Chiwuxing

Chapter [-] - Tang Lan crossed the wall and brought candied gourds, and Fu Chen took the blame for riding a horse bestowed by the emperor

Inside the Privy Council, there are many eunuchs outside the main gate.

Li Xiaoshan handed a stack of documents to the table, and said, "My lord, this is the ranking list of the Gyeonggi Army's recent martial arts test. According to your instructions, here are the top [-] shortlisted, and there are places from various places." The [-] elite soldiers selected by Yiwei are all to make up for the red-armored soldiers who lost in Qiannan last year."

"Well," the person behind the table picked it up with a nod, rolled up his ochre-colored sleeves, and said slowly while checking, "Since the chaos subsided, the voices of opposition from the DPRK and China to military expenditures have gradually come to the fore. It’s hard to catch this year’s recuperation, so I can take this opportunity to select some newcomers in the Chijia personal guards.”

"We are the ones who won the battle, how can we let them speak?" Li Xiaoshan said angrily.

"Those people who don't understand bullshit only regard winning battles as the obligation of the army," Jin Duo looked at him, and said, "Winning, it should be taken for granted, and losing, there are even more reasonable reasons to squeeze our baggage expenses here. So once the battle is over, they first calculate how much food was spent in the battle, and how many people's livelihoods were destroyed in the eight counties in southern Qiannan, so they don't have the time to find out how much subsidies our army needs to give to the soldiers."

Li Xiaoshan said: "I see that He Libao and Zhuang Deqing haven't dared to make any big moves for so long, and even Jiang Hua, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, has restrained himself a lot in the dark recently. I think it's time for us to feel proud when."

"It's all just a superficial effort for people to see. They don't do anything, but what should those eunuch officials in the court do? Are they manipulating? The entire environment of Dayan Qingwu is here. You don’t know who it is? Don’t talk about Old Bandit Jiang so peacefully,” Jin Duo said coldly, “Mo Mo.”

He checked a line of lists, and Li Xiaoshan picked up the ink stick beside him, muttering: "Why doesn't the admiral choose more people to go over, how much use will these twenty people add to the army?"

"Are you confused about being an admiral?" Jin Duo shook his head, the flesh on his face was flying all over his face, and said, "The soldiers in the capital are probably the people who were inserted by the officials of the capital. Okay, embroidered pillows, how many can bear the hardships of fighting at the border? Twenty people are selected from the local soldiers of the imperial capital who are really capable, this number is enough."

Li Xiaoshan was stunned, Jin Duo scanned the list again, and asked, "Have you found out the backgrounds of these people?"

Li Xiaoshan approached a few steps, pointed at the list, and said, "Most of them are the children of families settled in central Beijing, and some of them were exiled from poor families. The family has no relatives, and he was elected to the Gyeonggi Army with his ability to use force, and there is Fu Chen above... The servant has some impressions that he just joined the army last year. It was found that his background when he signed up was that his parents died and he was wandering in Beijing. The orphan was taken in by a maidservant of a big family... After careful investigation, the maidservant who took him in was a member of the Xiangfu."

Jin Duo looked at Li Xiaoshan's finger on the list again: "Fu Chen? Isn't he the leader of this competition? If you look at it this way, he is probably the one Xiang Ni stepped in."

"This..." Li Xiaoshan hesitated, "Should we find a way to replace it?"

"Hey," Jin Duo laughed, "you don't have to be so vigilant, it's just a reminder, the purpose is to select good talents. Mr. Xie passed away for a long time, and Ni Xiang is not the one who is holding us back. The border is not peaceful. He is in Beijing. I can't sit still. Take a step back and say, this Fu Chen has just joined the army, and his every move is in the army, what kind of disturbance can he cause? Just remind the admiral later."

Li Xiaoshan frowned, obviously still worried.

"What are you worried about? Even if Ni Xiang really has any thoughts about our army, he is a person who takes care of the overall situation," Jin Duo said. "Just in time for the Privy Council to be free this afternoon, we just happened to go to the school grounds outside Beijing."

Li Xiaoshan nodded in agreement.

Fu Chen drew his bow and aimed at the bull's-eye in the distance. He squeezed his knuckles hard, narrowed his left eye slightly, his eyes were pure and focused, his face was expressionless, and his long eyelashes covered a shadow of light.

"Hey!"

Just as he was about to launch, he felt a pat on the shoulder, and he recognized who it was, and smiled slightly.

As soon as he turned his head, a bunch of red candied haws suddenly hit his face, and the sugary sweetness faded away. Fu Chen turned his head and smiled clearly: "Tang Lan, you slipped over the wall again during the training camp." ?”

Tang Lan handed the candied haws to him, still in a nonchalant manner, folded his arms aside, and said, "Anyway, the day after tomorrow, it will be transferred to the Chijia barracks in the eastern suburbs. Not us."

"Thank you," Fu Chen held the bunch of candied haws, warmth overflowed his face, he wrapped it in a handkerchief, and carefully put it aside.Looking up and seeing Tang Lan's sweaty head, guessing that he had slipped back again because of the time limit, he took out a clean handkerchief from his bosom and handed it to him, "Wipe off the sweat."

"It's really considerate," Tang Lan said casually, then shook her head and sighed, wiping and complaining, "It's not yet summer, why is there such a big sun... Slipping out of the camp, it's like taking a bath, saying Get up, my training volume is not lower than yours."

Fu Chen said casually: "The temperature is high in the afternoon, so go and have a rest when it's hot."

Tang Lan saw the bow and arrow he put aside, then looked at the training field with few people in the afternoon, raised his head to cover the sun, and said, "It's about this time, everyone is going to take a lunch break, Zijie, It's time for you to rest too, sharpening your knife doesn't cost woodcutters, so you don't have to rush at this time..."

"It's okay." Fu Chen smiled shyly, and then replied, "Don't you have a lunch break at this time? There is no one on the training ground at the moment, so you should take this opportunity to practice more."

"Oh," Tang Lan was powerless to refute, and glanced at the sidelines again, and said, "Okay, it's no fun for this person to practice static targets. How about we practice horseback riding and archery together? Let's see, who can pull out the target?" First place?"

"Okay, it's rare for you to compare arrows with me," Fu Chen was unconsciously carried away by his enthusiasm, and replied with a smile, "Listen to you."

"Let's go, let's go," Tang Lan said excitedly, pulling him to the stable outside the field, "It happens that there is no one at the moment, so we can pick a good horse!"

The war horses in the stables stood in rows, their faces moved slowly, and they were obviously tired from the afternoon.

Tang Lan picked it for a long time, and finally stood in front of a good black horse, with hale eyes, mane fluttering in the sun, shiny coat, dense and moist tentacles, it is extraordinary at first glance.

But Fu Chen only picked a reddish-brown horse that looked slender and moderately fat among the few war horses commonly used by soldiers for training. After pulling it out, he saw Tang Lan's posture and couldn't help but be surprised: "You are a first-class horse in the stables. Has your good horse been brought out?...Even the school captain has never seen him ride it, so it's probably not good for someone to see it."

"Don't worry," Tang Lan stroked the mane of the horse, and said, "I have inquired before that this black horse was obtained as a tribute from the Hu Qiang people. His Majesty gave it to the Jingji camp earlier, and it was said that it was a good soldier in the army. All soldiers can ride, but even the guards of the Red Armored Army have never ridden before, we have passed the test, and we have the advantage of being close to the water, so if there are people who will disagree, we will not dare to contradict His Majesty."

Fu Chen shook his head, and sighed: "You always do these outrageous things, such ostentation may cause everyone's criticism."

Tang Lan led the horse over and patted his friend's shoulder, saying: "Hey... well, well, training is important. I'm not afraid to have you, the leader of the trial, here. A good horse deserves a hero, so I'll try this After all, a good horse is not a waste..."

"...It's up to you." Fu Chen couldn't resist him, with a look of helplessness on his face.

Tang Lan continued: "How about this, there are ten targets on the east side and ten targets on the west side. Let's take turns to ride horses along the central axis five times at a normal marching speed, shoot fifty arrows in a row, and then compare the final archery results."

"Okay." Fu Chen nodded.

The two mounted the horse together.

"Master Jin, the soldiers are still taking a lunch break at the moment, you can come and sit in the tent for a while." Ji Zhan said to the ocher-clothed official beside him.

Jin Duo smiled and said: "It's okay, I don't have any important business this afternoon, and I will come to Jingji Camp for a long time. I heard that this year's competition also has many good seedlings recommended to Chijiali."

Ji Zhan nodded repeatedly.

Jin Duo walked along the road in the school grounds, looked around at the surrounding facilities, and said, "This Jingji barracks is an important place to guard the peace of the imperial city. You won’t encounter any major turmoil in China, but you still have to practice basic skills diligently.”

"Don't worry, my lord," Ji Zhan said, nodding his head, "Never ignore the daily training, and will often arrange rounds of rank battles among the soldiers to encourage them to continuously improve their martial arts."

"Well, that's right," Jin Duo praised, then remembered again, "I heard that Fu Chen is the number one among the twenty selected this time?"

"Exactly...you recognize it too?" Ji Zhan continued, "This kid was selected into the camp last year. At the beginning, his basic skills were not very solid, but every time he competed, he could come up with some strange moves to win. Later, It took a lot of time to rectify, and the basic skills can be regarded as some progress. The talent is good, the key people can endure hardships, and the person... is not too ostentatious, and does not like to show off, which is quite valuable."

"Oh?" Jin Duo raised his interest, "Listening to these words, it's no wonder that you can boast like this. Now I really have to call out to let me see who it is."

"My lord has given you too much credit..."

Several people walked to the main training ground in the camp, and Ji Zhan introduced: "This is the main training ground for daily riding and shooting and formation."

Jin Duo looked and saw two fast horses galloping in the camp, raising a cloud of smoke and dust, and he couldn't see the human figure clearly.

Jin Duo wondered, "Is there still someone training at this time?"

The scorching sun was venting on the field, and Jin Duo could only squint at the sidelines to see the traces of the horses passing by, causing a cloud of smoke and dust.

Ji Zhan kept his composure and sighed: "At this time, Fu Chen is probably the one who is still training in the camp. He started off with a lot of poor foundation. At that time, he took up rest and meal time on weekdays to train alone. It’s rare to see him slack off in a year.”

"Oh?" Jin Duo looked into the distance and said in surprise, "I see there are two people over there."

Seeing this, Ji Zhan said directly: "You might as well get down and call them over."

After finishing speaking, Ji Zhan yelled a few times to the field, Fu Chen and Tang Lan were concentrating on riding and shooting, but they were also surprised when they heard the sound, so they hurriedly got off their horses and went forward.

"Meet the captain." The two saluted together.

Jin Duo followed Hao Dang with several attendants.

Perhaps it was because he was facing the sun, when Fu Chen raised his eyes, he saw the wide fat face, and immediately overlapped the back of the eunuch in ocher clothes he had seen at the ancestor worship ceremony, facing the sun at this time. Come.

"This is Master Jin Duojin from the Privy Council." Ji Zhan introduced from the side.

On the empty land filled with yellow sand, everything is dreamy and fuzzy.

Fu Chen couldn't hear any sounds around him for a while, and the hot and stuffy air blocked his ears.Fu Chen just stared at the person in front of him in bewilderment, and almost subconsciously reached his waist with his hand. He caught nothing, only to realize that he was practicing archery today and had never brought a sword.

The eunuch's face happened to be sideways under the red sun, Fu Chen just looked at it directly, the sun covered his eyelids.

This time I saw the face of the heart, the eunuch's face was as short and fat as he expected, the sun's dust fell out through the black gauze hat brim, the round head below was comparable to the outline of the sun behind, and the tip of the nose was still dripping with sweat Beads, salty and greasy sticking to the oily yellow skin.

"Fu Chen, Fu Chen..." Someone patted him on the arm.

Fu Chen came back to his senses in an instant, looked at Tang Lan who was at the side, Tang Lan whispered to him: "The captain asked you something."

He looked at Ji Zhan again, who was looking suspiciously at him, with warning in his eyes, and said, "Fu Chen, what's wrong with you today?"

Fu Chen hurriedly smiled apologetically and said, "Sorry, I was distracted just now, and I didn't understand what you were asking..."

"Fu Chen has practiced for a whole day since the early morning today, and it's reasonable to be a little tired at this time..." Tang Lan said, secretly taking Ji Zhan's eyes.

Ji Zhan had no choice but to repeat it again, saying, "My lord asks you about your family background and where did you come from?"

Fu Chen looked at the eunuch again, his smile gradually subsided, and he said in a deep voice: "I was an abandoned baby near the imperial capital since I was a child, but fortunately a servant of the Xiangfu rescued me and was raised by him."

Jin Duo felt weird, ever since the young man saw him, his expression was in a trance, his eyes were gloomy, he really didn't seem to be extremely tired, on the contrary, he had the illusion that he had some entanglement with him before, but looking at his face was really unfamiliar .He looked at the curly hair hanging down on the young man's forehead, and his complexion was a little paler than that of the Yan people, and he couldn't help but wondered again: "Do you have barbarian blood?"

Fu Chen nodded without further explanation, looking timid with his head bowed in silence.

Seeing his reaction, Jin Duo frowned slightly.

Seeing this embarrassing situation, Ji Zhan was about to change the subject, when he suddenly saw the black horse in the distance, he was startled, and subconsciously shouted: "Hey... who brought out this royally gifted Yuhui BMW!"

Jin Duo's gaze also changed accordingly.

Tang Lan was originally behind Fu Chen, but when she heard this, she opened her peachy eyes, and quickly approached Fu Chen, scratched his palm, and whispered: "Zijie... help me... there are officials here, I dare not explain……"

The pitiful tone made Fu Chen jump out of his thoughts in an instant.

Fu Chen saw that Ji Zhan and his group were all looking back, took a small step forward, and said, "Captain, the horse was brought here by Biao."

Ji Zhan glanced at him up and down, with surprise in his eyes: "You? You take it out for daily training? I've never seen you take it out before."

Fu Chen bowed his head and explained: "The bidding is just... I just heard from a brother earlier that His Majesty bestowed this BMW on the Gyeonggi Auxiliary Army, but... it can be used for good soldiers in the army. The bidding... is bold..."

Ji Zhan secretly glared at the young man, and since Jin Duo and his party were present, it was inconvenient for him to get angry, so he said: "It is true what Your Majesty said, but it is not used for daily training for the time being, and it will be used when His Majesty personally rewards riding and shooting. "

Fu Chen immediately folded his arms and pleaded guilty: "It's a reckless bid, I ask the captain to take the blame."

Ji Zhan also wanted to convict him, but Jin Duo stopped him: "Forget it, Fu Chen also joined the army last year. He didn't catch up with the time when His Majesty bestowed the horse. Those who didn't know were innocent and didn't hurt the horse. It's not a big deal. Son, there is no need to pursue too much."

Seeing Jin Duo open his mouth, Ji Zhan had his heart set on it, and he didn't want to pursue it any further, but the atmosphere suddenly cooled down.

Jin Duo asked Fu Chen again: "Are you willing to fight on the battlefield? You can get promoted here, but fighting on the battlefield is also a choice. Which one do you choose?"

"The villain has no big ambitions. He only wants to contribute to the country of Yan. It doesn't matter where he is." Fu Chen replied with his head bowed, his words regular.

Jin Duo nodded: "Since that's the case, the army really needs a military talent like you. Once you enter the red armor, you will be waiting for your repeated military exploits."

Fu Chen nodded, there was no look of joy or excitement on his face, nor did he say much, he just answered blindly, not knowing if he would not say it, did not want to say it, or did not dare to say it.

Li Xiaoshan, who was following beside him, saw the young man's impolite manners, and had long been impatient. At this time, he said from the side: "Master Ji Zhan, our lord still has an official document to approve today..."

Jin Duo said with a smile to Ji Zhan: "I also learned about the daily training of the Gyeonggi Army today. You can be regarded as a good supervisor. The other lieutenants have been rewarded. If there are other arrangements in the future, they will be notified in advance. What will happen today?" I'm busy, why don't I just leave now?"

Seeing that he had obvious intentions to leave, Ji Zhan bowed with a smile and said, "Go ahead and send someone to notify you if you have any orders."

Jin Duo nodded, and then left with a group of people.

Ji Zhan turned his head, also with a gloomy face, raised his eyebrows and said, "This is really your horse, Fu Zijie?"

Fu Chen nodded and said, "Yes, it's just that Shi Xia was confused for a while."

Ji Zhan glanced suspiciously at Tang Lan behind him, knowing that the two of them were close, but he couldn't find any evidence and never questioned him. He swallowed his anger and said, "You will enter the red armor immediately and become a soldier on the official battlefield." Now, I can't control much now, just don't lose people from the Gyeonggi Army when you go out... You have to take care of yourself and don't forget what you should do."

A slight warning at the end.

Fu Chen responded awkwardly, watching Ji Zhan's slightly angry figure leave.

Only the sparse sound of horseshoes kicking remained on the training ground.

"Hey!" Tang Lan sighed, "I'm sorry, Zijie, I really didn't have the cheek to speak in front of Mrs. Jin just now... I just got a quota, if I lose the captain's face before I leave I'm going to kick me again later. If Ji Zhan came to ask me alone, I would answer directly..."

"It's okay." Fu Chen didn't notice that he just said "Jin" instead of "Jia", so he just reassured him, "The captain didn't convict me, you were right before, let's go to Chijia immediately." They are in the guard camp, and they have nothing to do with it."

Tang Lan showed a little shame.

Fu Chen turned around and said, "We haven't seen the results of the competition just now, let's go back and have a look."

"Well," Tang Lan nodded and said, "You go to see mine, and I'll see yours."

The sun was shining, and the two rode to each other's target. After looking at each other, they returned to the center of the field.

After taking a closer look, Tang Lan showed a depressed face, and said, "Just tell me how many times I missed the target."

Fu Chen hesitated for a moment, then replied, "Two."

"You don't need to look carefully," Tang Lan said, "All of your dozens of arrows are within the red hearts, you... oh!"

"Nearly ten of you hit the bull's-eye, and the accuracy is fine," Fu Chen persuaded, "And when you arrive at the barracks, you have to divide the troops into specific types. You don't have to be all-rounders to go to the battlefield. The generals will have choices. .”

"You're right," Tang Lan shook her head again, winked at him, and said, "I'd better practice my sword. It seems that I'm destined to miss out on archers."

Fu Chen smiled.

Tang Lan rarely showed a bit of depression, and murmured in a low voice: "Just this time..."

"...What?" Fu Chen didn't hear what he muttered in a low voice.

"I'm going to compare arrows with you this time, and I'll never compete again," Tang Lan added, "It's a shame..."

Fu Chen burst out laughing, and said, "I'll invite you out for a drink at the camp tonight, how about it? Don't be angry..."

Tang Lan raised her eyebrows, stared into Fu Chen's eyes, with a triumphant look: "Okay."

The carriage is traveling on the road.

Facing the carriage window, Li Xiaoshan walked beside him and said, "Your servant sees that Fu Chen from the Jingji Army is so unhappy that he can't even say a word. Could it be that his grades were faked?"

"It's not enough to be fake. The leader of the auxiliary army is our own. It's just that there are some mistakes in one or two scores in the back. The top three are all re-examined. Who is so stupid to get the limelight," Jin Duo shook his head. Said, "Didn't you hear him? He was a wanderer since he was a child, and he hasn't seen much in the world. Stage fright is inevitable when he meets people. It's not a big problem. He will fight in the future, and he doesn't want to be a literary talent. Besides ...The look in his eyes... Tsk, it's always a bit strange, it is estimated that some childhood experiences have caused some temperamental incentives, that look... this child has something on his mind."

Li Xiaoshan didn't pay attention to his eyes, but he couldn't understand his shy and bullied appearance, and said coldly: "Can such a person go to the battlefield? Don't be scared away by the enemy as soon as he goes on the field."

The eunuch is a talented person, and every year a poor family who wants to make a fortune sends a young son to the palace to be an eunuch. He has experienced several rounds of selection and selection every year.Except for those who deliberately squeeze out money to bribe the operator, they are also from a poor family. If among their peers, they can't show some cleverness and cleverness, how can they stand out from the crowd and learn to read and write? ?All opportunities are only reserved for top talents who have the courage to strive for performance. If you give up a point, thousands of people will be able to step up to it.

Jin Duo is used to seeing those cunning eunuchs who ask for rewards, but he doesn't take it seriously when he encounters such a foolish person, sooner or later he will be killed by the enemy as cannon fodder and sword shavings.

"How do you talk like this?" Jin Duo scolded, "When did you become so mean? Since the kid is willing to practice martial arts diligently and can concentrate on practicing, sooner or later he will still be a master."

"It's just based on his ability... Didn't he secretly ride the horse given by His Majesty?" Li Xiaoshan was a little bit aggrieved, and said, "It seems that he is also a man who is proud of his achievements... You look at him all the time. You have an honest face, but in fact, you may not be able to tell how many ghosts are in your mind..."

"Heh," Jin Duo chuckled, "Xiao Shan, you have been managing military affairs with me for a long time. Why did you forget the skill of observing people's words and feelings when you served others? It was obvious that the soldier behind asked him to help, and this child is so Saying this on purpose shows that he has a good heart and is diligent. He is a good seed for a soldier. Those who join the army should not be contaminated with the filth of the former court... As for other personal reasons, he has fought too many battles. , more blood flow, it will naturally change, don't be so stubborn about it."

"The slave has seen it, and he's not stubborn here, but if someone else were to stab this matter here, a small crime of impersonation would be enough for him to die once," Li Xiaoshan said, "Who Regardless of the truth, anyway, he voluntarily admitted it... Isn't this stupid what is?"

"Forget it, just remind Ji Zhan that this trivial matter will be over, but the crow that Hu Qiang paid tribute to will have to find a way to deal with it in another day, and the good horse will soon become an old horse," Jin Duo sighed, "A group of young soldiers still need to temper themselves slowly. After all, the red-armored guards are the elite of our Yan army. Only by constantly updating talents can we lay a good foundation for military strength. The group of barbarians in the south of the province are yelling at the border all day long. , as if he had never seen the world before."

"If you talk about this..." Li Xiaoshan said, "His Royal Highness King Yu is in trouble, and the army will lose the backbone... What should we do?"

Jin Duo said: "Although the admiral's position is there, his status is in the end. Originally, he established his prestige in the army based on the relationship with King Yu. Now, I'm afraid that many lieutenants will inevitably start to have a grudge in their hearts. There is a vacancy in the army. It's better to go back. Discuss this matter with His Majesty in detail."

Li Xiaoshan replied: "Your Excellency has also worked hard."

Jin Duo shook his head: "It's nothing compared to the admiral's hardships in and out of the army these years. The eunuchs have a bad reputation in private, and everyone in the court knows it, but they haven't shown it on the surface."

"What about eunuchs?" Li Xiaoshan snorted coldly, "A group of people want to become eunuchs every year but still can't climb up!"

"What are you talking about!" Jin Duo scolded with a smile, looking at this civil official who was only younger than himself, and said, "Many things can be done slowly, there is no rush now."

The place was approaching, Jin Duo lowered the curtain of the car window.