Volume 1 I Want to Be an Emperor Chapter 25 Bits and Pieces

  Zheng Jinwu, in charge of the Zhongwei Temple, is responsible for patrolling the palace city and the capital's security, preventing fires, and putting out fires if they occur. Additionally, he is also in charge of managing the armory and cleaning up stored military equipment.

  It looks like it's not very impressive at first glance, but what about in reality?

  Zi Jinwu, the commander of the Imperial Guard, died, and there were also 200 Ti cavalrymen, which was a force in the capital that could not be ignored.

  Dong Zhuo would allow Huangfu Song to take charge of the Central Barracks like this? Of course not, he agreed only because the Central Barracks had already been controlled by Dong Zhuo himself.

  It was those 200 cavalrymen that he didn't dare to touch, because they belonged to the direct subordinates of the Golden Guard, and could only think of a way to insert their own people into the Zhongwei Temple and control this part of the troops.

  Apart from this, Zhong Wei Temple is not a place worth paying attention to.

  Most importantly, unless there are any unexpected events, the Golden Guard, apart from these ordinary soldiers responsible for maintaining law and order, does not have the power to command troops - of course, if the Emperor issues an edict ordering the Golden Guard to lead the army into battle, that would be a different story. Coincidentally, Huangfu Song is a famous general who excels at military campaigns and battles, and without any soldiers under his command, he really doesn't pose much of a threat.

  Throwing Huangfu Song into this position, Dong Zhuo can also be at ease, without worrying that the Son of Heaven will again use the name of Huangfu Song to rectify military preparations and confront himself.

  Although Liu Xuan is not good at these intrigues, he can also see that this obvious thing: Huangfu Song is a very famous loyal minister and imperial party. If he is given a position to command troops, even a fool can see that the emperor wants to seize the army, so it's better to put him in an inconspicuous position first and hide for a while.

  Besides, being the Commander of the Imperial Guard is not that unbearable, it all depends on how Huangfu Song manages it.

  It is not known whether it was the imperial courtiers who were frightened by Liu Xuan's gesture of handing over the Tiger and Leopard Army to Dong Zhuo, or what happened. After the matter of Huangfu Song was finished, no one came forward to speak again, they all sat there in silence, only lowering their heads and sitting quietly.

  At this time, Liu Xuan finally had the leisure to take a look at all these officials, and found that there was a large patch of people kneeling down below, but he only recognized two or three familiar faces, and after looking for a while, he felt bored and could only talk to those few familiar people.

  After a few words, seeing that there was nothing more to say, he directly announced the dismissal of the court. These officials immediately retreated and disappeared in groups of three or five. Liu Xuan estimated that after today's performance, these people would go back and discuss their next move.

  Dong Zhuo left directly, his newly recognized adopted son Lü Bu still guarded him by his side, but the joy on his face was quite obvious, apparently very satisfied with his promotion to the position of Hu Bao Zhonglang General.

  Liu Xuan thought to himself, "Lü Bu values his own interests, later we can entice him with benefits and then persuade him with fame and prestige. It's not difficult for him to turn against Dong Zhuo. However, it's troublesome to bind this person to the imperial court."

  Lü Bu is a man of changeable temperament, and his ears are extremely soft. When someone comes to persuade him, he will immediately be moved by their words. If Liu Xuan were to reuse him, it would be impossible for him not to lead troops outside in the future. At that time, if the other side sends an envoy to persuade him, can he personally rush to Lü Bu's side and kill the envoy in an instant?

  Moreover, placing ears and eyes beside Lü Bu is also not good, as this would easily lead to being caught in a trap.

  Rubbed his chin, suddenly remembered that he still had a sister, and that sister was also living in the imperial palace all along, very low-key, only when the previous emperor was alive did she seal a princess of Wan years, apart from this it seemed as if there was no such person.

  "If he is married to Lü Bu, then Lü Bu would also be a relative of the emperor. Would opposing me, the Son of Heaven, not be the same as opposing himself?"

  The royal family will marry off the princess and then win over capable ministers, it seems there is no precedent for this either. It's just a matter of whether or not this person is worth winning over. As a member of the royal family, I suppose my sister has already come to realize this - only she didn't expect the previous emperor wouldn't use this trick, and instead benefited him.

  Thinking of this matter, Liu Xuan thought of Cai Yong's daughter again.

  "I only knew that Cai Yong had a daughter who was both talented and beautiful, but I forgot to ask how old his daughter is this year!"

  Liu Xuan hadn't gone far from the Deyang Hall when he found a quiet place to sit for a while. Before long, someone brought Cao Cao before him.

  Liu Xuan turned his head to glance at the attendant who was leading the way. The man was about thirty years old, and although he wasn't particularly handsome, he had a unique air about him. His eyes seemed to hold a hint of divine light - a trait often seen in people with great wisdom. Liu Xuan's curiosity got the better of him, and he asked, "What is your name?"

  "Your subject Xun Yu, also known as Xun Gongda, is currently a Gentleman of the Yellow Gate!"

  The Huangmen Shilang, although having the two characters "Huangmen", is not a eunuch. However, its scope of authority overlaps with that of eunuchs - responsible for liaison between the palace and the outside, such as when the emperor wants to summon a certain minister, it is usually the Huangmen Shilang who goes out of the palace to notify him and leads him into the palace to meet the emperor.

  At the same time when the palace gate was closed at sunset, the ones responsible for locking the door were also the Huangmen Shilang. Apart from this, they had to attend the emperor closely and hold the canopy behind him when he went out, truly being the closest ministers of the Son of Heaven.

  Liu Xuan nodded slightly and didn't make any strange movements, then withdrew his gaze and began to size up Cao Cao who had come with Xu Shu.

  At this time, Cao Cao obtained Liu Xuan's refining method, and every day he diligently cultivated it, assisted by famous and expensive medicinal materials, and actually had a significant change!

  Cao Cao was originally only seven feet tall, according to Liu Xuan's habit of calculation, that is, 1.61 meters tall, at most with a little headroom.

  Cao Cao's height is at least 1.65 meters, although it still hasn't reached today's 'average level'. But think about it, he has only been practicing for a short time and has already achieved such results, Cao Cao can have great expectations for his future.

  It's also unclear whether this is related, but Cao Cao became even more affectionate when talking to Liu Xuan. If there was something that could test the degree of fondness at this time, Liu Xuan would find that the value had increased several times compared to when he first met Cao Cao.

  "What has happened to the Feathered Forest Army now?"

  After dismissing the irrelevant people, Liu Xuan directly discussed the thing that he was most concerned about at present.

  Yu Linjun is his foundation. Only when Yu Linjun is in his hands can he wait more comfortably for the arrival of the great chaos in the world.

  "At present, the Youlin Guards are not yet fully manned, and there are only a handful of Youlin Lang, but recruitment has already begun, and it won't be long before the Youlin Army can be reorganized!"

  Weilin Lang is what is called Weilin Gu Er, with a full staff of 128 people, to some extent also serving as the emperor's direct guard.

  The Huben Army was a cavalry corps, also known as the Feathered Forest Cavalry, divided into two divisions, the Left and Right Divisions, each led by the Left and Right Monitors of the Feathered Forest, with 800 to 900 men in each division.

  The current Imperial Guard is now only over a thousand men strong due to several major upheavals and the incompetence of its previous commanders, with many vacancies in both the Left and Right Wings.

  Cao Cao went to the training grounds for a few days and inspected them. He found that even with the remaining people, not all of them could be kept, at least half had to be dismissed. In this way, there were only three or four hundred usable men, let alone a full complement, not even half enough.

  However, the problem of soldiers is easy to solve. Today's chaos has already appeared, and there have been many natural disasters in the past two years. Many people can't even eat a meal, so if they can join the army and get food, they will be very happy to enlist.

  Cao Cao's plan was to select robust men from among the large number of civilians and enlist them in the Imperial Guard, as for training, that could be discussed later, at least they had to put up a show first.

  Secondly, although the Yulin Army was under Cao Cao's command, the ones who actually led the troops were the two Yulin Left and Right Monitors. Without trusted personnel, even if Cao Cao had set up a platform, it would have been for someone else to use.

  "Is there a suitable candidate?"

  Cao Cao brought up the matter at this time: "I previously sent a letter to my clan, and four brothers from my clan came one after another. These four people are all familiar with bows and horses, and they understand military strategies."

  "Oh!" Liu Xuan listened and asked intentionally: "What's it called?"

  "Namely Cao Ren, styled Zi Xiao; and Cao Hong, styled Zi Lian. They are my clansmen and brothers, and upon receiving the news, they immediately rushed to the capital!"

  "There were also Xiahou Dun, styled Yuanshu; and Xiahou Yuan, styled Miaocai, who arrived later. These two men are also of the same clan as me." Cao Cao's father was originally surnamed Xiahou, but was adopted by Cao Teng, so the Xiahou family is also Cao Cao's original family. "I intend to have Xiahou Yuanshu and Cao Zixiao each command a division, and quickly reorganize the Imperial Guard!"

  Liu Xuan nodded, these people were all later Cao Wei generals, now they are just the heads of a few hundred riders, there shouldn't be any problem. Moreover, since these people were recommended by Cao Cao, if he says something inappropriate, it will ruin the relationship with Cao Cao that has been established with great difficulty. So even if these people don't have much talent, as long as they are average, they should still be used to maintain a good relationship with Cao Cao.

  After a while, Cao Cao didn't ask Liu Xuan about the intention of letting Lü Bu take charge of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry at all. With Cao Cao's intelligence, if he couldn't see through this much, was he still the Cao Cao that Liu Xuan knew?

  So the topic of the two people directly jumped to the next link: "Lü Bu's control of the Tiger and Leopard Brigade is harmless to the overall situation, but Your Majesty still needs to use some means to make a show for the officials in the court. Otherwise, even if Dong Zhuo is killed, there will be no one available in the future."

  Liu Xuan nodded, and in this regard, he was ultimately not as perceptive as Cao Cao. After some thought, he couldn't think of anyone suitable, so he asked Cao Cao: "Does Meng De have any recommendations?"

  Cao Cao nodded: "Xu Wu's son, Huangfu Shoujian, has a good reputation and is also an old acquaintance of Dong Zhuo. I think Dong Zhuo won't oppose it!"

  Liu Xuan heard this and thought that Cao Cao's suggestion was indeed good. It could not only add to Dong Zhuo's troubles, but also prevent him from erupting in anger, while at the same time showing some of the court officials who wanted to confront Dong Zhuo the emperor's attitude - that the Son of Heaven still wanted to make concessions to the overbearing and autocratic Dong Zhuo.

  More importantly, it can also give Dong Zhuo a thorough control of the Hu Bao army to create some trouble and gain more time for himself.

  He nodded, and the matter was settled. As for how to get Dong Zhuo to agree to send Huangfu Song to the Huabing Army, that was Cao Cao's job. Liu Xuan didn't need to worry about these things, he just needed to issue an edict.

  After Cao Cao left, Liu Xuan looked at the thin figure who had led Cao Cao out of the imperial city and waved his hand to Zhang Rang, who was waiting beside him: "Do you understand that Yellow Gate Gentleman, Xun Gongda?"

  Roll over and beg