roccoschili Chapter 98 Pretending to be Calm
Chapter 98 Pretending to be Calm
"Your Highness is truly insightful and far-sighted. I am ashamed to admit my inferiority." Li Mi was genuinely impressed this time, and his voice even lowered a few decibels.
Yang Yan looked at the future hero of Wagang in front of him and sighed inwardly.
Li Mi was indeed a talented man, but he had too much success, which made him a little arrogant.
If we don't suppress his arrogance now, his future achievements will likely be limited.
"Profound indeed." Yang Yan turned around and stared straight into Li Mi's eyes.
"You are exceptionally talented, which is your strength. But because you are too clever, you always want to take shortcuts, calculating people's hearts and interests, and you easily lose the most fundamental qualities of a general: 'clumsiness' and 'sincerity'."
He pointed to Li Jing, who was talking to the soldiers below the stage: "Look at the physician. He uses the sand table to calculate the timing, the terrain, the supplies, and the morale of the soldiers. He calculates more precisely than anyone else. But the foundation of all his calculations is his sincerity towards the lives of every soldier under his command. Not gambling with the lives of his brothers, this is the benevolence of a general, and also the greatest sincerity. What you lack is precisely this down-to-earth, sincere heart that seeks a glimmer of hope for the whole in desperate situations."
Yang Yan's voice was calm yet powerful: "Put away your arrogance and cunning. Follow the pharmacist and first learn how to be a 'real person' that soldiers can entrust their lives to. Otherwise, no matter how much strategy you have, you will always just be a 'fighting general'—a lone general who is proud and self-admiring, but no one is willing to die for him."
The words "fighting generals" were like a needle, pricking Li Mi hard.
Li Mi aspires to be a commander capable of defeating ten thousand men; how could he be merely a commoner?
"Your Highness's teachings will be deeply etched in my memory!"
Li Mi gritted his teeth, and the flame of defiance in his eyes burned again. This time, however, it was no longer blind arrogance, but an ambition to grow.
"Mi Ding will not disappoint Your Highness!"
"good!"
Yang Yan burst into laughter.
At this moment, the noise from the audience gradually subsided.
A clerk carrying two scrolls of hemp paper still smelling of ink ran quickly up the platform and knelt down to present them.
"Your Highness, General Qin and Chief Secretary Li have finalized the list. Please review it!"
Yang Yan took the two lists.
Slightly heavy to start with.
He slowly unfolded it.
The scroll on the left, with its wild, cursive script, contains the list of 1,349 people drafted by Qin Qiong; the scroll on the right, with its strong, elegant script, contains the list of 217 people selected by Li Jing; among them, 66 people overlap.
At the very top of the list, the name "Shen Guang" was prominently displayed, with a red circle drawn next to it in vermilion ink, indicating that Li Jing had specially marked him as a key candidate for cultivation.
This is not a simple list.
This is the foundation that Yang Yan has for himself to make a living in this Sui Dynasty!
"Keep it safe."
Yang Yan closed the roster and solemnly handed it to Li Mi, his eyes sharper than ever before: "Tell Li Jing and Qin Qiong that training will begin tonight. Drinking alcohol is forbidden in the army, but they can have meat for an extra meal tonight!"
……
The afterglow of the setting sun bathed the entire Daxingyuan training ground in a golden-red hue, and at this moment only 1,500 people remained on the training ground.
Qin Qiong and Li Jing walked side by side onto the command platform, with thirty figures standing behind them.
These thirty people were all outstanding individuals who had overcome the "mountain of knives" and lifted the "stone lock," and who had performed well in front of Li Jing's sand table.
Some of them were dressed in rags, covered in mud, and looked exhausted, but their eyes were completely different from the soldiers Yang Yan had seen last time.
They were no longer a disorganized mob, but thirty hungry wolves poised to pounce.
"Your Highness." Li Jing stepped forward and presented a heavy register with both hands.
There were no dense texts on it, only thirty names, each with a striking red circle drawn in vermilion next to it, and next to that, detailed notes in tiny characters on the person's strengths and weaknesses revealed in the sand table simulation: "good at surprise attacks", "tenacious", "more scheming than decisive", and "brave and calculating".
"Your Highness, the soldiers have been selected. They are still strong and their spirit is not yet cold. With a little training, they can be put to good use."
Li Jing's evaluation remained as restrained as ever, but the appreciation in his eyes was undeniable.
After an afternoon of collaboration, he gained a completely new understanding of Qin Qiong's unreasonable training methods, while Qin Qiong, in turn, felt awe for this seemingly weak scholar's ability to see through people's hearts and turn stones into gold with a few words.
The mutual respect between scholars and warriors created a unique scene on the training ground, bathed in the blood-red glow of the setting sun.
Yang Yan took the roster, his fingertips gently stroking the cool paper.
He looked at the elite force that was beginning to take shape before him, and at the eyes that burned with the desire for military merit and land, and nodded in satisfaction.
"Alright! In that case, let's proceed with the training as planned. There's not much time left."
"Yes, sir!" the generals responded in unison, their voices echoing across the land.
Just as Yang Yan was about to turn and step down from the stage, ending this long day, Li Jing suddenly stepped forward, lowered his voice, and said with a hint of barely perceptible anxiety, "Your Highness... may I speak with you in private."
Yang Yan raised an eyebrow and waved his hand to dismiss those around him, leaving only Li Mi by his side.
"What is it?"
Li Jing glanced around and said, "Your Highness, the impassioned speech just now named the 'Changning Breaking Formation Army'! This is the name of a private army! According to the laws of the court, all the local troops belong to the Zhechong Prefecture and are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War and the Twelve Guards."
"As a grandson of the emperor, it is understandable for Your Highness to recruit some advisors and counselors to assist you. However, to name an army after itself with an official title, and to do so under the name 'Breaking the Formation,' which is tantamount to a private army, is a grave violation of the laws of the court!"
Li Jing's words were like a thunderclap, instantly exploding in Yang Yan's mind.
Yang Yan's face, which had been showing some smugness, froze instantly, and his heart skipped a beat.
Damn!
Damn it!
How could I have made such a basic mistake!
As a modern time traveler, he was too easily overwhelmed by the atmosphere of cheering thousands of people, and subconsciously wanted to create his own "Yang Family Army" and "Yue Family Army".
But he forgot that this was the Sui Dynasty in the seventeenth year of the Kaihuang era!
Although Yang Jian, who sat on the dragon throne, created a prosperous era, he became extremely suspicious in his later years and valued military power more than his own life.
Why did Crown Prince Yang Yong fall out of favor? Besides his extravagant lifestyle, wasn't it because the slightest overstepping of the bound palace guards was seen as a threat?
Now, he has actually declared in public that he wants to establish a "Changning Breaking Army" that will only obey his orders.
This is simply courting death!
He had just finished dealing with the mess of participating in the scientific expedition when he handed Yang Guang a knife!
He just wants to slap himself a few times right now!
If this matter gets to the palace and is exaggerated by those with ulterior motives, then forget about going to Lingnan; he'll probably be counting lice in the Imperial Clan Court's jail tomorrow!
Cold sweat streamed down Yang Yan's back.
"No, we absolutely cannot show weakness in front of these people. If they think we are political idiots, the people's hearts that we have just won over may change again."
Yang Yan forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart, turned around, and looked at Li Jing.
"Pharmacist, you are indeed incredibly meticulous."
Yang Yan patted Li Jing on the shoulder, his tone calm as if everything was under control: "Do you think I've really lost my mind and don't understand the implications?"
Li Jing was taken aback, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes: "Your Highness means...?"