Inside the commander's tent, Lord of Hanoi, Wu Yizong, and Lord of Linchuan, Wu Sizhong, sat opposite each other.
After a long silence, Wu Yizong clenched his fists and hammered heavily on the table.
Wu Sizhong sighed, "Eldest Brother, let's forget it. Speaking of which, we haven't really lost to him. Who asked him to bring up Aunt? At this time, if we still don't know what's good for us, we're just asking to be humiliated. "
Wu Yizong sneered, curling his lips, "What's this? A wise man submits to circumstances?"
Wu Sizhong shrugged, "What else does Eldest Brother have?"
After a moment of silence, Wu Yizong said, "Forget it, don't make things difficult for him anymore. Otherwise, you and I will have to bear the consequences."
At this point, Wu Yizong smiled coldly and said, "You think it's over after passing this test? Surnamed Yang, you've embarrassed me, Wu Yizong. We still have many opportunities to interact in the future! "
Wu Sizhong's character was not so domineering. He wanted to dissuade his elder brother, but he knew his elder brother's temper. He swallowed the words at the tip of his tongue and sighed heavily.
Outside Yang Fan's commander's tent in the cavalry camp.
The captain in charge of the armory came to the commander's tent again and peeked in with a sneaky face. Outside the tent, two bodyguards stood ramrod straight, their eyes looking straight ahead. Ren Wei leisurely strolled out from the commander's tent. Seeing him, he asked impatiently, "Captain Jiang, what's the matter?"
Captain Jiang nodded and bowed, "The Department of Ordnance has made a new batch of armors and weapons. Armors, bows, axes, spears, sabers, short spears, hammers, tents, and even horse harnesses and saws have all been replaced. Do you want to report to the general and have him inspect them?"
Ren Wei said disapprovingly, "That's it? The Middle Minister General is currently discussing important matters with the generals and has no time to bother with such a small matter. You can go back first. I will report to the general and he will send a colonel to check them out! "
After Ren Wei said that, he turned and walked into the tent without waiting for Captain Jiang's reply. Captain Jiang smiled bitterly, but just as he turned to leave, he heard someone scoff. Someone said disdainfully, "Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit!" When he turned his head to look, he saw that the two soldiers were still standing upright in front of the tent, looking straight ahead. He did not know who had spoken.
Inside the tent, Yang Fan was really gathering his generals for a meeting.
Yang Fan sat behind the commander's tent. In his left hand was Frightening Tiger's Courage, and in his right hand was a thick book. The commander's seal and the square box containing the tokens and arrows were placed on both sides of the table.
Chief Censor Xu Liang was seated at the side. Behind him were two rows of chairs, which were occupied by Huang Xuchang, Chu Tiange, Maqiao, Li Dayin, Lu Maofeng, Lu Yan, Gao Chu and the others. All of them were dressed in military attire and sat upright. There was one empty chair, which belonged to the Rear Army's Lieutenant General Dugu Huizhi.
Yang Fan gently flipped through the book in his hand and said in a deep voice, "His Majesty has issued an edict to agree to a general review! I have borrowed books from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War regarding the system of ceremonies and have summarized them. The Emperor is going to review them, and the contents of the review are mainly military discipline, military techniques, military studies, military weapons, military formations, military laws, military fortifications … "
Yang Fan was not overstepping his authority by calling himself 'this marshal'. Outside, he had to call himself 'this general'. But in the army, especially on a solemn occasion like the appointment of generals, the commanding general had to call himself 'this marshal'. It meant that the commander-in-chief of the army did not necessarily have to be a marshal appointed by the court.
At this point, Yang Fan suddenly paused. He looked down and asked, "Generals, who has participated in the general review?"
The generals looked at each other. Ever since the Emperor ascended to the throne, there had never been a general review. Even the Emperor's military review was called a 'general review'. They had only learned about it from Yang Fan. Most of these generals were illiterate, so how could they understand this?
Yang Fan frowned and said, "Not a single one?"
Lu Maofeng hesitated and said, "Marshal, I joined the army at the age of seventeen. So far, I have not participated in the general review. But during the reign of Emperor Gaozong, when the North Yamen was still under the control of the South Yamen, I have been reviewed by the ministers of the Political Affairs Hall and the Ministry of War!"
Yang Fan was overjoyed. Finally, there was someone who had participated in the review. Otherwise, he would have to fumble around according to the records. He did not expect that Lu Maofeng could be so useful in addition to being a meat shield.
Yang Fan said happily, "At that time, General Lu held any position in the army. Have you ever presided over the drill of the troops?"
Lu Maofeng said embarrassedly, "Uh … at that time, I was still a cook in the army. I did not preside over the drill of the troops. I only listened to orders and took care of the ten soldiers."
Huang Xuchang, Chu Kuangge, and Maqiao could not help but laugh, making Lu Maofeng's face turn red.
Yang Fan slapped the "Frightening Tiger Courage" in his hand heavily and shouted, "Who dares to be presumptuous in my tent! Huang Xuchang, Chu Kuangge, Maqiao, stand up and answer correctly! "
In private, they were brothers, but in public, they had to have some rules. The three of them saw that Yang Fan's voice was stern, and he didn't have the slightest intention of making an exception. They immediately became vigilant, put away their neglect, and stood up straight.
Yang Fan glanced at them and coldly snorted, "Good or bad, General Lu has participated in the military review. Although he hasn't presided over the military exercise, he is very clear about the training and rules of every soldier and group of soldiers. What is so funny about the three of you? Listen carefully! "
After lecturing the three, Yang Fan turned to Lu Maofeng and nodded amiably, "Then I will have to trouble General Lu to explain the situation at that time to me and the generals."
General Lu was flattered and hurriedly recalled the various training and preparations he had received before participating in the review to Yang Fan. Yang Fan listened as he hurriedly flipped through the manual and compared them one by one. General Lu's military rank was too low at that time, so he was not clear about the things that involved the entire army. What he described were specific requirements for each soldier and group.
Xu Liang wrote quickly on the side, recording everything General Lu said. Yang Fan compared them one by one. After listening to General Lu's introduction for a while, he gradually had a plan in his heart. The things that General Lu introduced were not exactly the same as what was written in the manual. It could be seen that this thing was not carried out completely according to the rules of the manual.
As the saying goes, according to local conditions, appropriate adaptations were possible. However, there were not many changes in the major steps, especially the part that involved 'etiquette'. As the saying goes, it is not strange to have too much etiquette. When an important person came to review, it was even more important to highlight the status of the important person. Great effort must be put into the word etiquette.
Yang Fan grasped the main points and was no longer flustered. After General Lu finished describing the military review that he had experienced, Yang Fan said confidently, "I have noted down everything General Lu said. Since the generals have not participated in the review, then there is no need to continue discussing it today. I will refer to the manual and combine it with General Lu's words to draw up a detailed rules for the review. The generals can practice according to it!"
Yang Fan slowly stood up. Seeing this, the generals in the tent also stood up, their armors rubbing against each other.
Yang Fan said, "General Lu!"
Lu Maofeng hurriedly took a step forward, cupped his hands and said, "I am here!"
Yang Fan said, "General Lu has participated in the military review, so I will appoint you as the review officer. Together with Chief Secretary Xu, you will be my counselor!"
Lu Maofeng was grateful and proud when he heard this. He quickly said loudly, "Yes, General!"
…
There were weapons, armors, and the imperial edict that the Emperor wanted to review the troops with thousands of cavalries.
Since the Female Empress ascended to the throne, she had never had a grand inspection. In recent years, she had lived in seclusion and rarely went out of the palace. But this time, she thought of a grand inspection by a thousand cavalrymen. Although everyone had long known that the status of a thousand cavalrymen in the imperial army of the Northern Yamen was the highest, such a grand treatment still made all the imperial guards envious.
The officers and soldiers of the Thousand Cavalries were excited and nervous. Soon they began to prepare for the review.
The platform on the drill ground was being built into a military review platform. Because it was the Emperor's review, the military review platform was made of yellow earth, like an altar to worship heaven. It was grand, tall, and exceptionally spectacular. The part above the steps was paved with flat stones. This high platform was probably more than 100 feet high.
It would take a lot of time to build such a high platform, and it could only be used once. At first, the generals were quite critical of it, but Yang Fan only said a few words, and they were immediately enlightened, no longer complaining.
Yang Fan said, "Don't you see the height of 'Heaven', the beauty of 'Ming Tang', the height of 'Tianshu', and the sacredness of the nine cauldrons?"
Although most of the generals were illiterate, who said illiteracy didn't mean they didn't understand things? The Emperor was fond of grandiose achievements, so this was to cater to her liking. Let the Emperor review the troops on such a high platform, how could it show her lofty authority? For the Emperor's review, what was the purpose of everyone working so hard? Wasn't it just the appreciation and favor of the Emperor? Why didn't they use this opportunity?
The soldiers were practicing, and one of the military skills was strength. Now they didn't have to carry the stone weights and throw them around. If they had the strength, they could build the military review platform.
The gradually piled high and gradually formed a grand and spectacular military review platform. People were like ants on it. On the drill ground, there were also many bare-chested soldiers pushing the stone rollers that they found from all over the place, leveling the ground of the drill ground.
The thousand cavalrymen were all outstanding talents selected from the various Imperial Guards. Regardless of whether it was climbing, equipment, military appearance, weapons, or battle formations, they quickly met the requirements. Now, they only needed to constantly improve, such as the arrangement of the battle formations and the neatness of the troops. They wanted to give everyone a shocking effect as soon as they made their appearance.
However … even these elites, who were selected from the various Imperial Guards, had their moments of difficulty, and that was the military law. "Law of Good Prosperity", "Law of Hanging Arch", "Law of Arresting Death", "Order of Palace Guards", "Order of Military Defense", "Order of Military Department" …
Generals, brigade commanders, platoon leaders, cooks, and officers at all levels forced the soldiers to recite these regulations every day. They recited it after waking up, eating, training, building the platform, leveling the drill ground, practicing military equipment, and before going to bed. They even arranged for people to repeat the same law at the door of the latrine to deepen their impression, but it was still useless.
Those vigorous soldiers who worked hard to recite the military law would gnash their teeth and have a splitting headache, like Sun Wukong who heard the Band-tightening Incantation. In just two days, the generals who forced them to recite the military law and the soldiers who were forced to recite the military law were all exhausted and began to show signs of going crazy.
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