The news that Chang Suining was going to compete with Coach Fang spread quickly, causing a sensation throughout the military camp.
"I have already asked General Chang for permission, and he actually agreed!"
"I heard that it was Madam Chang who spoke arrogantly and angered Master Fang..."
"What did you say?"
"She said that the soldiers trained by the coaches are all like rotten wood...dead wood coming back to life or something like that!"
"?" The person who heard it was confused. This doesn't sound like an insult, does it? Another soldier corrected him: "...It's a dead tree! It's useless!"
"Yes, yes, that's it!"
The soldiers looked at each other in bewilderment. Why did they feel that this was not just a criticism of Master Fang? Who was the dead tree? Who was useless? "..." During the New Year, the soldiers suddenly felt that the dumplings in their bowls were no longer fragrant.
"...I want to see what extraordinary abilities this Miss Chang has that makes her look down on us!"
"Let's go, we won't eat anymore, let's go to the martial arts arena!"
Some people put down their bowls and left angrily, while others followed with their bowls angrily. So some people walked and cursed on the road, while others walked and ate... After all, the celery and pork dumplings were so delicious!
More and more soldiers went to the training ground to watch, and the place was bustling with noise.
"I heard that it's because the head coach and deputy head coach want to appoint Madam Chang as the head coach... The people below are not convinced."
"That lady Chang said that if she loses to Coach Fang today, she will never mention the position of head coach again!"
"... Putting aside whether she is a girl or not, this Madam Chang is really a young and inexperienced person who is not afraid of tigers! She actually dared to ask for a competition with Master Fang!"
This isn't the right way to stand out, is it?
Some people also speculated: "Could it be that Master Fang was secretly bribed and threatened... He deliberately wanted to lose to Madam Chang to help her establish her prestige?"
"That's Coach Fang!"
As stubborn as a donkey! "What's fake can't be real, and what's real can't be fake...just go and see for yourself!"
They are not laymen, how can they not tell the real from the fake?
For a moment, there were all kinds of speculations, but almost everyone believed that it was impossible for the girl, who had just turned seventeen and was not even a quarter of an hour old, to defeat Coach Fang through legitimate means.
This idea became more certain after everyone arrived at the martial arts field and saw the two people standing in the center of the field with their own eyes.
From a visual perspective alone, the disparity between the two can be described as a world of difference.
In terms of size and weight, Coach Fang is more than capable of matching two of the little girls, not to mention that he is also the most experienced and prestigious of the seven coaches in the army.
On the other hand, the little girl was not afraid at all. She stood there and was looked at by people, giving people the impression of being young and energetic.
Apart from anything else, it is rare to see such youthful arrogance in a girl.
This kind of sparring, which is agreed upon in advance and in public, is different from fighting on the battlefield. The situation on the battlefield is complicated and you can launch a sneak attack. You can also use your young and weak body to make the opponent underestimate you and catch them off guard. You can also cooperate with your comrades to kill the enemy, but this time and place are completely different.
She was going to face off against Coach Fang head-on, and Coach Fang was always cautious and calm. In such a situation, there was no reason for him to underestimate the enemy and there was no way he would give her a chance to take advantage.
In a nutshell, being able to kill Ge Zong and Li Yi does not mean that one can defeat Coach Fang.
Being young and reckless will lead to failure! The martial arts arena was surrounded by a wall.
Facing those who were waiting to laugh at her, or looking at her with curiosity, sarcasm, scrutiny, or even nervousness for her, Chang Suining, who had already taken off her cloak and tied her ponytail more securely, kept her expression unchanged.
She chose to compete with Coach Fang for two reasons.
First, the other party has great status and prestige. If she wants to be the head coach, she naturally needs to have the ability to suppress the heads of the seven major coaches in order to truly convince the others and solve the problem once and for all.
Secondly, since she started to participate in the military training, she had met this coach Fang several times and could feel his silent contempt and prejudice. He had never spoken to her, nor had he ever expressed his dissatisfaction or doubt.
But she was well aware that this unspoken prejudice was more difficult to eradicate and more likely to pose hidden dangers than expressed dissatisfaction.
So, she chose to go with the flow and provoke the other party in exchange for an opportunity to break the stereotype head-on.
Chang Kuo had approved the competition, and soon soldiers came to prepare the necessary items for the competition.
As the crowded crowd made way for a path, Chang Kuo and Xiao Min also came to the martial arts arena to watch the competition.
"Greetings, Commander-in-Chief and Deputy Commander!"
There were countless sounds of salutes everywhere. Chang Kuo raised his hand to stop them and only looked at Chang Suining in the field.
Xiao Min looked calm, but his heart was in turmoil. He whispered to Chang Kuo again, "General Chang, I will come forward to explain and smooth things over. You can take Madam Chang back..."
"No." Chang Kuo shook his head: "Leaving now, no matter what the reason is, is equivalent to admitting defeat. Sui Ning will only be more hindered in his future actions."
Besides, bringing the person back? How could his subordinate father have the ability to do that?
Seeing that the father and the daughter were equally competitive, Xiao Min could only sigh in his heart, looking at the two people in the field worriedly, and whispered: "Why did they choose this coach Fang..."
Chang Kuo sighed openly: "Yes..."
This person is a bit unlucky.
Hearing this sincere sigh, Yuan Xiang's heart tightened. So, even General Chang didn't believe that Madam Chang could win?
Yuan Xiang was worried, but he also insisted that since Madam Ru Chang was so smart, she would not be so impulsive as to do something foolish like hitting a rock with an egg. She must have another clever plan to win.
He tried to look to his side and found something wrong.
Xi'er is missing! Yuanxiang was shocked and asked A-Che in a low voice: "Where is Miss Xi'er?"
Is there something being arranged secretly? He can help!
Ah Che glanced around and answered him in a low voice: "...Sister Xier went back to burn incense."
“…”
This arrangement, which could only rely on metaphysics, plunged Yuanxiang into despair for a time.
Then, he quietly pulled Ah Dian aside to talk, and whispered coaxingly: "...General Dian, if Madam Chang suffers a loss on the field later, when you see me make this gesture, you should rush over and make a scene in time to interrupt the competition!"
Although this plan is not upright, it is the only option to save Madam Chang's safety and reputation... In the eyes of outsiders, General Adian is a child who cannot be reasoned with, and he is the only one who is suitable to do this.
Ah Dian's eyes widened: "Why!"
"This is to prevent Madam Chang from being bullied..."
"No way, don't you believe that Xiao A Li can win?"
When Yuanxiang didn't know how to answer, he saw Ah Dian stamp his feet, turn around and run back, saying unhappily: "You are too shameless, I don't want to play with you! How can you do this? I will tell little Ah Li about you later!"
Yuan Xiang looked embarrassed: "......!"
When Adian squeezed to Chang Kuo who was standing at the front, someone had already loudly announced the items of the competition.
In the Dasheng military camp, the promotion and selection of coaches of all ranks were subject to rules and regulations. For the sake of fairness, the competition between Chang Suining and Coach Fang this time used the "three comparisons" used in the selection of the chief coach.
The first is to compare the skills of riding, archery, swords and spears; the second is to compare the methods of training troops; and the third is to compare the strength of wrestling.
The first competition is a little more complicated and needs to be divided into three rounds, one for horseback archery and one for swordplay and spearmanship.
Horseback archery began first. Chang Suining and coach Fang jumped onto their horses one after another. Torches were waving all around, making this New Year's Eve exceptionally bright. Shouts of support were heard from the soldiers.
The selection of senior coaches is much more difficult than that of junior coaches.
In the horse archery competition, a total of fifty targets are set up along the martial arts field. The one who hits the most bull's-eyes within a quarter of an hour wins. If the number of hits is the same, the one who returns first wins.
There will also be obstacles such as sandbags and wooden stakes set up along the way to interfere with the horses' progress, which will test the contestants' horse riding skills.
The training ground here covers a vast area, with one lap being fifteen miles. With obstacles in place, it would take an ordinary person at least a quarter of an hour just to ride a horse to complete one lap. In this competition, archery skills will also be tested at the same time.
There are fifty targets, and each person has fifty arrows in his quiver. That means each target has only one chance to shoot an arrow, and every arrow determines whether you win or lose.
As the drumbeat sounded, Chang Suining and Coach Fang rode up together.
Coach Fang glanced at the girl who was riding her horse as fast as an arrow, who was one step faster than him. There was a hint of surprise in his eyes, and then he quickened his pace to catch up.
When he was standing on the martial arts field just now, the cold wind blew away the drunkenness and he felt a little regretful.
The regret was certainly not that he felt he would lose to the little girl, but that as a military coach, he had to compete in public with a little girl who was not even as old as his daughter. It would not be glorious if he won.
It’s better than horse archery at the moment, and there’s no need for direct combat for now, so you won’t hurt the opponent.
Therefore, he planned not to continue with the next competition after winning this horse riding and archery competition, and to forget the matter, so as to avoid letting his subordinates and General Chang think that he was bullying the weak and being aggressive.
Coach Fang already had a plan in mind.
But everything that happened next was not what he had planned.
The girl was thin and looked particularly light on the horse. She drove the horse over the first obstacle, and when the horse's hooves landed, she had already nocked the arrow.
She turned her upper body slightly, drew the bow and faced the target, while her lower body sat firmly on the horse's back without any shaking.
You know, having a thin body has the advantage of being light, but it also means that the lower limbs lack stability. But she is surprisingly stable!
Because he was the head coach and could tell the level of a person at a glance, Head Coach Fang could not hide the surprise in his eyes.
"call out--"
The arrow in her hand was shot, but her horse did not stop. She did not even check whether the arrow could hit the target. Instead, she turned back and smiled at him, raised the longbow in her hand, and said in a clear voice: "Master Fang, thank you for letting me!"
Coach Fang: “……!”
He didn't give in!
Moreover, she didn't even look at the arrow after shooting it, as if she was sure that she would hit the bull's eye! The little girl was really arrogant. You must know that being a good rider doesn't mean you are also a good archer...
When Master Fang drew his bow, he aimed his sight at the target, but saw that the first arrow had already hit the center of the bull's eye! His arrow had also left the string and hit the center of the bull's eye. The two arrows were tightly squeezed in the bull's eye, and it was difficult to tell which was higher.
But it was precisely this "difficulty in distinguishing who was better" that forced Coach Fang to start taking seriously the girl who was riding the horse in front of him.
The girl rode her horse in front and drew her bow again. Just like last time, she drew her bow and immediately looked away, not stopping to see where the arrow landed.
The bows, arrows and horses used in the competition are not those that the contestants are accustomed to using. This is for the sake of fairness and can also test the riding and archery skills of both sides more intuitively.
There were soldiers guarding and observing along the way. The onlookers in the distance could no longer see clearly. They could only see the girl in the front all the time under the light of the torches. She was holding a bow in her hand and riding a horse, as if they were the most familiar partners. She moved her movements smoothly and gracefully.
Those obstacles never made her feel any bit sluggish.
She seemed to be familiar with this world called military camp and the rules that governed it. She was never afraid when faced with doubts, never doubted the rules, and never hesitated at every step forward.
The girl riding the horse and drawing the bow did not hesitate, but some people began to hesitate.
Among those coaches who didn't call out their names but were clearly cheering for Master Fang, some began to hesitantly whisper, "Why does it seem like Master Fang is a little behind?"
"What's the point of being fast? After a quarter of an hour, we still have to see who hits more targets!"
The other six coaches also came upon hearing the news. One of them said calmly, "Don't you trust Lao Fang's archery? Who among you has ever beaten him?"
Although it was only Coach Fang who was competing with the girl from the Chang family today, the reputations of these coaches were now staked on this competition.
After all, this girl's words were arrogant and she denied all their coaches' training methods.
And at this moment they still firmly believe that their face will never fall to the ground.
Coach Zhu: "That's right, since she only wants to lose... then let her do it!"
"I may not want to play a second match with her." The calm coach, holding a wine bottle made of animal skins, looked at the two almost invisible shadows and said, "But winning this match is enough."
Then, someone said something nonsense and they all burst into laughter.
Coach Fang couldn't laugh.
He started out one target behind, then two targets, and slowly the gap widened to five or six targets.
There were many obstacles along the way, but with the girl ahead, it was as if she was walking on flat ground, as if she were entering a place where there were no obstacles.
At this point, his only advantage was his arm strength. He had shot down seven targets along the way. If he was in front, this would definitely hinder the opponent, leaving him with no targets to aim at and putting him in a passive state, which would also interfere with his opponent's emotions.
But he was behind the opponent, so even if he shot down the target, the opponent's arrow had already firmly hit the bull's eye, so it was useless.
Chang Suining knew exactly where her weakness was. No matter how good she was, she didn't have the strength to hold a bow and shoot down the target, but the other party must have it. This was a fact that existed and the gap could not be made up overnight or in a year.
Therefore, she did not allow herself to fall behind the other party even a step from the very beginning. Knowing where her weaknesses were, she had to hide them.
Under the gaze of the crowd, the two figures went from clear to gradually disappearing, and then returned from the darkness and became dimly visible again.
As the man and the horse got closer, everyone could see that it was the figure of a young girl.
The girl who returned first drew her bow and shot the last arrow.
This time, she looked carefully at the trajectory of the final arrow.
At the same time, the people watching in front could also see clearly that the arrow hit the center of the bull's eye, without any deviation.
Chang Suining returned to the center of the starting training ground with an empty quiver, and jumped off his horse with his bow in hand.
When the coaches saw this, they exchanged glances and suddenly had a bad feeling.
But these slight premonitions are not enough to break their certainty, which comes from their accumulated knowledge.
When the appointed time was approaching, Coach Fang also came back.
He dismounted, not looking relaxed.
Faced with his companions' questioning looks, he remained silent and did not respond.
Soon, the soldiers brought back the fifty targets one after another, placed them in front of everyone, and handed them over to the captain in charge of the competition for counting.
4300 words, good night, see you tomorrow!
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