This selection is different from the previous recruitment of the second princess, only a few royal relatives in Beijing and some important ministers in the court can participate. Everyone sat on both sides, leaning less, with a sigh of joy "The emperor has arrived", Emperor Xiang and the queen walked out together with the queen mother, followed by the eldest prince Jiang Xinyan, the second prince Jiang Xinxing, the third prince Jiang Xinqian, the fourth prince Jiang Xinchang, the fifth prince Jiang Xintao, the sixth prince Jiang Xinyou, the eldest princess, and the second princess.

The people were busy prostrating themselves on the ground, and when they had finished the salute, they were seated in order. Yue Xian peeked and saw that except for the eldest prince and the second prince, the other four princes were all dressed in short clothes, obviously for the later martial arts test.

Emperor Xiang said: "Today's meeting is just to determine the selection of the eldest princess of Beishu. Beishu established the country with martial arts, and recruiting relatives was also a test of martial arts. Several of my princes are outstanding in age, appearance, character, talent, and martial arts, but I have to choose two to participate, and it is difficult for me to make a decision. Therefore, I convened all the ministers to testify together, and today only the victory or defeat is based on the level of martial arts, and the winner can go to the election of Beishu to recruit relatives. ”

There was a discussion from the audience, although Xiang Guo has always prided itself on the state of etiquette, and regarded Beishu, which values military force and light literature, as a barbarian, but this "barbarian" is a force that cannot be underestimated in the north, if it is an enemy, it will cost Xiang Guo most of the national strength to support, if it is a friend, but it can join hands to reject Xilian. Therefore, the monarchs and ministers of the Xiang Kingdom in the past dynasties advocated repairing with Beishu, but in the past, they mostly sent jewelry and gold to each other, but such an alliance always makes people feel uneasy, and now if they can get married, they will be able to ensure the peace of the north for decades. Therefore, the monarchs and ministers of Xiang also attached great importance to this matter of recruiting relatives, and it was precisely for this reason that Emperor Xiang made up his mind, regardless of the opposition of some ministers, and resolutely sent the second princess to Beishu to ask for relatives.

The most opposed to this matter are Xiu Zhaoming, the former secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and Liu Zhimiao, the former secretary of the Ministry of War, but their minds are different. Xiu Zhaoming just regarded Beishu as a barbarian who did not understand etiquette, and thought that the state of etiquette in the kingdom could marry such a woman. And Liu Zhimiao is worried that once the prince marries the eldest princess of Beishu, it will greatly increase the chances of succeeding the new monarch, which is not conducive to his son-in-law - the third prince Jiang Xinqian, even if the third prince can win, his daughter is just a side concubine, and the eldest princess of Beishu will definitely be a concubine when she marries, how can her daughter fight?

It's just that these two people have been sentenced for their crimes, and Xiu Zhaoming's two students, the fifth prince and the sixth prince, are active in recruiting relatives, so some other ministers who oppose it don't dare to say anything more.

In the past few months, the four princes have invited famous teachers to learn art, and they all know that if they can win in Beishu and marry the eldest princess of Beishu, it will be equivalent to sitting on the throne of Xiangguo with half of their buttocks, so the four of them dare not relax for a day. It's easy to stay in Laba, and they are eager to try, wanting to show their majesty in front of everyone.

Cun Xi said: "Please ask the four princes to compete in pairs to determine the winner." There is no limit to weapons, and hidden weapons cannot be used. ”

Emperor Xiang said to the four princes: "Today, one is to test your martial arts, and the other is to determine the winner, you and the four brothers, you must not hurt each other." ”

The four princes all said: "The sons obey the order!" It's just that some people are thinking in their hearts: "The sword has no eyes, and whoever is seriously injured by the attack, my father can't blame me." Some people are thinking: "Although Princess Beishu is good, she can't hurt her brother's feelings for her." "Four people have four minds, how can outsiders know?

At the sound of the order, the four of them jumped into the arena one after another, and everyone looked at it, only to see that the four princes each used four different blades. The third prince used a pair of rotten silver round double maces, the fourth prince used an iron lancet, the fifth prince used a water-milled steel whip, and the sixth prince used a Liujia sword.

Among the princes, the fifth prince and the sixth prince are the most friends, they have eaten and lived together since they were children, and even the teacher is the same, but the two have taken different paths in martial arts. As soon as he entered, the five princes took the lead in running to the three princes, and his single whip had many similarities with the three princes' double hammers, so they wanted to fight him first. The six princes had no choice but to run towards the four princes with their swords.

Because the mother concubine of the fifth prince was from a low background, the third prince has always looked down on the five princes, and even more because of the contradiction between his father-in-law Liu Zhimiao and Xiu Zhaoming, he has a grudge against the five princes and the sixth prince. Now that he saw the five princes coming by himself, he had the intention of showing his skills well and making him a big ugly. Thinking of this, he danced his double gong and attacked the five princes.

Seeing the ferocity, the five princes were not timid at all, waved their steel whips, and attacked the waist of the third prince again and again. The three princes wanted to show their skills to everyone first, so they danced the double gong densely, like a silver dragon protecting the body, and the jade python wrapped around the waist, which dazzled everyone. The five princes were even able to attack for a while, but when they saw that the three princes only defended and did not attack, they didn't care about defending and only looked for him to attack.

After a long time, the three princes gradually became weaker, and their dancing slowed down. The five princes became more and more courageous, a steel whip swept left and right, and the three princes gradually couldn't parry. The third prince couldn't help but be a little frightened, and said in his heart: Shicai underestimated him, but he didn't expect his whipping method to be so much better than a year ago, and he needed to fight quickly, and if it dragged on for a long time, he was afraid that he would suffer a big loss. Thinking of this, the three princes' double maces suddenly changed their momentum, one of them opened the steel whip, and the other swept straight towards the shoulders of the five princes.

The fifth prince was startled, and it was too late to block with a whip, so he had to jump backwards. This leap revealed a flaw, and the three princes chased after him, and with his left hand, he shot out and slammed directly into the door of the five princes. The five princes hurriedly whipped the whip down, and at this time the three princes had already bullied themselves, and hit the wrists of the five princes holding the whip, and the five princes said "ahhhh When he reacted, the third prince's hammer had already reached his throat.

The fifth prince smiled slightly and said, "The third brother's method is exquisite, and the younger brother is willing to bow down!"

Since the third prince had already won, the tension just now dissipated in an instant, and he smiled pretendedly: "The fifth brother is polite, I have a single whip against you, and I really took advantage of it." ”

Everyone in the audience praised each other, and Emperor Xiang also smiled: "Qian'er is not only clever, but also wise, Tao'er should learn more from your third brother." ”

The fifth prince said, "Obey the teachings of my father!" and stepped aside, watching the fight between the fourth prince and the sixth prince. At this time, the four princes have been beaten to the strength of parrying, and the footwork under their feet has long been chaotic, with the sound of "bang", the two weapons are handed over, and the lancet in the hands of the four princes is cut off. The sixth prince hurriedly put away his sword and arched his hand: "The little brother is rude, and the fourth brother is hopeful to atone for his sins!"

The fourth prince smiled: "It's because my skills are not as good as others, what crime are you thanking?"

The sixth prince said: "The defeat of the fourth brother is due to the disadvantage of weapons, not because the skills are inferior to me." Please also ask the fourth brother to change the blade, let's fight again!"

The fourth prince said calmly: "Even if you and I exchange blades, I use the Liu family sword, and I am not your opponent, it is indeed my skills that are not as good as others, this time the sixth brother won, and the sixth brother does not need to be humble." ”

Emperor Xiang said loudly: "This is You'er's victory, although You'er is victorious, but not arrogant, although Chang'er is defeated and open, they are all my good sons!" Everyone in the audience also praised the six princes for their humility and gentlemanly style.

(Chapter 64 End)