That's the way it is, without saying it out loud, but that's basically what it means: The rehearsal is over, and all that's left is to waste time, similar to the garbage time at the end of a game.

  No choice, although some posturing is involved, the imperial court also has to have some credibility. Since it was said that it would take three days, then it will be three days. On this point, those present all tacitly agree.

  As for the Imperial Guards searching the mountains, let them continue their search... it can also be considered a punishment for this exercise's crushing defeat.

  Then, Wen Yanbo started brewing tea...

  Zhao Xi had never drunk tea soup of this era before, and really couldn't stand the taste. It's called tasting tea, but actually... it's just boiled water with seasonings.

  Zhao Xi had been waiting for these two to ask about the Imperial Guard, but... they didn't.

  Pulling the capital to the west, pulling the Western Army, pulling the chaos in Guangnan and the bandits, even pulling the reason behind the formation of such a large scale of bandits. It's just not mentioning the Imperial Guard...

  I'm speechless! Zhao Xi didn't want to and couldn't bring it up himself. On the one hand, the Crown Prince's premature involvement in politics was a problem, but the key point was that for twenty years, the imperial court had not discussed military affairs, which was decided by these two after their missions to Liao and Xia.

  Drank a lot of salty soup, dragged out a lot of idle talk, nothing serious, all vague and ambiguous, saying some irrelevant things.

  Wait until the second meal of the day...

  "Your Highness, there's still time..."

  When Zhao Xie Lin left, Fu Ye saw him off outside the gate and said this inexplicable sentence.

  "Your Highness, there's no rush."

  Lü Gong also said so.

  What's going on? Can't you just hurry up? What do you mean by not being in a rush? Even someone as cunning as Niu Zhigao dares to stir up trouble, let alone the great Liao and Xia...

  Old man, you are really lucky to have such virtuous ministers...

  Zhao Xie can understand.

  The Jingsi Road Imperial Guards have all gathered at the top of the mountain, densely packed with nothing but Jingsi Road Imperial Guards, almost shoulder to shoulder and back to back. But where is the Guard Corps?

  Time and time again, people were sent to his tent, but Wen Shangong never responded...

  Almost 20,000 people followed the mountain top like that, and couldn't stop. The handsome account didn't give the order to stop searching, which means the task is still on, the previous order has not been cancelled, so it must continue to be executed.

  It wasn't until nightfall... Tonight, the entire Western Capital Road Garrison finally had a good night's sleep.

  At this time, even if the Imperial Guard had returned to Bianliang, the Imperial Army would still have lost the exercise.

  It's all over, I'm exhausted like a dog, no sentry was arranged, and I went straight to sleep.

  Feng Bo didn't bother with this group of trash, constantly deducing the process of this exercise... Alas! Nothing to say, can only blame his own bad luck.

  Di Qing, upon receiving the imperial edict, ordered his deputy Yang Wenguang to tidy up the troops, while he himself took a few attendants and rushed to the capital.

  Before going into battle, there must be careful planning in the imperial court, this is a usual practice.

  Although Di Qing had some reservations about this approach, he could only follow it under the current circumstances.

  Not mentioning his birth, if he is a military general, then he must follow the strategic plan set by the imperial court...

  It's really helpless, but it's just like this.

  Halfway through the journey, Di Qing had already heard that the Crown Prince was going to lead an expedition in person... What's all this commotion about?

  A literary minister who points fingers and paints feet can still be accepted, after all, the national dynasty has always been like this. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to meet a literary minister who can discuss military affairs and easily destroy the bandits.

  Let the prince follow... That's a body worth ten thousand gold! The battlefield is unpredictable, no one can judge what will happen... Is it more important to prioritize the prince's safety or to annihilate the rebels?

  Undoubtedly, the safety of the Crown Prince is paramount. However, this will inevitably affect the strategy and even the march, thus missing the opportunity to attack.

  Alas! Isn't Wen Gong also considered knowledgeable about military affairs? Moreover, Pang Gong is even more indebted to himself for his knowledge and is well-versed in the art of war, why did the imperial court allow such a thing to happen?

  ...and still determined by the outcome of the exercise...

  As for the Eastern Palace Guard, Di Qing also knew that the Zhen and Zhou families had sent their sons and nephews to participate in the selection, which was originally intended as a favor for the future. Therefore, Di Qing did not think much of the so-called drill...and understood the purpose of the officials in the imperial court...to let the Crown Prince understand what the battlefield is like, and make him retreat with difficulty.

  Three days of exercise... Di Qing learned about the exercise time at the post station and hurriedly rushed to the capital.

  He hoped that on the day he arrived in the capital, he could grant the seal and set out, at which time this exercise would have yielded results. It was just in time for the court to send off the Wenchen or the Neishi to monitor the army.

  Thirty miles away, it was already late afternoon, so Di Qing stopped to rest. He would conserve his energy and wait until the next day to meet with the Emperor in high spirits.

  "The Crown Prince's military tactics are divine, you people didn't listen to your superiors' words, what a loss indeed..."

  "Liu Yi said it was easy, but that's 25,000 versus 2,000. Who would have thought the Imperial Guards of Xijing Road were so incompetent? Even this Wen Gong is..."

  Suddenly felt a bit reckless, and stopped talking. Scolding the Imperial Guard is fine, but scolding the Prime Minister... that's a civil official, have to be careful not to get reprimanded.

  This is a government post house, and the people who stay here are all officials of the imperial court. Don't provoke trouble with just one or two words of disrespect. Even if it doesn't violate the law, arguing a few sentences is also unnecessary.

  "This young master, are you referring to the Eastern Palace Guard and the Jingxi Road Imperial Army's drill?"

  Di Qing saw that the young man who was speaking was not very old, and he wasn't wearing official attire, but rather casual clothes. He pondered over how to address him for half a day, and after listening for a while, he finally opened his mouth to ask questions.

  Huh? Martial artist?

  It's not a battlefield, Di Qing didn't wear armor... nor could he wear armor. However, judging from his attire, one glance was enough to tell that he was a military general.

  Moreover, his indelible characteristics are quite eye-catching...

  This young man was indeed in high spirits, but he stopped abruptly because it involved Mr. Wen.

  Now someone asks, still a should be unclear what, suddenly came vigor.

  The key is that the other party is a martial artist, so there's no need to be reserved.

  "That's a long story..."

  "The commander will be informed in detail..."

  What's with you, Commander? Hmm? The Commanding Officer...

  "...the Wen Xiang Gong assembled the Jingxi Road Forbidden Army in Xingyang, and did not leave the camp to guard the East Palace. The Crown Prince immediately led a night march, arriving at Wanyin Mountain that evening..."

  "...after killing one of them at night, the Crown Prince led the guard camp to sneak down the mountain again, gathered outside Xiangyang City, and spent the night in the forbidden army camp..."

  ……

  This narrative, a supplementary narrative, vividly describes the rehearsal of Wan Yinshan, making people feel as if they were on the scene.

  Others are just listening to stories, but what Di Qing listened to was the prince's deployment of troops in the entire exercise and the military literacy of the guards.

  Continuously charging for two hundred miles? That's an exaggeration. However, later on, hiding during the day and emerging at night, several times entering Wan Yun Mountain... This tactical deployment was something even Di Qing wouldn't dare say he could use so freely.

  Does His Highness really know military affairs? Or is there someone else helping him behind the scenes?

  Lü Gongzhu, Su Song and Han Cong, I've never heard of that one who became famous in the imperial court for military affairs. Could it be that you are actually the Crown Prince?

  Di Qing was perplexed. Even if he were to personally command the Jingsi Road Imperial Guards, he wouldn't dare say that they would win this exercise.

  Beyond everyone's expectations.