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Spring of the third year of Guangshun.

Guo Wei's patience with Wang Jun finally reached its limit.

Actually, this patience has been going on for more than just a day or two.

Since Guo Wei declared himself emperor, Wang Jun has considered himself the "first to advocate righteousness" and has become increasingly arrogant and domineering.

In the imperial court, he dared to refute the prime minister in front of all the officials; in the military camp, he dared to bypass the Privy Council and directly mobilize troops.

Guo Wei, being sentimental, thought of his old brother who had followed him since the uprising in Yedu, so he tolerated him several times and also privately advised him on several occasions.

But Wang Jun wouldn't listen.

He felt that he owned half of the country, and that he had put Guo Wei on the throne.

He doesn't understand, or he doesn't want to understand...

Those who are pushed up can also be pulled down.

The conflict that year began with Li Gu and Fan Zhi.

Li Gu was the Vice Minister of Revenue, in charge of the nation's finances and grain.

Fan Zhi, a Hanlin Academician, was responsible for drafting imperial edicts and handling confidential matters.

Both men were civil officials personally promoted by Guo Wei. They were upright and capable, and were important pawns used by Guo Wei to counterbalance the military generals.

Wang Jun disapproved of them.

More accurately, Wang Jun disliked any civil official who was not under his control.

"What does that pedantic scholar Li Gu know about matters of state?"

"How could Fan Zhi, a mere pale-faced scholar, be ranked as an Imperial Academician?"

Wang Jun said these words countless times in private, and gradually he brought them to the court.

In February of the third year of Guangshun, there was a great meeting.

Li Gu requested a review of the military grain accounts in various prefectures of Hebei, but Wang Jun immediately refuted this, saying that it was "hindering the border generals and undermining the morale of the army."

Fan Zhi drafted an edict on reducing the number of old and weak soldiers. Wang Jun rushed to the Hanlin Academy and cursed Fan Zhi for half an hour.

Li Gu and Fan Zhi tolerated it.

Guo Wei tolerated it.

But Wang Jun did not restrain himself.

In March, he did something even more outrageous.

Prince Jin, Guo Rong (also known as Chai Rong), the Prefect of Kaifeng, was Guo Wei's adopted son and one of the most widely recognized candidates for the throne...

In particular, Guo Wei did not suppress or exclude Guo Rong in any way because of the emergence of Suning.

Since last year, Guo Wei has intended to summon Prince Guo Rong of Jin to the court to participate in important military and state affairs.

This is both cultivation and observation.

However, Wang Jun refused.

He knelt before Guo Wei for a full hour, forcefully arguing that "the Prince of Jin should not stay in the capital for long" and "princes from princely residences should not be involved in court affairs."

"Your Majesty," Wang Jun's voice choked with emotion, his eyes reddening, "I have no personal grudge against the Prince of Jin, but am acting for the sake of the nation. Throughout history, few princes who have interfered in politics have met a good end. My sincerity is as clear as heaven and earth!"

Guo Wei looked at this veteran who had followed him since Yedu, and at his face flushed with excitement, and remained silent for a long time.

He did not refute Wang Jun on the spot.

However, the matter of summoning Chai Rong to the court was not mentioned again.

Guo Rong continued to stay at the prince's residence, spending his days reading, practicing martial arts, and receiving guests, his expression remaining unchanged.

Only Guo Zhong, the commander of the Imperial Guards, knew that His Majesty sat alone in the Imperial Study that night until the fourth watch.

The final straw that broke the camel's back was at the end of March.

Wang Jun submitted another memorial, this time with strong words, directly demanding the dismissal of Li Gu and Fan Zhi.

The memorial contained the following words: "Li Gu is colluding with foreign vassals, and Fan Zhi is secretly hoarding armor. The two men harbor treacherous intentions and should not be allowed to remain in the court."

There is no evidence.

They fabricated stories out of thin air to frame the minister.

Guo Wei read the memorial three times, put it down, picked it up again, and put it down again.

The eunuchs standing in the hall didn't dare to breathe loudly.

"Where's Wang Jun?" Guo Wei asked.

"Your Majesty, Privy Councilor Wang is in his residence, saying... he is waiting for Your Majesty's reply."

Guo Wei did not speak again.

The next morning, the court session began.

The officials stood in formation, and the atmosphere was even more tense than usual.

Wang Jun stood at the head of the martial arts class, his face arrogant, seemingly certain that His Majesty would concede again.

Guo Wei's voice came from the throne:

"Wang Jun."

Wang Jun stepped forward and said, "Your subject is here."

"How many years have you served me?"

Wang Jun was taken aback, then replied, "It has been eight years since the uprising began in Yedu."

“Eight years,” Guo Wei repeated the number, his tone calm. “Eight years. Half of my empire belongs to you. I have never mistreated you.”

Wang Jun's expression changed slightly, and he was about to speak when Guo Wei raised his hand to stop him.

"I tolerated your coercion of Li Gu and Fan Zhi. I also tolerated your obstruction of the Prince of Jin from entering the court."

"I think you are an old brother who has gone through thick and thin with me. It is only natural for you to be a little spoiled."

"But you shouldn't have framed the minister."

Guo Wei's voice suddenly deepened, like leaden clouds pressing down on a city.

"If Li Gu and Fan Zhi are guilty, what is the evidence?"

Wang Jun was speechless.

"No," Guo Wei answered for him. "There's nothing. Just your mouth, Privy Councilor Wang."

"You open your mouth and say Li Gu is colluding with foreign vassals. You open your mouth again and say Fan Zhi is hoarding armor."

"If I grant my request, won't people accuse the Prince of Jin of plotting a rebellion tomorrow?"

Wang Jun's face turned pale instantly.

He knelt down with a thud, crawled a few steps on his knees, and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty! I had no such intention! My loyalty to Your Majesty is as clear as heaven and earth..."

"I appreciate your loyalty," Guo Wei said, standing up. "I've had enough of your arrogance."

He took a pre-written imperial edict from the imperial desk and handed it to the eunuch beside him.

The eunuch unfolded the curtains, his shrill voice echoing in the empty hall:
“Wang Jun, the Privy Councilor and Chancellor, has become arrogant and domineering due to his merits. He has interfered with the court, framed ministers, and obstructed the appointment of virtuous officials. Considering his past achievements, we cannot bear to execute him. Instead, we have removed him from all his concurrent posts and demoted him to the position of Prefect of Shangzhou. He is to leave the capital immediately and is not allowed to stay.”

The hall was deathly silent.

Wang Jun knelt there, as if his spine had been removed.

“…Shangzhou Sima?” he murmured, his voice hoarse and unlike his own.

Shangzhou is located south of the Qinling Mountains, a place with high mountains and long roads.

From Privy Councilor to Prefect of Shangzhou, he was demoted by more than ten ranks.

He raised his head and looked at the familiar figure on the throne. His lips moved, but no sound came out.

Guo Wei did not look at him.

"Retreat."

The officials filed out.

No one dared to look at Wang Jun, and no one dared to help him up.

He knelt there on the cold stone bricks of the hall until the last eunuch disappeared behind the hall door.

Seven days later, Wang Jun set off for Shangzhou.

On the day they left the city, only a few old servants accompanied them.

The once bustling Privy Council is now deserted and desolate.

He didn't wait for anyone to see him off.

Outside the city gate, the post road winds southward, disappearing into the thin mist of early spring.

Wang Jun looked back at the Bianliang city gate from horseback.

He recalled that eight years ago, he followed Guo Wei in raising an army in Yedu and marched south, sweeping all the way with unstoppable momentum.

At that time, he was not yet the Privy Councilor, and Guo Wei was not the emperor.

They were brothers who fought side by side against the enemy.

The city gate tower receded into the distance, eventually becoming a blurry black dot.

Wang Jun turned his head, spurred his horse south, and never looked back.

When the news reached the military camp outside the city, Suning was checking the new season's purchase accounts with Wang Pu at the Yangzhou branch.

After Zhao Pu finished recounting the detailed events that had occurred in the court in a low voice, he stepped aside.

After listening, Su Ning did not speak immediately.

His pen paused for a moment, and the ink smeared a small patch on the paper.

"Shangzhou Sima," he repeated softly.

"Yes," Zhao Pu said. "The Imperial Censor will personally oversee the journey, and the goods will leave the capital within seven days."

Su Ning lifted the paper stained with ink and set it aside.

He continued checking the accounts, his expression unchanged.

Wang Pu glanced at him but didn't ask anything.

As night deepened, the lights in the military camps outside the city were extinguished one by one.

Su Ning sat alone by the window of the accounting office, gazing in the direction of Bianliang City.

Inside the imperial palace, the lights in the imperial study were still on.

He knew his father wouldn't go to bed early tonight.

My brother of eight years was demoted without warning.

The wine they drank together in Yedu, the trust they entrusted with their lives on the battlefield, the promises they made when they became emperor to share wealth and glory...

All of it, along with that decree of exile, drifted away in the early spring wind.

This has always been the case with imperial families.

Suning closed the window.

He neither commented on his father's decision nor lamented Wang Jun's departure to Shangzhou.

He only remembered the words Wang Jun shouted when he knelt in court for the last time, begging the emperor to rescind his decree:

"Your loyalty is as clear as heaven and earth!"

Heaven and earth can bear witness.

But heaven and earth never bear witness for anyone.

"Zhao Pu, have the 'Mingli Hall' strengthen its monitoring of the Konghe Army and prepare to cooperate with me in taking over the Konghe Army."

"promise."

……

On the third day after Wang Jun left the capital, Guo Wei summoned Prince Su Ning of Qin to the imperial study.

"The Crane Control Army." Guo Wei didn't mince words. "You're in charge of the mess Wang Jun left behind."

Guo Xin bowed his head and said, "Your subject obeys the decree."

There was no refusal, no modesty.

Looking at his taciturn son, Guo Wei felt a complex mix of emotions.

He crawled out of a well at the age of fourteen, was enfeoffed as the King of Qin at sixteen, and is now only seventeen years old, about to take over one of the most elite imperial guards of the Great Zhou.

The Crane Control Army, with three thousand iron cavalry, guards the capital region.

Wang Jun had managed the organization for eight years, and everyone from top to bottom was one of his old subordinates.

This is not an easy bone to gnaw on.

"Are you having any difficulties?" Guo Wei asked.

“Yes,” Su Ning said. “Your subject wishes to reorganize the Crane Control Army.”

Guo Wei was not surprised.

How to adapt it?

"Using the 3,000-strong reading companion battalion as the backbone, and combining it with the Crane Control Army, a new army will be formed."

Guo Wei tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

Study companion camp.

Of course he knew what that place was.

Over the past three years, that inconspicuous military camp outside the city has provided the various armies of the Great Zhou with thousands of literate and arithmetic officers.

Those people, like water seeping into sand, silently integrated into the warehouses, accounting offices, and merit and demerit camps of every army.

Now, his son wants to draw these people from all corners and form a new army.

What is the name of the new army?

"Your subject dares to propose the name..." Su Ning paused, "...National Defense Army."

National defense. Defending the nation.

Guo Wei pondered these two words, then suddenly asked, "Where is the military supervisor?"

Su Ning raised her head and met her father's all-knowing gaze.

"For every household with a hundred or more households, a military supervisor shall be appointed. The commander-in-chief shall be in charge of military affairs, and the military supervisor shall be in charge of ideology."

Guo Wei remained silent for a long time.

He did not ask where the military supervisor came from...

Of those three thousand students in the study companion camp, at least three hundred were suitable candidates to serve as military supervisors, and the students who were scattered throughout the various armies and the trustworthy merchants were also potential candidates.

Therefore, Guo Wei did not ask who the military supervisor was responsible to; the answer was self-evident.

Guo Wei simply looked at his son, at that calm to the point of indifference.

Three years.

When the child climbed out of the well, he hugged Guo Rong and cried so hard he couldn't breathe, calling him "Big Brother" over and over again.

Now he stands in the imperial study, requesting his father, the emperor, to establish a new army with a supervisor, directly under the emperor's command, and no longer privately owned by any military general.

Who is he guarding against?

Or rather, who was he protecting?
Guo Wei did not ask.

"Granted."

Su Ning knelt down and kowtowed, "Your subject thanks you for your grace."

When he left the Imperial Study, he met Prince Guo Rong of Jin in the corridor.

The two brothers stood facing each other.

"What does His Majesty summon you to discuss?" Guo Rong asked.

“The Crane Control Army,” Su Ning said. “My father ordered me to take over.”

Guo Rong nodded and did not ask any further questions.

He turned to leave, but suddenly stopped and did not look back.

"Those three thousand people in the study companion camp..." His voice was very soft, "were they prepared for yourself, or for your father?"

Suning remained silent for a moment.

"Prepared for the Central Plains."

Guo Rong did not respond.

He walked away, his figure gradually fading into the long palace corridor.

Su Ning stood there, gazing in the direction her brother had gone.

He recalled that three years ago, when Feng Dao had just sent him to his father, he had held his half-brother and cried for the entire time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Back then, when he called him "Big Brother," he meant it sincerely.

He still calls him "Big Brother" now, and he truly means it.

But beneath this sincerity, there are some things that are hard to explain or articulate.

The reorganization of the National Defense Forces officially began in the second month.

The core of the three thousand reading companions camp was then broken up and integrated into the control of the Crane Army.

The first batch consisted of three hundred military supervisors personally selected by Wang Pu.

They were all veterans from the first and second sessions of the accompanying study camp, having served in the military for at least a year. They were familiar with martial arts, literate, and, more importantly…

They knew what the duties of the military supervisor were.

It's not about hindering, monitoring, or vying for credit.

It's for prevention.

We must prevent military generals from becoming too powerful, prevent military power from falling into the hands of private individuals, and prevent the tragedy of regional separatism from repeating itself a century ago.

The King of Qin explained this principle three times, and they memorized it three times.

Zhao Da, leaning on his cane, stood on the training ground of the Crane Control Army, watching the young people returning to camp one after another.

He is old.

The old injury on his leg would ache terribly on rainy days, and Sun Wu would scold him for being useless more and more often.

But he refused to back down.

“I’ve been a soldier for thirty years and I’ve never seen this kind of fighting.” Sun Wu said to Qian Qi, “The soldiers are the emperor’s soldiers and the generals are the emperor’s generals. Anyone who wants to turn this army into their private property will have to ask me, this walking stick, for permission first.”

Qian Qi didn't say anything, but just patted him on the shoulder.

He knew why Zhao Da refused to back down.

What the King of Qin gave them was not just military pay, pensions, and money to support their families.

There is something even more precious...

dignity.

The adaptation process lasted for three whole months.

The former members of the Crane Control Army were initially resistant.

They considered themselves Wang Jun's men. Although Wang Jun was domineering, he treated his subordinates well.

Now that Wang Jun has been demoted to Shangzhou and his former master is in disgrace, the newly arrived King of Qin intends to "reorganize" them...

Does anyone know what this adaptation means?
Some people secretly conspired, some paid lip service while secretly disobeying, and some even threatened to teach this seventeen-year-old brat a lesson.

Then they met the military supervisor.

They were not civil officials who came to seize power, nor were they eunuchs who came to monitor them.

They were young people dressed in short khakis, squatting on the ground eating from a communal pot, just like them.

These young men did not beat or scold the soldiers, embezzle their rations or pay, or seize the command of the captains.

They simply sat in the warehouse, meticulously checking each and every account that had been piling up for three years.

They simply squatted by the merit and demerit camp, meticulously recording the military achievements of every soldier.

They simply stood by the line on payday, watching as every single copper coin was handed to each person.

Someone asked, "What are you after?"

A young military supervisor thought for a moment and replied, "The troops of our Great Zhou will no longer be anyone's private army."

The former members of the Crane Control Army fell silent.

……

Three months later, the National Defense Force was officially established.

Three thousand iron cavalry of the Crane Control Army and three thousand core members of the Reading Companion Battalion were combined into a new army of six thousand men.

It was divided into six thousand-household units and forty hundred-household units. Each hundred-household unit had one hundred-household supervisor and two deputy hundred-household units, and each thousand-household unit had one thousand-household supervisor and two deputy thousand-household units.

A military supervisor of a thousand households is of the same rank as a thousand households, and a military supervisor of a hundred households is of the same rank as a hundred households. All matters concerning military pay, merits and demerits, promotions and demotions require the military supervisor's signature.

This system is unprecedented.

The news caused a stir in both the government and the public.

Wei Renpu looked at the charter for a long time in the Privy Council, put it down, and then picked it up again.

“Once this precedent is set,” he said to Li Gu, “it will be difficult for the generals of the Great Zhou to emulate the regional military governors of the previous dynasty.”

Li Gu nodded, "Your Majesty is wise, and the Prince of Qin... is also wise."

What he didn't say was: Once this precedent is set, it will be impossible for Prince Guo Rong of Jin to follow the example of the previous dynasty's regional military governors.

The military supervision system of the National Defense Forces is designed to protect all military officers.

This includes the King of Qin himself, who founded it.

Military camp outside the city.

Su Ning stood on the earthen platform, looking down at the six thousand new soldiers below.

They stood very straight, their eyes were bright.

Those veteran soldiers of the Crane Control Army who were once arrogant and domineering under Wang Jun's command have now learned to line up to receive their pay and to claim their merits according to the records.

“National Defense Forces.” His voice wasn’t loud, but every word clearly reached the ears of the soldiers in the front ranks.

"National defense is about safeguarding the nation."

"From now on, the food you eat, the pay you receive, and the merits you earn will not come from any general's private treasury, nor from any powerful or influential person's private favor."

“From the national treasury.”

“From the state.”

“Every penny of money and grain paid by the common people of the world.”

The audience was completely silent.

Suning didn't continue.

He turned and walked down the earthen platform.

Zhao Pu followed behind him and said softly, "Your Highness, His Highness Prince Jin... has been standing outside the training ground for a long time today."

Suning paused for a moment.

"He is a smart man."

Guo Rong knew that Su Ning's request to establish a military supervisor and form a national defense army was to consolidate military power for his father and lay the foundation for the century-old foundation of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Guo Rong also knew that once this system was established, no military general, including himself, the Prince of Jin, would be able to have a truly "private" army as before.

Su Ning didn't say much. Behind him, the shouts of six thousand National Defense Army soldiers pierced the sky.

That was the first truly national army of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

They were not the private soldiers of the Guo family, nor the private soldiers of the King of Qin, nor anyone else's private soldiers.

It is the Great Zhou National Defense Army.

……

That autumn, Guo Wei held a banquet in the palace to celebrate the founding of the National Defense Army.

Halfway through the banquet, he suddenly asked Su Ning, "King Qin, how many years can your national defense army keep the Great Zhou at peace?"

Su Ning thought for a moment, then said, "Ten years."

Guo Wei did not ask what would happen ten years later.

He simply picked up his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

"Ten years is enough."

Then he looked out at the deep night outside the palace, and suddenly smiled, as if he had remembered something.

"When I was young, all I wanted was to live."

"As we lived, we gained those brothers in Yedu."

"As the fighting went on, they entered Kaifeng."

"Sitting in this chair, I realized that living is not the hardest thing."

"The hardest thing is to ensure that those who are still alive can live a more stable life in the future."

He put down his empty wine glass and looked at his youngest son.

"You've thought further ahead than I have."

Suning lowered his eyes.

"Your subject is simply afraid."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid that the empire my father built will not be able to be maintained in the future."

Guo Wei remained silent for a long time.

He reached out and gently patted his son's shoulder, just as he had done many years ago.

"Then guard it for me."

That night, when Su Ning left the palace, she met Guo Rong again outside the palace gate.

The two brothers remained silent.

After a long silence, Guo Rong spoke, "Yi-ge'er, you did the right thing."

Suning did not respond.

“But,” Guo Rong said in a low voice, “when I see you in the future, I don’t know whether to call you Third Brother or Your Highness Prince Qin.”

Su Ning looked at him.

Under the moonlight, half of the elder brother's face was hidden in shadow, making his expression unreadable.

"Shout whatever you want, brother."

Without waiting for Guo Rong's reply, he turned and boarded the carriage, disappearing into the deep night of Bianliang.

Guo Rong stood there, watching the car disappear into the distance.

A servant behind him said softly, "Your Highness, it's late."

"Ah."

He turned around and got into the car.

Two cars, one to the south and one to the north, headed to different corners of the capital city.

The sound of cart tracks rolling over the bluestone slabs carried far in the quiet night.

The flag of the National Defense Forces fluttered in the sky above the military camps outside the city.

...(End of this chapter)