Dream of the Red Chamber: I can see the hidden labels of the beauties.

The veterans breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Jia Can's words. Jia Can offered many options: they could stay, receive generous severance pay, or recommend their nephews or nieces to succeed them.

Suddenly, the vast majority of people became grateful to Jia Can, their young boss, and whispered among themselves, discussing how to choose.

Jia Can then said to Yi Xian:

"Commander Yi, I'll leave this matter to you. Is that alright?"

Yi Xianzheng was secretly surprised by Jia Can's shrewdness; he had actually changed his tune and won the favor of these veterans, thus thwarting his own plans. Upon hearing that Jia Can had entrusted this matter to him, a new idea instantly came to mind, and he hurriedly replied respectfully:

"Thank you for your trust, sir. I will do my utmost to handle this matter properly."

Jia Can nodded slightly and then said to the veterans:

"If you've decided whether to stay or leave, or whether to let your nephews or nieces inherit the position, just go directly to Magistrate Yi. You may all leave now."

Upon hearing this, the crowd respectfully agreed and dispersed in small groups, most of them with smiles on their faces, seemingly quite looking forward to the matter.

Seeing that everyone had left, Yi Xian bowed and asked:

"Sir, if there is nothing else, I will return to my office to continue my duties."

Jia Can waved his hand slightly: "Go ahead..."

As she spoke, seemingly remembering something, she added:

"By the way, Yi Tongzhi, I am young and inexperienced in administrative affairs. I will have to rely on you for most of the matters in the garrison."

Yi Xian was about to leave when he heard this and was overjoyed. He thought to himself, "I thought you were so capable, but it turns out you're nothing special. This is just what I wanted."

On the surface, Yi Xian responded politely:

"Rest assured, sir, as the deputy commander, I will do my utmost to assist you!"

Jia Can nodded slightly and waved for him to step back.

Yi Xian bowed and took his leave, a smile playing on his lips. Emperor Jing'an had sent him to the Longfu Guard as the Deputy Commander, his primary task being to sideline Jia Can.

If you do well, you will naturally receive recognition, and you might even be able to take the opportunity to cross the threshold of the third rank and officially become a senior military officer of the third rank. Once you reach the third rank, even if you don't have any real power, you are still a military officer with a certain reputation.

Yi Xian certainly wanted to achieve this, but most importantly, he knew that if he succeeded, Emperor Jing'an would remember him. This was the ultimate temptation, since out of so many officials, few could be remembered by the emperor.

Originally, Yi Xian was eager to undermine Jia Can's authority through various means, such as his suggestion to take over Jia Can's duties and report for duty. His aim was to gradually erode Jia Can's authority.

Now that Jia Can has actually taken the initiative to ask him to take charge of many affairs in the Dragon Guard, it's like a windfall for him.

However, he did not completely lose his mind because of this. The recent probing and confrontation made him realize that Jia Can was still somewhat shrewd and magnanimous, and he needed to observe him for a while before making any decisions.

Jia Can sat in the office until 9:00 AM. Seeing that no one else was coming, he returned to his own office. He didn't do much, just kept an eye on personnel matters and the lunch break.

Seeing Jia Can's behavior from the shadows, Yi Xian was quite excited, thinking to himself, "Jia Can is nothing special. How could the affairs of this garrison be so simple?"

Yi Xian had risen through the ranks from a low-ranking officer, so he was naturally very familiar with some of the administrative affairs involved. Seeing that Jia Can had no further actions, he took over all the responsibilities in his capacity as the deputy commander.

Yi Xian single-handedly handled all the administrative affairs, such as the distribution of military supplies, weapons and equipment, the assessment and supervision of whether the guards and garrisons violated laws and regulations, the management of accounting books, the liaison with the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Personnel, and the handover of official documents.

Those who don't know him might think he's the commander of the Dragon Guard. If this continues, outsiders will not know Jia Can, but only Yi Xian.

Jia Can seemed unconcerned about these matters, letting Yi Xian handle everything. He even publicly praised Yi Xian for doing a great job, saying that he was indeed worthy of being the Commander appointed by Emperor Jing'an and that he was truly exceptionally capable.

Yi Xian was immersed in the atmosphere of his victory and looked down on Jia Can even more, thinking that although Jia Can had some shrewdness, he was far inferior to him, a veteran of the army.

Jia Can was sold out by him, and he even helped him count the money.

Most importantly, the result was exactly as he had initially imagined. He had indeed easily gained most of the real power of the Dragon Guard, and Jia Can was completely unaware that he had been sidelined. Instead, he praised him, which made him secretly chuckle several times.

If things continue like this, in less than a month, Jia Can will be completely sidelined by him, and he can then use this achievement to ask Emperor Jing'an for a reward!

Three days have passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Jia Can arrived at the Longfu Guard's office before dawn as usual, spread out the newly created roster, and waited for everyone to come and take attendance.

Unlike the first day, veterans soon began to arrive for roll call, including Yi Xian. Since Jia Can was keen on being on time, he naturally couldn't let Jia Can find fault with him, so he arrived early for the past two or three days.

Jia Can smiled warmly and exchanged pleasantries with everyone.

One of the veterans, seeing that Jia Can was easy to talk to, finally couldn't help but say:

"My lord, I have something to say to you."

Jia Can looked at him and said:

"Yang happy, I remember you. Speak your mind."

This veteran was Yang happy, the first veteran Jia Can had met before, and also an old gatekeeper of the Longfu Guard. He said to Jia Can with a bitter face:

"My lord, according to your regulations, those of us who have reached retirement age should receive a generous severance pay to retire at home. However... yesterday, when I went to Magistrate Yi to collect it, he said that the yamen's treasury had no money and we had to wait for the imperial court to allocate funds."

"My entire family depends on my meager salary to survive. At my age, I am no longer able to serve you, and I have no suitable nephews or nieces to replace me. If I were to pass away first, and the court's funds were not disbursed in time, my family would probably not live much longer."

"I beg you, sir, to grant my humble service..."

As soon as he finished speaking, several other veterans echoed his sentiment, all because Yi Xian was not paying them, leaving them in a dilemma of whether to stay or leave.

The reason was that Jia Can's severance pay was quite generous, so most of the veterans chose to take the money and leave. After all, only real money in hand could give them peace of mind; everything else was uncertain.

Upon hearing this, Jia Can's face darkened, and he looked at Yi Xian, questioning her:

"Commander Yi, is what they said true?"

Yi Xian seemed to have been prepared, and calmly stepped forward to respond:

"Your Excellency, what they said is true. The Dragon Guard's treasury is already empty, and all the available stipends have been claimed. There is nothing I can do about it."

"However, my lord, rest assured, I have already written official letters and submitted them to the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War. I expect that the funds and provisions will be allocated soon, and the severance pay can be issued at that time."

Jia Can nodded slightly:

"I see. When will the imperial court allocate these funds and provisions?"

Yi Xian glanced at Jia Can and saw that Jia Can's face was full of expectation. He found it amusing and thought that Jia Can was indeed a greenhorn who had just entered the officialdom. If the Ministry of Revenue could allocate funds so easily, then there wouldn't be so many people in the court complaining every day that they had no money.

The national treasury is already in dire need of funds every year, and the Ministry of Revenue is even more tight-lipped, rarely allocating funds. Even if the Minister of War personally asked for it, the Ministry of Revenue might not allocate any money, let alone Jia Can, who is only a third-rank commander.