Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 678 Taiyue Temple Fair
Liang State, seeing that March 28th was approaching, Ji Xuan and others had not returned yet. Ji Qingwan and others did not wait any longer and went to watch the sumo wrestling match.

At the Taiyue Temple Fair, Fengfu was flooded with people who came to burn incense, fulfill vows and do business. They sold medicine, fortune-telling, old clothes, gambling, food, haircuts, paper books, and music. The streets were full of people. For a time, the crowd surged, and Xiao Rang even lifted the curfew. Fengfu suddenly returned to its former bustling state.

When the Taiyue Temple Fair was flourishing, this place was once the capital of a prefecture called Tai'an Prefecture. After Zhao Zhen occupied this place, he incorporated it into Yanzhou. Today, this place still uses the old name Fengfu County during the reign of Emperor Shenzong.

Until the 28th, Ji Qingwan, Cheng Wan'er, Li Qingzhao and others went to the platform outside the palace gate to watch. The Green Kite Guards surrounded them, and outside them were the [God of Dangerous Roads] Yu Baosi and his 500 personal followers in brocade clothes.

The prefect Xiao Rang, the military commander Dong Ping, Yan Qing, Jiao Ting, Cao Tielin, Hei Sijie and others sat on the offering platform. In front and behind the offering platform, there were seventy or eighty pairs of black-robed officials standing around. On this day, the people burning incense were really shoulder to shoulder. The huge Dongyue Temple was filled up as soon as it came in, and even the roof was filled with people watching.

The mountain shed had been set up long ago, filled with gold and silver utensils, brocade and silk. Outside the door were three fully saddled and harnessed horses.

A gong sounded on the stage, attracting the attention of the noisy crowd below to the stage.

Jiao Ting stepped forward and shouted, "I am Jiao Ting, the Faceless One. I overthrew Ren Yuan here in previous years. Now I am the commander of the infantry of Liang State. This year, the king will reopen the temple fair and offer sumo wrestling to the saint. Those with strong arms can join the army as generals. The winner will not only receive these sharp objects on the shelf, but also be summoned by the king and given an official position. Anyone wants to compete?"

As soon as the words fell, someone shouted: "I'll do it."

Soon, twenty or thirty people came up.

When Jiao Ting saw this, he turned around and asked Xiao Rang, "Sir, how should we proceed?"

Xiao Rang said: "Have someone write down their names and put them in a box. Then take out two paper balls from the box one by one. They become a pair. The loser steps down and the winner waits for the next round to decide the ranking."

Dozens of sumo pairs were competing for victory, and the people watching the wrestling in the audience cheered loudly from morning to night, without stopping.

Some smart ones steamed big buns, boiled hot water, and brought up beef, mutton, and wine. They shouted and sold out, and the happy vendors laughed heartily.

The winner will not be decided until the Youpai hour.

[Knock Down the Mountain] Liu Zilu, [Tread on the Iron Plate] Song Jingang, and Duan Jikuai are the top three.

Xiao Rang summoned the three men forward, divided the spoils among them, and then asked, "Do you three dare to fight with these three men?"

[Knockdown of the Mountain] Liu Zilu said: "Sir, I wonder what the reason is?"

Xiao Rang said, "Three warriors, if you are interested in seeking an official position in Liang State, come and compete. If you can beat Cao Tielin, you can be a deputy commander. If you can beat [Shameless] Jiao Ting and [Wandering Son] Yan Qing, you can be a regimental commander."

[Iron Plate Step] Song Jingang asked: "Really?"

Jiao Ting said: "The king's words are golden, can they be false?"

Duan said quickly: "I only know sumo wrestling, but I am not good at spear and stick fighting. I am afraid that I will be useless in the army."

Jiao Ting pointed at Cao Tielin and laughed, "You must have heard of this brother Cao Tielin. He is not good at spears or sticks, but now he runs a tavern and serves as a patrol officer. He teaches many apprentices how to fight. His status is equivalent to that of a county lieutenant."

"I remember you. When I competed with Ren Yuan that year, you were ahead of me. The king also asked us to look for you, but unfortunately, it was very chaotic that day, and we couldn't find your brothers for a while, so we had to leave." Jiao Ting pointed at Duan and said quickly.

Duan Jikuai was the first to speak: "I have wanted to surrender for a long time, but unfortunately I was defeated that day and had no words to come to see you."

"Today is the right time. The king intends to follow the example of the Song Dynasty court and set up inner guards. You and others may be able to serve as guards, generals, or instructors. Even if you are disciples, if you are loyal, you can be transferred to the imperial guards."

After hearing this, Liu Zilu, who knocked down the mountain, and Song Jingang, who stepped on the iron plate, also said hurriedly: "If this is the case, we are also willing to surrender to the king."

Xiao Rang said, "Okay. Do you want to pick someone from these three to compete?"

Duan Ji said quickly: "I was no match for Ren Yuan back then, but Brother Jiao Ting was able to defeat him. I think he is more skilled than me. So I will choose Cao Tielin to compete with me." "Okay." Cao Tielin responded.

Immediately, another gong sounded on the stage. A soldier shouted, "Duan Jikuai, fight against Cao Tielin, watch out."

When the audience heard the gong, they thought that the spoils had been divided and they would disperse, but they did not expect that there was still a sumo expert.

On the stage, Duan Jikuai and Cao Tielin were facing off.

Cao Tielin took off his clothes and turban, revealing his dark flesh, and stood aside. Duan Jikuai saw him and took off his clothes without any hurry, and stood opposite.

Hearing the gong sound, Cao Tielin leaned down, opened his hands, and slowly moved to the center. Duan Jikuai saw it, but he circled the stage, moving quickly left and right, front and back, trying to find Cao Tielin's flaws.

The two men, one steady and the other agile, fought back and forth for more than ten rounds. Cao Tielin was a man of great strength. He had been running a tavern in Dulonggang for many years. He had a constant supply of good food and wine, and he had been fighting every day, so his martial arts skills had become more and more sophisticated. Duan Jikuai rushed to Cao Tielin's left foot. Cao Tielin swayed, retreated half a step, and spun with his left hand, punching Duan Jikuai's arm. Duan Jikuai blocked it, but Cao Tielin's right hand had already grabbed Duan Jikuai's right shoulder, and he pulled with all his strength, and tripped Duan Jikuai with his left foot, knocking him to the ground.

In the stands, tens of thousands of incense officials watched and cheered in unison.

When [Knockdown Mountain] Liu Zilu and [Iron Plate Stepping] Song Jingang saw this, they also put away their contempt. After the two discussed it, [Knockdown Mountain] Liu Zilu stepped forward and said, "Sir, I want to challenge [Wanderer] Yan Qing."

Xiao Rang looked at [Iron Plate Stepping] Song Jingang again, and Song Jingang said, "Sir, I am only on par with Duan Jikuai, so we will not compete with each other any more."

It turned out that they had heard that [Faceless] Jiao Ting had won the championship here, beating [Optimus Prime] Ren Yuan who had been unopposed for two years. Seeing Yan Qing was short, they thought that he must be weak and relied entirely on skills.

In this way, Liu Zilu, who is at the top of the pack in terms of height and weight and is known as "Knock Down the Mountain", will be able to compete.

After hearing this, Xiao Rang nodded and asked Yan Qing and Liu Zilu to get ready.

Yan Qing took off his turban, combed his hair, took off his boots, squatted barefoot beside the stage, untied his knee braces, jumped up, and took off his shirt, revealing a body covered with embroidery, like soft jade on the pillars of a jade pavilion.

He just put on a show, and the audience in the temple cheered as if the sea was being stirred up.

[Knockdown the Mountain] Liu Zilu, who was over nine feet tall and had a waist that was ten times wider than his waist, roared loudly and rushed towards Yan Qing.

Yan Qing had watched for a long time and had already seen Liu Zilu's ability to knock down mountains. This fellow was best at headbutting, and if he caught someone, he would knock him headfirst, and many people would be knocked unconscious by him.

Yan Qing was naturally on guard against him, and when he saw him running towards him, he did not go to meet him, but went under Liu Zilu's left side. Liu Zilu got angry and turned around to grab Yan Qing again, but Yan Qing made a false leap and went under his right side again.

It was inconvenient for the big man to turn around, and he changed his position three or two times, and his steps became chaotic. Yan Qing rushed in, twisted Liu Zilu with his right hand, inserted his left hand into Liu Zilu's crotch, and pressed his shoulder blade against his chest, lifting Liu Zilu up straight, making him top-heavy and using the force to spin four or five times, and threw Liu Zilu to the stage.

This flutter is called the pigeon spin.

Tens of thousands of incense officials watched and cheered in unison.

Yan Qing's fall not only made him famous in Liang State, but also made the people of Liang State know that the best heroes in the world were in the army of the state leader. For a time, the enthusiasm of Liang State to join the army was greatly increased.

Zhao Zhen, who was handling military and political affairs in Qingcheng Palace, also received the reminder.

World Log:

At the Daiyue Temple Fair, sumo wrestling is popular in Liang State, Liang State's reputation +1, military +1, economy +1.

(End of this chapter)