Chapter 79 King Qi
At the sound of the trumpet, the flags fluttered.

Thousands of cavalry and infantry gathered in the parade ground, and as the command flags were waved, they formed dazzling formations.

Above the reviewing platform, a handsome man wearing a gilded hair crown was holding a military book in his hand. He was leaning slightly sideways on the throne, flipping the pages slowly and steadily.

On both sides, officers in full armor lowered their heads slightly, glanced timidly at the figure on the throne, and glanced at the civil servants on the opposite side as if asking for help.

The civil servant coughed lightly, helplessly, staring at the ground without blinking.

A moment later, as the gong sounded, thousands of soldiers and horses on the parade ground began to line up in formation. But it was obvious that the formation was a little chaotic and not very strict.

The general looked up and saw the man on the throne, You, just quietly flipping through a military book without saying a word.

He became embarrassed and looked around. The scholars and officers around him all tilted their heads, looking as if it had nothing to do with them.

The corner of his eye twitched subconsciously, and he could only bite the bullet and move forward alone.

"Reporting to King Qi, the military exercises of the Weisheng Army have been presented in full, please review them..."

"I can see it."

On the throne, King Qi carefully read the last half of the military book, then stood up and looked away indifferently.

"Why, do you want to say something?"

The general finally couldn't bear the pressure anymore, took a step forward and knelt down heavily.

"I know that I have not disciplined the army strictly and have not trained diligently, so the army is not in good shape. Today's military lecture has really offended the king. I know that I have failed the king's order and I ask for punishment..."

King Qi was expressionless, he just gently placed the military book on the desk, his eyes were devoid of emotion, he just quietly looked down at the thousands of soldiers on the parade ground, and glanced at the trembling generals kneeling on the ground.

The so-called "Jiangwu", or "learning martial arts", is a "military ceremony" that originated in the pre-Qin era. "Zuo Zhuan" says: "The most important affairs of a country are sacrifices and military affairs." "Military affairs" need not be explained, and it refers to military affairs, while "sacrifice" is often seen in "rituals." When "military affairs" and "sacrifice" are mentioned together, the combination of the two is "Jiangwu".

Compared with this, later generations have a more intuitive name, called "military parade".

Today's military review on the parade ground is King Qi reviewing the training of the Weisheng Army stationed in Qianzhou.

It was obvious to all the officials that he was not very satisfied.

Sure enough, when King Qi spoke again, his tone was already interrogating.

"Weishengjun, I have been in Qianzhou for more than a year. You are still capable of showing off your incompetent appearance?"

"I dare not deceive the king. The Weisheng Army's military power is so strong, which is indeed my fault. However, the Youguo Army stationed in Chang'an by Liang has marched west several times and frequently threatened Qianzhou. Most of the Weisheng Army are new soldiers. With such training, I have done my best..."

"Try your best?" King Qi stood up with his hands behind his back and glanced at him coldly. "You said you tried your best, but it's just for show? You dare to say you tried your best with your eyes open just because you changed a few useless flower formations?"

The general fell to the ground and argued, "The Liang army has invaded our border several times, and most of the Weisheng troops are new recruits, so we can't..."

"You have never fought before, so you must be a new recruit!" King Qi interrupted with a shout, "Did the Liang army become established overnight? Last year, when the Liang army invaded our territory, you claimed that all your men were new recruits. I encouraged you to train for another half a year. Now it is the fifth year of Tianyou, and you still dare to say that you are new recruits?!"

"If it's not convenient to lead the army, then it's not convenient. If you don't have the ability, you want to put the blame on the soldiers?"

"King Qi..."

"Drag him away and behead him." King Qi waved his hand fiercely, then turned his back to him, "I will treat your wife, children and elders well."

"King Qi! My crime does not deserve death..."

The general was horrified and wanted to argue, but two armored maids from Huanyinfang came over, pushed him down and dragged him away.

On the stage, a group of Qi generals and civil officials glanced at the generals being dragged away and subconsciously shrank their necks.

Who could have imagined that the King of Qi was just calmly flipping through the military books a moment ago, and the next moment, he beheaded the deputy governor who was in charge of the military training of the Weisheng Army. No wonder the King of Qi didn't even want to look at the military lecture just now...

At this time, the King of Qi who was sitting on the throne turned around and said in a calm voice, "I know that Zhu Wen is powerful now, and he even killed the orphan of Emperor Zhaozong in the name of Li Keyong a few days ago. You may be afraid, or even want to surrender. This is human nature, and I can understand it. But I have to say it first. There are hundreds of thousands of households in the 40 states of Qi behind you. If you are afraid of the Liang army, please resign as soon as possible. If I find such fools who are greedy for life and afraid of death and deceive their superiors and subordinates, I will not hesitate to chop off a few more heads."

Everyone hurriedly saluted and said, "We dare not..."

King Qi remained calm and immediately promoted a general to be the deputy governor of Weisheng Army and ordered him to train the troops in preparation for the enemy.

The person who was called answered in a solemn voice, not daring to show the slightest bit of displeasure.

A moment later, King Qi ordered the troops on the parade ground to return to the camp, and he walked down the stage surrounded by a group of ministers.

At this time, Xuan Jing, who had arrived long ago but could only wait under the stage, was able to hurry forward.

King Qi waved his hand to let his ministers disperse, then mounted his mount and asked questions.

"What's the matter."

"King Qi, the guests from Luoyang have arrived in Fengxiang."

"So soon? Please invite him to spend a few days in Fengxiang. I have important things to do in Qianzhou. Let Fanyintian and Miaochengtian receive him first. After he returns, I will hold a banquet and invite him to have a drink."

Xuan Jingtian felt a little uncomfortable and spoke in a lower voice: "Xiao Yan said that he also had important matters to attend to, and asked King Rongqi to arrange them earlier..."

King Qi looked back in surprise, thought for a moment, and then smiled calmly.

"Since you have praised this man so highly before, that's enough. I will meet him first."

------

The sun finally came down from the sky.

It is now approaching February and the continuous snowy days have finally eased up, with it no longer snowing day and night.

Inside Huanyinfang, Fanyintian had already come out with a sweet smile and twisted hips to greet him.

"Since I last parted with my young master, I have missed him so much..."

The surrendered minister who had just stepped off the carriage put his hands behind his back, glanced at Fanyintian after hearing what he said, and was no longer interested.

Xiao Yan, who was walking in front of her, moved aside to avoid Fan Yintian's approach and said indifferently, "Sheng Ji is exaggerating."

Ji Ruxue clasped her hands over her chest and turned her head away with a stern face.

Fan Yintian did not feel embarrassed and raised his hand to invite Xiao Yan in. At the same time, he saw the tall and elegant surrendered minister. He was surprised and glanced at Ji Ruxue, but the latter turned away with a cold expression.

She then asked with a cautious smile: "I wonder if this girl is the young man's..."

"friend."

Xiao Yan had already walked into Huanyinfang and said, "It has nothing to do with Saint Ji."

Jiang Chen laughed when he heard that, raised his chin slightly, and followed him as he passed by Fanyintian.

The latter's smile faded, and he carefully looked at the rather graceful figure of the surrendered minister. He grabbed Ji Ruxue and asked in a low voice: "What is the origin of this woman? Besides us, is there any other force that wants to recruit her?"

Ji Ruxue frowned, then shook her head.

"He is really a friend of his. I don't know the details."

Fan Yintian didn't believe it, and cursed Ji Ruxue secretly, saying that she was just a little girl after all. With such a troublemaker following Xiao Yan around, it was no wonder that she couldn't attract Xiao Yan's attention.

At the same time, she already had a sense of crisis about the superiority of the religion.

　There are some things at home that make me upset. Please forgive me.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)