Chapter 233: General Zhao is respectfully invited to demonstrate his martial arts skills!
Tang Daren...Tang Ping...Who came up with these weird names...
Inside the car, Zhao Duan forced himself to suppress the urge to complain and looked through the information in his hand.
On the paper was the basic information of the noteworthy officers of the Shenjiying.
The person ranked first was not Commander Shi Meng, but this "young master"... But considering his status as the Duke of Zhenguo, it is easy to understand.
"It's easy to be an official if you have someone in the court." Zhao Duan sighed.
He didn't know much about the Duke of Zhenguo, but he knew that he was one of the few top military heroes in the Dayu Dynasty who held military power.
The title of Duke of Zhenguo can be traced back hundreds of years.
The Tang family is also a family of military honors from generation to generation.
He is completely different from the useless nobleman like Xia Jianghou.
However, the Duke of Zhenguo is stationed in Xiping Road all year round, far away from the capital, and his presence is not high.
This generation of Duke Zhenguo originally had an eldest son, but he died unexpectedly. He then had several daughters, and finally Tang Ping.
Therefore, the title of "Young Master" was transferred from his deceased eldest son to him.
"With such a prominent identity, he is just a thousand-household official?" Zhao Duan asked curiously.
Mo Chou snorted, looking surprised, and said:
"The family precepts of the Zhenguo Duke are strict. They teach the younger generations of the clan like they are commanding an army. Even the future Duke will be sent into the army and start from the lowest level..."
I get it... From a small soldier to a captain, and in a very safe imperial guard like the Shenjiying... This promotion speed is like riding a rocket...
Zhao Duan understood immediately and expressed his full understanding of the behavior of the children of top military heroes coming here to gild themselves.
Turning to the second page, Commander Shi Meng's resume... His qualifications were mediocre. Although he was also a military general, he was able to reach this position not only because of his military achievements, but also because of Xue Shen Ce's support...
In this way, it makes sense why a commander-in-chief is less important than a thousand-household official.
"Zhao Rong specifically mentioned this person and asked me to pay attention to him. Could it be that he dislikes me?"
Zhao Duan flicked his fingers through the information and couldn't help asking helplessly:
"Just because I eliminated his subordinates? Zhang Changji?"
Mo Chou shook her head and said:
"That's not the case. Although Zhang Changji is under his command, he reportedly doesn't appreciate him. Furthermore, he has connections to Prince Jing's Mansion... He wouldn't vent his anger on you because of this.
To be more precise, this young master hates everyone he despises equally, and you just happen to be one of them."
"..." Zhao Duan was unhappy:
"Hasn't he heard my story?"
Mo Chou said helplessly:
"I've heard it, but I've heard it too much. Well, this has something to do with you, the Thousand-Faced God."
She gave a brief explanation, and Zhao Duan finally understood what was going on.
At the beginning, the small flag officer killed by the Thousand-Faced God had been in the Beijing Camp. It was said that he had a good relationship with people and his brothers also served in the Beijing Camp.
Later, he witnessed his brother being assassinated. In anger, he cursed Zhao Du'an and was severely beaten by the henchmen of the imperial court.
When the news spread, many comrades in the camp shared the same hatred for the enemy.
In addition, more than half of the people assassinated by the Thousand-Faced God were military officers... This led to a considerable number of military officers being extremely dissatisfied with Zhao Duan.
Therefore, many exaggerated words naturally spread in various military camps and were learned by Tang Ping, further exacerbating the young master's dislike for him.
"That little flag officer brother who's causing me trouble is also from the Beijing Camp?"
Zhao Duan held his forehead and suddenly had the urge to turn around and go back to the imperial prison to whip the Thousand-Faced God to vent his anger.
Damn the rebels...it was definitely intentional...he was already arrested, yet they still set a trap for him.
Mo Chou sighed:
"The atmosphere in the military is different from that in the civilian sector. They place great importance on comradeship. Not to mention the officers who are on good terms with Zhang Changji, the incident involving the Thousand-Faced Divine Lord alone has caused many lower-level officers to resent you."
Zhao Duan was puzzled and asked, "Don't these soldiers have brains?"
Mo Chou seemed to smile but not smile:
"You think they're stupid? No, these arrogant soldiers are not stupid. Well... From what I know, many people are indignant.
I feel that it is extremely unfair that a fool like you is promoted and rewarded by His Majesty just because of your face, while those who are better at martial arts and have greater achievements than you are not favored...
Zhao Duan suddenly understood.
He was originally just a small soldier in the Imperial Guards, but he rose to fame overnight. What do the other officers and soldiers in the Imperial Guards think?
It's human nature to feel jealous.
As the saying goes, "I'm afraid of my brothers suffering, but I'm even more afraid of my brothers driving Land Rover"... The lower-level military officers were much more upset than the civil service group about the promotion of Zhao Duan, a loser.
Coupled with the incident of the small flag officer brothers being dealt with... it further fermented the hostile sentiment.
"Of course, there aren't that many officers who have a bad impression of you."
Seeing his grim expression, Mo Chou added jokingly:
"If I say I look down on you, it's because I think your martial arts skills are not good enough. Haha, just like the civil officials look down on the vulgarity of the military generals, the military generals also look down on the evil hearts of the civil officials...
In the military, only martial arts prowess is admirable. They have always looked down upon your sinister methods of dealing with others.
Therefore, if you want to gain a firm foothold in the Shenji Camp, if you don't have the martial arts strength to convince them, then even if you are very cunning and manipulative, the reckless men in the army will not recognize you."
Martial arts?
Zhao Duan's expression suddenly became subtle.
In fact, up to now, there are only a handful of people in the capital who truly understand his progress in martial arts.
The empress knew the most, followed by Zhang Han, Haitang and others from the imperial court, and then the rebels of the Kuangfu Society.
No one else knows.
The last time he took action publicly, he defeated Zhang Changji.
Therefore, in the impression of most people, Zhao Duan's cultivation is still at the initial level of mortals, or at most the middle level.
Little did he know that after the personal instruction of the Empress, his martial arts had changed beyond recognition.
"I see..."
He murmured softly.
Seeing his expression, Mo Chou thought he was feeling pressured. After hesitating for a moment, she comforted him:
“I say this just to give you an understanding of the situation in the Shenji Camp.
The Beijing Army emphasizes strict military discipline. As a newly appointed assistant commander, you don't have to worry. The army is not like the Pear Blossom Hall. If you violate your superiors, you will be subject to military law. Even the son of the Duke of Zhenguo must abide by the rules."
Zhao Duan smiled and raised his hand to lift the car curtain.
Looking at the barracks gradually appearing in the distance in the early autumn air, he murmured in a barely perceptible voice:
"It would be better if we didn't follow the rules..."
He did not forget that he was holding the imperial sword promised by the empress.
…
…
Shenjiying.
Stationed in the southern suburbs of the capital, it is far away from the bamboo forest where it traveled through.
The outer perimeter is surrounded by loess walls, with barracks and houses scattered inside, as well as a large open space used for military training.
When Zhao Duan and his party arrived.
Shi Meng, the commander of the Shenji Camp, had already led several officers and was standing at the camp gate to greet them in person.
Seeing several people getting off the car one after another, the third-rank commander, who was extremely tall and strong, with dark skin, needle-like hair and beard, and the appearance of a fierce general, immediately laughed out loud and stepped forward to greet them.
"Mo Zhaorong, Zhao Chenshi... you two are finally here. I, Old Shi, have been waiting for you for so long!"
Zhao Duan got off the car and stood side by side with Mo Chou, looking curiously at the brave general who was walking towards them enthusiastically.
Mo Zhaorong represented the empress. At this moment, she looked dignified, smiled and nodded, and introduced the visitor to Zhao Duan.
"General Shi has a majestic appearance, worthy of being a great general."
Zhao Duan smiled and clasped his fists:
"From now on, I will work under the general."
Shi Meng pretended to be displeased and said:
"What are you talking about, Zhao Chenshi? When you come to our Shenji Camp, just think of it as coming home. You and I both share His Majesty's worries. We should treat each other as equals, without any distinction of superiority or inferiority!"
A dignified third-rank military officer treated a fourth-rank officer like this.
The attitude is very humble.
Mo Chou's lips curled up slightly and she nodded with satisfaction, thinking that Shi Meng was indeed sensible and there should be no accidents when he performed his duties today.
"hehe."
Zhao Duan smiled and accepted it happily without being polite.
He whispered a few words to his two direct descendants, Hou Renmeng and Qian Kerou, who were following behind him.
A group of people entered the camp in a mighty procession.
From a distance, you can hear the sound of soldiers training in the parade ground.
Shi Meng explained with a smile:
"It's autumn now, and it's time for training. Our Shenji Battalion has a full complement of 5,000 men, 3,600 infantry, 1,000 cavalry, and less than 500 rocket soldiers. We're divided into the Central Army, the Left and Right Wings, the Left and Right Patrols... a total of five armies, each with an eunuch and a military officer...
Oh, Zhao Chenshi has arrived now, and he is the chief eunuch in charge of the army... Today's training is for the central army... It's a good opportunity to show you the atmosphere in the army, which is very different from the court in the city."
Zhao Duan asked curiously:
"Why is it that during the drill, we only hear commands but no gunshots are heard?"
"Gunshot?" The third-rank commander Shi Meng was stunned for a moment, a puzzled look on his face, then he said "Oh" and said:
"Zhao Chenshi was referring to firearms, right? Today we were only practicing archery and cavalry, so we couldn't hear anything."
Isn't that right... shouldn't the Shenjiying infantry also use muskets or something like that? And what are rocket soldiers... shouldn't they be artillery? Zhao Duan was curious.
He didn't know much about the situation of Dayu Shenjiying and could only guess based on inertia.
However, in order to avoid appearing timid, he just suppressed his doubts in his heart.
As they were talking, the group walked around the barracks, and suddenly the view in front of them opened up to a huge training ground.
At this moment, flags were fluttering all around the training ground, and armored infantrymen, some holding spears, some holding bows and arrows, were lined up in square formations for training.
Some middle and low-ranking military officers nearby saw Shi Meng coming from afar and ordered their infantry to stop, turn around, and line up to welcome the new commander.
"The commander of the Shenji Camp..."
"Hand the cards..."
"General of the Central Army Camp...meet the Deputy Commander!"
In the blink of an eye, dozens of officers came running over and greeted them with fists clasped.
Zhao Duan smiled and nodded in turn, and together with Mochou, he reviewed the formation of thousands of soldiers, which felt like an inspection.
Shi Meng smiled and nodded slightly, thinking that his advice was indeed effective and these soldiers performed well.
At least this made Lord Zhao, who was appointed by His Majesty as a clerk in name but actually a "military supervisor", happy.
Things will be much easier after that.
However, as soon as this thought came to his mind, Shi Meng's eyelids twitched.
I heard the sound of approaching horse hooves and my heart skipped a beat.
Zhao Duan also raised his head when he heard the sound, and saw in surprise that in the distance of the parade ground, a young general in a white robe rushed out from the army!
This person was riding a rare white horse, and on top of that was a young officer wearing a white cloak and shiny silver armor.
He was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a handsome face and sharp eyes. When he rode his horse at full speed, one could see his extraordinary horsemanship.
Amid the thundering sound of horse hooves, the white-robed officer suddenly raised the iron bow in his hand, took out three arrows from the quiver on his back, and put them on the bowstring like flowing water.
Draw the bow and draw the arrow.
The horse galloped.
Clouds of dust rose from the ground.
“Whoosh!”
“Whoosh!”
“Whoosh!”
The three arrows turned into afterimages while running, broke through the air, and accurately hit the scarlet bull's eyes of the three targets in the training ground!
"good!"
"mighty!"
There was a faint sound of cheering in the army.
Accompanied by the low sound of drums.
The scene prepared to welcome Zhao Duan seemed to have become a stage for this person to perform archery.
Shi Meng's face suddenly changed, and he secretly shouted "Ancestors!" in his heart, almost wanting to curse on the spot.
"General Shi, this is..."
As luck would have it, Zhao Duan turned around and asked him with a smile.
Like a fierce general on the battlefield, Commander Shi, who was actually rough but delicate, moved his lips and forced a smile:
"It's Captain Tang Ping from the camp."
That young master?
Zhao Duan raised his eyebrows.
At this time, the drumbeats gradually stopped, and the white-robed officer reined in his horse, came close to the crowd, and jumped down.
With Shi Meng's extremely ugly face, he faced Zhao Duan and bowed slightly, as if to salute.
He held up a large iron bow with both hands and said loudly:
"General Tang Ping, in accordance with military tradition, invites General Zhao to demonstrate his martial arts skills!"
(End of this chapter)
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