Putting these troubles behind him, Li Shan looked at Su Dingfang, "Brother Dingfang should be the general of the Zuojianmen when he returns to Beijing this time, but unlike last year when he controlled the Beiya Imperial Army, it is just a false duty."
Ling Jing added: "Unlike last year, Chai Shao bypassed Zhang Jin and Luo Yi and took control of the Beiya Imperial Army through the general level. He also transferred many of Princess Pingyang's old troops from Jinyang."
"Chai Shao controls the Bei Ya forbidden army. Although Ding Fang is ranked as the Sixteenth General and is nominally controlled by him, he just follows the precedent and ignores the situation, not to mention General Zuo Jianmen..."
Li Shan also nodded in agreement. Su Dingfang is the general of Zuojianmen. The following two generals of Zuojianmen are Zhang Zhongjian who is still in Lingzhou and Feng Li, the prince's confidant. They have always been controlled by Su Dingfang on the battlefield. But now that he has returned to Chang'an, Su Dingfang will definitely be unable to command.
"Well, and my mother has contacts with the East Palace, it's better for me to stay in seclusion during this period." Su Dingfang nodded, "By the way, how about Liu Hei'er?"
"Not bad, he is now in charge of the personal guards, and he is also in charge of Zhuangzi's defense." Ling Jing said with a smile, "Huairen is quite discerning."
Su Dingfang thought for a moment, "Liu Nv Nicheng and the Jihu people were quite brave, and they contributed a lot to Helan's victory."
"His Majesty has allowed him to settle in Lingzhou." Li Shan said a few words casually, "Brother Dingfang brought many people back to Beijing this time?"
"Well, Qu Silang and Hou Hongtao are back. In addition, most of the personal guards in the army have returned to Beijing, leaving only some manpower for Zhang Sanlang." Su Dingfang shook his head, "If I had known this, I might as well have Zhang Sanlang return to Beijing."
"That's inappropriate." Ling Jing disagreed. "Not many of the generals who went on the expedition with Huairen last year remained in the army. Even Ma Sanbao has returned to Beijing. Once the commander of the Lingzhou Road march is snatched away by the prince's lineage, Go ahead and count on Zhang Zhongjian to check and balance at critical moments."
Li Shan glanced at Ling Jing. The old man's words were better than his songs. In fact, he just couldn't trust Zhang Zhongjian and didn't want this unstable factor to stay in Zhuangzi at the critical moment.
Ling Jing had never had a good impression of Zhang Zhongjian. He always felt that he was ambitious and restless. His loyalty to Li Shan was largely due to the fact that only Li Shan was willing to use him. Once he had other high-ranking officials, he would betray him at all costs. .
Li Shan was unconvinced about Ling Jing's point of view, but one thing was true. Among the guards leaders around him, only Zhang Zhongjian's wife and children were not in Sun Moon Lake. The others, even Hou Hongtao and He Fang, who were the last to arrive, all lived with their families. In Zhuangzi, even Liu Heier brought his two sons and one daughter.
Therefore, among the personal guards or confidants around Li Shan, except for the newly arrived Liu Heier, Su Dingfang and Fan Shiyi all knew the inside story. Wang Junhao and Qu Silang also had some vague guesses, and Zhu Wei even more It was already confirmed. Even Hou Hongtao had tested Wang Junhao privately, but Zhang Zhongjian was the only one who didn't know anything about it.
"Qu Silang was handed over to Liu Heier and Wang Junhao for placement. After all, Hou Hongtao had already joined the army before the expedition, so let him return to the Beiya Forbidden Army." Li Shan explained a few words and then whispered: "Both times, little brother I returned to Beijing with Brother Dingfang and my bodyguards, and Brother Dingfang just happened to be living in seclusion during this period..."
After hesitating for a moment, Li Shan looked at Ling Jing and said, "Uncle Ling, please ask His Highness the King of Qin."
Ling Jing nodded in understanding, "This time Dingfang and his personal guards returned to the capital. The standing troops in Zhuangzi have exceeded three hundred, and they are equipped with war horses, ordnance, armor, bows and arrows, and even a lot of crossbows. We must first Report to the King of Qin, but His Highness should not stop it."
Li Shan said yes. Of course Li Shimin would not object. There is a Changlin Army in the East Palace that has been supplemented by the elites of the Tianjie Army, while there are only a few hundred personal guards in the Tiance Mansion. Once there is a real confrontation, it is difficult to say the outcome. How about it, and the Beiya Forbidden Army is difficult for both sides to control. If there is an elite support group of about three hundred, then the certainty will be much greater.
This is what Li Shan has been planning for a long time. He had plans long before this expedition. After taking Xiao Pass, he even sent people to explore the route... If something goes wrong, he will slip away and go north to find it. Su Dingfang.
It's a pity that now that Su Dingfang has returned, this force can only be used to seize the legitimate son, at least to save Li Shimin's life, otherwise he will not be able to withstand the long-term attack of the army.
But there was one thing that Li Shimin didn't expect, and Ling Jing probably ignored, because Li Shan would bring a group of people back every time he went out over the years. As a result, the current population base of Sun Moon Lake is not small, and it is no less than the population of ordinary towns in Jingzhao. .
And because of the reserves in the secret warehouse of Dongshan Temple, if something happens and the entire Zhuangzi needs to be mobilized, Li Shanneng can organize a force of about a thousand people, all young and strong, and most of them are veterans who have been on the battlefield.
With Su Dingfang in command, fierce generals like Liu Heier and Wang Junhao, and a large number of loyal guards as the core, Li Shan believed that even this temporarily formed army had considerable combat power.
"Dong dong dong."
Hearing the knock on the door, Li Shan frowned first, then smiled and opened the door, "Eleventh Mother."
Cui Shiniang personally carried the wooden tray and stepped in, "Lang Jun has been discussing with Duke Ling and Duke Zhao for a long time. Let's have some midnight snack."
Su Dingfang, who was meeting for the first time, took a step back and saluted: "Greetings to Princess Wei Si."
"Okay, okay, the two families are close friends, why are they called like this?" Ling Jing said with a smile: "Dingfang can be called younger brother and sister, Eleven Niang can be called uncle, or follow Huairen and be called Dingfang brother. alright."
"Brothers and sisters."
"Brother Dingfang." Cui Shiniang looked curiously at this famous general who was praised by her husband as not letting Wei Huo go. She smiled and said, "Sister Li is eager to see her husband. She is indeed a hero."
Su Dingfang was a little hesitant and glanced at Li Shan unconsciously. He had followed Li Shan for a long time and knew that the study had always been the important place of the Li family. Apart from Li Shan himself, only he and Ling Jing could go in and out, not to mention Zhang Wenguan, Li Kai, and Wang Ren. Not even Zhu would come to complain about this.
The key is that there are always personal guards outside, but Su Dingfang did not hear the announcement, which shows that Cui Shiniang is qualified to enter the study.
"Eleventh Mother knows the inside story." Li Shan explained with a smile, picked up the small bowl, and said: "It's actually a glutinous rice dumpling. This is rare."
Ling Jing was also a little surprised and asked with a smile: "But Eleven Niang's clan uncle in Shu?"
"Uncle Liu sent someone to Chang'an, and he sent a special portion." Cui Shiniang said with a smile: "Earlier, Mr. Lang mentioned sesame seeds and bought them from Dongshi."
Sesame glutinous rice balls, Li Shan looked a little dazed. He remembered that the last time he ate them was during the Lantern Festival that year. It was already past 11 o'clock in the evening after the operation. He walked out of the hospital unsteadily and met many people along the way. There was a barbecue stall, but Li Shan didn’t like barbecue, and it was expensive, so he simply bought a bag of glutinous rice balls at the 24-hour supermarket and cooked them in a rice cooker.
(End of chapter)
