The Splendor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 139 Palace Guard

The palace guard camp was transferred from the Imperial Guard.

Xiao Yi's encampment was built against the north city wall, facing Xuanwu Gate from afar.

According to the organization of "five capitals as camps, five camps as armies", each camp is a command. He has a separate camp with a circumference of two hundred paces, with rammed earth walls, deer antlers and sentry posts, but the black flag has not yet been planted.

The place felt empty after a hundred people moved in.

Although the environment was not as good as the guardhouses in the two corridors, everyone was very happy, especially Lü Chou, who looked at the sky outside the camp and laughed: "Haha, it's much more comfortable here, unlike the palace where it's so restrictive."

"General, these good-for-nothings don't deserve to be called the top commander. Let's weed some out."

"Brother Iron Teeth, how can you say that?"

"Otherwise, if we see you getting crushed by other battalions, who in the army wouldn't provoke us?"

"Tieya is right. How can we be number one if we don't put in the effort?"

His subordinates were making a ruckus, but Xiao Yi knew in his heart that the Imperial Guard would not be expanded by too many people immediately; for now, it was just a skeleton being built.

Military system reform must be carried out gradually.

After moving to their new location, a messenger soon came to invite him to the main camp for a meeting. Xiao Yi, along with Zhang Mantun, Hua Nong, and Lao Pan, left the camp and arrived at the former military headquarters of the Crane Control Guard.

The front courtyard was filled with young generals, full of vigor and vitality.

Xiao Yi only recognized a small portion of them: Tang Jin, Guo Shouwen, Li Chongju…

His gaze shifted and he saw Liu Tingrang, Cui Yanjin, Hai Jin and others gathered in a corner. He went over to greet them, but overheard their conversation.

"Of course, I'd trust my nephew and son-in-law more."

"In terms of merit, both the general and Xiao Yi have made greater contributions than him. Previously, Xiao Yi was on equal footing with him, but now he has risen to the top."

"Hush, Xiao Yi's position as the Inner Palace Commander was bestowed by the Empress Dowager of the previous dynasty. It is only natural that he deliberately tarnished his own reputation and placed himself below Li Chongjin."

"I understand, En is young and difficult to arrange things for."

"Who cares who's in charge? Official rank is worthless; what matters is getting paid and having fun."

Xiao Yi slowed down and waited for them to change the subject before he went over.

We had a brief chat. When the Palace Guard was first established, it was divided into two wings: the Iron Cavalry and the Crane Controlling Wings, which were essentially cavalry and infantry.

For the time being, each wing has only one army and one commander, with a quota of 500 men each, totaling only 1,000 men. Liu Tingrang is the commander of the right wing of the Iron Cavalry, while Tang Jin and Guo Shouwen are the commanders of the Crane Controlling Army. Li Chongju assists Guo Shouwen.

It looks like it's just letting young people mess around.

Before long, Zhang Yongde and Li Chongjin arrived side by side. After a brief exchange of polite refusals, Li Chongjin began to give the speech.

"Ahem, enough with the nonsense. The Palace Guard is newly established and has only one commander, His Majesty! From now on, I am the commander of the Iron Cavalry and this is the commander of the Crane Control Army."

Zhang Yongde clasped his hands in a fist salute again and said with a smile, "You are all heroes, whether you are His Majesty's loyal followers or valiant warriors in the army. I am young, but I have stepped up despite my difficulties. Please bear with me in the future."

"Greetings, two military leaders!"

Xiao Yi noticed that Tang Jin's clasped hands were rather perfunctory, while Hai Jin whispered in Cui Yan Jin's ear, only to be reprimanded by Liu Ting Rang with a look.

These days, soldiers are arrogant and fierce, and they probably don't quite accept this.

Upon entering the hall, Zhang Yongde tore off a piece of red cloth, picked up a brush, and wrote three large characters, which he then placed on the original Imperial Guard plaque. The crowd cheered.

"it is good!"

Tang Jin clapped his hands and leaned closer to Xiao Yi, asking, "What did you write?"

"Palace Guard".

"Good!" Tang Jin shouted, then asked in a low voice, "Why are you shouting 'good'?"

"Your handwriting is beautiful."

"Why don't you write a few too?"

"My handwriting is ugly."

"Then you've lost to him?"

Xiao Yi didn't know why Tang Jin was comparing him to Zhang Yongde; he had no intention of comparing himself to others.

Zhang Yongde raised his hand to stop the cheers and said, "The Palace Guard has just been established. The first thing to do is to select and train elite soldiers and fill the quota. The troop deployment notice has been sent to the various Imperial Guards and state troops. Please screen out the old and weak under your command. The Palace Guard will be held at the drill ground in ten days. Those who are not elite will not be accepted."

"Hahaha, I don't have any old or weak people under my command. I came from the Imperial Guard."

"Exactly, if the Imperial Guards aren't elite troops, then who are?"

"Two military leaders, if you want to select troops from other places to join our Imperial Guard, you must first agree on their salaries."

"Hey, why were the Imperial Guards transferred here?"

Li Chongjin said, "One day, you will know the benefits of the Palace Guard!"

"Alright, then let's each select our soldiers..."

Xiao Yi observed carefully and found that only Li Chongju did not challenge them; the others more or less felt that Li Chongjin and Zhang Yongde were young and in high positions.

Of course, it would be the same if he were in charge. Right now is not the time to worry about others; he is more worried about his own soldiers being weeded out.

After pondering for a moment, seeing the soldiers arguing and bickering, he clasped his hands in a fist salute and said, "Two military leaders, if you want to select soldiers, you still need to establish some rules." "Commander Xiao, please speak."

"First, verify their identity and background to ensure they have no history of rebellion, crime, escape, or mutiny; second, establish standards for physical appearance, height, weight, and physical strength, including horsemanship, archery, swordsmanship, and weaponry, instead of allowing individual commanders to arbitrarily select people, but rather conduct unified testing; finally, mental fortitude and obedience are of utmost importance, and there should be a process to assess whether they follow orders and cooperate as a team; in addition, standards can be appropriately relaxed for those with special skills."

The generals certainly knew all of these things; the difficulty lay in being able to articulate them in an organized manner.

Xiao Yi deliberately cultivated a sense of discipline that set him apart from the other generals, which gave the discussions a clear direction and made them much smoother.

At noon, the specific details were agreed upon.

Zhang Yongde was very good at interpersonal relationships. He smiled and said, "Today I am hosting a banquet at Jinque Tower, and I would like to invite you all to have some wine."

"it is good!"

Xiao Yi had planned to go to Li Tao's residence today, but it seems he will have to postpone it again.

I've spent almost all of these past few days with Zhang Yongde.

The Jinque Tower is located outside the Imperial City, right next to the Imperial Street.

The generals changed into civilian clothes, rode to the restaurant, and hurriedly entered the private rooms, where they listened to music, gambled, or chatted in twos and threes.

Hai Jin clamored to hire prostitutes to keep him company, but Liu Tingrang rebuked him.

"You have no sense of propriety! Don't you know who Commander Zhang is?"

"Oh, luckily I'm ugly."

Xiao Yi stood by the window, looking south. He saw that the restaurant was indeed in a good location, situated in the most prosperous area of ​​Kaifeng, adjacent to the Bian River, with dense shops and bustling pedestrians.

Looking down from the Imperial Street, you can see the Paiyun Pavilion and the Liuli Hall of the Xiangguo Temple. To the east of the Xiangguo Temple is Madao Street, and to the north is the Guo Mansion.

Shifting the gaze westward, one sees Zhouqiao Bridge, and further west is Kaifeng Prefecture. Li Song's former residence is located north of Kaifeng Prefecture and east of Yanqing Temple, but unfortunately, only a corner can be vaguely seen.

Zhang Yongde walked over and said, "Is Xiao Lang looking at your new house? Over there, Guanqian Street."

Li Chongjin said, "Young Master Xiao is really bold to ask for Su Fengji's mansion. Everyone knows that Su Fengji has expanded and renovated it over the years, making it magnificent."

Why wouldn't you dare accept it?

“If Wang Jun doesn’t get the Shi residence, he’ll definitely be angry with you for taking the Su residence.”

"So that's it?"

Zhang Yongde said, "Chongjin heard nonsense from others. It is true that Minister Wang has an old friendship with Li Song and couldn't bear to stay at Li's residence."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yi took note.

Li Chongjin turned to look at everyone and shouted, "How could I say anything nonsense? Who here isn't annoyed by Wang Jun? I've never seen a more arrogant old man than him."

This immediately brought him closer to the generals, and the atmosphere became more lively.

Liu Tingrang put down the dice he was holding and sneered, "I recently heard a term called 'seeing all the queens with flesh and blood.' Have any of you heard of it?"

"Just tell me what kind of fart it is."

"Everyone says that Wang Jun is petty and power-hungry, and he will suppress any juniors who are unwilling to submit to him."

"Pah, do you think he can handle it?"

Xiao Yi found it interesting, but then he saw Zhang Mantun and Li Chongju come over.

"General Xiao, we are all former subordinates of Master Shi, and we cannot stand by and watch Wang Jun seize the Shi family's property."

"That's right, Shi Dalang is still here, we have to find him."

Li Chongju said, "His Majesty has a deep affection for Shi Gong and cannot bear the thought of the Shi family having no descendants. He is currently searching for the eldest son. If he cannot find him, he plans to give the Shi residence to Shi Gong's brother in Xingyang."

Zhang Mantun said, "We definitely need to find Dalang, General, don't you think?"

It's bullshit.

Xiao Yi did not want to get involved in this matter, but he knew that people valued loyalty highly. For example, Tang Jin used to be Du Chongwei's servant, and he benefited greatly from his loyalty to his former master.

On second thought, if he had to be loyal to his former master, then as Li Song's former servant, what he should do was transfer the Shi family's business to the Li family.

Listening casually to the two's discussion, and continuing to gaze at the scenery by the window, Xiao Yi suddenly had a thought and said, "This is Fanlou."

The Fanlou of later generations was located here, on the Imperial Street of the Song Dynasty capital. He even acted in a Fanlou play, playing the shirtless Yan Qing when he seduced Li Shishi.

Just then, the restaurant owner, knowing that a distinguished guest had arrived, came up to greet him personally. Upon hearing this, he smiled and said, "General, it is not Fanlou, but Linquelou. The owner of this restaurant is not surnamed Fan."

Xiao Yi suddenly realized that Li Ye's register specifically noted that Yan Jinqing's businesses included a restaurant, which must be quite extraordinary. Upon further reflection, he realized that Yan Jinqing's ability to stay informed at that time probably meant he had more than just sources from the palace.

He then beckoned the shopkeeper forward and asked softly, "Is your boss surnamed Yan?"

"General, I cannot speak too much about the affairs of my master."

Soon, the food and drinks were served, and everyone ate to their heart's content.

The room was full of martial arts practitioners, and once they had eaten their fill, they drank endlessly, seemingly preparing to drink until nightfall.

Xiao Yi, impatient to wait any longer, made an excuse to say goodbye to Zhang Yongde. Seeing that Zhang Mantun and Tang Jin were drinking together, he didn't call him, but only took Lao Pan and Hua Nong out of the restaurant.

Seeing that it wasn't dark yet, he simply went directly to Li Tao's residence to avoid any further delay.

(End of this chapter)