Legend of Concubine's Daughter Minglan 知否知否 应是绿肥红瘦

C126. The Barren Land (1)

Sheng Hong was worthy of the title of the fourth-ranked Left Intermediate Censor. According to Minglan, he had a high degree of political sensitivity. On the third day after the return of the Imperial Army, he was keenly aware that he would be busy soon.

The military power of Zhou Dynasty originally lay in the hand of the Commandery of Five Armies, Capital's Left-behind Armies, Five Armies and the garrisons around the country. After the new emperor ascended the throne, the so-called "Mutiny of Prince Jing and Prince Tan" and "the Northern Expedition War" broke out. Gradually, most of the elite armed forces were commanded by Sheng Congwen and Gu Tingye.

According to the customary rule, the generals should hand back the commander's seals after returning to the capital. In half a month, the Ministry of Personnel had submitted the written statement to the Emperor several times and reminded him to take back the commander's seals. However, the Emperor ignored them. Finally, the Grand Secretary of Wuying Palace, Qiu Shu, openly petitioned the Emperor to take back the commander's seals at the court meeting but the Emperor excoriated him on the pretext of him overstepping his authority.

Sheng Hong felt that something was cooking. He trusted Old Madam Sheng, so one day after work, he went to give his greetings to Old Madam Sheng and mentioned his worries, and then went to discuss with Changbai in detail.

"I hope nothing goes wrong." Old Madam Sheng put her palms together devoutly and silently recited a few sentences of Buddhist sutras. "If there is a war, the civilians will suffer a lot. Because of the rebellion carried out by Prince Jing and Prince Tan, crops failed in Jiangsu and Anhui provinces and numerous peasants had to sold their children for money." Old Madam Sheng had venerated the Buddha for many years. Because of her kind nature, she had offered rent concessions to many tenants before the Spring Festival.

Minglan was holding an embroidery needle and embroidering a cloth. When she heard that, she raised her head with a bemused expression and said, "I don't think there will be a war. From ancient to modern times, few emperors like to provoke a war."

Old Madam Sheng had a tremendous breadth of experience. After thinking for a while, she said, "I'm afraid that His Majesty is going to clean up the military circles."

Minglan nodded in agreement, "Grandma, what you've said is reasonable. In most cases, the reason a playboy picks up a butcher's knife is because he wants to force a beautiful woman to be his mistress; the reason a thief steals a mace is because he wants to be a bandit. His Majesty doesn't want to give the military power back to the Commandery of Five Armies. I'm afraid that he's going to take action soon."

Emperor Renzong (the previous emperor) was very kind to lords and nobles. So, during his reign, most of the military power was in the hands of aristocratic families which were related to one another by marriages for generations. Their relationships were complicated and difficult to deal with, which caused the confusion of the military discipline. Since the new Emperor took the throne, he must be planning to rectify the style of the military circles.

Old Madam Sheng gently pinched Minglan's smooth delicate face. The young girl blinked at her grandmother with a naughty look. Old Madam Sheng felt relieved and smiled, "Bad girl! ....

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