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Chapter 845: Extra Inspection (Part )
The Yizhou Army had a total of 6,000 soldiers. The barracks were spacious. However, when the emperor arrived, 30,000 Nanyang guards also followed him, and how to accommodate them became a problem.

The commander of the Yizhou Army was originally worried and apprehensive, until he saw Song Yuan, the commander of the emperor's personal guards, arranging for the guards to set up tents and settle down on their own. Only then did he feel relieved.

The chief general's surname was Fan, and he was the cousin of General Fan. There were only a few top military families in Daliang, and the promising young men from each family were assigned to serve in various military camps. General Fan was considered the most promising of the younger generation of the Fan family, and he became a fourth-rank military general at the age of forty.

General Fan was not a warrior who only knew how to train and fight. He was smart and agile. He found Commander Song privately and made a friendly acquaintance with him: "I have heard of Commander Song's great name for a long time. My uncle often mentioned Commander Song in his letters to me. Today I finally saw him in person. These days, I must get closer to Commander Song and learn a little from him. It will be of great benefit to me."

Song Yuan was not good at speaking, nor did he like to talk nonsense. He smiled faintly and said, "If I were General Fan, I would definitely not have the time to socialize now. If I had the free time, I might as well go around the barracks and put away anything that was not in accordance with the rules."

"Also, the Emperor will get up early tomorrow to watch the Yizhou Army's morning exercises."

what?
tomorrow?

General Fan gasped, "The Emperor just arrived at the military camp and settled down tonight, but he's going to inspect the camp tomorrow?"

Don’t you need to take a rest for a few days?
Song Yuan glanced at General Fan and said, "Based on my understanding of the emperor, this should be the case. If General Fan doesn't believe it, just pretend I never said it."

How could General Fan not dare to believe it? He bowed to Song Yuan again and again to express his gratitude. He shamelessly asked the Empress about the standards for morning exercises, then left with a pale face.

Looking at General Fan's hurried back, Song Yuan sneered and went to the military tent of Her Majesty the Empress to report: "General Fan has come. I told him that the emperor will inspect early tomorrow morning. General Fan probably can't sleep tonight."

Jiang Shaohua curled his lips and said, "These generals who come from military families have high expectations but low skills. They are not dedicated to training soldiers. They are good at taking military pay and sucking the blood of soldiers. I was far away in the past and could not reach them. This time, I will inspect the whole territory of Daliang and visit all the garrisons."

"Those who can serve will be kept, and those who cannot will be replaced directly."

She has 30,000 personal guards under her command, and it is not a problem to pick dozens of smart and capable ones to serve as the commanders of the garrison.

If a military officer had soldiers in his hands, it could really cause a big mess. Jiang Shaohua mainly used discipline and training for civil officials, but when it came to military officers, he would use those who should be used and dismiss those who couldn't be used, without any mercy or courtesy.

General Fan did not sleep all night. He summoned all his trusted subordinates and gave them repeated instructions.

At five o'clock the next morning, the soldiers in the barracks woke up to the sound of military drums. At three o'clock in the morning, the mess began to cook porridge and steamed buns. The soldiers drank the hot porridge and ate the steamed buns. Then, at the urging of their respective leaders, they lined up and began morning exercises.

The first morning exercise in the military camp is running in formation. Running five miles is the minimum.

This alone can show how well the commander has trained in daily life. When running forward, the ranks must be kept neat at all times, the soldiers must be in high spirits, and they must be able to respond promptly when they hear orders.

General Fan had been reminded by Commander Song before, so he specially accompanied the soldiers for a morning run today. After running for a short distance, General Fan was shocked to find that Her Majesty the Empress had also come with hundreds of her personal guards.

Her Majesty is not even thirty years old, and is a rare beauty in the world. But he didn't have the courage to look at her directly, and when he stepped forward to pay his respects, his legs felt a little weak: "I greet the emperor."

"No gift."

Jiang Shaohua said two words briefly, and ran with the soldiers at an unhurried pace. General Fan chased after them trembling with fear. The soldiers of the Yizhou Army had never seen such a scene before. Some were excited, some were timid, and some were looking around. The formation soon became chaotic. I don't know which unlucky guy tripped and fell, causing the formation behind him to become chaotic, as if a pile of people fell down.

Jiang Shaohua stopped and turned to look at General Fan.

General Fan's forehead was covered with sweat. He summoned up the strength to shout, "Everyone stop and get into formation."

The chaos and disorder of the morning exercise was stabilized by the running and cursing of the generals. The whole day that followed was like a disaster, with problems and chaos everywhere.

General Fan was almost going crazy with anxiety and anger.

These bastards were usually sloppy and disorderly. Today, the emperor came and told them to cheer up. As a result, there were all kinds of problems. During the training, they failed to lift the stone lock and hit their own feet. During the fight, they got really angry and forgot the moves and methods, and rushed together to fight. The most outrageous thing was that during the archery practice, a group of soldiers couldn't even hit the target.

Jiang Shaohua watched coldly for a whole day. In the evening, he called General Fan to him and said, "General Fan, is this how the Yizhou Army usually trains?"

General Fan's face flushed red, and he could not stand at all, so he knelt down directly: "I am incompetent, please punish me, Your Majesty!"

Jiang Shaohua said coldly: "Several years ago, I sent my personal guards to deliver military expenses to the various garrisons and ordered them to stay and train. If I remember correctly, the Yizhou Army trained here for a year before the personal guards returned to the capital. In a year, General Fan should have learned everything he should have learned."

"Over the years, General Fan has trained such an Yizhou army?"

"Today is just a routine exercise, and they are like this. Wouldn't General Fan feel guilty and afraid to lead soldiers like this to suppress bandits?"

"If one day I ask you to lead these people to support the border troops, can they resist the Rouran cavalry?"

"Is it because I spend a huge amount of military funds every year to support such a bunch of useless people?"

Every word and sentence is like a sharp arrow piercing the heart.

The emperor's wrath was like thunder, falling upon General Fan.

General Fan's forehead was covered with cold sweat. He knelt on the ground and dared not look up, let alone argue. He just kept repeating: "I am incompetent. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

Jiang Shaohua said coldly: "You are indeed incompetent. I treat General Fan well because he guards the border and is loyal to the country. You are far inferior to General Fan."

"The Yizhou Army has 6,000 soldiers on its roster, but less than 5,000 actually came out for training today."

"If you can train elite soldiers and drink their blood, I will accept it. But you are the chief general, but you train the soldiers sparsely and don't care at all. People like you are not worthy of being the chief general of the Yizhou Army."

"From today on, I will dismiss you from your post. Are you convinced?"

General Fan knelt on the ground and said, "I am convinced."