Whale Falls and Becomes a God

Chapter 78 Three Provinces and Six Departments
There is no need to say much about those famous ministers and generals. As history has proven, they definitely have the qualifications and talent to be the Shangshu of one of the six ministries!
Lady Xuanhua, the wife of the Minister of Personnel, was originally a daughter of the Southern Chen clan. She had served in three dynasties and was well versed in the Ministry of Personnel and the intricacies of its officials.

Mrs. Ronghua, the wife of the Minister of War, came from the prominent Cai family. She was a man of both civil and military talents, and was extremely proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. She also loved military affairs and was quite knowledgeable about military strategies.

Minister of Justice Liu Qianqing was chosen as the official due to the court's full support for the King Kong Martial Arts School, which resulted in significant casualties. However, Liu Qianqing was intelligent, courageous, and sharp-minded, and due to his background, he was decisive and fierce, making him a perfect candidate.

The Minister of Revenue, Yu Nanning, was originally the Chief Justice of the Forbidden Palace. He had been doing his job conscientiously for many years and had never made any mistakes. His talent had been recognized long ago, and that was enough!
The Minister of Personnel Zhang Lianyun, who comes from the prominent Zhang family, is an elder in the palace. He is well versed in etiquette and has the help of star spirits. He is even more capable than the famous minister Yao Silian!

As for the Minister of Works, Yang Qingrui, as one can tell from Feng Hao, prefers a stable and homely life, and is also fond of tricks and cunning schemes. This candidate was carefully considered by Empress Xiao and Xiao Ying, and they didn't think there was anyone more suitable than her!

As for the important officials of the three provinces, they have not yet been specifically determined. The main reason is that there are no suitable candidates and the reserve of important officials is insufficient.

Among the three ministries, the Secretariat was responsible for drafting imperial edicts, the Ministry of Palace Affairs was responsible for reviewing and approving them, and the Ministry of State Affairs was responsible for the specific implementation. There was a division of labor and checks and balances!
Currently, the three leaders are Xu Sheng, Le Han and Lan Yi, who serve as Shangshu Ling, Nanyi Guan and Zhongshu Ling (Neishi Ling), respectively, and are in charge of the Shangshu Province, the Menxia Province and the Zhongshu Province (also known as the Neishi Province), and are assisted by the star soul fusion practitioners and some important officials.

In fact, apart from the Secretariat, which represented Empress Xiao's will, Aunt Lan was temporarily in charge and rarely took real charge of anything.

All matters concerning the three ministries were basically handled by Xu Sheng and Le Han, with the assistance of other ministers. Le Han was obviously not the best candidate for the position of Nan Yan Guan, while Xu Sheng was similar to the prime minister, but without the position of phase.

……

Forbidden Palace, Imperial Study.

After the court meeting, Empress Xiao, Xiao Ying, Xu Sheng, Le Han and other top officials including the six ministers gathered together to discuss the expedition.

"Although we have a very high chance of success in this initiative, it is also for the purpose of training the army. However, the world is full of hidden talents, and people's hearts are treacherous and difficult to discern. Prince Jingwu must be cautious in all matters and must not underestimate the enemy!"

Although Empress Xiao was bold in her decision and seemed to trust Xiao Ying immensely, when everyone took their seats, Empress Xiao was quite worried and immediately gave Xiao Ying a warning.

Xiao Ying felt a warm feeling in his heart, and he bowed earnestly, saying, "Don't worry, Your Majesty! I am no longer the same person I was before, and I am safe. With the help of the generals, I will definitely live up to your expectations!"

"Your Highness! According to intelligence, the Shangliang Army is simply the fastest in terms of movement and speed. The Jianghuai Army and Fengming Army are not sitting still either; they've already been moving, but are farther away and marching more slowly!"

At this moment, Xu Sheng suddenly bowed and reminded, paused, thought for a moment and continued:
"Based on the movements of all parties, although it is difficult to confirm, we can speculate that the Jianghuai Army's marching route is heading south, while the Fengming Army's is heading east."

After saying this, Xu Sheng concluded, "So, if the war drags on for too long, our army will most likely face a siege from the three anti-king coalition forces, not just the Shangliang army!"

This piece of information seemed to be even more secret and important, but it was just obtained last night and was not mentioned in the court meeting before. The main reason was that they were afraid that facing the three rebel kings at the same time would cause panic and unrest among the civil and military officials, and even the people.

More importantly, this information was not confirmed, and it would take several days for the Jianghuai Army and the Fengming Army to arrive. There was no exact route, and it was not confirmed that it was targeting Jiangdu, so there was naturally no need to announce it in advance.

"Indeed! It might not be difficult for our army to fight one side alone, with more victories than defeats. However, facing three armies at the same time would be dangerous, and we might lose more than we win!"

Le Han nodded in agreement and then bowed to Empress Xiao for instructions, "I beg you to follow me into battle!"

Although Xiao Ying was nominally in charge of the army before, Le Han had always been the highest commander of the army.

However, Le Han was not on the list of those going to the war this time, but stayed in Jiangdu, with the main responsibility of guarding the Forbidden Palace. After all, she was the commander-in-chief of the Queen's guards, and it was most appropriate for her to stay and cooperate with Queen Xiao!
"..." Empress Xiao frowned and thought silently. This was not something that could be easily changed. Who could replace Le Han and become a better candidate to stay behind?

"Everyone is worrying too much! Although I cannot absolutely guarantee this, I recently had a very pleasant conversation with the Jianghuai Governor (Du Fuwei). I suspect that the Jianghuai and Fengming armies are more likely to annihilate and devour the Shangliang army and its territory. Our army and Jiangdu are only secondary targets!"

Xiao Ying shook his head slightly, and confidently explained and reassured him, adding:

"Among them, the Fengming Army might attack us, but the Jianghuai Army will almost certainly not!"

"Does Prince Jingwu trust the thief Du so much? Are you two such good friends? Bandits should not be trusted easily!" Empress Xiao looked at Xiao Ying with a strange expression, some surprise and resentment, and asked.

Fortunately, the relationship between the siblings is special. If it were any other emperor, he would probably suspect that Xiao Ying and the bandit leader were colluding with each other!

Xiao Ying replied without any reservation: "We can't say we are friends, I just trust his character and personality!"

Empress Xiao nodded, no longer questioning or admonishing. She looked at everyone and said, "Alright! As long as you have the plan in mind, then, my dear ministers, please quickly agree on the specific cooperation."

Jiangdu now has an army of 700,000, and this time only 500,000 can be mobilized, which is also a very large scale and requires the joint efforts of the three provinces, six departments and the people.

The three ministries are transcendent and belong to the overall control.

Among the six ministries, military affairs originally belonged to the Ministry of War, armaments were the responsibility of the Ministry of Works, military roll call and logistics were the responsibility of the Ministry of Revenue, troop deployment was related to the Ministry of Personnel, law enforcement and military supervision were related to the Ministry of Justice, and the ceremony of appointing generals and calling out names before a campaign was the responsibility of the Ministry of Rites.

Especially since deterrence is one of the two main purposes of this war, more emphasis will be placed on ceremony.

Going into more detail, the expedition of an army of 500,000, including the conscription of logistical reserve soldiers and labor, generally requires several times the number of regular troops, that is, more than one million people.

This was also one of the main reasons why Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty led three super expeditions to bring down the glorious Sui Dynasty.

"Our army is also divided into two groups for this battle. Your Highness, would you mind deploying a few more generals to your side?"

After everything was agreed upon, Mrs. Ronghua, the Minister of War who also served as the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Route, looked at Xiao Ying and asked.

Today, the Jiangdu court is mainly composed of thirty star soul fusion practitioners.

In this battle, Le Han and Xiang Wei sisters, Ling Qing, Gu Qin, Bai Zhu and other former guard commanders stayed behind, and the other fifteen martial arts fusion practitioners were all on the battle list.

Xiao Ying was the commander-in-chief of the southern route, and he was accompanied by four generals: Dugu Feng, Yang Qingxuan, Xie Yingdeng and Hong Lingtian. The remaining eleven generals assisted Madam Ronghua in the southern route.

How can we change something that has already been discussed?

Xiao Ying shook his head without hesitation and said, "No need! The southern route relies on waterways, the route is simple, and the situation is simple. We originally planned to launch a surprise attack, and we are leading elite troops, so there is basically no risk. On the other hand, the eastern route requires more seriousness and caution, and is more complicated and dangerous!"

(End of this chapter)