Chapter 14: Do not judge success or failure by winning or losing
The competition under the barren hills was fierce, with archery, weapons, weightlifting, and now a multi-person melee taking place one after another.
These battles were fought with real swords and guns, and everyone fought tooth and nail.
Even though Mrs. Wu had said not to hurt anyone, these people still suffered a lot of injuries, most of which were self-inflicted. They were naked, holding weapons in their hands, with blood dotting their bodies, and their untidy faces were ferocious and blazing.
It's very scary under the light.
But I don’t know if it’s because the businessmen throw silk flowers on the stage from time to time, or because every time after finishing his beard, Xiang rushes to Mrs. Wu and asks for rewards, and Mrs. Wu will also give him gold, silver and jewelry.
Then Xiang Qiubeard would hold these gold and silver jewels and show them off proudly under the barren hills, causing the audience to cheer wildly.
This atmosphere is not scary at all.
Many losers hid their faces and left. Some losers sat on the ground to rest. Maybe they were too tired and injured and never left. Mrs. Wu did not drive them away and asked the guards to give them medicine to stop the bleeding.
Medicinal powder and wine and meat.
Seeing Mrs. Wu treating them like this, many businessmen who took part in the fun also brought wine, meat, food, and new clothes. They had torn off the previous ones and threw them somewhere, and now they were all naked.
From the beginning to now, dozens of people have challenged Xiang Qiubeard, and none of them have been defeated.
Lao Hu looked at the young man on the stage who was arrogant like a big rooster: "This kid does have some skills, he is not just a showman."
Wu Ya'er is not interested in showing off. No one is dead here, so there is no way to tell the winner. It's all a sideshow.
But the atmosphere of this scene was so alluring that Old Hu couldn't help but feel itchy: "Dahei, go up and beat this kid down, and then you can get in front of Mrs. Wu."
And then, he took a glass of wine from her and poured it on his head?
Wu Ya'er looked at the woman sitting on the barren hill. The lights around her were bright, but she was always hidden in the darkness. There were guards scattered around, all five steps away. There was a guard holding an umbrella behind her, but he also stopped her.
But he stretched out his hand.
He could reach out and hold this woman's neck.
Under the barren hill, Xiang Qiu, covered in wine and blood, started shouting who else was dissatisfied, but this time no one jumped out.
Lao Hu stretched out his hand to poke Wu Ya'er. Wu Ya'er stood motionless, so what if he held the woman's life. His mother's life had already been held by someone. If his mother's life could not be saved, he would hold on to another person for dozens of times.
What use is human life?
If his mother is gone, these lives are not in his eyes.
It's just that now that his mother is still here, and she's still here for a day, he can't just ignore her. It's him who's being held by the neck.
Wu Ya'er turned around and squeezed out, but Lao Hu hadn't appeared yet. Seeing that no one answered the challenge, Wu Ya'er rushed to shoot Wu Ya'er, causing the others to scream in pain.
After asking Qiubeard three times, no one came to fight him. He turned around and ran towards Li Minglou: "Mrs. Wu, Xiang is worthy of your gift of the sword."
The people around him cheered together. The lively competition they saw tonight made them believe that Xiang Qiu's beard is worth no less than a sword, wine and meat.
Li Minglou picked up the treasures around him and threw them to him. Xiang Qiubearded sat at her feet and covered himself with the jewelry, laughing.
Li Minglou looked at the foot of the barren hill again: "I want to see some strong men."
After resting under the barren hill for half a day, the dozen or so people who had no reason to leave now that the matter was over were a little surprised and puzzled when they heard this.
Li Minglou had already called out the person's name.
"Qi Xieyang, your horse-riding and archery skills are second only to Xiang Qiubeard."
"Liang Gu, you are extremely powerful. You were the first to lift the heavy stone. If you hadn't accidentally dropped it to avoid being hit by others, you wouldn't have put down the heavy stone so early."
"Wang Qi, you were the one who stabbed Xiang Qiubeard on the shoulder. Thank you for remembering and not hurting him until now, but this also restrained your sharp sword."
Listening to Li Minglou's words, the dozen or so people went from surprised to shocked to excited, and some even had red eyes.
Mrs. Wu did not treat them as a sideshow.
Mrs. Wu didn't just look at the curly beard.
Mrs. Wu could actually understand their skills, both revealed and hidden.
The person whose name was read came over without hesitation. Li Minglou asked someone to take out the treasure and asked very simply: "Are you willing to protect my safety?"
More than a dozen people did not expect this result, and there was no reaction for a moment. They did not immediately ask for the sword, wine and beauty like Xiang Qiubeard did.
They are the losers.
Why accept the defeated?
"After the defeat, you didn't leave immediately." Li Minglou said.
These words made these people blush with embarrassment, and they jumped up and smashed the treasures in their hands to the ground.
"Young lady, are you taking pity on us?" a man shouted, "Although the government and the people don't like us, the rangers, we don't need charity to survive."
"You didn't leave immediately after the defeat because you were not discouraged by defeat." Li Minglou said, "You came to challenge sincerely. You can't afford to lose even if you compare. People who can afford to lose are sometimes more powerful than those who can win.
.”
How can you say this? Although these people are still blushing, they can no longer lose their temper.
"Young Madam, we are no better than Xiang Qiubeard, Young Madam wants us to be useless." A man said numbly.
There was a smile in Li Minglou's voice, and Xiang Qiubeard had a bad premonition. Sure enough, he heard Li Minglou say the familiar words: "You alone can't compare to Xiang Qiubeard, what about two of you together? Three or four
How about a dozen of them together?”
Xiang Qiubearded jumped up and said: "This is against the rules! This is not a march or a military camp. It cannot be treated like this."
Li Minglou ignored him and said: "Although I am not asking you to march and fight, I am asking you to protect my own safety. A person's power is always limited. Do you want to fight the masters from the other side one by one?"
I don't care what your rules are. As long as I live, you all have your own strengths and weaknesses. You lost to Xiang Qiubeard because of your weaknesses, but I want to use your strengths. Is there anything wrong with that?
"
There was nothing wrong, and the people cheered. Mrs. Wu was such a kind and amiable person. She never saw other people's faults, but only saw their good points and difficulties.
More than a dozen people could not speak anymore. Li Minglou stood up and saluted them again: "Please help me."
The truth was explained, the etiquette was established, and the treasures were given. If they refused, they would no longer be free and uninhibited knights, but would become sour Confucians who were seeking fame and reputation. A dozen people raised the treasures one after another.
Li Minglou was very happy, so it was his custom to invite the people present today to drink and eat meat together. The merchants who had prepared long ago took out their drinks and delicacies and sold them to Mrs. Wu, and there was great joy all over the barren hill.
The knights who had just become Mrs. Wu's disciples were invited by the people, while Xiang Qiubeard dominated the Li Ming Tower.
"Master Xiang, why do you have to work so hard?" Li Minglou said, looking at the young man standing with his back to him.
The firelight shone on the young body under the silk silk, which was covered with scars, and blood stains cracked on the strong breasts.
He fought dozens of people by himself. Although it was not a battle between two people fighting each other like wheels, no matter how the situation changed, he participated in every battle and tried his best to win.
Victory always comes at a price.
He turned back to his beard, with a bright smile on his handsome face: "The young lady gave me the sword, and I will make the young lady's face shine, and let all the heroes in the world come to join you."
He swaggers around the city every day, maybe to attract more rangers.
Li Minglou said: "You work really hard."
Xiang Qiubeard said: "Of course you have to work hard, and you have to work hard to live."
Li Minglou lowered his eyes, right? She never worked hard in that life and lived in vain. So she should work hard in this life. With a pop, it turned out that Xiang Qiu's beard fell in front of her.
Fang Er stepped forward and took a look: "I don't have any strength anymore. It would be better to fall asleep."
There was a lot of joy up and down the barren hills, and it was not surprising that there were drunk and sleeping people mixed in. Li Minglou looked beyond the joy and looked further into the distance. In the night, the undulating walls were vaguely visible.
Wu Ya'er put his hand on the wall. The wall was not high and could just cover the top of people's heads. He reached out and picked out a piece. It was a mixture of soil, mud and grass. He raised his hand to support it, and his feet were about the size of a wooden bench from the ground.
The height immediately broadens the view.
Wu Ya'er put one hand on the earthen wall, stepped on the wall with one foot, and raised the other hand back, making a gesture of drawing a bow and shooting an arrow.
This is not a city wall that gives the people peace of mind, it is a city wall that can be defended and attacked.
Crouching down can avoid the thousands of arrows coming from outside, and stepping on the stepping stone can shoot thousands of arrows outside.
"Isn't it nice?"
A female voice suddenly asked from the other side.