As the sky turned bright, the horn sounded in the school grounds.
The soldiers woke up with a start, put on their clothes in a hurry, and rushed out of their respective camps like flying.
The school ground is very simple. There are no walls around it, just a simple fence made of wood. The situation inside can be seen at a glance, and the school ground covers an area not large. The south is the soldiers' camps, and the north is used for gathering.
There is an open space, and to the east are various equipment used for training.
The soldiers gathered were not too many, only more than a thousand in total.
They stood in line here, wearing their armor and carrying their swords, looking straight ahead.
Xiahou Zao yawned, rubbed his eyes and walked out of his tent. He seemed to have not slept well. He drooped his head and walked to the side of many soldiers in a hurry.
After paying attention to the soldiers who had already prepared, he ordered the lieutenant on the side to get him water, squatted down and started to wash up. After washing his face, he finally became more awake and ordered: "Let them wear armor and go around ten times!"
"
The deputy general led the more than a thousand soldiers and began to run around the school grounds. Xiahou Zao dressed up unhurriedly and stayed aside, watching them run. After watching for a moment, Xiahou Zao picked up the long whip from the side and
Then he chased after him.
"Run for me!!"
Xiahou Zao waved the long whip in his hand and followed behind the soldiers. The whip was swung with a sound of breaking through the air. The soldiers all worked hard and kept running.
Xiahou Zao was tall and powerful, and could carry someone several steps ahead with one step. Under his spurs, the soldiers kept running wildly, howling like ghosts and wolves.
In the Xiting Kingdom, even the Taiwei used them as military governors.
I saw a group of soldiers running with all their strength. Lieutenant Xiahou followed behind them with a long whip, roaring angrily. The long whip kept falling on the last few soldiers. The soldiers ran harder, some
When he couldn't support him and fell, Xiahou Zao didn't help him. He just beat him all over his head and face, causing the soldiers to roll forward and crawl forward.
"Run with all your strength! No need to maintain formation!!"
Xiahou Zao gave the order, and all the soldiers immediately ran away. The deputy general wanted to say something to Xiahou Zao, but as soon as he slowed down, Xiahou Zao whipped him, and the deputy general was screamed and ran away.
While shouting: "General!! It's been more than ten rounds! It's already fifteen times!!"
Xiahou Zao didn't care about him, "I'm not tired yet! Keep running for me!!"
In this way, he drove his soldiers for more than twenty rounds before Xiahou Zao put away his whip. The soldiers were already panting from exhaustion, and some even fell to the ground.
Xiahou Zao stood in front of them and said loudly: "Get up! Don't lie on the ground!!"
"These are all the tactics of war taught to me by the Marquis of Huaiyin! This is all for your own good!"
"In the future, when we go out to fight and run too slowly, how are we going to behead the foreign king?!"
Xiahou Zao used the same old rhetoric. After boosting their morale, Xiahou Zao led them to eat. These more than 1,200 soldiers were already all the elites of the Xiting Kingdom. Xiahou Zao sat with them to eat.
, the food is quite good
, with the growth of the national power of the Xiting Kingdom, the food is getting better and better. Xiahou Zao finished his meal in a hurry, stretched out his head again, looked at the meals of the soldiers around him, and took away some of their food.
I just started eating this dish.
The deputy general on the side asked helplessly: "Lieutenant, is this really the art of war taught to you by the Marquis of Huaiyin?"
"Of course! Can I still lie to you?"
"When Zhou Yafu asked the Marquis of Huaiyin about how to manage the army, I heard the Marquis of Huaiyin personally tell Zhou Yafu that when training troops, the general must know how to spur the soldiers and let the soldiers move forward. He must spur the soldiers at all times."
The lieutenant general was silent for a long time, and then asked: "Is it possible that when he talks about whipping, he means encouraging the soldiers instead of whipping them?"
"No, that's what the Marquis of Huaiyin said himself. Also, he said that generals should eat and drink with the soldiers. Look, aren't I just implementing the Marquis of Huaiyin's art of war?"
"He said he wanted to eat and drink with the soldiers, but he didn't ask you to steal the soldiers' food and drink, right??"
Xiahou Zao suddenly became a little unhappy, "Are you trying to say that my military training method is wrong? Look at these soldiers, can you find anyone in the entire Xiting Kingdom who is more elite than them?"
"Even if you compare it with the Northern Army, you won't be far behind!"
Xiahou Zao was quite proud, and he wasn't bragging. His soldiers were really well trained. Liu Qi was very attentive to them, and they had meat every meal. Xiahou Zao's physical spurs also played a role.
It has a lot of effects. Anyway, if these soldiers run, the Northern Army will never be able to catch up.
After finishing eating and living with the soldiers, Xiahou Zao asked his deputy to continue training the soldiers on his behalf, while he left the school grounds.
Xiahou Zao sat in the car and chattered endlessly to the person driving him in front of him.
"You've been following me for so long, but your driving skills haven't improved yet? It's such a flat road, and you can see how the car shakes. I'll have to continue teaching you how to drive another day."
The driver was an honest and honest soldier who was not good at words. Liu Qi personally arranged it for him. At this moment, when the man listened to the Taiwei's complaints, he was not angry, but just smiled stupidly.
The city is extremely lively. Merchants came out early to sell. There are merchants of different skin colors along the street, working hard to sell their products.
When they saw the familiar car, these merchants also started to avoid it very skillfully.
They were very familiar with this car. When setting up a stall here, they would be hit by this car eight times out of ten. Fortunately, they found another driver and the situation improved, but they still did not dare to get close.
Xiahou Zao inspected the surroundings with a proud face.
"These people still respect me very much. They all know to avoid me and salute when they see me!"
The carriage finally stopped at the gate of the palace, and the soldiers stationed here hurried out to pay homage to Captain Xiahou.
Xiahou Zao jumped out of the car and walked swaggering towards the palace. The soldiers who met him along the way all bowed to him. Xiahou Zao nodded arrogantly in return and walked into the innermost room. Soon, there were attendants
He took him into the inner hall.
Liu Qizheng was sitting in front of the case, with memorials from all over the place in front of him.
Seeing the Taiwei, Liu Qi's face was filled with a warm smile. He hurriedly took his hand and asked him to sit next to him. Until Xiahou Zao sat down, he still held Xiahou Zao's hand tightly, no matter what.
Not willing to let go.
"O blessed general, you are my blessed general!"
"You have made great achievements this time!! You should be rewarded! You should be rewarded!!"
Xiahou Zao also laughed and said, "Your Majesty, you don't have to be like this. This is what I should do. How dare King Kangju hide a poisonous person? I led the soldiers to defeat him this time. They will not dare to be enemies with the Han again in the future."
Got it!"
Liu Qi was stunned, "Actually, they are not Kang Ju. You hit the wrong person."
"No matter who it is! Anyway, they are harboring a poisonous person!!"
"Lieutenant, that poisonous man is here to pay homage to His Majesty, and he has no place to live. Forget it, you have made a great contribution this time anyway!"
"You have once again defeated our enemy. I have already submitted a petition to His Majesty to express your credit! Based on your credit this time, I am afraid that I can even increase the amount of food by five hundred!"
Xiahou Zao was overjoyed, but he lowered his head and made calculations, but his face was aching, "What's the use of this? My prodigal father lost another thousand food a few days ago, I took five hundred
, and I lost five hundred Xiahou."
"Captain be careful what you say!!!"
Liu Qi hurriedly interrupted Xiahou Zao's rebellious words, and then comforted him: "There is no need to worry, Lieutenant, there will be many opportunities in the future. I think you have trained the soldiers well, and the casualties this time will be minimal. In the future,
There are definitely a lot of opportunities.”
This time Xiahou Zao led his army to chase the poisonous people, but accidentally ran into the opposing Wusun people who came to graze their cattle. After the Xiongnu's defeat, the Wusun were divided into two groups, one surrendered and the other fled further north.
, often intruding Beiting Kingdom, they did not expect that,
They would encounter the Han Dynasty's army at that position. After all, there were no Han Dynasty cities, roads, or even Han Dynasty pastures there. With no defense at all, Xiahou Zao directly launched a total annihilation, and was stunned to see the defecting Wu.
All the kings of the Sun people were hacked to death.
Liu Xun, the king of Beiting, wrote a letter to thank Xiting for its help.
Liu Qile was upset. These people were hiding everywhere in the past. The Hexi Kingdom sent troops to conquer several times but could not find them. Unexpectedly, they fell into the hands of our Xiting Kingdom in the end.
Relying on this matter, Xiting Kingdom can gain a lot of benefits.
Liu Qi waved his hand, "You have made great contributions to me, and you deserve to be rewarded. Tell me, what do you need? I can give it to you!"
“I want to go back to my father’s thousand-eight-year-old house!!”
Xiahou Zao was completely unrestrained and asked for it directly.
Liu Qi was stunned and said helplessly: "This is a matter in the temple. I have no right to interfere. How about you change it?"
"Then next time you go hunting, can you let me drive the car?"
Liu Qi was silent for a long time, "Let's talk about this food town."
When leaving the palace, Xiahou Zao was laughing so hard that he could hardly close his mouth from ear to ear.
Behind him were six attendants, all holding things in their arms, which were obviously rewards for Xiahou Zao.
Xiahou Zao asked them to put these wooden boxes on his carriage and tied them with ropes. Then he jumped on the carriage and shouted: "Let's go back!"
Xiahou Zao did not have a residence in Xiting, and his life and office were all on the campus. Liu Qi originally gave him a residence, but he sold it for money and exchanged it for someone else. He would never dare to sell the things that the king had given him.
It's lost, but Xiahou Zao doesn't matter at all, just sell it when you get it.
Sitting on the carriage, Xiahou Zao couldn't help but talk about his contribution again.
"We have accomplished a great feat this time. If I kill Kang Ju, I will kill the opponent's king anyway!"
"The king said that at least five hundred more food can be added!"
"Congratulations, Lieutenant!"
"Hahaha, he rewarded me with another five hundred gold, as well as these fabrics and jewelry."
As Xia Houzao spoke, he quickly returned to the school grounds. When the soldiers saw him returning, a few of them who had slacked off at first became diligent again. Some of the soldiers were sparring, using wooden swords to fight.
During the fight, some soldiers were practicing riding and shooting, while others were practicing changing formations. Xiahou Zao nodded with satisfaction and walked all the way to the middle of the school ground, and then asked his deputy to gather everyone together.
"Brothers! We have made great achievements this time! Your Majesty will reward you!"
"Yes, you can take all these things and reward them to your brothers!"
Xiahou Zao waved his hand, and the soldiers immediately cheered and couldn't help but become commotion.
The deputy general was obviously very skilled. He distributed the reward items and then arranged for the soldiers to distribute them one by one. These items were distributed quickly. Xiahou Zao didn't say much and just shouted: "Continue to practice!!"
The soldiers' morale was high and they quickly jumped into the drill. They were in a hot state and everyone was working very hard.
The deputy general stood next to Xiahou Zao, looking at the many soldiers training, and couldn't help but said: "General, you don't have to give out rewards to the soldiers every time. Distributing them once is enough. If you give out too many, I'm afraid
It will make the soldiers cherish their lives."
"fart!"
"These people have followed me through all kinds of fierce battles, and I have never seen anyone afraid of death!"
The deputy general smiled bitterly, "I don't mean anything else. It's just that, Lieutenant, you should save some for yourself."
Xiahou Zao snickered and whispered to him: "Don't worry, on the way here, I secretly hid a gold! None of them know!"
"well"
The deputy general shook his head and said nothing.
This lieutenant of mine is really indescribable. He loves his soldiers as much as his own son. He always beats the soldiers and robs them of their food. Call him bad. He will share every reward he gets.
The soldiers also sold their houses to give money to the families of the soldiers who died in the battle. It is really hard to understand and unpredictable.
In the evening, the soldiers went back to rest.
Xiahou Zao also returned to his camp. His camp was no different from that of ordinary soldiers. The decoration and configuration were the same. The only difference may be that he lived alone in this camp, while the soldiers' camp was
There are five people living there.
Xia Houzao lit the lamp, took out a few family letters in front of the case, and read them carefully.
Xiahou Zao's family are all in Chang'an. When he came to Xiting Kingdom, he did not take his family with him because the environment here was not as good as Chang'an in all aspects. He did not want his family to suffer. Most of these generals who were alone outside were also
After getting married in their own territory, many people chose to take concubines, but Xiahou Zao did not do this. He had food and accommodation in the school grounds, and Liu Qi wanted to send him several beauties several times to let him stay here.
He could also have a family, but Xiahou Zao didn't agree.
According to his words, women are too troublesome. Having one in Chang'an is enough for him, so why bother looking for new troubles?
That being said, Xiahou Zao and his virtuous wife at home were still very loving, and they exchanged letters very frequently.
Xiahou Zao always expressed his troubles here and missed his family through letters.
And his wife will also tell him about things in Chang'an, many of which are about his son's gift.
Xiahou Zao occasionally received letters from his son. The handwriting was scrawled and ugly, and looked nothing like himself.
Although Xiahou Zao is not a very good person, he has one specialty. His calligraphy is good. This is true. He also has some attainments in calligraphy and is very orderly.
My father basically didn’t write to him very often. When he did write letters occasionally, they were mostly harsh reprimands.
Although Xiahou Zao served as a Taiwei here and had a very high status, he did not have many friends. He himself was very lively, so he could only vent his desire for expression through letters. He often wrote to friends from all over the world.
In just over a year, he wrote more than 4,000 letters. On average, he wrote more than ten letters a day. Basically, all the sages received his letters, but there were very few replies.
Yes, there is only one Liu Chang who will definitely reply to your letter.
Sometimes, before Liu Qi had time to report to Liu Chang, Liu Chang had already learned about the situation here from Xiahou Zao.
This made the local censor very angry. Are you a Taiwei or a censor?
Are there any people who are so desperate for their lives?
Because of this problem, Liu Qi was often tricked by him.
Sometimes, Xiahou Zao gets so ruthless that he even gets into trouble.
For example, one time, when he led a team to exterminate bandits, he hit the wrong person and accidentally injured a friendly force. Liu Qidu had already suppressed the matter, but Xiahou Zao wanted to write a letter to Liu Chang about it, and he still
I specifically told Chang Liu that I have tried to suppress this matter, but I can’t let the people in the temple know!
Then Liu Chang wrote back and scolded him.
Even Liu Qi was scolded. From then on, whenever it came to Xiahou Zao, Liu Qi basically chose to lie down and didn't care at all, just do whatever he liked.
That is to say, Xia Houzao has a special status and is considered capable in the Xiting Kingdom, otherwise the cautious Liu Qi would have found a way to deal with him.
Just when Xiahou Zao was thinking about whom to write a letter to, his deputy general rushed in hastily.
"Lieutenant, it's not good. A scout has come to report that a group of thieves have appeared in Congling. Some merchants have been robbed."
"There are a group of thieves in Congling. What does it have to do with my country in Xiting?"
"They robbed our caravan!"
"Ah?! These are the dogs! Gather the soldiers quickly!! We are going to chase these bandits!!"
The deputy general went out in a hurry and summoned the soldiers. Xiahou Zao quickly put on his armor. After getting ready, he hurried out. The soldiers quickly completed the gathering. Xiahou Zao gave the order and everyone left immediately.
After arriving at the school grounds, Xiahou Zao sat on the chariot and walked at the front of the team. The soldiers followed him and advanced quickly.
"Tell me, who suffered this time? Kangju or Dawan?"
"Ah, didn't the Lieutenant say that he wanted to pursue the thieves? Why is there still something about Kang Ju?"
"You are new here. You don't understand. Our Xiahou Taiwei is like a god with his troops and can win by surprise. He said he was going to chase thieves, but the target is definitely not the thieves. This time he is probably going to deal with the Kangju people.
!”
"But we are going to Congling. Kangju is too far away."
"You don't know something. Distance and direction are nothing to our Taiwei! You don't have to think so much, just follow him and make contributions!!"