imperial study room
Emperor Changxing put down the memorial in his hand and rubbed his swollen forehead tiredly.
It seems that my body is getting sleepy more and more easily recently. I just read a few memorials and my head hurts.
As soon as this thought flashed through his mind, he shook his head subconsciously and shook it off.
"Changlu, are there any interesting things happening inside and outside the palace recently?"
The old eunuch had learned massage techniques from the imperial physician. He quickly came over and rubbed gently and heavily, "Your Majesty, the palace has been quiet recently."
Nanfeng has been destroyed, and the king of Nanfeng has died. The marriage matter has long been settled, and the turmoil in the harem has finally calmed down.
"Outside the palace," Changlu pondered for a moment, "the common people were all talking about the grand triumphal ceremony at the court a few days ago, and they all praised His Majesty for his wisdom and martial prowess with high spirits."
"That's all?" Emperor Changxing was very dissatisfied.
The great victory in the south shocked the whole world.
This time the Xingluo Legion and Zhennanguan sent so many soldiers back to the capital, and he wanted to know what the high-ranking officials in the imperial capital were doing.
"Of course." Changlu didn't seem to understand what his master meant, and he smiled: "Isn't the Dragon Boat Festival coming soon? People are enthusiastically speculating which team will win this year's crown."
Dragon boat! ?
Emperor Changxing's attention was immediately attracted.
He glared at the old eunuch fiercely, "Have all the dragon boat teams been formed?"
"The bad things like last year, uh, the year before last won't happen this time." Emperor Changxing's tone was a bit gloomy.
Due to the epidemic in Yunzhong County, almost all large-scale events around Xingji City were canceled last year, which frustrated those eccentric young masters and ordinary people who loved fun.
Finally, the situation has eased a bit this year, and with the great victory in the south, everyone from the wealthy to the common people breathed a sigh of relief.
The dragon boat race, which is a joy for all people, is restarting under such circumstances, and nothing can go wrong.
"Your Majesty," Changlu shook his head confidently, "The people below are watching the contestants carefully. I bet that this time it will definitely not be like the year before."
The year before last was the year of the martial arts examination, and various families extended olive branches to the martial arts scholars.
As a result, during the dragon boat race, two dragon boats were rowing, and they actually fought on the water. In the end, they capsized the boat and almost drowned several high-ranking disciples.
Everyone was in an uproar.
Moreover, in addition to the people of Star City, there were also envoys and businessmen from various countries in the audience.
It was so embarrassing that this farce was staged in front of everyone.
Emperor Changxing ignored the old eunuch's assurance and frowned: "Ren Ning, Li Hebai, and the people they brought back didn't participate in this dragon boat race."
cough!
Changlu's head suddenly felt a little bigger, and he couldn't help coughing lightly.
"Your Majesty, General Ren is from the Xingluo Army, and General Li is the guard general of Zhennang Pass. The two border armies have always maintained strict military discipline, which is not comparable to those who have passed the military examination."
The implication is that although they have become contestants, they should behave themselves.
Emperor Changxing couldn't help but glared at the old eunuch again, "Martial arts..."
Although both the civil and military examinations were passed, their fates were very different.
Officers with military qualification backgrounds are generally considered to be from "miscellaneous" backgrounds, and their promotion and recognition in the military are not as good as those of generals from "proper" military backgrounds.
It can be said that it is exactly the opposite of the situation of civil servants who become famous in one exam.
In Yunchui's long history, more than 70% of the generals were born in the army and fought step by step on the battlefield.
There are also people with martial arts backgrounds, but not many.
For example, Starfall Legion's forward general Guan Luping. But after he joined the Starfall Legion, he started from Bai Changzuo and rose through the ranks with each battle.
"Which team did they join?" Emperor Changxing was curious.
Emperor Changxing wanted to see who had the courage to flirt with the extremely powerful border guards in front of him.
Changlu chuckled: "Your Majesty, this is the team of Duke Huo Shizi."
"It turns out to be him." Emperor Changxing was speechless.
At the beginning of last month, Huo Qing took the initiative to go to the palace and said that he wanted to form his own dragon boat team to compete. Regardless of victory or defeat, just keep it fun.
At that time, Emperor Changxing was getting what he wanted, so he decisively agreed.
Later, he heard many times that Huo Qing's team was still unable to be formed, and it was estimated that he would eventually recruit the guards of the Duke's Mansion to make up the number.
The result is what it is now.
"When did the relationship between Zhenguo Palace, Xingluo Legion and Zhennanguan become so close?" Emperor Changxing frowned again and muttered intentionally or unintentionally.
The old eunuch standing by reminded him with a smile.
"Your Majesty, the Xingluo Army has just changed its defense from the Rock Frontier Fortress. Moreover, General Ren defeated the third son of Uncle Cheng En in one move at the Qin Palace last year. You and Concubine Qing were both present at that time..."
Changlu explained the situation at that time.
"So after returning to Beijing this time, it is normal for him to visit the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion."
"As for General Li of Zhennanguan," the old eunuch chuckled again.
"Your Majesty, it's not like you don't know. The soldiers in the south, including Zhennanguan, have been paying homage to the Duke of Zhenguo and Princess Yiguang for more than 40 years."
Emperor Changxing reacted.
He snorted: "What on earth is Guanyi doing? Hasn't the Ministry of War calculated the military merits of the soldiers after so long?"
As a result, Ren Ning and the others had time to race dragon boats.
After a while, Guanyi, the Minister of War, came in a hurry.
He was slapped by Emperor Changxing for being clueless, and ran back with a black face to ask his subordinates to speed up.
Ren Ning didn't know this.
When he got up in the morning, he first went to Qin Ming from the Ministry of Industry to see the progress of the crane and answered some drawings and technical questions.
At noon, he led a group of people into the Zhenguo Palace.
The Zhenguogong Mansion occupies a vast area, and there are several lakes of different sizes in the mansion. You can train in dragon boating by choosing any one.
When he arrived at the lake, Ren Ning looked at Huo Qing's former teammates and soon had a strange look on his face.
He saw an acquaintance.
Ren Rong.
Ren Ning was from the fourth room of the Taishi Mansion, while Ren Rong was the legitimate son of the eldest room. In theory, he is his eldest cousin.
Ren Ning was stunned for a moment and quickly realized that it was not surprising that Ren Rong would appear in this team.
Just like the Zhenguo Palace, the Taishi Palace is also the target that various families are trying desperately to win over.
As the eldest son of the eldest son, Ren Rong was the one who would inherit the entire Taishi Mansion in the future. Naturally, he has the same worries as Huo Qing.
"Brother Ning!" He walked over with a smile, "Congratulations on your triumphant return. I don't know how much Sixth Sister misses you."
Last year, Ren Ning exterminated his clan membership in front of all the members of the Taishi Mansion, including Ren Rong. He even took the initiative to invite Ren Ning to sit over when he entered.
"Brother Ren!" Ren Ning didn't seem to hear anything, and just raised his hand politely.
Like a stranger you meet for the first time.
"Come on," Huo Qing over there smiled and clapped his hands: "Let me introduce to you the team members of this dragon boat race. When we come down, we will all be in the same boat..."
Ren Ning listened quietly.
Some of the eleven young masters he recognized, while others he had never heard of at all.
However, there are almost all problems of one kind or another. Either he is popular or no one cares about him, and he has to be added to Huo Qing's team in the end.
