Chapter 104: General in the Palace

Chapter 104: General in the Palace
The hunt lasted for several days.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Shao Xun returned to Luoyang.

The first thing he did was to look for Mi Huang, but he was pulled directly to the drinking table.

Can you still get down to business?

Wang Yan's mansion was elegant and wealthy, but Shao Xun had no interest in looking at it.

The dancer from Wang Yan's family was so graceful and charming that Shao Xun had no intention of flirting with her.

The dishes at Wang Yan’s house were extremely delicious. Well, I ate a lot.

Today’s protagonist is Wang Cheng, Wang Yan’s favorite younger brother.

This banquet was held to celebrate Wang Cheng's new job: Chief Clerk of the Sikong Shogunate.

Yes, Wang Cheng, the former Zhonglang of Ye Prefecture, defected to Yue Prefecture and was immediately promoted to the position of Chief Clerk, holding a high position and great power.

When Shao Xun learned the news, he glanced at Mi Huang, and Mi Huang nodded, indicating that this was true - of course it was true, how could such a thing be a joke?
Also present today is a man named Hua Tan.

Shao Xun had an impression of him. He was a scholar from Yangzhou who entered the officialdom and served as a military advisor in the shogunate. It was heard that he fled back to the East China Sea with the prime minister.

This time, he came to Luoyang in a hurry before even celebrating the New Year, which showed that something important happened - and it was probably not a good thing for Shao Xun.

Mi Huang deliberately sat next to Shao Xun and whispered, "Sikong intends to attack Wang Yong of Hejian and sent people to make preparations in advance."

"How do you prepare?"

"The first thing is to rebuild the Imperial Guards." Mi Huang said, "First, build up the left and right guards, and maybe use the Kingdom Army as a foundation. If you have any unfinished business, hurry up and do it."

Damn! I should have accepted the position of General of Material Officers earlier. The Emperor is really good to me.

"Sikong doesn't want the Wang Guojun anymore?" Shao Xun asked.

"Liu Qia recruited thousands of people in Donghai, Lanling, Xia Pi and other places. They are the Wang Guo Army," said Mi Huang.

"Then Lieutenant, you..." Shao Xun felt something was wrong.

Am I really going to become a general of the imperial guards?
"Sikong is in Donghai, and Liu Qia is also in Donghai." Mi Huang only said this sentence, but the meaning was very clear. Now it was Liu Qia who followed Sikong every day, not him, Mi Huang.

Sikong might think that it was a great achievement for them to save Luoyang, but Liu Qia also made a contribution by fleeing with him.

It is said that the greatest merit is to save the emperor, and Liu Qia has that idea.

"Is the lieutenant going to be the General of the Left Guard or the General of the Right Guard?" Shao Xun asked.

He knew that most of his kingdom's central army generals were doomed.

Mi Huang shook his head and said, "Similar to Zhang Fang."

What is this? Shao Xun was somewhat speechless. Zhang Fang was the governor of Fengyi and the general of the right rank. Among them, I was the governor of the fifth rank and the general of the third rank. Could it be that Mi Huang was also...

"Hongnong prefect (fifth rank), Xizhonglangjiang (fourth rank)." Mi Huang added: "When Zhang Fang was on his way to attack Luoyang, Hongnong prefect abandoned his post and fled, leaving the post vacant, so he gave it to me. Sikong wanted me to tidy up Hongnong County and prepare for the Western Expedition."

Shao Xun understood.

"You may be appointed as the General of the Palace." Mi Huang added, "You will be in charge of the Imperial Guards. Sikong still likes you very much."

When the central army in Luoyang was fully organized (more than 100,000 infantry and cavalry), the left and right generals of the guards each had three Simas, five supervisors and a general in the palace (the number of positions varied).

Among them, the elite heavy-armored infantry, archers, and crossbowmen were commanded by the three Sima, the cavalry was commanded by the five Du, and the remaining miscellaneous light infantry were commanded by the generals in the palace. At that time, the number of light infantry commanded by each general in the palace would not be less than 5,000, or even more.

This is a sixth-rank official position, which is quite good.

Of course, Sima Yue didn’t have anyone else available.

Mi Huang was promoted from a sixth-rank lieutenant to a fourth-rank General of the Western Army.

He rose from an eighth-rank Lieutenant Sima of the East China Sea to a sixth-rank General of the Palace.

So, do people like He Lun and Wang Bing have a chance to jump from the sixth-rank generals of the upper and lower armies of the kingdom to generals of the left and right guards (fourth rank)?

The possibility is still very high.

"Who is the commander of the Northern Army?" Shao Xun asked this most crucial question.

"Si Tu Wang Rong served as the commander of the Central Army and concurrently commanded the Northern Army."

The Zhonglingjun was once the highest commander of the Imperial Guards, but now it has become an honorary position. The Zhonghou of the Northern Army is the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guards - before the Northern Expedition last year, Gou Xi served as the Zhonghou of the Northern Army.

"I never thought that after all this trouble, I would end up becoming a general of the imperial guards." Shao Xun asked the heaven speechlessly.

Yang Xianrong must be smiling.

He had a hunch that this new imperial army might not be solely owned by Sima Yue. He might have the largest share, but it was hard to say whether he had absolute control. At least, the legal representative of the imperial army was Wang Rong, wasn't he?
This is similar to Sima Yue's current political status.

He is the leader of various forces, and the projects he led to invest in have all lost all his money...

"As an eighteen-year-old general, who can you go to for justice?" Mi Huang laughed and said, "You are still in the army. If I let you go and make you a county magistrate, it would be shocking."

"I feel like Sikong never thought of letting me go." Shao Xun sighed.

Although the rank of the prefect is low, the principle of "I have the final say on my own territory" is actually very valuable.

In the first month of last year, in order to appease Zhang Fang and make him withdraw from Luoyang, the imperial court gave him two positions, namely, Right General and Prefect of Fengyi. Which one do you think Zhang Fang likes?

The rank of Right General was high, but it was just a salary. What could he actually do? Moreover, the court would not pay Zhang Fang a salary at all. All officials in Luoyang could not receive a full salary. Shao Xun had been a lieutenant Sima for so long, and he didn't know where to go to receive his salary.

This shabby house of Dajin is really on the verge of collapse, and they even owe wages!
"There's some progress on Yu Chen's side." Mi Huang said in a low voice, "This time, Wang Yifu really saved his face. He agreed to Yu Chen being the governor of Ji County."

Shao Xun looked at Mi Huang again.

Sure enough, he did not have ineffective social interaction!

I used to think he was fooled by Wang Yan, but now it seems that the two sides have contacts with each other, which is amazing. He invested in me, showed me kindness, and wove another network of relationships. Sure enough, those who can still survive to this day are not simple.

In history, he might just have lacked a bit of luck.

"Thank you, Lieutenant." Shao Xun bowed.

"Yu Zimei is mature and steady, and I admire him." Mi Huang said, and then looked at Shao Xun and said, "However, considering your friendship with Yu Yuangui, I'm afraid it's not that bad. Why would you speak for his father?"

Shao Xun hesitated.

"Don't you want to be his son-in-law?" Mi Huang said shockingly, "But his daughter is still young, right? Hey, young man, why don't you just be my son-in-law. My daughter has a good temper and a kind heart. She can serve her parents-in-law and take care of the housework. It's just... she's a little fat."

"This..." Shao Xun was speechless.

A little bit fatter? The kind that makes you die from sitting? Never mind.

The music started and the dancers began to dance again.

Shao Xun glanced at the host seat. Wang Yan, Wang Rong, Wang Dun and Wang Cheng were all there, chatting and laughing with the guests.

He was not interested and asked instead, "It's probably not easy for the lieutenant to go to Hongnong, right?"

"Indeed." Mi Huang sighed.

Hongnong was originally a nice place, with outstanding people and beautiful scenery. It was located on a major road, had prosperous business and travel, and had no shortage of money.

But the problem was that every time Zhang Fang came, he would go through Hongnong, and all the counties were badly affected.

Sima Yue appointed Mi Huang as the governor of Hongnong not simply as a reward, but also for another task.

For example, collecting food, equipment, draft animals, recruiting teachers, etc. In short, it is to make early logistical preparations for the Western Expedition. After all, food and grass must be prepared before troops move.

"Those who are still breathing in that place are probably already in the fortress, right?" Shao Xun asked again.

"I wonder how many of them can still breathe." Mi Huang said with a wry smile.

Shao Xun rolled his eyes and said, "Why not, before the Western Expedition begins, I will accompany the lieutenant to Hongnong. In the mountains and forests, there are either bandit camps or forts. It would be best to take the soldiers with us and clean them up."

"I'm afraid there will be damage?" Mi Huang hesitated.

He knew that the Kingdom Army was not yet able to fight a tough battle. The forts were actually not easy to capture. Some of them were even located in dangerous places and were not so easy to take down.

"Soldiers must be trained." Shao Xun said solemnly, "Training through war is also a way. I don't believe that the bandits' strongholds are that strong. If we take down a few of them, the others will be afraid. Then the lieutenant will take office, and everything will be peaceful. They will even offer us money and food."

"Not bad." Mi Huang finally nodded.

Suddenly, he seemed to have thought of something and asked, "Henan Yin Zhou Zuxuan mentioned something. Have you taken back Pan Garden in the past few days?"

Zhou Fu was originally the Chief Justice, and recently became the Governor of Henan, a position he had held not long ago.

"That was originally our land." Shao Xun said.

"That's the court's land..." Mi Huang said helplessly, "It was just lent to us before. No one would say anything even if you occupied Jingu Garden. Pan Garden is indeed the court's land."

"Then I'll go to occupy the Golden Valley Garden."

“You…” Mi Huang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and said, “Never mind. There are many nobles who have seized the good farmland around Luoyang, and they don’t need you. As for Zhou Fu, don’t pay attention to him. He is just a new official who wants to do something.”

"They have no soldiers, yet they still dare to occupy land in Luoyang. What are these people thinking?" Shao Xun was somewhat impressed.

These people are not in their right minds. They still think that the Jin Dynasty was in its heyday.

"Lieutenant, I occupied the land to relieve the worries of the court." Shao Xun said, "Liu Yuan attacked Bingzhou, and the people fled south to avoid the disaster. If they are not controlled, they will sooner or later become bandits, build their own camps and live together, and plunder everywhere. What will happen then?"

Liu Yuan had already officially established the country, and more and more people from the Hu and Jin regions came to submit to him.

His reasons for establishing a country were very "sufficient": "I am the nephew of the Han family, and we are brothers. After the elder brother dies, the younger brother will take over. Isn't that good?"

So the country was named "Han".

Everyone asked him to take the title of emperor.

Liu Yuan said modestly: "Now the four directions are not settled, and I can follow Emperor Gaozu and be called the King of Han."

He then ascended the throne of Han, issued a general amnesty, established the reign title "Yuan Xi", and posthumously honored Duke Anle Liu Chan as Emperor Xiaohuai.

He also made his wife Huyan (second wife) the queen. He appointed Youxian Wang Xuan as prime minister, Cui You as imperial censor, Zuoyulu Wang Hong as grand marshal, and Fan Long as grand herald…

Liu Yuan was not the only one who founded a country and ruled the country.

Before him, Li Xiong proclaimed himself "King of Chengdu", issued a general amnesty, and established the reign title "Jianxing".

He also abolished the Jin law and made seven articles of law. He appointed his uncle Xiang as the Grand Tutor, his brother Shi as the Grand Protector, Li Li as the Grand Commandant, Li Yun as the Minister of Works, Li Huang as the Minister of Works, and Li Guo as the Grand Prime Minister...

Pure Li family class.

Although this regime had the support of many scholars in Shu, it did not yet have a country name and looked a bit like a makeshift team.

In short, things seemed to be going badly for the Jin Dynasty.

If there is one, there will be two, and there will be three. Encouraged by Liu Yuan and Li Xiong, one day someone might jump out and want to establish a country and rule a region.

"Sometimes, I always feel that you and Wang Yifu are evenly matched and should get together." Hearing Shao Xun's shameless words, Mi Huang couldn't help laughing: "Why don't you be his son-in-law?"

"Why do everyone want to propose marriage for me now?" Shao Xun said helplessly.

"Don't you really know your current fame and status?" Mi Huang shook his head and said, "An eighteen-year-old general in the palace can be picky. I don't like anyone else in Wang Yifu's family, but his daughter Wang Huifeng is not bad. Although she is a widow, marrying her home will bring prosperity to three generations, and there will definitely be no fire in the backyard."

Shao Xun was too lazy to talk. I was only interested in the queen.

(End of this chapter)