Da Tou felt relieved after hearing Chang Sheng's words. It could be seen that he was already very satisfied with the result.
"Although you won this battle, it hurt your heart. You don't want to participate in the next few battles," Changsheng said. "We will send you back to our house later, and you can rest peacefully at home."
"No," Datou shook his head and said, "I have to go tomorrow."
Seeing Changsheng frowning, Datou hurriedly explained, "I am seriously injured. I will definitely not be able to fight tomorrow. But there are only sixty people left now. If we divide into two teams, it will be thirty versus thirty. I will fight with you tomorrow." Go, stand between the two of you when entering the venue. In this way, you two will be assigned to one team, and I will be assigned to the other team. If I can draw the same number as you during the lottery, you will be the winner. One of them can win without a fight.”
"Haha, you have thought it through." Changsheng smiled.
Datou chuckled, "Although the chance is not very high, it is still possible. Besides, I was carried down today. If I don't show my face tomorrow, they will think I was beaten so hard that I couldn't get out of bed."
Seeing that what Datou said made sense, Changsheng nodded in agreement. At this moment, the Ni family sent someone again. There were three people in total. Ni Tai was carrying three people's dinner in his hand, and one person behind him was holding three brand new and neat things. New clothes, three pieces of clothing, a Taoist robe, a daily robe, and a very small robe, undoubtedly tailor-made for the three of them.
The servant who came in last carried two large bags of herbs to stop bleeding and replenish qi.
After a brief conversation, the three of them said goodbye and left. When they left, they took away the horses that the two had ridden back earlier. They were the horses of the Forbidden Army and were to be returned in the evening.
After Ni Tai and others left, Chang Sheng picked out a few herbs and ordered the maid to take them and boil them, and then ate and talked with Yang Kai and Datou in the house.
The food sent by the Ni family should have come from the Yanbin Building again. It was quite rare, but it was much more normal than the weird food last night.
Datou was injured and had no appetite. He only drank a few mouthfuls of Caozhu Pheasant Porridge, and the rest was picked up by Chang Sheng and Yang Kai. They were both starving. The martial arts competition lasted a whole day, and they didn't care at noon. meal.
Datou was a little sluggish, but it didn't affect his ability to speak. Seeing that Yang Kai's clothes were shabby, he kindly reminded him, "Put on the new clothes that the Ni family gave you tomorrow, and tidy up a bit."
Yang Kai didn't know why and looked at him doubtfully.
Datou said, "I heard that after entering the top three martial arts competitions in the past, there would be rich ladies from the royal family and relatives who would come to watch and take the opportunity to choose a husband of their choice. They should also come to watch this martial arts competition."
After hearing Da Tou's words, Yang Kai's interest waned and he laughed it off.
Datou looked at Changsheng again, and saw that Changsheng was looking down at the Taoist robe that Bai Yao scratched to pieces during the day, and said casually, "You don't need it, you have a master, and you can wear whatever you want."
Chang Sheng knew that Da Tou was joking, so he didn't answer. Instead, he asked casually, "You have lived in the Chengnan Inn for a long time, and there are people coming and going there. Have you heard about what errands we people will be assigned in the future?"
"It's hard to say. There are too many official positions in the six ministries and nine divisions of the imperial court," Datou shook his head and said, "But since we are all military officials, the imperial court will definitely not assign civilian positions to us, and it should not allow us to go out to lead troops to fight. Yes, after all, except for me, who fishes in troubled waters, you are all too young."
Seeing Changsheng's expression of thoughtfulness, Datou continued, "If I had to guess, I feel that some of us will be assigned to the Criminal Department, Dali Temple, and the Supervisory Office. These three places are responsible for handling cases and recruiting people. We need you like this." people."
"Excuse me, you are also a martial arts scholar." Changsheng said.
"Officers are very aggressive and majestic when dealing with people. Suddenly a short Japanese melon pops up and makes people laugh to death," Datou said, "To say the least, even if they really separate me, they can at most make me a prisoner. The prison boss."
"You are from the sixth grade, can you be the prison leader?" Changsheng asked casually.
"Then become a big prison boss," Da Tou laughed and then got back to business. "In addition to the three places I just mentioned, it is also possible to be assigned to the Forbidden Army as a errand. The Forbidden Army is divided into the Imperial Forest Army and the Shence Army. There are fewer Imperial Guards and Shence. There are many soldiers, and I heard that the Royal Forest Army listens to the emperor, while the Shence Army seems to have the final say from the eunuchs."
Hearing Datou's words, Changsheng nodded slowly.
At this time, the soup was ready. Changsheng took the soup and took a sip first. After confirming that it was correct, he handed it to Yang Kai, who fed it to Datou.
"I have to go back to the inn soon," Chang Sheng said, "I thought about it and felt that you should not go back to Front Street. Just rest here for the night. Yang Kai is here, so you two can take care of you."
Datou was drinking medicine at this time, so he failed to answer the call. He waited until he finished drinking the medicine before nodding and saying, "Okay, I'm too lazy to move, so just sleep here tonight."
After sitting for a while, Changsheng stood up and left with the new clothes sent by the Ni family. Both of his clothes were damaged in the previous competition. The Ni family was really thoughtful and sent new replacement robes in time.
He cautiously returned to Baoqing Inn, only to find that no one was waiting inside or outside the inn. This surprised Chang Sheng. He came back last night and there was no one waiting because he didn't stay at the inn the night before, but when he left this morning Many people saw him leaving, and he was successfully promoted to Wu Jinshi today. Logically speaking, there shouldn't be no one to congratulate him on his friendship.
However, it suited him just fine that no one was waiting for him, and he did not want to socialize with strangers, which would be an unreasonable and meaningless distraction.
Just when he wanted to go to the backyard to see the Black Master, Li Zongyuan came out to talk to him. It turned out that it was not that no one was waiting to congratulate him, but that all those congratulating him were sent away by Li Zongyuan. The reason was that he was preparing for the second-level competition tomorrow. Visiting at this time will delay his rest.
Although the people were sent away, many famous postcards were left behind. The so-called famous postcards are posts with the identity and name of the owner written on them. They are mostly made of thick paper, mostly red, two inches wide and four inches long, with double pages, usually written inside. Words like so and so paying a visit.
There were so many famous assassins left by the visitors that they could only be packed in wooden boxes. Changsheng asked Li Zongyuan to help bring the box of famous assassins back to the room. He went to the backyard, took out the black master, went out through the back door, and walked to the nearby street. Wandered around a few times.
When he returned to his room and had nothing to do, he inspected the famous people one by one. They were all strangers, and he didn't recognize any of them. He didn't look at the names, only the identities. More than half of the nearly 100 famous people were businessmen, owners of dyeing shops, and grain shops. Shopkeepers and restaurant managers, these people undoubtedly came here because of his identity as the son-in-law of the Ni family, hoping to become familiar with each other so that they could make acquaintances in the future.
In addition, there are many assassins of low-level officials. If he had known about these assassinations, there would be no need for him to waste his words, because everyone who comes to visit is someone who thinks they may work with him in the future. , there are three departments of punishment and prison, namely the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, and the Inspectorate. There are also some captains of the Forbidden Army, including the Royal Forest Army and the Shence Army.
Among those who left behind their famous thorns were officials from the Ordnance Supervision. As the name suggests, the Ordnance Supervision is the yamen that manufactures various weapons.
There are also several officials from the Ministry of War. The Ministry of War is in charge of military affairs. He is a Wujinshi and may indeed be assigned to the Ministry of War in the future.
The Shaofu is the yamen responsible for the personal safety of the emperor's relatives, and there are also famous assassins of low-level officials in the Shaofu.
These are the official reputations. Of course, the imperial court is far more than just these yamen. Those who are beyond reach will have nothing to do with him in the future, and others will not come to get close to him.
In addition to businessmen and officials, there are also a few famous assassins from Jianghu sects. Among them, most of them are martial arts candidates who failed to be promoted to martial arts scholars. These people may also deal with him in the future.
After seeing the famous thorns, Changsheng pulled the rope to call for hot water, washed up and lay down to rest.
Because he was too tired, he was woken up by the waiter again the next morning. Yang Kai and Datou were waiting for him below to set off.
Datou was injured and had difficulty moving. He came on horseback. The horse was given to Datou by the Ni family, and it also had a dedicated groom.
The Ni family also gave Yang Kai one of the same horses, and it also had a groom, but Yang Kai did not ride out.
Ni Tai was also waiting downstairs, carrying a wooden box with various fruits in his hand.
Ni Tai is here to accompany Changsheng on the road. The fruits in the wooden box are all hand-picked by Ni Chenyi. Changsheng can eat them while walking.
On the way to the competition square, Ni Tai whispered that Ni Chenyi would also be there to watch the battle today.
Changsheng was surprised when he heard this. Ni Chenyi had not been present in person in the past two days. He also understood that Ni Chenyi did not go to watch the match. There were too many people outside the venue, and young women might be mixed in among them to avoid being manipulated by the prostitutes.
Seeing the confusion on Changsheng's face, Ni Tai explained in a low voice that Ni Zuo was granted the title of Duke, and that Ni Chenyi, as usual, attended the battle today with relatives of the emperor and the daughter of a high official in the court.
After listening to Ni Tai's explanation, Chang Sheng understood. Last night, Datou also said that there might be daughters of the emperor's relatives coming to watch the battle and choose a son-in-law.
Go outside the venue, dismount the horse, and the three of them prepare to enter.
Changsheng brought the Hanyue Sword with him today. This Hanyue Sword was made by Mrs. Xu, the master of knife-making in the Spring and Autumn Period. It is indestructible even if the hair is broken, and it is like a fake magic weapon.
Chang Sheng brought the Han Yue Dao just in case, and when he saw that Yang Kai did not carry a weapon, he handed over the Han Yue Dao.
Yang Kai waved his hand and entered first.
Seeing that the people entering the venue were divided into two groups just like yesterday, Datou hurriedly followed behind Yang Kai.
After entering the arena, Datou was assigned to the team on the right, with Changsheng and Yang Kai both on the left.
The sixty people selected yesterday were the top three in martial arts. Today, the second top will be selected from the top three. There are fifteen people in the second top.
The rules of the competition are the same as yesterday. There are also two rounds. Thirty will be selected in the first round and fifteen will be selected in the second round.
The three of them came early today, and the examiner had not arrived yet, so they had to wait for a while.
There were four arenas yesterday, but today there are only two arenas left, and the area of the arena has doubled again.
Since weapons are no longer banned starting today, today's competition will be even more brutal. In such a large arena, it is not easy to knock the opponent off the stage, and the only way is to completely defeat the opponent.
The examiner's seat is still in the north, and the invigilators of the two arenas are in the south of the arena. The difference between today and the previous two days is that there are two more rows of large chairs with backrests on the east and west sides of the square. The wooden chairs have yellow silk soft seats. There are red umbrellas above the mat to provide shade, and there are more than fifty large backrest chairs in the east and west rows. Needless to say, these large backrest chairs are all prepared for the wealthy ladies who come to watch the game.
As the time approaches, the examiner takes his seat.
Afterwards, dozens of royal family members and daughters of princes and princes in formal attire entered from the northwest and northeast of the square...
