Chapter 41: Past

"Where did Miss Xu start from talking about this?" Zhao Xu's expression changed slightly. ReadМ

Xu E must have some important information that he didn't know.

"Does Your Highness know that Zhang Kang has asked Yuan Li, the head of the Yuan family, for help? It just so happens that my master wants to deal with the Yuan family, so it is necessary to cooperate with Your Highness." Xu E said softly.

"Yuan family?" Zhao Xu's heart sank.

Zhang Kang had secretly threatened him with the Yuan family that day.

"Exactly. The Yuan family has been cultivating Yanzhou for many years and has an army of 150,000 Xuanjia troops. They are not scoundrels like the Zhang family." Xu E straightened the black hair on his forehead.

"But, who is this noble man?" Zhao Xu was a little angry.

It seems that I still have a long way to go. After all, compared to these natives, my foundation is too shallow.

"The noble man said that the time has come, and His Highness will know it."

"Then how to collaborate?"

"After receiving the news, the slave family will inform His Highness."

Zhao Xu frowned, this noble man was really noble, was he more noble than the prince?

"I will think about it." Zhao Xu suddenly felt unhappy, got up and walked out, too lazy to talk anymore.

Xu E stood up and said, "If your highness has some free time, you can come to Tianxiang Tower to relieve your boredom. I will look forward to your highness taking care of you from now on."

Zhao Xu raised his hand and strode away.

"Noble man? Apart from the emperor, is there anyone in the world who is more noble than the prince? As General Mo has seen, we can find out the details by arresting everyone in Tianxiang Tower and interrogating them."

Outside Tianxiang Tower.

Zhao Xu and everyone got on the horse, and Xu Lie looked upstairs.

He was also angry because he was scolded by that ringer.

Liu Fu looked at Xu Lie with a smile. Although he didn't go in, he heard a woman scolding Xu Lie.

Seeing Liu Fu's mean smile, Xu Lie realized what he was thinking and turned his head.

Zhao Xu reined up his horse and continued towards the North Camp. Hearing Xu Lie's angry words, he said to himself: "Whoever the noble person she is talking about is? At present, it seems that his interests do not conflict with the palace, and he seems to be at odds with the Yuan family. , I am far away in Yanzhou and have little information, so it may be beneficial to keep him here."

Liu Fu nodded slightly, "If you can claim to be a noble person in front of His Highness, you must be the Emperor..."

"It shouldn't be..." Zhao Xu was startled for a moment. How could the ninth prince's biological father send his son to such a land of tigers and wolves, so why would he send someone to secretly help him?

What's more, since he is the emperor, he doesn't need to deal with the Yuan family secretly.

However, because the Ninth Prince had lived in the palace for a long time, he did not have many contacts with powerful people.

Zhao Xu can't think of anyone who has this possibility.

Shaking his head, he rode forward.

The fourth floor of Tianxiang Building.

Xu E was half hidden by the window watching Zhao Xu and his entourage leave.

The maid in yellow beside her, Huan'er, said: "This King Yan is really a blessing in disguise. He has recovered from his illness after coming to Yanzhou, and both the master and the lady are helping him."

Xu E caressed her left arm gently and said with a chuckle: "You said that King Yan's madness has healed itself. Will he forget the past?"

Xiaohuan looked at King Yan and his party in the distance, "The madness is a brain disease, it's impossible to say for sure."

Xu E sighed slightly, "He is much more impressive than when he was in the capital three years ago, and he is not as submissive as he was."

Xiaohuan shook his head.

Six years ago, Xu Pei, the head of Qingfeng Village, was framed and killed by Pang Kun and the Zhang family.

Xu Pei's daughter, who was only eight years old at the time, escaped by chance.

After escaping down the mountain, he encountered an evil businessman and was taken to the capital. He met his current owner and practiced singing and dancing to prepare for the future.

Now six years have passed, and the childish child he once was has grown into a graceful and beautiful figure.

But her wish to avenge her father was not fulfilled. After getting the master's permission, she came to Yan County.

I never thought that I would encounter the assassination of King Yan again.

"A bowl of porridge exchanged a life six years ago. King Yan has made a profit." Liu Sanniang came in at this time.

She had heard about Xu E.

Xu E was abducted to the capital to escape from evil merchants, but she almost died of hunger, cold, and exhaustion.

He met the Ninth Prince who was traveling with his mother at that time. Seeing her lying on the roadside, the Ninth Prince gave her a bowl of hot porridge and saved her life.

Originally, with Tianxianglou's ability in Yan County, he could kill Pang Kun independently.

However, the master's instructions and Xu E's wishes made them unanimously decide to help King Yan.

Only then did King Yan escape the disaster.

"It's just that this time we take action, we are afraid that it will arouse the Zhang family's vigilance, so be careful in the future." Xu Sanniang said.

"Yes." Xu E agreed, staring blankly at the back.

…

Beidaying.

Lu Chang stood on the general stage to supervise the training of the royal soldiers.

Seeing the arrival of King Yan, he asked his lieutenants to continue commanding the soldiers to practice battle formations, and then he came up to meet him.

"Your Highness." Lu Chang clasped his fists.

Zhao Xu nodded, asked Lu Chang to excuse himself, and looked at the soldiers on the camp grounds.

At this time, the soldiers formed vertical columns and horizontal rows on the school field.

They are rehearsing battle formations in accordance with the command flags of the generals on the general stage.

"Is this a circular formation?" Zhao Xu pointed to the center of the school field.

The soldiers suddenly formed a circle at this time, with their shields drawn forward, and the spearmen stretched out their spears from the shields.

"Yes." Lu Chang responded.

Then the formation of the soldiers suddenly changed, like fish scales, with the front section protruding.

"The fish scale formation will be located in the middle and rear of the formation. The main troops are assembled in the center and divided into a number of small fish scale-shaped square formations. They are arranged in echelons and have a slightly convex front end. It is an offensive formation." Zhao Xu read.

When Lu Chang heard this, he looked at Zhao Xu in surprise.

At this time, the formation changed again. The soldiers were suddenly extremely scattered, the distance between them became larger, and the soldiers in the formation raised their flags. ,

"This is a sparse formation, a virtual but real formation, using a small number of troops to pretend to be a large army." Zhao Xu said with a smile.

In ancient times, fighting was not about rushing forward without rules.

Instead, soldiers formed formations.

When commanding a battle, generals would often make their own formations according to the enemy's formations.

During the attack, the formations of the opponents would be constantly changed.

Therefore, the outcome of a war often depends on whether the formations of one's own side are in disorder.

Once it is in disorder, it is almost certain to lose.

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

Lu Chang was surprised and said, "Your Highness actually knows how to march and fight?"

He originally thought that in Yan County, except for Chang Wei, he was definitely the best in the army.

Now that Zhao Xu had so easily mentioned all the military formations and even understood their functions, he couldn't help but feel depressed.

"Your Highness is wise and brave, so he naturally understands." Liu Fu immediately developed the spirit of flattery.

Lu Chang scratched his head, "I admire you."

Zhao Xu smiled, Liu Fu's flattery was very timely.

Getting rid of the Du and Huang families, making ice and brewing wine, people said that the King of Yan had a wise decision.

The soldiers in the army said that the King of Yan was kind, but when it came to marching and fighting, the generals were probably very arrogant.

It was necessary to let them know that they were not completely ignorant.

"Is this the battle formation taught by Chang Wei?" Zhao Xu went up to the high platform to see more clearly.

"Yes, before the general sets out, let me temporarily supervise the training." Lu Chang replied.

Zhao Xu had heard that Chang Wei admired Lu Chang very much. It was said that this kid was very strong and had good martial arts. It was difficult for him to have an opponent in both the county soldiers and the personal army.

"Chang Wei said that you are very good at fighting, Xu Lie, you practice with him." Zhao Xu wanted to see it.

At present, he was seriously lacking in talents, both in the army and in the government office.

And in order to stabilize Yan County and make Yan County rich and powerful, he needed the right people to help him.

After all, as the King of Yan, he knew that there were many government affairs and it was impossible for him to do everything by himself.

Especially in the army, Chang Wei's departure made it lose its backbone, and it had to ask Lu Chang, who was in charge of the county soldiers, to help.

Therefore, he planned to merge the county soldiers into the personal army.

First, there was no need to divide them into two systems, and second, it was convenient for him to directly manage them.

To avoid the situation where the county soldiers were not under his control as before.

As for the public security of Yan County, it could be managed by the Wuhou Division, which was specifically responsible for arrests.

Lu Chang was as excited as a fighting cock after hearing this.

He wanted to fight Xu Lie the first time he saw him, and now he finally got his wish.

"Commander Xu, please!"

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

Lu Chang had always inadvertently shown a provocative look when he saw him, and he had long been unhappy.

Today, he was scolded by a little girl again, and he had no place to vent his anger.

Seeing Lü Chang staring at him, he smiled grimly, "Please."

"...There's something interesting to watch."

"I bet Captain Lü will win. You haven't seen it. This morning, Captain Lü held down the fleeing pig with one hand."

"The general asked Commander Xu to protect Your Highness. Commander Xu must be a martial artist. He is a member of the Imperial Guard. He used to protect the emperor."

"..."

The army is the most boring. There is nothing to do except training on weekdays.

Lü Chang and Xu Lie left the field and cleared a position in the middle of the training ground.

The soldiers sat in a circle to watch the show, all with their heads stretched out.

Zhao Xuan sat on the command platform, and Liu Fu stood on one side, "Your Highness, I bet Commander Xu will win."

At the critical moment, he still instinctively had a prejudice against the children of the wealthy families such as Lü Chang.

"I bet on Lü Chang." Zhao Xu looked at the field.

The reason why he put Lü Chang in the county soldiers and trusted him was not without reason.

Before that, he knew Lü Chang.

According to the people of Yancheng, Lu Chang never oppressed innocent people.

Although he often fought, he was mostly a righteous man.

Considering this, he decided to use Lu Chang.

Instead of considering winning over the Lu family.

Of course, the three families also had relatives who did evil in Yan County.

But just like he dealt with the Huang and Du families, he didn't kill them with one stick.

After all, since they are big families, there are villains and good officials.

"I'm sorry that I don't agree with this. I'm willing to bet my entire fortune on Xu Lie's victory." Liu Fu vowed.

Zhao Xu smiled and said nothing.