Top Scholar

Chapter 589 He Said He Was Your Uncle

After returning to Donggui Hall for a short rest, Su Lu convened the drafting group for the grand review plan, led by Lin Zhihong, in the afternoon to discuss and finalize the details of each item.

It took the group an entire afternoon to finalize the overall plan.

Seeing that it was getting late, Su Lu adjourned the meeting, but Lin Zhihong stayed behind to discuss it with him privately: "Brother, according to this plan, at most 30,000 to 40,000 people can be selected for the three major camps. Isn't the Imperial Guard's strength too small?!"

“That is indeed too few.” Su Lu nodded and said, “During the Chenghua era, the Imperial Guards of the Tuanying Army were always maintained at a level of 120,000 to 130,000. Only in this way could they sweep away enemy strongholds and intimidate all sides.”

"Thirty or forty thousand men wouldn't even be enough to defend Beijing." He said with a bitter laugh, "But what can we do? Who could have imagined that in just twenty years, the regiment would have deteriorated to this extent?"

"Twenty years is a whole generation. If we don't improve our military preparedness, we'll all be useless." Lin Zhihong's father had been promoted to deputy commander of Yongning Guard. As a proper descendant of a military family, his understanding of military affairs naturally far surpassed that of his peers.

"There's nothing I can do; many things from the late emperor's reign are difficult to discuss," Su Lu sighed softly, urging him to mention the Hongzhi reign as little as possible.

Given the current situation, it's difficult to preserve the true nature of the Hongzhi Restoration. However, as close advisors to the emperor, it's best for them not to comment further.

"Yes." Lin Zhihong nodded and said in a low voice, "Brother, I'm mainly worried that if the Imperial Guard's strength is reduced sharply, and there are no soldiers to deploy, or even if we are stretched thin in guarding the capital, people will blame us."

"Hmm," Su Lu smiled and told him to relax, "Don't worry, the Emperor is with the Imperial Guards every day and knows them better than you do. Besides, if the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up, and we also have Eunuch Liu to take the blame for us."

"Yes..." Lin Zhihong nodded with a wry smile. Who would have thought that the eunuch Liu, who was feared by everyone in the world, was just a scapegoat in the eyes of his old classmate?
“However, your concerns are quite valid. The number of Imperial Guards is indeed too small. We need to find a way to expand our forces to consolidate our foundation.” Su Lu added in a deep voice, “Especially in the current situation, without a hundred thousand or twenty thousand troops in the capital, people from top to bottom feel very insecure.”

Being a top leader's chief secretary isn't easy. You have to consider everything for your boss. You need to be fully aware of what your boss cares about, and you also need to anticipate and fill in any gaps in your plans that your boss hasn't thought of.

If you don't always think ahead for your boss, how can your boss help you advance?
"Yes." Lin Zhihong nodded, clearly agreeing. He offered advice to Su Lu, saying, "In my opinion, we should follow the example of the Hongwu Emperor and order the Five Military Commissions to select and transfer troops from various military commands to the capital for training and selection, thus strengthening the capital garrison."

"This will also allow the local garrison troops to resume their long-abandoned drills, which will also benefit the strengthening of the military in each province."

To everyone's surprise, Su Lu shook his head and rejected the idea, saying, "No way. The armies in each province are already severely understaffed, and there is chaos in the local areas, with major chaos imminent. If we withdraw the elite troops from the garrisons, the authorities will definitely blame the lack of troops if something happens in the local area. Wouldn't you and I become scapegoats?"

"Isn't Eunuch Liu going to take the blame?" Lin Zhihong whispered.

“This kind of pot will make Eunuch Liu die too quickly, which is not in our interest.” Su Lu had received Li Dongyang’s guidance and had a clear understanding of the political situation.

Although his master was a scoundrel, his guidance to Su Lu was quite effective. Each time, he was able to see through the fog and understand the main direction of the struggle ahead... which was exactly what Su Lu, a newcomer to officialdom, lacked.

Although Su Lu, having been reborn as a second-generation heir, understood the trajectory of history better than anyone else, he could only rely on his own analysis and guidance from experienced individuals to determine the specifics of how the situation would unfold in this particular year and period…

After a moment's thought, he said in a deep voice, "It would be better to send border troops to the capital for training. Border troops are numerous and relatively strong. We can have each garrison select elite cavalry in batches to train in the capital and then select the best to stay and strengthen the capital garrison. This way, we can not only minimize the impact on defenses but also strengthen the Imperial Guards, killing two birds with one stone."

Lin Zhihong frowned and said, "But brother, border troops and Beijing troops are not allowed to be transferred to each other. This is an ancestral rule."

Su Lu smiled nonchalantly: "It's alright. Our Emperor dislikes being bound by ancestral rules the most; he was born to break conventions."

"But if we draw troops from the border, what if the battle in the border town goes badly? Wouldn't that be just as troublesome?" Lin Zhihong still had concerns.

"Don't worry," Su Lu said calmly, "the border troops no longer have the courage they once had. They would never dare to easily venture out of the city for open battle. If the Mongols come, they will simply retreat into the city and hold their ground. What difference does it make whether we have enough cavalry or not?"

"If you're really worried, then don't move elsewhere for now. Just transfer troops from Liaodong and Jizhou. Since the Chenghua Emperor's purge of the capital, the Jurchens in Liaodong have not yet recovered their strength, so the pressure is relatively low. Jizhou is even more idle. Transferring some troops to the capital will not affect the overall situation."

“However, even then, the troop strength might still be insufficient,” he pondered. “If all else fails, we should recruit soldiers… The people are starving now. Rather than letting those strong men gather to rebel, we should recruit them into the army and use them to suppress the rebellion. This would be a way to cut off the source of the problem.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhihong became anxious and hurriedly said, "No, brother! Serving in the army is the right of military households. How can we let ordinary people get involved?"

Su Lu couldn't help but laugh and said, "Look, look, we call others interest groups, but when it comes to our own interests, we can't escape the same fate."

"It really is..." Lin Zhihong blushed instantly and lowered his head in shame.

"Brother, we can't be hypocrites like Eunuch Liu," Su Lu said patiently, putting his arm around his shoulder.
"Besides, which military household member wants to join the army these days? Didn't we all study hard to escape? Letting ordinary people join the army can solve their livelihood problems and reduce the burden on us military households. Why not do it?"

Lin Zhihong said in a voice barely above a whisper, “It’s not that they don’t want to be soldiers, it’s that they don’t want to be the kind of garrison soldiers who have no pay and are exploited! If they could be the Imperial Guards who have pay, land, and are valued by the Emperor, who wouldn’t want to be one?”

"You've even started to pick on others?" Su Lu smiled, his tone gentle, but his words were stern: "It's good not to forget your roots, but you can't forget your responsibilities—we, the Imperial Household Department, have been entrusted with the important task of advisory duties by the Emperor, so we must prioritize the country. If you really can't do that, then go and serve as an official in the provinces; then you won't have this kind of trouble." "Yes, brother, I was wrong. I'll never have such thoughts again!" Lin Zhihong's face immediately turned pale, and tears streamed down his face: "I'm just telling you what I'm thinking in private; I would never say such things in public!"

"Why are you crying?" Su Lu took out a handkerchief and handed it to him: "We came from Taiping Academy together. You, like my eldest brother and Zihe, are my most trusted brothers, so I have to be stricter with you to prevent problems from arising in the first place..."

"Yes, brother." Lin Zhihong took the handkerchief and wiped his tears. He was used to calling Su Lu his brother, and he never expected that the slightest expression of dissatisfaction from the other party could scare him like this...

"Alright, alright, I feel guilty now. How about I treat you to a nice meal?" Su Lu slapped him and rubbed his hands three times, saying, "And invite Zihe too. Forget about my older brother, he'll be late if my sister-in-law throws a tantrum."

"Hehe." Lin Zhihong couldn't help but laugh, "I never expected that my brother, such a cold-faced scholar, would actually be a henpecked husband."

"Well, that's just how it is for Sichuanese people," Su Lu said with a smile.

As the two walked out of the meeting room chatting and laughing, no one could tell that they had just had a serious reprimand.

The two then called Zhu Zihe, and the three of them walked out of the leopard house, without discussing where to have dinner.

In years of great disaster, even what to eat requires careful consideration...

At this moment, the Imperial Guards protecting Su Lu brought a carriage, and the leader was none other than Song Xiaoyi, the man who had disguised himself as a woman and infiltrated the Child Delivery Hall.

Su Lu took the heavy bag of silver from Xiao Yu'er and handed it to Song Xiaoyi, saying, "This is for the brothers."

"Sir, you're too kind. There's no need to return it; it's just a token of our brotherhood." Song Xiaoyi quickly declined, saying, "Besides, we don't have that much."

"Take it," Su Lu said. "The extra money is for the brothers' drinks. It's freezing cold, so they should follow me to keep warm."

"Then thank you very much for your reward, sir." Song Xiaoyi accepted the gift with both hands, and the group of Imperial Guards also thanked him with beaming smiles.

"You're too kind." Su Lu was about to lead his two brothers into the car when Song Xiaoyi blocked the doorway.

"What's wrong?" Su Lu asked softly, knowing that there must be a reason for wearing leather pants over cotton pants.

Song Xiaoyi had an androgynous appearance and was extremely meticulous, which was why Qian Ning had sent him to protect his adoptive father in his place. Sure enough, he said softly, "Sir, we caught someone today."

"who?"

"Yesterday we found someone spying outside the Zhuangyuan Mansion, and today he came to peek again, so the brothers caught him." Song Xiaoyi whispered, "We were originally going to send him to the Imperial Prison for interrogation, but when I saw that he looked like your brother, the martial arts champion, he was seven or eight parts similar."

As he spoke, he glanced at Su Lu and, seeing that Su Zhuangyuan did not change his expression, continued, "Upon asking, he said that he was the master's third uncle and had come to ask his brother-in-law for help."

"Oh." Su Lu nodded calmly.

Song Xiaoyi sensed something was off, but he could only bite the bullet and continue, "Then the brothers investigated and found out that this man's name was Wang Chaohan, the son of the former Grand Canal Transport Commissioner Wang Qiong..."

Su Lu interrupted him and asked in a deep voice, "Is the person in the car?"

"Yes." Song Xiaoyi didn't dare to say that in order to verify whether this man surnamed Wang was indeed the master's uncle, he had even bought a newly published book, "Records of Successful Candidates in the Imperial Examinations," just to find out about Su Lu's family situation.

It clearly says "Chongqing Xia" – this doesn't mean I live in Chongqing Xia, but rather that my parents and grandparents are still alive.

But there are two names in the mother's column—the first mother, née Wang, has passed away, and the second mother, née Cheng!
That matches up!
Su Lu opened the car door and saw a burly man inside, bound hand and foot, his mouth gagged with a cloth. If it weren't for the extra beard, he would have thought it was his second brother tied up inside…

No wonder Song Xiaoyi wouldn't let him get in the car. Su Lu then closed the car door and said to his two brothers, "Let's reschedule for another day."

"Okay." The two wisely slipped away.

P.S. That's all for today. I didn't intentionally leave any hooks, I'm just too used to telling a story in two chapters. Please allow me a couple of days to adjust and make the content more concise.

(End of this chapter)