Wei Ran turned off the lamp, but sat alone in the camp wearing armor.
He is waiting for someone.
Today's second decree made Wei Ran know that the court must have realized something.
Because of a simple reason, promotion of generals depends on military merit.
And He An's military merit is simply not enough to advance to three levels in a row.
If you are above level 4, you have to go through difficult steps, gain seniority, and wait for opportunities... Then you have to move up one level at a time.
Upgrading three levels in a row, from the fourth grade to the third grade in one go, only Ye Xuanfeng has done this in the history of military generals.
He An is very popular now, and with the concubine's pillow, it can be a favor, but Wei Ran thinks this is too much.
At most, you can give someone of the third rank, and you can be considered a holy family member.
But giving it to the third rank all of a sudden shocked everyone, surprised He An, and made Wei Ran feel... It seemed that the person who wanted to stabilize this second decree was not himself, the commander-in-chief, but He An, the deputy-general.
Today's first decree, anyone with a discerning eye can see why it is to express merit and admonish oneself.
The second way is to make myself guilty and meritorious service. It seems to be to stabilize me... but in fact it makes He An relax his vigilance.
Before nightfall, He An had handed over his military orders. He would have to leave early tomorrow morning, and his military affairs had been arranged.
The two hundred guards brought back to the capital have been selected, and they are all the confidants He An has accumulated over the past few years.
All parties seem to have stabilized.
But... the second decree was announced by the Xuanjian Division.
How could the Hanging Sword Division just run an errand when it comes to taking action? He must have come prepared.
If He An realizes something tonight and wants to react, he is afraid that he will be captured immediately by the Xuanjian Division.
Letting the Xuanjian Division announce the decree seems to be to control himself as the commander at any time, but in fact it may also be for He An.
"As expected, there should be another will..."
Wei Ran felt that there would be a third decree, and it must be a secret decree.
So he waited, without sleeping, until after the third watch.
The second decree has reached five hours.
"Squeak..." Suddenly, the wind blew open the curtain of the barracks.
The surrounding guards had been pushed away long ago. Wei Ran looked at the door curtain and said, "Who is the imperial envoy holding the sword?"
There was a moment of silence outside the door.
There seemed to be a figure flickering in the darkness. When Wei Ran squinted his eyes, he saw a tall figure standing opposite.
Seeing that the other party did not assassinate him, Wei Ran let out a sigh of relief: "It was Chief Xiao who came in person. Is Your Majesty worried that I will rebel?"
Wei Ran laughed at himself a little.
Xiao Chaoguo was covered in sweat. Traveling all night made him feel a little sluggish and he looked a little tired.
"If I came for you, you would have been captured by now." Xiao Chaoguo said.
"Why did you withdraw your personal guards and still wear armor? Are you preparing to fight against the imperial envoy?"
Wei Ran shook his head: "I'm waiting for the last decree. I think Jingzhong should already know something, right?"
"What do you know? Your defense of Liangzhou was unsuccessful and you were almost defeated and lost the city?"
Xiao Chaoguo pretended not to know. He wanted to see if Wei Ran's judgment was the same as that of the young master and others, so as not to accidentally injure He An when he used the method.
"Why should Mr. Xiao pretend to be like this? Your Majesty is wise, and Mr. Ye is not stupid yet... Don't all parties in Beijing have doubts about He An?"
Wei Ran sighed softly: "I only figured this out early this morning."
"Is this really the case..." Xiao Chaoguo frowned, realizing that what the young master had expected was true, and the news about Emperor Zun Pavilion was also true.
So, Xiao Chaoguo took out the imperial edict tied in his clothes from behind.
When Wei Ran saw this, he knelt down without warning: "Your Majesty Wei Ran...accept the order!"
His tone was slightly excited. He was just looking forward to it, but he didn't expect that the emperor actually chose to believe in him and doubted He An.
Still without any evidence.
Xiao Chaoguo opened the imperial edict and said in a low voice but seriously: "The emperor's secret edict is carried by heaven, saying..."
"Now, order the leader of the Liangzhou camp, Wei Ran, to gather his military power, intercept and imprison He An on his way back to the capital, and not deal with him. After the imperial envoy from the Xuanjian Division has found out the case, he will be escorted back to the capital for trial."
"Come on, order Wei Ran to defend Liangzhou. The Yulin Army and the Black Dragon Cavalry have already arrived for reinforcements. Together, they will attack the Northern Liang Army in Ganzhou, Liangzhou, and Datong. They will stop the Northern Liang Army from marching all over the ground at all costs..."
"Appreciate this!"
After reading it, Xiao Chaoguo solemnly handed the imperial edict to Wei Ran's hands.
"Your Majesty, Wei Ran, has been ordered to accept the order!" Wei Ran was somewhat moved.
Even though he made mistakes, he was still entrusted with important responsibilities. This feeling made him want to die to serve the country.
The blood was stirred up instantly.
"Get up, General Wei." Xiao Chaoguo easily helped Wei Ran up with one hand.
Wei Ran put away the imperial edict and hid it in his armor. This was a secret edict, so naturally it could not be offered in a big way.
"Chief Xiao, I would like to ask why, without any evidence, your majesty trusts me and is suspicious... and even wants to imprison him secretly?"
Wei Ran couldn't believe it. This decree was so in line with his own wishes that it seemed fake.
"You are lucky. The people from Emperor Zun Pavilion were outside the pass and discovered that He An was having a secret conversation with Luo Yang, so the young master came to report... Zhuge's first assistant and the old Duke Ye all spoke for you. They suspected He An, so His Majesty pursued him.
These two wills.”
The emperor was indeed angry about the first decree, so he ordered Wei Ran and rewarded He An.
But after knowing these things, the emperor understood that this matter needed to be handled properly, lest He An really launched an army to rebel, and then the emperor would be slapped in the face again.
Within half a year, two veteran generals rebelled, which will go down in history and they were called cowards.
Therefore, the emperor could not force He An to rebel, so he had to appease him.
First give him a three-level promotion, then promise him military power, and transfer him back to the hinterland of Gyeonggi... paralyzing him will make it much easier to deal with.
As long as Wei Ran gathers his military power, He An will not be able to jump up.
"He An had a secret conversation with Luo Yang outside the customs?" Wei Ran felt strange, the guard couldn't leave the customs, so how could he meet Luo Yang in private.
Isn't that seeking death?
Just send someone to contact you, and you can evade it afterwards. If you come forward in person for this kind of thing, wouldn't it be like giving someone a handle?
"That's what Young Master said." Xiao Chaoguo chuckled and looked at Wei Ran meaningfully.
Wei Ran understood instantly: "I understand."
Where did I see it outside the customs... It must have been in Liangzhou Camp, but Emperor Zun Pavilion sent people to keep an eye on Liangzhou Camp. This matter could easily lead to conflicts between the imperial court and Emperor Zun Pavilion.
So the young master just processed it.
"As long as you know... He An is dead, but you can't say that he is safe. Didn't He An have the chance this time because of you?"
Xiao Chaoguo said coldly: "Let's think about how to offset the merits."
"The general will know in the end," Wei Ran said.
The leader of the Xuanjian Division is a second-grade general with the title of Marquis of the same army. Wei Ran, a third-grade military general, does not have a title yet, so he naturally calls himself that.
…
The next day, it snowed heavily.
But He An stayed up all night. He was so excited that he stared at the two dark circles under his eyes in the public eye early in the morning.
"Good morning, General." The two hundred soldiers selected yesterday are already waiting at the city gate.
When He An and his confidants arrived, they saw everyone reluctantly saying goodbye.
The relationship in the military is unusual. It is a friendship that survives fighting on the battlefield. It is still hard to let go of being separated by thousands of miles.
"Er Zhuzhu, you have to live well in the capital and strive to be a member of a hundred households. In the future, I will join you when I get old."
The military household system in Daxia was pretty good. Old soldiers would retire and be replaced by a strong man from his family.
However, everyone understands that there is another war now, and there are too few soldiers who can live to old age, which is comparable to the proportion of soldiers who die of old age.
"Good boy, if General He chooses you, just follow him and work hard. If you can make a difference in the future, our family will be able to deregister." A veteran said, looking at his son.
"Dad, don't worry, General He has a bright future, and my son will definitely accomplish a lot by following him!" the young soldier said with a smile.
The military household system in Daxia was hereditary. If ordinary people became soldiers, then someone from their descendants would have to serve as soldiers.
There is only one situation in which one can leave the military, and that is if one has meritorious service and is awarded a title, or if one of one's descendants becomes an official, he or she will not have to perform military service in the future.
The battlefield is dangerous and difficult. Once a war breaks out, there will be rivers of blood. No soldier likes to fight and use his own life to add military merit to others.
Many people join the military simply because they don't have enough food to eat. As soldiers, they receive royal rations and money to subsidize their families. Also, during conscription, those who are drafted to fill up the numbers have to survive in the army.
Apart from their military merits, they have no way of advancement, and their military merits may even be misappropriated by their superiors.
"It's getting late, everyone is sending you off. Xiao He, please leave quickly, lest you fail to reach the military post today and have to sleep on the official road." Wei Ran stepped forward to break the parting atmosphere.
He Anlian said: "Yes, we have to set off early, otherwise we really won't be able to make it in time."
Wei Ran reminded: "Suzhou has been captured, threatening Ganzhou, Datong, and Lizhou... When you go back, you have to bypass Suzhou and go northwest. It's no problem to go ten and a half days longer. The key is not to run into the Beiliang army."
If more than two hundred people bump into the Beiliang Army, they are doomed.
"Don't worry, General Wei, we were well prepared last night," He An's bodyguard said.
He An performed another farewell before mounting his horse, leading his guards out of the city, and ran towards the northwest.