Three anecdotes

Cardinal Jin, who learned of his elder brother's situation, was training soldiers, and the dark clouds covered the empty martial arts arena. With a slap of the black command flag, hundreds of feathered arrows were picked from the arrowheads, and all of them shot at the huge cowhide. on the drum.

Hundreds of archers lined up, arrows raining continuously.

Cardinal Jin was sitting astride the horse, with a huge bow on his back, his body straightened and his neck straight, with no waves visible between his brows.

Let the flag be lowered again, all the arrows are fired, the sound is like flying stones in the empty valley.

Cardinal Jin shook his head, the flag officer issued the order again, and the archers lined up shot again. From the beginning of the line to the end of the line, the arrows were like shooting stars.

Cardinal Jin signaled to the soldiers who shot arrows too fast to calm down and come again.

All the archers raised their bows and set their arrows. A hundred cavalry commander in the row said something in Di language, but there were no arrowheads.

Cardinal Jin lowered his brows, his gaze remained motionless, and he stretched out his hand to draw an arrow without arrowhead. He drew the bow and sat back. He heard a sound of strings, and the arrow flew swiftly, piercing through the seven layers of armor erected in the school grounds, and nailed it a hundred paces away. On the big poplar tree.Di Ren is good at archery and has excellent eyesight. Now everyone can see the ink-colored feathers fluttering on the arrows, which are the black feathers on the top of the long-pocketed horse.The archers in the formation all sat holding their breaths, and the school field of thousands of people did not hear the sound of breathing at all, it was so heavy that one's heart palpitated.

In Beidi, only the helmet of the sharpshooter can be decorated with feathers. For the real sharpshooter, the feathers on the helmet are golden, which is called the golden arrow feather.Three months later, in the Battle of the Acropolis, Cardinal Jin fired seven arrows in a row and shot through the big banner guarded by the opponent's seven-star array, and was called the King of Jinling by the Di people.The thousands of archers in Daliang are all good players chosen among ten thousand. Everyone is proud of their archery skills. Some of them have high understanding. , the strength was so accurate that he was so shocked that he couldn't speak.Di Ren is a martial artist, and the strong are always kings. They are not interested in Cardinal Jin relying on color to become a marquis, but a man who is so beautiful and has a close relationship with their Khan, no matter whether Cardinal Jin has an affair with He Lianxi or not. What, in the eyes of others, there is no difference.He bewitched the two emperors with the body of a man, and people at the time inevitably had some narrow speculations about him. Even though everyone knew that Chonghua's son, Wenhua, and Chen Siwu were champions, no one really cared.Now, seeing his amazing archery skills, strategizing, and a gully in his heart, he can't help but accept a little bit of contempt.

When He Lianxi went to the school field again, he felt that the atmosphere on the field was different. He is a person who knows how much talent Cardinal Jin has, so the thousand people who were entrusted to him to train were all elites.Not only the elite, but also after hundreds of battles, he also understands how difficult it is for these people to subdue.What's more, the men in the grasslands go straight, and they always look down on the maneuvers of the Central Plains people. If they let them fight bloody battles, they will never retreat. But if they have to practice battle formations and lay ambushes, it will kill them.Now, seeing what Cardinal Jin pointed at with his strong bow, these wolves and tigers are willing to pick up arrowheads and shoot at the surface of the drum, forming a formation and performing formations, I can't help being very pleased.

However, Cardinal Jin didn't seem to see Helianxi, he just concentrated on watching Di Bing's cavalry and shooting, picked out all the shooters he liked, and launched a new offensive in a moment, thousands of people were performing in front of him, but his chest had already drawn After clearing the fifteen defenses of Jing'an City, seeing Shang Yuhan's [-] strong soldiers, and Young Master Chonghua straddling his horse, as long as he has a long sword in his hand, he can point his sword at the sky.

He Lianxi supported Cardinal Jin's waist with his left hand, and held his shoulders with his right hand to help him onto the bed. Cardinal Jin did not force himself to lie down on half of his body, and Helian Xi took a pillow to cushion him behind him. , Cardinal Jin hugged the quilt tightly before asking, "The palace examination is scheduled for tomorrow."

Helian Xi didn't pay much attention to these things, first brought him the medicine that was simmering on the small stove, and then said, "Yes."

Cardinal Jin pulled his hands out of the quilt, carefully holding the medicine bowl, the medicine was a little hot, he took a sip and counted the days, "Has our people entered Dasan Pass?"

He Lianxi took the medicine bowl and came over, saw a little medicine soup sticking to his lips, brushed it away with her fingers, and persuaded, "If you put so much effort into doing something, you can always make it in time."

Cardinal Jin didn't answer, but just took another sip from the medicine bowl. His palate was so hot that it felt like a layer of skin had been peeled off tomorrow, but he was still stiff with cold, "We don't have much time."

He Lianxi put her hand on his shoulder, "You dare not force your internal strength today."

Cardinal Jin did not speak, but silently finished a bowl of medicine, and lay down hugging the quilt.

He Lian Xi put his hand into his neck, and Cardinal Jin shivered from the cold, He Lian Xi didn't seem to notice, "Today is hotter than yesterday."

Cardinal Jin closed his eyes, he was too tired to say anything.

Undressed, Helian Xi put the medicine bowl on the table, and sat next to Cardinal Jin holding the saber. For a while, he heard Cardinal Jin's breathing heavy, and blew out the lamp.

Cardinal Jin was not asleep.

He can't sleep.

He knows that even with the medicine left by his brother, his health is getting worse and worse. Now that he has taken this step, he can no longer waste his time and lose his reputation. He has too many things to do. , It is necessary to spare no effort to prepare for it.His illness, apart from the old injuries caused by Shang Chengbi, was more due to overthinking, but now, it is ten times harder than living in Daliang Palace.Not to mention training and deploying troops in the school grounds every day, you also have to think about planning, in the court, in the court, and what's more--people's hearts, everything has to be calculated, and it is already at the end of its strength.Helianxi was worried about him, and kept guard by his side every night. He knew it was all good intentions, but, keeping guard like this made him even more unable to sleep.Unable to fall asleep, he had no choice but to think about Shang Chengbi on Helianxi's bed, what Emperor Tianzhao was doing now.

Shang Chengbi is playing chess with Chu Fuguang.

The imperial examination is going to be tomorrow, and the palace gates are all locked, but the majestic emperor wants to play chess with the current imperial examination.Therefore, the twelve palace gates were opened one by one, and each time a gate was opened, the ears of the officials grew an inch.

Shang Chengbi held the black, Chu Fuguang held the white, and it was nearly three o'clock, but the talented man who was summoned overnight hadn't even touched the chessboard.Emperor Tianzhao had been twisting the sunspot for almost an hour.The servants in the palace held back their yawns, everyone's eyes were foggy, and even Eunuch Shun didn't dare to send ginseng tea anymore.

Chu Fuguang finally put the white piece in his hand back into the chess box, "It's late at night, the emperor will preside over the palace examination tomorrow, let's rest early." He spoke naturally, and after he finished speaking, he waved his hand and asked the servants to send him off. Come on.

Shang Chengbi suddenly dropped a piece, and it clicked on the chessboard.

The hearts of the servants in Qifeng Pavilion are about to jump out.

Chu Fuguang didn't change his face, "The emperor takes care of himself for the son."

Shang Chengbi's voice was calm, "Your Majesty? You really belong to him, when will he pick you—" He found another son as he spoke, and without waiting for Chu Fuguang to do it again, he took possession of it again. With a corner, "It must have been two years ago."

Xiao Shunzi's heart was about to burst out of his throat.In the middle of the night, the candles in the Qifeng Pavilion were brightly lit, and the flickering lights shone on the face of Eunuch Shun who was leaning forward, distorted so that one's heart palpitated.

Since Chu Fuguang was rescued by Cardinal Jin two years ago, Yuejin entered the palace, and when Banjun came to this step, he had put life and death aside, but was suddenly called out by Shang Chengbi, and he was not at a loss, he just said, "The emperor washes up Go back to sleep, the ginseng soup will stay in your mouth at night, it will be so astringent that you can't sleep well."

Shang Chengbi finally raised his head, looked at him carefully, raised the lamp again, took off the lampshade embroidered with cloud and dragon patterns, and brought the candle flame in front of his eyes, the flickering yellow light almost burned Chu Fuguang's eyelashes , Chu Fuguang still lowered his eyebrows and remained motionless.

Xiao Shunzi's heart was pounding, thinking that tomorrow was the imperial examination, everything was according to Lord Hou's arrangement, there must be no mistakes tonight, seeing that the sparks were about to burn on Chu Fuguang's face, suddenly the lights exploded, It really burnt a bunch of Chu Fuguang's hair and smelled burnt. Xiao Shunzi was so shocked that he was about to cry out, but he bit his lip so hard that blood came out from his mouth.

Shang Chengbi put down the lamp, turned his head, and cast a casual glance at Xiao Shunzi, "Send Young Master Chu out of the palace."

The stone in Xiao Shunzi's heart finally fell to the ground, only then did he feel the smell of blood coming out of his mouth, he dared not speak any more, opened the palace gate again, and sent him out.

On the second day, during the Jin Dian court meeting, Shang Chengbi took the topic of "running horses from time to time", and all the examinees were dumbfounded. Chu Fuguang, a famous night talker among 57 candidates in the examination, was hand-picked as the champion.The transfer of the group of people sent the list, the scholars were shocked, and the world was in an uproar.

As soon as the news that Chu Fuguang had hand-picked the No. [-] scholar came out, Yunze told Chu Yiqing without hiccupping that Chu Yiqing was collecting medicine for Cardinal Jin, and returned to Jing'an non-stop without changing his clothes. One of them went to the school grounds in the north. Today's practice is the Tianshi Dongfan Formation, eleven branches are at the side, Cardinal Jin is in the room, and wherever the flag goes, all the disciples of Di Ren will obey, Chu Yiqing is proficient in Qimen Dunjia Zhishu, frowning at just one look.Cardinal Jin practiced the formation and was so focused that he didn't see anyone. He only came to see his brother when the sun went down.Chu Yi saw that his face had an indescribable flush, but he was not in a hurry to speak, and ordered him to follow him into the tent, took his pulse carefully, and frowned fiercely.

Cardinal Jin actually laughed, "What are you worried about? With the supernatural power of Dr. Zhaolie, you can see that I won't die for a while."

Chu Yi lightly picked up the pen and paper, but instead of writing a prescription, he wrote on the paper, "I watched the stars the other day and night, and I saw Yinghuo guarding my heart."

Cardinal Jin was stunned, "Really?"

Chu Yi nodded slightly.

Cardinal Jin was stunned for a moment, and then said with a long smile, "Okay! Great!" Then he got up and went to get his sword in front of the bed. Cardinal Jin unsheathed his long sword, and gently stroked the blade with his fingers, "Mr. Yan, naturally I can't read it wrong. Really, God helps me, God helps me."

Seeing him smile lightly, Chu Yi's heart skipped a beat. If the astronomical phenomenon is true, it should be on Shang Chengbi—the former lover is about to die, so what's the good?He didn't say much anymore, instead he took a pen and wrote out the prescription.

Holding the sword in his left hand, Cardinal Jin leaned over to read the prescription himself, "I have important things to do, brother, please don't poison me again."

Chu Yi lightly felt a pain in his heart, but he didn't care about it.

It's just that before he stepped out of Cardinal Jin's door, Cardinal Jin asked again, "Does Shang Quhan know about the celestial phenomena?"

Chu Yi paused his steps lightly, but didn't say anything for a long while, and went to decoct the medicine.

Of course Shang Quhan knew about the celestial phenomena.However, he now lacks the strength to comprehend.

In the palace examination, Chu Fuguang was hand-picked by the sage to be the number one scholar, Kong Meng, the bronze champion with hairpins on the mud wall, was praised by Shang Chengbi for his handsome appearance, and was selected as the best candidate, but the second place was an unknown old scholar, Shang Chengbi's question is always full of horses, the original intention is to love each other sincerely, but to suffer from it, who would have thought that the old gentleman was confused, and he sighed during the answer, the love rises and deepens, even if the sage teaches him, he will still feel it. Can't help it.Shang Chengbi's inscription comes from "Zhuangzi". Although the monarchs of Daliang dynasties were vain and respectful, in the eyes of scholars in the world, the only sage is Confucius.This statement can be said to be unintentional, but this question is completely different. Unexpectedly, Shang Chengbi selected him as the second place among the talented scholars. He didn’t get any, but he was at No.8 in Erjia. So, before the Qionglin Banquet started, the old ministers knelt outside the Zhengde Gate and cried for the late emperor. , 300 people gathered together in the Confucian Temple to cry for the saint.

Ever since Jin Chu surrendered Liang and Cardinal Jin entered the palace, the old ministers always wanted to cry about the late emperor. Shang Chengbi didn't take it seriously for a long time, and the students who gathered together were only frail scholars, and he didn't take it seriously. .Unexpectedly, on the second day, a shocking scandal broke out in this scientific examination. A Jinshi of Chengguo suddenly discovered that all the second-class candidates, except Tian Fang, were all in the mud wall of the Linyuan Palace. Those who have submitted a book.As a result, all the spearheads were re-directed to Cardinal Jin, Beidi's new military chief who had already left Liang Palace.The angry disciples carried out the statue of Confucius from the Confucian Temple, turned their heads, and sat in front of the steps of Linyuan Palace.

On the third day, the stone lion in front of the palace was put on the woman's bellyband.On the mud wall of hairpin flowers outside the Wangfu, the tightly nailed copper flowers have been knocked off long ago, and they are all in pieces.

On the fourth day, there were more than 400 scholars sitting at the gate of Linyuan Palace.The couplets that had been taken down in front of the door had been re-engraved by someone. Luo Qi washed her face in front of the lamp, and there was no dawn of grace in the tent. It was clearly a satire of the past, saying that Cardinal Jin accepted bribes to confuse the king. Chengbi is ignorant and incapable of distinguishing right from wrong.

How could Emperor Tianzhao, who reached the summit at the age of 15 and no one dared to touch the dragon scales, endure such disobedience? On the fifth day, eight hundred warriors from Luan Imperial Guards left the Imperial Palace and went straight to Linyuan Palace. The sword, limited to one stick of incense, forced the disciples to withdraw from Dongyang Street where the Linyuan Palace is located. The disciples were furious and refused to budge. , followed by the wolf-like guards of Luan, killing 32 people in a row within a moment.The corpse lay in the court, and the blood flowed like a river.

The embroidered gold knife, which cut iron like mud, slashed its head, mercilessly, and the unarmed man retreated in panic, wailing.Juzi, who was forced to retreat steadily by the bloody Luan guards, put his hands on his head, and the embroidered gold knife cut off half of the sleeve of Juzi, who was blocking him in panic, and saw that his throat was cut again. Suddenly, the scimitar was cut A flying long spear knocked over the ground, guarding the border for ten years, so that Di people dare not go south to herd horses. Shang Conghuan, son of Prince Jingbian, straddled Quhuang and rushed towards him.