The Demon-Slaying Grandmaster

Chapter 111: The Commander of the Sima Army in Front of the General of Huaihua Palace
When thinking of Maoshan, Emperor Longde's first thought was that all these Taoists should be killed.

He actually refused to teach the true method of cultivation to the royal family.

But this thought only lasted for a moment, as Emperor Longde had been emperor for several years.

His thoughts are no longer limited to partisanship, and he has even been able to let go of temporary gains and losses.

So whether it is good or bad depends entirely on whether it is beneficial to yourself.

Whether it can be used by oneself.

Moreover, Emperor Longde knew very well that the Maoshan martial arts must be more powerful than the one practiced by his father.

Dozens of generations have studied and practiced it, so while it is powerful, it is definitely safer to practice.

After all, it has been passed down for thousands of years, and countless ancestors have tested and improved it.

Even Jingyou's Taoist methods came from Maoshan.

Thinking of this, the emperor was no longer anxious.

He hurriedly bowed to the emperor and thanked him loudly.

The emperor's mood became even better.

When he looked at Li Jingxiao, his eyes were kind, but there was a hint of worry.

But think about it, Zhenwu Temple has been passed down for more than a hundred years, and Maoshan and Tianshi Fu have been passed down for thousands of years.

It's easy to get rid of Li Jingxiao, but we can't kill all of Maoshan, Tianshi Mansion, and countless Taoist temples and sects in the world, right?

If that were to happen, it would be a repeat of the Yellow Turban Rebellion at the end of the Han Dynasty.

It would be better to show some favor to Li Jingxiao. With him around, he can be regarded as a helper in balancing the Taoist forces outside the court.

Early the next morning.

Li Jingxiao spent the whole night in meditation in a side hall of Daming Palace.

Suddenly his ears moved, he opened his eyes, and stood up and walked out of the side hall.

I saw several young eunuchs cleaning, and the inner court inspector was eunuch Zhou Yanfu.

He was sitting on a cushion, dozing off with a thick cloak on his back.

Hearing a cough, Zhou Yanfu was startled and stood up quickly.

He glanced around and felt relieved when he saw that it was not the emperor or other eunuchs who came.

He bowed to Li Jingxiao who was walking over.

He said with a smile, "Congratulations, Uncle. Congratulations, Uncle.

Your Majesty and the Saint issued an edict last night, promoting Lord Bo to the rank of Supreme Guardian General, General of Huaihua, and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Palace Front.

He was in charge of 1 cavalrymen of the Palace Front Division and concurrently served as the pacification commissioner of the Left Pacification Division.

I have also granted you a special favor by bestowing upon you the rank of Cavalry Commandant on your son."

Li Jingxiao was stunned after hearing this.

It was only after Zhou Yanfu's explanation that I understood that the Shang Hujun was a third-rank honorary official. To put it bluntly, he just received a salary but did not do any work, and it was an honorary position.

But with this official position, he is truly a third-rank official.

The General of Huaihua was a third-rank military official and also had no responsibility.

If there is a war, the emperor orders you to lead the troops and issues a tiger talisman, and you will immediately become a general of the third rank.

The one who really had power was the third-rank deputy commander of the Palace Front Division, who commanded 1 cavalrymen of the Palace Front Division to guard the imperial city.

The Palace Front Division, like the Imperial Guard Division, was a special imperial guard tasked with protecting the emperor's safety.

The entire imperial guard, that is, the direct guards of the imperial guard, only had 5600 people.

The number of people in the Palace Front Department was even smaller, only 3,000.

However, the salaries of the casual officials, honorary officials and the two official positions are not low.

The monthly salary of a third-rank official was 200 strings of copper coins and 150 dan of millet.

Every year there are also 40 pieces of gauze, 10 pieces of silk, 200 pieces of silk and 500 pieces of cotton.

Three third-rank officials, plus a fourth-rank pacification commissioner of the Pacification Office.

700 strings of copper coins per month were roughly equivalent to more than 600 taels of silver and more than 500 dan of millet.

The price of silk and satin has more than tripled.

This salary and corn alone are enough to provide food, drink and clothing for a family of several hundred people.

If you can't use up all the silks and satins, you can sell half of them outside, and you can earn several thousand taels of silver in a year.

No wonder so many people dream of becoming officials, or even high-ranking officials.

However, as the deputy commander of the Palace Front Department, he will have to be on duty in the palace most of the time in the future.

It will definitely affect the experience gained from seeing patients.

Seeing Li Jingxiao's happy expression, Zhou Yanfu knew that he was very satisfied with the reward.

I felt relieved and looked around.

He whispered, "My Lord, the commander of the Palace Guards is the Queen's brother.

However, this uncle of the emperor doesn't usually take care of things.

In ten days, he would only come to the palace to be on duty one day.

The rest of the time, I either stay at home and enjoy myself, or I go to my own farm to hide away in peace and quiet."

As soon as Li Jingxiao heard this, he knew that the person who really held power in the Palace Front Office was actually the emperor's man.

As for the king's uncle, he simply ignored the matter to avoid getting into trouble and ran away to stay outside the city.

This also shows that even though Emperor Longde had a good relationship with the Queen, he was still extremely cautious about his relatives by marriage.

Li Jingxiao smiled and nodded, of course he understood Zhou Yanfu's hint.

In the Palace Front Office, I just take the salary and don't do any work.

As for the Left Pacification Commissioner, he probably knew that his greatest role was to exorcise demons and eliminate evil.

That's why he was not dismissed from his position.

However, granting his son the title of fifth-rank cavalry captain is also a kind of honor.

This means that his unborn son will have the same rank as his grandfather Jia Zheng from the moment he is born.

No, Jia Zheng was only a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Works, if we really follow the rules.

When Jia Zheng met his grandson, he had to bow first.

Li Jingxiao found it interesting when he thought of this.

However, if Qin Keqing gave birth to the eldest son first, he would no longer be considered Jia Zheng's grandson.

For the sake of family harmony, Li Jingxiao thought for a moment and asked, "Eunuch Zhou, did His Majesty ever say that the Grand Cavalry Commandant must be my eldest son?"

Eunuch Zhou also knew about Chu Xiangqian shouldering the responsibility of marrying two wives, so he smiled and shook his head, "Don't worry, Eunuch Xia even mentioned that the eldest daughter of Rongguo Mansion will marry you in two months.

His Majesty has specifically instructed that the title of Senior Cavalry Commandant can be given to any child you wish."

Li Jingxiao nodded in satisfaction, then stood up and said, "Your Majesty, if you are free, I must go and express my gratitude."

After saying this, a silver note with a face value of one hundred taels quietly came into Zhou Yanfu's hands.

Zhou Yanfu chuckled, whispered "Thank you for the reward, sir", and took Li Jingxiao to the imperial study.

After saying hello to Xia Shouzhong, Zhou Yanfu tactfully left first.

Li Jingxiao followed Xia Shouzhong into the imperial study. After some polite exchanges between the emperor and his subject, Li Jingxiao could clearly feel that the emperor's attitude towards him was much better than before.

Moreover, I clearly gave the emperor an talisman to exorcise evil spirits last night, but I didn't expect the emperor to hold back and it was useless.

The opportunity to show off his prowess in public was given to the retired emperor, which made Li Jingxiao look up to the emperor greatly.

With such ability to endure, it is no wonder that he was able to truly grasp power while the emperor was still alive.

Of course, as long as the emperor himself does not make any mistakes.

Ten or twenty years later, as the retired emperor grew older and Emperor Longde had established his position.

No matter how much the emperor loves power, he will eventually have to face reality.

As the old ministers who were promoted by him in the past retired and returned to their hometowns one after another.

All the civil and military officials in the court will automatically come closer to the emperor.

After leaving the imperial study, Li Jingxiao was taken by Xia Shouzhong to change into the uniform of a general. He put on a set of shining mountain-patterned armor and a civil and military robe on the outside.

That is, Guan Erye liked to wear a robe over his armor and went to the Dianqiansi office.

To be honest, this kind of dress became popular in the Song Dynasty. The so-called "civil and military robes" were just to make the military generals look more elegant.

It is a kind of dress used by military generals to please civil officials.

However, as dynasties changed, people gradually got used to this way of dressing.

It’s true, although Li Jingxiao is not strong, he has a tall and straight figure and looks very handsome.

But after all, I am still young and my body is still developing.

He was wearing a set of armor with Mingguangshan patterns and a red robe embroidered with tigers.

If you don't look at his face, he is still quite handsome.

But if you look at his face, he looks a little immature.

So Li Jingxiao simply didn't wear a helmet. Xia Shouzhong was also very capable and quickly ordered someone to fetch a "five-treasure purple gold crown for tying hair".

The so-called "five treasures" are five large pearls inlaid on the purple gold crown.

He also had a Longquan sword hanging around his waist, and he looked like a heroic and handsome young general.

The more I looked at Xia Shouzhong and several eunuchs and palace maids, the more handsome they seemed to me.

I couldn't help but say "OK".

Xia Shouzhong personally escorted Li Jingxiao to the Palace Front Office, but the Commander-in-Chief Cao Boyan was not there.

Upon inquiry, it was found that this "commander-in-chief" had not come to the yamen for half a month.

Li Jingxiao didn't meet the person, but he still had to show courtesy to him.

He bowed slightly to the main seat and then sat down in the first chair on the left.

Next came the middle and senior officers of the 1,000 cavalry of the Palace Front Division who came to pay their respects to their new superior.

The two Du Yu Hou and ten Yu Hou were not high-ranking officials, but Li Jingxiao believed that these people were definitely trusted by the emperor.

Moreover, there was no commander for the 1 cavalry before.

However, what happened in the palace last night was basically no secret to the imperial guards of the Palace Front Department.

When the retired emperor cast a spell and triggered a flash of lightning in the square of Daming Palace, Li Jingxiao was standing next to the retired emperor and the emperor.

Even a fool wouldn't believe you if you said it had nothing to do with him.

In addition to the previous rumors related to Li Jingxiao, let alone the cavalry of the Palace Front Division.

No one dared to look down on the two thousand Palace Infantrymen who were not under Li Jingxiao's command.

I dare not cause trouble or provoke him in front of him.

Otherwise, Li Jingxiao will use the excuse of testing the strength of the officers of the Palace Front Division to fight against you, and then a bolt of lightning will hit you, and no matter how strong your martial arts are, it will be useless.

Although Li Jingxiao received a hint from eunuch Zhou, telling him not to interfere.

But since he is the deputy commander of the Palace Front Division, he naturally has to first look at the strength and training of these 1 cavalry.

As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy. If there are rebels attacking the palace in the future, and you don’t even know the strength of your own subordinates, who will die if not you?
Three days later, one thousand cavalrymen were to be reviewed on the grand parade ground.

I took out my pocket watch and saw that it was almost noon, so I went home for lunch.

By the way, during the lunch break, have some time to be affectionate with your wife.

Instruct two Du Yuhou and ten Yuhou to carefully organize the army, so as to avoid the military law being as strict as a mountain and being beaten with a stick being a small matter.

Anyone who disobeys military orders will be executed without mercy.

The 12 guards felt nervous and thought to themselves that this gentleman looked young, but judging from his expression, he was definitely not someone who could be easily fooled.

When Xia Shouzhong saw Li Jingxiao taking office, he had just started his first job and then turned around and wanted to go home for dinner.

I was wondering in my heart, why is this gentleman just like the king's uncle, unwilling to take charge of things?

Little did he know that Eunuch Zhou had already reminded Li Jingxiao.

Xia Shouzhong brought his men and personally escorted Li Jingxiao out of the palace.

He also specifically instructed that if there was nothing else to do, don't rest.

Come to the palace to be on duty early tomorrow morning.

Even if it's just for show, being in the Dianqian Yamen can make many people shut up.

He even hinted that one day the emperor might even let him command the infantry in front of the palace.

Li Jingxiao nodded and thought to himself, as expected, the eunuchs in the palace seemed to have a good relationship on the surface.

But secretly, they can't help but consider their own interests.

As for Xia Shouzhong's words, Li Jingxiao only believed half of them at most.

After thinking for a moment, he smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go to the yamen early tomorrow morning."

It doesn't matter where you work, you punch in at work and meditate and practice in the office.

The emperor should be able to feel much more at ease if he leaves all the specific matters to his subordinates.

He smiled and bowed to Xia Shouzhong to express his gratitude.

He jumped on his horse and galloped away.

Xia Shouzhong waited until Li Jingxiao disappeared, and then he returned to the imperial study in a good mood.

When Emperor Longde heard that Li Jingxiao actually went home for lunch, he knew that he was trying to be lazy.

He smiled and shook his head, then asked Xia Shouzhong, "Xia Banban, do you think that boy is lazy or is he really eager to go home?"

Without thinking, Xia Shouzhong smiled and replied, "Your Majesty, I see that Master Li really wants to go home and have dinner with his wife."

Emperor Longde suddenly burst into laughter.

He laughed and scolded, "But I see that this kid is just like Cao Boyan, he only wants to be lazy."

Xia Shouzhong smiled awkwardly, but he knew in his heart that Li Jingxiao's unwillingness to take charge made the emperor feel more at ease with him.

But not caring about things does not mean really not caring about anything.

Otherwise, the emperor will think that you are unwilling to contribute, or even unwilling to serve him sincerely.

Li Jingxiao wore a Mingguang mountain-patterned armor and a red tiger-embroidered robe over the armor.

There were more than a dozen mounted guards behind him, and he looked so majestic when riding on horseback.

When he arrived home, the servant at the door didn't recognize him at first sight.

It was not until Li Jingxiao dismounted and cursed with laughter that the five or six guards finally reacted.

He saluted hurriedly and ran inside.

The others bowed and led the horses to the stables.

When Li Jingxiao walked into the middle courtyard, the expressions on the maids' faces when they looked at him were truly fascinating.

When the three sisters Qin Keqing, Baozhu, Ruizhu and Jingxi hurried out of the house, their faces were filled with surprise.

When Qin Zhong saw how majestic his brother-in-law was, he was extremely envious.

Jingrong let go of her sister's hand and ran towards Li Jingxiao with a smile.

Li Jingxiao quickly leaned over and picked up his little sister.

Then Jing Rong said excitedly, "Brother, you look better dressed than the generals on the stage."

Li Jingxiao laughed heartily, while Jingxi and Jingyue rolled their eyes.

Qin Keqing also secretly blamed her sister-in-law for not knowing how to speak. She compared her husband to an actor, and she would be laughed at if she told others about it.

Fortunately, Li Jingxiao didn't care at all. He knew that his little sister was just talking nonsense, so he reached out and pinched her little face.

He smiled and said, “When spring comes and flowers bloom, I will take you, your sister, your wife, and your brother Zhong out hunting.

I'll take you riding horses then. Maybe my Rong'er can become a female general in the future."

Jingrong nodded repeatedly in surprise, with her arms around Li Jingxiao's neck, saying "Big brother is the best" over and over again.

But these words made Qin Keqing very dissatisfied, and she angrily told Li Jingxiao not to lead her sister-in-law astray.

However, the happy look on the brother and sister's face made Jing Xi and Jing Yue envious.

Unfortunately, the two sisters are not 3-year-old Jingrong, who can get close to his elder brother without any scruples.

(End of this chapter)