Chapter 41: Past Events

"A Noble Lady? In this world, besides the Emperor, who could be nobler than an Imperial Prince? In my humble opinion, we should just arrest everyone in this Tianxiang Lou and interrogate them to find out their background."

Outside Tianxiang Lou.

Zhao Xu and the others mounted their horses, and Xu Lie looked up at the building.

He was still angry about being scolded by that Huan'er.

Liu Fu watched Xu Lie with a smirk; although he hadn't gone inside, he had heard a woman scolding Xu Lie.

Seeing Liu Fu's smarmy grin and realizing he had seen through his thoughts, Xu Lie turned his head away.

Zhao Xu reined in his horse and continued toward the North Camp. Hearing Xu Lie's angry words, he said directly, "Regardless of who this Noble Lady she speaks of is, for now, her interests do not conflict with the Prince's Mansion, and she seems to be on bad terms with the Yuan Family. I am far away in Yanzhou and cut off from news; keeping her might be beneficial."

Liu Fu nodded slightly, "To be able to call oneself a Noble Lady in front of Your Highness, could it be the Emperor..."

"Probably not..." Zhao Xu paused. His own father, the Emperor, could send his son to such a den of tigers and wolves; why would he specifically send someone to help him in secret?

Moreover, as the Son of Heaven, there would be no need to deal with the Yuan Family in such a stealthy manner.

But because the Ninth Prince had lived deep in the palace for so long, he had truly come into contact with very few powerful figures.

Zhao Xu could not think of anyone who might be a possibility.

Shaking his head, he spurred his horse forward.

The fourth floor of Tianxiang Lou.

Xu E stood half-hidden by the window, watching Zhao Xu's party depart.

The yellow-clad maid beside her, Huan'er, said, "It is fortunate that the Yan Wang has achieved so much recently, making our master willing to support him as a nail in Yanzhou; otherwise, for you to help the Yan Wang on your own, Miss, you might have even lost your life."

Xu E gently stroked her left arm, where the whip marks throbbed with faint pain. She didn't mind, instead laughing softly, "You say the Yan Wang's madness has healed; will he forget the things from before?"

Xiao Huan looked toward the distant party of the Yan Wang, "Madness is a brain disease; that is hard to say."

Xu E sighed slightly, "He is much more spirited than he was three years ago in Jingshi, not as timid and submissive as he was then."

Xiao Huan shook her head.

Six years ago, the First Chieftain of Qingfeng Stronghold, Xu Pei, was killed due to a plot by Pang Kun and the Zhang Family.

At that time, Xu Pei's eight-year-old daughter luckily escaped the disaster.

After fleeing the mountain, she encountered a wicked merchant and was taken to Jingshi, where she met her current master and began practicing song and dance in preparation for future use.

Now, six years later, the child of the past has grown into a graceful and beautiful woman, whose beauty surpasses all others.

But her wish to avenge her father remained unfulfilled, and after obtaining her master's permission, she came to Yan Commandery.

She never expected to encounter the incident of the Yan Wang being assassinated.

"A bowl of porridge six years ago in exchange for a life—the Yan Wang has profited. Miss, you must be careful not to act on personal feelings again," Liu Sanniang said as she entered.

She had heard about Xu E's situation.

Back then, Xu E had been abducted to Jingshi and escaped the hands of the wicked merchant, but she was nearly dead from hunger and cold.

She happened to meet the Ninth Prince, who was traveling with his mother at the time. Seeing her collapsed on the side of the road, the Ninth Prince gave her a bowl of hot porridge, which saved her life.

Originally, with Tianxiang Lou's capabilities in Yan Commandery, they could have killed Pang Kun independently.

But mindful of that debt of a bowl of porridge, Xu E had leaked the information to the Prince's Mansion, which alerted the Zhang Family and caused her master to be furious and impose punishment.

However, this time Xu E saved the Yan Wang, which allowed her master to see the Yan Wang's value, turning the severe punishment into a minor one.

"Mm," Xu E replied, just staring blankly at that retreating figure.

The North Camp.

Lv Chang stood on the Command Platform, supervising the training of the Prince's Personal Army soldiers.

Seeing the Yan Wang arrive, he let his Vice General continue to direct the soldiers in practicing the Battle Formation, and he went up to greet him.

"Your Highness," Lv Chang cupped his fists.

Zhao Xu nodded, telling Lv Chang to forgo the formalities, and cast his gaze toward the soldiers on the camp's Drill Ground.

At this moment, the soldiers on the Drill Ground were standing in columns and rows.

They were practicing the Battle Formation according to the Flag held by the commander on the Command Platform.

"This is a Circular Formation, right?" Zhao Xu pointed toward the center of the Drill Ground.

The soldiers suddenly formed a circle, shields pushed forward,

and the Long Spear wielders extended their Long Spears over the shields.

"Yes," Lv Chang replied.

Then, the soldiers' formation changed abruptly, looking like fish scales, with the front section protruding.

"A Fish-Scale Formation. The general is positioned in the middle-rear, with the main force gathered in the center, divided into several small fish-scale-shaped squares, arranged in tiers, with the front slightly protruding. It is an offensive formation," Zhao Xu recited.

Hearing this, Lv Chang looked at Zhao Xu in surprise.

At this time, the formation changed again; the soldiers suddenly became extremely dispersed, the distance between them increased, and the soldiers in the formation raised banners.

"This is a Sparse Formation, a formation of 'using the void to appear as the real,' using a small number of troops to pose as a large army," Zhao Xu laughed.

In ancient times, fighting was not about rushing up in a swarm and hacking away without any method.

Instead, it relied on soldiers forming into formations.

Commanders directing battles would often make their own formations to counter the enemy's formation.

During the process of an attack, they would also constantly make changes due to the opponent's formation.

Therefore, the outcome of a war often depended on whether one's own formation had fallen into chaos.

Once it was in chaos, defeat was almost certain.

Next, the soldiers changed into several more formations, and Zhao Xu pointed them out one by one.

Lv Chang asked in surprise, "Your Highness actually understands how to march and fight?"

He had originally thought that in Yan Commandery, besides Chang Wei, he was definitely the number one person in the military.

Now that Zhao Xu had so lightly spoken of all the battle formations and even understood their functions, he could not help but feel depressed.

"Your Highness is brilliant and martial, naturally you would understand," Liu Fu immediately carried forward the spirit of flattery.

Lv Chang scratched his head, "This subordinate admires you."

Zhao Xu smiled; Liu Fu's flattery was very well-timed.

Eliminating the Du and Huang families, making ice, and brewing wine—everyone said Yan Wang had strategy and decisiveness.

The soldiers in the army said Yan Wang was benevolent, but when it came to marching and fighting, the generals were likely quite arrogant.

It was necessary to let them know that he was not someone who understood nothing.

"Is this the battle formation Chang Wei taught?" Zhao Xu climbed onto the high Command Platform so he could see more clearly.

"Yes, before the General departed, he had this subordinate temporarily supervise the training," Lv Chang replied.

Zhao Xu had heard of this; Chang Wei appreciated Lv Chang very much, and it was said that this lad had great strength and decent martial arts, with few rivals in either the County Soldiers or the Personal Army.

"Chang Wei says you are very capable of fighting; Xu Lie, you spar with him," Zhao Xu had a mind to witness it.

At present, he was severely lacking in talent, whether in the army or in the Government Office.

And if he wanted to stabilize Yan Commandery and make it prosperous and strong, he needed suitable subordinates to assist him.

After all, as Yan Wang, he knew deeply that government affairs were numerous, and it was impossible to do everything himself.

Especially in the army; with Chang Wei gone, there was no backbone, and he still had to rely on Lv Chang, who managed the County Soldiers, to assist.

Therefore, he intended to merge the County Soldiers into the Personal Army.

Firstly, there would be no need to divide them into two systems, and secondly, it would be convenient for him to exercise direct jurisdiction.

This would avoid the situation from before where the County Soldiers were not under his control.

As for the public security of Yan Commandery, it could be managed by the Martial Marquis Office, which was specifically responsible for arrests.

Upon hearing this, Lv Chang became as excited as a fighting cock.

He had wanted to cross hands with Xu Lie the first time he saw him, and now he had finally gotten his wish.

"Commander Xu, please!"

Among the guards who came from Jingshi, Xu Lie's martial arts were second only to Chang Wei's.

Every time Lv Chang saw him, he would unintentionally reveal a provocative gaze, and he had long been displeased in his heart.

Today, having been scolded by a young woman, he had nowhere to vent his anger.

Seeing Lv Chang staring straight at him, he gave a grim smile, "Please."