Chapter 39 Erzhang Wenxiang stabbed the horse in the school field

There are more than 2,000 green battalion soldiers stationed in Jiangning City, and more than 200 leaders above the shed chief.These leaders are assessed once a month by Yu Jisan, the deputy general of the Chinese Army, who is the superintendent of the General Administration of the Registered Army, which is called the monthly class.The content of the monthly class is mainly the four major items of bow, sword, stone, and horse. The grades are divided into four categories: excellent, A, B, and C.At the beginning of July, Yu Jisan issued an order to take the exam on the school grounds on the 25th, when Governor Ma Xinyi personally inspected it.Candidates prepare early, everyone wants to make a good impression in front of the governor.Unfortunately, it rained on the 25th, and the big class was postponed until the next day.

On the early morning of the twenty-sixth, the sky was not yet bright.The Jiangning school grounds became lively.The leaders, big and small, straddled their steeds and put on tight-fitting battle armor. As soon as they entered the school grounds, they started to move around.The rules of the school grounds are very strict, even the servants brought by the middle and senior military officers are not allowed to enter the arena, they can only watch from outside the fence. Maozheng, Ma Xinyi, governor of Liangjiang, came down to the school grounds surrounded by Yu Jisan and others.Wearing a golden pheasant robe, a red coral top hat, and snow-bottomed black satin boots, he stepped up to the reviewing stand with a solemn expression.After a trumpet sounded, the assessment began.Yu Jisan announced that Ma Zhitai had prepared twelve big red silk flowers for him, and the top three in each event could get red flowers personally awarded by the Tai Tai master.Candidates were all enthusiastic.

Let's try archery first.The unit of bow is force, and one force is ten catties.Starting from Bali, those who draw the bow three times in a row are qualified.After the eight strengths are opened, increase to ten strengths, and then increase to twelve strengths after passing the test.Those who pass the twelve strengths are first class, and those who exceed fifteen strengths are excellent.After drawing the bow, let's try to shoot on the ground again.Each person shoots six arrows and shoots at the target from a distance of thirty paces, and the one who hits the bull's-eye with all six arrows is the best.Next is the knife test.There are eighty catties, one hundred catties, one hundred and twenty catties, and one hundred and thirty catties of swords. Those who can skillfully dance the one hundred and thirty catties are the best.Stones are divided into two hundred catties, two hundred and fifty catties, two hundred and eighty catties, three hundred catties, etc., and the stone is pulled up one foot from the ground, then on the knees, then on the chest, and the one who lifts the three hundred catties over the chest is called excellent.

Exams for military personnel are far more interesting than civil servants biting their pens and making fusses.After the exam started, the fence was filled with people watching the excitement, and there were more and more people.Everyone watched with high interest, and cheered and cheered for the candidates with shouts and applause. The most exciting thing is equestrianism.The assessment of equestrianism in the school field is shooting the target immediately.At this time, it was early noon, and the surroundings of the school grounds were already full of people and steaming.Although the guards repeatedly blocked them, the onlookers still tried their best to get closer to the fence. The trees next to the fence were full of people, and several branches were crushed. They fell from the trees and broke their hands and feet. have happened.

At one end of the school field there are three mounds four feet high from the ground. A six-foot-long bamboo pole is inserted on the mound, and a three-foot-wide and four-foot-long cloth card is hung on the bamboo pole, called Buhou.There are three circles drawn on Buhou, and there is a white lime line thirty feet away from Buhou.The man rode on the horse, and after the horse galloped three times on the school field, he shot an arrow at Buhou.A total of four arrows are shot, and the one who hits the inner circle of Buhou with all four arrows is the best.Outside the fence, the eyes of thousands of spectators followed the horse racing on the school field, and with the arrows shot out, they responded with cheers and voices of regret.The test takers on the court and the strangers outside the court have almost reached the point where they are closely related.In the end, all the more than one hundred military officers finished their horse-racing and archery, but none of them hit Buhou's inner circle with all four arrows. Amidst the voices of regret, the top three were also determined according to their superiority.

When it was not right, the twelve winners of the four major events walked up to the reviewing stand with great vigor. Ma Xinyi put red silk flowers on them one by one, and said a few words of encouragement.Just at this time, a gap more than ten feet wide was broken down by the overcrowded people in one of the fences. Two or three hundred brave people poured into the school grounds through the gap. The guards had no time to stop them. Run towards the arrow path.Because the end of the arrow path is the back door of the governor's office, and Ma Xinyi will return to the office from here.When Ma Xinyi usually goes out, he always sits in eight large sedan chairs that are tightly covered and hugged in front and back. How can the common people see him!With such a good opportunity today, everyone wants to see the majesty of the Taiwan-making master.

"My lord, there are people crowded on both sides of the arrow path. Let the guards disperse before you go down." Seeing that Ma Xinyi was about to step down from the inspection platform, Yu Jisan bent down to dissuade him. "No need, the people want to see me, so why not let them see me!" Ma Xinyi, who is full of ambition, also wants to take this opportunity to give Jiangning people a good image.As he spoke, he straightened his clothes, raised his head and walked off the reviewing stand. Seeing that the guards did not drive away the intruders, the people outside the fence squeezed in through the gap.For a time, nearly a thousand people gathered on both sides of the arrow path.Under the protection of the police and personal guards, Ma Xinyi calmed down and swaggered across the school grounds and walked into the arrow path.The red crown on the head, the court beads on the neck, and the colorful embroidery thread on the body, shining in the sun, dazzled the people, and exclaimed in admiration, "Your majesty, Mr. Ma!"

"Master Zeng is much more energetic than before!" "Of course, I'm not yet fifty years old, and I haven't suffered so much from Mr. Zeng. Of course I'm energetic." "Ordinary people don't have such a blessing. Those who are governors are all stars from the sky descending to earth." Hearing these words of praise while walking, Ma Xinyi felt complacent in his heart, and his steps became more powerful.At this time, a young Wu Bian rushed out from the crowd beside the arrow path, shouted: "Uncle!" and knelt down. When Ma Xinyi heard this, he stopped in his tracks.When I looked, it turned out to be Wang Chengzhen, the son of his cousin.Last year, Ma Xinyi summoned him from his hometown in Shandong and arranged for him to serve as the general of the Foreign Commissioner of the Chinese Army Supervising Biao.This Wang Chengzhen is useless, it is better to gamble, and if he has some money, he will go to the casino to gamble until he loses everything.In the early days, Wang Chengzhen lost penniless, and asked Ma Xinyi for ten taels of silver on the grounds that his mother was seriously ill and had no money to go home to visit.He took the money, lost it in less than half a month, and lied to Ma Xinyi, saying that it had been stolen.Seeing him crying, Ma Xinyi gave him another ten taels.Unexpectedly, he lost again soon, and owed the gambling house five taels of silver.Ma Xinyi cursed angrily when he learned about it, and ordered his servants not to allow him to enter the supervisory office again.Wang Chengzhen couldn't do it, so he took this opportunity to ask his cousin.

Seeing that it was him, Ma Xinyi shouted: "You bastard, you still have the face to see me!" After all, he turned his face and continued to move forward. Wang Chengzhen knelt and shouted: "Uncle, Uncle! Ma Xinyi ignored him and just walked forward. Seeing this, Wang Chengzhen quickly stood up, ran in front of Ma Xinyi, knelt down again, and cried, "Cousin, please forgive my nephew again."The nephew really owed money to others, and he couldn't pay it back, so he had to do this! " "Go away!" Ma Xinyi raised his right foot and kicked Wang Chengzhen violently.

"My lord, I've been wronged, I've been wronged!" Before Ma Xinyi could retract his feet, another tall and strong man suddenly rushed out from the crowd.He galloped forward, walked up to Ma Xinyi, bent down and hit him. "Who are you?" Ma Xinyi stopped and asked. "My lord!" said the man, taking a step forward.Suddenly, he pulled out a shiny waist knife from his waist, and stabbed Ma Xinyi with all his strength.Ma Xinyi was stunned by this sudden action. When he was in a panic, the waist knife had already been inserted under his right arm.Ma Xinyi screamed, and then fell down on the arrow path, blood gushing out like a spring.The people on both sides of the arrow path shouted: "The governor has been killed!"

"Catch the assassin!" Yu Jisan, who was walking far behind Ma Xinyi, heard the news, and all of Ma Xinyi's bodyguards also caught up. The assassin did not run away, but stood there, laughing wildly at the blue sky: "You come here!" Catch it! I am very happy that the big thing has been accomplished, and I will go with you." The guards rushed up and tied the assassin with a rope.Yu Jisan shouted: "The man who knelt before is his accomplice, don't let him go!" The guards caught Wang Chengzhen again.Wang Chengzhen's face turned pale with fright, and he couldn't speak a word.The assassin laughed again, and said: "You let him go, I am the only one who murdered, I do things alone, I have no accomplices!" Yu Jisan didn't listen to him, and ordered the two of them to be escorted into the governor's office together.Ma Xinyi, who was lying in a pool of blood, was already unconscious, and was carried into the bedroom by everyone, while galloping to call for a doctor. The tens of thousands of onlookers inside and outside the school grounds saw such a rare event that happened once in a century, and their emotions suddenly became high. Surprised, they all rushed to the governor's office, and with great curiosity, they inquired about the truth of the matter. The governor's yamen was in chaos for a while, and no one came out to maintain order. Outside the lobby, spectators crowded around in countless circles.After a while, Mei Qizhao, the governor of the Jiangning feudal clan, led the prefect of Jiangning and the magistrates of Jiangning and Shangyuan counties to the court to start the trial.The assassin was escorted up by all kinds of gangsters. Mei Qizhao knocked on the gavel and asked, "Bold maniac, what's your name? Where is your name? What do you do? Seriously!" The assassin didn't change his face, he stood proudly in the hall, and replied calmly: "My name is Zhang Wenxiang, from Ruyang County, Henan Province, unemployed." "Why do you plan to assassinate the horse and make the stage?" Mei Qizhao asked sharply again. "I was told to do it." "Who is this person?" "This man is the general." The officials interrogating in the lobby looked at each other in dismay, all of them paled in astonishment, and they immediately thought of General Jiang Ning Kuiyu.Mei Qizhao's heart was pounding and he didn't know how to proceed with the interrogation, so he asked after a while, "Where is the general, do you know him?" Zhang Wenxiang replied calmly: "The general is next to my house, I don't know him." Officials were baffled. Mei Qizhao asked: "You don't know the general, why did the general ask you to do it?" "I drew a lot in front of the general early this morning, and I was lucky, so I know that the general agreed with me to do it." Some of the officials on the jury had roughly guessed it, and some didn't understand it. Mei Qizhao knew that the general was definitely not Kuiyu, and he knew it, so he slammed the gavel again and shouted: "Bold maniac, Tell me honestly, who is this general?" "It's the general in the Temple of General Shi next to my house." Now, all the officials in the interrogation were relieved. At this time, Kuiyu hurried over and said to Mei Qizhao: "This matter is unusual, and there may be accidents. There are so many people outside that they can hear every word clearly. If it is spread, it will not be good for review." According to Kuiyu's opinion, Mei Qizhao took Zhang Wenxiang under custody for trial.It wasn't until dark that the people who were watching at the governor's office gradually dispersed.In the morning of the next day, Ma Xinyi died of excessive bleeding.That night, there was another news from the governor's office that Ma Xinyi's concubine committed suicide by hanging herself.A few days later, Wang Chengzhen was reported to be insane again.Things get more complicated.