In Taiji Palace, Li Shimin asked worriedly, "How are the preparations for the military parade coming along?"
Li Junxian bowed and said, "Your Majesty, ever since Minister Linghu summoned Merton to the Ministry of Rites, the process was quickly set. The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Military Personnel were very satisfied with the plan he proposed. Right now, the two departments are conducting secret training in full swing. I believe that they will not disappoint Your Majesty."
"Oh! Secret training? "Li Shimin said with great interest.
Li Junxian smiled and said, "With Mo Jiu around, I believe that this military parade will definitely give Your Majesty a pleasant surprise."
"Pleasant surprise? I hope it's not a scare!" Li Shimin laughed. He had no doubts about Meton's ability to cause trouble, but it was better to keep some of it to himself. However, the fact that Meton's plan could satisfy both the Ministry of Military Personnel and the Ministry of Rites made him somewhat expectant.
Li Junxian smiled. He naturally couldn't continue this topic.
"Continue to pay close attention to Chang 'an City. Nothing must go wrong before and after the military parade," Li Shimin ordered.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Li Junxian said seriously.
On the surface, order would naturally be maintained by Chang 'an City and the Golden Guards, but in secret, order would naturally be handled by the cavalry. There were many missions that needed to be investigated. Some of the emissaries from the Western Regions were restless, and the leaders of the various tribes were restless. Even the commoners who came to Chang' an City had to be investigated in secret to prevent bandits from sneaking in.
As more and more commoners entered Chang 'an City, the time for the military parade drew closer and closer. Meton began to get busy again. Assistant Minister Linghu Defeng of the Ministry of Rites asked him to review the parade in advance. However, what worried Meton the most was the first group, the veterans of Jinyang City.
"Don't worry, Mo Jiu! With Mo Jiu's suggestion, the Ministry of Rites immediately rushed to Jinyang City and found a hundred veterans there, "Linghu Defeng said proudly.
Meton was stunned as he pointed at the Drill Ground. "These are the people you're looking for!"
Most of these Jinyang veterans had white hair, and some of them even had big bellies. They didn't look like warriors at all. They looked more like country bumpkins, no, country bumpkins' father.
Back then, when Li Yuan raised his army in Jinyang, most of the soldiers were local veterans. After the world was pacified, they were either promoted to nobles and stayed in Chang 'an City or had returned to their hometown. Jinyang was indeed the easiest place to find veterans.
However, when these veterans returned, they would be rewarded handsomely. In addition, they would be rewarded with a large amount of land. Suddenly, they would be able to live a comfortable life. Their bodies would quickly gain weight. Compared to Uncle Wang, they were as heavy as two people.
Linghu Defen immediately said awkwardly, "Many of them were the personal guards of the Retired Emperor."
Meton instantly understood what was going on. It turned out that Linghu Defen wanted to flatter Li Yuan and specifically found these people.
"This is a military parade. Do you think these people look like soldiers? Can they even fight?" Meton said helplessly.
"Who said that the Old Man doesn't look like a soldier and can't fight? Young man, why don't we compete? " A burly Jinyang veteran with sharp ears heard the conversation between Meton and Linghu Defen. He looked as if he was insulted and rolled up his sleeves, wanting to pounce on Meton.
One-Armed Uncle Wang saw this and moved. He grabbed the fat veteran's shoulder with one hand and exerted a little force, immediately restraining the man on the ground.
"Let go of me. Back then, when the Old Man was the personal guard of the Retired Emperor, you were still drinking milk somewhere!" The fat veteran couldn't help but roar angrily when he couldn't struggle.
Meton spread his hands helplessly and said to Linghu Defen, "I'm afraid this person can't even wear armor now. How can he participate in the military parade? Besides, it's not easy to wear armor throughout the parade. Do you think he can last?"
Many of the fat veterans were immediately ashamed. They already felt that they couldn't take it when they just started training. If they wore armor throughout the parade, few would be able to last.
"But it's too late to find him now," Linghu Defen said helplessly.
"Let's search Chang 'an City first. We'll find him sooner or later. Uncle Wang, lead them to wear armor and train throughout the parade. You don't need to go to the battlefield to kill the enemy. You just need to persevere throughout the parade. However, military discipline must be good." Meton said helplessly. This was the only thing he could ask of these veterans. After all, not every veteran was so disciplined. One-Armed Uncle Wang was also in charge of training the village guards of Village Mo. He didn't neglect his martial arts at all.
"Young Master, don't worry," One-Armed Uncle Wang said seriously as he let go of the fat veteran on the ground.
"Then what about us?" The fat veteran jumped up unwillingly.
Meton said helplessly, "There's nothing I can do if I don't have suitable armor for you. However, you can be responsible for maintaining order in Vermillion Bird Avenue."
The group of fat veterans immediately looked regretful. They had lost such a great opportunity. Fortunately, it was also in Vermillion Bird Avenue. It was not a wasted trip.
Meton and Linghu Defen then reviewed the other parade groups. The other groups were all soldiers who were still in service. Naturally, they didn't have as many problems as the veterans. All they asked was the requirements of the formation. Overall, it was still acceptable. After all, it was the first parade. They could just follow the normal formation.
However, what really gave the two of them a headache was the military's weapon display. Especially since the military was in charge of this, Cheng Yaojin.
Cheng Yaojin excitedly pointed at a five-foot tall siege tower and said, "Young Mo, what do you think of this weapon? I guarantee that when the ambassadors of the Western Region see it, they will be scared witless."
Meton helplessly covered his face and said, "Uncle Cheng, this weapon is indeed powerful. However, are you sure you can get it through the South City Gate?"
The South City Gate was only five feet tall. Such a tall siege weapon was indeed powerful. However, whether or not it could be transported to Chang 'an City was another matter. Cheng Yaojin was too ambitious.
"Then forget it!" Cheng Yaojin gave up with a look of regret.
"This won't do. This won't do either!" Meton quickly picked out a dozen weapons that weren't suitable for display. Even so, there were still many weapons in front of everyone to choose from.
Linghu Defen frowned and said, "There are still too many weapons. If we participate in all of them, there won't be enough time."
"That won't do. We've worked so hard to train for so long. How can the Ministry of Rites just say that they don't want us?" Cheng Yaojin immediately became anxious.
"The central army can only give you ten groups!" Linghu Defen shook his head and said.
"At least twenty. Isn't that enough to go around?" Cheng Yaojin said anxiously.
"Fifteen. We can't give you more," Linghu Defen said firmly.
Seeing that the two of them were in a stalemate, Meton could only helplessly mediate, "The two of you don't have to fight anymore. Uncle Cheng, there's no need to display only one of these weapons. Can the saber and shield groups be combined into one? Isn't the bow and crossbow a bit too much? Can we let the spearmen carry the crossbows …"
Meton finally managed to arrange all of the weapons with great difficulty. Only then did the inspection come to an end.
"Whew. We're finally ready," Linghu Defen heaved a sigh of relief.
Meton chuckled and said, "Lord Linghu, this isn't the end. There's still more important work to be done."
"There's more?" Linghu Defen's heart trembled.
Meton nodded and said, "Right now, the various divisions are like a sheet of loose sand. They're all fighting for themselves. What we need to do next is to tie them together. That's the key to the parade's success."
"Tie them together? How do we do that? "Linghu Defen asked.
"Rehearse!" Meton said solemnly.
.。 m.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
