Emperor Changxing put down the memorial in his hand and rubbed his swollen forehead tiredly.
It seems that my body has become more and more sleepy recently. I just read a few memorials and my head hurts.
As soon as this thought flashed through his mind, he shook his head subconsciously and shook it off.
"Changlu, are there any interesting things happening inside and outside the palace recently?"
The old eunuch had learned massage techniques from the imperial physician. He quickly came over and rubbed it gently and heavily, "Your Majesty, the palace has been quiet recently."
Nanfeng has been destroyed, and King Nanfeng has died. The marriage has been settled for a long time, and the turmoil in the harem has finally calmed down.
"Outside the palace," Changlu pondered for a moment, "the common people were all talking about the grand triumphal ceremony held by the imperial court a few days ago, and they all praised His Majesty's wisdom and prowess with high spirits."
"That's all?" Emperor Changxing was very dissatisfied.
The great victory in the south shocked the whole world.
This time the Xingluo Legion and Zhennanguan sent so many soldiers back to the capital, and he wanted to know what the high sects of the imperial capital were doing.
"Of course." Changlu didn't seem to understand what his master meant, and smiled: "Isn't the Dragon Boat Festival coming soon? People are enthusiastically guessing which team will win this year's crown."
Dragon boat!?
Emperor Changxing's attention was immediately attracted.
He glared at the old eunuch fiercely, "Have all the dragon boat teams been formed?"
"It won't happen this time like last year, uh, the year before." Emperor Changxing's tone was a bit gloomy.
Due to the epidemic in Yunzhong County, almost all large-scale events around Xingji City were canceled last year, which frustrated those eccentric young men and ordinary people who love fun.
Finally, the situation has eased a bit this year, and with the great victory in the south, everyone from the wealthy to the common people breathed a sigh of relief.
The dragon boat race, which is enjoyed by all people, is the first to resume under such circumstances. It has extremely positive significance and nothing can go wrong.
"Your Majesty," Changlu swore and shook his head, "The people below are watching the contestants carefully. I bet that the situation last year will not happen this time."
The year before last was the year of the martial arts examination, and every family extended an olive branch to the martial arts scholars.
As a result, during the dragon boat race, two dragon boats were rowing, and they actually fought on the water. In the end, they capsized the boat and almost drowned several high-ranking disciples.
Everyone was in an uproar at that time.
Moreover, in addition to the people of Star City, there were also envoys and businessmen from various countries in the audience.
This farce was actually staged in front of everyone, and Yun Chui was completely embarrassed.
Emperor Changxing ignored the old eunuch's assurance and frowned: "Ren Ning, Li Hebai, and the people they brought back didn't participate in this dragon boat race."
cough!
Changlu's head suddenly felt a little bigger, and he couldn't help coughing lightly.
"Your Majesty, General Ren is from the Xingluo Army, and General Li is the guard general of Zhennan Pass. The two border armies have always maintained strict military discipline, which is not comparable to those who have passed the military examination."
The implication is that although they have become contestants, they should behave themselves.
Emperor Changxing couldn't help but glared at the old eunuch again, "Martial arts..."
After passing the civil examination, the next year will be the martial arts examination. Although both the civil examination and the martial arts examination are passed, their fates are very different.
Officers with military qualification backgrounds are generally considered to be from "miscellaneous" backgrounds, and their promotion and recognition in the military are not as good as those of generals from "proper" military backgrounds.
It can be said that it is exactly the opposite of the situation of civil servants who become famous in one exam.
In the long history of Yunchui, more than 70% of the generals were born in the army, and their promotion to the rank was based on fighting on the battlefield step by step.
There are also people with martial arts backgrounds, but not many.
For example, the forward general of the Starfall Legion, Guan Luping. But he also joined the Starfall Legion, starting from a hundred years of service, and worked his way up through the ranks with each battle.
"Which team did they join?" Emperor Changxing was curious.
Emperor Changxing wanted to see who had the courage to flirt with the extremely powerful border guards in front of him.
Changlu chuckled: "Your Majesty, this is the team of Duke Huo Shizi."
"It turns out it's him." Emperor Changxing was speechless.
At the beginning of last month, Huo Qing took the initiative to go to the palace and said that he wanted to form his own dragon boat team to participate in the competition. Regardless of the victory or defeat, he just wanted to add to the fun.
At that time, Emperor Changxing was getting what he wanted, so he decisively agreed.
Later, he heard many times that Huo Qing's team was still unable to be assembled, and it was estimated that he would eventually recruit the guards of the Duke's Mansion to make up the number.
The result is what it is now.
"When did the relationship between Zhenguo Palace, Xingluo Legion and Zhennanguan become so close?" Emperor Changxing frowned again and muttered intentionally or unintentionally.
The old eunuch standing by reminded him with a smile.
"Your Majesty, the Xingluo Army has just changed its defense from the Rock Frontier Fortress. Moreover, General Ren defeated the third son of Uncle Cheng En in one move at the Qin Palace last year. You and Concubine Qing were both present at that time..."
"His house was given by Concubine Qing." Changlu explained the situation at that time.
"So after returning to Beijing this time, it is normal for him to visit the Zhenguo Palace."
"As for General Li of Zhennanguan," the old eunuch chuckled again.
"Your Majesty, it's not like you don't know. The soldiers in the south, including Zhennanguan, have been paying homage to the Duke of Zhenguo and Princess Yiguang for more than 40 years."
Emperor Changxing reacted.
He snorted: "What on earth is Guanyi doing? Hasn't the Ministry of War calculated the military merits of the soldiers after so long?"
As a result, Ren Ning and the others had time to race dragon boats.
After a while, Guanyi, the Minister of War, came in a hurry.
He was slapped by Emperor Changxing for being clueless, and ran back with a sullen face to ask his subordinates to speed up.
Ren Ning doesn't know this.
When he got up in the morning, he first went to Qin Ming of the Ministry of Industry to check on the progress of the crane and answered some drawings and technical questions.
At noon, he led a group of people into the Zhenguo Palace.
The Zhenguogong Mansion occupies a vast area, and there are several lakes of different sizes in the mansion. You can choose any one and use it as a dragon boat training venue.
When he arrived at the lake, Ren Ning looked at Huo Qing's former teammates and soon had a strange look on his face.
He saw an acquaintance.
Ren Rong.
Ren Ning was from the fourth room of the Taishi Mansion, while Ren Rong was the legitimate son of the eldest brother. In theory, he was his eldest cousin.
Ren Ning was stunned for a moment and quickly reacted. He was not surprised that Ren Rong would appear in this team.
Like the Zhenguo Palace, the Taishi Palace is also the target that various families are trying to win over.
As the legitimate son of the eldest son, Ren Rong is the one who will inherit the entire Taishi Mansion in the future. Naturally, he has the same worries as Huo Qing.
"Brother Ning!" He smiled brightly and walked over in surprise, "Congratulations on your triumphant return. I don't know how much Sixth Sister misses you."
"Brother Ren!" Ren Ning didn't seem to hear anything and just raised his hand politely.
Like a stranger you meet for the first time.
"Come on," Huo Qing over there smiled and clapped his hands: "Let me introduce to you the team members of this dragon boat race. Everyone will be in the same boat..."
Ren Ning ignored Ren Rong and listened quietly.
He recognized some of the eleven young masters, but he had never heard of others.
However, there are almost all problems of one kind or another. Either he is popular or no one cares about him, and he has to be added to Huo Qing's team in the end.