The emperor would rather have a

Chapter 87 Taking a break from the busy schedule
The death of General Meng Hanqing of the Left Winged Guards.

It also sounded a wake-up call to the generals of the imperial guards.

The emperor was really serious about reorganizing the imperial guards this time.

Everyone was speculating that perhaps the emperor had already been thinking about this matter after the Battle of Gaoping, and the proposal of Li Yi, the commander-in-chief of the inner palace, only pushed forward the progress.

In the next few days, Li Yi's team of officers and soldiers quickly conducted a thorough inspection of all the guards in the six armies.

Except for General Meng Hanqing of the Left Winged Guards who was sentenced to death.

They also caught General Xue Xun of the Right Guard who allowed his officials and soldiers to amass money and land.

As for Xue Xun's treatment, the emperor did not take his life, but removed him from the imperial guards and exiled him and his entire family to Shamen Island.

In fact, this is almost the same as killing him.

Shamen Island is the Miaodao Island in Yantai City, Shandong Province in later generations. It is located in the Bohai Strait, which is considered a remote place even in later generations, let alone in today's era.

The exile to Shamen Island often mentioned in Water Margin refers to this place.

After reorganizing the six armies and guards.

The emperor listened to Li Yi's suggestion and issued an edict announcing that all the imperial guards generals who had previously engaged in unpaid salaries and profiteering would be forgiven.

But if you do it again, you will be severely punished.

As the saying goes, when you hit someone with a stick, you get a sweet date.

Meng Hanqing and Xue Xun were severely punished as a warning, and the remaining middle and senior generals of the imperial guards would naturally be shown leniency as a mercy.

More than ten days passed.

The personnel rosters of the Palace Army and the Imperial Guards were finally completed.

It was already mid-to-late August.

The weather began to get colder, and Li Yi lived and ate in the army for more than half a month.

After finally finishing the work at hand, he planned to go home and have a good rest for a day.

After all, the body is the capital of revolution. Even if your young body can still bear it, necessary relaxation and rest are still essential.

Besides, there is no rush to reorganize the imperial guards, so it is a good time to go home and rest while considering the follow-up matters.

"By the way, how's the situation at your house going?"

On the way back, Li Yi rode his horse and turned to look at Ma Renyu beside him.

Previously, Ma Renyu did not have enough money to buy a house, so Li Yi took 600 strings of cash from his home and gave it to him. However, he had been busy recently and had no time to take care of this matter.

Ma Renyu grinned and said, "The house has been renovated. We plan to move in on an auspicious day in a few days. I'll invite everyone to the housewarming party."

This guy seemed a little proud. It seemed that he felt a sense of accomplishment to be able to settle down in Tokyo.

Li Yi suddenly spoke with emotion: "You and I both hold high positions in the Imperial Guard now. Bringing our families to settle in Tokyo will be good for our future."

Ma Renyu was a little confused about his words, and couldn't figure out how this matter was related to his future.

Seeing Ma Renyu's confusion, Li Yi pondered and said, "People always need a sense of belonging. You and I regard Tokyo as our home, living together with our family and relatives. Naturally, we want to contribute to this peace."

"If you and I are not confident enough to bring our families here, how can Your Majesty trust our loyalty?"

Having said that, Ma Renyu was no fool and immediately understood what was going on. He couldn't help but ask, "Brother Yi, do you mean that our relatives are equivalent to hostages?"

"Don't say such harsh words. What hostages are there?"

Li Yi shook his head and said, "As the saying goes, those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes. Having concerns will make you more steady and thoughtful. It's better to be more reliable than those scoundrels who will resort to violence at the slightest disagreement, right?"

"Now I understand why people say you should start a family before building a career."

"For those in power, a person without any ties is more likely to harbor desperate thoughts."

"Just like me, although I haven't married or had children, I was able to go back and bring my uncle's family to Tokyo. Doesn't that make me seem like a man of affection and righteousness?"

"These things may not seem significant on a normal day, but at critical moments they become the focus of others' considerations."

Speaking of this, Li Yi couldn't help but think of the incident when Liu Chengyou, the Emperor Yin of the Later Han Dynasty, killed Guo Wei and Chai Rong's entire family.

Putting aside the question of whether Guo Wei had any intention of rebellion, just looking at the stupid move made by Liu Chengyou, it directly forced both sides into a dead end. The demise of the Later Han Dynasty was indeed well deserved.

However, this incident also laid a hidden danger for the Later Zhou Dynasty. Guo Wei had no biological son to inherit the throne, so he could only pass it to his trusted adopted son Chai Rong.

Chai Rong's three sons were also killed by Liu Chengyou, and eventually his seven-year-old youngest son Chai Zongxun succeeded to the throne, leaving Chai Rong with an orphan and a widowed mother who were bullied.

This then triggered a series of chain reactions, resulting in the "cowardice" that was criticized by later generations.

Even if Liu Chengyou had not killed Guo Wei and Chai Rong's entire family, history might not have developed in a good direction.

But for the parties involved, it is still a regret after all.

Li Yi sighed, "Being too cruel is not good, and being too kind is not good either. There must be a balance between the two."

After a pause, he shook his head again and said, "It's easier said than done..."

"You and I are still too young, there is still so much to see and learn!"

As he spoke, Li Yi looked into the distance.

Everyone wants to be a superior person, but when they really reach a certain position, they find that they are not as free as they imagined. Instead, they are walking on thin ice and have to think carefully about every word and action.

...and so on until I got home.

Guo came out hurriedly.

Having not seen Li Yi for more than half a month, Guo couldn't help but ask about his well-being as soon as they met.

Following Guo out to greet them was his uncle's family. Seven or eight people, young and old, all surrounded Li Yi.

Add to that the servants busying around, it is no exaggeration to say that they are surrounded by people.

No wonder people say it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.

Li Yi felt that if he could return to the state of "one person eats and the whole family is not hungry" a few months ago.

I'm afraid no one will be able to adapt to it.

However, if he wants to maintain this kind of wealthy life for a long time, he needs to work harder to climb up.

"How are things going in the military?"

After everyone had left, Guo finally found a chance to be alone with Li Yi. With hope in her eyes, she asked, "Now that you're back, you're going to rest at home for a few days, right?"

Li Yi shook his head and said, "We've just started the process of reorganizing the Imperial Guards, and we're still busy. I came back today just to take a break for the night."

Hearing this, Guo's mood became a little depressed, and she muttered, "When I was at the breakfast shop, I was eagerly looking forward to Erlang's return, and now he has to do this..."

In the past two years, she ran the breakfast shop alone. Although it was hard and tiring, she had hope in life.

What makes Guo happiest is that every month when Li Yi returns to the breakfast shop, the person he cares about can be in front of him. Even if the time is short, it is very satisfying.

However, during the months when Li Yi went to war, Guo felt that life had lost its fun and she kept praying in her heart that Li Yi would return safely.

Even if it means shortening my life, I am willing to die for him.

In the end, Li Yi came back alive and won a great fortune.

Guo was naturally grateful and went to the temple to fulfill her wish sincerely. She was frugal on weekdays, but she also donated several strings of money for incense.

Since Buddha and God bless her Yi Ge'er, she thinks it's okay to give up some money. If she is not short of money, donating a few hundred or a thousand strings of cash would be worth it.

However, what Guo did not expect was that she originally thought that her Erlang had become rich, and their relationship would be a natural progression. They would spend the next few days together, and they would be so happy and blessed.

However, in reality, the time they spend together now is not more than when they were in the breakfast shop.

Erlang had just returned from the expedition and had to go back to his hometown in Xiajin to pick up his uncle and his family, which took him more than ten days.

After settling his uncle's family, he had to start reorganizing the imperial guards. Erlang was clearly in Tokyo, but he had not been home for more than half a month and was nowhere to be seen.

I finally came back today, but was told that I could only stay for one night and had to go back to the army tomorrow to get busy.

I guess it will be a long time before I can see you again.

Guo was just a woman, and the so-called national affairs did not really matter to her.

She only knew that her husband had to work for the emperor and could not return home. He was busier than the merchants in the market all day long.

Guo couldn't help but complain about the emperor in her heart...

At the same time, Li Yi also noticed Guo's mood changes, and after a little thought he understood what was going on.

He took her hand, placed it in his palm and gently stroked it, comforting her: "Don't worry, Yulan, after I finish the things at hand, I will definitely take a few days off and spend time with you. Let's go out to enjoy the mountains and rivers, and appreciate the flowers and scenery."

Guo rolled her eyes at him and said in a delicate voice, "By the time Erlang finishes his work, I'm afraid it will have snowed several times. How will there be any flowers to enjoy?"

"It's nice to enjoy the snowy scenery." Li Yi chuckled. "Oh, it's inconvenient to take a shower in the army. I almost stink."

"Come on, Yulan, go to the bathroom and help me..."

Hearing this, Guo Shi understood what Li Yi was planning and her face immediately turned red.

Here is joy.

It is not something that can be told to outsiders.

……

After the comfort.

Li Yi suddenly felt refreshed, put on his clothes, and went straight to the study.

The personnel roster of the Imperial Guards has been sorted out, and the next step is to formally eliminate the old and weak and select the elite, which is bound to be a laborious and time-consuming task.

Before that, Li Yi planned to write a plan, submit it to the Privy Council for review, and then ask the emperor for approval.

Regarding the Palace Army, the main focus is on expansion.

The Palace Front Army was changed to the Palace Front Division. In addition to the original guards, new cavalry and infantry main forces were to be formed.

As for the Imperial Guard Division, the main focus was on weakening it. The troops under its jurisdiction were split and reorganized, with some being merged and the others being transferred to the Palace Front Division.

For example, the Iron Cavalry Army now belongs to the Imperial Guard Department, and is considered to be the cavalry unit in the Imperial Guard whose combat effectiveness is second only to the Longjie Army.

It must be assigned to the Palace Front Division and serve as the main cavalry force after expansion.

Of course, these are preliminary plans, and the actual situation still needs to be adjusted and optimized during implementation.

(End of this chapter)