"Seriously!" Jiancheng, Wan'er, and Shimin brother and sister exclaimed at the same time. They looked at Li Xu again, only to find that although he was wearing a scholar's clothes, he had a decorated sword on his waist that could not even kill a hen.
, that frame and height definitely have nothing to do with the word "weak". I couldn't help but believe Liu Hongji's words, and there was a hint of admiration in my eyes.
"You can ask him if he has this problem!" Liu Hongji smiled slightly and struck while the iron was hot. Li Xu came from a humble background, which was a big shortcoming when he interacted with the children of Jiancheng, Shimin and other aristocratic families. However, after listening to him, he
People who did what he did on the grassland would never dare to look at him in an ordinary way again. Therefore, Liu Hongji believed that instead of letting his good brother owe a favor to beg Tang Gong, it would be better to turn around and let several of Tang Gong's disciples take the initiative.
Associating with Li Xu will be of great benefit to the good brother's current situation and future development.
Li Xu had never dealt with anyone in the officialdom, how could he understand Liu Hongji's good intentions? When he saw the Li brothers and sisters looking at him, he immediately blushed and explained hesitantly: "That is, that is in the two armies.
Before the battle, Xi Ren's defeat was already decided. I had no intention of using my sword, but I didn't expect to kill him anyway!"
"If you use the knife accidentally, you can chop the Khan's head off. If you use the knife intentionally, the whole grassland will be turned over for you!" Li Jiancheng clapped his hands in admiration, his face full of admiration.
"Come here, bring my leather armor to Brother Zhongjian!" Li Shimin shouted happily. He couldn't wait to get off the field and walk around with the opponent for a few times. He had been practicing martial arts since he was a child, and his talent was amazing, and he had already begun to see it after he was ten years old.
Now his skills are much higher than those of young men of the same age, and he could never find an opponent. When he went to compete with Tang Gong's guards, those guards would not dare to hurt the second young master. After three moves, they abandoned their weapons and surrendered. In the long run, Li Shimin's heart was unavoidable.
I have the feeling of loneliness. Today, a ready-made training companion finally came to my door. Of course, there is no reason to let it go easily.
The servant waiting next to him agreed and immediately ran down to get the leather armor. Li Xu couldn't resist it again and again, so he had to go behind the tree to take off his coat and hang it on the branch.
Outside the martial arts arena, there was originally a special room for changing clothes. Li Xu had never lived in a wealthy family, so how could he know the details of the royal family? According to the rules of country children playing fighting, he turned around behind a tree and took off his clothes. When his body was completely transformed,
It turned into a short game, and then I suddenly remembered that there was a wealthy lady standing on the martial arts field.
Immediately, his face turned even redder, and he looked like a cooked crab. But Li Waner was not annoyed. She held back a smile and looked at Li Xu's figure. She saw that he had broad shoulders and a broad back, with arms and waist. He looked better than when he was wearing a scholar's robe.
I don’t know how many times it is pleasing to the eye.
"I'm afraid the leather armor of the Second Young Master doesn't fit Young Master Li!" Li Shimin's personal companion ran over holding a suit of soft deerskin armor worn during martial arts training. He looked at Li Xu's frame and advised in a low voice.
"That's right, I was abrupt today!" Li Shimin looked at Li Xu again and sighed with regret. He had just heard that the other party had killed a khan outside the Great Wall, and he was eager to win. As the son of Duke Tang, he was so young.
It is obviously impossible to be allowed to go out to fight at a young age. But if you can beat Li Xu in one and a half moves in fists and kicks, it means that you can also kill the enemy general. This feeling is more comfortable than listening to hundreds of people flattering you.
many.
But now that he saw the opponent's figure clearly, Li Shimin immediately knew that he would definitely suffer a big loss in terms of strength. If he gave up his fists and competed with swords, Liu Hongji would not be able to survive if someone was injured. Just when he was hesitating whether to continue the competition, another
I heard Liu Hongji suggest from the side: "Why bother to compete with each other? There are ready-made targets here. You two can just shoot a round of arrows!"
"It's wonderful. If so, please give me some advice from Brother Zhongjian!" Li Shimin clasped his fists and said loudly. At this point, his contempt for Li Xu was gone, and he truly regarded this person as a competitive opponent.
"I don't dare, please give me some advice from the second young master!" Li Xu clasped his fists in return and whispered. The bow and arrow competition was exactly what he wanted. If the competition is about fists and feet, even if he loses intentionally, it will be easy for others to see his flaws.
Come on. As for bows and arrows, it's not just a matter of raising your hands to miss or hit the target. Let Li Shimin win once, just to please his father.
With this thought in mind, he went to the weapon rack and picked out a walking bow, and slowly adjusted the bow string. The thing used by the Li family siblings could not be defective. Although it was not as hard as the riding bow he was used to, it was
The stability and comfort when shooting the bow were even better than that of a riding bow. As soon as the bow was in hand, his panicked mood immediately calmed down, and his breathing and steps became even.
"What a spirit!" Li Waner secretly praised in her heart. Just now, the young man in front of her still had the image of a country boy who had never seen much of the world. With the bow in hand, his temperament changed drastically, and he vaguely looked like a veteran of many battles.
. And the Li family has less than fifty veterans who have served for a long time, and all of them are regarded as the family's treasures. If a young man can reach such a state when he is not yet a weakling, how can his future future be limited?
Thinking of this, Li Waner's eyes quietly moved to her eldest brother and second brother, and saw a look of surprise on their faces. Obviously, the two brothers were surprised by Li Xu's performance.
"Brother Zhongjian is a guest, so you should be invited first!" Li Shimin also picked a bow, adjusted the bowstring, and invited him seriously.
Naturally, the seventy-step target couldn't resist Li Xu, who had worked hard on the grassland for several months and had experienced the guidance of several top masters such as Sun Jiu, Aslan and the coppersmith. He gently stretched his arms and moved the target.
The bow was fully drawn. As soon as the finger was loosened, the arrow left the string. Immediately afterwards, the target in the distance made a loud "bang" sound, and an eagle feather fell steadily from the red heart.
"Okay!" Everyone cheered loudly, followed by the sound of a drum. Li Xu looked back and saw Wan'er waving a pair of drum hammers and playing a piece of music in the distance.
"Wait until I shoot!" Li Shimin said with a smile. He was willing to compete with such an expert in archery, even if he lost. After taking a closer look, he also let go of the arrow and shot it steadily seventy steps away.
Another target of red hearts.
"Okay!" Li Xu took the lead in cheering for Shimin. The other party was nearly two years younger than him and came from a wealthy family. It was indeed admirable to have such attainments in bows and arrows.
After the drums sounded, a servant ran up and carried the two targets back. Both of their arrows were in the red heart, so this round can only be regarded as a draw. Li Shimin looked at the target, then looked at Li Xu, and shouted loudly
Asked: "Brother Zhongjian, can you shoot farther?"
"I'm willing to give it a try!" Li Xu nodded and replied with a smile.
"Put the target at ninety paces!" Li Shimin ordered loudly.
Several servants pulled the arrows from the target and ran out quickly. In a moment, the target was placed ninety steps away. This time it was Li Shimin's turn to shoot first. After the arrow was shot, the wind happened to blow it.
Passed. The arrow couldn't help but tilted and hit half an inch from the red heart.
Even so, such a long distance is considered accurate. Everyone looked at it and cheered together. When the drums stopped, Li Xu also shot his second arrow. This arrow was very fast, but the accuracy was a little off.
After hitting the target, it was a few inches away from the red heart.
"No one hit the red heart, it's a draw again!" Before the servant could carry the target back, Li Shimin was the first to determine the result.
"I lost!" Li Xu lowered his bow and admitted in a low voice. He didn't want to defeat his master, so he deliberately missed the arrow.
"Tie, tie, miss, but it's the same!" Li Shimin, however, was not satisfied and shouted loudly. After taking a closer look at the target carried back by the servant, he smiled again and asked, "Brother Zhong Jian, can you shoot any better?
Far from it?"
Before Li Xu could refuse, Liu Hongji "betrayed" him again, "We encountered a bandit on the way back, and Zhong Jian shot the bandit leader's throat a hundred steps away!"
"Oh?" Li Shimin glanced at Li Xu meaningfully, as if he could instantly see through the other person's mind.
"Well, it was covered. We were outnumbered at that time, so we had to take the risk!" Li Xu quickly explained loudly. Liu Hongji's words confuse right and wrong. In the situation at that time, he and he were the bandits, and the pursuers behind him were clearly
Turkic officers and soldiers. He couldn't explain this to others. For a moment, his face began to turn red again, as if he was embarrassed by being praised.
"Put the target at 120 steps, and I will compete with Brother Zhongjian again!" Li Shimin ordered loudly.
The servant quickly ran forward and set the target with the feathered arrow one hundred and twenty steps away. This was already close to the corner of the martial arts arena. No one among the Li family's children had ever tried such a long distance. No one stopped
Wordy, I held my breath and watched the shooting. I was afraid that my breath would be too loud, which would affect the result of the game between the two.
After carefully examining the target, Li Shimin put down his bow. He raised his hand and picked out a piece of beautiful jade as big as his thumb from the boy's crown above his head. He handed it to his brother. He looked back at Li Xu and said loudly: "It's not fun to shoot like this."
, why not bet on the lottery, if you win, this jade will be yours!"
"No, no!" Li Xu waved his hands in panic. He was told by Du Erpu at Su Chuo Department about the common sense of identifying gems, and he could tell that the jade that Li Shimin placed in Li Jiancheng's hands was of top quality. A jade with such a texture could not be obtained.
In the grassland, it is worth at least a dozen horses. In the Central Plains, the value is even greater.
Li Shimin waved his hand and refused to say anything more to him. He fully drew the horned bow and shot an arrow first. The arrow was as fast as a meteor and hit an inch below the red heart with a bang. The tail of the arrow swayed back and forth a few times, and that was it.
Do not move.
At such a long distance, it was difficult for Li Xu to calmly make concessions. Just as he was hesitating whether to deliberately shoot an empty arrow that missed the target, he heard Li Shimin shouting again, "Brother Zhong Jian, don't worry.
If I lose, this piece of jade belongs to you. Where is your winnings? Maybe you think you can beat me!"
"Me?" Li Xu asked with his eyes widened. When he arrived, his package was hidden behind the saddle. But at this moment, the mount was placed somewhere by the Li family's servant. He wanted to take out a package from the package.
The prize was comparable to the piece of beautiful jade that Li Shimin brought, but there was not a single valuable item on him.
"How about we bet on the two swords on your and Brother Hongji's waists?" Li Shimin smiled and pressed.
"How can this sword be compared with the second young master's beautiful jade!" Li Xu hesitated and answered frankly. The swords on his and Liu Hongji's waists were all fakes bought on the road, and the two together were no more than three.
One hundred dollars, not to mention the piece of jade that Li Shimin took out, not even the jade seat on the boy's crown.
"The value of this sword is not in itself, but in its owner. If you lose, it means that you have lost Brother Hongji and your own weapon to me. From now on, you will only obey me and be driven by me." Li Shimin smiled again and looked serious.
explain.
Hearing this, Li Xu knew that Li Shimin had seen through his trick of deliberately admitting defeat in the second round, and secretly admired the sharp vision of the young man in front of him. In a dilemma, he turned his eyes to Liu Hongji, hoping that this thoughtful brother would make up his mind.
But he saw Liu Hongji looking towards him, his eyes full of encouragement.
"Brother Hongji wants me to win?" Li Xu's eyes widened a bit and he asked in shock. When he was a guest, he upset the host. In Yixian County where he grew up, there were no such rules for being a guest. But deliberately shooting someone
If he loses, he and Liu Hongji will become private soldiers of the Li family, and the price will be extremely high.
"Just what Erlang said!" Liu Hongji answered loudly as if he had seen through what Li Xu was thinking. He stepped forward and took off the sword from his waist, then picked up the sword that Li Xu had placed behind the tree, and held it to Li Jiancheng
On hand.
There was silence everywhere, and even the flowing clouds in the sky slowed down. Li Xu did not dare to hide his secrets anymore, carefully looked at the position of the target, and put the arrow on the bowstring. But he saw that the bow was opening as fast as the full moon.
The arrow rebounded and flew out with a whoosh. Immediately, there were thunderous cheers from everywhere, and Li Waner danced her hands and beat the drum hammer with a thunderous sound.
"Okay!" Suddenly, an old voice came from the distance, suppressing all the noise in the venue.
Li Xu turned his head when he heard the sound, and saw an old man with many wrinkles on his face, but a kind and kind-hearted man walking towards him quickly from a distance. (To be continued)
