The Prince of Luling staggered and couldn't help but feel annoyed. He was wondering who it was that had made such a faux pas and almost caused him to fall and make a fool of himself. He didn't expect his daughter to shout out such words. For a moment, he couldn't say that he was pushed out by someone else and could only imitate his daughter and puff out his chest.
Wu Zetian was slightly surprised to see this but she felt warmth in her heart. She patted her son's shoulder and said slowly, "Xian 'er is doing very well! Guo 'er, you are also doing very well! Don't worry, Yang Fan has always been cautious, how would he put us in danger? "
At this moment, the sky was filled with arrows. The soldiers were either raising their horse shields or hiding in the stirrups. The speed of their charge was like a rolling tide but it was not fake at all. As the arrows fell down and many people were hit, Yao Chong's heart immediately rose to his throat.
It would be a tragedy if countless people were killed or injured in order to make His Majesty happy during the military drill. Just now, when he saw the two sides using real swords and spears, and even using arrows, he had already realized this. However, it happened in a hurry, and he didn't even have time to reprimand Yang Fan.
At this time, those who had been hit by arrows on both sides, as long as they were hit in a vital spot, suddenly sat up straight, changed from sprinting to walking slowly, and raised the weapons in their hands high up, indicating that they were going to withdraw from the battle. However, not a single person actually bled to death. Yao Chong was surprised and it wasn't just him. Many people on the parade platform were surprised to see this scene.
Only then did Yang Fan explain, "Your subject specially used a batch of headless arrows. The tips of the arrows were already removed and wrapped in lead of the same weight. Soft cloth was also wrapped around the arrows so that the soldiers wouldn't lose their lives. The soft cloth was also soaked in paint. Those who were shot at a vital point would have to withdraw from the battle if they had a colored spot on their body. If there were any cheaters, the entire army would declare them to have lost so no one dared to disobey."
The crowd finally understood. Wu Yizong thought to himself, In order to gain my aunt's favor, he really put in a lot of effort to think of such a method!
Yao Chong, on the other hand, was overjoyed and thought to himself, Lead is soft and wrapped in a soft cloth. It won't harm people's lives, but it can greatly increase the effect of actual combat, especially for the new army. With this kind of close to actual combat experience, the new soldiers won't panic too much when they go into battle, resulting in more people losing their lives.
Hmm, this method is really not bad and can be widely used in the army. However, I don't know how much it cost to make these headless arrows and whether they can be reused. If it costs too much, then it can only be used during the Emperor's military inspection and not during normal times.
It was only now that Yang Fan had revealed the answer to the riddle. Thus, the Prince of Luling and Li Guo'er's display of filial piety for their father and mother was naturally a meritorious deed.
Yang Fan continued, "The weapons are naturally tampered with, so they won't take the lives of the soldiers, but … even if they are unarmed, it is inevitable that some people will be injured in the fight. This is unavoidable. Yang Fan continued, "The weapons are naturally tampered with so that they won't take the lives of the soldiers, but … even if they're unarmed, it's hard to avoid injuries.
In an instant, the two armies had officially clashed. The Turks were accustomed to piercing and chiseling tactics, and the attacking Zhou army used a similar tactic. If they didn't make use of the advantage of the cavalry's speed and instead tried to form a defensive formation, they would be at a disadvantage. Naturally, they wouldn't be used by either side.
In an instant, the charging formation of both sides was cut into pieces by the opposing soldiers. The soldiers couldn't see their generals and the generals couldn't see their soldiers. The flags, drums, and bugles had all lost their purpose. At this time, the individual strength of the soldiers and their usual training played an important role.
But even at this time, the cooperation and tacit understanding between neighboring soldiers was very important. From the high platform, the two sides seemed to be fighting in a chaotic melee. If one only stared at a single position and a few people, one would quickly discover that in this chaotic situation, the thousand cavalry were still fighting in coordination with their closest comrades. They clashed and cooperated with each other, advancing and retreating as one.
In these circumstances, those who relied solely on their individual strength had no future. Other than falling off their horses and becoming fertilizer for the plains next spring, they were completely useless. Discipline and cooperation had always been the greatest battle theme of an army, and this was precisely the difference between an army and a pile of loose sand.
At this moment, the two sides had already fallen into a chaotic melee. Without any arrows flying through the air, Wu Zetian walked to the front and surveyed the battlefield. Although this was just a drill, the soldiers on both sides were charging forward, raising their spears and brandishing their swords, bellowing, roaring, and shouting. Like fierce tigers, they clashed back and forth, making it impossible to tell that this was just a simulated battle.
Standing at Wu Zetian's side, Yang Fan explained, "The desert is bitter and cold, and there are many brave and arrogant people who are difficult to tame. The soldiers of the Central Plains are trained in agriculture, but to the Turks, riding and archery are the greatest skills they can use to support their families. Practicing from a young age, they are naturally valiant. If we want to fight against such a powerful enemy, we must strictly organize and train, strengthen our discipline, and strengthen our ability to cooperate. We must play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses. Through such hard training, how can our soldiers be inferior to the Turks who grew up riding and archery? "
Wu Zetian nodded repeatedly as she listened. Looking around, her eyes gradually fell on two young generals. Unlike the majority of the soldiers, these two were dressed in bright light armor, and one had painstakingly painted his armor gold and the other silver.
These two young generals, one gold and one silver, were both using spears. Killing their way through the thousands of soldiers, the spear in their hands was like a flood dragon, killing its way through. Unexpectedly, no one was a match for them in more than three rounds, and all the enemies that they faced were all knocked down from their horses. They were truly invincible and extraordinary.
Wu Zetian squinted her eyes, the more she looked, the more delighted she was. Pointing to the two men, she said to Yang Fan, "Who are those two young generals wearing gold and silver armor? They are so brave!"
Yang Fan smiled and said, "Your Majesty, please look again, Your Majesty recognizes them."
Wu Zetian strained her eyes to look, but due to the distance and the two young generals constantly charging and flashing through the army, she really could not see them clearly. At this time, Shanghai Wan 'er suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Sage, Wan' er thinks that the one wearing gold armor looks like Wulang and the one wearing silver armor looks like Wulang!"
"Really?"
Hearing this, Wu Zetian was both surprised and happy. She hurriedly took two more steps forward and put her hand on her head to look at the drill ground. Looking at the figures of the two men, she could vaguely see that they really did look like a pair of young lovers. At this time, everyone on the stage looked at the golden-armored general and the silver-armored general. Sure enough, they were Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong.
Wu Zetian was immediately full of smiles. She had not seen the Zhang brothers appear until noon, so she thought that the two brothers did not wake up early and simply did not come to the drill ground. She did not expect that the two brothers would be so attentive. In order to make her happy, they actually charged into the drill ground in such a hot weather.
In fact, although the two Zhang brothers could ride horses, in terms of martial arts, they only knew some flowery but impractical moves. The two of them were good at singing and dancing, but their flowery moves were actually very pleasing to the eye. These two people, rather than saying that they knew martial arts, it would be better to say that they were good at dancing.
But then again, the real Kung Fu used to kill people was a knife and a spear. It was simple and practical, but in the eyes of laymen, it really did not look good at all. What looked good was precisely this kind of flowery but impractical moves that had no practical value.
The Radiant Armor that the two Zhang brothers were wearing was also not real. They could not wear it. Even if it was a full set of leather armor, although they could wear it, they would be exhausted after waving a few knives and spears on the battlefield. During the rehearsal, Yang Fan tested them several times and finally chose the light paper armor.
Do not think that the paper armor was made of paper, it would be broken with one poke. In fact, paper armor was also one of the official equipment of the Tang army. The paper armor was light and flexible, so arrows could not easily penetrate it. Although it was not as strong as leather armor and iron armor, and its protection in close combat was even lower, these two people were the real performers. Who would dare to really use a knife and spear to fight against them? Such a set of paper armor, with gold and silver lacquer on the surface and all kinds of patterns, was really dazzling and beautiful when worn.
Yao Chong stroked his beard and smiled. He was an expert and naturally could see that the battle power of this thousand cavalry was indeed a notch higher than the Turkic cavalry. In this aspect, Yang Fan did not fake it. As for the Zhang brothers Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong's flowery moves, it was obvious that they were trying to please the Empress. However, with Yang Fan's actions, he took into account both the expert and the layman. There was no hindrance to either side, so Yao Chong only laughed it off.
This mock battle was destined to end with the victory of the Zhou army. But the thousand elite cavalry was indeed stronger than the Turkic cavalry, there was no need to fake it. This kind of role-playing mock battle had already aroused Wu Zetian's interest, and with Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong's participation, Wu Zetian was even more delighted.
After the mock battle ended, the two brothers Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong rode their horses to the parade platform. They dismounted and quickly walked up the stone steps. In front of Wu Zetian, they cupped their fists and said: "Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong greet Your Majesty!"
Although the two brothers were acting, but the weather was hot and they were acting seriously, so they were already sweating profusely. Normally, Wu Zetian would only see the two of them dressed like scholars and would often put on makeup. However, at this moment, they were dressed in military attire. Moreover, they were specially painted with gold and silver. As they stood there, they gave off a rarely seen heroic aura.
The more Wu Zetian looked at them, the more she liked them. She nodded repeatedly and said: "It is rare to see Wulang and Liulang put in so much effort and added so much color to my reading, I am very pleased. Because the two of you have worked so hard, I will confer Wulang the title of Qilin Platform Supervisor and Liulang the title of Imperial Servant Official! "
Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong were secretly delighted, there was indeed a reward. Zhang Yizhi had the intention to use his reward to exchange for an imperial edict from the Emperor to help his mother, but this matter could not be said in front of the Emperor's relatives and the court officials. He had to return to the Palace and pester Wu Zetian again. So he could only step forward and kneel on one knee with Zhang Changzong, thanking him for the conferment.
Wu Zetian smiled and looked at Yang Fan again, saying: "Today I watched the battle, the thousand cavalry soldiers are as swift as the wind, as gentle as the forest, as fierce as the fire, as unmoving as the mountain, with strict military discipline, I am delighted. I only hate that my North and South, six armies and sixteen guards do not have such elite soldiers. Today I will add Thousand Cavalry Guard Yang Fan as the Investigating and Punishing Commissioner to help me control the Imperial Guards in the capital! "
Wu Yizong was startled and blurted out: "Your Majesty, subject does not think so!"
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