The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 20: Jinwuzhangyuan
On the way out, he inspected various government offices and went to the Censorate to receive reports from the censors. Unexpectedly, the performance of the Shen Ce Army aroused public outrage, not only the eunuchs were so angry that they were punished, but also the court officials kept complaining. As soon as Li Ye arrived, the censors made suggestions.

Therefore, the saint did not let Ximen Chongsui down and started to make trouble.

He ordered a military review at the Left and Right Jinwu Zhangyuan and ordered the on-duty Shen Ce Army stationed at Longshouyuan to join the drill there.

The nature of the Left and Right Jinwu Guards is equivalent to the Southern Army of the Han Dynasty. They are responsible for palace security, checking the entry and exit of personnel, etc., and are also the guard of honor for the emperor's travel. At the same time, they are also involved in the capital's public security and emergency response. Coming in from Danfeng Gate, the vast space between Zhaoxun Gate and Guangfan Gate is the station of the Jinwu Guards. The training ground is so large that Li Ye looked around and converted it into a football field in later generations.

It is estimated that it can accommodate 20,000 troops.

Considering the precautions against assassins, there were no green plants in the left and right Jinwu Guards, so the soldiers were very conspicuous when they came. Soon, the training ground was dark, blocking out the sun. The soldiers sat on the ground, laughing and making noises, without any manners.

Until the slow and heavy drum beats sounded from the drum tower: "Dong, Dong, Dong..."

The soldiers cheered.

"Damn it, we still have to perform martial arts in such a cold weather."

"I'm freezing to death."

"Saints have a lot of shit to do."

"..."

Although they were cursing, they still straightened their appearance and equipment and started to line up.

Wang Congxun saw this and waved the small red triangular flag in his hand. Then, the Zhonglang standing behind the battlements raised their flags one after another, and then stretched out their long spears at the same time, pointing at the parade ground: "Hoo!!!"

Perhaps startled by the somewhat chaotic shouting from the city wall, the parade ground gradually became quiet.

"Saint, do you have any instructions?" Wang Congxun explained proudly, "In the military exercises of our dynasty, the guards hold spears on both sides, and the soldiers must demonstrate how to strike with spears on foot, strike with spears on horseback, change formations, as well as riding, archery, and beheading. The best will be rewarded, and the worst will be flogged."

The emperor asked curiously, "Which vassal state?"

“Uh…” Wang Congxun was speechless. Isn’t this what all the military governors in the world do?
Being whipped for poor performance was considered a light punishment. If it were the townspeople of Yan or Zhao, many of them would be beheaded.

People like Li Hanzhi, Zhu Wen'na and others, if they did not meet the law's standards, would be chopped off along with the entire team of soldiers.

"These Northern Army soldiers, ah!" The emperor sighed, "I dare not order them around. What if they rebel and fight me? Wouldn't that be harmful to you? Let them stand."

Wang Congxun slammed his palm on the bricks and cursed, "There must be people escaping one after another."

"No problem." The emperor didn't care at all. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the soldiers who were talking to each other on the parade ground. He smiled and said, "I don't feel sorry for those who leave halfway. After recording their names, they will be expelled from the army. There must be a loyal person in every ten households. There will be no one good man among these twenty thousand strong men."

Han Yu, a Hanlin scholar who was accompanying the emperor, could not help but sigh when he heard this: "The constitution is not in place, the country is in chaos, and the country is in decline. It is heartbreaking. Thinking back to the difficult times, the Shen Ce Army defeated the two Zhus, killed Liu Pi, crossed the Yellow River, and fought against Li Xilie... How famous it was."

Look at the current situation, they can only bully ordinary people.

"Do you know the history of the Shen Ce Army?" Li Ye also wanted to learn more about it.

When the Western Han Dynasty, the Northern Dynasties, the Sui and Tang Dynasties conquered the world, the main source of soldiers was young farmers from various counties in Guanzhong.

But now, the people from Shaanxi are so unsupportive!
It stands to reason that serving in the army in Chang'an also includes the task of protecting one's wife and children, but who would have thought that he would be bullied by the local vassal states and dare not say a word?

If you don’t know, you might think he was a disciple of the Beggar Gang of the Ming Dynasty.

"The saint knows that the Shen Ce Army was not originally a royal guard."

Han Wei looked westward, recounting the treasures like the back of his hand: "Since the Kaiyuan period, the imperial court has herded horses in Yinshan Mountain and enjoyed the snow and Luoman Mountain, making the kingdoms in all directions submit, except Tubo, which was bound to be killed. Thirteen years later, Geshu Han established eight armies along the Tao River, namely Jintian, Yaowu, Tiancheng, Zhenwei, and Shen Ce. Mohuanchuan on the south bank of the Tao River is where the Shen Ce Army city is located. After the An-Shi Rebellion, all the Han and Tibetan soldiers were sent from the Western Regions to the East, and the Shen Ce Army was the next to go."

"In the second year of Zhide, Prince Yi of Fenyang attacked Xiangji Temple."

"In the second year of Qianyuan, he followed Ziyi to attack Yecheng."

"In the first year of Guangde, I followed Ziyi to fight against Tubo. In the first year of Yongtai, I divided the two wings into left and right, and Yu Chaoen led them."

"In the years of Dali, Jianzhong and Zhenyuan, the troops of Xing Junya and Yang Huiyuan of the Pinglu Army, the troops of Shi Chaoyi and Shang Kegu of the Yan thieves, the brave men of the Shuofang Army, and the troops of Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi, Hao Tingyu, Luo Yuanguang, Li Chaocai and other troops of the Shuofang Army were recruited into the Shen Ce Army. Ten thousand brave men from Xiasui, Fengxiang, Hedong and Shaanxi East were recruited, as well as the sons of ministers and nobles at home and abroad, and those with military power from various Hu countries were recruited into the Shen Ce Army."

"The governor of Zibo and Qinghai refused to be replaced, and Heshuo jointly resisted the imperial court. The Shen Ce Army followed Xiping Wang Sheng to attack them."

"At the beginning of Yuanhe, Liu Pi refused to be replaced and followed Gao Chongwen to attack Jianmen Pass, pacify Shu, and march east. In the early years of Changqing, the Shen Ce Army stationed in the left and right of Beijing and the Shen Ce Army deployed in the northwest of Beijing, as well as the Shen Ce Army under the command of various garrisons, defenses, and defenses, totaled more than 180,000 brave soldiers."

"..."

"Since the beginning of the difficult times, whenever there was a war, the sages used the Shen Ce Army as their minions and they were always victorious wherever they went."

"The difference between today and yesterday is like the sun, the moon, and the stars." The emperor, coming back to his senses, could not help but sigh helplessly.

The soldiers in the training ground had left one after another. At first, only a few of them scurried out, but gradually, they started to make a big fuss, shouting and carrying swords and guns and heading towards the distant gate. This made the emperor feel even more depressed. They couldn't even stand, so how could they be counted on when they really fought? It was a pity that Ximen Chongsui's money and food supported these bastards!

In the silence, the emperor suddenly spoke: "Call the officers and officials of the Shen Ce Army to come up and answer questions."

"only."

After a while, a group of "old and young men and women" wearing armor or casual clothes, led by the attendant Liu Zipi, walked along the steps towards the drum tower... old men, middle-aged men, young men. Men, women... This really opened the emperor's eyes. In a military organization like the Shen Ce Army, there are women working?
Seeing the emperor open his mouth, Han Wei quickly explained, "According to the long-standing system, the left and right Shen Ce armies each have one general, four generals, and two commanders. They also have one lieutenant guard, one central guard, and three judges."

"There are also several officials in charge of affairs, accountants, memorial officials, accounting officials, and driving officials."

"There are also the Chief Secretary, the Examination of Works, the Armory, the Recorder, the Warehouse, the Soldiers, the Armor and other branch offices and the Chief Deputy Officer."

"All of the above have their own subordinates, and the relationships are complicated. Some are seconded to the Southern Court, some are eunuchs, or female officials from the Ye Ting Bureau are appointed to the positions."

In layman's terms, the Shen Ce Army was a huge military unit with many subordinate departments and agencies. Many tasks could not be done by warriors, so they had to find people who could do them. Ximen Chongsui was so hungry that he even forcibly recruited the female officials of the Ye Ting Bureau.

Highlight a saving.

The female officers were paid for two jobs...

While they were thinking, everyone bowed their hands and said, "Your Highness, we pay our respects to you..."

The emperor paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, and suddenly stopped in front of an old man: "What's the matter, my lord?"

Being stared at by hundreds of eyes behind the emperor, the old man was obviously a little nervous: "The judge of the camp is responsible for handling all matters of the camp, reporting to the prime minister and the Privy Council, and reporting to the camp, so as to prevent the foreign soldiers from losing touch with the court and becoming alienated."

Oh, Han Wei just said that the Shence Army has deployed troops to the northwest of Beijing to defend. This is the so-called foreign army camp, right?
Then this old man’s duties are equivalent to those of the director of the Corps Headquarters General Office.

Convey policy orders from above and reflect the demands and movements from below.

"Hmm." After thinking for a while, the emperor asked, "How many military cities, fortresses, and stockades are under the jurisdiction of the Shen Ce Army in the northwest of Beijing?"

The old man frowned slightly, was silent for a while, and answered with difficulty: "Over the years, Fengtian, Wugong, Fufeng, Haozhi, Linyou, Purun, Xingping, Huxian, Shanzhou and other places should have garrisons, but now most of them have been occupied by the vassal states. There are 17 military cities, and there are still soldiers in Dongweiqiao, Zhongweiqiao, Xianyang, Lantian and other places, ranging from dozens to hundreds."

The emperor immediately asked again: "How many soldiers are there in the Shen Ce Army now?"

"After several rounds of recruitment, the Shen Ce Army has a total of more than 73,400 soldiers, more than 12,000 horses, and more than 9,000 mules." The old man took the initiative to explain: "It is under the command of the military commander, the privy envoy, the left and right lieutenants, etc., but due to the chaos of war, the details are unknown."

Isn't this the same as not saying anything?

First, the eunuchs had a fight, and Li Shunjie took 10,000 of his own troops to attack Huazhou, and I don't know how many were lost. Later, the four towns invaded the palace, and the soldiers were scattered all over the place, some ran away and some died. After the storm, Ximen Chongsui laid off a lot of people. How could there be more than 70,000 soldiers now? 50,000? Hey, this old man, he just talks in official language. He didn't even say how many soldiers the eunuchs had. That's right, it must be Ximen Chongsui's lackeys.

“Hearing your words is like listening to a speech.” The emperor could not help but pat the old man on the shoulder and said with emotion.

Everyone present burst into laughter. The saint was really good at talking.

"Your Majesty..." The old man's face turned red with shame.

The emperor had already walked up to another person and asked with a chuckle, "How many soldiers are being reviewed today?"

"About ten thousand people," someone stammered.

"Okay." The emperor glanced at the remaining soldiers on the parade ground and clapped his hands. "This is the Shen Ce Army, with 70,000 men, dressed in fine clothes and riding fine horses. They have been rewarded three times as much, but their combat effectiveness is unknown. So let's part ways in peace. Those who have left should never come back. I'm sure the Privy Councilor and others will not object. As for the remaining warriors..."

The emperor looked at the soldiers who were still standing there in the cold wind. There were about three or four thousand of them, but they looked much more pleasing to the eye than the dark scene just now. Li Ye didn't believe that they were all bastards. Didn't this reveal a wave of talents?
If you train him well, he will become a great person in time.

After considering his words, the emperor said with a dull tone: "Let the Privy Councilors form a separate army."

The attendant Liu Zibi stepped forward and bowed, saying, "If we have talented and capable people commanding the troops and they train every three days, I think we can build a strong army."

"Humph." Wang Congxun said unconvincedly, "How can we be called a strong army if we just stand there for a while? When the Privy Councilor comes back with the recruitment, I will show the Saint what an iron army is."

Hearing this, a general of the Shen Ce Army in the crowd spitted and said, "When the Privy Councilor comes back with the recruitment, the people in Guandong are all warriors, so who can't be trained? Even if Zhu Quanzhong is the one to train these slippery young men in Chang'an, what's the use? It's a skill to train a good-for-nothing."

The emperor waved his hand to signal Wang Congxun not to argue, then pointed at the young general with interest and asked, "Who are you?"

The young general did not seem to expect the emperor to ask him about this. He stepped out of the line and saluted, saying, "I am a member of the imperial family, Li Yanzhen, and I am here to pay my respects to you, the Ten Generals of the Divine Strategy Army."

"Royal family?" This component is quite complicated, but in Li Ye's impression, the Tang Dynasty was very cautious about the royal family.

"I am the grandson of the Crown Prince of Zhenguan, Li Shizhi, the youngest son of Hengshan Min Wang." The young man looked down at the ground, neither humble nor arrogant. "During the Guangming period, my family members were killed in the chaos. The Zongzheng Temple took me into the palace, and the palace maid Wu from the Ministry of Internal Affairs became my fake mother. When I grew up, I entered the Feilong Courtyard and became the commander of the imperial carriage. The Privy Council saw that I was brave and made me a general."

Yo.

A heavyweight.

Unexpectedly, he is the descendant of Li Chengqian.

But it's normal to think about it. Some of Li Chengqian's descendants served as prime ministers, while others served as military governors, so they were doing pretty well.

But after Huang Chao's wave of rebellion, he ended up in a miserable situation of having to cling to the eunuchs.

"So he is my brother!" The emperor couldn't help but sigh.

The emperor was very excited because he thought there were many people around him who could develop their careers.

The environment inside the palace was too bad, and Ximen Chongsui's spies were everywhere.

"I have to go and have a good talk with the Privy Councilor!" the emperor shouted, "How can my brothers be just a small general?"

Han Weichu said, "Your Majesty, the envoys from the Northern Department who went to various places to recruit soldiers and horses will return to the capital one after another after the new year. I think General Li Shi is very ambitious and has a strong back and strong waist. When the time comes, you can ask the Privy Councilor to appoint him as the commander of the army."

The emperor immediately asked, "Who is better at riding and shooting or fighting on foot?"

"I would like to be a knight."

"Good, then there will be a place for you in the Longjie Army." The emperor promised generously.

Now he has committed to throwing it away.

It depends on whether Ximen Chongsui will give it when the time comes.

Give, everyone is happy.

If he didn't give it, Li Ye would at most get scolded, but he was used to it anyway. The biggest advantage of a time traveler was that he could humble himself, but he didn't know what Li Yanzhen was thinking.

Afterwards, the emperor, as expected, was sarcastic and criticized the military officials for being idle in their positions, but he basically did not punish anyone. He only ordered the Grand Marshal Du Rangneng to recall some of the civil servants who were not in a good position.

On the way back to the palace, the emperor muttered quietly: "If you want a ruler, you have no supreme power. If you are not a saint, you have no law. If you are not filial, you have no relatives. This is the way to great chaos."

……

The emperor's behavior of reviewing the Shen Ce Army in the Jinwu Zhangyuan quickly attracted many eyes.

After the failed attempt to expel Yang Fugong, the nearly deposed emperor has been indifferent to military and political affairs ever since. He used to argue with the eunuchs, but in the past two or three months he has been at their mercy, hiding on the Wangxian Terrace all day and laughing with the ladies.

This surprised Ximen Chongsui and others at first.

But after recalling his own adjustments, Ximen Chongsui realized that something was wrong.

Liu Xianyuan, who was appointed as the envoy of Longjie Army, was the nephew of Liu Chongwang.

Wang Congxun, who was appointed by him as the commander of the left wing of the Yingwu Army, was originally a schoolmaster of the Tianwei Army. When the rebel army attacked Chang'an, he was subdued by Liu Chongwang and sent to the emperor to serve as the General of the Central Army.

Now another member of the royal family has arrived, and the emperor has promised to appoint him as the commander of the army.

This reminds me of the previous incident in which the eunuchs of Feilongyuan asked for official positions on behalf of the emperor.

Although the power of granting and taking away is in his hands, as time goes by, these people will most likely turn to the emperor.

and.

If I don't give it to you, wouldn't that just be adding an enemy for nothing?
The emperor's seemingly casual and impulsive "micro-management" made Ximen Chong feel like a thorn in his side.

In the past, he would have dragged the saint to a small dark room for a "good talk."

But now the saint is...

Ximen Chongsui didn't know how to describe this feeling.

After a round of scolding, the sage was not angry at all. Instead, he said, "Yes, yes, the privy councilor is absolutely right."

This made him feel helpless, like punching cotton.

Since beating and scolding don't work, how can we prevent the saint from making more promises?

But the saint didn't even kill that old dog Yang Fugong, so am I thinking too much?

When the emperor was in a good mood, it was normal to confer official titles and make wishes.

What is hidden behind the smile of a saint?
At this moment, Ximen Chongsui strongly wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk with the saint and communicate with him.

　This is my first time writing a book, so I would like to ask, does anyone read it? If so, please leave a message to encourage the author! It will give me some strength to keep going.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)