Chapter 34: The maid of honor shocked the general, and Xu Yu fought against He Pan

In March, alarms came from three directions in the new city, and the situation was pressing.

In the east, Tanma came back from the hinterland of Central Asia and reported that the Mongolian army had been broken through Xincheng and Shalai, and they were preparing to take them back. Zhao Jin paid great attention to the news. He took out the map of the new city drawn by Li Tu, discussed with the generals, and decided to build a barrier in Cangling, a key pass east of the Ural River, as a barrier to the new city and send troops to stick to it.

In the west, General Lu Yi led 300 tourists out of the patrol and found Dongsi soldiers and horses in the west of the new city. It was found that there were about a thousand troops of the Duchy of Mogiglio and the vassal country of Taranbu.

It turned out that since Grand Duke Templudorf returned to China, he had fun day and night with his wife Luo Lei Jiawa. After a winter, he was satisfied and remembered the big fat meat in the new city and sent a small army to test it first.

The deer are quite brave, and they have to lead the army into the enemy camp and defeat it with one spirit. General Lin Mi, a fellow general, hurriedly stopped and said, "No. It is appropriate to report to the lord and make a decision. So the deer returned to the city to report to Zhao Jin. Zhao Jin summoned the generals to ask questions. He Anping said, "In order to accumulate strength to resist Mongolia, our army is bound to take the countries east of the Volga River. Now that our army hasn't picked it up yet, the other army came first. Our army should show weakness, don't show strength, make him careless, and take convenience in the future. Zhao Jin nodded: "It's very good."

The Volga and Ural rivers are the names of later generations. Just like the world's largest lake, it is called the Sea in later generations, and this era is called Kuandian Guisihai. However, due to Zhao's advocacy, the Rebels have now uniformly used the names of later generations to identify important place names, which is convenient and clear.

The Volga River is the largest river in Eastern Europe, flowing into the Black Sea; the Ural River is the Asia-Europe boundary river, which flows into the Sea; these are two famous rivers with wide surface and abundant water. The new city is located in the middle of the two major rivers, so the idea of the Rebel regime is to control the area between the two rivers, and the two rivers can be used as a national defense barrier in the future.

The Principality of Mogilio, the Marquis of Tarangbu and other countries are located east of the Volga River, not far from the new city. These countries are collectively known as "Hedong Kingdoms" by the Rebels, which is the next target that the Rebels want to attack after the North. Now, according to He Anping's suggestion, the rebels showed weakness to the attacking enemy, did not fight, and let them plunder some horses and livestock.

Many soldiers were angry and didn't understand why the general did this. Now it is the season when the snow melts and the grass is tender. There are two medium rivers to the west of the new city, which is very easy to graze. As a result, Qianqi's long hair rushed to him and robbed a lot of things.

Zhao Jin couldn't explain more to the generals and made a secret plan for future development. At this time, I heard that there was also a situation in the south. It was the people of the Illi Khanate! Zhao Jin was shocked because he didn't expect that the Illi Khanate would also pose a threat to here.

The Illi Khanate is one of the four khanates in Mongolia and was founded by Hulagh, the younger brother of Kublai's father and mother. More than 20 years ago, Xu Liegu and the timid general Guo Kan led an army into West Asia, destroyed the Abbasid dynasty, a powerful country that had been passed down for 500 years, and founded the Illi Khanate. Because of the closest blood relationship between Xu Lieu and Kublai Khan, the Erli Khanate became the closest country to the Yuan Dynasty among the four khanates. Although it is far away from both ends of Asia, it still often exchanges with envoys. In 1265, Xu Liegu died, and his son Abahai succeeded to the throne. He was not crowned by the Yuan Dynasty and was not known as a regent. Kublai praised Ababa's loyalty very much and sent an envoy to grant Ababa as the king of Illi Khan and gave him a Chinese character gold seal "the treasure of assisting the country and the people".

Now it is 1280 years old, and Aba is nearly half a hundred years old. He is in poor health and his ambition is restrained. However, when he heard that the new city and Sarai of the Golden Horde had been lost, he still sent troops to check. The Illi army passed through the vassal state of Azerbaijan, and couldn't help but disturb and plunder along the way. When they went out of the iron gate and arrived at Shalai, they saw a piece of scorched earth, and then marched north.

The Rebel rider met the Eli army and did not dare to despise it, and immediately rushed back to report to the general. Zhao Zhen was shocked and ordered the whole city's soldiers and civilians to enter the highest guard. For a while, there were tens of thousands of people on duty on the walls of the new city day and night.

The Ilili army came to the city and stopped for a few days. It was estimated that the force was not enough to attack the city and retreated by itself. Although this battle did not start, it made the city very nervous.

For this reason, Zhao Jin planned to build two new Acropolises south of the new city, so as not to surprise the people when the enemy invaded the south. So Zhao Yu thought for a while and issued an order: He Anping led a team of military horses to survey the terrain to the south and prepare for the construction of the Acropolis; ordered Wuda to lead a team of military horses to the east to be responsible for the construction of the Cangling Pass; he ordered Lu and Li Gui to lead the army and civilians in the two rivers west of Anhan - named Daxing River and Xiaoxing River - that area to engage in reclamation. Liu Shang and Gao Jinghe led the army and civilians to graze on the grassland east of Anhan.

Now the regime has just begun to develop, with many affairs and a shortage of talents. Zhao Jin remembered two old friends in Yunnan and Hainan and thought that he should invite them over and come here to help. Yuzhen and Xi Peacock can lead troops in war; Kuer is a good relative; Guan Hanqing can engage in cultural undertakings; Huang Daogu is really a trump card for improving productivity! Zhao Jin had been thinking for a long time, and there happened to be a good candidate - Che Chuerliang. Zhao Jin then ordered Che Chuerliang to lead more than 20 strong soldiers, pretended to be businessmen, rode on horses, took Persia and India, and moved their deceased to Yunnan and Hainan! Che Chuerliang took the order and left.

Zhao Yu also thought that the situation is pressing, and now we should choose talents in an informal manner. How to select? The exam is a more intuitive way! Of course, it's not a written exam, but a manual exam! The selection of generals through the exam is just a chance to advance to the latent heroes who failed to perform during the uprising.

So Zhao Jin issued an order that anyone who wants to be a general, regardless of origin or ethnicity, whether he has joined or not joined the Rebel Army, can come to take the exam!

The news spread, and the whole city was sensational. Tens of thousands of people rushed to the campus to see what kind of exam it was! The heroes from all walks of life are even more eager to try, and they all want to take a general's seat in one fell swoop to show their ancestors.

But as soon as I got to the school and heard about the exam questions, more than 90% of the heroes suddenly retreated. It turned out that the test question was to compete with the general's general's general, He Pan.

The name of He Pan is like thunder! Almost everyone in the new city knows that he is the number one strong man in the Rebels. Even if you don't know it, when you come to the campus and see his powerful appearance, you also have an intuitive understanding. Lord He Pan, with a head like a dragonfly, eyes like a copper bell, a round waist, wearing a large armor, as if he could not support the bulge of the muscles inside, with a pair of big hammers in his hand and a big horse with his feet on his feet, which was majestic! ...Who? Who can beat this He Pan?

It doesn't matter! Zhao Jin also knew that it was difficult to fight against He Pan, so the examination questions were arranged as follows: if he could fight more than five in combination with He Pan, that is, he would be awarded a tooth general; if he could fight more than ten in combination, he would be awarded a general; if he could fight more than 20 in combination, he would be awarded a partial general. Zhao Jin didn't expect anyone to beat He Pan. If there were, he would have found out these days when he ruled the new city.

The soldiers and civilians looked at He Pan's heroic posture, both feared and excited, and were very interested in seeing who could take a general from under He Pan's hammer. A few strong men weighed their strength and felt that although they could not defeat He Pan, it was always okay to top a few rounds, right? Five rounds of teeth will be done, which is not bad. So they dared to sign up for the exam.

In this way, the five-day exam kicked off, and the campus was crowded and lively.

On the first day, more than 20 people took the exam; on the second day, it plummeted by half; on the third day, only two people signed up; on the fourth day, He Pan only received one business; on the fifth day... Zhao Jin waited on the stage from morning to noon, and he didn't wait for a single candidate.

This is not surprising. It's all because He Pan's hammer is too heavy, weighing 90 pounds. He roared fiercely and extremely powerfully. Candidates often shake his hands and roared deafly in the first round, and he was unable to fight again. The people behind saw that the people in front of them were embarrassed and naturally had stage fright. Until the fifth day, no one could receive ten moves from He Pan. Only three people in total passed the fifth round, and Zhao Jin pulled them out as promised.

Today is the last day. He Pan waited on the sidelines and sat on his two big hammers. He was bored and closed his eyes to refresh himself. Zhao Jin discussed martial arts with the generals on the stage. From knife skills to marksmanship, from marksmanship to halbership, he ate a basket of lunch sent by six sisters, but he still didn't see the candidates sign up. He couldn't help thinking, "It's almost over. Isn't there anything cold?"

At this time, there was a shout from below: "The general is on! The little man came to take the exam and dared to ask Lord He Pan for advice!" Zhao Jin's eyes lit up and stood up and looked down. He was a medium-sized man, not amazing, and the weapon in his hand was also a pair of hammers.

He Pan shouted, "Who came, report it!"

The man bowed and said, "Little man Zheng Tongfu, see you."

He Pan shouted again, "Come on! Do you want to ride or walk?

Zheng Tongfu said, "The little man is not good at horsemanship, and he is willing to fight with adults."

He Pan grabbed the hammer: "Step by step! Come here!"

Zheng Tongfu should. The large field was used for riding and small field for the battle. The two walked to the center of the designated small field. He Pan shouted, "You go!"

Zheng Tongfu didn't go up, carefully weighed, and stood up the hammer to prepare for the fight. Seeing that he didn't go up, He Pan grinned, danced the two big hammers in his hand a few times, rushed forward with an arrow step, raised the hammer and hit it! Zheng Tongfu raised a hammer to welcome each other. The four hammers touched each other, and there was a muffled sound, which was particularly heavy, shocking the crowd outside the field. Previously, several candidates blocked a hammer and vomited blood and fell to the ground and were carried off the field. Everyone looked at Zheng Tongfu again and saw that he was well.

Zheng Tongfu took a hammer, took a step back, shouted in a low voice, and circled to the right side of He Pan. He Pan turned around and swept from left to right with two hammers. Zheng Tongfu blocked him, and his body used He Pan's hammer to spin back and rushed to He Pan's left side. He Pan's reaction was not slow. The tiger's body rotated and the hammer swung half a circle to block Zheng Tongfu's blow. Zheng Tongfu jumped away. He Pan roared and strode to Zheng Tongfu and hit him directly. Zheng Tongfu's eardrum was about to crack, and he hurriedly blocked it. After He Pan's hammer, he held a high hammer and smashed it. Zheng Tongfu hurriedly raised his hammer to fight. There was another muffled sound outside the field, and the earth seemed to be trembling. Everyone thought that Zheng Tongfu had been defeated, but Zheng Tongfu had a lot of exercise. His steps were steady and his arms were firmly grasped. The hammer was still not shaken off, and he dodged back. He Pan shouted, "Okay!" So he exerted all his strength and attacked in one breath. Zheng Tongfu gathered his energy and tried his best to resist, and retreated. The sound of four pieces of iron hitting came one after another, and the whole audience was stunned. After fifteen years, Zheng Tongfu was weak and finally got out of a hammer.

He Pan shouted, "You are defeated! Hurry up and get hurt!"

Zheng Tongfu abandoned the hammer and bowed to salute, "Thank you, Lord!" So the end of the scene was wrapped. It turned out that his hands and tiger's mouth had been cracked and bleeding; his shoulder was also swept by He Pan's hammer, and he was blue and swollen; although his legs were not hit, his tendons had been injured because of the hard support ground, and his tendons were also injured, and he couldn't help walking. Being able to make so many moves depends on hard work, but thanks to him for watching all the exams of the candidates in the past few days and planning how to deal with He Pan in his heart.

Anyway, it's quite good to pass the 15th grade and get the best result in the whole exam. Zhao Zhen applauded for it and appointed Zheng Tongfu as General Fan.

The whole audience was cheering, and they were happy for Zheng Tongfu and the general - after all, there was one more general! Zheng Tongfu was bandaged, thanked the general, and bowed his hands to all sides. He felt very honored.

Inspired by Zheng Tongfu, then four people played in a row. Unfortunately, He Pan was extremely powerful, and he was able to fight step by step, and none of the people behind could take over the five moves. The last man wanted to fight desperately to catch a general, but he was hit in the arm by He Pan and fell off the horse. He was seriously injured. Fortunately, there is a good bone doctor in the city. His arm is finally saved, but he can't work for at least a month.

No one dares to come up later. He Pan waited for a long time, became impatient and yawned.

Zhao Jin was also a little sleepy. He rubbed his eyes hard and looked back at the palace maids holding the seal behind. I have prepared a lot of general prints for this exam, and it seems that no one has come to pick them up.

The maid of honor who supported the seal was selected by Hui Niang. There are three types of printing: the general, the general, and the tooth general. The general is the largest, which is also praised by the most beautiful maid of honor. Zhao Jin looked at the maid and couldn't help paying attention to her beautiful appearance and her eyes. Unexpectedly, the maid of honor also had the courage to look at Zhao Jin carefully. Suddenly, she came forward with a plate. Yingying said politely, "Dare to ask the general, the maidservant is also a general. I don't know if she can take the exam?"

(to be continued in the next section)

Note:

Cowardly: Xu Lie's cronies, as the vanguard of the Western Expedition. When Xu Lieu led the main force back to help Kublai Khan seize the throne, he was timidly ordered to stay in Syria and was defeated and killed by the Arab army in 1260.

Guo Kan: Guo Shoujing's distant relative, the prototype of Guo Jing, the protagonist of the martial arts novel Legend of the Condor Heroes, followed Xu Liewu's Western Expedition, repeatedly defeated the Arab army and the crusaders, captured more than 400 cities in West Asia, and his martial arts were very strong. He died in 1277. This book began in 1279, so it no longer appears.

The Abbasid Dynasty: the famous "big food in black" is recorded in ancient Chinese history books. It existed from the Tang Dynasty until it was destroyed by Xu Lie.

Azerbaijan: the ancient Caucasian country, known as "Azhe'er's occupation" in the history books of the Yuan Dynasty, was one of the Soviet republics during the former Soviet Union and is now an independent country. It is rich in oil. Baku oil field is the most famous open-air oil field in the world. During World War II, the German army marched eastward to capture the Baku oil field.

Iron Gate: a famous ancient fortress, located north of Azerbaijan, in the territory of the Dagstan Autonomous Republic of Russia. It has been an important pass to the Caucasus region since ancient times. According to the history books of the Yuan Dynasty, in the winter of 1239, the Mongolian army led by Guiyou and Mengge destroyed the State of Asu and seized the Iron Gate, which shocked the Caucasus countries.