"Go." Li Longji waved his sleeves. He knew that Yang Qiang and Li Gui didn't want to stay in front of him any longer.
As expected, Yang Qiang and Li Gui hurriedly ran to the sand table and took a closer look.
"So the main force is in Huangshan. They arrived early. It's over. Zhang Shougui still foolishly came forward. He shouldn't have sent out all the hot air balloons back then."
Yang Qiang looked at the sand table and understood everything. Wang Juan's main force wasn't in Yuezhou as he had expected. Instead, they had run to Huangshan to look at the model on the sand table. They were in the midst of civil engineering.
Li Gui paid attention to a very small model. "Kong Lu has run out. Hurry up. Tell the vanguard that the enemy's smoke is asymmetrical. Eh? What unit is this? Central Sniper Battalion? They... how did they get there? No wonder the radio station couldn't send any news. They were all shot down. "
"It's the unit that shot down your hot air balloons. The first battalion has more than seven hundred people. From top to bottom, there are fourteen commanders. They are all from the Inner Yard. The earliest commander is Wang Yi, a second-year student. The rest are fourth-year students.
Every fourth-year student can lead a battalion. This unit is only in charge of a small unit. There is a detailed summary of the battle on the table. Go take a look. "
Shi Chun's voice came from beside Li Gui.
Li Gui had a deep impression of Shi Chun. He was captured alive, mocked his own people, and gave out a lot of information that was both true and false.
Hearing his words, Li Gui said with an ugly expression, "Then I have to congratulate you for entering the Inner Yard. Why didn't the sniper battalion burn you to death? Is it because they are from the Inner Yard? Invulnerable to fire and water? "
"Thank you. Congratulations to you too. While you were covering the rear, your commands were pretty good. They were much stronger than you when it came to attacking. Just look at the information and you'll know what the sniper camp has done. You'll also be able to understand how elite their personnel are.
I admire Wang Yi. As expected of a second-year student. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to do as well as him. I would probably have died long ago, not to mention being able to lead troops. After splitting up, they continued to pose a great threat to the enemy's army. "
Shi Chun didn't care about the other party's unfriendly tone. He smiled and pointed to a paper beside him, indicating that it was the file of the sniper battalion.
Li Zhi clearly knew that the other party was not wrong, but he still felt uncomfortable in his heart. It was obvious that the other party was stepping on him to get to the top. The benefits of the inner courtyard of the Zhang Family and the Wang Family were extraordinarily good, and he could learn even more skills.
Just by going out and carrying all kinds of thoughtful supplies in their bags, countless people who also had families were envious of them, not to mention the care their families received.
Li Gong snorted angrily and looked at the paper. It was very thick, about thirty sheets.
Sweeping his gaze elsewhere, he noticed that there were countless sheets of paper in the central area. There was also a group of people calculating, a group of people discussing, a group of people comparing the rules, a group of people walking in and out, and a group of people writing with their heads lowered.
"What are these?" Li Zhi asked Shi Chun instead of taking the information from the sniper camp.
"It is a record of the changes in the battlefield. This is the first and largest sand table simulation of the Great Tang, and it is also the most time-consuming one. Every detail of the battlefield must be recorded, including the marching route and the commander's judgment.
When the time comes, it will be easy to review and use as teaching material. At the same time, it will also test the commanding ability of the commanders. Our Great Tang will need to make adjustments internally. For example, you are not suitable for fighting in a siege. You are suitable for covering the rear and defending.
It is a waste of talent to assign you to the offensive formation, and it is also a mistake on the part of the decision-maker. Let me evaluate you. Your performance is very good in the later stages. When you were commanding the rear, you were able to accurately command every single troop.
When our Great Tang really goes to war, you and I will be in charge of defense because I can't attack. At that time, we will fight side by side for the protection of our hearts and for the dignity of the Great Tang. "
As Shi Chun spoke, he stretched out his right hand.
Li Zhi hesitated for a moment before stretching out his right hand to shake Shi Chun's. "Alright, you will be in charge of the calculations, and I will be in charge of the preparation. Everything … for the dignity of the Great Tang, after the martial arts examination, you have to treat me to a drink. Otherwise, I will feel uncomfortable. I will also give you a gift to congratulate you on entering the inner courtyard.
Your family must have spent a lot of money on this martial arts examination, right? "
Li Zhi made his choice in a very short period of time. He was magnanimous mainly because he heard Shi Chun's words and felt that if he continued to fuss over such trivial matters, he would be too petty. The interests of the Great Tang were above all else.
The smile on Shi Chun's face became even brighter. "Of course. Please, let's go to the Savant's Pavilion. Xiaobei promised me before that once I entered the inner courtyard, she would let me eat the good things she left behind. It's a pity that she wasn't around when I was fighting."
"Xiaobei knows you too?" Li Zhi asked enviously.
"Xiaobei knows many people. When they have nothing to do, they will often wander around the inner and outer courtyards. When they see people who are idle, they will go over to talk to them. We like them very much, and we try our best to tell them what we know.
The goal is to nurture them to be more powerful. We are very afraid that the masters we follow in the future will be stupid and will cause our own deaths. I look forward to them growing up and protecting them. "
When speaking of Xiaobei and the others, a gratified and caring expression appeared on Shi Chun's face.
Then, he said, "My family spent a lot of money this time. Wait for me, I will ask."
Shi Chun threw down these words and ran out to find someone to ask.
Li Zhi's gaze followed Shi Chun's back as he said to Yang Qiang, "Perhaps one doesn't have to become an official to bring glory to one's ancestors. It is enough to be part of the inner courtyards of the Zhang Clan and Wang Clan. I have always felt that the inner courtyards of the Zhang Clan and Wang Clan are another set of personnel that can replace the civil and military officials of the Great Tang at any time.
They can go out and establish a new country at any time, but they still stay in the Great Tang. What is their purpose? "
"Shh!" Yang Qiang immediately became nervous. He placed his index finger in front of his mouth and shushed him.
"Don't shush, it's not like you are peeing on a child. We will tell you why." Li Longji's voice suddenly sounded behind Li Zhi, giving Li Zhi a fright.
"The reason why Xiao Bao and Cuckoo's inner courtyards are nurtured this way is so that they can be prepared to kill at any time. If a problem appears in the military and political system of a certain province, they can go over and kill them all. Then, they can immediately replace them with the inner courtyards to ensure that the local government operates normally.
If any regional governor thinks that without him, there will be a gap in the military and administration of our Great Tang, Cuckoo and Xiao Bao will let him know that it doesn't matter whether he is there or not.
No matter how capable the local officials are or how much power they have, they must always remember that they are not allowed to challenge the royal court. We will pass down the order in the capital that they are not allowed to play any tricks and use the stability of a region to threaten us.
Otherwise, we will send Xiaobei and the others out first. If the local officials dare to resist, Cuckoo and Xiao Bao will bring people over to kill them. After killing a thousand people from the military and political system, we will send another thousand people over. "
Li Longji spoke in a dictatorial manner. He wasn't afraid that his words would spread out and cause the local officials to be displeased.
Yang Qiang and Li Gong swallowed their saliva and nodded their heads.
Li Gong was the first to reply, "Yes, yes, Your Majesty. Your will is our code of conduct. Wherever your sword points to, we will fight to the death. We definitely won't dare to go against the orders of the royal court."
Yang Qiang added, "Yes, we understand. The royal court isn't afraid of us becoming arrogant. As generals, we also don't dare to raise bandits. We will always remember that there are people who can replace us at any time."
Li Longji, who had achieved his goal, nodded his head to Weiwei. "We have always believed in you. Actually, Cuckoo and Xiao Bao's inner courtyards aren't used to replace the officials of Great Tang. Instead, when they are expanding their territory, they won't lack administrative and military personnel."
"I know how much money you have spent." Shi Chun ran over, "Your Majesty, you are here too?"
"I have always been here. How much money did your family spend?" Li Longji glared at Shi Chun. His meaning was, "I was far away just now. Can you pretend you didn't see me?"
"Yes, I have always been here. I was careless. According to Your Majesty's estimation, based on a month's time, we have spent a total of 600,000 strings of string of cash. If we can't finish it in a month, we will have to invest more."
Shi Chun drew a six with his hand.
"So much?" Li Longji didn't expect the military examination to cost 600,000 strings of cash. When he said that the royal court would pay for it, it was Xiao Bao and Cuckoo who took the initiative to bear the cost.
600,000 strings of cash was indeed a lot. Although it didn't matter to the Zhang Family and Wang Family, it was calculated based on their wealth. In reality, 600,000 strings of cash could do a lot of things. A dou of millet was only worth nine copper coins in the capital. If one were to look at it from a higher perspective, it would be ten copper coins for a dou. 600,000 strings of cash was equivalent to 60 million dou.
Li Longji also understood that money couldn't always be calculated as grain. There were also luxury goods and other daily necessities. There were many people with hundreds of thousands of strings of cash, but no one dared to use all of it to buy grain. Otherwise, Xiao Bao would immediately deal with them. He would never allow anyone to hoard such a large amount of daily necessities.
Li Zhi and Li Zhi were also shocked by this number. The two of them didn't understand how the money was spent, but they didn't doubt Shi Chun's words. This was because Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan couldn't get any benefits from the royal court even if they spent six million strings of cash, let alone 600,000 strings of cash. There was no need to lie. No one would reimburse them.
Shi Chun also knew what they were thinking. He explained, "One is the cost of building the house, and the other is the cost of making the sand table and small models. There are also subsidies for the relevant personnel. We can't let people work for free.
Little Young Master and Little Lady's purpose for the military examination wasn't just to become the Martial Champion, but more so to collect information. That's why the scale was so big. Otherwise, they wouldn't have to use the central sand table and countless small sand tables to carry out the military examination.
They just needed to use the elimination system and fight in pairs. The final winner would have to play a small sand table simulation with Little Lady. However, Little Young Master and Little Lady wanted a comprehensive analysis. The most important thing was the ability of the large army to cooperate in battle. "
Shi Chun's words made Li Longji and the other two nod. It was indeed so. They all understood. Normally, the Martial Champion would definitely be Wang Juan. However, Wang Juan had deliberately increased the difficulty. Her goal wasn't for the title of Martial Champion, but for the overall military command of the Great Tang.
Shi Chun continued, "There's also the cost of the Hibiscus Garden. The Hibiscus Garden is open for a large portion of the time. It's open for free. Now, the entire Hibiscus Garden is under martial law and no one is allowed to enter.
The commoners naturally have fewer places to go. Therefore, Little Young Master and Little Lady took out money to subsidize the zoo, skating rink, and other places. The commoners can go there to play. Those who want to hold a poetry banquet in the Hibiscus Garden will also pay to send them elsewhere. "
Li Longji and the other two understood that this was how money was spent.
Li Gui couldn't figure it out. "If the Hibiscus Garden is occupied, then so be it. What else do the commoners dare to say?"
"They don't dare." Shi Chun replied, "Just because they don't dare, it doesn't mean that they don't want to. It's easy to shut people's mouths, but hard to win their hearts. Little Young Master said that if he wanted to occupy other people's places, not to mention the Hibiscus Garden, who would dare to disobey him?
However, they shouldn't do that. Only those who don't have enough power and status will think of showing off in front of others. When one's status reaches a certain level, they won't use their power to oppress others.
For example, Your Majesty. The entire Great Tang belongs to Your Majesty, but Your Majesty still has a standard when doing things. What you should think of is not how much sacrifice the commoners should make, but how you should consider the commoners' interests. "
With this, Yang Qiang and Li Gui could no longer raise any other opinions.
Li Longji nodded repeatedly. "That's right. In the past, when I went out, part of the money was paid by the imperial court, and the other part was paid by the local government. It was a waste of money and people. Now, I prefer to go out and not use the imperial court's money or the local government's hospitality.
I have money, so I can buy it with money. However, I don't use my money. It's all paid by Xiao Bao and Cuckoo. They will arrange it.
When I went to Jili Province, I found that the lower the rank, the more arrogant they are. A provincial governor's son actually bullied people there. He bullied Xiao Bei and my Jun 'er and Pan' er. How arrogant is he? "
"Ah?" Yang Qiang and Li Gui were also stunned. Their status was not high enough, so they didn't go to Jili Province. They didn't know what happened there, and only heard the Emperor mention it now.
"Who, who is so daring? Bullied Xiao Bei? Xiao Bei didn't beat him? "As a general, Li Gui's first thought was to use force to solve the problem.
"Beat what? Xiao Bei kept giving in. He even discussed building a snowman with that kid. In the end, there was no other way, so he caught that kid's father. If Xiao Bei didn't insist on handling it impartially, I would have cut off his head.
Just tell me, how ambitious is this person? He actually dared to cause trouble in Jili Province. He doesn't know how to use his power when he has reached a certain level. People who have reached a certain level of status are all easy-going. They think about others and show off because they feel inferior. "
Li Longji was still angry when he mentioned this.
Li Gui and Yang Qiang nodded in agreement. "Your Majesty is reasonable. People always say that the county magistrate is not as good as the current one. In fact, it's because the county magistrate doesn't want to argue with ordinary people. Only the current one is worried that others don't value him and feel inferior. Therefore, he always looks for opportunities to prove his status."
"Therefore, the Military Selection has been going on for a month. The young master and young lady spent 600,000 strings of cash. The information collected from the various commanders is very precious. In the future, I will take it out and explain it in class.
The young lady said that the analysis isn't about who is right or wrong. During war, everyone is scheming against each other. What we need to analyze is a pattern. When the generals go to war in the future, they will have a few comparisons under different circumstances. Then, they can choose. This way, they can save time and energy. "
Shi Chun took over the conversation. When he talked about the young master and young lady, his face was full of admiration.
*****
"Look, this is how we do it. Divide it into three sides. No matter which side it is, it will look like the front. After making it, we have to color it."
It was already noon in Old Willow Village. The market outside was still lively.
However, Xiao Bei didn't want to cross the bridge and went out for a stroll. It was not fun to be surrounded by a group of people.
They hid in the village and waited for the boat. When the boat sent by the family arrived, they could take the boat along the canal and then change to the Yangtze River to Jiangzhou.
There were still two days of free time.
Originally, there were boats on the Yellow River that could directly enter Hongnong to carry people. However, due to the decision of Xiao Bei and the others, they changed. They changed to a fleet with more boats that had just been sent out from the capital.
Xiao Bei and the others planned to transport a batch of dolls to Jiangzhou, as well as the local specialties of Hongnong and the specialties of the places along the Yellow River to the east.
When the fleet arrived, they would buy and load the goods. When they stopped in Jiangzhou, they would sell the goods. Not only would they be able to earn back the cost of the journey, but they would also have some savings.
Normally, they would be able to earn a lot more. However, there were many people in the fleet. There were more than 1,500 people, so the cost had to be included.
The nine children had already discussed it. After dealing with the matters in Jiangzhou, they would transport a batch of goods back and sell them in the capital. This way, they wouldn't need to pay extra for their family, and their pocket money would also increase.
The dolls to be sold were all prepared. Now, Xiao Bei had a new request. He asked people to make the dolls according to three sides. Each side would be the front, and it would be a very, very big doll. It would be more than ten feet tall and three meters tall.
Xiaozhu was in charge of the design, and Xiaohai was in charge of the calculations.
The people of Old Willow Village helped to make the dolls. They didn't care why Xiao Bei wanted to make such dolls, nor did they remind him that they didn't look good. Anyway, if Xiao Bei asked them to do it, they would do it. Not to mention making dolls, even if they were asked to use thin willow branches and weave patterns to make a two-story building, they wouldn't hesitate at all.
This was because everyone liked Xiao Bei and the others. When the nine children stood together, they didn't need to mention how powerful they were or how much money they had. Just by relying on their cute looks and sensible characters, they made people have an idea that they couldn't refuse their request.
Liu Feifei, who had become an official, was very busy last night. She went to worship the ancestors. Old Willow walked at the front, and she followed closely behind. She even wrote an oration, burned incense, and kowtowed. From then on, her family's branch was listed as the main branch in the clan.
She was busy until the wee hours of the morning before she went to sleep. Just as she woke up and washed up, she saw the strange big doll as soon as she went out.
She approached Xiao Bei and asked, "Xiao Bei, it doesn't look good. It's the front on all three sides. What does it look like from the side? There's a big horn that's facing people. "
"It's not for people to play with. Put it at the intersection, the triangular intersection. I'll make an advertisement. Look at the map, I'll find it for you." Xiao Bei ran out and came back with a roll. He unfolded it and showed it to Liu Feifei.
It was the military map of Jiangzhou. The scale of the map and the actual area was not big, but it could be seen clearly. On a road in Jiangzhou, there was a triangular intersection.
Liu Feifei looked and pondered. Then she said, "Should we put a doll with four sides at the intersection of Hong Nong? It happens to be at the amusement park and the south platform that connects to the train. We should also make a big doll. It'd be best if it could help promote Old Willow Village. "
"Yes, it has to be placed. It has to be woven beautifully so that people can feel how exquisite Old Willow Village's craftsmanship is." Xiao Bei had a look of "I have such a plan."
Liu Feifei looked at the map and then looked at the big doll that was still in the process of being made. She suggested, "Why don't a few people from our village go with you? When you arrive in Jiangzhou, you can find willow twigs and weave them. You don't have to occupy the space of a big doll on the way, so you can put more goods."
"Sister Feifei, we don't need that little space. I just want to take the big doll there. As soon as we arrive, we'll put the doll at the intersection and tell the officials of Jiangzhou that we're here. That's how it should be."
Xiao Bei said firmly.
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