"Brother Qiao, we can't go on like this!"
Maqiao went to Yang Fan in private and said, "I tried to memorize two military laws, but it's driving me crazy. Do you think you can memorize them?"
Yang Fan stammered, "I have a lot of things to do …"
Ma Qiao rolled his eyes and said, "So you're saying you can't recite it either?"
Yang Fan stared at him and said, "This review will attract everyone's attention. There are many people who are jealous. Military laws are very important. If we don't review this, the emperor might not know much about military affairs, or he might not be able to point out anything. "
Maqiao said, "But even if we stop all the drills and ask everyone to memorize the General Military Law every day, they might not be able to memorize it. We can't go on like this. I have an idea, I wonder if it will work. "
In fact, Yang Fan was also badly battered by the soldiers. Hearing that he had a solution, his eyes lit up and he said happily, "Why didn't you tell me earlier if you have a solution? Tell me, what's the idea? "
Maqiao looked around, lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "Why don't we pick some soldiers who can read and write? We don't ask them to do anything else but memorize the General Military Law every day, and each of them will only memorize one book until they know it by heart. When the time comes, we will be the reviewing officer and the overall review will be ours. We can just pick these people and ask them questions. Do you think they won't pass? "
Yang Fan frowned, "It's easy to say, but if … hmm …"
He rubbed his chin and thought for a while, then nodded happily, "That's right! It's a good idea! If we don't have military laws during the review, people will just pretend to be confused and ask questions, and we won't be able to answer. But as long as we have this rule, we will be fine. Even if someone suspects us of cheating, it would not be good for them to interfere and let them do the spot-checking. If the soldiers really cannot answer, we will lose face, and the Emperor will lose face even more. No one would be stupid enough to embarrass us and put the Emperor on the spot. "
Maqiao smiled proudly, "How about it? How could I have come up with such a brilliant plan? "
Yang Fan glared at him and said, "You're the best at taking advantage of opportunities. Why aren't you acting according to the plan? Pick out the literate soldiers and tell them to stop reciting military laws?"
Maqiao said repeatedly, "Sure, sure, sure. I'll arrange it right away!"
Maqiao ran away quickly. After a while, there was a tsunami of cheers on the Drill Ground, as if they had won a battle. Yang Fan couldn't help but shake his head and laugh.
The initial purpose of Yang Fan's inspection was to make Wu Yizong retreat without a fight and to solve the biggest problem in the process of building the army: military equipment. But when the decree came down and he had to do this, he realized that it would be beneficial for him to have a review after the founding of the army.
First of all, through the review, the status and influence of the Thousand Cavalry in the Imperial Army could be rapidly raised. As the Emperor, if Wu Zetian were to personally review the Thousand Cavalry, her impression of the Thousand Cavalry would be a hundred times better than quietly building the army and directly taking up the task of guarding the palace.
Internally speaking, only a small portion of his newly formed army, be it the generals or the soldiers, were directly enlisted from the commoners. Most of the officers and soldiers still had the brand of their original army. In order to welcome the great review, everyone worked together to put on some drills, which would allow them to quickly integrate internally.
The glory of a successful review would make every general and soldier quickly realize that they were now a member of the Thousand Cavalry. This would increase the cohesion of the army, and he himself could also use this to obtain a high reputation and prestige in the army. This would greatly shorten the process of integrating the Thousand Cavalry.
Realizing this, Yang Fan naturally put in all his effort.
The Thousand Cavalry Battalion thus threw themselves into the vigorous training of the review. This army, which was about to play a crucial and decisive role in the political circles of Wuzhou, was like a red-hot iron embryo. After repeated hammering and forging, it gradually released its unique light. The sword was still in its sheath, its cold edge already unsheathed.
… …
On this day, the training in the army was in full swing. Suddenly, there was a thunderous sound of hooves outside the camp. Looking into the distance, dust was flying.
It was already summer. The soldiers cherished their clothes, but they also felt that the weather was unbearably hot, so most of them had taken off their robes and only wore a loincloth. Their hairy chests and thighs were bare as they built high platforms, rolled on the drill ground, rolled on the ground, and practiced martial arts. Or they were doing formation training under the command of the cook.
Yang Fan trained with the soldiers. He was also dressed like this. Seeing dust rising in the distance and people shouting and horses neighing, Yang Fan tore off the white handkerchief tied to his head and wiped the sweat off his face. He ordered two soldiers who were practicing hand-to-hand combat, "Go see what's going on."
The two burly men, who were fighting each other like two bulls, heard Yang Fan's order and let go of each other. Barefooted, they ran towards the gate with their big buttocks swaying. The loincloth was stuck between their buttocks and looked very funny. However, there were no women in the army, so there was nothing to worry about.
At this time of year, there were no shorts. Men's underwear was a loincloth. It was said that this thing had health benefits. This theory came from Taoism. Taoism's art of nourishing the body advocated the Xiantian realm and returned to the origin. For example, it imitated a baby's breathing and sleep.
A baby's testicles were always tightened and raised. An adult's testicles were always loose and drooping without any special training. Some Daoist cultivators jokingly referred to such people as' sloppy '. Loincloth had the effect of tightening and raising the testicles, so they believed that this could nourish the kidneys and strengthen one's physical strength.
Two bare-bottomed burly men with loincloth ran to the gate. Not long after, they returned and excitedly reported to Yang Fan, "General, the Imperial Servant Temple has sent horses. There are so many strong and majestic horses!"
Yang Fan was overjoyed. Just as he was about to go to the gate, he had a second thought and said, "Go, invite General Lu here. He will go with me to receive the warhorses!"
Not long after, Lu Maofeng, who was the military inspector and had the busiest work, rushed over. He had heard from the soldier that they were going to the gate to receive the horses, so he put on his military uniform. At this time, Yang Fan was already dressed, so the two of them rushed to the gate together.
This time, it was the veterinary doctor Bai Yiding and the veterinarian Niu Mou who delivered the horses. Both of them were very polite to Yang Fan. Yang Fan looked at the warhorses that they delivered this time. Sure enough, each of them was plump and sturdy with glossy fur. They were all strong and tall horses from the Western Regions. He was overjoyed.
At this time, Chu Kuangge, Maqiao and the others also rushed over after hearing the news. When they saw the horses, they liked them from the bottom of their hearts. Yang Fan smiled and said, "You guys came at the right time. Quickly help General Lu to receive the horses!"
The generals excitedly accompanied General Lu to receive the horses. Because General Lu was able to get a sufficient number of superior horses in one go, everyone's attitude towards him was much better. This made General Lu, who had always been given the cold shoulder and could only find some warmth with Yang Fan, very excited.
Bai Yiding smiled as he watched the generals surround General Lu and leave. Only then did he take out an invitation from his sleeve and smiled as he handed it over to Yang Fan with both hands. He said, "My brother is holding a banquet in the mansion tomorrow. He has invited Fengchen Ling and a group of good friends. General Yang is specially invited to come."
Yang Fan thought, "The Zhang brothers know that I treat Lu Maofeng well. This is a show of goodwill. It's just that the Zhang brothers have a high status now. If they directly invite me in their name, it will feel like making a mountain out of a molehill. This kind of compromising will easily arouse criticism from others. That's why I have to borrow Bai Yishou's name. "
This time, he was able to facilitate the Emperor's visit. The Zhang brothers had contributed greatly. Yang Fan thought that he should express his gratitude to them in person. These two people would still be useful in the future. He put away the invitation and happily cupped his hands together, saying, "I am extremely honored! Doctor, please reply to your brother that I will definitely be punctual tomorrow! "
…
Early the next morning, Yang Fan arranged for Deputy Chief Inspector Xu Liang and Parade Officer Lu Maofeng to continue leading the three armies in drills. He, on the other hand, brought Ren Wei and a few other personal guards back to the city. It was his first time visiting, so he had to bring some gifts. So he left rather early and went home first to prepare a greeting gift.
Yang Fan whipped his horse and entered Luoyang. Before he had even reached the Tianjin Bridge, he saw several dozen carriages lined up on the long street. The chests and cages on the carriages were piled up like a mountain. They were all tied up with red silk. With one glance, it was clear that they were sent as dowry.
Seeing that the several dozen large carriages were about to cross the Tianjin Bridge, the bridgehead was extremely crowded. Yang Fan reined in his horse and stopped, muttering to himself, "So much dowry. I wonder whose family is marrying off their daughter."
An old man holding his grandson by the side of the road heard this and raised his head to glance at him. He said, "This military master might not know, but the carriages in front are Yi 'an Junzhu's dowry."
"Yi 'an Junzhu?"
Upon hearing this extremely unfamiliar title, Yang Fan couldn't help but be startled. Then he remembered that this was the title of the Prince of Luling's daughter, Li Xinyu. After the Prince of Luling returned to the capital, he had rapidly married many influential families. Yang Fan knew about this, but he hadn't expected that he would get married so soon. The dowry had already been sent, so how could the day of marriage be far away?
Yang Fan said, "Many thanks for Laozhang's reminder. A few days ago, I did hear that the Prince of Luling was betrothed, but I didn't expect that Yi 'an Junzhu would be getting married now. "
There were many high-ranking officials in the capital, so the common people in the capital had seen many of them. They weren't like the ignorant commoners in the small villages who would tremble with fear when they saw an official. That old man saw that Yang Fan's clothing and bearing didn't look like an ordinary official, but he wasn't afraid. He smiled and replied, "The Prince of Luling's family has many daughters, and they've all reached the marriageable age, so how can they not be anxious? I heard that Yongtai Junzhu is also going to send her dowry this afternoon. Yongtai Junzhu is betrothed to the Wei Wangfu, and she's also the Prince of Luling's wife's daughter, so I'm afraid her dowry will be twice as much as this. "
Hearing this, Yang Fan found it funny. "The Prince of Luling is marrying off his daughters in batches. What extravagance!"
Only after waiting for the enormous convoy to cross the bridge did Yang Fan urge his horse onto the bridge. He tailed the convoy for a while, and only when the convoy turned into Guan De Lane and gave way did he ride home.
When Yang Fan arrived at his residence, he had Xiaoman look for a gift that was suitable for both his status and the time. He then went to stay with A 'Nu, who had just become pregnant and was preparing to nurse the baby, for a short while. Only then did he rush to Bai Yishou's residence.
Because the Imperial Palace Chamberlain didn't have much involvement in court politics, he wasn't very famous. However, the Imperial Palace Chamberlain was a third-rank high official, so his position definitely wasn't low. Yang Fan had already asked Ren Wei to find out where the Bai residence was, so he easily found it.
The Bai residence's doorman received the invitation and swiftly went to the residence to report the news. When a guest came to the door, the host should naturally come out to welcome him. At this time, Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong brothers hadn't arrived yet, but the Zhang brothers' subordinates and even their cousins had already arrived. They were currently sitting idly in the reception pavilion, chatting and laughing. In the small hall to the side, someone was roaring loudly.
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