Chapter 161 Silence

As Ren Baozhong said, some things might seem tedious and often involve everyone rushing in, but as an official, one doesn't need to worry about everything. He only needs to focus on the key points relevant to his level.

In fact, not only Ren Baozhong, but also Wang Yan, who was in charge of the miscellaneous affairs of the Imperial Guard's central command, and Liu Ziyu of the Ministry of War, both provided corresponding summaries to Zhao Guan's family through the Privy Council and offered their own suggestions.

A few days later, near the end of March, Zhao Jiu also received feedback from several commanders and chief generals.

But to be honest, although these people gave answers to Zhao Jiu's direct questions, the quality of their responses varied greatly, and their positions were somewhat difficult to grasp.

First of all, in terms of the quality of the memorials, Wu Jie and Yue Fei were undoubtedly the best. They clearly understood Zhao Guan's intentions and gave reasonable and well-founded explanations. Moreover, their answers were basically the same as those previously obtained within Zhao Jiu's small circle of close officials.

It was said to be basically the same because Yue Fei explicitly expressed his hope to appropriately increase the Imperial Guard's navy to ensure freedom of movement on the eastern front. Wu Jie directly suggested that if it was really difficult to expand the Imperial Guard's army, some Xiang troops (militia) could be maintained in Guanzhong at a low cost as reserve soldiers. Furthermore, he expressed clear concerns about the potential plan, which Zhao Guan's family had mentioned, to temporarily conscript a large number of Dangxiang soldiers.

In short, although Yue Fei was the one who proposed the strategy of advancing from Hedong, as a native of Hebei, leading soldiers who were mostly refugees from Hebei, he certainly hoped to open up the situation directly on the Hebei Plain. It was only natural for him to mention this.

Relatively speaking, Wu Jie's personal agenda was heavier.

Who could be used to raise reserve troops in Guanzhong? Weren't they the Western Army soldiers who had been eliminated when they were reorganized and reduced into the Imperial Guard's rear army!

As for the Western Army's hostility towards the Dangxiang people, it had always existed. But the Western Xia was already destroyed, and the key was that the imperial court was asking you questions at this time precisely because it didn't have money and could only selectively expand the army, right? So, was it cheaper to raise a large number of Western Army veterans in Guanzhong to form reserve troops, or was it cheaper to directly conscript a large number of Dangxiang people at once, similar to a blood tax?

Even further, it should be known that the reorganization of Ningxia Road and Shaanxi Road had triggered a series of Han-Fan (Han Chinese - non-Han Chinese) conflicts. At this time, Wu Jie's mention of these things was perhaps too adept at uniting colleagues, wasn't it?

There were those with too much personal agenda, and naturally there were those with the most correct stance.

Li Yanxian and Zhang Rong were very appropriate in this regard. The former only emphasized the necessity of setting the main attack direction in Hedong, while the latter simply made a guarantee that there would definitely be no problems on the river.

As for Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun, the two most experienced commanders, they were obviously perfunctory.

There was no need to say more about Zhang Boying; he had actually been dismissed, and his thoughts were all on the long overdue fleet. Zhao Jiu could also roughly guess what Han Liangchen was thinking, but as long as this guy didn't delay things, Zhao Guan's family was too lazy to bother with him.

As for Wang De, Li Qiong, and the newly appointed commander of the Imperial Guard, Wang Yan, including the Minister of War, Liu Ziyu, and even the Chief Councillors Zhang Jun and Chen Gui, while having slight deviations in their final answers, unanimously proposed a common suggestion—they advocated that the army expansion should start with the Imperial Guard's central army. Some even believed that all the quotas that could be expanded should be given to Wang De and Li Qiong to ensure that the Tokyo-directly affiliated troops could form a balance with the Jingdong and Guanzhong directions.

This was a typical matter of position. Although it was not as obvious as Wu Jie's, it essentially produced inappropriate suggestions.

In fact, Zhao Guan's family wasn't trying to seize military power at this time, right?

It wasn't to say that the more centralized the power, the harder it was to release strength, but rather that this military system centered on individual generals was a historical legacy, a military characteristic that naturally formed under the great collapse of the Jingkang era, an established reality. And changing the established situation was bound to cause turmoil.

To put it bluntly, the Northern Expedition was a major battle that gambled on the country's fortunes. Success aside, once it failed, it would likely take another ten or twenty years to muster the courage and gather strength. In this case, Zhao Guan's family wouldn't even think about seizing military power; he could even tolerate another Jin Gouzhen incident!

Returning to the present, although the imperial court had gathered opinions from all sides, this matter involved too much after all. Therefore, from mid-March to late March, the Privy Council adjusted the plan several times. Although it gradually stabilized, to be honest, everyone, including Zhao Guan's family, still felt that some places were not satisfactory enough.

Of course, everyone understood in their hearts that financial resources were limited, and there were bound to be unsatisfactory aspects. Therefore, it was estimated that after further adjustments, this matter could be completely settled after the grand court assembly on the first day of April.

However, just in this late March when the imperial court was gradually finalizing the army expansion plan, due to the truly helpless transportation conditions of this era, a highly ironic thing happened—the imperial court received a strongly worded memorial from Li Gang, Li Boji, the former Chief Councillor of the Southeast.

Without even looking at the content, just calculating the time, it was known that this memorial was clearly aimed at the imperial court's implementation of radical Northern Expedition policies. However, most of the people who handled the memorial in various departments gasped and immediately knew that this Li Gang, Li Xianggong (honorific title for a Chief Councillor), was clearly riled up because his third brother, Li Jing, had been unreasonably expelled from the court.

"I request to resign..."

"Resign my ass!"

On the west side of Yanfu Palace, in the courtyard of the Martial Academy's main hall, under the precious, oil-like spring rain, Chief Councillor Zhang Jun had just cupped his hands and struggled to say three words when he was stopped by Zhao Guan's family, who was standing with his back to him, reading the memorial, without even turning his head.

Not only that, but the memorial in the Guan's family's hand was thrown directly onto the already wet ground along with this sentence.

Obviously, Zhao Guan's family was angry.

Seeing this scene, the civil and military officials, close attendants, and even the guards and students of the Martial Academy, who had gathered here for the Northern Expedition demonstration, were almost all horrified into silence.

Even the several Chief Ministers who had rushed over had serious expressions.

The people in front were mostly frightened by Zhao Guan's family's rage. As for the Chief Ministers who had read the memorial, it wasn't that they lacked courage, but rather that this time Li Gang, Li Boji, had really gone too far. His memorial could almost be described as a tearing of faces.

For a peacefully retired Chief Councillor whose political influence had not yet disappeared to openly tear faces with an incumbent Chief Minister, the political consequences were self-evident... After all, according to the rules, if an Investigating Censor publicly impeached a Chief Minister, the Chief Minister had to routinely request to resign and hand over the decision of whether to stay or leave to the Guan's family... This was an important means by which the imperial court controlled the Chief Ministers.

And although Li Gang was not an Investigating Censor, the political power of his impeachment was probably greater than that of an Investigating Censor!

To put it bluntly, this memorial was something that ordinary people couldn't bear, and even the Chief Ministers might not be able to bear it. Only Zhao Guan's family could bear it.

To be more specific, in this memorial sent through official channels, Li Boji directly impeached Zhang Deyuan (Zhang Jun) as a flattering villain, a person who misled the country, and also a 'colluding with petty people', 'expelling loyal and upright people', and an unruly party trying to control the Censorate!

Faced with this direct attack, not to mention anything else, the person involved, Zhang Jun, had to make a swift and direct political response. Therefore, it was no wonder that the several Chief Ministers had rushed to Zhao Guan's family, who was watching the Northern Expedition demonstration next to the Martial Academy, after reading this memorial at the Chongwen Institute.

However, no one expected that Zhao Guan's family would be so angry after reading this memorial, and would even be publicly enraged... It could only be said that this Guan's family's temper had indeed increased.

"Look at what he wrote?!" After turning around, Zhao Jiu snatched the memorial stained with mud from the hands of Grand Supervisor Lan Gui of the Inner Attendants Province, who had just picked it up, and flicked a sleeve of water droplets. "Who are the petty people?! Who are the loyal and upright?! Is it 'sinister motives' if things don't go according to his ideas?"

After speaking, this Guan's family threw the memorial to the ground again and turned his back again.

Grand Supervisor Lan Gui had no choice but to bend down and pick up the memorial from the already soaked ground and tidy it up slightly.

Facing the Guan's family's back, to be honest, the scene was still a bit strange... Zhang Jun bowed his head and remained silent, and naturally didn't mention it. As for the other three Chief Ministers involved, including Wang Yan and many others who were here earlier, although they had a lot to say and some were willing to say it, they just couldn't interrupt.

The rain became heavier and heavier. Zhao Jiu, who was only wearing a wingless hat and casual clothes, looked up at the sky full of rain. After a long time, he finally caught his breath, but then turned around and looked at each other:

"Let's all go inside. Don't get caught in the rain. The sand table in the hall should also be put away and returned... There's no rush."

However, although he said to go inside, this Guan's family did not walk towards the Martial Academy hall in front of him. Instead, he snatched the memorial from Lan Da-yaguan's hand again, turned around, and went out, finally heading towards Xinggang (Apricot Hill), not far outside the Martial Academy.

Everyone around looked at each other. Which one of them would actually go to the Martial Academy hall to take shelter from the rain? Almost everyone, from Chief Administrator Zhao Ding of the All-Affairs Department downwards, followed Zhao Guan's family out, and even Wang Yan, who had been presiding over the demonstration here, hurriedly chased after him on Xinggang after ordering to put away those sand tables.

Speaking of Xinggang, it was full of good apricot trees transplanted from all over the country during the reign of the Supreme Taoist Emperor, almost covering the entire small hill. It was now March, and the apricot blossoms were in full bloom, filling the hill with green and red colors. In addition to sheltering the crowd climbing the hill from most of the spring rain, it was actually a scene of fireworks in March.

However, Zhao Guan's family had recently liked to come here, or at least he was coming here today, obviously not because of the full hill of apricot blossoms, because after arriving on Xinggang, which was next to the city wall, he entered the thatched pavilion on the top of the hill, stood with his hands behind his back outside the thatched pavilion, and then, regardless of the rain, directly looked over the full hill of apricot blossoms into the distance.

This was the best panoramic viewpoint in the entire imperial city, and even the northern part of the inner city.

On a sunny day, you could even remotely see the edge of the inner city. Zhao Guan's family had actually been here several times.

However, at this time, looking out from here in the drizzle, only the outlines of the buildings could be seen in the entire imperial city, and the entire inner city of Bianliang was hidden in the misty rain.

In the northeast direction, the iron tower of Kaibao Temple, far outside the inner city wall, was still remotely visible.

Moreover, the noise outside Donghua Gate could still penetrate the fine rain and the misty fragrance of the entire Xinggang and reach the thatched pavilion.

It could also be regarded as a unique flavor.

After watching for a while, perhaps the misty rain scenery suppressed the anger in his heart, Zhao Guan's family finally turned around, but still did not enter the thatched pavilion. Instead, he started reading Li Gang's memorial in the rain again.

But to be honest, even after recovering, Zhao Jiu still shook his head repeatedly in public after reading it, but he was not as annoyed as before.

After reading it, Zhao Guan's family handed the memorial to Wang Yan, who was the highest-ranking person besides the four Chief Ministers, and asked Wang Yan and others to pass it around.

At this time, these people knew why the Guan's family was so angry.

Because this memorial was far more than those words that Zhang Jun had presented when he offered the memorial in the Martial Academy... Li Gang not only personally attacked Zhang Jun and impeached Zhang Jun, but also directly personally attacked Zhao Guan's family and launched a direct remonstrance against Zhao Guan's family.

Of course, he must have also criticized Zhang Jun's entire plan.

"The world is not just Your Majesty's world... I'm tired of hearing this, I don't even know how to change the wording." Zhao Jiu sneered with his hands behind his back. "Also, just because Chief Councillor Zhang's wife, Yuwen, is Chief Councillor Yuwen's niece, he said that they have forces all over Guanzhong and have suspected affiliations. Then what about the people who seize sons-in-law from the list? Does the fact that the late Chief Councillor Wang seized my first Zhuangyuan count as forming a party? The Lu family has intermarried with the Plum Blossom Han family for generations, so what about that? What about the Zhe and Yang families, the two general families? They are still military generals holding heavy troops. Aren't they even more sinister?"

After Zhao Jiu finished speaking in one breath, Zhang Deyuan (Zhang Jun) immediately braced himself and came out to make the necessary explanation: "To let Guan's family know, I was not in the position of Chief Minister when I married into the Yuwen family. I only handled affairs in Guanzhong a few years ago and inevitably had to hand over affairs with Chief Councillor Yuwen, so there was naturally some relationship between superiors and subordinates. Chief Councillor Yuwen knew that I had not had a proper wife since the Jingkang Rebellion, so he recruited me as his niece's husband... At that time, I only thought it was a good thing, but I forgot the duty of a minister to avoid suspicion."

Zhang Jun had to explain—as a Chief Minister, if the memorial impeaching him mentioned this matter, according to political rules, he had to explain it in front of the Guan's family, and he would probably have to write a self-defense document when he went back.

But Lu Benzhong, as well as Zhe Yanzhi, who was called to participate in the Martial Academy demonstration, and Yang Yizhong, who didn't say a word, were innocent victims... The three of them had already reluctantly stepped forward when Zhao Guan's family mentioned their family affairs, but today's matter was essentially unrelated to them, so they couldn't even interrupt to plead guilty and could only stand dryly around the four Chief Ministers.

Leaving aside how embarrassed these three were and how the others hurriedly passed around the memorial, on the other side, Zhao Guan's family, after listening to this explanation, directly walked forward with his hands behind his back and stopped just one step away from Zhang Jun:

"Deyuan (Zhang Jun), do you know what I want to say?"

Even if Zhang Jun knew, he could only say that he didn't know at this time, not to mention that he really didn't know... So the current Chief Councillor quickly shook his head.

At this time, Zhao Guan's family put one hand behind his back and suddenly stretched out the other hand and pressed it on Zhang Jun's already wet shoulder: "I want to say to Chief Councillor Zhang... You have been wronged today!"

Zhang Jun was a rather emotional person. Even in his fifties, he still fantasized about becoming a Zhuge Liang-like figure. Hearing this, he raised his head and his eyes actually turned red. He opened his mouth to speak, but was choked with emotion and was about to kneel down on the spot.

Of course, how could Zhao Guan's family let him really kneel down? He directly used force on his hand and spoke out to stop the other party's actions:

"Deyuan, not just you, but also Chief Councillor Zhao, Chief Councillor Liu, Chief Councillor Chen..."

The other three Chief Ministers quickly bowed forward together.

"I want to tell you all that what we are going to do in the next few years is not just about having an unstoppable momentum. There are countless things that we have to do one by one while resisting the resistance."

Zhao Jiu said with emotion. "And as national Chief Ministers, you must bear the weight and be at the forefront. At that time, not only will there be such direct and unwarranted attacks as today, but you will also encounter real difficult choices, and there is an eighty or ninety percent chance that something will really go wrong and you will make mistakes... And what I want to say today is, please don't give up on yourselves and abandon the stall because of a moment of anger or a moment of grievance when you encounter difficult matters... If you don't care, what will I do?"

The four Chief Ministers were stunned and then bowed their heads together.

The surrounding civil and military officials were shocked and had slightly different thoughts.

Some people immediately realized that Zhao Guan's family was not only going to take over this memorial for Chief Councillor Zhang... This was expected... Moreover, he also made a long-term political commitment to the four Chief Ministers in a semi-public way.

Other people, such as Ren Baozhong, instinctively thought that Li Gongxiang, who had a great reputation, was only in his fifties and would probably never be able to become a Chief Minister again in this life. Not only that, but after this wave, since he had angered Zhao Guan's family, although he wouldn't be directly killed like in the Dangxiang area, according to the Han people's rules, he would definitely be directly banished to Hainan.

Sure enough, at the next moment, when Zhao Guan's family put his hands behind his back again, he suddenly raised his voice: "Li Boji not only impeached Chief Councillor Zhang, but also reprimanded me... Chief Councillor Zhang was impeached, and Chief Councillor Zhang has already made an explanation and requested to resign, but I just didn't allow it; I was reprimanded, my skin is thick, so I won't respond to him; but he also said that he doesn't understand whether the imperial court is suppressing the south and humiliating the two emperors in order to carry out the Northern Expedition, or whether it is raising the banner of the Northern Expedition in order to suppress the south and humiliate the two emperors. You are all important ministers of the imperial court and have also participated in the public discussion of the grand court assembly on the first day of this month. What do you all think?"

Zhao Ding had been waiting for his appearance in the program for a long time. Hearing this, he stepped forward without hesitation under everyone's attention, stood side by side with Zhang Jun, and bowed to the Guan's family: "I think Chief Councillor Li is sophistry! There is no need for the Emperor and the Chief Ministers to make an explanation for such a sentence!"

"I also think so."

"I agree with Chief Councillor Zhao's words." Liu Ji and Chen Gui followed closely.

"I also think Chief Councillor Li's words are ridiculous." Wang Yan woke up and followed up, but couldn't help but say an extra sentence. "In the end, Chief Councillor Li's argument is not about whether it can be debated or not. As long as the country is wholeheartedly preparing for the Northern Expedition, his argument will collapse without being attacked."

After Wang Yan, Zhe Yanzhi, Fan Zongyin, Yang Yizhong, Lu Benzhong, Liu Yan, Ren Baozhong, and others quickly bowed to express their positions. For a time, only Grand Supervisor Lan Gui of the Inner Attendants Province stood with his hands clasped behind Zhao Guan's family's side and did not move.

Zhao Guan's family, whose shoulders and wingless hat were all wet, also chuckled when he heard this: "Well said, that's the truth. As long as we take the first step, these words will be as insignificant as the rain here today... I will take this opportunity to formally finalize the matter of army expansion. Just follow the latest plan from yesterday... After adjusting and adjusting, it's always more or less the same... Publish it directly! The imperial edict, the official documents of the All-Affairs Department and the Privy Council, and the Dibao (official gazette), publish them all together as a response to Chief Councillor Li!"

Zhao Ding and Zhang Jun took the lead and led the Chief Ministers and officials present to respond on the spot, but Wang Yan wanted to say something but stopped, but in the end he did not dare to speak.

Then, the fine rain continued, but the crowd dispersed under the leadership of the Chief Ministers. Zhao Guan's family stood on Xinggang again for a while, then suddenly pinched the memorial, put on light clothes, and only took four or five close attendants and a team of guards, left Yanfu Palace, turned into the West City, and arrived at Lu Benzhong's house... or rather, Lu Haowen, Chief Councillor Lu's house, before noon.

Lu Haowen, hearing that the Guan's family was coming, calmly welcomed him in. The monarch and his minister met, and only set up a few cases in the corridor where they usually played chess, sat cross-legged, and then Zhao Jiu handed the memorial to Lu Haowen and described today's events to Lu Haowen.

"Guan's family's handling is extremely appropriate." In the corridor, Lu Haowen, sitting cross-legged across the cases from Zhao Guan's family, finished reading the memorial, listened to the explanation, and respectfully placed the memorial on the case before letting out a light sigh. "Thinking back a few years ago, when I was a Chief Minister, Guan's family always told us to endure for the sake of the country. Today is actually still enduring for the sake of the country... But if you want me to say, enduring today is probably more difficult than in previous years, because at that time we had to endure, but today we can choose not to endure... It is precisely because we can choose not to endure that it is difficult."

In the corridor next door, several close attendants, from Lu Benzhong to Ren Baozhong to Yang Yizhong, as well as Fan Zongyin and Liu Yan, almost everyone realized that Guan's family should be here to ask Chief Councillor Lu how to deal with Chief Councillor Li, and Chief Councillor Lu was clearly trying to persuade Guan's family to let Chief Councillor Li go.

Enduring for the sake of the country, although we can choose not to endure, we still have to endure.

However, at the next moment, Zhao Guan's family laughed on the spot: "Does Chief Councillor Lu think that I am here to ask how to deal with Chief Councillor Li?"

"Isn't that what Guan's family means?" Lu Haowen asked curiously.

As for the others, although they didn't say it, they also asked this question in their hearts.

"Since I have decided to respond to Chief Councillor Li by taking the first step, I am already prepared to let him go lightly." Zhao Jiu shook his head and said with emotion. "After all, he is the first Chief Minister after I ascended the throne, the first Chief Councillor, and also the banner of the country's main war faction since Jingkang... He has made great contributions to the world, to the country, and to me. I will not let him have a bad ending! Besides, he is not the kind of person who changes his course. When the imperial court all wanted to surrender that day, his advocacy was naturally the main war faction; today I want to expedite the Northern Expedition, and he is still that advocacy, so naturally he has become the gradualist faction! These things could be seen as early as the beginning of Jianyan in the disagreement between him and Zong Zhongwu... And I finally inherited Zong Zhongwu and abandoned him."

Speaking of this, Zhao Jiu paused slightly before continuing: "What's more, I also know that he most likely saw the faster Dibao first, and then received Li Jing's letter. After a few days, he suddenly learned that Li Jing had been transferred out on the first day of March. He was ashamed and angry and lost his head, and only thought that I had conspired to betray the tacit understanding between monarch and minister, and that's why he made a mess."

"Guan's family is magnanimous." Lu Haowen bowed slightly in his seat, but still couldn't help but be curious. "But if that's the case, why did Guan's family come to see me and tell me the whole story?"

Zhao Jiu sat upright opposite him, silent for a moment, then pointed to the memorial on the case between the two and said earnestly: "I just want to ask Chief Councillor Lu, you say, I clearly knew from the beginning that I would definitely let Chief Councillor Li go, and I also clearly knew that I would not stop at all because of this matter, but would instead go forward more resolutely. But why was I so angry after seeing this memorial?"

Of course it's because you, the Guan's family, felt that the other party had betrayed you! Just like Li Gang felt that you had betrayed him when he wrote this memorial!

Thinking back to the beginning of Jianyan, you two, monarch and minister, could definitely be considered enduring for the sake of the country, and even had some state of sharing life and death, but in just a few years, Li Boji would actually have doubts about you, the Guan's family, because of a little bit of political disagreement, so as to do such a thing.

There were certainly some misunderstandings in this, and Li Gang's bad temper and old mentality of treating the Guan's family like a child also contributed to it, but in any case, as the Guan's family, suddenly encountering such a thing would certainly feel angry.

Lu Haowen actually had the answer in his heart in an instant, and almost blurted it out, but the words came to his throat and he swallowed them back.

Then, this Chief Councillor just stared at Zhao Guan's family for a long time before earnestly facing him in the spring rain, which was gradually turning into drizzle and had a rustling sound:

"Guan's family, I am in this city, watching Guan's family act with my own eyes. The matter of three people becoming tigers will never happen to me!"

As soon as these words came out, the surrounding close attendants almost all breathed heavily.

Zhao Guan's family, on the other hand, shook his head and smiled: "That's not what I meant. I'm just sad that Chief Councillor Li actually doesn't trust me... It has made Chief Councillor Lu think too much again."

Lu Haowen also smiled: "In that case, I have indeed thought too much... It's just that Chief Councillor Li is really pitiful."

Zhao Jiu nodded noncommittally.

In this way, not to mention how Zhao Guan's family had feelings and needed to find Lu Haowen for psychological counseling, just to say that the next day, the imperial court finally officially issued the army expansion plan:

The Imperial Guard Left Army led by Han Shizhong was increased from a force of 30,000 to a force of 37,000;

The Imperial Guard Rear Army led by Wu Jie was increased from a force of 30,000 to a force of 38,000;

The Imperial Guard Central Army was increased from a force of 50,000 to a force of 65,000, but most of the corresponding share of military supplies was given to Li Yanxian in Shanzhou. Wang De's division was increased from a force of 15,000 to a force of 17,000, and Li Qiong was increased from a force of 15,000 to a force of 18,000. In other words, the increase in the Imperial Guard Central Army was still given to the Guanzhong direction. The Imperial Guard Central Army only increased one commander division each for Wang De's division and Li Qiong's division... This was also the place where Wang Yan once hesitated on Xinggang and wanted to argue on the spot;

The Imperial Guard Front Army led by Yue Fei was increased from a force of 35,000 to a force of 40,000;

Zhang Jun's Imperial Guard Right Army remained unchanged at a force of 25,000;

Zhang Rong's Imperial Guard Navy remained unchanged at a force of 15,000;

The Imperial Guard Navy led by Li Bao was temporarily maintained at a force of 5,000 to 6,000, but Li Bao's position as Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard was officially recognized. After the imperial edict arrived, he would enjoy similar treatment to Li Qiong.

The Imperial Guard Cavalry led by Qu Duan was increased from a force of 15,000 to a force of 20,000;

Finally, Guo Zhongxun's 10,000 Imperial Guard Reserve Army was recruited and settled in place according to half the treatment of Imperial Guard soldiers.

Overall, this army expansion was equivalent to expanding the share of 45,000 Imperial Guard regular soldiers, of which the Guanzhong direction received 25,000 shares, the central government directly affiliated Tokyo area received a supplement of 10,000 soldiers, and the Jingdong direction only received 5,000 shares, mostly in the form of retroactive recognition of those who surrendered to Yue Fei's division during the suppression of the rebellion.

Basically, the original strategy of expanding the army, expanding the cavalry, and expanding the west was implemented.

Of course, these shares were not added all at once... In addition to the retroactive recognition of the de facto army expansion, most of the new personnel, from the front line to Guo Zhongxun's reserve army, were to be gradually added in batches within three years.

The advantage of this was to save money, and to save a lot of money, giving the treasury a buffer, but the disadvantage was that the soldiers would inevitably be insufficiently trained, especially in the cavalry, which would inevitably have to take the Fan army route again.

But this was really a helpless thing.

But no matter what, with the issuance of the public imperial edict, the transmission of the official documents of the All-Affairs Department and the Privy Council, the return of the secret notes personally replied by the Guan's family, and even the direct publication of the Dibao, the steps of this huge imperial court were finally taken firmly yet precariously.

In contrast, the central imperial court in Tokyo, facing the public memorial of the former Chief Councillor Li Gang, did not give Li Gang any public imperial edict or official document response, nor did it make any promotions, transfers, or demotions.

If it weren't for the fact that the Inner Attendants Province had received a self-defense memorial from Chief Councillor Zhang and the Hanlin Academy had stored a record of Chief Councillor Zhang's request to resign being rejected, it would have seemed as if this incident had never happened at all.

ps: Thanks to the rewards from the big guys [names omitted].

By the way, a word out of place, today is the first anniversary of the publication of this book... One year.