Do you know: I have a different surname: Wang, uncle Minglan

After Qin Zhen discussed with the old nobles, it was decided to give the positions of the commanders of the central, eastern and garrison troops to the three dukes of Cao, Han and Cheng.

The Qin family did not take up the quota because the old nobles would support Qin Zhen to take the position of the commander of the Palace Front Department in the future.

Qin Zhen quickly told Wei Yuan the result of the discussion.

To be honest, he was still quite surprised.

"Duke Cao has a very high prestige in the army. It is really appropriate for him to guard the capital camp."

"Although Duke Han's family affairs are a mess, he is at least a knowledgeable soldier."

"Only Duke Cheng. Brother Qin, why do you let Duke Cheng serve as the commander of the garrison troops?"

Duke Cao needs no further explanation. He followed Zhang Fu to fight in the south and the north in his early years. Later, he was injured and no longer went out to fight. It was completely enough for him to lead the troops to train.

Duke Han's son Pan Shu participated in the Weiguo Camp and was a general. Duke Han should have a place.

As for Duke Cheng, to be honest, only one family tradition is worthy of praise. The rest is extremely mediocre. Although he is from the Duke's family, he has been away from the political center of the court for many years.

Thinking of this, Wei Yuan suddenly realized something.

The founding nobles are not all in one.

Most of them are selfish.

Since Zhang Fu stepped down and the new nobles stepped onto the political center stage, the founding nobles no longer treat Wei Yuan as well as before.

Because they think that Wei Yuan is a person who is difficult to control and cannot bring benefits to the founding nobles faction.

Although Duke Cheng is mediocre, he has one point that makes people feel comfortable, that is, he is obedient!

No matter what the leading dukes say, Duke Cheng does it without hesitation.

They eat meat, and Duke Cheng is satisfied with just drinking soup.

Letting Duke Cheng take the throne is probably the result of compromise among several dukes, who think that he is easy to control and each family can benefit.

Qin Zhen said, "Brother Wei, do you think that this Duke Cheng is inappropriate?"

Wei Yuan shook his head and looked at him meaningfully, "Let's do it this way. When the five camps are established, I will hand over the list of commanders of each camp to Your Majesty."

——

In the middle of August of the first year of Kaiwu, Li Yuanhao died of illness and passed the throne to Li Liangzuo.

On the day Li Liangzuo ascended the throne, he imprisoned his elder brother Li Ninglingge, and also swore brotherhood with Yeli Yuqi, and regarded Yeli Yuqi as the national teacher.

Now that the countries have just signed a ceasefire agreement, it stands to reason that the Zhou Dynasty should express condolences after the death of Li Yuanhao of Western Xia.

But Li Yuanhao is a traitor in the eyes of the Great Zhou. If condolences are expressed, it is equivalent to recognizing the legitimacy of Western Xia.

If condolences are not expressed, it seems that it is not something that a superior state should do.

Since Wei Yuan often deals with Western Xia, the Honglu Temple and the Ministry of Rites both came to ask him what he thinks.

Wei Yuan thought that etiquette and etiquette were just to maintain a face-saving relationship at best, and the decisive factor was always the substance.

Therefore, he took an attitude of not asking and not caring about Li Yuanhao's death and Li Liangzuo's ascension.

On the contrary, he could make a fuss about Yeli Yuqi becoming the national teacher.

Just to disgust Xixia.

Therefore, Wei Yuan congratulated Yeli Yuqi on becoming the national teacher in his personal name.

Why in his personal name?

Yeli Yuqi was the national teacher, and if he congratulated him in the name of the court, it would actually be an acknowledgment of Xixia's orthodoxy.

This was a trap that Li Liangzuo had set for the Great Zhou, and Wei Yuan would not fall for it.

Now, the reduction of troops has reached a very critical stage.

Daizhou, the south and other places are still okay, as for Yanbian

I heard from Zhong Yan that some old soldiers who had been guarding Yanbian for many years were very reluctant to leave the barracks and had begun to make trouble.

Wei Yuan felt that he needed to go to Yanbian to resolve some conflicts and avoid mutiny in the army.

At the end of August in the first year of Kaiwu, Wei Yuan went out of Beijing to inspect Yanbian.

The first stop was Yan'an Prefecture, the base camp of Zhong Yan.

Now, Zhong Yan has been named "Bao'an Bo" by the government, and it is the kind of hereditary one.

It can be said that the current Zhong family is an indispensable member of the new noble group.

Before Wei Yuan arrived at Yan'an Prefecture, Zhong Yan had already gone out of the city for a hundred miles to greet him.

"I have something to tell you when I come to Yanbian this time. It won't be long before Han Jiang, the Duke of Kangguo, will be transferred to the capital. By then, you will be the well-deserved leader of Yanbian."

"After the military reform, the court will set up five major camps, and you will be the commander of the West Camp."

On the way, Wei Yuan told Zhong Yan something.

Zhong Yan was overjoyed and bowed to Wei Yuan repeatedly, "Thank you for your cultivation, General Wei."

Wei Yuan waved his hand and said, "What do you mean by cultivation? If you are the commander of the West Camp, you need to manage Qinfeng and Yongxing as solid as a rock."

Zhong Yan clasped his fists, "Please rest assured, General Wei."

Wei Yuan looked at Zhong Yi on the side and asked with a smile, "After this matter is over, are you willing to return to Beijing with me?"

Zhong Yi was stunned.

Zhong Yan quickly gave him a look.

Zhong Yi immediately said, "I am grateful to be valued by the Marquis Wei."

Wei Yuan smiled and said, "Yanbian is just a corner of the country after all. If your family wants to prosper, you can't just rely on plotting here."

Zhong Yan nodded, "General Wei is right."

Bao'an Village is the base camp of the Bao'an Army and the current location of the Second Army of Yanbian.

The news of Wei Yuan's arrival has long been known to all the armies in Yanbian.

He personally met with several old soldiers and asked about their requests.

Most of the time it’s because there is no place to make trouble.

To be honest, if farming can support a family, who would want to be a soldier?

However, there are some special exceptions.

There is a man named Ge Lao in the army. He had been a soldier in Yongxing Road when Fan Zhongyan was in charge of Yanbian.

Now, he has been a soldier for 23 years.

Before that, he lost an arm in a battle with Xixia.

This old man Ge has no wife or children, and his parents have long passed away. For him, it doesn’t matter whether he has land to farm or money to spend.

He just wants to have a stable residence in his old age, and he wants to stay in the army.

Wei Yuan went to see the old man Ge as a soldier.

At this time, the old man Ge was staying outside the martial arts field, watching many soldiers training, and there seemed to be envy in his eyes.

Suddenly, Wei Yuan sat beside him and made a gesture to silence the old man Ge.

Old man Ge glared at him and said, "You are really brave, kid. Others are training, why don't you go? Are you lazy here?"

Wei Yuan took out two chicken legs from his arms and said with a grin:

"Old man, I just bought them. Don't tell anyone. Let's have one each."

When old man Ge saw the chicken legs, his eyes lit up immediately. He took one and said with a smile, "You are sensible."

Wei Yuan smiled and said, "Didn't you go to train too?"

Old man Ge gave him a shrug, "You don't have arms anymore, what are you still training?"

Wei Yuan immediately gave him a thumbs up and said, "You are a hero."

Old man Ge shook his head, "What hero? Xiong, boy, I see from your eyes that you have also been on the battlefield and killed people, right? "

"On the battlefield, if you don't fight hard, you will be killed by others. I fought hard and lost an arm, but I survived, which is a gain."

Wei Yuan nodded, "Old man, if one day the court asks you to fight again, will you still go?"

Old man Ge bit off a piece of chicken fiercely, chewed it, and felt an endless aftertaste.

"Fight, of course I have to fight. To be honest, I have been a soldier for so many years, and the past few years are the most enjoyable."

"Don't look at me with a broken arm, I can still go to the battlefield to kill the enemy!"

Wei Yuan was puzzled and said, "Why is it the most enjoyable to be a soldier in the past two years? How cool is that? "

Old man Ge asked, "Need I say that? Since our emperor ascended the throne, he has used loyal ministers like Marquis Guanjun and made Xixia cry for their parents. How can he not be cool?"

Wei Yuan was stunned, smiled, and said, "I know Wei Yuan, but he doesn't have much ability. Whether he can win the battle depends on us soldiers."

Old man Ge frowned, "You are talking nonsense, young man! Marquis Wei, what kind of person is he? How dare you say anything about him?"

After a pause, he said, "It is said that if a soldier is cowardly, the generals will be cowardly. If there was no Marquis Wei, could we defeat the Liao people? Could we defeat Xixia?"

Wei Yuan said, "Old man, you misunderstood I mean, I mean, the reason why Marquis Wei can win the battle is because we soldiers support him. "

"If we didn't sacrifice our lives and fight against the foreign races, how could Marquis Wei achieve anything?"

"Old man Ge snorted, and even felt that he didn't want to think about the chicken feet in his hand, and threw them directly to Wei Yuan,

"You, a young man, are so perverse, go to practice, don't disturb me to rest."

Wei Yuan was not angry, and said earnestly: "You broke an arm, even if the court asked you to fight again in the future, can you still kill an enemy?"

Old man Ge was stunned, hesitating for a moment, didn't say anything, and simply kept silent.

Wei Yuan said again: "The court asked you to retire, why don't you retire? In the future, can you still fight on the battlefield again?"

Old man Ge took a deep breath and said: "I don't understand what you said? I am just here, this is my home, without a home, where can I go?"

Wei Yuan was silent, not knowing what to say.

After a long time, he slowly stood up and said, "Old man, stay in the army. When you have nothing to do, tell the new recruits about your glorious deeds of killing the enemy. The army will support you, so you don't have to worry about losing your home."

Old man Ge was confused for a moment, and after a moment, he smiled disdainfully.

Who do you think you are?

General Zhong?

If you say you can let me stay in the barracks, I can stay?

Thinking of this, old man Ge sighed and wanted to say something, but saw that Wei Yuan had already walked away.

He shook his head to himself, "Strange boy."

When he was about to close his eyes and rest, he saw Zhong Yi coming. He shuddered and stood up quickly, "General Zhong"

Zhong Yi smiled at him, looked at the chicken leg wrapped in oil paper that Wei Yuan put on the ground, and said, "Such a fat chicken leg, it would be a waste if you don't eat it."

Old man Ge scratched the back of his head, "General, this is not mine, yes, yes."

Zhong Yi smiled and said, "Is it from the soldier just now?"

Old man Ge nodded, "Maybe that kid hasn't eaten meat for a long time, not deliberately not wanting to train."

Zhong Yi said, "From now on, you stay in the army, the army will take care of you, and let those new recruits take care of you in your old age, how about it?"

When these words came out, Old man Ge was stunned for a moment, and then filled with tears, the tears seemed to swirl in his eyes, and after a while, they couldn't stop flowing down.

At this moment, Old Man Ge knelt down and said, "Thank you, General!"

Old soldiers in the army never get sentimental.

It is rare to say thank you.

Zhong Yi helped him up and said, "If you want to thank someone, thank the one who gave you the chicken leg."

For a moment, Old Man Ge was a little stunned. He subconsciously asked:

"Who is that..."

Zhong Yi said seriously: "He is the Champion Marquis, Wei Yuan."

After Zhong Yi left.

After a long time, Old Man Ge was still staring at the chicken leg on the ground in a daze.

No matter what, he didn't believe that the Champion Marquis was just chatting with him.

——

Wei Yuan didn't stay in Yanbian for long.

It was mainly because Xu Changzhi's wedding was coming, and he needed to go back immediately.

Gu Tingye had come here long before he came to Yanbian. He wanted to see Wei Yuan again, but was rejected by Wei Yuan.

Even when Wei Yuan left Yanbian, Gu Tingye didn't dare to show up to see him off.

This time, he came to Yanbian to re-determine the future development strategy of Yanbian.

It was still according to Fan Zhongyan's layout to nibble away at Xixia.

On the way back to the capital, Wei Yuan told Zhong Yi something.

"There are probably many old soldiers like Ge in the army. We need to make proper arrangements and let them have something to rely on."

"I heard that something happened in Yongxing Road. After an old soldier returned home, his daughter-in-law was bullied by a powerful local person. They gave the old soldier a sum of money and let it go."

"The old soldier is greedy for money, but I'm afraid he doesn't dare to redress the grievances of his daughter-in-law. This kind of thing could happen before, but it can't happen now."

Zhong Yi said: "Does Wei Hou mean to kill one to warn the rest?"

Wei Yuan said: "After I return to the court, I will report the matter to the retired soldiers. Old soldiers, especially those who have made great contributions to the country, should be given a set of policies that are beneficial to them. "

"Those soldiers, for the court and for His Majesty, are willing to sacrifice their lives and shed their blood. We must be their backers."

Zhong Yi clasped his fists and said, "I understand. I will write a letter to my brother and ask him to redress the old soldier's grievances."

Wei Yuan nodded, "In the past, the people said that we were dead soldiers and inferior people who took our lives to make money. We must tell them that if we hadn't taken our lives to go forward and continue, there would be no fireworks in this world."

To be honest, he hadn't gone deep into the grassroots for a long time since the end of the war.

In this era of strict class division, it was impossible for him to ensure that every soldier could enjoy the protection of his own life and property.

But he wanted to do one thing as much as possible, that is, the soldiers who did not die under the enemy's blade would never be allowed to die under the oppression of the powerful, or in other words, they would not be allowed to die in vain.

Even Wei Yuan may not have thought that he just wanted to improve the prestige of the soldiers among the people, but he unexpectedly gained the gratitude or loyalty of the soldiers across the country.

This is exactly what he said.

If you treat me with sincerity, I will entrust my life to you.