After having breakfast early in the morning, Bai Chuxiao and her second brother rode with Chu Tianze to the outskirts of the capital. The outskirts of the capital were about ten miles from the capital. A portion of the Imperial Guards under Cheng Song's command, along with the troops guarding the capital under General He Yan, and the five thousand Xuanjia soldiers brought back by Chu Tianze, were stationed there. Chu Tianze was ordered to reorganize military affairs, and except for the Imperial Guards, he could now control everyone in the outskirts of the capital. However, these people were ultimately only loyal to the Emperor, and if His Majesty revoked their positions, they would not listen to him.
The horses stopped outside the camp, and a young man in black armor immediately stepped forward, saying, "This humble general greets Your Highness, and greets the young lady and young master."
Bai Chuxiao looked at the person in front of her and felt that he looked familiar. She should have seen him before, but where... she remembered, it was at the bandit stronghold on the mountain before. This person was also very brave in killing.
Chu Tianze looked at her and chuckled, "This is Cui Hao, the commander of the Flying Cloud Cavalry in the Xuanjia Army."
"So it's Commander Cui," Bai Chuxiao nodded slightly.
At this moment, another soldier stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Highness, Commander He requests your presence."
Chu Tianze nodded and then smiled, "Xiaoxiao, Young Master Murong, why don't you go with Cui Hao and take a look first?"
Bai Chuxiao smiled slightly, "Okay, then you can go ahead and do your thing."
Cui Hao chuckled, "Miss, Young Master, this way please."
Bai Chuxiao asked with some doubt, "Doesn't Commander Cui find it strange or surprising that I, a woman, have come to the military camp?"
In the Great Xia Dynasty, customs were not yet open to gender equality, and women serving as generals could freely enter and leave military camps. Of course, there were precedents, such as the late Empress, but that was many years ago. Therefore, she used to disguise herself as a man and enter the military camps in Dingzhou for fun.
"Your Highness has his reasons for bringing Miss here, and I've witnessed Miss's skills firsthand." The way she swiftly and decisively wielded her blade had even made Cui Hao feel somewhat ashamed, so his visit to the military camp wasn't surprising.
"Commander Cui is no less impressive," Bai Chuxiao said with a faint smile.
Seeing the two of them flattering each other, Murong Xuan said somewhat helplessly, "Both of you are outstanding, but let's go inside first."
Cui Hao smiled faintly, "Young Master Murong is right."
"Commander Cui, I just heard Chu Tianze mention the Flying Cloud Cavalry. May I ask how the Xuanjia Army is divided?" Bai Chuxiao asked with interest.
"The Xuanjia Army is divided into three major camps. The left and right wings are commanded by Generals Shen Tao and Song Fei respectively. Then there is the Flying Cloud Cavalry, which is commanded by his subordinates. Although the Flying Cloud Cavalry has only 20,000 men, they are all elite soldiers. And those who accompanied the prince back this time are all Flying Cloud Cavalry."
Bai Chuxiao nodded with a smile, "I see." Cavalry excels at raids; indeed, quality is more important than quantity.
Passing through a training ground, I saw soldiers in black armor and soldiers in red armor facing off and shouting at each other. In the center of the field, one person in black and one in red were brandishing long swords.
Seeing this, Murong Xuan couldn't help but ask, "Commander Cui, what's going on?"
Cui Hao smiled faintly, "Young Master Murong, the black ones are the Flying Cloud Cavalry, and the red ones are the troops guarding the capital. The two sides don't like each other and they clash every day. I'm used to it."
Bai Chuxiao smiled slightly, "The Flying Cloud Cavalry is still superior." The one in black armor was clearly going to win; she certainly couldn't see that.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before the black-armored man slashed the red-armored man down with a single blow, eliciting cheers from the Flying Cloud Riders behind him, while the red-armored soldiers on the other side muttered curses under their breath.
"What are you laughing at, Cui Hao? How dare you bring a woman into this military camp?" The man who had just lost walked over indignantly and shouted.
A cold glint flashed in Cui Hao's eyes. "Li Guang, you're the one who's audacious! This is the eldest daughter of the Bai family, the future Princess Consort of Yan. How dare you shout at her like that? Apologize now!"
Li Guang scoffed, "So what? Even the Princess Consort of Yan can't come to the military camp."
The Flying Cloud Rider who had just won immediately stepped forward and said sternly, "Li Guang, I think you haven't had enough of being beaten, have you? How dare you be so rude to our future princess!"
"Xia Fan, what are you so smug about? You only won by a narrow margin," Li Guang retorted stubbornly.
"If you're not satisfied, then let's have another match," Xia Fan sneered.
Li Guang immediately fell silent. Bai Chuxiao raised an eyebrow at this and said, "How about I fight you? Do you dare?"
"Hmph, even if I win against a woman like you, people will say I won unfairly," Li Guang said with disdain.
"Why waste so much time on nonsense? Just tell me if you're going to fight or not. You don't even have the courage to fight a woman, do you?" Bai Chuxiao said calmly.
"Since that's the case, then I'll give you three moves, so no one will say I'm bullying you. Besides, swords have no eyes; if I hurt you, I can't let His Highness the Prince of Yan come after me."
Bai Chuxiao nodded with a smile. People who look down on women never have a good ending. Today, I'll teach you a lesson in life.
So he stood there empty-handed, and Li Guang sneered, "Not using weapons? You can't possibly not know how, can you?"
Bai Chuxiao smiled slightly, "That's enough to deal with you, but are you sure you want me to let you have three moves?" If I had to use a weapon on a nobody like you, wouldn't that tarnish my reputation?
Upon hearing this, Li Guang tossed his knife aside. "I'm standing right here. I said I'd let you have your way, so stop talking nonsense."
Seeing his confidence, Bai Chuxiao inwardly gave him a thumbs up. "Good, good... sir, huh?"
Xia Fan was somewhat worried upon seeing this. "Commander Cui, this...aren't you going to stop it?"
Cui You smiled and shook his head. "Just watch quietly."
Bai Chuxiao's figure flashed swiftly, and she unleashed a palm strike. Li Guang didn't even have time to react before he fell to the ground.
"you……"
"What do you mean, 'you'? You can't even beat a woman like me, yet you dare to talk back?"
Li Guang blushed slightly; after all, being defeated by a woman in one move was indeed humiliating. So he stubbornly retorted, "I wasn't prepared just now, let's start over."
"So, do you want me to make three more moves with my bare hands this time?"
"Hmph, a duel should be fair, what's with all this talk of giving an advantage?" Li Guang picked up the knife he had thrown aside earlier and assumed an attacking stance.
Seeing his tough, manly demeanor, Bai Chuxiao couldn't help but clap her hands in praise. His thick skin was comparable to Chu Tianyou's.
Li Guang didn't say a word, but charged forward with his knife. Bai Chuxiao's calm face curled into a mocking smile. She slightly dodged his knife, then kicked him in the stomach, sending Li Guang sprawling to the ground in a sorry state.
Bai Chuxiao looked down at him condescendingly, "Are you convinced now?"
Li Guang's face turned bright red, and he could no longer utter any arrogant words. He struggled to his feet and said in a deep voice to the group of red-armored soldiers behind him, "Let's go!"
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