He was one of the new nobles; Zhu Mian was...
Chen Huai's brows twitched. He held a breath in his chest for a long while before he could finally let it out.
Zhu Mian was the descendant of old nobility.
Zhu Mian's father, Earl of Wujin Zhu Rong, had followed Prince of Qianning Mu Ying in the campaign against Yunnan, and Duke of England Zhang Fu in the campaign against Jiaozhi. He had served under four emperors: Hongwu, Jianwen, Yongle, and Hongxi.
Because his father had followed Mu Ying and Zhang Fu, Zhu Mian had always maintained good relations with Mu Mansion in Yunnan and the Duke of England's residence in the Capital City. Added to that, he was one of the rare capable men among the old nobles and had long guarded the borderlands, so he commanded great prestige within their circle.
The Duke of England wanted both the old and new nobles to support Kuang Ye's reorganization of the military system.
But why name him to remain in Datong as Kuang Ye's deputy?
Zhu Mian had once served as Datong's commander-in-chief, and Guo Deng had succeeded him. Now that Guo Deng was dead, wouldn't it be better to leave Zhu Mian in Datong?
Chen Huai's heart pounded. They weren't planning to kill the chicken to frighten the monkeys and leave him behind as that chicken, were they?
Though he had indeed committed offenses, he had already been punished. They couldn't rake up old matters again, could they?
Once a criminal had served his sentence, his sins were considered redeemed. How could they simply drag him back into prison whenever they remembered and make him serve another term?
Chen Huai immediately felt that remaining in Datong was no good thing. Frowning at the indignant military officers, he said, "Stop