No title, no marriage? Do you think I'm some kind of lapdog?

The next day!

[Congratulations, host, you have successfully unlocked today's check-in task:]

[Beginner Level: Duke Xin's Mansion, reward: a Grade B warhorse.]

[Intermediate Level: Patrol Army Commander's Mansion, reward: one Grade A warhorse.]

[Advanced: Wasteland Slope, reward: one S-class warhorse.]

"My lord, we can't go out today, can we?"

"After all, His Majesty said yesterday that he would be confined to his quarters for three days."

Zhao Yun looked at Su Chuang, who was acting as usual, and whispered a reminder.

"I know this."

"So this time, we're not walking."

"Why don't you just carry me out in a sedan chair?"

Su Chuang said slyly.

The idea of ​​confining him to his quarters is out of the question.

With the journey to the northern frontier imminent, those three hundred personal guards are our key asset, and we cannot afford to be careless.

"Here you go!"

Zhao Yun suddenly realized what was going on and accepted the order to prepare.

……

On the western outskirts of the city, there is a barren, grassy slope.

Three hundred men were rolling in the dust.

"quick!"

"Get moving!"

Yue Fei stood on the earthen platform, dressed in plain clothes, with his Liquan spear planted beside him.

He wasn't wearing armor, but the way he stood there commanded more respect than the "Xin Guogong's Personal Army" banner behind him.

"The formation has broken down!"

"Let's try again!"

"If we don't master the Mandarin Duck Formation today, dinner will be halved!"

Yue Fei's voice was not loud, but it struck each of his personal guards with unerring accuracy.

"Hmm...not bad..."

Su Chuang squatted under the shade of a tree beside the earthen slope, holding a foxtail grass in his hand and idly swinging it.

"My lord."

"General Yue's training of troops was indeed methodical."

Zhao Yun said in a low voice.

He stood three steps behind him, holding a gleaming silver spear, his eyes scanning the surrounding weeds.

"I don't understand rules and regulations."

"I just want to know, how much food do these three hundred people eat in a day?"

"Will the salary be distributed to them without any shortage reaching their hands?"

Su Chuang grinned. He knew that there were many people in the Daqian army who embezzled funds and received salaries without working.

He couldn't control those things; he only demanded that corruption not occur in his area.

These three hundred men were recruited by Yue Fei from the horse market, the escort agency, and retired veterans.

They all had scars on their bodies and had seen blood in their eyes.

Three days ago they were like a pile of loose sand, but now they can stand in a line, although the line is crooked as if it has been chewed by a dog.

But it's much better now!

When Su Chuang first arrived, he took out a thin booklet from his pocket, a military training manual he had written overnight.

Let Yue Fei practice accordingly.

Now it seems that Yue Fei has really figured out the trick.

"Zilong".

"Are you saying that Ye Qingyue's troops in the Northern Frontier have such a formidable formation?"

Su Chuang suddenly asked.

Before Zhao Yun could answer, a cloud of dust suddenly rose from the official road not far away.

The sound of horses' hooves was chaotic, mixed with laughter and shouts.

Su Chuang narrowed his eyes.

Seven or eight horses charged over, led by a young man in brocade robes.

He was about seventeen or eighteen years old, and his face resembled Ye Qingyue's by about five or six points, except that he had an arrogant look in his eyes and brows.

Behind him were several guards who looked like servants, as well as three or four纨绔子弟 (sons of wealthy families who are spoiled and dissolute) who were common in the capital.

"Hey! Who do we think is eating dirt here!"

The boy reined in his horse, his whip pointing directly at the earthen platform.

"Isn't this our Duke Xin?"

"What, you didn't get into licking women, so you've switched to licking mud?"

A burst of laughter erupted behind me.

Su Chuang slowly stood up and patted the dust off his backside.

Zhao Yun stepped forward half a step and stood in front of him.

"Ye Qingyang".

"Didn't your sister teach you to dismount and bow when you see the Duke?"

Su Chuang tilted his head.

Ye Qingyang is Ye Qingyue's good-for-nothing younger brother.

He was notorious in the capital for being a scoundrel.

Relying on her elder sister being a female marquis, she often bullied men and women.

"Bows? For you?"

"You don't deserve it!"

"My sister said you're just a shriveled, dumped dog!"

"Pretending to train troops now? That's laughable!"

Ye Qingyang spat.

He suddenly spurred the horse, and the chestnut horse charged straight towards the training formation!

"Get out of the way! This young master wants to hunt!"

The horses charged straight at the right flank, which was changing formation.

Yue Fei's eyes turned cold.

But he didn't move.

Su Chuang didn't move either.

Just as the horse's head was about to crash into the crowd, the three men on the outermost edge of the line suddenly sidestepped, took a step, and thrust their spears diagonally!

The three spears were almost simultaneously placed against the horse's neck!

Horses neighing, people standing still!

Ye Qingyang was nearly thrown off and awkwardly pulled on the reins.

"You dare stop my horse?!"

"Beat them! I'll take responsibility if they kill them!"

His face flushed red, and he waved his hand and shouted.

"Here you go!"

Six guards behind him drew their swords and rushed forward.

On the earthen platform, Yue Fei finally moved.

He didn't draw his gun.

He stepped off the earthen platform in a single step, his figure moving as fast as a shadow.

Before the first guard's sword could even fall, he was kicked in the abdomen and sent flying three zhang away.

The second person had their wrist grabbed with one hand, twisted and pushed, and the cracking sound of their arm dislocating was enough to make your teeth ache.

The third one, the fourth one...

The six guards, in less than five breaths, were all lying on the ground groaning.

Ye Qingyang was stunned.

The spoiled brats behind him shrank back even further.

"Disturbing the army's formation is punishable by twenty strokes of the cane according to the law."

Yue Fei dusted off his hands and looked up at Ye Qingyang.

"You...do you know who I am? My sister is the Heroine Marquis! The Divine General of the Northern Frontier!"

Ye Qingyang's calves started to cramp, but he still kept his mouth shut.

"Know."

"Therefore, he shall be punished with thirty strokes of the cane."

At Su Chuang's prompting, Yue Fei continued speaking.

"you!"

Ye Qingyang almost fell off his horse.

"Oh dear, Young Master Ye, your horse is really fierce! It scared me to death!"

"Look, my soldiers are terrified. They'll need more meat for dinner, won't they? This money..."

Su Chuang then slowly peeked out from behind Zhao Yun, looking "startled."

He rubbed his fingers together, exuding a rustic, unsophisticated air.

"You...you're trying to extort money from me?"

Ye Qingyang's eyes widened in disbelief!

"How can you call it a fraud?"

"It is a fact that the horses were startled and charged at the Duke's personal guards, affecting the training schedule."

"So, paying five thousand taels of gold in compensation isn't unreasonable, is it?"

Su Chuang took out paper and pen from his pocket and handed them over with a smile.

Five thousand taels?! And in gold?!

Ye Qingyang stared wide-eyed.

"To write or not to write?"

Su Chuang's smile faded slightly.

"It's fine if you don't write it; I'll have Yue Fei deal with it according to military law."

"Thirty strokes of the military rod... I wonder if Young Master Ye's physique can withstand the caresses of a courtesan?"

Ye Qingyang's face turned pale and then ashen.

He glanced at Su Chuang, who was still smiling, but the coldness in that smile sent chills down his spine.

"I...I'll write!"

Left with no other choice, Ye Qingyang wrote the IOU and pressed his fingerprint on it.

Su Chuang blew the ink dry and tucked it into his pocket with satisfaction.

"Alright, get out of here. Remember to tell your sister to pay back the money as soon as possible; the interest is one hundred taels a day."

Ye Qingyang practically crawled onto his horse, and with his disheveled followers, he rode off without looking back.

The dust settled.

The training ground fell silent again.

The three hundred imperial guards were still standing, but the way they looked at Su Chuang had changed.

Su Chuang, however, acted as if nothing had happened, squatted back down under the shade of the tree, and picked up a blade of grass and put it in his mouth.

"Pengju" (鹏举).

"Keep practicing."

"Dinner...with meat."

He mumbled something.

Yue Fei clasped his hands in greeting: "Yes, sir."

He turned around, and his voice boomed back at the queue.

"You saw everything?"

"If we can't master formations today, we'll be facing far more than just this kind of trash in the future!"

"continue!"

Dust rose again.

---

On the way back to the city in the evening, Su Chuang closed his eyes to rest in the carriage.

Zhao Yun drove the chariot, while Yue Fei rode a horse to protect him on one side.

Inside the carriage, Lu Bing was already kneeling in the shadows in the corner.

"My lord, a secret report from the northern frontier."

A note was handed to me.

Su Chuang opened his eyes and scanned the paper in the last light of dusk:

"Ye Qingyue received the Second Prince's envoy and held a secret meeting for two hours. Yue Xinyang has already joined the Shenwei Army's vanguard camp as a captain."

He rubbed the paper between his fingers, and it crumbled into pieces.

"besides."

Lu Bing said in a low voice.

"The veteran who lost a finger at the training ground has been identified."

"Six years ago, during the Battle of Luofengpo, he was a survivor of Marshal Su's personal guard, but he retired due to injury."

Su Chuang paused for a moment.

Where are they?

"He was assigned to work as a guard at a winery outside the city, and Mr. Jia personally oversaw the work."

"Um."

Su Chuang closed his eyes again.

"Let him live. I'll question him when I get to the northern frontier."

"Here you are."

Lu Bingru disappeared silently, just as he had come.

It was already completely dark when the carriage entered the city gate.

In his mind, the system's voice rang out at just the right moment:

[Reward: An S-rank warhorse has arrived at your residence.]

[Personnel training mission completion rate: 35%]

[Motivation Boost Skill Activated: Temporarily increases the combat strength of your troops by 10%]

Su Chuang continued climbing the steps without stopping.

The night breeze blew through the lanterns under the eaves, making his shadow on the ground stretch and shrink.

Northern Xinjiang...

He silently repeated those two words in his mind.

Ye Qingyue, Yue Xinyang, the Second Prince.

And then there are those who hide in the gutter and kill their fathers.

You'd better make sure the stage is sturdy.

When I arrive, I'll tear down the whole thing, including the platform.