The old man from the Ministry of War, Wang Weisuan, the assistant minister, was Bai Qiulian's right-hand man.
Today Long Chen takes office, and Wang Wei, as the second-in-command of the Ministry of War, should greet him at the door.
A middle-aged man with a long beard and thick eyebrows came out and said, "Sir, Minister Wang is ill and is not here today."
This person is Lei Kang, a doctor in the Wu Xuan Qing Dynasty.
Long Chen smiled coldly: "I took office today, but he is ill today."
All the staff in the Ministry of War lowered their heads and dared not speak.
They knew well that Wang Wei did not come today on purpose.
After Bai Qiulian was beheaded, the position of Minister of the Ministry of War became vacant. Wang Wei felt that his qualifications and abilities were suitable, so he went to Baili Bing, the Minister of Civil Affairs, to recommend him.
Baili Bing knew that the empress intended to make Long Chen concurrently the Minister of War, so she ignored Wang Wei.
Yesterday, Long Chen returned to the court and immediately became the Minister of the Ministry of Officers and Soldiers. After Wang Wei learned the news, he was deeply shocked and deliberately claimed to be sick today and could not come.
Long Chen rode into the Ministry of War, sat on the main seat, and paid homage to the officials.
"As you all know, the Holy Emperor has appointed me to take charge of the post of Minister of War."
"Soldiers are important matters of the country, the place of life and death, and the path to survival. We must pay attention to them."
"The Ministry of War is related to the survival and decline of the Great Zhou Dynasty and must be managed well."
"When Bai Qiulian was the minister, things in the Ministry of War were quite chaotic. I want to put things in order now."
"The minister Wang Wei is ill, so let him rest at home. The affairs of the Ministry of War will be handled jointly by Lei Kang, the lieutenant, and Bai Tingting, the outer minister."
The staff at the Ministry of War all turned to look at Bai Tingting, their eyes a little strange.
Bai Tingting had already been mentally prepared. Her identity was too special.
"Bai Tingting is a foreign minister appointed by the Holy Spirit. You must cooperate with her work."
Long Chen said coldly.
Everyone bowed and said, "I accept your orders."
Long Chen said: "The first thing is to check the number of Zhou's troops and their food and salary expenditures. Don't miss a single soldier or a penny!"
"All military food and salary expenditures from now on will be allocated based on the results of this verification!"
The officials of the Ministry of War were shocked. This move was too poisonous.
When Bai Qiulian was at the Ministry of War, he concealed the number of soldiers for Jing Tianlie, especially the number of secret guards.
Jing Heng served in the Ministry of Household Affairs again, and the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs colluded. Jing Tianlie hid his private soldiers and allocated money illegally.
Long Chen had already taken control of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and now he was in charge of the Ministry of War. After this verification, Jing Tianlie's private soldiers had nowhere to hide.
Moreover, even if Jing Tianlie continued to hide and falsely report the number of soldiers, as long as Long Chen did not give money and Jing Tianlie could not pay the soldiers, the soldiers below would not follow him.
"Your Majesty, take your orders."
The doctor Lei Kang paid homage.
Bai Tingting also stood at the front and said, "I accept my orders."
Yuan Wai Lang's official position is not a big one, but he can justifiably follow Long Chen, and Bai Tingting is very happy.
Long Chen inspected the Ministry of War and took Zhang Qian back to Qiuxing Palace.
When he arrived at the door, he saw Wu Jian standing nearby waiting.
"Captain Wu, why are you here?"
In public, Long Chen shouldn't act too familiar.
Wu Jian bowed and said, "I will finally pay my respects to Lord Long. Today I received the decree from the Holy One, ordering me to follow Lord Long in the future."
Wu Jian was very happy, and after going around in circles, he finally returned to fight under Long Chen's tent.
Long Chen was also very happy, but there was always a sense of vigilance in his heart, as if the empress was deliberately arranging every step.
However, if the empress was aware of Long Chen's true identity, why did she deliberately let Long Chen hold the power and deliberately let Long Chen form an army?
"Thank you for your grace."
Long Chen chuckled.
"Go ahead and let me have a few words with Captain Wu."
Long Chen pushed Zhang Qian away.
During her time in Qianjiang County, Zhang Qian knew that Long Chen and Wu Jian had an unusual relationship, but she didn't think much about it. She just thought that they were both eunuchs and fellow Nanliang people, so they were close.
Zhang Qian went into the house to talk to Dugu Jiali and the Wu sisters.
The two of them walked aside, and Wu Jian whispered: "Congratulations, sir, on re-uniting the army."
Long Chen was not polite, but said: "It's strange, why did the Holy One take the initiative to give you and Dugu Jiali to me? Are you in a hurry to have a showdown with Jing Tianlie?"
Long Chen knew that the Empress planned to replace the General's Mansion with herself.
The prerequisite for replacing the General's Mansion is that Long Chen's troops are stronger than Jing Tianlie, otherwise once Jing Tianlie rebels, the Great Zhou Dynasty will be in danger.
Just now at the Ministry of War, Long Chen ordered a thorough investigation of the number of soldiers and horses in Da Zhou, which actually meant to intensify the conflict between the empress and Jing Tianlie.
The empress wants to replace Jing Tianlie with Long Chen. This is an excellent opportunity.
If Jing Tianlie suddenly changed his mind and pledged his allegiance to the empress, Long Chen would most likely become an outcast.
Wu Jian didn't understand what the empress meant, but felt that this was a good opportunity.
"The conflict between the Holy Lord and Jing Tianlie is our opportunity. We must take this opportunity to recruit troops. I want to expand the cavalry to 20,000 and rebuild the Xiaoqi Battalion."
Wu Jian was extremely excited. He wanted to see a Long family army sweeping the world again.
"Take this slowly and don't make it too eye-catching."
Long Chen knew how many eyes in the imperial court were staring at him.
"I know, I can't rush it."
Living in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Wu Jian and Long Chen are both outsiders. Now that they are making a comeback here, they must be cautious.
The most important thing is not to arouse the Empress' suspicion.
"I'll leave the military training to you, using the methods of the Long Family Army."
Wu Jian asked worriedly: "I think so too, but will it arouse suspicion?"
Long Chen smiled and said: "Absolutely no problem, I will explain if anything happens."
Long Chen was sure that the empress and the ministers knew that Wu Jian was once a general of the Long Family Army.
Then it makes sense for Wu Jian to use the Long Family Army's methods to train the army.
"Okay, I'll go now!"
Wu Jianfei left Qiuxing Hall and went to the camp outside the city to train troops.
Long Chen walked towards the room, and Di Luoxi walked over from the side.
The weather was getting hot at this time, and Di Luoxi wore very little in the palace, wearing a light pink breastplate underneath and a silk dress outside.
"Your Highness, Princess, miss me again?"
Long Chen stepped forward and hugged Di Luoxi without being polite at all.
Di Luoxi allowed Long Chen's hand around her waist to reach down. Everyone in the palace was her own, so there was no need to avoid taboos.
The hand feels very elastic, and Long Chen can enjoy it while walking.
Entering the room, Zhang Qian was talking to Dugu Jiali and the Wu sisters.
Seeing Di Luoxi coming in, the four of them immediately paid their respects: "Meet your Highness the Princess."
When the four of them were saluting, Long Chen's hand had already reached into the dress...
Wu Chuchu and Wu Xiangyun were secretly speechless: Mr. Long is really...
Di Luoxi turned around and pinched Long Chen, then scolded in a sweet voice: "Have you touched enough?"
Di Luoxi walked over with a smile, helped Dugu Jiali up, and said with a smile: "I heard that you were born with a strange smell. I am very curious about what kind of smell it is."
Dugu Jiali said sheepishly: "It's just a little fragrance."
Zhang Qian pointed at Long Chen and said, "He knows best!"
Long Chen chuckled and said: "Why do I know this best?"
