The New Year of the Qin family was very lively and warm. The eldest son, Qin Tong, and the second son, Qin Bin, both took their wives and children home to celebrate the New Year together. The family is happy.

Qin Shubao has faded out of the court for many years, and he rarely moves around with anyone, and there are very few people who come to visit the New Year during the Chinese New Year, and there are only a few such as Cheng Zhijie. During the Zhenguan period, the officialdom was honest, and officials rarely gave expensive gifts when they visited relatives and friends. When a big man like Cheng Zhijie came to pay New Year's greetings, he sent a package of souvenirs brought from Puzhou, and then the Qin family treated each other with wine.

In addition to enjoying family affection, Qin Mubai was busier than everyone else, because the emperor's selection day on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month was getting closer and closer, and he had to hurry up and practice martial arts. Therefore, even if it is the thirtieth day of the Chinese New Year's Eve or the first day of the new year, he has to practice for several hours and dare not slacken.

Seeing him work so hard, Qin Shubao and Cheng Zhijie were naturally satisfied, and even the two brothers, Qin Tong and Qin Bin, were completely impressed by Qin Mubai.

The Qin family, on the whole, is still very harmonious and warm, and there is no big gap between the concubines. The two elder brothers have been in the court for several years, one is from Wen and the other is from Wu, and their experience and insight are of great benefit to Qin Mubai. After getting along for a period of time during the Chinese New Year, the relationship between Qin Mubai and the two brothers has also improved, and the three brothers often get together to drink wine and talk about everything.

Seeing that the Lantern Festival was approaching day by day, Qin Mubai's anxiety in his heart increased slightly. It was not because of the tension caused by the emperor's selection of troops, but the lifespan of Qin Shubao predicted by the great god Yuan Tiangang...... These days, Qin Mubai has been paying attention to Qin Shubao's every move, and found that not only did he not have any signs of running out of oil and dying, but he was getting better and better as he lived. Once, Qin Shubao drank a little wine and became interested, and let the three brothers Qin Mubai fight him alone, and he actually fought without losing!

The family was amazed, and all of them secretly rejoiced in their hearts.

On the evening of the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, Qin Shubao called Qin Mubai to the room and questioned him.

"San Lang, tomorrow is the emperor's selection day, I look at your martial arts, it should be about the same. If nothing else, there are fewer people in the younger generation who are better than you. Qin Shubao said, "But, over there, Li Ke, what are you going to tell him?" Even if it is justified to leave the Wu Wangfu and go on an errand with the emperor, you should not offend his good. After all, he only has good intentions towards our Qin family, and has no malice. ”

"Dad, this matter has actually been solved a long time ago...... Qin Mubai told Qin Shubao about the conversation he had with Li Ke that day ago. Of course, the matter about the fourth sister Shuang'er is omitted.

"Li Ke, what a smart man, he is so much like His Majesty the Emperor!" After listening to this, Qin Shubao shook his head in admiration.

"How?" Qin Mubai asked.

Qin Shubao stroked his long hair and said leisurely: "San Lang, although you are smart, you are still young after all, and your career experience is short. There are some things that you can't understand when you're in the game. Maybe being a father is the father of a villain and a gentleman, but don't you feel that Li Ke is trying to capture the old man? ”

"Yes?" Qin Mubai was slightly stunned and asked.

Qin Shubao smiled to himself and said, "Whoever is in a position has his own set of imperial techniques. The emperor is like this, and so is the emperor's son Li Ke. Coincidentally, they all used the most powerful weapon - feelings! ”

"Dad, I see what you mean." Qin Mubai frowned slightly, and said, "You mean to say that after Li Ke heard that I was going to participate in the military selection, he knew that he couldn't keep me, so he was willing to send me away and let me owe him emotionally, right?" ”

"Yes, how similar is this to the emperor's handling of Wu Meiniang?" Qin Shubao smiled and said, "However, only a person with a strong talent and a rough heart can use such a royal technique. When His Majesty was still the King of Qin, his subordinates included his father, who was not grateful to him and repaid him? The reason is that His Majesty the Emperor is the best at conquering his subordinates emotionally, and it is better to 'detain his body than to punish his heart', what a wonderful means this is! ”

"Father is right." Qin Mubai sighed lightly and said, "Now, the child feels a little indebted to Li Ke. He promoted me to the office, gave me a matchmaker, promised to give me an official, and usually treated me as a brother with courtesy, and never treated me as a subordinate or a slave. Now, I'm going to leave him to climb the high branches, and emotionally speaking, I do owe him. ”

"The eldest husband knows how to repay the favor, and you will have the opportunity to repay the favor in the future." Qin Shubao said, "Those who achieve great things are not confined to small sections, especially this kind of small favors and small favors. Li Ke has done so much kindness to you, an important reason is not because of Si Ya'er? Therefore, he also has a plan, and you don't need to carry any emotional baggage. Tomorrow, you can travel lightly and calmly to participate in the emperor's selection of troops - you must win the championship, otherwise you will not have to go home! ”

"Yes, Father!"

In the spring of the eleventh year of Zhenguan, the fifteenth day of the first month, it was sunny and breezy.

The early spring in Kannai is still as cold as winter. There are still unthawed ice skates on the vermilion walls and green tiles of the imperial city. Under the sunlight, the colorful light is refracted and strings of fine water droplets slowly flow down, splashing small pits in the snow below, merging into thin wisps of water.

The first time he entered the imperial city, Qin Mubai feasted his eyes, the grandeur of the palaces of the Tang Dynasty was far more than ten times stronger than the Manchu Purple Gold City he had seen in his previous life.

The location of the emperor's selection of troops is located in the north of the Taiji Palace in the imperial city, a famous place - Xuanwu Gate, on the field of the left guard colonel. At this time, it was already overcrowded, and thousands of Imperial Forest Army strictly controlled the order of the scene, and in the venue with nearly 10,000 people, the order was not chaotic at all.

Last year, Li Shimin carried out an "epoch-making" reform of Datang's military system. That is, the imperial capital and the imperial city Praetorian Guard army north and south government system were implemented.

In fact, to put it bluntly, it is to concentrate more military power in the hands of the emperor and the imperial court.

Beiya is the collective name of the Imperial Palace Imperial Forest Army. Li Shimin, who personally directed the Xuanwumen Change, understands the power of the Palace Praetorian Guard more deeply than anyone else. In the past, the Praetorian Guards of the Tang Palace, like other government soldiers, implemented the upper system, and often changed different generals and government soldiers to take turns on duty. Now it is fixed, and the Imperial Forest Army defending the imperial city is basically all selected from among the children of the Shi clan, and the generals among them are also relatively fixed, and the emperor personally appoints his confidant generals to lead them.

The Nanya is the general name of the soldiers and horses from all walks of life who went to the imperial capital, including the field army guarding more than ten miles away from the imperial city, and the soldiers and horses guarding the nine gates of Chang'an.

This time, Li Shimin once again carried out a creative reform of the military system - to create a royal elite guard force that is subordinate to the emperor's personal honors, does not belong to any system led by the Tang Dynasty's 12 guards and 6 guards, and only obeys the emperor's orders.

In fact, the hundred horsemen were the emperor's personal bodyguards and had a unique identity and status. Because it was a new thing, everyone was interested, and they were also eager to enter such a new army and go to the emperor's side on an errand. It is obvious that the chances of being able to appear in front of the emperor so often will be much greater than the hardships of any army.

However, the emperor's criteria for selecting 100 horsemen were quite harsh, and the five conditions put forward made most people sigh at the first time and could only move forward.

First, those who come to participate in the election of the 100 horsemen must first be the children of the Shi clan of the Tang Dynasty, and the children of the military family are preferred, and the age is between eighteen and forty years old. Don't be from a civilian background, even if you yourself are now an officer in the army. Datang just attaches importance to the origin of the gate valve, which can't be helped.

Article 2: One of the relatives of a candidate must be an incumbent official of the capital of the seventh rank or above, or he himself must be a minister of the capital of the seventh rank or above. In other words, if you want to run for the Hundred Riders, you have to have someone as a guarantee, a bit like applying for a mortgage for a loan now.

The third is the conduct check, and the candidates themselves and their relatives have no criminal records. There can't be traitors and criminals around the emperor, otherwise the emperor will definitely not worry about the safety of those concubines, children and property in his harem. This one seems easy to understand.

Fourth, outstanding appearance. Datang has always paid attention to grooming, it goes without saying that women are good-looking, and if a man is tall and mighty, it is also an intangible capital. The appearance criteria are clearly listed in this selection: first, they must be more than six feet tall (1.8 meters), with a tall body and well-proportioned facial features. If it's a hunchback, a disability, or a crooked melon and cracked jujube with a crooked mouth and slanted eyes, even if you are the son of a prime minister or a general, it's best not to come, it's not good to beat it out with a stick.

Article 5, Noh Wen. As a child of the Shi family, if you are illiterate, you can't say anything. It is said that the emperor would personally test the level of education of each inductee at the end. If you dare to cheat, the result will definitely be miserable.

This is probably the most difficult selection in the world. Fortunately, Qin Mubai can meet these five standards.

On the first day, in the eyes of most people, the first "political trial" and "physical examination" were the most difficult, and he passed it easily. In this round alone, thousands of people have been eliminated, and even more so have those who are afraid to run for election.

Then the emperor released his words, this time he selected a hundred horses, and he would personally check it at the end. The number of soldiers was strictly limited to 600. In addition, the most eye-catching is the senior officers of this hundred cavalry, a total of four. With the "Hundred Cavalry Envoys" as the leader, the official position is on the fifth grade, and the state assassin Shi and the twelve Wei Yi Mansion Zhonglang generals are at the same level, which is equivalent to a regiment-level cadre. Moreover, the treatment of the hundred cavalry envoys is higher than that of these ordinary officials of the fifth grade; There are three "deputy envoys of the hundred horsemen" below the hundred cavalry envoys, and the official positions are from the five ranks; Next, there were six brigade commanders and twelve team commanders.

All 22 military attachés will have to be selected in this round of military selection. Moreover, the conditions for those who run for the election of officers are even more stringent - those who run for the election of the hundred cavalry envoys and deputy envoys must be members of the imperial court above the third rank or the sons and nephews of the current Guannai Xunmen family. Other officers at all levels must also have the backing and support of Beijing officials and senior officers.

To put it bluntly, it is an officer of the hundred cavalry, as long as Li Shimin is the son and nephew of the trusted minister around him. Those who are distant governors or generals don't fantasize. Moreover, those who run for the election of officers must first undergo a preliminary examination like other ordinary candidates, and they have no privileges.

After a day's selection, nearly 10,000 people were eliminated, and less than 3,000 remained. Tomorrow, these men will have a martial arts competition, from which 600 sergeants and 22 military attachés will be selected.

Those who dare to come to the election are not lacking in themselves, but among those who have been eliminated under harsh conditions, there are many high-ranking officers in the army. If anyone can be selected for the hundred rides, it can be called "one in a thousand". If you can stand out and become an officer in the end, you will undoubtedly be one in a million.

And Qin Shubao's only request for Qin Mubai is to win the championship - to become the only one hundred horsemen!

After running for election on the first day, Qin Mubai saw a team of 10,000 people and countless young talents, and felt quite stressed for a while. There are people outside the world, and it seems that you have to do your best!

From the next day, it is a formal martial arts test, and the "general division test" is implemented. That is to say, those who are qualified to be counsellors and officers will be separated from ordinary soldiers and will be eliminated in another venue.

Martial arts tests include: warping, archery, and horse fighting.

Warping is weightlifting. Qin Mubai, who has crossed the soul, is equivalent to the strength of two people, and his strength is infinite, and he can easily pass this level. It was effortless to lift the big stone lock, and it was easier than those giant men with tall cows and horses, which caused a lot of uproar.

Not to mention the archery test. Whether it is a fixed-point "foot shooting", "long stack" long shot or a difficult riding shot, Qin Mubai has come out of the line with the first result!

After two rounds of testing, Qin Mubai's results were the best, which was eye-catching.

The third round of horse warfare tests is a little more complicated. Participants gallop into the puppet bush and must stab the puppet on a small piece of wood placed on the puppet on their galloping horse. Whoever stabs more, takes less time, and knocks down the puppet without a mistake wins. At this level, Qin Mubai's test results are still excellent. It was extremely noticeable among all the candidates.

The second day's qualifying rounds are over. More than half of the officers who ran for election were eliminated, and less than 40 remained. And the six hundred sergeants have been determined, so naturally a few families are happy and a few are sad. Next, there is the most eye-catching selection of officers - the emperor himself will come up with a question to test!

Qin Mubai has already been shortlisted for the final officer selection competition, and it stands to reason that he should be very happy, but there is a faint shadow lingering in his heart, which makes it difficult for him to be happy.

Because today is the sixteenth day of the first lunar month. When it was the middle of the night, it was the end of the life that the great god Yuan Tiangang calculated for Qin Shubao.

When Qin Mubai returned home, he saw that his father was no different from usual, and he was quite happy after hearing about his performance in the school field, and he drank more wine in the evening.

At night, Qin Mubai ran to his father's room under the pretext of pestering him to talk about everything, but Uncle Qin couldn't get out. It wasn't until he had survived that Qin Shubao had already fallen asleep, and Qin Mubai withdrew with a little relief.

"It's all right!"

Listening to his father's even snoring outside the room until the sky turned white, Qin Mubai really breathed a sigh of relief, and secretly said in his heart: Could it be that my crossing has brought about the butterfly effect, changed some fixed numbers in the underworld, and extended my father's lifespan?