It was not until the sixth day after the battle report of the frontline victory arrived in the imperial capital that the decision on the reward was finally conveyed from the palace.
The soldiers on the Eastern Front and the officers who performed outstandingly during the battle were rewarded according to the imperial military law's provisions for military merit according to the list submitted by Duke Tulip himself. It is not surprising that the rest of the soldiers were rewarded based on military merit.
The only thing that attracted everyone's attention was the reward given to Du Wei himself.
Under the premise that the official position and title have reached their peak, everyone is guessing what the regent is going to do to reward Du Wei.
Could it be... to be made a prince? Or to be given the title of marshal?
Both of these seem unlikely. The prince is a direct representative of the royal family. And the marshal... a twenty-year-old marshal? Besides, Du Wei's qualifications are far from enough.
However, when the details of the reward were announced, everything became clear.
It seems that the first beneficiary is Du Wei's younger brother, Count Gabri of the Luo Lin family. Because of his outstanding performance in the battle, Gabri was directly awarded the rank of major general, which is considered a reward. Gabri was only a cavalry commander before.
, if promoted according to the normal trajectory, he should be promoted to the commander level (this is already a speed that only nobles usually enjoy), but this time, he skipped the commander level and was directly promoted to the general level.
Anyone with a discerning eye knows that this is a disguised reward for Du Wei: since you can't be promoted to Du Wei's official position, then you might as well be promoted to your younger brother. Anyway, you two brothers are related to each other, so the reward will be the same for everyone.
But for such a huge feat, just being promoted to Gabri’s official position was not enough. The reward for Du Wei himself became...
manor.
Calderon Province is a province located in the south of the empire. It is not too far from the famous southern swamps of the mainland and is famous for the production of several southern fruits.
The reward given to Du Wei was to set aside a new territory of Calderon Province, covering three cities and 16 surrounding villages and towns with a population of 250,000, as Du Wei's new territory!
In terms of income, these three cities plus the 250,000 people in the sixteen surrounding villages and towns can bring about 80,000 gold coins in tax revenue to Du Wei every year (including the local business tax on fruit trade).
In terms of area, this fiefdom is located in the southernmost part of the Calderon province, and its geographical area occupies about a quarter of the province.
…
This is an "enclave".
This is the first thought that came to the minds of the big guys in the imperial capital after learning about the contents of this reward.
Everyone knows that the Tulip Duke's headquarters is in the northwest Desa Province. The Desa Province has been run by Du Wei for several years and has become the Tulip family's sphere of influence. By controlling the border with the grassland,
A large amount of tax revenue from the merchant caravans, as well as various material trades to and from the grasslands, the sale of cattle, sheep and horses, etc., can earn considerable income every year.
In the northwest, Du Wei's prestige was extremely high, and he had money and soldiers.
However, this new enclave is thousands of kilometers away from Du Wei's base camp. How will Du Wei manage this fiefdom after he gets it? It is too far from the northwest, and his original power is beyond his reach. Even if he wants to
Manage it well. But he can't give up his base camp in the northwest. His main strength must take into account his hometown in the northwest. So this new fiefdom will definitely not be able to invest too much energy in running it...
"A brilliant move."
This is the consensus in the hearts of every big boss in the imperial capital. The regent's methods are very clever!
Such rewards satisfy the need for rewards for military achievements. If there are no rewards for outstanding military achievements, it will chill the hearts of the frontline soldiers. And such rewards also greatly restrict the further expansion of Du Wei's power.
Du Wei himself, after receiving the reward order from the imperial capital, just smiled after reading it without any dissatisfaction. He accepted the reward very happily and even invited the envoys from the imperial capital to feast on it.
After a meal, he also gave me a valuable gift.
The Duke was very satisfied that this was the news brought back by the messenger. However, everyone knew that this was probably just Du Wei's face-saving expression.
Now, everyone knows that the Regent is already working to limit the power of Duke Tulip.
…
"I'm really satisfied, who says I'm unhappy?"
At night, in Du Wei's tent, he looked at his young brother: "Do you think I should be dissatisfied? This is three cities and sixteen villages and towns. It's a huge piece of land. It's already quite a lot. That piece of land
The territory is close to the southern swamp. In the future, the empire will no longer be able to hunt monsters from the frozen forest. The southern swamp will be the only area where monsters can be hunted. If we get a territory there, we can develop a lot of business."
"But..." Gabri looked at his brother's nonchalant look and frowned: "Brother!"
"What do you want to say?" Du Wei raised his eyelids and glanced at his brother.
"I..." Gabri took a deep breath. The young man mustered up his courage. Looking at his brother, he seemed to hesitate for a moment and slowly gritted his teeth: "Brother, I am not a child anymore."
"Of course you are not." Du Wei's tone was still very relaxed: "You are already an adult. Look, you are now a major general in the empire. I am having a headache as to what official position I should promote you to. Since the military rank is major general, then you should
You are qualified to command a division, but I think you are still too young now and you need to sharpen up, so I do not plan to actually give you a division, but to transfer an infantry regiment to you to command. Hold the rank of major general and act as commander.
authority.”
"I don't care about this." Gabri shook his head. His eyes were bright. He suddenly walked to the entrance of the tent, looked out a few times, pulled down the curtain of the tent, came to Du Wei, came closer, and whispered: "Brother,
I’m not a child anymore. There are some things that we can talk about directly! You don’t have to carry it alone!”
"What did you say?" Du Wei smiled half-heartedly.
Gabri hesitated for a moment, a trace of determination flashed in his eyes, and finally lowered his voice. His voice was low, but there was no doubt about it. His tone was very firm:
"Brother, I have never had a good impression of the royal family!"
Du Wei's heart moved, and he raised his brows involuntarily. He stared at his brother's eyes, but found that there was no hesitation in his eyes, showing the perseverance of a young man: "What... do you mean?"
Gabri said with a sullen face: "I will never forget how my father died!"
After saying these words, Du Wei looked at his younger brother's young face. After several months of military career, a trace of childishness had gradually faded away. The young brother was already a resolute young man!
Seeing that Du Wei didn't speak, Gabri was heartbroken!
"Brother! My father's illness is due to heart knot, a heart disease! He died in depression, I understand this very well! Yes. Our family participated in that coup... but what was the coup itself? It was the royal family
Internal power struggle! Our family is just in the wrong camp. The eldest prince and prince Chen are fighting for the throne, but they are both royal families. My father is just working for them. "
Gabri said, clenching his fists: "I know. The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit! I understand this truth. My father's camp has lost and the family has declined. There is nothing to say about this..."
When he said this, his voice rose slightly and he stared into Du Wei's eyes: "But I know better that my father died because of this!!"
Du Wei was silent.
He had always ignored his brother's thoughts. Sure enough, when the royal family was mentioned, Gabri's eyes showed a deep disgust at this moment.
"you……"
"I don't have any ideas." Gabri shook his head: "If it were a few months ago, I wouldn't have said this. I would have kept these thoughts deep in my heart. After all, the family is very lucky to be able to recover. I will work hard.
Revitalize the Luo Lin family and become an earl with peace of mind. Even if I don't like the royal family in my heart, at least I will try my best to play my role well, and on the surface, I will not show my emotions."
"You said 'if'." Du Wei smiled softly: "Then what do you mean now?"
"I'm not blind. I'm not deaf. I'm not a fool." Gabri stared at Du Wei's eyes. He opened his hands and said solemnly: "Brother, in the past few months, the relationship between you and the royal family has undergone subtle changes.
I can see this! The Royal Guards went to the northwest to confront your private army. When that incident happened, I was in the college. I could feel the way the people around me looked at me in those days.
There are some differences! Even earlier...you handed over the Northwest Independent Division and handed over the authority of the Northwest Military and Political Minister, but became the dean of the military academy. From that time on, I began to understand in my heart!
The royal family seems to be interested in taking action against you! Even if it is not now, it has already begun to test you!"
Looking into his brother's eyes, Gabri's voice was a little hoarse. His eyes were full of determination and perseverance, and his tone was even more...
Du Wei sighed, closed his eyes and thought for a while: "What do you want me to do?"
"I have no hope." Gabri shook his head, but his next words really surprised Du Wei!
Gabri said: "Brother, if you want to do something... no matter it is anything, any choice you make! I will definitely support you!"
Looking at his brother's excited expression, Du Wei seemed to smile. He walked to the edge of the tent, stretched out his fingers, and gently touched the flames of the burning candle. His fingertips seemed to sweep over the flames, feeling the trace of the flames.
Feeling hot...
"You mean, rebellion?"
Du Wei smiled softly, his expression seemed relaxed, but he casually said the word "rebellion" so casually and casually.
Although his eyes were calm, it seemed to make Gabri feel a little heavy. However, the young man did not dodge. He gritted his teeth and said, "If that day comes, I will stand by your side!"
After saying this, Gabri picked up his helmet from the table, put it on, straightened it, nodded to Du Wei, turned around and left.
"etc."
When Gabri reached the entrance of the tent, Duwei called to his brother.
"I ask you a question, answer me honestly." Du Wei looked into his brother's eyes: "That day, at the banquet in the palace... did you invite the muse to dance on purpose?"
Gabri stopped, thought for a while, and looked at Du Wei: "I really like Muse... However, I admit that I don't like the royal family, including the little emperor. So at that time, I felt a little bit confused.
Some intentional thoughts.”
"So, do you want me to rebel?" Du Wei spoke calmly and looked at his brother calmly.
"That's your choice." Gabri shook his head: "Brother, I will listen to you all my life! But what I want to say is: If the royal family has made up its mind to deal with you, then... you can't continue to hesitate.
Got it!"
Gabri strode out of the tent, the curtain fell, and Du Wei sighed deeply, with a difficult smile appearing on the corner of his mouth.
Sixteen years old! Sixteen-year-old brother!
What is the little guy thinking about right now...
He forgot that according to the age of this world, he was only twenty years old.
"I only know how my father died!"
Thinking of what Gabri said just now, Du Wei suddenly felt a headache.
This child... thinks too much. This may not be a good thing.
He has been working hard, just hoping that Gabri's life can be simpler and simpler. He doesn't want him to fall into those complicated power struggles. He also hopes that he can act as a protective umbrella for his younger brother.
But now it seems that although my brother is young, he also has his own ideas...
That dance with the muse... was indeed intentional!
What does he want to do? Youthful impulse? Or...
Thinking of this, Du Wei refused to continue thinking. He didn't want to imagine this younger brother as the kind of person with a deep mind.