The Great Song's Golden Court Posthouse, or the State Guesthouse, was located on the west side of the Forbidden City in Lin 'an City. This was the residence of Han Tuozhou, the prime minister of the Song Guangzong period, known as the South Garden.
During the Jiatai years of Emperor Guangzong of Song Dynasty, Han Tuozhou built a large-scale construction project to expand the South Garden and gather the beautiful scenery of lakes and mountains. After the renovation, there were three major landscapes in the South Garden: The first was the mountain scenery of the bamboo thatched cottage in the garden, the second was the famous ancient reading spring, and the third was the magnificent and exquisite ancient reading hall.
Lu You, a poet of the Southern Song Dynasty, once said in the Nanyuan Ji: "Since Shaoxing (1131 - 1162), the gardens of the princes and generals have looked at each other, and no one can compare with the South Garden."
From this we can see the grand view of the South Garden.
On this day, many people stood in the Golden Court of the Song Dynasty in Lin 'an City. They were tall and short, fat and thin, and their clothes were all strange. These people had been standing in the courtyard for almost two hours, but the master who had summoned them today still hadn't arrived.
Although autumn was almost over, it was still very hot and humid in the south in October. The few people wearing white fox fur hats and fox tails on their chests were already sweating. Even those wearing strange black hats and loose robes embroidered with Taiji patterns were sweating. Only the person who had shaved his hair into three locks and combed it into a bun at the back of his head, whose head looked like a toad with three doors, and who was wearing a very comical half-short, half-long, half-lapel robe, did not sweat.
In the inner part of the courtyard stood more than ten officials of the Great Song Dynasty. They were dressed in yew and had long feathered hats on their heads. On the other hand, they were calm and composed. Not only did they not sweat, but they were all standing there in high spirits.
People dressed differently were grouped together. In her own circle, she kept muttering something in a language that only she could understand.
When two hours were about to pass, a soldier shouted from outside the gate of the Golden Court Posthouse,"The Great Song Dynasty and the Nine Virtuous Kings have arrived…"
As he spoke, a handsome young man wearing a golden brocade robe and a golden crown walked into the Golden Court Inn. Behind the young man were several officials of the Great Song Dynasty, all of whom were in their forties. They were dressed in purple robes and had long hats.
The golden-robed youth walked into the Golden Court Inn and sat down on a rosewood armchair placed in the middle of the courtyard. The officials of the Great Song automatically stood on both sides. At this moment, another five people walked in from outside the door. One of them held a seal, one held a ceremonial flag (an honor guard used to represent envoys in ancient times), one waved a horsetail whisk, one held a sword, and the last one was a very handsome official with a tray in his hand. On the tray were the four treasures of the study. The five of them entered the courtyard and stood behind the golden-robed youth.
After everyone stood still, the person wielding the horsetail whisk in his hand said in a sharp voice,"The Great Song Dynasty stands side by side with the Nine Virtuous Kings. The Nine Virtuous Kings have received the envoys of the various countries on behalf of the Great Song Emperor.”The voice was sharp and piercing.
After a shout, the envoys from various countries knelt on one knee, covered their left chest with their hands and bent their bodies slightly, and some just lowered their heads. The golden-robed youth was unhappy when he saw this. He said to everyone,"Didn't your king or emperor ask you to practice the etiquette of the Great Song before you left? Are you all so arrogant, or is your country's king and emperor ignorant? Or do you not know the rules and etiquette at all?”After saying that, Ying Tianlong stared at those people with bright eyes.
It was unknown if the group of people did not understand Ying Tianlong's words, but they all stared at Ying Tianlong. After a stalemate, the leader of the crowd wearing a white fox fur hat said in stiff Chinese,""Your Majesty, this is how our country's court etiquette is. Whether it was to meet the emperor of our country or the emperor of the Great Song, they all bowed like this. I hope Your Majesty can forgive me.”
Then, the person in the nondescript robe with the three-door toad head said,"Our country only kneels when we kowtow to His Majesty the Emperor. Other than that, we don't kneel.”
"Hahahaha, Emperor? Hahahaha, there is only one heaven in the universe, and there is only one emperor in the world, and that is the emperor of our Great Song Dynasty. You are the ruler of a small country, and you still dare to call yourself emperor? Even the leader of the Mongolian cavaliers who wanted to destroy your small island only called himself the Great Khan. Khan, do you know what Khan is? The Great Khan was the name of a duke or a king. Where are the chamberlain and the minister of the Ministry of Rites?”Ying Tianlong said in a dignified voice," These envoys who don't understand the rules of the Great Song will be handed over to you. You will assign the people from the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Court to teach them the etiquette of the Great Song. When they have learned it, I will meet them again."”
"Yes."
"Here."
Just as the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites and the head of the inner court responded, someone in the courtyard shouted,"Your Majesty, please wait. Since ancient times, the winner is king and the loser is the bandit. We are here to discuss an alliance, your country should not make things difficult for us. In addition, I've long heard that your country has many capable people. Why don't you call out a few people to compete with me in this courtyard? If we are defeated, we will accept it wholeheartedly and leave it to the king to decide.”
Ying Tianlong looked at the Taiji symbol on the person's robe and pretended to be ignorant."Who are you, and which country's envoy are you?”
"I am the envoy of Korea, Piao Zhangzhu.”the man replied.
Dirty pig? What kind of f * cking name is this? No wonder they looked so strange. It turned out that they all liked to f * ck pigs. F * ck pigs, then f * ck them. Why did they have to f * ck dirty pigs? Ying Tianlong thought to himself. However, he could only hold back his words due to the 'diplomatic' situation. Otherwise, he might anger those dirty pigs.
"This Korean envoy, whatever dirty pig, is speaking on behalf of you?”Ying Tianlong no longer looked at the dirty pig. Instead, he stared at the envoys of the other three countries and asked.
After a moment of silence, Fox Hat, Three Gates, and the others said together,"We all have the same intention. We hope that Your Majesty will grant us your wish.”
" Hahahaha, hahahahaha, hahahaha," Ying Tianlong first burst into laughter before saying,""Arrogant, arrogant, unreasonable, and untrustworthy people, this king can promise you, but if you lose the competition, you have to completely respect the etiquette of my Great Song Dynasty and kneel before this king. At that time, if this king gives you face and you don't want it, then don't blame this king for being impolite. Each of your four countries can come up with three ways to compete. The winner will be decided by the best of three rounds.”
After Ying Tianlong finished speaking, the envoys from the other countries happily hid to the side to discuss. At this moment, a minister beside Ying Tianlong bent down and whispered to Ying Tianlong,""Your Highness, this matter concerns the reputation of the Imperial Court. What if we lose?”
"You're admitting defeat before the competition? No wonder our Great Song has always been defeated all these years. How can we not lose if we retreat before we fight, retreat before we advance, and lose before we plan? Hahaha, I'll make the decision today. I won't say that I'll win, but I definitely won't bring shame to my Great Song Dynasty. Men, call my guards in."
Following Ying Tianlong's shout, a group of people walked in from outside the Golden Court Dojo. All of them looked mighty and extraordinary. The twenty-odd people walked up to Ying Tianlong and cupped their fists."This subordinate pays his respects to your highness. If there is anything you need, please instruct me.”
"These arrogant people who don't know their limits have proposed to compete with the warriors of our Great Song Dynasty. Be prepared to compete in a while. All of you, remember this. This king will reward you for killing your opponent, but if you are injured by your opponent, then your death will come.”
"We don't dare to go against your highness 'orders, but if we are injured, we will kill ourselves to thank your highness.”
"En, prepare to go. Listen to this king's generals in a while.”
"Yes." More than twenty people replied in unison. This shout shocked all the envoys of those countries.
"Your Majesty, we have discussed and prepared. The first round will be a competition between our Korea and your country's samurai. In order to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings, our three samurai will learn from your country's samurai in weightlifting, archery, and martial arts.”Dirty Pig pretended to be a gentleman.
"Alright, but this king suggests that we change the order of the competition. First, we compete in archery, then in weightlifting, and finally in martial arts. This way, it looked better and more exciting. What do you think?" Ying Tianlong had his own plans in his heart, which was why he discussed with that dirty pig.
"As long as the content remains the same, the order is up to the king.”Dirty Pig replied. After saying that, he waved his hand and a person walked out from the group of people wearing strange little hats. The man was holding an iron bow and three arrows in his hand. Behind that person, another person walked to the middle of the courtyard with a birdcage in his hand. Then, he squatted down and pressed one hand on the door of the birdcage, staring at the person who was holding the bow and preparing to load the arrow.
Ying Tianlong held back his temper and listened to Dirty Pig's stiff Chinese. When he saw someone from the group walk to the middle of the courtyard, he waved at his guards. Immediately, a man dressed in ordinary black stepped out of the formation and came to the center of the courtyard. He had a bow on his back and a quiver hanging from his waist. In the quiver were ten featherless arrows that were shorter than ordinary arrows. The black-clothed man glanced at the two people in the middle of the courtyard, then drew six short arrows and casually took off the seemingly ordinary bow on his back.
The Korean archer didn't speak after he appeared. Perhaps he didn't know how to speak at all? He then stomped his foot, and the squatting man opened the small door of the birdcage, took out three little birds, and threw them high into the air.
The Korean archer pulled the bowstring, and three sharp arrows flew out of thin air, splitting into three directions and shooting at the three panicked little birds. At this moment, the man in black also pulled his bowstring. With two "pa" sounds, six short arrows flew away.
The three arrows fired by the Koreans were aimed at the frightened birds, while the arrows fired by the men in black were completely off course. Although the Koreans were surprised by the speed of the six arrows, they couldn't help but laugh when they saw the direction the arrows were flying in. As their laughter continued, the six short arrows in the air suddenly collided. Three of the short arrows changed direction and quickly shot down all the long arrows that the Koreans had shot earlier. The other three arrows flew towards the three little birds. The little birds seemed to be attracted by the arrows. They spread their wings and hugged the arrows, falling to the ground with the arrows.
Ying Tianlong ordered his men to pick up the three birds and examine them. The chamberlain reported himself and bravely walked over. When he picked up the short arrow and looked at it, he hurriedly said,"Your highness, your subordinate's archery skills are really good. The three arrows only pierced through the bird's wings and did not kill the little bird. Your Highness, we're definitely going to win this round."
"Hahaha, I'll have to trouble you to give them the arrows and birds. Let's see what they have to say.”
"Your Majesty, the archers of your country are indeed extraordinary. We admit defeat in this round. Next, we will compete in weightlifting.”The man who loved to play with dirty pigs did not explain how the weightlifting competition was going to be conducted. He walked back to his group. Then, a short Korean walked out of the crowd and walked straight to a large bronze cauldron in the middle of the courtyard.
The short black man walked to the bronze cauldron and saw that it was as tall as a person. It was square-shaped and tall. He estimated that this cauldron weighed more than 800 jin. After observing, the short black man bent down and did a horse riding squat. He held one of the legs of the bronze cauldron with both hands and then suddenly raised the bronze cauldron with a "hi". After he stood up straight, he slowly released his left hand and held the bronze cauldron high with his right hand.
Just as everyone was about to cheer and congratulate him, the short black man made another shocking move. He placed his left hand on his waist and held the bronze cauldron in his right hand as he slowly walked towards Ying Tianlong. The short black man carried the bronze cauldron and walked about ten steps until he was about twenty feet away from Ying Tianlong. When he was about to move forward, a few black-robed guards stepped forward to stop him. When Ying Tianlong saw this, he waved his hand and dismissed the black-robed guards. At this moment, the short man threw the bronze cauldron on the ground and cupped his fists at Ying Tianlong.
" Good shen power," Ying Tianlong took the lead and shouted."Not bad, not bad. I've seen people lifting a few hundred jin before, but this is the first time I've seen someone lifting a few hundred jin copper cauldron. It was easy to lift heavy objects, but it was difficult to lift this bronze cauldron. Haha, what godly power. There's no need to compete this round. This King admits defeat, hahahaha. If this warrior with divine power can still lift this cauldron and return it to its original position, this king will reward him with a hundred taels of gold. However, if it doesn't work, then forget it. Don't force yourself to hurt yourself.”
As the art of war says: avoid the enemy's edge and attack the enemy's weakness.
Lifting this bronze cauldron, even if there were several people on his side, it would be fine. However, if he really lifted it up and walked a few steps before putting it down like the short black man, it might be difficult. Best of three, why not let him win one round? However, even if he won, he couldn't let him win so easily. With a change of heart, Ying Tianlong had a plan. That was why he had said that.
The short black man could not understand Chinese. He heard Ying Tianlong speak, but he did not know what he was talking about, so he was stunned and did not know what to do. When the dirty pig saw this, he came over and translated Ying Tianlong's words for him. The short black man hurriedly turned around and cupped his fists at Ying Tianlong. He even said something that was unknown.
Dirty Pig translated for him again.""Your Majesty, our country's warriors are willing to lift the bronze cauldron back to its original position, but I wonder if the reward of 100 taels of gold that Your Majesty said is true?”
"What's wrong? Do you think this king's words are child's play? The person brought out a hundred taels of gold and placed it in front of the bronze cauldron. As long as the Divine Power Warrior raised the bronze cauldron again and put it back in the distance, he could take the gold.”Ying Tianlong said.
What was a hundred taels of gold? In the Great Song, those who owned gold were the rich, and that family was the rich. In Korea, one could be considered a tycoon among tycoons even if they had a hundred taels of silver, let alone a hundred taels of gold. Ying Tianlong's words stirred up the short man's dreams of being rich. If he won this hundred taels of gold, even if he lost ninety taels and was left with only ten taels, he would still be a rich man when he brought it home. Therefore, after hearing Dirty Pig's translation, the short black man wanted to raise the bronze cauldron again without thinking.
The short black man took a short break and walked confidently to the bronze cauldron. He stretched out his hands to try it, then raised the bronze cauldron again and turned around to walk back to where he had placed it.
If nothing unexpected happened, the short black man would definitely be able to lift the bronze cauldron back to its original position. Ying Tianlong concluded in his heart when he saw the short man's actions. However, why don't you guys go and visit me? Is my gold so easy to earn? Do you want me to lose another hundred taels of gold if I lose this round? No way.
At this moment, Ying Tianlong pretended to be surprised and stood up. After the short man took three steps, he pretended to be extremely nervous and covered his mouth with both hands. He crossed his fingers, placed his thumbs on his face, and covered his mouth with his index fingers pointing forward.
When the short man took his fifth step, Ying Tianlong's index fingers trembled. This movement was extremely light. If one did not stare at his index finger, one would definitely not be able to see that his two index fingers had trembled.
It was a leaf of a slightly yellowed sycamore tree in autumn. This kind of leaf could be seen everywhere in the south garden of the Golden Hall Posthouse in the Great Song Dynasty. It was this leaf. It was a leaf that had fallen from an unknown place. It seemed to have been suddenly blown by the wind. It danced in the air and floated towards the walking bronze cauldron.
No one would care about a leaf. Even if the leaves were blown up by a very strong wind, how strong could they be? Therefore, no one noticed the movement of the leaves or the existence of the leaves, because all their attention was focused on Black.
However, it was this leaf that gently stuck to the bronze cauldron. The bronze cauldron shook slightly. It was normal for the bronze cauldron to shake. Was it normal for a person to say that it did not shake when he was walking with it?
However, this shaking was not the same as the other shaking. The other shaking was the natural shaking when lifting the cauldron or walking. This kind of shaking was absolutely not dangerous. The shaking was not the case. It was caused by the leaf hitting the cauldron, and it was absolutely dangerous.
Originally, Ying Tianlong had wanted to warn the short man after using the Flying Leaf Picking Hand to send out a leaf. However, the change happened too quickly. Before Ying Tianlong could give a warning, the bronze cauldron weighing more than 800 jin had already tilted backwards and pressed down on the short man's back. It then smashed him onto the ground and turned him into a photo. Of course, the photo was partially painted red. Only the torso of the short black man was shown in the photo, not including his head and legs.
"Sigh, what a pity, what a pity. This king also reminded him not to force himself. If it doesn't work, then forget it. Don't force yourself. "Look, look, sigh…" Ying Tianlong said as he left his throne. He casually picked up a gold ingot and walked to the place where the short black man had fallen."Use this gold ingot to buy a good coffin for him to bury. Sigh, today is unfortunate. I think we shouldn't compete. No matter how many lives are lost, this king will not be able to explain to the emperor. What do you think?”
I don't know how those people will answer. Let's watch the next exciting content.
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