Yan Wulu heard the sound and followed Gu Beiju's gesture to look to the north of the martial arts field.
I saw a tall man sitting in the north position.
The man was dressed in gorgeous brocade clothes and had a capable and handsome appearance. He was a bit more luxurious than many young masters from the Jinling family, but he was sitting around the martial arts field with other poor families who had participated in the audition.
"...That young master should not be underestimated. He is the legitimate son of Prime Minister Qin - Qin Chechu. Prime Minister Qin has a really weird temper. He has dozens of recommended places in his hands, but he doesn't use any of them. He is not used by his disciples. Forget it, I won’t even use my own son, and let him participate starting from the audition, and be selected step by step.”
"...Your Majesty, do you know? A recommended spot for the Daqian Martial Arts Examination, and the identity of a "Martial Arts Examiner", have already fetched more than 100,000 taels of gold on the black market some time ago. You know, Jinling City The combined annual income of the lower-class families there is less than ten thousand taels of gold. How many of them are just counting on this to make money."
"... Prime Minister Qin actually only needs to nod his head, and millions of taels of gold will instantly enter the prime minister's house, but he is not tempted at all, which really makes Bei Ju admire him a little."
Gu Beiju said, with a faint smile on his face, whether it was true admiration or mockery.
"No one dares to offend Prime Minister Qin's direct son. In the next two rounds of competition, the young masters from the Jinling family will surely give Qin Chechu a few points. Moreover, this Qin Chechu can pass through thousands of troops and horses. Coming out of the audition process for "Doumuqiao", I am afraid that I also have two brushes."
Gu Beiju reminded Yan Wulu.
He turned and pointed to the luxurious position in the attic on the other side, where there happened to be two women.
"There, the woman dressed as a scholar is Cen Qianhui, the eldest daughter of the Cen family of the Jinling family. She is not weak in martial arts. It is said that she is already a late third-level warrior, and... she is very smart. If the prince fights against her, , be careful of the other party’s deception.”
"As for the other woman who looks very quiet and virtuous, she is Yuan Che, the only daughter of General Yuan Tiankai of Nanzhu Kingdom."
"...General Yuan is extremely martial. Even the maids, women and children in the Yuan Mansion are all skilled in martial arts. Moreover, Yuan Che, a woman, helped Dali Temple, the Ministry of Punishment and others crack down on several major crimes in the early years. Case, this thing can't be done without some skills."
"...However, Yuan Che's information is really hidden. My people have not found out any information about her martial arts strength. But after all, she is the only daughter of General Yuan. Presumably, Yuan Che's martial arts is also among the top among these participants. layers.”
Gu Beiju came to Yan Wulu in detail.
He later added several other noteworthy people for Yan Wulu.
Yan Wulu responded with a slight nod.
In fact, Yan Wulu had already investigated these powerful candidates mentioned by Gu Beiju when he was preparing in the Yan Mansion.
However, it was not as meticulous as Gu Beiju's, and he even told some rumors that had been circulated.
Time passed by minute by minute.
Finally, when the third round of the Linwuju competition officially began, Yan Wulu and others saw Yuchizuo, one of the legendary generals of the Four Pillar Kingdoms, on the high platform that attracted everyone's attention.
He is an extremely strong old man.
Even though he had been forced to recuperate in Jinling City for many years, he still looked like he was wearing armor every time he appeared.
As soon as he appeared, all the martial arts test takers suddenly became quiet and waited for his words.
Yuchi Zuo took a few steps forward slightly. His voice was as loud as an ancient bell, but he didn't sound like the kind of person who needed to retire and return home.
"The third round of the Daqian Martial Arts Examination begins now!"
…
The deputy examiners around Yuchi Zuo came forward to read out the rules for the third round of assessment——
Cross-country riding.
During this period, each can compete for points on the road. Each point gained will add one point. The first person to complete the distance will receive an additional ten points, the second person will receive five points, and the third person will receive three points.
There are thirty people in each group, divided into ten groups.
Finally, the top 32 will be ranked based on the points of all 300 people.
…
It feels like a somewhat willful comprehensive competition.
But in fact, Daqian martial arts has always been like this.
Those who can pass the first two rounds of the martial arts examination actually have the ability and qualifications to pass the martial arts examination. However, how rare are the martial arts examination scholars in Daqian?
If those Jinling gentlemen who had gotten by with "protection rights" were allowed to compete normally with these people who came up from the first-level audition, then all the thirty-two martial arts scholarship quotas would fall to this country man. on the body.
Therefore, the biggest purpose of this third round of tests, comprehensive tests, is to eliminate a large number of almost all non-Jinling family members.
The examiners' rules are completely designed for this purpose.
…
After all the rules were read out, the martial arts examinees were ready to take action.
The deputy examiners have already announced in advance——
"The location of the second round of assessment is at the imperial garden racecourse on the eastern outskirts of Jinling City."
"...The second round of assessment will begin in a quarter of an hour, and latecomers will be disqualified from participating in the second round."
The garden racecourse is so far away from here that even if a horse is galloping, it will take more than a quarter of an hour to reach it.
Not to mention, without horses.
This is another trick played by the Jinling family...
This is what Gu Beiju said personally.
Horses are very precious.
But for the Jinling family, raising a horse is simple.
However, for those martial arts candidates who come from poor families, this is not necessarily the case.
Horses are too expensive, and long-term care is even more expensive.
But from here to the garden examination room, you can't go without riding a horse.
This is an intentional diversion...
Of course, there are also some powerful warriors from humble families who can reach the garden racecourse within a quarter of an hour by relying on their own lightness of body skills.
but……
When they arrive, they will find that there are no horses ready for them to participate in cross-country riding at the garden racecourse.
This is also an intentional diversion...
If you can't even raise a horse, why do you participate in martial arts?
If you can't even raise a horse, you have no right to come to Jinling!
You said you are strong in martial arts and have outstanding military ability?
Sorry, Daqian doesn't need this at the moment. At least, the gentlemen in Jinling don't need it.
…
On the attic.
Gu Beiju stood up slightly and made a gesture of invitation.
As people who own the finest horses, they don't worry about not being able to get to the garden racecourse at all.
Yan Wulu chuckled, responded with gestures and saluted, and then went downstairs together.
Around the martial arts field under the attic, many warriors were already riding their horses to the garden racecourse.
Including martial arts candidates like Cen Qianhui and Yuan Che who were recommended by the Jinling family.
There are also people like Qin Chechu, Ren Yi, and Xia Jingjing who have come out of the audition level and have enough financial resources to raise horses.
But most of the poor people sitting around the martial arts field were stunned in place for a while.
They couldn't imagine it.
I have been practicing martial arts for many years, traveling all the way to Beijing to take the exam, just to win the first place in one dynasty and serve the country.
After experiencing the fierce competition in the first round with thousands of people vying for dozens of places.
They also participated in the second round of tests in Jinling and wrote down military strategies that brought together all their talents and opinions on the situation of the dynasty.
I finally reached this point, but I was delayed here in such an almost humiliating way.
They felt ashamed and angry.
Of course, there were also more people among them, who were proud of their good Qinggong and body skills, and began to fly towards the garden racecourse.
Yan Wulu and Gu Beiju rode side by side.
When he looked at these candidates for the martial arts examinations, he felt a sense of sadness for them.
Among them, some may be just for fame and title, some may be just for success, and even the original male protagonist Ye Changtian is just for revenge.
However, Yan Wulu believed that among these dozens of people, there must be someone like Yue Pengju and Qi Yuanjing who were brave and loyal and loyal to the emperor and served the country.
It's just a pity that Daqian gave up on them for the sake of the noble family.
In fact, the Zhenbei Cavalry Guards who followed Yan Wulu also had enough horses that he could lend to them.
But he can save them for a while, but he cannot save them for a lifetime.
What's more, Yan Wulu had no reason to save them.
Why did he risk the pressure of challenging the entire Jinling family to help those who hinder him? There is obviously no benefit and it is full of risks.
For the sake of fairness?
"...I'm sorry, when the balance is tilted towards me, fairness becomes insignificant."
Yan Wulu thought of this in his heart and chuckled helplessly.
The truth is sometimes so selfish and rogue.
He was about to drive the dark cloud horse under him to run, but before setting off, he saw——
At the entrance of the martial arts field, at the end of the street, a tall and thin figure, dressed in a large official uniform, gradually walked towards him with Chaoyang on his back.
The figure seemed as if the light of hope had descended on the world.
Behind him were dozens of horses, pulled by him alone.
"Rent a horse! Rent a horse! One penny a day!"
The tall and thin figure shouted with all his strength.
Immediately, he casually sat down by a street, set up a long table, spread some rice paper, and an inkstone, as if he was really here to rent a horse.
…But, one penny a day? And just a few dozen horses? It’s almost exactly the same number as this year’s poor candidates.
This price...
This quantity...
Isn’t this just to damage the Jinling Family?
As an outstanding member of the Jinling family, Gu Beiju narrowed his eyes slightly at this moment, looking at the senior officials sitting behind the long table in the distance, shrugging their shoulders slightly...
Countless martial arts candidates from poor families were flocking to him as if they had seen a savior.
But the official was calm and steady. He seemed to have taken out a pot of hot tea, and while drinking tea, he quickly wrote IOUs for the martial arts candidates who came to borrow horses.
There are a few candidates who seem to be short of money, but they seem to be unable to deal with such a cheap horse rental amount.
They suppressed their inner desires and activated their internal skills, just to continue flying to the garden racecourse.
Unexpectedly, this high-ranking official stopped drinking tea and suddenly stood up and shouted——
"You guys who are flying around, come and rent a horse!"
"...If you don't have money, you owe it first! How can you take the martial arts exam without renting a horse?"
When everyone heard this, including those few people, they were all stunned for a moment.
But only Yan Wulu and a few others knew how grateful these people who had just been temporarily stopped would be to this person in the future.
…
Seeing this situation, Gu Beiju suddenly felt a sense of murderous intent in his eyes.
Yan Wulu didn't quite understand why this tall and thin official would do this. He did something that even Yan Wulu would think twice about but would not dare to do.
He is making enemies of the entire Jinling family.
"Mr. Gu, who is this person?"
"Secretary of the Criminal Department, Zhang Zheng."
Gu Beiju originally replied coldly, but when he saw that it was Yan Wulu who was asking the question, his tone immediately softened and he continued -
"...Zhang Zheng is the third eldest child in his family. People who are familiar with him call him 'Zhang San'."
"...His Royal Highness, Zhang San is not a good person. He was born in a poor family, and studied under the famous Jixia Academy Master - Mr. Luo. He relied on his knowledge, passed the imperial examination, and became a minister of the third grade. ."
"...Humph, but this person is independent, thinks he is noble, has no money and salt, and has been coveting the position of my father's Minister of Justice for many years. He is simply wishful thinking and does not know how high the world is."
Yan Wulu listened to Gu Beiju's extremely subjective speech.
He is not a fool. Looking at the man in front of him, he actually dares to openly oppose the interests of the entire Jinling family. He no longer looks like a sycophant who only cares about himself.
The birth of a great Confucian.
Unconventional.
He prides himself on being noble.
No oil or salt enters.
It can also pose a threat to the position of Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice, which is like a treasure in the Gu family's pocket.
Yan Wulu probably knew the personality and status of Mr. Zhang San.
Gu Beiju snorted lightly...
"This Zhang San comes to disrupt almost every martial arts competition. If Prime Minister Qin hadn't intended to protect him, this guy would have been thrown into the Yangtze River to feed the fishes!"
Yan Wulu understood that it turned out that Prime Minister Qin was involved in this.
Yan Wulu didn't stop any longer...
He and Gu Beiju drove their horses to the garden racecourse together.
Several strong guards from the Jinling family came to the front, threw out a large ingot of gold, and claimed to rent all the horses in his hands.
As for Zhang Zheng, he glanced lightly and used the wat board to pull the ingot of gold out of his sight...
"The horses in my hands are leased to the future generals of Daqian. They cannot be exchanged for gold."
Zhang Zhengxin speaks outright and without any hesitation.
But his voice was calm and powerful, with a hint of the vicissitudes of time.
"...the future of these young people should not be ruined here."
"...And the future national destiny of Daqian should not be led astray by the dirty tricks used by these scoundrels!!!"
After Zhang Zheng said this, he continued to write the horse IOU.
His conduct is worthy of his name, he is upright and upright.
For a moment, everything was silent.
Zhang Zheng's originally tall, thin and wizened figure seemed to have become much taller and stronger in an instant.
Gu Beiju sneered lightly and drove away. He was dismissive of what this man did.
Yan Wulu drove away with him.
"Even if the Daqian Dynasty is already so bad and bleak, there will always be some people who, like a bunch of torches holding on in the darkness, bring a glimmer of hope to the people and a glimmer of hope to the dynasty. bright."
Yan Wulu thought in his mind, he couldn't help but look at the tall and thin figure...
But who would have thought that Zhang Zheng raised his head at that moment and met Yan Wulu's eyes.
Yan Wulu was a little stunned.
As for Zhang Zheng, who originally looked middle-aged and older, he smiled slightly with relief at this moment. He cupped his hands as if to say hello to Yan Wulu.
Yan Wulu didn't understand for a while.
The other party is not familiar with me, why would he hand over to me?
But out of etiquette, Yan Wulu would respond with cupped hands and fists.
It was not until later that Yan Wulu came to see Zhang Zheng again because of the "City Defense Department Case" that he learned from Zhang Zheng that when Zhang Zheng was young, he was also lucky enough to be with the most beautiful woman in the world, his mother Liu Mengyun, in Jixia Studied in the Academy.
Yan Wulu was in a daze when he learned about it.
Fortunately, this "Mr. Zhang San" adheres to the moral principles in his heart and devotes himself to studying Confucianism and law. He does not bow to his mother's skirt like those of Prime Minister Qin.
Nor did he say anything strange like the prince's father-in-law, who said he was willing to die for Yan Wulu's mother.
