Yang Gongren and Cui Xun arrived at the Longwei camp and read out the appointments of the officers.

Yang Gongren's current official position is the fourth-rank minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and he belongs to the same rank as General Zhe Chonglang, the commander of the Xiaoguo Army. However, one is a civil servant and the other is a military officer. The emperor asked Yang Gongren to serve as the commander of the newly formed Longwei Army under the imperial guards, but did not grant him a matching military officer. It is obvious that he wanted to limit Yang Gongren's power. The power of commanding the military was granted to him was temporary, and the power of commanding the military was taken back after the Eastern Expedition. In this way, Yang Gongren's commanding position was a bit unreasonable, with constraints above and restraints below. In a sense, he had the name of commanding the military, but he did not have the reality of commanding the military.

As the deputy commander of the Dragon Guard, General Guo Yilang, and Cui Xun, as the supervisor of the Dragon Guard and the supervisor of the Censor, under the intentional arrangement of the emperor, each "divided up" part of Yang Gongren's military command. The three of them actually formed a restraint, and no one could fully control the Dragon Guard, and the only one who really controlled the Dragon Guard was the emperor.

The emperor not only divided the Long Guard's military power into three, but also once again strengthened this situation of mutual restraint and mutual restraint in personnel appointments, thus ensuring his control over the Long Guard.

In terms of personnel appointments, senior staff members of the Longwei Army Command, such as Chief Secretary, Director General, Military Affairs, and Cao Cao, were all subordinates of Yang Gongren. The Xiongwu Lang, the brave general, the school captain, the brigade commander and the deputy captain of the two prefectures, including the staff members of Sima, Sibian and the cavalry of the two prefectures were all subordinates of Jialan.

This personnel appointment immediately created the command center, the military supervisory office and the left and right Longwei Office within the Longwei Army. Among these three forces, Galan seemed to have the greatest strength. But in fact, he had the least power, and all his military power was suppressed by the command center and the military supervisory office. The command center seemed to be "emptied", but Yang Gongren was the chief of the central government, representing the emperor and the central government. As long as he firmly followed the orders of the emperor and the central government, he could use the power in his hands to the extreme. Who dared to violate the emperor's orders? Who dared to fight against the central government? As for the military supervisor, Cui Xun, he even held the "Shangfang Sword" given by the emperor. What is "surveillance and punishment for violations"? To put it bluntly, it is just a sentence. As long as it doesn't meet my wishes, I can sue you, impeach you, and I can even say it as white as I am.

Yang Gongren is the royal family. He is naturally serving the emperor and safeguarding the interests of the emperor and the empire. Cui Xun is a wealthy family and represents the interests of the Middle-earth aristocratic families. Galan represents the interests of the emperor, and the power of the imperial side he is in is also a strong backing for the imperial reformists. These three forces are the main forces in the imperial political game today and are everywhere. Therefore, even if Liu Xuan, Kong Yingda, Xue Deyin and others know that Galan is Yang Gongren's nephew, Galan and Cui

There are also unknown "secrets" between the clans, and even these three forces joined forces to assist King Yang Tong of Yue to calm the "storm" during the Yang Xuangan Rebellion. They have common interests and demands, but in the face of the unpredictable imperial political situation after the end of the Eastern Expedition, no one knows whether these three forces are willing to use King Yang Tong of Yue to set off a new round of storm of the imperial throne. Therefore, with the arrival of Yang Gongren and Cui Xun, the struggle within the Dragon Guards will inevitably intensify.

After the military controversy ended, the generals and staff left one after another. Only Yang Gongren, Galan and Cui Xun were left in the central army tent.

Yang Gongren sat high on the upper seat, and Galan and Trison were on the left and right, and the atmosphere was very serious.

"Your Majesty is determined to launch the third Eastern Expedition." Yang Gongren's voice was low and slow, revealing a deep feeling of fatigue and melancholy. "It is estimated that in early February, the Shangshu Province will make a decision, and then order the world to summon troops to raise food and grass. In early March, your Majesty and the Palace will rush to the battlefield in Liaodong."

Yang Gongren's eyes slowly passed over Jialan and Cui Xun's faces, "There is very little time left for Long Guard. In the next month, Long Guard will not only train the army and prepare to go north to Liaodong, but also suppress the rebellion and quell the rebellion and ensure the smooth flow of the Yongji Canal." Speaking of this, Yang Gongren paused for a moment, and his eyes remained on Jialan. "General Yijialan's report, all the bandits on the Yongji Canal line have been killed, and Yu Zhong fled south. Recently,

Zhang Xutuo of Qi County made a series of remarks, extremely indignant at General Jialan's deliberate drive of Hebei bandits to the south of the river. Now the thieves on the Jishui line are very strong, but Zhang Xutuo is brave and cannot be defeated. He will be successful in battles and will be frequently reported. In this case, if the Longwei goes north, the Hebei bandits will inevitably cross north and plunder Yongji Canal, which will endanger the battlefield of the eastern expedition and even the entire northern border. At that moment, things will be in trouble."

This big "trouble" has a direct relationship with Yang Gongren. Although the battle to suppress the rebellion in Hebei was fought by Jialan and the bandits in Hebei led their troops to suppress it, Yang Gongren was the ambassador of Hebei to arrest him, and Jialan was just his deputy. Once the bandits come back, Hebei will fall into crisis again, affecting the plan of the Eastern Expedition. The first person to take responsibility for this is Yang Gongren.

Yang Gongren, Yang Yichen, and Yang Zhiji are like the older generation of Yang Xiong and Yang Da. Their political positions are conservative. Although they agree with reform and actively promote centralization, they oppose radical reform ideas, especially the destruction of the aristocratic gentry politics with the thunder. The current inheritance of the throne depends on the support of Yang Xiong and Yang Da and other important royal ministers, and they also need their political assistance, so they can still tolerate it. Now these old ministers are dead. How can the reformists in Shanghe Central continue to tolerate the obstruction of the reform by the royal members? Therefore, only by seizing the opportunity, that is,

From the perspective of power checks and balances, the emperor still needed members of the royal family to stay in the center. The reformists in the center would never "tolerate evildoers" and would inevitably kill. Their primary target was Yang Gongren. The reason was that Yang Xiong and Yang Da brothers were the strongest political force in the entire royal family. The huge political legacy they left after their death was basically inherited by Yang Gongren. Once Yang Gongren won the emperor's trust and entered the core level of the central government, the conservative power of the royal family was fully utilized, and the alliance with other conservative aristocratic forces would inevitably seriously hinder the reform process.

Yang Gongren said this very bluntly, but in fact he questioned that there was a problem with Jialan's suppression of the Hebei rebellion and was suspected of deceiving the emperor and disregarding the emperor.

Zhang Xutuo, who was in the south of the Great River, accused Galan of anger, and there must be a reason for it. The emperor and the central master were very clear and determined that Galan "do anything" to achieve their goals, but for different purposes, the emperor and the central master turned a blind eye, listened but refused to hear, and let Galan do whatever he wanted. From Yang Gongren's perspective, the emperor and the central master were "setting a trap" for themselves and letting Galan dig a trap for themselves.

Jialan's intelligence is extraordinary, and Yang Gongren is very clear about this. Considering the increasingly complex political game of the empire, considering the struggle for imperial throne that was unable to break free like a nightmare, and especially considering the common interests of the royal family power headed by himself and the Shandong wealthy families headed by Cui during the Yang Xuangan Rebellion, as well as the moderate reformists led by Pei behind Jialan, who gathered in the political alliance under the King of Yue Yang Tong, Yang Gongren had to join forces with Cui in front of Cui to explore the deep-seated reasons why Jialan was "doing things wrong".

Why do you do this? Why are you recruiting thieves to serve as soldiers? The "recruitment" incident involves a wide range of involvement, especially the interests of the Hebei family and the Guanlong Wuchuan aristocratic group among the Shandong aristocratic group. So, what is this interest? From the direction of the imperial political development after the end of the Eastern Expedition, the "recruitment" incident left a huge hidden danger that cannot be concealed and inevitable. Once this hidden danger breaks out, it will inevitably cause bloody storms. The ultimately affected may be King Yue Yang Tong and the three political forces gathered under him. If these three forces are also severely damaged, then who can stop the emperor and the central reform faction from accelerating the reform process?

"Things are already troublesome." Jialan said without thinking, "The Liu Yuanjin Rebellion has shaken the whole country and the south of the Yangtze River, and Wang Shichong's massacre has intensified the hatred of the people of the Jiangzuo people towards the Guanlong people. It can be foreseen that when Wang Shichong, the Jiangdu left behind, transferred all the main forces of Jiangdu to the Jianghuai battlefield, a series of rebellions in Jiangzuo will inevitably break out. The Jiangzuo rebellions have occurred one after another, and the Jiangnan River will inevitably be interrupted. The most severely affected are not the Dongdu and Xijing, but the Xijiang and Northern Xinjiang."

"The rebels who threatened Jiangdu and Tongji Canal waterway were not only the Jianghuai thieves Du Fuwei and Fu Gongyou, but also the rebels from Henan and Qilu. It can be foreseen that even if Wang Shichong won consecutive battles in Jianghuai, he would be in a dilemma of losing one thing in the short term. Even if he finally defended Jiangdu, he would definitely lose control of Jiangnan and Jianghuai. In other words, soon, Jiangnan River and Tongji Canal would fall into the long-term robbery of the bandits, and the towns and garrisons in the northwest borders would also fall into the dilemma of not being able to continue food and grass."

"The failure of food and grass to continue is not the most serious problem of the two border garrisons. The most serious problem is the lack of garrison troops. The huge losses caused by the failure of the first Eastern Expedition were unbearable for the Imperial Team. While the total force was reduced, the Imperial Team had to defend against the Turks who had risen again in the northern desert, and on the other hand, they had to suppress the rebellion and quell the rebellion on the domestic battlefield. The opening of the two fronts, the unsustainable force and food and grass, and the fierce political battle in the imperial court, would push the empire into the abyss of collapse."

Yang Gongren looked solemn and silent. Cui Xun was as calm as water, and a faint sadness appeared in his eyes.

Galan's analysis of the situation in the empire was more pessimistic, but each argument was unquestionable and irrefutable. After these words were said, Galan's reason for "recruiting thieves as soldiers" was already very clear. After the Eastern Expedition, the exhausted empire would usher in a pack of wolves in the northern desert, and the main force of the expeditionary army would inevitably stay in the northern border. The Dragon Guard Army was definitely one of them, because the emperor and the reformists in the center could find sufficient reasons to drive them out of the center.

"Uncle..." Jialan called in a low voice and said with an extremely solemn expression, "In the next few years, whether my uncle can control the army is directly related to the survival of the empire. Therefore, in a certain opinion, it is better for my uncle to follow the situation and stay on the frontier. Whether it is Youyan or Daibei, as long as we can build a solid city wall for the empire and resist the invasion of the northern barbarians, we will definitely be able to turn the tide in the moment of crisis in the empire."

＝To be continued...
Chapter completed!