The sun's rays pierced through the mist that shrouded the Jianghan Plain and slowly rose from the east.

Although it is early winter, the scenery of the south of the Yangtze River is not bleak, and there are still some rice fields on both sides of the official road that have not yet been cut, which makes Yang Yan unconsciously think of Linji Village. For as long as Yang Yan can remember, he has been wandering around with Wan Xiansheng, and he has never stayed in one place for more than three months, except for nearly two years in Linji Village. It has been five years since he unknowingly returned to the Yang family, but the experience of the period before leaving Lin'an still seems to be yesterday in Yang Yan's mind.

******************************

The top eight in the martial arts competition: Princess Yong'an, Yang Yan, Zhang Shiyan, Cao Xun, Gao Zhen, Zhou Hongming, Liu Renxian, Zhang Yuan. Advance to the next battlefield competition.

The rules of the battlefield test are: 500 soldiers on each side of the war, three days of food, and a large village. There are two teams, black and white, and each team has five supervisors accompanying the team. The time is three days, and they use what they have learned to fight. After three days, ten supervisors will summarize the results of the two sides to determine the winner.

Of course, since it was not a real war, both sides used wooden weapons. Black paints the weapon black, and White paints the weapon white. If you are hit in a vital part, you will be considered killed and will withdraw from the competition. There are three types of troops: cavalry, archers, and infantry. A hundred war horses.

The soldiers were selected from the forbidden army, and each of them had ten days to train the soldiers and familiarize themselves with the battlefield before the competition.

Because Emperor Zhao Tuan advocated the Northern Expedition, he reused Zhang Jun, Yu Yunwen and other main war ministers to strengthen military equipment. Therefore, it attaches great importance to the place where military personnel are raised. Especially this year, Princess Yong'an's outstanding achievements also made Zhao Tuan feel very bright, and he also paid more attention to the assessment of this graduation of Shangwu Academy. The emperor took the lead, and the ministers of civil and military affairs naturally followed, so even the streets and alleys of Lin'an City were talking about this general examination situation.

Even the big and small casinos in Lin'an City actually opened a handicap for this exam. The first place is naturally Princess Yong'an, and the odds are as high as one to two. A well-informed person revealed that Princess Yongan often treated the palace maids and eunuchs as soldiers in the palace, trained them, and rehearsed formations. Considerable experience in commanding armies. Coupled with the fact that they ranked first in the previous two exams, it is not surprising that they ranked first. Because of Yang Yan's amazing performance in the martial arts competition, he actually ranked fourth, with odds of nine to one.

The next day, each man began to rehearse his descent, with his army, and to observe the battlefield.

And Yang Yan's actions once again exceeded everyone's expectations.

It turned out that Yang Yan took out all the pocket money he had accumulated in the past three years, with a total of more than 360 yuan. Fifty tables of banquets were made, and the five hundred soldiers were divided into fifty tables in groups of ten. The wine and food were placed on the ground, and the soldiers sat on the ground in a large circle. In the middle was an open space about three zhang square, and in the open space there was a large table, and there were twenty jars of wine on the table.

Yang Yan took a bowl of wine and stood up. He said loudly to the soldiers: "Brothers, in the next few days, you will participate in the competition with me, and I hope you will work hard in the competition." I'd like to thank you all in advance. Let's do this first. As he spoke, he drank a bowl of wine. The rest of the soldiers drank it all.

Yang Yan smiled: "Everyone is drinking bars with all their hearts!" With that, he sat down as well.

These 500 soldiers have a captain named Zhang Rong. It was the same table as Yang Yan, and seeing Yang Yan sitting down, Zhang Rong smiled and said, "Commander Yang, I have also participated in several battlefield competitions." But there is no such thing as a commander who invites everyone to eat and drink before the exam. ”

Yang Yan also smiled: "Everyone work hard to help me win the first place." Then the students in the future will definitely learn from me when they participate in the test, and I invite everyone to eat and drink. Brother Zhang, if you participate in the competition in the future, you won't have to worry about running out of wine to eat. ”

Zhang Rong also laughed and said: "I hope so, come, Yang will lead us to do a bowl." ”

The meal lasted a long morning before it was over.

After the dismissal, Zhang Rong asked, "Commander, when will we start the exercise?" ”

Yang Yan smiled: "What are you doing?" I see that everyone is almost drunk, so let's go get some sleep in the afternoon. ”

At noon on the second day, Yang Yan's soldiers were sleeping, and they only left the camp in the afternoon to start the exercise, but it ended hastily in less than an hour.

On the third day, Yang Yan's soldiers didn't come out all day, and they all slept for a whole day. ，

On the fourth day, he went to bed in the morning, and in the afternoon, Yang Yan took the soldiers to see the terrain and environment of his subordinates, and also had a drill to collect the troops.

…… The same was true for the next few days, every day it was sunrise and three dry days to come out, and then it was hastily done.

Soon, Yang Yan's actions immediately spread all over the streets and alleys of Lin'an City, and even the ministers of the DPRK and China had heard of it. One of the casinos in Lin'an City. Yang Yan's odds immediately fell to the lowest. In this kind of military training, it is strange that some people are optimistic about him. Several casinos even lowered Yang Yan's odds to less than one hundred. And those gamblers who had already made a big bet on Yang Yan hit their chests one after another, complaining bitterly.

However, Yang Yizhong ignored Yang Yan's behavior and did not interfere. Yang Chaoguang and Yang Chaoliang also heard some rumors, and wanted to warn Yang Yan a few words, but Yang Yizhong stopped them.

******************************

By the West Lake, under the shade of willows.

Yang Yan was lying on a grassy field, his hands behind his head, his eyes slightly closed, and a willow leaf in his mouth.

Tomorrow, the battlefield competition will officially begin. Everyone else was seizing the last day to train the soldiers, but only Yang Yan put the native soldiers to sleep in the big camp. In the past few days, Yang Yan's team has received the nickname "Sleeping Army". Because when others were training, Yang Yan's army was always sleeping.

Of course, Yang Yan knows that his bad comments have been flooding in the past few days. He recounted the past few days in his own mind from beginning to end, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

At this time, a pleasant female voice suddenly came: "Yang Yan, why are you sleeping here." ”

Yang Yan opened his eyes, rubbed his eyes, and saw a girl standing in front of him, dressed in apricot yellow clothes, with a long skirt reaching the ground, and she was beautiful. Yang Yan exclaimed, "Princess, why are you." ”

The people who came were seeing Princess Yongning, the younger sister of Princess Yong'an.

Princess Yongning bent down, looked at Yang Yan with a pair of water-shearing autumn eyes, and said with a smile: "Tomorrow the ear will be tested, you are at ease." I also have the leisure to run to the West Lake to sleep. ”

Yang Yan turned over and sat up, and said, "I will be scolded by my grandfather when I sleep at home, so I have to hide by the West Lake to sleep." ”

Princess Yongning was stunned for a moment, and immediately burst into laughter: "What about your soldiers? Are they still sleeping, too? ”

Yang Yan laughed dryly, looked left and right, and said, "Why are you alone?" What about Princess Yong'an? Not with you? ”

Princess Yongning smiled: "Do you think that my sister is as idle as you?" She's busy training her soldiers! It seems like you're the easiest of the eight of you! Everyone else is nervous! ”

Yang Yan said: "Why are you alone, you didn't even follow a guard." ”

Princess Yongning said: "It's so troublesome to take the guard!" When I walked there, a large group of people followed, and I didn't feel comfortable at all. ”

Yang Yan scratched his head and said, "Then the emperor can rest assured that you will come out alone?" It can't be you sneaking out, right? ”

Princess Yongning also sat on the grass: "I don't live in the palace, if I live in the palace, it's not so easy to sneak out and walk around." ”

Yang Yan said strangely: "Why doesn't the princess live in the palace?" ”

Princess Yongning said, "Is it strange? I wasn't a princess in the first place, I was originally the lord of the county, and the official family was just my uncle. My father was the king of faith, and because my father died early, I was about the same age as my sister, so the official family took me into the palace to be my sister's companion. Later, she made me a princess. Now that my brother has succeeded to the throne, I have returned to live in the palace. ”

Only then did Yang Yan understand: "So that's the case, but it's not good for you to be alone outside, princess, right?" ”

Princess Yongning said: "Don't be a princess all the time, can the princess call me?" Speaking of which, we are also classmates! You can just call me by my name

It's not good, my name is Zhao Qianru, and my sister is called Zhao Yueru. ”

Only then did Yang Yan know the names of the two princesses.

Zhao Qianru suddenly covered her mouth and said, "Oh no, how can I tell you my sister's name." Don't tell my sister that I said it. Her action of covering her mouth looked very cute, and Yang Yan looked a little dazed.

Zhao Qianru's face turned slightly red, and she said, "What are you staring at me like this?" ”

Yang Yan said: "Because you look good!" ”

Zhao Qianru smiled, and her eyes wandered: "Then who do you say is better-looking, me or my sister?" ”

Yang Yan was stunned, one of the two sisters was like an arrogant chrysanthemum in the autumn wind, and the other was like a blooming lily, dazzling. It's hard to tell the difference. I had to say: "I can't tell the difference, you both are good-looking." ”

Zhao Qianru smiled again: "You are really slippery, no one can be offended." By the way, did you deliberately lose to your sister in the martial arts competition with your sister that day? ”

Yang Yan was stunned for a moment and said, "Deliberately losing to her, why do you think so?" Why should I deliberately lose to Princess Yong'an. ”

Zhao Qianru "hummed" and said: "After you lost that day, you didn't look depressed at all. After stepping down, he talked and laughed with Cao Xun and Gao Zhen. I just don't care at all. What do you say is going on? ”

Yang Yan shook his head and said with a wry smile: "I can see it." But not everyone is the same as your sister, losing a fight is like losing a thousand taels of silver, and the tiger's face is scary. ”

Zhao Qianru was so amused that she "giggled" and laughed: "You are not allowed to say that sister, she is actually just a little competitive, just like you said." But... Zhao Qianru sighed softly, "My sister is also very pitiful." ”

"Pathetic?" Thinking about when Cao Xun and Gao Zhen were beaten by Princess Yong'an, it was difficult for Yang Yan to associate the word "poor" with Princess Yong'an no matter what.

Zhao Qianru nodded and said, "My sister has been smart since she was a child, whether it is studying literature or practicing martial arts, she can learn everything as soon as she learns, but it's a pity that she is a woman." ”

Yang Yan said strangely: "What's wrong with the woman?" Is there something wrong? ”

Zhao Qianru sighed: "Officials often say that if my sister is a man, she will definitely pass on the throne to her in the future, and she will definitely be able to be a good emperor." It's a pity she's a woman. A woman cannot inherit the throne. Although the elder sister is better than the third brother in everything. ”

Yang Yan knew that the "third brother" Zhao Qianru said was the crown prince Zhao Chun. That is, Princess Yong'an's biological brother.

Zhao Qianru said again: "Concubine Shuniang is my sister's biological mother. It's also because my sister is a woman and can't fight for the throne, so I don't like my sister all the time. The other royal brothers were busy fighting for the position of the crown prince, and the sister didn't even have anyone to talk to. Usually I'm the only one who can talk to my sister. ”

Yang Yan couldn't help but be stunned. Sure enough, it is a wealthy family as deep as the sea. Who would have thought that being a princess would have so many unsatisfactory places.

At this time, Zhao Qianru stood up, patted the dust on her body, and said, "Anyway, you are idle and idle, it is rare for me to come out once, it is better to walk around with me." With that, he went to pull Yang Yan up.

Yang Yan had no choice but to get up: "Where are you going?" ”

Zhao Qianru smiled and said: "It's 'we're going there', anyway, it's lively there, go there." ”

Lin'an can be regarded as the most prosperous city today. The streets and alleys are lined with shops, and the business is prosperous. People come and go, bustling. Buy, sell, and do everything. When the big-character signboard scrubbed by the head shop was gilded by the rising sun, when the dyeing shop put a new flower cloth on the counter and was dyed red by the rising sun, when the Taiping wheel pulling the goods was shining rapidly by the rising sun, when the rising sun walked into the paper mill to smear a bunch of luster on the gold paper and silver paper, when the rising sun began to patrol the colorful fruit row, hundreds of industries, with the flood of citizens rushing to the morning market, all "debuted".

Zhao Qian rarely goes out. Beside Yang Yan, he kept asking this and that, and he was surprised by everything. In the past, Yang Yan often went shopping with tassels, but the tassels always followed Yang Yan quietly, and only answered when Yang Yan asked her. It's not like Zhao Qianru who keeps talking along the way. In addition, she is bright and beautiful, and she has also attracted many people's sideways glances along the way.

Zhao Qianru suddenly pointed to a few beggars on the side of the road and asked Yang Yan: "In the Shangwu Academy, my instructors often say that I am the richest in the Great Song Dynasty, and I am the most in all dynasties. Even the 'Wenjing Wenzhi' in the Han Dynasty and the 'Zhenguan Zhizhi' in the Tang Dynasty are not as good as that. When I look up the history books, it is true. But why do people still live on beggars on the streets? ”

Yang Yan was stunned by the question, he had never thought about these questions.

Zhao Qianru said: "The history books say that during the 'rule of Wenjing' in the Han Dynasty, there were several years when the people of the country were exempted from paying taxes. And now, although my Great Song Dynasty is rich, there has never been a time when the whole country is exempt. During the 'Zhenguan rule' of the Tang Dynasty, only about 20 prisoners were executed in the whole country in a year, but since the founding of the Song Dynasty, no less than hundreds of prisoners have been executed every year. If Cai Jing and Qin Hui were in power, there would be tens of thousands of people at every turn. My Great Song Dynasty claims to rule the country with benevolence, and has always strictly adhered to the ancestral teachings, 'Do not kill scholars and doctors, and write and speak people'Why are so many people committing capital crimes? She stared at Yang Yan with a pair of wonderful eyes, as if hoping that he could give her an answer.

Yang Yan finally shook his head and said, "I can't answer these questions. ”

Zhao Qianru's face was slightly disappointed.

Yang Yan said slowly: "I think everyone will have their own answers to these questions. If you want to know, you'll have to look for it yourself. And the answer is completely different at different times and from different standpoints. ”

Zhao Qian nodded thoughtfully.

At this time, I suddenly heard someone on the opposite side of the street shouting: "Come on, come on, bet and make a fortune." "As soon as the door of a shop opened, people poured in, and it was full in an instant. When Yang Yan looked at it, it turned out to be a casino.

Zhao Qianru immediately became interested when she heard that it was the casino: "I haven't seen what the casino looks like, I must go in and have a look." Without waiting for Yang Yan to speak, he went headlong into the casino.

Yang Yan had no choice but to smile bitterly and shake his head, and followed in. I thought to myself: I can't take Zhao Qianru forward, because Yang Yan remembered that there was a Lichun Courtyard not far in front of him. If Zhao Qianru also wants to go in and have a look, it will be a big trouble.

The two took a spin around the casino. Roll dice, push pai gow, press all kinds of gambling games. Gamblers are men and women, old and young. Laughing and crying. Those who win money are ecstatic, and those who lose money stomp their heels. It's all weird, you name it. After watching it for a while, Zhao Qianru asked Yang Yan: "Why are these people gambling so hard, I watched it for a while, and it is obvious that there are many losers and few winners." ”

Yang Yan shook his head and said, "I don't know either." Probably they all think that they will always have a chance to be the ones who win. ”

Zhao Qianru suddenly pointed with her hand: "Look." But your name is in it. ”

Yang Yan looked in the direction of her finger: sure enough, she had her own name. It turned out to be the odds of this battlefield competition. The names of the eight people who competed on the battlefield were written on it. Princess Yong'an's highest is one to two, and her own is naturally the lowest to the point of one hundred and twenty. There was also a large group of people talking there, all of them looking to figure out how to place bets.

Zhao Qianru asked quietly: "What is this, and sister, why are your names on it." ”

Yang Yan understands. I had to patiently explain to her this method of gambling.

Zhao Qianru said with a smile after listening: "This prince said that if I spend the usual money to buy my sister, I can only get two times if I win, and if I buy you, I can get one hundred and twenty times." ”

Yang Yan nodded and said, "That's it, but if you buy it wrong, you won't get back the money you spent." ”

Zhao Qianru immediately squeezed to the counter, took out a stack of handbags from her sleeve, handed it to a guy and said, "I bought Yang Yan's." ”

The man took the handover, counted it, and said, "That's two hundred and fifteen yuan!" Girl, did you buy all of Yang Yan's? "Although Yang Yan's odds are low, it's not that no one buys it. But it's only three or five times, and at most it's only a dozen or so times. Like this, it costs more than 200 yuan to buy the person with the lowest odds at once, except for Zhao Qianru, and it is true that he can't find a second one.

Zhao Qianru said: "Why, can't you just buy one person?" ”

The guy hurriedly said, "Of course." Immediately accept the handover and fill in the gambling voucher for Zhao Qianru.

At this time, several people who were studying how to bet on the side immediately gathered around, and someone immediately asked: "Little girl, you have bought Yang Yan, is there any internal news?" ”

Zhao Qianru took the gambling voucher handed to her by the guy, and said with a slight smile: "No, I just think this person is very pleasing to the eye." ”

The two walked out of the casino, Zhao Qianru smiled and said, "I bought you to win, now you have to work hard!" Don't let me lose money. If I lose, you're going to have to pay me the money. ”

Yang Yan smiled bitterly: "You are still unreasonable, but I don't want you to buy me to win." If you want to win, wouldn't it be better to buy your sister directly to win? ”

Zhao Qianru said: "It's too little to buy my sister to win, it's better to buy you to win, one hundred and twenty losses, but it's more than 20,000 yuan!" I'm going to make a fortune now. ”

Yang Yan had no choice but to shake his head again. He suddenly found that when he was with Zhao Qianru, he shook his head more and more often.

Zhao Qianru said with a smile: "Don't shake your head all the time, at most, if you win, I'll give you 10,000 yuan." ”

Yang Yan said: "Do you know that if I win, it means that your sister has lost." ”

Zhao Qianru said: "Then what does it matter? Didn't she win the martial arts competition! This time, you will win once, and it will be even. I have faith in you! ”

Yang Yan said: "Have confidence in me? It's the first time I've heard someone say that. ”

Zhao Qianru grinned and said: "Before the martial arts competition, no one was optimistic about you, didn't you also win the second place?" So who knows what surprises you'll be able to pull off this time? Maybe we'll make a first. ”

The two were talking while walking, and Yang Yan suddenly stopped.

Zhao Qianru said inexplicably: "What's wrong?" ”

Yang Yan said: "Someone is following us. ”

Zhao Qianru let out an "oh", and when she looked back, five or six feet away from the two of them, there were seven or eight people walking towards them. These seven or eight people all looked like scoundrels, and Zhao Qianru recognized them as gamblers she had just met in that casino.

Zhao Qianru said: "What are they doing with us?" ”

Yang Yan said: "You must have come to rob, you just revealed your wealth." As he spoke, he stepped forward and blocked Zhao Qianru behind him.

At this time, the seven or eight men had come to them. It turned out that they were all gangsters in Lin'an. On weekdays, he doesn't do his job, and he relies on petty theft and gambling to deceive people. I lost all my money in the casino today, and I saw that Zhao Qianru was brightly dressed and made a big move, and these two people were only sixteen or seventeen-year-old teenagers, and there was no family to follow, so I had bad intentions, and I wanted to rob it regardless of the fact that it was broad daylight. One by one, they pretended to be fierce and vicious, and the pedestrians on the street avoided when they saw it, for fear of getting into trouble.

One of them said viciously, "Boy, take out all the money you have, or don't think about leaving." ”

The others also made a noise: "Get the money out, don't find yourself moldy!" ”

Before Yang Yan could speak, Zhao Qianru poked out half of his face from behind him: "Your courage is really not small!" In broad daylight, I want to rob the streets. Isn't it the law of the king of Bai? ”

The seven or eight thugs laughed loudly: "Wang Fa? How much does Wang Fa buy a catty. ”

"You don't go to inquire about it, in this Lin'an City, what Lao Tzu said is the king's law."

"It seems that if I don't give you some color to see, you won't be honest."

"That's right! Right! Comb their skins and go well. ”

A gangster stepped forward, reached out and grabbed Yang Yan's shirt, and was about to make a move. Suddenly, there was a flower in front of me, my arm was numb, and I suddenly felt that the world was spinning, and I "touched" it, and I fell on my back.

"This kid dares to do it, hit him."

"Hit him, hit him, all together."

All the scoundrels do it together. Yang Yan didn't care, punching and kicking. Zhao Qianru hid behind him and helped from time to time. Although her martial arts skills are not high, after all, she has also studied in the Shangwu Academy for a few years, and her self-defense is still enough. In a short time, the gang was beaten to the ground.

This gang of scoundrels doesn't know what to do, and they can't beat them empty-handed when they see it. Some people picked up the flat shoulders of street vendors, some picked up the benches of small shops on the side of the road, and some grabbed a sharp knife from the meat case. They all and surrounded the guys again.

Yang Yan frowned, he was not afraid that these people would do something with the guys. But there are some, but I am afraid of hurting Zhao Qianru. I don't want to make things out of control.

At this moment, there was a sudden sound of gongs on the street, and someone shouted: "Who dares to fight in the street here." When everyone looked, they saw a team of gongs opening the way, and an eight-person sedan chair was coming from the street. The officials beside the sedan car had already surrounded them.

The scoundrels saw that it was not good, and were about to flee in all directions, but they were already rushed up by the officials, grabbed five of them, and sent them to the front of the sedan chair. At this time, an official said to Yang Yan: "Young man, you come here too, the adults want to ask." ”

Yang Yan was about to go over, Zhao Qianru pulled his shirt behind him, and whispered in his ear: "It's Han Zhilang from the Ministry of Industry, but don't say I'm here." As he spoke, he shrank back and hid in the crowd.

Yang Yan had no choice but to smile wryly and come to the sedan chair alone. Han Yan ordered someone to set up a sedan curtain and said, "What's the matter, why do you want to fight in the street." As he was asking, he saw Yang Yan at a glance. Since he met him once in Cuiwei Pavilion three years ago, he and Yang Yan had met a few times, and they recognized him at once. Surprised: "Yang Yan? How are you here, what's going on. ”

Yang Yan was helpless, so he had to tell what happened. Of course, I didn't dare to say Zhao Qianru, I only said that it was a female classmate who was vague in the past.

Han Yanzhi was angry and funny, and when he looked around, he saw a girl in an apricot yellow dress in the crowd looking at He. But thinking that it was a woman, it was difficult to call her over. looked at Yang Yan again and said, "Aren't you going to participate in the competition tomorrow?" How can you still have the leisure to come out to play, I really don't know the importance. sighed, and secretly thought: The king of Tong'an County has always been very strict, how can he have such a grandson. But for the sake of Yang Yizhong's face, it's hard to say anything. I had no choice but to wave my hand and say to Yang Yan: "Go back quickly." "Tell the officials to send the five gangsters to Lin'an Mansion to punish the crime.

******************************

finally sent Zhao Qianru to the door of the Xinwang Mansion safely. Yang Yan finally let out a sigh of relief.

Zhao Qianru was a little embarrassed: "I really want to thank you today." If I let Master Han know, I will definitely tell my mother, and then I will never be able to play alone again. ”

Yang Yan had no choice but to smile bitterly: "Thank you for not needing, it's good to finally send you back safely." ”

Zhao Qianru said with a smile: "But I had a lot of fun today, I haven't been so happy as today for a long time." ”

Yang Yan sighed: "You are happy, I am miserable." I hope Lord Han doesn't tell my grandfather. ”

Zhao Qianru said: "Don't be so bitter all the time, next time I invite you to the best restaurant in Lin'an to have a good meal." ”

Yang Yan blinked and said, "Next time?" Do you still want to have a next time? ”

However, the day before Yang Yan competed on the battlefield, the news that he was actually playing in Lin'an with a woman still spread all of a sudden.

******************************

Although the battlefield competition is the most valued project of the Shangwu Academy, although the students have also learned the knowledge of arranging troops in the Shangwu Academy, due to their own lack of ability and experience, there have also been many examples of battles that are ridiculous today.

In some competitions, the main players of both sides directly decide the winner. None of the soldiers on either side moved. It has become a copy of the martial arts competition. There were also cases where the two sides fought fiercely for three days, but it was still difficult to distinguish the winner from the loser, and finally had to rely on the number of remaining soldiers on both sides to determine the victory. There are even those who have already killed the opponent's army and captured the opponent's Dazhai. But he was accidentally attacked by the other party, but he was "killed" in battle, which is difficult to distinguish the winner from the loser.

However, since the opening of the battlefield competition in the Shangwu Academy, there has never been such a situation as today. That is, the two sides did not fight at all.

White's commander Cao Xun leads his soldiers to challenge Black in front of the wall. However, Black's main general, Yang Yan, closed his door and did not fight. A whole day has passed, no matter how Cao Xun challenges, Yang Yan just won't fight.

The other three games were all played for one day, among which Zhang Shiyan vs. Zhou Hongming and Zhang Yuan vs. Liu Renxian both played without a win. There was only one match between Princess Yongan and Gao Zhen, and Princess Yongan used the dragon fly and tiger wing formation to gallop and attack, and defeated Gao Zhen in one day.

It is rare to defeat an opponent on the first day. This also shows that Princess Yong'an's command ability is not unreasonable to become the biggest favorite in this competition.

******************************

Night. Cao Xun sat alone in the big tent and couldn't figure it out.

"Big brother, what are you planning to do?" Cao Xun gently thumped his head. He suddenly found that he had known Yang Yan for three years, but he still didn't know much about this person. Yang Yan is usually a very easy-going person, and he has a good temper and never gets angry. No matter what jokes you make with him, you always laugh it off. Except for the day when he first entered the Shangwu Academy, he had a fight with Princess Yong'an, and he didn't do anything with others. Tell him to go hunting, and go hunting. When I was asked to swim in the lake, I followed him to swim in the lake. Everything follows their actions.

And Cao Xun also knew that Yang Yan had been absent from class in Shangwu Academy for far more time than class. But the results are always neither good nor bad. Except for being kicked out of class by the instructor in the first month of my arrival, there were other things out of line.

"This is a very ordinary student." Almost all the instructors of the Shangwu Academy commented on Yang Yan in this way. Most of the students see it that way. Of course, only Cao Xun and Gao Zhen are exceptions.

The two of them are Yang Yan's only friends. It was probably the fight between Yang Yan and Princess Yongan three years ago that had a profound impact on them. In their hearts, they have always instinctively felt that Yang Yan should not be like this. You know, but almost no one is the opponent of Princess Yong'an. Only Yang Yan effortlessly snatched the long stick from Princess Yong'an's hands. Although everyone has changed a lot after three years, many people have forgotten about that fight. But Cao Xun and Gao Zhenke have always remembered it.

"Big brother is definitely not an ordinary person." Cao Xun and Gao Zhen came to such a conclusion when they discussed Yang Yan in private.

"However, I'm afraid that only the two of us see it this way in the entire Shangwu Academy." Listen to Gao Zhen say this. Cao Xun thought, "Not necessarily, I don't know what Princess Yong'an thinks of her eldest brother?" ”

Sure enough, as if to confirm the intuitions of the two. In the martial arts competition, Yang Yan and Princess Yongan showed a strong strength beyond the imagination of all the students. Only Cao Xun and Gao Zhen were not surprised.

"Big Brother is definitely not an ordinary person. But what exactly is he thinking now? In the ten days of preparation before the competition, Cao Xun also heard a lot of ridicule about Yang Yan, of course, it was not a good thing. On the first day, he took the soldiers to eat and drink, slept a lot every day, and did not train well. I heard that I took a woman to the street to play yesterday, and for some reason I had a fight with a group of scoundrels. What is this for?

Cao Xun suddenly felt a mess in his mind, and he couldn't help but beat his head again, "The head is big, the head is big." ”

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"Lord Commander, why don't we fight during the day?" Zhang Rong finally couldn't help it. Although for them, this kind of competition is more like a game, but it is still sad to be challenged by people blocking the door and not fighting. Either way, they are also soldiers after all. Soldiers always have the backbone and dignity of soldiers.

"That's right! Commander-in-Chief, it's rare to meet a commander like an adult, and we also want to do our best for the adults and win a few beautiful games! It's also worthy of the adults to invite us to eat, why don't we fight? ”

"Yes! Yes! Why, adult? Several other leaders joined in.

Yang Yan smiled and said, "Everyone, there will be a time to contribute, but not now." ”

"My lord, when is that going to be?"

Yang Yan smiled but did not answer.

At this time, Zhang Rong said again: "My lord, is there some clever plan?" ”

Yang Yan smiled: "Yes, I do have a plan." Guess what kind of strategy I'm using? ”

When everyone heard Yang Yan say this, they all pondered. Zhang Rong ended up being a soldier for a few more years. Although he didn't go through any major battles, he still had a few more battles than others. Said: "Didn't the adults use Cao Di's strategy of winning three drums in one drum back then?" ”

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Qilu fought in Changlao, and Cao Di fought from Luzhuang Gong. Qi Jun drummed in, Zhuang Gong wanted to drum, and said: "No." "Qi Jun three drums. He said: "Okay! Zhuang Gong drummed it, and really defeated the Qi army. Zhuang Gong asked the reason, and said: "The courage of the husband is also, one blow, then decline, three and exhaustion." He did his best, so he won. ”

Zhang Rong immediately told the story of Cao Di to several other leaders, and then said: "The commander did not fight today in order to dissipate the opponent's morale, and when the opponent's morale is exhausted, we will definitely win. Isn't that the case with the Archon? ”

Yang Yan smiled and nodded, and muttered, "Cao Xun, you won't even be able to see this little trick, that would be too disappointing to me." ”

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Lin'an Imperial City, Imperial Study.

Behind the dragon case sat the current Great Song Dynasty Emperor Zhao Tuan. On the left and right stood four ministers of civil and military affairs. On the left is: Shangshu Zuo Servant Shot, Tongzhongshu Menxia Pingzhang Shi Tang Sihui, Privy Envoy, Wei Guogong Zhang Jun, and on the right is: Zhongshu Menxia Governor and Tongzhi Privy Council Affairs Yu Yunwen, the former commander of the palace, Zhaoqing Junjie Envoy, Tong'an County Wang Yang Yizhong.

At this time, another person came in, it was Han Yanzhi. After Han Yanzhi saw that Zhao Tuan had finished giving the salute, Zhao Tuan asked, "Ziwen, how are the soldiers and horses everywhere prepared?" ”

At this time, Han Yanzhi's official position was to wait for Lang in the household department, to be in charge of Zuo Cao, and to lead the Huaidong Army, horses, money, and grain. Among the six ministries, the household department is second only to the ministry of officials and controls the country's finances. Because it was not in the main hall of the Golden Palace, Zhao Tuan was more casual and called Han Yanzhi's words to show his cordiality.

Han Yan replied directly: "The military supplies, grain, grass, and equipment everywhere are all ready. The number of all bodies is in the chapter written by the minister, and there are 300 Ruyi cars and 100 artillery cars built by Wei Sheng, the former military commander of Zhenjiang Mansion on Shandong Road, and more than 150 warships of various types supervised by Li Bao, who was made by the coastal system, are all here, please take a look at them together. As he spoke, he put his hands above his head. The chamberlain on one side took it and put it on Zhao Tuan's bookcase.

Zhao Tuan said: "Very good, Ziwen has worked hard for you." ”

At this time, Yang Yizhong asked, "Lord Han, how many war horses are there?" ”

Han Yan said straightly: "At present, there are more than 50,000 horses, and in addition to the carts and loads, there are less than 30,000 war horses used for cavalry. ”

Yu Yunwen frowned and said: "I'm afraid it's a little less, if you want to go on a northern expedition, it will always take sixty or seventy thousand horses." ”

Yang Yizhong also said: "Jin people are good at riding and shooting, and the number of cavalry to fight in Jin Country cannot be too small." A big reason why Yue Pengju repeatedly defeated the Jin soldiers was because the cavalry under his command was no less than the cavalry of the Jin soldiers. ”

Zhao Tuan nodded and said, "It's less, can Ziwen still find a way to mobilize more?" ”

Han Yan said straightly: "The horse-producing lands in the northwest and northeast do not belong to my Great Song Dynasty. Although horses are produced in the southwest, most of them can only be used to pull and carry weight, and few can be used to pull and ride. War horses can only be obtained by buying, and the Jin Kingdom will not buy horses for us. It can only be purchased from Western Xia, but there is no border between my Great Song Dynasty and Western Xia. You have to go through Tibet to get to my Great Song Dynasty, so you can't buy it in large quantities. In the thirty-second year of Shaoxing (1162) and the first year of Longxing (1163), although more than 20 Sima thresholds were opened, it would take two or three years to wait until a large number of horses were released. ”

At this time, Tang Si retreated: "Your Majesty, the Northern Expedition is a very important matter. I still want to think twice. The Jin people are brave, and it may be difficult for our Song army to resist. Once there is a mistake, I am afraid that the country will be unstable and the society will be uneasy. ”

Zhang Jun snorted and said, "Tang Xianggong, what do you mean by this." The Northern Expedition is imperative, and the shame of Jingkang cannot be left without snow, otherwise where is the majesty of my Great Song Dynasty. ”

Tang Si retreated: "Zhang Xianggong, Song and Jin have been at peace for more than 20 years. Now I am in the Song Dynasty, the country is safe, and the people are happy. Once the sword soldiers are mobilized, but the people are guilty, I think it is better to negotiate peace with the Jin State, but it is to give the Jin State some silver and silk every year, and my Great Song Dynasty is strong, which is nothing? ”

Zhang Jun said: "Tang Xianggong, you must know that the golden people are cunning and impermanent. In the thirty-first year of Shaoxing (1162), the Jin people broke the covenant and invaded our Great Song Dynasty. How can we negotiate peace with the Kingdom of Jin again? ”

Tang Si retreated: "Zhang Xianggong, the war between the two countries is not a child's play, who can guarantee that my Great Song will win." Once you lose, the consequences are unimaginable! ”

Zhang Jun said: "The Jin people have no faith, and they are in the evening. Who can keep the Jin Kingdom from breaking the contract and attacking our Great Song Dynasty. Instead of waiting for the Jin soldiers to come over, it is better for us to take the initiative and attack them first. ”

Tang Si retreated and said: "Zhang Xianggong, now the people are finally recuperating and living and working in peace and contentment. Can you bear to let them get involved in the dispute between the two countries again, and suffer from the sword and the war? ”

Zhang Jun said angrily: "Then Tang Xianggong, you haven't thought that the people of the land occupied by the Jin State, the one of them is not under the pressure of the Jin people, and the other one who does not hope that the king of my Great Song Dynasty will go north as soon as possible and recover the Central Plains." In the face of these people, where do you put them? ”

Seeing that the two of them were talking more and more intensely, they were almost about to quarrel. Zhao Tuan hurriedly said: "Two Aiqing, don't fight." Binfu, what do you think is good? ”

"Binfu" is Yu Yunwen's expression. Seeing Zhao Tuan asking, Yu Yunwen said: "The first battle of Quarry Rock in the 31st year of Shaoxing is still the first of the Jin State's breach of the contract, and now the Jin State has come to ask me to restore the New Year's coins in the Great Song Dynasty, and this matter must not be." Otherwise, not only will I have no shame to face the people of the Great Song Dynasty, but I will also be sorry for the first emperors of the Great Song Dynasty. ”

Zhao Tuan said: "Bin Fu is reasonable, should the Song Dynasty immediately raise troops for the Northern Expedition?" ”

Yu Yunwen said: "No. Soldiers are a major matter of the country, and they should not be taken lightly. Otherwise, there will be a repetition of Emperor Taizong's defeat at the Gaoliang River. Now my Great Song Dynasty has not started a war for a long time, and the soldiers have been out of battle for a long time. It is also known as General Diao Zero, and it is really not the time to start a war with the Jin State. ”

Zhao Tuan said: "If you follow the meaning of Binfu, it is peace and disharmony, and war and no war." ”

Yu Yunwen said: "The minister thinks that it is now appropriate for my Great Song Dynasty to rectify military affairs, train soldiers, and wait for the opportunity." ”

Zhang Jun said: "May I ask Xianggong Yu, when will you wait?" ”

Yu Yunwen said: "In my opinion, it will take two or three years before the Northern Expedition. However, in the past two or three years, although it was not possible to carry out a large-scale Northern Expedition, it could attack sporadically, stand by and attack, Suzhou, Yingzhou, Caizhou and other places. First, it can test the reality of the Jin Kingdom, and second, it can also enable the soldiers to increase their actual combat experience, so as to enhance the combat effectiveness of our Song army. ”

Zhao Tuan said: "What do you think of Binfu's words? ”

Zhang Jun said: "The minister thinks it's very good. ”

Yang Yizhong said: "This is still a safe opinion, and the minister also thinks it is feasible." ”

Tang Si retreated: "Your Majesty thinks twice." ”

Zhao Tuan said: "Then according to Binfu's proposal." ”

Tang Siwei shook his head again and again when he heard this. Zhao Tuan ignored him, and asked Yang Yizhong: "King Yang Jun, how did I let you do?" ”

Yang Yizhong said: "Wan Xiansheng has arrived in Lin'an, but his two brothers have not yet arrived, and they will arrive in the next few days." The minister thought it would be better to wait until they had arrived. ”

At this time, a big eunuch came in and said: "Your Majesty, the results of the first day of the battlefield competition of Shangwuyuan have come out, and Princess Yong'an has won." It turned out that because of his daughter's participation, Zhao Tuan ordered the eunuch to present the battle situation every day.

Zhao Tuan flipped through the pages and said, "King Tong'an, your grandson participated in the battlefield competition again?" ”

Zhang Jun listened to it on the side, and couldn't help but say: "The grandson of King Yang Jun? Aren't you playing on the front lines? Yesterday, I personally approved him to enter the Chengjielang, why did he come to participate in the battlefield competition again? ”

Yang Yizhong said with a smile: "The grandson who participated in the competition in the martial arts academy is called Yang Yan, and he was born to my third son, Chaohui. The one on the front line is called Yang Changpeng, who was born to the eldest son Chaoguang. He graduated from Shangwu Academy in the first year of Longxing (1163). ”

Zhao Tuan also smiled: "In this way, the two grandsons of the king of Tong'an County are the pillars of my future Great Song Dynasty!" ”

At this time, Tang Sifei sneered: "Speaking of which, this grandson of King Yang Jun is very famous!" Everyone in Lin'an Mansion knows that King Yang has a good grandson, haha! ”

Zhang Jun and Yu Yunwen have been busy rectifying the affairs of the Northern Expedition, but they have not heard about Yang Yan. Li Xianzhong was specially recalled from the front line to discuss the Northern Expedition, and he did not know about it soon after returning to Beijing. Only Han Yanzhi understood it very clearly, but on this occasion, he couldn't say a word. When it came to Yang Yizhong, he still looked calm after listening to Tang Siwei's words.

Although Zhao Tuan didn't know about Yang Yan, he also heard the sarcasm in Tang Si's words, and said with some displeasure: "Tang Qing, what do you mean by this." ”

So Tang Siwei sneered and told Yang Yan about it. Zhao Tuan listened to Tang Siwei's words, and said in surprise: "King Yang Jun, is there such a thing?" ”

Yang Yizhong's expression remained unchanged, and he said: "What Tang Xianggong said is the truth. ”

Zhao Tuan was a little puzzled and said: "Even so, why don't you let him do it for King Yang Jun, and you don't care about teaching it." ”

Yang Yizhong smiled slightly: "Lao Chen's grandson has always acted with good intentions, and Lao Chen has never interfered. ”

Tang Sifei sneered: "What a self-serving motive, King Yang Jun is really a godson!" ”

At this time, Yu Yunwen interjected: "Your Majesty, it is inconvenient for King Yang Jun to elaborate on Yang Yan's intentions. But you can guess a thing or two. Glancing at Yang Yizhong, "I just don't know if it's right." ”

Zhao Tuan suddenly became more and more excited when he heard this, and said, "Yu Aiqing, you should talk about it." Zhang Jun and Chao Yanshou also paid attention to Yu Yunwen, obviously wanting to hear Yu Yunwen's statement.

Yu Yunwen said: "Even if it is an ordinary person, he will never dare to be so ridiculous in such an important competition, let alone the grandson of King Yang Jun." The minister thought that Yang Yan was probably deliberately showing weakness. Let his opponents look down on him. ”

Zhao Tuan nodded and said, "It makes sense, the art of war: if you want to be strong, you will show weakness, and if you want to be weak, you will show you strong." This move is also in line with the art of war. ”

Yu Yunwen said: "Your Majesty is right. As a famous general, he will be able to make the soldiers serve with death. Of course, this kind of competition cannot be compared with the real battlefield, and naturally it is not effective to talk about death. However, the reason is the same, the local soldiers on that side work harder and more seriously, and the chance of victory will naturally be greater. ”

Zhao Tuan also smiled and said, "What Aiqing means is that before the competition, Yang Yan invited the soldiers to eat and drink, just to let the soldiers work harder in the competition?" ”

Yu Yunwen said: "That's right. ”

Zhao Tuan listened to it and immediately pulled out the report on the battle between Yang Yan and Cao Xun and watched it carefully. And because they didn't fight for a day, because the writing was very simple, and I read it in a while. Said: "Yu Aiqing, if it is as you say, Yang Yan should be in high morale today, and he should fight with his opponent. But what is the reason why he is challenged by his opponents all day long, and they are all closed doors? ”

Yu Yunwen said categorically: "This is a way to wait for work. The goal is to demoralize the opponent, and when he fights the opponent on the third day, he will definitely win the battle. In the Spring and Autumn Period, Cao Di won three drums with one drum, which is the truth. ”

Zhao Tuan nodded again and again, and turned to Yang Yizhong: "King Yang Jun, is this Yang Yan's intention?" ”

Yang Yizhong said: "The minister doesn't know. ”

Zhao Tuan smiled: "How could you not know? ”

Yang Yizhong also smiled: "Yang Yan acts, and the minister often does not expect one out of twelve, this time what the minister thinks is roughly the same as what General Li said, but whether Yang Yan thinks like this, the minister doesn't know." ”

Zhao Tuan also smiled and said, "Okay, then in two days, I want to see what Yang Yan wants to do." ”

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The next day, Cao Xun went to Yang Yan's village to challenge again, and this time Cao Xun's soldiers couldn't help it and began to scold.

"Damn, these bunnies, wait until tomorrow when I want you to look good." Zhang Rong was a little restless in the big tent. After all, he knows most of the people who are scolding outside. Several other leaders were also restless in the tent, scolding one after another.

Yang Yan found that in his own big village, he was the only one who could maintain his peace of mind. not only remembered that Yang Yizhong asked him to deliberately keep a low profile in the Shangwu Academy. At least I can calm down.

Soon, the morning passed.

Cao Xun's heart was at a loss: "Big brother doesn't want to spend three days later, the two of them will decide the victory or defeat alone." "According to the rules: if the game supervisors of the two sides finally determine that it is difficult to distinguish the winner after three days, then it is up to the two main players to decide the winner of the trial. Although this has happened before, it has never happened, and I don't play for three days, just waiting for the final heads-up to decide the winner.

However, Cao Xun quickly denied his thoughts: "Yang Yan will never do this." But what exactly was he going to do? "Cao Xun's ancestor was Cao Bin, the founding general of the Great Song Dynasty, who was also a famous general at that time.

"In addition to my ancestors, there are also many famous generals of our Cao family." Idle, Cao Xun also began to think crankily, "There was Cao Jingzong in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Cao Cao in the Three Kingdoms, Cao Shen in the Han Dynasty, and in the Spring and Autumn Period?" Oh! There is a Cao Di, Cao ...... ......"

Cao Xun was suddenly startled, "I understand, this is a way to wait for work!" Cao Xun turned his head suddenly, looking at his army, the team was uneven, and the soldiers were sitting or lying, very slack. The mental head is insufficient.

"Attention everyone, collect the troops and return to the camp." Cao Xun immediately ordered.

Watching Cao Xun's men go, Zhang Rong couldn't help but say, "Lord Commander, they left so early today!" ”

Yang Yan smiled slightly and said, "It seems that he remembered it with the scriptures, and we are waiting for work." I went back and repaired it. ”

Zhang Rong said: "Lord Commander, what should we do?" ”

"I have my own way."