Chapter 215 Champion (End)
On the north bank of the Yellow River, in the jurisdiction of Weizhou, where one can cross the river and head south to Beijing in just one day, a large military camp has been set up along the flat areas on both sides of the official road near the water source.

Compared to setting up camp in Yan, the military camp at this moment does not need so many auxiliary defensive fortifications. It only needs to set up neat fences, arrange the camp in an orderly manner, and then install chevaux de frise to prevent foreign enemies from breaking into the camp gate.

Of course, the Guide Army had experienced countless battles of all sizes in the past two years, so this kind of arrangement was more than enough for them to pack up, not to mention the large army. Although most of the armor and equipment were left in Youzhou, under the deterrence of nearly 10,000 unarmored cavalry, the area around the Yellow River would basically have no rivals unless the Jin cavalry suddenly attacked.

At this time, people were just cooking. The air was filled with the aroma of rice and meat. It was because drinking was not allowed when camping in the wild, otherwise there might have been a scent of wine among the rice.

When the Guide Army returned from Youzhou, in addition to the food supplies brought by their own army, there would naturally be supplies from Bianliang. Especially after entering the town of Weizhou, Luo Shaowei, the King of Ye of Daliang and the governor of Weizhou, personally sent envoys to supply more than a thousand stones of military supplies. Therefore, the Guide Army basically did not have to worry about the source of logistics.

But there were certainly more than just the Guide Army in the camps on both sides of the road. On the east side of the road was the Guide Army camp, and on the west side was the Bianliang Imperial Guard camp that came to support Youzhou. The latter was mostly the troops of Xie Yanzhang who had previously led the Imperial Guard cavalry to support the north, as well as several Imperial Guards that withdrew from Cangzhou and other places. They would now be commanded by Xie Yanzhang and Zhu Hanbin.

Of course, although the Bianliang Imperial Guards were the best in the world, they had run thousands of miles back and forth between the north and the south, and had not yet received any credit. Even the rewards were far from comparable to those of the Guide Army. In addition, there were various troops, including the Dragon and Tiger Army, the Shenwu Army, and even other imperial guards. Among them was a small group of Jinwu Guards led by the military supervisor Zhao Yan, as well as the troops responsible for escorting Kang Huaiying back to Beijing. All in all, there were about five or six thousand people, which was extremely large. Although they looked strong, their morale and spirit were far inferior to those of the Guide Army.

Even these were the Guide Army that had been "eliminated". The real elite were hidden by Xiao Yan in Yuyang and Yingzhou. But even so, their morale from consecutive victories was far beyond that of the imperial guards. In addition, the military discipline of the soldiers in this world was already somewhat broken. With insufficient military merits and rewards that failed to meet expectations, if they had not returned with the Guide Army, there was even a possibility that the soldiers would harass the villagers.

Therefore, the Guide military camp located in the east seemed a bit out of place in this era.

Nearly 20,000 soldiers and horses entered the capital, and nearly 10,000 cavalry, which was really a continuous force, far exceeding the size of the imperial guards. But even so, the discipline in the Guide Army was still extremely strict. Yu Zhong and other newly promoted generals were not to be mentioned. Now that they had changed their appearance and Xiao Yan gave them generous rewards, they were naturally cautious in everything, fearing that they would be blamed by Xiao Yan. They set an example and disciplined the soldiers who had also received generous rewards.

Even Wang Yanzhang, who had never regarded the common people as human beings and had never been very strict about military discipline in the past, had been more or less influenced by Xiao Yan's men in the past two years. Not to mention other things, at least he disciplined the Longxiang Army under his command very strictly. If this were to be made public, he could not afford to lose face for Wang Yanzhang. Anyone who dared to cause harm to the countryside would be dealt with according to military law.

An army with strict discipline is not necessarily capable of fighting, but there is no army that is capable of fighting without strict military discipline. Xiao Yan himself is extremely strict with himself, and the generals under him also compete to compare themselves with him secretly. The result is naturally evident. Even when the whole camp is having dinner at this moment, everything is in order. In addition, the entire army is composed of young and strong heroes of Yan, all of whom are elites who have been tempered in several battles. Of course, they have a stern demeanor that others cannot match.

Therefore, it was this kind of solemn and stern demeanor that often made Xie Yanzhang and other imperial guards generals who returned with the army, and even Kang Huaiying, envious. As the saying goes, any general who has a little ambition will naturally want to ask Xiao Yan for some advice on experience.

But even so, it was impossible for them to really go to Xiao Yan to greet him. Although they were all generals of the imperial guards, they actually each had their own faction in private. Xie Yanzhang was a member of the die-hard Ge Congzhou party, while Xiao Yan had a faint voice in the court with Zhu Youzhen's faction. Ge Congzhou had never participated in the fight for the crown prince, so it was naturally impossible for him, his adopted son, to cause trouble.

If it were a war, they might still fight on the same side, but now that they are returning, they must stand firm on their own positions, otherwise it will be easy for people to criticize them. Sometimes, the intrigues in the court are more difficult to deal with than the fighting on the battlefield.

But in fact, it was extremely difficult for Xie Yanzhang and others to see Xiao Yan show up, especially as they were getting closer and closer to the Yellow River. The entire Guide Army seemed to have disappeared and would not easily show up in front of everyone. After setting up camp, they would stay in the camp and would not let them see them, which aroused great curiosity.

Moreover, as the main force of the returning army, Xiao Yan had been ordering the garrison troops to stay in the camp for nearly ten days. Every day, there were only the sounds of drums and trumpets, interspersed with melodious music. It was really unknown what they were practicing.

Even the Marquis of Guanjun, who was admired and curious by officials from all over the Daliang territory, simply said "no" when officials from Weizhou Town and even Bianliang held a banquet to seek a meeting with him. This caused many officials, both high and low, to complain about him. They all felt that the Marquis of Guanjun was too arrogant. It would have been fine if he had not accepted the invitation to the banquet held by the vassal state, but he didn't even say a polite word to explain. Of course, this made people very unhappy. They lost all enthusiasm and didn't want to please this cold butt.

Moreover, among the officials who came from Bianliang, there were quite a few who knew the inside story. They knew that this so-called Marquis of Champion had no foundation in the court except for his military merits. Now he had offended countless people. He might not end up well in the future, but would be an inappropriate partner.

Xiao Yan was too lazy to pay attention to these things from beginning to end. He just asked people to urge military supplies and made sure that the Guide Army under his command would have enough food to eat.

Apart from that, he ignored everything.

……

The drums sounded again, and the soldiers, who had finished their meal and rested for half an hour, came out of the barracks in groups, each wearing plain clothes with their sleeves rolled up and holding weapons, and walked into a large plain area one after another.

The various units of the Guide Army had now been divided into two teams of cavalry and infantry. In this hot July day, they were sweating profusely and following the flags on the viewing platform. From time to time, officers in distinctive uniforms would correct the movements of their soldiers in the ranks. If there were problems in one team, they would correct them one by one until the flag was raised on the viewing platform and they would continue.

These officers are certainly tired from running around, but compared to the sergeants on the field, they are actually lucky.

At this time, in this vast plain, countless soldiers stood with spears in their hands, each standing upright. Looking horizontally, they formed a line; looking vertically, they formed a line. Of course, this can only be viewed roughly and cannot be taken seriously. However, even so, in this era, it was already a rare sight of grandeur and beauty.

Wang Yanzhang rode his horse back and forth outside the army formation, his body sweating with his bare chest, his voice hoarse from shouting. Whenever he saw any army appearance not meeting the requirements, he would just shout loudly. Everyone in the camp, from the commander to the ordinary soldiers, was like this. Even Wang Yanzhang had to look at the flags on the viewing platform from time to time, and he was in great pain.

The so-called military posture has already begun to show results. Looking down from the viewing platform, one can see neat square formations with uniform spears in between, which reflect the sunlight and are very beautiful.

So at the next moment, another flag was finally waved on the viewing platform. Wang Yanzhang suddenly wiped the sweat from his forehead and then hurriedly climbed onto the viewing platform.

However, among the several square formations in the open space, one infantry formation first walked out of the formation and began to circle the field. Then another infantry formation followed. Finally, when a signal flag was waved, all the soldiers suddenly changed from marching to marching. The spears that were originally held vertically also moved forward at a 45-degree angle. The dull footsteps made the already flattened ground raise dust.

A mighty and majestic aura suddenly rushed straight into the tops of everyone's heads, shocking all those who were watching from a distance beyond words. They only knew that the visual impact had reached its extreme!
Stunning, mighty, heroic, neat, upright, and shining brightly!

On the viewing platform, Xiao Yan was also wearing a plain shirt with rolled-up sleeves, with his hair tied up. He stood with his hands behind his back, with sharp eyes. He just moved slowly as the army marched forward without saying a word.

Behind him, Han Yanhui was holding a feather fan and slowly fanning it with an appreciation look on his face, nodding involuntarily. Next to him, Yu Zhong and other generals had a look of joy on their faces, wiping the sweat from their heads and sighing.

Damn it, I spent more than half a month picking up the best food to supply these uncles, and I worked hard for more than half a month, training every day, almost to an unheard-of level of training, and finally I have some shape...

You must know that this kind of training can naturally train a group of elite and strong troops who obey orders, but since ancient times, even in the late Tang Dynasty, a serious and strong army would only train once every three days at most, and the most common practice was even once every ten days.

After all, for the elite troops of this era, the stronger they are, the more arrogant they are. If they want to restrict them to stand at attention and march in the sun, practicing such tedious movements day after day, I am afraid that the coach will lose his head before the next day.

Without generous military pay, without strong prestige, and without the experience of living and dying together, how could he make his troops so willing to suffer?
You know, military training is something that goes against human nature. Throughout history, countless famous generals have used various means to discipline and train their soldiers in order to build a strong army. After a thousand years, this training method has reached its peak, and it can train poor people one after another into a powerful army that can surpass the first-class countries at that time. And this training method is naturally countless times more cruel than the current military training. The mental energy consumed every day is a terrifying existence, not to mention that it requires the personal willpower of the soldiers as support.

In addition, the cost of shoes, socks, clothes, daily food consumed by the soldiers, and the money needed to be spent on them all had to increase exponentially, in order to barely make these soldiers willing to work so hard.

Everyone has their own business. As Xiao Yan's chief of staff, Han Yanhui was of course aware that just for the so-called military training, Xiao Yan had already spent tens of thousands of coins out of his own pocket in such a short month after returning from the expedition. This was still while he was eating public food. If he really wanted to promote this training method for a long time, the military expenditure would probably be enough to drag down a huge empire of that era.

Fortunately, this training method was not intended to strengthen the army. Although the high-intensity training over the past half month greatly tempered the formations, military discipline, various etiquette and rituals of the Guide Army, these were just incidental.

At this time, Wang Yanzhang, with his bare chest, stood beside Han Yanhui. Looking at the rows of square formations below him, which were neat, solemn, and filled with a sense of pride, he just took a breath.

"This victory ceremony is so spectacular. Apart from General Xiao, I'm afraid no one has ever done it before or since... The energy I, Old Wang, have spent alone is enough to equal dozens of battles."

Han Yanhui waved a feather fan, his face also sweating, but with a smile on his face, he just stroked his beard and said: "There are villains in the court, and you have no choice but to do this. According to the news from the forbidden area in Bianliang, if my Guide Army does not perform well, it may end up being dismembered and divided, and it will be difficult for you to control my Guide Army..."

Wang Yanzhang put his hands on his waist. Hearing this, his face turned cold and he spat, "Bah, Zhu Youwen is only good at slandering others. He has the title of Ghost King but is actually a narrow-minded person. General Xiao has no grudge against him. Why are you slandering General Xiao!?"

This statement could not be relieved without being said, and the generals around him, some with bare chests or just wearing a crotch shirt, responded with gnashing teeth, as if they were all attributing the suffering they had endured for the past half month to the Ghost King.

Han Yanhui laughed secretly in his heart.

This so-called news from the Forbidden City was naturally brought by Ding Zhaopu, the eunuch attending Zhu Wen. Of course, Xiao Yan heard everything that the Ghost King had said to Zhu Wen that day.

However, the word "slander" cannot be said. They are just speaking up for Xiao Yan. They know Xiao Yan's ambitions, but they are all on this ship. They are not afraid of the Ghost King. Of course, they want to vent their anger on the latter. My Xiao Shuai is innocent and has no evil intentions. What's going on in Hebei is none of your business. How can you, a Ghost King, slander him with just a few words?
With this in mind, everyone had been holding a grudge for more than half a month. And from the news from Ding Zhaopu, Zhu Wen wanted to see the performance of Xiao Yan or the Guide Army before judging the truth of what the Ghost King said. What's more, there were countless people like the Ghost King who wanted to see the joke of Xiao Yan and their Guide Army, so naturally they wanted to slap them hard.

This victory ceremony is the opportunity!
At this time, Xiao Yan, who was in the front, had heard the complaints of Wang Yanzhang and others, so he turned around with a smile and said, "What's the matter? Are you tired or exhausted? Or do you regret listening to my nonsense? How can someone who is not afraid of fighting in battles be afraid of this? Or do you think I, Xiao, lacked your money and food?"

Wang Yanzhang scratched the back of his head and said, "How can you say that General Xiao's training method is nonsense? I just blame the ghost king for slandering me. It made my Guide Army waste such a battle for nothing. It is really infuriating. General Xiao has made such a great contribution, but he has to waste his mind on such trivial matters. It is really unfair!"

Xiao Yan laughed out loud.

Was he wronged? Not really. But if he was wronged, at that time, he was still a first-class loyal minister of Daliang, so he was indeed wronged.

Zhu Wen was really going to ignore his contribution to conquering Hebei just because of the Ghost King's few words. It is not an exaggeration to say that when the birds are all gone, the bows are put away; when the rabbit is dead, the running dogs are cooked.

However, he had his own way of dealing with it. Since the Ghost King said that he was disloyal, he wanted to let Zhu Wen see his loyalty.

This loyalty must be implemented throughout the universe and must awaken the deaf and dumb.

We must make sure that this Zhu emperor, who usurped the Tang Dynasty, will remember this for the rest of his life.

Xiao Yan said nothing more, just smiled, then turned around and looked at the various formations under the viewing platform.

At this time, most of the squares have finished the stage. In fact, this is just the first practice. There is still some music that has not been played. Just walk through it. At this time, most of the squares are just sitting cross-legged in a corner. Under such a scorching sun, there are few voices. Instead, when they look at each other, you can only see a look of pride on their dark faces.

As the military exercise was completed, the drums sounded again, and battalion after battalion of soldiers stood up in unison. For a moment, spears stood in rows, and a majestic aura permeated the sky.

Then, as the signal flags were waved, they marched to the viewing stand in formation after formation. Their footsteps were in perfect unison, hitting the compacted ground beneath their feet.

Xiao Yan's eyes slowly swept across the dark and sophisticated faces, and his gaze fell on the fluttering flags. He lightly pressed the hilt of the knife at his waist, and then suddenly pulled it out.

"Is there any army in the world stronger than ours?"

Tens of thousands of people in the audience were startled, and then suddenly burst into enthusiastic shouts: "No! No!"

"Is there any soldier in the world who can fight against our army?"

The shouts got louder: “No!!”

"In the whole world, is there anyone who can defeat Hebei, defeat Jin, and destroy the Mobei royal court with one army? Apart from our army, has there been anyone in the past hundred years?"

The shouts from below became one, and everyone was shouting at the top of their lungs: "No!!!"

Xiao Yan burst into laughter, then pointed his knife toward the south.

"Then let the people of the world see it, let the officials in the court see it, let the Emperor of Daliang see it—"

"What is this? It's called the best army in the world!"

(End of this chapter)