In the Central Guard Army, those with high qualifications are called Guard Generals, and they are classified as generals with various titles.
When it was first established, its responsibilities were to be in charge of the military staff and to coordinate various ministries. Later, its responsibilities evolved to be in charge of the Imperial Army, to be president of the generals, to preside over the selection of military attaches, and to supervise and control the generals.
Inferior position, but weight.
The power of "selecting military attachés" alone makes it extremely easy to use the opportunity to recruit talents for the country, cheat for personal gain, and create a military force loyal to oneself.
Therefore, this position cannot be filled by anyone but a confidant.
For example, after Sun Ce's death in Jiangdong, Zhou Yu took charge of all affairs with Zhang Zhao, the chief military officer, as the central guard of the army.
For example, after the death of Liu Bei, the first emperor of the Han Dynasty, Zhao Yun took the post of Zhonghujun and was in charge of the imperial palace and the Anjing region.
Now, Zheng Pu, who planned to seize the Yin fortress and personally led the army to respond, resigned from the post of General Pingbei and was appointed as the Central Protector of the Army.
Not to mention Zheng Pu himself, other officials and officials of the Han Dynasty were dumbfounded after hearing about such an appointment.
Not only were they surprised by Zheng Pu's good fortune, but they were even more surprised by Prime Minister Zhuge Liang's boldness!
Of course!
All the officials in the imperial court felt that the prime minister was too daring to delegate power through this promotion.
Although Zheng Pu's official position was changed from a general with a heavy title to a miscellaneous title, which seemed to be a demotion, in fact, he held such authority that even the former general Wei Yan had to sigh that "the descendants are to be feared."
Let’s talk about the position of Sima in the Prime Minister’s Office first.
This duty is to supervise military affairs and lead troops in battles for the prime minister. His authority is roughly equivalent to that of the long history in charge of government affairs.
Among all the assistants and assistants of the prime minister's office, he is second only to the three positions of front, middle and rear military advisors.
Moreover, under the entrustment of the late emperor, the prime minister opened the palace to manage affairs, led the government, and integrated the palace and the palace into one body. The ministers and assistants in the prime minister's palace also had a low and powerful position.
For example, the current governor of the Imperial Household, Shi Jiang Wan, almost also has the authority of the Minister of Public Affairs.
Secondly, it is to serve as a servant.
His duties were to serve the emperor, go in and out of the palace, and learn about government affairs.
Nowadays, Emperor Liu Chan delegates government affairs to the Prime Minister's Palace and rarely makes independent decisions. Therefore, granting Zheng Pu an "increased official position" is regarded as a sign of favor.
But what is shocking is that the prime minister did not apply for this position for Zheng Pubiao.
It was ordered by Emperor Liu Chan.
The reason is that the emperor often corresponded with Zheng Pu in these years and often consulted on matters in private, so he gave him an official position.
In other words, as the two major power centers of the Han Dynasty, Zheng Pu was favored by both the Prime Minister and the Imperial Palace!
Finally, combined with the power of the Central Guard Army to "select military attachés", the younger generation of generals in the future will all be promoted by Zheng Pu, and all the courtiers have realized that the prime minister and the emperor are interested in assisting Zheng Pu's career!
It is not necessarily the authority that succeeds the prime minister.
In the future, the emperor will completely rule personally, and the Han Dynasty will no longer have the position of prime minister.
But according to this scenario, Zheng Pu would, with the emperor's trust, become the person in charge of the country's military power.
For example, if you hold positions such as Grand Sima, Grand General or Taiwei, you will definitely be able to occupy one.
But now, Zheng Pu is only twenty-eight!
Even if this person is extremely talented, there is no need to make a conclusion so early, right?
In addition, Zheng Pu had a reputation in the past as "retribution for evil will be repaid". Now, at such a young age, he has the power to control Zang Fei. If he develops a willful attitude, will it be a blessing for me as a man?
A deeper consideration shows that Zheng Pu was a scholar from Yizhou.
With the power to select military attaches, it is really easy to cultivate your own power!
With this idea in mind, when the prime minister asked the Chengdu courtiers to discuss the memorial, many people did not explicitly say that Zheng Pu was not worthy. Instead, they tactfully suggested that the underachievers should be promoted and should not be done too hastily, lest it turn into robbing seedlings and encouraging others.
Even Zheng Pu's brother, Zheng Yan, who was recently appointed as the prefect of Wenshan, wrote to the court several times in a row claiming that it was not possible, let alone other experienced ministers who wanted to seek the country.
Naturally, there are people who agree.
For example, Zhao Tong, Zhang Biao, Fa Miao and Ma Su, who had moved to Yizhou to govern Zhongzhong, etc.
However, these people's resumes are not deep and they have little influence on government affairs.
The person who really made the final decision and stopped the other courtiers from refuting was Grand Secretary Nong Li Yan.
When the courtiers were discussing, asking the prime minister not to promote Zheng Pu too far on the grounds that he was too young, the emperor Liu Chan, who had already begun to handle some of the affairs of the court, asked Li Yan, who was also in charge of the court, what he thought about this
Opinion.
Li Yan thought it was feasible.
And added: "Since the Prime Minister invited me, why should your Majesty have any doubts!"
As soon as he said these words, the courtiers were all silent.
No matter whether he can no longer hold the military power or he moves to the left and takes up a casual position, no matter what, it cannot change Li Yan's status as a lonely and important minister entrusted by the late emperor.
Now that the two trusted ministers have spoken with the same voice, what reason do they have for persuasion?
After hearing this, Emperor Liu Chan raised his eyebrows slightly.
Immediately, he laughed.
He suddenly remembered that after Li Yan returned to Chengdu, he often invited him to sit in the palace to chat, and he also mentioned the Xiaoguan epidemic in the chat.
When he heard about it at that time, he couldn't believe it and wrote a private letter to Zhang Bao to confirm it.
Therefore, since both the Prime Minister and Li Yan claimed that they could promote Zheng Pu, there was nothing to worry about.
If a person who does not cherish his own feathers, does not care about the harm to his moral character, but only seeks to benefit the country, cannot be regarded as a loyal minister, then who else can trust him!
This little incident was the reason why he was appointed as Zheng Puga's servant.
Since the prime minister had strongly recommended it, as the emperor, he also expressed his support.
Let the other courtiers know that Zheng Pu is not only the prime minister's gift, but also the emperor's heart.
When word of this appointment reached Longyou, there was not much trouble.
The soldiers who have been on the front line for a long time certainly know the importance the Prime Minister attaches to Zheng Pu, and Zheng Pu has always planned and planned since he joined the expedition, and he has left almost nothing behind.
There is nothing strange about being rewarded for meritorious service in the army.
After Zheng Pu received the edict, he was also at ease.
If we only talk about "knowing people", who in the world today is more unpredictable than him?
Moreover, the official position that the Prime Minister invited him to this time is still in charge of military affairs and does not involve government affairs, just as he wished.
After the news spread, Zhang Yan complained more than once, saying that during this period, more and more people came to visit or give gifts for various reasons, which was very annoying.
It is inevitable after being involved in power decision-making.
In early August, Zheng Pu and his retinue rushed to the western foot of Liupan Mountain, where Prime Minister Zhuge chose to camp.
This place has undulating hills, criss-crossing ravines, and criss-crossing beams and mountains. It is already very cold in autumn, and the temperature difference between day and night is very large, making it very easy to catch wind and cold.
Due to the many mountains and few rivers, and year-round drought, there are not many people here.
Looking around, there are only some half-dead birches, oak trees, aspens and willows on the bare mountains. The new wind roaring from the north sweeps away the loess and withered leaves flying all over the sky, making people think of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
In "Autumn Wind Ci", "The autumn wind blows and white clouds fly, and the grass and trees turn yellow and the wild geese return south."
When setting up camp in a place like this, the most important thing is water.
The prime minister, who was supervising the 50,000-strong army coming from the north, divided the troops into two.
Among them, the 40,000 soldiers and horses he led camped along the tributaries of Wushui (Qingshui River), relying on Wuhan Iron and Steel chariots.
There is no quarrying, logging, etc. to strengthen the village wall.
Because when necessary, the Prime Minister would kill Gaoping City along the tributary valleys to cut off the grain road to the Wei Dynasty.
Another 10,000-step cavalry camped along a tributary of the Changli River.
Zheng Pu is quite familiar with this place.
When the Han Dynasty first sent troops to Longyou, the place where he and Ma Su led the army to guard was more than fifty miles behind.
In the past, Zhang He, who rebelled against the Wei Dynasty, led his cavalry around and passed through this place to meet up with Wei Ping and others.
Yes, the reason why the Prime Minister sent tens of thousands of people to camp here is to prevent the counter-Wei Dynasty Cao Zhen from sending people to attack the rear of Xiaoguan; and to coordinate the Wu Ban tribe stationed in Ayang City to jointly prevent the counter-Wei Dynasty commander from driving into Lueyang to attack Longguan
The possibility of Tao.
But now in the camp, there are 1,500 field soldiers commanded by Liu Min, the headquarters of Zhou Taigang, which has been expanded to 3,000, and Liu Lin's 500 heavy infantry.
Liu Min, who once served as the guard of the Xuanwu Army, once again became Zheng Pu's general.
The reason is that Zhang Te, who replaced Zhang Bao to lead the armored cavalry, and Liang Yuanbi, who was familiar with the Wushui River Valley, were temporarily deployed by the prime minister to join the Chinese army. They only need to hold on here, and there is no use for them to stay here.
The other five thousand cavalry were the Qiang protection camp under Jiang Wei's command.
It will take him more than ten days to arrive.
After circling behind and attacking the Yin fortress, Jiang Wei's headquarters only had more than 2,000 men left.
Therefore, after he returned to Longyou, he was ordered by the Prime Minister to return to the horse ranch in Lintao, Longxi, and recruit Qiang and Hu tribesmen to join the Qiang protection camp.
The recruitment process was quite smooth.
First, Jiang Wei is now very famous among the Qiang tribe.
They were determined to dominate by force and were proud to die in battle. They felt that the life of following Jiang Wei and fighting was much more exciting than staying in the river valley to herd cattle and sheep.
On the other hand, the Prime Minister used some tricks to allow the white-horse Qiang and the Qiang tribe leaders in the Huangshui River Valley. Not only did they not prevent the tribesmen from leaving, but they encouraged them to become loyal followers of the Han Dynasty.
In order to expand the share of trade items with the Han Dynasty, such as water spirits, hawksbill turtles, worms, clam beads and coral trees, etc.
However, in the war horse trade, the prime minister used the flashy and unreal things that Soochow used to supplement grain and fodder as a reward from the imperial court to the Qiang and Hu tribes.
These rare items, which are not found in the northwest, are highly sought after by the nobles of the Qiang and Hu tribes.
In fact, many tribal nobles are willing to pay two hundred sheep or three war horses just to buy a good-quality clam bead.
But it still has a price but no market.
Prime Minister Zhuge, who once compared himself to Guan Zhong, naturally would not ignore such a good opportunity to collect wealth for the country.
Dang even strictly controlled the circulation of these flashy materials in Soochow, and followed the principle of "things are rare and valuable" and sold these items only to tribes friendly to the Han Dynasty.
In addition to maintaining healthy trade, it can also appease the local area.
Now that Jiang Wei has recruited troops, benefits will come.
No matter which tribe, as long as ten tribesmen are willing to join the army, the Han court will give an extra clam bead to their leader as a reward for their "loyalty to the emperor and patriotism".
Therefore, there are so many people applying for the Qiang camp.
However, Jiang Wei's delay in arriving was due to the delay in settling the families of the new soldiers.
However, the smooth recruitment of soldiers does not mean that Zheng Pu and Jiang Wei can sit back and relax in holding on to their other camps.
Of the total ten thousand people under their command, only three to four tenths are veterans who have experienced war!
The combat capability is worrisome.
If there is enough time, the old soldiers lead the new soldiers to practice martial arts, and they work together to form a battle formation. With the abilities of Jiang Wei and Zheng Pu, they will definitely be able to get an elite division in the future.
But if Ni Wei directly attacks in a large scale, and the battle damage exceeds two or three levels, I am afraid that there will be a collapse in morale.
Will Cao Zhen, the commander-in-chief of Wei Wei, send his troops to attack this other camp?
When Jiang Wei arrived with his army, he had been discussing this issue with Zheng Pu, deducing how to deal with the worst outcome.
Even after each deduction, both of them couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Autumn, mid-August.
Cao Zhen, who had already led the Chinese army to station outside Gaoping City, listened carefully to the scouts' inquiries about the military situation.
When he learned that the Han army's other camp on the tributary of Changli River was flying the flags of Zheng Pu and Jiang Wei, a cold light suddenly flashed in his eyes.
