Chapter 53: Zhenwu Army (Thanks to the book friend luoyunmeng for the reward)
Sitting in the tent, Ye Mingsheng closed his eyes and pursed his lips, like a statue, motionless.

On the surface, Ye Mingsheng was like this, but actually at this moment his heart was filled with emotions, and he couldn't calm down for a long time...
It seemed that Shen Jianzhong was not lying. He came to Liujing specifically to find me. An incense stick of time ago, after he finished talking to me, he immediately hurried out of the city and returned to Liaoyang.

As for what Shen Jianzhong said to him, although the words were few, the amount of information contained in them was enormous.

Just from the fact that most of the official positions in the Zhenwu Army are held by military officers from the Zhaowu Camp, it can be seen that Shangguan Hongyuan wants to establish an army that is loyal only to him!
Could it be that during the palace change, his general Xu Zhaojie sided with Lin Shize and irritated Shangguan Hongyuan? Ye Mingsheng thought silently.

Although it is still unknown what the Prime Minister wants to do by establishing the Zhenwu Army in Liaoyang area, and what his purpose is...
But he really wanted to do this. Ye Mingsheng felt that if he joined the Zhenwu Army, he would be valued, which was a foregone conclusion.

The reason is very simple. Ye Mingsheng also has the background of Zhaowu Camp, which meets the primary requirement for serving as an officer of Zhenwu Army.

Secondly, after the Zhenwu Army was established, it was not easy to recruit soldiers in Liaoyang, because the entire Liaoyang Province was under the influence of Song Wenhui, the governor of Liaoyang, a vassal state of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Over the years, although Shangguan Hongyuan had outstanding means and the Great Zhou Imperial Army was strong, the Great Zhou vassal states, including Song Wenhui, were ostensibly submissive to the court and paid certain taxes to the court every year.

But in reality, they all harbored evil intentions, established small kingdoms in their own territories, and secretly opposed the imperial court.

As the saying goes, "A strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake." Although Shangguan Hongyuan and his imperial guards are strong, they are far away in Luoan. It will be extremely difficult for them to recruit soldiers in Song Wenhui's territory. They will definitely be regarded as a thorn in Song Wenhui's side and will be resisted and suppressed by him in various ways, both overtly and covertly...

Therefore, if one wants to succeed, the first thing to do is to see how determined Shangguan Hongyuan is to establish the Zhenwu Army in the Liaoyang area, and whether he can continue to invest manpower and material resources to persevere when faced with resistance from Song Wenjie.

The second thing is to establish good relations with the powerful and influential aristocratic families in Liaoyang and gain their support and backing.

Among all the aristocratic families in Liaoyang, the three families with the greatest influence and strength are the Yun family, the Gongsun family, and the Cui family!
Therefore, Ye Mingsheng's kinship with Cui was very useful. After all, it was easier to talk to one's own people. With this relationship, Ye Mingsheng's position in the Zhenwu Army naturally rose. As Shen Jianzhong said, it was natural for him to wear the official uniform embroidered with bears and become a fifth-rank military officer!
However, although the benefits are great, the risks of joining the Zhenwu Army are also not small!
Since the 15th year of Emperor Jingdi's Taifeng reign, Song Wenhui has served as the governor of Liaoyang. As of today, this old man has been running Liaoyang for nearly 20 years, and his influence in Liaoyang is deep-rooted and intertwined.

In recent years, in order to deal with the threats from foreign ethnic groups such as the Shiwei and Khitan in Liaoyang and the Luobei outside the country, Song Wenhui had been somewhat warlike and expanded his troops to 100,000, which caused some resentment in Liaoyang, but the 100,000 troops under his command were no joke.

Let's not talk about whether the Zhenwu Army can be established in Liaoyang under the various suppressions and resistances of Song Wenhui, even if it is established and reaches the scale of 30,000 people expected by Shangguan Hongyuan. Then, given the current explosive situation in the Great Zhou, it is possible that these vassal states of the Great Zhou will unite with the aristocratic families headed by Lin Shize to have a final battle with Shangguan Hongyuan.

In this way, the 30,000 Zhenwu troops are in great danger under Song Wenhui's nose. They will inevitably be surrounded and annihilated by Song Wenhui's army at the beginning of the war...

Not only that, although his origin from Liaoyang was a major factor in Ye Mingsheng's rapid rise in the Zhenwu Army, it was also his major weakness.

Song Wenhui, the governor of Liaoyang, has always acted in a despicable and ruthless manner. Ye Mingsheng's family also includes his old mother, who lives in Fengshan County, Liaoyang. If Ye Mingsheng goes to serve in the Zhenwu Army, Song Wenjie will definitely make trouble for his family based on his usual style.

But what would happen if he did not join the Zhenwu Army and followed his original plan and used his connections to transfer to the Hujie Imperial Guards?
With the merit of the surprise attack on Liujing, the court will reward him according to his merits. His official position of seventh rank will definitely be moved up, and he will definitely be promoted to sixth rank. As for whether he can be promoted to sixth rank, it depends on opportunity and money.

After all, the positions in the Hu Jie Imperial Guards are all filled to the rank of rank, and there are no extra positions for an outsider like himself.

Besides, what Shen Jianzhong just said was not alarmist. With Xu Zhaojie's methods and the power of their Xu family in Luoan, even if he retreated from him and was transferred to the Hujie Imperial Guard, he might not be able to escape his clutches.

Ye Mingsheng kept weighing the pros and cons in his mind. Although the risk of serving in the Zhenwu Army was very high, to be honest, in such a chaotic world, there was no permanent solution. What could he do without risk?
If you want to survive in troubled times and live better than others, you have to be stronger than others, and make others fear you!
And there is no doubt that joining the Zhenwu Army is an opportunity for Ye Mingsheng to become stronger. By joining the Zhenwu Army, not only will Ye Mingsheng's official position be promoted, but the number of his soldiers will also increase several times. This is very tempting for Ye Mingsheng...

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng gradually became inclined to serve in the Zhenwu Army, but being cautious by nature, he had not made up his mind.

After thinking for a moment, Ye Mingsheng ordered the guards outside the tent: "Please bring Liu Shilin over to me!"

It is a matter concerning one's life and future, so it cannot be decided lightly. It is always good to find out more about the truth. The Liu family, to which Liu Shilin belongs, has close ties with the Supervisory Office. I think Liu Shilin knows some inside information about this matter.

After about an incense stick of time, Liu Shilin arrived a little late and walked to the outside of Ye Mingsheng's tent. However, Liu Shilin was very surprised to find that this time Ye Mingsheng did not wait for him in the tent as usual, but was waiting for him outside the tent with a smile!
(End of this chapter)