"Sanshi, they aren't my father's men. My father's men couldn't possibly be like this."
Sun Buqi feared that the youth before him might misunderstand. "That Cao fellow is His Highness the Crown Prince's heir. The lackey beside him is the Minister of Works' son. The Youzhou Army isn't one of the Eight Great Camps either. It belongs to the Left Army Governor's Mansion and is commanded by the Ministry of War.
"The Northwest Three Prefectures—Youzhou, Liangzhou, and Yanzhou—each have their own commanding general.
"Though in wartime my father can deploy all personnel, they obey transfers but not summons.
"Only the Eight Great Camps are truly our own people.
"Even so, in recent years they've been trying every possible way to divide our authority—sending provincial inspectors, trying to transfer people away. Eldest Senior Brother also..."
"He's right."
Sun Li spoke weakly. "The Eight Great Camps aren't troops belonging to any one place. Though they were originally recruited and established in Liangzhou to fight the barbarian bandits, later they were sent wherever they were needed. They stayed in the south, then went east to fight Qing.
"Then later, three years ago.
"The barbarian bandits began stirring again, so the Eight Great Camps were transferred back to the northern border."
Chen Sanshi understood this approach.
It prevented them from staying in one prefecture for too long and truly becoming local emperors.
For all he knew, every time they left, the aristocratic families, sects, and officials in the area who had dared support the Eight Great Camps would suffer a purge as well...
Everything had to remain within the court's control.
It did fit the style of an emperor who used such despicable means as poison to murder people and silence them forever.
But if that were really the case.
Could they endure it?