Chapter 29: Gongsun Zan's Ambition

  "Set!" With a loud shout from the middle-aged captain at the front of the array, the small flag in his hand swung fiercely, and the 200 guards immediately stopped their formation exercise. Each one tightly grasped the weapons in their hands, standing upright with their heads held high, exuding an air of strict discipline.

  Always holding the long knife at his waist, Mao Zong stood in front of the formation and felt a sense of grandeur, thinking that he had already become a general, inspecting the elite soldiers under his command, ready to charge onto the battlefield at any moment to achieve great things, using the war knife in his hand to cut out a bright future.

  "Master." The team leader quickly walked to Mao Zong's front, bowed and saluted. Mao Zong nodded proudly, turned around and came to the front of Mao Qin and others, clasped his hands and saluted: "The exercise is over, please ask Mr. Lu and Li Zhizhong for instructions."

  Lu Zhi and Li Ding exchanged a glance, modestly said a few words, Li Ding smiled: "Sir, when you were in Jiujiang, you went through the war array, I'm sure you have a unique insight into military affairs, why not analyze for us the difference between the elite troops of Jiangnan and the brave warriors of our northern border?"

  Lu Zhi chuckled and said, "Governor Zhang has overpraised me. I'm just a bookworm, how would I know anything about military affairs? However, when the people are not thinking of rebellion, and virtue and righteousness prevail, they will naturally submit to authority. As for the difference between north and south, I do have some personal experience with that. In Jiangnan, there are many mountains and forests, and vast grasslands, which makes it inconvenient for cavalry, so infantry becomes the main force. But in the northern border, it's different - the endless plains face off against the nomadic tribes who excel at archery on horseback, making cavalry the main force. However, between my Han army and the nomads, although we may be slightly inferior in horsemanship and archery, our infantry formations are our strong point. These two hundred brave warriors, although they're just guarding a village, in my opinion, embody the advantages of my Han army." He looked around, particularly glancing at Mao Qin, and smiled: "If all the families in Zhuo County had such village guards, we would have more to rely on when facing the nomads."

  Mao Qin was overjoyed upon hearing this and hurriedly said a few humble words. As Lu Zhi, being able to say something to this extent was already giving him face.

  "You're overpraising me, sir."

  Li Ding glanced at Mao Qin, who was smiling, and slightly raised the corner of his mouth: "What you said is very true, as a guardian of the village, these strong men are indeed strict. However, Gaoyang is not comparable to the Mao family's manor after all, to defend such a large area, I'm afraid it's not an easy task. Yan Jun, since you have a good understanding of the Hu people, why don't you also give us your comments?"

  Yan Rou bowed slightly, with a hint of courtesy and a smile: "Li Jun is indeed far-sighted and wise, just as Mr. Lu said. The distinction between the north and south cannot be underestimated. When facing the Hu people, infantry is naturally indispensable, but having only infantry is not enough. The brave warriors of the Mao family are well-trained and can be considered elite soldiers. This is probably also due to the legacy of Western Mao's martial spirit. As for other tribes, I'm afraid they may not have such excellent guards."

  Ma Qianhua raised an eyebrow, understanding Yan Rou's meaning, but he was also very satisfied with the politeness in Yan Rou's words towards Xi Mao. In fact, he didn't want to conflict with the Hu people at all, and it was enough for him to seize the opportunity to show off among the four Maos in Zhuo County.

  "Mr. Yan is overpraising." Mao Qin bowed repeatedly and smiled politely: "Please give me more guidance."

  Yan Rou stroked the short whiskers under his chin, and a confident smile appeared on his dark red face. He paused for a moment, then smiled and said: "Master Zhuang, after seeing your estate's martial arts training, I suddenly felt a bit itchy, and I'd like to exchange blows with your brave warriors. May I? Yan Mou is fortunate to have some fame on the grasslands, and has fought many battles against the Hu people. He would very much like to compare the bravery of Han and Hu warriors."

  This was originally a planned thing, Mao Qin Yan had different opinions, but now the situation has changed. At this moment, Wu Jun Hou, who should have come out to accept Yan Rou's challenge, is nowhere to be found. Among the remaining people, there is no one who can replace Wu Jun Hou. Although Mao Niang's martial skills are good enough, having a daughter come out to fight in her place is essentially a negation of the Mao family's protection of their village.

  Mao Qin hesitated for a moment.

  Lu Zhi and Li Ding exchanged a confused glance, thinking to themselves that they had already agreed on everything, so why was Mao Qin suddenly looking like this? Even Yan Rou looked puzzled, casting her gaze at Li Ding and raising an eyebrow. Li Ding furrowed his brow, leaned in close to Mao Qin, and asked in a low voice, "Master, is there something wrong?"

  Mao Qin was very embarrassed, hesitated for a while, just about to speak, Mao Jie suddenly walked over quickly, saluted Li Ding, and then winked at Mao Qin. Mao Qin hurriedly apologized and followed Mao Jie to take two steps aside.

  "Ah, Weng, Wu Jun is waiting in the valley." Mao Qiang said softly.

  "Then don't let him come?" Ma Qinlong exclaimed in exasperation.

  "He can't come." Ma Jiao didn't bother to explain, and continued: "He said he found someone to replace him in battle, but there's no absolute guarantee, so he hopes Gong Sun Zan will go first."

  Ma Qin's eyebrows rose, and he immediately understood. Gong Sun's martial skills were indeed good, if he could win over Yan Rou, then the person Wu Jun had found would lose, and the Ma family's face would be saved.

  "Is he looking for someone to replace him?" Ma Qin glanced around, "Who is it?"

  "He is also a student who has come to study." Mao Jian shook his head and said, "He is talking to him about something, he will be here in a moment."

  Mao Qian glanced at Mao Jie with a suspicious look, and Mao Jie sighed. She also felt that the matter of Wu Junhou was not handled properly, and now someone had been temporarily found to take care of some things on the other side, but it seemed that this grasp was indeed not great. It seems that we can only rely on Gongsun Zan now.

  "If it can't be helped, then I'll go instead." Mao Jie said in a low voice.

  "Nonsense." Mao Qin glared at Mao Jie with displeasure: "Although my Mao family isn't a family of poets or scholars, we are still a prominent clan in Zhuo County. How can you, a woman, engage in combat with someone? Withdraw! Go ask Wu Junhou again what's going on, and why he dares not come out to meet people."

  Mao Jie rolled her eyes speechlessly and retreated with a somewhat disheartened look. Mao Qin called Mao Zong over and instructed him on a few matters, and although Mao Zong was somewhat perplexed, he quickly went to find Gongsun Zan. Mao Qin turned to Li Ding and explained a couple of things, but Li Ding didn't take it seriously, only smiling and gazing at the fine sweat on Mao Qin's forehead with an air of profundity, nodding his head.

  Yan Rou said nothing, got up and walked to the side of his war horse, mounted it, took the long-handled spear from the guard's hand, held the spear with one hand, urged the horse forward, and headed towards one end of the empty space that had been prepared. At the same time, Gongsun Zan also sensed that something was slightly amiss, but he didn't think much of it either. He mounted his horse, holding the double-edged iron spear in his hand, lightly kicked the horse's belly, and the white horse spread its four hooves, quickly heading towards the other end of the empty space.

  Two men, one hundred and fifty paces apart, each adjusted their warhorse, held the iron spear in hand, and made preparations for attack. Gong Sun Zan tied the reins to the saddle, holding the spear with both hands, standing proudly. He looked at Yan Rou, who was wearing a fiery red cloak in the distance, his chest filled with battle intent. His long-held wish was to burn away the great horse thieves that roamed the desert, and although it wasn't leading elite cavalry to sweep across the plains now, being able to fight against Yan Rou could be considered a prelude.

  As long as Yan Rou is defeated, his own prestige will soon spread throughout the grasslands. This time back in Liaoxi, he won't be a small book assistant, bowing his head between papers every day. Just thinking about this, Gongsun Zan felt excited and suddenly thought of Dingyuan Hou Banshan's famous saying.

  "Can a great man long be confined to his writing desk?"

  Gongsun Zan suddenly thought of Liu Xiu's beautiful calligraphy, a hint of disdainful smile rose to the corner of his mouth, and his eyes swept over, only to find that Liu Xiu, who had not appeared until now, was already standing shoulder to shoulder with Liu Bei, and when he looked over, both of them raised their hands in greeting, although their expressions could not be seen clearly, but presumably they were cheering him on.

  Shu Zuo, you do it yourself. What I want is to gallop across the battlefield and be enfeoffed as a marquis or appointed as a general. Gong Sun Zan lightly spat out a mouthful of air, suddenly raised the iron spear in his hand, let out a clear whistle, and fiercely kicked the horse's belly with his war boots. The white horse let out a long whinny and suddenly accelerated.

  Note: Recommended by Jiang this Wednesday, requesting everyone's support, three updates today.

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