Before Emperor Yongkang ascended the throne, Huo Jincheng was only the commander of the guards in the prince's palace. Now he has become the Minister of the Internal Guard, a first-rank official, which is equivalent to the director of the Central Security Bureau. He is quite awesome.
If this position existed in the previous dynasty, it would have been even more impressive, being of the first rank. After the previous emperor unified the Central Plains, it was changed to the second rank, which was also quite remarkable.
Huo Jincheng and the assistant minister of the Ministry of War brought Emperor Yongkang with the appointments of Ding Youtian and Qin Yifan. The two had been promoted from county magistrates to left and right military officers, equivalent to the current chief of staff of the Ministry of National Defense. They still served as county magistrates during their term of office.
The Grand Canjun of the Yanchao Dynasty was a fifth-rank official. Both were exceptionally promoted to the rank of Canjun during this period due to their effective governance. The Left Canjun was in charge of military affairs, while the Right Canjun was in charge of judicial affairs. Huo Jincheng also received the post of Military Supervisor. He and the Minister of War first traveled to Zhuling County, while Qin Yifan was already on his way to Xing'an County.
Huo Jincheng would not return to Beijing for the time being because he had taken on the post of military supervisor. Qiu Ge was overjoyed to know that he would stay, and he followed Tengkong to fly to Jiguan Mountain to meet Guoguo and Baimei.
The Assistant Minister of War sat for a while and then stood up to say goodbye. He had to return to the capital to report. After he got on his horse, Huo Jincheng suggested going to the city wall to take a look. He had learned from Ding Youtian that the Yue Kingdom had continued to station troops in Jishui in recent days. By the way, he also wanted to go to Jiguana Mountain to see the various types of guns and artillery shells sent by Yang Dali.
"It's not too late to go at night. We won't be able to see anything if we go now." Ding Youtian said, "Can you tell me first? Have you made all the arrangements?"
"The troops from the two counties will be heading to Xing'an County in batches starting today. It's bright in the daytime now, how can we see anything if we go there at night?"
Ding Youtian smiled and said, "I can't see you're asking me this. You must be tired after coming so far. Why don't you go and rest for a while? When Brother Yifan arrives, we can discuss the arrangements for the next step. There's no rush. Go and rest."
Huo Jincheng didn't feel tired, but he was just curious about how he could see clearly at night. Thinking that Jian Ning must have come up with something strange again, he raised an eyebrow and said, "Why hasn't your wife come out? Usually, she would show up when she knew I was coming. Why is there no movement today?"
"Didn't you take your medicine before you came?" Ding Youtian sneered, flicked his sleeves, glanced at him, and walked towards the front yard.
"I'm not sick, why should I take medicine?" Huo Jincheng followed him and continued as they walked, "She's Man'er's mother. Before coming here, Man'er asked me to say hello to her. I've been here for a while, and I haven't seen her come out. Why shouldn't I ask her?"
Ding Youtian stopped and glanced at him. Seeing his calm expression, he couldn't help but smile. "Hey, fellow, luckily I know what kind of person you are. I don't want to argue with you. If you really don't need it, I'll take you for a walk."
Everything in Xing'an County was the same as yesterday. Although the pace of war was getting closer day by day, the people in the city still did what they had to do. Huo Jincheng didn't know that this was because Ding Youtian had ordered people to post a notice to reassure the people earlier, and it had been posted for more than just one or two days.
In addition, he adopted Jian Ning's suggestion and took the lead in delivering speeches in the city for several days in a row, swearing to defend the country to the death and not give up an inch of land. He also wrote an impassioned manifesto. Now, people can be seen preaching in teahouses, restaurants and even on the streets at any time and anywhere.
So far, in the entire Xing'an County, only a few wealthy businessmen, worried that the Yue people would break into the city, have closed their shops and moved their families to other states and counties. The rest are willing to work with the government to fight against foreign enemies.
Warfare requires long-term planning. The Moon Nation is already strong, not to mention its two allied nations, the Dirong and the Jiuchi, both relatively powerful barbarian tribes. In addition to stockpiling medicine, Jian Ning has also led the city's residents into the mountains to dig and identify herbs, organizing a medical rescue team of nearly a hundred people.
Huo Jincheng and Ding Youtian had not walked far when they heard someone giving a speech. He took a few quick steps and saw a scholar-like man surrounded by dozens of people. The scholar was waving his arms and reading the anti-enemy manifesto written by Ding Youtian.
"All the people of Xing'an, regardless of gender, status, the wise should do their utmost, the brave should exert their strength... Protecting the borders and the land is everyone's responsibility..."
"What a great saying that defending the borders is everyone's responsibility!" Huo Jincheng couldn't help but praise after hearing these two sentences.
"Defending the border is everyone's responsibility!" The scholar raised his arms and shouted, Huo Jincheng and Ding Youtian took the lead in responding, and the onlookers followed suit and shouted, and the sound shook the sky!
Ding Youtian and Huo Jincheng strolled around the streets for a while before returning to the area. Qin Yifan and two yamen runners had been waiting for him for a while. After they exchanged greetings, Ding Youtian had a map brought and spread out on the table. Besides detailing the terrain, cities, roads, and granaries surrounding Xing'an County, the map also provided a more detailed geographical map of the area surrounding Jishui County in Yue State.
The three of them gathered around the map to discuss. Before they knew it, it was almost dusk. Jian Ning returned to the yamen exhausted. Erniu and Sanniu had also returned from school. As the three of them entered the yamen, they heard that Huo Jincheng and Qin Yifan had arrived.
Jian Ning greeted the two of them, went back to her room to rest for a while, and then went to the kitchen. The two mothers in the palace were very hardworking, and knowing that she had been very busy going up the mountain to collect herbs for the people every day recently, the two of them had already taken over the cooking work.
Seeing Jian Ning enter the kitchen again today, a mother said with a smile: "But because Master Huo and County Magistrate Qin are here, the eldest lady will be cooking herself?"
"I know what they like, so I'll make it. You two moms can just help me." Jian Ning said with a smile.
After dinner was ready, since Huo Jincheng and Qin Yifan were not outsiders, Jian Ning brought Erniu and Sanniu to the table to eat. During the meal, Huo Jincheng smiled and called out to Ermei and Sanmei, "Your father has been promoted to join the army. From now on, you are no longer the daughters of the county magistrate, but the daughters of the military governor's mansion."
Erniu had read books and knew that the prime minister was the highest official besides the emperor. She also suddenly remembered that Old Mrs. Meng always scolded Blind Liu for deceiving her by saying that Ding Youtian was capable of becoming the prime minister.
She tilted her head and said, "Uncle Huo, my sister and I don't want to be the daughters of soldiers. We want to be the daughters of prime ministers. Prime ministers, my father will be the prime minister, a higher position than yours!"
Qin Yifan laughed to himself when he heard this. Although Huo Jincheng had been in Dingxian Village for a long time, he had never heard anyone mention this. He looked at Ding Youtian with a smile and said, "Are you going to replace your master?"
Ding Youtian glanced at him sideways, then pointed the chopsticks in his hand at Erniu, "Shut your mouth! You can't even stop eating, you're the one who talks too much."
How can you eat if you keep your mouth shut? Erniu was dissatisfied, but she didn't dare to argue. She took a big mouthful of rice, but she didn't want to pack too much, so she dropped a few grains of rice on the table. She hurriedly picked them up and stuffed them into her mouth, glancing at Ding Youtian guiltily.
Ding Youtian had experienced hunger when he was young, and he hated to see food wasted the most. All the children in the family knew this. Erniu didn't dare to say anything more and just ate quietly.
After dinner, Jian Ning made tea. When it was completely dark, Ding Youtian asked Huo Jincheng and Qin Yifan to go with him to the city wall to take a look.
Jane Ning naturally followed.
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