Chapter 287: A Friendly Spar

That armor and horse outside—when he reached this position, he had never seen such treatment; who wouldn't want it!

He fell silent again for a long while; the Great King didn't urge him, pulled out a small bag from his bosom and took out a candy to tease the heavens.

Wei Shen wanted to speak up and continue advising, but the Great King shook his head at him, letting him think it over.

Taking this step, to Chang'an it looks like betraying the court and joining the rebel king, with no way back. Although it seems even turning back now offers no good road……

After a moment, Tang Qian gritted his teeth and said: "I don't know… adding our Yumen Pass's 100,000 border troops, Your Highness facing the Xiongnu of Liangzhou, what chance of victory do we have?"

The Great King extended his clean white paw, clenched it into a fist: "Absolutely. Lan Yizhi is still hanging in the Governor's residence of Bingzhou City; this king fears no Xiongnu!"

Tang Qian: ……

Tang Qian didn't really believe those words; speaking frankly.

He had never seen the Great King in battle either; in the Battle of Duye, the General personally led the troops, plus the Emperor's Northern Expedition forces, together numbering tens of thousands, yet they still lost. How many people does Youzhou even have?

Is everyone a soldier?

Even adding Shanggu Pass, there aren't many. Isn't it just ten thousand left by the Wei River?

The Great King saw what he was thinking, and with a smiling squint proposed: "It seems Uncle Tang doesn't trust the strength of my Youzhou cavalry; why don't we exchange some pointers?"

Wei Shen saw that smile and immediately knew there was a show to watch.

Before Tang Qian could respond, the Great King had already made arrangements.

"We've been marching all the way and are tired; Yumen Pass has been here a while too—how about we hold a sparring match to relax?"

Damn, relax relax!

Wei Shen thought: "Calling a one-sided thrashing 'relaxing'? You're the one relaxing!"

The Great King didn't even bring all his cavalry; he only brought the Owl Cavalry.

Tang Qian had no idea how great the gap between the sides was; he also had some doubts about how the Great King had marched all the way from Youzhou to Bingzhou, yet they immediately hit it off.

They moved to the open field Tang Qian usually used for training; the army's experts were summoned, and soon the field was surrounded by people.

The border troops of Yumen Pass standing beside the Owl Cavalry made a stark contrast—like poor relatives messing around next to a regular army.

They wore black iron armor, while ours were a mix of leather, rattan, and iron armor.

Their helmets gleamed with fearsome, vicious masks covering their faces, looking fierce and deadly; ours…… were dirty and grimy.

No, why are you looking at them with drooling eyes? It's really embarrassing and lacks any aura! Although we're all soldiers, but……

But they didn't come out.

Tang Qian didn't want to look any further; he waved his hand and said, "Let's start already!" Annoying!

The Great King, excited, organized a mass brawl: "Just listen to me, then. We're all our own people, harmony is precious, point made and stop. Owl Cavalry, did you hear that?"

Heard it!

Heard it!

Heard it!

The 1,800 people shouted so loudly the ground shook and mountains moved, projecting the aura of tens of thousands.

Tang Qian held his breath—no, who are we trying to scare before the fight even starts?

And there's the You King—just a kid who hasn't even fought yet and already acting all high and mighty; how does he know he'll win? He's bragging awfully early.

Besides, having heard it once is enough—why shout three times? What's the meaning of that? Just an echo!

He didn't know that the Youzhou troops as a whole suffer from post-parade syndrome—they must shout three times, in unison and loudly.

Tang Qian coughed and said, "This is just a friendly exchange; everyone, go easy on the brothers who came from afar."

Yes~!

Yes!

Their uneven tones also differed; Tang Qian could finally tell the difference—over there, have they… practiced?

He glanced at the Great King, bewildered: "What are you practicing this stuff for?!"

The Great King blinked: "Uncle Tang, can we start?"