Even Guo Shao heard about Commander Wang's injury, but it was not reported by the ministers. He heard it from Wang Zhong of the Imperial City Bureau.
Guo Shao's original intention in reforming the military system was to use several government offices to supervise and disperse the power of military generals; but the decision-making responsible for training and leading troops in combat was still made by the military generals. This was also his idea of changing the military organization with firearms and cavalry tactics as the core.
But now it seems that checks and balances will inevitably lead to conflicts, and it is impossible to expect everyone to be sensible.
However, there is no turning back, Guo Shao is still busy carrying out the reform. Now he is in charge of the reorganization of the army, which originally had two divisions: the Palace Front Division, the Guard Division, the Horse and Infantry Division; now that the two divisions have been abolished, they will be reorganized into three armies.
All the imperial cavalry were organized into the Huben Army. The imperial infantry, cavalry infantry, and inland water army were the Control Crane Army. The army was divided into the left and right wings, but it was just a formation. There was no organization at the wing level. The Control Crane Army also had the Inland Water Division, which was the navy of the former Imperial Guards Mabu Division.
There is another army, the Jiaolong Army, which currently has two ports and three ships. They are Jiangning Port and Dengzhou Port, with only three ships, organized into the Jiaolong Army's First Fleet. Han Tong is nominally the commander of the First Fleet, but now he is not in charge of the actual affairs, there are too few people and there is nothing to manage, just to get an extra salary.
The flag of the Huben Army still uses an embroidered tiger pattern; the flag of the Control Crane Army is a bird, and the main flag is red; the flag of the Jiaolong Army is a dragon, with a yellow background. Among the three armies, there are wild beasts running on the ground, birds flying in the sky, and water monsters swimming in the water.
Guo Shaocheng was busy in the front hall all day long, but there was nothing to do in the harem. Those who wanted to leave had all left, mainly those in Wanfu Palace.
The spring sun was shining brightly. Consort Yi Yueji and her palace maids were taking a walk outside, enjoying the sunshine on a corridor while admiring the beautiful scenery of the palace with flowers in full bloom.
Her brightly colored skirt contrasted beautifully with the flowers on the trees.
At this moment, an eunuch next to him muttered: Looking at her like that, someone who didn't know would think it was the queen.
Li Yueji looked up and saw a tall and plump woman walking towards her with a group of eunuchs. The woman's eyes were almost looking up at the sky, and her expression was indeed very arrogant. Coupled with the eunuchs walking with their backs bent, the contrast in posture was very obvious, making the woman look very strong.
Who is she? Li Yueji frowned and asked.
The person next to him whispered: Jingniang.
Li Yueji asked again: What is your identity
She had no status, not even a concubine. She was in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and had some power, but her status was just that of a palace woman or maid.
However, an eunuch whispered: The emperor favors her very much.
Li Yueji frowned deeply when she heard this. She was a princess in Xiazhou, and people usually gave way to her. She was patient enough to come to this unfamiliar place, but she was not patient enough to give way to a slave.
The two groups of people were getting closer and closer. Li Yueji straightened up and walked forward.
Oh, Concubine Li. Jingniang did take the initiative to greet her, but her tone was not polite at all. Not only did she put herself on an equal footing, but it also sounded as if she was a little superior.
Li Yueji looked at her with a sneer and thought: Do you want me, a royal consort, to give way to you
Jingniang stood for a moment, understood Li Yueji's meaning, and waved her hand: Make way for Li Xianfei.
Seeing her behavior, Li Yueji was already holding her breath. She was a person of no status, and anyone could bully her. She just wanted to be patient and live peacefully, but people would take advantage of her when they saw that she was easy to bully.
Unexpectedly, at this time, Jingniang on the side said coldly: Some people eat and drink well and do nothing, and they are so idle that they come out to wander around and occupy the road.
Li Yueji was so angry that she almost vomited blood. She pointed at Jingniang with a sullen face and said: Where should I go? It's not your business.
Jingniang covered her mouth and laughed: You can't even speak clearly, and you still want to quarrel with others. If you still want to fight, you should consider your ability.
Li Yueji felt dizzy, her hands were shaking, and she couldn't think of how to respond. She didn't speak Chinese often before, so she could only say that she knew it. She said angrily: "It's ridiculous that even the Tanguts have nobles and lowly ranks, but the Central Plains Palace has none. You are committing treason, come here!"
Who dared to look around when Jing Niang looked back? She was more than half a head taller than the average woman, and had a strong temperament. Her aura was so overwhelming that even the people on Li Yueji's side lowered their heads in silence.
Li Yueji turned around and said: You guys, didn’t you just say that she is like the queen
Jingniang looked at the eunuch and said: You are tired of the good life
The eunuch fell to his knees and said: I dare not
Li Yueji looked around in astonishment, and suddenly felt that she was the only one facing this fierce woman, and said angrily: Is it possible that this slave is in charge of this palace
Jingniang said coldly: Who do you think I am? You are just a thing in the government and national policy. You look down on me and think I look down on you.
Li Yueji pointed at her, thought for a moment and said: Let's go to the Queen and talk to her. I don't believe that such a big dynasty doesn't have any rules.
Jingniang smiled and said: Okay, it’s all up to you.
Li Yueji turned around and left. She was not familiar with many places in the palace, but she was very familiar with Zide Hall where the queen lived. She had to go there at least once every three days to say hello.
An eunuch chased after her and whispered: That Jingniang is not easy to deal with. I heard that she even dared to disobey the emperor's decree. When the emperor asked her to sleep with him, she flatly refused and said that it was unreasonable for a concubine to sleep with him. The emperor did not blame her, but said that it would be too late to make her a concubine.
Li Yueji frowned and asked: Why does the emperor favor her so much
The eunuch pondered for a moment and said seriously: Is it because her breasts are big
Li Yueji blushed slightly and scolded: "Where were you just now?"
The eunuch said with a look of grievance: Your Majesty, please forgive us. It's okay for you to go against her. We servants were framed accidentally and have no place to seek justice. For this kind of thing, you have to show your might, and then we servants will have the courage. Others beat the dog by looking at the owner. Who doesn't want to see Your Majesty in power? We serve Your Majesty, so we can stand up straighter when we go out, and our daily expenses can be much better.
A group of people came to Fu Ermei. Fu Ermei was teaching the prince to recognize his identity. When she heard that Li Xianfei had arrived, she asked the nurse to take the child away, sat him down in the main hall, and asked Li Yueji to tell her about her grievances.
At this time, Zhang and Du also came and asked about the queen's well-being, and then several women also sat down on the chairs nearby.
Fu Ermei kept comforting Li Yueji: I never treated Li Xianfei as an outsider. How do you treat me
Li Yueji was so aggrieved that she almost cried: The Queen treated me well, but a servant bullied me, you have to make the decision for me.
Zhang couldn't bear it any longer and reminded: Your Majesty, if you can't stop Concubine Li from asking you to come forward, you can only stand up for her and call Jingniang over.
Fu Ermei felt that Zhang came from the previous dynasty and had rich experience in such matters, so she obeyed her advice and said: Go and call Jingniang to ask her.
A woman next to her, who was still wearing a veil covering her face in the room, responded and went out to send someone.
Soon, Jingniang was brought in. When Jingniang saw Fu Ermei, she smiled calmly, bowed slightly and said: "Greetings to the Queen."
Fu Ermei said: Jingniang, please sit down and talk.
Zhang on the side rolled her eyes. Jingniang said, "Thank you, Queen, for letting me sit down."
Fu Ermei pretended to be serious: Concubine Li said that you bullied her. We are all in the palace, can't we all be more harmonious
Jingniang said: Queen, please don't listen to her one-sided words. How did I bully her
Fu Ermei looked at Concubine Li again.
Li Yueji said angrily: You had no manners when we met, spoke rudely, and threatened my servants.
Jingniang said: Your Majesty asked me to take charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, so I have to manage those eunuchs. If you can't manage me well, they will gossip about me behind my back, so I have to manage it for you.
Jingniang said coldly: It is Concubine Li, you are a concubine bought by the emperor with a large betrothal gift, but you disobeyed the emperor's order and refused to sleep with him, and you also caused the emperor to be injured. The emperor is in his own home, and his safety cannot be guaranteed. The emperor is kind and does not want to argue with women, but the queen is the master of the harem, so she should discipline these concubines.
Li Yueji said angrily: How dare you blame the queen
Jingniang said: When did I blame the Queen? The safety of the officials has always been in my hands. What's wrong with me reminding the Queen
Li Yueji's face turned red, and she lost control of her emotions and said: You are not ashamed to disobey my order and hit yourself
Okay, okay, Fu Ermei looked a little upset and turned to look at Zhang.
Zhang had been watching the situation in front of her. Seeing that Fu Ermei had a questioning look in her eyes, she came up with an idea. The Queen had wanted to consult her opinion many times. Not only did she win the right to speak, but she also made the Queen rely on her a little in her heart, which was also of great benefit.
Unexpectedly, Du turned her head and whispered quietly: Jingniang was able to go to the former court and often visited the officials. One word might make a difference. Given our current status, it is better for us to keep our heads down and behave ourselves.
Zhang agreed and kept silent.
Fu Ermei was a little at a loss.
Seeing this, Li Yueji hurriedly said: The queen is the master of the harem. What are the rules? Should the palace maids be disrespectful to people of higher status? You have to decide.
Fu Ermei said: These are all trivial matters, you just need to observe etiquette from now on.
Li Yueji said angrily: If someone of Jingniang's status dares to disrespect the imperial concubine, then it's okay for everyone to disrespect the queen.
Fu Ermei was speechless when asked.
Looking at the palace ladies around, they were somewhat in awe of Jing Niang and didn't care much about her opinion. People used to be respectful and polite to her, but now they are forcing her in front of her.
Fu Ermei was also a little angry, but she couldn't bear to punish these two people because they were fair-skinned. She recalled that when her elder sister was in the palace, she rarely beat anyone and was quite lenient to others.
She blurted out: If you really don't agree with me, then tell the government