Chapter 144: Planning

Wenyuan Pavilion.

After the morning court ended, the seven regents gathered in Wenyuan Pavilion.

Too many things happened in the past two hours, enough to affect the future of Great Dayu.

The key is that they lost control of the court.

Whether it was taking down Zuo Guangen or abolishing the Depot and Guard, it was not led by them.

"Chief Grand Secretary, the situation seems a bit bad!

The Emperor's actions today are truly too unreasonable.

Borrowing the court discussion to forcibly take down Zuo Guangen is fine.

It's just sweeping our face, not a big deal.

But abolishing the Depot and Guard, the impact is too big!"

Jing Guoliang said with worry.

Compared to the hundred civil and military officials, the nobles are more closely tied to Great Dayu.

Abolishing the Depot and Guard is beneficial to everyone in the short term, but in the long term, it is fatal.

Perhaps the current Eastern Depot and Embroidered Uniform Guard are internally decayed, and their combat effectiveness is far from the past.

But these two agencies still play an important role in Great Dayu.

Especially the Embroidered Uniform Guard, not only monitoring officials internally but also collecting intelligence externally.

Those fools who have read books stupidly can deny the value of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but they, the helmsmen of the empire, cannot.

"It's still those two bastards; since those two entered the capital, there hasn't been peace in the court.

We shouldn't have let them go in the first place; a moment of soft-heartedness, never thought it would become a disaster!"

Pang Hengsheng gritted his teeth and said.

Judging from the cold light between his brows, he had developed a murderous heart.

The thoughts of the other six were similar; everyone didn't like Yin and Zuo.

It's just that Yin and Zuo have too high a reputation in the court and the public, and without a suitable reason, it's hard to take them down.

At this time, everyone remembered Zuo Guangen's good; this kind of dirty work is most suitable for the Eunuch Party to do.

Unfortunately, the Eunuch Party is finished now; if they want to take action, they can only do it themselves.

Yet everyone is a person who cherishes their reputation; no one wants to get rid of traitors for the country and risk their own name.

Moreover, Yin and Zuo are protected by the Emperor; now that they hold power, they can naturally take people down.

It's just that the price is too heavy, and the Emperor will settle the account in the future.

"Abolishing the Eastern Depot is fine, but the Embroidered Uniform Guard cannot be completely abolished; the imperial court needs an agency to collect intelligence externally.

Moreover, the Embroidered Uniform Guard is still the Emperor's personal army, and the part guarding the imperial city cannot be moved lightly."

Li Yuan said with a heavy heart.

On the way here, he had already thought clearly.

The Emperor can mess around, but they, the regents, cannot follow along.

The crowd wants to abolish the Depot and Guard, and the Emperor also issued an edict at the court meeting; at this moment, no one can stop it.

What can be done now is to preserve a part of the seeds as much as possible, laying the foundation for reconstruction in the future.

But after such a toss, the Embroidered Uniform Guard will inevitably be severely injured.

The reason why the Depot and Guard are powerful is that they have buried a large amount of intelligence personnel throughout the empire in the past hundred years.

It is easy to dissolve an intelligence organization, but it is difficult to rebuild it.

"The Marquis is right; the Embroidered Uniform Guard cannot be completely disbanded.

It's just that the crowd is excited now, and we can't openly protect them.

Simply change the names of these branch agencies and let them continue to serve the empire."

Lu Shoutong followed up with a proposal.

If everyone has no different opinions, then the matter of abolishing the Depot and Guard will be handled this way!

The original Eastern Depot and Embroidered Uniform Guard officers and soldiers cannot be directly disbanded; I think they should be sent to Guangxi to suppress the rebellion.

If they make military exploits, they will be converted into recruited soldiers, or split and scattered to be placed in various armies."

Pang Hengsheng said expressionlessly.

As a civil official, he naturally dislikes the Depot and Guard.

The opportunity to kill the Depot and Guard was delivered to the door, so he certainly couldn't be soft-hearted.

If these people are not solved, the Emperor will react later and rebuild the Depot and Guard, which will be bad.

Directly raising a butcher's knife is definitely not okay, so he can only borrow a knife to kill.

Fighting a war means dying; special agencies like the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard are elites in small-scale combat.

Once involved in a great war, the situation is different.

At least before adapting to the combat mode, they need to pay a painful price.

Being able to accept retaining part of the establishment is on one hand giving face to the Marquis of Zhenyuan, and on the other hand, the empire really needs it.

Yangzhou City.

Li Mu, who was preparing for war, looked at the official document forwarded by the imperial court and was stunned.

After confirming it again and again, he dared to believe it was true.

Abolishing the Depot and Guard, why is the plot so familiar!

A proper preview of the Chongzhen version, the difference is limited to having a group of regents around.

According to the tradition of Great Dayu, after the new emperor gets married, he will govern personally, and the role of the regents will be infinitely reduced.

Thinking of this, Li Mu already had an ominous premonition in his heart.

Great Dayu's situation is slightly better than the end of the Ming Dynasty, but it is limited.

If the Emperor is like Chongzhen and can toss, no matter how solid the family foundation is, it can't withstand squandering.

Thinking of the terrifying scene at the end of the dynasty, Li Mu shivered.

If the dynasty changes, the noble children of the previous dynasty usually won't have any good results.

Especially someone like him who has troops in his hands and has combat achievements, he is the first object to be purged.

"My lord, are you feeling unwell?"

Lan Linjie asked suspiciously.

The content of the official document indeed has a great impact on Great Dayu.

But for his own lord, he is a vested interest in abolishing the Depot and Guard.

Without the supervision of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, many things that didn't dare to be done before now have operability.

Don't dare to guarantee anything else, but with his understanding of his lord's ability, earning an extra tens of thousands of taels of silver every year is not a problem.

"Nothing!

Just thought of some things, slightly nervous!

Maybe it's the first time leading troops to fight, and there is no bottom in my heart!

By the way, the imperial court ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard from all over to rush to the front line.

It just so happens that our army lacks capable scouts, so let's take the Embroidered Uniform Guard along the way."

Li Mu found a clumsy excuse.

Slightly not in line with the rules, but this is not a big problem.

From the moment the Emperor issued the edict to abolish it, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was no longer the Emperor's personal army.

How to reorganize specifically, the imperial court has not yet given a clear answer, anyway, the treatment cannot be higher than recruited soldiers.

With the civil officials' bad impression of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it is estimated that their treatment is not even as good as the guard troops.

It is estimated that it won't be long before this special force will disappear into the long river of history.

Coincidentally, he wants to establish his own intelligence organization, so he just took the opportunity to try it.

If he can screen out usable people, he will take the opportunity to dig them over.

It doesn't matter if he can't find them; taking more people to the battlefield is nothing more than consuming more money and grain.

For ordinary generals, this is a huge trouble.

Placed on Li Mu, it is not a big problem at all.

How to ask for money and grain from civil officials, he has rich experience.

With someone in the court to support him, as long as he can stand on reason, he is not afraid of fighting the lawsuit to the imperial front.

"My lord, the Embroidered Uniform Guard is notorious, if..."

Before Lan Linjie finished speaking, Li Mu interrupted.

"This matter is simple, when civil officials ask, just tell them that fighting needs cannon fodder.

On the battlefield, report more battle damage of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and everyone will be very satisfied.

At worst, let the dead Embroidered Uniform Guard change their names and re-enlist, and compile them into the Yangzhou Camp

If there are no quotas, just use the establishment of the local garrison troops.

If everything goes smoothly, after fighting this battle, I can also be promoted by one level.

Whether I can continue to stay in Yangzhou is uncertain, but the establishment in my hands will definitely increase."

According to previous thoughts, staying in the flower-filled world of Yangzhou and living a happy, peaceful life would definitely be best.

But after realizing that the situation in Great Dayu was not good, he no longer had any thoughts of seeking comfort.

At the age of twenty, it is the time to venture out; how can one covet pleasure and lie flat?

Taking advantage of having people in the court, one should climb up quickly and master as many troops as possible; that is the right path.

If the empire's situation worsens in the future, having troops in hand will allow one to deal with various emergencies.

"My Lord, Yangzhou is a good place.

This treatment of the Yangzhou Camp, looking at the entire Great Dayu Dynasty, is the top tier.

Even in the Nine Borders, those soldiers only have higher military pay in name; their actual standard of living is far inferior to ours.

Once you go to a bitter and cold place, it will be difficult to maintain such a life.

If you really want to be promoted, the student suggests you plan for the position of Regional Military Commissioner of Nanzhili, or directly serve as a Vice General or Regional Commander while staying in Yangzhou.

With your connections in the court, doing this is not difficult."

Lan Linjie said with a smile.

Choosing to come out as a private secretary, this move of his was undoubtedly the right one.

No one could have imagined that the small battalion commander of a year ago has now become a powerful general of the empire.

The official name of the Regional Military Commissioner's office: Regional Military Commissioner's Office, ranked as one of the three provincial government offices, is the highest local military leadership institution.

In its glorious days, it could stand on equal footing with the Provincial Administration Commissioner and the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner.

With the rise of civil officials, the status of the Regional Military Commissioner dropped significantly, subject to the control of the local Provincial Governor.

However, for auspicious or funeral events, when using titles, the Regional Military Commissioner still ranks before the Provincial Administration Commissioner.

This position was once Li Mu's highest pursuit when he entered officialdom.

Deeply mining the power content of the position, theoretically, one can command over a hundred thousand troops in a province.

As long as one can suppress the generals below, even if suppressed by civil officials, one is still a powerful local faction.

However, if one really wants to plan for this position, then Nanzhili is not the first choice.

The place is indeed wealthy, and one can continue to occupy the land borrowed from the prefectural government, but there are too many "mothers-in-law" above.

Besides the Provincial Governor, Provincial Administration Commissioner, and Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, there are also the Nanjing Six Ministries pressing down from above.

Any slight movement will attract the attention of these people.

In peaceful times, wanting to do something is simply impossible.

On the contrary, frontier provinces have more room for maneuver.

Especially the Nine Borders; if the Nine Borders military families can solve the problem of military pay, they can instantly turn into a local feudal power.

"Haha...

These things are not urgent for now.

Let's pacify the rebellion in Guangxi first; it is too early to talk about these things now.

Moreover, the Nanzhili Regional Military Commissioner still has someone in the position; forcibly replacing him is not the act of a gentleman!"

Li Mu said with a loud laugh.

His own private secretary was finally able to offer advice on major matters.

Although because of information asymmetry, the ideas were contrary to his own.

But setting aside the memories of his past life and looking at it with the current perspective, staying in Nanzhili to serve is definitely the best choice.

Ranking the position of Regional Military Commissioner as the best choice was undoubtedly combining his actual situation and planning from his perspective.

It is the same Regional Military Commissioner, but different people in the position can exercise different power.

The current Nanzhili Regional Military Commissioner has been hollowed out by the Nanjing Ministry of War, and the generals below don't pay any attention to him at all.

If a strong general like Li Mu were to go up, not to mention taking back all the power, at least he would have enough speaking power in the military affairs of the entire province.

……

(End of chapter)