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Chapter 811: Military Camp (Part )

The government affairs of the court were handled by Prime Minister Chen, and the Ministry of Revenue had Minister Feng.

Jiang Shaohua spent five years to secure the throne. Then he carried out political reforms and cleansed the bureaucracy. It is hard to say how long this process will take, after all, there is no precedent in Daliang. It may take one or two years to see results, or it may take three to five years, ten to eight years, or even longer.

Jiang Shaohua was not in a hurry at all. She was still young and had plenty of time.

In the autumn of the fifth year of Zhaoping, Daliang had good weather and good harvests, and the new grains introduced in the south had a bumper harvest. The people in the north finally made it through and were basically able to fill their stomachs. The autumn land tax of that year was also collected in an exceptionally good manner, setting a record high in the Ministry of Revenue's history.

Shangshu Dong submitted a memorial to the emperor to praise his achievements.

The court officials ridiculed Minister Dong in their hearts and called him a flatterer, but they also turned around and followed suit in submitting memorials praising his merits.

The emperor didn't care about these things at all. He rode out of the city gate and went to the Yingwei army camp.

There are four armies in the capital, the Imperial Guard, the Yingwei Battalion, the Shenwu Battalion, and the Yongwei Battalion. Of these four armies, the Imperial Guard was originally the most elite. However, the Imperial Guard suffered heavy casualties in the palace coup five years ago, and has not yet recovered to its original level.

On the contrary, the Yingwei Battalion, which had the weakest combat power, now has the largest number of soldiers and the strongest combat power. General Zuo has been recruiting and training soldiers continuously in the past two years. The number on the military register has increased from 50,000 to 80,000.

Of the 50,000 soldiers in the past, more than 20% were empty soldiers. Now, the 80,000 soldiers are 100% elite soldiers.

Sometimes, even General Zuo felt strange. He used to drink soldiers' blood until his mouth was full of oil, and he never felt guilty. Now the emperor tacitly allowed him to drink as much as he wanted. The Ministry of Revenue never gave discounts on the military expenses reported by the British Guard Battalion, and gave him as much as he wanted. Why couldn't he drink anymore?

He was busy with military training every day and was so exhausted that even he was surprised.

Maybe it’s because the atmosphere in the court has changed!
In the past, everyone was a black crow, all the same. The emperor was soft-hearted and could not control the officials, so he let them embezzle.

The current Empress is so powerful that there is no need to say more. Except for one Minister Zhou, all the other important officials of the six ministries have been replaced. The six ministries are all implementing new policies. The changes in the civil officials are earth-shaking, so how could the military generals not be affected?

The emperor has not taken action against the army for the time being. That is because the emperor has great ambitions and is determined to destroy the Rouran. With the emperor's cunning means, it is possible that he has silently recorded an account with all the generals, waiting to slowly settle accounts in the future.

General Zuo didn't care what happened to other armies. Anyway, the Yingwei Camp was very different from before.

Since last year, the Empress had inspected the military camps, and the first one she came to was the Yingwei Camp, which fully showed her respect for him, the Marquis of Weiyuan. This year, she would definitely come to the Yingwei Camp first when inspecting the military camps.

When he heard the news that Her Majesty the Empress had gone to the Imperial Guards, the confident General Zuo was a little surprised.

Her Majesty stayed in the Imperial Guard Camp for six or seven days, and then went to the Shenwu Camp and the Yongwei Camp.

General Zuo felt a little uneasy.

Her Majesty the Empress has been slow to come to the Yingwei Camp. Could it be that she is dissatisfied with him? Is she deliberately using this action to warn him?

General Zuo reflected on himself several times. After waiting for a month, Her Majesty the Empress rode to the Yingwei Army Camp, surrounded by a group of royal guards.

General Zuo led dozens of military officers and waited ten miles outside the military camp.

"General Zuo Feng, I respectfully welcome His Majesty."

General Zuo spoke with full energy and a resounding voice. The generals behind him also shouted in unison: "Welcome to the Emperor."

Her Majesty, dressed in her riding uniform, looked less majestic and more heroic. Her brows relaxed and she smiled in the autumn breeze: "Marquis Weiyuan, please don't be polite. Generals, please don't be polite."

When General Zuo heard the three words "Weiyuan Hou", his anxious mood suddenly calmed down. That's right, he was the Weiyuan Hou appointed by Her Majesty the Empress herself.

He is the number one among military generals.

General Bao, General Sima, General Song, and General Fan who was far away in the border army all had to be inferior to him.

The Left General rode his horse behind the emperor, and deliberately kept a distance of one horse's length back as a sign of respect.

Jiang Shaohua saw this and smiled. Zuo Feng had been on the battlefield for a long time, was good at training soldiers, could lead troops and fight, and was a true general. However, he also had many shortcomings. For example, he was arrogant, looked down on others, and had a very high self-esteem. He valued his reputation the most and would not tolerate any general to be superior to him.

As for the other things, such as drinking soldiers' blood and being dictatorial and domineering in the army, they are all problems that are not worth mentioning.

To employ such people, you have to be resourceful and thoughtful. Give what is due, and be rude when it is time to criticize.

After riding his horse into the military camp, Jiang Shaohua dismounted.

Meng Sanbao stepped forward and took the BMW to settle down, while Qin Hu went to arrange accommodation for the guards.

After Qin Hu recovered from his injury, he practiced left-handed swordsmanship for two years. He could no longer be a personal guard and was responsible for internal affairs arrangements.

General Zuo said respectfully: "I have prepared a military tent for Your Majesty. Please go to the tent and rest first."

Jiang Shaohua was full of energy and didn't show any sign of tiredness: "I'm not tired at all. Marquis Weiyuan will accompany me around the military camp."

General Zuo responded with a smile, called his trusted guards over, and prepared to let the soldiers retreat.

The Empress's voice rang in my ears again: "No need to avoid them, and don't disturb them. I will just look around."

General Zuo thought that the Empress's temper was indeed different from that of ordinary people. Not to mention the difference between men and women, the distinction between superiors and subordinates should also be clear. When the Empress entered the military camp, she did not despise the rough soldiers and really strolled around leisurely.

"When I came here last year, there were 70,000 men in the barracks. This year there are 80,000."

General Zuo's eyes flashed with pride, and he replied in a deep voice: "Yes, the military roster shows exactly 80,000."

Jiang Shaohua glanced at General Zuo and said, "The four armies in the capital originally had similar strengths. Now the Yingwei Battalion has the most soldiers and horses, and the other generals are not convinced. This time when I inspected the military camps, I went to the Shenwu Battalion and the Yongwei Battalion of the Imperial Guards first, and comforted them with gentle words."

General Zuo raised his eyebrows: "Why should they be dissatisfied? General Bao guarded the capital and basically never fought a tough battle. General Sima's ability to lead troops is mediocre, but General Song did lead troops to suppress a rebellion, but ended up being defeated."

"Even if they were given 80,000 elite soldiers, they still wouldn't understand."

Jiang Shaohua curled his lips: "In short, they are not convinced and want to compete with the Yingwei Camp."

"I thought that General Zuo had trained the troops for two years, and it was time for him to show his prowess. This would prevent everyone from thinking that I favor General Zuo. So I simply accepted the offer on his behalf."

"How is it? General Zuo, do you have the confidence and assurance to win?"

Please don't be as good as the general.

General Zuo agreed without hesitation: "How shall the contest be conducted? Your Majesty will decide."