Hidden in the court

When Ji Mingshang walked out of the Meridian Gate, he saw a newly built small courtyard next to the Six Ministries.

"This is……"

"Marquis Jiangning, you may not know that this is the newly established Junior Supervisory Office, which is used to centrally manage the princes, nobles, dignitaries, and second-generation rich families who are not frugal."

From afar, I saw people doing exercises, all of them were sweating profusely, and many of them were familiar faces.

"Then I..." Ji Mingshang suddenly remembered what he usually did.

"My Lord, you are worrying too much. You are also an official now."

"Ah, that's good, that's good."

Somehow, I still have a bad feeling in my heart.

After leaving the Meridian Gate, Ji Mingshang walked directly to the back door of the Prime Minister's Mansion.

It was impossible to go through the main gate, but I did learn how to climb over the wall. One step to the top of the wall, two steps to the ground without making a sound.

"I miss you when I can't see you, and I love you even more when I see you..."

As he landed and looked up, he saw Rowling standing obediently behind his old father. Lowe was staring at him with a bad look, holding a brand new whip in his hand.

"Ahaha, well, father-in-law, what a coincidence, we meet again, how about we say it's fate? I'll take my leave first, bye."

Ji Mingshang scratched his head slightly embarrassedly, took two more steps, and climbed over the wall back the same way he came.

After Ji Mingshang left, Luo Wei breathed a sigh of relief, but it was as if all his strength was drained away.

"father…"

"It's okay, go and rest, don't leave the house."

In fact, Lowe couldn't understand it. They were going to get married sooner or later, so why did these two young people have to slip away? Couldn't they really wait for a year?

Actually, it's not impossible, but now is not the right time. The drastic changes have already made the country very turbulent. It's such a sensitive period, and Ji Mingshang has a sensitive identity. It gives me a headache just thinking about it.

Looking at his daughter walking away, Luo Wei suddenly thought of a good place to go, the Junior Supervisory Office. If he went there, Ji Mingshang couldn't follow her, right?

Ji Mingshang returned home in a bad mood and lay on the table bored.

I miss the sky, the earth, tomorrow, and Lao Zhao every day... Lao Zhao, where are you! Come back soon...

In fact, what he didn't know was that Xihe and Long Yao, who were far away in the sky, had originally planned to come back, but decided not to leave after reading his letter.

A large-scale military exercise was also organized in the northern border. How big was it? The area covered three states, and the personnel included a total of 100,000 soldiers of various arms, divided into two sides, black and white. One side was led by Lu Peng and Chen Ju. The other side was Xihe Longyao and Liu Dong. As for Xihe Huchen, the little villain, he was left behind to manage the border defense and train new soldiers.

The matter started ten days ago.

"Everyone, the rules are as follows. Each side has 50,000 fully armed soldiers. Without using artillery, they will use various methods to annihilate the enemy within a designated range. If all the soldiers on one side are killed, and both commanders are captured or beheaded on the spot, the martial arts performance will end immediately. The time limit is three months. After three months, the martial arts performance will end automatically. The surviving soldiers will return to the camp and the winner will be determined by the number of people."

The commanders of the army camps with more than 100,000 men were all in the big tent, where Xihe and Long Yao explained the rules.

Chen Ju was the first to ask a question.

"Oh, I see. It's just like a real war! The goal is to annihilate the enemy, right?"

"Correct."

Someone spoke again.

"How about the city..."

"There will be no siege warfare. All soldiers are not allowed to disturb the people, otherwise they will be punished by military law."

"Then what counts as death in battle? They can't all be defeated."

"Just like the normal martial arts performance, use white ash. Three marks of white ash on the body are considered as the standard, and two hits are considered as fatal. For heavy armor, five marks are considered as the standard. The fallen soldiers are not allowed to reveal any information before the battlefield is cleaned up, and are not allowed to move, but they can rest in place."

Everyone nodded after listening, except Chen Ju who suddenly thought of something.

"What if some little brats don't follow the rules?"

"Same, military law!"

"If it's so formal, how will we reward you?"

This question really hits the nail on the head for everyone. In peacetime, they are almost bored to death with nothing to do, and without wars to fight, there is no hope for advancement.

Xihe Longyao smiled when he heard this.

"All military exploits are consistent with the actual battlefield, and rewards will be given in the end. Military exercises are held twice a year, and personnel rotation also provides a path for everyone to rise."

Everyone was excited when they heard this. In their opinion, this military achievement was much easier than fighting with real swords and guns. But could the reality really be as they wished?

Lu Peng sighed, "Great! This way, all civil officials and military officers will have a way to rise, and it can also resolve many conflicts."

Chen Ju, who turned into a curious baby, raised questions again.

"Let me ask you one last question. Can you really use any trick?"

Xihe Longyao once again gave an inexplicable smile.

"If you can think of it and can use it, then use it. Everything will be based on the real battlefield. If you make contributions, you can be promoted."

These words made people boil with excitement. They looked at their colleagues opposite them, sparks flashed in their eyes, and they suddenly felt a little angry.

"Go down and prepare. Make sure every soldier knows the rules. Three days later, the army will be divided into two groups and each will fight separately. Ten days later, the martial arts performance will officially begin."

Now, Lu Peng and Chen Ju have led their troops to the border of Suzhou.

"Old Lu, what should we do? Now we don't know where they went."

"Let's send some people out to investigate first. They probably don't know where we are right now. They are completely in the dark."

The 50,000 men they brought this time included 10,000 cavalry, 30,000 infantry, and 10,000 naval forces, including 20,000 light infantry, 7,000 light cavalry, and the rest were heavy armored soldiers.

Most of the navy was stationed on the Wei River, and most of the food and fodder were also on the navy's ships.

The rest of the food was hidden along the way, and the soldiers were also arranged to disperse in several groups. At the beginning, everyone was groping in the dark.

But they probably didn't expect that Xihe and Longyao would set up camp only two hundred miles outside of Chang'an. He gave orders while looking at the sand table that had been prepared in front of him.

"Our spies reported that their army went north, and dispersed into small groups along the way. The army has already reached the Wei River in Suzhou, and most of the food and fodder is on the Wei River."

That's right, at the beginning of the march, Xihe Longyao sent people to follow Lu Peng and Chen Ju's large army from a distance. Although it was a bit shady, that's how it is in war.

"Food on the water? That sounds like something Lao Lu would do."

Looking at the sand table in front of him, the positions of the enemy's army and food supplies had been marked.

"What should we do, take the initiative?"

"Well, first send a small group of light cavalry to explore and make a big noise to attract their attention. It would be best if we could trick their scattered forces out. Then send 4,000 heavy cavalry to surround them from the left and right flanks and directly attack their food supplies."

"Eh, that's not right. Their food and fodder are on the water, how can the cavalry get there?"