The horse's hooves hit, and then there was a gentle sound of the bowstring, and an arrow was seen coming out of the string very quickly, heading straight towards a rabbit running on the withered yellow grass. The sharp arrow had only flown about one-third of the distance in the air when the second sound of the bowstring was heard, followed immediately by the second feathered arrow piercing the air. After a very short time, the bowstring sounded again, and the third feather arrow was shot out. Three sharp arrows, all aimed at a rabbit!
The rabbit already knew that something was wrong, and spread its four short legs and ran desperately on the grass, but how could it outrun the sharp arrows that shot through the air? Only three feather arrows were seen, one after another piercing the young rabbit's tender body. That’s three arrows and six holes! Insert it from behind and then out from the chest! Tutu collapsed at that time, fell to the ground, kicked his short legs a few times, and died...
"Hit! Good shot..."
"The arrows are all in vain! The Ren family girls are so capable!"
"A volley of arrows! It's still riding and shooting, what a great skill!"
The sour praises of the girls started to sound sparsely as the rabbit died. Can it not be sour? There are only thirty-six seats in the female class... This girl from the Ren family in Qinzhou is so outstanding that she will definitely occupy a seat. Before her, there is a girl from the Suide Li family, Qingzhou Liu Girls from the Zhe family in Fuzhou, and girls from the Yang family in Linzhou have all been selected. Now there are only thirty-one seats left, and there are still so many girls vying for it!
It turns out that this is the scene of the "competition to recruit brides". It is located in the east of Chang'an City, at the foot of Mount Li, outside the palace city called Lingquan Palace, which is under construction.
Lingquan Palace, formerly known as Lingquan Temple, was a Taoist temple that covered a large area but was very dilapidated. The name of Lingquan Temple was not well known in later generations, but if you want to talk about the name of this place during the Tang Dynasty, it was famous - this is the former site of the Huaqing Palace of the Tang Dynasty emperor!
Because today's Chang'an City has long lost its glory in the Tang Dynasty, the entire city is the same area as the original imperial city of the Tang Dynasty. Now it is crowded with Zhao Kai's court and a large number of troops, as well as some of his family members and entourage. You can imagine how cramped it is.
However, Zhao Kai did not want to expand Chang'an City because he knew that the city was too big to defend. In history, Chang'an City was so big, but it was not well defended at all. The reason is that the city is too big. If the owner of Chang'an City can deploy enough troops to defend the city wall, he can simply go out of the city to fight.
From the perspective of military defense, the current small Chang'an City is just right, so it can only be reinforced and cannot be expanded.
Therefore, after taking control of Chang'an, Zhao Kai began to look for a more spacious new home for himself outside Chang'an City.
The one he chose is today's Lingquan Palace, and the Huaqing Palace back then. The Huaqing Palace back then was said to be a palace, but in fact it can also be said to be a city, with outer outline, sub-city, palace city, military camp, government office and hundreds of buildings. The official residence has everything you need. Although most of these buildings are now collapsed and dilapidated, the place is still there and they are all owned by Lingquan Temple. Moreover, the Taoist priests of Lingguan repaired and rebuilt some of the buildings and turned them into temples dedicated to gods or houses for the Taoist priests themselves to live in.
After Zhao Kai selected Lingquan Palace, the newly appointed Jingzhao Road pacification envoy and the powerful official of the Chang'an Prefecture, Zhang Shen (the original Fuyan Road pacification envoy), recruited tens of thousands of people and spent several months. During the period, Lingquan Palace underwent some renovations and reconstructions. The original city walls of the city were repaired, and the temples dedicated to gods were converted into palaces and mansions for people to live in. Barracks, warehouses, stables, workshops and other facilities were also built. Recommended reading../../
By November of the eighth year of Xuanhe in the Song Dynasty, which was approaching the end of the year, the reconstruction project of Lingquan City was mostly completed and it was already habitable. So Zhao Kai took his palace, hundreds of officials, and imperial soldiers, left Chang'an City where he had lived for several months, and stationed in Lingquan Palace.
After entering Lingquan Palace, the most important thing Zhao Kai had to deal with was, of course, the martial arts competition to recruit a bride!
Today is a competition to recruit "female straight girls". Fifty girls from Shaanxi Sixth Road (Jingzhao Road, which is also the original Yongxing Military Road, some wealthy families sent people to participate in the competition) and Fulin Road in Hedong Several girls, surrounded by hundreds of brothers of the same race, immediately stood beside a forest outside Lingquan Palace. Everyone is dressed in mink fur and brocade, rides a good horse, and carries a bow and arrow on his back.
Among the girls who participated in the competition, they all wore heavy armor... The armor is very "tight" on the figure. Girls who are not athletic can't hold it up at all, let alone wearing armor. Play riding and shooting!
The riding and shooting skills of these girls who participated in the competition, not to mention the horse soldiers of the Kaifeng Army (they are just called horse soldiers, may not necessarily know how to ride a horse, just like the family surnamed Ma may not have a horse), are the most outstanding achievements of the Song Dynasty. Most of the martial arts warriors can't compare with them!
Wu Jinshi like He Guan He was an anomaly. Most of the Wu Jinshi in the Song Dynasty failed to hit the target when shooting. When riding on horseback, they had to stop their horses first, and then draw their bows to set the arrow. Otherwise, it’s not a question of whether you can hit the target (if you can’t hit a shot if you’re on foot, can you still hit a shot if you’re mounted?), but it’s a matter of life-threatening... If you fall off the back of a fast-walking horse, you may fall. die!
Dozens of people fell to death in a spring competition, what happened?
But being the "female leader" for Zhao Kai can't fool around with things like that... Then you really have to accompany Zhao Kai on the battlefield!
The girl who had just shown her ability to shoot continuously had already flew to Zhao Kai, then jumped off the horse neatly and landed steadily on the ground - Zhao Kai knew that this skill was not easy to practice, as her waist and legs were Gotta be energetic!
The girl stepped in and saluted, her voice as clear as a silver bell, "I am Baolian, and I pay my respects to the official!"
"Come forward," Zhao Kai tried hard to suppress the joy in his heart and said expressionlessly, "bring your bow!"
"Here!"
The girl responded and took a horn bow from a young man in his twenties who was quite handsome and had a bit of power in his features. Then he quickly walked to Zhao Kai, raised his hands, and handed over the horned bow.
Zhao Kai took the bow and said again: "Raise your head."
The girl raised her head and looked at Zhao Kai. At first glance, her cheeks felt slightly hot...
Zhao Kai was also looking at the girl. She was not tall, but quite well-proportioned. Her exposed skin was as white as jade, her eyebrows were slanted, her eyes were big, and her nose was high. She looked like she had some blood from the Western Regions. She was a pretty outstanding beauty. Son!
Since she's a beauty...bonus points!
Zhao Kai took the horn bow and pulled it. The bow was powerful!
Then he handed the bow back to the girl, "Pull it!"
The girl took the horn bow, stood up straight in front of Zhao Kai, gathered her strength, and rounded the horn bow. Judging from her expression and movements, it was obvious that she still had some strength left.
"Not bad!" Zhao Kai asked, "What's your name?"
The girl replied: "I live in Qinzhou as Yanyan."
"Brother," Han Shizhong, who was following Zhao Kai now, immediately introduced, "Qinzhou Ren family has been serving as generals for many generations... This time there are four generals with a hundred men and three hundred good horses. Come."
"Who are the four generals?" Zhao Kai asked with a smile.
Ren Yanyan replied: "They are my four elder brothers, who are respected, respected, respected, and loyal."
A mixed-race beauty, four talented young generals, a hundred warriors and three hundred fine horses... The Ren family in Qinzhou has a lot of money to spend!
Of course, Zhao Kai will greatly promote and rely on the generals who are willing to invest money to join him!
He was no better than Zhao Huan. Zhao Huan did not have the ability to directly control military force, and he did not dare to trust military commanders, so he could only insist on using civil force to control military force.
And Zhao Kai has the ability to control martial arts - from the beginning, he dared to go to the front line in person, and even charged into battle himself! This allows him to mingle with the warriors and become one of them.
Now he has gone a step further and can turn himself into the core of a huge warrior group through marriage and sworn sworn alliances, which may seem backward but are actually always very effective.
In fact, the Song Dynasty, which left a deep impression on later generations of "using civility to control military affairs", also used methods such as marriage and sworn sworn worship when it was founded. And Zhao Kuangyin is also the leader of a military aristocratic group - how else could he be the emperor? Passed the exam?
Therefore, Zhao Kai's current path seems very different, but among a group of kings in troubled times, it is just an ordinary path.
His alternativeness only made the current world situation a chaotic one!
Zhao Kai, the Lord of Troubled Times, nodded: "Okay! Let them all come to meet each other... Yanyan, your appearance and martial arts are both excellent. From today on, you will be my female classmate. Follow me." On the left and right, the position is better than that of concubines.
Your brothers are my relatives and friends. I will grant them the rank of officials in front of the palace... From now on, they will be my partners. I will fight on the battlefield with them and build unparalleled achievements! "
He paused and then asked: "Yanyan, are all your four brothers married? This competition not only recruits the female class members, but also recruits the princes and princes... my sisters. Emperor Roufu also wants to choose a suitable husband in this contest to recruit a bride, don’t you want someone from the Ren family to try?"
In fact, Emperor Roufu's consort has already been decided on, and he is Li Fuchen, the son of Li Yongqi of the Suide Li family. The Suide Li family was the first general of the Western Army to surrender his entire family to Zhao Kai, and he helped Zhao Kai pacify the Shaanxi Empire. After all the hard work, of course now we have to "dividend". Moreover, Li Fuchen is a really good young man. Not only is he highly skilled in martial arts and familiar with the art of war, but he is also good-looking and can be considered a mighty young man. Zhao Kai has already asked Emperor Roufu to meet him... quite satisfied!
But without Emperor Roufu, there are still many princesses and county lords... The Zhao family has dominated the world for more than 160 years, and has long since spread and produced many descendants. Many of them fled to Luoyang, Xijing when the "flood came". Their unmarried daughters became tools used by Zhao Kai to win over the Shaanxi Wu family.
By next spring, a brand new Guanlong military group with Zhao Kai as its core will almost be formed!
