The fourth year of Chongxi.
"My Lady, General Ning is here."
Ning Xihua was lying on the imperial concubine's couch as usual, but when she heard Song Yi's words, she happily rolled off the couch.
"Let him in."
Song Yi smiled and said yes, then hurried out to greet him.
As Ning Yuehang entered the room, he prepared to bow in a very proper manner. As soon as he bent down, he was helped up by someone.
"Okay, I haven't seen you for three or four years. How come Fourth Brother has become distant with me?"
Ning Yuehang smiled and raised his head, "It's a courtesy that can't be abandoned. You are the Empress now. If I don't respect my elder brother anymore, my second brother will punish me again if he finds out."
Ning Xihua carefully looked at her fourth brother whom she hadn't seen for a long time.
He was thinner and darker, and his once childish face was now more resolute and sharp. But what was rare was that after several years of experience on the battlefield, he still had the same youthful spirit as before.
She smiled and replied, "You haven't been back for so long. Although my second brother doesn't say it, he misses you very much in his heart. By the way, how long do you plan to stay in the capital this time?"
Ning Yuehang raised his eyebrows and smiled, with that familiar sly expression on his face.
"Hehe, I went back to Beijing to report on my work and to help my elder brother with his report, but he only let me stay in Beijing for three months. Empress, no, Fifth Sister, you are so kind, you will not bear to see me come and go in such a hurry that I can't even see my father and grandmother, right?"
He pursed his lips, clasped his hands in front of his chest, and begged with a pitiful look,
"So the fifth sister will definitely whisper something in the emperor's ear and let your poor fourth brother stay in the capital for at least half a year, right?"
Ning Xihua was successfully amused by him, and her heart was also warmed.
What she feared most was that as time went by, family members would become increasingly separated by status and other external things, and in the end, only respect and unfamiliarity for those in higher positions would remain, lacking the initial sincerity and warmth.
Fortunately, her fourth brother still seems to be as silly and cute as ever...no, lively and energetic.
She smiled and said deliberately, "That depends on your performance."
Ning Yuehang was suddenly delighted, knowing that she had agreed.
After talking about his own affairs, he remembered the purpose of his entry into the palace.
"Oh, Fifth Sister, Second Uncle asked me to tell you something. He is ready to hand over the war tokens."
Ning Xihua was stunned for a moment, then asked,
"Big brother and second brother also agree?"
Ning Yuehang nodded.
"This was originally the eldest brother's idea. He had already discussed it with the second brother and the second uncle. I came back this time not only to report on my duties, but also for this matter."
Ning Xihua sighed, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Ning Yuehang comforted her with a relaxed look.
"Don't think too much. This is the general trend. Regardless of whether we have the military power or not, as long as we brothers are still here, the Ning family will not fall."
He hesitated after reaching out his hand, and finally patted her head gently as he did before, smiling,
"Besides, we still have you, my fifth sister! Don't you know your own husband? So don't frown."
Ning Xihua nodded with the corner of her mouth curled, but she still felt a little unsure.
Over the years, the Ning family's greatest reliance has been the control of 300,000 soldiers.
Although she trusted Su Bi and would not do anything to the Ning family even after taking back the military power, it was unknown whether other political enemies would take this opportunity to attack them and whether the Ning family could be as stable as before.
…
In the court, Prince Ning took the initiative to petition the emperor to take back the 300,000 troops in the northern border and presented the military order.
The ministers were surprised, but also felt that it was reasonable.
In the four years since His Majesty ascended the throne, he has worked hard to govern the country and has changed the situation in which military power was divided into three parts.
The Yulin Army was still headed by Huaihua General Qin Songfeng, but the emperor replaced the left and right commanders of the Yulin Army with his trusted aides Huaichuan and Huailiu who had been following him since the Qiandi period, and added 20,000 Yulin Army troops at will, led by the two respectively.
In this way, although the Yulin Army was still led by Qin Songfeng, it was divided into three parts, and most of the real power still fell into the hands of the emperor.
In the second year after His Majesty ascended the throne, Duke Zhenguo died and his son Bai Luoqiu succeeded him. The first thing Bai Luoqiu did after taking office was to proactively request a reduction in the number of soldiers, arguing that Liuguo was too weak to need 200,000 soldiers stationed there.
The emperor naturally agreed and issued an order to directly transfer 100,000 soldiers of the Bai family from the Western Regions, leaving only the remaining 100,000 to be stationed at the border. At Bai Luoqiu's request, he also sent several military supervisors from the court to be stationed in the Western Regions to assist in the management of the army.
As a result, the Bai family's military power was immediately reduced by half, and the supervisory army sent by the court took control of some of the management power. From then on, although the 100,000 soldiers in the Western Regions were still under the command of the Zhenguogong Mansion, it was no longer the Bai family that had the final say.
The most interesting thing is that the emperor appointed several generals from the capital to lead the 100,000 soldiers who originally belonged to the Bai family directly to southern Xinjiang and joined the army of Marquis Weiyuan.
The number of soldiers in southern Xinjiang increased instead of decreasing, from 150,000 to 250,000, but nearly half of them were the emperor's men.
In the following two years, the imperial court continuously reduced the military strength in southern Xinjiang and repeatedly released old and weak soldiers to return home.
Until this year, the number of soldiers stationed in southern Xinjiang was reduced to 150,000 due to repeated grants, but 90,000 of them were still the soldiers originally sent by the emperor.
Marquis Weiyuan was originally a close confidant of the late emperor. Because Su Han had assassinated the emperor earlier and his family was married to Su Han, he was very respectful to the emperor, fearing that he would be angered.
Marquis Weiyuan saw the emperor's boiling frog operation but could not resist.
Later, although the 150,000 soldiers in southern Xinjiang were still under his command in name, in reality most of them were the emperor's men.
His Majesty has been on the throne for only four years, but he has used thunderous means to solve the problem of the previous emperor's lack of control over the scattered military power. However, His Majesty has been slow to take any action against the Ning family, which has the greatest power.
Not only that, the emperor also repeatedly sealed off the Yinning family.
First, Ning Yueqing, the eldest grandson of the Ning family, was named Marquis Guanjun because of his outstanding military exploits during his long-term stationing in the northern border.
The second was Ning Yuehang, who was awarded the rank of General Xuanwei, a fourth-rank official, for his contribution in protecting the people during a small-scale border conflict.
The third place winner, Ning Yueyan, was promoted from a seventh-rank editor in the Hanlin Academy to a fourth-rank assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice and concurrently a bachelor of imperial studies in just four years, and was only one step away from entering the inner cabinet.
Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that the emperor was probably cultivating him to be the chief aide of the cabinet in the future.
At this point, the Ning family not only produced an empress, but also a king, a marquis, a general and a minister. It can be said that the family is full of honor.
It can even be predicted that if the Empress continues to be the only favorite in the imperial palace, after Prince Ning dies a hundred years later, although the Ning family's princely throne cannot be inherited due to the will of Emperor Yuanshizong, the title of Marquis Guanjun will probably be promoted.
Not to mention that the Ning family is also cultivating a cabinet chief who will be able to call the shots in the future.
But everything that goes up must come down, and everyone is waiting for the day when the Ning family will become more powerful than their master and become the envy of the emperor.
Just as the military power in southern Xinjiang was restructured and reduced to 150,000 men, the Ning family in northern Xinjiang took the initiative to send over their own military command.
All the ministers were impressed, saying that it was worthy of being the Ning Prince's Palace that had stood firm since the time of Emperor Yuanshizong.
In order to gain the trust of the emperor, he gave up the power of 300,000 troops. This kind of courage and decisiveness are not something that ordinary noble families can possess.
Faced with Prince Ning's sincerity, Su Bi hesitated for a moment and finally agreed.
The ministers below all had expressions that showed "as expected".
After all, he is the emperor. Even if he favors the empress and the Ning family, he will not miss such a good opportunity to seize military power.
Some people have even started to think about this. The Ning family has lost its real power, and it is the best time to divide power and favors while the younger generation of the Ning family still has an unstable foundation.
After all, a favored queen can bring so many benefits to a family. Which noble family would not be jealous of such an honor?
Before they could figure out what to do, they heard the emperor speak.
"The Ning Prince's Mansion has guarded the northern border for generations and has made great contributions. Since the Ning Prince has no heir, after I take back this military order, it will be handed over to the Empress to take over."