C62

Although he was worried about the wooden lotus being rescued, there was one thing that worried him more than the wooden lotus. It was that the day of the imperial examinations was drawing near.

The Imperial Examinations began in May, so Qin Xiaoliu had plenty of time to prepare for it. However, the first day of the Imperial Examinations was on the first of the second month. It didn't take long to calculate everything. Fortunately, Mo Qingfeng had the letter of recommendation from Great General Li, which allowed him to directly participate in the Hall Competition.

On the day of the examination, Qin Xiao dragged Mo Qingfeng to join the liveliness. Dan Rong Xiao didn't want him to be under too much pressure, so he tried his best to persuade Mo Qingfeng to go as well. The primary examination venue for the Martial Arts Competition was a horse stable outside of the Ying Tian Prefecture. It was open for ordinary citizens to watch. However, this place was too far away. Ordinary people did not have the leisure to go and watch the commotion. Thus, most of the onlookers were martial artists with swords and sabers, as well as the children of influential families in the city.

For the first round of the Martial Arts Competition, they would pick some items that weren't too difficult. For example, they would choose wrestling with heavy weights. Basically, they wouldn't even have any problems if they were big and strong. On the other hand, there were a few weak-looking and scholar-like people who had actually passed the first selection. Qin Xiao secretly gossiped that they might have come from some martial arts family to train.

The imperial examinations were divided into civil and military aspects. At that time, the local army originated from the civilian population, and only the soldiers in wartime worked as farmers. They also had both military and civilian status. The selected people would be selected from the imperial guards and those from influential families who were chosen for the examination would be selected. They would be selected from the imperial guards, and the selected people would be selected from the imperial guards and those who were selected from the imperial guards would be selected from the imperial guards. In terms of literature, one had to compare tactics and tactics, while the selected person could go to the army and become a strategist. In terms of martial arts, one had to seriously compare martial arts. The ones that were selected had to lead troops. The candidates of these two examinations could either choose between the two, or both. As for the candidates of the Hall Entrance Examination, they had to be chosen from the examinees of the two subjects.

Those who passed the first round held the second round ten days later. If they passed the second round, they would be able to get a position in the army. After the second round of examinations, twenty people would be selected to participate in the Hall's examination. The examination grounds would be set up in the Imperial Guard's drill grounds, and the Emperor would also personally appear on the scene to show his importance. However, this year's examination was specially arranged by the son of heaven to be watched by all the people, to show the might of the dynasty. But in reality, how many people actually had that kind of interest? The army went door-to-door to "invite" people to visit, and if there were any questions or rebellions, they would be punished for being disobedient.

After watching the first round of the preliminaries, Mo Qingfeng didn't want to go anymore. He felt that there was no meaning in watching a bunch of boorish people run around and wrestle. Furthermore, there were so many people who didn't know martial arts pointing and pointing at him, making him feel like he was singing or playing a monkey on the stage.

Soon, the day of the Hall Competition arrived. Mo Qingfeng stood at the back and watched as the person in front of him showed a small token to the soldier guarding the door. After inspecting it, the soldiers would let him in. There were also some people like Mo Qingfeng who came to recommend the important officials, while the civil servant beside them, who had examined the seal on the recommendation book, would also allow people to enter. After the second round of investigation, Mo Qingfeng would search every single one of these examinees. Even though he didn't want to have any physical contact with strangers, he couldn't do anything about it. He was glad that Qin Xiaoliu did not come to take the martial arts exam. Otherwise, he would not be able to hide his identity. People who came to watch the show could enter from another entrance. There was a special high ground where they could watch the matches below. Since they had been clearly searched when they left the house and there were many of them, the investigation would be more relaxed. Others might not know this, but it was still too late for them to hide. Only Qin Xiaoliu changed into a female attire, covered his face with a veil, and automatically came to the door to watch the commotion. Although there were very few women, there were also female palace officials who searched the grounds. They were not afraid of being taken advantage of, but they were concerned about how they could pass the examinations in the future.

Mo Qingfeng and the other examinees were lined up in the middle of the drill grounds. He surveyed his surroundings and silently counted. Including himself, there were a total of thirty people. Some of them were big and tall, some looked weak, while others looked ordinary, but were not fat or thin. Mo Qingfeng looked at the stage in front of him. Under a bright yellow tent, there was a figure dressed in dragon robes. Even though Mo Qingfeng was far away, he could not see his face clearly.

A captain of the Imperial Guard rode out on his horse and opened a book list. He read out the results to the examinees. Today's match would be the first match of the mounted archers. An arrow rake was placed horizontally every twenty steps for a total of ten arrows. Fifty steps from the rake, ten arrows each. Every hit from a red star would cost 10 points, and every hit from a target would cost 5 points. Those who missed the target would be eliminated! Those with less than 50 points will be eliminated! "

The arrows and bows used in the competition were given out in unison to prevent people from stabbing. And this time, the emperor was especially generous. After some investigation, the examinees were able to bring their horses over for fear that riding on an unfamiliar horse would affect their performance. Mo Qingfeng tested the strength of the bow and found that it was about the right strength for him. With his arm strength, he probably wouldn't be able to pull the heavy bow back. He didn't ride in today. That horse was too gallant, so it was very eye-catching. From the stables of the Manor house he had picked a horse with a silver mane, strong and fat, and a good one.

Riding a horse was a test of both horse and arrow. During the second round, there were steps to shoot peacefully, but riding a horse obviously required a higher level. Mo Qingfeng picked rank 27, which was considered to be at the back. He then led his horse and waited at the side for the call.

The one in the first row was a man who looked like a black pagoda. He was tall and muscular, and his clothes were nearly torn from his chest. He had a full beard that made him look more like a bandit than an examinee.

The gong sounded as the man spurred his horse to gallop forward. He drew his bow and nocked an arrow. In addition, his arm strength was extremely great, and each arrow shot out with full force. After the arrow hit the target, it actually flipped the target over. The fact that the first examinee had displayed such a good skill immediately roused the emotions of the onlookers.

When the last arrow was shot, an accident happened. Perhaps because his arm was too strong, the bow was broken from the weight, and the arrow had left the bow, but it was not strong enough. It fell to the ground before it reached the target. After the exam was over, the examiner went up to check and reported loudly, "Nine arrows and a red star missed their target with one arrow, a total of eighty points."

Soon after, another seven or eight examinees appeared on stage, but none of them seemed as impressive as that man. Most of them only had fifty or sixty points, while a few with worse scores of less than fifty points were eliminated in this round.

The tenth contestant was a young man dressed in scholar's clothes. His face was white, and he didn't need to be skinny. He immediately booed as soon as he entered the stage.

One of the examinees beside Mo Qingfeng sneered, "Why is it that even a scholar wants to take the martial arts exam? If he gets the top scholar, wouldn't he be laughing his teeth out and throwing our faces away?" Mo Qingfeng looked at him and kept quiet. Those who passed the first and second examinations were not ordinary people. Even if they were recommended by the court officials, they would not lose face for themselves.

The scholar's mount made the examinees exclaim in surprise. Its entire body was shiny black, and it was taller and stronger than most horses. Its mane was blown up, and its face was rather long. Its ears were rolled up like horns. The scholar was a handsome young man. Standing next to such a horse made him seem out of place, but he did not seem skinny or weak at all.

The scholar youth turned a deaf ear to the surrounding jeers as he leapt onto the back of his horse, his body incomparably agile. The black horse galloped like a bolt of black lightning, and before anyone could react, it was already at the other end of the road. The ten arrows were also firmly nailed to the target.

For a moment, the drill grounds was completely silent. Even the examiners were frozen in place. The scholar youth had already galloped back and jumped off his horse. Only then did the examiner react and quickly went up to check the target. Ten arrows, ten red stars, full score.

For a moment, the drill grounds was in an uproar. This unknowingly created a great deal of pressure on examinee eleven. Out of the ten arrows, only one had a red star, while the three arrows had hit the target.

The performance of the other examinees was also unsatisfactory. When it was Mo Qingfeng's turn, the onlookers impatiently wanted to leave, but of course, they had no say in this matter. Just as Mo Qingfeng got on his horse and took a step forward, a wolf howl sounded out from the grandstand. The female dressing Qin Xiao hooted encouragement, causing the corners of Mo Qingfeng's mouth to twitch, Laifu and Dan Qinghe who stood beside them had looks of disgust on their faces as they distanced themselves from her, acting as though they did not know who the person was. The examiner frowned as he hastily sent a soldier to warn Qin Xiao to be quiet.

Mo Qingfeng had no intentions of showing off as he galloped his horse forward. Bowing and shooting at the target. The examiner announced after the inspection, "Nine red stars hit the target with one arrow, score ninety-five points."

After a round of shooting, seven people were eliminated, and the remaining twenty-five people were promoted. The young scholar Duan Jingqiu was ranked first, Mo Qingfeng was second, and the black tower burly man Li Ye was third.