I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 281 Li Dajian

King Xuan couldn't help but mentally torment Emperor Pingyuan. If they weren't all from the same ancestor, King Xuan would have wanted to curse Emperor Pingyuan's ancestors for eighteen generations.

“Tang Zheng has been stationed in the southwest for more than ten years, and his power is deeply rooted. We cannot easily start a war without a foolproof plan,” Jiang Yiming sighed. “This battle is really not going to be easy.”

General Chen was impatient. “The southwest is remote and has less than 50,000 troops to support. We have 300,000 elite troops in the northwest. One spit from each of them could drown the southwest army.”

Jiang Yiming asked coldly, "The soldiers have all left, who will guard the northwest border?"

General Chen was taken aback. Oh, right, there are those two bastards, the Turks and the Tibetans.

How to fix it?
Tang Zhao rolled his eyes. "If no one is going to guard it, then so be it. Before Father goes to the southwest, he can just move all the people in the northwest to Luoyang."

King Xuan: . . . . . .

What nonsense are you talking about, you little kid?

Tang Zhao was so angry he was at his wit's end. They had gone to great lengths to protect the territory and people of Dayu, but Emperor Pingyuan was undermining them from behind.

Having an emperor like that is truly the worst luck imaginable!

However, even worse was yet to come. Half a month later, just as King Xuan led 70,000 troops from the Northwest to the south to quell the rebellion, the imperial court sent a military supervisor.

Tang Zhao:. . . . . .

She was tired, really.

As soon as Li Dajian got off the carriage, a mouthful of sand was blown in by the strong wind.

"Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!" Li Dajian spat out the sand in his mouth, but dust from the Northwest still lingered there. "Quick, quick, bring us some water."

General Chen stood still, and only after Gu Ci kicked him did he slowly scoop up a bowl of water.

Li Dajian rinsed his mouth with water and felt better. Looking at the yellow dust and sand everywhere, Li Dajian couldn't help but tear up.

He was truly risking everything for the emperor's mandate and his future.

"Who is in charge of the Northwest Army now?"

Gu Ci stepped forward and saluted, saying, "This humble general."

Although Li Dajian was the military supervisor, second only to the commander-in-chief in the army, he dared not show off in front of Gu Ci, a prince and grandson of the emperor. He immediately flicked his whisk and said, "Your Highness, there is no need for such formalities."

Gu Ci said expressionlessly, "In the military, background doesn't matter, only rank matters."

Li Dajian's expression turned somewhat unpleasant after Gu Ci's rebuttal. However, he knew that Gu Ci was unfamiliar with the place and could not be treated as casually as he would in Luoyang. He could only secretly remember this and wait to find a handle to complain to His Majesty!
Gu Ci was completely unaware. "Does the Commander-in-Chief wish to inspect the military camp?"

Li Dajian's mind raced. His biggest goal for this trip was to find out the details of the Northwest Army, and their indestructible weapons were of paramount importance.

However, after nearly two months of arduous travel, Li Dajian felt as if his body had been run over and then reassembled, and he was uncomfortable all over. All he wanted to do was lie in bed and sleep for three days and three nights.

Thinking that there would be plenty of time in the future, Li Dajian refused, saying, "Let's skip it today. I've been traveling for so long and want to rest as soon as possible."

Gu Ci did not insist and immediately led Li Dajian and his party to the newly established military tent.

Li Dajian frowned as he looked at the simple furnishings inside the military tent. He wanted to say something, but swallowed his words under Gu Ci's cold gaze.

Fine, I'll just have to make do tonight.

Li Dajian lay on the wooden bed, his back and buttocks aching from the pressure. He tossed and turned for a long time before finally falling asleep as dawn broke.

Just as Li Dajian was drifting off to sleep, a thunderous voice boomed in his ears, "Commander!"

Li Dajian sat up abruptly, his bare feet still shaken. "What happened? Have the Turks attacked?"

Li Dajian rushed out of the military tent while putting on his clothes.

General Chen quickly pulled the man away, "What is the Commander-in-Chief doing?" Li Dajian struggled with all his might but could not break free from the hand gripping his wrist, "Let go of me! The Turks are here! I must return to the capital to inform His Majesty!"

General Chen curled his lip, thinking, "How dare someone so cowardly be a military governor?"

"What did the governor say? When did the Turks arrive?"

"The Turks didn't come?"

General Chen affirmed, "No."

"No, that's good, that's good," Li Dajian said, his heart easing and his legs giving way as he collapsed to the ground. He murmured, "That's great, that's great, I don't have to die."

General Chen stared wide-eyed, watching with great interest.

Half an incense stick's time passed before Li Dajian finally calmed down. He stood up, barely managing to maintain his composure as the governor, and rebuked him, "Since there are no enemy troops attacking, why did you wake me up in the middle of the night?"

General Chen lifted the curtain and pointed to the gradually brightening sky outside. "Commander, it's already 3:45 AM."

Li Dajian retorted angrily, "So what? You trespassed into my tent, and I have reason to suspect you of having ulterior motives and intending to assassinate me!"

No wonder she came from the palace; she may not be good at anything else, but her ability to label others is top-notch.

General Chen sneered, "Commander, please allow me to report. The Northwest Army's rule is to get up at 5:00 AM and do drills at 1:15 AM. Since you are not at the drill ground, I was afraid you might have missed the time, so I specifically asked you to remind you."

"What does the Northwest Army's morning exercises have to do with our family?"

“The Governor’s words are incorrect,” General Chen argued. “Now that the Prince is not here, all major affairs in the Northwest are under the command of the General of the Cavalry and the Governor. As a member of the Northwest Army, the Governor should naturally participate in drills and training just like the soldiers of the Northwest Army.”

General Chen added, "When the Prince was alive, he also drilled and trained with the Northwest Army without interruption for a single day."

Li Dajian, his mouthful of excuses shut, trembled with anger. "I, the Governor-General, am not going. Let's see what you can do to me!"

General Chen loosened his muscles and said, "Please forgive me, Commander!"

"What are you trying to do?" Just as Li Dajian was about to run away, General Chen grabbed him and hoisted him onto his shoulder.

"Help! Someone's trying to harm our family!"

Ignoring Li Dajian's shouts, General Chen carried the man all the way to the training ground before putting him down.

Li Dajian was so hard that General Chen's shoulder blade pressed against him that he almost vomited up his dinner from the previous night, and he sat on the ground coughing violently.

"General, the Commander-in-Chief has arrived. This humble general is off to train."

"Go."

Gu Ci walked up to Li Dajian and handed him the water bag.

Li Dajian took the water bag and gulped down several mouthfuls of water before he felt better.

Just as he was about to complain, Gu Ci coldly said, "The entire camp will be on duty at 1:15 a.m. The commander-in-chief is late today."

Li Dajian was taken aback.

"Considering that the Commander-in-Chief only arrived yesterday and was unaware of this military regulation, today's punishment will be waived. However, if he is late again tomorrow, he will be dealt with according to the military regulations!"

Seeing that Li Dajian was still sitting on the ground, Gu Ci pulled him up and said, "Run twenty laps around the training ground. You can have breakfast whenever you finish."

Li Dajian stared wide-eyed in horror, pointing to the training ground, which was as big as two football fields, and stammered, "Run, how many laps?"

Gu Ci patiently repeated, "Twenty laps, the last ten, add ten laps."

"Don't even think about slacking off. There are people specifically recording the number of laps you run. If anyone is found to have falsified their numbers, they will be punished with thirty strokes of the cane!"

Li Dajian's vision went black.