Aoyama

Chapter 304 Killing without blood
The six ministries were located right next to the imperial city, just outside Chengtian Gate.

The Ministry of Clan Affairs, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Punishments, the Imperial Observatory, the Imperial College, the Honglu Temple, and the Imperial Medical Service were all crowded together.

In front of the various government offices, drivers and sedan chair bearers, all dressed in grey cloth, crowded together, chatting, gossiping, gambling, and waiting for their own masters.

When Chen Ji came out of the Ministry of Personnel, it was already noon.

An official from the Ministry of Personnel in a blue robe personally escorted him out of the government office and patiently reminded him, "The Yulin Army Governor's Office is just opposite. When you cross this road, you will see the plaque with the words 'Yulin Army Governor' hanging in front of the gate. In addition, I have to tell you about the Yulin Army so that you know how to deal with it."

Chen Ji bowed and said, "Please give me some advice, sir."

The official from the Ministry of Personnel said kindly, "We are all family, no need to be polite. In the early years, the Yulin Army was composed of five guards, with a governor and five commanders under him, totaling 5,600 people. But later, the Yulin Army was only responsible for the imperial guards, and was used only when offering sacrifices to heaven, ancestors, and receiving foreign envoys. It was gradually reduced to two guards, with only two fourth-rank commanders, and even the governor position has been vacant. One commander is in charge of 500 people, a total of 1,000 people."

The official continued, "Commander Li Xuan is short of men, and the Ministry of War plans to recruit from the capital, but it will definitely not be able to recruit enough men in a short time. The other commander is also an old acquaintance of yours, so I don't need to introduce him. After you join the Yulin Army, just follow his instructions, and nothing will go wrong."

Old acquaintance?
Chen Ji's heart shuddered.

The first difficulty he faced when he returned to the capital was not his enemies, but his acquaintances.

The place where he was working happened to be the Yulin Army, which was full of playboys.

Chen Ji's mind turned quickly. He was just an unknown bastard of the Chen family. Naturally, he would not have any old acquaintances known to everyone. There was only one possibility: this commander was a member of the Chen family, so outsiders would think they were familiar with each other.

Who is it?
The head of the first wife, Chen Lizun, has no children and is not a member of the first wife.

The head of the second house, Chen Lizhi, has two sons. The eldest son, Chen Wende, was promoted to the position of Vice Minister of Rites and would not serve in the Yulin Army. The second son, Chen Wenren, was once promoted to the position of Centurion in the Wansui Army... It must be him.

I don’t know if there are other familiar faces among the dissolute army of the Yulin Army?
At this time, the official in front of him said with a smile: "The six-yearly 'Beijing Inspection' begins in the spring. Lord Zhang is very busy and is often not at the government office. I am Zhou Xingwen, a doctor in the 'Selection Department' of the Ministry of Personnel. If you have something to do in the Ministry of Personnel, you can come to me directly if Lord Zhang is not here."

The doctor in charge of the appointment of officials and the transfer of positions was the "number one doctor in the world" and held great power. However, this number one doctor in the world was more amiable than expected.

Chen Ji bowed again: "Thank you for your help."

After he left, Zhou Xingwen let out a long breath and turned back to the Ministry of Personnel's classroom.

In the classroom, someone said without even looking up, "Old Zhou, I don't usually see you being so diligent. You actually asked me to escort a small flag officer of the Yulin Army out of the door? Whose son is this?"

Zhou Xingwen chuckled and didn't answer.

But an official behind another desk teased, "No wonder you, a nerd, are not promoted as fast as Old Zhou. You are both Jinshi in the same year, but he has been promoted to the fifth rank doctor, while you are only the sixth rank official."

The official who had asked the question earlier looked up in astonishment and said, "Where did you get that? If you want to praise him, then praise him. Why are you trying to belittle me?"

The official who teased him laughed and said, "That guy just now is not a simple flag officer. He is a meritorious official who just came back from Guyuan. He has more than a hundred lives of Jingchao thieves on his hands. But this is not the key point. The key point is that the palace eunuchs spread the news that when this flag officer came to the palace to meet the emperor, our Lord Zhang asked for an official position for him twice."

"Then why is he still a minor flag officer? With his achievements, it won't be difficult for him to become a centurion or a thousand-man commander with the help of Lord Zhang."

Zhou Xingwen sat behind his desk, drank a sip of hot tea, and said slowly: "His Majesty said that we should first put him in the Imperial Guards to temper his temper. How many people can make His Majesty say this in recent years? One is Lord Zhang Zhuo, and the other is Lord Wang Dao Sheng Wang."

"Wang Daosheng hasn't been reinstated yet, so what Your Majesty said doesn't mean anything."

The person sitting behind the desk sneered, "Why didn't His Majesty say that he would give you a try? Does His Majesty know who you are?"

The nerdy official who was teased looked gloomy and said, "You can't do your job well. You just spend all day thinking about these things."

Zhou Xingwen shook his head, it was useless to argue.

But another official did not let this bookworm go: "You really can't help but admire Lao Zhou's ability. When Lord Zhang sent down the promotion documents, you all said that Luocheng was too far away and didn't want to go, but Lao Zhou took the initiative to go. Now, he is a big hit in Lord Zhang's eyes, the number one doctor."

The nerd muttered, "Shit luck."

Someone else glanced at him and said, "This six-year inspection covers all officials below the fourth rank in the capital and Nanjing. In the last inspection, 197 officials were dismissed and 67 were demoted. Now when officials in the two capitals mention the inspection, everyone changes color. Is that right or wrong?"

The nerd was confused: "Yeah, what's wrong?"

Someone else continued, "Mr. Zhang's promotion to the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was a coincidence, just before the Beijing Inspection... It's obvious that His Majesty wanted him to return to Beijing to lead the Beijing Inspection. Think about it, who was in charge of the Beijing Inspection before? The Minister of Personnel and the Chief Censor!"

Before Zhang Zhuo returned to Beijing, it was already a foregone conclusion that he would enter the cabinet.

The nerd was still arguing: "Master Zhang has a promising future, what does that have to do with that small flag officer?"

Zhou Xingwen put down his teacup and looked out the window. Only a few people noticed that Zhang Zhuo's legitimate son and daughter came back from Guyuan with the small flag officer.

……

……

Under the hot sunshine, Chen Ji crossed the long street, avoiding the carriages and horses.

When they arrived at the gate of the Yulin Army Governor's Mansion, they found it was open.

On the training ground, more than 30 Yulin soldiers who had returned from Guyuan were training with spears.

Further away, there were some Yulin soldiers sitting in groups of three or four under the shade of trees chatting. I don’t know what they were talking about, but they all burst into unbridled laughter.

Chen Ji thought for a moment and walked in. The Yulin soldiers under the stable stood up and patted their buttocks, and came over carelessly. Someone shouted from a distance: "The kid from the Chen family, do you still remember me? Hahaha, in the 26th year of Jianing, did Xiaoyingzhou Wenhui remember me?"

Chen Ji frowned, this person had obviously seen him before.

But he had no clue who the other party was.

Just when he was at a loss of what to do, he saw Qi Zhuozhu rushing out of the second-floor building at the edge of the training ground and waving excitedly: "Master, Master!"

Chen Ji paused and turned to look.

Qi Chenzhuo trotted over and pulled him towards the building.

Chen Ji subconsciously wanted to break free, but when he saw those "acquaintances" nearby, he immediately let Qi Chenzhuo pull him away.

Qi Zhuozhuo walked away while saying, "Master, I have been waiting for you at the gate since early morning. You came just when I went in to drink tea. It seems that I am trying to bluff you. My brother-in-law is here too. He can vouch for me that I really just went in to drink tea."

However, before the two of them walked far, they heard the Yulin soldiers who had come before them say, "Qi Zhuozhuo, this is one of ours, why are you pulling him?"

Qi Chenzhuo stopped and said, "Your people? Zhao Zhuofan, our grandfathers lived and died together in Guyuan, how did my master become one of yours?"

Zhao Zhuofan sneered, "He is from the Chen family. The commander of our guard station is Chen Wenren. If he is not one of ours, then whose is he? Let him tell me for himself, who is he?"

Everyone looked at Chen Ji with burning eyes.

Chen Ji thought for a moment, then turned to Qi Chenzhuo and said, "Where is Lord Li? Take me to see him."

Qi Chenzhuo's eyes lit up: "Come on, come on, my brother-in-law is in the governor's mansion."

Zhao Zhuofan's face darkened: "If you follow Li Xuan today, I'm afraid there will be no place for you in the Chen family."

Chen Ji turned a deaf ear to him and asked Qi Chenzhuo in a low voice: "What do the Yulin Army do on a daily basis? Why are there so few people in the Governor's Office?"

Qi Zhuozhuo smiled and said, "I don't have much to do on weekdays. A playboy like me... Master, I am not a playboy now. We used to be registered in the Yulin Army, and we would go out for a stroll after the check-in. We would either go to the Eight Great Hutongs or drink tea and play chess."

Chen Ji was puzzled: "What if Your Majesty wants to use the Yulin Army?"

Qi Chenzhuo explained, "There are fixed times for offering sacrifices to the heavens and ancestors. Your Majesty stays at the Renshou Palace and does not need guards to serve him. The Empress never leaves the palace either. Even if they want to leave the palace, the Imperial Clan Court, the Honglu Temple, and the Ministry of Rites will start preparing more than ten days in advance. We will still have time to gather at that time. There are very few emergencies that require the Imperial Guards. You see, Chen Wenren is not here today. I heard that he went to attend a literary gathering."

Qi Chenzhuo sneered in a low voice: "With his skills, it's obvious that he went to the literary gathering to seduce women from humble backgrounds, and he really pretends to be elegant."

Chen Ji asked curiously, "If they all run away, who will do the daily chores?"

Qi Chenzhuo smiled and said, "There are people from humble backgrounds who can do this job. We don't lack this job, but they are afraid of losing the imperial rations of the Yulin Army, so they are naturally working diligently."

Chen Ji looked towards the stable, where there were more than a dozen Yulin soldiers feeding the horses in silence, out of place with the others.

Qi Chenzhuo said to himself: "I wanted to tell you yesterday that I really wronged you as a flag officer, but don't worry, when you join the Yulin Army, you can think of yourself as the deputy commander, and I will be your deputy commander."

Chen Ji turned his head and looked at Qi Chengzhuo, wondering if the other party had died once in Guyuan and was possessed by some great figure in the Forty-ninth Heaven?
At this moment, a man suddenly rushed into the gate and shouted, "Where are the Yulin Army?"

Chen Ji and Qi Chenzhuo turned around and saw a young eunuch in a green robe and round collar trotting along, holding an ochre-yellow handwritten order in his hand and shouting, "Pass on the order from the Minister of Internal Affairs. Your Majesty and the Queen will meet the Crown Prince of Goryeo at 5 pm. The Jianji Palace will be opened. The Yulin Army will line up to welcome them!"

Qi Chenzhu was startled and asked in astonishment: "Why so sudden?"

He had just boasted to Chen Ji that it didn't matter if he wasn't on duty, but retribution is here soon!
Chen Ji whispered, "How many people are needed to line up to welcome the foreign envoys?"

Qi Chenzhuo murmured, "Goryeo is a small country, 360 people are enough...but the Governor's Office doesn't even have 200 people now."

Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "Send a fast horse to find Chen Wenren. Where is the literary gathering he is attending?"

Qi Chenzhuo said hastily, "There's only half an hour left. It's too late."

However, he changed his mind and gloated again: "No, the internal minister must know that there are only 37 of us left in this guard, and we are all here. Moreover, we just returned to the capital, and it is a day of rest. If it weren't for you, Master, we would not have come to the Governor's Office to work. Therefore, if there is a punishment, it will not be us. If it is really blamed, it will only be Chen Wenren and others who will suffer... Strange, why is it so sudden this time?"

At this time, Li Xuan came out of the building wearing silver armor and said softly, "The internal minister's knife is still so sharp, killing people without blood."

Qi Chenzhuo was stunned: "What do you mean?"

Li Xuan glanced at him and said, "The Minister of Internal Affairs will never let go of any grudge. Yesterday, the Imperial Household Department lost a sick tiger with the zodiac sign of the third zodiac sign. Someone must be buried with him."

On the training ground, Zhao Zhuofan was seen shouting everywhere: "Assemble, put on your armor!"

The Yulin troops scattered in the Governor's Mansion quickly gathered together, but there were only more than 160 people, which was far from the 360 ​​people.

Just when Zhao Zhuofan was at his wit's end, another young eunuch in a green robe came running over, holding up the imperial edict from the Prime Minister, urging him: "Where are the Yulin troops? Hurry to the Meridian Gate to await your orders... Why do you only have so few people? Where are the people?"

Qi asked Li Xuan carefully: "Brother-in-law, shall we go? Or we can go home and rest, so that Chen Wenren and Zhao Zhuofan can die more easily."

Li Xuan shook his head: "It is my duty to put on my armor and organize the troops! I don't care what happens to others. We must not let the foreign envoys make a fool of themselves!"

Chen Ji suddenly said: "Find me a set of armor as well, I'll make up the number."

(End of this chapter)