Ma Hongjie is a representative figure of the neutral faction.
Although this faction does not have a unified and fixed lineup, it just refers to all generals who maintain a wait-and-see attitude. However, because Ma Hongjie serves as the marching commander and has a very high status in Jingxiang, he has always been regarded as an opinion leader by the neutral faction.
And his statement at this time did have an important impact on many people.
Seeing that Ma Hongjie agreed with Li Bing's proposal, most neutral officers also spoke up and agreed to discuss the election of a new commander.
Dong Tianxing was overjoyed when he saw this, but on the surface he pretended to be calm and indifferent, and slowly swept his eyes over the people present: "Is there any general who disagrees?"
There was a hint of chill in his eyes and a hint of chill in his tone. He was obviously an old civil servant with no strength, but he made the large group of generals in front of him feel a little nervous.
Perhaps it was due to the herd mentality or Dong Tianxing's aura was too strong. After he asked this question, no one dared to jump out and say "no".
Dong Tianxing did not give them much room to think, and then said loudly: "Okay, since we all agree, let's start discussing now who will succeed the Anping County Prince."
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole room fell into deathly silence again.
Regardless of ancient and modern times, at home and abroad, the military has always been a very special and highly integrated social system.
Its composition, especially the composition of the middle and high-level command system, often contains extremely complex interpersonal relationships.
Fathers and sons, brothers, relatives and fellow villagers, teachers and students, these close relationships that go beyond the context of official positions are the real source of unity and unity in an army.
In many cases, soldiers not only obey the orders of the country, but also consider the inseparable bonds of elders, mentors, old superiors, good brothers, etc.
To put it nicely, this means that the army has no factions and is full of strange things; to put it badly, it means that the mountains are crowded and the troops are self-respecting.
To give a simple analogy, Xu Lie, the commander-in-chief of the Qilin Army, has actually stopped leading troops for many years because of his old age. However, the entire Qilin Army is made up of his old troops who were promoted by him. He only recognizes Mr. Xu. Therefore, the imperial court declined Xu Lie's application for retirement many times, and always kept him in the position of commander-in-chief.
It is not surprising at all that the Qilin Army is called Xu Jiajun in private.
For another example, if He Jingming is still alive, even if he has no official or position, as long as he says a word, Li Jiangyao will still not hesitate and resolutely implement it. No matter how awesome the Holy King of Xijiang is, he would not dare to make it easily in front of his teacher Second-rate.
The same applies to Li Jiangyao.
So what if there is no imperial appointment? Xu Youchang, Du Jian, Huo Liya, Kuliban, Heishan, as well as the middle and lower-level officers of Zhenjiang Army, they only support the Protector and act according to Li Jiangyao's will. Who would really take Li Bing seriously?
Because of this, as soon as Dong Tianxing raised the issue of selecting a new commander, all the generals present immediately became mute and looked at their elders or superiors.
Although Old Dong is a civilian official, he has served in the Ministry of War for a long time. How could he not understand the tradition of the army, so he has already considered it all.
He turned his attention to Ma Hongjie and said with a smile: "General Ma, you are the general manager of the Jingxiang army. Why don't you set the tone for everyone first?"
Ma Hongjie and Dong Tianxing had a tacit understanding for a long time. Hearing this, he responded: "The general believes that in terms of merit and qualifications, the position of commander-in-chief belongs to none other than Mr. Yan."
The Yan Lao he refers to refers to Yan Huiqing, a veteran general of the Four Dynasties, who was officially worshiped as a second-rank general to assist the country.
In fact, Yan Huiqing is older than the veteran general Xu Lie. This person's military exploits are not particularly outstanding, and his commanding ability is average. His only advantage is that he has a tough life and lives a long time.
Yan Huiqing participated in almost all the large-scale wars launched by generations of late emperors, but they were all playing a soy sauce role. After crawling out of the pile of dead people once, the official was promoted one level. After crawling out again, he was promoted one level again, and he has been promoted to this day.
It has been a long time since Mr. Yan returned to his hometown and retired. He was invited out of the army this time purely because the court and Li Chenglin valued his prestige in the army, as well as the Yan family's children and students in various troops.
His words were sometimes more effective than Prince Anping's military orders.
To understand it from another perspective, Yan Huiqing is the mascot and ballast stone of the Jingxiang army.
Ma Hongjie proposed to let Mr. Yan take on the role. Even though everyone secretly doubted the old man's ability, they did not dare to object outright. On the contrary, many people had to rush to stand up and express their attitude, praising and supporting without intention.
Although Yan Huiqing is old, he is not old and foolish. When I heard that I was asked to command the army, my head shook like a rattle: "No way, no way! What a child's play for you. I will die before I even get on the field. I will drag down the three armies and will become the emperor of the Holy Tang Dynasty." Sinner! Hong Jie, I am old and useless. How can I just wave flags and cheer for you young children like me? Go into battle? I can't even get on the kang!"
Hearing what he said, the room burst into laughter.
Dong Tianxing grinned, and then said: "Old Juntai, you are too humble. Who doesn't know that you are the most senior among our Shengtang Army? When you have been through life and death, they are still Wear crotchless pants."
"Master Dong, you can't say that," Yan Huiqing waved her hand: "Writing depends on intelligence and courage, and it depends on blood. It has nothing to do with seniority. No matter how senior I am, I can't compare to Xiao Xu Xiaohe and the others in commanding the battle. , I know it myself. It’s so far away that we won’t even talk about him. For example, this guy Hong Jie, I think he’s not bad, and I recommend him to be the marshal.”
Mr. Yan's attitude immediately won the approval of many generals. On the one hand, having the support of this veteran can indeed influence the thinking of many people; on the other hand, Ma Hongjie is young, powerful and experienced. He previously assisted the Prince of Anping County in commanding the army in the Jingxiang area, and is already quite popular and prestigious.
More importantly, he is a typical neutral general, and is relatively easier for both the princeling faction and the questioning faction to accept.
Dong Tianxing originally wanted this effect. When he saw this, he hurried down the slope and said, "Otherwise, it must be you, Mr. Yan. You have led troops in wars for so many years, and your vision in selecting generals is unparalleled. General Ma is marching." The general manager is also familiar with Jingxiang's military affairs, so he is indeed suitable to succeed the Prince of Anping County."
Yan Huiqing nodded, turned around and asked another veteran general next to him, Mi Pei, the second-level general of the army: "Old man, what do you think?"
Mi Pei was in a similar situation to him. Although he was slightly younger, he was already gray-haired and could no longer withstand the torment of the war, so he hurriedly responded: "Brother Yan, Mr. Dong is right, you see people differently." , what else is there to say? I also support Hong Jie. But..."
He paused for a moment and then continued: "However, the court has not given us an accurate word yet. Do we still need to explain some things clearly in advance?"
Everyone understood what Mi Pei meant: Does Li Bing's succession to the throne count? Should the half-million-strong army side with him?
Regarding this issue, Dong Tianxing had already discussed this issue with Ma Hongjie. At this time, he smiled calmly and said: "General Mi, the court also listens to the emperor, so of course there is no need to worry about it. The emperor's holy will is very clear. The only mission of the Jingxiang army is to fight against the Turks." , don’t ask anything else. What do you think of this handling?"
"This..." Mi Pei looked at Yan Huiqing, then at Ma Hongjie, and asked hesitantly: "Is this okay?"
At this time, Ma Hongjie had to speak. He cleared his throat and cooperated with Dong Tianxing: "Mr. Dong, you said that our only mission is to fight against the Turks, and we don't ask about anything else. What is the specific situation? Can you tell everyone carefully? Tell me?"
Dong Tianxing responded calmly: "All actions of the Jingxiang army are only aimed at the Turks, and they will all obey the emperor's orders. As for other matters, you don't need to participate for the time being."
"Other things...you mean?"
"For example, counterinsurgency."
Dong Tianxing replied nonchalantly, and then looked at Yan Huiqing, Mi Pei and others quietly.
Everyone knows the meaning of "counter-rebellion". Li Bing and Li Kuang now accuse each other of being rebels, and the so-called counter-rebellion battle is actually a battle for imperial power.
If Li Bing agrees that the Jingxiang army will stay out of the matter and only concentrate on dealing with the Turks, then it will of course be the best situation for these soldiers.
Mi Pei nodded: "Brother Yan, I think there seems to be no problem."
"Well, that's it," Yan Huiqing agreed: "Since the emperor is sympathetic to us rough guys and trusts us to fight the Turks, I won't say more nonsense. I agree to let Hong Jie lead the army, what about you? What do you think? ?”
"Agree!"
"Listen to General Ma, there's nothing wrong with you!"
"Our Yuezhou Zhechong Mansion follows Mr. Yan's arrangements."
"The same goes for Qianzhong Road. Listen to Mr. Yan."
"Jiannan Mansion soldiers follow General Ma."
"As long as we can fight the Turks, anything can happen!"
"General Mi said it's okay, we can do it in Nancang Mansion."
"Jingzhou Army agrees!"
"The six Zhechong mansions in Lingnan are all willing to obey General Ma's command!"
The generals present spoke one after another and unanimously agreed to make Ma Hongjie the new commander-in-chief of the Jingxiang army. Dong Tianxing was overjoyed and proposed that Yan Huiqing and Mi Pei serve as supervisors to assist Ma Hongjie in commanding.
The two old men couldn't go into battle, but they had no problem staying next to the coach and making suggestions, so they agreed without hesitation.
Yan Huiqing smoothed her beard and said with a smile: "It's finally better now. To be honest with Mr. Dong, these men under our command have been depressed for a long time. They have been clamoring all day long to go north to fight the enemy, recapture the imperial capital, and avenge the late emperor. Now that the overall situation has been agreed upon, it’s time to take serious action and beat the Turks hard. What do you think we should do next?”
"Old Yan, don't be busy with this matter now," Dong Tianxing smiled: "Before we discuss the battle, there is still a lawsuit that needs to be settled."
Yan Huiqing was stunned for a moment and asked curiously: "A lawsuit? Are you referring to the assassination case of the Prince of Anping County?"
Dong Tianxing endured the pain and raised his hand and pointed: "No, the lawsuit I am talking about refers to him, Ezhou Zichong Captain Feng Kun."
