Fu Chengwang's face turned red with anger at Zhu Zhongyan's sarcastic words.
Li Chengqian quickly stepped forward and said, "Eunuch Zhu is absolutely right. But Zhao Lin isn't the only one who needs to be there to quell the rebellion. Every province, state, and county has its own troops; we can simply mobilize them."
Zhu Zhongyan smiled and said, "Your Excellency the Prime Minister is right. But if it were useful, we wouldn't be arguing here, wouldn't you agree?"
Li Chengqian was not fooled by Zhu Zhongyan's words and said to Cheng Xian, "Your Majesty, both Lord Fu and Eunuch Zhu are right. How about letting Zhao Lin recruit soldiers and then sending someone from the court to lead the troops and suppress the bandits?"
Fu Chengwang said, "I support Lord Li."
"I also support Lord Li."
"Lord Li's suggestion is very sound."
The other ministers all supported Li Chengqian.
No matter what, we can't let Zhao Lin, a prefect, be the garrison commander.
What happened then?
Since he is both a civil servant and a military officer, why not just let him establish a small court?
Zhu Zhongyan also knew that he could not win the argument, so he stepped back and said nothing.
Cheng** nodded and said, "What Li Qingjia said makes sense. But who should we let go?"
Li Chengqian immediately said, "Lieutenant General Wang Zhong is a veteran on the battlefield, so he can be sent."
Deputy Prime Minister Shao Yutang followed up with, "I recommend General Mingwei Zhou Xuan. He's a veteran of the battlefield and will easily defeat bandits."
Li Chengqian, a member of the prince's party.
Shao Yutang, a member of Prince Yu's party.
Both parties want to take these 20,000 soldiers into their own hands.
Although not a large number, 20,000 soldiers can be of great use at critical moments.
Even if it is useless, it cannot be obtained by the other party.
Immediately afterwards, members of the Prince's Party and Prince Yu's Party spoke out to support their own people.
The two sides were arguing fiercely.
Cheng** looked annoyed.
There are only 20,000 soldiers and horses, but these people are fighting to the death. What are they trying to do?
Cheng** said angrily, "Dismiss the meeting."
He got up and left.
Zhu Zhongyan hurried to catch up.
When no one else was around, Zhu Zhongyan said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me for being so abrupt, but these 20,000 soldiers must not be given to the people recommended by Lord Li and Lord Shao."
Cheng** said impatiently: "What are you going to say, you slave?"
Zhu Zhongyan said, "Zhao Lin can lead the troops and suppress the bandits. Even if they have other ideas, Jiujiang Province is surrounded by many soldiers and horses. A mere 20,000 soldiers can easily wipe them out. But if they fall under the command of the Crown Prince and Prince Yu..."
Zhu Zhongyan didn't say anything further.
No matter how clueless Cheng** was, he knew what he meant. He snorted coldly, "You old dog, are you trying to sow discord between us father and son?"
Zhu Zhongyan sank to his knees and kowtowed repeatedly: "I dare not. Everything I have comes from Your Majesty. Of course I have to consider Your Majesty's interests. I have absolutely no other intentions."
"Alright, get up now." Cheng** said impatiently, "I know what you mean, but if not to them, who should I give it to? Zhao Lin?"
Zhu Zhongyan said: "If Your Majesty is confident, then give it to Zhao Lin. If not, then give it to someone who is not from the same party as them."
Cheng** snorted coldly: "Do you know which one is not?"
Zhu Zhongyan said awkwardly, "I don't know."
Now the Crown Prince and Prince Yu are fighting fiercely. Who knows how many people they have won over and who they have won over.
What if the person they think is neutral turns out to be one of theirs? Wouldn't that be like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth?
Zhu Zhongyan suggested, "In that case, why not give it to Zhao Lin? At least Zhao Lin has a clean record and is dedicated to serving Your Majesty."
Cheng** nodded and said, "You're right. They don't let me do it, but I insist on doing it. Give it to Zhao Lin."
By the time the imperial edict was issued, it was too late for the ministers to know about it, and they all blamed Zhu Zhongyan.
"Wow, the emperor is so generous, he actually gave us 17,000 soldiers and even gave us the title of garrison commander."
Zhao Lin was also shocked when he received the imperial edict.
His original intention was to ask for a few thousand soldiers and just cram his own people in, but he didn't expect Cheng** to give him 17,000, making it 20,000.
The key is the name of the defense.
This is equivalent to Zhao Lin taking charge of government affairs on one hand and military power on the other.
Although his garrison was no higher than that of a fifth-rank military officer, his status was not as high as that of a prefect who was also of the fifth rank.
But even if he was a captain, Zhao Lin could still command the troops with full legitimacy.
"The chief steward has put a lot of thought into earning this title for you."
Anquan smiled and said, "All the ministers were against it, even Li Xingye didn't support it, but the General Manager still managed to get it done."
Zhao Lin said solemnly, "Thank you for your hard work, General Manager, and Eunuch An. This small token of thanks is not enough to show your respect."
Zhao Lin directly stuffed two things into Anquan's hands.
Anquan took a look and saw two silver notes from Qiyuan Trading Company, the kind worth 10,000 taels each.
There is also a land deed in Qingzhou, which includes a hill and a manor.
Anquan was surprised and said, "Thank you for letting Lord Zhao spend so much money."
Zhao Lin said, "Eunuch An has been working hard to pass on imperial edicts. Why don't you stay for a few more days and then inspect Qingzhou to tell the chief steward that I have not let him down."
"It's my duty, it's my duty." Anquan said repeatedly.
What is meant by inspecting Qingzhou? It just means going to see my new home.
A cunning rabbit has three burrows.
Zhao Lin had already given Anquan a house in the capital, and also gave him a yard and a hilltop as big as Qingzhou. After seeing them, Anquan's eyes narrowed with joy.
"Lord Zhao is so young, and many old guys must have become officials. When I go back home, I will definitely speak a few words for you in front of my godfather." Anquan said.
Zhao Lin smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble you, Eunuch An."
After sending them off safely, Sudi came over and jokingly said, "I am here to greet General Zhao."
Zhao Lin laughed and said, "Haha, I also think that General sounds better than Sir."
"Next, we will recruit soldiers and suppress bandits."
The so-called garrison means being responsible for guarding a city or a state.
Command a certain number of troops to ensure the defense security of the area under jurisdiction.
Each garrison has its own territory to guard.
But Zhao Lin didn't.
I don't know if Cheng** forgot or if he simply didn't think he should be given rules and a territory to constrain him.
So Zhao Lin has no restrictions.
He can go anywhere as a garrison commander.
There is no need to waste time on this.
Zhao Lin recruited another 30,000 people and built another military camp outside, using the excuse that the original military camp was too small to accommodate so many people.
After training 30,000 people thoroughly, those who were eliminated were sent to the original military camp to be led by Zhu Zhongyan's men. There were 15,500 left, which, together with the original 4,500, made up exactly 20,000.
A genuine 20,000 yuan.
"Twenty thousand soldiers and horses is a lot, more than enough for now. But there are too few cavalry. Even though Qingzhou horses are very famous, we can't openly purchase horses on a large scale, so we only have a thousand cavalry now."
Zhao Lin and Sudi discussed, "We need to find a way to get war horses. Cavalry is king."
Sudi said, "We can buy some from Beidi, but it might not be much, only a few hundred."
“It’s definitely not enough.”
With an army of 20,000, we must have at least 6,000 cavalry.
"While I'm going north to buy horses, I'm also trying to figure out how to get the stable."
Zhao Lin said.
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