Near noon, a dozen riders came galloping from west to east, and the sound of hoofbeats enveloped the long street like a sudden rain.
Han Qian, Feng Yi, Kong Xirong, Li Chong, Qian Wenxun, deputy commander of the guard battalion and a member of the army, and the steward of the Hou Mansion welcomed them out of the Hou Mansion. They saw a group of carriages and horses galloping towards this side from the palace gate.
At present, dozens of horsemen were shouting loudly, cracking their whips in mid-air, and drove away the irrelevant people from the long street.
Soon a gorgeously decorated carriage, escorted by Guo Rong, Chen De and others, drove to the front of the Hou Mansion and stopped.
The carriage was covered with gauze curtains. Han Qian, Qian Wenxun, the custodian and others came forward to pay homage. He saw a plump, tall and pretty female official, opening the curtains from the carriage and reaching out to lead the young man behind him away.
Get off the carriage.
The third prince, Yang Yuanpu, looked a little pale, with his hands behind his back and biting his lip. He did not let the palace maid lead him out of the car. Instead, he stood froze in front of the car, looking at the people guarding the gate of the Hou Mansion. He seemed not to know what to do.
It was quite timid to deal with this large group of nominal subordinates in front of him.
Han Qian stood aside and saw that Feng Yi was about to yawn because he couldn't hide it. He knew that the timidity shown by the third prince Yang Yuanpu at this time made him a little disappointed.
"Feng Yi, the Minister of Household Affairs, Feng Wenlan, Han Qian, the son of the Secretary-General Han Daoxun, the deputy commander of the Zuo Shenwu Army, Kong Xirong, the son of the loyal general Kong Zhou, and Li Chong, the son of Xinchang Bo Li Pu, will all be your companions and dispatches in the future -
—Master Marquis, you must also get close to the four of them in the future..." Guo Rong got off his horse, cleared his sharp throat, and introduced Han Qian and others to the third prince Yang Yuanpu.
Kong Xirong always only followed Feng Yi's lead. Feng Yi stood there and didn't move, and he didn't move either.
Han Qian was also calm. When he saw the female official, he secretly pushed the third prince Yang Yuanpu, as if urging him to say something, but the third prince Yang Yuanpu's expression became stiffer at this moment, as if he had been licked by a poisonous snake.
Similar.
When Han Qian saw this scene, he thought of what Feng Yi had just said. Except for Chen De, the commander of the guard camp, everyone else around Yang Yuanpu was appointed by Anning Palace. It seemed true.
The atmosphere became a bit cold during the worship service in front of the gate of the Hou Mansion.
The commander of the guard battalion, Chen De, was tall, handsome, tall, strong, and quite heroic. However, he was related to the imperial concubine Wang and his wife. At this time, he was only a small battalion commander. He was either severely suppressed by Anning Palace, or he was
As Feng Yi said just now, this person is not worth relying on.
Seeing that Han Qian and others were not enthusiastic enough towards the third prince Yang Yuanpu, Chen De raised his eyebrows and said to the third prince Yang Yuanpu:
"Your Highness hasn't seen your own Marquis Mansion yet. It's hot outside. Your Highness should go to the Marquis Mansion to rest. If you need anything, you can wait until you enter the Marquis Mansion to tell us..."
The crowd gathered around the third prince Yang Yuanpu as he entered the Hou Mansion.
At this time, Han Qian and the others were allowed to follow them into the inner house.
There are more chamberlains and maids waiting in the inner house, and the area is larger. There are dozens of overlapping courtyards, but they are still crude and far from the winding paths and charming scenery of the late red building.
To the north of Linjiang Marquis Mansion, there is an empty and somewhat desolate garden, with about 11 or 12 acres of land, not much smaller than Linjiang Marquis Mansion.
The garden was surrounded by wooden fence walls. Han Qian looked at the ruins in the garden. It should have been a small military camp before.
The garden serves as the daily training ground for the Hou Mansion's guard camp. The guard camp's quarters and stables and other buildings are built in the northeast corner of the garden. There are passages leading to all parts of the Hou Mansion, so that in case of a police situation, the soldiers can
The sword-wielding bow can provide reinforcements to every corner as quickly as possible.
The third prince, Yang Yuanpu, was not in high spirits. He had a hasty meal with everyone, talked for a while, and became bored, so he went to the back garden to watch the generals in the guard camp drill.
Although Emperor Tianyou encouraged the royal children and princes to practice riding and shooting diligently, the third prince was raised in palace confinement since childhood and had no chance to touch swords and bows.
When he saw the guards practicing archery in the back garden, Yang Yuanpu's eyes showed interest for the first time, but he timidly asked Guo Rong: "Master Guo, can I also do archery?"
"General Chen is the cavalry and archery master appointed by His Majesty to His Highness. Whether His Highness can shoot arrows, you have to ask General Chen." Guo Rong turned a blind eye to the caution shown by the third prince Yang Yuanpu in front of him, and ignored this matter.
Recommended to the guard battalion commander Chen De.
"Your Majesty, the imperial concubine has ordered that Your Highness come to the palace originally to learn riding and archery. Your Majesty will also test His Highness's riding and archery practice from time to time in the future - Not only can His Highness be able to shoot today, but he will also be able to eat in the future.
Please work hard and don't disappoint His Majesty." Chen De had already prepared, and immediately asked someone to prepare a beautifully made hunting bow, rearranged the target, and asked the third prince Yang Yuanpu to test it.
Perhaps it was more than an hour of contact. Han Qian and others showed restraint and showed due humility and caution. They asked the third prince Yang Yuanpu to regain some confidence. He took the hunting bow Chen De prepared for him and tried pulling it twice.
He asked Han Qian and the others: "Can you all know how to shoot arrows?"
"Of course we have all learned it." Feng Yi said with some pride.
"Then you shoot it for me first." Yang Yuanpu said, first replacing the hunting bow in his hand with the tall and powerful Kong Xirong.
Among the four people including Han Qian, Kong Xirong was the sturdiest and the son of the general Kong Zhou. Yang Yuanpu wanted to see how his archery skills were first.
Kong Xirong took the hunting bow, pulled two of them, and said with disdain: "This bow is too soft. I'll change it to a boxwood long bow, and I'll show it to Your Highness."
Chen De frowned slightly, but still motioned to his men to take off the big boxwood bow he was carrying and give it to Kong Xirong.
This special boxwood bow in the army requires one stone and five fights to fully draw.
There are one hundred and twenty strong soldiers in the Hou Mansion's guard camp, and everyone is equipped with this bow. It can be seen that in order to protect the personal safety of the prince, no one dares to tamper with the selection of guards.
Kong Xirong was extremely powerful. The big boxwood bow used by the guards was just enough for him. He took out three arrows and walked to the target one hundred and twenty steps away. The three arrows hit the target one after another to show his extraordinary arrows.
He gave Han Qian the big boxwood bow and asked, "Do you want to use this bow to shoot arrows?"
Han Qian smiled bitterly and said to Yang Yuanpu: "I don't dare to compete with Kong Xirong in archery. Your Highness, please lend me this bow."
Han Qian could barely draw the boxwood bow now, but if he could barely draw the bow string to its full length, how could he be accurate?
The range of a longbow is directly related to the power of the bow when the string is fully drawn. A bow with one stone can shoot an object 120 to 30 paces away.
Han Qian took the hunting bow from the third prince Yang Pu. It was a soft bow with no more than four or five fighting strengths. He walked fifty steps away and shot three arrows in succession.
Although all three arrows hit the target, his archery skills were still far from being comparable to Kong Xirong who hit the target with a strong bow 120 paces away.
Feng Yihuang was very playful, mainly because he didn't like reading and had a volatile temperament, but he was no stranger to horseback riding and archery. In the era when martial arts was at its peak, outings and hunting were also one of the most common recreational activities for young men from aristocratic families.
Feng Yi picked up his hunting bow and hit the bull's-eye with all three arrows fifty steps away. His archery skills were much better than Han Qian's.
Li Chong wanted to keep his accuracy and did not dare to draw the boxwood bow too full, so he shot an arrow at about a hundred steps, but all the arrows hit the red heart, which made the guards cheer.
Although these 120 elite guards are all said to be good at archery, only three or five of them can achieve this level. Li Chong is worthy of being a general.
Li Chong raised his brows, and when he handed the boxwood bow to the guard beside Chen De, he raised his head and looked at Han Qian, looking proud to show off.
Han Qian ignored Li Chong. He noticed that the eyes of Linjiang Marquis Yang Yuanpu showed envy and excitement at this time, but his fists were clenched against the outside of his thighs, as if to suppress the envy and excitement in his heart.
Suppress it.
Han Qian suddenly thought: Linjiang Marquis Yang Yuanpu knew that Li Chong would come to him before, and he was also looking forward to Li Chong coming to him?
Han Qian was shocked by his discovery...
"My archery skills are far behind yours. I will learn from you in the future."
The third prince Yang Yuanpu may not have known how many secrets he had revealed with his little move just now. He took back the hunting bow from Han Qian and said as if he was looking for a step for himself first.
His body is far from mature, his speech is a little childish, and his strength is much less than Han Qian. He can only stand thirty steps away and draw the hunting bow halfway, and he also imitates Han Qian and others to shoot three arrows quickly, but
All three arrows missed the edge of the target.
Looking at the way he holds the bow, we also know that he has never had the opportunity to touch bows and arrows before.
Yang Yuanpu handed the hunting bow to Chen De and said, "General Chen, come and teach me archery."
Chen De was the riding and archery master assigned by Emperor Tianyou to Linjiang Marquis, and since Han Qian and the others were accompanying the prince, they naturally had to learn riding and archery from Chen De.
Feng Yi and Kong Xirong were standing aside with their arms folded, as if they wanted to see if Chen De was qualified; Han Qian was observing the little moves between Li Chong and Linjiang Marquis Yang Yuanpu, intentionally or unintentionally...
Linjiang Marquis Yang Yuanpu knew beforehand that Li Chong would be at his side, which Han Qian did not expect.
Linjiang Marquis Yang Yuanpu knew about Wan Honglou's plot, or could it be said that the people around Linjiang Marquis Yang Yuanpu were directly involved in Wan Honglou's plot and told Yang Yuanpu that he could trust Li Chong?
Han Qian is more inclined to think it is the latter.
Linjiang Marquis Yang Yuanpu is still too young, and he has been restricted in the palace since childhood. He cannot hide anything in his heart. It is difficult to imagine that he was directly involved in the conspiracy of Wanhonglou. But if someone else told Linjiang Marquis that Yang Yuanpu could be trusted
Li Chong, who could this person be?
The mother of Linjiang Marquis, Mrs. Wang who has just been canonized as a concubine?
After all, growing up in such a complex environment of palace confinement, Linjiang Marquis Yang Yuanpu was timid and suspicious. Apart from Mrs. Wang, Han Qian could not think of anyone whose words could convince Linjiang Marquis Yang Yuanpu.
At this time, Chen De held a boxwood bow and stood a hundred steps away and shot three arrows. All of them hit the bull's-eye and won applause from the guards. It seemed that he was not as incompetent as Feng Yi scorned him.
However, Han Qian's mind was a little dazed at this time. He really didn't know how mysterious, complicated and huge the forces behind Wanhong Mansion were. They had already involved the Marquis of Xinchang, Lipu and the Concubine Wang. However, if he thought about it carefully,
Thinking about it, if Marquis Xinchang, Li Pu, and the Concubine Wang's wife had not been involved in causing trouble, what confidence would Wan Honglou have in what he could do with Marquis Linjiang?
At this time, Han Qian realized what a risk it was for him to go straight to the Wanhong Mansion for a showdown. It was really a fate to be able to walk out of the Wanhong Mansion alive.
