The First Lackey Under The Empress

“Thump, thump, thump…”

The sound of drums on the military training field grew fainter and fainter, until it disappeared completely.

The steady voice of the white-robed military officer, the son of the Duke of Zhenguo, revered as "Young Duke," clearly echoed across the training field.

At the same time, a group of middle and lower-ranking officers echoed in unison:

“We request General Zhao to perform martial display!”

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

In an instant, within the formation of thousands of people, countless gazes of soldiers converged, their eyes filled with strange excitement.

Zhao Du'an met the gazes of countless eyes, his expression natural, the corners of his mouth imperceptibly curving upward.

His gaze fell on Tang Ping, who was holding an iron-bodied bow, and he smiled with apparent surprise at the two people beside him at the gleaming armor:

“Can anyone explain what tradition this is?”

Beside him, Mo Chou's face also looked extremely unpleasant.

Her gaze swept over Tang Ping's armor, and she looked at the commander of the Divine Machine Battalion with unkind eyes, slowly saying:

“Commander Shi, would you care to explain? I am also very curious about this so-called tradition.”

Thump!

Shi Meng, a burly figure like a small mountain, rolled his Adam's apple and swallowed hard, clearly sensing the murderous intent in the "Female Prime Minister's" eyes:

“I…”

The autumn weather was no longer hot, but he suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

Only one thought remained in his mind: This is bad!

Xue Shence had called him over before, specifically saying not to give Zhao Du'an any leverage, and he had repeatedly emphasized this after returning.

Even this Young Duke had given instructions.

Unexpectedly, the senior generals were still obedient, but this group of middle and lower-ranking military officers rebelled.

At this thought, a surge of anger rose in Shi Meng's heart, and the look in his eyes towards Tang Ping became somewhat gloomy.

He realized that he had been too lenient with this son of a meritorious family in the past, to the point of losing his authority.

“Tang Ping, who allowed you to speak like that? Someone, drag him down!”

Shi Meng scolded in a deep voice.

Beside him, a group of senior generals' expressions also changed drastically, and they were about to take action.

“Wait!”

Zhao Du'an raised his hand to interrupt, his face full of smiles, as if he couldn't see any anger at all.

Being in the military, he was still calm and composed:

“General Shi, why be so angry? This general has come to the Divine Machine Battalion today to take up his post, and is now a member of the military, so there is no need to shy away from any traditions, ha, this general would also like to hear about it.”

A Vice-Centurion Commander could barely be called a "General."

Shi Meng looked embarrassed and had no choice but to explain:

“There is indeed an old rule in the military that when a new general takes office, to show the spirit of the Da Yu military officers, they must perform a martial display for the entire army… mostly demonstrating archery skills…

However, this outdated and陋習 has been abolished for many years, and it is only an unwritten rule… Vice-Centurion Commander Zhao need not pay attention to it.”

Mo Chou's expression changed, and she then remembered that there was indeed such a rule.

It was just that no one had mentioned it for many years.

Therefore, no one thought that this group of military officers, who were scheming to embarrass Zhao Du'an, would actually dig up this outdated rule.

Catching everyone off guard.

“Oh, is that so…”

Zhao Du'an nodded, looking strangely at the white-robed captain, and smiled:

“Tang Ping… I know you, is the Duke of Zhenguo your father?”

Hearing this, the young military officer wearing silver helmet and holding a strong bow slowly raised his head.

Tang Ping's eyes were sharp, and although he called himself a junior general, his eyes and demeanor were not inferior to Zhao Du'an.

His eyes carried a hint of scrutiny, obviously meeting the well-known Zhao Du'an for the first time.

His expression was full of arrogance, with a hint of contempt hidden in his eyes:

“Reporting to Vice-Centurion Commander Zhao, I am Captain Tang Ping, there is no son of a duke in the military. If the Vice-Centurion Commander is unwilling to perform a martial display, this junior general will retreat and not be an eyesore in front of the officers.”

Every word was cold.

Every sentence was firm.

As Mo Chou said, the Da Yu military discipline was strict, so even if they intentionally targeted him, this "Young Duke" used a method that complied with the rules.

At this moment, he was even using retreat as a form of advance, putting on an obedient appearance.

However, everyone present knew that in front of these thousands of soldiers, if Zhao Du'an really refused to abide by the tradition and ordered this group of lower-level young military officers to retreat.

Then in less than a day, this newly appointed Vice-Centurion Commander would become the laughingstock of the entire army.

The military never welcomes cowards!

After Tang Ping finished speaking, seeing Zhao Du'an pondering in silence, he shook his head, the color of disdain in his eyes becoming more and more intense, and turned to leave.

He thought that this Zhao, who was famous and well-known, was indeed as unbearable as those military officers and soldiers said.

Yes, unbearable!

As the son of the Duke of Zhenguo, Tang Ping was a very pure soldier.

He was not at all interested in the struggles in the court.

But after all, he was a member of a meritorious military family, so he was not so short-sighted as to really despise the civil officials.

In fact, even during the days when Zhao Du'an's reputation was at its worst, Tang Ping did not have much ill feeling towards him.

Because… he looked down on him!

Yes, with his vision, although he was only a mere captain for the time being, he never felt that the Emperor's favorite minister was worthy of attention.

It was not until recently that Zhao Du'an rose to prominence that this name came into his sight, but that was all he knew.

What really made him pay attention was that recently, many of his comrades in the army mentioned this person.

In their words, they revealed many scandalous things about this person.

Black-hearted and vicious, and always seeking revenge for the smallest grievance, was not even worth mentioning.

Tang Ping was never a moral saint either.

It was just that after hearing from his comrades that this person relied on his body to get to the top.

His cultivation was barely enough to enter the mortal realm, but he relied on his face to become a favorite minister, which inevitably made him feel ashamed.

What really angered the young military officers of the Divine Machine Battalion was the imperial edict promoting him.

Jumping from the sixth rank to the fourth rank, and even parachuting into the Divine Machine Battalion to take a position.

This news instantly ignited the anger of the young military officers.

Since ancient times, anyone who could hold a fourth-rank military officer position had either made meritorious contributions in the army, or was proficient in military tactics, or at least had outstanding martial arts skills.

But a mortal of the early stage, without any military achievements, relied on the so-called "merits" of catching rebellious parties and fighting court officials to crush a group of military officers, how could it not make people feel unbalanced?

A group of restless young military officers immediately found the Young Duke to express their dissatisfaction.

As a son of a meritorious military family, Tang Ping naturally shared the same hatred.

That was why there was today's show of force in front of the entire army.

…

At this moment, Tang Ping shook his head and turned to leave, but was suddenly stopped.

“Since it is a tradition, there is no reason for this general not to abide by it.” Zhao Du'an said with a smile.

Tang Ping stopped in his tracks and turned around in surprise.

He was surprised that this embroidered pillow with low cultivation would actually dare to accept.

Mo Chou was also stunned for a moment, frowning, wanting to say something, but she held back.

She wanted to remind him that the iron-bodied bows in the army were different from ordinary wooden bows, they were not in the same class at all.

On the battlefield, life and death were instantaneous, and the soldiers used bows that were labor-saving and light.

As for this kind of large bow used for martial display, it was difficult to draw without amazing strength.

Even if you could draw it, it would be difficult to control the accuracy because of lack of training.

Although Zhao Du'an had also served in the Imperial Guards, he was a guard in the palace.

He knew archery, but to say how good his archery skills were… it wasn't that good.

She was worried that Zhao Du'an would not be used to this iron-bodied bow and would make a fool of himself in public, which would be worse than not accepting the challenge.

“Vice-Centurion Commander Zhao, don't argue with him…”

Shi Meng wanted to dissuade him, but was stopped by a look from Zhao Du'an.

The next second, he saw Zhao Du'an stepping forward and taking the iron bow, which was almost half a person tall, from Tang Ping's hand with one hand.

As soon as he got it, his wrist sank slightly!

The weight was evident.

He couldn't even hold the bow… Tang Ping shook his head, stepped back a few steps, and gave a look behind him.

Immediately, a young officer who followed him ran out and erected targets at fifty steps, one hundred steps, one hundred and fifty steps, and two hundred steps away.

“General, please.”

The Young Duke in white robe and silver helmet stepped back a few steps, raised his hand to make a gesture of invitation, and said even louder:

“Cheer for the General!”

“Thump, thump, thump…”

Immediately, a low drum sound rang out again.

In an instant, the atmosphere on the training field suddenly became serious, and thousands of soldiers looked at him intently.

Zhao Du'an just smiled, still looking as usual, and casually drew a cooked iron arrow with pure white tail feathers from the quiver.

He bent the bow and nocked the arrow.

“Creak—”

A low and sharp sound rang out, the bow slowly drawing into a semicircle—this was the normal level of a mortal martial artist.

“Buzz.”

Zhao Du'an shot an arrow, and the arrow pulled out an afterimage under the powerful kinetic energy.

It was a high arc, passing by the edge of the target one hundred steps away in full view, and stuck straight into the ground.

With a puff, it sank in halfway, and the tail feathers vibrated gently.

Missed the target.

At this moment, the drum sound stopped abruptly, and the enthusiastic atmosphere on the training field also stagnated!

Those young officers who were watching the show were also stunned.

It seemed that they did not expect that this embroidered pillow's archery skills were really mediocre to this point.

Only a hundred steps away, not to mention hitting the bullseye, even hitting the target was impossible.

That's it?

And you're worthy of being a fourth-rank Vice-Centurion Commander?

“Chuckle…”

Vaguely, someone seemed to chuckle in the crowd.

Mo Chou and Shi Meng also changed their expressions slightly, without gloating, only a headache.

They didn't know how to end it next.

Tang Ping was also stunned for a moment, and the look in his eyes towards Zhao Du'an could not hide his contempt, but he did not sneer.

He just suddenly felt that his efforts to make this show of force seemed a bit superfluous.

Such a mediocre person…

However, in the eyes of countless people, whether they were contemptuous, mocking, stunned, or confused.

Zhao Du'an just calmly put down the iron bow and smiled, asking the people around him:

“How was my arrow?”

“Clap… clap clap…”

In the silent atmosphere, Hou Renmeng and Qian Kerou clapped and cheered at the same time, their expressions serious:

“The Lord hit the bullseye with one arrow, amazingly talented.”