Behind the neatly arranged army ranks, there was a group of people who attracted a lot of attention.
They held gleaming long-handled broadswords in their hands, dressed in black, and sat upright on their horses with solemn expressions.
The group, numbering around a hundred, occupied a small part of the street, yet it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The only noise in the area was the occasional snorting of the horses.
This group of people were none other than the Short Knife Gang. They were now the Short Knife Army under He Yunxiao, Captain He.
According to the official system of generals in the imperial court, the first rank was mainly composed of the Right Chancellor who was in charge of military affairs and the Duke who was in office. The second rank corresponded to the position of Supreme General. The third rank was Grand General, the fourth rank was General, the fifth rank was Captain, the sixth rank was Colonel, the seventh rank was Commandant, the eighth rank was Guard Officer, and the ninth rank was Honorary Scholar.
According to the military organization, a commander of 100 men was called a centurion, a commander of 1,000 men was called a chiliarch, and a commander of 10,000 men was called a ten-thousand-man commander. These "managers" were also called "households," which were very real entities. Although they did not have official ranks in the imperial court, the soldiers under their command were real. Some generals, although called "generals" and of the fourth rank, did not have a single soldier under their command, and thus could not be compared to them.
According to normal rules, He Yunxiao, who led a hundred men into the army, should have been affiliated with an army and given the title of centurion, "He Baihu". However, He Yunxiao was, after all, the son of Marquis Wuqing, and it was rumored that he was favored by the Princess and the Empress Dowager. Therefore, the Minister of War made an exception and granted him the official position of a sixth-rank colonel.
Minister of War Wei Taichuan was originally under the command of Prime Minister Han, but now he has pledged allegiance to Princess Xiaoyue. He lives in constant fear and trembling, afraid that His Highness will displease him and ask him to retire.
According to the original rules, the Ministry of War was not qualified to appoint officials. However, the current situation is special, and the Minister of War has the power to "submit memorials of remonstrance." Simply put, it's a matter of acting first and reporting later: first, you're given an official position, then you submit a memorial to His Highness and wait for His Highness's reply.
Under normal circumstances, there shouldn't be any problems, because they usually wouldn't be given a sixth-rank official position. Those affiliated with the army would be given a minor position like a centurion. Those who independently built their own army, responsible for their own provisions and weapons, would at most be given a ninth-rank honorary soldier or an eighth-rank guard officer. He Yunxiao's case was extremely special.
"Why doesn't he go work for his father? Why does he come here and start his own army?!"
Minister of War Wei Taichuan was filled with deep regret at this moment.
He originally intended to use He Yunxiao to curry favor with the Eldest Princess and He Yuanhao, but he completely forgot that the Eldest Princess could use this opportunity to accuse him of abusing his position to exchange benefits with powerful figures. Then she could ask him to retire and replace the Minister of War with one of her own confidants.
"Little Li, what do you think I should do?" Wei Taichuan asked his advisor.
Xiao Li's surname is Li, and he has some connection with the Li family in Jiangnan. He is also related to the Empress Dowager and the Eldest Princess, which is why he was able to rise in rank and become a staff member of the Minister of War.
With a concerned look on his face, Xiao Li said, "Minister, don't worry. Although the sixth rank is indeed a bit high, He Yunxiao will definitely have the support of Marquis Wuqing. At that time, even if he doesn't deserve the sixth rank now, he will deserve it in the future with just a little military merit."
"The future is the future! If the memorial I submitted today displeases Princess Xiaoyue, or if she has other ideas, I will be gone in the next few days! How can I wait until He Yunxiao gains merit in battle!"
Xiao Li said, "My lord, please don't worry. I have already made arrangements and am waiting at the palace gate. Once an eunuch leaves the palace to deliver a memorial, he will definitely come to our Minister's residence first."
Because Mengbao often worked overtime late into the night, even late at night, eunuchs would often leave the palace to deliver memorials from ministers to Mengbao.
Minister Wei sighed, “Your Highness has been feeling unwell these past few days, and it often takes two or three days to get a reply to the memorials he submits.”
Xiao Li said, "Since that's the case, Minister, you should rest now. There's no use thinking about it further."
"Yeah, that's true."
"Master! Master! The officials from the palace have arrived!" a servant shouted outside the study.
Upon hearing this, Minister Wei rushed out of the Minister's residence without saying a word.
Outside the mansion gate, a eunuch stood holding a memorial to the emperor.
"Your Excellency, please slow down."
"Eunuch Xu, thank you for your trouble. Is this for me?"
"Exactly."
Eunuch Xu handed over the memorial and then said, "My lord, I have to go to another place to do business, so I won't stay any longer."
As soon as Minister Wei and the other palace officials left, he stood at the gate of his residence and, by the moonlight, eagerly opened the memorial. On it was written a large red character: "Good."
Mengbao's habit is to mark unqualified memorials with an X, circle qualified ones, and only write "good" on those that truly please her.
Minister Wei's lips curled into a wild smile.
I've done my flattery perfectly! His Highness is very pleased! My position is secure!
He Yunxiao? It's He Yunxiao!
"Little Li."
"Li is here."
"You can draft a memorial for me, saying that I intend to select a group of outstanding officers of the self-established army as role models, and then provide them with military pay and provisions. Put He Yunxiao first on the list!"
"My lord, He Yunxiao has not yet earned any military merits. I'm afraid this will not convince the people."
"What do you know?" Minister Wei patted the word "good" on the memorial. "His Highness rarely writes 'good,' but he wrote it now for He Yunxiao's unconventional act. Do you know what that means?"
"Li was unaware." (cascoo.net)
"stupid!"
Minister Wei strode into the Minister's residence with his hands behind his back, exuding confidence. "From now on, He Yunxiao will be my own son."
Staff member Xiao Li: ?
Minister Wei paused as he walked, a bold idea forming in his mind: with Chancellor Han dead, the positions of both Chancellor and Vice Chancellor of Qi were now vacant…
He waved his hand and paused in the air, then said, "No, he's not my son, he's my father!"
Staff member Xiao Li: ? ? ?
...
He Yunxiao's personal groom, Ma Dekuai, was under a lot of pressure at the moment.
It wasn't a matter of being afraid of death, but rather that at that moment, he had three wives in his car.
Fan Ziruo, Chu Xiaoxiao, Jiang Wuyou.
Even sitting in the driver's seat, separated from the passenger compartment by only a wall, Ma De could feel the murderous intent permeating the air. He truly didn't know how the young master had survived.
He Yunxiao rode his horse back and forth.
Not to mention Ma De, he himself didn't dare to get close to the carriage.
The only saving grace was that Chu Chu was asleep, and Xiao Xiao was sitting in the carriage now. No matter what, Xiao Xiao still listened to him. If it were Chu Chu, it would be a complete disaster.
He Yunxiao was with his brother-in-law Chu Fan when a woman came to talk to Chu Fan. He Yunxiao recognized her; she was Han Lingshuang, the daughter of Prime Minister Han, and one of the four beauties of Yinjing.
Chu Fan apologized to He Yunxiao, then dismounted and went to talk to Han Lingshuang. He Yunxiao, a seasoned player in matters of the heart, could immediately tell that Han Lingshuang had feelings for Chu Fan, while Chu Fan, oblivious to it all, remained completely oblivious.
He Yunxiao had a sudden thought and came up with a way to shift the blame. Then, he steeled himself and stepped into the almost stagnant carriage.
Inside the carriage, Fan Ziruo, the "official wife," sat alone on one side, while Xiaoxiao and Sister Jiang sat on the other side, but they were quite far apart, keeping to themselves.
As soon as He Yunxiao lifted the car door curtain, three pairs of eyes turned to look at him.
He Yunxiao coughed dryly, trying to be shameless, and got into the car.
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