, first time in battle, got lucky, ambushed Hastings that guy, and actually got a baron title! From the title alone, it's already only one rank lower than mine?!

  No, it's not inferior!

  In fact, what made Rouru feel helpless was that this young man's baron was actually far more valuable than his own viscount.

  According to the nobility ranks of the empire: Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Baron.

  Although a viscount ranks above a baron, in reality there are more complex calculations. For example, the title itself is divided into two types outside of the ranking: life peerage and hereditary peerage.

  Lifetime peerage is more of an honorary title, such as the viscountcy held by Fatso Lul. This type of peerage cannot be inherited, meaning that when Fatso dies, his viscountcy will not be passed down to his descendants. Lifetime peerages can also come with a fiefdom, but this is largely nominal: for example, Fatso currently holds a fiefdom in name only, and he does not actually have control over the land. The territory remains under the direct management of the imperial government, and Fatso as the nominal lord can only receive a portion of the tax revenue from that territory each year. At the same time, he has no right to interfere with the governance of the fiefdom or establish his own private army.

  The nobility is completely different.

  Even among the nobility of the empire, there were some ultra-conservative individuals who insisted that only hereditary nobles were true nobles.

  Nobles, titles can be passed down to their own children and grandchildren, and they also have real control over their own territory, can appoint governors of the territory, control government affairs, and also have the right to collect taxes. In addition to the national tax items stipulated by the empire, the people in the territory do not riot. At the same time, the lord can even set up some new laws in the territory, has the right to trial and sentencing. Can also be based on their own title high or low and the size of the territory, set up a private army belonging to their own, these private armies are also seen as the private property of the nobility, the imperial government is not entitled to intervene.

  He said that a territory under the leadership of hereditary nobility is truly a state within a state.

  What made Rour's eyes red was that his own viscount was for life, while this turtle's baron was hereditary! In terms of actual benefits, it far exceeded his own viscount.

  After receiving the letter of reward, Luluo explained to him the difference between hereditary nobility and lifelong system, after which Tuer became extremely excited.

  Doesn't that mean that from now on, in one's own territory, one can be like a local emperor? Unrestrained and unbridled, with no one able to control or govern?

  He casually cited a few examples, telling the story of how some greedy and insatiable nobles in their own territories abused their power. For example, a lustful noble issued a new decree in his territory: the noble's privilege, ordering that every family in his territory, on the first night of marriage, must offer their bride to serve the lord...

  The story made Toad's eyes widen in surprise, and his eyes turned red.

  "Hmm".

  Looking at the silly and yearning expression of the little turtle, Lulu hated it so much that she couldn't help but strike back with a sentence: "You little turtle, don't be too happy too early! Although the imperial edict has been written, the matter of granting titles still needs to go through scrutiny. Do you think becoming a noble is a simple thing? I'll tell you, there's more to it than that! First, they need to review your three generations of ancestors, including all direct relatives' names, backgrounds, and bloodlines. Then, they need to verify your own qualifications for the title. Based on your surname, they will investigate your family's historical background...

  There are those erudite court scholars, those experts in heraldry who will come to appraise and verify, and finally, according to the system, establish your family's new coat of arms... Don't look at me, from now on you'll be a noble, of course, you'll need a family crest that belongs to you. These one by one checkpoints all require thorough examination and verification, if any one checkpoint doesn't pass the audit, it may all be blocked by the gatekeeper. Although you have His Majesty's enfeoffment, if the nobles' council strongly opposes it, then they might also force His Majesty to retract his decree."

  Xia Ya is a bit silly.

  Others are easy to say... but to verify one's direct lineal relatives of the last three generations?

  This old man is an orphan, was picked up by the old fellow from the wild! As for who his biological parents are, he himself has no idea.

  Also tested for bloodline and surname... having a dog fart bloodline myself

  There are those erudite court scholars, those experts in heraldry who will come to appraise and determine your family's new coat of arms... Don't look at me, from now on you'll be a noble, of course you need a family crest. This phone visit: ...all the checkpoints that need to be passed through rigorous examination and review, any checkpoint that doesn't pass the review may be stuck. Although you have been enfeoffed by His Majesty, if the nobles' council strongly opposes it, then even His Majesty may be forced to withdraw his decree."

  Xia Ya is a bit silly.

  Others are easy to say... but to verify one's own three generations of direct lineal relatives?

  This old man is an orphan, was picked up by the old fellow from the wild! As for who his biological parents are, he himself has no idea.

  Also tested for bloodline and surname... having a dog fart bloodline myself

  Even with this surname, it's all just a bunch of old guys slapping their heads and coming up with something. What's the point of verifying? Xia Yali Meng - does it rain on rainy days? Seeing that Tuer was actually a bit weak, Lu'er felt a little pleased in his heart. In fact, these so-called verifications were very strict when the empire was first established, but as time went on and the current political situation developed, the so-called noble council had long since become a mere formality, and with the emperor's word, these verification tasks were just going through the motions. It's just that looking at Tuer being so pleased, Pangzi didn't want to let him have it too easy. "On the imperial edict of reward, I think this baronial title is not even the heaviest reward."

  Rourou struck a blow to the turtle's momentum and was already satisfied. He looked at the turtle with a serious expression and said, "The reward I'm giving you has three parts, but in my opinion, the most valuable rewards are the last two!" The reward letter had three points: First, Xia Yalai was granted the title of Baron by the Imperial Noble Assembly. Second, due to his outstanding performance in battle, Xia Yalai was appointed as the Military Governor of Moer County and concurrently served as the Garrison Commander of Danzer City. Moer County was located on the northern border of the empire, while Danzer City was a small city not far from the border. This time, from the Wildfire Plains to Byzantium, Xia's first battle had passed through Danzer City. During this war with Odin, the temporary military department was set up there. When he came to the imperial capital, he had also handled some procedures at the temporary military department in Danzer.

  What made Xia Ya a little happy was that at least this place was close to his "hometown" Ye Huo Yuan. And Dan Ze City was only two days' ride from Ye Huo Town.

  Rour's interpretation is more thorough: "Mol County is an important county on the northern border of the empire, where grain production and border trade are prosperous. Such a good place was not originally yours, but the Oding people were in the north, and every time they fought with the Oding people, Mol County was the first to be affected. So although this is a good place, no one dares to go."

  According to the Byzantine imperial system, local governments implemented a military-civilian separation system. The highest administrative head of a prefecture was the Prefectural Governor, while the highest military leader was the Prefectural Military Commander. Generally speaking, civil and military affairs did not interfere with each other. From the perspective of the imperial military system, every prefecture's Prefectural Military Commander was at the group level... Ah, considering your military achievements, you performed exceptionally on the battlefield, making great contributions in the Battle of Guarding the Territory, and more importantly, you have two qualifications that others cannot match; first, you have a record of defeating the illustrious Hastings on the battlefield. As for the second... don't forget, you also killed a prince of Odin on the battlefield! Although the Odin royal family is prosperous, their princes are not valuable, but after all, a prince is still a prince.

  A prince of an enemy country, this achievement is not small at all. You were originally a cavalry captain, belonging to a low-ranking officer, and above the cavalry captain there are also battalion officers, deputy battalion officers, flag officers, and deputy flag officers.

  You jumped from a cavalry to a bannered unit, and you've already made three or four jumps in one breath! That's equivalent to jumping from a low-ranking officer to the top position of a mid-ranking officer in one go! If you take another step up, you'll be entering the ranks of generals!

  Originally, such a promotion is intimidating, but considering your past achievements, it's barely acceptable. However, under normal circumstances, even if they promote you to the rank of flag or brigade commander, they would never actually give you command over an army unit! At most, they'd send you to logistics or another department with a title, and leave you idle. If you want to lead troops, go to a regular army unit, where you might get to be a battalion officer at best. That's the difference between nominal position and actual power.

  Your Majesty, let you be a military officer in charge of a county's military equipment. Although this position is at the banner level, the actual power is not trivial! It can even be said that the gold content of this banner-level position is more important than being a banner officer in a regular army battalion and commanding a banner of soldiers and horses!!

  Because, under the imperial military system, the garrison troops of a province were usually only about two or three thousand people. Moreover, these two or three thousand people were all local garrison troops, and from the perspective of training level and equipment, they were much inferior to the regular central standing army, and were considered to be local miscellaneous troops.

  However, in a county's area, each place has patrol guards for security, and there are also local tax inspectors, as well as military transportation... These seven or eight hundred people all come under the command of you, the County Military Governor! Calculating this way, with such a large territory in one county, adding these people to that one banner's garrison troops, the total number is probably around 7-8 thousand!!

  Don't be so happy yet! I haven't finished speaking! And also!!

  You know, the Byzantine Empire's soldier-peasant system has been in place for over a hundred years. Although the soldier-peasant system is a product of the Thema military district system, in fact, the soldier-peasant system has spread to most areas within the empire's borders, and even in regions controlled by the central government, many places have implemented the soldier-peasant system. Locals are half-farmer half-soldier peasants, farming during peacetime and becoming soldiers during wartime!

  Mol County is a border county, so it has implemented the farmer-soldier system very early. According to the imperial decree, as the military equipment officer of Mol County, all armed forces belonging to the empire within the county are under your command!

  Based on the prevalence of the farmer-soldier system in Mò ěr County, I estimate that once a war breaks out and an emergency conscription order is issued, at least more than 20,000 farmer-soldiers can be quickly mobilized from Mò ěr County!!

  Although the combat effectiveness of the peasant soldiers is slightly inferior, they have an advantage in numbers and are fighting on their home turf, so morale is not a concern. More than 20,000 peasant soldiers, plus the 7-8,000 local forces we mentioned earlier...

  So, theoretically, as the county governor and military commander, although it's a flag-level military position, in reality, the troops under your control are already comparable to those of an army corps! Although I'm a general leading an army corps, I only have 20,000 men under me. You, on the other hand, as a flag-level officer, already have more than 30,000 men under you!

  Moreover, you can mobilize the logistics forces of various levels in a province, whether it's manpower, material resources or financial resources, which is far more than what I, a pure military commander, can do!

  You little scamp has taken control of a county's actual military power in one go, becoming a powerful and influential figure with real authority.

  Moreover, Your Majesty has also appointed you as the governor of Danzai City... You already have military power over the entire prefecture. Giving you administrative power over a city is also a kind of favor or test for you.

  "In any case, Dantès City in Moul County is a city under your control, and the military power of the entire county belongs to you. Naturally, Dantès also follows suit. The administrative power within the city has also been handed over to you... At least in Dantès City, you are considered an emperor with absolute military and political power!"

  Lu Ru's explanation made Xia Ya understand what was going on.

  Although it was only promoted to a flag-level military position, the actual power of this position is extremely large! This is considered a step into heaven!

  In this way, the value of the second reward is indeed much greater than that of the first hereditary baron!

  A hereditary baron, the territory he got was at most a small city. However, the position of military governor of this county almost gave him control over the entire county - well, only in terms of military affairs.

  Looking at Xia Ya's overjoyed expression, Lu Er smiled slightly and made another astonishing statement: "But if you really calculate it, the most valuable one among these three rewards is actually the third one!"

  "......ah?" Xia Ya was stunned!

  Is a hereditary baronetcy of more importance than the great power of a county's military affairs?

  Xia Ya was somewhat bewildered.

  Because the content of the third reward is very simple, so simple that it seems like it's just used to make up the number.

  "Conferring on Xia Yeliang the title of 'Palace Guard Warrior'."

  "The key lies in this title of 'Gong Yan'." Rour sighed and frowned, saying: "Young man, I suggest you really need to study the various systems of the empire well."

  "I'm telling you, this court title is a big deal - in the noble class, it's extremely prestigious. If you have a court title, even if you're not nobility, many nobles will treat you as an honored guest. And according to tradition, having a court title gives you a special privilege, which is what people really care about!" "Privilege? What privilege?" "The right to request an audience with His Majesty! Go check the 16th chapter" Ruru said this with such a serious tone that Xia Ya almost thought he was joking. Requesting an audience with the Emperor...what kind of privilege is that? "Hmph, the closer you are to the Emperor, the easier it is to gain power. Appearing frequently by His Majesty's side can catch his attention and earn his favor. But think about it, everyone wants a chance to be favored by His Majesty, and there are so many people in the empire...just among the nobility, from low-ranking knights to dukes, there are tens of thousands of them...if everyone came to request an audience with His Majesty, even if he didn't eat or sleep, he wouldn't have time for it." Ruru chuckled: "So, being able to see His Majesty is a privilege! Except for the Imperial Guard commanders and palace administrators who work outside the palace, most officials and nobles in the empire can only meet the Emperor when summoned. Otherwise, you don't even have the qualifications to apply."

  Saying that, Rurul pointed to his own nose: "Even if it's me, I'm already a viscount in rank, but also an imperial general, yet I don't have the qualifications to request an audience with the emperor. Only when His Majesty wants to see me will he summon me, but I can't take the initiative to ask for an audience with His Majesty. Do you understand?"

  However, those with a court title are different. Only those with a court title have the qualification to request an audience by petition.

  "Hmph, it's just an application, not a guarantee of an audience. If the Emperor doesn't want to see you, the application is useless. So... what kind of privilege is this?"

  Lü Er smiled and looked at Xia Ya, saying seriously: "You're quite clever, but unfortunately you're still too young and don't understand the imperial system well. I think you should find a teacher to study with as soon as possible." Then he explained: "What you said is correct, even if you apply, His Majesty can refuse to see you! But it's precisely this 'right to apply' that is an important distinguishing feature! It means... you have the qualification to ask for an audience with His Majesty at any time, so... you are 'His Majesty's person'! Do you understand? This is the true meaning of the palace title! With this title, others will regard you as 'His Majesty's person'!"

  Xia Ya was silent for a moment, he lowered his head and thought for a while before finally sighing.

  "You nobles are really complicated, I don't know how you usually live, from eating so many twisted and complicated things, it's really mind-boggling... Living like this every day, isn't it tiring?"

  Rour shook his head and said in a low voice, "Young man, it's precisely because of these three rewards that I'm even more shocked... Your Majesty's rewards and trust in you are unprecedented. But I worry that such trust and recognition may not be easy to bear. He gave you the military power of Mor County, probably just to test you thoroughly. If your performance satisfies him, you'll rise through the ranks effortlessly, and your achievements will far surpass mine! If you don't perform well, it's likely that your position as Governor and Military Commander will be revoked at any time, with just a simple official document."

  Xia Ya also put away his playful thoughts, he quieted down for a while, his face turned serious, and after thinking for half a day, suddenly lifted his head, smiled lightly: "What's there to fear? Anyway, I originally had nothing, if it fails, at worst I'll go back to being my demon-hunting self. Hmm... no, I still have the title of baron, a territory, at worst I can go back and live off my wealth, be a local tyrant."

  Lu'er listened and looked at Xia Ya, but Xia Ya smiled openly and generously, with a clear and transparent gaze.

  Fatso sighed inwardly: this strange kid, is he really calm and composed or just lacking in ambition? If it were anyone else who had the chance to be favored by the Emperor, they would probably rub their fists together and make a desperate effort to put on a good show.

  The two of them had been discussing in the room for so long that they didn't even notice that it was already pitch black outside.

  Rourou regained his spirit and explained to Shaya about the local military affairs of the provincial governor's military equipment officer, just as he was about to start, suddenly a loud and heroic laughter came from outside the courtyard: "You fat rabbit! We agreed to have dinner together tonight, but you've made me search for you everywhere! Rourou, where are you hiding? Come out quickly!"

  Then several of Ruhr's guards led a man pushing the door in, and when they looked up, it was surprisingly Green.

  Rouru suddenly snapped his fingers and laughed: "Ah! I almost forgot! Haha, sorry sorry, this kid was suddenly hit by a pie that fell from the sky, and I was slowly pointing at him, but I forgot about your appointment tonight."

  Gelin and Xiaya had met in the military department two days ago, so they naturally knew each other. Upon hearing this, Gelin nodded at Xiaya and sat down in a chair: "Oh? What's this windfall?"

  Xia Ya had a good impression of this military man named Green, and had heard Rour mention his deeds before. He was especially admiring of the story of General Mad Dog defending a small city on the eastern border of the empire with 2,000 remaining soldiers for a month. He also smiled kindly at Green.

  Rouru especially admired Glin's talent, thinking that he absolutely had the qualifications to become a famous general, but unfortunately, his luck was not good and he was delayed for many years...

  Lü Er smiled mysteriously and threw the imperial reward decree written by His Majesty at Ge Lin.

  Green flipped through it and took a glance, then took a deep breath: "Huh? This is the Emperor's own handwriting!" He couldn't help but look up at Xia Ya.

  After hastily scanning the imperial edict, Green's face suddenly revealed a look of shock. He put down the imperial edict and stared at Tuo with wide eyes: "You... you... you..."

  Rouru laughed and said, "I had the same expression when I first saw it." He went up and patted Glin on the back, bringing this mad dog general back to his senses. Glin stared at Shaya and couldn't help but say, "You... you little brat, aren't you the emperor's illegitimate child?"

  The tortoise is very depressed, why does General Rabbit say this, and General Mad Dog also says this...

  Damn it, does your old man look like someone else's illegitimate child?!

  Glen stared at Xia Ya for a while, then suddenly his eyes burst out with excited and fervent light, he jumped up, stepped forward and grabbed Xia Ya's arm: "Ah! You're in charge of the military affairs of a prefecture... Great! Great!! Hmm, a local garrison unit, although it's a bit less... hmm, the quality of the local garrison troops is also slightly worse, but it's still better than nothing! Haha haha! Great! Great!!"

  Xia Ya was puzzled by his younger brother, while Rourou beside him immediately guessed Green's mind: "Hmph, you crazy dog, are you thinking of a way to find a way out for the disciples under your command?"

  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

  Green laughed loudly for a few moments, then looked at Rouru with an odd gaze: "Arrange my students... hmm, you rabbit, didn't you promise to arrange ten people for me?" That's almost enough. As for Xia Ya here, if he is willing to give me some face, I have several good students to recommend, all of whom are qualified officers! If they are abandoned somewhere after graduation, slowly rusting away, or being corrupted by those warlords... then it would be a waste of my efforts! Since Xia Ya can take charge of the military affairs of a county, although the local garrison troops may not be as good, this kid has gained Rouru's recognition, so he must be good! I trust him! My people will definitely be able to shine under his command.

  Ruru thought for a moment and nodded: "En, not bad... It's a bit difficult to get assigned to the Central Reserve Army, those warlords have been looking at people from the Military Academy as thorns in their eyes all these years. The Ministry of War is controlled by those guys, they will never easily let students be assigned to the reserve army for real jobs. If it's going to a local defense army, the Ministry of War won't care so much, maybe they'll loosen up...

  Glen seemed delighted, staring at Xia Ya for a while, when suddenly this guy's face showed a strange expression.

  "Hmm.. I do have an idea." Glin suddenly looked at Xia Ya with a strange gaze: "Lord Xia, Military Supplies Officer... hmm, I wonder if you're lacking a deputy flag officer? From now on, with your powerful fist, you'll need a trusted assistant familiar with military affairs to help you achieve twice the results with half the effort!"

  Rourke also slapped his thigh: "Right! I almost forgot about this too. This kid is not bad, but after all, he doesn't have experience, and it's reckless for him to take over such a big mess without an experienced assistant to help him." Rourke looked at Glinn: "Do you have some good candidate to recommend? Let me thank... Is it one of your former graduate students who is idle, and you want to take the opportunity to transfer them over? Or is it one of your old friends?"

  Green smiled and suddenly pointed at his own nose: "Look, what about me?"