Soon it will be the first day of December.

The long-awaited first military contest of the Tiger Ben Army officially began.

In order to prepare for this military competition, Zhang Zhun spent a lot of effort and placed high hopes on him. It was supposed to be held in November, but as a result, there were too many things in November, and there was not enough time for the fighters to train, so it was changed to December.

For the vast number of officers and men of the Tiger Ben Army, this military contest is absolutely unprecedented. In the past, the skill competitions were all individual series, and the content was only two items: fighting and shooting, which was a little monotonous. This military competition is a competition with individual soldiers, small groups, and even squads, which can be described as exciting. Especially in the squad-level competition, each team is attaching great importance to it and does not dare to slack off in the slightest.

At the moment, there are a total of twenty-five teams in the Tiger Army, and each team has to participate in the competition. Although only the three teams with the best results are rewarded, and the other twenty-two teams are all characters who accompany the prince to study, Zhang Zhun clearly announced that the final results of each team will be lined up and announced. In other words, everyone will see your squad's results on the bulletin board of the match.

If the team you lead is ranked last in the results, you can imagine the face on your face. Even if the soldiers below don't care, the officers can't be indifferent! The results of the squad are not good, not because the fighters are not good, but because the officers are not good. Therefore, each team leader and team vice-president, as well as various team leaders and captains, during this time, they all trained the soldiers below to wow, and I can't wait for these young men to become the Monkey King in mythology.

Therefore, throughout November, when the new ship of the Navy was overboard and the Dengzhou Naval Division was fighting, the Army was in intense training every day. Whether it is the barracks in Aoshan City or the camps of other troops, you can see the scene of training in full swing at any time. Although due to the weather, Zhang Zhun had already ordered the troops to change their winter clothes. However, at various training grounds, troops who took off their coats, went bare-chested, and actively trained, were everywhere. One by one, the young men are sweating from training, and you can imagine the intensity of training.

Because of the training scene of the Tiger Army, it was accidentally seen by many people, so that there were rumors that the Tiger Army was going to prepare to open Liaodong and go to fight directly with the Tartars. Some people also said that Zhang Zhun was preparing to march to Laizhou City and occupy the entire Laizhou Capital. There were also rumors that Zhang Zhun was going to lead his army to Henan Province to suppress the rebel army in Shaanxi. Anyway, the local people have given full play to their imagination and given countless staggering answers.

The rumors of going to Liaodong to kill the Tartars and going to Henan to suppress the rebels did not have a big impact. The rumors behind frightened the big families in Jimo County and fled one after another. According to intelligence, throughout the month of November, more than ninety percent of the landlords in Jimo County ran away. Even, even the landlords in nearby Jiaozhou have run away. Jiaozhou Salt Inspection Division Yamen, it is said that there is no one on errand, and all the salt has run out.

These landlords were very clear about Zhang Zhun's four decrees. Don't expect Zhang Zhun to show mercy to their men, that's absolutely impossible. The heads of Wang Shixin, Wang Jian, and Zhao Yinying have not completely rotted yet. If Zhang Zhun came, the first thing he would do was to issue the "Juntian Order", confiscate their fields, and then divide the fields. If you don't agree, of course, you will be eliminated by Zhang Zhun from the **. If you agree, you will follow Zhang Zhun as a thief. Once the court comes back, it will be the share of the nine clans. If you don't want to die, you can only run away.

Even the big families in Pingdu Prefecture and Laizhou City all felt Zhang Zhun's movements. Rumors always get more and more outrageous the more they spread. On the side of Aoshan City, the rumor only said that Zhang Zhun might attack Laizhou City. But when the rumors reached Laizhou City, it became a definite fact. Even, there are rumors that after the New Year, on the twelfth day of the first month of next year, Zhang Zhun will send troops. From Aoshan City to Laizhou City, it only takes three days. Zhang Zhun just happened to be in Laizhou City, stepping on the bloody head of the Lantern Festival.

In the face of increasingly exaggerated rumors, large families with access began to look for a place to settle in Yanzhou Mansion or Jinan Mansion, and sent people to work there in advance to open up relationships at all levels. At the same time, move your family as much as possible to that side. In order to avoid Zhang Zhun starting a riot, he can escape in time. As for the general public, they maintain an indifferent mentality and look forward to Zhang Zhun's arrival.

What the?

Zhang Zhun has already accepted the appeasement, and he will not start a riot?

Don't be naïve, boy! Zhang Zhun now has a sharp weapon in his hand, how can a small Aoshan City satisfy him? Even the Tartars are not Zhang Zhun's opponents, how can officers and soldiers be Zhang Zhun's opponents? You should think about it, if the time comes, where should you go! Don't you know that our prefect has already moved his family to Dengzhou City and is not ready to come back?

"Nonsense."

"What nonsense!"

"Who are they?"

Zhang Zhun received the relevant rumors and information and couldn't help but talk to himself.

Isn't it just a military competition? The training intensity of the troops has increased a little, and the movements are a little bigger, which scares some people into a fart, and they fly away, which shows what kind of characters the officials of the Ming Dynasty are. The guts are simply smaller than a doll. Especially this Sun Zhiqi is even more powerful. I'm just training and training troops, and you're so scared that you stay in Dengzhou City and don't dare to come back to Laizhou Mansion, what is this? If I really attack Dengzhou City, won't you have to hide in Jiangnan?

The first military competition of the Tiger Ben Army was held in such a state of rumors. Early in the morning of the first day of the new year, Liu Rushi and the White Lady wore men's clothes, followed Zhang Zhun and came to the military camp in Aoshan City.

Military competitions allow representatives of the public to attend the ceremony. Liu Ru and the White Lady were wearing men's clothes, and they were mixed in the crowd watching the ceremony, but they didn't attract much attention. Of course, on such an occasion, it is impossible for them to walk with Zhang Zhun. No matter how good they are in women's and men's clothes, they will be recognized by those who care. It is strictly forbidden to bring women into the barracks.

The White Lady appeared in public for the first time in men's clothes, and she felt very fresh and a little unaccustomed. Later, when she saw Liu Ru's calm appearance, she slowly got used to it. When Liu Ru came from Jiangnan, she brought many sets of men's clothing, and she had a lot of experience in dressing up as men's clothing. After dressing up the white lady up and down, she nodded with satisfaction. Even the White Lady herself is quite satisfied with men's clothing. The originally plain relationship between the two women gradually became intimate.

Zhang Zhun appeared on the rostrum very early.

The officers at all levels of the Tiger Army, except for those on combat duty, basically came.

Today is definitely a big day, a big day with very important significance. Even, the significance of some small-scale battles cannot be compared with the effect of today's martial arts. Through contacts over the past year, officers at all levels of the Tiger Ben Army have accepted Zhang Zhun's basic military philosophy. That is, when there is something to do, go out and kill people, and when there is nothing to do, sharpen knives at home. The knife is sharpened as quickly as possible, so that it is cool enough to kill people.

When fighting, there are some uncontrollable factors, and when sharpening the knife, all the factors can be mastered by oneself, so Zhang Zhun is particularly attentive to sharpening the knife. In the most popular terms, it is to prepare everything in your own house and then rush out and cut people. If you want to cut down others, of course, the stronger your own force, the better. The purpose of a military contest is to maximize one's own strength.

The military camp in Aoshan City is very large, covering an area of more than 30 acres. After all, this place was originally able to accommodate a total of more than 5,000 officers and soldiers of Ao Shanwei. At that time, when the guard station was not completely abolished, the commander of the Ao Shan Wei could inspect the 5,560 officers and soldiers of the whole guard here. It was only later that the guard post was abolished, and the military camp was abandoned. Now, Zhang Zhun's troops, all combined, are only 2,000 people. Including the representatives of the people who came to watch the ceremony, it was only 3,000 people. So, the whole barracks still looks a little empty. To the west of the barracks, there is still a lot of space.

There are attentive people who have already noticed it. On the west side of the barracks, there seems to be something special. Over there, there is a large open space surrounded by thatched walls. No one knows what's going on inside the thatched walls. However, everyone speculates that it must be related to today's military competition. Of course, there is also speculation that it may be a latrine. However, they were soon proven to be wrong. Because, outside these thatched walls, there are heavily armed guards, and no one is allowed to approach.

To the east of the barracks, in the center is the rostrum, that is, the review stand. On either side of the review stand is a temporarily expanded viewing platform. The rostrum appears to be relatively high, and can accommodate about 100 people. The viewing platforms on both sides are relatively short, and each can accommodate five or six hundred people.

The sun had not yet come out, and the barracks were already full of people.

The largest crowd of spectators was, of course, young men from all over the world who rushed to hear the news. Among them, most of them were activists who were preparing to develop in the Shengxia Sect. The Tiger Ben Army has such a grand event, how can they not come and watch it in person? Maybe when you can become one of them. There are also some recruits from the boot training camp, and some are cadets of the naval academy, which was naturally specially arranged by Zhang Zhun.

In fact, on both sides of the viewing platform, there are still a large number of people standing without a place. They are all citizens of Aoshan City, and they came to see the excitement. Many of them were women with children in their arms. Even though they couldn't go up to the viewing platform, they didn't want to leave. Moreover, with the passage of time, there are more and more crowds of onlookers, and there are three layers inside and three layers outside. In a short period of time, there were two or three thousand people standing on these grounds. Some fighters of the armed engineering team had to start dispersing the crowd to avoid the tragedy of the crowd being too dense and trampling on each other.

The time entered December, and the average person gradually became free. Therefore, the people around Aoshan City, as long as they can get out, basically rushed here. As a result, the crowd continued to grow, eventually increasing to about 4,000 people. Of course, among these people, whether there are spies from the government, whether there are Liaodong annihilators, whether there are Dongchang or Jinyiwei people, Zhang Zhun does not dare to guarantee. However, even if they come, Zhang Zhun doesn't matter. Isn't the show of force meant to be shown to some people?

Zhang Zhun has never liked to be low-key. Honestly, keeping a low profile is a must. The gun shoots the first bird, and no one wants to make the first bird. However, being too low-key will cause unnecessary trouble. Especially now that Zhang Zhun needs to attract a large number of people to his territory. If they can't give the people an impression of safety, how can they be willing to drag their families to come? The Chinese have a very strong sense of locality, and it is not easy for them to abandon their original hometown and move to a completely new place.

Besides, the early bird is not completely without benefits. The vast majority of the time, the fastest runner always gets the most bang for his buck. As long as he has enough strength, Zhang Zhun doesn't mind being this budding bird. However, unfortunately, he has no chance for the time being. Whether it was the Tartars in Liaodong or the rebel army in Shaanxi, they attracted most of the attention of the imperial court, and he only had to follow behind as a tail.

"I believe that I don't need to say more, everyone also knows the purpose of the military competition. I'm sure you're all well prepared! Now, show what you do best! Let me see you! Let all the fathers and villagers present see you! Get out of the box with your hard work! Let the folks be proud of you, proud of you, applaud for you, cheer for you! ”

Zhang Zhun's brief opening remarks echoed in the huge military camp.

"Bang Bang!"

Warm and prolonged applause rang out.

Liu Ruis and the white lady also applauded gently.

"Now, hold the flag-raising ceremony!"

Zhang Zhun's voice came again.

Only then did Liu Ru discover that on the high platform in front of Zhang Zhun, there was a flagpole.

After Zhang Zhun's voice fell, four Tiger Army soldiers in gray military uniforms, holding a bright red flag, walked slowly from afar. Each of them clings to the corner of the flag and stretches out the red flag as much as possible. When the flag appeared, all the Tiger Army generals, including Zhang Zhun, raised their right hands and stood up in salute.

Although he had already browsed all the information in Zhang Zhun's study, it was the first time that Liu Ru had seen the military flag of the Tiger Ben Army with his own eyes. It is a bright red flag with a large six-pointed star in the center. It was also the first time she knew that the Tiger Ben Army had such a flag-raising ceremony, and it was quite grand.

The audience fell silent in an instant.

Everyone's eyes were focused on this bright six-star red flag.

(To be continued)