With a "bell", he let go, and the knife, stained with his blood, fell to the ground.

Li Dalu was alarmed by the strange noise behind him, hurriedly turned back, walked to the door, witnessed this change, stepped into the threshold with an arrow step, and supported Yu Wenzhi.

"Shizi! What are you doing? ”

Horrified, he hurriedly pressed down on the bleeding wound on his nephew's arm.

Yu Wenzhi's face turned pale in pain, and cold sweat rolled down his forehead.

"Thank you, uncle, for helping me make up my mind. Originally, I thought that I would make a decision when I went......"

He said in a low voice.

"What did you say?" Li Dalu did not hear clearly.

Yu Wenzhi closed his eyes.

"Whatever my father wants to do, I, as a son, naturally follow suit. Only this matter, forgive me for not being filial, I am afraid that I can only disappoint him. ”

His body slowly fell to the ground, but a distorted smile appeared on his lips, looking at the frightened and puzzled Li Dalu in front of him, word by word, and said slowly.

This much-anticipated big shooting salute finally arrived as scheduled.

The venue for the Great Shooting Salute is located in front of the Suzaku Stage, where the saint held a martial arts lecture and announced the return of the princess to the court.

On the square, according to the weekly rites, set up targets, calculate chips, and punish the violators, as well as the tigers, bears, and leopards that hold the calculation chips. These are three kinds of beast containers cast in bronze, and they can only be used by the king when he bows to the king, and the three bronze beasts are all kneeling in the direction of the Suzaku Terrace, and the sun is shining, and the spirit is majestic.

The person who presides over today's big shooting salute should be a person of high moral standing and great reputation. King Ning assumed this responsibility, and he was able to convince the public.

At the right time, nearly 10,000 people from Zhuwei were already lined up around the arena.

Accompanied by the melodious and solemn music, the emperor appeared in a procession with princesses, hundreds of bureaucrats, envoys of vassal monarchs, and many literati and celebrities who were invited as guests.

The emperor took the princess to the Suzaku Terrace, and the rest of the people also sat down. The guards bowed in unison.

After the ceremony, there are divisions, deacons, celebrants and others each ascended to the throne under the guidance of praise, the emperor led everyone to worship the five emperors and the three kings of Yutangwu, King Ning ascended the shooting platform, and said loudly that the big shooting salute started in the township, the purpose is to teach the people to know the etiquette, Dunhua into a custom. In ancient times, the Son of Heaven often chose princes, ministers, doctors, and scholars by shooting.

Archery, not only to test the school archery, advocating brave martial arts competition, but also to be courteous in shooting, is a gentleman's dispute. Today's saints follow the example of the ancient rites and set up this big shooting salute.

The audience shouted long live again. The sound stopped, and King Ning motioned to the deacon to announce the rules for big shooting.

Today's big shot is divided into two parts.

The first part is designed to emulate the ancient rites. It is divided into three rounds of shooting, called "Sanfan", and in each round, the contestant is issued four arrows.

A shot, regardless of the results, watch the posture and demeanor of the archer when shooting arrows, and whether etiquette is followed.

The second shot is based on the actual performance of the archer.

Three shots, the archers should echo the music to shoot arrows, and those who do not fit the beat, even if they are picked, cannot be counted.

After the more performative Gu Li, the eight people with the best results entered the second part of the special competition.

This is the highlight of today's big shooting, eight people, divided into four groups of two to compete, not so much exquisite, imitating the actual combat of the army, archers riding and shooting, free competition, after the four people and two people are decided in turn, the last two people compete for the big prize.

The winner, the unicorn of today's big salute.

The deacon announced that the rules were over, and King Ning took the bow and arrow, and presented the emperor, and then the great salute began.

Just this morning, a piece of news suddenly came, Yu Wenzhi, the prince of Xiping County, Zhonglang of Long Wuwei, or because of his eagerness to win, accidentally injured his arm when practicing martial arts in his residence, and the injury was not light, and he could not control the bow and arrow, so he naturally could not participate, so he had to withdraw from today's big shooting.

As one of the four previous suitors, although Yu Wenzhi is the youngest, he is skilled in arching and horses, and his family background is also quite advantageous among them, so although he was also covered by Lantai before the game, the people above and below Long Wuwei still had high hopes for him, and suddenly the news came out, which caused a lot of attention and everyone talked about it. When all the archers who participated in the competition appeared, stood in line on the Suzaku Terrace, and were inspected by the emperor, he was indeed not among them, confirming that the news was true.

Others are just that, at most I feel sorry for him, because he temporarily withdrew from the game, and there is one less highlight. But Long Wuwei's people were surprised by this, and they were inevitably disappointed.

However, it is not only Long Wuwei's people who are disappointed today.

Many officers and soldiers under Jin Wuwei were also unable to raise their energy.

Pei Ji also went to Cangshan last month to worship the emperor, stayed for a while, and waited until Pei Xiaoyuan came back from clearing Chen Sida's remaining party, and he left the next day. Not many people know about this.

Just a few days ago, there was a rumor circulating in the guard.

Although Pei Sicheng was reused by the saint after entering Beijing, he and the princess also knew each other early before, and had a good personal relationship, which once made people think that he was the best candidate for the horse, and it was rumored that the purpose of Pei Ji's trip to worship the emperor was to ask him to marry the princess. However, the emperor should have other considerations and was unwilling to marry the princess to him, so Pei Ji did not wait for the end of the big shooting, and hurriedly returned to the eastern capital.

This news spread in Jin Wuwei, and then, everyone found that after Pei Xiaoyuan returned from this outing, he really didn't see much people, unlike Lantai and Hedu, who practiced archery every day, especially Hedu, because he didn't know the music etiquette, he also followed the musician to practice music.

In contrast, everyone inevitably lost confidence in Pei Xiaoyuan, and many officers and soldiers who originally invested in him were afraid of losing money and planned to bet on others instead. But I don't know which mouthy person sued Han Kerang in front of him, Han Kerang was extremely dissatisfied, called all the generals of the guard, reprimanded, scolded the bad discipline, and the people of the guard actually participated in gambling on a large scale, and then ordered that the officers and soldiers were not allowed to bet on the people of the guard.

According to today's prevailing betting rules, bets can be changed before the game starts, but cannot be withdrawn.

That is to say, as long as the money is paid, the dealer will not return. Those who have bet in Jin Wuwei are forced by Han Ke to make obscenity, and they dare not disobey, so they can only hope for their luck, hoping that the previous rumors are false, and Pei Xiaoyuan can participate in today's big shooting competition.

If he plays, with his riding and archery kung fu and warrior demeanor, he wants to beat others to win the championship, and there is still a lot of hope.

However, like Long Wuwei's people, the officers and soldiers of Jin Wuwei were also disappointed, and even more depressed than them, it can really be said that they have lost people and lost money.

Among the dozens of people who participated in the big shooting, Pei Xiaoyuan could not be found at all.

He really didn't come.

Today's field qualified to participate in the big archery competition, are all from the guards of the young and handsome people, they wear crowns, dressed in ceremonial robes, waist decorated with gold belts, according to the requirements of the archery salute, lined up in a neat line, wearing wrenches, arm guards, one hand holding a bow, one hand holding an arrow, the other three feather arrows to be shot on the waist, all of them are heroic, mighty and strong.

After a drum beat, the big shot began.

A shot is equivalent to a display of personal style, and everyone has passed the test smoothly.

The second shot began to determine the best marksmanship. After four arrows, everyone's shooting chips are different, and those who are skilled in archery begin to take the lead.

In the gentle and dignified sound of elegant music, each person also released four arrows in turn, and the judge of the celebrant judged that if it was in line with the beat, it would be counted in the calculation.

After shooting three times like this, after twelve arrows, the planners on the field got the ranking and sent it to the hands of the archer Ning Wang. King Ning ascended to the Vermilion Bird Terrace and presented the results to the emperor for preview.

The Emperor glanced at it and nodded. King Ning took it back and handed it to the deacon, who immediately turned to the crowd who was waiting with bated breath and loudly announced the eight people who had entered the second round of cavalry shooting.

Prince Ashina from the Wolf Court, Prince Hedu of the Western Fan Kingdom, and Lan Tai, who had the highest voice, entered the cavalry without any surprise.

In addition to these three people, the remaining five are also the most exquisite archery sons from each guard, including Fan Yiguang, the son of Fan Siming, the general of Long Wuwei.

King Ning then announced that a quarter of an hour later, the mounted archery competition would begin.

In the cheers of the audience, Chengping, Lantai, He Du and others carried bows and arrows and entered separately. After riding around the field for a week, after the glory was shown, eight people lined up in the field, saluting the emperor in the march.

Li Xu once again secretly looked at the emperor who was not far from him, and saw that he was smiling, and ordered people to pass on the message and encourage the eight people, and then his face turned solemn, and his joy and anger were not obvious, which was what the emperor should look like on such an occasion.

However, Li Zhi always had a feeling that the emperor did not seem to be infected by the atmosphere of today's big salute, and even, if he was asked to make a bold guess, he always felt that the emperor was absent-minded.

He looked at his princess aunt again. Today, she once again showed people in full costume, gold ornaments and beautiful clothes, not only did not take away her style, but made her more and more beautiful. At this moment, she held a fan in her hand, sat on the seat, looked past the countless people in front of her, and looked at the unicorn platform arranged in the center of the school field in the distance with a smile.

The archery target used in the riding and archery competition is different from that of the square, and it is erected at the top of this high platform, and above it lies a golden bronze unicorn, and in the mouth of the unicorn holds a colored ball, which is bound by a rope that is thinner than a baby's finger and hangs in the air.

Whoever can shoot the thin rope first and get the colored ball that falls from the mouth of the unicorn will be the final winner of today's big shooting salute, called the unicorn.

During the whole process, there are no rules and restrictions except that swords and hidden weapons are not allowed.

The knight has to try to win while preventing the opponent from successfully shooting an arrow.

You can imagine how exciting the next scene will be.

On the unicorn stage, the referee in charge of the referee is checking the target at the end to make sure there are no problems.

The eight participants also rode in and waited for the competition to begin.

They draw lots to decide on the groups and compete in pairs.

As they appeared, the atmosphere on the field was brought to a warm climax in an instant.

However, my aunt looked at the moment, and she was still calm, which was in stark contrast to the emperor's solemnity.

She is the person concerned today, she can do it so lightly, as if she is out of the matter, but Li Yu is restless, turning her eyes in the cheers and looking at the spectators in the stands.

There were people everywhere, and each guard took a place with a flag, and surrounded the shooting range.

Li Yu looked for a moment, couldn't bear it any longer, on the pretext of changing clothes, got up from his seat, went down to the stands, and looked everywhere in the crowd, finally, his eyes lit up, he saw Qingtou, saw him leave the stands, ran in the direction of the Qinglong River in the north of the school field, ran fast, and hurriedly followed.

Qingtou ran to the nearby Qinglong River in one breath, and then stopped, panting and shouting: "Lang Jun! You're still bathing horses here! It's a shame that you're calm! General Han asked me to tell you, if you don't go, Brother Weixia will drink the northwest wind next month, and everyone is looking forward to your going! ”

On the dripping water's shore, there was an unloaded saddle. Pei Xiaoyuan was using a bristle brush, combing the hair of the golden crow.

The four hooves of the golden black horse were dripping in the water, enjoying the service from the master, comfortably half-squinting the horse's eyes, motionless.

Its fur shone in the sun, as if it had been draped in fine black satin, and the water droplets rolled down the horse's back, which was very beautiful.

Qingtou shouted behind him, Pei Xiaoyuan didn't hear it, didn't turn his head back, and continued to take care of the golden crow.

At this time, the direction of the school field behind him sent the sound of drums with the wind.

Qingtou knew that the cavalry shooting was about to begin, paused, and turned around sharply.

Li Yu also looked at the school field, and heard a burst of cheers at the scene.

He turned his head and stared at the back in front of him, and was hesitating, when he suddenly heard him speak: "You don't go to observe the archery, what are you doing here?" ”

Pei Xiaoyuan didn't look back, just said this.

Li Yu had no choice but to walk out of the hiding place.

"Master, you go to rest, I'll come......"

"No, I don't. I'm fine myself. He said.

The first time Li Zhi learned to ride and shoot with him, he heard him say that mounts are extremely important for soldiers, especially on the battlefield, mounts are no different from comrades, and at critical moments, it may be able to save people's lives. Therefore, he taught Li Zhi that if he was free on weekdays, he might as well bathe the horse with his own hands, instead of handing it over to the groom or Xi Guan. Only in this way can you get acquainted with the mount and establish a relationship of mutual trust.

Li Yu was silent for a moment.

"Master...... Are you really not going? ”

God knows how much he hopes that his master can be a lieutenant and become his uncle.

He almost stubbornly felt that only the master was the most suitable for the princess and aunt.

No matter how good others are, it is a pity for him.

"Master, if you go now, it's still too late to ......"

Li Yu muttered.

This time, however, he didn't respond. After grooming the golden crow, he led it to the shore and began to wipe the water marks that remained on its hair.

Li Yu gritted his teeth and rushed out again: "Master, do you really dislike my princess and aunt?" ”

He paused, then turned back and looked over.

"Go back. The few people left today are all masters of riding and archery. It's a rare opportunity to get together, and it's a shame if you miss it. ”

Pei Xiaoyuan smiled at him and said. His expression still looked steady, without the slightest fluctuation.