In the main hall, hundreds of noble children, both men and women, are playing a game of pitching pots.

Don't look at this as a game, the procedure is very exquisite, not only the referee who shoots the shot directs the pot throwing ceremony, but also the musicians of the bell and drum division play the "raccoon head".

Hundreds of young men and women lined up in two teams and threw pots in turn, and Zhu Zhiwei was also in the line, her eyes turned to Xu Mingwu from time to time.

Xu Mingwu stretched out his head to take a look, and found that the diameter of the spout of the pot was two and a half inches, about the length of a Huazi cigarette, and the arrow was made of bamboo and wood, and it was twenty centimeters long.

According to the introduction of the shooter, the rule is to throw ten sticks for a game, two people compete, and judge the winner according to the number of arrows thrown into the bottle.

There are both wins and losses, there are color heads, women's color heads are basically pearl jewelry, men's gambling is real, with gold, about a few taels, the value is not high, mainly used to adjust the atmosphere.

Xu Mingwu didn't go to join in the fun, he only had a big goose, he hadn't played with this thing, and he didn't dare to show ugliness.

At this time, there was a burst of cheers in front, and Sun Zhiyuan, the son of the Duke of Qin, threw eight arrows at ten arrows from five zhang away, which attracted everyone's applause and applause, and many girls looked at him with great admiration with their eyes flashing with brilliance.

There are three kinds of pitching distances, one zhang, three zhang and five zhang, most of the women stand outside a battle to play, and the men are in three zhang, and the bullish ones all choose five zhang.

Sun Zhiyuan shot eight out of five zhang, obviously very good, far ahead of his opponent, and it is also the highest score so far.

With this honor, Sun Zhiyuan did not feel proud, but calmly like an old guy, and turned around to give way to Zhu Zhiwei, the princess of Zhaoyang, behind him.

Xu Mingwu saw it in his eyes, and said to Zhu Daneng: "Brother Might, has this Marquis Sun become a family?" ”

Zhu Daneng looked at him meaningfully and said with a smile: "Don't worry, brother, Marquis Sun is twenty-three years old, and he was married four years ago, and now his son can turn his head!" ”

"Oh, that's nice"

Xu Mingwu suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, and his pressure dropped sharply.

When it was Princess Zhaoyang's turn, I saw her looking at Xu Mingwu, and the jade hand held the arrow and pointed remotely: "I heard that Young Master Xu shot a sparrow in the shooting assessment of the military academy, you come over and try it with me!" ”

was named PK, Xu Mingwu hurriedly waved his hand and said with a smile: "Your Highness said that it was just luck, how dare I compare with His Highness, bow down to the wind, bow down to the wind!" ”

Xu Mingwu knows that he must not compete with a competitive woman, especially in public.

If you win, people will be unhappy and have resentment in their hearts, which will greatly increase the difficulty of the sister; If you lose, you will be even more despised by others.

So no matter if you win or lose, it's always yourself who is hurt, just admit it, and find a place where no one is there next time to get it back!

Moreover, Xu Mingwu also confessed to the prince in disguise.

Zhu Zhiwei hesitated, did not entangle it, looked at the pitcher in front of her, raised her snow-like wrist, threw the arrow at the golden pot, and the posture was soft and elegant, extremely moving.

Xu Mingwu smiled and admired the beauty's delicate posture, and sometimes cheered.

Zhu Zhiwei's skills are quite good, standing two feet away and throwing pots, seven of the ten arrows were hit, and there was applause all around, the princess blushed and was in a good mood.

At this time, Zhu Jing walked up with ten arrows and said with a smile: "Brother Xu, come to compare?" ”

Obviously, this old brother didn't want to let go of Xu Mingwu, and his face was full of provocation.

Xu Mingwu shook his head slightly with a smile, indicating that he would not play with him.

Zhu Jing's face sank, and he said: "During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, one of the etiquettes of the princes to entertain guests was to invite guests to shoot arrows. ”

"Yes, the banquet invites someone to shoot arrows, how can the guests refuse? Isn't that a thousand-year-old rule? Youxun's son interjected.

Faced with the provocation of this licking dog, Xu Mingwu shrugged his shoulders, took the arrow and said with a smile: "Then let's have a game, and ask Brother Zhu to teach you!" ”

Blindly avoiding will only make the other party more arrogant, and taking the initiative is king!

"Happy!"

Zhu Jing didn't talk nonsense, stood outside the three-zhang line, and threw an arrow at the golden pot,

"Boom!" With a bang, the arrow drew a parabola and threw it into the pot with precision.

"Color!"

"The surname of the small country is really amazing!"

The onlookers praised each other.

"It's nothing."

Zhu Jing smiled smugly, he has been playing with this thing since he was a child, and throwing arrows is just a pediatric for him.

"Brother Xu, it's your turn."

Xu Mingwu nodded, pinched the arrow to feel the feel, and also stood outside the three-zhang line, throwing it towards the golden pot.

"Dang!" With a bang, the arrow hit the edge of the spout of the golden pot, bounced up, and landed on the ground.

There was a chorus of regret and disdainful boos.

The corners of Zhu Jing's mouth rose slightly, his face was relaxed, and he threw a second arrow again, and another shot hit, and the arrow entered the mouth of the pot.

He raised his right hand and signaled, "Brother Xu, it's your turn again." ”

Xu Mingwu raised the arrow and took a deep breath, letting his mood slowly calm down, the surrounding environment, the opponent's psychological warfare, and the gaze of the great beauty made him feel pressured.

Xu Mingwu stabilized his mind, his eyes were firmly fixed on the mouth of the pot, his body slowly tilted, and the raised arrow was thrown out with a "whoosh".

The arrow bounced off the edge of the vial, but eventually fell into the vase.

There was a round of applause around, and Xu Mingwu breathed a long sigh of relief, and finally found his confidence.

Zhu Jing raised his eyebrows, glanced at Xu Mingwu, he paused slightly, and threw the three arrows in his hand in succession.

With a series of crisp bottle knocks, Zhu Jing's three arrows were all thrown into the bottle!

The surroundings were immediately amazed and shouted loudly, and even the crown prince Zhu and His Majesty smiled and stroked their palms to show encouragement.

Zhu Jing's hand shocked Xu Mingwu's heart, and secretly said that this guy can, he has two brushes!

However, he was obviously not convinced, and was aroused to fight.

Xu Mingwu took four arrows in a row, and threw them in the same row, and the arrows drew beautiful parabolas in the air, and threw them into the golden bottle with great precision.

There was silence in the hall, and the applause was like thunder, even the crown prince Zhu and His Majesty and Princess Zhaoyang couldn't help but applaud, and all four arrows were hit in a row, this was the first time they had seen this situation.

Sun Zhiyuan said to himself: "He can shoot down the sparrows in the air, and his foundation is not shallow." ”

The prince said with a sideways face: "Is there a big connection between the two?" ”

Sun Zhiyuan nodded and said: "All bullets are shot out with an arc, and the arc of shooting a sparrow from the back is greater than that of a direct target, which tests the shooter's prediction and control. ”

The prince smiled faintly, and his eyes surrendered to the duel between the two in the field again.

Zhu Jing was really a little unconvinced, he had always pretended to be forced in front of others, but today he was robbed of the limelight by the hairy boy, is this worth it?

"Give me five arrows!"

Zhu Jing said in a deep voice to the four-shot official, he wants to throw the remaining five arrows in one go and win with a perfect attitude!

Si Archer held five arrows in both hands, and everyone in the field stood on either side, their eyes full of interest, ready to witness the miracle happen.

The distance of five zhang is equivalent to seventeen meters, and there is only eight centimeters of gold bottle at the mouth of the bottle outside seventeen meters.

It is so difficult to throw an arrow into such a small bottle, even more difficult than a goose.

It is even more difficult to put all five arrows into the bottle in a row, which is not only a test of archery, but also a huge test of a person's perseverance and tenacity.

Zhu Jing took the five arrows and looked at the golden bottle in the distance, as if it was brewing.

Everyone watched the game with serious expressions, and it was not known who would kill the deer in the last two arrows.

Behind Princess Zhaoyang, a girl in red held her cheeks and said with a smile: "Seeing that the surname of Xiaoguo is confident, the second son of Xu of the Pingyang Hou Mansion is going to lose!" ”

On the side, the veiled girl snorted softly: "It's just a vulgar person who doesn't know how to write and ink, isn't it normal to lose!" ”

The girl in red looked at her in surprise: "Qinqin, isn't he your fiancé?" Why are you like this?"

The Veiled Maiden interrupted her: "Don't talk nonsense, I won't marry such a rude person!" ”

The girl in red pursed her lips secretly, thinking to herself that you look like this, and your heart is still so high?

Although the second son of the Xu family has a limited level of education, he is good in size and appearance, what do you have? Temper?

When Princess Zhaoyang heard the argument between the two daughters behind, she suddenly felt a trace of pity in her heart, feeling pity for Xu Mingwu.

"I don't think Xu Mingwu will necessarily lose!"

Zhu Zhiwei said lightly: "Pitching is not only about archery skills. ”

Seeing the princess talking, the two daughters were stunned at the same time and asked, "What's better than that?" ”

"You'll know when you're done." Zhu Zhiwei ignored them and set her eyes on the competition in the field.

Zhu Jing seemed to be still brewing, and he slowly raised the arrow in his right hand, ready to shoot.

At this moment, Xu Mingwu threw an arrow like a cloud, and the sound of "bang" directly hit the golden bottle.

Zhu Jing had been brewing for a long time, and just raised his hand to prepare for a five-shot shot, but he was interrupted, and he was immediately unhappy, and said in a deep voice: "Young people don't talk about martial arts, I haven't voted yet!" ”

Xu Mingwu spread his hands and said: "Let's have one bottle per person, you vote for yours, I vote for mine, ten shots are over, and I didn't stop you, why don't you talk about martial arts?" If you don't vote, why don't we wait here until it gets dark? ”

This kind of competition focuses on psychological warfare, Xu Mingwu deliberately fired four arrows in a row, what he wanted was to arouse Zhu Jing's competitiveness.

He already felt that he was struggling with four arrows, so he didn't believe that Zhu Jing could fire five arrows in a row!

If he can, Xu will voluntarily bow down and give him a thumbs up!

Just in case, Xu Mingwu played a routine again, interfering with Brother Zhu, messing with his mentality, and forcing him to act quickly.

Sure enough, he couldn't fight Xu Mingwu in words, Zhu Jing snorted coldly, shot directly, and flew into the golden bottle with an arrow.

Then, as if he was angry, and as if he was racing against time, he threw several arrows in a row.

However, of the remaining four arrows, the third arrow hit the mouth of the bottle and flew away.

Zhu Jing was stunned on the spot, and the last arrow in his hand was not thrown for a long time.

"I'm in a hurry, my brother is in a hurry!" Xu Mingwu was happy, and leisurely threw another arrow, which hit directly.

At this time, Zhu Jing was under a lot of pressure in his heart, because Xu Mingwu only had two arrows left, and he was currently throwing seven out of eight, while he was also throwing eight out of nine, and success or failure was the last arrow in his hand.

If he hits, Zhu Jing will win with a record of nine out of ten shots, unless Xu Mingwu's remaining two arrows are all hit, and the tie can be drawn.

If Zhu Jing's last arrow misses, then Xu Mingwu's chances of winning will be greater.

Seeing that there was a faint cold sweat on Zhu Jing's forehead, Xu Mingwu smiled slightly in his heart, he had already unconsciously controlled the rhythm.

"Brother Zhu, you vote!"

Xu Mingwu bared his teeth and smiled, and launched a spiritual attack on it, and then with a shake of his right hand, the ninth arrow fell into the golden bottle with a precise throwing arc.

Zhu Daneng laughed twice and said, "Yes, Brother Zhu Jing, what are you doing with the pestle?" Brother Xu has the last one left, you hurry up! If it's late, you'll lose! ”

"Less nonsense!" Zhu Jing roared and stared at the gold medal in the distance, and the last arrow finally came out of his hand and threw it over.

There was silence in the hall, and everyone looked at the golden vase in disbelief.

"Dang!" With a bang, the arrow hit the spout of the pot and bounced out.

Countless people shook their heads lightly, feeling sorry for him.

Zhu Jing closed his eyes in despair, clenched his fists tightly, his pinched bones gurgled, and his mentality completely collapsed.

On the contrary, Xu Mingwu had a smile on his face and wanted to laugh out loud.

However, Xu Ershao gradually calmed down, he didn't dare to pretend to be forced, if he missed the last arrow, then this game would be a draw.

How could he allow this to happen, the slap in the face was about to snap!

Xu Mingwu stood outside the Sanzhang line, acting more seriously and cautiously than before, aiming for a long time before he could make a move.

"Boom!" With a muffled sound, the arrow entered the golden bottle, and it ended perfectly!

"Good!"

Zhu Daneng shouted, and there was an undisguised smug look in his eyes, which could make his old opponent Zhu Jing make a big heel, and he was really happy!

Among the onlookers, Qi Qinqin, who was wearing a veil, frowned slightly and bit her lip gently.

The red-clothed girl beside her had an incredulous face and looked at Princess Zhaoyang with reverence.

Zhu Zhiwei sighed softly, Xu Mingwu is indeed very powerful, at least he let himself see the art of war contained in the quiver game.

"One more game!" Zhu Jing roared, wanting to win back face.

Zhu Zhiwei frowned slightly, dissatisfied with his way of playing a scoundrel.

"If you can't afford to play, don't play!"

A powerful voice rang out from inside the hall.

After being defeated and being so unceremoniously scolded, Zhu Jing immediately became angry and said in a deep voice: "Who is talking, you might as well come out and give advice!" ”

"There's no need to teach, you get out of here!"

Hearing this, Zhu Jing looked back and was stunned for a moment, only to see His Majesty the Emperor and the Empress Niangniang actually appear behind the crowd in the palace.

He couldn't believe it, and rubbed his eyes, but saw that it was indeed the emperor and the queen, and several Han generals were guarding them, and they didn't know when they came.

"The minister is guilty!" Zhu Jing was so frightened that he immediately bent over and hung his head, and his head almost hit his knees.

When the emperor and queen appeared, hundreds of people in the East Palace were startled, and they bowed down one after another: "See His Majesty the Emperor!" See the Queen! ”

Zhu Cihong raised his hand and said, "Let's be even." ”

The crown prince stepped forward and said with a happy face: "Father, mother, why are you here?" ”

Zhu Cihong smiled and said kindly: "You are the prince of the Ming Dynasty, and your birthday every year is also a major event of the country, and my father and queen mother want to celebrate with you." ”

His Majesty Zhu He saluted and said, "Son, thank your father and queen mother!" ”

Zhu Jing, who was on the side, saw that the emperor's face was not good, and when he saw the prince's eyes, he hurriedly lowered his head and walked out of the hall in disappointment.

Zhu Cihong looked at the sons and daughters of the nobles, and said with a smile: "You are the same age as the prince, I hope that you will be like a family, and often enter the palace to get along with the prince, and the future Ming is yours!" ”

"The minister obeys!" The faces of the people were joyful, and they hurriedly answered.

It is naturally a good thing to be able to catch the ride of His Royal Highness the Prince, fortunately the Son of Heaven is generous and treats the nobles preferentially, so that there are today's happy stories of monarchs and ministers!

Zhu Cihong set his eyes on Xu Mingwu's body and said, "Today's banquet shooting, you won the first place, what reward do you want?" ”

Everyone looked at Xu Mingwu, showing a look of envy, and some people were jealous, this kid was appreciated by His Majesty three times and twice, what kind of shit luck did he go!

At this time, Princess Zhaoyang became nervous, lest Xu Mingwu get carried away and open her mouth indiscriminately, which would make her father unhappy.

Xu Mingwu hurriedly took two steps forward, gave a military salute and said: "Back to Your Majesty, if the student wins the surname of Xiaoguo, he will ask him for one hundred taels of gold, I don't know if he can take it out." ”

There was a sudden snickering in the main hall, and many of them shook their heads slightly, this Xu Mingwu really dared to extort bamboo in front of the saint!

The prince frowned, he didn't see it, this kid is quite smart, he walked away before.

The banquet went on for a while, and after the end of the party, Xu Mingwu happily prepared to leave the palace, but saw a eunuch behind him stop him.

"Second Prince Xu, Your Majesty's dictation, you will see you in the Qianqing Palace!"

(End of chapter)