Qiu Dezhong shook his head upon hearing this: "Tianhe Prefecture is useless. Even the imperial court is unwilling to allocate funds to it. Judging from this attitude, the imperial court has almost given up on Tianhe Prefecture."
“If Tianhe Prefecture were useful, why would it be given to Princess Zhenguo?” Qiu Deyi said.
When Qiu Wutong saw his two nephews belittling Tianhe Prefecture as always, his face darkened: "That's because the Princess Zhenguo has the money to support the army, so she didn't compete with other prefectures. It's because she's magnanimous, not because the Emperor doesn't value that place."
The Qiu brothers, however, seemed unconcerned.
No matter how rich a person is, the investment required to maintain an army of 20,000 and train them into elite soldiers is unimaginable.
The only reason Princess Zhenguo has persisted until now is to ensure that Tianhe Prefecture doesn't rank last in the competition. Once that goal is achieved, she's unwilling to spend any more money.
Therefore, she couldn't possibly be indifferent to the imperial court's funding. The reason she couldn't get it was because the emperor didn't have high expectations for Tianhe Prefecture.
They felt that this speculation made a lot of sense.
"The competition is in two days. You all need to focus on training. This time, the Emperor is here in person, so I'll give you two more chances to compete. Don't let me down," Qiu Wu said.
The competition consists of five matches, with three wins required. If the score is tied, an additional match will be played.
Judging from their attitudes, he genuinely has some concerns.
However, thinking about how Longzhou had been winning steadily for so many years, Qiu Wutong felt relieved that it was impossible for them to fail this year.
The two brothers were overjoyed to hear this. They wanted to participate more often and show Princess Zhenguo and General Pei their strength and prestige after arriving in Longzhou.
The day before the competition, troops from various states arrived in Longzhou, with each state sending 2,000 men, totaling 12,000.
Each army unit was equipped with its own cooking and drinking water, tents, and all necessary weapons and equipment.
As soon as everything was settled, smoke began to rise from the training grounds at the Longzhou garrison.
After competing for so many years, the troops became familiar with each other, the generals visited each other, and they would gather together to chat about everything under the sun.
Although everyone competes every year to determine the winner, it is only to test the results of the year's training. The ultimate goal is to apply them to the battlefield, serve the Great Swamp Kingdom, and protect the people and the land.
Therefore, people will not become estranged because of winning or losing.
Qiao Lian'er bought dozens of kilograms of Moutai from her spatial storage, put it in a large wine jar, and had a large, roasted whole lamb prepared and brought over for the generals to eat and drink.
The generals all rose and bowed in thanks.
After taking a sip of the wine, their eyes lit up. They couldn't believe there was such a delicious wine in the world; it was like heavenly nectar. They immediately praised it highly.
Qiu Wutong also brought his two brothers from the Qiu family.
"You all seem to be in good spirits," Qiu Wutong greeted everyone.
"General Qiu, Generals, please be seated."
People gave them their seats.
Qiao Lian'er sat at the head of the table, and Qiu Wutong respectfully bowed to her. However, the Qiu brothers, Qiu Dezhong and Qiu Wutong, looked reluctant and didn't even glance at Pei Qingrong, who was slightly below them.
The two brothers now exude arrogance.
"Let's drink less, after all, there are five matches tomorrow, and four of them will be our brothers' matches."
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