As time passed, the bamboo slips were placed on the table one by one.
Xiao Yuan read through each volume, reading it very seriously, sometimes frowning, sometimes shaking his head and chuckling.
After he finished reading, he picked out one of the volumes, put it forward and said, "Jiang Yi, come and read Master Dong Shu's article to everyone."
"Yes." Jiang Yi responded quickly, ran up and took it respectfully, then faced downwards, unfolded the bamboo slips, and started singing loudly.
Dong Shu, a famous talented man in the Xuan Kingdom, must have learned a lot since he was able to enter Zhangtai Pavilion. Therefore, his articles are rich in rhetoric, very rhyming, catchy and very comfortable to read.
The civil servants below also closed their eyes slightly and shook their heads.
After he finished reading, everyone couldn't help but whisper to the next person.
"What a great article..."
"Yes, Mr. Dong deserves to be from a famous family..."
"This talent is extraordinary..."
Many people were amazed, but Liu Changqing snorted and said: "In terms of carving seals and sentences, Dong Shu is probably the number one Xuan Chen, what a flatterer!"
Yes, this article contains many praises for Xiao Yuan.
After hearing this, someone shook his head and said: "Since it is a competition, it is natural to use rhetoric. What Master Liu said is too unreasonable."
Next, Xiao Yuan took out Shangguan Wenruo's bamboo slips.
Although the content of Shangguan Wenruo's article made him very unhappy, he had to admit that his writing style was magnificent.
Jiang Yi took it respectfully, unfolded it again, and read loudly.
At the beginning, people were still shaking their heads, but soon, as the content of the article progressed, they started to give advice.
At this time, everyone was stunned for a moment, and what followed was a complete silence.
Jiang Yi also swallowed, paused, and then continued reading.
After reading the article, people's expressions were somewhat strange.
Xiao Yuan smiled heartily and said: "Since it is a competition of poetry, whose article is better, I want to reward you. Sir Shangguan, what a great literary talent!"
Shangguan Wenruo lowered his body and did not dare to look at him.
"Okay!" Xiao Yuan stood up again and waved his hand: "Now, it's time to see the bravery of our Great Qin soldiers!"
Near the high platform, hundreds of officials gathered. Not long after, the chaotic sound of horse hooves was heard, and large numbers of generals rode back.
"Your Majesty!" People got off their horses, knelt on one knee, and saluted with clasped fists.
"No courtesy." Xiao Yuan glanced around and asked with a smile: "How about you, can you hunt a vicious animal?"
All the generals looked at each other.
Peng Shuang clasped his fists and said, "The evil thing is dead and on the way to be carried, but it has no owner."
"Oh? What do you mean?" Xiao Yuan raised his eyebrows.
Peng Shuang glanced at Tang Yue next to him and explained, "Both the minister and General Tang were hit by two arrows."
"Who comes first and who comes last?" Xiao Yuan asked again.
"No difference." Peng Shuang replied.
"Well..." Xiao Yuan thought for a while and said decisively: "If that's the case, then we can count it as the two of you hunting it together!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The two of them knelt down with fists clasped at the same time, beaming with joy.
"Haha!" Xiao Yuan was delighted, stretched out his hand to pull the two of them up, then pointed to the opposite side and said to the generals:
"Did you see that there are three targets set up one hundred and sixty steps away? On this grand occasion, all the generals will show off their martial arts. If you hit the target while riding your horse, I will give him the cloak behind him!"
When the generals heard the words, they immediately became energetic, and many of them showed excitement. Xu Rong couldn't help but secretly glance at the cloak behind Xiao Yuan.
You must know that under the feudal dynasty, the king gave his courtiers his own cloak. What that represented was not only the supreme honor, but also something that could save his life at some point.
At Xiao Yuan's signal, all the generals rode back on their horses and geared up.
"Bang the drum!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The exciting war drums sounded, and Peng Shuang took the lead and was the first to rush out.
The war horse was galloping, and he stood on the horse, bent his bow and nocked an arrow, and when he drew it fully, he fired an arrow instantly.
The arrow shot away quickly and hit one of the bullseyes.
"good!"
"The general is mighty——"
Seeing this, the surrounding Qin army officers raised their halberds high and began to shout.
Xiao Yuan was also in a good mood, and he and the civil officials around him began to comment on the bravery of the Qin general.
Then, it was Tang Yue's turn, and the same arrow hit, again attracting applause and shouts.
Xu Rong felt a little guilty, but fortunately, he was very skilled in martial arts. Although he was a little off, he did not lose his identity.
This is mounted shooting, not standing shooting. The war horses are galloping and moving quickly, so they have to cross the enemy at a hundred steps.
Peng Shuang, Tang Yue and others all have the appearance of tiger generals, have experienced hundreds of battles, and needless to say their archery skills.
Although Xiao Yuan had promised in advance that all Qin soldiers could participate in this riding and shooting competition, but for ordinary soldiers, this distance and accuracy were obviously difficult to achieve.
Most of the participants were generals, such as Ning Zhan, Ma Lin and others.
It's just that there are always people who don't want to miss such a great opportunity. After the generals passed a round, an archer followed the horse and rode out. He was on the war horse and directly drew three sharp arrows. With the bow full of the moon, his posture was perfect, and the three arrows were fired instantly.
Three arrows shot out at three different angles, and with a bang, they hit the three arrow targets at the same time.
War horses galloped past.
Someone over there immediately shouted: "All three arrows hit -"
ah! ? The generals were startled and couldn't help but look sideways.
You know, this is not just standing there and taking aim, but riding the horse.
Being able to fire three arrows at the same time and all hitting the red heart shows that his archery skills are unparalleled.
Xiao Yuan was also very energetic and raised his hand: "Who is it?"
Following his inquiry, the archer immediately got off his horse, stepped forward quickly, knelt on one knee and said: "Little man Luo Chong, please see the king!"
"Okay!" Xiao Yuan Dayue, he has some impression of this person. He once killed the ghost army general with one arrow a hundred and eighty steps away, among thousands of troops!
After sizing him up, Xiao Yuan reached out to help him up, then took off his cloak, tied it on for him personally, and said in a serious voice: "I am a great soldier of the Qin Dynasty. I am brave and brave, and I am very happy to be alone!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Luo Chong's face turned red with excitement and his tone changed.
The surrounding civil servants were happy for this, and the military generals all cast extremely envious glances.
That is the king's cloak. In the minds of the generals of the Qin army, Xiao Yuan's prestige is like a god. If you get this cloak, it will be something that can last you a lifetime.
After the civil and military competition, the next step is naturally an open-air feast.
Xiao Yuan stood on the high platform directly above, holding a bronze cup in his hand, drinking with the ministers.
The atmosphere of this grand event reached its peak at this moment.
After the hunting, on the way back, all the officials were enjoying themselves, laughing in twos and threes from time to time. Wang Su also trotted up to Xiao Yuan, bowed slightly, moved the corners of his mouth, and looked like he was hesitating to speak.
