The imperial guard camp of the Song Dynasty has one commander, two deputy commanders, and five commanders. A total of one thousand guards are in charge. They are responsible for the defense of the imperial city and palace. Lan Yu is one of the deputy commanders and commanders. The other one The deputy commander's name is Li Yi. He is mainly in charge of the administrative affairs of the guard camp. He is not good at martial arts.
At about four o'clock in the morning, Yuan Ji and Xie Daolin sat on my left and right respectively. Next to them were deputy commanders Li Yi and Lan Yu. On both sides sat four other commanders and ten centurion captains who came to watch the battle. Among them was Yun, who I was familiar with. Zhong Fei.
"Your Majesty, can we begin?"
"Well. Thank you Aiqing. Let's get started."
Xie Daolin stood up and said: "Everyone, because Xie is about to be transferred to the imperial guard army. Therefore, today, through a competition of martial arts, we will select the new imperial guard commander. Five candidates for the competition. They are the current imperial guard commanders. Five colleagues, please come to the front."
Lan Yu, who was the first to stand in front, saluted and said, "Your Majesty, Lan Yu, is here to see you."
"Your Majesty, Fang Kang, is here to see you."
"Your Majesty, Shen Mo, is here to see you."
"Your Majesty, Du Chunhui, is here to see you."
"Your Majesty, Zhang Zijian, is here to see you."
"No gift."
Xie Dao saw the five people and finished their salutes. Then he said: "Although this competition is to choose the commander, you must also point to the end. Remember not to hurt others, so as not to hurt the harmony among the brothers. According to the results of the lottery in advance, the first The rounds are Lan Yu versus Shen Mo. Fang Kang versus Du Chunhui. Zhang Zijian has a bye. The competition officially begins. Lan Yu. Shen Mo."
"My subordinate is here."
"start."
Following Xie Daolin's order, Lan Yu and Shen Mo stayed on top while the other three returned to their respective positions.
There was almost no suspense in this match. Both sides were brothers who were disciples of Yuan Ji in the Imperial Valley. They were very familiar with each other. As the senior brother, Lan Yu was superior in skills. He won easily and advanced to the next round.
"Your Majesty, don't think Lan Yu can defeat Shen Mo easily. It's not so easy for others." Yuan Ji whispered from the side.
"Yes. Sir, you are right. That's because Lan Yu knows Shen Mo very well and knows his strengths and weaknesses. If it were someone else, even a humble minister wouldn't dare to win easily." Xie Daolin further explained. road.
Yuan Ji smiled: "Thank you, Sir, for being so modest."
I agreed: "Well. It is said that only when you know yourself and the enemy can you be victorious in a hundred battles."
"Your Majesty, Shengming." Xie Daolin stood up and said. "In the first game, Lan Yu wins. In the next game, Fang Kang and Du Chunhui win."
Fang Fang and Du walked into the arena. They held each other's fists and saluted according to the habits of people in the martial arts community. Then they took out their weapons from the table beside them and then fought together.
Du Chunhui's weapon is a long sword. Fang Kang's weapon is a pair of curved scimitars.
Xie Dao looked over and introduced to me: "Your Majesty, this Du Chunhui is a direct descendant of the Hengshan Sword Sect of Nanyue. The Hengshan Sect's sword blade is longer than ordinary swords. His swordsmanship is quite satisfactory. There is nothing outstanding about it. But... There is no obvious weakness. It is a typical swordsmanship with a balance of offense and defense. Du Chunhui's martial arts is second to none among the younger generation in Hengshan. Therefore, he is called 'Nanyue Duoxiu'."
"The unique beauty of Nanyue is Du Chunhui. Well, this is a good name."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Look, Your Majesty. The weapon in Fang Kang's hand is called Wu Gou."
"Wu Gou." I said in surprise. In my memory, Wu Gou seems to be a weapon similar to a hook.
"Your Majesty, it is Wu Gou. The reason why it is called 'Wu Gou' is because this kind of weapon is actually improved from the Wu Guodao with a curved blade. Wu Gou first appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period. It was created by King Wu It was ordered to be made and reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty. Because it was made by King Wu, the literati of the Tang Dynasty gave it the title of Wu Hook and it has been passed down."
"Oh. It turns out that Wu Gou is a kind of scimitar." I suddenly realized.
"That's right, Your Majesty." Yuan Ji also said. "The Wu Gou we are talking about is a scimitar. It is an alias for a curved knife. The curved knife consists of a head, a blade, a guard and a handle. It has an edge on one side. It is in the shape of a curve. Just like the lancet that your Majesty is familiar with, it is one of the standard sword types of the curved knife. Most of its moves are mainly chopping and slashing. Even in our dynasty, it is a very common weapon in the army. Your Majesty's review of " Do you still have any impressions of the weapons chapter in "Wu Jing Zong Yao"?"
I shook my head: "I don't know much about weapons."
In my mind, the era of cold weapons is about to pass. So I just briefly browsed through the cold weapons part of "Martial Arts General Essentials" and couldn't remember much.
"Your Majesty, in the "Wu Jing Zong Yao" written in the early period of our dynasty, there are basically no graphics of straight swords. However, the genre graphics of the curved sword, the hand sword, are still intact. Although the army at that time was also equipped with straight swords. .However, judging from the description in "Wu Jing Zong Yao", among the armies in the early years of our dynasty, the equipment rate of the curved sword still had a clear advantage. Among the people, the curved sword was also very popular."
Most of the swords we refer to in later generations refer to curved swords or are derived from them. This type of curved sword from the Tang and Song Dynasties spread to the Japanese country and became the prototype of the Japanese samurai sword in later generations.
Of course, there are some differences between the Wu hooks of the Tang and Song dynasties and the earliest Wu Guodao. The early Wu hooks were shaped like a crescent moon, with a straight head and no edge. There were blades on both sides. It was a weapon that could be used for both pushing and hooking. Most of them were It was used for ceremonial and defensive purposes. It was not very practical in combat. The later Wu Gou was bladed on one side. Therefore, the early Wu Gou can be called a deformation of the sword. The Wu Gou in the Tang and Song Dynasties was completely a sword. category.
Xie Daolin praised: "What you said is very true. To this day, there are still many soldiers in our dynasty who use curved swords as weapons. Your Majesty, another commander is called Fang Kang. His surname is not common. It is said that The descendant of Fang Xuanling of the Tang Dynasty. The skill of double hook also comes from family inheritance. This Fang Kang always tried his best in every battle. Although he is more than calm now, he had a fiery habit when he was young. And because he was the third in the family, he got a The title of Desperate Saburo."
"Desperate Saburo." I thought. "Isn't this the Shi Xiu in "Water Margin"? It seems that people in the world of this period all had nicknames. Shi Naian did not make this up."
The Wu Gou and the long sword were evenly matched for a while. Fang Kang was the eldest among the five, about forty years away. I saw the Wu Gou flying in his hand like light. His speed was not inferior to that of the young man at all. My opponent, Du Chunhui, also showed no sign of weakness. The two of them fought faster and faster, both hoping to seize the opportunity. Soon, my eyesight gradually failed to keep up with the speed on the court. It made me dazzled.
The competition between the two on the field was more intense than the situation in the competition for the top spot in martial arts a few months ago. If you make a simple comparison, it would be like the difference between the youth competition and the adult competition in later generations.
When the fight reached its peak, Fang Kang relied on Wu Gou's own weight to chop and chop, forcing Du Chunhui to retreat step by step. With every move, Fang Kang would give a loud shout to build up his momentum.
"Lie on the firewood and taste your courage." Fang Kang shouted again. Then he stepped on the middle of the palace and took a step closer. He stabbed flatly with the hook of his left hand and slashed hard with the hook of his right hand.
Yuan Ji lowered his voice and said: "It's over."
Du Chunhui blocked three moves in succession. Finally, he was defeated when Fang Kang's fourth move, "Lying on the fuel and tasting the courage," was used.
"Commander Fang is good at martial arts. I deeply admire him." Du Chunhui saw that he was defeated, so he put away his sword and admitted defeat.
"Tong Du has received awards. Tong Du is young and promising. He will surpass Fang in a few years."
The two of them looked at each other and smiled. They held their fists and saluted me.
Xie Daolin stood up and walked to the front and said: "In this competition, Fang Kang won and advanced to the second round. Next, Lan Yu, Fang Kang and Zhang Zijian, who had a bye in the first round, will compete in the second round. The three players will draw lots first."
Zhang Zijian's luck is not very good. This time he got a bye. Even he smiled sheepishly. He entered the finals without any effort. It seems that he can only praise his "character".
Xie Daolin smiled and said: "Commander Zhang will continue to rest. Later, he will compete with the winner between Lan and Fang for the top spot."
Zhang Zijian cupped his hands and said, "Yes, Lord Control."
Fang Kang drank some water on his seat and rested for about ten minutes. Then he stood in front with Lan Yu again.
Xie Dao nodded when he saw me and said, "Let's get started."
Although Fang Kang is older, his position is slightly lower. He first saluted and said: "Master Lan, please."
"Fang Commander, please."
The battle between Lan Yu and Shen Mo was a bare-handed fight. This time Lan Yu also took out his weapon. Fang Kang knew that Emperor Valley's martial arts was so powerful that he didn't dare to neglect him. With one move of his double hook, he put on a defensive posture of "Dan Feng Chaoyang".
Yuan Ji whispered in my ear: "Your Majesty, it was a long sword versus a double hook just now. It's the same this time. Your Majesty, take a closer look at how Lan Yu defeats the enemy."
From Yuan Ji's words, I could hear his great love for Lan Yu. This is not only his trust in his martial arts, but also the care and concern of his elders for his younger generation.
Lan Yu's speed is extremely fast. He has already attacked three times in an instant. Fang Kang's double hook dances quickly, blocking the left and right. Both of them are fast against fast, trying to seize the opportunity. This is the first time I have seen Lan Yu. Yu took action. This was also the first time I truly experienced the martial arts in the Valley of the Kings. I occasionally fought with Yuan Ji. Yuan Ji also slowed down, allowing me to clearly see the trajectory of his attack.
However, actual combat is completely different from daily practice.
What I practiced was basic routines. Every move was dead. But every move in actual combat was alive. Even the basic movements had changed. From the beginning, I could hardly see the situation on the field clearly. .I saw only the light of swords and shadows. People came and went. I could only tell who was who from the color of their clothes. It would be great if Fang Ling was here. I could also have an interpreter. Neither Yuan Ji nor Xie Daolin was there. Explain to me in detail. Just watch by yourself and occasionally say a word or two. In fact, I also know that the speed of the two of them far exceeds the speed of words. Even if Fang Ling is here, he can't explain it.
Gradually, I saw that the sword shadow reflected by Lan Yu's long sword was denser than the hook shadow reflected by the double hook. Although I was not sure, I felt that Lan Yu had more offense than defense. He seemed to have the upper hand.
The martial arts in the Valley of the Kings are ever-changing. I heard Yuan Ji explain it, but it still seems specious.
The sword moved lightly. Lan Yu's sword shadow covered wider and wider areas. After a while, the speed of the double hooks obviously began to lag behind that of the long sword. The shadows of the hooks seemed to appear with the appearance and disappearance of the sword shadows. The arc drawn out also became wider and wider. It was getting narrower and narrower. It was obviously a passive situation. The most important thing was that Fang Kang's momentum was completely suppressed by Lan Yu's speed. When he used every move, Fang Kang could no longer think of cheering him out.
From my point of view, this is a battle where Lan Yu wins with speed. Compared to Lan Yu's dexterous swordsmanship, Fang Kang's Wu Gou power has not yet been fully unleashed and is constrained by the lightness of the long sword.
Speed can restrain power. Power can also restrain speed. It is like water and fire. Water can extinguish fire. Fire can also boil water dry.