Cheng Dong was confused and asked curiously: "General Commander? Who is in charge?"
Yin Chengyi burst into laughter: "Didn't I say it? The military inspectors of the Southern Expedition have the right to inspect and supervise all the frontline legions. Lord Zhen Guo, this is a first-rate official of the Shengtang Army."
Cheng Dong smiled bitterly and said: "Grand Governor, you really know how to joke. I can't do this job, and I don't dare to do it."
"Why is this?" Yin Chengyi couldn't help but be stunned.
Cheng Dong bowed to the other party and said: "Please take back the emperor and left minister's orders and choose talents instead. Zhenjiang, Qinglong, Suzaku, Xuanwu, I am not qualified to supervise any of them. For no other reason, I am not responsible for military affairs." If you don’t know anything, going there will only cause chaos.”
Yin Chengyi frowned when he heard this: "It's a joke that you don't know anything about military affairs. Who doesn't know that your government has produced many famous generals in the past dynasties, and the children of the clan have practiced martial arts since childhood and are familiar with military books. Whether Cheng Xi or Cheng Nancheng Bei, they are all joining the military, but you, the eldest brother, are not familiar with military affairs? In my opinion, you are not willing, right?"
"Indeed... I don't want to." Cheng Dong sighed: "As a supervisor, which army will be willing to obey. Let alone a self-contained system like the Zhenjiang Army, even Commander Ma and Commander Murong probably won't do it. I take it seriously."
Yin Chengyi smiled: "If you are worried about this, then there is no need. How could the left prime minister fail to consider the situation you mentioned? Don't worry, the court has its own countermeasures."
Cheng Dong was very curious: "What countermeasures?"
Yin Chengyi looked around and saw no one around. He approached Cheng Dong and lowered his voice and said: "The Prime Minister Zuo said that the supervision of the army is fake and the revenge is real. Our main target is still Li Jiangyao and the Zhenjiang Army, but we have other plans. It will never be easy for them.”
Upon hearing this, Cheng Dong was even more sure that the other party had bad intentions, so he frowned and said, "Revenge... Well, this matter needs to be discussed in the long run."
"What? As the eldest brother, don't you want to seek justice for Cheng Xi?" Yin Chengyi obviously did not expect that the other party would have this attitude on this matter: "My own brother was killed, and the Duke of Zhen was indifferent?"
Cheng Dong's face turned red from being squeezed by him, and he waved his hands repeatedly: "That's not what I meant, it's just that... it's not easy to mix official and private matters."
Yin Chengyi suddenly frowned and said angrily: "What is a public or private matter? Cheng Xi is the emperor's personal guard general and the uncle of Shengtang. He was plotted against. This is a big official matter. How can we let the bad guys get away with it?"
Cheng Dong didn't want to offend the other party easily, so he could only change his mind and said, "Aren't we still waiting for the investigation results from the Criminal Department?"
"Confused!" Yin Chengyi slapped his thigh: "Cheng Dong, are you really confused, or are you pretending to be confused with me? Don't you know who killed Cheng Xi? With the skills of those idiots in the Criminal Department, can they find out? If If we want to seek justice for Cheng Xi, if we want to bring out this bad temper for the emperor and the court, we can only rely on ourselves and resort to extraordinary means. Do you really not understand this truth?"
Cheng Xi was speechless by what he said, but his mind was still very firm: for the safety of the entire Cheng family, he must not easily wade into this muddy water and become a knife in the hands of Wei Zixuan and others.
Seeing that the other party remained silent, Yin Chengyi felt helpless. After waiting for a moment, he stood up suddenly and said coldly: "Mr. Zhen Guo, the opportunity for revenge is right in front of you, but time waits for no one. If you hesitate again, be careful not to miss it. It’s too late to regret it! Think about it carefully!”
After that, he flicked his sleeves and strode away angrily.
Coming in good times and returning in bad mood, it's no wonder that Yin Chengyi is depressed and angry. Originally, he planned to deliver good news to Cheng Dong, win favors, and build a good relationship with the Queen's family. I never expected that this guy Cheng Dong would be so timid and fearful that he was not even willing to be the commander-in-chief of the army.
Although Cheng Dong felt uneasy because the governor had left in a hurry, what made him even more embarrassed was the appointment from the imperial court. The military affairs inspectors of the Southern Expedition, to put it bluntly, are people who go to cause trouble for the frontline legions.
Of course the emperor hopes that someone can keep an eye on the military for him, but he also doesn't think about it, are Li Jiangyao and the others willing to be manipulated? The so-called commander-in-chief of the army only makes sense when the imperial power is greater than the military power and the court can steadily suppress the military. Otherwise, it is just a decoration for the ears of the deaf.
Wei Zixuan pushed him into this position, clearly intending to use him to create friction and thereby provoke conflicts between the empress and the nobles in the court and the military. Others could not understand this, but Cheng Dong knew it very well.
It's not that he doesn't want to avenge his brother, but revenge requires a prerequisite, which is absolute strength. It is simply a fool's errand to think of Li Jiangyao doing anything with just the empty title of military supervisor.
Thinking of this, Cheng Dong called to the housekeeper of Cheng Mansion: "Go, quickly invite Divine Doctor Yang from Xuanji Hall and ask him to treat me!"
"My lord? Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?"
"Yes, I am sick, seriously ill! From today on, I will recuperate at home and refuse to see guests. Go quickly!"
-
Cheng Dong, the Duke of Zhenguo, suddenly fell ill, which disrupted Wei Zixuan's plan and also surprised Emperor Li Bing.
It wasn't that he was worried about his brother-in-law's health, but because the position had been established due to military inspections during the Southern Expedition, but the candidate suddenly fell through. We must quickly find someone else to fill in, otherwise it will become a joke.
After urgent discussions between the ministers of the DPRK and China, the person to succeed Cheng Dong was finally determined.
The current commander-in-chief of the White Tiger Army is Gong Chengze.
Unlike Cheng Dong, Gong Chengze was very happy about this new position. He was originally a third-rank general, Yulin Qianniu, but the military affairs inspector of the Southern Expedition was designated by the imperial court as the third-rank commander-in-chief of Tongzheng. This is equivalent to being promoted to a level without any merit. As an imperial envoy, he also has the power to supervise and regulate military affairs, so he can overwhelm the generals of each legion at will.
Gong Chengze was so happy that he secretly thanked God for blessing him so that he would not get sick early or later. However, he was seriously ill at this time, which gave him a good opportunity to make a career.
This guy got the emperor's decree in the Taiji Hall and completed the handover of command of the White Tiger Army in just two days. He then rushed to the Governor's Mansion to receive the official documents and the inspection envoy's seal, and then left the capital triumphantly. Take office.
The first stop he chose was the Suzaku Legion.
When Li Bing organized his troops in Luoyi, he established a total of six legions and five legion generals, and Gong Chengze was one of them. However, he has the least qualifications and weakest foundation, and his achievements are far inferior to those of Murong Xue, Ma Hongjie, and Chang Tao, let alone Li Jiangyao.
Suzaku General Ma Hongjie told people around him at that time that Gong Chengze gained his position entirely by flattering others, and he was ashamed to be tied with him. This word later reached Gong Chengze's ears, and he was immediately furious and vowed that one day he would give Ma Hongjie a hard time.
Now that he has become the military affairs inspector of the Southern Expedition and the proper commander-in-chief of the army, why not first go find trouble with the Suzaku Legion? After finishing dealing with Ma Hongjie, we will go all the way east, and the Qinglong Legion and Xuanwu Legion will repair them one by one. It’s quite enjoyable just thinking about it!
The news that Gong Chengze came to inspect and regulate military affairs soon spread to Suizhou. Ma Hongjie felt bored, as if he had swallowed a fly. He told his two deputy commanders that he was going to the front line to inspect combat readiness, and then led the guards away.
When Gong Chengze arrived at the headquarters of the Suzaku Army, he didn't see the general personally greeting him. He immediately fell down and scolded the Suzaku generals present, and then ordered his entourage to go out in five directions to strictly inspect the soldiers, equipment, camps, supplies, and military discipline. It made a lot of noise.
Over the course of a few days, Gong Chengze's people nitpicked and found more than 210 problems, large and small. Gong Chengze felt as if he had found a treasure, and forced the deputy commander, captain, Sima and other officers to put down their errands and explain in earnest.
However, his purpose was not really to help the other party improve their military affairs, but to deliberately find faults. Therefore, no matter how the people of the Suzaku Legion responded, they could not pass the test of this inspector.
The entire legion was in a state of disarray due to Gong Chengze's torment, and even the most basic training exercises could not be carried out normally.
So, can everyone just ignore him like Ma Hongjie did?
The answer is no. Because, as the Imperial Envoy Commander-in-Chief, Gong Chengze really had three very important powers in his hands, which the Suzaku Army had to take seriously.
The three powers are: personnel, food and salary, and armaments.
It is easy to understand personnel and food and salary. If he does not listen to Gong Chengze's words, he has the right to decide the promotion and appointment of officers, as well as the allocation and distribution of food, grass and salary for the army.
As for military readiness, it means that Gong Chengze can decide which troops are qualified to participate in the war based on combat readiness and military affairs, and which troops are insufficiently prepared and cannot be easily sent to the battlefield.
Because of this, the generals of the Suzaku Corps could only swallow their anger and let the inspectors display their official power.
In the process, Gong Chengze also took in Wei Zixuan's private goods.
Before setting off, Wei Zixuan had given him special instructions, asking him to focus on taking care of the few distinguished officers he designated when inspecting and inspecting each legion, and try to help them gain more military power.
Gong Chengze faithfully carried out Wei Zixuan's wishes. Taking advantage of the opportunity that the commander-in-chief Ma Hongjie deliberately avoided him, he directly intervened in various arrangements within the Suzaku Corps. He used coercion and inducement, both soft and hard, and put many of Wei Zixuan's people into important positions. Strengthened the real power in the hands of aristocratic young officers.
The inspector had been struggling in Suizhou for nearly a month, and Ma Hongjie stayed at the front line without showing up. Gong Chengze secretly laughed in his heart that the other party was nothing more than that, and left the Suzaku Army with great satisfaction and set off for the next target: the Qinglong Army.
However, Qinglong General Murong Xue was different from Ma Hongjie. He had no intention of hiding from Gong Chengze, who had succeeded as a villain. On the contrary, Murong Xue put up a posture at the station in Huangmei, waiting for the opponent, intending to severely defeat the prestige of this bullshit imperial envoy.
