The rise of the late Song Dynasty reigns supreme

chapter 60

Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, it is time for the martial arts exam. Students from poor families, sons of officials, sons of merchants, etc. gather together in Bianjing City.Some people who have never entered the capital seem to be attracted by the prosperity in front of them, and the red lights and green wine are very lively.

Candidates from four counties in nine provinces came in droves. Among the many candidates, a group of people were full of joy, staring at the scene in front of them dumbfounded, as if they had never seen it before.Everyone stared wide-eyed, opened their mouths wide, and said in surprise: "As expected of Bianjing, it is really prosperous!"

Everyone nodded, and the man raised his head, only to see his bearded face and dark skin, like Zhang Fei from the Three Kingdoms period, he couldn't help but excitedly said: "Brother Yue, we finally arrived in Bianjing, and then we will go to Bianjing. Sign up, and then take the martial arts exam."

This group of people is Yue Fei and others who haven't shown up for a long time. They arrived in Bianjing on time on the day of the martial arts exam to take the martial arts exam.Yue Fei nodded and said, "Let's go and sign up!"

Therefore, Yue Fei and his party came to the registration office, registered and left.They found another hotel to stay, and everyone sat around and whispered.Yue Fei seemed to have remembered something, and sighed, "I don't know if Junior Brother has arrived in Bianjing!"

Everyone was silent, they were from the same family as Zhao Goushi, and sworn brothers, so the relationship is naturally very good.The dark-skinned burly man with full beards answered the question and asked, "Brother Yue, is he really so powerful? Lao Niu doesn't believe that his ability is even stronger than that of Brother Yue!"

This person is a hero Yue Fei subdued on his way to Beijing. His surname is Niu and his name is Gao.He was originally a thief who robbed houses, but was subdued by Yue Fei and recommended by County Magistrate Li, so that he could go to Beijing with Yue Fei and others to take the martial arts exam.

Zhao Gou was the one Yue Fei discussed the most along the way, and Zhang Xian, Wang Gui and others also talked about how amazing he was from time to time.Niu Gao has never believed that there is anyone who is better at martial arts than Yue Fei, let alone a boy who is only 12 years old.

"Fifth brother's martial arts has always been unknown to us, and it is very mysterious. Although we are from the same school, he came from behind and was close to Big Brother Yue. Back then, Big Brother Yue's arm strength was much stronger than him, so he was no match for Big Brother at all. After a period of time, the fifth brother's arm strength actually caught up with the eldest brother, what he learned is somewhat different from ours, we have not been clear all along, but we only think that the fifth brother's martial arts is the highest among the five of us."

Zhang Xian recalled every detail of Zhao Gou, and he felt that Zhao Gou was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.At the beginning, when the fathers of the three of them saw Zhao Gou, they thought it was very strange. They always felt that Zhao Gou had an inherent arrogance faintly.Before Zhou Tong died, he asked them to obey Zhao Gou's orders, but they didn't understand the reason until Yue Fei said that Zhao Gou's martial arts were far superior to his own, and everyone didn't believe it.

Yue Fei then told the situation of Zhao Gou fighting with himself. At that time, Zhou Tong had passed away, and Zhang Xian and others had returned to his home. Only Zhao Gou and Yue Fei were guarding the spirit. In the competition, from the beginning of being evenly matched, to the end when Yue Fei was at a disadvantage, everything has been said.The moment Zhao Gou defeated Yue Fei, Yue Fei understood what his master had said before he died. He already knew that Zhao Gou's martial arts was the best among the five, and he had never been honest about it. He just let them understand for themselves.

"Brother Yue, I don't know if the person Zong Shuai mentioned is the fifth brother?" Zhang Xian asked aloud, he thought the young county king Zong Ze mentioned was Zhao Gou.

Yue Fei quickly shook his head and said: "How could it be the fifth brother? That person is the most beloved ninth prince of the Holy Majesty, and he is also the envoy of the Privy Council. Although he is similar in age, he cannot be the fifth brother. Just think about which county king would be stupid To go to suffer in the barren country, not content to enjoy the wine and food of the palace!"

Everyone thinks about it. They heard that the chief examiner of this martial arts assessment is a 12-year-old boy with the same name and surname as Zhao Gou. At first hearing, they really thought it was their junior brother. When they heard about his deeds and identity Finally, categorically denied that it was not the same person.However, Zhang Xian felt that it was the same person, and he couldn't say why, but he always felt that it was.

Seeing that it was getting late, Yue Fei let everyone go to rest, and lay down himself, thinking: "Fifth brother, where are you? Could it really be him?"

At the same time, Zhao Gou sneezed, rubbed his nose, looked at the number of applicants, there were thousands of people, and then sorted them out by category.When he saw the name taboo in the familiar Tangyin County newspaper and finally saw the name of the person he wanted to see, he couldn't help grinning and muttered to himself: "It's finally here!"

At this time, the names of Yue Fei and others in Zhao Gou's book case were clearly listed, and they came into view.Moreover, among the many candidates, he also found one person, which was unexpected, and he couldn't help frowning: "Why did he come to participate? Is it because he wants to fish in troubled waters, or has other purposes? No matter who wants to compete Don't blame me for messing with the martial arts exam!..."

The next day, many candidates entered the school field one after another.Due to the large number of people, it is divided into two examination rooms to separate the number of people.The martial arts examination began in the Tang Dynasty, and has undergone changes, and it was more perfect in the Song Dynasty.From the past, only weapons and martial arts were assessed, to now martial arts, military strategy, etc. are assessed, just like the imperial examinations, and they have begun to pay attention to writing.Moreover, Song Huizong was an emperor who loved the art of calligraphy and painting, so the generals paid more attention to calligraphy. If the calligraphy is good, they will get more points, and even the impression will be much better, which is much better than the illiterate generals before.

With a loud gong and drum sound, everyone raised their heads one after another, staring at the rostrum intently.The chief examiner of the martial arts exam came late, entered the school grounds, and walked onto the rostrum. Besides the familiar Zhang Jun and the other three, a middle-aged man in armor followed behind.

Yue Fei and the others exclaimed after seeing this person's appearance: "Zong Shuai?"

The five of them were very curious, and Zong Ze also became one of the examiners of the martial arts exam at some point.At the beginning, when they met Zong Ze, they only heard him mention Zhang Jun and others, as well as Zhao Gou with the same name and surname as the examiner. They didn't know when he himself was the examiner.

Zong Ze himself was confused and didn't know why.In fact, all of this was arranged by Zhao Gou.Four days ago, Zhao Gou and Song Huizong talked about it.Although he was the official examiner, he was still worried that someone would cause trouble, so he asked Song Huizong to appoint Zong Ze as one of the examiners.This is also Zhao Gou's consideration that if the four of them have objections, it may be difficult to convince the public.Moreover, he also knew that the three of Zhang Jun and Gao Qi were working hand in hand, so one person must be alone and alone. Even if something happened, it would be troublesome if no one helped to speak.Therefore, Zhao Gou made preparations in advance, and he also knew that Zong Ze was upright, fair and strict in dealing with affairs, and would not commit crimes, so he specifically asked Song Huizong to make an order.

Song Huizong thought about it, so he agreed to Zhao Gou's request and appointed Zong Ze to be one of the examiners of the martial arts exam.The imperial decree arrived in Zongze's hands only two days before the martial arts exam, and even he himself was stunned, not understanding Song Huizong's intentions.

On the day of the martial arts exam, Zhang Jun and others couldn't help being a little puzzled when they saw Zong Ze also appear here.However, they didn't ask too much and walked out.Even if Zong Ze's appearance was unexpected, they thought it was irrelevant and ignored it.

The four of them qualified first, and then Zhao Gou's weak body appeared in everyone's sight.Yue Fei and the others were horrified when they saw a familiar face in casual clothes with their mouths open. They all thought in unison: "Is he really a junior? The junior will be the chief examiner of this martial arts exam, so he is the current martial arts examiner." Your Majesty's Ninth Prince?"

Everyone was dumbfounded. The moment Zhao Gou appeared, he was much more surprised than Zongze.They all heard that there would be a 12-year-old county king who would become the chief examiner. When they saw Zhao Gou's immature face, everyone believed that everything was true and not just rumors.

Zhao Gou walked steadily to the rostrum, sat in the center, looked at the crowd with a smile, glanced at the crowd, then glanced at the guards beside him, nodded and said: "The martial arts exam has officially begun!"

Zhao Gou's order came out, the gong was sounded again, and everyone sat down one after another, preparing for the next written test.Zhao Gou looked at it slowly, looking calm and relaxed.

(End of this chapter)