Xie Chang'an tilted his head slightly and reached out to block the light from the corner of his eye, not wanting to see Ye Jingchen's feigned pitiful expression.
He realized that Ye Jingchen was quite flexible and adaptable, capable of being a rogue and a pitiful figure, and would stop at nothing to achieve his goals!
"This grandfather and grandson are now the most famous storytellers in the capital. Using their stories will achieve twice the result with half the effort," he said.
“Quantitative change leads to qualitative change. If you find several storytellers to do it together, the effect will be the same,” Ye Jingchen said.
"Moreover, if we only target that grandfather and grandson, it's too one-dimensional and they'll be easily targeted. The powerful families could easily destroy them."
“Most importantly—I still have a great use for this grandfather and grandson!” he emphasized.
"Does Your Highness mean by 'useful' by having them repeatedly proclaim your glorious and great deeds and sing your praises?" Xie Chang'an asked with a sarcastic smile.
"Yes, that's right." Ye Jingchen readily admitted.
"You really are—" Xie Chang'an was at a loss for words and didn't know what to say.
“I have done them a favor, and they are grateful to me, so it is reasonable for them to sing my praises, isn’t it?” Ye Jingchen asked rhetorically.
Although the praise was a bit excessive, and Ye Jingchen, the person involved, felt embarrassed, as long as the people of the capital didn't find it exaggerated, they were fine with it, given the heartfelt praise from the grandfather and grandson.
In fact, they were also willing to believe, or rather, eagerly hoped, that their ruler was a benevolent monarch full of a sense of justice.
This way, they will have more hope for the future.
"Your Highness, aren't you afraid of arousing suspicion by starting to win over the hearts and minds of the people so early?"
After all, that person was not a magnanimous person, nor did he have any tolerance for others!
“I saved them, and they sang my praises. Even if it reaches my father’s ears, he will only think that the grandfather and grandson know how to be grateful. After all, apart from saving them at that time and seeking justice for them later, I have no other interaction with them, right?”
"Besides, I'm still so young, how could I possibly understand things like public opinion and popular support?" Ye Jingchen spread his hands innocently.
"How can you be sure they'll continue their storytelling career after they're rescued? And that they'll sing your praises?" Xie Chang'an was particularly curious about this.
Ye Jingchen smiled and said, "Because on the day I saved them, I kept praising their writing."
After hearing that the prefect's son had been sentenced, the prefect himself was also dismissed and investigated. This investigation uncovered a large amount of money he had embezzled.
Lost in the praise of "Your Majesty is wise" from the people of the capital, the emperor, unusually generous, used a portion of the embezzled funds to compensate the victims and their families who had been persecuted by the son of the prefect over the years. Each victim received a share of the money.
The grandfather and granddaughter also received a sum of money, which should have meant they no longer needed to make a living as storytellers. After all, in this era of strict separation between men and women, it was easy for a young girl to attract criticism by showing her face in public.
But it is precisely because of the Crown Prince's repeated encouragement and recognition that the grandfather and grandson no longer regard storytelling as just a means of making a living, but as a dream to pursue. They want to become masters and be famous throughout the world!
Xie Chang'an once again sincerely felt that if there had been someone like Ye Jingchen in his previous life, he would have had no chance of conquering the world!
They're so good at manipulating people's hearts!
"You mentioned the training methods before. Now that we have plenty of time, why don't you explain them in detail?" Xie Chang'an asked.
Ever since Ye Jingchen casually mentioned it during that morning run, Xie Chang'an has kept it in mind and still thinks about it now.
Ye Jingchen's warm-up exercises were very good, so he was also full of expectations for the training methods Ye Jingchen mentioned.
"How does your Xie family army train its soldiers on a daily basis?" Ye Jingchen asked instead of answering.
He said he had some knowledge of military training methods, not out of modesty, but because he genuinely only had a superficial understanding.
In modern times, the training methods of special forces are not a secret. If you want to find out, you can find them online, and there are even some videos for reference. However, being able to find them and being able to do them are two completely different concepts. With the physical fitness and willpower of ordinary people, they can only watch them for fun.
But Xie Chang'an and his army were clearly not ordinary people.
If they were trained like special forces soldiers, Xie's army would be even stronger than it is now, becoming a truly invincible force.
With such an army stationed on the frontier, Ye Jingchen can rest easy.
"Physical training, crossbow firing skills training, and drills in battle formations," Xie Chang'an replied.
In fact, Xie's army's training methods are no different from other armies, except that they are more rigorous and intense.
After all, if soldiers don't train properly in peacetime, they might lose their lives on the battlefield.
The reason Xie's army trusted them was simply because their family members always took the lead in battle, charging ahead and doing their utmost to bring their soldiers back safely from the battlefield.
"We train by running in the morning and evening, but it's different from our light jogging. We carry a backpack with dozens of kilograms of heavy weights and run at a steady pace with the weight on our backs."
"Simulate various different combat environments, such as quicksand, jungle, mountains, and rivers, so that soldiers can train in them and overcome the challenges of the environment."
"There are also training methods for different parts of the body, such as the thighs, calves, waist, abdomen, and upper limbs. I can demonstrate these for you during your next morning run. There are also balance training and flexibility training..."
"In addition, targeted training can be designed based on the weapons used by the soldiers. For example, for spears, they can practice swinging the spear a certain number of times each day. Spears can also be thrown to injure the enemy, so they must also practice throwing skills."
"To summarize, it's about human physical potential, adaptability to the environment, strengthening and training various organs and limbs, and proficient use of weapons—from the inside out, from top to bottom, in every aspect."
Ye Jingchen told him all the methods of physical exercise he knew.
Regarding training troops, he believed that Xie Chang'an was more experienced than him, who only knew how to talk about it theoretically. Xie Chang'an would be able to distinguish which methods were suitable for the Xie family army and which were not.
Ye Jingchen talked to him for a long time until his mouth was dry, and he drank a lot of tea.
"If you tell me all this, aren't you afraid that I'll train an invincible army, rebel against the Great Abyss, and establish myself as king?"
With so many things coming into his mind at once, Xie Chang'an's thoughts were somewhat chaotic.
Having led troops for many years, he could naturally discern that many of the methods Ye Jingchen had told him were feasible. If the Xie family army were trained according to Ye Jingchen's instructions, they would definitely be able to form a formidable force.
He was shocked by Ye Jingchen's complete lack of reservation, and puzzled by Ye Jingchen's trust in him.
"Hmph—" Ye Jingchen couldn't help but chuckle. "Young Master Xie, your thoughts are dangerous! Your Xie family, starting with the matriarch, has been loyal to Dayuan for three generations. Aren't you afraid of being punished by family law for saying such things?"
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