Perhaps because the great battle had just ended, the night of the fifth day was unusually quiet.
Mi Huang had sent out a large number of scouts to gather intelligence on the enemy.
The reports that came back all indicated that the Western Army was camped near Mang Mountain, seemingly waiting for their main forces to arrive.
This news allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.
That night, Shao Xun hardly had a moment to rest.
He had too many tasks to handle, and none of them could be delayed.
He immediately sought out Hou Hu and Fan Cheng, and fully absorbed the remnants of Man Fen's troops, who had lost their commander.
By this point, the central army of the Kingdom of Donghai already had over 3,300 combat soldiers, organized into six regiments.
The extra troops were formed into the Chen Yong Regiment.
There were also 3,000 auxiliary soldiers, organized into five regiments.
The upper army, led by He Lun, had just over 5,000 men.
The lower army, led by Wang Bing, had 2,000 men.
Within the city, there were also around 2,000 troops under Miao Yuan.
The Minister of Justice, Zhou Fu, had several hundred soldiers.
After a series of twists and turns, the "Donghai Faction" had once again gained the upper hand in Luoyang, and their advantage was rapidly increasing.
At dawn, Shao Xun, who had not slept all night, hurriedly returned to the Golden Wall City and fell asleep in his clothes.
Before sleeping, he ordered Jin San and Lu Heigou to lead 600 soldiers from their regiment into the palace city and station them in front of the Taiji Hall for training.
For the Left Deputy Minister of the Secretariat, Wang Yan, this night was somewhat agonizing.
By dawn, after a night of tossing and turning, he angrily got up and paced around the courtyard, his mood quite foul.
At the beginning of the Si hour (around 9 AM), Wang Dun and Zhou Fu hurriedly arrived.
Wang Yan invited them into his study, where they sat in silence.
"Who would have thought that our clever plan would backfire," Wang Yan said with some regret.
Wang Dun and Zhou Fu exchanged glances.
Originally, Shangguan Si had a significant presence within the city, controlled the crown prince, and was plundering extensively, showing great ambition.
Seeing this, everyone had united to eliminate him.
But now, it seemed that by a twist of fate, Shangguan Si had indeed been removed, but the Donghai Kingdom's army had acted swiftly, absorbing the remnants of their allies.
In just one night, the situation in Luoyang had completely changed.
Today, they had also invited Miao Yuan and Chen Zhen, but neither had come.
Their attitudes were clear.
"From what I know, the one who led the troops to repel the Western Army yesterday was Shao Xun, the Commandant of Donghai. The one who advocated for absorbing the defeated troops and taking control of Man Fen's remnants was also him," Zhou Fu said.
"Right after the battle, taking advantage of the army's recent defeat and the panic in the camps, he acted swiftly, absorbing various units in one go. Not only that, Shao Xun also sent several hundred soldiers into the palace city, stationing them in front of the Taiji Hall, effectively controlling the crown prince and the empress. In my opinion, this man has great ambitions, perhaps another Shangguan Si."
Wang Yan was speechless.
They had truly underestimated this military man.
Like a venomous snake, he had lurked in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike with deadly precision.
"I told you before, this man is thick-skinned and black-hearted, a great villain who appears loyal," Wang Dun said resentfully.
"But you, brother, didn't believe me."
Wang Yan glared at Wang Dun.
Wang Dun smirked, unbothered.
This was just his nature; he wasn't afraid of his brother's scolding, and besides, his brother wouldn't scold him.
"Since things have come to this, what's the point of saying all this?" Wang Yan sighed, trying to dispel the frustration in his chest.
"Since things have come to this—" Wang Dun chuckled, mimicking his brother's tone, then changed the subject.
"We should carefully figure out Shao Xun's methods. We might be able to secretly contact some of his generals, see if there's any opportunity."
"Chu Zhong, you're too impulsive," Wang Yan admonished, speaking earnestly.
"We don't yet know Shao Xun's true nature. We shouldn't act rashly. If he's as violent as Zhang Fang, we might end up making things worse."
Wang Dun was unconvinced and wanted to argue, but under Wang Yan's stern gaze, he backed down and muttered, "Alright."
Wang Yan sighed softly.
Chu Zhong was even more brash than Mao Hong, and that wasn't a good thing.
Shao Xun was already a force to be reckoned with, and they needed to think carefully about how to deal with him.
In this matter, Wang Yan felt somewhat at a loss.
He hated dealing with people like Zhang Fang and Shao Xun.
When it came to debating classics, composing poetry, comparing family backgrounds, networking, or scheming, he was never afraid and even felt in his element.
But people like Zhang Fang didn't play by those rules.
They were unpredictable, quick to kill, and didn't bother with reason.
Sometimes, they didn't even give you time to react before your entire family was wiped out.
It was truly maddening.
At times like these, what use was having so many troops in the outer provinces? They couldn't help at all.
"Since the Deputy Minister is on good terms with Mi Huang, perhaps you could talk to him and get a sense of the situation?" Zhou Fu suggested.
"Mi Huang is, after all, from a prominent Donghai family. It might be easier to deal with him."
Wang Yan stood up irritably, lost in thought for a long time.
In fact, he also thought Mi Huang would be easier to deal with, as he was a scholar.
Shao Xun, despite having an official rank, lacked personal virtue—his personal rank, that is, his family background and local reputation.
A lowly person suddenly wielding great power could easily become arrogant, greedy, and cruel, just like Zhang Fang, Shangguan Si, or even Gou Xi.
Power was the most blinding thing.
One misstep, and you could become addicted to it, leading to reckless behavior, the destruction of your family, and becoming a laughingstock for the world.
"Let's wait and see for now," Wang Yan finally decided.
"Zhang Fang is still at Mang Mountain. Once his main forces arrive, he will likely head straight for the city. If something goes wrong at this time, it wouldn't be good."
Between Zhang Fang and Shao Xun, everyone had their preference for who should control Luoyang.
Moreover, Shao Xun didn't seem to have complete control.
Above him was Mi Huang, and beside him were generals like He Lun and Wang Bing.
Even Miao Yuan, though disheartened, could still be somewhat restrained.
In short, Zhang Fang brought greater disaster, and everyone was somewhat overwhelmed by him.
When faced with two evils, choose the lesser one.
For now, this was the best course of action.
Shao Xun had slept for less than two hours before he suddenly woke up.
There was no helping it.
At a time like this, he couldn't afford to let his guard down and sleep peacefully.
"Chen Yougen!" he shouted as he stood up.
"General," Chen Yougen walked in with a smile.
"General?" Shao Xun chuckled wryly.
This title of "general" was self-proclaimed and, strictly speaking, didn't count.
But as long as the soldiers recognized it, it wasn't a big issue.
His biggest concern now was what he had said to Mi Huang earlier: "My authority isn't yet established, and I haven't shown enough benevolence."
He had gained a bit of authority.
He had demonstrated his martial prowess in the arena and had driven the enemy cavalry out of the Great Xia Gate yesterday.
But this authority was fragile and not yet solid.
He couldn't afford to be complacent.
"Where is the Commander?" Shao Xun asked as he dressed.
"He went to see Deputy Minister Wang," Chen Yougen said, helping Shao Xun into his military attire.
Shao Xun frowned.
He hadn't seen Wang Yan during the battle yesterday, but now he was making an appearance.
Quite the opportunist.
To be honest, up until now, he had thought Wang Yan was better than Wang Dao.
But considering their positions in history, he could only sigh.
"Has Miao Yuan gone to guard the southern city?" Shao Xun asked, taking the millet rice Chen Yougen handed him and eating a few mouthfuls.
"Yes," Chen Yougen said.
"He even sent someone to the Golden Wall City, saying he had acted foolishly before and made a grave mistake. Now he wishes to serve the Commander wholeheartedly, with no second thoughts."
"What did the Commander say?"
"The Commander is a kind man. He comforted him and allowed him to continue leading his troops to defend the southern city."
"Two thousand new recruits probably won't hold the southern city well. It all depends on when Zhang Fang sees through their facade," Shao Xun said with a smile.
In short, the two thousand or so new recruits under Miao Yuan, who had only been training for three or four months, could look intimidating on the city walls.
But once a real fight broke out, their true colors would show.
It all depended on when Zhang Fang saw through the southern city's weak defenses.
However, Zhang Fang was to the north, and the southern city was relatively the safest side—theoretically.
Perhaps Miao Yuan would be lucky and not encounter Zhang Fang's main forces.
Aside from Miao Yuan, Wang Bing was guarding the eastern city, and Shao Xun had reinforced him with auxiliary troops from the central army.
He Lun had more troops and was guarding the relatively important western city.
Shao Xun himself led his own troops to face the enemy in the northern city.
Within the city, there were still over a thousand mobile troops ready to reinforce any area at any time.
Before sleeping last night, Shao Xun had even discussed with Mi Huang the idea of conscripting the servants and private troops of the wealthy families to form a temporary army.
Yes, the private troops of the wealthy families were like leeks in a field—they grew back on their own.
Take the Yu family, for example.
The previous batch had been conscripted by Shao Xun.
In May this year, another hundred or so private troops had come to Luoyang from their hometown in Yingchuan.
Wasn't that like automatic growth?
Moreover, scholars and merchants from other regions were constantly arriving in the capital.
In these times, anyone brave enough to travel alone was a true hero, so they naturally traveled in groups.
Thus, Luoyang actually had a significant amount of private military power.
It was just that they were scattered and no one had organized them.
Mi Huang had largely agreed with Shao Xun's suggestion.
But he felt that Wang Yan would need to be involved to make it happen.
Wang Yifu carried the hopes of the world and was a skilled orator.
If the court took the lead and Wang Yan assisted, it wouldn't be difficult to achieve.
Shao Xun had nothing to say about this.
If he went to persuade the great families to hand over their private troops, they would think he was there to plunder, just like Shangguan Si.
Wang Yan's involvement was indeed the most appropriate.
"Fame really can be a meal ticket!" Shao Xun said as he ate, reflecting on his recent actions to see if there were any oversights.
What was his goal?
At this stage, it was to increase his fame, cultivate his private troops, and continuously strengthen his authority within the central army and even the upper and lower armies, creating a fait accompli.
If Sima Yue were to reappear in the future, he would have more bargaining chips.
So what were the measures?
After much thought, he realized there was no need to step into the spotlight.
Leading the troops well, stabilizing the army, and winning battles were more important than anything else.
Wang Yan liked to be in the limelight, so let him have the spotlight.
Shao Xun didn't mind.
But the benefits he deserved couldn't be less—that was the bottom line.
Finally, there were the difficulties.
At this stage, the biggest difficulty was that he had absorbed too many defeated troops and allies, causing confusion within the ranks and reducing their combat effectiveness.
This was something he needed to work hard to resolve.
Once he understood this, he was no longer confused and felt more determined.
The days when the boss wasn't home were truly a different kind of scenery.
A power vacuum was naturally a playground for the ambitious.
(End of Chapter)