With the perfect success of the first arrow, Zhang Dingguo's confidence soared and his condition also reached its peak.
Immediately after, another nine arrows were shot in one go, and all nine arrows hit the target.
He did not know if it was because Zhang Dingguo was in such a good condition today, or that his excellent results yesterday had improved his archery skills, or that he was simply lucky. Anyway, what made everyone exclaim and cheer was that all ten of his arrows today actually hit the bullseye!
Even Zhang Dingguo himself felt that it was somewhat unbelievable. Could this be an exceptional performance?
To be honest, if Zhang Dingguo had not completely mastered the Golden Goose Skill, he would not have had an easy time today.
Winning or losing ten strings of coins was a small matter, but if he was careless and performed abnormally, it would be a big problem if he was eliminated!
Fortunately, the result was good, so there was no need to think too much…
As expected, after the third round of the exam, the first place was still Zhang Dingguo.
He had won first place in three consecutive rounds of examinations, and he had completed all of them with results that ordinary people could not achieve. This had directly made him famous in Shen 'du.
Moreover, as the advantages of being skilled in archery and riding became known to the world, the nickname of Travelling Deity, which had only been popular for three days, was no longer suitable. The residents of the capital, who lacked entertainment, were all discussing what nickname was suitable for Zhang Dingguo.
Perhaps Li Guang Jr. was a good choice?
However, compared to Zhang Dingguo's excellent results, the passing rate of the third round of the exam was unbearable.
Out of more than 300 people, only 15 of them passed.
Perhaps it was because Zhang Dingguo's results were too dazzling, causing the people who came out after him to face greater pressure and perform even worse.
In the end, out of the 200 or so people who came after him, only seven passed.
However, Zhang Dingguo would never admit that he had a problem with this. He could only blame himself for his poor mental fortitude. He could not blame anyone else...
Yang Zhi Zhi was very depressed now. Not only was he depressed that he had lost 20 silver taels, but he also felt that he had performed very well today, but he could only be second?
If he didn't get enough results in archery, which he was best at, and thus get the attention of the big shots in the military, he would definitely die in the last round of horse battles.
Although he was already a martial arts scholar after passing the first three rounds of the examination, the last round of horse battle was only to determine the ranking and determine the martial arts scholar. However, he still knew his limits. There was a high chance that he would not be able to defeat anyone in the last round.
In this way, even if he eventually obtained an official position, it would be difficult for him to be put in an important position without any connections.
However, what was the use of thinking too much now? It was better for him to obediently send the ten strings of money to Zhang Dingguo!
After all, with Zhang Dingguo's strong performance in the first three rounds, even if he made a mistake and did not get the title of Martial Arts Champion, he would definitely be put in an important position.
He already had no future, and if he offended someone else, he would have even less of a future…
That night, Wu Zetian, who had just finished dealing with government affairs, did not choose to rest. Instead, she called Xiao Qingfang, the Head of the Internal Guard Manor.
"Qingfang, how's the investigation going?”
"Your Majesty, I have already begun my investigation, but I have only found some written records. As for the specific situation, I will have to wait for the internal guards to go to Pengze County to collect information before I can make the final investigation results.”
It turned out that Wu Zetian had heard of Zhang Dingguo's deeds the day before yesterday after he had once again passed the second round of the martial arts examination in first place.
After he became interested, he instructed Xiao Qingfang to investigate Zhang Dingguo's background and life to prevent him from being an anti-martial force.
Today, she heard that Zhang Dingguo was skilled in archery and riding horses. He was simply the reincarnation of the Flying General (Li Guang). She was even more interested!
"Then tell me everything you've found!”
"Yes, Zhang Dingguo is from Pengze County, Jiangxi Province. His grandfather, Zhang Yufei, had joined the army during the years of Wude. He had first followed Li Weigong, then worked under Hou Junji. He had fought for twenty years and finally became a lieutenant. In the 17th year of Zhenguan, he was implicated in Hou Junji's case and lost his position. He had returned to his hometown.
His father, Zhang Tiejun, once served as a lieutenant in Haozhou. His brother, Zhang Anbang, was Zhang Tiejun's trusted aide. Both of them had died in a bandit suppression seven years ago.
As Zhang Dingguo was only thirteen years old seven years ago, there are not many records about him…"
After all, he was going to report to the emperor, so Xiao Qingfang had already explained as briefly as possible.
"Oh? He didn't expect her to be a loyal descendant. She was worth nurturing.
Qingfang, you have to quickly finish investigating Zhang Dingguo's matter. I'm still waiting to use it!
But remember, this matter must not be known to outsiders!”
Due to the lack of generals, Wu Zetian had not won many battles since she became emperor.
Most of the time, they relied on powerful military forces and sufficient logistics to force the enemy to retreat. It could not be considered a true victory at all.
Therefore, after discovering that Zhang Dingguo was a good general, he had developed a heart of love for talent.
If a general was really promoted in this martial arts competition, it could also indirectly prove that she was the legitimate emperor. She would win the hearts of the people and would be able to obtain the help of great talents.
Moreover, these generals were personally selected by Wu Zetian through the martial examination. They were equivalent to the direct forces of the Wu clan and had nothing to do with Li Tang.
Why did they risk the decline of the army's combat effectiveness to purge most of the old generals of the previous dynasty, especially Li Tang's imperial generals? To put it bluntly, wasn't it because they were afraid of rebellion?
Wu Zetian also understood the principle of political power coming from the barrel of a gun!
Therefore, in order to stabilize the regime, she could only let the relatives of the Wu family, or even her little lover, lead the army.
They didn't expect them to achieve much. They could only hold on to their foundations, or even not rebel and cause trouble!
However, the consequences soon appeared.
His poor performance in the outside world really made Wu Zetian, the emperor, lose face.
Therefore, Wu Zetian was anxious to cultivate generals who were completely loyal to her, and even invented the Military Examination!
He had thought that he would have to hold several martial arts examinations before he could gain anything. He did not expect to meet such a rare talent like Zhang Dingguo in the first martial arts examination. How could Wu Zetian be unhappy?
To put it simply, Zhang Dingguo was already in the Emperor's heart!
In order to personally witness whether Zhang Dingguo could successfully become the Martial Arts Champion, Wu Zetian even decided to personally host the last martial arts examination tomorrow, so that Zhang Dingguo could become a true disciple of the Emperor...
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