Chapter 139: Three consecutive victories, General Huwei! (Thanks to the book friend Mo Shaobao for the reward)
Although Li Guangbin was a little greedy, he was still very efficient in doing things. Three days later, in the early morning, Ye Mingsheng was sleeping in at home when the Ministry of War sent someone to inform him to go to the Beiling camp of the Imperial Guards to receive his reward.

Ye Mingsheng was surprised and quickly changed into court clothes. After arriving at the Beiling camp, Ye Mingsheng came to the central military camp with familiarity, where a dignified old man dressed in the uniform of a third-rank military officer and a team of brightly dressed and strong Yulin soldiers were waiting for him.

Seeing the protagonist Ye Mingsheng arrive, the incense table and offerings that had been prepared in the tent were immediately placed in place, and Ye Mingsheng knelt down to receive the order.

After taking a look at Ye Mingsheng, who was kneeling on the ground with a respectful expression, the old man nodded slightly and took out a brocade box wrapped in yellow silk from the Yulin soldier beside him. Inside was a red lacquered and gold-painted dragon box.

The old man opened the box and took out the imperial edict wrapped in yellow silk. He read in a deep voice:

"By the providence of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims that Ye Mingsheng, the commander of the Zhenwu Army, is a seventh-rank commander. He has commanded the army in an effective manner and has extraordinary courage. He has captured the enemy capital Liujing, thwarted the conspiracy between Gongdu and the Luobei people, and enhanced the prestige of our Great Zhou. This is very gratifying to me. I hereby transfer him to the Zhenwu Army and promote him to the fifth-rank Huwei General. I also grant him a tiger-patterned silver-gilt war sword and three hundred taels of silver. I decree this!"

Listening to the old man's announcement, Ye Mingsheng, who was listening to the order on the ground, was stunned. If he remembered correctly, Li Guangbin only promised to help him get promoted two levels to the sixth rank. How come he was promoted three levels to the fifth rank all of a sudden?
Although he was doubtful, Ye Mingsheng naturally had no hesitation about such a good thing as an extra level. He knelt on the ground and said loudly and excitedly:
"Your Highness Ye Mingsheng, I accept your order and express my gratitude. Long live the emperor!"

After carefully receiving the imperial edict, Ye Mingsheng slowly stood up, bowed deeply to the old man, and said respectfully: "Thank you for your help, sir!"

Although I don't know who this gentleman in front of me is, he is a third-rank official after all. In Luoan, where officials are everywhere, they are also absolutely high-ranking officials. There is no harm in paying him a visit.

Upon hearing this, the old man looked Ye Mingsheng up and down again, and a smile appeared on his old face:
"General Ye, your deeds of conquering Liujing have spread among the Ministry of War and the Imperial Guards. Seeing you today, you are indeed a young hero!"

Ye Mingsheng was naturally very happy to be praised by such a high-ranking official, but he still said modestly: "Thanks to the soldiers of the three armies for their dedication, I dare not take credit for it!"

The old man smiled and nodded, saying, "Don't be complacent. General Ye has a bright future ahead of him!"

Ye Mingsheng complimented the old man a few more times before sending him away with great satisfaction. He changed into the fifth-rank court robe with a bear tattoo, took the three hundred taels of reward silver and the silver-gilt sword with tiger patterns. Ye Mingsheng then remembered that he had forgotten to ask about the old man's identity, and immediately asked the people around him.

"That's Li Kai, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, Lord Li!" A well-informed military officer of the Shenwu Army looked at Ye Mingsheng with some envy and reminded him:
When Ye Mingsheng heard that it was "Li Kai", he suddenly understood. No wonder this old man was so nice to him and praised his bright future. His son took so much money from him, how could his future not be good?
However, this old man promoted me from a sixth-rank commander to a fifth-rank general, so it was worthy of my share of the money...

Although the name of General Huwei is good, in the military officer system of the Great Zhou Dynasty, he is still a general of miscellaneous titles, and there is nothing to say. However, from the fifth rank to the sixth rank, it seems that there is only one level difference. But this level is very different. In the army, the sixth rank is a mid-level military officer, the highest official position in command, while the fifth rank is barely enough to enter the category of senior military officers, and the scope of authority is no longer limited to the scope of the camp. This means that, in theory, Ye Mingsheng, who has been promoted to the fifth rank, can lead multiple camps instead of one camp!
When he thought of this, Ye Mingsheng was extremely happy. In the Great Zhou army, the strength of a battalion might vary depending on the specific circumstances. The maximum might be several thousand people, while the minimum might be only a few hundred people, but generally speaking, it would not exceed ten thousand people.

Before, Ye Mingsheng thought that he could only be promoted to the sixth rank, so he thought that when he returned to Liaoyang, it would be good enough to command three to five thousand soldiers. However, this fifth rank General Huwei was a big surprise and completely exceeded his expectations. It would greatly improve his ability to lead troops. By then, it is possible that he, Ye, would command tens of thousands of troops!
After walking out of the central army camp, Ye Mingsheng saw Ye Tie and Ye Dong who were waiting outside. When they saw the bear official uniform Ye Mingsheng was wearing, they naturally knew what it meant. They were all overjoyed and congratulated Ye Mingsheng:

"Congratulations, young master, on being promoted to the fifth rank, getting rich, and bringing honor to your family..."

"Easy to say! Easy to say!"

Ye Mingsheng was in a very good mood, and he was not stingy. He took out two ten-tael silver ingots from his three hundred taels reward and threw them to Ye Tie and Ye Dong, so that his two relatives could also share in the good news.

After bringing the two back to his own courtyard, everyone was happy for Ye Mingsheng, who was promoted to the fifth-rank General Huwei. As for his remaining three personal soldiers, Ye Mingsheng did not show favoritism and rewarded each of them with a ten-liang silver ingot.

Back in the study, Ye Mingsheng was finally able to be alone with Pei Zhixiu. He immediately grasped Pei Zhixiu's soft and boneless delicate hand and said with emotion:

"I finally became General Ye!"

Although Pei Zhixiu called him "General Ye" before, strictly speaking, Ye Mingsheng was only a seventh-rank commander at the time, and his rank was not high enough to be a general. It was not until now that he was awarded the fifth-rank General Huwei that he truly became a general of the Great Zhou Dynasty!
"I understand, General Huwei..." Pei Zhixiu looked at the lifelike bear on the center patch of Ye Mingsheng's official uniform and smiled gently.

Smelling the faint fragrance of Pei Zhixiu, Ye Mingsheng, who had tasted the taste, was moved and immediately spoke;
"I've become General Huwei, Jixiu, shouldn't you give me some rewards?"

At the end, Ye Mingsheng deliberately emphasized the word "reward".

Hearing the hidden meaning in Ye Mingsheng's words, Pei Zhixiu's fair face suddenly showed a shy blush...
(End of this chapter)