The emperor would rather have a

Chapter 83 Xiang Xun
"Li Dushi, just do whatever you want."

In response to Li Yi's request, Li Chongjin didn't say much. It seemed that like Zhang Yongde, he also wanted to be a hands-off boss.

However, Li Yi doesn't really think so.

Zhang Yongde was trying to avoid suspicion actively, while Li Chongjin was probably avoiding suspicion passively.

Li Yi proposed a plan to reorganize the imperial guards, one of the core elements of which was to weaken the Imperial Guards Department. Moreover, Li Chongjin took the initiative to find fault at the court meeting.

Afterwards, the other party must have been worried about arousing the emperor's suspicion.

But it didn't matter what Li Chongjin thought. What Li Yi wanted was for him to hear this. After bidding farewell to Li Chongjin, he went to the Privy Council's office again.

The matters concerning the six armies and guards are not difficult; Zhao Kuangyin and his men can handle them.

Li Yi mainly focused on the Palace Army and the Imperial Guard.

So he planned to go to the Privy Council to borrow the personnel list of the imperial guards.

After all, the first step in reorganizing the imperial guards is to lay off and select personnel. If there is no specific personnel list to refer to, one will be completely in the dark.

You can't go to each military camp in person to ask for their names.

"Envoy Li can review the registers of the Imperial Guards, but such important documents are not allowed to be taken away for inspection."

Wei Renpu, the deputy privy councilor, naturally agreed to let Li Yi check the personnel register.

But he also said that the documents could only be viewed in the Privy Council and could not be taken away. After all, there was no backup of them, and if they were lost or missed, no one could take the responsibility.

"My subordinate understands."

With Wei Renpu's approval, Li Yi was taken by the clerk of the Privy Council to the warehouse where the personnel register was kept.

Later, Li Yi realized that he had thought things too simply.

The imperial guards of the Later Zhou Dynasty were accumulated over several dynasties. Their personnel composition was large and complex, and the registers recording the personnel filled up most of the warehouse.

Li Yi casually flipped through a few books and found that the contents in the books were also very messy.

Due to years of wars and conquests, the imperial guards suffered losses and replenishments, and personnel were frequently transferred.

Not to mention that it is basically impossible for him to sort it out alone.

Even if there were dozens of times more people to help, it would take at least ten days or half a month to figure things out.

Li Yi's scalp suddenly tingled. He quickly left the storeroom and went to Wei Renpu to ask, "Envoy Wei, there are simply too many records. I have no way of reviewing them. I hope Envoy Wei can dispatch a clerk from the Privy Council to help sort them out."

Wei Renpu sighed and said, "Envoy Li knows that ever since the Imperial Guards returned from the expedition, the Privy Council has been overwhelmed with various matters over the past half month. Everyone is extremely busy and there is really no room for extra personnel."

"To be honest, the other day Li Dushi came to ask for the dispatch of Zhao Du Yu Hou to assist, and I was worried about this matter."

"Reorganizing the Imperial Guards will definitely require a personnel register. I originally wanted to have someone sort it out, but unfortunately, I don't have any extra personnel to deploy at the moment. I can't let the Privy Council put other matters aside for the time being."

Li Yi then remembered that when he came that day, he did see Wei Renpu worried about something.

But he didn't want to meddle in other people's business at the time, so he didn't ask. He didn't expect that this was the case.

Li Yi couldn't help but feel a headache and said, "This is indeed a difficult task. It's not just a matter of randomly assigning some soldiers to sort out the registers. We also need someone who specializes in paperwork."

At this time, Wei Renpu suggested: "Envoy Li, why not ask the prime ministers if they can send some clerks from the courts and temples to help."

Hearing this, Li Yi smiled bitterly and said, "I'm just a military man. Let alone the prime ministers, I don't even know many ordinary civil servants. How can I have the dignity to ask for help?"

These days, warriors don't take civil officials seriously, and there isn't much interaction between the two sides.

Although Li Yi has a high status, his qualifications and foundation are very shallow.

There is no connection with the prime ministers at all.

Wei Renpu pondered and said, "The Privy Council cannot have too much contact with the Prime Ministers, and I can't speak for you."

The Privy Council and the prime ministers were in charge of military and political affairs respectively, and the two sides did not have much overlap. In addition, they had to be careful to avoid suspicion, so what Wei Renpu said was indeed not an excuse.

Wei Renpu added, "If that doesn't work, Envoy Li can ask His Majesty for an order."

Wei Renpu's suggestion was actually not within Li Yi's consideration.

He proposed a plan to reorganize the imperial guards, and the emperor directly entrusted him with the important task, obviously placing high hopes on him.

But before anything even begins, there are already problems and troubles on the left and right. How will the emperor view this matter?

I'm afraid people will think that Li Yi is just a big talker.

Li Yi planned to try his best to solve the problem himself without disturbing the emperor.

"Then I will think of a solution."

After leaving the Privy Council, on the way back to the Inner Palace, Li Yi pondered this matter secretly. Historically, the Imperial Guards were reorganized in October of the first year of Xiande.

It has been two or three months since Chai Rong led the army to fight in person. Many post-war matters have been arranged, unlike now when the Privy Council is still so busy that it has no staff to spare.

And now, thanks to Li Yi's suggestion, the reorganization of the imperial guards has been brought forward by two months.

The emperor was anxious to see results, and these things happened at the same time, leaving no time for preparation.

Li Yi could only find a way to solve the problem of organizing the personnel list by himself.

Go and borrow personnel from the prime ministers?

Li Yi felt that Wei Renpu's proposal was indeed feasible.

Firstly, the prime ministers are in charge of government affairs, and the number of clerks they can mobilize is definitely much more than that of the Privy Council.

Secondly, the current prime ministers still have great power and have the right to handle many matters independently, and do not need to ask the emperor for instructions on everything.

If Li Yi went to the prime ministers to borrow personnel, there would be no need to alarm the emperor.

But the problem is that the prime ministers may not pay attention to him.

"By the way, Xiang Xun!"

Li Yi suddenly thought of a person, Xiang Xun, the Southern Courtyard Envoy of the Xuanhui Palace, who had helped him rescue Shi Yanchao in Xinzhou.

After that battle, the relationship between the two became much closer. During a chat, he heard that the other had some private friendship with Prime Minister Wang Pu.

Li Yi thought he could go ask Xiang Xun to see if he was willing to help pass a message to Wang Pu.

He immediately turned his horse around and returned to the Privy Council to ask Wei Renpu about Xiang Xun.

Only then did Li Yi know that after returning from the expedition, the emperor promoted Xiang Xun to the governor of Yicheng Army.

However, no actual assignment has been assigned to Xiang Xun yet, and he is currently staying at his home in Tokyo.

"So you need the clerks to help sort out the personnel register. That's easy to do. I'll ask Mr. Wang for you. I don't think it's a big problem."

After learning the purpose of Li Yi's visit, Xiang Xun agreed on the spot without much hesitation.

Li Yi bowed and said, "Thank you, Marshal Xiang Jie."

"Envoy Li, why are you being so reserved? We fought side by side in the Battle of Xinkou. Although we are half the age difference, the friendship we forged on the battlefield makes it no exaggeration to call each other brothers."

Xiang Xun smiled and patted Li Yi on the shoulder: "If you don't mind me being too arrogant, you can just call me Brother Xiang in private."

Seeing Xiang Xun taking the initiative to get close to him, Li Yi naturally wanted it more than he could have hoped, and immediately said, "Brother Xiang."

Xiang Xun laughed heartily. "My dear brother, you have an important task entrusted to you by the government, so I will not keep you any longer. When you have finished these things, come to my house and we will have a drink together."

It is said that a person's name is like the shadow of a tree. A person's reputation is indeed like a shadow, and has a far-reaching impact on all aspects.

Although Li Yi's current status and position are not as good as Xiang Xun's.

But his advantage is that he is young enough, has made contributions in the two major battles of Gaoping and Xinkou, and now he has been appointed by the emperor to assist in the reorganization of the imperial guards.

Anyone with a discerning eye knows that Li Yi has a bright future, and if he doesn't make any mistakes, his future potential will be enormous.

After leaving Xiang Xun's residence, Li Yi felt a little emotional.

Compared with Zhao Kuangyin during this period in history, he felt that he was not inferior in any aspect, and was even better.

After all, Zhao Da did not kill Zhang Yuanhui in the Gaoping battle, nor did he repel the Liao reinforcements in Xinkou, nor did he kill the Liao government official Yelu Dilu.

Li Yi is now only one position lower than Zhao Da in history, the position of Palace Guard Commander.

However, Zhao Da was already 28 years old at that time, while Li Yi has just turned 20. Excluding the age difference, his promotion speed is far faster than Zhao Da's.

Moreover, Li Yi is now the commander-in-chief of the inner palace, and is only one step away from being the commander-in-chief of the palace.

If the reorganization of the imperial guards can be done successfully this time.

Maybe we can take this step next year?
Chai Rong was not a monarch who was stingy with rewards. As long as Li Chongjin could do things for him, he would tolerate him and make use of him even if he posed a threat to his throne.

During the chaotic Five Dynasties period, Chai Rong was an ambitious emperor who certainly wanted to unify the country and leave his name for eternity.

That is why Chai Rong promoted a group of young and capable military generals to positions.

And Li Yi just happened to meet the emperor's standards.

So now he has to try his best not to make mistakes and achieve outstanding results, then he won't have to worry too much about promotion and wealth.

The emperor will definitely give him everything he deserves.

(End of this chapter)