Li Bing continued as if complaining: "I said that I divided the troops, half to guard against Bao Yuchun, and half to deal with the Turks, and those military generals immediately jumped out and raised their noses and eyes. Are they targeting this strategy? No! They are directed against my authority. Because they know that the army is not in my hands, so they can say whatever they want, and make trouble as much as they want! ”

Seeing that the emperor was angry, Murong Xue hurriedly explained: "Your Majesty may have misunderstood. The generals didn't mean to anger Tianwei, but they just had some different ideas about the war and complained slightly. The minister had a special talk with Ma Hongjie, and he also felt remorse for his words, and was about to write a plea for sin. ”

"Tell him that he doesn't have to write, and that he writes in vain." Li Bing waved his hand: "The Southern Army still listens to the tune and doesn't listen to the announcement, what's the use of him Ma Hongjie pleading guilty?" Murong, I have already made up my mind, this time I must first find a way to completely solve the problem of army command, otherwise, no action will be carried out! ”

Murong Xue was slightly stunned: "I don't know how Your Majesty plans to solve the problem of army command?" ”

Li Bing stared at him: "It's very simple, issue a decree to confirm power, all the soldiers and horses in the world, whether it is the Northern Army, the Southern Army, or Li Jiangyao's Western Army, either completely obey my orders, or part ways early, everyone goes their own way, and each other is clean and refreshing!" ”

At the critical moment when he was about to have a decisive battle with the Turks, the emperor actually proposed to establish the ownership of the command of the army, and Murong Xue couldn't help but be stunned: Isn't this a full and idle person who has nothing to do and is in chaos?

He calmed down the turmoil in his heart and persuaded, "Your Majesty, can this matter be discussed later?" The ownership of military power is myriad, and it is by no means something that can be sorted out in a moment and a half, and now the big war is imminent......"

"It is precisely because the big war is imminent that it should be made clear as soon as possible!" Li Bing said in a deep voice: "Murong have you thought about it?" Once the Turks were defeated, the situation in the world changed dramatically, and at that time, two-thirds of the army of the Holy Tang Dynasty was not controlled by the imperial court, and they only had their own main generals in their hearts, and there was no me, how was this different from the rebels? Do you want to see chaos in which the feudal towns are divided and many are ordered to be distributed? ”

Murong Xue frowned: "Your Majesty, of course the minister doesn't want to see this kind of scene." However, with Yichen's understanding of Ma Hongjie and Li Jiangyao, they will never become traitors like Xie Guang who support the army and respect themselves. ”

Li Bing sneered: "People will become." Besides, even if the two people you say are worth trusting, are their men worth trusting? Can you make sure that the commanders of the armies and divisions are not selfish? There have been many secret reports from the Reverse Scale Division recently, all of which involve the violations of discipline by those generals and lieutenants in the army, you say, can the military department control them now? Can I control them? ”

Faced with the emperor's questioning, Murong Xue couldn't answer for a while. He didn't know what problems Tian Mu had found out in the army, let alone which generals and lieutenants had made mistakes. But one thing is certain, Li Bing really can't get the military department and the governor's mansion to punish the troops under Ma Hongjie's command.

The reason is simple, the Yugoslav army does not hang them at all.

Drawing inferences from one another, Ma Hongjie's people are still like this, let alone Li Jiangyao's side. In the Zhenjiang Army, not to mention senior officers like Xu Youchang, Du Jian, and Huo Liya, even if it is an ordinary big-headed soldier, the court has no way to move.

From the emperor's point of view, this situation is indeed both aggrieved and dangerous.

Murong Xue took a deep breath and asked, "Your Majesty, have you ever considered that if the various armies question this after the clear decree is confirmed, do you really want to split with them?" How should the chaos caused by this end? ”

Li Bing smiled indifferently: "I treat you as my own, so I won't hide anything from you." Leave aside the western army for the time being, as for the southern army, I am ninety percent sure that I can make them obediently submit, and from then on they will completely become an army controlled by the imperial court, exactly the same as the soldiers and horses you are commanding now. ”

Murong Xue was curious: "Oh? Your Majesty already has a countermeasure? ”

"Of course." Li Bing looked very confident: "I can't reveal the specific content to you at this time, first, it's more complicated, and second, it's not smart to say it." All you have to know is that it's a safe deal. ”

Murong Xue nodded, and asked again, "Then do you want my troops to make some preparations in advance?" In case something goes wrong......"

Li Bing waved his hand: "No need, just keep it normal." Gong Chengze and Tian Mu are responsible for the guard, and Jin Wuwei of the South Ya and the Reverse Scale Division of the North Ya have their own division of labor. ”

Hearing what the other party said, Murong Xue suddenly realized: It turned out that Li Bing and Gong Chengze had already done all the plans, and they were just waiting for the gradual implementation. He had been staying at the headquarters of Longmen Town before, and he didn't know that the Eastern Capital had secretly undergone earth-shaking changes.

Obviously, this big move on the adjustment of military power this time was mainly aimed at the southern army stationed near Luoyi, and Li Jiangyao's Zhenjiang army was at most a painless will, and it was not even a knock on the mountain and the tiger.

The most ruthless action against the Zhenjiang army was not to adjust the ownership of military power, but to watch them fight against the main Turkic force alone.

Suddenly, a huge wave was set off in the depths of Murong Xue's heart, and the fierce loyalty to Li Bing that had always been unconsciously underwent subtle changes.

-

Li Bing told Murong Xue that he was very sure of taking back the military power of the Southern Army, and he was not blindly confident.

The first to assist him was Concubine Ma Yunfang.

At this time, Concubine Ma Shu, who was already pregnant, had already begun to act against the Jiannan faction of the Southern Army under the instruction of the emperor.

However, her target was not Ma Hongjie, the leader of the Jiannan faction and her own uncle, but the six main generals under Ma Hongjie.

Because Ma Yunfang grew up beside her uncle since she was a child, she has a close relationship with these senior commanders of the Jiannan Provincial Army, either calling her uncle or brother. Taking advantage of the opportunity of the southern army to gather in Luoyi, Ma Yunfang summoned these six generals many times in the name of reminiscing about the old days, and privately made a wish for her husband to win the hearts of the people.

Soon, the Jiannan faction gradually leaned towards Li Bing without Ma Hongjie's half-knowledge.

At the same time, Tian Mu's Reverse Scale Division was also making frequent moves in secret.

Yan Liang, the grandson of Yan Huiqing, the general of the auxiliary state, had three lives in the early years because he fought with people in the Fengyue place, connived at the violence of his family. Later, he relied on the Ganzhou assassination history to cover up and escape the crime of killing his head; And Mi Pei, the general of the town army, and his younger brother Mi Hao frantically annexed land in Zhuzhou, almost stirring up a civil uprising, and also relied on the help of the local government to avoid being held accountable and investigated by the imperial court.

These two cases were in the hands of the Reverse Scale Division, and Yan Liang and Mi Hao both came to Luoyi with the imperial court, so Tian Mu sent people to secretly arrest them, and forced Yan Huiqing and Mi Pei, the two old generals, to agree to support Li Bing's plan by re-interrogating the big case of the year.

For the powerful Lingnan government soldiers, Li Bing personally handled the knife. He casually found an excuse and kicked away Li Xinqi, the prince of Anping County, and renamed Li Xinda, the second son of the old prince Li Chenglin, to inherit the throne of the county king. Because Li Xinda has always followed his father to serve in the army, his influence on the Lingnan soldiers is much stronger than that of his eldest brother Li Xinqi, so through his connections, Li Bing successfully mastered most of the Lingnan factions.

Yin Chengyi and Gong Chengze were also not idle. Relying on their status as generals in the imperial court, they contacted the leaders of those weak small and medium-sized factions in many ways, and quickly achieved remarkable results.

As a result of this series of well-planned political maneuvers hidden in the audience, as soon as the Zhongshu Province promulgated the "Emperor's Order on the Reorganization of the Army," it immediately received a positive response from all troops.

Ma Hongjie was surprised, but he could only accept it helplessly.

The reason is simple, the Southern Army has never been a complete and strong military system, but a loose alliance of local soldiers and horses in the southern state capitals. When Yan Huiqing, Mi Pei, Li Xinda and other generals expressed their support for the emperor's will, the only thing he Ma Hongjie could do was to obey everyone's attitude.

Of course, Li Bing did not remove Ma Hongjie's position as coach. On the contrary, because of Ma Yunfang's relationship, Li Bing was more willing to rely on him, a relative of the imperial family, and continue to control the army.

An army that is truly loyal to itself.

According to the "Order for the Rectification of Troops", the 650,000 troops assembled in Luoyi and the 60,000 horses stationed at Wuguan were reorganized into five legions.

The first one is the Forbidden Army Legion.

The total strength of the regiment was as high as 200,000. The soldiers are all elite soldiers selected from various armies, and they are mixed with infantry and cavalry. The main task of the forbidden army is to defend the emperor and obey the command of Li Bing alone.

The remaining four legions, codenamed Qinglong, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Xuanwu, are respectively.

Among them, there are 120,000 people in the Blue Dragon Legion, and the main general Murong Xue; The White Tiger Legion also has 120,000 people, with Gong Chengze as the main general; 100,000 people in the Suzaku Army, plus 60,000 in Wuguan, and the main general Ma Hongjie; The 100,000 Xuanwu Legion is still dominated by soldiers from the Liaodong Metropolitan Protectorate, the Yinshan Metropolitan Governor's Mansion and the Hebei Provincial Governor's Mansion, and the main general is Chang Tao.

Another 10,000 people were transferred to the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion and commanded by Yin Chengyi.

The 710,000 soldiers and horses, as well as the troops that will be conscripted in the future, are uniformly subject to the control of the imperial court, and carry out the tasks of mobilization, marching, combat, and garrisoning with the tiger talisman issued by the emperor, the military orders issued by the military department, and the inspection and verification of the metropolitan governor's office.

Symbols, orders, and festivals are indispensable, otherwise the unauthorized use of troops will be regarded as rebellion.

At the same time, the "Order to Rectify the Army" did not omit the Zhenjiang Army.

According to the imperial court, the official name of the Zhenjiang Army to the outside world was finally determined as: Shengtang General Town Western Frontier Army, also known as the Phoenix Legion, referred to as the Zhenjiang Army. Li Jiangyao served as the chief general of the corps, and Xu Youchang served as the deputy general and vanguard officer.

Like other legions, the Zhenjiang Army must also accept the unified command of the emperor in accordance with the requirements of the edict and on the basis of the Fu Ling Festival.

Of course, if that is the case, whether Li Jiangyao and the others are willing to listen to it or not, it is not necessarily.

Anyway, Li Bing didn't really expect the Zhenjiang army to be obedient.