Chapter 63: Appointment and Deliberation

The gazes of all the ministers in the hall immediately turned toward him; a Prince entering court was not unheard of in Great Song, and without even looking far back, it had happened during the reigns of Emperor Yingzong and Emperor Shenzong.

For instance, the position of Director of the Zongzheng Temple is currently held by Zhao Zongjing, the Commandery Prince of Jiyin, but the two predecessors were both Princes of the highest rank.

Seeing no room for reversal, the Old Faction fell silent, secretly wondering what official post Zhao Xu would confer.

Zhao Ti himself holds the rank of a First-Rank Prince, but that is a title of nobility.

The official system of Great Song is complex, divided into several types such as honorary salary posts, actual assignments, scattered ranks, meritorious ranks, and attached posts; yet among these, only the actual assignments carry real duties, also known as functional offices. After the Yuanfeng Reforms, some honorary salary posts were also granted actual assignments.

Within the actual assignments, there are further distinctions such as Zhi, Pan, Quan, Zhi, Shi, Qian, Tiju, Tipian, and Guanguo, and so on.

Appointing a high-rank official to a low-rank post is called Xing; appointing a low-rank official to a high-rank post is called Shou. Since Zhao Ti is First-Rank, whatever post he is granted will be Xing; if it is only a temporary management, it is called Quan Xing.

The ministers did not believe Zhao Xu would confer a very high post, after all, Zhao Ti had no seniority in court and no imperial examination achievements; after the Yuanfeng Reforms, the imperial clan could take the exams, but even if they passed, they would mostly enter the Imperial Academy or similar institutions, spending a lifetime on scholarship.

What they worried about was that Zhao Xu would confer a prestigious and noble post, one that carried weight in speech both inside and outside the court, which would be unfavorable to the New Policies.

Zhao Xu said, "Prince Yan, you shall... temporarily serve as the Commander of the Imperial Guards and the Commander of the Infantry Command!"

Upon hearing this, all the ministers were stunned.

Zhao Ti's heart also faltered slightly; this differed from what was said in the palace that stormy night. That night, it was said he would be given a prestigious but idle post, yet now Zhao Xu actually asked him to manage the troops?

Manage the troops!

The Great Song army is divided into management and deployment; management belongs to the Two Commands and Three Yamen, while deployment belongs to the Bureau of Military Affairs.

The Two Commands are the Dianqian Command and the Imperial Guards Command.

The Three Yamen are the Dianqian Commander's Office under the Dianqian Command, the Infantry Commander's Office under the Imperial Guards Command, and the Cavalry Commander's Office.

The Two Commands stand side by side, checking and balancing each other; originally, the Imperial Guards Command had slightly more authority, corresponding to a rank half a grade higher than the Dianqian Command, but in the second year of Yongxi under Taizu, after General Mi Xin of the Right Martial Guard was dismissed by imperial decree, no one was appointed again, and the position was temporarily filled by the Prefectural Commander's Vice Commander.

And in the second year of Jingde, the Vice Commander of the Duke of Lu, Wang Chao, was dismissed again, after which the Infantry Command and the Cavalry Command were managed by the Dianqian Command.

At this moment, all the officials guessed in their hearts: could the Emperor be about to reactivate the Imperial Guards Command? After all, if Prince Yan performs the duties of the Infantry Commander, then the Dianqian Command would have no right to manage or oversee the Infantry Command.

At this time, Lu Dafang, leading the Old Faction, let out a long sigh. Although the Infantry Commander manages troops, in their hearts, he is not as important as a prestigious civil official; at least, his voice in court does not carry as much weight as that of a prestigious civil official. As for whether there are troops or not, they do not care; the Infantry Command only manages troops and guards part of the Eastern Capital, while the power to deploy troops lies with the Bureau of Military Affairs.

Zhao Ti's expression remained unchanged: "I thank Your Majesty."

Zhao Xu said, "Prince Yan, assume your post tomorrow and begin the crackdown on the Ghost Ghost Fanlou."

Zhao Ti accepted the order, and after a while, with no other matters, he withdrew from the hall according to protocol, and the Grand Court Assembly ended.

The next morning, Zhao Ti arrived at the Infantry Commander's Office of the Imperial Guards. Although the combat strength of the Jingcheng garrison troops had been weakening year by year, it had not yet reached the point of total corruption as in the Jingkang era.

After the office finished checking the roster, he ordered the low-ranking officers to leave. Zhao Ti looked down; at this moment, about ten people remained in the hall: one Deputy Commander and one Vice Commander, plus the Commanders of the Left and Right Wings of the Divine Guard, and the Commanders of the Hu Wing Army, Wu Wei Army, Xiong Wu Army, Feng Jie Army, and Bu Wu Army, constituting the entire staff of the Infantry Commander's Office.

Zhao Ti smiled slightly: "It was not originally appropriate to meet all of you, but coincidentally, the Grand Court Assembly was held yesterday, and you all heard the Emperor's order to eradicate the Ghost Ghost Fanlou. Now, if you have any thoughts, feel free to speak."

The people below looked at each other. Some of them did not usually reside in the capital, but were present for the Grand Court Assembly. At this time, the Deputy Commander, Wang En, said, "Your Highness, this matter must be handled with caution. Since the time of Taizu, troops have been sent to eradicate the Ghost Ghost Fanlou, yet it has persisted for a hundred years without end. Completely rooting it out is truly difficult."

The Vice Commander, Zhong Pu, said from the side: "Subordinate once encountered such a situation in the Western Army. There is nothing but flooding, burning, and smoking, followed by soldiers entering to kill. It must be done."

Zhao Ti glanced at the other person. Zhong Pu was the son of the famous general Zhong E. Previously, he had been promoted to the capital for his merits and appointed as a Right-Class Palace Attendant, and had just been sent to the Imperial Guards Infantry Command as Vice Commander.

Wang En shook his head upon hearing this: "General Zhong does not understand the underground tunnels of the Ghost Ghost Fanlou; they almost traverse the entire Eastern Capital. How can they be compared to ordinary places? These methods have all been used before; although they had some effect, they could not completely eliminate the threat."

Zhong Pu frowned: "The size is just this much; I really cannot think of any other idea. We cannot simply fill the underground with earth, can we?"

Upon hearing this, the others nodded one after another. Dealing with a place like the Ghost Ghost Fanlou was indeed as Zhong Pu said; there were no other methods.

Zhong Pu looked at Zhao Ti: "Does Your Highness have any brilliant strategy?"

Zhao Ti said: "I cannot say yet. You will all return to your respective armies, select two thousand strong and capable soldiers, keep this secret, and make preparations."

Wang En said: "Your Highness, the Ghost Ghost Fanlou has a notorious reputation abroad. Although the various armies are brave, they may fear and slacken. It would be better to explain the details later?"

Zhao Ti shook his head and said: "Tell them that the Ghost Ghost Fanlou has accumulated wealth for a hundred years; there are countless gold and silver treasures underground in the Eastern Capital. At that time... whoever obtains it shall own it. In addition, there will be accumulated military merit."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall's eyes lit up. Previously, they only thought of the Ghost Ghost Fanlou, but they had not considered how much wealth the enemy had accumulated over these years.

"You all are the same!" Zhao Ti's lips curled upward: "It is just stolen loot; as long as you can take it."

Wang En stroked the short beard under his chin: "Your Highness, what about the Emperor..."

"This King has discussed it with the Emperor, and the Emperor has already approved. It depends on how capable you all are." Zhao Ti's gaze swept over the crowd as he spoke with a smile.

"The Ghost Ghost Fanlou has existed for a hundred years; could it not have accumulated mountains of gold and silver?" Zhong Pu took a deep breath.

"Mountains of gold and silver?" Zhang Zhen, the Commander of the Left Wing of the Divine Guard, shook his head. He was the son of the famous general Zhang Jie and the cousin of Zhang Dun. Zhang Dun was currently serving as the Director of the Dongxiao Palace, and Zhao Xu had not yet recalled him to the capital.

"General Zhong has been in the west for too long and still does not know about the affairs underground in the Eastern Capital. The Ghost Ghost Fanlou engages in business without capital: luring, deceiving, abducting, kidnapping, kidnapping for begging, and trafficking people. Over a hundred years, I fear that 'mountains of gold and silver' is insufficient to describe even a fraction of it."

"Correct, correct, exactly so!" The others nodded one after another.

Zhao Ti said: "You all return and carefully select soldiers for training. I will explain in detail to you all how to proceed when the time comes."

As he spoke, he stood up and walked out of the Commander's Office gate. Zhou Dong and Su Da were waiting outside. Getting into the carriage, he said to Zhou Dong: "Guangzu, do you know if there is any connection between the Ghost Ghost Fanlou and the Beggar Sect?"

There were beggars in the Eastern Capital, but previous investigations showed they were not members of the Beggar Sect, but rather subordinates of the Ghost Ghost Fanlou.

"Your Royal Highness, there should not be any," Zhou Dong pondered. "The Beggar Sect seems to have an ancestral rule that they cannot stay in the Divine Capital for long. The beggars in the city are either from the Wu You Cave or just wild beggars."

Zhao Ti nodded. After a while, the carriage arrived at Zhu Que Street in Chengnan, and he got off and walked into the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Tower.

He saw Shang Qi bring over an invitation and a map: "Young Master, I have obtained the items."