Chapter 51: As soon as you enter the official school, you are as deep as the sea

On March 14, 2018, the fifth year of Taihe, the results of the previous year's Xia recommendation review were officially announced; outside the Guangyang Gate of the Imperial Palace, rows of young gentry children bowed down to listen to the order; on the steps, Xie An, the Minister of Personnel and the Ninth-rank Grand Zhongzheng Officer, read out loudly, holding the imperial edict covered with a vermilion seal; it was nothing more than words to encourage everyone to serve the country and do their best to do their best.

Next is announcing the list jointly formulated by the Zhongzheng Officer of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites and other relevant departments.

This Xiatui review has a total of three people in the first grade, ten people in the second grade, and twenty people in the third grade; fifty people in the middle grade, one hundred people in the second grade, and two hundred people in the third grade; five hundred people in the second grade, one thousand three hundred people in the second grade, and three eight hundred people in the third grade.

Among these people, only a few dozen of them can be awarded decent official ranks. Some of the middle-ranked people will be awarded ranks of official positions, while the rest can only do some yamen runners to engage in low-level positions. However, all people will not be entrusted as full-time positions. After all, these people are new to the officialdom and cannot be entrusted with important tasks without a period of experience.

Han Mu was one of the top three first-level people. He was a little ashamed. It was obvious that Xie An and Wang Xianzhi opened the back door in this matter, and the other two top-level people all came from Huan Wen's family. This shows that the Xia Tui discussion is just a form of going around. Whoever has the power is powerful can control the farce.

Han Mu received this news at the coming-of-age ceremony two days ago. Since Xia Tui was about to announce that it was about to stop the upcoming nepotism, Xie An held a coming-of-age ceremony for Han Mu in the family temple in a low-key manner. He gave him a robe and a font size, and since then, Han Mu officially became a man who entered society.

The word "Dingbang" given to Han Mu is: the word "Dingbang", which means "Anbang" and is full of expectations. Han Mu repeatedly said the three words "Han Dingbang" and it is not easy to call it. But he had no choice but to change it. There was no police station to change the name, so the famous posts were included in the genealogy.

Xie Dacai did not attend Han Mu's coming-of-age ceremony unexpectedly, and Han Mu did not expect her to come. Although Han Mu was a man who was imaginative when seeing a beautiful woman, his stubborn and arrogant personality determined that he would not use a hot face to stick to someone's cold butt.

After announcing the list, it was time for the emperor to meet the young talents, and the dozens of top-ranked ones were lucky enough to meet. Han Mu and others climbed up high steps under the guidance of the ritual officer, walked through the tall and long front porch, and then passed through two halls before they came outside the Tai Chi Hall where the emperor was attending the court. The sharp eunuch shouted loudly, and everyone was announced to be held for the audience.

Han Mu was a little excited. He was not for these gorgeous and tall buildings and momentum. He had seen too many of them in the 21st century and was not worth mentioning in his eyes. What he was excited about was that he could finally see the legendary ancient emperor, and... he was still alive.

After three bows and nine kowtows, the emperor gently called everyone flatteringly. After saying a few words of praise and encouragement, the meeting ended. Everyone staggered backwards out of the Tai Chi Hall like a duck. Han Mu was very dissatisfied. He had only had time to peek at the emperor for a few glances, and only saw a middle-aged man wrapped in a yellow dragon robe and an excessively pale face under the golden crown.

"Is this the emperor? This is too disappointing." Han Mu thought to himself, "There is no such majesty as governing the world at all."

On the 17th, with Xie An's multiple parties in dealing with each other, Han Mu was appointed as the deputy commander of the right guard of the central army of the Imperial Guard, which was a fourth-rank military post. Xie An originally wanted to arrange Han Mu to take him by his side, but Han Mu believed that the future battle with Huan Wen mainly depends on the strength of the army, and the defense in the Gyeonggi area is the center of the battle; so he wanted to enter this place where he could control the situation in the future as soon as possible and give himself more capital.

Of course, Xie An agreed with his idea, but what he was worried about was that there were many factions in the Imperial Guard. Han Mu would be swallowed up when he arrived at the center of this vortex. If he accidentally got the handle, he might give him a handle. By then, he would feel that it would be difficult to turn over. But Han Mu's determination gave him confidence, so he agreed to Han Mu's request.

Next is the report and handover, as well as familiar with all aspects of the situation. If you don’t understand it, you will stop. After a closer look, Han Mu found that the factions within the Imperial Guard, which looked like a solid appearance, were complicated. In an old saying, it was ‘the water was very deep’.

The Imperial Guard is a royal guard that protects the emperor and the security of the capital. It is divided into central and foreign troops. It has six leaders, guards, left guards, right guards, cavalry, and guerrilla troops. In addition to these six armies, there are five battalions of garrisons, infantry, Yue cavalry, Changshui, and Shooting. They are directly under the command of the Imperial Guards and establish the position of lieutenant.

Although Zhang Xuan was the president of the Imperial Guards, he was actually under his jurisdiction only the left and right guards of the central army, the three cavalry armies and the five directly under the jurisdiction of the five lieutenants. In name, the foreign army led by Zhang Xuan, and the three guards of the guards and guerrilla armies were actually stationed in the fortress outside the city and played the role of guarding the capital. The leading generals of these three armies were all responsible for Huan Wen, and the number of people exceeded that of the central army to 30,000.

Overall, the central army and the large inner guards in the capital had only more than 27,000 people, and more than 30,000 foreign troops. The balance of strength was roughly balanced. The only variable was that the foreign troops had not yet clearly turned toward Huan Wen, which made the situation slightly possible.

After understanding these situations, Han Mu felt a little anxious, but no matter what, he took the first step to mastering his strength. Under Xie An's care, Zhang Xuan specially held an internal meeting for Han Mu. Those present were senior generals of the Imperial Guard: the six chief officers and deputy commanders and more than ten captains.

Han Mu visited each other, and there were two other top-level deputy commanders elected by Huan Wen in the foreign army. It seems that Huan Wen's move was also to control and strengthen the rule of the foreign army. The purpose of these two was to win over the foreign army and accelerate the reversal towards Huan Wen.

The Right Guard where Han Mu is located is the highest-ranking group of the imperial guards, responsible for the security outside and around the imperial city, which is not inconsistent with the guards led by Huang Songnian, the Great Guard. More than 2,000 Great Guards are mainly responsible for the security inside the imperial city. The two armies each take their own responsibilities, and they are both a member of Xie An and Wang Tan, so they get along well on weekdays.

However, due to the long-term disagreement of the two armies, although they belonged to the Wang Xie team, they were constantly in conflict. This made Zhang Xuan very troubled. Under the huge external pressure, if you were not careful in handling it, Huan Wen might take advantage of the situation and collapse.
Chapter completed!