Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 72 I became a tool man
As the knife in the emperor's hand, Huo Xian was very clear about his position.

After the ministers left, Liu Che said, "Do you know why I didn't let you take charge of the Southern Army?"

Huo Xian asked curiously, "Your Majesty, didn't you allow me to serve in the army? A few years ago, I was a soldier, and everyone thought I would be in charge of the Southern Army. Now I am a general of cavalry, and it is my right to be in charge of the Southern Army!"

Liu Che immediately became proud and said, "If you can't win the battle, then go to the Southern Army. Now the Southern Army lets you go, and I will allow you to go to the Northern Army as well."

Huo Xian was totally confused at this point, not knowing what the emperor was up to.

Liu Che said, "I have never liked the Grand Marshal before, you should know this."

Huo Xian certainly knew that during the Qin and Han dynasties, the prime minister and the grand marshal were the highest administrative and military officials, respectively, with a rank of 10,000 stones and a gold seal and purple ribbon. The grand marshal was the highest military official in the central government, the head of all military officers, and had the power to command all the troops in the country.

However, after Liu Che took power, he changed the practice of appointing ministers with military achievements as Taiwei, and appointed relatives of the nobility as Taiwei. After reducing some of the power of Taiwei, he simply stopped setting up the position and replaced it with Grand Marshal and General.

Liu Che continued, "The lieutenant commander leads the northern army, and the guard commander leads the southern army. The two armies have a total of 40,000 people. I felt that the lieutenant's power was too great, so I set up Yulin and Qimen under Guanglu Xun. You should know these things."

Huo Xian nodded repeatedly. He was naturally aware of this. It was customary for the emperor to divide power and exercise checks and balances.

Liu Che looked at Huo Xian and said, "Your Jianzhang Camp Cavalry has no official status. I have decided to change it to the Yulin Army. It means 'to be the wings of the country, as flourishing as a forest'!"

Liu Che smiled and said to Huo Xian, "Your troops will still guard the Jianzhang Palace, but you are the General of Cavalry after all. In addition to the Yulin Army, you will also lead the Qimen to protect me."

The Yulin Army and the Huben Army, these two imperial guards that have left a great reputation in history, have now become Huo Shan's army.

Their predecessors were the Jianzhang Cavalry and Qimen Lang.

They accompany the army when going on an expedition and provide protection when staying in the capital. This is also the characteristic of the Imperial Guard.

Huo Xian scratched his head and said, "Your Majesty, this is a bit bad, isn't it? I was planning to take the position of Weiwei!"

"Weiwei?" Liu Che teased Huo Xian, saying, "If I really let you lead Weiwei, you will definitely not be happy. First lead Yulin and Qimen. I have given you soldiers and horses."

Huo Xian thought for a moment and asked, "What about the Yulin Army? Are there two commanders?"

If the Yulin Army is like this, then the Qimen Army will naturally be configured in the same way.

Huo Xian looked at Liu Che and continued, "Your Majesty, could it be that I, the General of the Cavalry, am Guanglu Xun?"

"You look down upon Guanglu Xun, one of the Nine Ministers?" Liu Che laughed heartily, happy to see Huo Xian get humiliated. "General Huoqi cannot be in charge of military affairs now, so you should first gain experience as Guanglu Xun."

Seeing that Huo Xian still looked unhappy, Liu Che continued, "He is in charge of the palace gate guards and serves the emperor. The palace guards, attendants, messengers, and officials such as the officials and usher are all under his charge."

Liu Che also continued, "How glorious it is, and he also manages Qimen, Yulin and other imperial guards. The government office is set up in the Forbidden City, and the prison is set up inside the government, which is called Guanglu Waiwai. There are many subordinate officials and a huge organization, including chancellors, chief officials, chief clerks, etc., leading various officials, five officials, left and right lieutenant generals, three lieutenant generals of chariots, households and cavalry, Qimen Pushe, Yulin Lieutenant General, various lieutenant office chiefs, etc."

After listening to this, Huo Xian felt that Guanglu Xun was indeed awe-inspiring, and in name all the imperial guards were his men.

Moreover, this is also considered as setting up a government, and there will be a large number of subordinate officials and even an independent prison.

In terms of the source of soldiers, these are all professional soldiers and aristocratic soldiers, and their status is higher than that of the Southern Army and the Northern Army.

"Your Majesty, I am not your subordinate as the Guanglu Xun!" Huo Xian muttered, "If I really get the Guanglu Xun, everyone else will laugh at me!"

"Making fun of you?" Liu Che disagreed, "Those people can't even flatter you enough. Is it possible for others to be my Guanglu Xun?"

That being said, once Huo Xian became Guanglu Xun, anyone with a discerning eye could see that the emperor was further concentrating military power.

The General of Cavalry took over the responsibilities of Guanglu Xun, and not only was he in charge of the Imperial Guards, but it seemed that he could not directly manage the Southern Army and the Northern Army, but he could still give them some supervision.

Huo Shan was the knife in Liu Che's hand, and the emperor's best choice to control all the troops inside and outside Chang'an City.

"I can't guard the Imperial City." Huo Xian thought for a moment and said, "I am only in charge in name only. Your Majesty will assign people to do the specific tasks."

Liu Che joked, "If you were really a guard, I would not be able to sleep well at night. You go to bed earlier than me and get up later than me, how can you guard the palace! You are just in charge of the army, not the specific affairs."

I understand. Huo Xian is just a puppet, the best tool pushed forward by the emperor to take charge of the military power.

Huo Xian had no complaints about this. The emperor must have had his own thoughts and ideas when selecting some officials.

A tool is just a tool. After all, the current emperor holds great power and there is no way to resist.

Seeing that Huo Xian was unhappy, Liu Che comforted her by saying, "You should still train your troops and hunt as before. You are too young, I will give you power in a few years." This was not a pipe dream, as Huo Xian already had enough power.

Whether it was the General of Cavalry or the Guanglu Xun, both had some real power, even though the power in Huo Xian's hands was reduced.

Even so, it was better than having a lot of titles but no real power. Those powers also came from the emperor's trust.

Moreover, Huo Xian's age was also a problem in Liu Che's eyes. Although the general he had chosen was only seventeen years old, he could only use him first. But there was no need to be particularly anxious, as there were still some officials in the court who could do things.

"The power in my hands was given by His Majesty, so how can I not be happy?" Huo Xian said, "As long as I can go out to fight next year, I am happy to be idle all day long!"

Liu Che instantly became impatient, "Get lost!"

Although disappointed with Li Guangli, Liu Che still had some arrangements. Li Guangli must be made a marquis, which is also one of the means of checks and balances!

Huo Xian left in disgrace. It was just as he expected. Now mentioning the idea of ​​replacing Li Guangli would anger the emperor.

The ashamed Huo Xian led his horse out of the palace and headed straight for the Jianzhang Camp in Shanglin Garden.

"You are here!" The soldiers were happy to see the Marquis of Guanjun, whom they hadn't seen for many days. "You are here, I thought you should have come a long time ago!"

It has been more than half a month since returning to Chang'an, and Huo Shan has not come to the military camp since he presented the prisoners.

Huo Xian smiled and said, "I'm trying to get you some benefits. Have the rewards come down?"

The soldier said happily, "Sir, the rewards arrived a few days ago. No one dared to deduct them, and no one dared to ask for benefits!"

"Take a few more days of rest, then we will start training." Huo Xian said with a smile, "From now on, you are not allowed to call yourself the Jianzhang Camp Cavalry. Your Majesty will grant us a name for the army. We are the 'Yulin Army' and are under the command of Guanglu Xun!"

Although it was called the 'Imperial Guard' before, many people also know that the soldiers trained by Huo Xian, the Marquis of Guanjun, were only privately called the 'Jian Zhang Camp Cavalry' because His Majesty did not give the army a name.

And now, after fighting a battle, we finally have a military name!
Huo Xian called Zhao Anguo and said, "My unit will be renamed Yulin Army, and I will be the Guanglu Xun. I will ask for the imperial decree in a few days to promote you to Yulin Commander, and the title of Yulin Zhonglang Jiang."

Zhao Anguo was surprised and happy, but still worriedly asked, "Sir, calling yourself the General of the Central Army is probably a little inappropriate, right?"

"I am the General of Cavalry, and I should have Generals of the Household and Colonels under my command!" Huo Xian said directly, "If you are now a colonel, how should the others be appointed?"

General of the Household was already a very high official position, because the title of general was not always given and was only given when there was a war. Therefore, in normal times, the highest official position that an ordinary military officer could obtain was General of the Household, whose rank was equivalent to two thousand stones and could be in charge of the royal guard.

Huo Xian now holds the title of General of Cavalry, which is a permanent general. Therefore, he must have Generals of the Central Army and Colonels under him.

First build the framework, and then continue to fill it in.

Zhao Anguo also smiled happily. Since the prince said so, he must be sure of it.

Following the Marquis of Guanjun, the speed of being promoted to marquis and appointed as a general is indeed very fast. Zhao Anguo is now the Marquis of Guannei and has now been promoted to the title of General of the Central Army.

It is no exaggeration to say that this is a title of nobility and a general, although it is not a marquis or a general. But such treatment is something that many people cannot achieve even if they fight for their entire lives.

"Please select the troops carefully. It will be difficult for me to come here often to train the troops in person in the future." Huo Xian said, "Train the heavy cavalry with 1,000 cavalry and the light cavalry with 3,000 cavalry. We are the Yulin Army now, and I will transfer some people from Qimen later."

Zhao Anguo asked quickly, "Sir, Qimen and we are not subordinate to each other."

"It wasn't before, but now they are all under my command." Huo Xian said unhappily, "The Southern Army is gone, and I got the title of Guanglu Xun. Just wait and see, I won't be the commander of the Imperial Guard for long!"

Zhao Anguo was also speechless. He originally thought that the Marquis of Guanjun was going to command the Southern Army of 20,000 troops. But now he became the Guanglu Xun, in charge of the Imperial City Guards. This was hard to understand.

Huo Xian didn't care whether Zhao Anguo could understand or not, and continued, "Let's practice according to the plan for the attack on Dayuan next year. Focus on cavalry and less on horseback archery, and focus on fighting and breaking formations."

Zhao Anguo had figured it out, and he had improved on this expedition. The focus of training the troops did need to be slightly changed.

Patting Zhao Anguo on the shoulder, Huo Xian said, "You can arrange the selection of soldiers. Those who are suitable among the orphan soldiers will be given priority. There is no need to rush for those who are not old enough. Go to the northern and southern armies to select good families from the six counties."

Poaching people from other troops, especially elite ones, was a very hated thing in the army. But if Huo Xian went to poach people, no one could stop him.

Even the soldiers would be happy to do so. People tend to move up to higher positions. The subordinates of the Marquis of Guanjun are well paid and have more opportunities to make meritorious contributions, so of course they would go!

Huo Xian would naturally pay attention to the construction and development of the Yulin Army. But now he would no longer focus on just one part as before, because his power was growing and the number of troops under his control was also increasing.

(End of this chapter)