The emperor's imperial guards are about to arrive at Linshuo Palace, and everyone is doing their best to welcome the guards. The atmosphere in Jicheng is tense and warm.

In order to prevent accidents, Xue Shixiong repeatedly warned Wang Bian to restrain the soldiers in the northwest. Wang Bian ordered that no one would be allowed to leave the barracks, otherwise he would be severely punished. In fact, even without Xue Shixiong's warning and Wang Bian's orders, the soldiers in the northwest dared not leave the barracks. This place was too strange to them, and they were blinded. Not only did they not understand the situation, but they could not even understand the language. There was still a big difference between the speeches of the Northwest people and Youyan and Hebei people. In addition, there were complicated languages, numerous dialects, Chinese Turkic and Xianbei languages, etc., and native Northwest people like Jiang Chengzhi and Lu Long, and Hu people with the surnames of Ashina Hebao, basically cannot communicate normally with people from other regions.

Since Xue Shixiong was worried that the soldiers in the northwest would cause trouble for no reason, he would naturally not rely solely on suppression measures, and should also give some benefits to comfort them if appropriate. Therefore, the next day, the right Houwei Guard sent fine wine and food to the military camp as a reward. In addition, a team of musicians and dances were sent to cheer up the soldiers to relieve the fatigue and resentment accumulated by the long journey, and of course it was also suspected of winning people's hearts.

Wang Bian was worried. He was very old and had many military achievements. He was just because he was from a poor family and his career was blocked. This was an opportunity. The failure of the first Eastern Expedition caused a severe blow to the Twelve Guards. Now both the military and officers were seriously insufficient. The second Eastern Expedition had begun. The Guards urgently needed officers and guards with rich combat experience, especially the newly built Xiaoguo Army, which was formed according to the requirements of the First Imperial Army, so it was especially necessary for brave and war-friendly soldiers. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Wang Bian, but relying solely on the recommendation of the old general was obviously not enough. Wang Bian was not satisfied with standing still and did not want to continue to be a fifth-rank intermediate officer. He wanted to be promoted to one level, to obtain a fourth-rank military position, and to jump into the ranks of senior officers in one go.

After inheriting the Grand Tutor, the first reform of the official system was carried out. The focus of the official system reform was on title ranks. The biggest feature of the reform of title ranks is "reducing titles and reducing titles".

For example, in the past, kings, princes, dukes, county dukes, county dukes, marquis, bons, sons, and male ninth grades were retained. After the reform, only the kings, dukes, and marquis were retained. What’s more, only those who were meritorious could have titles and inherited, and those who were not meritorious would have all been reduced. In the past, the honorary officials were from the governor to the throne, the eleventh grade, and the eighth rank, and the seventh grade, and the eighth rank, were all dismissed after the reform. After the reform, the honorary officials were completely abolished, and the scattered officials were from the first rank to the ninth rank, and only the nineth rank and eighth rank were appointed. In the past, the military officers at Yingyang Mansion were the fourth rank, and after the reform, they were demoted to the fifth rank.

Which class in the empire has the most titles and the highest titles? Which class has the most scattered officials and the highest rank? Which class occupies the positions of military officers with high rank? They are the powerful families, especially the Guanlong prominent families.

Now in the reform of title and rank, the title and rank rank have been simplified, the system of honorary officials has been abolished, and the military officers have been reduced. At the same time, the rank of local officials has been greatly improved by the reason of "changing states into counties", trying to gain support from local forces to ensure the progress of reform. This fact is that the power and wealth of the empire has been redistributed, and the power and wealth of the central and local, central and military, central and noble families, and the power and wealth of all classes of other society have been redistributed. The purpose of redistribution is to plunder the power and wealth of the aristocratic families and plunder the power and wealth of the local and military. The emperor and his followers are like roaring tigers, rushing into the wolf pack without hesitation with the invincible force of the blocker, fearing death and "robbing".

According to the current rank, only kings, dukes, marquis, meritorious veterans and priests are qualified to be ranked first and second rank, third and fourth rank are the central government, local and military senior officials, fifth and sixth rank are intermediate officials, seventh and eighth rank are all lower-level officials. The fifth rank in the army is the main position of Yingyang Mansion, one guard is about 60 Yingyang Mansions, plus this level of imperial guard officers and subordinate officials of the guard office, and there are also 190 local officers in the imperial guard team. There are more than 1,000 intermediate officers in the entire imperial team. Moreover, there are more than 1,000 intermediate officers in the fifth rank, and further, from the fourth rank Wuyalang General, plus this level of imperial guard officers, and some local lieutenants in the county, there are less than 150 people. The ratio between fifth rank officials and fourth rank officials exceeds 7 to 1, which shows how difficult it is to cross from a fifth rank official to a fourth rank official.

Wang Bian now wants to overcome this insurmountable "hook". After passing this "hook", his identity, status, power and wealth have all made a qualitative leap. If he goes well in his life, he can still benefit his descendants. It is precisely because of this idea that he has a strong heart that he has been confused. For several months, he has racked his brains to find ways, and he has become haggard, melancholy, often frowning, and worried about gains and losses.

Zhaowu Qu Shuzhi is also anxious.

Escape from the Turkic tent in the Western Land to the Great Sui Palace in the Middle Land, and from the Suiyechuan to Jicheng, although it was thousands of miles apart and had experienced hardships, this was just the first step for him to realize his dream of restoring his country.

He was very grateful to Shi Penglai. If he hadn't Shi Penglai, he wouldn't have met Jialan. If he hadn't met Jialan, he would not have escaped the pursuit of the Turks, and he would not have been able to enter Middle-earth and be summoned by the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty. The Emperor of the Sui Dynasty was about to arrive, and he would have met the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty and seek help from the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty. This is the most critical step. Whether the dream of restoring the country can be realized depends entirely on the results of this interview. Of course, the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty could not have made a promise when he first met. Whether to help him restore the country depends on the specific situation and how the central government decides. But if Zhaowu Qushuzhi impressed the emperor and the central ministers during the first interview, and the empire used helping Zhaowu Qushuzhi to restore the country as an important part of the Western Land strategy, then the situation would be very beneficial to him.

Jialan once predicted that the Zhaowu Qushuzhi would definitely restore the country within three years, and helped Zhaowu Qushuzhi to formulate a framework strategy for three years. If nothing unexpected happens, when Zhaowu Qushuzhi met the Emperor of the Great Sui Dynasty, that is, when the two broke up, they all rely on Zhaowu Qushuzhi to "fight" alone.

This strategy is based on Galan's prediction of the situation in the West. Zhaowu Qu Shuzhi had no relatives and no support, so he could only choose to believe Galan in order to seek initiative. Only in this way can Galan help him again, that is, introduce him to Pei Shiju.

Pei Shiju is the Huangmen Minister of Menxia Province and the deputy chief of Menxia Province. The responsibilities of Menxia Province are to review it when the Neishi Province formulates a national policy. For example, when the Neishi Province conquers Goryeo, the Neishi Province first makes a decision and decides to launch an attack. Menxia Province conducts review. If Menxia Province believes that this strategy is not in line with the interests of the empire or has major flaws, then Menxia Province will provide evidence and then reject it. If Menxia Province passes the review, it is necessary to conduct an internal court discussion in Shangdu Province. The emperor and the chief ministers of the three provinces, as well as some veterans who participated in the discussion, such as the Three Dukes, the First and Second Military Commander, then approve it and then hand it over to Shangdu Province for implementation. Some major decisions related to the survival of the empire also need to concentrate the civil and military officials of the Taiwan Pavilion to conduct a major court discussion, including seeking the opinions of third-rank local officials such as Jingzhao Yin, Henan Yin, and Jiangdu Yin.

At the core decision-making level of the empire today, its main members are the emperor and the "five nobles" of the current dynasty, namely the General of the Left Guard, Yu Wenshu, Yu Shiji, the Minister of the Inner History, Nayan Su Wei, the Minister of the Huangmen Pei Shiji, and the Chief Censor Pei Yun. The core of the core are Yu Shiji, the Minister of the Inner History, and Pei Shiji, the Minister of the Huangmen, the Minister of the Menxia Province. This is determined by their key position and also reflects the emperor's trust and reliance on Yu Shiji and Pei Shiji.

Since taking office, Pei Shiju has traveled to the northwest to govern Western Xinjiang five times. He has absolute authority in the foreign affairs of the empire, especially the western and local affairs. Zhaowu Qu Shuzhi believes that as long as Galan can convince Pei Shiju and introduce him to Pei Shiju, he will be close to his dream of restoring the country.

Xue Deyin is also worried.

His original intention was to stay in the Wei Mansion, while continuing to discuss major issues with Xue Shixiong, while taking advantage of the convenient and informative news of the Wei Mansion to wait for opportunities. Xue Shixiong also had the same idea, but Jialan warned that Xue Deyin is a disaster in the eyes of some people, and perhaps someone would want to kill him. If he dies, all of Jialan's plans will fail, and Xue Deyin's death in the Wei Mansion will surely bring immeasurable trouble to Xue Shixiong.

Galan must firmly "grasp" Xue Deyin. If he unfortunately loses Xue Deyin, he will lose the initiative to reverse his fate. Therefore, he must put Xue Deyin under his own protection, one to ensure safety, and the other to ensure that the planning will never deviate.

Xue Deyin had no choice but to go back to the camp, but he knew that Xue Shixiong and Jialan would hand him over to Pei Shiju next. Once his fate was controlled by Pei Shiju, the consequences would be unpredictable. Perhaps there would be a glimmer of life, or it might be wiped out. He wanted to control his own destiny and take the initiative in the next situation. He wanted to find friends he could trust, but Jialan did not give him a chance, imprisoned him in the military camp, and let Lu Long personally take his brothers in the Devil City to monitor it day and night.

Fu Duanyi is also worried. Like Galan, he also wants to return to Pei Shiju, but after Yiwudao's battle, he also broke off contact with Pei Shiju for the same reason. This time, does he still have a chance to win Pei Shiju's trust again?

Traveling west, eight northwestern wolves, including Chu Yue, Mao Yuxuan, Bu Yi, Jiangdu Hou, Wei Fei, Yang Hu and Shen Shipeng, discussed a step-by-step action with Galan several times.

Traveling west hopes that Galan can convince Pei Shiju and summon them to his command again, and then everyone will go to Chang'an or Luoyang together. On the one hand, they will find evidence of Yang Xuangan's conspiracy and rebellion, and on the other hand, they will explore the black hand behind the Yiwudao case. From the inference of Traveling west, Yang Xuangan is the "black hand". This time, he happened to take revenge and kill him and his accomplices.

Buyi hoped to join the Xiaoguo Army and went to the Liaodong battlefield to kill the enemy and make achievements. Chang'an and Luoyang are the center of the empire. Unlike the Western Land, the northwest wolf can be domineering and docile in the Western Land. However, in Chang'an and Luoyang, they are just a group of barbarians, without power or strength, and they are vulnerable at all. Not to mention killing and taking revenge, I am afraid that the powerful bureaucrats and places will swallow them in one go before they even lifted their swords.

The preface to revenge is that you must live, have the strength to avenge, and have the power to gain a fight. If a group of barbarians from the wilderness of the northwest want to have strength and power, they can only obtain military merits on the battlefield of Liaodong, rely on military merits to be promoted, and have a loyal minister and a strong army, so that they can plan a major plan for revenge.

The two opinions were quarreling, and Galan tended to think of traveling west, but to be honest, Buyi's idea was more practical and reasonable.

Amid the melancholy and controversy among the people in the northwest, the emperor arrived at Linshuo Palace, and the atmosphere in Jicheng suddenly became tense. Late that night, Xue Wanche suddenly rushed to the military camp. Xue Shixiong urgently summoned Jialan and took him to the palace to pay homage to Pei Shiju overnight.

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Chapter completed!