A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 987: The Emperor's military review was deafening, and the South City spy heard about it in the East City

Chang'an, Western Suburbs Parade Stand
Li Cunxu was wearing dragon armor and holding the Emperor's Sword, standing tall on a reviewing stand several feet high. On the edge of the stand, there were densely packed military flags, representing the army that was going on this expedition.

The countless military formations below the stage looked extremely comfortable. On the horse paths between the military formations, messenger riders were galloping back and forth, bringing orders from their superiors.

"Dong Dong Dong!!!"

Next to the high platform, on the drum platform which was only one level lower than the parade stand, eight leather-covered drums were being beaten by eight tall and strong men.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

After three drum beats, nineteen trumpets sounded out of nowhere, mixed in with the drum beats, exuding an extremely solemn and murderous atmosphere that made people's blood boil and want to fight.

"Kill, kill, kill!!!"

Amid the sound of drums and trumpets, the armies began to compete in the intensity and uniformity of their shouts of killing.

The sounds of shouting and killing were heard one after another, not only from the infantry but also from the cavalry.

In the end, the three armies of Longxiong, Congmazhi and Pengsheng, which were at the front of the army, shouted the loudest and in the most orderly manner, and won the victory. They were rewarded with wine and food by Li Cunxu, and each of them was given three pieces of cloth.

"Thank you for the reward, Saint!!!" After three thanks, another three drum beats ended.

At this moment, the sound of drums, horns, and shouts of killing disappeared at the same time, as if the pause button was pressed.

Only the wind, the flag, and the warhorse's mouth moved.

On the reviewing stand, Li Cunxu was very satisfied with the eliteness of the army. He turned to look at Li Jiji, the Prince of Wei, who was standing beside him. He also took off the Emperor's Sword from his waist and said solemnly:

"King Wei, this elite army is now in your hands. I hope you will not let me down."

The young King of Wei was also wearing armor, but he did not say that it was inconvenient to salute. Instead, he immediately threw the cloak behind him, knelt on one knee, lowered his head, and respectfully raised his hands as if to receive the sword, and said solemnly:
"The saint is important. I dare not disobey you. I will pacify Western Shu to repay you."

Li Cunxu did not immediately hand the Emperor's Sword to Li Jiji, but looked at Guo Chongtao, Ren Yuan, Li Yu and others behind him.

Guo Chongtao and others gestured, knelt on one knee, clasped their hands together, and showed respect.

Li Cunxu was satisfied, and placed the sword heavily on Li Jiji's hands. Then he bent down and lifted him up with both hands, patted his shoulder, took a step forward, and instructed:
"Warfare is a major issue for a country, and it cannot be discussed by one person. You are young and inexperienced, so you should ask Guo Chongtao more questions about everything. You must not insist on doing things and ruin my plan."

"Don't worry, father. I know what I am doing."

"very good."

He looked at Guo Chongtao, Ren Yuan and others again, and after getting their clear responses, he gave up the main seat, indicating that it was his turn to come on stage.

Li Jiji suppressed the excitement in his heart, took heavy steps, and came to the edge of the platform. He felt the whistling of the wind, and could only vaguely see the facial features of the first row of soldiers in the army.

He took a deep breath and quickly drew out the Emperor's Sword. The bright gold hilt and silver-white blade were so dazzling in the sunlight that it hurt his eyes.

"Set off!!!"

"Wei", "Wei", "Wei". Under Li Jiji's command, teams of troops set out and marched in the designated direction.

On September 10th of the third year of Tongguang in the Later Tang Dynasty and the third year of Chengqian in the Great Xia Dynasty, Li Cunxu appointed Prince of Wei Li Jiji as the commander-in-chief and granted him the title of commander-in-chief of the southwest camp.

Guo Chongtao, the Privy Councilor, the Shizhong, the Minister of War, the Jiedushi of Jizhou, and the Duke of Zhaojun, was appointed as the deputy commander and granted the title of the Commander-in-Chief of the Field Camp.

The Minister of Works Ren Yuan and the Hanlin scholar Li Yu served as military officers in the field camp.

He led an army of 60,000 to attack King Wang Yan of Shu.

The mighty recruiting army set out from the western suburbs of Chang'an. This rare scene attracted the citizens of Chang'an to stop and watch.

They looked at the rows of military trains that seemed to have no end, and kept looking around, hoping to see their loved ones among them.

Li Cunxu had no hope of hiding the fact of his expedition from other countries, so he did not refuse the people's stay.

Two hours later, the long line of troops disappeared from the eyes of the people of Chang'an.

The people who had nothing to watch gradually dispersed.

In the crowd, dozens of ordinary people had moving eyes, and then disappeared in the crowd.

These were spies sent by various countries to Chang'an to investigate the movements of the Tang State.

In the alley of Chang'an East City, at the back door of a private house, several regular knocks were heard. After the door opened, the man in the alley looked back, and when he saw no one was there, he quickly ran into the house, and then the door was closed, and the alley returned to its desolate state.

Soon after the founding of the Later Tang Dynasty, Chang'an suffered from wars many times. The city of Chang'an, which was once a place where all nations came to pay tribute and had a population of one million, was no longer as prosperous as it used to be.

There are large areas of abandoned houses and broken walls in the city. If it were not for the bonus of being the capital of the Tang Dynasty, it would not even be as good as the nearby county town.

Fortunately, after moving the capital to Chang'an, Li Cunxu moved in a large number of civilians, as well as families of the imperial guards and relatives of officials, and finally restored some popularity.

"I watched from outside the city from beginning to end. There were about 60,000 people, of which about 20,000 were elite soldiers who could wear armor. The rest were new recruits and had no fighting power...."

Inside the room, the man who appeared outside West City sat on a stool, dictating while drinking the cold water on the table in big gulps, without stuttering at all.

At the same table, a young man dressed as a scholar was holding a brush and constantly recording what the other person said on the letter paper.

"That's all. Is there anything else?" The scholar blew away the ink on the letter and asked casually.

"Gone."

Put the letter into the envelope, seal it, and apply special mud on the seal. The scholar and the spy simultaneously take out a seal the size of a fingernail and print it on the mud.

The words [Shu] and [Tan] are printed on it in the prescribed manner.

While waiting for the ink to dry, the two started chatting.

"You guys never thought about reading some books or learning some characters. You always ask me to write for you. Although it's a requirement from above, isn't it more convenient and confidential if you just write it and let me copy it?"

The spy listened to the scholar's words, hammered his leg and said, "We are not like you, we are rough people. If we were not rescued by the organization, we would have starved to death on the road."

"In today's world, it's good enough to have food to eat. Besides, studying is not a way out for people like me. My brain is already rigid and I can't concentrate on studying."

"Besides, the organization's salary is generous, enough to support my family. After a few years, I can save some money and send my family to China through the organization. I will feel relieved if they are safe."

The scholar smiled. He couldn't bear to see others suffer. He encouraged them, "Don't be so discouraged. If there is no way out in other places, is there no way out there?"

"Aren't you already a local there? You just hide from the public. I estimate that in about 20 years, the world will be unified."

"Old people like you and me will definitely be eliminated by then, so why not make some preparations before that."

At this point, the scholar subconsciously looked around, approached the spy and whispered: "I heard, just heard, that there is an academy and exam in the country, and a scholar has emerged."

"People like you and me, once we become naturalized, can take the exam, and if we pass, we can become a scholar and never have to pay taxes for the rest of our lives."

"Hey, don't refute me first. Listen to me. This kind of scholar can be obtained not only through reading, but also through martial arts training."

"I heard that there are military households in the country who became important figures directly because they passed the examination of the Metropolitan Governor's Office. It's incredible. In the future, they may be able to give their sons and wives titles and bring honor to their ancestors."

In the slums of South City, spies walked on the streets splashed with sewage, looking at the chaos of anarchy caused by the gathering of refugees and poor people around them.

For the people here, death is a common occurrence. The only way out is for the army to recruit soldiers, or for other districts to come here to recruit workers, or for them to sell themselves into the homes of the powerful and become slaves for generations to come.

At this moment, his mind was filled with the voice of the scholar just now.

"Can someone like me really get these? Or in other words, am I qualified to get these?"

"Study", "Imperial Examination", "Scholar", "Practicing Martial Arts", "Ennobling Sons and Wife", "Bringing Honor to the Family".

“Do they really exist?”

"Grandma!"

At this time, the spy's youngest son rushed out from the dilapidated house, hung on his neck, and rubbed his body with snot.

His disheveled wife walked up quickly and took the carpentry tools from his hands.

Because he was quite strong and knew a little about carpentry, he was able to get by here and go from street to street, so he had a good reputation.

"Yes, is there any place worse than this?"

"No matter what, hope always exists. All I need to do is go out and speed up its arrival, so that even if I can't see it, it can shine on my descendants."

(End of this chapter)