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Chapter 846: Inspection (Part )
No one expected that the Empress would dismiss General Fan from his post on the second day after she arrived at the Yizhou military camp.

The person who took over the position of commander-in-chief of the Yizhou Army was the emperor's personal guard Sun An.

Sun An has been a personal guard in the Nanyang Palace since he was sixteen years old. It has been more than ten years now. He is first-class in skills, calm in temperament, and loyal to Her Majesty the Empress. He is in his thirties, which is the prime of his life.

Jiang Shaohua said to Sun An: "I will let you be the chief general of the Yizhou Army. Within two years, I want you to fill the vacancies on the military roster and train an elite force."

Sun An solemnly bowed his hands and said, "I will obey your orders."

"The Yizhou army is in disarray and has poor discipline. It will take a lot of effort to rectify it. You don't have to be timid. I am your backer."

"Yes."

After finishing his business, Jiang Shaohua slowed down his voice again: "Your wife and children are in the capital. I sent someone to send a letter back to pick them up and settle them down."

Sun An's wife was Huang Sanmei, and it was Jiang Shaohua who personally acted as a matchmaker and facilitated this marriage. Huang Sanmei was gentle and hardworking. After marrying Sun An, she gave birth to four children in succession, and the couple had a very good relationship.

After Jiang Shaohua ascended the throne, Sun An took his wife and children to the capital to settle down. Now, Jiang Shaohua left Sun An in Yizhou Army, and did not forget to invite Huang Sanmei and her children to come over for a family reunion.

Such trust and consideration made Sun An's heart burn. His father died early and his mother remarried. He grew up in the Nanyang Guard Camp. For him, loyalty to the master was a matter of course, as natural as breathing.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Sun An replied respectfully, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will do my best to train the Yizhou Army into an elite force."

With the approval and support of Her Majesty the Empress, Sun An quickly took office.

After the initial shock, the soldiers of the Yizhou army quickly accepted the new commander.

Unrest is impossible. Her Majesty's 30,000 guards are stationed inside and outside the military camp. If the Yizhou army makes a slight move, they will be directly wiped out by 30,000 elite soldiers. Everyone enters the military camp to get military pay and eat, why should they risk their lives for General Fan?

Besides, the newly appointed General Sun is neither eccentric nor harsh, he is just particularly strict in training the soldiers. We just need to be patient and endure it.

Jiang Shaohua stayed in the Yizhou army for a month until the morale of the army was reassured, and then he set off.

General Fan, who was dismissed from his post, did not go anywhere else. He directly replaced Sun An's position and became the emperor's personal guard.

In this way, it can be considered as saving the face of the Fan family.

General Fan left with his bodyguards in a daze. After he had walked a long way, he could not help but look back at the familiar military camp. He felt so sad that tears almost burst out of his eyes.

Unfortunately, it's too late to regret now.

The sound of horse hooves filled his ears. The Nanyang guards were all excellent riders, and their military appearance was neat. They rode at the same speed and maintained a neat formation while marching. General Fan was distracted for a moment, and someone reminded him, "Don't look back, hurry up and catch up."

General Fan came back to his senses, turned around and gave the black tower-like sturdy man a warm smile: "Yes, thank you General Tao for reminding me."

Tao Da is already over 30 years old this year. He trains in the military camp all day long. He has a strong back and a face full of flesh, which makes people tremble with fear.

Tao Da glanced at General Fan, and only withdrew his gaze when General Fan rode his horse forward obediently.

After leaving the Yizhou military camp, the Empress went directly to Yizhou Prefecture. Yizhou Governor Yang led a group of officials to meet her ten miles away. Before they saw the Empress, they were shocked by the 30,000 cavalrymen coming towards them.

Each of the imperial guards rode two horses. Thirty thousand imperial guards and sixty thousand war horses came galloping in. The ground was shaking with the horses’ hooves.

The Empress's movements in the Yizhou Army had long been heard by Governor Yang and others. This was not killing the chicken to scare the monkeys, but killing the monkeys directly to show the chickens. The powerful generals of the fourth rank said to withdraw, without waiting overnight. General Fan, the Marquis of Jingbian, was also not able to save face.

Her Majesty the Empress is so tough on military generals, so it would be even easier for her to deal with civil officials.

Therefore, the Yizhou officials who came to greet him today were particularly neat and tidy, kneeling on the ground to pay their respects.

"No courtesy, stay on your own."

The clear voice of Her Majesty the Empress reached my ears.

Governor Yang and the others thanked God for his grace tremblingly. After they stood up, no one dared to look up.

Her Majesty the Empress is extremely powerful and majestic.

This power of heaven was built up bit by bit by his actions in the more than ten years since he ascended the throne. As the Son of Heaven, he was both civil and military, without any shortcomings or bad habits that people criticized. The only shortcoming was probably that he was too diligent and too wise. Civil officials and military generals had to perform their duties conscientiously, and they would be terrified if they occasionally took a nap or did something lazy.

Jiang Shaohua glanced at him and said calmly, "Governor Yang, I want to settle down in Yizhou Prefecture for a while and take a look at Yizhou Prefecture."

Governor Yang perked up, responded with a smile, and led the way respectfully.

Thirty thousand soldiers could not enter the city, as the city simply could not accommodate so many people. Jiang Shaohua led two thousand guards into the city gate, and the rest of the people camped outside the city gate.

General Fan was also among the imperial entourage. When Governor Yang hosted a banquet to welcome the Empress, the Empress personally appointed General Fan to accompany her.

For the emperor's personal guards, this is both trust and honor.

For General Fan, the experience was not so pleasant.

As the commander of the Yizhou Army, he usually interacted with Yang Shishi and other civil officials. The 5,000 men of the Yizhou Army were despised by the Empress, but they were the military force that Yizhou relied on. On weekdays, the Yizhou Army was used to suppress mountain bandits and deal with refugees. Therefore, Yang Shishi and others were always polite to General Fan and gave him generous gifts every New Year.

Now, Governor Yang and others were sitting at the banquet, while General Fan and more than ten other personal soldiers stood behind the Empress. When everyone stood up to toast, they would always glance at General Fan intentionally or unintentionally.

General Fan felt like crying.

It cannot be shown on the face.

He stood straight, looked straight ahead, and had a serious expression.

Governor Yang did not dare to mention General Fan, but Her Majesty the Empress did not mind and said casually, "I have a new personal guard by my side. He was originally the commander of the Yizhou Army. Governor Yang should be familiar with him!"

Governor Yang smiled awkwardly and said, "Not very familiar with him."

General Fan's face was burning, but he continued to hold his head high and chest puffed out.

After finally waiting for the banquet to be over, General Fan was able to take over the shift with his guards, eat, take a shower, change clothes and rest.

The guards were four to a room. I don't know who arranged it, but General Fan and Tao Da happened to share a room.

Tao Da was a man of great strength, tall and loud, and he loved to glare and clench his fists. Occasionally, when he got angry, he would punch the table and break it in two.

After witnessing Tao's rage, General Fan became particularly obedient and kept to himself. He swallowed all his sorrows.