Chapter Six: A Contest

  "Sixth brother, what can I do now?"

  Following Liu Yanzhao, Qilang asked with some curiosity, the unhappiness in his heart had dissipated, but he was still very unfamiliar with this camp.

  "Seventh brother's skills are clear to his older brothers, but I am also like Father and cannot casually give you an official position. Why not follow Sixth Brother for now, serve as a personal guard for a while, and wait until later when you have made achievements and can be promoted in a proper manner?"

  "Alright, I'll listen to Sixth Brother."

  As they spoke, Liu Quan and his men arrived at the location of their troops, a group of fifty people, which was all that remained of Liu Quan's forces.

  "Captain!"

  When they saw Liu Yanzhao, Zhang Yun and Liu Tian, who were already wearing their armor, led several company commanders to welcome him. Because there were many people in the military camp, when outsiders were present, even if they were Liu Yanzhao's trusted followers, they could only address him by his official title and not use the private term "Young General".

  "Come, this is Liu Yanshu, from now on he will be one of our group members, everyone knows each other, and there won't be any unfamiliarity."

  When they saw Liu Yanzhao's side, Liu Yanyi and Zhang Yun, their faces showed joy, "The Seventh Young Master has also arrived, wearing armor is really heroic, the subordinates have seen the Seventh Young Master!"

  He continued to say a few more words, and then Liu Yanzhao walked towards the place where his dozens of men were gathered. After all, these were his soldiers, although not many in number, but still stronger than Zeng Guangzong by a hundred times.

  One corner of the school grounds was Liu Yanzhao's team, and he suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Of course, he couldn't see what was good or bad about it, but at least his spirit was still full.

  The drill is about to begin, and Zhang Yun and others have returned to their positions. Qi Lang has also been arranged in the team. Because Qi Lang had never been to the camp before, and these soldiers had not gone out for a walk, except for Zhang Yun and others, the rest of the people did not know the details of this new Liu Fu's seventh young master, and just thought he was a new recruit.

  Looking at the sky, the sun in the east was about to emerge completely, and the air in the sky was gradually filled with a scorching heat that made people feel like they were being attacked. Before even starting their training, Liu Yan's back was already drenched with sweat, and wearing armor made him feel even more suffocated.

  He looked around the vast campus, all the soldiers standing still, even the newly enlisted Qi Lang was standing upright, with sweat beads on his forehead, not caring at all.

  With such perseverance, Liu Yanzhao couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration and his heroic spirit was suddenly stirred. A great man should be like this, unyielding and unwavering, and unconsciously, he straightened his back by several degrees.

  Half a time later, as usual, the exercise should have started, but there was no movement at all. The soldiers on the school field dared not speak, but their faces had more or less doubt.

  Finally, amidst the waiting crowd, the ground of the school field transmitted a rumbling sound, which was the sound of military boots treading on the ground. The footsteps were very neat and should be a well-trained team.

  Soon, there was an answer. A well-equipped army appeared on the school field, with a strong and powerful gait. However, Liu Yanzhao had a feeling that if such a team were to fight against any equal number of soldiers in the arena, they would probably only suffer defeat.

  It's not an exaggeration, although he is a layman, this was his first impression.

  The difference between the two is a temperament, even Liu Yanzhao's fake goods can see some clues. The team that suddenly appeared in front of him had shiny armor, but lacked the bloodiness of fighting, and should belong to the "pampered" category.

  Wang Gui walked with this team, and beside him was a young man wearing elegant light armor, who seemed to be quite important.

  "General Wang, why hasn't this Lord Liu come out to see me yet?"

  Looking at the soldiers standing on the field, Ma Yuan's forehead was full of sweat and his words were tinged with discontent. After all, he was also an observer appointed by the emperor, and in terms of rank, he was far superior to Liu Jiye, the governor of Dai Prefecture.

  If it weren't for the repeated reminders before departure, Ma Yuan would not have been suppressing his anger at this moment. The Jianxiong Army under his command was the elite of the Han Dynasty. Now it seems that the soldiers and generals under Liu Jiye's command are nothing more than that. Those reputations are probably just empty names spread by rumors.

  Ma Yuan asked again, and the dissatisfaction in his words was also heard by Wang Gui. The general did not want to deal with this person, but he could not offend such a petty man, so he had to respond to him.

  "Recently, Song Jun's activities have been quite rampant. To protect the territory of our great Han, General is deeply thinking about countermeasures. At this time, no one dares to disturb him. It's better to wait until the adults have inspected the training of the soldiers and then let me arrange for the adults to meet with Jian Xiong Military's garrison."

  "Hmmph!"

  Wang Gui's words had just finished, and the cold hum came over. Ma Yuan's face, which was originally stifling fire, suddenly cooled down. He took on the role of an observing envoy, thinking that he would be far away from Jin Yang and live a carefree life from now on.

  But who would have thought that there was another damn task, and it turned out to be in this Dai Prefecture City, dealing with the detestable Liu Jiye.

  "Originally, the Emperor let Liu Ji lead the Jianxiong Army, but still had some suspicions in his heart. So this time you must not make trouble, remember to collect more evidence of Liu Ji's treason, as long as he dies, the Han Dynasty will be the sky of my Ma family."

  A thought flashed through his mind before he left, and Ma Yuan tried hard to suppress the flames of anger. His face calmed down a lot, "Since General Liu is busy with military affairs, then this official will not disturb him. However, the imperial edict is on my body, and the inspection of the troops is the top priority for this trip. Vice-General Wang still let your subordinates start!"

  Although he didn't understand why Ma Yuan changed his mind, as long as the other party didn't bother him, Wang Gui let out a sigh of relief in his heart and accompanied him to the top of the watchtower.

  "Everyone, listen up! This is the Imperial Envoy sent by the court, and those are the generals of Jian Xiong Army. Today, the Envoy has come to observe your training, so you must give it your all and show your best spirit. Do I make myself clear? Begin!"

  "Roger!"

  After a loud drumbeat, the delayed exercise finally began. However, Commander Liu Jiye still did not appear. Liu Yanzhao, who was making slashing motions in the team, secretly thought to himself that this observer was probably not a good person.

  Liu Jiye now holds the official position of Jinyong Military Governor (governing Dai Prefecture), and Liu Jiye is about to send the Jinyong Army to Dai Prefecture, so the two characters "yuan ling" can be removed.

  But the intention of this move is somewhat unclear, whether it's an expression of trust or a dispatch of someone to be on guard.

  To know that in these years Liu Jiyei, whether it was resisting the Song or blocking the Khitan, had brilliant military achievements, and in several nearby cities, especially in Dai Prefecture City, he had long been deeply loved by the people.

  The Song Dynasty is still eyeing them covetously, the emperor's tactics are nothing but a stretch and a release, and with this observing envoy, it's clear that they're trying to intimidate Liu Jiyuan, it seems that his father has already become a thorn in the heart of the Northern Han Emperor.

  It's better this way, Liu Yanzhao's plan was to use the Northern Han to force Liu Jiye to surrender, what he feared most was that there would be no small movements, if there were, then it would help you make a big move!

  "I really thought that under General Liu's command, all were brave and fierce warriors. But now I see that they are nothing more than this."

  Less than half a time, Ma Yuan whispered with a slight frown, but it was transmitted to Wang Gui's ears without missing a single word. The latter's face immediately sank.

  He could ignore all previous rudeness, but this is the heart and soul of Wang Gui's sons, where can outsiders be allowed to intervene, let alone a layman.

  "I dare not agree with the words of adults, the soldiers on the training ground are all brave warriors who have fought bloody battles to kill enemies and defend their homes and country. For the imperial court, they sacrificed their lives and forgot about death in their charge, ten years of hard training every day, this is the real imperial army that can be used!"

  "Oh? Commander Wang, are you saying that apart from your team, the other teams are not reliable troops of the imperial court? How absurd! He Feng, take a team of soldiers and have a trial with Commander Wang's so-called brave warriors!"

  The struggle on the stage was unknown to the martial officials training where until a tight drumbeat indicated a stop, and only then did people notice that something was different.

  On the other hand, He Feng, a commander of Jian Xiong Army's vanguard, had already picked out a team of fifty men with robust physique, who were considered as the elite of Jian Xiong Army.

  "Are you looking for a fight?"

  His eyes swept across the stage, and several people's expressions were all seen by Liu Yanzhao. He roughly understood what was going on in his heart. This Ma Yuan seemed to want to make a show of strength, but this kick would likely hit iron plating.

  "Observation makes adults want to find someone to spar with Jian Xiong's brother, the other side is already ready, my department will..."

  As he said this, Wang Gui's gaze swept through the crowd of tens of thousands of people and finally stopped at Liu Yanzhao's squad. The latter was shocked in his heart, could it be that he wanted him to take action?

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, Wang Gui's order followed suit.

  "Liu Yanzhao, your squad fall in, everyone else disperse!"

  At a word of command, all the teams that had not been called out quickly and orderly dispersed to one side, clearing out a space in the middle of the school grounds several tens of feet square for the contest.

  "Liu Yanyou, you stay behind, the rest of you follow me!"

  "Sixth Brother, I'm going on stage too! The Liu family's sons are no cowards!"

  Qilang was already somewhat disheartened, and now someone had come to humiliate the soldiers here. His fists were clenched with a crackling sound, and he couldn't wait to give this arrogant fellow a good thrashing.

  Turning his head, Liu Yanxiu looked at him and saw that he was biting his teeth, with a determined look in his eyes. Liu Yanzhao nodded slightly, it's all right, since Father has allowed him to join the army, it's time for Seventh Brother to gradually grow up, always sheltering him would only harm him.

  Having obtained Liu Yanzhao's consent, Qilang's eyes stared at the Jianxiong Army in the distance, and it could be seen that the anger in his heart had been thoroughly ignited.

  As he stepped onto the empty ground, Wang Gui remained silent, waving his hand to signal, and a school lieutenant walked down from the pointing platform, just as he was about to issue the starting command, Ma Yuan's voice sounded again from the high platform.

  "Wait!"