"What shall we compete in?" Chu Chen said dismissively. "You decide, so no one can say I, a eunuch, bullied you."
"Bold!"
Gao Le was enraged again. For him to propose the challenges was a clear sign of looking down on them, the military officers.
"Military matters are nothing more than command, strategy, and personal combat prowess."
"Let's compete in these three. If you can win in two of them, we'll say nothing more and obey your command."
"If you lose, you'll be guilty of deceiving the emperor and deserve to be executed!"
"Fine, it's a deal."
Chu Chen, showing no fear, readily agreed.
Princess Xin Yue, hearing this, actually breathed a sigh of relief. She knew Chu Chen wouldn't lose in terms of command or personal combat.
"Then let's start with command. I heard that as a eunuch, you trained five hundred soldiers for His Highness. Let's use these five hundred soldiers to see who wins and who loses against my border troops."
"No problem."
Soon, everyone arrived at the large training ground outside the city.
Given the possibility of the Chen Kingdom's army attacking at any moment, they did not engage in large-scale coordinated battles, as that would lead to soldier injuries and a temporary reduction in combat effectiveness.
Therefore, the competition was simple: running, standing, and combat. Five teams of ten soldiers each would participate in each event.
Running tested physical fitness, standing tested willpower, and combat tested individual bravery.
"Hmph, you damned eunuch, your recruits are no match for us. Just wait and lose," Gao Le said disdainfully to Chu Chen, who stood to the side.
The strongest fighting forces in a country, besides the Imperial Guard, were the border troops.
Other armies trained once every seven days, and their soldiers rarely ate meat. During non-training periods, they certainly couldn't eat their fill.
However, the border troops trained once every three days, with plenty of meat and wine on training days, and soldiers were generally well-fed.
This was Gao Le's confidence.
In his view, even if the soldiers recruited by Princess Xin Yue, as reserves for the Royal Guard, had comparable food, their training volume could not possibly match.
Winning against the other third princess was merely a competition of who was less incompetent.
"Don't speak too soon, it won't be good if you make a fool of yourself later."
Chu Chen wasn't angry; instead, he was very calm.
Why get angry over a sure win?
The first team of ten soldiers, clad in leather armor and armed with military equipment, lined up for a twenty-li run.
After the time it took for one incense stick to burn, the second team set off, and so on.
Gao Le and his officers waited for the results with full confidence.
Soon, the supervising cavalry returned.
"Reporting to Her Highness the Princess and all esteemed lords, the first running event result is that Commander Chu's unit won, earning one point."
"I knew it, my border army... Wait, what did you say? Say that again?"
Gao Le, who had instinctively assumed victory and was about to boast, suddenly registered the words and couldn't believe it.
The supervising cavalry, helpless, repeated the report.
This time, everyone heard clearly and paid close attention.
Chu Gonggong's unit actually won? With soldiers who had trained for at most a month and a half?
How was this possible?
"You scoundrel, did you misread!" Gao Le roared.
He refused to believe his border troops were inferior to a new army, even in just the running event.
"Your humble subordinate and others followed closely and personally witnessed Commander Chu's unit maintaining formation and taking the lead. Before all your esteemed lords and Her Highness the Princess, how dare I lie? Besides, it wasn't just me who saw it."
The supervising cavalry was almost in tears. He didn't want to believe it either, but what he saw with his own eyes couldn't be a lie, and the Princess was right there.
"Hmph, guards, prepare my horse. I will follow the second running team personally to observe."
Gao Le snorted coldly, casting an even more displeased glance at Chu Chen.
Soon, Gao Le mounted his horse and personally supervised the process.
After the time it took for one incense stick to burn, Gao Le returned with a grim expression that astonished his officers.
Gao Le dismounted with a dark face, sat down without a word, and waited for the results of the subsequent teams.
His subordinates wanted to ask, but they dared not provoke him.
The results for all the running teams were in: Gao Le had 0 points, and Chu Chen had a perfect score of 5 points.
Upon hearing the compiled results, the officials of Dongyang County and the officers of the border army felt as if they had misheard.
But seeing Gao Le's continued silent, cold demeanor, they immediately understood. Their superior must have seen something during his personal supervision and deduced the outcome.
It was just as they had expected.
Even then, they knew the running would be lost so decisively? Chu Gonggong's unit's running performance so thoroughly surpassed the border army?
How on earth were these soldiers trained?
If Chu Chen knew what they were thinking, he would calmly tell them that the half-month of field training from Shuangyue City to Dongjiang, specifically for developing strong legs, was not for show.
"My border army lost this running event, but you, damned eunuch, don't get too smug. There are still two more events."
Gao Le, his face ashen, directly announced the start of the next event.
The second event, standing, was frankly uninteresting and tedious.
Watching a group of men stand still under the sun made Princess Xin Yue and the officials drowsy.
The original plan was for the first side to collapse to be the loser, but in less than half an hour, the border army's formation became disorganized, and within an hour, they were swaying precariously.
In contrast, Chu Chen's unit, though their soldiers' foreheads were beaded with sweat and they occasionally wiped their eyes, maintained their initial formation.
"Next event."
Gao Le, unable to bear it any longer, shouted.
Princess Xin Yue, startled awake by his shout, grabbed Chu Chen's arm, "What's wrong? What happened?"
"Your Highness, the standing competition has concluded."
"Oh, it's over already? Who won?"
Chu Chen didn't answer, gesturing for Princess Xin Yue to see for herself.
At the moment the competition was declared over, the border troops collapsed in droves, while Chu Chen's unit remained motionless until Chu Chen himself gave the order.
Finally, Chu Chen personally gave the command, and only then did the soldiers relax and dismiss.
"General Gao Le, it's two out of three. Do we still compete in this last round?"
Returning to the Princess's side, Chu Chen asked calmly.
Gao Le glared at Chu Chen through gritted teeth, refusing to concede. "We will compete. Of course, we will. Continue. Even though I can admit defeat now, I still don't believe your trained soldiers can match my border army in personal combat."
Soon, the final event, personal combat, began.
Ten people from each side were supposed to engage in team coordination, but this was under normal circumstances, and the situation on the field was clearly not normal.
After cautious initial probing and assessing their opponents' strengths, the border army's teams were quickly overwhelmed by Chu Chen's teams.
"How is this possible! The soldiers participating in the competition are all at the Martial Disciple realm!"
"Soldiers trained to the Martial Disciple realm in at most two months?"
Gao Le was completely stunned. The officers of the border army and the officials of Dongyang County were also dumbfounded.
Their border army soldiers were only at the mid-stage of Body Tempering.