For state affairs, there was the Grand Tutor. The Emperor who hadn’t yet taken personal control of government had no qualification to speak.
Before Eunuch Qi could speak, Principal Official Zhu pointed below the elevated platform again and said, “Seventh Master Xie from the family has also come personally.”
Eunuch Qi looked over and saw quite a few people standing below the elevated platform. They weren’t wearing official robes and weren’t military guards either. Besides the Xie family young masters from earlier, there was also Seventh Master Xie.
Seventh Master Xie had already seen Eunuch Qi and raised his hand in salute.
Eunuch Qi hurriedly returned the salute.
He understood Principal Official Zhu’s meaning—an elder was also present, so the Emperor as a junior need not concern himself.
Eunuch Qi wasn’t surprised by Principal Official Zhu’s attitude. Although he was just a minor principal official, he had the Grand Tutor backing him.
The imperial court was a place where fortunes rose and fell. Even the Son of Heaven in his supreme position had to match wits with his ministers, and ministers also treated the Emperor differently depending on who he was.
A weak ruler and strong ministers.
Eunuch Qi didn’t mind and wasn’t angry. He said with a smile, “The Empress sent this servant to take a look. After all, it concerns the border army.”
Principal Official Zhu paused. This—there was indeed no way to criticize it. The Empress had personally led the border army in battle. Border army affairs were indeed something she could inquire about.
“Take a look then,” he changed the subject, pointing ahead. “Such an absurd border army—the Empress has probably never seen anything like it.”
Eunuch Qi looked forward and saw the imperial soldiers fighting in chaos on the field, indistinguishable, wrestling together. Their clothes were all torn, nearly bare-chested.
“This—this is a gang fight,” Eunuch Qi said with a laugh.
Before his words fell, he heard the chaotic beating of drums. A soldier was lifted up by several people, holding a command flag in his hand—
So it was the two sides facing off to capture the flag.
“We got it!”
“We won!”
“We won again!”
Accompanied by cheers, the losers also began cursing—cursing their opponents and also cursing their own people. And those being cursed showed no courtesy in cursing back. On the training ground, a storm raged with clamorous cursing, unrestrained and unfit for ears.
However, despite the fierce cursing, the soldiers wrestling together separated as the command flag waved, each reforming their lines.
Xie Yanlai stood swaying at the front of the formation. He was no better off than the others—his upper body clothing had long since disappeared, he was covered in dirt, and he looked at the military officer opposite with a smile. “There’s really no helping it. Look—you lost again.”
That military officer still had a short vest on his upper body. He turned his head and spat, spitting out a mouthful of bloody water.
“So what?” he said. “You’ve lost too.”
“Three to two,” Xie Yanlai extended his fingers toward him. “Formation change battle—you lost. Siege battle—you lost again. Only in one ambush battle did you win, and that was because you were familiar with the terrain—”
“Stop talking nonsense!” That military officer scoffed, interrupting him. “It was clearly because your reaction was slow!”
Accompanying their conversation, the soldiers behind them also called out one after another, “So what?” “We’re just better than you.” “Lost and still boasting!”
However, they didn’t surge forward to fight together—military competitions had rules. The commanding officers hadn’t given the order yet.
“Not convinced?” Xie Yanlai raised his eyebrows. “Then let’s compete again. This time, you decide what we compete in.”
But that military officer didn’t immediately accept as he had before. He hesitated, then said, “Let’s skip this round.” He looked toward the elevated platform. “Too many people have been alarmed. If we keep fighting, no one will have a good outcome.”
On the elevated platform stood people in red, purple, and green robes. Outside the training ground, voices surged even more tumultuously. Lifting one’s eyes, there were heads everywhere.
Xie Yanlai scoffed. “What’s there to fear? It’s just a brawl.” He added, “Besides, it was an official who instigated the brawl.”
He pointed at himself. Before that military officer could speak, he strode toward the elevated platform.
“My lords,” Xie Yanlai walked to below the elevated platform and said loudly, “Now, the fighting is finished.”
The officials on the elevated platform looked at him indifferently.
Principal Official Zhu said coldly, “Then take him away.”
The Imperial Guards standing around immediately stepped forward. Xie Yanlai didn’t speak, but clamor came from behind him.
“No need to take anyone away.”
“We were just having a military competition.”
“So then, should you take all of us away?”
Xie Yanlai turned his head and scolded irritably, “What’s it got to do with you? I fought alone and wasn’t satisfied, so I had you all fight together—”
His words weren’t finished when he realized that behind him weren’t just border army soldiers—the Capital Guard soldiers had also all followed over.
The lead military officer looked at him and sneered coldly. “You said to fight. If we didn’t respond, could you have started fighting? How is it not our business?”