"I'm afraid this Duke of the State of mine is the most hastily bestowed and least substantial Duke of the State in Great Zhou's history, isn't it?"
Inside the main hall of the North Sea Prefecture Duke's Mansion, Ye Zhen toyed with the Duke of the State seal that Grand Supervisor of the Inner Palace Tong Dehai had just presented, an amused look on his face.
Grand Supervisor of the Inner Palace Tong Dehai, who had only just sat down with half his backside touching the chair, hurriedly rose to his feet, his face full of ingratiating smiles.
"Duke Ye, you jest. The Dukes of the State of Great Zhou have always been honored beyond compare. Your title was decided in open court."
"Was it?"
Ye Zhen smiled, casually tossing the Duke of the State seal he had been playing with to Tong Dehai. Tong Dehai caught it in a panic, his face awkward.
"Duke of the State, you... what do you mean by this?"
"Nothing much. It's an empty title. Better not to have it than be burdened by it."
Tong Dehai immediately understood what Ye Zhen meant. That was also one of the reasons he had been sent here to deliver the decree this time.
This time, Luoyi's reward contained only the title of Duke of the State, with none of the corresponding fief, office, or anything else.
The reasons were complicated, but the chief reason still had to do with Ye Zhen's strength.
With merely three commanderies, Ye Zhen had first crushed three million Devil Race troops, then broken the ten-million-strong Water Clan. Though the circumstances behind it were unusual, what if he were given another three commanderies?
In these troubled times, Ye Zhen's relationship with the new emperor Ji Long was also exceedingly complicated. Some people