Ever since the court meeting, the war machine of the Great Tang had been in full swing, and large amounts of war resources had been gathered at the border. The soldiers of the Great Tang's Hundred Wars Prefecture had also begun to gather.
Two days later, it was already the beginning of spring. In the Eastern Palace, Li Zhi was wantonly writing on a piece of white paper on his desk.
The preparations for war could not be completed in a day. With the mobilization power of the Imperial Court, even with the addition of his own fleet, they could only shorten the period to half a year. At this moment, Li Zhi wanted to formulate a new training plan for his army for the next half a year.
Li Zhi had a dream in his heart, and that was to train an army with extremely strict discipline, just like the black torrent that swept across the world during the pre-Qin period. As for combat strength, with his financial resources, Li Zhi wanted to equip his army with the most gorgeous equipment.
"Crown Princess, Ji Xiang." The palace maid's voice broke Li Zhi's train of thought. Looking at Wu Meiniang, who was walking over with a face full of success, Li Zhi shook his head and found it funny.
A few days later, Li Shimin officially issued an edict to confer Wu Meiniang the title of the Imperial Consort of the Tang Crown Prince, Li Zhi. When the news came, Wu Meiniang was very happy. She even used her red lips to serve Li Zhi's Fifth Young Lady for the first time, allowing Li Zhi to enjoy a different kind of amorous feeling.
"Husband, why don't you go out to eat? Here, I've brought your favorite sauce beef and roast duck.”Wu Meiniang smiled very happily. It had been five years since she started preparing for the selection of the imperial concubines in the capital. Although she had not become an imperial concubine, she had become the crown princess, the future empress of the Tang Empire.
When he was young, he once read a song by Empress Zhangsun,"Spring Oasis Song": The peach blossoms in the garden are bright in the morning, the beautiful concubines in the orchid boudoir are full of spring feelings, the new peach blossoms in the well are beautiful, and the tender willows by the eaves are light. I come and go among the flowers to see the dancing butterflies, and listen to the singing of orioles on the trees. Why do you need to ask me from afar in the forest? You're famous for your outstanding romantic style.
The person in the poem was a palace concubine. When the peach blossoms were in full bloom in spring, she gracefully walked through the peach willows and flowers, watching butterflies and listening to orioles. She proudly believed that the peach blossoms were red because they had " stolen " her " face ", and the tender willows had " learned " her " waist ". She was conceited enough to think that without saying her name, the world would know who she was, because her outstanding charisma had spread far and wide, and was well-known.
There was no need to say more. This was a favored imperial concubine showing off her happiness and respect. She was so high-spirited, full of ambition, and unexcelled!
At that time, he was so envious and disdainful. He was envious of being able to become a favored empress, but he disdained to be like this? Relying on a man's favor? Those were not as practical as the money and power in his hands.
However, now that she had met a good husband, she knew that it was easy to find a priceless treasure. It was rare to have a lover, but it was so precious. In the past, she had scoffed at him, but now, Wu Meiniang regarded him as a treasure. No wonder when she went home to visit her relatives, her mother, elder sister, and even her younger sister said that she had changed. Sometimes, Wu Meiniang herself felt that she had changed and became more like a woman.
Wu Meiniang also felt that it was more comfortable to hide behind the scenes and plan plans. It was far more comfortable than standing in front of the stage. Although she was not eye-catching, she enjoyed the pleasure of power and was extremely relaxed.
At the thought of this, Wu Meiniang suddenly realized that she was a little selfish. She had placed all the pressure on this husband who loved her as much as his life but was four years younger than her. She could only compensate him. Wu Meiniang's heart suddenly beat faster. Sigh, this bad guy actually asked me to suck on him last night…That thing of his.
However, seeing how comfortable he was, she decided to endure it.
"The Great Tang has only been established for over twenty years, but according to the information gathered by Li He, its combat power is no longer what it was before. This is the case throughout all the dynasties. Although I can't maintain the same level of combat power as it did when it was founded several hundred years later, I believe I can do it within a hundred years.”Li Zhi picked up a piece of beef and chewed as he spoke. His words were filled with confidence.
" I had military training in university for two whole months. I definitely woke up earlier than a bird, worked harder than a donkey, and ate worse than a pig. Especially the perverted instructor who was assigned to my team. He actually treated us as new recruits and trained us according to the training ethics of the regular army. All the girls were defeated, and a group of boys also dropped out. Later on, during the march-past, there were only 20 people in the entire class, but they marched out in an orderly manner. Even those who outnumbered them admitted defeat.
Now that he thought about it, he was very proud that although he had been complaining endlessly, he had persisted. Unfortunately, the instructor had never come again.
However, that set of courses was still in his mind. For a period of time, Li Zhi still wanted to join the army. He looked up a large amount of relevant information, but when he realized that there was no future in joining the army, he gave up.
Wasn't there a saying that soldiers in troubled times were bulls…Crap, soldiers in peaceful times were always a crap, anyone could play with them.
Combined with the military tactics and military strategies he had learned in this era, a new training method was slowly displayed under Li Zhi's pen. When the Tang army swept the world in the future, it would provide the most powerful force for Li Zhi's plans and reforms. At that time, countless people would study Li Zhi's training method, only to find that it was impossible to replicate it.
The first thing Li Zhi had to solve was the problem of loyalty. The army could not be the army of the generals. In the ancient times of the Chinese Dynasty, many of the rebellions were caused by the generals supporting the army. The camp was made of iron, and the soldiers were flowing. I have to do personal worship and brainwashing. I have to make the methods of the Chinese Dynasty shine again in this era.
Otherwise, how could he carry out the plan that had been rooted in his heart since ten years ago?
"I don't know much about training soldiers, but when I read the article on military affairs in Sun Tzu's Art of War, it said that an excellent army should be as fast as the wind, as slow as the forest, as aggressive as fire, as unmoving as a mountain, as unpredictable as yin, and as moving as thunder. I think this should be the ideal army.”
Li Zhi did not comment on Wu Meiniang's point of view. He put a piece of duck leg meat into his mouth. The taste of sauce, meat, and gravy on the surface almost made Li Zhi's tongue explode. After swallowing it beautifully, Li Zhi looked at Wu Meiniang meaningfully and shook his head with a smile."It's not enough. It's still far from enough."
He didn't know if it was because such an army wasn't enough or because the roast duck was far from enough.
"Mei Niang, just wait and see. In half a year, I will give Imperial Father and all the civil and military officials a big surprise.”After he finished speaking, Li Zhi closed his training booklet. Under Wu Meiniang's puzzled gaze, he walked out of the room in high spirits. Then, Wu Meiniang heard Li Zhi's loud and clear voice from outside,"Little Gui Zi, where the hell did you go? Quickly put on Bengong's clothes. Has the person Bengong wanted arrived? Call him and follow Bengong to the camp outside the city.”
"Husband, Mei Niang is also waiting for your surprise.”
The lovely dividing line.
Outside Chang 'an City, on Dragon Head Plain.
Ever since Li Shimin declared war on Goguryeo and Baekje, a portion of the army from all over the country had gathered on Longshou Plains outside Chang 'an City. The 10,000 soldiers under Li Zhi's command had also been assigned to Longshou Plains.
Longshou Plain is more than 60 miles long. Its head is connected to the Wei River and its tail is connected to Fanchuan. The plain is beautiful and vast. Chang 'an City is built on it, so you can see one or two of it.
Now, it was the Chuijiao Company Camp. The camp was in full swing, and the mobilization and training before the battle were intensified. Li Zhi's 10,000-man army was in the northwest corner of the continuous camp, which could be considered a remote place in the periphery.
Looking at the rolling mountains in the distance of Longshou Plain, Li Zhi exhaled a breath of white air. Speaking of which, this winter had been a difficult time for the soldiers who had come from all over the country. As soon as the end of the year, they were sent to various places to be enlisted into the army and sent to Chang 'an.
"Party Leader, the military camp is in front.”He was clad in armor, but it could not hide his scholarly aura. He was a young man who could feel the surging energy at a glance. His name was Sun Qingyang. He was young, but his eyes were especially bright. Especially when he looked at Li Zhi, his eyes were filled with fanaticism.
"The army has its own rules. Just call me General from now on.”
"Here."
"Stop, this is an important place in the military camp.”Li Zhi and his group dismounted and were about to walk into the camp when they were stopped by the soldiers at the door.
"How dare you! This is His Highness the Crown Prince, the newly appointed General of the Thousand Bull Guards.”Sun Qingyang strode forward and berated, his eyes filled with anger.
Unexpectedly, after hearing Sun Qingyang's words, the soldiers guarding the camp, although slightly nervous and kneeling on one knee with their halberds in hand, still said unyieldingly,""The general has ordered that no one is allowed to enter without a military order. Even His Highness the Crown Prince has to wait for the news before he can enter the camp. Otherwise, we will deal with him according to military law.”
Li Zhi stretched out his hand to stop Sun Qingyang, who was about to step forward and argue with him. He smiled gently and said,"Qing Yang, there is no need to be like this. Since it is a military rule, I will naturally abide by it.”
After saying that, he walked up to one of the guards and smiled."Then can you go in and report now?”
Although the soldiers guarding the gate had the military orders of their general, it would be a lie to say that they were not afraid when facing the Crown Prince of the Tang Empire and the future Emperor. Although Li Zhi smiled gently, the soldiers were still uneasy.
Now, upon hearing this, it was as if he had been pardoned. He immediately ran inside to report, making the soldiers guarding the door on the other side envious.
"Party... General, they…" Sun Qingyang's face was filled with anger, but Li Zhi waved his hand and interrupted him.
"Qing Yang, isn't it just a show of strength? This was very normal in the army. The more capable a person was, the prouder they would be. Although I'm the Crown Prince, this is my first time leading an army. It's impossible to say that I'm not angry when I put my life in the hands of a fifteen-year-old who has never led an army before. Moreover, the strong are respected in the army. It's not a big deal. Qing Yang, I understand your intentions, but I should still gather my emotions. If you continue like this, how will the following missions be carried out? Have all these years of learning and training been in vain?”At the end of his speech, Li Zhi's brows were already slightly angry.
The aura of someone who had always been in the top position and held the power of life and death was revealed. Although it wasn't as abnormal as the aura of a tyrant, it still made people feel afraid, let alone Sun Qingyang who had been brainwashed by the 21st century professionals for many years.
"Swoosh!"
As if it was a conditioned reflex, Sun Qingyang suddenly closed his legs and straightened his body. He gave a military salute that the guards had never seen before, and at the same time shouted,"I know my mistake, please forgive me.”
Li Zhi nodded silently. He took off his helmet and tucked it under his left armpit. He stroked the golden tassel on the helmet and looked at the camp that had not moved for a long time. He was silent.
Time ticked by, but there was still nothing in the camp. The soldiers guarding the gate were constantly wiping away their sweat in the middle of winter, but whether it was Li Zhi, Sun Qingyang, or the group of young men Li Zhi had brought, they all stood straight like javelins, waiting with expressionless faces. No one spoke again.
After waiting for more than an hour, which meant that Li Zhi and the others had been standing outside the military camp for more than an hour in the middle of winter, they finally saw a middle-aged officer leading a group of lieutenants to welcome them.
"Huaihua Lieutenant General Jiang Ke greets Your Highness the Crown Prince."
"Greetings, Your Highness."
Jiang Ke, who had left Li Zhi and the others outside for a long time, finally led his subordinates to welcome Li Zhi, the Crown Prince.
They were not as furious as everyone had imagined, nor did they have ashen faces or secretly viciousness. They were still standing straight, dressed neatly, and their actions were serious. They were dignified but not violent, solemn but not rigid.
"Rise, generals. Qing Yang?”
"Understood, General." Sun Qingyang took out the Tiger Tally and handed it to Jiang Ke.
"General Jiang, this is His Majesty's Tiger Tally, ordering the general to take over the border defense of the east of the river.”Sun Qingyang asked calmly.
Jiang Ke took the Tiger Tally in bewilderment and took out his own Tiger Tally. When the two were put together, there was no mistake. He immediately pretended to be shocked and replied,"The Tiger Tally has been handed over without a mistake.”
Li Zhi nodded and said expressionlessly,""Then can I take it that I am now the highest officer of the Hedong border guards?”
Jiang Ke's face twitched, but he still lowered his head and replied in a muffled voice,""Of course."
"Good!" Li Zhi suddenly shouted and walked into the camp." Strike the camp drum and raise the tent. I want to recruit soldiers on the battlefield."”
"Your Highness, it's almost noon and the soldiers are about to have lunch. Do you want to wait for a while?"
With a swoosh, Li Zhi suddenly stopped in his tracks and slowly turned his head. He glared at Jiang Ke, who was speaking, like a tiger eyeing its prey. He was like the king of the jungle who had descended the mountain, his aura threatening.
"Huaihua Lieutenant General Jiang Ke, do you want to go against my orders? Or do you think I can't kill you?”Li Zhi's words were calm, but as he spoke, he had already pulled out the horizontal knife hanging on his left abdomen. The cold horizontal knife emitted a bone-white cold light in the spring, chilling the heart and spleen.
The lieutenants present were all shocked. Looking at Li Zhi, who was brimming with killing intent, they were all shocked."As expected, revenge is here." Looking at Jiang Ke by the side, he was also slightly startled at this moment.
Today's show of strength was naturally created by Jiang Ke. The Hedong border guards had participated in the Battle of Dingxiang ten years ago and suddenly attacked. The camp of the Han Dynasty was broken. It was inevitable for everyone to be proud of such a great achievement. Now, it was another country war, and their famous army was led by a child. So what if this child was the Crown Prince? The entire Hedong border guards were angry and wanted to show the Crown Prince their might.
The law did not punish the masses. Moreover, he had a legitimate reason. In history, didn't Zhou Yafu once reject Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty? What was there to be afraid of?
The truth was much better than what Jiang Ke had imagined. This Crown Prince was truly incomparably weak, actually waiting outside the door for two hours. This made these proud soldiers and valiant generals look down on him even more.
However, he did not expect the Crown Prince to use this opportunity to flare up. Jiang Ke was not a fool and immediately realized that the Crown Prince was using military law to speak. If he got it wrong now, he would probably immediately slash at him.
"I don't dare." Jiang Ke knelt down on one knee and apologized. However, both his expression and words were filled with unwillingness.
"What about you guys? Do you have any objections to this commander's order?" Li Zhi glanced at the lieutenants, the killing intent in his eyes unconcealed.
"I don't dare." Seeing all the lieutenants kneel down, Li Zhi nodded and said indifferently,""Also, remember to address me as general in the future.”
With that said, he held his helmet under his left armpit and his right hand held his saber diagonally as he walked towards the drill ground. Behind him was Sun Qingyang and the others. They lined up neatly and followed behind Li Zhi. Silence was golden.
"General, what do you think?"
Spitting on the ground, Jiang Ke smiled indifferently and said,"I'd like to see what ability this number one silkpants of Chang 'an has to lead the Hedong Border Guards.”
The other commandants around him felt a little uneasy. From the Crown Prince's actions just now, they could tell that this Crown Prince was definitely not a weak person. Then what was the meaning of waiting outside the door just now?
"Let's go and take a look." Feeling a little uneasy in his heart, Jiang Ke simply chased after him towards the drill ground.
The lovely dividing line.
It had to be said that Jiang Ke had his own pride. At least after a round of drumming, the spacious drill ground was already filled with people. In a short while, neat lines were formed.
Step by step, Li Zhi stepped onto the tall platform. His action immediately attracted the attention of countless people. Although after ten years, many veterans had already retired and returned home, and the Hedong border guards had many new recruits, soldiers were still soldiers. The gazes of more than ten thousand soldiers gathered on Li Zhi could sting one's skin.
He stood alone in the middle of the high platform. The wind of the beginning of spring was still relatively cold, blowing the flags in the corner of the camp. Li Zhi stood in the wind, facing the tens of thousands of soldiers. After the three drums were struck, Li Zhi threw the helmet in his hand high into the air.
The helmet fell onto the drill ground under the surprised gazes of the soldiers. It rolled far away on the slightly damp ground of the beginning of spring.
Li Zhi placed his long saber on the platform. He crossed his hands and held the hilt of the saber. His legs were slightly spread apart. His long black ponytail fluttered in the wind, and he wore a black Radiant Armor with a cold metallic luster. He was 1.82 meters tall and stood on the platform. He looked extremely oppressive.
The school grounds quieted down. After Li Zhi threw his helmet off the stage, it became quiet. Li Zhi could not help but make a special appearance. However, she was attracted by his extremely heroic posture.
Sweeping his gaze across the crowd, including the smug Jiang Ke in the distance, Li Zhi's eyes were emotionless.
"Just now, General Jiang gave me a show of strength and made me stand outside the military gate for an entire two hours.”Li Zhi roared and even used the Internal Qigong he had practiced for eleven years, the Ultimate Yang Technique, to spread his words to the maximum.
In the end, the soldiers who were originally waiting for Li Zhi to say something heroic immediately laughed in unison when they heard this. In the distance, Jiang Ke had an even more disdainful expression. Those lieutenants who were a little worried before also laughed at this moment. This Crown Prince was still too inexperienced.
After the time it took to brew a cup of tea, Li Zhi sneered and roared,""Do you know why I didn't chop off General Jiang's head for this?”
The soldiers who were in a commotion just now immediately quieted down because of this sentence. Did he want to kill General Jiang just like that? Li Zhi could even sense that many of these soldiers were shooting him unfriendly gazes.
Li Zhi didn't care about this. He continued to shout at the sky,"Is it because I don't dare? Let me tell you, no, other than the emperor, there is no one that I don't dare to cut. Then why? It was because I wasn't the commander of the Hedong border guards yet, and because General Jiang had the right to do so. This was a reasonable military order, so I stood outside the military gate with the commander for two hours.
Since I'm saying all this today, I want to tell you that I rule the army by law. If anyone dares to violate my military law, don't blame me for being merciless.
I don't need you to be loyal to me, I only need you to carry out my orders perfectly. If you go against my orders, I won't say it now, but you will know when the time comes.
This was punishment.
Of course, all of you are soldiers, and some of you want to have a bright future. I can tell you clearly that I will become the third Emperor of the Tang Empire in the future. If you are talented, you may become the Defender General, the Assistant General, or even the General of Flying Cavalry. I have a high position and a generous salary. As long as you show me enough ability, I will be able to serve you in the future.
Of course, I have always treated my soldiers well. If you hang your heads on your belts and fight for fame and future, I will not treat you badly, Zhang Wendan.”
"Zhang Wendan, here." A new military salute, a straight body, and a loud voice.
"Bring over the things you have prepared.”
"Yes!"
Under the gazes of the cultivators, a group of people slowly walked over from afar. They were densely packed, and every two people carried a big pot and countless boxes. Soon, the entire spacious drill ground was surrounded by thousands of iron stoves and countless mahogany boxes. With a wave of Zhang Wendan's hand, the big pots and boxes were all opened.
"Wow!"
"Wow!"
"Wow!"
......
All the soldiers on the drill ground looked at the boiling red braised pork in the big pot in shock.
The rich fragrance of meat filled the entire drill ground as the thousands of large iron pots were opened. Even the cold and damp wind of the beginning of spring could not blow away the refreshing fragrance of meat.
However, what shocked the soldiers even more was that the red wooden boxes that were opened were filled with snowflakes of silver.
"From today onwards, you will have meat and rice to eat for every meal until you die from eating too much.
"From today onwards, you are all my soldiers. My soldiers should be proud. I am not afraid that you will become proud soldiers. Remember, if people don't offend me, I won't offend them. If people offend me, I will destroy their entire family.
"From today onwards, you have to listen to this marshal. This marshal wants you to head east. Whoever wants to head west, this marshal will beat them to death in public.
Soldiers who don't want to be generals are not good soldiers. From today onwards, if you are well trained, I will give you high positions and generous salaries. I'll give you whips if you're at the bottom of the training. You brats, did you hear that?”Li Zhi's voice echoed throughout the entire drill ground, but this time, it made the soldiers cheer.
"I heard you."
"I heard you."
"Long live the General! Long live the General!"
The tens of thousands of soldiers on the drill ground felt their blood boil from Li Zhi's words and rewards. Look, he said it so well. If people don't offend me, I won't offend them. If people offend me, I'll destroy their entire family. This was really something a man should say. This Crown Prince General was really strong.
As for the punishment, oh, that thing? We'll talk about it later.
Now, the greedy insects in the general's stomach had been hooked by the red braised pork. Sigh, and the training should come soon. The snowflakes and silver were making him drool. This Crown Prince was awesome.
The lovely dividing line.
"Hmph, relying on money and food to lead the army, are you willing to submit?”Jiang Ke snorted disdainfully, but there was a faint self-consolation in his words.
The other lieutenants looked at each other in dismay. This Crown Prince was really fierce. He had come with such a big hand. They had never seen anyone train soldiers since ancient times. However, when they saw the jubilant soldiers on the drill ground, and some of them even roared excitedly, everyone was speechless. They couldn't play like this. Was this purely hurting people with their own strength? He didn't talk about any schemes at all. He didn't talk about keeping his heart in check. He directly talked about getting promoted and getting rich. However, this was indeed the most straightforward and could make people go crazy.
Especially since the other party was a crown prince. As long as he successfully ascended the throne in the future, he would have the ability to fulfill his promise. In the future, for the sake of his high position and salary, this group of soldiers... Ruffian. Even if it was a matter that pierced through the sky, he would not even bat an eyelid.
Not to mention them, looking at the dazzling snowflakes and silver in the distance under the sun, even they themselves were tempted. Wasn't this the reason why soldiers risked their lives?
Li Zhi, who was on the platform, was not happy at all."This is an army without any beliefs. 99% of them are illiterate and will go crazy for any benefits. No wonder there were so many rebellious generals in history. No wonder the kings in history liked to kill their generals. In this era, there was no loyalty in the army. Whoever gave them food and drink was their soldier.
The military governors, the commanders of the army
Mm."
Li Zhi's gaze was a little far-reaching as he looked at the tent in the distance. The killing intent in his eyes was so thick that it almost condensed into water and dripped onto the horizontal saber in his hand.
The lovely dividing line.
Little Demon Dream Words: " Hehe, I like to torture people. What conspiracy? It's all just floating clouds." Absolute strength. Little Jiang, just be honest and obediently rely on me. Wahahaha.
Everyone, the little gremlins are going to train their troops. They need recommendation votes to cheer them on. After collecting them... Gong, I'll love you for ten thousand years.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]