After the rebirth, the queen took the Meiqiang tragedy script

Chapter 233 Appointment
The two of them listened to the sound of leaves being rustled by the wind outside the house, and chatted for half an hour over a pot of hot tea in the warm house.

This was the first time that Ye Qinghuai had talked with He Tingquan alone for such a long time since he ascended the throne. The two talked about their childhood, the He family, He Tingquan's career in the imperial army, and finally the Jingji Guard and Gu Haiwang.

"I sneaked out of the palace earlier and heard rumors in the market that the Jingji Guards have a bad reputation in Shengjing and are habitual criminals who ride horses to injure people, bully vendors, and cause trouble in the red-light district. Has your uncle heard of this?"

"It is true. The Jingji Guards are used to being overbearing in the capital. I have also encountered Jingji Guards drinking and refusing to pay several times when I was eating in the tavern."

"The Jingji Guard is supposed to maintain the security of the capital, but now it has repeatedly become the culprit for causing trouble. Uncle, why do you think this is the case?"

He Tingquan was stunned for a moment, and replied: "Many people in Jingjiwei were born in aristocratic families. They have never suffered any hardship since childhood and are used to bullying others, so they have developed this bad habit."

Ye Qinghuai shook his head and said, "If you put it that way, my uncle is also from an aristocratic family and has never suffered much, but he doesn't have such bad habits. Not only my uncle, in fact, the entire Imperial Guard rarely bullies others by taking advantage of their power. Logically speaking, the proportion of children from aristocratic families in the Imperial Guard is higher than that in the Capital Guard."

Ye Qinghuai's expression suddenly turned cold, and her voice also turned cold, a little chilling: "Because the upper class follows the lower class."

Ye Qinghuai waved his hand and asked Aunt Fanghua and the servants serving in the room to leave.

After everyone left, only Ye Qinghuai and He Tingquan were left in the room. Ye Qinghuai continued, "Because the former Chief of the Capital Guard, Gu Haiwang, was the one who would ride his horse to injure people, bully vendors, and cause trouble in the red-light district in Beijing."

He Tingquan was surprised. He didn't expect Ye Qinghuai to describe Gu Haiwang to him so directly.

"The King of Chu likes thin waists, and many of his concubines starve to death. The King of Qi likes purple clothes, and there is no one else in the country. The Emperor of Chu Ai likes male beauty, and half of the ministers in the court have started to keep male favorites. For a time, there were many mansions in the capital. Song Qihai, the treacherous prime minister of the Rui Dynasty, was corrupt and extravagant, and the people under him who were favored by him were more greedy than each other, and their mansions were more luxurious than each other. The Jingji Guard has such a trend today because their leader is such a person."

Ye Qinghuai lowered his eyes, his expression darkened, and said, "If I want to change the Jingji Guard, I must completely erase the traces of Gu Haiwang left in the Jingji Guard."

She paused, raised her head and looked at He Tingquan, her eyes filled with a heavy weight.

Then, He Tingquan heard the emperor slowly ask a question: "Uncle, are you willing to serve as the Chief of the Capital Guard?"

This made He Tingquan startled and he dared not respond.

He had not had such close contact with Ye Qinghuai for a long time. He only heard from the court and the palace that the emperor was now diligent and enterprising, acting decisively and using extraordinary methods. There were even rumors that Ye Qinghuai had the embryonic form of a tyrant.

He Tingquan always thought that it was unbelievable. In his mind, Ye Qinghuai was always the fragile, gentle and harmless person he was when he was a child, which was totally unrelated to the description of a tyrant.

Today, he met his nephew for the first time in a long time. Hearing her calling him "uncle" and chatting with him about family matters in a cheerful and cheerful manner made him feel that those rumors were all nonsense.

It was not until this moment that he understood where those rumors came from.

That was not the tone and look of an innocent child. Ye Qinghuai's words and eyes seemed to contain a knife, which was going to chop all the followers of the Gu family.

He Tingquan hesitated and said, "Gu Haiwang is the legitimate son of Lord Gu. The Gu family has a huge influence in the Jingji Guards. If His Majesty wants to settle accounts, I'm afraid nearly half of the people will be implicated..."

"There's no need to involve so many people. I only want the eight guards of the capital to be loyal subjects who obey the emperor's orders. As for the people below, most of them are opportunists and will follow whoever is strong. There's no need to deliberately target them."

Ye Qinghuai explained, "I asked my uncle to be the chief of the Jingji Guard, not to make him the executioner. It's just that the Jingji Guard has too much influence on the safety of the capital and the palace, and I dare not let others do it. Now Gu Haiwang has been demoted to a commoner and has completely lost his power. If these generals can see the situation clearly and turn to the light, I will not only not touch them, but also treat them well. If not, I can only replace them. I will make the decision on everything, and my uncle just needs to follow my orders. In addition, I will give my uncle a deputy, Xu Youxing, the General of the Imperial Guards. He is smart, and my uncle can give him any tricky things to do."

Ye Qinghuai said this, and He Tingquan understood that the emperor had already made a decision on this matter. Ye Qinghuai asked him if he was willing to serve as the chief of the Jingji Guard, but it was just a polite remark, not really asking for his opinion.

So he knelt down and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. I will definitely fulfill my mission."

Ye Qinghuai finally relaxed, and the stern look on her face was replaced by a warm smile. She stood up and helped He Tingquan up, saying, "With my uncle in charge of the Jingji Guard, I can finally sleep peacefully."

She helped He Tingquan sit down and said, "I have already drafted the imperial edict of appointment, and I will read it out at court tomorrow morning. I have already informed Zhao Yinshi, uncle, go to bed early today, dress neatly tomorrow, and come to court."

He Tingquan thought to himself: As expected, the emperor had already drafted the imperial edict before summoning him, and obviously did not intend to leave him any room for refusal.

He looked at his nephew who had grown to be almost as tall as himself, and for the first time, awe appeared in his eyes.

The child in front of him was no longer the Fourth Prince in his memory, no longer the child who stood on the edge of the court and watched silently. He had already walked off the field with a knife in hand and became a player in the arena of power.

He Tingquan knew that for those fighting in the center of power, family affection was never a warm bond, but only a link to maintain rights and interests.

"Your Majesty... I would like to ask you one more question. Why does Your Majesty suddenly want me to be the Chief of the Capital Guard?" He Tingquan's voice was a little weak. He lowered his head, hiding the doubt in his eyes.

Ye Qinghuai turned his eyes away from him, sighed, and said, "In fact, I have long wanted to use my uncle. I have no one to rely on in the court, and even fewer people I can trust. However, I promised my mother before she died that I would never let the He family interfere in the court."

He Tingquan was startled when he heard this, and couldn't help but look up at Ye Qinghuai and frowned, obviously thinking of those unpleasant past events.

"My mother is right to worry. With my previous position in the court, it would be difficult for me to protect myself, not to mention the He family."

Ye Qinghuai turned the page lightly and continued, "It's different now. Although I can't say I have a firm foothold, I can already have a say in the court. I have considered it for a long time and feel that only my uncle can take on the position of Chief of the Capital Guard. If it weren't for the last resort, I would not want to break my promise to my mother."

She looked at He Tingquan frankly, her eyes full of enthusiasm and expectation: "Uncle, I am entrusting the Jingji Guard to you, and I am entrusting the safety of the entire imperial city to you. Uncle, please don't let me down."