The Emperor and the members of the royal family had their lunch in the camp of the thousand horsemen. The chefs of the royal kitchen were in charge of the cooking. Behind the camp, near the foot of the mountain, near the foot of the mountain, there was a green grassland in front, shaded by green trees, surrounded by brocade barriers, and spread bamboo mats in the forest. During the meal, the members of the royal family sat on the ground, as if they were on an outing, which was quite interesting.
During lunch, Eunuch Gao specially sought out Yang Fan and said to him, "His Majesty's energy is not enough, and he is already tired. I don't know how many drill events there will be in the afternoon, but His Majesty can't hold on for too long. Moreover, it will take some time for him to return to the capital, General Yang must make good use of this time. "
In such a public occasion, all the members of the royal family, the nobles of the capital, and even the Emperor were present. Naturally, Princess Taiping and Shangguan Wan'er would not have the slightest intention of getting close to him. Even Li Guo'er, who had always been bold, was much more restrained and did not dare to disturb him from beginning to end.
At this time, Yang Fan was discussing the gains and losses of the morning drill with Xu Liang and Lu Maofeng. Hearing Eunuch Gao's words, Yang Fan, Xu Liang, and Lu Maofeng looked at each other and smiled. He said to Eunuch Gao, "Eunuch Gao need not worry, there is only one event left in the afternoon, and then I will respectfully send His Majesty back to the capital!"
"That is very good!"
Eunuch Gao was relieved and smiled at Yang Fan, cupping his hands in salute, "Today's inspection is enough to show that General has good command of the army. His Majesty is still full of praise for all the princes, princesses, and princesses. Later on, there will be a lot of rewards. Your husband congratulates General Yang here. "
After the Emperor had lunch, he took a walk in the forest and felt slightly tired. Someone spread out a brocade couch in the forest, surrounded a small tent, and invited His Majesty to rest. In the afternoon, Yang Fan rushed over to invite the Emperor to inspect the troops, but found out that the Emperor was still napping, so he could only postpone the inspection.
Fortunately, the elderly did not sleep for long, and Wu Zetian did not sleep for too long before she woke up. Yang Fan got the news and began to prepare. Wu Zetian also washed and dressed up. After another hour, Wu Zetian, who was dressed splendidly and had a dignified appearance, returned to the reviewing platform, accompanied by the royal relatives and civil and military officials.
After a morning of reading and a lunch break, the atmosphere was clearly relaxed. Everyone sat on the stage and talked. The Emperor made an exception and called Yang Fan to his side. Wu Zetian asked pleasantly, "Yang Fan, what else do you want me to see next?"
Yang Fan bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the purpose of raising and training the army is ultimately to be used on the battlefield, to protect the people and expand the territory. Military discipline, military equipment, military skills, all of these were all for the sake of training a strong army. This official believes that if this is all there is, it will be suspected of being an armchair strategist. Other than training, there must be actual combat to see the effect! "
Hearing this, Wu Yizong finally could not bear it anymore and sneered disdainfully, "The court has always been doing this. Don't the Imperial Guards often take turns at the borders to participate in battles and train the soldiers? What original opinion do you have now? "
Yang Fan was not annoyed and his tone was still calm. However, he was still talking to Wu Zetian and treated Wu Yizong like air. "Your Majesty, the military drills formations and simulated battle scenes. The generals all have an imaginary opponent in their hearts, but for the soldiers, it is inevitable that the effect will be poor if they charge at air. Thus, this official wants the soldiers to be on both sides … "
Wu Yizong said eccentrically, "I thought you had some special idea, but it turns out that it is only this. Simulated combat isn't something rare in the military … "
Before he could finish, Wu Zetian suddenly turned her head and gave him a cold look. It was just a cold look, but Wu Yizong's heart trembled and immediately did not dare to speak again.
Wu Zetian nodded at Yang Fan and said, "Continue!"
Yang Fan smiled and said, "What the King of Hanoi said is true. This official invited Your Majesty to inspect in the afternoon is a simulated battle. It is just that the method this official used is different from the common simulation in the army. The subtleties … hehe, this official will not say too much. Your Majesty will know once you see it! "
Wu Zetian said happily, "Good! Then pass down the order. We will see your originality with our own eyes! "
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Yang Fan cupped his fists and accepted the order. He strode to the side of the stage and shouted to Lu Maofeng who was below the stage, "Your Majesty's order, the military drill begins!"
General Lu immediately passed down the order. The moment the banner was waved, a horn suddenly sounded from a corner of the drill ground. Following the deep and continuous sound of the horn, a group suddenly appeared from behind the barracks and galloped towards the drill ground.
Behind the knights, there were dozens of knights dragging a small tree on their horses. The crown of the tree was dragged back and forth on the ground, causing smoke and dust to billow. The knights rushed out of the smoke and dust as if there were thousands of soldiers and horses. There were simply too many of them to count.
These nobles on the high platform had never seen such an astonishing entrance before. Even the military officers who were observing, although they had also conducted mock battles before, had never thought that they would need these props to make the effect more realistic. They couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
There are probably about a thousand riders charging out from the cloud of dust. Some are wearing leather armour, some are wearing leather robes, some have golden bands around their heads and their hair is as messy as a lion's. Some have their hair parted into two braids. In their hands are different types of weapons and their mouths are making strange noises. At the very front of the formation, there is a large flag with a wolf's head.
Wu Yizong jumped up and screamed, "Run! The Turks are killing their way into the capital! "
Of those seated, the civil officials and women were the calmest. Although they were puzzled, they had always lived in the capital and did not have Wu Yizong's fearful attitude. Everyone stared at him like he was a madman. Wu Yizong also suddenly realized that if the Khitans were killing their way into the capital, how could they pass through so many barriers and remain unheard of in the capital?
Wu Yizong sat down with a red face, mentally cursing, "Damn it, if they want to fight, then they want to fight. Is there a need to dress and dress so alike? What's the use of this in simulating a battle? Isn't this painstaking effort to have the soldiers dress up so vividly and make it seem like a play just to make the Emperor happy? "
Wu Sansi also looked down in shock, inwardly praising Yang Fan's ingenuity. In this era, no one had ever imagined that military exercises could be like role-playing, with so many flourishes. But Wu Sansi soon realized that something was wrong. Looking at the 'Turkic cavalry' below, there were at least one thousand of them. The Thousand Cavalry Camp only had one thousand soldiers, and they had all been disguised as Turks. Could it be that he was going to single-handedly fight against an army of one thousand?
At this time, Yang Fan was already reporting to Wu Zetian amidst the gasps of shock, "Your Majesty is a man of great talent and bold vision, a master of both civil and martial arts! The Four Garrisons of Anxi, which were lost in the past, have now returned to the hands of my Heavenly Court. Tubo is in internal strife, its princes vying for power. Seeing the scenery, Tsan Po has submitted to my Great Zhou. Ambassador Tang Xiujing has won six battles, greatly displaying the might of my Zhou. Tubo is nothing to fear.
At present, the only powerful foe of my court is the Turks, so this subject has imagined the Turks as the enemy. The one thousand Turkic soldiers on the drill ground are not soldiers of this subject in disguise, but genuine Turks. "
Yang Fan had intentionally raised his voice as he made his report to Wu Zetian. Although the people on the drill ground were shouting and neighing, the high platform allowed everyone to hear Yang Fan's voice clearly. When Yang Fan said that these people were genuine Turks, the platform once more became restless.
Yang Fan said, "These Turks are loyal subordinates of Khagan Huseruo from the Western Turks. They are Khagan Huseruo's most trusted and elite guards. Thanks to Your Majesty's great kindness, they are now working for the Imperial Treasury Monastery. This subject believes that only by knowing oneself and knowing the enemy can the soldiers understand the enemy's capabilities, allowing them to raise their own capabilities to the greatest extent.
The Eastern and Western Turks are of the same lineage, and their tactics and archery skills are almost the same. Thus, this group formed from Khagan Huseruo's trusted guards can be considered as one of the strongest of the Turks! Only by competing with this kind of army can we truly raise the fighting power of our army! "
Wu Zetian was enlightened. At this moment, on the other side of the drill ground, war drums thundered like thunder. Over a hundred horns sounded in unison, instantly suppressing the arrogance of the Turkic cavalry. Soon after, a group of Great Zhou cavalry with bright armour and fiery war banners surged out like a tide, pressing down on the Turkic cavalry.
Looking down from the platform, one could see a black stream of iron and a grey stream of earth, sweeping across the entire drill ground. Amidst the cries of battle cries, they charged towards the enemy. There was still an arrow's distance between the two sides when the sky suddenly buzzed with a strange sound and a dense barrage of arrows flew into the sky. At this moment, the sun in the center of the drill ground visibly darkened.
Wu Yizong did not miss this opportunity and shrieked: "Bastards! For the Son of Heaven to use arrows for a grand inspection, what if someone misses and injures His Majesty? "
Yang Fan loudly declared: "If that is the case, this subject is willing to be the Son of Heaven's shield!"
Only now did everyone realize that Yang Fan has stealthily taken a step forward, shielding Wu Zetian. Wu Zetian was greatly moved. Since Yang Fan has said such words, he must be extremely confident. Thus, she immediately stood up and loudly declared: "We are the ruler of the world, why should we fear the might of arrows!"
Finished speaking, Wu Zetian pushed Yang Fan aside and boldly took two steps forward. With such an attitude from the Son of Heaven, none of the officials dared to remain seated. One after another, they stood up and followed Wu Zetian forward. Even though some of them were still worried that the arrows would fly onto the stage, none of them dared to reveal a timid expression.
Yang Fan stole a glance and saw that Li Dan and Li Xian were standing on either side of Wu Zetian. Apart from that, they did not show any special expression. He could not help but smile bitterly inwardly: "This is such a good opportunity, but I wonder if these two princes are used to being scolded by their usually unyielding mother and do not dare to make a decision on their own or what, but they are actually not saying anything."
Yang Fan hastily gave the Prince of Luling a meaningful glance, but the latter was too slow to understand. On the other hand, Li Guo 'er, who was standing next to the Prince of Luling, saw Yang Fan's meaningful glance and immediately understood his intention. She hastily hid her hand in her sleeve and forcefully stabbed the Prince of Luling's waist. The Prince of Luling staggered and bumped into Wu Zetian.
Li Guo 'er immediately shouted: "Father sacrifices his life to protect mother, daughter also sacrifices her life to protect father!" Finished speaking, she puffed out the petite bud on her chest and heroically stood in front of the Prince of Luling.
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