Chapter 3: Nine Consecutive Promotions

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  Before he could think of a reason, several knights with torches in their hands blocked their way.

  Among them was a familiar face, Cao Liang, the Eagle General who had just accepted Chen Kefu's ten jars of good wine from the kitchen yesterday and agreed to let him go into battle today. Next to him stood a tall man wearing a purple cloak, purple armor, and a golden belt, fortunately his face wasn't purple or Chen Kefu would have thought he was a giant eggplant.

  "Left Guard Commander Chen Kefu, why haven't you dismounted quickly to pay respects to General Yuwen of the Left Guard!" Cao Liang's face turned dark as he loudly rebuked him.

  This loud shout finally made Chen Kefu remember that the man in front of him was actually his superior's superior, probably the highest one. The purple-robed man was none other than Yuwen Shu, the great general of the Left Imperial Guard. If the Sui Dynasty were a multinational corporation, this man would be equivalent to the CEO of the Greater China region. Such a big BOSS couldn't be offended, and Chen Kefu was no longer the same as before, with only heroes in his eyes.

  Chen Kefu hastily dismounted and gave a signal to the several men behind him, who all knelt down on one knee. In a loud, clear voice, he said, "Your humble servant Chen Kefu, leader of the Left Wing Guard, and his men pay their respects to the great general!" The original owner of this body had never seen such a high-ranking official before, and for a moment, Li Chenxin didn't know what etiquette to use, so he simply followed the routine he'd learned from TV.

  It turned out that courtesy is not strange to many people, Yuwen Shu was surprised by Chen Kefu's obvious knowledge of etiquette, he originally thought that such a brave and fierce person might just be an ignorant martial artist.

  Yuwen Shu personally dismounted and walked a few steps forward to help Chen Kefu up. After sizing him up several times, he said with great delight, "Indeed, you are worthy of being a good son of the Left Wing Guard Command! Today, in front of the entire army and in front of His Majesty, you have greatly earned face for our Left Wing Guard!"

  As he spoke, he reached out to help him gently pat the dust off his body, and finally smiled and patted his shoulder, saying, "Today's battle, His Majesty watched from a high place, and was very pleased with the performance of my Left Wing Guard and yours. He specially asked me to bring you to meet him, come quickly with me."

  Chen Kefu couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Poor Chen Kefu, his classmate from before, had come up with such a great idea and fought so hard on the battlefield to catch the emperor's attention, only to have him reap the benefits instead. He wondered if that Chen Kefu would die again if he knew what was happening now. Never mind all that, since he had inexplicably traveled back to the Sui Dynasty, it seemed he wouldn't be able to return anyway. He might as well live a good life in this ancient time, taking the place of that other Chen Kefu whom he had never heard of before.

  The imperial camp of Emperor Yang Guang was arranged in the very center of the entire great camp, with the six armies of the Son of Heaven densely packed all around. At a glance, apart from being able to see the tens of thousands of black-clad cavalrymen quietly surrounding the camp, and those squadrons of cavalry coming and going, patrolling back and forth, not a single sound could be heard. There was only the occasional moaning and calling out of the wounded soldiers from afar, as well as the strong winds blowing in from the Liao River, causing the bright yellow great banners to flutter loudly.

  A general in a full-body golden armor stood in front of the largest tent, his tall and majestic figure exuding an aura of power. At first glance, it was clear that he was a seasoned warrior who had fought many battles. The surrounding torches illuminated the numerous knights clad in exquisite armor, who were guarding the general like stars surrounding the moon. The light from the torches reflected off the golden armor, casting a dazzling glow. Behind the resplendent golden armor, a yellow cloak fluttered in the wind. Chen Kefu knew that this must be Yang Guang, the current emperor, who had been appointed as a king at a young age and had made great contributions to the establishment of the Sui Dynasty.

  Chen Kefu gazed at the master of the Central Plains from afar, the king who had once been a brilliant and ambitious leader in his early years. In his heart, he secretly sighed, for the war against Goguryeo was the beginning of Yang Guang's downfall, and also marked the start of the Sui Dynasty's demise. After this king's death, the new dynasty gave him the posthumous name "Yong", but Chen Kefu had no intention of rushing up to tell him, "Your reign won't last much longer, Li Yuan will become the new master of the Central Plains." Chen Kefu wasn't foolish; perhaps if he had spoken those words, his own head would have rolled on the ground.

  Let's just take it one step at a time for now, but I couldn't help but let out a silent sigh in my heart.

  Still hundreds of steps away from Yang Guang, Chen Kefu and others had already dismounted their horses and were walking on foot. When they were dozens of steps away from Yang Guang, they hastily followed the example of others and knelt down to the ground. While performing the rituals with everyone else, Chen Kefu secretly lamented in his heart that he had only been in the Sui Dynasty for half a day, yet he had already knelt twice. Being a low-ranking soldier was really unbearable; hopefully Yang Guang would be in a good mood this time and grant him an official position.

  After being polite, Yang Guang's eyes carried a kind of pressure and swept towards Chen Kefu. Chen Kefu originally thought that the emperor's majesty written in books was nonsense, but when Yang Guang's gaze fell on him, it really made him tense. The reason is simple: the person in front of him is known as a tyrant alongside Qin Shi Huang, and if things go wrong, his head might roll without knowing why. This must be why people fear the emperor's majesty - your life is in his hands, how can you not be nervous?

  "It's indeed the young general in white robes from today, come forward quickly and let me take a look."

  Chen Kefu hastily stood up, lowered his head and walked away. Yang Guang looked him up and down with an X-ray-like gaze for a long time, even slapping him several times with his dragon claw before bursting into loud laughter and returning to the main hall.

  Following Yuwen Shu and others into the grand account, Yang Guang on the throne said loudly, "Today, Chen Kefu, a left wing guard, showed extraordinary bravery, displaying the prestige of our dynasty in the midst of a million soldiers. I am delighted. Grant two horses, forty bolts of silk, promote to Eagle-shooting General, grant one hundred taels of gold, and grant ten slaves. As for the other nine people, all promoted to Yue Riding Colonel, each granted one horse, ten bolts of silk, ten taels of gold."

  As soon as Yang Guang's voice fell, it attracted a gaze of envy and admiration. Chen Kefu was very clear about the meaning of those gazes - surprise, envy. Not only were they surprised and envious, but Chen Kefu himself was also surprised and envious. According to his knowledge from memory, he had some understanding of the Sui army system. The Sui dynasty unified the country with twelve guards, each guard being called a "Huang Yang Fu", with an upper guard having 1,200 people, a middle guard having 1,000 people, and a lower guard having 800 people. This Huang Yang Lang Jiang was the chief officer of a Huang Yang Fu, which was a fifth-grade official. The family soldiers under his command who received the position of Yue Qi Xiao Wei were also the chief officers of the cavalry in the Huang Yang Fu, which was a sixth-grade official. However, a Huang Yang Fu usually only had two Yue Qi Xiao Weis, and now nine suddenly appeared, plus this new Lang Jiang, it's estimated that they didn't know where to arrange them.

  Chen Kefu was extremely grateful to the original owner of his body. It seemed that in any era, having connections was essential. As soon as Yang Guang paid attention to him, he immediately rose from being a squad leader overseeing ten people to becoming a Eagle General of the fifth rank. This was the Great Sui dynasty, not the Qing dynasty. In the Sui dynasty, the first rank was an honorary position, and the second rank were esteemed titles, including the well-known "Shangshu Left and Right Assistant Minister" which was only at the second rank. The Six Ministries' ministers were only at the third rank. Yet he, a lowly soldier, directly rose to the fifth rank, which was equivalent to being a prefectural governor or a military commander. In later generations, this would be equivalent to being a department head in local government or a division commander in the army.

  Yang Guang is really generous, no wonder he lost the country later, this guy is simply a prodigal son. Rewarding achievements has never been so lavish. What Chen Kefu didn't know was that Yang Guang had already become somewhat obsessed with the conquest of Goguryeo, the great Sui dynasty had lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers in Liaodong, and he had now staked his country's fate on this campaign. If he could conquer Goguryeo, his dynasty might still be able to continue, but if this massive army were to suffer another defeat here, he would also be unable to suppress the surging undercurrents among the peasants and nobles.

  So Chen Kefu also had a stroke of good luck today, their merits were doubly rewarded, and Yang Guang's goal was to let the million-strong army advance bravely, to trample down Goguryeo for him.

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