The palace reports clearly stated that the position of Grand Commandant of the Imperial Guards in Kyoto was no longer held by the First Prince, but had been given to Gong Dian. After Gong Dian quelled the rebellion in Kyoto, he resumed his old position as commander of the palace guards. Now he also held the post of Grand Commandant of the Imperial Guards, which was not surprising. The Ye family's loyalty to His Majesty was known throughout the world. Since the First Prince was no longer responsible for the security of the palace, it could only be entrusted to Gong Dian.

However, the current question was, after the First Prince no longer held the position of Grand Commandant of the Imperial Guards, what position would His Majesty place him in? The palace reports did not say, and there were no clear rumors in Kyoto. Fan Xian looked at the paper in his hand and couldn't help but shake his head.

Several very important personnel appointments were successively issued in Kyoto, all concentrated in the military. It was clear that His Majesty had some ideas and was starting to make room for the First Prince. What caught Fan Xian's attention the most was that Xiao Jinhua, the Commandant of the Kyoto Garrison, had been dismissed and transferred to the southern border army of Nan Zhao as Vice General, while Shi Fei, the Acting Grand Commandant of the Northern Expedition Camp, was summoned back by His Majesty's decree to take over the crucial position of Commandant of the Kyoto Garrison. Wang Zhikun, the General of the Yanjing Camp above Shi Fei, remained in place.

Three major military general transfers were definitely unusual. Fan Xian was very clear about the roles these military generals played and deeply understood His Majesty's different attitudes towards them. For example, Xiao Jinhua, the Commandant of the Kyoto Garrison, was only the commander of the Donghua Gate of the Thirteen City Divisions during the Kyoto rebellion. Because of his firm stance, he managed to block the remnants of the Qin family, who belonged to the Crown Prince, within Kyoto, making a great contribution. His Majesty promoted him three ranks in a row to become the Commandant of the Kyoto Garrison. This could be regarded as His Majesty's expression of appreciation for loyal officials.

However, Fan Xian had long guessed that His Majesty would definitely not let this minor character named Xiao Jinhua hold the position of Commandant of the Kyoto Garrison for too long. On the one hand, this person's foundation was too shallow to be able to command respect and undertake such an important responsibility as the Kyoto Garrison. Secondly, Xiao Jinhua was, after all, from the Thirteen City Gate Divisions, and His Majesty was most disappointed with the performance of the Thirteen City Gate Divisions during the Kyoto rebellion.

The Emperor trusted Zhang Deqing the most, but Zhang Deqing had leaned towards the Eldest Princess. Although the Emperor later had Zhang Deqing sliced into pieces and executed, and exterminated his three clans, he still could not vent the anger in his heart. Xiao Jinhua could be considered a victim of association. However, this person should be clear about his symbolic role, and he should be able to accept going to Nan Zhao as Vice General.

The situation of the Northern Expedition Army was more complicated. Yan Xiaoyi was killed by Fan Xian on the mountaintop. The Qing Kingdom's Northern Expedition Camp next to Cangzhou was implicated in the rebellion. In the past two years, it had undergone countless purges. The court had never officially allowed General Shi Fei to take over the position of Grand Commandant of the Northern Expedition Camp, but had only let him act as the Grand Commandant, under the jurisdiction of Wang Zhikun of the Yanjing Camp.

General Shi Fei had been Wang Zhikun's deputy for the past ten years. This arrangement should not be a problem. But now that His Majesty had let Shi Fei return to Kyoto to take over the position of Commandant of the Kyoto Garrison, the position of Grand Commandant of the Northern Expedition Camp was vacant. Who was this being left for?

Fan Xian shook his head, thinking that probably everyone could see clearly that the position of Grand Commandant of the Northern Expedition Army, which bordered Northern Qi and was at the forefront of the world's attention, was of course reserved for the First Prince.

It seemed that after two years of recuperation, Emperor Qing had finally begun to lay out his chess pieces step by step. Especially in the past two months, the Overwatch Council and the Dingzhou Army had forcibly stabilized the situation in Western Liang and the grasslands. Emperor Qing finally had the spare energy to prepare for everything in the northeast direction.

However, if the First Prince was to become the commander of the Qing army's vanguard, in charge of the ten thousand troops at the front line, and become the Grand Commandant of the Northern Expedition Army with great power, then he would have to accept another arrangement from Emperor Qing - taking a secondary consort. The day of the expedition would be the day the Grand Princess was deposed.

"The Eldest is not that kind of person." Fan Xian frowned, thinking that His Majesty had paved all the roads for the First Prince to lead the Qing army and conquer the battlefield. He was just waiting for the First Prince to understand his good intentions and embark on this path. The problem was that although the First Prince liked the battlefield, he was afraid that he would not be able to do such a thing.

Thinking that after returning to Kyoto, he would be forced to do such a thing under the Emperor's pressure, Fan Xian felt a burst of boredom and couldn't help but groan. Although this groan was extremely low, it startled Deng Ziyue and Mu Feng'er beside him, who didn't know what had happened.

"It's nothing, go to rest quickly, we have to hurry tomorrow." Fan Xian rubbed his forehead, waved his hand to the two of them, thought for a while, and then left Deng Ziyue behind.

He looked at Deng Ziyue, and after a moment of silence, said, "You have been stationed in Shangjing for a long time, do you know how the people of Northern Qi view Shi Fei as a person?"

In the past two years, Shi Fei had been stationed in Cangzhou, leading the Northern Expedition Camp to fight against the famous general Shang Shanhu. Although he had suffered some minor losses, he was not impatient and stabilized the situation extremely well. Deng Ziyue thought for a while and said, "General Shi Fei has always been Deputy General to Grand Commandant Wang in the Yanjing Camp in the past, and his reputation was not very prominent. It was only after he went to the Northern Expedition Camp two years ago that he gradually became known to the Qi people. Although there have been no major battles in the north and south of Cangzhou in the past two years, he can still remain calm under the pressure of Shang Shanhu. This alone proves that Shi Fei's personality is biased towards being gentle and capable."

"Gentle?" Fan Xian asked back with some disapproval, "If he was just gentle and capable, why would His Majesty have let him take on such a heavy burden two years ago?"

Deng Ziyue knew what the Supervisor was talking about. In the late autumn of Qingli seven years, the Dadong Mountain incident occurred, and there was a rebellion in Kyoto. Everyone seemed to have ignored the Northern Camp that had been abandoned by Yan Xiaoyi near Cangzhou and had not thought of its importance. However, Fan Xian had never forgotten that when Emperor Qing was still trapped on Dong Mountain, he had secretly issued a secret decree to Yanjing, ordering the Yanjing Camp to be ready to take over the Northern Camp in Cangzhou at any time to prevent the Northern Qi people from taking advantage of the chaos.

This was an extremely important task. Yan Xiaoyi was dead, and thousands of his personal soldiers were captured. If there was no capable general to take charge, the Northern Camp would probably mutiny. At that time, the general in charge of His Majesty's extremely important decree was General Shi Fei.

How to win over the hearts of the Northern Camp's army was not known in detail, but Fan Xian, as the Supervisor of the Overwatch Council, knew that in his opinion, Shi Fei's process of purifying the army under imperial order was more like a legend.

General Shi Fei only took a dozen personal soldiers into the Northern Camp in Cangzhou, holding the imperial edict and easily taking control of the Northern Camp. Facing an army of one hundred thousand, where did this general get the courage and what kind of ability did he have to make the Northern Camp, which Yan Xiaoyi had been managing for several years, as docile as a warhorse?

A person who could accomplish such a great task was definitely not just gentle. Fan Xian's eyebrows hurt more and more. He always felt that some shadows were shrouded in his mind. Emperor Qing intended to let the First Prince lead the army to the north, which was expected, but why was such a powerful person as Shi Fei transferred back to Kyoto to serve as the Commandant of the Kyoto Garrison instead of staying on the front line? Who was he targeting?

As early as when the former Crown Prince was on a mission to Nan Zhao, Fan Xian had once speculated that once the forces of the Eldest Princess melted like ice and snow, he would be greeted by Emperor Qing's ruthless reduction of power and the palace's ruthless attack on the older generation of officials. In the past two years, the Overwatch Council had been weakened a lot, but fortunately, His Majesty's favor for him had increased day by day, and no one in the court dared to do anything to him. And the elders that Fan Xian was most worried about had also gained the most valuable experience from the Kyoto rebellion and had automatically disappeared from the stage before Emperor Qing could take action.

Father Fan Jian had already resigned from the position of Minister of Revenue and had honestly returned to Danzhou to retire. Chen Pingping, although he still held the position of Director of the Overwatch Council, had long ceased to be involved in affairs and had handed over all the council affairs to Fan Xian and Yan Bingyun. Moreover, he had already submitted a request to the Emperor to resign, but the Emperor was really somewhat reluctant to part with his friendship with him and insisted on not allowing it. Of course, among the older generation of figures, the most miserable was his father-in-law in Wuzhou. In the Kyoto rebellion, former Prime Minister Lin Ruofu made a miscalculation and brought out all the people he had buried in the court and handed them over to his good son-in-law. He originally thought he could make a comeback, but who could have expected that Emperor Qing would safely return to Kyoto and all of this would become like a dream bubble.

Not just a bubble, Emperor Qing deeply feared the former Prime Minister's dishonesty and had been ruthlessly purging the Prime Minister's former disciples in the past two years. Although he did not use any sinister means, he had wiped out all the remaining strength that Lin Ruofu had left in Kyoto.

Regarding this matter, Fan Xian had no room to speak. He could only watch all of this with a wry smile, watching his father-in-law in Wuzhou panic and secretly write to the Emperor, sincerely pleading for forgiveness.

Fortunately, Emperor Qing did not continue to pursue Lin Ruofu for the sake of Fan Xian and Lin Wan'er.

Thinking about it this way, the three old guys that Emperor Qing intended to sweep away had all consciously retreated to the back of the stage. The Qing Kingdom's court was like an iron bucket. Why was Shi Fei transferred back to Kyoto? Such a powerful person was not left in the war to unify the world, but was transferred back to Emperor Qing's side. Who was he targeting?

Could it be himself? Fan Xian felt a little sad. He stopped thinking about these questions, raised his head, and said softly to Deng Ziyue, "Don't worry about the matters in Kyoto."

He paused and said, "No matter what you hear or what you know, don't worry about it... You must remember that you are an official of the Overwatch Council, His Majesty's subject. I am placing you in Western Liang now for the sake of the lives of hundreds of millions of people in Qing. If you handle this matter well, everything will be fine."

Deng Ziyue was the second person to enter the Qi Nian Group. He was personally captured by Wang Qinian. Besides Old Wang, he was Fan Xian's number one confidant. In the past few years, he had been serving as the chief of the Overwatch Council's Fourth Bureau stationed in Northern Qi. He also knew that the Supervisor was promoting him, and his heart was full of gratitude. At this time, listening to the Supervisor's ominous words, he couldn't help but be stunned and speechless, his eyes full of worry.

The three successive chiefs of the Overwatch Council's Fourth Bureau's Northern Qi spy network were Yan Bingyun, Wang Qinian, and Deng Ziyue, all of whom were Fan Xian's most capable assistants. And if they didn't have accidents like Wang Qinian, they would all be the top officials of the Overwatch Council in the future.

Fan Xian quietly looked at Deng Ziyue: "The matter in Western Liang is very important. You must handle it well. After returning to Kyoto, you will temporarily hold the position of Chief of the Fourth Bureau. This way, it will be easier to ask for support from the other seven Bureaus. But don't worry about the other jurisdictions for the time being. Let Yan Bingyun lead them. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Understood." Deng Ziyue nodded, "Thank you for your kindness, sir."

"Don't let the Hu people step into our territory." Fan Xian stared into his eyes, "I have sacrificed so many people and placed you, the person I trust the most, on this desolate Western Liang road for at least two years. You know what it's for. Don't let me down."

Deng Ziyue's heart trembled. He knelt down on one knee and said solemnly, "I will definitely not fail your expectations, sir."

Fan Xian nodded and said nothing more. However, Deng Ziyue's heart was still full of emotion. He had been following the Supervisor for five years, but he had never seen him explain a matter so seriously. What made him even more frightened was that, although Master Fan was only a young man in his early twenties, when he explained matters and handled affairs, he was so calm and steady, like an old guy who had been in the court for decades.

He hesitated for a moment and said, "Regarding Songzhixian Ling (Song Zhi Xian Ling)..."

Songzhixian Ling was Haitang. This news would slowly spread out, but at least for now, besides Fan Xian, only Deng Ziyue knew this secret. Hearing this request, Fan Xian fell silent and did not respond for a long time.

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More than ten days later, the convoy of the Imperial Envoy Fan Xian arrived outside Kyoto. However, as early as three days ago, Fan Xian ordered all the ceremonial guards and eye-catching things to be removed. This trip to inspect Western Liang under imperial order was just a formality. The secret plan underneath was the most important thing. In addition, there were some small troubles in Kyoto. Fan Xian did not want to be too high-profile. Therefore, the imperial envoy's ceremonial guard transformed into a convoy of the Overwatch Council's Fourth Bureau.

The Overwatch Council's travel documents were naturally not a problem, and the soldiers of the City Gate Division did not dare to provoke these masters. The convoy did not wait long outside the West City Gate before heading into the city. Fan Xian lifted a corner of the curtain of the carriage and subconsciously looked out, unable to help but think of the appearance of Ye Ling'er riding into the city at a glance when he first entered Kyoto.

Ye Ling'er should have arrived in Dingzhou now. Wang Shisanlang will definitely come to report to the Fan residence before the New Year, but I don't know if she will come with him. A trace of comforting smile appeared on Fan Xian's face, recalling that in the spring season of that year, the woman was wearing a light-colored Ru skirt, wearing a white deer skin hat, with eyebrows like distant mountains and bright eyes...

Suddenly, a gray shadow rushed past the convoy, narrowly brushing against the carriage that Fan Xian was riding in. This shadow was extremely fast, almost frightening the horses of the Overwatch Council's convoy. The situation was very dangerous.

The swordsmen of the Overwatch Council's Sixth Bureau subconsciously held the handles of their iron picks, ready to strike at any time.

However, Fan Xian had already seen the gray shadow clearly and shook his head. It was just a little girl riding a horse. Why be so nervous? It was just that the little girl riding a horse was rushing so fast and didn't care about the safety of the people and vegetable farmers waiting at the city gate, which made Fan Xian frown.

That person on the horse should be a young lady from a wealthy family, otherwise she would not be so arrogant. Fan Xian stretched his head out of the window, squinted his eyes to look at the woman rushing into the city gate, and watched the team that was disturbed by her horse and an old farmer who had fallen to the ground in fright. His mood became bad.

There were many reasons for his bad mood, but an important one was that the wealthy lady riding a horse was actually wearing a skirt, just like Ye Ling'er, and she was also wearing a white deer skin hat, just like... just like Ye Ling'er.

"Who is this young lady? Her actions are so unbearable." Fan Xian asked Mu Feng'er beside the carriage. Mu Feng'er's family all worked in the Kyoto First Bureau and were very clear about the personnel of the Kyoto wealthy families. But today, Mu Feng'er looked at the horse that was disappearing in the distance, and just shook his head, indicating that he didn't know.

However, a member of the Qi Nian Group who had come out of the city to greet them said in a low voice, "It should be the Wang family's young lady."

"The Wang family?" Fan Xian raised his eyebrows slightly, thinking that besides the daughter of Wang Zhikun, the Grand Commandant of Yanjing, which Wang family in the entire Kyoto would dare to be so arrogant? The Kyoto rebellion had already passed for two years. The Yanjing Camp had performed particularly well in the rebellion, not only clearing the entire Dongshan Road for His Majesty, but also controlling Yan Xiaoyi's Northern Expedition Camp. Now Wang Zhikun was far away in Yanjing, but Shi Fei had already been transferred back to Kyoto. This was the so-called Yanjing faction in the military, which was receiving great favor from the Emperor.

"It is indeed the young lady from Grand Commandant Wang's family. It is said that the Grand Commandant is grateful for the Emperor's kindness and misses his old residence in Kyoto, so he let this young lady return to Kyoto... The current Commandant of the Kyoto Garrison, Shi Fei, was a subordinate of Grand Commandant Wang in the past. This Miss Wang refers to him as uncle. It is said that this Miss Wang most admires the style of the eldest Miss Ye in Kyoto back then, so..." A member of the Qi Nian Group explained in a low voice, an excellent subordinate will always analyze the situation for his superior to avoid unnecessary problems.

"Wants to learn from Ye Ling'er?" The smile on Fan Xian's lips was a little strange, "When I first saw Ye Ling'er outside the city gate, the people of Kyoto would automatically make way for her. I have never seen my apprentice whip people around..."

Seeing this scene, he gradually understood who the secondary consort for the First Prince was in the palace's draft, his face gradually darkened, and he said, "Don't enter the palace first, go around to the Heqin Prince's mansion."

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(Monthly votes are fourth again, my begging for votes is getting a bit repetitive, it's tough...)