After the rebirth, the queen took the Meiqiang tragedy script

Chapter 230 Candidates

At the beginning of the new year, the city and the fields are thriving.

Since the Northern Di retreated, not only have the streets regained their former prosperity, but even the court of Dajing seems to have become much more harmonious.

In the past, every morning court session was filled with endless debates on a series of issues arising from the war - repairing military roads, resettling refugees, and overspending on military expenses. Now, these issues seemed to have suddenly disappeared with the withdrawal of the Northern Di troops.

The issues that arouse daily debate in the court are nothing more than some problems caused by the new policies at the beginning of the year.

The length of the morning court session was suddenly reduced, sometimes ending in just over a quarter of an hour, and it seemed as if all the court officials had just clocked in at the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Not only that, but Ye Qinghuai also had to deal with a lot fewer memorials every day.

This may be the most leisurely period for Ye Qinghuai since he took power.

To everyone's surprise, the emperor neither spent this period of free time on the concubines in the harem, nor did he lock himself up all day long to paint like he did when he was a child.

She used the free time to strengthen her physical exercise.

This led to a sudden increase in the workload of the commander of the imperial guards, Zhao Yinshi, and he had an additional job from then on - to accompany the emperor to practice horse riding and archery in the archery pavilion every afternoon.

But after a few days, Zhao Yinshi discovered that things were not that simple.

It seemed that the emperor was not just trying to improve his riding and archery skills.

Because during the breaks after training, the emperor would always chat with him in a casual tone, intentionally or unintentionally, about the people and things in the Imperial Guards, especially those who were above the rank of colonel in the Imperial Guards. The emperor seemed to be very interested in their abilities, family backgrounds and temperaments, and would always ask a few more questions once they were mentioned.

But the emperor's face obviously did not have the satisfaction of a woman who was gossiping on the streets. Zhao Yinshi noticed that every time the emperor heard his answer, he just nodded thoughtfully and did not comment.

Zhao Yinshi was a smart man and he immediately guessed the emperor's intention.

The emperor wanted to select people from him to employ.

A position that could make the emperor so concerned and cautious must not be an ordinary small position, and now there is only one high position vacant in the Dajing military.

Chief Secretary of the Capital Guard.

One day, while taking a break from archery practice at the archery pavilion, Zhao Yinshi decided to tentatively bring up the matter.

"Your Majesty, are you going to draw personnel from me?"

Ye Qinghuai was stunned for a moment, then said to the attendants and eunuchs standing beside him: "You can go down."

After everyone left, only Ye Qinghuai and Zhao Yinshi were left in the pavilion. The emperor took a sip of hot tea and said, "After Gu Haiwang was dismissed, the position of Chief of Jingji Guard was vacant. The affairs of Jingji Guard have been temporarily decided by the Ministry of War. But since the beginning of the year, the Ministry of War has more and more things to do. This is not a long-term solution."

Zhao Yin said sincerely: "It is true." The emperor spoke frankly to him, so he didn't need to be shy anymore and asked directly: "Your Majesty, do you want to choose someone from the imperial guards?"

Ye Qinghuai looked at him and smiled, saying, "I actually had my eyes on you. I was thinking of transferring you to Jingjiwei to manage the affairs, and then transferring you back when the situation there is stable. But now that the queen is pregnant, the palace must be extra cautious, and I am worried about other people. The palace cannot do without you."

Zhao Yinshi's heart rose and fell as if through a storm following the emperor's short words.

Although the Chief Secretary of the Capital Guards is superior to the Commander of the Imperial Guards in terms of rank and number of people under his command, the position of the Commander of the Imperial Guards is undoubtedly the most important position in the entire Dajing army.

Because it is the position closest to imperial power, it can even directly affect the emperor's personal safety.

This is the same principle as “Beijing officials have three levels of seniority”.

If he was really transferred to Jingjiwei as the chief secretary, it would be a promotion in name only and a demotion in reality.

But the emperor then said that the queen was pregnant, and Zhao Yinshi immediately understood.

After the news of the queen's pregnancy came out, Ye Qinghuai not only never stayed in Kunning Palace, but also asked Zhao Yinshi to replace all the guards in Kunning Palace with people he trusted and strictly check people coming in and out. Obviously, rather than worrying about the queen's safety, the emperor's behavior towards the queen was more like imprisonment.

Ye Qinghuai was not confident in handing these matters over to others.

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I will perform my duties faithfully." Zhao Yinshi said.

Seeing that he understood, Ye Qinghuai said nothing more. The topic returned to the selection of the Chief of the Capital Guards: "The one you praised to me before, Xu Youxing, I transferred him to the Imperial Court to serve for a few days. He is indeed smart. What do you think of him?"

Zhao Yinshi showed an embarrassment on his face: "Such a major matter, I dare not speak carelessly."

Ye Qinghuai said angrily, "You were born in the Jingji Guard, and you have served as the general of the Shenwei Guard, and you have been the commander of the Imperial Guard for almost a year. If even you dare not speak out about this matter, then no one dares to speak out."

Seeing Ye Qing was annoyed, Zhao Yinshi expressed his worries: "Although Youxing comes from a noble family, has good kung fu, and a calm temperament, he has some prestige in the imperial guards. But he is only a general after all, and he has jumped to the high position of chief of the capital guards. I am afraid that he is not up to the task."

"I have checked his resume. The Xu family is a century-old family in the capital, but they have been marginalized in the past two years because they have not stood on the side of Lord Gu. Xu Youxing is the eldest son of this generation of the Xu family. Not only is he good at his studies, but he also gets along well with people who are not members of the Gu party. It can be seen that he is a capable person. Is General Zhao worried that he does not have enough experience and will not be able to convince others?"

"Yes. What I am worried about is that not only is his identity difficult to convince the public, but his relationship with Your Majesty is not close enough to deter the public."

Ye Qinghuai frowned and thought about it, but he didn't understand, so he said: "Yinshi, you are the commander of my imperial guards. I have handed my head to you and hung it on your waist. Please speak clearly and don't hide anything from me."

Zhao Yinshi arranged his words and said, "Your Majesty, the Eight Guards of the Capital are divided into the Tianwei Guard and Shenwei Guard in the capital, the Jiumen Guard in charge of the city gates, the Jinyi Guard for collecting intelligence, and the Longxiong Guard, Xiaoqi Guard, Tiance Guard, and Yingyang Guard stationed in the suburbs of the capital. As long as you can control the eight guard generals of the Eight Guards of the Capital, it is equivalent to controlling the Capital Guard. But Your Majesty, do you know who these eight guard generals are?"

Ye Qinghuai knew this very well. She had recently spent all her energy on Jingji Guard, and was familiar with its organizational structure and personnel composition. These eight people could be said to be Gu Shihai's people, the only difference was whether they could openly sing the same tune with Gu Shihai in front of others or maintain a superficial neutrality but secretly communicate with Gu Shihai.

This is also what gives Ye Qinghuai a headache.

She could neither send a member of the Gu Party to manage Jingjiwei - this was obviously not Ye Qinghuai's original intention, nor could she send someone who was opposed to the Gu Party - that would only make him be sidelined by the people below.