Chapter 66: Damn! No wonder it's so ugly!

Xiao Yuanhang smiled faintly: "I am now the Jingji Daying Inspector, and I have come today by imperial edict to inspect the training of each camp. Commander Lü, you surely know this."

Seeing him produce the edict, Lv Huairen gave a hollow laugh: "Your hardship, Prince."

Xiao Yuanhang glanced at Zhang Wu'an: "What crime has he committed? Why is he being punished?"

Lv Zheng snorted and said: "He disobeyed military orders, spoke insolently, and defied his superiors—surely he deserves punishment?"

Xiao Yuanhang gave him no look, pointing at Zhang Wu'an: "You speak."

Zhang Wu'an knelt on one knee and saluted: "Reporting to Prince, Deputy Commander Lü ordered me to lead troops on a forced march of a hundred li in last night's rainstorm, carrying heavy loads."

"Since the troops had already done weighted training by day, I saw they were exhausted and the storm made accidents likely, so I begged for postponement or cancellation. Deputy Commander Lü then charged me with 'defying orders and unsettling morale' and demanded fifty military strokes."

"Nonsense!" Lv Zheng jumped up: "Clearly you are cowardly and afraid of death, yet dare to quibble!"

Xiao Yuanhang said: "Night raids have been done before, but when encountering rain, they should be postponed. He cares for his soldiers—what fault is there?"

The surrounding soldiers silently nodded, showing agreement.

Lv Zheng stubbornly retorted: "Prince! Military affairs are not under your command; how to train troops is solely the decision of the current commander, Commander Lü."

"You favor your old troops and meddle in military affairs—are you not worried that the troops Commander Lü trains will surpass your own old troops?"

This remark was blunt and rude; hearing it, Xiao Ningchen's face darkened and he glanced askance at Lv Zheng: "Deputy Commander Lü, you have overstepped."

Tuan Tuan did not understand what they were arguing about, boredly playing with a lock of her father's hair; seeing her second brother's expression change, she lifted her head to look at the Lü father and son.

At that moment, Lv Huairen's thoughts raced: good, I might as well use this opportunity to completely suppress Prince Ning's disobedient old troops, so I can better control the Main Camp thereafter.

Now that Prince Ning holds a post akin to a Military Monitor, he will surely keep pointing fingers at me in the future; better today to let him make a public fool of himself, so he will never dare to enter my Main Camp again—wouldn't that be better?

Thus he feigned a rebuke: "Deputy Commander Lü! Hold your tongue! How dare you speak to the Prince thus?"

He shifted tone: "Prince, please calm your anger! My son is young and hot-headed, his actions may be rash. But the orders he issued are all according to the newly established Training Manual regulations of the Jingying Camp, and contain no error."

"Prince, you have long been absent from the army, perhaps unaware; nowadays training emphasizes strict obedience—orders must be followed absolutely. Zhang Wu'an violated orders and defied command; according to the new rules, he certainly deserves punishment. Or do you think the Jingying Camp's training method is wrong?"

Xiao Yuanhang straightened his face: "What a fine 'New Training Manual'! Commander Lü, let me ask you: what is the purpose of drilling? Is it not so that soldiers can defeat the enemy on the battlefield and return home?"

"They have already done weighted training by day; why must they pointlessly raid in the night rain? This merely wastes soldiers' strength, easily breeds disease, and if the enemy attacks, how would they respond? This is not strictness, but stupidity."

Upon hearing this, Lv Huairen thought: enough, the chance has come: "Verbal sparring is useless! Since Prince believes your old training method is superior, let us have a contest right now!"

He raised a hand: "Let us use this 'Breaking Formation, Seizing the Flag' drill on the Training Ground as the standard; each side sends five men, one team led by Zhang Wu'an, the other assigned by Deputy Commander Lü. Whichever side wins, the Jingying Camp's future drills will follow that side's method—how about that?"

Lv Zheng secretly rejoiced: the various obstacles in this Training Ground had long been remodeled by his father's personal troops, bearing little resemblance to before; those old soldiers had never even completed the full course!

Yet his father's personal troops know it like the back of their hands—this time victory is certain!

Xiao Yuanhang glanced at Zhang Wu'an: "Do you dare to accept the challenge?"

Zhang Wu'an's blood boiled; he had long disliked those new recruits, who, relying on being the Lü family's trusted aides, had little talent yet acted arrogantly, often bullying the old soldiers for no reason; he therefore shouted: "I accept the order!"

Soon, both sides selected their men.

Lv Zheng's side fielded five burly, fierce‑looking young elites; Zhang Wu'an's side chose four somewhat older men with steady, sharp gazes, veterans who had fought and killed alongside him.

Tuan Tuan watched them gather in one place, puzzled: "Father, what are they doing? Why are they all standing there?"

Xiao Yuanhang told her: "They are about to compete; this is the starting point, and that small flag over there is the finish—whoever reaches it first and grabs the flag wins."

Tuan Tuan understood: "Oh, they are grabbing that small flag!"

"Exactly! Lovely lady. Do you want to watch? If not, let your second brother take you around."

"Father, are any of our people in there?" Tuan Tuan said, not knowing a single soul, unable to tell who was who.

Xiao Yuanhang pointed at Zhang Wu'an: "This person, you may call him Uncle Zhang; he has followed me for many years as an old subordinate, not of our household, but he is the soldier I trust most—on the battlefield I could entrust my life to him."

"Wow!" Tuan Tuan widened her eyes: "Father! Uncle Zhang is great!"

She thought a moment, then realized: "Those who kowtow to me are the villains, and those standing beside them are also villains—just those two; they want to fight Uncle Zhang, but Father won't let them, so we have a contest: whoever wins gets to command the other side, right?"

Xiao Yuanhang smiled and pinched her cheek: "Tuan Tuan is truly clever! Exactly so! If Uncle Zhang wins, thereafter he will not be bullied at will."

He gazed deeply at the old soldiers who had once followed him: "Not only him—those old troops of Father's will no longer have to swallow their anger."

Tuan Tuan looked at Zhang Wu'an, then at the Lü father and son, snorted, turned her little face away: "Villain! No wonder he's so ugly!"

Xiao Ningchen swiftly and carefully surveyed the field and the five men Lv Zheng had chosen, then stepped forward and whispered beside Zhang Wu'an: "Uncle Zhang, the enemy seeks speed, so they will surely rush straight down the central fastest route."

"But though their five men are strong, their steps are uneven; the moat behind the second low wall will be their bottleneck, and they will inevitably crowd there for a moment."

"You can lead your men to start half a step slower, avoid their sharp edge, take the left outer circuit—though the route is slightly longer, the terrain is easy to traverse. When they are jammed in that moat, you will strike from the flank and surge ahead, thus passing that sector first!"

Having seen Xiao Ningchen before, Zhang Wu'an's eyes flashed with realization; he nodded heavily: "I understand! Thank you, Second Young Master!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The war drums sounded; all gathered around, shouts rose on the Training Ground—the contest officially began.

The five men Lv Zheng had chosen indeed charged like untethered wild horses, heedless of each other, sprinting like a race down the central shortcut, trying to win by the shortest route, their speed extreme.

Zhang Wu'an acted according to plan, his formation tight as he thrust straight to the left flank.

As Xiao Ningchen had predicted, those five men were swift, but when crossing the moat behind the second low wall, their eagerness for speed made their steps uneven; they instantly bunched together in a tangled mass, speed greatly reduced.

At that moment, Zhang Wu'an's team smoothly passed through the left flank, achieving overtake.

"Excellent!" All the watching old soldiers burst into cheers.

Tuan Tuan clapped her hands, shouting louder than anyone: "Go, Uncle Zhang! Beat them!"

Lv Huairen's face instantly changed; Lv Zheng shouted anxiously: "Trash! Chase after them!"

The five men adjusted, then pursued madly.

Zhang Wu'an's team cooperated seamlessly; though they had never practiced many obstacles, relying on veteran experience they cleared the net climb and scaled the high wall without difficulty; their movements were not as swift as the five, but flowed like clouds and water, without hesitation, always maintaining a slight edge.

The final stretch was an open plain with no obstacles; Lv Zheng's elite youths, relying on youthful strength, gradually closed the gap, nearly reaching the flagpole at the same instant as Zhang Wu'an's team.