The prince is more stable

Chapter 729 Shot from Behind
To this day, Zhao Xiaoqian has never harbored any illusions about the throne.

It's not being pretentious, but I genuinely feel that being an emperor is not easy. It's exhausting and thankless, with all sorts of checks and balances and backstabbing. Under such extremely complex conditions, one still has to lead the court officials to push the country forward.

Is it fun?
To others, the emperor might be the supreme ruler of heaven and earth, but to someone who has lived two lives and only ever wanted to be a lazy bum, the job of emperor is worse than that of an ox or a horse.

Of course, one can also be a tyrannical ruler, like the Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty who did not attend court for decades. As long as one is thick-skinned and can endure criticism, it's not a big deal.

However, Zhao Xiaoqian was still very resistant to it. If he had other options, he would definitely settle for second best without hesitation, provided that he and his family could be safe and wealthy.

There's no need to rush into decisions about the future.

The most pressing issue right now is how to survive.

…………

The next morning, after the soldiers rolled roll, they split up and began training under the leadership of their generals.

Zhao Xiaoqian, fully armed and mounted on his Ferghana horse, patrolled the camp, inspecting the soldiers' training status.

Although the war has ended, military training will not stop; in fact, it is a daily routine, rain or shine.

This is the most basic rule for soldiers. If even this cannot be followed, then what is the difference between the Song army and those old farmers carrying hoes? Not to mention that this is the most elite army of the Song Dynasty.

Zhao Xiaoqian would ride his horse to inspect the troops, stopping in front of each training formation to observe them quietly for a while. Then he would summon the officers and ask them questions, inquiring about everything from the quality of the soldiers to the specific content of the drills.

For some reason, after the entire army ate a meal of meat last night, the generals noticed today that the morale of their soldiers was different. They were especially energetic when Zhao Xiaoqian inspected the troops on horseback.

Whether it was cold weapon drills, shooting practice, or formation exercises, they all displayed an earth-shattering momentum. What was just an ordinary daily exercise was transformed into a battlefield battle today, with plumes of dust rising from the drill ground, a sight to behold.

It seems that the backbone of the army has returned, and the morale of the soldiers has also returned.

After inspecting the troops, Zhao Xiaoqian was quite satisfied with their performance. Even after being away from the camp for so long, he could still feel the unwavering and resilient military spirit in their performance, which had not changed at all.

Only when they arrived at Zhe Keshi's troops on the west side of the main camp did Zhao Xiaoqian dismount and frown.

It wasn't that the soldiers performed poorly; in fact, every movement and every positioning was perfect and impeccable. What made him frown was Zhe Keshi.

Zhao Xiaoqian already knew that Zhe Keshi had a bad temper, and he also knew that this guy would never dare to act recklessly in front of him, and would always keep his temper in check.

Now, watching Zhe Keshi train his soldiers, he held a whip in one hand, cursing and swearing. Any slight fault would be met with a lash from Zhe Keshi. The soldiers dared not fight back or resist, remaining silent even as bloodstains appeared on their backs.

Zhao Xiaoqian was somewhat dissatisfied.

He didn't actually object to beating and scolding soldiers; some soldiers were too stupid, and a few beatings might help them become smarter.

But Zhe Keshi's actions were excessive. He was treating his own generals like dirt. Even farmers' livestock wouldn't be treated like this. How could he be so heartless?

After standing quietly in front of the formation for a long time, Zhao Xiaoqian said calmly, "Chen Shou, go and call Zhe Keshi over. I'll wait for him behind the haystack a hundred paces to the north."

With that, Zhao Xiaoqian took the lead and left.

Not long after, Zhe Keshi walked over with a blank look on his face, holding a whip in his hand, with faint traces of blood still visible on it.

“Your Highness, why don’t you just say what’s on your mind? Why did you secretly call me here?” Zhe Keshi said, looking around.

Zhao Xiaoqian leisurely pointed around and said, "Did you notice? There's no one around here. If we stand behind the haystack, the soldiers won't be able to see us."

Zhe Keshi was completely bewildered: "So what?"

Zhao Xiaoqian gestured for him to hand over the whip in his hand. He held it in his hand and weighed it in his hand, saying, "I can't let you lose face in front of the soldiers, otherwise you won't have the face to lead troops in the future."

“This is a good spot, a good spot for me to slap you. Be good, turn around and stick your butt out…” Zhao Xiaoqian said gently.

Zhe Keshi then understood what Zhao Xiaoqian was going to do and why he was doing it. His expression changed, and he hurriedly said, "Your Highness, I was wrong. From now on, I will love my soldiers like my own children and never beat or scold my generals. Please forgive me this time."

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed and said, "If you say that, you'll get even more slapped. You know you're wrong, but you still insist on making the same mistake. The soldiers are all born of parents, why should they be treated so badly by you?"

"Or is it that you've accumulated too many merits in the past two years, and you've started to get arrogant and no longer treat your comrades and subordinates as human beings?"

Zhe Keshi hurriedly said, "This humble general is not being arrogant. I have a bad temper by nature. Back in the Northwest Army, I was just like this..."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded: "Alright, I believe you're not arrogant, but you went too far and must be punished. Today I will personally give you a good whipping, with all the necessary grounds. Do you accept it or not?"

Zhe Keshi sighed and said, "This humble general is completely convinced and guarantees that he will never do it again."

Zhao Xiaoqian said coldly, "Fine, turn around and you'll taste what it's like to be whipped. I suppose you'll be able to empathize with your comrades in the future."

Without saying a word, Zhe Keshi obediently turned around.

As soon as he turned around, he heard a sharp whistling sound, followed by a numbness in his back, and finally, a strong pain reached his brain.

Zhe Keshi truly lived up to his reputation as a man from the Northwest. Despite being in excruciating pain, he gritted his teeth and refused to utter a sound, even in the face of death.

Zhao Xiaoqian showed no mercy, lashing Zhe Keshi's back with one whip after another until ten lashes had been delivered, tearing his clothes and drawing blood. Only then did Zhao Xiaoqian stop. "Ten lashes, a small punishment. Be careful in the future. When you lay a hand on your comrades again, think of the consequences," Zhao Xiaoqian said coldly, tossing the whip to the ground.

Zhe Keshi's face was somewhat pale. He turned around, bowed to Zhao Xiaoqian, clasped his hands in greeting, and gritted his teeth to endure the pain as he moved around a bit on the spot.

Zhao Xiaoqian stared at him and said calmly, "Do you hate me?"

Zhe Keshi shook his head: "I don't hate you. To be honest, I only admire Your Highness. Even if Your Highness slit my throat, I would believe it was for my own good. Besides, I was in the wrong today, so I deserved this beating."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded: "Good, you're a real man. You made a mistake and corrected it. You'll still be my good brother."

With a wave of his hand, Zhao Xiaoqian said rudely, "Continue training the soldiers. Get out of here."

Zhe Keshi grinned and ran away as if nothing had happened.

As he ran to the front of his troops, a subordinate general approached him. Seeing that Zhe Keshi's face was somewhat pale, the general asked curiously, "What did His Highness say to you just now? Why do you look like this?"

Zhe Keshi glared at him and said, "Mind your own business! His Highness summoned me alone, so naturally he has important confidential matters to instruct me on. Everyone in the army knows that I, Zhe, am His Highness's only trusted and beloved general."

The subordinate was stunned. A casual glance revealed Zhe Keshi's tattered clothes and faint traces of blood on his back. He exclaimed in surprise, "General, your back..."

Zhe Keshi's face flushed, and he subtly shifted his body to the side, angrily saying, "What happened to your back? I was walking carelessly and fell backward, scraping my back a little. What? Is falling while walking a crime?"

"It's not against the law at all. If the general likes it, feel free to throw it as many times as you like..." the subordinate said with a grin.

Zhe Keshi raised an eyebrow: "You son of a bitch, how dare you talk to me like that, I'll slap you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhe Keshi seemed to remember something, and his expression froze. He dared not continue.

The wound on his back still stung, but Zhe Keshi had truly learned his lesson and would never again dare to beat or scold his subordinates so easily.

A gust of wind blew by, carrying a cloud of yellow dust. Zhe Keshi opened his mouth and was caught off guard, taking a bite of sand. His already unpleasant mood instantly turned even more unpleasant.

Looking in the direction from which the yellow dust was blowing, there was a training ground to the east, where shouts of battle were deafening, and the figures of soldiers were appearing and disappearing in the yellow dust.

Zhe Keshi narrowed his eyes, raised his chin, and asked, "Which general led those troops?"

The subordinate officer stood on tiptoe to examine the banners beside the formation carefully, and after a long while, he said, "General, those are the soldiers under Commander Zhong Cheng training. That's Zhong Cheng, who was directly transferred from the Privy Council."

Zhe Keshi was taken aback, then chuckled maliciously: "So you're surnamed Zhong. I've been holding back a lot of anger, so you're the one."

Lowering his voice, Zhe Keshi instructed, "Gather a hundred of your men, take firearms, and quietly set up targets behind Zhong Cheng... Go quickly!"

An hour later, the general returned, nodded to him, and indicated that everything had been arranged.

Zhe Keshi waved his hand, and the hundred soldiers waiting behind him picked up their already loaded flintlock muskets and quietly pressed forward, stopping only when they were a hundred paces away from the straw target.

Zhe Keshi stared at Zhong Cheng, who was standing with his back to him behind the straw target, and his sinister smile deepened.

"You bastard, you think no one dares to touch you just because you have the backing of the Privy Council? You even dared to plot against my Prince, today I won't tolerate you..."

After muttering to himself, Zhe Keshi snatched a flintlock pistol from Zhong Cheng's hand, aimed it at his back, and held the pistol with remarkable steadiness. He aimed for a long time without moving, then suddenly shouted, "All troops, listen up! Ready—!"

The hundred soldiers were completely unaware, and aimed at the straw target with perfect discipline, except for Zhe Keshi, whose sights were aimed at Zhong Cheng.

The killing intent materialized in a flash!

"Release—!" Zhe Keshi roared, his finger instinctively pulling the trigger.

With a loud bang, the straw target was hit, but Zhong Cheng only felt a chill on his shoulder. At first, he did not feel any pain, just a little numbness, but soon the pain clearly reached his mind.

Zhong Cheng was shocked and subconsciously touched his shoulder, only to find that his hand was covered in blood.

"Commander Zhong has been shot!" someone shouted.

The soldiers in the nearby formations were thrown into chaos and swarmed around.

Zhong Cheng turned around in fear and saw Zhe Keshi, a hundred paces away, put away his gun with a regretful expression and, as if punishing himself, slap himself hard across the face.

Zhong Cheng was instantly terrified, his eyes blazing with fury.

It's him!

How dare he!

He recalled all the sinister words Zhe Keshi had whispered in his ear during the bonfire party last night.

This army is full of lunatics!

He really dared to attack me! I had just been on the verge of death without even realizing it. If Zhe Keshi's marksmanship hadn't been slightly off-target, if he had moved even an inch more, Zhong Cheng would have suffered more than just a bullet to the shoulder.

(End of this chapter)