The young masters looked at each other, knowing that they were holding back, and couldn't help but feel a little ashamed.
"Brothers, please rest assured." Ren Ning comforted them.
"All teams have to row twenty miles of water, and almost everyone has never trained to row a dragon boat for such a distance. Of course we will not be used to it and will be tired, but our opponents will not have it easy either."
Besides, other teams don’t have fresh troops like them who just came from the battlefield.
After reacting, everyone was in high spirits.
Someone tutted: "Maybe we can be an upset!"
Some team members looked hesitantly at the heavy hull beneath them and said, "If there is no accident like the year before last, the top five problems should not be big."
Everyone subconsciously raised their heads and looked at the bright yellow figure on the right viewing platform.
Emperor Changxing was watching from the shore. Who dared to act recklessly like the year before last and seriously risk his life?
"Top five? That's too conservative." Someone chuckled: "I think the top three are fine."
cough!
Huo Qing coughed.
"The lengthened schedule is indeed beneficial to us to a certain extent, but it is also extremely limited. After all, our team was formed late and has not been well-integrated. Therefore, everyone should not aim too high, try to stay calm, and be sure to work steadily!"
He stared at the laughing teammates.
"You must remember that this is a protracted battle. Look at the brothers Xingluo and Zhennanguan. Don't be so frivolous and joking, let alone use up all your strength from the beginning."
Several people looked at Ren Ning and others, suddenly became solemn, and quickly responded in unison!
Huo Qing nodded with satisfaction.
"Huang Ming!"
He turned to the drummer and told the drummer: "You can play the drums as we trained before. Unless it's the final sprint, don't mess up your drumbeat just because we are temporarily ahead or behind."
During dragon boat racing, the rhythm of the rowers all follows the beat of the drum.
If the drum beats fast, they will row fast; if the drum beats softly, the rowers will be relatively relaxed.
"Your Majesty, I will remember it." Huang Ming nodded calmly.
Huo Qing gave a few more instructions and asked everyone to prepare.
Everyone quickly grabbed the oars, encouraged each other, and waited for the game to start.
Ren Ning took the time to look around.
Soon he was startled.
Coincidentally, Sun Ye, who was on track No. 3, looked over with a frosty face.
Their eyes met.
Ren Ning smiled, showing a mouth full of beautiful white teeth. Sun Ye was so angry that he trembled and almost bit off several other teeth.
However, the two teams were separated by two tracks and were far apart. Sun Ye had no choice but to turn his face away.
Ren Ning looked away, not caring about Sun Ye at all. Soon, his eyes fell on a huge and generous body.
Jin Wang Chen Xiulan was perhaps the most careless person in the entire canal.
He stretched his neck and looked at the girls on the river embankment. But the distance was too far, and there were more people on the river bank than sand, so he couldn't see clearly.
In the end, Chen Xiulan could only stare at the young chamberlain not far away, and touched her chin half-appreciatively and half-suspiciously.
Ren Ning broke into a bad sweat.
Could it be that Princess Jin in the family is too strict with this person? Now when I see the chamberlain, I feel that she has a pretty face.
Apart from Chen Xiulan, Ren Ning looked for Prince Qin, Prince Qi and other princes. After seeing clearly the track they were on, he silently withdrew his gaze.
After another inspection, officials from the Ministry of Rites inspected all the dragon boats and confirmed that they were correct.
"Get ready!" the waiter screamed.
Everyone pricked up their ears.
Beep!
A sharp whistle sounded.
The long embankment suddenly burst into flames. People cheered and cheered.
The palace, each interested in winning the championship, was well prepared. A large number of servants and guards lined up in long lines and shouted slogans in unison.
"Come on Prince Qin's Mansion!"
"Prince Qi's Mansion must win, and the championship will definitely belong to us!"
"Come on Seventh Prince Mansion, you are the best."
…
There is indeed power in large numbers, but there are always some individual voices that are particularly loud.
Ren Ning even clearly heard his wife's lark-like voice: "Come on, Duke of Zhenguo, come on, Mr. Xian!"
Boom, boom, boom!
The drums on the dragon boats began to beat fiercely. Several dragon boats rushed out in an instant.
Ren Ning is dedicated to three things.
He paddled calmly while listening to Huang Ming's drumming, and at the same time looked left and right to check on the other teams.
Before the whistle blew, the dragon boats on the four and six tracks next to him could not wait to jump several feet. Ren Ning's field of vision suddenly widened.
As expected, several capable teams did not rush forward impatiently to try to get a good start, but moved forward steadily and steadily.
But there are exceptions among lagging teams.
King Jin's dragon boat probably really couldn't catch up. The veins on the hands of the rowers popped out, and they were paddling even more, but the speed of the dragon boat just couldn't be increased.
Their drum beats were even more chaotic, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, and it sounded completely rhythmless.
After reading this, Ren Ning withdrew his gaze and concentrated on paddling the dragon boat.
If you sail against the current, you will retreat if you don't advance.
The Zhenguo Gongfu dragon boat rowed upstream at a steady speed without any hurry or slowness.
In the left viewing platform on the shore, Ji Xiang, who had finished placing his bets, crowded back to Ying Pan.
She was so anxious that she jumped up and down, "It's terrible. General, they are far behind."
"This is the beginning, why are you anxious?" Yingpan was very angry.
"It's not urgent yet." Jixiang disagreed.
There was no dragon boat race on the grassland, and this was the first time she saw it. But Jixiang felt that the dragon boat should be like a horse race. As long as one step is fast, every step will be fast!
For example, Ren Ning's Chasing the Wind and Lei Er's Running Thunder, as long as they start first, it is almost impossible for other horses to catch up.
"This is different." Yingpan couldn't laugh or cry, "Zhuifeng and Benlei are both top-notch horses. They are both extremely good in terms of speed and endurance. If they start first, it will be difficult for other horses to catch up."
"But dragon boat racing is different."
Yingpan pointed to several dragon boats in the distance.
"Those fast-rowing boats are like the native horses of Yunzhang. They are very fast at first but lack endurance. Soon they run out of strength and have to slow down."
"Our team is like Xiliang horses with steady legs. They may not seem to be running very fast at first, but they can run at a stable speed for a long time. Eventually they will catch up with the horses that slow down, or even surpass them.
"
Ji Xiang will be dubious.
She didn't know anything about dragon boats, but when Yingpan used horses as an example, she understood.
"It would be great if the dragon boat team could be like the improved horses, with the speed of the Yunchui horses and the endurance of the Xiliang horses." A sense of auspiciousness.
"It's not difficult." When talking about raising horses, Yingpan thought of her deceased father and her elder brother whose life and death were unknown.
She lowered her voice, "If all the dragon boat team members are from the Starfall Legion, it might be possible."
as expected.
Two or three miles after leaving the starting point, those dragon boats that were rowing forward in a hurry with all their strength at first, although still very fast, have gradually slowed down.
Ren Ning and other lagging dragon boats still have a long way to go before they can catch up. However, anyone who looks at it can see that the distance between the two sides is shrinking step by step.
Emperor Changxing looked away from the river and turned to the commander of the imperial army: "Zuo Fu, have you found out anything?"
He asked about the grease in front of the lighting booth.
"Your Majesty," Zuo Fu said with a face full of embarrassment, "I apologize for my incompetence. There is no definite news yet."
"Your Majesty." Ren Yi, who was waiting next to him, saluted: "There are many people of all kinds at the West Pier, and various situations may happen. Sir Zuo naturally puts the safety of Your Majesty and all the empresses first. Other matters can be postponed for the time being.
push."
Zuo Fu couldn't help but give him a grateful look.
Emperor Changxing nodded and looked back at the river. "The Forbidden Army will return and coordinate with the Jinlin Guards to find out this matter as soon as possible."