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Chapter 123 Sun Xiangzong's Grand Plan
"After training the last batch of disciples, Supervisor Sun can retire and return home to enjoy his remaining years."

Eunuch Hou said in a drawn-out tone, "We are really envious."

"Yes."

Governor Liu then said, "Lord Sun has worked hard for the court all his life, and it is time for him to take a good rest. The next important task of the northern border defense and the eight major camps will be shouldered by us young people on behalf of the court!"

Sun Xiangzong picked up the teacup, stirred the tea foam, and said nothing.

"Commander-in-Chief Sun."

Governor Liu leaned forward and said, "The Southern Xu Kingdom has had a lot of exchanges with the barbarian envoys recently, and they are ready to make a move. The chief and deputy generals of the three camps, Azure Dragon, White Tiger, and Vermillion Bird, will go to assist the King of Zhennan after the selection of the vanguards is completed. The southern border needs generals like them."

"No hurries."

Sun Xiangzong drank his tea slowly and said, "We'll talk about it when the time comes."

"Commander Sun, what do you mean by this?"

Governor Liu obviously did not expect such an answer. He said solemnly: "We agreed on this before."

"This time, that time."

Sun Xiangzong removed the tea from the edge of the cup and said, "Before the ten days in Yunzhou, even if someone like Governor Liu stayed behind, with the eight camps, he could barely keep the northern border under control. But after the ten days in Yunzhou, I'm afraid it will be difficult."

Even if, barely...

Hearing the words used to describe himself, Governor Liu maintained his smile and said, "So, Commander Sun, what do you mean?"

"On the tenth day of Yunzhou, they conducted a blood sacrifice for unknown purposes in Yunzhou. You two should be very clear about this. If we continue to delay, the barbarians will probably become stronger and stronger until they are completely out of control."

Sun Xiangzong said calmly: "Before I retire, I must at least destroy two tribes of barbarians to ensure that no one dares to invade the border on a large scale within the next fifty years.

"My disciples have to stay and help me. I'm afraid they can't be transferred away for a while."

“Also, I want to expand my army.

“The eight battalions were expanded to twelve battalions, and the total force was expanded to over 150,000.

"I have already calculated the money, food and medicine needed. I hope the court can cooperate."

"Expand the camp?"

Governor Liu and Eunuch Hou were both stunned, and then they said almost in unison: "Commander-in-Chief Sun, this is a serious matter, and you can't just say one word to make the decision."

Sun Xiangzong reached into his bosom and slowly took out a written letter: "I have already written the memorial. Please, eunuch, pass it to Your Majesty. After Your Majesty has read it, he should approve it.

"What are you two so excited about?

"I am a dying man. I just hope to do something for the people before I die. After I die, let alone twelve battalions, even if it is twenty battalions, they all belong to Your Majesty and the court. Are you still worried that I will rebel?"

"General Sun, your words are sincere. How could anyone in the world doubt your loyalty to the court?"

Eunuch Hou put away the letter and said, "We will deliver this secret letter to His Majesty as soon as possible."

"All right."

Sun Xiangzong half-leaned back on the armchair and squinted his eyes: "Let's see who will be the best."

"Ah."

Governor Liu nodded heavily and said, "If His Majesty really approves Commander Sun's proposal, these young people will be the backbone of the next four new battalions."

"clang--"

General Li Qian beat the drum: "Enter the arena!"

"Om-"

The wooden door enclosing the training ground opened.

The first reserve forward general Cui Yongping began the assessment.

Soon after, the three examiners discussed and gave a grade of B.

"The formation is smooth, but it took too long to fall into chaos after the sudden attack at the beginning. Even if the formation is stabilized and not collapsed in the end, it is at most a B-level."

"Next!"

"Jie Sishu!"

……

"Next one, Chen Sanshi!"

"..."

"Chen Sanshi?"

Governor Liu clicked his tongue and said, "Isn't he the young general who led the people across the river?"

"Exactly."

Eunuch Hou said: "Mr. Chen has been appreciated by His Majesty and has been awarded the rank of Third Rank Honor. If he can make more military achievements in the future, he will be awarded the rank of Marquis."

"I have been in the officialdom for most of my life, and I have only been a second-rank governor and a second-rank minister of honor. He has already been promoted to the third-rank at such a young age. He really has a bright future."

Governor Liu sighed, "It's a pity that he doesn't know how to keep himself clean and has been hanging out with the young master of the Yan family for so long. He will inevitably become corrupt in the future and end up in disgrace."

"Master Liu, please be careful with your words."

Eunuch Hou retorted: "Lord Yan is a man of high moral character and prestige, how come in your mouth he has become an unforgivable treacherous minister?"

"Isn't it?"

Governor Liu snorted coldly, "The house raids in the capital thirty years ago, the dike destruction and flooding twenty years ago, fifteen years ago... In short, one by one, how many loyal officials have been killed by the Yan Party? Relying on the fact that he once implemented the New Deal and that Your Majesty trusted him, he acted recklessly. Isn't he a treacherous official? And the Great Wall of Anding Prefecture was lost. Wasn't Li Yuan, the general in charge of the Great Wall, also a former student of Yan Liang? Maybe he was a traitor to the country!"

"Without any evidence, Lord Liu dared to speak so recklessly. If someone in the palace like us dared to gossip about others, we would not survive for more than three days."

Eunuch Hou sneered, "Whether Elder Yan is loyal or treacherous, the Holy Emperor will make the final decision. As for you, Lord Liu, I really want to remind you that His Majesty has a good way of cultivating Taoism, and it is possible that he will be able to ascend to heaven in the future. You follow Lord Gao and frequently contact the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace. I don't know what you are thinking. Don't forget, whether it is Elder Yan, Lord Gao or His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, they are all subjects of His Majesty!"

"No need to wait for the father-in-law to remind you."

Governor Liu snorted coldly, "Our sincere hearts to Your Majesty are witnessed by the sun and the moon!"

"Give each of them a knife."

Sun Xiangzong suddenly spoke.

"Yes, Master!"

A burly general, who was wearing armor, had a bald head, a scar from his Buddhist ritual, and a large Buddhist rosary around his neck. He obeyed the order and pulled out two shining blades from the waists of the two soldiers behind him and threw them in front of the two people who were arguing.

"Master Sun."

Governor Liu was surprised and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Woman chirps!"

The bald general cursed and said, "You guys made my master almost fall asleep because of all the noise. If you really don't like each other, just go down and decide who is better by life and death! Oh, I forgot that eunuch Hou didn't have that thing!"

"you……"

Eunuch Hou was so angry that his face turned blue. He pointed at the other party with his orchid finger and said, "General Meng, how dare you humiliate our family?!"

Meng Guangxin was not afraid at all.

They noticed Sun Xiangzong's expressionless face and finally dared not make any more noise. They all quieted down and waited to watch the next selection.

……

"Brother Chen, a B grade is fine."

Yan Changqing consoled him, "After I win the championship and gain a firm foothold, I will promote you a lot."

"Thank you in advance, Brother Yan."

Chen Sanshi didn't waste any time and led his men to set off.

The space inside the enclosed martial arts arena is very large and can accommodate more than ten thousand people. On the wall above their heads, there are hundreds of people sitting to watch the selection of the vanguards. The energy contained in their bodies is stronger than each other.

With his eyesight, Chen Sanshi saw Eunuch Hou and the two people beside him at a glance.

One was wearing a scarlet official robe with a peacock patch, and the other was an old man wearing coarse linen clothes.

Judging from the positions where they were sitting, they were all examiners. The official in the scarlet robe was naturally Governor Liu, and the old man in the coarse linen clothes was most likely General Sun Xiangzong.

Unexpectedly, the famous commander-in-chief turned out to be so ugly.

Not only that, the energy flowing in his body is also different from others.

All the martial artists present here have transparent Qi in their bodies, the difference lies in how thick or thin it is. For example, the Qi in Eunuch Hou's body is extremely thick, almost turning into substance. Governor Liu is no different, as is the general who looks like a bald monk, and the other generals.

but.

The energy flowing in Sun Xiangzong's body is green!
Different from everyone else.

Some of them are similar to the light blue energy in the bodies of strange beasts, but they are darker and can be more accurately described as cyan.

Above the Martial Saint, he is indeed different.

Even their training methods are completely different from those of ordinary martial artists.

but……

Chen Sanshi looked around the world and found that there was no such "Qingxuan Qi" at all. Could it be that it was not absorbed but condensed by oneself? Or can it only be discovered after reaching a certain level?

"clang--"

General Li Qian stood on the high platform and said, "Selected generals, please go up to the high platform and command your subordinates. You are not allowed to participate in the test yourself. The test will begin in two cups of tea."

When deploying a battle formation, one naturally tests one's ability to command and lead troops. If one does everything by himself, he cannot be called a general, but an ordinary man.

Chen Sanshi climbed onto the platform and noticed that there were traces of cleaning on the ground, including bloodstains. It seemed that some people would really die in the exercise. This was understandable. Without a real life-and-death crisis, the soldiers' true combat effectiveness could not be tested. He just didn't know what method would be used.

"Roar……"

His ears moved slightly, and he heard a low growl coming from inside the city wall: "So that's it."

Chen Sanshi nodded to Xu Wencai in the crowd, indicating that they could begin.

"Arrange the formation——"

Xu Wencai waved his feather fan.

More than 500 people arranged themselves into a simple four-door defense formation as quickly as possible.

"After the test officially begins, a team of our own cavalry will rush out to break through the formation. They may hurt people, but they will definitely not take your lives. You can rest assured about this."

Li Qianzong said loudly: "Your mission is very simple, there is only one, that is to maintain the formation."

Won’t it be fatal?

Not necessarily.

This is obviously an attempt to test the ability to respond to emergencies through surprise attacks, and to see what kind of reactions and effects they will have when faced with emergencies on the battlefield.

However, Chen Sanshi had confidence in his subordinates, so there was no need to break the rules and remind them.

"Are these soldiers from the Liangzhou Guard?"

As the governor, Liu Zhongxian assisted the commander-in-chief in controlling the troops of the three states, so it was natural for him to see it.

"It really is."

Eunuch Hou was also a little surprised: "Where are these soldiers from?"

General Zhao, who was also in the audience, replied, "They were the defeated soldiers who abandoned the city of Poyang County and fled."

"Broken troops?"

Liu Zhongxian couldn't help laughing: "Master Chen, what does this mean?"

"How can we let Lord Chen use the defeated soldiers?"

Eunuch Hou looked sideways behind him and said in a sharp, icy voice, "General Zhao, Lord Chen is a general appointed by His Majesty. Could it be that someone dares to target him and not give him troops?"

"Eunuch Hou, Zhao would never do such a thing."

General Zhao replied, "It was Lord Chen who insisted on using his old troops. Many people can attest to that. And you two lords don't need to underestimate them. It is said that these defeated soldiers from the countryside have been trained very well."

"Oh?"

Eunuch Hou said with great interest: "Master Chen is preparing to show everyone his ability to lead troops."

“Don’t shoot yourself in the foot.”

Liu Zhongxian is waiting to see.

Sun Xiangzong still didn't say anything and just watched quietly.

"Boom boom boom——"

War drums were beating all around. The closed martial arts arena was like a large-scale Colosseum. Along with the sound of war drums, the eight gates of the Colosseum opened at the same time, and twenty riders entered from each gate and headed straight for the four-gate defense formation.

The formation with Wang Zhi as the core began to operate, blocking the cavalry's charges again and again without any roadblocks, and there was no sign of chaos in the formation.

After four rounds of charges, the cavalry left the scene one after another.

"That's it?"

Zhao Kang said in disbelief: "Is it over?"

"Don't let your guard down, maintain your formation and don't disperse!"

Xu Wencai, who was at the center of the formation, shouted loudly: "Before the examiner announces the end, anyone who makes the slightest mistake will be punished by military law when they return!"

"Yes, it's definitely not that simple."

Wang Zhi said silently in his heart.

He had been in the Eighth Battalion for so many years, so he naturally knew the difficulty level of the assessment.

Even though the specific assessment methods are different every year, the questions will not be so easy.

"Roar--"

really.

Just after the last cavalryman left, all kinds of strange roars of beasts suddenly rang out in all directions. Soon after, one wild beast after another rushed out from the eight gates. There were wolves, tigers, leopards and jackals. Their sizes were much larger than their normal counterparts. Their eyes were red as if dripping blood, their fangs in their mouths were as sharp as blades, and their saliva was flowing. It was unknown how long they had not eaten, and when they finally saw fresh flesh and blood, they pounced madly towards the crowd in the center of the martial arts field.

In the eyes of everyone, it was simply a tide of beasts with nowhere to hide.

The most important thing is that these beasts are too strange, with abnormal body shapes and blood-red eyes, just like the legendary monsters!

"Could it be that they are all strange beasts?"

Most people who have just arrived in Liangzhou have not heard of the term "poisonous beast".

The first thing that came to their minds was strange beasts. After any ferocious beast becomes a strange beast, its combat effectiveness will soar. Such strange beasts would scare ordinary people to death.

Especially when the cavalry is charging, it gives everyone the illusion that no one will be injured or killed. The contrast is so great that panic is inevitable, and once panic occurs, blood will be shed. Add the two together and the formation will easily collapse.

"They are just a bunch of beasts. Stop making trouble and kill them!"

Wang Zhi roared and held the knife in the front.

The flag officers in charge of command waved the flags in their hands and flexibly adjusted the formation, bringing the advantages of the four-gate bottom formation to the extreme and separating more than 400 ferocious beasts. Although the number of people was similar to the number of poisonous beasts, it looked like they had several times more people than the poisonous beasts and trapped them firmly.

The power of these poisonous beasts is extremely terrifying.

Especially the few tigers that had transformed into poisonous beasts, whose strength was comparable to that of warriors at the bone training realm. They knocked over several soldiers at the beginning, but the formation was not in disorder. Instead, someone quickly filled in the gaps, making it airtight. In order to prevent mistakes, some soldiers would even prefer to use their bodies to resist and delay for a second or two for the formation to recover.

What a fighting spirit! It was clearly just a test, but it gave off an aura of a life-and-death battle. It seemed that no one was afraid of death and would consider the overall situation and maintain the formation until death.

With the combination of [Death Determination in Battle] and [No Clothes], this beast tide has not even brought out the full strength of the soldiers.

Beasts are beasts after all, and they were soon overwhelmed by the shields. Then they were bombarded with spears and arrows, and the training ground turned into a slaughterhouse.

If this continues, it won’t be long before all the poisonous beasts are poisoned to death.

"stop!"

Li Qianzong hurriedly struck the gong: "Disperse the formation, these poisonous beasts need to be kept for the next test, don't kill them all!"

"boom--"

Several deputy generals at the Tongmai realm rushed out and drove out all the poisonous beasts.

In fact, they had been watching secretly before and would not let any soldier die in the mouth of the poisonous beast. At most, they would be seriously injured, and they would rescue them at the critical moment.

Of course, if they tried to rescue, it would easily disrupt the formation.

But the group of people in front of them didn't need them at all. The incident happened suddenly at the beginning and a few people were injured, but then the situation was stabilized quickly and they got through it beautifully.

"You are indeed the man who helped the people cross the river together!"

Eunuch Hou exclaimed: "Master Sun, have you seen that these people can put life and death aside just for a test? If they really go to the battlefield, they will definitely be brave and invincible, much stronger than the Liangzhou soldiers led by several generals in front."

The assessment is currently more than halfway completed.

Nearly 40% of the people got A grade.

In fact, the beast tide is not difficult and will not really massacre the soldiers. As long as you can stabilize the four-door bottom formation, you can pass it easily.

However, in the minds of many soldiers, they feel that this is just an assessment, not a real battlefield, and it is not worth even getting injured, let alone risking their lives, so they are naturally prone to panic.

Whether or not one can enforce military orders as firmly as a mountain is also a major test for a general.

All three examiners noticed.

The one who directed this formation was actually an old scholar in the middle.

Confucian scholars commanded the battle formation.

There is currently only one Fang Qingyun in the Eight Camps.

This also indirectly shows that Chen Sanshi's ability to command the military tactics of his subordinates is extremely outstanding.

"This Lord Chen is really capable."

Zhao Zongbing couldn't help but admire him: "It's a pity that he doesn't have enough talent, otherwise he would be a strong contender for the chief disciple."

"Being a commander in the future would be pretty good."

The three examiners gave an "A" rating without any dispute.

The injured soldiers were carried away to receive the best treatment.

The rest left under command.

"Master."

Fang Qingyun pushed the wooden wheel to the old man's side and said, "Have you seen Lao Liu? He has become much more stable in recent years. It is not easy for him to be a small centurion in the county town after falling to the level of bone training and still be down-to-earth. "

……

The first question of selecting forwards was quickly completed and the results were announced.

Chen Sanshi is undoubtedly top-notch.

In addition, Cao Fan, who has the Beijing Army, is also of Grade A, Lu Shuhua is also of Grade A, and...

There were also a small number who had good cultivation but were very poor at leading troops. For example, Jie Sishu of Yanzhou, who had the body of an innate martial saint, only got a C grade in this stage, which basically eliminated half of the troops.

"Your Highness is right."

Wen Qiushi was surprised when he heard the result being announced: "Chen really got the A grade in this round!"

"What's the use?"

Yin Hanwen's wound burst open, his face pale: "This is not the only test."

Cao Fan looked at the training ground where the second level had already been set up with a gloomy look.

After resting for half an hour.

Next comes the second stage of selecting the striker, breaking through the formation.

Li Qianzong announced the rules in a hoarse voice: "Next, 40,000 people will be drawn from the eight camps to set up a simple Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams formation on the martial arts field. Your goal is to enter the formation and break out of it in the shortest possible time!
“Are you frightened by the number of people?

“Don’t be afraid. This level mainly tests how you will respond when you are surrounded by a heavy army. You will know how to set up the formation, and whether you can break the formation and find a way to survive. The soldiers in the formation will mainly aim to capture you alive, and will not really take your lives. Moreover, because there are many people, the highest level in the formation is only the warrior who has perfected the bone training. There is no one who has the same level of internal organ training as you. You just need to find the way to survive hidden in the formation and break through.

"Those who can break out of the Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams Formation within one stick of incense are considered to be of the first rank. If they do not exceed half an incense stick of time, they will be demoted to a lower rank. If they are captured alive, they will be eliminated directly from the assessment of the main general and can participate in the assessment of the deputy general next door. Of course, there is no need to be depressed. If they have an epiphany or make meritorious contributions in the future, they will still have the opportunity to become a main general.

"The formation has been set up. Just like before, those whose names I called are ready to enter the formation!

"Cui Yongping!"

"Rumble--"

A grand formation was arranged before everyone's eyes.

Flags were flying wildly and drums were beating loudly.

If you stand on a high platform and look down, you can see that this formation is like a Bagua formation diagram that has become a living thing. The soldiers running in it are in line with the image of heaven and earth, and can subtly enhance the soldiers' combat effectiveness!
Strange formation!

Only a strange formation can have such an effect.

This time, there was no closed examination, and everyone was able to watch the assessment process of the previous selected general.

Because the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Formation is alive and changing all the time, not to mention that people are not allowed to stand on high places. They can only see the front few rows at eye level. There are even eight-foot-high black iron heavy shields blocking the back, making it impossible to see the situation in the depths clearly. Looking at it for too long will give people a sense of oppression.

Cui Yongping took the lead again and rushed into battle.

The results came out about half an incense stick later.

"Cui Yongping, captured alive, eliminated!"

"..."

Then eight people came in one after another, and half of them were eliminated. The highest grade of the rest was B. There was not even one A, which made everyone panic.

"Yanzhou Jie Sishu, who has the body of an innate martial saint, only got a B grade!"

"This formation seems to eat people. Once you enter it, you can't get out!"

"This formation wasn't the one they tested for last year's forward selection."

“Why is it so difficult this year…”

Even Lu Shuhua, Cao Fan, Yan Changqing and other talented people who were favored to win the championship were very nervous. This was a large formation of 40,000 people. Although it was just a siege and no fighting was required, it was still an absolutely terrifying difficulty.

"Chen Sanshi!"

Chen Sanshi, who had been prepared, walked forward.

"This is a horse, this is a weapon!"

In this challenge, what you have to fight for is time.

The better the horse, the greater the natural advantage.

Some people who come from royal families or generals may have a group of exotic war horses.

To be fair, no one was allowed to ride their own warhorse, but instead were issued horses by the eight major battalions.

The horse assigned to Chen Sanshi was a dark horse, which was not as good as Qianxun's, but it was also considered an excellent warhorse. After checking that there was no problem with it, he was given an unsharpened reed spear.

Everyone's information has long been recorded, and the weapons they use are naturally also public.

The reason for distributing unsharpened weapons is, firstly, to increase the difficulty, and secondly, to prevent the selected generals from killing people in vain. It is still possible for these geniuses to kill two or three hundred people.

After all, it's just an assessment, casualties are inevitable, but it's impossible to really ignore the lives of their own people. Even the previous formation checkpoints were watched by masters of Tongmai to prevent too many deaths.

Therefore, this stage uses the method of not sharpening the blade to reduce casualties and remind the generals to show mercy.

The Zhenyue Sword cannot be brought in either.

It's a bit unfair to think that such a magical weapon is a mysterious weapon that only warriors with Hua Jin can use.

Chen Sanshi didn't care. After breaking through the internal organs refining stage, he hadn't had time to practice sword and knife skills. Even if he brought them in, they wouldn't be of much use.

He confirmed that there was no problem with the horse, and the weapons seemed to be fine on the surface, but whether there were any problems hidden inside could not be judged without actual combat. He also had no time to test it because the sandalwood used to calculate time on the table had been lit. Every minute and every second that followed was extremely precious, and time waited for no one!

"start!"

"drive!"

Chen Sanshi rode his horse into the battle formation. Man and horse, it was as if they had entered the bloody mouth of a giant beast and disappeared.

The Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Formation, also known as the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, was a formation invented a thousand years ago. It was lost for more than 900 years until it was successfully restored by Fang Qingyun more than ten years ago and used in actual combat.

It was at that time that he gained fame as a talented young man.

This formation is mysterious and extremely complex. Even if you understand the layout of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, you still have to judge the truth and falsehood. It is normal that several generals were captured alive before.

Fortunately, Chen Sanshi had mastered this formation a long time ago.

If this was really just an exercise, he believed that he would be able to break out of the encirclement quickly, and it would definitely take less than an incense stick of time.

Just ...

With his extraordinary five senses, how could he not notice that Crown Prince Cao Fan was staring at him with a sinister look.

In addition, Tang Yingke had reminded him before, so he was naturally aware that he might encounter trouble at this stage.

But before something like this happens, there is no way to verify it even if you say it. Can you really expect the other party to confess and admit it on their own initiative?
"Well, my path has always been tortuous."

Chen Sanshi tightly grasped the reed spear in his hand, fearless: "If someone really wants to make things difficult for me, I can still kill people with an unsharpened weapon!"

(End of this chapter)