novelraw Chapter 25
Chapter 25
25~ Guidance~
He never expected Lady Mo would actually smile at him. In an instant, he nearly couldn't handle it.
The reason Her Majesty the Empress hid Lady Mo away was perhaps this, right? General Qin guessed.
After all, such a pure and adorable Your Highness felt like she could be tricked away with a single lollipop.
The little Princess didn't know what General Qin was thinking in his heart. She didn't care either. They weren't familiar anyway. They probably wouldn't meet too many times in the future. Let him think whatever he wanted.
"Mo, come say hello."
Because her collar had been removed before coming out, she wasn't too worried others would see things they shouldn't see.
"Mm... greetings, General Qin?"
"Greetings, Lady Mo."
General Qin hurriedly responded. As for Lady Mo's true identity, if the Empress didn't say, he didn't dare ask.
"In the future, if you have anything you don't understand regarding military matters, you can consult her."
"Yes, yes. This subject will certainly guide Your Highness..."
"I'm talking about you, General Qin. If there's anything you don't understand regarding military matters, you can ask Mo."
The Empress added the name and repeated it once.
"Huh?"
He was dumbfounded. He should consult Lady Mo about things he didn't understand...?
And at this moment, the little Princess had also fallen into a dumbfounded state. She understood what the Empress meant. Did that mean she should become this General Qin's advisor...
Although she'd known early on that the Empress had roughly figured out all her identities not long after she was placed under house arrest here, and had long thought the Empress would use her to expand Scarlet Phoenix Nation's strength, she hadn't expected it would be so direct, directly making her a general's advisor.
"Your Majesty, please reconsider. Lady Mo in this area, I'm afraid..."
Halfway through speaking, he suddenly got stuck, not knowing how to continue, afraid of angering the Empress.
"No need to worry. If I'm having you consult Mo, naturally I have a reason. I wouldn't make that kind of boring joke."
General Qin looked at Mo incredulously. He couldn't imagine how such a small, so adorable Your Highness could have higher military attainments than him.
Although because he'd just taken office, his attainments in this area indeed weren't as good as other generals, but even Lady Mo being higher than him was truly somewhat absurd. Could she be another prodigy like Her Majesty the Empress?
"I never joke. Mo is stronger than all generals in military matters. Just feel free to consult her."
Since Her Majesty the Empress had guaranteed it like this, then it must be true. Lady Mo's attainments in this area really were stronger than all generals.
"Then... Lady Mo, I'll be consulting you frequently from now on."
"Mm... mm..."
Even with a hundred unwillingnesses in her heart, under the Empress's pressure, she still agreed.
Honestly, she didn't understand much. Most of it was things she'd remembered out of interest when looking up materials during graduate school entrance exams in her previous life. When opposing Scarlet Phoenix Nation's army, it was nothing more than tactical arrangements appropriately changed based on what was in her memory. Having her give guidance was probably quite impossible.
Afterward, General Qin led the two to a place where they could see all the arenas. Just about to order someone to bring two chairs, but he was stopped.
"One is enough. Mo can sit on my lap."
"Yes."
Lady Mo and Her Majesty the Empress really were as intimate as rumored!
Quickly ordering someone to bring a chair, the Empress sat down holding the little Princess, waiting for the arena matches about to begin.
...
As the arena matches unfolded, the soldiers below, learning of the Empress's arrival, were each like they'd been injected with chicken blood, bringing out twelve times their usual state to face opponents, determined to display their most valiant and battle-ready side before Her Majesty the Empress.
"Your Majesty, arenas one through three are used by elite soldiers who've been through many battles. Four through six are for soldiers who've experienced war. Arenas seven and eight are for new recruits."
"Mm..."
The Empress nodded in response. She'd known this long ago. When General Mu was still alive, she'd also come to inspect twice and was quite satisfied with this reward system.
The little Princess sitting on the Empress's lap, after listening, looked over all the arenas and discovered she fundamentally couldn't understand their fighting techniques. Indeed, the more forward arenas had fewer exchanges, but often a match could end after just a few exchanges.
While the more rear arenas had many exchanges. From a layman's perspective, they were very combative.
Coincidentally, she was that layman. Because of her body's condition, she'd never studied magic or practiced martial arts since childhood. She was completely clueless about both. However, she also knew that exchanges between experts could often decide victory or defeat in an instant.
"Your Highness, what do you think?"
The little Princess thought for a moment and said:
"Haven't noticed anything yet."
At least so far, she didn't feel there was anything wrong with this reward system. It looked completely designed to promote martial arts improvement through arena competition. But she always felt she'd overlooked something.
Seven days a week, one day of rest on the weekend. Monday through Saturday, training every morning and arena competition rewards in the afternoon. This all looked quite good, able to effectively stimulate internal competitive vitality. And once the emperor ordered war, training or vacations would immediately stop and troops would assemble to attack.
Glaze Nation's military camps weren't like Scarlet Phoenix Nation's. Generally, weekly training randomly selected soldiers from the camp to concentrate on two days for rotating training. Others waited on standby in their own camps. Leave was also taken in rotation, with no fixed holidays.
In short, compared to Scarlet Phoenix Nation, Glaze Nation's army was more for guarding the nation's territory, so most of the time they were always prepared to prevent foreign invasion. Scarlet Phoenix Nation, on the other hand, trained in their own camps, ready to be on standby and prepared to attack at any time.
Could only say the emphases were different, so training methods also varied. Each had its own merits.
Glaze Nation almost never proactively initiated wars. In the Eastern Region, it was considered a clear stream, advocating peaceful development. Scarlet Phoenix Nation, on the other hand, was a mudslide, constantly waging external wars, making all nations anxious, afraid the next one to get beaten would be their own country.
After watching for a while, the little Princess tugged on the Empress's collar, indicating she was thirsty. General Qin, hearing this on the side, hurriedly had someone bring a table and a pot of hot tea to place before them.
"Your Highness, this is tea brewed from tea leaves I've treasured. Please don't disdain it."
"I don't, I don't disdain it."
How could she possibly disdain it? When she was still in Glaze Nation, she often drank it. When she had nothing to do, she liked to brew a pot of tea and sit in the garden teasing the small animals she raised to pass the time.
After a light taste, the flavor was slightly sweet, the mouthfeel mellow yet still fresh and fragrant. It was green tea, quite good, a tea she hadn't drunk before.
After quenching her thirst, she watched for a while longer. Feeling somewhat bored with nothing to do, she adjusted her posture and buried her head in the Empress's chest, planning to take a little nap.
Then... she fell asleep, falling asleep leaning on the Empress in front of the entire military camp.
Daring to fall asleep leaning on the Empress like this, in the entire world there was probably only Lady Mo, right? General Qin thought.