Chapter 73 Martial Arts Performance
Chapter 73 Martial Arts Performance
On June 20th, at the foot of Mangshan Mountain, the shouts of the soldiers during training became louder and louder.
At noon, Sima Yue arrived with his shogunate officials. Three thousand people shouted in unison, which made Sima Yue, who was planning a war, laugh happily.
The military’s morale is working, the military’s morale is working!
Mi Huang, Shao Xun, He Lun and Wang Bing stood beside Sima Yue with respectful expressions.
Sima Yue's eyes swept over the four people one by one.
Mi Huang is good at leading troops and can be entrusted with important tasks.
He Lun is diligent in his work and is trustworthy.
Wang Bing is a low-key person, but he often practices martial arts and is ambitious.
Shao Xun, a brave general, often brought him great surprises. He still remembered Sima Ying's dark face that day, haha, it was really refreshing.
These four people are all rare talents and they should be used and valued in the future.
"Someone come here." Sima Yue suddenly shouted.
Military Advisor Dai Yuan came over personally carrying a tray.
Sima Yue took off the silk covering it and found that they were two seals.
He took out one first, looked at it, and handed it to Mi Huang, saying, "From now on, you are the lieutenant of the East Sea Kingdom."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your selection." Mi Huang took the seal respectfully and held it tightly in his hand.
Sima Yue nodded with satisfaction, then took another seal and handed it to Shao Xun, saying, "You were recommended as a filial and honest official last month, and now your appointment as Lieutenant Sima has also been approved. Keep the seal."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your selection." Shao Xun took it steadily.
I took a quick glance at it and saw the inscription: "Lieutenant Sima of the State of Donghai" - the specific shape can be referred to the "Lieutenant Sima of the State of Langya" seal unearthed in Nanjing.
"You are now considered a scholar." Sima Yue was in a good mood and could not help but say a few more words: "The world is in turmoil today, and there are many places where you can use your military skills. If you can fight hard and accumulate merits to 600 stones, it will be a piece of cake to bring honor to your family."
"I will follow the king's orders." Shao Xun replied.
In fact, strictly speaking, he is not yet a scholar.
In his case, he was selected as a filial and honest official and became an official. If his sons and grandchildren continue to achieve the same level as him, the Shao family of Donghai can barely be called a humble family. Even so, you still need to be evaluated by the county governor to be considered a noble family. If not, you are not a noble family, at most you can be considered a powerful family.
This is actually the dilemma faced by the wealthy in many places today.
Some families obviously have a lot of land and troops, which exceeds the smaller aristocratic families, but they have no political status and no family background, so they can only be called "nobles" rather than "scholars."
The Mi family was in this predicament at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, otherwise they would not have donated so much money to Liu Bei and taken a gamble.
But today, the world situation has collapsed, the influence of family background has gradually decreased, and the influence of hard power (land, population, money and grain) has increased. For the vast number of powerful people and wealthy merchants who have no background, it is a rare opportunity to stand out.
Shao Xun vaguely remembered that in the later Northern and Southern Dynasties period, many local tyrants became leaders of their own factions or even armies, and led their troops to fight for their respective courts, probably in order to enhance their family's status and seize local power.
Sima Yue should have hoped that Shao Xun would fight for his Sima family at the cost of his own future and even his family's status.
OK, great, your idea is good, but I would rather see the Jin court collapse and break the caste ceiling.
"Your Majesty, the drill has begun." Wang Cheng, an attendant to the Imperial Guard, came over and reported.
"Oh? I'd like to take a good look." Sima Yue laughed, walked to the front of the platform, leaned on the railing and looked out.
Wang Cheng took a step back and glanced at Shao Xun.
Shao Xun looked straight ahead, seemingly unaware of anything.
A Zhonglang official is considered a senior staff member, with a higher status than a military officer, and is paid according to the standard of an official with a salary of 600 shi.
Gou Xi was once a Zhonglang official under Sima Yi.
Shao Xun felt that Wang Cheng's eyes were full of mixed emotions. Perhaps he still remembered the punches he received? He had never been humiliated like this in his life, right?
Shao Xun laughed secretly in his heart.
He is numb now. Sima Yue always recruits surrenders and traitors. If he has the guts, he can recruit all those who have been beaten by my son Lang Lao. See if I am afraid. Fuck!
******
In the whistling wind, three thousand soldiers from both the upper and lower armies stood in rows, some holding bows, some holding spears, and some holding swords and shields.
It still looks decent.
But this is an illusion. They will become chaotic when they start to move forward. After all, quite a number of them have only trained for less than five months.
Shao Xun was quite impressed by this.
At the beginning, except for those who had military experience, the newcomers could not even tell left from right, and they had no idea how many times they were whipped by him.
At that time, during training, someone would be beaten almost every time they took a step.
After one month of training, I became unsteady after walking twenty steps.
After three months of training, I became unsteady after walking fifty steps.
Now after five months of training, I can walk fifty steps without any disorder, but I still need to stop and realign.
"Boom boom boom..." The sound of drums suddenly rang out, attracting everyone's attention.
Sima Yue stood in the wind with his hands on his back.
Mi Huang, He Lun, Wang Bing, Wang Dao, Liu Qia, Dai Yuan, Wang Cheng and the newcomer Yu Liang stood at the back, trying to keep their eyes wide open and watching the fight.
The two thousand men of He Lun's army were arranged in a small square formation on the left.
Wang Bing's army of one thousand men was on the right.
There are two hundred steps in between.
At this time, drums sounded and the two armies began to march towards each other.
Neither side used bows or crossbows, and they held up their guns without the tips. They paced slowly at first, and after a few dozen steps, as the rhythm of the drums changed, they began to sprint in small steps.
The leading officers of both sides kept shouting to boost morale.
The effect of the upper army did not seem to be very good, and the soldiers from Luoyang City were making a lot of noise.
The soldiers of the lower army shouted in unison. Regardless of their combat effectiveness, the shouts were indeed very loud, showing that their morale was particularly high.
"Boom boom boom..." The rhythm of the drum changed again.
Both sides subconsciously quickened their pace.
In the upper army, the East China Sea soldiers were speeding forward, while the people of Luoyang City were slow and their formation was slightly out of touch.
The soldiers of the lower army had ferocious looks on their faces, as if they were looking at the enemy who murdered their father.
It’s getting closer, very close.
Under the orders of the officers, the soldiers of the lower army put down their spears one after another.
Amid the exciting drumbeats, he quickened his pace, used all his strength, and shouted, "Kill!"
The spear thrust forward.
An obvious depression immediately appeared in the opposing army formation, which grew larger and deeper until it turned into a huge hole.
The upper army collapsed...
The idle people in Luoyang were the first to be frightened and turned around and ran away.
The Donghai soldiers wanted to resist for a while, but they were soon defeated and ran away.
Two thousand people were defeated just like that.
The battle between two weaklings was decided immediately. There was no thrilling struggle, just a clean and tidy ending.
The north wind blows strongly and the flags flutter.
Sima Yue was stunned.
He Lun blushed and felt extremely ashamed.
Wang Bing had a complicated expression and sighed secretly.
Mi Huang was radiant and proud of himself.
Wang Dao's face was gloomy and he seemed annoyed.
Liu Qia was stunned and at a loss.
Yu Liang had an expression that said, "As expected." The sixteen-year-old boy even looked at Shao Xun with some admiration.
Everyone has a different face and different thoughts.
"Bang!" Sima Yue slammed the table hard, not knowing whether he was excited or angry.
No one dared to speak and just waited silently.
"Each of the one thousand soldiers in the army will be given two pieces of silk." After a long while, Sima Yue finally spoke.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your reward." Wang Bing stepped forward and responded loudly.
"Zihui, can the army fight in this condition?" Sima Yue asked with a grim expression after he came to his senses.
He Lun lowered his head, feeling a little worried, a little annoyed, and a little frightened. He now hoped that Sikong would not notice him.
"Your Majesty, the army can still defend the city..." Mi Huang only said half of the sentence.
"What about the field battle?" Sima Yue asked. After asking, he did not let Mi Huang answer. Instead, he gave He Lun a fierce look and completed the question himself: "The field battle will most likely collapse at the first touch."
"No——" Extremely disappointed, Sima Yue even began to imagine: "I'm afraid they collapsed during the march."
He Lun's face turned as red as a monkey's butt, but he didn't dare to say anything.
When you are being beaten, don't talk nonsense, because that will only get you beaten harder.
"It's fine that we lost to the Ye soldiers, after all they have been to the battlefield. But the lower army also has new recruits, and their number is smaller than yours. They were defeated as soon as they fought. What else is there to say? Can I still lead you to the battlefield?" Sima Yue said angrily.
"Plop!" He Lun knelt down and said, "I am incompetent. Please punish me, Sikong."
Wang Bing sighed.
He couldn't describe the feeling in his heart. He always felt that having Shao Xun as his subordinate did not bring him any happiness at all, even though it gave him face. It was a pure nightmare.
When you hit He Lun in the face, aren't you also hitting me in the face?
"Your Majesty, General He has worked hard and made great contributions. You should not blame him too harshly."
"Your Majesty, General He's loyalty is priceless."
"Your Majesty, General He..."
The staff members tried to persuade him, which calmed Sima Yue's anger a little.
"Your Majesty, the Royal Army has only been in existence for a short time and needs to be trained vigorously." After the senior staff members spoke, Yu Liang, the chief priest of the East Pavilion, stepped forward and said, "Luoyang is very important. If there are no trustworthy troops to guard it, it will be difficult to maintain stability, and the soldiers in the front will not be in the mood to fight. The Royal Army can stay in Luoyang to protect the Crown Prince, the Queen, and the families of the Royal Army soldiers."
The anger on Sima Yue's face gradually dissipated.
Yes, Luoyang is his current base and it is very important.
If he lost his wife and children, how could he save his face? Especially the princess, he couldn't imagine what would happen to Pei after she fell into Zhang Fang's hands.
There are also the families of the imperial guards. If they were harmed by Zhang Fang's men, would they be furious when they hear about it while fighting at the front?
In short, Luoyang must not be lost, and a trustworthy general must be sent to garrison it.
After his eyes flickered for a while, he looked at Mi Huang.
He can only be the best general in Yue Prefecture.
Others, most of whom were new members, he did not trust.
"Before the Northern Expedition, we have to deal with Shi Chao first. I'm leaving this to you. Anyone who hesitates and hesitates to advance will be killed without mercy." After saying this, he pulled Mi Huang over and whispered, "Zihui, I'll appoint you as the 'supervisor of Luoyang'. Keep an eye on my retreat."
The imperial court had a system whereby the highest military commanders sent to various places had various titles.
The highest position is to command all the armies, the second highest is to supervise all the armies, and the lowest is to supervise all the armies.
The best one is to hold the imperial seal, the second best one is to hold the imperial seal, and the worst one is to pretend to be the imperial seal.
Mi Huang was the "Supervisor of Luoyang Affairs" and had no authority to kill officials and generals who contradicted him.
Generally speaking, the governor, supervisor and inspector can all be called "governor" because they are all responsible for the military affairs of a place.
But there are still specific differences, that is, those who serve as governor-general without the rank of general (Four Expeditions to Zhen Anping) can only be called "supervisor" or "supervisor".
Governor-general is a local position, and general is a central government position. Using a general to serve as governor-general is a means for the central government to intervene in the local area.
Mi Huang’s original official position was too low, he was not even qualified to be the “Supervisor of Luoyang Affairs”, he could only be a “Supervisor”.
He is simply a weak governor.
But Mi Huang was still very excited and agreed immediately.
Sikong has entrusted the way out to me. This is such a trust that I must devote myself to my work until my death.
Just when Mi Huang was feeling moved, Sima Yue sighed and said in a lower voice: "If Luoyang can be defended, then defend it. If not, then leave. Take the princess and the prince and retreat to the East China Sea. If the situation is urgent, then abandon the princess and save the prince."
"Yes." Mi Huang's heart trembled and he responded.
Sikong was worried that Yecheng could not be taken quickly, and if the stalemate lasted for a long time, Luoyang would not be able to withstand Zhang Fang.
But if I leave, won't you also be defeated in the front?
Don’t think too much about this question, just do your own job well.
If we get the chance, it would be better for everyone to sit down and discuss it together.
"In another ten days or half a month, I will take action." Sima Yue's voice was very low when he said this, and there was some hesitation and struggle in his expression, but it finally converged into a fierceness.
He's been subservient for so long, he's had enough.
Life is only a few decades long, and he doesn't know if he will ever be able to hold his head high. He doesn't want to wait any longer.
(End of this chapter)