On the martial arts field, the archery targets and bows and arrows had been removed, and then Li Hao walked up first.
Then he invited Xiao Duan to come forward and prepare for the second empty-handed competition.
But unlike the initial confidence, Xiao Duan also knew that Li Hao had also practiced hard, so the look he looked at Li Hao became particularly solemn, because Xiao Duan knew that he could never lose in this match. of.
So after entering the court, Xiao Duan was extremely cautious. After arranging his posture, he stood on the spot and stared at Li Hao intently, ready to see if he could find any loopholes.
But Li Hao looked at Xiao Duan's shrunken appearance and had no patience to wait any longer, so he just walked towards Xiao Duan and prepared to attack.
At this time, Xiao Duan became even more nervous when he saw Li Hao walking as usual, fearing that this was Li Hao's strange move.
But it was obvious that Xiao Duan was overthinking, and Li Hao couldn't use any other tricks to deal with Xiao Duan.
Sure enough, the reality was just as Li Hao thought. Before a few moves were exchanged, Xiao Duan was knocked to the ground by Li Hao and pinned to the ground with his grappling hand, preventing him from moving.
This scene made the old man next to him anxious. He just hoped that Zhao Ceying would come over quickly. Otherwise, if he lost two games, there would be no need to compete in the third game. If nothing could be produced by then, the scene would be really ugly.
Li Hao, who was on the court, obviously didn't intend to resolve the matter so quickly. After all, Xiao Duan had been provoking him again and again these days, and he couldn't do it without giving him a lesson. He also had to wait for someone to come.
So Li Hao pressed on Xiao Duan and said, "Brother Xiao Duan, in this competition, are you convinced or not? Do you admit defeat?"
Although Xiao Duan felt uncomfortable being suppressed, he was still unconvinced. Of course, it was possible that he had reached this point and could no longer step down.
So he said: "Of course I don't accept it. I just didn't check it for a moment. Let me go. If we compete again, I promise to beat you."
Upon hearing this, Li Hao let go of Xiao Duan and asked him to stand up before fighting again.
After all, it's not a life and death situation, so there's no need to worry about the villain dying from talking too much.
Of course, the result after the fight was still the same. It was like what happened just now had never happened. After a while, Li Hao was suppressed again.
Then the two repeated the conversation just now, and then Li Hao let go and then suppressed it. Then let go and hold it down again.
Using this legitimate reason for the competition and Xiao Duan's dissatisfaction, Li Hao went around the martial arts arena and threw Xiao Duan.
Li Hao didn't know whether the last section hurt or not, but Li Hao's hands were sore from the fall. At this time, the person Li Hao wanted to wait for finally arrived.
I saw Zhao Ceying and Shen Congxing coming over in a hurry. When I saw Li Hao beating Xiao Duan on the field, I hurriedly asked Lao Geng outside the martial arts field for details.
After listening, Zhao Ceying couldn't help but said: "You are also Hutu. Since Li Hao dares to take out the gift given by the emperor, he must be sure of victory.
How dare you gamble and fight with him? Aren't you asking for trouble?
And I also told you not to provoke him. How did Xiao Duan get into a bet with him? "
After hearing this, Lao Geng explained: "Xiao Duan didn't do it on purpose. Today happened to be the day Li Hao came back from his trip.
When passing by the martial arts arena, Xiao Duan saw him, and after chatting for a few words, he said he would have a test.
It was Li Hao who brought up the gambling fight first and took out such valuable things. It was obvious that it was premeditated, and Xiao Duan was just deceived. "
After listening to what Lao Geng said, Zhao Ceying certainly understood that there must be some bias in what he said. At least Zhao Ceying did not believe that it was Li Hao who told Xiao Duan first.
But there is no need to say this, after all, these are the only people who are really close to their family in Yuzhou.
If they really want to enter Beijing in the future, these people are the most trustworthy team members for their father and son, and they cannot be separated from each other, so there is no need to go into details.
So he said: "Li Hao was successful at a young age. Since he entered the officialdom, he has been promoted to higher positions and nobility, and he has never been wasted along the way.
How can such a person be willing to accept anger, let alone Xiao Duan?
I'm afraid that even if we, father and son, really made him unhappy, he wouldn't give us face. "
After hearing this, Lao Geng said: "How dare he? After Tuan Lian enters Beijing, he will be in that position. How dare he be rude?"
Hearing this, Zhao Ceying said quickly: "Be careful, if this matter is not settled in one day, you can't say this."
In fact, after Lao Geng finished speaking, he knew that he had said the wrong thing and quickly shut up.
Then Zhao Ceying added: "Even if our father and son really entered the capital, Li Hao was the hero who rescued us and was in charge of the imperial army. You can imagine how much the officials trusted him.
And he is not alone. Grand Prime Minister Han and Grand Prime Minister Ouyang Gongye are also very optimistic about Li Hao. It is not easy to deal with such a person. "
Lao Geng was also a little panicked here. He thought that this matter would be solved when Zhao Ceying arrived, but it seemed that it was not as easy to solve as he thought.
So I had to ask: "What should I do? Although Xiao Duan's family has some wealth, such magical weapons cannot be found by just spending money."
Zhao Ceying comforted her: "Don't worry too much. I'll think of ways to save face later. Let's see if it works first."
While he was talking, the short round of beatings on the court finally came to an end.
Seeing the two people stop, Zhao Ceying hurriedly stepped forward and said, "I didn't expect Mr. Li's martial arts to be so strong. He really doesn't show his true appearance, I really admire him."
After hearing this, Li Hao replied: "No, no, I just practice some physical fitness skills, it's nothing."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Duan's face turned dark. If someone who is strong enough to keep fit can beat himself up so badly, then what do you mean by that?
Just as he was about to stand up and reply, he was pulled up by the Geng brothers and gagged.
Naturally, Zhao Ceying would not defend this matter, but said directly: "I just heard that you and Xiao Duan agreed on a gambling fight, and you also took out the royal sword as the prize, which is too expensive. Bar."
Li Hao also understood what Zhao Ceying meant, but he had no intention of letting go just like that, otherwise his face would be too cheap.
Moreover, Zhao Zongquan and his son are still members of the idle clan. They are not even considered princes, let alone the emperor. It is not their turn to curry favor with them.
If he really offended himself to death, he would have to find a way. Anyway, there was no clear purpose, so it was not impossible to choose someone else.
So he said: "The sword is given to heroes. Originally, I wanted to find a better home for this sword. Unfortunately, it seems that it will have to stay in my hands for a while."
Seeing Li Hao's attitude, I understood that he didn't want to give up the bet.
But Zhao Ceying still wanted to try harder and said: "You and Xiao Duan are just discussing it. Using such a precious thing as a lottery ticket is indeed a bit excessive. I wonder if Mr. Li can be accommodating."
Hearing this, Li Hao replied: "He agreed to this on his own. I have never forced him. Now that we have finished two competitions, is it inappropriate to talk about this?"
Zhao Ceying explained: "I also understand that doing this is inevitably unfair, but this magical weapon is hard to come by.
How about this, let Xiao Duan prepare a generous gift and send it to Mr. Li as the lost thing. "
Li Hao refused: "I'm not someone who covets things outside of myself. I'm just a man who promises a lot of money. I might lose my status by being so casual.
But I have to give you your face, how about I give in. "
Thinking that Li Hao had relented, Zhao Ceying asked, "If you have any ideas, please tell me."
Li Hao said: "Of course the gambling battle will continue, but for your sake, the first two games will be treated as warm-ups. We will start the third game again and determine the final outcome based on this outcome. What do you think? .”
After hearing this, Zhao Ceying naturally felt that something was wrong, but by doing this, Li Hao had already given in, and it would be awkward to say anything more.
But looking at the previous two games, it was hard for everyone to believe that Xiao Duan could win. If he lost again, the result would remain the same.
But there is nothing we can do. Since they have given us steps, we can only go down. At least this way there is some hope.
But Zhao Ceying still wants to be there
To gain some extra time, he said: "You have already competed twice, so why not change the time for the next competition so that you can rest and recover your physical strength."
Li Hao did not refuse and said, "Okay, then why don't you set a time now."
Hearing this, Zhao Ceying pondered for a few seconds and then said: "It will be five days later. After all, Xiao Duan also suffered some injuries just now, and it will take a few days to recover. Lord Li did not expect that he would be victorious without force. Right."
"Okay, let's schedule it in five days. We'll meet at the martial arts arena then." After Li Hao finished speaking, he said goodbye to everyone and left.
After Li Hao left, Zhao Ceying asked the Geng brothers to send Xiao Duan home to recuperate, and said, "You go back and have a good rest first. I will figure out what to do here."
After Xiao Duan and the Geng brothers left, Shen Congxing said to Zhao Ceying: "What are you going to do? Mr. Li looks like he has no intention of letting go easily. Five days is not a long time. Is it possible that he will lose by then?" You can’t default on your debt.”
Zhao Ceying said: "Uncle, don't worry, I don't think Li Hao really wants Xiao Duan to find a magic weapon.
Now I probably just want to teach him a lesson. When the weather subsides in two days, I will think of ways to persuade him, and he should be fine. "
After hearing this, Shen Congxing said, "Okay, just be sensible. Also, did he help with what you told Li Hao a few days ago?"
Zhao Ceying replied: "He did send someone back to Beijing, but I don't know whether they are helping us to ask questions.
But he is a smart man, and there is no need for him to trick us if there is nothing harmful to him. "
Seeing that Zhao Ceying was confident, Shen Congxing said nothing more. Then the two of them said goodbye and went about their business.
As for Li Hao, after the fight, news of Li Hao's martial arts competition also spread in the mansion.
So that night, when Li Hao replied to Han Qi and Ouyang Xiu, he was just waiting for Li Hao to finish talking about the business.
"You have shown some impressive power today. I had heard before that you defeated a group of subordinates in the western suburbs camp. At that time, I thought it was an exaggeration. I didn't expect your skills to be so powerful. "
Ouyang Xiu first praised Li Hao and then said casually:
"But if you show Zhao Ceying's face here, you won't be afraid that he will cause trouble for you in the future."
Li Hao replied: "What am I afraid of? It was his Yuzhou people who provoked me first, and I fought back. What reason does he have to cause trouble for me?"
A mere eighth-grade military attache, regardless of his superiority or inferiority, provoked a fourth-grade official of the imperial court in public.
If you really don't fight back, it would be a joke. "
Ouyang Xiu asked again: "That's what I said, but if they really fly on the branches, you don't have to worry."
Li Hao continued to answer: "If they, father and son, are really determined to retaliate against others, they will not be able to achieve greatness after all, so there is nothing to worry about.
If they are broad-minded, then there is no need to worry, right? "
After hearing this, Han Qi finally said: "That makes sense.
Okay, if you are more interested in inquiring about information, go down first. "
After the others left, Ouyang Xiu asked, "You're kind-hearted. Even if Zhao Zongquan doesn't come forward in this matter, I'm afraid there are still many people who want to get along with others and try to make trouble by being attentive, so you won't care about it."
Han Qi said: "You are really protective of the calf, but since you want him to become a talent, you have to let him go through hardships.
And I think he can handle it. If something goes wrong, it won’t be too late for us to take action.
It would be a good thing for Li Hao if he could realize the problem earlier.
It just so happened that I also wanted to see how Zhao Zongquan would react to this, killing two birds with one stone. "
Ouyang Xiu sighed: "You! You are really an old fox."
Following these unfinished words, the room became quiet.
What happened next was pretty much what Ouyang Xiu and the others expected.
On the second day, people began to come to persuade Li Hao to be more generous and not to be unreasonable and unforgiving.
For such people, Li Hao's only move was to stay away from them, lest they hurt him when they were struck by thunder.
But this scene did not affect Li Hao, but it made Zhao Ceying see another way to solve the matter.
I think that maybe through the pressure of these people, Li Hao can be made to give up on his own.
But Zhao Ceying did not make the decision on his own. Instead, he found Zhao Zongquan and told him his plan.
But when Zhao Zongquan heard this, he directly said that this was a bad idea.
Then he explained: "If you don't have faith, you won't stand. Since you have already promised something, don't go back on it easily.
If you lose your credibility for this today, then tomorrow, when others encounter this matter, they will also think about whether you will do what you promised them.
This kind of thing that does more harm than good is unnecessary.
And to take a step back, even if you incite other people about this matter, as long as Prime Minister Han speaks out, does the attitude of other people still matter?
Now Mr. Han seems to have not expressed his stance, but if you think about it carefully, is it really true that he has not expressed his stance? "
Zhao Ceying thought for a while and said, "Father, the child understands."
Zhao Zongquan asked: "What do you understand?"
Zhao Ceying explained: "This incident was obviously Xiao Duan's fault, but Xiao Duan held on to himself. Now that he had some support, he wanted to make others bow their heads.
This is a big mistake. The child will prepare some things later and deliver them to Li Hao personally to settle the matter. "
Zhao Zongquan was very happy after hearing this and said, "As long as you understand, you can go down and prepare later.
Be careful when sending it. You need to let people know about it, but you can't make too much of a fuss about it. Do you understand?
Also remember to divide the things you bring into two parts first. "
After hearing this last sentence, Zhao Ceying asked: "Why should it be divided into two parts? What is the purpose?"
Zhao Zongquan did not explain, but said directly: "Just do as I say, and you will know when the time comes."
So Zhao Ceying with doubts withdrew, prepared two gifts according to Zhao Zongquan's words, and went to Li Hao's residence.
