My Cultivation Starting from Archery

When the words "By Imperial Command" were inscribed,

everyone was still savoring the content of the imperial edict, and for a moment, they all forgot to kneel.

This...

What is this?!

What rank did the Emperor grant Xu Wencai?

Third-rank?!

If they remembered correctly,

General Chen was temporarily only the third-rank General Huai Yuan.

Although everyone knew that Mr. Chen would soon be granted an audience with the Emperor, and his rewards were definitely going to be greater, being only temporarily appointed to a position, even so... Experience new stories on My Virtual Library Empire

Third-rank was too high, wasn't it?!

The Commanding Department of a state managed all the garrisons of the entire State, consisting of tens of thousands of people!

In it, he was the Commander, responsible for training, managing, and devising tactics; he was basically at the highest level, able to participate in the command during combat.

This...

It was a meteoric rise!

And then the Wolong Title...

What was going on?!

This was damn near making him on par with Fang Qingyun, wasn't it?

Though it was just an honorary title without any real rank, could Xu Wencai really live up to it?!

Whose intercession brought about this?

Was it Mr. Chen's doing?

Such a significant favor?!

"Your servant—"

"Xu Wencai!!"

Just as everyone was still coming to terms, Xu Wencai, while weeping bitterly, began to tremble and loudly cried out, "I accept the decree and thank thee! Long live the Emperor, long live, long live!!"

Forty-eight!

He was forty-eight years old this year!

Since he was sixteen, he had taken the examinations, and his life had been but a scholar's!

Today, he had finally made it!

Only...

There seemed to be something odd.

'Why did they move Old Xu away...'

Wang Zhi was the first to realize it.

But it wasn't their place to interject.

Under the gaze of the Chief Eunuch,

everyone besides Xu Wencai discreetly left.

"Mr. Xu."

Mr. Hou personally stepped forward to help him up, "Please don't kneel, get up quickly."

"Thank you, Your Honor, for your hard work."

Xu Wencai wiped his tears and rose, knowing the rules. He tremulously pulled out a silver note from his bosom; it was all he had earned from the Ming State campaign, totaling only a hundred taels.

"This—"

Mr. Hou, without disdain, accepted it and then holding his sleeve, led him into the courtyard, sighing, "Mr. Xu, you've had it tough, enduring thirty years of examinations without success, even to the point where your family was so poor that your own mother starved to death, alas~ fortunately, you have now made it."

"Yes, indeed."

Xu Wencai invited the eunuch to sit, picked up a broken bowl, wiped it clean with his sleeve, then poured a bowl of wine: "I am a unfilial son; I spent most of my early life buried in books. Once, by chance, I copied a few extraordinary books, became engrossed in them, and for several months did not look up, the pantry at home ran out, my mother did not breathe a word to me, she gave me the remaining food and starved... By the time I noticed, my, my mother had already passed away... "

"Tsk tsk~"

Mr. Hou, with palpable sympathy, said, "Mr. Xu has always been obsessed with the title 'Wolong', possibly related to your family, right?"

"In my youth, I boasted that the whole world would call me Wolong, and I would provide a better life for my father, my mother, and my sister, but... "

Xu Wencai did not continue recounting the painful memories, and with a deep sigh, he concluded, "Fortunately, now that I have received a legitimate reward, next year on the anniversary of their deaths, I can at least have the face to talk to them."

"A light boat has passed ten thousand heavy mountains!"

Mr. Hou gently patted his back, "Mr. Xu, your good days have started."

Xu Wencai repeatedly nodded, "Many thanks to the Emperor, many thanks to the great man..."

"Great man? Are you referring to General Chen?"

Mr. Hou curled his lips, "Mr. Chen did not mention the Wolong Title in the petition, it was completely the Emperor's favor towards you. Do you understand our meaning, Mr. Xu?"

The previously teary-eyed Xu Wencai, upon hearing this comment, suddenly had a clear gaze, he squinted slightly but soon adjusted back, showing no sign of anomaly, and promptly knelt down, gratefully bursting into tears, "I, Xu Wencai, knock head in gratitude for the Heavenly Grace."

"You know what's important."

Mr. Hou, holding the wine bowl, sniffed the aroma of the wine and with slight disdain, put it down: "As long as you always clearly understand your position, in the future, you will naturally have the opportunity to realize your ambitions!"

"Rest assured, Your Honor!"

Xu Wencai, beating his chest, then tentatively asked, "Could Your Honor reveal a bit of what Mr. Chen said about me in the petition?"

"Well... he did not mention the title."

Mr. Hou, pinching his shrill voice, said, "After all, who wouldn't want a talent like Mr. Xu to remain under their command forever?"

"That's outrageous."

Xu Wencai clenched his teeth, muttering under his breath, "How could he treat me this way, if it weren't for my sacrifice, due to Bai Thingzhi's foolishness... "

His implication was clear, how could they limit his future.

"Oh?"

Mr. Hou's eyes briefly flashed with surprise, seemingly not expecting such a good outcome.

"Enough! After all, he has been kind to me."

Xu Wencai sighed, "In the future, I will still help him, to repay the kindness for taking me out of Po Yang back then, but I will no longer sell my life for him."

"It seems Mr. Xu indeed values old affection, I admire that,"

Mr. Hou congratulated, "Once you are in You State, it's like a fish entering the sea, a vast world where you can freely display your talents!"

"I am already well aware of the situation in You State."

Xu Wencai toyed with his Feather Fan, "Tonight, I will devise a detailed plan to suppress bandits and pacify rebels."

"Good, however, I must remind you again,"

Mr. Hou said, "With General Fang's precedent, to live up to the 'Wolong' title, you will likely need to endure great pressure. Mr. Xu, strive to achieve deeds, being Standard Third Rank Commander is just the beginning, once the expansion is completed in the future, who knows if you couldn't become a renowned military scholar in your own right."