The Red Chamber: Starting from Saving Xue Baochai

Chapter 52 The Emperor Visits the Archery Field

Obviously, these three people are no longer on the same competitive level as other martial arts candidates.

Apart from Shen Yuan, Feng Ziying and Jiang Fan, no one else could get full marks in the three subjects of literary examination, skills and bravery, and archery.

Every time the other candidates see these three people appear on stage, they feel powerless.

"Everything else is fine, but from a distance of 120 steps, they were able to hit the target every time without even a tremor in their hands. Are they still human?"

"Hey, these three are different from us after all. I wonder what they grew up eating?"

A martial arts candidate from Jinling couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. This scene seemed so familiar. In the autumn examination last year, when they faced Shen Yuan and Jiang Fan, they felt so powerless and sighed, but in the end they were all convinced and could only shout and cheer.

"Brothers, please stop feeling sentimental. Sharing the stage with the three of them is already a memory worth remembering for a lifetime. Why think so much?"

"Brother, what you said is absolutely right. We compete for our Jinshi, and they compete for their Zhuangyuan." After a pause, the man continued, "I am just curious, who will win the championship in the end?"

The same discussions were also heard among the crowd outside the martial arts garden.

"Of course Shen Yuan won first place, Feng Ziying second place, and Jiang Fan third place."

"I don't think so. Feng Ziying may be able to compete with Shen Yuan."

"But Feng Ziying has already lost in the written test."

"You also said that it was a literary test. The horseback archery in the afternoon has nothing to do with the art of war."

"The tabloids said that Shen Yuan won the championship in Nanjing with a 100-step horseback archery, but Feng Ziying has never demonstrated such a long distance. Maybe he is not as good as Jiang Fan. After all, it has been witnessed that he is not inferior to Shen Yuan in the 80-step horseback archery."

"That's because Feng Ziying has never met a decent opponent before."

"If that's the case, why do you think Feng Ziying can win? Besides, the list of winners has not deviated so far, which shows how accurate this ranking is."

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The discussion about what ranking Shen Yuan and the other two would get today continued until the afternoon.

In the Martial Arts Garden, at the beginning of the hour of Wei.

After taking a break at noon, the dispersed onlookers gathered outside the garden again, and the number of people was even greater than in the morning.

After lunch and a brief rest, more than 2,000 martial arts candidates were now ready to take on the horseback archery test that was about to begin.

Just as everyone inside and outside the venue was eagerly waiting, they suddenly saw dust and smoke billowing and flags like a forest two miles away from the martial arts garden.

Soon, hundreds of cavalrymen in brocade robes were seen galloping over. The leader was holding a red satin flag with the word "Zhou" on it, which fluttered in the wind, giving off a solemn and solemn look.

The Jinyiwei separated the crowd, leaving an aisle more than ten feet wide, and then dispersed to both sides to keep watch.

"Oh my God! What are they doing?" Some people in the crowd whispered in exclamation.

"It's the Jinyi Tiqi!"

"They are not just ordinary Jinyiwei, they seem to be the imperial guards!"

"Look at this scene, could it be..."

"Hush, be careful!"

In this solemn atmosphere, tens of thousands of people in the audience suddenly fell silent.

Not long after, a six-horse carriage with a canopy, escorted by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, slowly drove into the martial arts garden.

Dozens of other carriages followed closely behind and entered the garden.

Many people in the Shenjing City had seen the emperor travel, and when they saw him again, they were shocked beyond words.

The emperor actually came to the martial arts garden in person. Has this ever happened in previous years?
In the past, the emperor had never been to the civil examinations, let alone the military examinations. He would only meet with the candidates during the palace examinations.

Today, he came here for the first time ever to observe the military examination and the riding and archery competition.

How could it not shock the onlookers?
It is said that Your Majesty has encouraged the people to be martial in recent years. Now I see that it is true.

It seems that after a hundred years of peace in the Great Zhou Dynasty, the era of military commanders may come again.
Inside the martial arts park, at the entrance to the training ground.

Yu Qian, the Minister of War, was already waiting there. When he saw Emperor Yuanzhen stepping down from the imperial sedan chair, he hurried forward and bowed, "Your Majesty, welcome!"

Seeing this scene, all the candidates on the training ground were extremely excited.

His Majesty's presence in person is such an honor to these warriors!

Who the hell said that civil officials are superior to military officials?
Today, Your Majesty has expressed his respect for military men through practical actions, giving them hope of restoring the glory of military generals.

Led by an official from the Ministry of Rites, more than 2,000 martial arts candidates in the audience paid homage in unison, shouting "Long live the emperor" in a voice that shook the sky.

Emperor Yuan Zhen felt the atmosphere of the scene and was somewhat affected by it. He said loudly, "Today, let me see your bravery! The young men of the Great Zhou are mighty!"

"Your Majesty is mighty! Long live the Great Zhou!"

This response brought the atmosphere of the entire school to a climax.

All the candidates were eager to try and hoped to perform in front of the emperor.

At this time, tens of thousands of people outside the martial arts park could also hear the sounds coming from the training ground and felt excited.

The cabinet ministers, chancellors and other civil servants who came with Emperor Yuanzhen watched the scene in silence, with strong concerns rising in their hearts.

Isn't this the emperor's way of expressing his dissatisfaction with them and his determination to seek change and strengthen the country?

After a brief interaction, Emperor Yuanzhen led civil officials and military generals to sit on the high platform.

Afterwards, Yu Qian, the Minister of War, announced in a loud voice: "In the seventeenth year of Yuanzhen, Your Majesty personally witnessed the start of the spring examination for the new military examinations, and the riding and archery examinations have begun!"

Soon, more than 2,000 candidates were assigned to various small venues and began the horseback archery examination in an orderly manner.

Perhaps it was an intentional arrangement, as the top ten candidates with the best overall scores in the morning were ranked last in the test, with Shen Yuan and the other three being the last to appear.

About an hour later, the others finished the test, and the one with the best performance hit 25 out of 30.

Next up are the ten people with the best performance in the morning.

Among the ten people, in addition to Feng Ziying and Jiang Fan, there were two others whom Shen Yuan also knew.

Zhang Huan, who ranked tenth, was also the third among the Jinling martial arts candidates.

Liu Xianglian, who ranked fifth, was also the second in the Shenjing martial arts examination.

It has to be said that Nanjing, as the birthplace of the Great Zhou, is truly home to hidden dragons and crouching tigers.

Even if we don't count Shen Yuan, the outlier, Jinling's martial arts strength is comparable to that of Shenjing.

Ten people were tested at the same time in different venues, and the results came out soon.

Shen Yuan, Feng Ziying, and Jiang Fan all hit the target out of 30 shots.

The scores of the other seven people were between twenty-five and twenty-eight.

If things went as usual, the internal and external examinations for this year's spring martial arts examination would be completed, and the next step would be to move on to the palace examination.

But unexpectedly, Shen Yuan, Feng Ziying and Jiang Fan jointly requested an additional test.

This request directly triggered public opinion inside and outside the martial arts park.

"What's going on?"

"Request for a playoff?"

"Did these three discuss this in advance?"

"It's not surprising. In fact, we also know that a mere fifty-step horse archery can't be a problem for them."

"Is there never been a tiebreaker before?"

"It has definitely not happened in the Great Zhou for a hundred years!"

"Isn't there still a palace examination? Do these three have to compete in horseback archery?"

"Have you all forgotten the martial arts examination in Nanjing last year?"

"But at that time, Shen Yuan and Jiang Fan only changed the shooting distance, and it was not an extra game after the assessment!"

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