Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Although the Bingma Si was called a government office, it was actually more like a military camp, with a very open area inside.

There was also a main hall, but it was not very large and the furnishings were simple, completely incomparable to the main hall of Shuntian Prefecture.

"Please come this way, sir... Your humble servants and others have already tidied up your residence. May I ask, sir...?"

As they escorted Jia Lian toward the inner hall, Fan Jin tentatively asked a question.

He knew that Jia Lian was a member of the Rongguo Mansion in the capital and might not be willing to live in the official residence.

"There's no need for an official residence. My father is still ill, and I must go back every day to take care of him... Just prepare a few rooms for me and my entourage to stay in."

"Yes……"

Upon arriving at the inner hall, Jia Lian took the seat of honor, while the other eight or nine officials and generals who were qualified to enter the inner hall stood in two rows, reporting to Jia Lian one by one on their official positions and the main areas under their jurisdiction.

There were four commanders of the sixth rank, two deputy commanders of the sixth rank, and one of the other two was already in an important position, while the other was stationed at the city gate in place of a commander, which is why he couldn't come. The civil officials consisted of one sixth-rank official and two seventh-rank clerks.

These people were basically the core members of the West City Military Command.

After listening to his explanation, Jia Lian smiled broadly. Not bad; apart from his adjutant, everyone else seemed to give him face, and almost everyone who could come to greet him did.

"Very good. It seems our Western Military Command is truly full of talented people. With you all here, it looks like my job as commander will be quite easy."

Upon hearing Jia Lian's praise, the others humbly expressed that everything they did was for the sake of the court and the emperor, and that they would rely on Jia Lian, the commander, for guidance and support in the future...

"I won't say any more pleasantries. I'm new here and not very familiar with our military command. In the future, I will have to rely on your patient assistance."

Alright, gentlemen, I'm sure you all have matters to attend to. Except for Manager Fan, everyone else may leave.

Upon hearing this, the others glanced at Jia Lian and then agreed to leave.

Fan Jin, however, did not know why Jia Lian had kept him behind alone, and thus became somewhat puzzled... Could it be about Lord Cui's matter?

Sure enough, Jia Lian said, "I have only just taken office, and who knew that Lord Cui's beloved daughter would fall seriously ill. It is truly a pity."

Jia Lian seemed to sigh, then asked, "By the way, since Lord Cui is requesting leave, does he have a written request?"

Fan Jin was immediately at a loss: "Well, the former commander resigned before the New Year, and the current lord has not yet taken office. In the meantime, Lord Cui has been in charge of the affairs of the yamen... However, Lord Cui entrusted me with a message, asking me to pass it on to the lord, and also asking the lord to forgive him for not being able to welcome him..."

Jia Lian was in a dilemma. "This is not appropriate. As the saying goes, there can be no order without rules. Since Lord Cui has urgent business and needs to ask for leave, we, as his colleagues, should naturally understand."

Here's what we'll do: since he's entrusted you with this, you can write him a letter later, which I will personally approve. Then you can send someone to deliver it to Lord Cui and ask him to put his fingerprint on it. This way, it shouldn't delay his beloved daughter's feelings.

As for the time, according to regulations, officials in the capital are entitled to ten days of leave each year, in addition to their regular rest days. Here's what I'll do: I'll grant Lord Cui all ten days of leave. Go and write it down.”

"this……"

Fan Jin was momentarily stunned. He knew that Deputy Commander Cui was only trying to intimidate Jia Lian...

This is not uncommon in officialdom, and Jia Lian's sudden arrival has indeed blocked Deputy Commander Cui's position, so it's understandable that Deputy Commander Cui is unhappy. At this point, if the new commander can properly appease him and wait for Commander Cui's anger to subside, everything will naturally be fine.

To everyone's surprise, Jia Lian approved a year's leave without saying a word. What does this mean?

Fan Jin had a vague feeling that something was wrong for his old superior...

"Is there something wrong?"

Jia Lian asked with a smile, "Don't worry, everyone in the Ministry of War, from the ministers down to the junior officials, will give me some leeway. It's just a ten-day leave, the ministry won't have any objections."

"Yes...yes..." Fan Jin smiled bitterly. It was originally just an internal matter of the Military Command, but it seemed that Jia Lian wanted to report it to the Ministry...

Moreover, judging from their tone, it was as if the Minister of War was one of their own relatives.

Sure enough, people from good backgrounds have a lot of confidence when they speak!

"By the way, since Lord Cui is taking care of my daughter at home, I will take over his duties for now. However, I am not very familiar with the matters Lord Cui is responsible for on a daily basis, so I would like to trouble Clerk Fan to explain Lord Cui's main duties to me so that I can take over the affairs of the yamen as soon as possible."

Fan Jin dared not disobey his superior's orders and could only explain everything.

Just as he was about to leave, Jia Lian said, "Oh, by the way, I'd like to trouble you, Manager Fan, to send someone to bring over the case files and documents that Lord Cui usually handles and approves. I want to take a look and learn from this senior, Lord Cui, how to manage the affairs of the yamen. Go ahead."

Fan Jin's heart skipped a beat... This meant they were about to investigate Lord Cui's background...!

When Fan Jin emerged from the inner hall with a nervous heart, the commander and deputy commander waiting outside immediately surrounded him.

"So, what did the commander say to you? Was it about Lord Cui...?"

Fan Jin nodded and told him about Jia Lian's plan to approve a long leave for Deputy Commander Cui...

Everyone was suspicious. One of them said, "Could it be that the Commander is angry and wants to teach Lord Cui a lesson?"

"It can't be that serious. It's just that Lord Cui didn't come to greet him. It's no big deal. Deputy Commander Cui has been a veteran of the Military Command for over ten years. Even if he were the commander, he couldn't possibly do anything to Lord Cui."

He's just arrived. What good would it do him if he fell out with Lord Cui?

One person found it hard to believe.

After all, the Military Command has always been divided into two factions: one commander and one deputy commander. The others are all officials of the sixth rank or lower, so even if they wanted to compete, they had no status or confidence to do so.

If Jia Lian arrives and immediately clashes with his adjutant, wouldn't he worry that his work would be disrupted, and that his superiors would blame him, affecting his career?

"I think it's possible. They say a new broom sweeps clean, and this new commander, though young, seems like someone not to be trifled with. I'm afraid his first act might actually target Lord Cui..."

I've heard that this new commander has an extraordinary background; he's the grandson of the former Commander-in-Chief of the Three Armies, the Duke of Rongguo!

With such a powerful grandfather, ordinary people naturally can't compare to him.

I heard from others that last year or the year before, he was punished by His Majesty and sent to the border for training because he struck the Prince of Duan's heir. Originally, it was meant to punish him, but who knew that once he went to the border, it was like a fish entering the sea. While others could only dream of getting a single military merit, he went there and it was as if he picked it up for free, with one merit after another being recorded in the Ministry of War's merit book...

Otherwise, how do you think someone so young could become the commander of our military headquarters?

Just as they were discussing this, Jia Lian's attendant came over, bowed to them, and said, "Gentlemen, the Commander says he wants to see all the officials in the yamen. So please inform them that all officials of the ninth rank and above who have not yet been seen should come to the inner hall for a meeting."

"Yes, please report back to Your Excellency. We will go and give the order immediately."

As they watched Jia Lian's entourage leave, the officers all had complex expressions on their faces.

On his first day in office, Jia Lian wanted to meet with the lower-ranking officials and convey two messages.

Firstly, the commander is not just here to make a brief appearance; he wants to have full control over all the situations within the government office.

Secondly, giving lower-ranking officials a chance to get to know him naturally conveys another meaning.

If these commanders and deputy commanders disobey orders, the commander can replace them with someone he has his eye on at any time...

This is clearly not a good sign for them.

Fan Jin, who had spoken with Jia Lian alone earlier, was more able to understand some of the details. At this moment, it was not convenient for him to say too much to others. He simply said, "Gentlemen, if you are on good terms with Lord Cui, you should hurry up and inform him so that he can come back and apologize to the Commander. Perhaps then everything will be fine."

Otherwise, I'm afraid...

Fan Jin shook his head, not daring to speak openly.

He had a bold guess in his mind: ten days was the life-or-death deadline set by Jia Lian for Cui Yaosheng. In other words, whether the newly appointed commander could ignite his first fire within ten days would be revealed.