Chapter 430 Intervene

Chapter 430 Intervene

Chapter 430 Intervene
"The 2,641 members of the Left Guard Vanguard Battalion have all arrived."

"All nine hundred and twelve members of the Strong Crossbow Battalion have arrived."

"From the base camp..."

"The general in the palace, Miao Yuan, is in charge..."

"Led by General Chen Jing..."

"Right Guard..."

"The Cavalry's Special Forces Commander..."

"Youzhou Cavalry Commander..."

"The commander of the cavalry..."

A large army gathered at Zhang Fang’s former camp outside Ximing Gate in Luoyang.

Shao Xun stood on the high platform, waited quietly for a while, and said, "Call the names according to the list."

The order was given quickly.

In the wind and snow, the soldiers were a little noisy.

Some people subconsciously raised their hands to block the snowflakes blowing onto their faces.

Some put their spears at their feet and began to rub their hands and complain.

The officers were dismayed and shouted loudly. It took a lot of effort to suppress the commotion.

Shao Xun watched silently.

These soldiers are really bad.

He remembered that during the An-Shi Rebellion, one day An Lushan suddenly had an idea and went to Tian Chengsi's army to check on the camp late at night.

At the command, the soldiers who had fallen asleep quickly stood up, put on their armor and weapons, and stood in the snow for a long time without moving or making any noise. The roll call was carried out, and no one was missing.

This is an army, and this is the key reason why Fatty An was able to capture Luoyang and Chang'an.

The gap between soldiers is sometimes much bigger than the gap between humans and dogs, and this is something that many people subconsciously ignore.

"It seems that it's time to give up the position of Northern Army Lieutenant." Liu Mo looked for a long time and finally just smiled bitterly.

The commander of the Imperial Guards changed every few days, and he had only been in office for a few days. Logically, it was not his responsibility, but looking at the situation in front of him, he knew that he could not reorganize the Imperial Guards.

More than half of them are newly arrived refugees, and there is an extremely severe shortage of qualified lower-level officers. Family members know their own business, and he really has no way to adjust it. It is better for him to step down and let others take over.

"The position of Lieutenant Commander of the Northern Army has the important task of commanding the three armies. We need an important official to take the position. Mr. Liu, please do not refuse." Shao Xun said.

Liu Mo sighed, cupped his hands, and said nothing.

He had led the battle when the Huns invaded last year, but the result was disastrous. Now, seeing the lax discipline of the imperial guards, he was even more disappointed and simply quit.

Shao Xun was also somewhat disappointed with these people.

He sent more than ten officers to the Left Guard to lead the troops, some of whom died in the battle, while others are still alive. Now it seems that the effect is not very good.

The general environment can really influence people.

Or maybe there were too few people sent, with only a chief officer but no team. A good cook cannot cook without rice. Enforcing military discipline is not something that can be done with just one order from the chief officer. It ultimately requires people to carry it out.

If the people are not good enough, the plan cannot be executed or will go astray.

Wang Yan listened to the conversation between the two and nodded secretly.

Quanzhong was still clear-headed and knew what he could and could not do.

If he gets his hands on the position of the Northern Army Commander, Chang'an, Jianye and Jingzhou will immediately look at him with concern and the situation will develop in an uncontrollable direction.

Moreover, the Northern Army Lieutenant General was considered a court official and had to attend court meetings.

With his cautious appearance, would he dare to attend the court meeting without controlling the palace?

Unfortunately, he was unable to replace the guards and palace maids around the emperor. This was something that the princes of the clan could do, and Wang Yan could do it reluctantly, but Shao Xun could not do it.

Roll call was still being made, and after each roll call someone would report the number and compare it with the roster.

Shao Xun continued, "The Imperial Guards still need to be properly disciplined. We don't need to be able to defeat the bandits in battle, but at least we need to be able to rely on the camps and cities to defend. After more than a year of discipline, it will be enough. Today, we will call the roll. Anyone who fails to show up after three calls will be beheaded without any reason."

The officers of the Imperial Guards had complicated expressions when they heard this.

The officers and soldiers who had followed Shao Xun for a long time were excited. They had wanted to do this for a long time, but every time they tried to do this in the past, there was resistance from top to bottom, and even riots occurred.

The old imperial guards officers, refugee leaders, and beggars who were unfamiliar with Shao Xun looked embarrassed. It was not that they did not want to, but that it was difficult to do so.

Fortunately, today we have important officials of the court, the Silver Spear Army, and the Volunteer Army, so strictly enforcing military law is not a problem.

Shao Xun didn't care what they thought.

To be honest, he didn't think highly of this imperial army, nor did he want such a force, and he didn't even want to think about annexing it. He was just helping Liu Mo and others to clean up the army and improve its combat effectiveness.

The roll call was completed quickly off the field.

The officers began to call out the names of those who had not arrived. Those who did not show up after three calls were recorded, and then they took the soldiers to arrest them.

There was a sudden commotion in the field.

"Kill!" The soldiers of the Silver Spear Army hit the ground with their spears and roared in unison.

The commotion soon died down.

Shao Xun retracted his gaze, walked a few steps outside with Wang Yan, and whispered: "I met the emperor yesterday, and there should be no major events in the next few months. However, things have changed, and the emperor may be ready to make a move. This world can't stand chaos."

"It's okay." Wang Yan said, "After the defeat at Xin'an, no one will accompany the emperor to mess around again."

"Can we punish some of the people who gave advice to the emperor?" Shao Xun asked.

"It's better not to." Wang Yan looked at Shao Xun with a somewhat scrutinizing look, and heard him say: "It's not a big deal for you to rectify the imperial guards. Luoyang is already like this anyway, and many people are probably begging you to rectify it. But the matter of punishing the ministers is a big hidden danger even if the King of Donghai does it, so you should not do it."

Shao Xun nodded but didn't force it.

Now there are some court officials who hope that he will take full charge of government affairs, but the extent of their support, the strength of their desire, and the extent of their overall influence still need further observation and testing.

"Then dismiss them from office." Shao Xun said, "Make up a crime and send them away."

Wang Yan frowned, obviously not wanting to do such a thing, but he finally nodded.

"The position of Si Tu is vacant. Shang Shu Ling Liu Gong (Liu Tun) has worked hard and made great contributions. Perhaps he can be appointed Si Tu?" Shao Xun suggested again.

"Who will be the Shangshu Ling?"

"Yu Min is fine."

"After Yu Ziju left, who will take over the position of Shizhong?"

"Lu Yuzhou is calm, resolute, dignified, strong, and quick-witted. He can be a minister."

"Who is in charge of Yuzhou?"

"Yang Jiong's learning is profound and he has a refined style. He can govern Yuzhou." "That's all?"

"that is all."

Wang Yan nodded slightly.

After Shao Xun turned around, he stared at him for a long time.

This should be the first time, right?

This was the first time that they placed their own people in key positions in the court.

A Shangshu Ling and a Shizhong, a little eye-catching, but also maintaining a sense of propriety.

Wang Yan felt that his value was slowly decreasing. In a few years, he might not even be able to keep his status as a political ally and would be in a very obvious state of dependence.

But it seemed natural for Shao Xun to do this, and it would be incredible if he didn't do it.

After taking over the three cities of Heyang, his influence on the Luoyang court was greatly enhanced, and he no longer simply avoided the issue.

Yu Min and Lu Zhi were just the beginning. Ultimately, he probably wanted to turn all the major court officials into his own people.

From cooperation to dependence, oh! Wang Yan felt a little disappointed.

"Spare my life!"

"I won't dare to do it again."

"After entering the camp, no one told me that the imperial guards were so strict."

"Whoever kills me will die a miserable death!"

The soldiers who were absent from the roll call were brought in one after another, kneeling on the ground and crying for their parents.

"Shut up. The military rules and regulations require that the drums be beaten to gather the troops. Anyone who fails to respond after three calls will be executed without mercy. There is nothing more to say. Execute him!"

After receiving the order, the executioners cut off the heads of the soldiers who violated military discipline without any further ado, and then sent them to the high platform for inspection by Liu Mo, a lieutenant of the Northern Army.

Liu Mo didn't even look at it. He waved his hand and said, "Hang your head at the gate to serve as a warning to others."

Neither Shao nor Wang said anything.

Shao Xun in particular had killed so many people that his heart had become hardened. For him, beheading more than 200 people in an instant seemed as easy as eating and drinking.

"If the Imperial Guards have any outstanding rewards, we will pay them some of the money as appropriate," he said.

Wang Yan had no objection.

In fact, there is no need to distribute much, just one or two pieces of cloth per person will be enough, and its main purpose is to stabilize the morale of the troops.

"Are there people from Jianye and Chang'an in the court?" Shao Xun asked again.

Wang Yan looked at him and smiled without saying anything.

Shao Xun understood.

Just as Wang Yan cooperated with him, there must be officials in the court who cooperated with the governors of foreign vassal states, or even cooperated with him and Sima Rui and others. This is all normal.

If you don't clean up the court, this will inevitably be the result.

But cleansing the imperial court was something he could not do, and he must not do it. He could only poach people little by little and buy time for space.

Wang Yan's cousin Wang Dao was in Jianye. Was there no political deal between them? How could it be possible!

It can even be said that most of the resources of the Wang family of Langya were invested in Sima Rui's side. After all, several hundred members of the Wang family moved there.

Wang Yan was forced to cooperate with him simply because he was so close.

Both of them got what they needed, so there is no question of who owed whom.

However, as the situation develops, the cooperating party becomes increasingly powerful, while the other party has fewer and fewer bargaining chips, and this relationship will sooner or later change.

Shao Xun did not intend to conceal this change.

He is a warrior and disdains to do such shady things. Everything is laid out on the table. Wang Yan should have sensed it today.

"There is one more thing." Shao Xun turned around, looked at Wang Yan, and said, "Has the matter of Xuzhou been settled?"

"Xun Taizhang requested to be the governor of Xuzhou, and the court agreed, and he was also in charge of supervising all military affairs in Xuzhou." Wang Yan said.

"Well, let's leave it at that." Shao Xun said.

Because of his opposition, Zu Ti failed to become the governor of Xuzhou, so he went to Jianye and served as a military advisor in Sima Rui's court.

For a whole year, the two chief officials in Xuzhou remained vacant.

It’s fine to have a governor, because Xuzhou doesn’t have many soldiers anymore, but the governor cannot be absent forever.

Xun Zu's decision to leave the Luoyang court and go to Xuzhou should be his own wish.

He was not anyone's man and was considered neutral, which was acceptable to both Shao Xun and Sima Rui. The court obviously considered it carefully before appointing him as the governor of Xuzhou.

"All the affairs of the world are settled here." Shao Xun said, "As long as the Xiongnu are not destroyed, the court should keep calm and avoid any incidents that would make the relatives sad and the enemies happy. In the past few years, the situation in Henan has been improving step by step. After the three cities of Heyang are built, we can even counterattack Henei and threaten Bingzhou. All the officials in the court are talented people of the time. Their families and their resources are all in Henan. They should know what is important and what is not."

Wang Yan couldn't help but glance at Shao Xun.

This man is only 26 years old after the Chinese New Year, but he speaks with such a matter-of-fact attitude.

To put it nicely, this is called being confident and looking down on others.

To put it bluntly, this is called suddenly taking power and becoming carried away by success.

Wang Yan recalled it carefully again.

It seems that this person did not have the deep-seated fear of family background and the emperor that people of his time had from beginning to end. This is actually incredible.

Even if someone like Cao Mengde manipulated the emperor in his hands, he still had some awe of the imperial power deep in his heart.

This person has none of that and doesn't look like a native Jin person at all.

The soldiers he led have become more and more fierce and domineering in recent years.

Wang Yan was very clear that the military's ethos was closely related to the commander's personal character and style of command.

What kind of person the commander is will determine how he leads his troops.

By looking at the big picture from the small, we can understand the person Shao Xun is.

Wang Yan's face remained expressionless, but his heart was in turmoil and his thoughts had drifted far away.

It seems that the rebelliousness and arrogance he displayed in the past decade were not all acted out, he might very well be such a person.

God-given, Luoshui prophecy, Taibai star spirit...

Wang Yan sighed secretly, he was only twenty-five or twenty-six years old.

Sometimes, age is indeed a huge advantage.

(End of this chapter)