Even before today's court meeting, some ministers with a keen sense of smell in the court had already noticed the intention of General Cao Shuang to conquer Shu.
Naturally, the purpose of conquering Shu was to establish military merit. After the veterans of Taifu Sima Yi's party realized this, they naturally planned to vigorously oppose Cao Shuang's plan to conquer Shu.
Sima Yi was very scheming and had already contacted his seventh son Sima Jun to tell the emperor about the military competition. The emperor was young and playful, so he was naturally very happy when he heard about the military competition.
Sima Yi was well prepared. After hearing Cao Shuang's proposal to conquer Shu, he did not express any objection, but instead agreed with it. All the old ministers in the court were confused at this moment, and they were all stunned.
Cao Shuang was shocked after hearing Sima Yi's words. He thought to himself that his cousin's vision was indeed vicious, and Sima Yi was indeed unfathomable. At this time, he was retreating in order to advance. It was obvious that he wanted to take over the matter of conquering Shu. On his own head, if he wins, the Sima family's achievements will naturally be even more impressive. Even if they fail to win, the popularity of the Sima family's military achievements will not be easily shaken.
On the contrary, if he, the general, is allowed to take the initiative in the battle against Shu this time, once he wins, the status of the Sima family will naturally plummet. It can be said that in today's temple, the choice of the coach to conquer Shu directly determines the rise and fall of Cao Shuang and Sima Yi.
Cao Shuang thought again at this moment: Fortunately, Taichu had thought of countermeasures in advance.
At this moment, Sima Yi finally spoke:
"Your Majesty, I believe that there are so many talents in the court. It is difficult to decide quickly on the selection of a commander for the battle against Shu. I am afraid that it will affect the national plan. It is better to hold a military art test and then hold a competition to win the commander. In this way, the government and the opposition will There is no objection.”
Although Emperor Cao Fang was already twelve years old and had already gone through the crowning ceremony, he was still young at heart. When he heard about something as interesting as a martial arts competition, he naturally couldn't hold back. Before Cao Shuang could stop him, he happily agreed. Come down.
Cao Shuang had Xia Houxuan to offer him a plan, so he naturally had some options at this moment. He smiled slightly, went out and said:
"Your Majesty, Weichen has not made any achievements since he became the first auxiliary general. In this attack on Shu, Weichen wants to personally serve as the commander and expand the territory for your Majesty!"
After hearing this, the emperor felt a chill in his heart. It seemed that he couldn't bear to watch the competition for commander-in-chief, but then Cao Shuang spoke again:
"However, this expedition to Shu is a national event, and it is difficult for a humble minister to do it alone. Therefore, I want to select a strong general to serve as the deputy commander. I strongly agree with the matter of winning the commander through a military competition. I also ask your majesty to hold a ceremony to select the deputy commander. thing."
The emperor didn't really want to interfere with who would be the coach. He had just agreed to compete for the coach because he just wanted to watch a lively competition. Now that the competition for the coach has become a competition for the deputy coach, there doesn't seem to be much change, so After hearing this, the emperor suddenly became happy again and quickly agreed to the matter.
Sima Yi's face looked a little ugly at this moment. He didn't expect that Cao Shuang would become so cunning, so he immediately resorted to a trick to drain the fire from the bottom of the cauldron. Now the selection of the coach has become the selection of the deputy coach. Now, no matter who serves as the deputy coach, once he wins, it will definitely become Cao Shuang's credit.
Sima Yi thought about this, and there was a hint of cruelty in his eyes that was not easy to detect.
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A few days later, a dozen candidates for deputy commander arranged by Sima Yi and Cao Shuang arrived at the exam room. Xia Houxuan, Sima Shi, Sima Zhao and others are all sons of generals, so the art of war test will naturally not be difficult for them. It can be said that each of them has their own unique strategies for the test. It can be said that all those selected through the art of war exam have the ability and qualifications to serve as deputy commanders.
Finally, it was the battle to win the commander-in-chief that the emperor was most looking forward to.
In a blink of an eye, it was the day of the competition. This competition is to prepare for the battle, so there are three horse riding skills in the competition: one is riding and shooting, the other is horse riding, and the third is short-hand combat.
The venue for the competition was naturally chosen at the Xuanwu Field. Since this event was a rare grand event in the military in recent years, all the soldiers and generals from all the battalions in the capital who were not on duty came to watch.
Today, Lieutenant Sima Jun of the Tun Cavalry School and his soldiers from the Tun Cavalry Battalion also came to the school grounds. Sima Jun looked around and found that in addition to some soldiers from Cao Wenshu's Middle Base Camp, Cao Ze's Backbone Camp, Cao Xun's Wuwei Camp, and some soldiers from the "Five Schools" "In addition to the four chiefs of the camp, Zhen Yi, Zhen Chang, Bian Lin, and Guo Zhi, even Zhen De, who is the captain of the city gate, also came to join in the fun.
Among the various battalions, only the three major battalions under Xiahou Xuan, namely the Guard Battalion, the Xiaoqi Battalion, and the Guerrilla Battalion, were tasked with guarding the imperial city under the command of Xiahou Feng, Yu Huan, and Chen Tai.
Zhen Yi, Zhen Chang and others are idle nobles, and the emperor is also in the Xuanwu Field at this moment. It is natural for him to lead the soldiers of the five schools to guard here. However, as the city gate school captain, Zhen De is responsible for the Luoyang Twelve The city gate has a heavy responsibility, but now he actually dares to join in the fun.
At this moment, Sima Jun's evaluation of the new son-in-law recruited by his elder brother Sima Shi was even lower.
Not long after, gongs and drums were beating, and the dozen or so young talents participating in the competition to win the championship cheered up.
The first game was about riding and shooting.
On the east side of the horse path of Xuanwu Field, there is a wooden target set up a hundred steps away. The ten people who passed the class test will each carry ten arrows, and then gallop along the west side of the horse path for horseback shooting.
Before the soldiers outside the field beat the three-tone drum, the contestants' ten arrows must be discharged. If you can hit six out of ten arrows, you have passed the test.
With the sound of drums, everyone outside the venue was shocked by the heroic appearance of several young talents in Hu costumes riding horses, bending bows, and arrows like locusts, and couldn't help but cheer.
Not long after, the gongs and drums sounded, and several contestants had completed the test. Among them, some scored three or four out of ten arrows, and some scored six or seven out of ten. Their performance could be said to be excellent.
Under the supervision of his father Sima Yi, Sima Zhao worked hard in mounted archery, so he left seven arrows on the target, which made him stand out among the others.
Not long after, it was Xia Houxuan's turn.
I saw Xia Houxuan wearing a white phoenix-bird dark pattern narrow-sleeved Hufu, hanging a pot of wolf-tooth flying feather long arrows on his waist, holding a strong horn-end bow, waving the horse reins to mobilize the "White Sparrow" divine horse, along the The horse track galloped out.
In the past few years, Xia Houxuan personally took charge of the Imperial Army and often practiced martial arts, so he amazed everyone present when he made a move. I saw him suddenly turning sideways and hiding on the left side of the horse. With a whoosh, the long arrow still flew out from the horse's back. With a crisp sound, it hit the center of the wooden target!
The emperor, who was sitting facing south, immediately cheered when he saw that his master had such amazing shooting skills. The surrounding chamberlains and concubines were also startled, and naturally they were full of praise for Xia Houxuan's shooting skills. Even Sima Jun, who was skilled in martial arts, instantly looked at Xia Houxuan with admiration.
In this way, Xiahou Xuan's horse galloped, curved left and right, "hiding in the stirrup" and "looking up to the moon". Nine arrows in a row hit the small ring on the target. Only the last arrow seemed to be due to lack of strength. Hit the outside of the target.
Everyone inside and outside the court was shocked by Xia Houxuan's shooting skills and secretly admired them. Two contestants even left the examination room directly and chose to give up. When Cao Shuang saw his cousin's superb shooting skills, he couldn't help but cheer loudly.
Although the Sima Master who appeared last was also good at martial arts, he had been injured in his left eye a few years ago and could no longer aim at the bull's-eye. Therefore, he only hit the bull's-eye with three arrows, but luckily there were still three arrows that barely hung on the target, so he barely passed. test.
In the first mounted shooting competition, only a few people including Xia Houxuan, Sima Shi, and Sima Zhao passed the test.
In this match, Xia Houxuan naturally came out on top.
The second competition was with Ma Shu.
Each contestant wears two layers of heavy armor and holds a round-headed wooden spear. They open a distance of ten feet on the prescribed horse path, and then mount their horses to challenge each other. Whoever dismounts the opponent first will win the game. Whoever wins. There are three rounds in the horse competition, and the final victory can be obtained by winning two of the three rounds.
Although the participants were all wearing heavy armor and protecting their heads and faces with iron helmets and iron masks, everyone understood that this competition was the most dangerous one, because if they were not careful, the loser would be stabbed off his horse. They will be stabbed by the powerful impact of the horse, or their hands and feet will be broken, so everyone who passes the first competition is worried.
After drawing lots, the order of everyone's entry was quickly decided.
Xia Houxuan didn't expect that he would be assigned to the first competition. He understood that this was of no benefit to him, because even if he won, he would be exhausted due to the large amount of energy he expended. If he faced off against Sima Master and the Sima Zhao brothers again later, he would probably be in trouble.
But it was useless to think about it at this moment. Xia Houxuan could only cheer up and prepare to fight with all his strength.
Soon, Xia Houxuan put on the two layers of heavy armor. He checked his horse armor again, and after confirming that there was no problem, he put on the ferocious fine iron mask.
Seeing that both sides were ready, the referees outside the field chopped down the flags in their hands and signaled the start.
When Xia Houxuan and his opponent saw the order, they immediately tightened their reins, held their horses tightly, shouted, and then spurred their horses toward the opponent!
With the sound of horse hooves, the hearts of everyone inside and outside the stadium also accelerated.
At the intersection of the two horses, Xia Houxuan twisted his hips, and between the electric light and flint, he turned sideways to pass the wooden horse spear that the other side had stabbed first. Then he relaxed his arms and thrust out again at an extremely fast speed. With the wooden stick in his hand, Xiahou Xuan's intention was to hit it as far as he could, so the thrust was not done with all his strength. However, he had been practicing martial arts passed down from his family for many years, and his internal strength was amazing. Coupled with the powerful impact of Bai Que, this stick still made his opponent fall. Very embarrassed.
However, due to Xia Houxuan's mercy, the wooden tree in his hand did not break, which meant that he could not replace the wooden tree for the time being. The opponent was also a tough guy. After being knocked off his horse, he quickly turned around and flew onto his mount!
Xia Houxuan saw that his opponent became more and more courageous as he fought, so he couldn't help but praise loudly: "What a skill!"
If the man didn't answer, he shouted, then activated his mount, and swept towards Xia Houxuan like a black whirlwind!
Xia Houxuan cheered up and immediately rode his horse to meet each other. Xia Houxuan looked carefully at the intersection of the two horses, and stabbed the wooden tree out with a cry. This time, the opponent no longer underestimated the enemy, and used all his skills. , actually dodged Xia Houxuan's attack in one fell swoop. Xia Houxuan had quick eyes and quick hands, so naturally he was not stabbed by his opponent. The two of them dodged past, each praising the other in their hearts.
Just like that, the two of them went back and forth. After returning to their horses, they met each other again. The two of them fought against each other quickly, and they actually fought for five rounds in a row! Everyone outside the court was sweating in their hearts at this moment.
Just when the two were about to hand over their horses for the sixth time, something that no one expected suddenly happened!
