The Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 25: Spooky woods

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The dust brought up by horseshoes was dispersed in the air. Under the breeze in late spring, it floated in the low altitude for a long time like a demonstration, and then slowly drifted downstream, causing the soldiers standing downwind to watch with laughter and scolding. They both cursed the nasty spring breeze. It was out of season, and he scolded himself for not choosing to have the upper hand, but the riders had passed, they chased the horses again, and the annoying spring breeze had long been forgotten.

The eight horses are chasing me, and sometimes they gather together, as if chasing a football; sometimes they separate, as if the football is thrown to a new position, and everyone is looking for a new goal. In a relatively small space, collisions are inevitable. Horse No. 7 has gradually caught up, but was blocked by Horse No. 6, and fell behind the group again, basically losing hope of winning and getting angry with No. 7. The rider on the horse yelled and beat the horse under his seat desperately. The horse No. 4 had a slight advantage and had already led by half a horse, but the horse's hip was shaved by the horse No. 5. The horse was sore and tilted to the side. The horse No. 3 quickly passed. Everyone knows that walking in a straight line is the closest, but it is difficult for anyone to ignore the presence of others on a crowded track. The leader must not only expand the advantage, but also prevent others from surpassing, just like short track speed skating, stuck in the inner lane and staring at the outer lane; the lagging ones are even more anxious. In addition to beating the horses, the responsibility for the backwardness is attributed to the horses. , Not letting go of any chance of surpassing, at the worst, he can knock the horses in front of him away, showing his determination not to be left behind. Since the front-to-back distance of each horse is small, there is hope of winning the championship, and no one has given up.

The distance of ten miles is just a sprint for horses, and the shouts of soldiers watching from both sides accompany the whole journey. The horse reached the finish line before the riders had decided in their hearts. Finally, the horse number three crossed the finish line first. Tan Sanyun, who drove the No. 3 horse, had really good luck. He was only half a horse ahead of the No. 4 horse. He would not have won the championship unless the No. 4 horse was collided by the No. 5 horse. After winning, Tan Sanyun was not as overly proud as Li Pan, but instead smiled gratefully to Xu Wenbao, who was riding the number five horse. However, the competition is a competition, focusing only on the result, not the process. As long as you do not violate the rules, the championship will not be deprived. This is not a dressage at the Olympic Games, but a speed competition in a military skill contest. It is normal for horses to collide. Things.

What soldiers look forward to most is the long spear and short knife competition. Because the archery competition took up too much time, Zhu Youjian decided to hold the long spear competition and the short knife competition at the same time. Soldiers who like to watch the game can only make a choice, either watch the long spear competition or watch the short knife competition, or take turns watching. Zhu Youjian believes that the long spear is more impactful on the battlefield and can better reflect the offensive capabilities of the army, so he chose to watch the long spear game.

In order to reduce the risk of soldiers being injured, the weapon used in the competition is a long wooden stick with lime water on the top of the stick. The participating soldiers must wear black clothes and are not allowed to attack the crotch and the first-class vital parts. The game time is a quarter of an hour. If the opponent cannot be knocked down within the specified time, the white dots on the clothes will be used as the basis.

There were also eight soldiers in the pike group, divided into four groups to catch and fight each other. The winner takes a rest, and then draws lots to determine the opponent in the next round until the champion is determined.

The final was between Zhao Jinlong and Qian Yuesheng. Zhao Jinlong is a native of Xuanfu in Northern Zhili, a typical northerner, with big nose, big eyes, big mouth, tall and rough. Qian Yuesheng is from Suzhou in Nanzhili. Although he is also tall and strong, he has the spirituality of Jiangnan water village. Especially his eyes were serious, but there was a wicked smile hidden in them, which was unpredictable.

At the beginning of the game, Zhao Jinlong relied on the advantages of height and strength, and slammed. With a one-foot-long wooden stick, he suddenly stabbed his chest, suddenly a little bit of weakness, suddenly hit his limbs, and suddenly became a big stick, and swept across the waist. Qian Yuesheng battalion step by step, or used a long stick as a gun to parry and defuse the opponent's offensive, or take advantage of the flexible pace to dodge from left to right, and from time to time take the opportunity to counterattack. Two people attack more and defend more, which is really good-looking.

This kind of fierce physical confrontation consumes much energy. In the later professional boxing competitions, the rest will be once every three minutes; the taekwondo competition will be rested every two minutes, because the athletes consume too much physical strength.

Both of them have played two games. Although both have a short break, their physical strength has not fully recovered. After Zhao Jinlong's fierce attack, his physical strength was slightly weakened, and his breath was already slightly panting.

Qian Yuesheng saw the opportunity, and suddenly turned from defense to offense, and accelerated the pace. Zhao Jinlong was already defensive and less offensive under the stormy attack, and the pace was slightly messy. When Qian Yuesheng took advantage of Zhao Jinlong’s left foot, the wooden stick turned into a spear. The key point was that Zhao Jinlong’s left knee was on the inside. Zhao Jinlong’s wooden stick was on the right side at this time. He had to raise his left foot and just avoid it. With Qian Yuesheng's click, the center of gravity was already unstable. Qian Yuesheng straddled his right foot and flew up and swept his left foot on the right ankle supported by Zhao Jinlong.

With a sound of "Peng", Zhao Jinlong fell heavily to the ground, facing up to the sky. The soldiers who supported Qian Yuesheng cheered. Qian Yuesheng also raised his right hand and waved continuously to celebrate the hard-won victory.

Zhu Youjian thought that when the long spear team faced the enemy on the battlefield, it was different from the samurai duel. It was often just one or two rounds. Zhao Jinlong's fierce fighting and rushing should be more suitable for the battlefield. It seems that the rules of the military skill competition will need to be revised in the future. , Not let the training of the army go astray.

At this time, there were shouts from the southwest corner of the arena. It turned out that the final of the short knife group was underway, and Zhu Youjian followed the crowd to watch the final of the short knife group. Compared with the tall and mighty Qian Yuesheng and Zhao Jinlong, Zhou Fenglin and Wu Zihao who participated in the short knife finals were shorter.

The two are entering the crucial moment of the game, and Zhu Youjian's arrival has not affected their game in the slightest. Chopping, chopping, swiping, picking, picking, chopping, wrapping, and stabs are all sturdy and eye-catching.

The short knife is more flexible, and the speed is much faster than the long spear. It is dazzling. From time to time, soldiers applaud and cheer for both sides. Zhu Youzhen can clearly see the sword techniques of both sides. He has practiced the virtual extreme sword technique, especially the virtual extreme magic. His eyes and ears are naturally much finer than ordinary people. It is difficult for ordinary people to see the master game. In Zhu Youzhen’s eyes, it is also It is the first time that a primary school student learns knives.

When Zhu Youjian was stunned, the decisive battle between the two also came to fruition.

Zhou Fenglin's knife slashed at Wu Zihao's left shoulder. Wu Zihao swung the knife up to meet him. When the two knives called the wrong way, Wu Zihao struggled to open Zhou Fenglin's short knife, then backhanded down, slashing towards Zhou Fenglin's chest. Glide two steps back, dodging Wu Zihao's blow. Wu Zihao didn't wait for Zhou Fenglin to counterattack. He also slid two steps forward. He chased Zhou Fenglin's figure. With a short knife struggling to chop down, Zhou Fenglin stabilized his figure, leaning forward, with the short knife protecting the top of his head. Power, separated Wu Zihao's blade.

He only heard a "pop", Zhou Fenglin's wooden knife segment was divided into two pieces. He was taken aback, but Wu Zihao took the opportunity to step forward, grabbed his right wrist, turned around, put it on his right shoulder, and slammed his back. Zhou Fenglin fell heavily on his back to the ground.

Zhu Youjian looked at the swordsmanship of both sides and found that they were more than dexterous, but not powerful enough. He has already practiced his own imaginary sword technique, and is taking a mighty path, which is very suitable for confronting the enemy on the battlefield. So he planned to teach the Xuji Sword Technique to the soldiers.

However, he didn't know how to teach Xu Ji magic. His magical skills were taught by Xiaoyu overnight in Wuling Mountain. He practiced natural growth every day, but he didn't know how to gather Qi successfully at the beginning. He felt a little big head, and it seemed that he could only teach external skills.

In the afternoon, there is a great cavalry contest, with a winner in every event.

After the game, Zhu Youjian made a verbal summary:

"Participants in the competition are the elites of each department, and the winners are the elites of the elite.

"When you meet on a narrow road, the brave wins. Only by ensuring that every soldier is a tiger, a wolf, and a snow leopard, can Fenwuying become a long-lasting division and a long-victorious division."

"In order to improve the ability of Fenwu camp soldiers to kill the enemy, in the future the military skill contest will be held regularly."

"Fenwuying is a whole, no matter who achieves results, it is the honor of Fenwuying; whoever destroys military discipline is a shame to Fenwuying."

In order to stimulate the competition among soldiers, Zhu Youjian announced the prizes of the military skill contest: each soldier who wins will receive 50 catties of mutton and 30 catties of beef. Promoted among these personnel.

The training of Fenwuying is like an assembly line on a machine. Once it enters the norm, it can advance along its own inertia. Seeing the training at Fenwu Camp, military discipline, physical fitness, fighting, riding and shooting, etc., are all on the right track. Zhu Youjian handed over the training to Li Hongjun and Liu Yushuan. He asked Wang Mujiu to take a soldier with him. Gong, he has more and more important things to do.

When we left the barracks, it was still early, but the three horses galloped westward like flying: "Mujiu, hurry up, the palace gate will be closed when it gets dark, then we can't go back tonight." Although Zhu Youjian is a believer, he is still underage and still lives in the palace. His current residence is the Xunqin Palace in the southeast corner of the imperial city.

"Yes, Your Highness." Wang Mujiu already knew that Wang Xin was a believer in Wang Zhu Youjian, and while he answered, the horse did not slow down at all.

"After the woods in front, that's..." Zhu Youjian stopped talking suddenly, he felt a murderous aura in the forest, looming. Zhu Youjian pulled the reins and slowed down. The two horses behind also slowed down.

Several dark shadows rushed out of the forest and fell on all sides of Zhu Youjian like big birds. Zhu Youjian took a closer look. There was one person on the front, back, left and right, standing like a wooden stake, and another person in front of the right, standing with his back facing the wind. All five of them were dressed in black, with black masks on their heads, and only two eyes were exposed.

This is indeed a good place for an ambush. There is a gloomy wood in the front, and nothing can be seen, and there is a large wasteland in the back. At this late hour, there is absolutely no one to move around.

The three of them gradually moved closer together, "His Royal Highness, we have a horse, shall we rush over?" Wang Mujiu already knew Zhu Youjian's identity, Jin Gui, and he winked with Zhu Youjian and said in a low voice.