At the beginning of the new year, Chang'an, the capital of the Silk Country, welcomed two young generals who returned from Goryeo: Gao Dingbian and Wang Hanxin.

These two young generals, who together have just turned fifty years old, are undoubtedly the hottest figures in the Silk Country today, and they both started as non-commissioned officers and rose all the way up to high-ranking officials. Gao Dingbian became the Sima of the Andong Protectorate from the fourth rank at the age of twenty-seven, and Wang Hanxin became the general of Anyuan under the fifth grade at the age of twenty-four, which is unique in the history of the country of silk, in addition to the promotion of the chief Chang Miao and the love of the emperor Liu Yan, it is enough to show that the two of them do have extraordinary talents. In the entire court of the Silk Country, the only twenty-two-year-old Taiyuan Mansion Governor Liu Xianzhi, who was the same age as them and had a higher official rank than them, was Liu Xianzhi, the king of Zhongyi County, but after all, he was a royal clan, and he was not at the same level as these two from commoners.

Because Gao Dingbian returned to his hometown to become a family, the two generals delayed their trip back to Beijing for the New Year, but Emperor Liu Yan did not feel unhappy at all. Although he very much hoped that they would return to Beijing as soon as possible before appointing them to the strategic position he wanted, Liu Yan had already felt the turbulent undercurrent from the imperial court before he had implemented this appointment.

Liu Yan originally intended to promote these two young generals and let them control the two borders in the northeast, northwest and northwest, so as to further control the military power of the Silk Kingdom in his own hands, so as to prevent the empress and the empress dowager's Wenchen faction from getting involved in the military power. But the matter is clearly there, and everyone understands what is at stake. The north and south camps of the capital, Taiyuan Mansion, Liaodong Protectorate and even the newly captured Anton Protectorate are Liu Yan's people, and Xue Boren, the squire of the military department, has actually replaced Shangshu Anjingbian in real power, if the Youzhou in the northeast and the Linzhou Fengzhou in the northwest are handed over to the people appointed by Liu Yan to take care of, then the vast majority of the empire's army is firmly controlled by Liu Yan's hands, and the other factions can only make some trouble for Liu Yan in the court, and there is no actual threat. Therefore, Liu Yan's appointment was only the first hint of the opposition of various factions, and the reason is also very good - these two generals are too young and not very senior, it is difficult to convince the public, and the state has used troops for many years to cause the government treasury to be empty, if these two higher ranks are given, it will undoubtedly stimulate the soldiers' desire to fight even more, thus increasing the financial pressure. Among them, the Empress Dowager Wenchen's party made the most trouble, and this is not to blame them, Liu Yan pulled down one of their leading figures, the right servant Yan Ming, and gave him a false title of prince and concubine, which was obviously a suppression of them, and as a rebound, they naturally would not agree to Liu Yan's appointment.

The question of age and seniority is not a problem at all in Liu Yan's view. It is very strange that the people of various factions did not raise objections to Liu Yan's appointment of Qiu Yiru, the assassin of Weizhou, to be promoted to the appointment of the servant of the ministry, it stands to reason that Qiu Yiru's qualifications are shallow, he was only admitted to the list six years ago, and he has only been in the position of assassin for only two years, compared to the two generals who have eight years of military experience, he is really a backward generation. But Qiu Yiru was already forty-two years old when he was admitted, and at that time he was a few years older than Wang Hanxin and Gao Dingbian combined, so everyone seems to have a preconceived concept of him, that is, Qiu Yiru is an old talent, a mature official, and those two hairy boys are rising stars, thanks to the emperor's deliberate promotion, they have today's status, and it is really not suitable for them to be added to the knighthood. Liu Yan is really speechless about this, in fact, his promotion speed of Qiu Yiru far exceeds the promotion speed of Gao Dingbian and Wang Hanxin, so this is simply an excuse, and not wanting to be satisfied is their goal. In a sense, the promotion of Qiu Yiru is not only Liu Yan's wishes, but also in line with the interests of the queen's party, so that the Empress Dowager Wenchen and her party are more focused on Wang Hanxin and Gao Dingbian, and put on a momentum of never giving in.

For these reasons, Gao Dingbian and Wang Hanxin's tardiness is a good thing for Liu Yan, because after the Chinese New Year, the two of them are also a year older, and Liu Yan will face less pressure relatively speaking.

Gao Dingbian did not have a mansion in the capital, so it was natural that he stayed in Wang Hanxin's General Anyuan's mansion, plus Zhou Siyi and the Chen brothers, and General Anyuan's mansion suddenly became lively. The adopted children in the house parted from Wang Hanxin for two years, and they all enthusiastically reported to their father-in-law and Zhou Siyi what they had learned in the past two years.

But after returning to Beijing for a few days, not to mention that the emperor did not summon the two brothers, and there was no news of urging them to report to the military department, the two couldn't help but be confused, so they privately visited their old commander, Xue Boren's mansion to inquire about the situation.

"I didn't expect that. It seems that the capital is really a place of right and wrong, and it is better to live a comfortable life in Liaodong and Goryeo. Gao Dingbian sighed sincerely.

Wang Hanxin hugged his shoulders and sneered a few times, and said: "It seems that Wu Shaoqing and I have not been in the capital in the past two years, and Lord Shilang has also been ordered to fight. It's just strange that now that we're all here, why didn't Your Majesty summon us to turn this situation around? ”

Seeing that Wang Hanxin was ashamed to include himself in the ranks of the ministers, Xue Boren couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "Your Majesty has your own plans, why should you speculate on yourself?" I am afraid that I will not see you two now, so as to show those people that His Majesty has been pressured to snub you two, so that they can relax their guard. The two of you have just returned to the capital, and it is the time when your eyes are darkened, and it is also good to give you some time to grasp the situation. ”

"This is also true, Your Majesty must have a deep meaning in doing this." Gao Dingbian listened and nodded yes.

Wang Hanxin was unconvinced: "I can't even see each other, even if we have a way, we can't let Your Majesty know." ”

Xue Boren smiled: "What are you in a hurry for this kid? I don't believe you've got a plan for it. Don't be in a hurry, the envoy of Tibet will enter Beijing in the near future, and His Majesty will definitely let the wine and banquet be set up, and gather a large number of ministers to welcome the envoy of Tibet. ”

Since the old chief said so, Wang Hanxin couldn't say anything more, so the two got up and said goodbye.

When he came to the street, Gao Dingbian said: "This is the second time I have come back to the capital, and I haven't had a good time last time." Taking advantage of the time now, why don't you take me to the capital for a good walk, anyway, haven't you also worked as a street patrolman, there is no one more familiar than you here, right? ”

Gao Dingbian's words inadvertently reminded Wang Hanxin, Wang Hanxin's eyes suddenly lit up, and he said, "There is!" We just went to him, and no one could have imagined that we could get a message through him. ”

Gao Ding was confused and asked, "What are you talking about?" ”

Wang Hanxin grimaced, lowered his voice and said, "Do you know that Your Majesty has a favorite concubine who has been named a concubine?" This person must have seen His Majesty often, and we can send messages to His Majesty through her. ”

"Don't talk nonsense, won't Concubine Li leak the news?"

"No problem, first of all, after she was reprimanded by His Majesty, she never asked about political affairs, nor did she make friends with powerful people, and people of all factions couldn't follow her path."

"Then why did Concubine Li speak for you? Could it be that I have a crush on you? Gao Dingbian said sarcastically.

Wang Hanxin said angrily: "Fart! Who can look at me like this? She has a younger brother named Mi Yiguo, and when I was a street patrolman, he was beaten up by me. We asked him to send a message to his sister, and no one could have imagined that we could follow the path of Mi Yiguo. ”

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, I heard you right. You beat up someone's brother, and let someone's brother pass the word for you? Does your logic make sense? ”

Wang Hanxin glanced at his righteous brother and said meaningfully: "The art of war is unexpected, her younger brother is a coward, if you dare not listen to me, I will beat him again!" And I beat him in the capital for a day, does he dare to resist? ”

Gao Ding rolled his eyes and said, "Only you can say this kind of bastard logic." (To be continued.) )