In Hou Junji's view, Li You was just bluffing. Even if he had trained a decent army, they were still new recruits who had never experienced war. They were not on the same level as the elites of his right-guard army.
He was sure to win this bet.
Although Li You's ability to train soldiers was not very reliable, his talent in other aspects could not be denied, especially when he was able to come up with the refined salt extraction method and negotiate a huge business of two million catties and hundreds of millions of yuan.
This kind of contribution was useless to Li You. After all, his title was already high enough, and other rewards were not very useful.
Many officials had seen the bet between the two of them, but most of them were just watching the show. Moreover, most of them did not think Li You would win.
"That's right. Your Highness King Qi, don't be rash.”Ever since Fang Xuanling's incident with the refined salt, many civil officials 'attitudes towards Li You had changed drastically. Fang Xuanling was one of them. At this time, he was not optimistic about Li You's ability to train troops. He helped to persuade him,"General Hou is a Great General of the country. It is not easy to be conferred the title of Duke with martial arts.”
There were also a few civil officials and generals who admired Li You's talent. For example, Li Ji, Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang, and others all spoke up.
"This king is flattered by the care of all the lords, but this king is not boasting. This king's son army is invincible, and the right-back army is not a match.”Li You was once again smug, and everyone who tried to persuade him was speechless.
Good words can't persuade a damn ghost. Since Li You insisted on courting death, what else can we say?
It wasn't just Li You who was trying to persuade Hou Junji.
"Junji, you were too impulsive. You shouldn't have made a bet with King Qi.”Li Jing came over to Hou Junji, his tone somewhat reproachful.
"Haha, Teacher, don't worry. I won't be too disrespectful to King Qi. I'm just letting him know that training soldiers is not so simple.”Hou Junji said proudly.
In his early years, Hou Junji had been ignorant and incompetent, but Li Shimin had appreciated him and had Li Jing teach him the art of war. Thus, the two of them had a teacher-student relationship.
"Sigh, I'm afraid that you'll be the one being taught a lesson.”"King Qi is a little strange. Your words might cause you to suffer a great loss. Don't act on impulse." As master and disciple, let me give you a piece of advice. Too hard is easy to break!”
Without waiting for Hou Junji to respond, Li Jing turned and left.
Hou Junji was startled. He hadn't expected Li Jing to have such a high opinion of Li You. Did Li You have some sort of ability?
However, on second thought, it was impossible. Even if Li You was very outstanding, he had already displayed enough talent. He even knew how to train soldiers, and he was even more powerful than an experienced general like me. This was too unbelievable.
Teacher must be afraid that I would offend Li You and anger His Majesty, so he made me waterproof.
Hmph, it's not that complicated. His Majesty likes my unpretentious personality. I want to win with a bang and let Li You know who the real general is. I also want to tell Li You that he doesn't know how to train soldiers.
After a while, Li Shimin went to court and sat in the middle. When he saw Li You, he couldn't help but sigh. He was a little disappointed.
"His Majesty also decreed that if there is a copy, report it as soon as possible.”The chamberlain shouted loudly and began the official process of the morning court.
"Imperial Father, your son has something to report." Without waiting for anyone else to speak, Li You was the first to stand up and say with a smile.
Li Shi Min is so angry. Good son, don't you know that I'm covering for you?
As long as you don't speak in the morning court, and when it's over, you secretly tell me your plan. As long as you can contribute to the country, those officials won't dare to say anything.
This way, you can save your face and not let others gossip about you. It's killing two birds with one stone, but you still have to stand up for yourself. Aren't you looking for trouble?
There was no other way now. He could only follow the normal procedures.
"Speak." Li Shi Min said calmly, but it was obvious that he was dissatisfied.
"Yes." Li You smiled and said," A month ago, I made a bet with Father and a few other lords. I said that if any general of the Twelve Guards could defeat me in terms of numbers, I would lose. Today, the new recruits have been trained. Father, please allow me to fulfill the bet and let my new recruits compete with the generals to make a decision!”
Li Shimin sighed and looked at Li You in annoyance. As expected, he would not give up until he reached the Yellow River.
He wanted to refuse, but he really didn't have a suitable excuse. He could only nod.
"Your Majesty, I just made another bet with King Qi.”Hou Junji stepped forward and smiled."Why don't we have a competition between our right-back army and the new recruits? We can decide the winner in one battle and save the trouble of the other eleven-guard brothers.”
Hou Junji's meaning was clear: Li You's recruits would lose if they fought our right-back army. There was no need to fight the other troops. They would lose anyway and waste time.
"Alright, we'll do as you say." Li Shi Min glared at Li You unhappily, then took a deep breath and said helplessly,"King Qi, Duke of Chen, go and prepare for the competition outside the palace. The other beloved ministers will also follow me to watch the battle.”
Li Shi Min and the officials thought that this was a match without any suspense, but when they saw the well-dressed and well-equipped soldiers on the drill ground, they changed their minds.
"Let's begin." Li Shimin ordered the chamberlain to pass down the decree, indicating that they could begin.
Li You winked at Wang Xuance and Xi Junmai. The two of them understood that this was a signal that the king was truly angry and wanted to make the other party suffer a terrible defeat.
Therefore, after the war drums were beaten, Wang Xuance was the mediator. He led two thousand men to move, and the remaining five thousand soldiers followed Xi Junmai to attack.
It was too violent. The right-back soldiers were like mud, crushed the moment they came into contact.
Finally, they could counterattack in a few places, but Wang Xuance immediately discovered them and led his troops to fill in the gaps, completely crushing the right-back army.
An hour later, the Right Guards had been defeated and captured. Even Hou Junji had been captured by Xi Junmai, his face filled with shame and regret for not listening to Li Jing's advice.
However, Li You did not want to let it go just like that. He walked over with a smile.
"General Hou, it's your turn to dance. Remember, don't twist it too unsightly. This king has very high standards for aesthetics.”Li You laughed, and Hou Junji's face turned the color of pig liver.
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