Chapter 23: The mysterious seal of the Imperial Household Department!
East Palace.
"Your Highness, I wonder why you summoned me here so late at night?"
Li Guang didn't understand. He should be in the military camp now. After all, he would set off tomorrow, and he still had matters of the imperial guards to hand over.
"Do n't panic, it's not a big deal. Don't worry about the Imperial Guards. I will arrange for them."
Xiao Yan naturally understood Li Guang’s concerns!
"This is exactly what I am worried about. In fact, you also know what is happening in the palace. If there is no determined person to lead, there will be chaos!"
Xiao Yan ignored him, but turned around and clapped his hands, and a person came out from behind the screen.
Li Guang looked at Xiao Yan in confusion, and Xiao Yan introduced him, "Meet the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, Shang Haitang!"
"From today on, you will be the commander of the Imperial Guards."
Li Guang looked at Shang Haitang, whose face was pale, and said, "Although he was born in the Jinyiwei, such a handsome man is so weak that he may not be able to handle this task!"
"I know better than anyone else about the Imperial Guards. They will definitely not accept the defeat ."
"Your Highness, please change someone else!"
Xiao Yan shook his head and said, "I have the final say. Hand over the Imperial Guards Commander's badge!"
Although he was unwilling, Xiao Yan had seen it, so he naturally had the power to do so.
He reluctantly handed the badge to Xiao Yan.
"I know what you mean. You just want to find someone from your Jinjin Army to take this position, but I have my own plans!"
"Shang Haitang will not stay in this position forever. When the time is right, I will select the right person from the Imperial Guards."
"Now I want you to hand over all the affairs of the Imperial Guard to Shang Haitang. I also have something else to ask you."
Li Guang did not expect that Xiao Yan had his own plans, but when he heard that the commander would be chosen from the imperial guards in the end, he felt relieved.
He was promoted by Xiao Yan overnight from a commander of the imperial guards managing a few thousand people to a general leading hundreds of thousands of people. He also hoped that his brothers could live a better life.
"You must know more about the affairs of the palace than I do. Now I want to ask you, if you want to control the Imperial Household Department in my hands, what should you do?"
Hearing this, Li Guang frowned.
"Your Highness, please forgive me for being blunt, but the Imperial Household Department is not as simple as you think."
"I really want to control the Imperial Household Department in my own hands. It's difficult!"
Xiao Yan nodded and said, "I know there are many difficulties in this, but there must be a direction."
"I don't know anything about the affairs of the palace right now, and I don't know what the situation is in each palace."
"Only if I control the Imperial Household Department can I gain control of the palace's intelligence."
In fact, Xiao Yan took control of the Imperial Household Department simply to target Xiao Ding and Hu Shanxiang.
The two of them attacked him many times, and he was very passive, but as long as he controlled the Silijian, he would have the initiative.
The Jinyiwei can monitor the entire world, but they can never inspect the inner palace.
Li Guang thought about it and sighed.
"Since Your Highness is determined to do so, then I will have no choice but to tell Your Highness."
"The previous person who held the seal of the Imperial Household Department was a favorite of the late emperor. Later, for some unknown reason, he disappeared overnight, and was replaced by Eunuch Sande."
"In the end, he transformed himself into the Chief Seal of the Imperial Household Department and appeared before everyone."
"Since then, he has never been involved in the palace affairs, but everyone knows that the head of the Imperial Household Department is someone you cannot afford to offend."
"Even some ladies didn't get any good results after they offended him."
"So, Your Highness, if you want to control the Silijian, you must first control this person. Otherwise, Your Highness, it is better not to think about the Silijian."
"Also, I would like to remind Your Highness that this person's skills are definitely better than mine, so don't think of conquering him by force!"
After hearing Li Guang's introduction, Xiao Yan realized that he had underestimated the Imperial Household Department.
"Okay, I understand this now. Remember, you have not been to the East Palace tonight. Go ahead, I will wait for your triumphant return!"
Li Guang didn't quite understand what Xiao Yan meant, but he still retreated!
"I'll take my leave!"
After Li Guang left, Xiao Yan threw the badge in his hand to Shang Haitang.
"From now on, strictly check the exchanges between the palaces. I'm afraid the Imperial Household Department is hiding some secrets. Find out for me."
"Also, if there is any movement between Hu Shanxiang and the Second Prince, please tell me."
"The Imperial Guards not only guard the safety of the palace, but also serve as a network of spies. Make good use of it."
"As for whether these people obey or not, that's your business, figure it out yourself!"
"If you can't take down these imperial guards, you'd better go back to your Imperial Guards!"
Xiao Yan did not show mercy to Shang Haitang just because she was a woman. What he wanted around him was someone who could get things done, not a mere figurehead.
"Yes, I understand!"
Xiao Yan looked at Shang Haitang and said, "Keep an eye on those old guys in the Imperial Medical Bureau recently. I'm afraid they might do something bad to me."
"We also need to check the people around our father again. We cannot allow any mistakes to happen again."
"That's all. Report back if anything happens."
Shang Haitang didn't say anything from beginning to end, but he knew that he was now a sharp sword in Xiao Yan's hand and must not let it rust.
"I'll take my leave!"
Now the Imperial Guards, the Embroidered Uniform Guards, and the Dali Temple are all his people. Unknowingly, everything that Hu Zhenghe could not touch is under his control.
This is also his trump card, that is, he still needs to improve his status in the government.
"Eminent Clerk, Imperial Clerk, what should I do?"
Just as Xiao Yan was thinking, there was a commotion outside.
"Catch the assassin, catch the assassin!"
"You go search over there, and the rest of you stay here to protect His Highness!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan frowned. Who is so bold as to come to the East Palace to assassinate?
Is Hu Zhenghe so bold now?
When it became quiet outside again, Xiao Yan watched his window being opened. A figure flashed in and closed the window.
When he looked up again, a knife was already placed on his neck.
"Don't move! You might kill yourself."
Hearing the voice, Xiao Yan knew it was another woman. Why do people nowadays like to dress up as men so much?
"Who are you and why are you here to assassinate me?"
Xiao Yan was very calm and even poured himself a cup of tea.
Seeing Xiao Yan's fearless look, the assassin frowned.
"I told you not to move, do you want to die?"
Xiao Yan shook his head slightly: "The knife is in your hand. If you wanted to do it, you would have done it long ago. Tell me, what is your purpose!"
Seeing that Xiao Yan knew he would not kill him, the assassin simply put the knife away.
"Are you the dissolute and immoral prince?"
When Xiao Yan heard this, it seemed that his previous life had a very bad reputation, as everyone described him like this.
"I am the crown prince, but I am dissolute and immoral? How can this be justified?"
Upon hearing this, the assassin was furious and said, "If you are not a licentious and immoral person, why did you give my sister... to... to..."
