Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4706 Dilemma
Arriving outside the gate of the Right Jinwu Guard camp again, Zhang Liang saw dozens of officers lined up neatly on both sides of the gate to greet him. He felt a mixture of emotions.

In order to assume the post of Right Jinwu Guard openly and re-establish his authority, he sacrificed the only remaining relationship between him and Li Ji. It may be worth it at the moment, but in the long run, he may regret it one day.

But things have come to this point. If he fails to take up the post of Right Jinwu Guard and then control the Right Jinwu Guard, his official career will come to an end. For a man with such a strong desire for power, this will be tantamount to a disaster.

No matter how great the sacrifice, we can face the challenges and move forward courageously.

As long as he can control the Right Jinwu Guard and hold the military power, the mere incense and affection will not mean anything...

With his spirits lifted, Zhang Liang entered the military camp surrounded by a group of officers and soldiers, and went straight to the central army tent. He sat in the middle, with the officers and soldiers on his left and right.

Looking around, Zhang Liang felt quite sad. He once had thousands of troops under his command. He hasn't been able to enjoy this feeling of being high above and having his orders carried out like a mountain for many years.

so good……

After calming down, Zhang Liang's face was full of majesty. He glanced at Wang Xuance beside him and said in a deep voice: "From today on, the previous rule of the whole army marching at will is completely cancelled. Every time you go out of the camp for a march, you must have my order. No one is allowed to do it without authorization, otherwise they will be punished by military law! Do you understand?"

The officers below looked at each other and responded in a scattered and disorganized voice: "Understood."

"know."

"I will follow the Marshal's orders."

"I was saying this training is so tiring, it's just right to cancel it!"

"Who says it's not true? I'm exhausted like a dog every day. How can this be called being an official? It's just torture!"

"Don't talk nonsense, the dog is not as tired as we are."

……

There was a lot of chatter and noise in the general's tent, like a vegetable market, with no discipline at all.

Zhang Liang had a dark face. He slapped the desk beside him and shouted, "Shut up, everyone! You are making such a fuss like a shrew. How can you be so disrespectful?"

Everyone fell silent and the general's tent became quiet.

Wang Xuance said, "General, there is an important matter that needs your decision."

Zhang Liang glanced over and asked, "What's the matter?"

Wang Xuance took out a family file, took two steps forward and handed it to Zhang Liang with both hands, saying respectfully, "Helan Chushi, the captain in charge of the logistics supply of the entire army, was found to have committed corruption and abuse of power. After the incident, he was suspended and investigated in detail. Now the investigation results have been completed. His crime of corruption and abuse of power is beyond doubt. There is evidence of both human and material evidence. Please decide how to deal with him, Marshal."

Zhang Liang took the file and felt it was a little hot.

He naturally knew who Helan Chushi was. He was the son-in-law of the traitor Hou Junji, and the brother-in-law of Wu Shunniang, the sister of Fang Jun's concubine Wu Meiniang. Wu Shunniang was a widow and had an unclear relationship with Fang Jun. The Helan family was once one of the backbones of the Guanlong clan. Although it is now in decline and not as glorious as it used to be, its identity cannot be erased.

Today, the Guanlong clans have long since declined and lost their glory, and their power in the court has been uprooted. However, they still have influence in the military, and many middle and lower-level officers have backgrounds in the Guanlong clans.

It is inappropriate to deal with such a person in any way.

Severely punishing Helan Chushi would not only arouse the indignation of the officers with Guanlong clan backgrounds in the army, but would also give Fang Jun a reason to take action again - although I promised Duke Ying not to make things difficult for you, you treated my people so unscrupulously, don't I have any face?
If he lets him go lightly, it will be equally inappropriate. This is a crime of corruption and dereliction of duty. If he lets him go, the military censors and imperial censors will immediately rise up to impeach him. As a general, he will be trembling on the seat. Who knows if he will be dismissed before his seat even warms up...

After a moment's hesitation, Zhang Liang said, "I don't know the details of this matter. I'll take the archives back and take a look. I'll make a decision after I understand it thoroughly."

Wang Xuance looked embarrassed. "General, please understand. Because the position of commander of the Right Jinwu Guard has been vacant, no one has the authority to make a decision, so this matter has been delayed for a long time. Helan Chushi was only ordered to stay at home and refuse visitors. He was not imprisoned, and the money he embezzled was not confiscated... If it continues to drag on, once things change, I'm afraid there will be trouble."

Zhang Liang waved his hands impatiently: "I know the situation well. If I can't judge right from wrong and arbitrarily punish the officers, how can I convince the people? How can I show that the military discipline is strict? No need to waste time, let's do it."

He had to embarrass Wang Xuance in front of everyone and regain his lost prestige bit by bit.

Wang Xuance was very good-tempered and bowed: "General, you are wise. You are the commander-in-chief. We will obey your orders."

Zhang Liang frowned, vaguely feeling that there was something weird about these words: power and responsibility are equal, and when one holds power, one must also assume corresponding responsibilities.

Looking at the file in my hand, I'm afraid this matter is not that simple...

……

Generally speaking, the commander-in-chief should stay in the military camp after taking office. Moreover, the situation Zhang Liang is facing is very tense, and he needs a lot of time and energy to familiarize himself with the military environment. He should win over those who should be won over, and find ways to transfer those who cannot be won over, so as to completely control the Right Jinwu Guard.

But he was worried and had something on his mind, so he left the military camp in the evening and returned to Chang'an City with his troops, going to the residence of Linghu Defeng, the lord of Pengcheng County and a scholar of Chongxian Hall.

Linghu Defeng naturally would not meet him, as there was no friendship between the two of them. Besides, Linghu Defeng had ignored the outside world and focused on writing books in recent years, so why would he care about these trivial matters?

The person who wanted to see him was Linghu Xiumu, the second son of Linghu Defen.

Inside the main hall of the west courtyard, Linghu Xiumu invited Zhang Liang to take a seat. After serving him tea and exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhang Liang directly stated the purpose of his visit.

"Some time ago, Helan Yueshi was suspended for corruption. Do you know anything about this, my dear brother?"

People in the market all thought that "Linghu" was a Hu surname like "Changsun" and "Helan", but in fact, "Linghu" was a descendant of "Ji surname", a genuine Chinese surname. However, Linghu Defeng and Helan Yan were close friends in the past, and the two families were close friends, so Zhang Liang went to their house to find out the truth.

Linghu Xiumu was stunned and asked curiously, "Why did Duke Yun mention this?"

Zhang Liang did not hide anything and told him how Wang Xuance pushed the Helan Chushi case to him, and sighed as he talked about his current predicament...

Linghu Xiumu pondered and said, "This matter is probably not simple. Helan Chushi was able to get into the Right Jinwu Guard by getting through Fang Jun's connections, but within a few days, he was exposed for corruption and dereliction of duty, and was ordered to return home to await investigation. At that time, many people said that Fang Jun was indeed so powerful that he was not imprisoned for such a serious crime but was sent home to await investigation. Now it seems that there may be other reasons behind this."

Zhang Liang was stunned: "Brother, you don't think that Helan Chushi committed a serious crime because Fang Jun framed him, right?"

The fact that Fang Jun and Helan's daughter-in-law Wu Shunniang were secretly having an affair was no longer news in the market, but had long been a topic of conversation among the people of Chang'an. Helan Chushi was able to enter the Right Jinwu Guard because Wu Shunniang had begged Fang Jun, but why did Fang Jun frame Helan Chushi and make him commit a serious crime?

If you don't want to agree, you can just refuse. Why bother?
Linghu Xiumu said: "It's not necessarily a frame-up. If I had nothing to do with this kind of thing, who could frame me?"

Zhang Liang didn't think so. Even if it wasn't a frame-up by Fang Jun, it must have been Fang Jun who signaled Wang Xuance and others to capture Helan Chushi. Otherwise, with Fang Jun's prestige, how could he not protect a mere Helan Chushi?
Linghu Xiumu continued, "This matter is really tricky. Helan Chushi is linked to Fang Jun on one side and the Guanlong clan on the other. Dealing with him or not, or even dealing with him lightly or heavily, may cause backlash."

The Guanlong clans are now severely damaged, and their influence in the court and the army is extremely weak. Young men like Helan Chushi, who have connections with Fang Jun, are placed with high hopes. How can the Guanlong clans tolerate such rash actions?

There are still many Guanlong children in the army. Although they are not outstanding, they still have considerable influence. They may not be able to be Zhang Liang's assistant, but it is not difficult to disgust Zhang Liang.

But if he didn't deal with it, what if Helan Chushi was really framed and captured by Fang Jun? He finally sacrificed the last bit of incense and begged Li Ji to speak for him to stand firm in the Right Jinwu Guard, and then let go of the person Fang Jun wanted to deal with. Isn't this obviously singing against Fang Jun?

If Fang Jun lost his temper and ordered the Right Jinwu Guards to cause trouble for him again, Li Ji would not speak up for him anymore...

This is a big pit. I am in a dilemma and I am caught in a dilemma.

Zhang Liang said angrily: "Wang Xuance, this bastard, is going too far!"

It's too bad that something that could have been dealt with earlier had to be delayed until after he took office!

He already felt regretful for relying on Liu Li to get the position of General of the Right Jinwu Guard...

*****
"Wouldn't it be better to be a minister of justice? With a high position and generous salary, and the power of life and death, you can show off your power and dominate others wherever you go. Why does he have to go back to the army and wade into muddy water? This man is not very smart."

After dinner, Fang Jun took a walk in the garden to digest his food. Wang Xuance came to visit him, and the two sat in the pavilion drinking tea together. Wang Xuance couldn't help but complain.

Fang Jun smiled and shook his head: "Of course he is not very smart, otherwise how could he have gotten to where he is today with his qualifications? But he did not take the initiative to leave the Ministry of Justice. It is really that the Ministry of Justice is too complicated and requires too much professional knowledge. How can a soldier like him handle it? Moreover, although the Ministry of Justice is nominally one of the 'Three Judicial Departments', it is ranked last. With Zhang Liang's arrogance, how can he be willing to be a vassal? It is understandable that he seeks to go to the army to command the response of hundreds and issue orders as powerful as a mountain."

The powers of the Ministry of Justice during the Sui and Tang dynasties were limited. Apart from interrogation and sentencing, it was only authorized to execute civilians and officials below the seventh rank. However, it generally did not have the power to punish, as the power to punish basically belonged to the Dali Temple. Middle and senior officials were basically supervised by the "Menxia Province" among the three provinces.

Being suppressed by two powerful government offices above your head, and because of your lack of professional knowledge, you must always be careful not to be "backstabbed" by your subordinates in this government office. It is really not a good job.

How can it compare to being able to call the wind and rain and cover the sky with one hand in the army?
Wang Xuance nodded: "That's true."

Then he chuckled and said, "I will hand over the case of Helan Chushi to Zhang Liang for him to handle. I guess he must be having a headache right now."

Fang Jun smiled.

He did have to give Li Ji face and ensure that Zhang Liang could perform his duties smoothly, but whether Zhang Liang would have smooth sailing in the army and whether his officers would obey his orders in the future were not something Li Ji could control.

As for Zhang Liang's wish to secure his position as general and then gradually eliminate dissidents and take control of the entire army, he is simply wishful thinking.

The Left and Right Jinwu Guards were already in his pocket, so how could he allow others to get involved?