The prince is more stable

Chapter 644 Practical Training Ground
Yelü Nanxian was lucky; her fate was not tragic.

Falling into Zhao Xiaoqian's hands even became a new turning point in her life.

If she returned to the Liao Kingdom, her fate would be uncertain. Zhao Xiaoqian, who also came from a noble imperial family, naturally knew better than anyone else that the children of imperial families, though seemingly carefree and even arrogant, actually had their fate firmly in the hands of their parents and elders.

They were merely a high-class commodity inlaid with gold and jade.

Goods are just goods. No matter how high-end they look or how expensive they are, they will eventually be traded. It's just that the buyers are relatively wealthy.

But Yelü Nanxian's fate was completely different if she stayed in the Song Dynasty.

Under Zhao Xiaoqian's protection, she could at least decide her own fate. Although she was a prisoner, Zhao Xiaoqian could protect her and ensure that she could live a peaceful life.

This period of separation gave Yelü Nanxian ample time to think, and she probably figured out the key to it.

The person who could decide her fate was Zhao Xiaoqian.

To control her own destiny, she must gain Zhao Xiaoqian's trust and gradually lower his guard.

Yelü Nanxian's ultimate goal was not to return to the Liao Kingdom, but to remain in the Song Dynasty as an ordinary commoner and live out her days peacefully on Song soil.

This explains why, as soon as Zhao Xiaoqian returned to the camp, Yelü Nanxian, a woman known for her aloofness, actually took the initiative to roast a rabbit for him.

As a princess of the Liao Kingdom, it was already quite remarkable that she would lower herself to fawn over Zhao Xiaoqian like this.

"If I move to Zhen Ding City and live in your Prince's Mansion, then what am I?" Yelü Nanxian lowered her eyes, her emotions unreadable.

Zhao Xiaoqian paused for a moment, then said, "Didn't I just say you're my guest?"

Yelü Nanxian shook her head: "The name is not proper and the words are not legitimate. This identity is not suitable."

Zhao Xiaoqian narrowed his eyes: "How about you consider her my newly acquired concubine?"

Yelü Nanxian still shook her head: "With this identity, I should live in a tomb, because I cannot marry. If I had to marry, I would have to die."

Zhao Xiaoqian's cheek twitched. This woman was really damn funny.

"What exactly do you want?" Zhao Xiaoqian asked impatiently.

Yelü Nanxian raised her eyes and stared at him intently: "I don't want to live in your Prince's Mansion. If possible, find me another residence in Zhen Ding City."

“I don’t mind if you send someone to keep an eye on me, and I have no intention of running away. But living in your Prince’s mansion, facing so many of your women without proper status, makes me uncomfortable. What if your wife misunderstands something and finds an opportunity to secretly hang me? I would be very wronged.”

Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes widened, and after a long while, he stammered, "...In our Great Song Dynasty, it's common to throw people into wells; they generally don't hang themselves."

"I am wronged as well."

Zhao Xiaoqian rubbed his face and muttered, "That actually makes some sense. It's really not advisable to bring any more women into the manor; there are just too many."

Each woman brought in tested Di Ying's psychological resilience. Although she came from a wealthy family and could calmly accept her husband taking concubines, her husband could not recklessly challenge her bottom line.

Moreover, given Yelü Nanxian's stunning beauty, if she were to enter the Prince's residence, it would inevitably arouse extreme vigilance from the six women. If the six women were to unite and ostracize her, and given Yelü Nanxian's fearless nature, things could really get out of hand.

So Zhao Xiaoqian said, “Alright, I’ll have Li Qingchen, the judge of Zhending Prefecture, buy you a small house in the city, and some servants to serve you… If you miss your homeland and want to return to Liao, I won’t stop you; you can leave anytime.”

Having achieved her goal, Yelü Nanxian rarely showed a smile. That smile was like a plum blossom blooming in the snow, making Zhao Xiaoqian feel momentarily breathless.

This woman's beauty is flawless, but unfortunately her heart is frozen and she will never fall in love with any man.

If she showed even the slightest sign that she had developed feelings for Zhao Xiaoqian, Zhao Xiaoqian would not let her go.

Who wouldn't want to pose their beloved in thirty-six different ways?

Is that sleeping with the white moonlight?
No, it's a tribute to one's past youth, to the dreams that were once unattainable, now completely shaped into one's own. For a man, what a great and fulfilling achievement that is.

Looking at the stunningly beautiful woman with a radiant smile before him, Zhao Xiaoqian couldn't help but superimpose her face onto a blurry image from his past life. For a moment, he was in a daze, unsure whether this was his past life or his present one.

With an impatient wave of his hand, Zhao Xiaoqian said, "Let's set off tomorrow. I'll send someone to escort you to Zhen Ding City."

"Hurry up and leave, don't slow me down the speed at which I draw my sword."

Yelü Nanxian lowered her eyelids and whispered, "Okay, you... take care. Swords and spears have no eyes on the battlefield. You must not die. If you die, I will be sad."

Zhao Xiaoqian's lips curled into a smile: "If I die, will you really be sad?"

"Of course, my life must be very difficult; I probably won't even have enough to eat."

"When you say 'sad,' you don't mean you're sad in your heart, but rather that you're having a hard time?" Zhao Xiaoqian asked in astonishment.

Yelü Nanxian looked bewildered: "Otherwise what?" "I freaking..." Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly wanted to punch her.

Such a beautiful woman, if she got punched, she would probably cry for a long time, right?
…………

With a great battle about to begin, we can no longer consider matters of the heart, and besides, Zhao Xiaoqian's feelings for Yelü Nanxian are not exactly romantic.

Yelü Nanxian was always on guard against this old lecher when she was with him.

His interactions with Yelü Nanxian were constantly marked by lust.

Yelü Nanxian's wariness was not without reason. She had probably seen through Zhao Xiaoqian's true colors; his eyes held only desire, devoid of any emotion.

Led by Chen Shou and other imperial guards, Zhao Xiaoqian arrived at the training ground of the main camp.

Martial arts are being practiced on the training ground. Two groups of people are fighting fiercely. The generals are training their formations, while the ordinary soldiers are practicing spear techniques and close-quarters combat.

Although it was called a martial arts demonstration, it looked almost like a real battle. Both sides were fired up and showed no mercy in their attacks. Zhao Xiaoqian even noticed some soldiers grappling with each other, desperately gouging out their eyes, groin, spitting, pulling hair, and biting throats...

Seeing the horrific scene before him, Zhao Xiaoqian not only did not stop it, but nodded in approval.

That's right, this kind of real combat scenario was Zhao Xiaoqian's idea.

Martial arts training should be real, not a fake red-blue team confrontation where both sides go through a few half-hearted, perfunctory exchanges and calmly accept the outcome of victory or defeat.

This approach will only cause the army to gradually degenerate and lose morale.

When Zhao Xiaoqian led the 50,000 imperial guards selected from Bianjing back to the Juma River camp, he had already come up with this idea halfway there.

To quickly integrate the 50,000 new recruits into this large group, it was necessary to let them adapt to real war scenes as soon as possible, and let the veterans of the Juma River Camp give them a good beating.

Standing at the edge of the training ground, Zhao Xiaoqian stood with his hands behind his back, watching the billowing yellow dust on the field with a leisurely expression. In the swirling dust, one could vaguely see figures, and the screams, shouts of killing, and angry curses from within were all pleasant to hear.

Approaching footsteps sounded beside him, and Xu Jiang walked over with a worried expression.

"Zi'an, we suffered heavy losses in this military exercise, with many soldiers seriously injured. As the great battle is about to begin, we haven't even engaged the enemy yet, but we've already wasted our soldiers internally. Isn't that inappropriate?"

Zhao Xiaoqian shook his head: "There's nothing wrong with it. The 50,000 Imperial Guards in Bianjing have been living in peace for too long. They've gotten used to the peaceful life in Bianjing and only do a few drills in the camp every day. They don't know how cruel real war is. I want them to experience war as soon as possible. Otherwise, this army will not be able to shoulder the heavy responsibility."

Xu Jiang, being a scholar, was not used to such a brutal scene. He pointed to the two sides fighting fiercely and sighed, "Martial arts are martial arts, but is it really necessary to lose so many soldiers? Many soldiers have already been seriously injured, and I'm afraid many of them will be too weak to fight in the upcoming recapture of Yan and Yun."

Zhao Xiaoqian said coldly, "They deserve it because they are not as skilled. The seriously wounded should be carried away. They can either recover and wait to eat the leftovers of this battle, or they can go back to Bianjing. My army cannot tolerate such cowards."

General Xu sighed, "Our casualties have reached nearly two thousand men..."

"It's alright, I can accept this result, and it's a necessary price to pay. Mr. Chongyuan, what I want is an elite and fierce army, not a bunch of useless people who take advantage of the chaos. This military exercise is for streamlining and elimination."

Xu sighed and stopped pleading.

Having spent so much time together, General Xu had a general understanding of Zhao Xiaoqian's military style.

Although Zhao Xiaoqian appears to be a hands-off manager who doesn't seem to care much about military affairs, he actually has a firm grip on the army. His soldiers will obey any military order he issues without hesitation.

This was Zhao Xiaoqian's prestige; in this army, he was the only one who held absolute authority, and no one dared to challenge him.

On the training ground, the fighting continued, and the number of casualties kept increasing.

Zhao Xiaoqian remained expressionless, his gaze cold as he looked at the training ground, seemingly oblivious to the cries and screams of the soldiers.

Amidst the billowing yellow dust, a figure flew backward and crashed heavily in front of Zhao Xiaoqian with a dull thud.

An ordinary soldier clutched his stomach, hunched over and kneeling on the ground, his face contorted in agony, clearly enduring immense pain.

Zhao Xiaoqian recognized him at a glance; this must be a new recruit he had just brought from Bianjing.

The way to judge whether a new recruit is a veteran is not by the age of their leather armor, but by their expression and eyes.

The veterans of the Dragon Guard Battalion who followed Zhao Xiaoqian in his campaigns across the country had indifferent and ruthless expressions. They wouldn't even flinch when a knife cut into their bodies, and they were even more cold-blooded and merciless when killing the enemy. They were like workers on an assembly line, repeating the same monotonous and repetitive assembly line work, without any emotion.

Even if they just stand still, the veterans exude a carefree and nonchalant air, like seasoned soldiers. No matter the time or event, they will not experience any dramatic emotional fluctuations, but they give people a unique feeling that they are ready to risk their lives at any moment and kill anyone who dares to challenge them.

New recruits are easy to spot at a glance because their faces openly display a desire and greed for merit, while their eyes reveal a naiveté and innocence like those of college students.

The recruit in front of me, clutching his stomach and groaning in pain, is a typical example.

(End of this chapter)