"Then...then this old servant will respectfully comply."
With a forced smile, Eunuch Su carefully slipped the silver note into the lining of his chest.
Sun Jian was finally satisfied when he saw that the old eunuch had accepted the money.
In fact, Sun Jian disliked the practice of giving gifts and silver notes at all, and could even be said to be very resistant to it.
Although this was an unwritten rule among many officials in the imperial court, Sun Jian was an exception.
But today is different from usual...
He must deliver this banknote today.
He wanted to get some information about the Tiger Army from the old eunuch, who had been delivering imperial edicts in the palace for many years and should know some things about it.
Eunuch Su chuckled and waved the whisk in his hand.
"Lord Sun, you're too kind."
"Lord Sun is so accomplished in both literature and martial arts, and so intelligent. His future is limitless. This old servant hopes that Lord Sun will take good care of him in the future."
Sun Jian cupped his hands in greeting and exchanged a few more polite words with the old eunuch.
"I wouldn't dare accept that. From now on, I will support and look after each other with Eunuch Su."
Seeing that it was almost time, Eunuch Su chuckled and said, "Lord Sun, then please accept the imperial decree. After I finish reading it, I will tell you about the duties of the Deputy Commander of the Tiger Guard."
"good."
Sun Jian nodded in agreement.
Without further ado, Eunuch Su decisively walked to the center of the procession, took the imperial edict from the hands of the first row of eunuchs, and began to read it aloud.
The gist of the document was that Sun Jian was exceptionally brave and resourceful, capable of undertaking great responsibilities, and was appointed as the Deputy Commandant of the Tiger Warriors.
After the entire process was completed, Sun Jian received the imperial edict and led Eunuch Su and his entourage to the reception hall in the front courtyard to begin taking inventory of the items.
There are four sets of clothes in total: one set of light armor, one set of heavy armor, and the other two are official robes.
The time of his arrival was roughly as Sun Jian had predicted; it would begin the day after tomorrow. The duties of the Deputy Commandant were to train the troops and reorganize military affairs.
After giving instructions, Eunuch Su handed over the roster, tokens, and the deputy commander's golden seal to Sun Jian.
"Lord Sun, this is a roster of all soldiers of the rank of centurion and above in the army, totaling 326 people. Please take a look."
"In addition, this is your gold seal and token as a deputy captain. The deputy captain of the Tiger Legion is a fourth-rank military officer position, which is not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War, but is directly under the Emperor."
Good heavens.
So this is directly a fourth-rank official?
Sun Jian was still quite shocked. The Crown Prince's tutor had no official rank, and then he himself suddenly went from having no rank to becoming a fourth-rank official. Wouldn't that leave people speechless?
No wonder so many officials in the court congratulated him back then; it turns out he was promoted too quickly!
Eunuch Su clearly noticed the change in Sun Jian's expression and reminded him from the side, "Ahem, Lord Sun, the military officer positions are different from the civil officer positions. Although our dynasty has more military officers than civil officers, His Majesty values civil officials over military ones. Therefore, His Majesty has divided the military officer positions into twelve ranks, instead of the eighteen ranks for civil officials."
"ah?"
Sun Jian was stunned for a moment.
Twelve ranks?
"Yes, the highest rank for a military officer is the first rank, and the lowest rank is the sixth rank."
"I see. It seems my rank is only in the lower middle range, just above the bottom."
Sun Jian nodded.
This was indeed news that he only found out about later.
Since the lowest rank for military officers was sixth grade, his fourth grade position wasn't considered a particularly high-ranking official.
"A first-rank military general, equivalent to the Three Dukes, is also known as a Grand General. There is only one such person in our dynasty, and that is General Yue. However, he is currently leading the three armies to fight against the Great Zhou on the border and is not in the court. The other Grand Generals are posthumously conferred titles, which is not the same thing."
Sun Jian asked curiously, "Oh, what rank of military officer is Governor Yao Tianzheng of Yongzhou?"
I had heard of the predecessor of General Yue Fei, Sun Jian, since Hongnong County was not too far from the border.
However, I've only heard of him by name but never seen him in person.
In contrast, Sun Jian was more curious about Yao Tianzheng's rank.
To become the head of military and political affairs in a state, one must have both an official position and a general's rank, right?
Eunuch Su cupped his hands in respect: "Lord Yao is a first-rank General of the Cavalry, and also a second-rank official."
"After the Grand General, there are the Generals of the Cavalry and the Generals of the Chariots. Next are the Supreme General, the General of the Vanguard, the General of the Left, the General of the Right, the General of the Rear, and then the Four Expeditionary Forces and the Four Garrison Commanders."
"Wow, my Lord Yao is amazing."
Sun Jian silently gave Yao Tianzheng a thumbs up.
It seems that Yao Tianzheng is the second most capable military general.
"If Lord Sun is interested in these, this old servant can get some corresponding records from the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs later, so you can take a look."
Eunuch Su cupped his hands to Sun Jian and said respectfully.
"Then I'll have to trouble Eunuch Su."
Sun Jian smiled and said, "It's free, why not take it?"
I can catch up on it later.
After saying this, Sun Jian picked up his token and golden seal and examined them. After looking at them for a while, he suddenly realized that he could not see the military tally.
How can a deputy captain of the Tiger Army command his generals and soldiers without a military tally?
"Where is the military tally? Why is there no sign of the Tiger Legion?"
After turning the tables, Sun Jian looked puzzled and asked Eunuch Su.
"this……"
Eunuch Su was visibly taken aback, gave Sun Jian a complicated look, and then said, "Lord Sun, the Tiger Legion's military tally is only held by the current Emperor and the Tiger Legion's Commander-in-Chief. You are the Deputy Commander-in-Chief and are not allowed to possess the tally; otherwise, it will be considered treason..."
"All right."
Sun Jian shrugged indifferently.
He was a young woman getting married for the first time and knew absolutely nothing about such things.
Fine, if we don't have the military tally, we don't have the military tally.
We can't disobey the imperial decree just because of this, can we?
"Eunuch Su, I have a few more questions I'd like to ask you, may I...?"
Seeing that the time was right, Sun Jian whispered in Su Gonggong's ear.
He didn't say his last words, but instead looked at the eunuchs standing around him.
This eunuch Su was a shrewd man, and he immediately understood Sun Jian's meaning.
He coughed lightly and said loudly to the eunuchs around him, "Put your things away and then you may leave. I need to explain some important duties to Lord Sun."
"twitter!"
The young eunuchs were very well-behaved; after putting down their things, they left the hall one after another.
Since he had already given the silver notes, Sun Jian didn't mince words. He smiled and said directly, "Eunuch Su, you are a highly respected elder in the Directorate of Ceremonial, and you have been conveying His Majesty's decrees for many years. You know everything about the officials and events in the court."
Sun Jian was not flattering him when he said this. The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs had many duties, one of which was to carry out imperial edicts. This Eunuch Su had worked in the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs for many years and was a veteran of the previous dynasty, so he naturally knew a lot of information.
After the compliments, Sun Jian didn't mince words and went straight to the point: "I would like to ask, what is the name of the current Commander-in-Chief of the Tiger Army, what is his background, and what are his preferences?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
