"Hmph! If you don't write it, don't blame the marshal for not remembering our friendship!" Wei Changxian said.
Fang Yun sighed softly and said, "It's just a petition to apologize, which is not a big deal. However, since the war is not serious now, it is not very useful to keep me in Nancheng. If the Marshal agrees to let me go out of Zhucheng, such as fishing in Lingdingyang, sunbathing at the beach, and inspecting my Zhang family's property, I will be very grateful."
"No wonder you dared to write that poem 'Madam Xi'. It turns out that you had this plan. You said you wanted to go for a walk, but it was just for your personal guards! Since you put forward the conditions, I will go back and tell the marshal to prove that we are not deliberately making things difficult for you. Of course, whether the marshal agrees to let you leave the city is not my decision. Goodbye!"
Wei Changxian turned and left.
Two hours later, Wei Changxian delivered the letter.
"As long as you submit a petition to apologize, the Marshal will give you a badge and allow you to move around within ten miles of Zhucheng. Once you leave this area, the Marshal will execute you on the spot for the crime of intending to surrender to the enemy!"
"Thank the Marshal for me!"
Fang Yun put away the official seal, smiled slightly, and said that the mental state was very important for the promotion to Grand Secretary. He had been too nervous these days. It would be of great benefit if he could travel around for a few days, feel the world, and experience nature.
"I recently realized that the fate of Chu has been suppressing me! The test of the Ninth Mountain has repeatedly exceeded my expectations. If I can't relax my mind and readjust my mentality, I may not be promoted to Grand Secretary in a short time. How many scholars are only a thin layer of window paper away from promotion, but they can't break through for decades. Of course, more importantly, if I can't go out, I can't see the Royal Guards."
Fang Yun casually asked his subordinates to write a letter of apology, which only contained some empty words and clichés, so Lu Menhou could not find any handle on it.
Early the next morning, Wei Changxian brought a badge allowing Fang Yun to leave the city. He immediately rode his horse to the base of the Zhujiang Marquis' personal guard.
These days, Fang Yun has been under house arrest by Marquis Lumen and can only move around in a small area in the south of the city. He has not even formally met with Marquis Zhujiang's personal guards.
Each Marquis of Zhujiang personally led an additional 10,000 personal guards in addition to the 200,000 Zhujiang troops.
But ten years ago, this royal guard was forcibly disbanded and assigned to various armies.
During these years, the personal guard of Marquis Zhujiang has completely become a camp of new recruits. A large number of new recruits have been assigned to the personal guard, but they will soon be assigned to other armies, and new recruits will be added soon.
The Pearl City is permanent, but the guards are transient - this has become a common saying among the Pearl River Army.
When Marquis Zhujiang was away, the general of the central army also led the personal guards, so the personal guards were always under the command of Zhang Qingfeng. Although the soldiers were constantly transferred, more than half of the officers were Zhang Qingfeng's men. They trained normally every day, and except for not having experienced actual combat, the overall strength of the entire personal guards exceeded that of an ordinary recruit camp.
Fang Yun rode his horse to the gate of the Royal Guard Camp. Above the gate were written three big characters "Pingjiang Army". General Zhang Qingfeng of the Central Army and a group of generals of the Pingjiang Army were standing outside the gate waiting.
Fang Yun smiled slightly, dismounted from the horse, and walked forward holding the whip.
"Greetings to Marquis Zhujiang!" Led by Zhang Qingfeng, all the generals bowed and saluted.
Fang Yun glanced at the willow tree in front of the military camp and recalled the story of Zhang Longxiang recorded in the book given by Old Man Shushan.
"You are too polite, this is not my first time here. It's a pity that we used to enjoy the spring breeze together under the willow trees, but now we are gray-haired after more than ten years..." Fang Yun was sad.
There were several generals present who were veterans of the Pearl River Army, with sad looks in their eyes, but most of them were new recruits to the Royal Guards. Although they did not understand Fang Yun’s sadness, after listening to Fang Yun’s words, they could understand his feelings of revisiting his old place.
"I'm glad you're back!" There seemed to be something crystal-clear flickering in Zhang Qingfeng's eyes, but his expression remained serious.
Fang Yun looked at Zhang Qingfeng, whose white hair and two scars on his chin were clearly visible.
"Let's enter the camp." Fang Yun nodded slightly.
Fang Yun was in front, followed by his generals, and entered the Royal Guard Camp. Tens of thousands of soldiers stood on both sides. The moment Fang Yun stepped into the camp, all the soldiers half-knelt on one knee with their weapons in unison, and shouted loudly at the same time.
"Welcome back to the camp, my Lord!"
Fang Yun stopped and looked at the tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides of the road. In just a moment, Fang Yun memorized tens of thousands of faces, remembered the look in everyone's eyes, and could even judge whether they liked or disliked him.
"Stand up!" Fang Yun issued the order in a voice as powerful as thunder. All the soldiers immediately stood up, raised their heads and chests, looked straight ahead, and their momentum soared to the sky.
Black armor like a forest.
The spring morning breeze blew by, and Fang Yun's heart was slightly moved.
This was the first time he officially took charge of the army.
Fang Yun nodded slightly and smiled, "Yes, the troops are well-organized and in high spirits! Tonight you can choose whether to stay in the personal guard camp and follow me. After tomorrow, everyone who is still here will be a member of the Pearl River clan."
After saying that, Fang Yun strode forward and headed towards the white central military tent of the Royal Guard Camp.
Fang Yun entered the big tent, took a quick look, and walked straight to the big demon tiger skin chair. He lifted up his robe, turned around and sat down, put his hands on the armrests, and looked at the generals.
The generals stood in two rows in front, with their heads slightly lowered.
"Sit down." Fang Yun said.
"Thank you, Lord Marquis!" The generals responded and sat on both sides.
"What I said just now applies to you too. You can come or not at this time tomorrow." Fang Yun said.
The generals were silent.
"From today on, I will be the leader of the Pingjiang Army. I will not be involved in the past, but from now on, all matters concerning the Royal Guard will be decided by me!" Fang Yun sat high up in the seat, looking coldly at everyone.
Zhang Qingfeng immediately stood up and said, "From today on, I will no longer lead the personal guards. I will obey your orders."
All the officers stood up and said in unison: "Everything is at the Marquis' command."
Fang Yun nodded and said, "Time is of the essence, so let's not waste time. Come, move all the account books, warehouse documents, military intelligence documents, etc. in the past fifteen years to the main camp. This marquis wants to personally command the army."
The faces of several officers changed slightly. They did not expect the new marquis to be so direct. However, they looked relieved afterwards. The account books and documents of an army were so voluminous that even for a Hanlin scholar, it would take dozens of days to read through them all. After reading and analyzing them, it would take at least a year to fully understand them.
"My Lord, some volumes are sealed in the Zhujiang Army's general warehouse."
"Take my warrant and go get it."
"Yes, sir!"
"Don't just sit there, go and deliver all the account books and documents!"
"Yes!" All the generals left, leaving only Zhang Qingfeng and General Pingjiang.
Fang Yun stood up and smiled at General Pingjiang, who immediately stood up.
"I met you a few times in the past, but it was so long ago that I don't remember you clearly. I just came here this year and talked about you with General Qingfeng. He praised you very much and said that if you were not the general of Pingjiang, he would not be able to rest assured. The Royal Guards are called the most useless army. You don't feel wronged, do you?"
As Fang Yun spoke, he looked at Su Lun with a smile.
Jinshi Su Lun was about thirty years old, thin, not tall, with slightly dark skin, but very broad shoulders and very bright eyes.
Su Lun smiled calmly and said, "Of course I have complaints, but the old general has done me a favor, and I will never let him down."
.(~^~)