Zhao Xi once again stood on the main stage of the Guard Corps auditorium, looking at the two thousand guards below...

  "Enduring hardships and accumulating strength, preparing for war. The country is surrounded by enemies on all sides, as everyone knows. A soldier who has not seen blood on the battlefield cannot be called a qualified soldier. Now, the opportunity has been seized."

  "This expedition to the south is not a strong enemy, to be honest, in my heart, it's just considered as a military exercise. Some of you were selected from the Western Army, some were born in the Imperial Guard, and even more are new recruits. So, I chose this expedition as the first battle for the Imperial Guard... Let's squeeze a soft persimmon to try our hand."

  Zhao Xi said this and then paused...

  "Bang... Bang!"

  It was just this one sound that could evoke memories. With this one sound, Zhao Xi knew that the elite spirit of the Imperial Guard was not something that ordinary soldiers of the present time could compare to.

  "However, the prerequisite for the southern expedition is that the Imperial Guard must be reduced to one-tenth of its original size, with half of the Forbidden Troops suffering casualties during the exercise. I hope that the Imperial Guard will not make what I said in court a big talk, but a fact!"

  "The three-day deadline may be a bit short for the Guards, and since the exercise uses wooden sticks instead of military equipment and cannot use firearms, to some extent, it limits the performance of the Guards. At the same time, it can also verify the adaptability of the Guards in difficult conditions."

  "As for the war... once you join the army, you must be prepared to sacrifice your life for the country at all times, and know that there will come a day when you die on the battlefield. But I hope... that every single one of the Southern Expedition's Guards will return unscathed, this is also a request! And an order!"

  "Our dynasty does not like war, no one likes war, everyone wants their wives and children to live in peace and warmth, and pass a peaceful life. But the enemy does not think so, they always take our dynasty's tolerance as weakness, and our Great Song people's love for peace as fear of them."

  "Now, even the bandits of Guangnan, with just a few thousand men, dare to burn, kill and loot at will on our Great Song territory! This expedition is to tell them that our dynasty not only has elegant literature, but also fearless warriors who defend the land!"

  "Now, in Guangnan, the provincial capital of our dynasty has been occupied by the bandits, the people of our dynasty have been enslaved by the bandits, and the mountains and rivers of our dynasty have been devastated by the bandits' chaos, with white bones scattered all over the ground and wolf smoke everywhere! What should we do?"

  "War... War... War..."

  Zhao Xi initially wanted to use a calm tone, just casually chatting with everyone about the rehearsal and the expedition to the south.

  There was no pre-war mobilization program in this era, and Zhao Xi did it. He didn't mean to do pre-war mobilization, but as he spoke, the fighting spirit that had been hidden at the bottom of his heart was ignited by himself.

  His original era had no war, but the description of war in military history class was very vivid. As soon as Zhao Xi mentioned Guangnan, those images of war kept flashing in his mind...

  So he spoke more and more sonorously, with growing indignation, and his words took on the significance of a pre-war mobilization.

  "As a soldier, one's duty is to defend the country and protect the home. Now, the southern regions of our dynasty have been ravaged by the bandits, the officials of our dynasty have been slaughtered by the bandits, and the women of our dynasty have been harmed by the bandits..."

  "The messenger from Guangnan changes his story three times a day, the officials in the imperial court worry all day, and Your Majesty is even more concerned about the people of Guangnan..."

  A person's emotions are sometimes beyond rational control, just like Zhao Xi now.

  What was supposed to be mobilization, a premeditated conversation, but in the process of speaking, one's own words slowly replaced it, and truly had the emotions of going to war for the country, killing enemies and achieving merits.

  The best way to mobilize others is to be mobilized yourself. Zhao Xi has achieved this.

  Not to mention the soldiers, even the instructors who sat with him on the platform were moved by Zhao Xi's way of speaking, and some even had the idea of laying down their pens and taking up arms... what a joke.

  At least one thing is certain: Lv Gong will not advise himself to stay in Bianliang.

  Since he asked for war on the court, the soldiers of the Imperial Guard were boiling, but Lv Gongzhu was detained by Zhao Xi as soon as he arrived at the Imperial Guard and was delayed for half a day.

  The Imperial Guard is going to war and he agrees, after so many years of training, it's time to see the results. But for the Crown Prince to go to war... this risk is not necessary.

  There is another person who can completely take on the role of restraining Di Hanchen, and at the same time lead the Imperial Guard to fight... He didn't know that this was exactly what Zhao Xi did not want to see.

  Now that the lecture is over, Lv Gongzhu and the people of Guangnan have all felt a sense of urgency, to the point where they think that scholars should not spend their days reciting poetry, but instead should join the army and fight for the country.

  As for His Highness the Crown Prince, going on an expedition to Guangnan is also nothing out of the ordinary.

  "Your Highness, the Imperial Guard is going out to battle, first we must win over the Forbidden Troops..."

  The meeting was over, and the small gathering had just begun. As soon as they sat down, Mr. Lü spoke up.

  "Distrust of the Praetorian Guard?"

  "No, neither Tengri nor Tenmu has been mobilized. Gongzhao thinks that Wenxianggong will gather an army from the west of the capital and the Imperial Guard to counterattack."

  "Gong Zhong once served as the Tongpan of Xingyang, and also had an understanding of the military situation in Jingxi Road. Although it was not comparable to the Western Army, as a second line of defense against the Western bandits, training had never been slackened."

  "Guang Fu is a man who knows military affairs, and it's just right that he knows the military situation on the west road of the capital. Moreover, if Wen Gong gathers the imperial guards near Xingyang, they will inevitably form an advantageous position."

  "Your Highness, the wager is that if the Imperial Guard suffers casualties of three-tenths, it will be considered a loss, whereas the Forbidden Troops need to suffer casualties of five-tenths... The ratio is eleven to one. Your Highness, this is not fair to the morale of others, and it's destroying the prestige of the Imperial Guard. In this exercise, the Imperial Guard wants to win... It's hard!"

  Originally worried about Zhao Xi going to war, now worried that the Imperial Guard will lose in the exercise. This change is good, not only is it a change for the better regarding going to war that makes Zhao Xi satisfied, but most satisfying is the sense of belonging these officials have towards the Imperial Guard. This is what Zhao Xi cares about the most.

  "Wars never break out when everything is prepared, often they come unexpectedly. This is a drill and it's just in time to test the effectiveness of the guards' training over the years. If we can't win in this drill, then there's no point in sending the guards on an expedition."

  Indeed, Zhao Xi needs a shocking debut to make the Imperial Guard astonishing in the exercise, stunning the entire imperial court and the national army, so as to spread the seeds of the Imperial Guard model throughout the country.

  If due to the situation of waiting for labor with ease, the guard camp loses, even if it goes out to kill the enemy and make achievements, it will not achieve Zhao Xi's goal.

  Lü Gong had a sense of what Zhao Xi was after all these years, and he had also discussed it with his older brother. However, he had never been part of the Imperial Guard, so he would never know what it was really like. So, his brothers just listened to him talk.

  This exercise... perhaps it's really as Your Highness said, if we can't win, whether or not we go to war is truly meaningless.

  ……

  "Zi Rong, is there news from Guangnan?"

  Zhao Xi remembered that Su Song had an uncle who worked in Guangnan West Road...

  "Your Majesty has been on my mind, the latest family letter was a month ago."

  Su Song had already made adjustments these days, he knew that his uncle's family was probably in trouble.

  "Don't worry, I'm going to Guangnan, and I'll be back in a month. By then, you can reunite with your family."

  "May I also go with you on this campaign?"

  Originally peaceful heart, Su Song was disturbed by Zhao Xi's words, and the heart that had been pressing to rush to Guangnan burst out again.

  "As one of the guards, it's natural to follow the camp on an expedition."