A swordsmanship contest? A question mark popped up in Sima Shi's mind.
"Yes, sir." Cao Shuang replied with a bow, then walked a few steps forward to his father's weapon rack and picked up two wooden swords for sparring.
Cao Shuang himself was not so clean and neat in his daily actions. However, his father, who was a general, always had strict requirements on him. When he was with his father, he could not show any hesitation in his actions.
Ever since Cao Zhen went to the palace last year and saw the emperor practicing sword with his own eyes, he also began to order his eldest son Cao Shuang to practice sword when he returned home.
It may be a bit too much to say 'what the superior likes, the subordinates must follow', but if Your Majesty is short of someone to practice with, you can't even not know how to use a sword, right? Since you have the title of Palace Attendant, Your Majesty, you don't have to learn swordsmanship.
Cao Shuang grew up in such a family, so he was naturally good at martial arts. However, Cao Shuang was like his father Cao Zhen. In addition to riding and archery, he practiced spear and sword the most.
But since my father said that I should practice sword, then let’s practice!
Cao Zhen was strong in his youth and only started to gain weight after middle age. Cao Shuang, on the other hand, had been slightly fat since his teens and could be described as a flexible fat man who could practice martial arts.
Cao Shuang smiled and handed the newer wooden sword in his left hand to Sima Shi: "Ziyuan, please."
Sima Shi also quickly understood Cao Zhen’s intention, so he took the wooden sword quite readily. Otherwise, how could he say he didn’t want to compete?
When Cao Shuang and Sima Shi were standing face to face with swords in hand, about ten feet apart, Sima Shi became inexplicably nervous.
It wasn't because of Cao Shuang. Cao Shuang was just a fat man who had practiced sword fighting for four or five years. Although he didn't practice with others much, he had a solid foundation.
What really made Sima Shi nervous was the majestic gaze of General Cao Zhen who was standing with his hands behind his back.
"Ziyuan, please go in first." Cao Shuang said with a smile.
Sima Shi nodded slightly, took two small steps forward, then took a sudden step forward with his right foot and stabbed Cao Shuang's waist and abdomen with the wooden sword.
Cao Shuang's reaction was not slow either. After taking a step to the right, he suddenly raised his right arm and swung the wooden sword in his hand from the right to the upper left, blocking Sima Shi's stab with a bang. The wooden swords collided with each other with a slightly dull sound.
After their swords had intertwined for half a circle, they both stepped back and kept their distance. In their first duel, Sima Shi's sword was easily blocked by Cao Shuang.
Cao Shuang glanced at his father and saw that Cao Zhen still had no expression on his face, so he turned around and smiled at Sima Shi and said, "Ziyuan, why not try again."
Sima Shi didn't use much strength for the first attack, so it was expected that he would be blocked. Sima Shi nodded, and walked forward slowly with his sword raised sideways.
Seeing that he was only half a foot away from being bullied by Sima Shi, Cao Shuang saw that Sima Shi was only approaching with the sword and had no intention of drawing it, so he no longer hesitated, holding the sword in his right hand and slashing forward horizontally.
At this time, Sima Shi leaned back and swung his sword to avoid Cao Shuang's horizontal slash, and the tip of the sword went towards Cao Shuang's wrist.
Cao Shuang was not panicked, as he drew his sword more for testing. He had enough strength to quickly pull his arm back and hold the tip of Sima Shi's sword with the part of his arm near the sword guard.
Blocked by Cao Shuang again?
Although Sima Shi's expression was calm, he felt a little annoyed when he saw Cao Shuang's smiling face. He immediately took a step forward and the tip of his sword struck towards Cao Shuang's shoulder.
Seeing this, Cao Shuang held no more strength, and used his waist and abdomen to drive his arms, and his right hand holding the sword protected to a distance of one foot in front of his forehead, and violently collided with Sima Shi's wooden sword and knocked it open.
Sima Shi's three attacks were unsuccessful, while Cao Shuang on the opposite side seemed to be quite relaxed, and it was obvious that his swordsmanship skills were better than his.
There is no way. Although learning sword is a must-learn skill for gentlemen these days, it is also a normal phenomenon among scholars to learn more sword moves and practice less with real people.
Sima Shi was not the son of a military commander, and he spent all his time studying classics and other political affairs, so how much time did he have to practice? Cao Shuang actually practiced with others every day for three or four months!
Sima Shi knew in his heart that this was just a test, and it didn't matter whether he could win or not, but his demeanor and bearing were more important, so he took two steps back and bowed.
Cao Shuang felt a little unhappy when he saw that Sima Shi was about to stab his shoulder and even his face. But his father stood by and watched without saying a word, so Cao Shuang had no choice but to continue the competition.
Cao Shuang smiled and cupped his hands, saying, "Ziyuan, now it's my turn to attack."
Sima Shi also responded with a smile: "Brother Zhaobo, please."
Cao Shuang was just a little fatter, but of course he was much stronger than Sima Shi. With such a strict father, Cao Shuang did not dare to slack off in his martial arts training for many years.
Even though he has practiced sword relatively less, it is still enough to defeat Sima Shi!
Cao Shuang attacked forward, Sima Shi responded cautiously, but he felt that the person opposite him was even faster than himself.
After a few rounds, Sima Shi began to secretly complain, as Cao Shuang had hit his arm three times in a row. This was too embarrassing in front of Xiahou Xuan!
Just as Sima Shi blushed, Cao Shuang, who was slightly better, took two steps back, bowed to Sima Shi and said with a smile: "Ziyuan, thank you for giving way."
Seeing that Cao Shuang was about to end the competition, Sima Shi had no choice but to put away his stance and he and Cao Shuang saluted each other face to face.
Cao Zhen, who was standing nearby, finally smiled and clapped his hands. For a moment, Sima Shi didn't know whether Cao Zhen was praising Cao Shuang's swordsmanship or had some other intention.
Cao Zhen walked forward, nodded with a smile and said, "It can be seen that Ziyuan has put a lot of effort into practicing sword skills. He moves forward and backward with great manners and grace."
Sima Shi responded with a hint of shame: "General, I am not good at martial arts, so it is natural that I lost to Brother Zhaobo."
"You two are somewhat different." Cao Zhen said, "Ziyuan, Zhaobo, you two should interact more often in the future."
Sima Shi turned around and nodded to Cao Shuang with a smile. But in Sima Shi's heart, he was somewhat resentful. Cao Shuang? He is just a warrior, how can he be better than me?
Seeing that the competition was over, Cao Zhen also wanted to go back, so Cao Shuang hurriedly said, "Father, I will go and see Ziyuan and Taichu off."
At this time, Xiahou Xuan spoke up: "Uncle, what is going on with this matter?"
"Go, Taichu. I will tell Sikong the details." Cao Zhen glanced at Xiahou Xuan, then turned and left.
Xiahou Xuan and Sima Shi both bowed and said, "Uncle (General), please take care."
At this time, Cao Shuang stretched out his right hand and made a 'please' gesture: "Ziyuan, Taichu, please come this way."
"Thank you, Brother Zhaobo." Sima Shi replied.
As the three of them walked, Cao Shuang smiled and said, "It seems that the Sima family and the Xiahou family are about to have good things happen. Judging from what my father said today, this matter is 99% likely to be accomplished."
"Ziyuan," Cao Shuang patted Sima Shi's arm with his fat hand, "Hui'er is my cousin, and we will be considered relatives in the future."
Cao Shuang accidentally hit the spot where he had been hit by his own wooden sword during the swordsmanship sparring. Sima Shi tried to save face and not show the pain, but he became more and more disgusted with Cao Shuang.
You are just a stupid fat warrior, how can you be my relative?
But Sima Shi still had a smile on his face: "Brother Zhaobo's swordsmanship is very good today. I am ashamed to say that I am not as good as you. If I have the chance in the future, I will still ask Brother Zhaobo for advice."
"Okay, okay." Cao Shuang had no bad intentions in his mind. He just thought of himself as making a friend in Sima Shi. However, he didn't know that this 'friend' in front of him had already regarded him as a disgusting thing.
……
Almost at the same time, outside Luoyang city.
When Cao Zhi came to Luoyang from Yongqiu this time, he did not bring any ceremonial attendants with him. He was only accompanied by a carriage and a coachman.
Chenliu and Yongqiu are to the east of Luoyang, but Cao Zhi did not enter the city from the east gate. Instead, he took a slightly different route and arrived at the Imperial Academy not far from the south gate of Luoyang.
The carriage slowly passed through the street in front of the main gate of the Imperial College.
The Imperial College enrolled 500 students last year. Local students could return home every day, but the vast majority of non-local students in the Imperial College lived in the dormitories.
It was a holiday, and some students were preparing to go into the city in groups, while others made an appointment to go to the banks of the Yi River for an outing and enjoy the scenery. As a result, the street in front of the Imperial College was also quite lively.
The Jixian Hall was high up and could be seen from outside the newly renovated walls of the Imperial College. In addition, the Imperial College stone scriptures were placed on the side of the street. Cao Zhi's carriage stopped by the roadside and he was fascinated for a moment.
I heard that the book "Classics" written by the late emperor, my brother, has been engraved on stone and hidden in the Imperial Academy? If I have the chance, I really want to go in and take a look.
The carriage moved forward slowly. After looking at the official credentials and entering the South Gate, Cao Zhi suddenly felt troubled.
I used to have a residence in Luoyang. But after several years, when I was enfeoffed in Juancheng, I had already made other arrangements for my old house. I heard that it had been awarded to Wu Zhi by the late emperor.
There are quite a few Cao clan members in Luoyang now. Cao Zhen, Cao Hong? Forget it, I don't want to get into any more trouble once I enter Luoyang. I can go to the palace to see His Majesty, but I'm not in a hurry.
Let’s go to Shangshutai first!
When the carriage arrived at the Shangshutai, Cao Zhi had no problem entering. However, when Cao Zhi mentioned that he was going to report to the Shangshutai as an official, Yuan Kan, the Shangshulang on duty, was in a dilemma.
Although Yuan Kan himself was the Shangshu Lang of the Ministry of Personnel, this was Cao Zhi! The princes entered the court as officials, and the power and responsibilities of a Shangshu Lang might not be considered anything.
And what is the Chongwen Temple that Cao Zhi mentioned just now...what is the Chongwen Temple?
What's more, two months ago, there were rumors in Luozhong that Prince Yongqiu would be welcomed as the emperor. But now, Prince Yongqiu Cao Zhi, a living person, appeared in front of him.
It's difficult. (End of this chapter)
