Li Bing seemed to be complaining and continued: "I said we should divide our troops, half to guard against Bao Yuchun, and half to deal with the Turks. The generals immediately jumped out and raised eyebrows. Are they targeting this strategy? No! They are targeting this strategy. It’s my authority. Because they know that the army is not in my hands, so they can say whatever they want and make trouble wherever they want!"
Seeing that the emperor was angry, Murong Xue quickly explained: "Your Majesty may have misunderstood. The generals did not intend to offend Tianwei, they just had different ideas about the war and were slightly grumbling. I had a special talk with Ma Hongjie, and he also I feel regretful for my words and am preparing to write a memorial to apologize."
"Tell him that there is no need to write. If you write, it will be in vain." Li Bing waved his hand: "The Southern Army still obeys the instructions but does not listen to the propaganda. What is the use of Ma Hongjie's plea? Murong, I have made up my mind. This time I must think first We must completely resolve the issue of military command authority, otherwise no action will be taken!"
Murong Xue was slightly startled: "I wonder how your Majesty plans to solve the issue of military command authority?"
Li Bing stared at him: "It's very simple. The decree is issued to confirm the authority. All soldiers and horses in the world, whether the Northern Army, the Southern Army, or Li Jiangyao's Western Army, must either completely obey my orders, or go their separate ways as soon as possible. Everyone can do their own thing and be clean with each other." Be more refreshing!"
At the critical moment when the decisive battle with the Turks was about to begin, the emperor actually proposed to establish the ownership of the command of the army. Murong Xue couldn't help but be shocked: Isn't this because he is full and has nothing to do, and is messing up his position?
He calmed down his inner turmoil and advised: "Your Majesty, can we discuss this matter later? The ownership of military power is complicated and cannot be sorted out in an instant. The war is about to begin..."
"It is precisely because the war is imminent that we should make it clear as soon as possible!" Li Bing said solemnly: "Murong, have you thought about it? Once the Turks are defeated, the world situation will suddenly change. At that time, two-thirds of the Shengtang army will not be affected by it. The imperial court is restrained and only has their own generals in their hearts, not me. How is this different from the rebels? Do you want to see the chaos of feudal towns being separatist and causing chaos? "
Murong Xue frowned: "Your Majesty, of course I don't want to see this kind of scene. However, based on my understanding of Ma Hongjie and Li Jiangyao, they will never become treacherous ministers like Xie Guang who support soldiers and respect themselves."
Li Bing sneered: "Everyone will change. Besides, even if the two people you mentioned are worthy of trust, are their subordinates worthy of trust as well? Can you ensure that the commanders of each army and division have no selfish motives? Ni The recent secret reports from the Division are all related to violations of discipline by generals and captains in the army. Do you think the Ministry of War can control them now? Can I control them? "
Facing the emperor's question, Murong Xue was unable to answer for a while. He didn't know what problems Tian Mu had discovered in the military, let alone which generals and captains had made mistakes. But one thing is certain, Li Bing really has no way to ask the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office to punish Ma Hongjie's troops.
The reason is simple: the Southern Army doesn't care about them at all.
Drawing inferences from one example, Ma Hongjie's people are like this, let alone Li Jiangyao's side. In the Zhenjiang Army, let alone senior officers like Xu Youchang, Du Jian, and Huo Liya, even if they were ordinary soldiers, the court would not be able to make any move.
From the emperor's perspective, this situation is indeed both frustrating and dangerous.
Murong Xue took a deep breath and asked: "Your Majesty, have you considered that if the military forces question it after the decree is made clear and the power is confirmed, do you really want to split with them? How will the chaos caused by this end? Woolen cloth?"
Li Bing smiled calmly: "I regard you as one of my own, so I won't hide anything from you. Let's not worry about the Western Army for now. As for the Southern Army, I am 90% sure that I can make them submit obediently. From now on, it will be completely under the control of the imperial court. The army is exactly the same as the soldiers and horses you command now."
Murong Xue was very curious: "Oh? Your Majesty has a countermeasure?"
"Of course." Li Bing looked very confident: "I can't reveal the specific content to you at this time. Firstly, it's complicated, and secondly, it won't work well. All you need to know is that this matter is certain. "
Murong Xue nodded and asked: "Then do you want my troops to make preparations in advance? If something unexpected happens..."
Li Bing waved his hand: "No need, just stay normal. Gong Chengze and Tian Mu are responsible for the security matters, and Nanya Jinwu Guard and Beiya Nilin Division have their own division of labor."
Hearing what the other party said, Murong Xue suddenly realized: It turns out that Li Bing and Gong Chengze had already made all the plans and were just waiting to be implemented gradually. He had been staying at the headquarters in Longmen Town and had no idea that earth-shaking changes had secretly taken place in Dongdu.
Obviously, this major move to adjust military power was mainly aimed at the Southern Army stationed near Luoyi. Li Jiangyao's Zhenjiang Army, at most, issued an innocuous decree, not even a knock on the mountain to shake the tiger.
The most cruel move against the Zhenjiang Army is not to adjust the ownership of military power, but to watch them fight against the main Turkic forces alone.
Suddenly, a huge wave arose deep in Murong Xue's heart, and the unyielding loyalty she had always had towards Li Bing had subtly changed unknowingly.
-
Li Bing told Murong Xue that he was very confident in taking back the military power of the Southern Army, and he was not blindly confident.
The first person to assist him was Concubine Shu, Ma Yunfang.
Concubine Ma Shu, who was pregnant at this time, had already begun operations against the Jiannan faction of the Southern Army under the emperor's instruction.
However, her target was not Ma Hongjie, the leader of the Jiannan faction and her uncle, but the six main generals under Ma Hongjie.
Since Ma Yunfang grew up next to her uncle, she has a close relationship with these senior commanders of the Jiannan Daofu soldiers. She is either called uncle or brother. Taking advantage of the opportunity of the Confederate army to gather in Luoyi, Ma Yunfang summoned these six generals many times in the name of reminiscing about the past, and privately made wishes for her husband's official appointment to win over people's hearts.
Soon, the Jiannan faction gradually moved closer to Li Bing without Ma Hongjie's partial knowledge.
At the same time, Tian Mu's Nilin Division was also secretly taking action frequently.
Yan Liang, the grandson of Yan Huiqing, the general of the auxiliary state, had three lives in his early years because he fought with others in romantic places and allowed his servants to commit violence. Later, they relied on the Ganzhou governor's illegal cover-up to escape the crime of beheading. The general of the army, Mi Pei, and his younger brother Mi Hao were crazy about annexing land in Zhuzhou, which almost triggered a civil uprising. They also relied on the help of the local government. Avoid being held accountable by the court.
Both cases were in the hands of the Nilin Division. Yan Liang and Mi Hao both came to Luoyi with the court, so Tian Mu sent people to secretly arrest them and threatened to re-interrogate the major cases of the year. Two veteran generals, Yan Huiqing and Mi Pei, agreed to support Li Bing's plan.
Li Bing personally took charge of the powerful Lingnan soldiers. He casually found an excuse to kick away Li Xinqi, the eldest son of the Anping County Prince, and named Li Xinda, the second son of the old prince Li Chenglin, to inherit the throne of the County King. Because Li Xinda had been following his father in the army, his influence on the Lingnan soldiers was much stronger than that of his elder brother Li Xinqi. Therefore, through his connections, Li Bing successfully controlled more than half of the Lingnan faction.
Yin Chengyi and Gong Chengze were not idle either. Relying on their status as generals of the imperial court, the two of them contacted the weak military leaders of small and medium-sized factions in various ways, and quickly achieved remarkable results.
After this series of well-planned political operations hidden behind the scenes, Zhongshu Sheng immediately received a positive response from all the troops once he promulgated the "Emperor's Order to Rise the Troops and Scream".
Although Ma Hongjie was shocked, he could only accept it completely.
The reason is simple. The Southern Army has never been a complete and strong military system, but a loose alliance composed of local soldiers and horses in various southern states. When Yan Huiqing, Mi Pei, Li Xinda and other generals expressed their support for the emperor's will, the only thing Ma Hongjie could do was to obey everyone's attitude.
Of course, Li Bing did not take away Ma Hongjie's position as head coach. On the contrary, because of Ma Yunfang's relationship, Li Bing was more willing to rely on him, a relative of the emperor, to continue to control the army.
An army that is truly loyal to itself.
According to the "Order to Reorganize the Troops", the 650,000 troops gathered in Luoyi and the 60,000 troops stationed in Wuguan were reorganized into five legions.
The first one is the Forbidden Army.
The total strength of the regiment is as high as 200,000. The soldiers are all elite soldiers selected from various armies, and they are a mixture of infantry and cavalry. The most important task of the Forbidden Army is to defend the emperor, and they only obey the command of Li Bing.
The remaining four legions are codenamed Qinglong, White Tiger, Suzaku, and Xuanwu.
Among them, there are 120,000 Qinglong Legion, led by General Murong Xue; 120,000 White Tiger Legion, led by General Gong Chengze; 100,000 Suzaku Legion, plus 60,000 Wuguan, led by General Ma Hongjie; 100,000 Xuanwu Legion, still based in Liaodong The Duhu Mansion, Yinshan Dudu Mansion and Hebei Daofu Mansion were the main soldiers, led by General Chang Tao.
Another 10,000 people were transferred to the Governor's Office and were commanded by Yin Chengyi.
The 710,000 troops and horses, as well as the troops that will be recruited one after another in the future, will be under the control of the imperial court. They will mobilize, march, fight, and garrison based on the tiger talisman issued by the emperor, the military orders issued by the Ministry of War, and the execution of the inspection by the Metropolitan Governor. Guard tasks.
Fu, order, and festival are all indispensable. Otherwise, it will be regarded as treason.
At the same time, the "Order to Rise the Troops" did not omit the Suppressing Xinjiang Army.
According to the court, the official name of the Zhenjiang Army to the outside world was finally determined as: Shengtang General Town Xijiang Army, also known as the Phoenix Army, or simply the Zhenjiang Army. Li Jiangyao served as the commander-in-chief of the army, and Xu Youchang served as the deputy general and pioneer officer.
Like other legions, the Zhenjiang Army must also follow the requirements of the Chi Order and accept the unified command of the emperor based on the Fuling Festival.
Of course, it is not certain whether Li Jiangyao and the others are willing to listen.
Anyway, Li Bing didn't really expect the Zhenjiang Army to be obedient.
