“No, no, no!”
Wu Zhong, standing not far away, saw this scene and his soul nearly jumped out of his throat.
Han Bin was a member of the Five City Military Patrol, just like them.
If it were in the past, he would definitely let Han Bin offend Jia Yu.
Although they were colleagues, they were also competitors.
However, the situation was not right now.
The person who attacked the Jiedushi was among his team.
Now, it was their people from the Five City Military Patrol who pulled down their own people.
This was a situation that would offend their superiors to death.
Thinking of this, Wu Zhong gritted his teeth: “Everyone, follow me, protect the Jiedushi!”
The constables behind Wu Zhong didn’t hear clearly what Wu Zhong said, but their superior was taking the lead. How could they be cowardly?
Han Bin’s people were pulling Jia Yu and the others down, Wu Zhong led the remaining 100 people to charge forward, forming a protective circle.
The Five City Military Patrol, originally a single force, was now divided into two factions.
Gao Hu saw this scene and a thought flashed through his eyes.
Wu Zhong, he knew him. Wu Zhong had always been eager to befriend him.
He even had some contact with his son-in-law, Ouyang Xu, during the day.
Now, he was actively defending the other side.
“Could this young man be from the Niu family or the Liu family?”
Only the children of the top military families could have such a right to command the Five City Military Patrol in this manner.
The most prominent figures at the moment were those few.
Jia Yu, the Jiedushi of the Jingying Garrison.
Niu Jizong, the Minister of War.
Liu Fang, the Grand Marshal.
The Grand Marshal was old and had few years left to live.
Only the Niu family and the Liu family had enough influence.
Gao Hu didn’t associate the young man before him with the Jiedushi of the Jingying Garrison, who fought against the Mongols.
He knew that the Jiedushi of the Jingying Garrison, who fought against the Mongols, was a young hero. He hadn’t expected him to be so young. He couldn’t connect the two.
Gao Hu was pondering. Seeing Wu Zhong’s obstruction, Han Bin yelled angrily, “Wu Zhong, what are you doing? Are you defending these thugs who want to attack the residence of the Minister of Personnel? Don’t you dare block my way! Be careful, your superiors might charge you with being an accomplice or covering up!”
On the surface, Han Bin was extremely angry, but secretly, he was very happy.
Wu Zhong, who usually knew how to flatter, was acting like a madman today.
Gao Hu, the Minister of Personnel, was also one of the Grand Councilors and a strong candidate for the position of Chief Minister.
He wasn’t clinging to this big thigh but was instead protecting a young man.
Even if this young man had a powerful family, it was still not as good as Gao Ge Lao, who was about to control the court.
Thinking about it, Han Bin worked even harder.
“What kind of trash has the Five City Military Patrol recruited?” Jia Yu looked at Han Bin, who acted like a lapdog.
One Gao Hu could make Han Bin bark like a dog, crazily biting at people.
Logically, the Five City Military Patrol was not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel.
They were under the command of the Jiedushi of the Jingying Garrison.
The Jiedushi of the Jingying Garrison was only responsible to the emperor and was not under any of the six departments of the court.
It was a super force independent of the court, which was used to awe the nine provinces and suppress the officials within.
The Great Zhou Dynasty learned lessons from the Tang, Song, and Ming Dynasties. It couldn’t simply prioritize literature over military affairs, nor could it prioritize military affairs over literature. It couldn’t let the generals in the border areas gain too much power. Therefore, it implemented some measures. However, these measures resulted in a decrease in the power of the military generals and an increase in the power of the civil officials.
After the death of Emperor Taizu, Emperor Taizong ascended the throne and passed away after more than ten years. The throne was passed on to the Retired Emperor.
To deal with the growing power of the civil officials, the Retired Emperor had the young Duke Rongguo establish the new Jingying Garrison.
The new Jingying Garrison was used to awe the officials in the nine provinces.
At the same time, the Jiedushi of the Jingying Garrison and the important officials in the Jingying Garrison were to be held by the descendants of military families.
The Five City Military Patrol was part of the Jingying Garrison. The Five City Military Patrol was divided into two parts. One part was composed of constables recruited by the Five City Military Patrol itself.
The other part was composed of soldiers from the five military camps in the Jingying Garrison who took turns entering the city to guard and patrol.
This was the main fighting force of the Five City Military Patrol.
The constables led by Wu Zhong and Han Bin were mainly responsible for fire alarms and daily street management.
A department independent of the six departments was actually acting as the lapdogs of the six departments.
What was the point of keeping such people?
Whoosh!
A long arrow hit Han Bin in the chest, the arrowhead piercing his heart. Han Bin felt a piercing pain and the world turned gray. He lay silent.
The warm blood made the people around Han Bin tremble.
If these people had any guts, they wouldn’t still be constables.
The Mongols besieged the capital city. For the constables of the Five City Military Patrol, this was both a crisis and an opportunity.
As long as they were brave, they could change their future.
If they went to the city walls to defend against the enemy, even if they didn’t kill anyone, they could still earn military merit.
If they killed a Mongol, they would receive even greater rewards.
After the war, they would definitely be able to enter the Five Military Camps or become the head of the constables, instead of just a small constable.
Gao Hu’s pupils contracted.
The other side dared to kill!
Han Bin was the Deputy Commander of the West City of the Five City Military Patrol!
His official rank wasn’t very high, but his position was very important!
The people of the Five City Military Patrol were terrified. They never imagined that the other side would dare to shoot their Deputy Commander.
Some of the timid ones had quietly protected their comrades in front of them.
Wu Zhong was startled. He saw Jia Yu, who was surrounded but didn’t show any panic.
Wu Zhong finally understood why the other party could come and go freely in the midst of thousands of troops.
He didn’t have that kind of courage in his entire life.
“All the people from the Five City Military Patrol, stand down!”
After Han Bin’s death, Wu Zhong was the highest-ranking official among the people from the Five City Military Patrol.
Seeing the constables in panic, Wu Zhong shouted at the top of his lungs. This calmed down the constables of the Five City Military Patrol.
He looked at the group of big men on horseback who were unaffected. Fear was in his eyes.
The other side dared to kill the Deputy Commander in broad daylight.
They must be either desperadoes or have a strong background.
Seeing that his subordinates had calmed down, Wu Zhong didn’t even look at Gao Hu. He walked cautiously to Jia Yu’s side.
“Wu Zhong, Deputy Commander of the West City of the Five City Military Patrol, pays his respects to the Jiedushi!”
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