Over the years, the famed generals who had founded the Jin Dynasty had long since either died or grown old. The pillars of the military were Grand Councilor and Right Deputy Grand Marshal Pusuan Zhongyi, along with Deputy Director of the Bureau of Military Affairs and Prefect of Kaifeng Heshi Lie Zhining. Both commanded enormous prestige in the army and could be called pillars of the state. Though they could barely be considered part of Tang Kuobian's faction now, that was only because Tang Kuobian represented the imperial court. If they learned his true identity, they would definitely turn on him without hesitation.
Song Qingshu had established the Zhongyi Army precisely to prepare for the day his identity was exposed. In other words, he was using the Jin Dynasty's national strength to raise a private army for himself. Under such circumstances, he naturally did not want royalist loyalists joining it.
"Don't worry, he has nothing to do with Pusuan Zhongyi," Daiqisi explained with a smile. "Though they belong to the same clan, you know how these so-called steppe clans work. They are really just neighboring tribes grouped together and given the same surname for convenience. If you traced their lineage back seven or eight generations, perhaps they truly would have been one family. But after so many generations, with countless children branching out in every generation, there is practically no blood relation left between them. Otherwise, with the help of a relative who was Grand Councilor and Right Deputy Grand Marshal, he would not have remained unable to return to office for so long after being dismissed."
"That's good." Only then did Song Qingshu relax.
"The second deputy commander is Heshi Lie Ziren. Don't worry, he has no relation to Heshi Lie Zhining either." Daiqisi wore an expression that said