Chapter 264 Military Generals Relinquish Power, Each with Their Own Thoughts

With Chang Yuchun, the deputy marshal of the right wing of the Longcheng army, taking the lead, the atmosphere of the first court assembly of the new dynasty immediately became lively, with civil and military officials vying to speak.

Chen Qingzhi, the deputy marshal of the left wing of the Longcheng army, also took the initiative to resign from his post to Emperor Chen Huai'an, expressing his intention to return the military tally of 300,000 Xuanjia soldiers under his command to the Ministry of War.

Chen Qingzhi said, "Your Majesty, I am but a scholar. My decision to abandon my pen for the sword was out of necessity. Now that the situation is settled and the country is at peace, I would like to take this opportunity to retire to the countryside and become a teacher. I will also write a book and write my own biography. I hope Your Majesty will grant my request!"

brush!

Chen Qingzhi's words caused a stir of astonishment in the Golden Palace.

The astonishment of the civil and military officials in the court was no less than their reaction when they heard that Chang Yuchun, the deputy commander of the right wing army, had offered to relinquish his military power.

In fact, it's even worse.

Everyone knows that the 300,000 Xuanjia soldiers under the command of Chen Qingzhi, the deputy marshal of the left wing army, are the most elite force in the entire Longcheng army.

Whether it was the annihilation of the Turkic Khaganate, the pacification of the Tibetan rebellion, or the subjugation of the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions to the new emperor by force, the presence of the Xuanjia Army of Longcheng was indispensable behind all of these achievements.

These two deputy marshals commanded half of the dynasty's army, its most elite and capable troops.

Is this military power really something you can just hand over like that?

It was precisely because of the noble character of Vice Marshals Chang Yuchun and Chen Qingzhi, who were not greedy for fame, fortune and power, that they voluntarily handed over their military power before the new dynasty's investiture ceremony.

Or perhaps, the Emperor...

The fact that Chang Yuchun and Chen Qingzhi voluntarily relinquished their military power immediately made the generals in the Golden Palace who still held military power feel uneasy.

They began to ponder the deeper meaning behind this matter: did the two deputy commanders voluntarily relinquish their military power, or did they hear some rumors, or was the emperor privately forcing them to relinquish their military power?

For a time, the military generals who held military power, especially those who had surrendered to the new emperor Chen Huai'an, became uneasy.

Among them, Liu Ziyu, the military representative of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun and the adopted son of King Wuning, is the most prominent.

His triangular eyes glanced out of the corner of his eye at the new emperor Chen Huai'an, who had been sitting on the dragon throne, and the two deputy commanders who had voluntarily relinquished their military power.

Liu Ziyu was not only one of the deputy generals of the Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army, but also the chief military officer of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun.

After the main force of the Longcheng expeditionary army split up at Yingzhou, Liu Ziyu led an army of 150,000 south alone. After capturing Kaifeng, he joined forces with the main force on the south bank of the Yangtze River.

After that, Liu Ziyu kept the military power of the 150,000-strong army in his hands.

Including the garrison troops in the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, Liu Ziyu could mobilize more than 250,000 troops, making him the second most powerful military commander in the entire new dynasty, after the two deputy marshals Chang Yuchun and Chen Qingzhi.

In fact, it had 50,000 more troops than General Lan Yu, who was stationed in the Four Garrisons of Anxi.

Therefore, when Liu Ziyu saw the two deputy marshals of the army voluntarily hand over their military power to the emperor at the first court assembly of the new dynasty, he immediately began to feel conflicted.

On the one hand, his years of experience in the military and in officialdom told him that now was not the best time to relinquish military power;

Not only because the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun bear the heavy responsibility of protecting the border security of the dynasty, but also because the new dynasty has not yet held a ceremony to bestow rewards. For a military general, especially one who represents the interest group of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, it is not a bad thing to be able to hold military power in his hands.

On the other hand, Liu Ziyu's intuition told him that today's court assembly should be the best opportunity for him to hand over his military power. He could also take this opportunity to win favor and loyalty from the new emperor, Chen Huai'an, which might give him an edge in the future conferment ceremony.

These two ideas clashed fiercely in his mind, leaving Liu Ziyu unable to make up his mind for a long time.

Besides Liu Ziyu, there were several other people in the Golden Palace who shared similar feelings.

One was Tang Ziyi, the deputy general of the Tiger Army, who was also a surrendered general. The other two were Su Chen, the governor-general of Liangjiang, and Jiang Ning, the governor-general of Lianghu.

These three men were all surrendered generals who defected to the Longcheng army when the new emperor Chen Huai'an captured Jinling City.

After the surrender, the new emperor Chen Huai'an did not show any signs of discarding the surrendered troops. He maintained the complete structure of the Tiger Army, the Liangjiang Army, and the Lianghu Army, and did not interfere in the appointment of military generals.

In other words, the surrendered Tiger Warriors, Liangjiang New Army, and Lianghu New Army were merely given the "Jin" banner; everything else remained the same as the previous dynasty's military structure.

These surrendered armies also participated in the later battles to quell the remnants of the previous dynasty, meaning that military power was entirely in their own hands.

Therefore, when Tang Ziyi, Su Chen, Jiang Ning and the others saw that the deputy marshals of the two armies had voluntarily handed over their military power, they subconsciously turned their attention to Liu Ziyu.

After all, Liu Ziyu was not only a former general who surrendered to the previous dynasty, but also the military general who held the most military power.

His attitude toward relinquishing military power could greatly influence the group of former generals who had surrendered from the previous dynasty in the court.

Seeing that Liu Ziyu kept his head down and did not express his opinion, Tang Ziyi, Su Chen, and Jiang Ning simply pretended not to have heard about the two deputy marshals voluntarily handing over their military power.

Looking at the new emperor Chen Huai'an's reaction, he also seemed quite surprised.

Chen Huai'an had complete confidence in the generals summoned by the [Born to Be an Emperor] system.

Therefore, Chang Yuchun and Chen Qingzhi's act of voluntarily relinquishing their military power in the imperial court surprised and moved Chen Huai'an.

Both of them are extremely loyal!

This further proves how correct Chen Huai'an's decision was when he rewarded meritorious service and conferred titles and appointments, making Chang and Chen the Dukes and placing them at the head of the Six Dukes.

However, Chen Huai'an could not accept Chen Qingzhi's resignation.

Just like Chang Yuchun voluntarily resigned, wanting to retire from the military and return to his hometown, a temporary rest is fine, but to really let this white-robed scholar-general Chen Qingzhi become a schoolteacher would be a waste of his talent.

Besides, if he were to actually accept Chang Yuchun and Chen Qingzhi's resignations, regardless of his motives, it would inevitably leave the civil and military officials in the court with the infamous reputation of "purging" the founding heroes.

He has only just become emperor, yet he can't wait to demand that his generals relinquish their military power?

With an emperor like that, what military general would be willing to risk their life for you in the future!

Cough cough!

On the dragon throne, Chen Huai'an coughed twice without making a sound.

Immediately, all the civil and military officials in the Golden Palace turned their attention back to the Emperor.

Chen Huai'an then slowly said, "Vice Commander Chen, did you and Vice Commander Chang agree on this? At the first court assembly of this new dynasty, you both simultaneously requested to resign from your posts."

"Anyone who didn't know better would think I'm kicking you while you're down, that I've only been emperor for a few days and I'm already trying to take away your military power, hahaha!"

After a pause, Chen Huai'an continued, "I know that as deputy commanders in the army, you two must be somewhat exhausted after continuous battles. It is only natural for you to temporarily set aside military affairs and rest for a while."

"but--"

Then, Chen Huai'an changed the subject, saying, "I cannot approve your resignation, Vice Commander Chen. The military tally can be temporarily handed over to the Ministry of War for safekeeping, but I must still place the heavy responsibility of the Deputy Marshal of the Left Route Army on your shoulders!"

"That's the decision!"

With that, Chen Huai'an waved his hand and said, "My dear ministers, is there anything else you wish to report to me?"

"I declare first that if any military generals wish to follow the example of the two deputy marshals and resign from their posts, that matter must be put on hold. Although the realm is now at peace, there is no guarantee that no petty villains from neighboring countries will not rebel."

"I not only need you to conquer this land, but I also need you to protect it for me!"

After the new emperor Chen Huai'an set the tone for the first court assembly of the new dynasty, the matters reported by the civil and military officials in the court no longer involved the issue of handing over military power.

In fact, Chen Huai'an never intended to take this opportunity to concentrate all of the dynasty's military power in one place.

At the very least, it shouldn't have been done before the new dynasty had just ended its wars in various regions, or even before the emperor's enthronement ceremony was held, that all military power held by the generals in the court was taken over by the Ministry of War.

No matter what, Chen Huai'an is now the emperor of a country, the supreme ruler, and he has to consider the impact of everything he does.

In today's terms, you have to be careful about how you "eat"!

In the ensuing court assembly, the matters reported by the civil and military officials mainly revolved around the establishment of the new dynasty's name, the emperor's enthronement ceremony, and the selection of the new empress. They collectively discussed and worked together to address these issues.

The first issue was the name of the dynasty. The Ministry of Rites suggested that the new dynasty should follow the tradition of establishing a state based on a fiefdom and be named "Jin".

However, Chen Huai'an, as a time traveler, doesn't seem to like the Jin Dynasty very much.

His military group also felt that the tradition of establishing a state based on fiefdoms was not worthy of the temperament of the new emperor Chen Huai'an, who "conquered the world on horseback".

The deputy marshal of the right wing army proposed that the new dynasty be named "Ming," which represents tomorrow and hope.

Chen Qingzhi, the deputy marshal of the left wing army, proposed that the new dynasty be named "Tang" because Longcheng, the fiefdom of the King of Jin, was the ancient state of Tang. The ancient state of Tang, which was the fiefdom of his brother Shuyu, enfeoffed by King Cheng of Zhou, was located in Longcheng, the fiefdom of the King of Jin.

The proposed names for the new dynasty were roughly "Jin", "Tang", and "Ming". These three names had their own supporters in the court.

Everyone has their own reasons, and it seems impossible to reach a conclusion in a short period of time.

Ultimately, it will probably be up to the new emperor, Chen Huai'an, to make the final decision on the name of the new dynasty.

In addition, the issue that sparked widespread discussion among civil and military officials in the court was the matter of establishing an empress for the new dynasty.

Although Chen Huai'an has not yet married either of the two princesses.

However, some civil officials in the court had already expressed their dissent about the matter, and took the opportunity of the first court assembly of the new dynasty to bring up the matter of the emperor's wedding and the establishment of the empress.

Guo Xiaoru, the Vice Minister of Rites, said, "Your Majesty, regarding the matter of establishing an empress in the new dynasty, I have something to say, but I am not sure if I should."

On the dragon throne, Chen Huai'an saw through Guo Xiaoru's thoughts at a glance; it was nothing more than rumors about Princess Bhikkhu Yue Qiluo.

He thought to himself, "This old fox is truly cunning and shrewd. You've asked me this in front of all the civil and military officials. What can I say?"

Is it even possible to say no?

Wouldn't that make me look petty?

Chen Huai'an waved his hand and said, "Minister Guo, please speak freely!"

Having received the Emperor's approval, Guo Xiaoru straightened his back and spoke slowly and deliberately:

"Your Majesty, I have heard rumors circulating that, in order to stabilize the situation in the Western Regions and ensure the smooth operation of the Silk Road, Your Majesty intends to appoint Princess Yueqiluo of the Uyghur Khanate as the new Empress?"

"There are even rumors that the Emperor will break with history and appoint empresses for both the East and West Palaces..."

Chen Huai'an couldn't remember what Guo Xiaoru said after that.

He felt as if his head had exploded with a "buzz".

Because this idea of ​​"setting a precedent in history by establishing empresses in the East and West Palaces" was known only to his mother, Empress Xu Ruoyun, and Chen Huai'an, and he had never revealed it to anyone.

Even after arriving in Jinling and settling in the imperial city, he never mentioned this matter, no matter how many times he talked to himself in the imperial study.

Only in the letters that Empress Xu Ruoyun sent from Longcheng to Jinling did she take the initiative to ask Chen Huai'an once or twice about how he was considering the matter of establishing the new dynasty's empress.

He has already brought Liu Shujun and Yue Qiluo to the palace in Jinling and settled them in. Should he, as he had previously discussed with his mother, set a precedent in history and establish empresses for the East and West Palaces?

The next moment, a thought that made Chen Huai'an furious surge into his mind—someone dared to secretly read his correspondence with his mother, Empress Xu Ruoyun!

There are treacherous people in this new dynasty!

Thinking of this, Chen Huai'an subconsciously clenched his fists.

However, he quickly forced himself to calm down and listened to the report from Guo Xiaoru, the Vice Minister of Rites, with a calm expression.

Inside the Golden Palace, Guo Xiaoru, the Vice Minister of Rites, completely oblivious to the astonished expressions on the faces of the court's civil and military officials upon hearing the news, continued his eloquent speech:

"Your Majesty, throughout the thousands of years of history of our Han Dynasty, there has never been a precedent of appointing a woman of a different ethnicity as Empress, let alone appointing an Empress for the Eastern or Western Palaces."

"As the saying goes, those who are not of our race are bound to have different intentions. If a woman of a different race were to become the Empress of our great Han people, the Emperor would not only face criticism from the people, but would also sow the seeds of future trouble in the struggle for the Crown Prince."

"Our great nation of China is a land of etiquette..."

"Master Guo——"

Guo Xiaoru was still quoting classical texts when Zhang Fu, the Minister of Rites, suddenly tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to shut up.

At this moment, Zhang Fu, the Minister of Rites, had a fine layer of sweat on his forehead under his black gauze hat, and his eyes kept glancing at the dragon throne.

Guo Xiaoru, you old Confucian scholar, if you want your entire family executed, don't drag our colleagues in the Ministry of Rites into it!