The Splendid Medical Concubine: The Journey of a Concubine

Chapter 422 Extra 13 Fishing Bait

After Wei Jingze finished speaking, the study fell into silence, so quiet that everyone could hear the subtle crackling sound of candle oil in the lampshade.

For Zhang Shoufu, Zhuang Maohua and Wei Jingze, the silence at this moment was a bit depressing.

The three of them remained motionless in the bowing posture, all paying attention to the change in Gu Jue's expression.

In contrast, Gu Jue, who was separated from the three of them by a desk, seemed very comfortable, as if they were just chatting.

"Do you know how many people there are in the Northland Army? How many generals are there?"

As Gu Jue spoke, he casually played with a small cat-shaped black jade paperweight. The black cat's two front paws were placed in front of it, stretching out gracefully. The carving was lifelike and the jade texture was shiny.

The other two people didn't know, but Zhuang Maohua, as the Minister of War, still knew, and immediately answered: "Except for the Xuanjia Army, the Beidi Army has a total of 200,000 people and 40 generals above the fourth rank."

When he answered, he had already roughly guessed Gu Jue's plan, as did Zhang Shoufu and Wei Jing.

Wei Jing raised his eyelids, and his fingers that were bowing slightly tightened, then returned to their original position.

Gu Jue's fingers suddenly closed, holding the small paperweight in his palm, and said with a smile: "If the old one doesn't go, the new one won't come."

Zhang Shoufu: "..."

Zhuang Maohua: "..."

Wei Jingze: "..."

All three of them were speechless.

They understood what Gu Jue meant. As long as they selected talented generals from the Northern Army for promotion and transferred them to various military posts, it would be enough to fill the 30% vacancy.

The new emperor has been in the Northland for many years, and these soldiers of the Northland Army have a special relationship with him. If they are promoted by the new emperor this time, they will definitely be grateful for his kindness. Then once the various guards have passed During the running-in period of the handover between the old and the new, the entire Daqi army will reach an unprecedented level of unity.

This should be the new emperor's plan.

Zhang Shoufu stared at Gu Jue, his lips pursed into a straight line, as if he was thinking, but also seemed worried about something.

A faint smile appeared on the corner of Gu Jue's lips, lazy and arrogant, elegant and willful, and he said lightly: "The court needs fresh blood, so next year's Enke, I plan to add martial arts exams."

This means that after the martial arts competitions, there will be a new batch of young generals in the court, and Gu Jue has no worries about not having any generals available.

The expressions of the three pavilion elders changed slightly.

It is definitely a good thing for the imperial court to add martial arts examinations.

The late emperor Gu Lang emphasized civility over military affairs and did not hold any military examinations during his reign. Most of the military positions in the court were inherited by Shiyin. However, the official positions in the imperial court are limited, and most positions are like carrots and pits. There are only one or two people in a family who can get the blessings of the world, and the others can only do nothing and live idle.

This time, the new emperor's addition of martial arts is bound to attract a lot of attention.

Especially those nobles and families of military generals will definitely be happy to see this happen, and they will even support the new emperor in renovating the army because of the military exercise. After all, the Wu Jinshi selected by the new emperor are also "disciples of the emperor", which has a different meaning.

The new emperor used martial arts as a bargaining chip to win the support of some noble families and military generals.

The three pavilion elders all thought of this and had different expressions.

There was no trace of happiness or anger on Wei Jingze's face, and his eyes were as deep as a deep pool without any glimmer of light.

Zhuang Maohua was amazed, with admiration in his eyes. Before, he thought that the new emperor's methods were too cruel and hard, but now he changed his mind. The new emperor's methods can be described as using both force and softness, kindness and power. High, really high!

Zhang Shoufu still frowned slightly and lowered his eyes.

Gu Jue's cold eyes glanced between the three pavilion elders, and then asked: "Are there any other questions?"

Zhang Shoufu finally reacted and looked up at Gu Jue again.

Obviously, Gu Jue had thought carefully before ordering the Xuanjia Army to capture these generals, and had also thought about how to fill these vacancies in the army in the future.

For Gu Jue, by replacing these derelict generals with a team he trusted, he could firmly hold the military power in his hands.

In fact, there are many emperors in the past who like Gu Jue to control the military and political power by themselves. After all, emperors are suspicious and authoritarian, so they naturally like to appoint and use their own confidants.

However, even if the emperors of the past dynasties had to use their own confidants, they would slowly and steadily replace the old ministers of the previous dynasty, which would take at least one or two years, or even longer.

How could anyone be like Gu Jue who changed the entire military system just three months after taking the throne?

Da Qi is now like a wounded patient. Many of the wounds have suppurated and rotted. Gu Jue has always been decisive in killing, so his solution is to cut directly with a knife, removing the abscess and rotten flesh from the wound at once.

Of course his starting point was good, but his methods were a bit too radical. Did he ever think about what if the new generals could not suppress the various military posts, what if some of the military posts mutinied because of this?

This is going to cause big trouble!

Zhang Shoufu's brows furrowed even more tightly, and he carefully considered his words and said, "Your Majesty, the establishment of additional martial arts examinations can select generals for the court, which is beneficial to the country and the people. However, most of the martial arts scholars are only generals, and it is difficult to become commanders who can strategize..."

Zhang Shoufu was telling the truth. The martial arts examinations were about strategies and martial arts tests. The martial arts scholars who stood out were actually good at talking on paper, which was different from actual combat.

Most military generals have grown up little by little based on years of actual combat experience in the army. These newly selected military commanders will not be used for three to five years.

Zhang Shoufu felt that the Enke Military Examination was a good idea and should be held with great fanfare. The new emperor could spend three to five years cultivating new generals and at the same time remove those generals who had failed in their duties little by little.

Unfortunately, he didn't have a chance to say the next words. Gu Jue interrupted him and asked calmly: "Who does the chief minister think is handsome?"

"..." Zhang Shoufu was speechless.

Of course there were handsome men in Da Qi Dynasty, but only a handful of them.

A handsome man not only has the ability to lead the entire army, but also must have brilliant records and meritorious deeds. Only in this way can he have extraordinary prestige in the army and become an almost belief-like existence. Only such a person can be Called handsome.

In the history of the Daqi Dynasty for more than a hundred years, there were no more than five people who could be called handsome. Gu Jue was one of them, and Emperor Taizu was also one of them. However, Daqi had several "Gu Jue" and several What about the "Emperor Taizu"?

Among the generals who were captured by Gu Jue this time, there were also people with great military exploits, but their military exploits were nothing compared to Gu Jue's.

In other words, these people are at best generals and can be replaced. Handsome people are irreplaceable and symbolize an era.

For example, if Gu Jue had not ascended the throne as emperor, he would not have been drowned in the torrent of history. He would have left his mark in history as "King Chen". In the subsequent dynasties of Da Qi, the people will know that Da Qi has Gu Jue, a famous general who was invincible and invincible in all attacks, might not necessarily know about the late Emperor Gu Lang.

Gu Jue probably also saw the moved expression on Zhang Shoufu's face, and then said: "Whether it's a general or a handsome man, I don't need a 'worm'."

The three pavilion elders all looked stern.

Gu Jue casually placed the cat paperweight on the desk, making a soft "pop" sound, and said in a calm voice: "If you are afraid of making people panic, just go and appease people." "Otherwise, the imperial court will support so many people. do what?"

"You can't have me worrying about everything."

Gu Jue's tone was neither high nor low, neither fast nor slow. From the beginning to the end, his expression and tone were calm, with a kind of calm and confident confidence.

Zhang Shoufu: "..."

Zhuang Maohua: "..."

Wei Jingze: "..."

The three pavilion elders were silent again. Facing this new emperor, they were always at a disadvantage and completely suppressed by the opponent.

At this time, as the door curtain was opened from the outside, a tall and thin figure walked in.

The elegant Su Mubai strolled up to Zhang Shoufu and said to Gu Jue: "Your Majesty, Xu Chi, Xue Ziyi, Cheng Huiyan, Wu Yanqi..." He recited a series of names in one breath, including each one. Without even a pause, "They've all been taken."

Every name frightened the three pavilion elders, but Gu Jue didn't even move his eyebrows and decisively ordered: "Let the three divisions review it together, and the results will be announced to the world!"

Gu Jue said that asking the three judicial departments to conduct a joint trial was actually equivalent to sentencing them to death. After all, the three judicial departments' joint trial meant sentencing according to the law, and the result was only the word "death".

"Yes, Your Majesty." Su Mubai bowed calmly and accepted the order.

The three pavilion elders all knew that Su Mubai deliberately chose this time to return to life, and he did it deliberately to show them.

They did not try to persuade Gu Jue anymore. They had clearly realized that they could not persuade Gu Jue. As early as the first day he ascended the throne, Gu Jue had been an independent, capable and courageous monarch.

He stands like Mount Tai, as indestructible as the legendary magical weapon, as powerful as the vast night sky that can accommodate thousands of stars... no one dares to underestimate him.

Having such a monarch may be a blessing to the Qi Dynasty, but to the ministers, he is like a big mountain pressing on their backs.

In this complicated mood, the three pavilion elders withdrew from Chengguang Hall, while Su Mubai was left talking by Gu Jue.

Outside Chengguang Hall, night has fallen.

Five or six officials were waiting anxiously outside. When they saw the three pavilion elders finally coming out, they rushed to greet them and tried to find out the news:

"Zhang Shoufu, what did the emperor say?"

"What on earth did they commit, and why were they suddenly taken down..."

Now that Gu Jue has ordered a joint trial among the three divisions, this case is no longer a secret. Zhuang Maohua roughly explained the cause and effect.

The officials looked more and more solemn as they listened.

In fact, some of them also heard some rumors from the Ministry of War, and knew that the new emperor ordered the Ministry of War to investigate the case of "empty pay", but they did not expect that the new emperor would take people as he said, and he would take down so many high-grade people at once. of military commanders.

As the saying goes, pull out the carrot and bring out the mud. If these generals are convicted, their subordinates will inevitably be implicated, and the entire court may be shaken.

Wei Jingze frowned deeply and shook his head with a long sigh: "I also advised the emperor that if the water is clear, there will be no fish, but... alas!"

"I have long heard that the emperor led troops in wars in the past. He was always bold in killing and strict in running the army. He is indeed well-deserved for his reputation."

It was obvious that Wei Jing was praising Gu Jue, but the officials present heard something else.

Gu Jue's methods are too strong, and his temperament is even more strong. His "daring in killing and strict military management" are advantages in war, but when he is like this as a subordinate of the emperor, people have to worry. Everyone has to worry about it. My mood became heavier.

A slightly pudgy middle-aged official glanced at Wei Jingze and said worriedly: "My lips are dead and my teeth are cold, Mr. Wei, after the emperor finishes dealing with these people, won't it be the turn of us civil servants?"

His words expressed the worries of many people present.

Since Gu Ming's case last month, there has been a faint rumor in the court. The courtiers began to worry about whether the new emperor would target civil servants after rectifying the military and clan.

They were all old ministers left behind by the late emperor Gu Lang. If Gu Jue targeted the civil servants, he would probably attack them. Once they are convicted, the family will be in decline, and they will probably decline from now on.

An uneasy atmosphere filled the air among everyone, and everyone couldn't help but feel a little breathless, as if there were many ants crawling around in their hearts.

"Everyone, please be patient." Zhang Shoufu's gray eyebrows moved, and he slowly put his hands behind his hands, his expression calm and calm, "The emperor always does things in a measured way."

He just clicked and said this, then left with his hands behind his back.

Zhuang Maohua and two officials hurriedly chased Zhang Shoufu and left.

Only Wei Jingze and a few other officials were left standing. The middle-aged official said with a wandering gaze: "Master Wei, does the emperor really plan to add the Enke Military Examination next year?"

"Yes, the imperial court is really employing people, and the emperor is thirsty for talents." Wei Jingze said while looking back in the direction of Chengguang Hall.

His mind was still thinking about what Gu Jue had just said, and his eyes were flickering with a faint light.

These discussions outside also reached the ears of Gu Jue and Su Mubai.

Su Mubai said with a smile: "Master Jiu, you cast the bait very well."

"Has the fish been bitten?" Shen Qianchen asked casually, walking out of the blue gauze cabinet at the back.

She just woke up after taking a nap inside. At this moment, her delicate little face still looked a bit lazy.

When Su Mubai saw Shen Qianchen coming, he immediately stood up, not even paying attention to the cup of Longjing he had just taken a sip from, and said perfunctorily: "Master Jiu, I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."

Su Mubai knew that Shen Qianchen didn't like them coming to see Gu Jue at night, so he ran away for fear of being taught a lesson by her.

Shen Qianchen didn't bother to be distracted by Su Mubai, and sat directly opposite Gu Jue. She folded her hands on the desk, then rested her chin on the back of her hands, blinking at Gu Jue, waiting for his answer.

Gu Jue reached out and rubbed the top of her hair, and said meaningfully: "The one who wishes will take the bait."

The cold voice is particularly alluring in this silent night, like a feather gently tugging at the apex of one's heart.

I have to participate in reading activities in the past few days, so there will be less updates~

(End of chapter)