Xie Cang was laughing and joking, Su Qi'an went up and punched him, Xie Cang laughed and backed away.
After a brief exchange of greetings, the three of them sat down, Wen Xuan looked at Su Qi'an and said.
"Qi'an, you caused quite a stir in this arena competition. I didn't expect that even I would have to show up."
"But let me tell you, although you are my student in the next literary fight, I will never let you off the hook. Are you ready?"
"That's natural. Students know this well and will never make things difficult for teachers. If the teacher really let it go, wouldn't the students embarrass the teacher? Moreover, this matter was originally caused by the students, so it is natural for the students to come forward to resolve it."
Wenxuan nodded with satisfaction at Su Qian'an's explanation. This was his student. If he really relied on crooked ways to win, he would not be worthy of being his successor.
Wen Xuan looked at Su Qi'an and said, "How confident are you in this Wen Du?"
This question is not only wanted to know by Wen Xuan, but also by Xie Cang beside him. This literary fight is basically led by Su Qi'an.
If there is no chance of winning, why bother? If Su Qi'an dares to mention it, he must have his own back-up plan and be quite interested in Xie Cang.
Under Xie Cang's curious gaze, Su Qian shook his head and said softly, "Teacher, Brother Xie, I don't know about this literary fight. The odds of winning should be about half or half."
"This? Brother Su, don't you have any backup plans?"
Su Qian's words shocked Xie Cang and asked quickly.
Su Qi'an shook his head and said four words, "There is no back-up plan."
Now it was Xie Cang's turn to be puzzled. Since he was not very sure and had no backup plan, participating in such an important literary fight was not a big deal.
If we say that in the previous competition in the ring, Su Qian's intervention was because he couldn't bear the injury of the guard, which was excusable. Moreover, he did not compete in the competition. Even if he was involved, there was still a reason.
But this time, Su Qian was going to play in person. Once he lost, he would lose not only himself, but also Great Liang's marriage.
The responsibility behind this is not something that ordinary people can bear. When the time comes, the ministers in the court can impeach Su Qi'an.
Su Qi'an was unprepared and decided to go on stage to fight. Xie Cang didn't understand.
Wen Xuan on the side had a puzzled expression on his face, but he was not as puzzled as Xie Cang. He believed that Su Qi'an had a reason for daring to do this.
Su Qi'an looked at the two of them and explained, "In the final analysis, the cause of this matter is me. What I'm talking about is not the action in the ring competition, but the love I owed to the Ninth Princess earlier."
"So, this time, no matter what, I have to fight in person. In addition to repaying the kindness of the Ninth Princess, I also have to give an explanation. Whatever the outcome of the next literary fight, I will do my best, and I will definitely not Let the Ninth Princess marry Fusang."
The two of them didn't quite understand Su Qi'an's words, but they could probably understand them. Wen Xuan didn't speak. He touched his beard and showed a meaningful expression.
On the other hand, Xie Cang's face was filled with excitement as if he had heard some gossip. He looked at Su Qi'an seriously for a long time, and then burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, it turns out that's the case. No wonder Brother Su insists on doing this. I'm moved. I am worthy of Brother Su. Indeed, the little Prince Fusang is worthy of me, the Princess of Great Liang? What a joke."
"Brother Su, even if you go to fight, I will take care of everything. Even if Wen Dou loses in the end, there is no way that the Ninth Princess will fall into Fusang's hands."
"Brother Xie, you..." Su Qian looked at Xie Cang's expression of wanting to cause trouble. He was about to say something, but he pressed down again.
At this time, Wen Xuan patted Su Qi'an on the shoulder and said, "Qi'an, I understand your worries, but there is one thing I still agree with Xie Cang's words. My princess of Great Liang is not worthy of a little Fusang."
"Now that you have made a decision in your heart, just go ahead and do it. Remember, there is still me, teacher, behind you."
Su Qi'an raised his head, looked at the propaganda, and nodded solemnly. He knew that he had to give an account of his debt to the Ninth Princess today.
…
Half a day passed quickly, and I was lucky to witness the rumored six arts of the gentleman, even three of them.
The people watching were very excited, and naturally they were not so anxious about the half-day wait.
And more importantly, the venue for the cultural fight needs to be renovated. According to this kind of arena format, it seems a bit out of place.
Therefore, shortly after His Majesty's imperial edict was issued, the arena set up in the middle was quickly dismantled as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, there were many craftsmen involved, at least several thousand. Under the leadership of their respective team leaders, it took less than two hours to dismantle it.
After the demolition, a wide space immediately appeared in the middle, and the removed wooden boards were not wasted. Wooden board walls were built directly along the edge of the site.彡彡
This kind of wooden board wall is easy to build. It is just a few wooden boards spliced together. It is very simple.
This kind of simple wooden board is difficult to stop a large-scale crowd collision. The reason why it is built is to reduce the pressure on the imperial troops who maintain order.
Previously, there was no barrier between the common people and the Forbidden Army. Once a conflict broke out, they could only rely on their bodies to act as a human wall.
Now that there is a simple wooden wall, the imperial army only needs to stand behind, holding a halberd, and face the people in front from a distance.
It doesn't take much effort to directly create a shock. For both parties, both sides know where the other side's bottom line is.
Moreover, this civil war is not as good as a military one. Even if it is fierce, it will not be able to stir up public opinion and stimulate popular uprising. Losing is a loss, and winning is a win.
Who dares to take the opportunity to cause trouble at this time, just take it down on the spot without saying a word, without any courtesy.
The people who were surrounded by the wooden wall also knew that it was a deterrent to them. Everyone knew it well and didn't say anything.
Rather than causing trouble, what they were looking forward to more was the rare literary fight.
As time passed little by little, and about an hour passed, under the expectant eyes of everyone, the two teams of soldiers slowly walked into the center of the ring.
Su Qian and Zhaohe Incheon were well protected and walked in the middle.
Daliang and Fusang who appeared this time were both big shots. No matter who they were, they couldn't make any mistakes.
This escort to the stage was mainly to prepare for the drawing of three of the six arts.
At this time, there was a long table in the middle of the stage, with six square wooden boxes placed on the table.
Su Qi'an, Zhao He and Inchuan walked out from the escorting soldiers. They first bowed their hands to the Wen Xuan in front of them, and then their eyes met and they nodded.
The two of them looked at the wooden boxes in front of them, and after a while, they each selected two of them, the second and fourth respectively.
After the two were selected, Wenxuan picked up the fifth wooden box without hesitation.
In order to show fairness in this cultural competition, in addition to the two contestants Su Qian and Showa Incheon, literary propaganda will also join in to make choices.
In this way, the three people had three different wooden boxes, and the six boxes prepared were provided by His Majesty and prepared personally. The six boxes were not delivered until just before the stage.
It can be said that even Wen Xuan, who is the judge, does not know the order of the six arts in these six boxes.
In this way, we can prevent someone from colluding in advance or cheating, and maintain fairness to the maximum extent.
After the three of them selected three boxes each, the three of them opened the boxes together in front of everyone without hesitation.
The box was opened, and inside was a wooden board with three big words written in vermilion, namely "shooting, imperial, and book."
The plank was handed over to the soldiers leading the team, and it was finally announced to everyone present.
For the three selected arts, people basically do not suspect cheating.
Not to mention anything else, as for the "shooting", it was not Su Qi'an who was selected, but Showa Incheon.
You know, the art of "shooting" is what Su Qi'an is best at. If there is really cheating, Showa Incheon would not be able to give such a good method to Su Qi'an.
Moreover, no one knows how much the other two items, "Yu" and "Book", have mastered. This is a test of how much strength both sides have, and the real results will be revealed.
As three of the six arts were selected, the respective personnel retreated from each other, taking Su Qi'an, Zhaohe Incheon away from the center of the field, and began to prepare for the "shooting" of the first item of the literary battle.
This "shooting" was pretty much what everyone thought, it was a test of their archery skills.
As the two left, a third group of soldiers rushed forward, each holding a target in their hands.
The target was in place, and Su Qian and Zhaohe Incheon, who were taken away, were also in place at the same time. Visually, they were about twenty feet away from the target, which was about fifty steps.
They know that these fifty steps are just an appetizer, and they are also a fixed target. Let them test the water first, and later on, the difficulty will soar sharply.
After both parties took their respective positions, following an order, the two stood fifty steps away. Without hesitation, they took action almost at the same time. They quickly drew the arrows, nocked the bows, and released the arrows from behind, all in one go.
There are only ten targets in the first round, which tests not only accuracy but also repetitions.
The moment the target was put down, within a short period of ten seconds, the two of them fired their arrows in one go, hitting six targets in a row. Each target was so accurate that it hit the red heart in the middle.
Six arrows were released without stopping. Within a moment, all ten targets were hit.
The nearby third team of soldiers quickly stepped forward and announced the target number.
"Hou Dongshan, ten targets, ten arrows, red hearts, full ring."
"Prince of Incheon, ten targets, ten arrows, red hearts, full ring.
This announcement made everyone present look shocked. In just a few moments at most, the two of them shot ten arrows in a row, and all ten arrows hit the red heart.
This is not an unusually difficult task. After all, the two of them are in a competitive relationship. If they want to hit the red hearts on all ten targets, they are likely to shoot away the opponent's arrows.
But in such a short period of time, the two of them competed and hit the bull's-eye at the same time. Their archery skills were worthy of the title of sharp archer.
This first round of appetizers was just enjoyable, and everyone was looking forward to the difficulty level up later.
