The rise of the late Song Dynasty reigns supreme

Chapter 36 Martial Examination Assessment ([-])

After the county magistrate gave the order, everyone was eager to try.First off, Li Chun looked at the surging crowd, looking forward to it.After a while, the scribe sent the roster.Li Chun looked at them, and called them one by one. Those whose names were called entered the school field one after another, took out their bows and arrows, and studied archery first, and then horseback riding and archery.At this moment, in front of the Martial Arts Hall, there was no sound, only the sound of chi chi arrows could be heard, the sound was endless.Zhou Tong, Zhao Gou and Yue Fei listened to the sound of arrows from the martial boys, Zhou Tong couldn't help laughing.

Zhao Gou and Yue Fei looked at each other and asked, "Master, why is it so funny?"

Zhou Tong laughed and said, "Pengju, Zhao Gou, didn't you two hear that? Those who compete in archery can only hear the sound of the bow and arrow, but not the sound like a drum. Isn't it funny?"

Zhao Gou and Yue Fei still didn't understand what Zhou Tong was referring to, and asked in puzzlement, "Master, is there any difference between the two? Of course you hear the sound of bows and arrows when you compare bows and arrows. How can you hear the sound of drums?"

"You don't know that those who are skilled in bow and arrow, the arrows they shoot and the noise they draw are very loud, and the shooting range should be farther than ordinary players. Moreover, the more skillful the shooting, the louder the sound of the drum, and it will be wiped out immediately. The sound of arrows. If there is no drum sound, or if it is not loud, it will be at the middle or lower level, and it will not be in the eyes of the county magistrate."

Zhou Tong spoke eloquently and said with a meaningful smile, "I'm afraid there are only a few county magistrates who would like it!"

Zhao Gou and Yue Fei focused their eyes on Li Chun, the county magistrate, and saw that the high spirits on his face disappeared, and he was a little disappointed.

Just like what Zhou Tong said, Li Chun shook his head when he watched the arrows they shot land on the arrow stack, a little disappointed, and he didn't like much of them.Li Chun looked at the roster, clicked on Qilin Village, and the word "Yue Fei" ranked first, and shouted: "Yue Fei!"

Yue Fei heard the county magistrate calling him and wanted to respond, but Zhou Tong stopped him and shook his head to signal him not to answer.Li Chun called several times, but no one answered.

"Is it still in the future, or was something delayed, and I forgot to come to take the exam? It's really strange!" The martial arts exam is a major event in the Song Dynasty, and it is one of the ways to select generals. Puzzled, he shouted again: "Tang Huai!"

Tang Huai quickly responded, "Yes!"

Li Chun called Zhang Xian and Wang Gui again, and they both agreed.The three came forward together, and the fathers of the three looked nervous and a little excited. They all stood up, stared wide-eyed, and watched intently, thinking that their sons would get good grades and go to Beijing to take the exam.

Tang Huai, Zhang Xian, and Wang Gui all took a step forward. County Magistrate Li took a look at the three of them and felt that they were a little different.When the three of them saw Li Chun, they saluted and asked straight to the point: "You are all from Qilin Village, there should be another Yue Fei, why didn't he come?"

"Sure enough, it's exactly what the master said!" Wang Gui, Tang Huai, and Zhang Xian looked at each other, and Tang Huai replied, "He will come later."

Li Chun didn't ask too much, nodded and said, "If that's the case, let's test your bow and arrow first!"

The three of them all came to the school field, Tang Huai and others saw that the arrow stack was only sixty paces away and could not show their arrow skills, so they said: "I beg the master to order the servants to move the arrow stack farther away."

Li Chun was surprised and said, "It's already sixty steps, can it be farther?"

Tang Huai and the three said in unison: "It needs to be further away."

Li County Magistrate then ordered: "Show eighty steps!"

Zhang Xian went up again and said back and forth: "I beg the master to go further."

County Magistrate Li said helplessly, "Put a hundred paces."

Wang Gui said again: "Please go further, my lord."

"The three of you are sure you want to go further?" The county lord couldn't help laughing. He looked at Zhang Xian and the three of them in surprise, and seeing their firm expressions, he said loudly: "If that's the case, then take 120 steps!"

Wang Gui, Zhang Xian and Tang Huai didn't speak anymore, after the yamen servant heard about it, he went down and put the arrow pile back 120 steps.Tang Huai held the first handle, Zhang Xian held the second handle, and Wang Gui held the third handle.The three of them shoot their bows and arrows exactly the same, because a master taught them.

Zhou Tong's horseback riding and archery skills are well known to the officials of the Song Dynasty, and the three of them have been learning the art from Zhou Tong's side for many years.Although not as powerful as Yue Fei, they are all first-class players, much better than those before.Everyone applauded in unison, and even County Magistrate Li was stunned.

The arrows shot by Wang Gui and the other three were the opposite of what they were before, the arrows were stacked up, and they were not in vain.But he heard the beating of the drum, but he didn't hear the sound of the bow and arrow. The drum didn't stop until the shooting was over.County magistrate Li saw the three of them as if seeing a rare treasure, his eyes were shining brightly, and he was very happy, so he asked: "Who taught you three bows and arrows?"

Wang Guidao: "The three of us are all taught by the same master."

County Magistrate Li asked curiously, "Who is your master?"

Wang Gui was silent for a moment, before repeating what he said earlier: "It's the master."

County magistrate Li couldn't help laughing, and said: "Although your martial arts skills are high, you don't understand. Which master is it? What is your name?"

Tang Huai hurried forward and replied: "My teacher is from Kansai, his surname is Zhou and his name is Dong."

County magistrate Li suddenly realized: "It turns out that Mr. Zhou is Mr. Zhou. He is a good friend of this county. We haven't seen each other for a long time. Where is he now?"

Tang Huai said: "Now in the tea tent below."

Li County Magistrate heard this, and immediately sent someone to follow Wang Gui and three people to invite Zhou Tong to come, and on the other side, he entrusted the Yamen official to watch the crowd compare arrows.Zhou Tong heard the sound of the drum getting louder and then stopped, and smiled knowingly: "It seems that the three of them have performed well, and they will definitely be favored, so I can rest assured."

After a while, Wang Gui and others led the servants to Zhou Tong.Before they could speak, Zhou Tong already knew why they came.So, Zhou Tong took Zhao Gou and Yue Fei along with them and came to the Martial Arts Hall.County magistrate Li looked around and finally saw Zhou Tong coming, he hurried down the stairs to greet him personally, the two of them greeted each other, and sat down as guest and host.

County magistrate Li wondered, "Eldest brother has set up an account in Chang county, but he is not cared for, why?"

Zhou Tong laughed and said, "It's not because of my brother that I don't come to visit. The residents of Qilin Village had better make up their minds and start a lawsuit. If my brother walks around in Xiandi Street, there will be people talking about favors and other things. If a good brother If you listen to the sentiment, you will destroy the law of the country; if you don't listen, you will hurt the peace, so it is better not to come."

Li Chundao: "Forgive me."

Zhou Tong said: "You and I, brothers, don't come here for a long time. I don't know how many sons have been born?"

Li Chun sighed: "The first wife has passed away, so there is no remarriage, leaving only a young daughter, who is 15 years old."

Zhou Tong said: "Since there is no son, it's time to remarry."

County magistrate Li said with a wry smile: "Because my younger brother has a little bit of trouble, he often reports it, so he doesn't dare to marry again. I don't know how big brother's sister-in-law is?"

Zhou Tong said sadly, "It's been many years since I passed away."

Li Chundao: "Is there a son?"

Zhou Tong waved his hand, Yue Fei hurried forward and said with a smile, "My son, come here to meet uncle."

Yue Fei stepped forward in response and saluted County Magistrate Li.Li Chun looked at Yue Fei, seeing that he was about 16 years old, he couldn't help laughing and said: "Brother is here to make fun of younger brother again, when did the eldest brother give birth to such a son?"

"To tell you the truth, my daughter is my own son, but this son belongs to a foolish brother named Yue Fei." Zhou Tong smiled lightly, Li County Magistrate remained silent, and seeing Zhou Tong again said: "My dear brother, please look at his son." How about bows and arrows?"

Li Chundao: "Your disciple is like this, your son must be fine, so you don't need to read it!"

Zhou Tong sternly said: "My dear brother, this is to select talents for the country, and they must follow the public. Besides, we must convince the public. How can we miss the old relationship. If this is the case, it will not be talked about by others, and it will be disadvantageous to my virtuous brother."

After thinking about it, Li Chun felt that Zhou Tong's words were polite, and said in a deep voice, "What brother said is very true, then let's see how your son is doing. I'll ask someone to fetch some of the stacks."

Yue Fei said confidently: "I need to play some more."

County Magistrate Li knew that Zhou Tong's riding and shooting skills were excellent, and that Yue Fei was Zhou Tong's adopted son, so he must have received Zhou Tong's true instruction, so he followed Yue Fei's words and said, "Let's go down."

The servant quickly agreed, and lowered the arrow stack twenty steps, the distance was already 140 steps.County Magistrate Li thought that Yue Fei would be fine, but Yue Fei said again, "We need to do more."

Li Chun was taken aback. The distance of 140 steps was already far beyond ordinary people. Even Zhang Xian and others also took 120 steps.So, Li Chun turned his head and said in a low voice, "How many steps can your son shoot?"

Zhou Tong replied calmly: "Although the child is young, he can draw a strong bow, and he may shoot to 240 steps."

Li Chun's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.However, he kept praising him, and he couldn't believe it in his heart, so he ordered: "Arrange the arrow stacks for 240 steps!"

Li Chun didn't believe that Yue Fei could hit the arrow stack from 240 steps away, which is also a normal person's thinking.However, Zhao Gou, Zhang Xian and the others had a flat face, as if they had already known about it.Because Zhou Tong's riding and shooting skills are the best in the world, Yue Fei is his personal disciple and adopted son. What he taught him is the "God Arm Bow", which can open more than [-] catties, and can shoot left and right.

Everyone looked at Yue Fei intently, and saw that he walked down the steps steadily, then stood up straight, adjusted the hard bow in his hand a little, then pulled the string of the arrow, hooked the arrow, and fired nine shots in a row. .

The yamen servant who beat the drum started from the first arrow and went straight to the ninth arrow before stopping.The people watching the test below applauded in unison, Yue Fei's skill of shooting nine arrows with one hand stunned the martial arts boys from all towns and villages.Even the fathers of Wang Gui and others clapped their hands and praised them when they stood outside and watched.

I saw the arrow shot out, nine arrows were fired together, lined up, piercing the air, and directly hitting the arrow stack.Seeing that the yamen servant next to him was shocked, he hastily stepped forward and said, "This gentleman is really a strange man! Nine arrows are shot from one hole, and the arrows are gathered together on the bucket. It is really a miraculous skill, very wonderful!"

After Li Chun was overjoyed, he knew that this arrow technique was one of Zhou Tong's famous skills, and seeing that Yue Fei had this arrow technique at a young age, he couldn't help but feel a little happy, and asked, "How old is your son? Zeng Bi Are you married?"

Zhou Tong smiled and said, "Twenty-eight wasted, I haven't made a marriage yet."

Li Chun said directly: "If the elder brother doesn't dislike it, the younger brother is willing to betroth the younger daughter to the son. I don't know how to respect it?"

Zhou Tong was very happy in his heart, but he said, "It's so wonderful, I'm afraid I won't be able to climb it."

Li Chun was a little angry, and shouted: "Brother good friend, why bother to be polite. The younger brother has made a decision, and will send my little girl Gengtie tomorrow."

Zhou Tong thanked him and called Yue Fei, "Come over and thank father-in-law."

Yue Fei immediately came up to thank him, Zhou Tong was secretly elated.Now, Yue Fei not only excels in archery and is appreciated by Li Chun, but also surprises everyone with his skills, which makes him look good.Immediately, Zhou Tong was about to turn around and leave, but seeing Li Chun looking at Zhao Gou who turned and left, he couldn't help asking, "Brother, who is this person?"

Zhou Tong turned to look at Li Chun again, and seeing him looking at Zhao Gou again, he couldn't help laughing and said, "This is my closed-door disciple, and he's also the last one to start, because he's from Bianjing and he's still young. Never signed up."

"Is he your closed disciple?" Li Chun was horrified, and after seeing Zhao Gou's vague aura, he said with a smile: "Since your son has finished the competition, he is also your disciple. Mind if he shoots an arrow, it just opens my eyes."

Zhao Gou couldn't help being stunned, even Zhou Tong was a little surprised, and looked at Li Chun curiously at Zhao Gou, thinking: "Since he wants to see Gou'er's arrow skills, it's better to follow his wish." .And, I also want to see how Gouer's archery has improved, it's so good."

　I hope everyone will support, click, collect, thank you~~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)