The second day after the temple was opened was the court assembly. Although the emperor had left the capital, the court assembly could not be interrupted. After all, the court still needed to function and many things needed to be dealt with. Especially now that the army was on its way, there were many issues to discuss, such as the supply of provisions and internal adjustments.
In three days it will be the New Year. According to the old rules of the Great Jin Dynasty, ministers have a full month of rest and recuperation at home during the New Year period. Before that, it is natural to arrange all the major matters so that everyone can enjoy the New Year in peace, right?
At this moment in the main hall, the former Nine Ministers have changed beyond recognition. The sorcerer families have almost completely withdrawn from the power circles of the capital. Now, it can be said that military families dominate. Even the Ministry of War is no longer a civil official, but is now held by Shen Mao, the Duke of Yue, who comes from a military background. This is rare in the history of dynasties, which shows that the emperor is determined to value military over civil officials.
Wei Gongxing was fortunate enough to participate in this conference. In fact, according to normal rules, a son of a concubine from a subordinate family like him would probably never be qualified to enter the court hall. But now it's different. The first Ghost General general under King Xiang has suddenly descended. This identity makes Wei Gongxing's status even higher than some of the dukes in the hall.
The appearance of such a figure made the entire court situation somewhat strange. According to Yin Ling's seniority and status, everyone should pay their respects to Wei Gongxing, and he should even be given the first place.
However, Wei Gongxing was quite low-key. Although he was given the first seat, he barely spoke throughout the meeting, which made the civil and military officials breathe a sigh of relief.
The young men waiting outside the hall nearly popped their eyes out of their sockets with envy. Just a few days ago, that Wei Household brat was a lowly soldier leading horses for most people, but now he had the highest-ranking officials bowing to him and sitting in the head seat of the court. Was there any justice in this world?
That's not how you get lucky, is it?
But no matter how jealous or dissatisfied they were, they dared not do anything. The status of top-tier ghost spirits was extraordinary. If they dared to be disrespectful, their Martial Soul would devour them alive even before outsiders could make a move.
Meanwhile, inside the main hall, arrangements for the new generation were being discussed.
The capital is currently in dire need of manpower. In order to ensure the victory of the Northern Expedition, most of the elite troops have been transferred to the Northern Expeditionary Army. The number of Imperial Guard guarding the capital has been reduced to one-third, not to mention the City Defense Guard.
The most difficult situation now is dealing with Wei Gongxing. As a being possessed by a top-tier Ghost General, it seems unreasonable not to give him a position. However, what position to give him is the problem, since good positions are already filled, and who would be willing to give one up?
"Let's talk about the city's defenses first," the Duke of Ying cleared his throat. "The number of Imperial Guard Imperial Guard definitely need to be increased. We need to fill the vacancies with the new recruits. I hope to transfer another five thousand men into the Imperial Guard."
"Five thousand people? You dare to ask for that much." The Duke of Yan sneered, "This Martial Soul Blessing event only has a little over six thousand people in total. You open your mouth, and nine out of ten of them will leave, leaving us to scramble for the leftovers, is that it?"
" The Imperial Guard are the face of the capital. The last reduction was out of necessity, and now that more personnel have been added, they should be the primary force. What's the problem?"
"Of course there's a problem," the Duke of Yan said coldly. " The Martial Temple is currently in dire need of manpower. According to the previously planned scale, the three major Martial Temple each need at least three thousand elite troops to take turns defending them. If they all go to your Imperial Guard, are we supposed to only have a few hundred people for our Martial Temple?"
"What security problems could the Martial Temple possibly have? In the current situation, who would dare to be so foolish as to offend the Martial Temple?"
"That's hard to say. If something goes wrong, will you take responsibility Duke of Ying?"
"You"
"Alright." Ministry of War, Duke Shen Mao of Duke of Yue, looked troubled. These two had always loved to compete when His Majesty was alive, and it was still the same now. Both were short of people and wanted to control more, a fact he understood. But the younger generation was still outside; how could two dukes openly fight over people inside?
"This time, the new recruits are not differentiated between those from the Martial Temple and the Imperial Guard!"
Upon hearing this, both dukes were stunned, as were the other marquises, who stared in astonishment.
The old man, the Duke of Yue, was appointed Ministry of War, but he didn't have the authority to command troops. Could it be that he's going to try and seize him too?
"What do you mean?" the hot-tempered Duke of Ying roared. "If it doesn't belong to either of us, does it belong to the Ministry of War?"
"What does the Ministry of War need so many people for?" The other person rolled their eyes and said directly, "Before the New Year, when they were assembling the Northern Expeditionary Army, His Majesty not only transferred two-thirds of the Imperial Guard but also the City Defense Guard because of the manpower shortage. Now, the night patrols and security in the capital have to be handled by the yamen runners of the Capital Prefecture. What kind of situation is this?"
"My suggestion is to rebuild the City Defense Guard, temporarily under the command of..." He then looked at Wei Gongyu, "And have Lord Muye manage them, what do you think?"
Upon hearing this, the two dukes, who had been arguing heatedly, immediately stopped.
They were all initially determined to recruit these newcomers, but if they were all placed under the control of the new bigwig, Mu Muye, none of them dared to compete for them.
And they were happy to make it happen.
Muye holds a very high position, but Wei Gongyu has no foundation. It would be inappropriate to give him a high position rashly, especially since he doesn't have any important positions. As a newcomer, putting the City Defense Guard in his hands is definitely a sign of high regard. Previously, the City Defense Guard were all under the jurisdiction of His Highness the Crown Prince.
In terms of status, he was of high enough importance and also held a certain amount of military power, so it wasn't exactly shameful.
The key point is that although the duties of City Defense Guard are heavy, they do not affect the interests of others. If the other party agrees to such an arrangement, today's awkward situation can be resolved.
Everyone immediately turned to look at Wei Gongyu.
At this moment, Wei Gongyu felt a chill run down his spine. He hadn't expected that the inside man would be the Duke of Yue!
It's truly watertight!
The Duke of Yue's position, though seemingly important, did not involve military power, making him the least likely to be feared. Therefore, it was most appropriate for him to step forward and assign a place to these newly formed ghosts.
I really didn't expect that the person behind this plan was so shrewd.
"Hey kid, you guessed wrong, didn't you?"
"The seniors have devised a plan that leads to the abyss; I was arrogant." Wei Gongyu felt ashamed.
"Hahahaha." The other party immediately laughed, "That's pretty good. You were able to guess that far. You can't possibly guess everything, can you?"
"I am ashamed."
Muye chuckled and spoke directly, a deep voice emanating from Wei Gongyu's body. "Then let's leave it at that. It's good to let this brat practice his skills, and you can all finally breathe a sigh of relief, can't you?"
"You flatter me, sir," everyone quickly bowed, afraid that the other party might be dissatisfied with the arrangement.
"Alright, alright." Muye waved his hand. "I can't be bothered with your petty schemes. I didn't come out early to argue with you about these things. Let's leave it at that. Let him practice first. Once His King Xiang Hall returns, I'll head to the front lines. You can prepare replacements for this so-called City Defense Guard in advance."
"I'm an adult"
Seeing how effortlessly the other party seized military power, Wei Gongyu became increasingly wary, but also puzzled.
These new recruits didn't choose to infiltrate the Imperial Guard and the Martial Temple; instead, they became City Defense Guard independently. While this meant they rightfully gained control, wouldn't it make things less convenient when they needed to take action?
According to his plan, the best opportunity would be to take advantage of the situation, assign people to the Martial Temple, and secretly control Martial Temple.
City Defense Guard? Are we supposed to use night patrols to launch a direct assault on those Ghost Temple?
There's no chance of winning no matter how you look at it.
What exactly was the plan?