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Chapter 680 Confidant (I)

Minister Ding acted quickly and submitted a memorial the next day.

Liu Hengchang, Qin Zhan, and Meng Dashan were originally only rank 6 generals, but Minister Ding promoted them by four ranks. From then on, Liu Hengchang and the other two were rank 4 generals. In terms of rank, they were at the same level as the commander of the Nanyang Army, Yu Chong. They were also qualified to lead an army on their own.

In fact, the three of them had already led troops independently in the Nanyang Guard Battalion, and the number of people in each battalion was no less than that of the Nanyang Army. Now they were just getting their reputations rectified at the court level.

Tao, Xiao, Tian and Li Tianxi were also promoted two levels each and got the rank of eighth-grade military general.

After reading the memorial, Jiang Shaohua was quite satisfied and said to Minister Zhang: "Minister Zhang, please also take a look at the memorial submitted by Minister Ding to see if there is anything wrong."

Zhang Shangshu suffered a heavy loss in the case of Doctor Wan, and he has been particularly low-key and cautious recently. Zhang Shangshu respectfully took the memorial from Chen Sheren, quickly read it, and replied loudly: "I will go back to the Ministry of Personnel and immediately complete the official documents for Liu Tongling and others."

General Zuo and others had no objection to this. A new emperor appoints new ministers. After the princess ascended the throne, she did not exclude dissidents or replace her ministers on a large scale. She only promoted the official positions of a few trusted generals, which can be said to be very restrained.

As a minister, if you meet such a wise ruler, you should know how to appreciate your blessings. Otherwise, you will be struck by lightning.

General Sima also took the initiative to say: "Commander Song killed the traitor in the palace coup that day and protected the emperor's safety, which was a great achievement. With Commander Song's merits and abilities, it is really unfair that he is still a fifth-rank military officer. Why not take this opportunity to promote Commander Song as well."

Commander Song has now accepted the mission and is leading his men to search the palace of Prince Dongping. He will be returning to the capital soon.

Minister Ding was secretly annoyed. He was not thorough enough. How could he have overlooked Commander Song? This was the princess' closest and most trusted confidant!
Minister Ding immediately agreed: "General Sima is right. I was negligent."

Next, all the ministers praised Commander Song one after another, and some even suggested that the imperial guards who had made great contributions, such as Qin Hu and Meng Sanbao, should be promoted.

Jiang Shaohua had thought about this a long time ago, and smiled slightly, saying, "They are all waiting for my orders, so it is not appropriate to promote them now. Otherwise, my imperial guards are all fifth- and sixth-rank military generals, which is really unbecoming and not in line with the palace rules. I will send them out to lead troops in the future, and then it will not be too late to promote them."

There is a lot of information in these words.

It seems that the emperor is quite dissatisfied with the current situation of the Daliang army and will make drastic reforms sooner or later. There is no need to worry about lack of people. These guards from Nanyang County are not only brave, but also literate and can read military books. This is already the average level of Daliang's generals.

Think about it, the emperor has a thousand of these personal guards... No, several thousand or even more. In other words, the emperor has a lot of talents who can be mid-level and low-level generals. And they are all loyal to the emperor. What an awe-inspiring fact!

Minister Wang was originally quite dissatisfied, but now he shut up obediently.

After the court meeting, Liu Hengchang and the other six followed Minister Ding and Minister Wang to the Ministry of War. The officials of the Ministry of War were well prepared, and when they saw the killers who were taller and more ferocious than the last, they all greeted them with smiles and were very polite.

Can you be rude? Do you dare to be rude?
These were old men from the Emperor's residence, and they were sent to the Ministry of War by the Emperor. They were all very confident and strong. How could they afford to provoke them?

Especially that burly black man named Tao Da, whose fists were clenched like iron balls, which scared everyone who saw him.

……

With his superb efficiency, Zhang Shangshu completed the official documents for Liu Hengchang and others within three days. Everyone loves promotion. Qin Zhan and Meng Dashan were delighted and bowed to the emperor to express their gratitude: "Thank you, Princess!"

"No, I was wrong. I should say thank you, Your Majesty."

Whether it was the princess or the emperor, in fact, it made no difference to them. They were loyal to Jiang Shaohua.

Jiang Shaohua naturally wouldn't mind the occasional slip of the tongue by his confidants, and said with a smile: "I haven't heard the title of Princess for a long time. Now I hear it, and I miss it very much."

After some jokes, Jiang Shaohua asked Liu Hengchang: "You have been in the Ministry of War for a few days. Have you found any problems?"

Liu Hengchang remained calm and unperturbed, and replied, "Your Majesty, Minister Ding is careful in his work, and although Minister Wang likes to complain, he is diligent in his duties. All officials in the Ministry of War are also busy with the military expenditure issue, and there are no mistakes."

Jiang Shaohua curled his lips: "Killing a chicken to scare the monkey is always useful."

No one wants to be the next Wan Langzhong, so they have to change their habit of taking advantage of others. At least, they dare not touch a single cent of this military expenditure.

Liu Hengchang had obviously been thinking about this, and whispered, "Next, we will each lead our own troops to escort military expenses, military rations and supplies to the garrisons. The emperor has used me and others as his eyes and ears to find out the true strength of each garrison and re-record the military rolls."

"Minister Ding's worries that day are also the biggest concern in my heart. If any of the garrison officers are dissatisfied, there may be a war."

Jiang Shaohua said calmly: "Therefore, I ask you to only be my eyes and ears, and bring back everything you see and hear to the capital for me to know. Do not get involved in the specific affairs of the garrison camps at will."

This is to draw a line for Liu Hengchang and others. Just listen and watch, no words and no actions.

This is also a silent warning and reminder to the garrison officers. The first time is a gentle breeze and drizzle, if they don't make timely corrections, they will be held accountable in the future.

Liu Hengchang bowed and accepted the order.

Qin Zhan couldn't help but say, "I am a rough man, I speak my mind, I am afraid I can't help myself when I see something I don't like. What if I cause trouble for the emperor, what should I do?"

"Isn't it?" Meng Dashan continued, "I am also worried about this matter! I was born with such a straightforward and hot temper, how can I always control it?"

Liu Hengchang's voice sounded at the right time: "We have to endure it even if we can't help it. First, the emperor has just ascended the throne, so it is not appropriate to use force to make people unstable. Second, our manpower is limited. We brought 2,000 people to the capital this time. Each garrison has only a few dozen people. If there is a conflict with this small number of troops, we will suffer. Even if the emperor will support us and take revenge later, those who are hacked to death by the chaotic soldiers will not survive."

"General Liu is right." Jiang Shaohua continued, "In my heart, your safety is more important. I am unwilling to bear the pain of losing anyone. For me, you must return safely."

These words make people feel warm inside.

The thorns on Qin Zhan and Meng Dashan's face were immediately smoothed over, and they each bowed in agreement.