63 Chapter 063
◎Inspecting the Beijing Camp◎
The next day, the imperial edict was delivered to Princess Jiashan's residence, appointing Xie Kui as the clan leader.
The government offices at all levels caused a lot of waves, but they were just waves. After all, it was the emperor's family affair, and even if they wanted to interfere, they did not have enough position.
There were also officials who insisted on protesting, but they gave up when their colleagues asked them, "Have you finished writing the three policy papers?"
Xie Mingzhuo made some time and asked someone to submit the relevant records of the Sun and Moon Sect, and he reviewed and analyzed them together with his parents and brother.
"The Sun and Moon Cult has a history of rebellion. We can't sit idly by and watch them grow stronger. We must eradicate them." Xie Mingshuo pointed at the paper. "Besides, who knows what they're using their teachings to deceive the people for? Swindling money is one thing, but I'm worried they might even harm lives."
"Completely eradicating it isn't easy. Not only does it require a strong armed force, but we also have to eliminate the root causes, depriving them of the soil for growth." Xie Mingzhuo leaned back in his chair. "In the end, it all comes down to making money and enriching the people."
Maintaining an army costs money, and alleviating poverty costs even more.
It takes an army to wipe out the Sun and Moon Sect, and it takes a strong army to intimidate the foreign races and small countries on the border. Even to solve the problem of land annexation in the future, it is necessary to firmly control the army.
Training troops, raising war horses, forging weapons, which one doesn't require money and food?
To achieve these, a peaceful and stable environment is essential.
The northern nomadic peoples and the Liaodong tribes have always been eyeing the Central Plains. Several conflicts have occurred recently, so we have to be on guard.
An idea popped into Xie Mingzhuo's mind, and he asked the four people, "Three months have passed. How are Lao Lu's soldiers training?"
"I don't know the details, but he did submit a few memorials, so there should be some results." Xie Changfeng couldn't help but worry, "What? Is there going to be a war?"
Xie Mingzhuo laughed: "No, it's just that I have an immature idea."
The four of them listened attentively.
"I want to invite the delegation to watch a military parade while they're still in the capital. It would be great if it could shock them, but even if it doesn't, it can be treated as a unique birthday gift."
"That's great! If it can really be realized, I will definitely make it the front page headline." Xie Mingshuo's eyes lit up.
Meng Qi: "Isn't the time too short? Even in the future, military parades would have to be prepared a long time in advance, right?"
Xie Mingxuan: "I think it's feasible. There's no concept of forming a square formation these days. As long as we pick out the most elite officers, we should be able to form a complete formation in ten days. If we then display a powerful and imposing presence, we'll definitely be able to scare them. Besides, we have a secret weapon."
Three months was enough time for the Armoury Bureau and Military Equipment Inspectorate in the capital to produce a large number of flintlock muskets.
"That's right," Xie Mingzhuo clapped his hands. "Quality is more important than quantity in a phalanx. An infantry phalanx, a cavalry phalanx, and a divine machine phalanx are enough."
Xie Changfeng said excitedly: "Okay, even if we can't show it this time, we can always do it next time."
"Then ask Marquis Weining to come and ask." Meng Qi was also tempted by what he said.
After receiving the summons, Lu Ping changed out of his military uniform and donned his ordinary clothes to enter the palace to meet the emperor. Seeing that the emperor and his family of five were all there, he thought to himself that it was indeed so.
He bowed respectfully and sat down carefully after the emperor offered him a seat.
"Marquis Weining, please tell me about the current strength of the Beijing Camp."
Lu Ping gathered his thoughts briefly and replied, "Your Majesty, after removing the old, weak, sick, and disabled, I have also recruited young and strong men from the remaining troops in various places. Now, the Beijing camp has a total of 300,000 soldiers."
"How's your combat power?"
This question is really difficult to answer. After all, we haven't fought a war yet, so we can't make an accurate judgment.
"I have developed a new training method. Three months have passed and the combat effectiveness has improved slightly." Lu Ping said as modestly as possible.
Xie Mingzhuo asked, "If, on the day of the Emperor's birthday, you personally led a division of infantry, a unit of cavalry, and two units of musketeers to review the envoys and intimidate them, would you be confident?"
One division consists of 500 people, with each formation consisting of 100 people, and can be divided into five formations.
A team consists of fifty people, and the number of cavalry cannot be too large, otherwise confusion will easily occur.
Is it possible that we can’t pick out a few hundred elite soldiers from the 300,000-strong Beijing army?
Hearing this, Lu Ping's heart suddenly heated up. He certainly had the confidence to make those people stunned, but he still had to carefully consider the specific rules for the inspection on the day of the Emperor's birthday.
"I would like to ask, will Your Majesty personally inspect the inspection?"
Xie Changfeng encouraged him, "I will ascend the Chengtian Gate and watch the ceremony with the envoys. The people of Chang'an Avenue will also participate in the review."
"I will do my best to live up to your majesty's trust." Lu Ping vowed excitedly.
Xie Changfeng coughed lightly and said, "You should discuss the specific matters with Rong An."
"Your humble servant obeys your order." Lu Ping said with a stern look, "Your humble servant does have a rough idea in mind. I will go back and draft it and present it to the princess tomorrow. I hope the princess will correct me."
Xie Mingzhuo also gave him face and said with a smile: "I am an amateur in the field of military affairs. I have to rely on Marquis Weining for this parade."
"Princess, you are embarrassing me." The three discussions in the court the day before yesterday made Lu Ping look at Xie Mingzhuo with new eyes. He did not think that Princess Rong'an was a fool.
Xie Mingzhuo suggested at the right moment, "No need to bother you with the report. I'd like to go to the Beijing camp myself tomorrow. I'll just take a look and won't have to interrupt training."
"I understand."
After Lu Ping took his leave, he returned to his house, full of energy and vigor. He rushed to the study and started to spread out paper and grind ink.
"What good thing happened?" Liu Ying personally brought hot tea and joked, "You're grinning from ear to ear."
Lu Ping told her happily.
"Really?" Liu Ying was also looking forward to it. "Then you must practice well. When the time comes, you will scare them so much that they won't dare to attack."
Lu Ping added some water to the inkstone and said, "It's easy to get the soldiers to obey orders, but the possibility of accidents happening to the war horses is relatively high."
"What's the difficulty?" Liu Ying gave him a sidelong look.
"Hahahaha, I almost forgot, Madam has even trained wolves." Lu Ping held her hand, "Madam, are you willing to help me?"
"Is it suitable?" Liu Ying was quite tempted.
Lu Ping leaned close to her ear and whispered, "The princess will go to inspect the camp tomorrow. I'll mention this to her."
The three major camps in the capital were the Five Army Camp, the Three Thousand Army Camp, and the Shenji Camp. The Five Army Camp was the largest infantry unit, the Three Thousand Army Camp was the cavalry, mostly composed of recruited grassland warriors, and the Shenji Camp was commonly known as the Firearms Camp.
The Five Army Battalions were the main force of the capital, and were divided into the Central Army, the Left Wing Army, the Right Wing Army, the Left Guard Army, and the Right Guard Army. They were stationed in the parade grounds outside Anding Gate and Desheng Gate in the capital.
Xie Mingzhuo did not keep a low profile this time. He set out from the palace in a carriage specially commissioned by the princess and headed towards Deshengmen under the escort of hundreds of imperial guards.
The gongs were sounded to clear the way, and all the people avoided it.
She did not intend to make such a big scene to disturb the people, but she was inspecting the military camp on behalf of the emperor and needed a show of status.
There will be many such cases in the future, and she can't hide her identity and go incognito every time.
In order to obtain visible political achievements, she needs to obtain them in the name of a princess.
Not until the imperial carriage had gone far away did the people gradually gather in the streets.
"Is the person sitting inside really Princess Sanyi?"
"Is that still true?"
"This is the first time I've seen the princess attend court."
"I'm surprised by what I've seen. I think those three proposals are very good."
"You know shit. If you're that talented, why didn't you take the imperial examination and become the top scorer?"
"Hey, you're so pedantic!"
Song Qianqi mixed in the crowd and asked curiously, "What Princess Sanyi?"
"You're from another place, right? Let me tell you..."
"So powerful?" Song Qianqi was extremely surprised. "And then?"
"Tomorrow at court, the officials will have to submit their policy essays. I don't know who will write the best, or whether there will be any rewards for good essays."
Song Qianqi couldn't help but think of the girl who rescued him yesterday. The women in the capital were really different from what he imagined.
He thanked the man and prepared to return to Huitong Hall to continue inquiring with the officials there. His eyes accidentally brushed past a face, and thanks to his excellent eyesight, he immediately captured the man's appearance and was stunned.
"Azhou?!"
The inspection camp was set up at the Zuoye Military Academy.
Yesterday, we received instructions from Marquis Lu, and the battalion commander Pan Yuancheng, together with the captains, the chief officers, and others, were waiting outside the parade ground to welcome us.
"Sir Pan, why is the princess coming to the camp?" The captain was getting impatient and was also confused about this, so he took the opportunity to ask.
Pan Yuancheng said expressionlessly, "Just follow my orders. Don't ask any more questions."
He was also confused. Why would a spoiled princess have to come to inspect the military camp?
I heard that the emperor is very fond of Princess Rong'an, and it would be fine if he allowed her to enter the court to participate in meetings, but now she is interfering in the military camp, which is really distressing.
Previously, he had laughed at those court officials who were so scolded by a princess that they dared not to impeach or protest. But now the princess was coming to stroll around the military camp. He couldn't help but ask himself whether he dared to submit a memorial to question the emperor.
The answer is: I dare not.
It’s just a waste of one day, so just consider it as making the princess happy.
Come to think of it, he hasn't seen the princess yet.
In the autumn sky, flags flutter.
Xie Mingzhuo's carriage stopped outside the camp, and Weining Marquis Lu Ping dismounted and personally went to the front of the carriage to wait respectfully.
"Princess, we have arrived at the training ground."
Jiang Qing and Feng Caiyu stood on both sides of the carriage, and reached out to lift the front curtain at the same time. The guards had already brought a footrest and placed it under the carriage.
Everyone bowed their heads respectfully, but couldn't help but look up.
This is a princess.
The tassels of the curtain swayed slightly, and the silk threads shone with golden luster in the sunlight. Through the opened front curtain, a glimpse of the hem of a piece of clothing could be vaguely seen in the carriage.
Xie Mingzhuo was not wearing the complicated princess's dress today. She had her hair in a very neat bun and wore a scarlet robe. She was tall and slender, and looked very heroic.
She stood on the shaft of the chariot, glanced at the crowd, and smiled softly: "Is everyone here, soldiers, getting impatient waiting?"
Everyone immediately knelt down and apologized.
"I was just joking with you. Get up now." Xie Mingzhuo stepped off the carriage and walked over to Pan Yuancheng. "I heard from Marquis Weining that General Pan is not only a man of both civil and military talents, but is also adept at managing camp affairs. He is a rare talent."
Pan Yuancheng's serious face almost collapsed. Who could stand it when he started praising her right away?!
"Your father once served as the deputy commander of Wanquan. During his tenure, he was known for his political integrity and bravery in repelling the enemy. He was truly admirable. As the saying goes, like father, like son. General Pan has inherited his father's spirit."
Pan Yuancheng's original impatience completely dissipated, and when he put aside his prejudiced views, he realized that the princess in front of him was completely different from what he had imagined. She exuded nobility and majesty, as if the emperor himself had come.
She is worthy of being the decisive Princess Sanyi!
"It is the duty of a subject to serve his country faithfully. Princess, you are too kind. I feel ashamed."
Xie Mingzhuo nodded with satisfaction. It was necessary to appease her subordinates. She didn't want to be in a dark cloud as soon as she got to work.
"Princess, please enter the training ground." Lu Ping spoke at the right time.
Xie Mingzhuo and his entourage entered the training ground, with Marquis Weining accompanying him, and the rest of the soldiers following behind.
"Sir, the princess praised you, are you happy?" The subordinate came close to Pan Yuancheng and winked, thinking that he had lowered his voice so that it could not be heard in front.
However, Xie Mingzhuo had extraordinary hearing and heard it clearly.
Pan Yuancheng warned him: "Focus and stop talking nonsense."
I don’t know how the princess will conduct the inspection. She can’t just watch the drills in the parade grounds all day, right?
"I heard there are often competitions in the camp, divided into martial arts and horse archery. I'd like to see them." Xie Mingzhuo turned and looked at Pan Yuancheng. "I brought my personal guards with me today. I wonder how the warriors in the camp will fare against my personal guards."
Pan Yuancheng immediately stepped forward and said confidently, "Princess, please wait a moment. I will call someone over and we'll know the answer after a comparison."
He ordered his men to summon the top ten contestants of the previous competition and invited Xie Mingzhuo to go up to the platform to watch.
Xie Mingzhuo readily followed the advice and sat down on the high platform.
The ten warriors quickly gathered and lined up in the training ground below the platform, all of them looking dignified.
Pan Yuancheng: "I wonder which personal guard the princess sent to give instructions."
Xie Mingzhuo turned his head to signal Jiang Qing to step forward.
Everyone followed his gaze and were all stunned. Although he was tall and strong, he was actually a real girl!
Is the princess making fun of them?
Lu Ping couldn't help but be surprised. He knew that Jiang Qing was not an ordinary maid, but the princess's personal guard, but he didn't know how good her martial arts were.
Only Feng Caiyu, who knew the inside story, shook her head secretly. His Highness was giving a sweet date and then giving a slap in the face.
Although Aqing's martial arts skills are not as good as His Highness's, even Commander Yang praised her highly.
These warriors are in trouble.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
