Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Guo Shao went out of the palace to inspect the various camps of the imperial guards. The officials in the capital vaguely felt that war would come again. It should not be now, because the Central Plains would not choose autumn to take the initiative to go to war with the north, or wait until winter comes, or the beginning of next spring.
In the autumn sunshine, armor gleamed brightly on the dusty and foggy parade ground, and the soldiers shouted loudly when they saw the emperor's umbrella.
Guo Shao was surrounded by a guard of honor, and was escorted by civil and military ministers and cavalrymen, but he himself was riding a horse.
Large groups of armored men and horses, and teams of horses galloping in the dust in the distance, the heavy and powerful sound of horse hooves made Guo Shao's blood boil. He actually liked staying in the military camp very much, or it was a habit.
He had been in the army for more than ten years in this era, and was already a warrior himself. Being with other warriors, he would find an exciting emotion. From a distance came a crisp and clear response, and everything was so familiar.
But Guo Shao could not rely on his passion to get excited with the soldiers. Although he was warmly welcomed, he remained silent.
Guo Shao looked around and thought: I have not forgotten the brothers who once fought side by side with me, but I have to abandon them. Everything Guo Shao did was to nationalize the army. If there was one person who could control the army, that person could only be the emperor.
Otherwise, if these armed and powerful troops were not careful, the consequences would be very serious. Not to mention the precedent of the Five Dynasties where military men took control of the country, even in the Tang Dynasty, many coups were launched by controlling the imperial guards.
How many kings of fallen countries, when they died and their countries were destroyed, blamed the scholars for deceiving their superiors and being corrupt, blamed the officers for being afraid of death, and blamed the people for being corrupt. In fact, in Guo Shao's view, no one can be blamed for people being full of all kinds of greed. It is absurd to pin great hopes on people being noble, selfless and impartial.
For Guo Shao, the purpose of this war against the Dangxiang was not just to fight for a piece of territory.
The group inspected several military camps of the Imperial Guards and came to a small courtyard on the south side of Ma Xing Street. The accompanying troops stayed outside while Guo Shao and a group of civil and military officials went in to inspect the military headquarters. This was the military headquarters of the First Army of the Tiger Guards, which contained officials from four government offices, as well as some clerks, messengers and soldiers.
Guo Shao talked and asked questions to the civil and military officials of the four yamen. They all answered him respectfully and fluently, which made him very satisfied.
An army still has a military commander, but his power is very small; it only belongs to the Dadu Prefecture, one of the four yamen, and has no power to mobilize troops. There are six to ten commanders under him, and it is in a decentralized state.
Above the military department, the Xiangdu commander was in an unorganized state with only a salary, belonging to the Dadu Prefecture. The Palace Guards and Horse Infantry Department no longer existed. The dispatch of troops had to be ordered by the Privy Council in the imperial city, and a complicated procedure was required to organize the scattered commanders.
The current situation is that it is very difficult to mobilize the imperial guards or the front-line troops in Tokyo and the local areas, even if it is only a few thousand people with weapons and military supplies. It requires the cooperation of the four central government offices.
But an army cannot fight without organization.
Guo Shao then said to the military officials present: In the past, the imperial army generals had military positions and temporary appointments, which would be invalid after the expiration of their positions. For example, the general commander of the army in the west deployed the front camp commander and the front camp supervisor. These two positions will remain the same in the future. Your current positions are military positions. If you want to go on an expedition, both civil officials and military generals will be appointed as dispatched.
Generals such as Li Chuyun all looked sideways and listened carefully.
Guo Shao said: "The Dangxiang people colluded with the enemy country and disobeyed the orders of the court of Daxu. The court will send troops to punish them. The troops going out to the battlefield also have a number, which can be called the Pingxia Army, which is divided into several corps. Each corps of the Pingxia Army is composed of the infantry and cavalry commanders of the Imperial Army and the Rural Army. The military generals are all appointed to lead the troops when the Pingxia Army goes out to the battlefield.
In addition, officials from the Privy Council, the Ministry of War and the Military Equipment Bureau formed the Pingxia Qianying Military Headquarters, and a group of messengers were assigned to command each army.
Guo Shao's idea is that regardless of official positions or military numbers, there are two systems above the army level. This has nothing to do with the soldiers. The military positions and civilian officials below the commander remain unchanged. Only above the commander, there are two organizations and positions, one military position and one dispatched.
In peacetime, the four yamen jointly control the army, while in wartime, the Qianying Military Office and military generals command the troops.
For the lower-level generals and soldiers, they do not need to care about the organizational form above, they only need to obey military orders; and the most basic team of the army: command, number and most people will not change easily.
The military system of the imperial army is somewhat similar to the rural army organization two years ago. To do so, strict military law and reward and punishment rules must be used as the basis.
Guo Shao thought about this for a long time, but he was not sure what would happen after the change. He could only wait for the war to test everything.
If all goes well, the border troops led by generals such as Zhe Dejian, Yang Ye, Gao Yanchou, and Liu Renzhan will also be reformed and reorganized into guard troops. The guard troops will form a corps and take turns to guard the border. During the garrison period, the generals and the army will exist in the form of expeditions.
After a morning of inspection outside the palace, the group returned to the imperial city. The emperor and his ministers chatted and laughed in the Yangde Hall again.
Many generals were present, talking about the countless times they had to sleep outdoors, such as eating wheat cakes for a month and craving for meat, so they went to catch rabbits. Everyone either sighed or laughed.
Guo Shao had done so many things, and all the generals knew that he was controlling the generals and guarding against the military power.
There is no need to hide such things. Guo Shao used to be a military general and now he is the emperor. It's just that the individuals stand in different positions.
However, Guo Shao felt no guilt. The country was won by bloodshed together, and now everyone is enjoying the prosperity and wealth together. Guo Shao wanted to balance and stabilize what everyone got, to prevent someone from wanting more and breaking the rules to overturn the distribution status quo. There was nothing wrong with doing something to consolidate the results.
At dusk, Guo Shaocai left Jinxiang Hall exhausted.
The setting sun hung between the palaces. As the imperial carriage moved, the afterglow flickered through the treetops like a halo, and the road ahead was not so clear.
The tower of Zide Hall was in the afterglow, and Guo Shao thought of Fu Jinzhan. He knew Jinzhan's heart very well, and how many times she had been in turmoil. The internal instability and civil war should be something that no one wanted to see.
In front of a large group of people, Guo Shao swaggered into Jinzhan's bedroom. Now he didn't need to hide anything.
Jinzhan and Guo Shao performed the ceremony in a formal manner, and then dismissed the attendants. She then said softly: You don't have to come to me every day, or others will complain.
Although she said this, her cheeks were flushed. After she finished speaking, she touched her hair with her hand, turned around and sat in front of the bronze mirror, and stretched out her hand to adjust the ornaments on her head. When she raised her hands, Guo Shao could also see the full curves protruding from the side of her body from behind. The way she stretched her waist while sitting was very beautiful.
Guo Shao smiled and said: "Jinzhan didn't agree, so I can't do it. Isn't it agreed?"
Jinzhan turned around and said: I would be very happy if you have that intention, but it is not necessary.
Guo Shao said without hesitation: I am willing that this world does not belong to me alone, but I own everything. I should listen to Jinzhan on this matter.
Jinzhan smiled and glared at him: Okay, whoever you want to favor, I will ask Cao Tai to arrange it for you tomorrow night.
Guo Shao pondered for a long time.
Jinzhan's eyes stayed on Guo Shao's face, and she said with a smile: I heard that Concubine Li came to Wansui Palace to look for you.
Guo Shao said: She heard that the imperial court was going to use military force against Pingxia, so she came here for this matter.
Jinzhan whispered again: Li Yueji is so fair and beautiful, and has an exotic look, aren't you tempted
Of course Guo Shao was not fooled, and immediately said seriously: No one can compare to Jinzhan.
Jinzhan sneered, then stopped smiling and said, "But in my opinion, this is really not the right time. The harem and the world cannot be separated. If you accuse the Xiazhou Dangxiang of being unjust and then turn around and favor the Dangxiang concubines, won't others be suspicious?"
Guo Shao hurriedly said: Jinzhan is right.
Jinzhan tried again: Madam Huarui finally came to the palace, let her serve you tomorrow night.
Guo Shaoxian agreed: Whoever Jinzhan says is it, anyway, I am thinking of you.
Jinzhan said in a delicate voice: Oh, I didn't know yours. If you weren't nice to others, how could Li Yuan'er and Mrs. Lu miss you so much for so many years
Guo Shao:
There were so many women in the palace, but Jinzhan chose Lady Huarui. Guo Shao felt that it might not be a random choice. It was not a small matter that Jingniang actually listened to Jinzhan to kill Meng Chang. Lady Huarui and Jingniang had a good relationship. Jinzhan did this to repay Jingniang. Guo Shao ignored these things in the harem. He believed in Jinzhan's ability. Anyway, they were all beautiful women, each with their own merits. He would take whoever was given to him. This would save him trouble.
At this time, Guo Shao saw a Go endgame on the table, so he went up to take a look with great interest, because he had also been learning to play Go in the past two years, although he was not very good at it.
Jinzhan said: I used white seeds.
Guo Shao looked at it for a long time, then picked up the black piece and put it down.
Jinzhan did not move, but looked at Guo Shao's lips shyly and whispered: I know you are setting a trap. If it works this time, let me serve you using your method.
Guo Shao looked at her dignified posture, and suddenly felt a subtle blasphemous expectation in his heart, and said, I am a little reluctant to leave you.
Jinzhan said in a trembling voice: I wanted to do it myself, it's very strange. I dare to do anything in front of you.
She leaned over and murmured, "The best thing that ever happened to me in my life was meeting Shao Ge'er. Everything is different now."
Guo Shao also felt that everything was different. The whole world was gradually moving in a direction that he was completely unfamiliar with. Everything seemed to be the same as before, yet seemed a little different.