Chapter 129 Relay Race
The relay race was proposed by Song Yuzhu. This kind of competition model had never existed before, and people were very interested in it.
The contestants had just started practicing a few days ago, and some teams were forced to do it without being very experienced in baton taking.
Each team was given a one-foot-long wooden stick, which was painted in six colors: black, white, red, yellow, blue and green.
These six teams came from the Grand Council, the Military Affairs Department, the Guard Department, the City Defense Camp, the Patrol Camp and the Xuanyi Tower. It can be said that all the important military departments in the capital were present.
The common people did not understand any of this, but the officials were enjoying the fun and were excitedly discussing which team would win the championship.
The military commanders from various departments were also gearing up to cheer on their subordinates, and this small relay race actually sparked a tense atmosphere.
General Zheng Da'an of the West Camp pointed at the boy holding a red wooden stick and said, "Is that someone from our Military Affairs Camp?"
The deputy general nodded, "Yes, that guy's nickname is Speedy, he runs very fast."
"Don't embarrass yourself when you compete on our turf."
Wei Hao, the commander of the military division next to him, said with a smile: "General Zheng, don't put pressure on us. Friendship comes first, competition comes second."
On the other side, Fang Xiaokun, the captain of the city defense battalion, and Lin Bing, the coach of the patrol battalion, sat together. Due to their low official positions, they could not sit with the generals. The two of them discussed the game in a low voice.
"If you ask me, it will definitely be someone from the Tianji Camp who will win the championship." The speaker was Lin Bing, the coach of the Patrol Camp.
Fang Xiaokun said: "There's not even any competition yet, why are you trying to boost others' morale and destroy your own prestige?"
"Hey, I heard that those guys in the Tianji Camp carry 80 kilograms of weight and run dozens of miles every day, while our patrol camp is barely up to par."
"You forgot about those people." Fang Xiaokun pointed at the people on the outside holding black wooden sticks.
Everyone in the capital knows about Xuanyi Tower, but only a few have actually come into contact with it. This is a very mysterious organization. It is said that they only obey the emperor and are the emperor's eyes and ears among the people. Officials are curious and wary of these people, and many people are discussing them in secret.
"I had forgotten about them. Xuanyi Tower was too arrogant and actually sent a woman to participate in the competition."
Fang Xiaokun said: "Don't underestimate girls. I heard that everyone in Xuanyi Tower has special skills. Maybe that little girl is quite capable."
This time, Xuanyi Tower sent four people to participate in the competition, three men and one woman. These four have joined in the past two years, and Song Yuzhu has not seen them yet.
Bai Xiu introduced from the side: "Your Majesty, the man holding the black stick is called Jinshan, he joined Xuanyi Tower last year. He is good at short blades. Heidao has fought with him once, and his kung fu is average." The "average" that Bai Xiu said was not really average, after all, anyone who could fight with Heidao must have good kung fu.
"The second person is called Tian Haozi. He was a well-known habitual thief in the capital. Unexpectedly, he was recruited into Xuanyi Tower by Liu Yanzi."
Song Yuzhu looked at the boy carefully and found that he really looked like a thief as his name suggested, and he didn't look like a good person.
"The third baton's name is Chu Jing... Why is he here?"
Song Yuzhu looked at Bai Xiu with some confusion, not understanding why this person couldn't come.
Heidao said, "This Chu Jing is a sickly person. He normally has to gasp for air after walking a few steps. How dare he come to participate in a race? That's really out of character."
"But his hidden weapons are very powerful, even the two of us may not be able to avoid them." Bai Xiu added.
When it came to the last round, Xuanyi Tower actually sent out a little girl in red. The little girl was no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, with two hair buns on her head, a pair of big watery eyes, and a cloth bag slung across her body. If you didn't know her, you would think she was a young lady from some family who had gone to the wrong place.
"The girl in fourth place is called Qingniang..." Before Bai Xiu had time to introduce her, the competition began.
With a whistle, six people set off at the same time. The one running first turned out to be a kid from the police station!
Don't be fooled by this boy's unattractive appearance, he runs really fast and actually left the people behind him three or four feet away!
Lin Bing jumped up excitedly: "Sun Ma, run faster!"
General Fang, who was sitting next to them, had an unpleasant look on his face. Their city defense battalion was at the bottom of the list, and was left more than ten feet behind by the other five.
Soon after a lap, the patrolman passed the stick to the second runner. However, the second runner was obviously not as fast as the first runner, and was gradually surpassed by the Tianji Camp.
Lin Bing couldn't hide his disappointment: "Hey! I said we couldn't outrun the Tianji Camp. Those beasts are too powerful!"
Fang Xiaokun smiled and pulled him to sit down and said, "Let's just watch the fun. We can't compete with them."
The Patrol Battalion, the City Defense Battalion, and the Weihou Division all fell behind in an orderly manner. The Tianji Battalion and the Bingmasi were ranked first and second respectively. Tian Haozi from the Xuanyi Tower followed closely behind, but it looked like he was not using his full strength and was running at a leisurely pace.
Soon it was the third leg. Tianjiying and Bingmasi were still far ahead, while Xuanyilou, which was originally ranked third, suddenly fell behind a lot. The man named Chu Jing was obviously not very good at running. He ran in a mess in just 400 meters and was directly left behind to last place.
The officials whispered, "This Xuanyi Building is just so-so. We thought it was so powerful."
"That's right. He couldn't even outrun the people from the patrol camp."
Lin Bing heard this nearby and was so angry that he almost stood up and started arguing with them. What happened to the patrol camp? Can't the patrol camp have a few talented people?
Fang Xiaokun was quick to pull him back and said, "Those civil officials are so petty, how can anything good happen if you offend them?"
Lin Bing then sat down indignantly, his eyes following the brothers in the patrol camp, "Come on! Run faster, as long as you don't end up last!"
*
Song Yuzhu in the stands also said with some regret: "It seems that Xuanyi Tower will not be able to get the gold medal today."
It was rare for Heidao and Baixiu to agree on something. They both said at the same time: "Not necessarily. Your Majesty, please wait a little longer."
It was almost time for the fourth and final leg. Everyone was almost certain that the champion would come from the Tianjiying and the Bingmasi. What was the point of sending a little girl from the Xuanyi Tower? Could she outrun those big and small soldiers?
Chu Jing was the last one to reach the finish line. He was almost three feet behind the people in front of him. He stuffed the wooden stick into Qingniang's hand and panted like a dog.
He was not good at running, and because four people were required to register for the relay race, he was dragged here by the other three.
"Sorry, I..." Before he could finish his words, the person in front of him disappeared.
"Wow!" The people in the audience stood up in horror, only to see that the woman in red seemed to have wheels under her feet and rushed out at an extremely fast speed.
Bai Xiu finished what he hadn't finished saying: "Qingniang has a nickname in the martial arts world called Ghost Fairy. Her leg skills are even better than Liu Yanzi's."
Song Yuzhu stood up and followed the red figure forward. She saw that the girl had surpassed everyone in front of her and even turned back to mock them.
“Yo yo yo, it’s no use even if you run. You are far behind me~” After saying that, she quickened her pace and was the first to cross the finish line.
The people behind him were so angry that they almost vomited blood. The players from Bingmasi couldn't help but rush over and yell, "You cheated!"
Qingniang pinched her waist and said, "What have I done wrong? Do I have two more legs than you?"
The boy's face turned red. He was about to get first place, but he didn't expect to be overtaken by a woman. He was so angry that he clenched his fists and wanted to make trouble for Qingniang.
Far from being afraid, Qingniang said excitedly, "Oh my, you can't run away and you still want to hit someone?"
Upon seeing this, the other people from Xuanyi Tower immediately surrounded them and blocked Qingniang behind them.
Other members of the Bingmasi also rushed over, and the two sides were on the verge of a fight.
Zheng Daan poked General Wei beside him and said, "Why don't you do anything about it? His Majesty is watching from above."
Besides, if a real fight breaks out, will those people from Xuanyi Tower be easy to bully? If they can't win the race or the battle, the military department will be humiliated.
Wei Hao stood up with a sullen face and shouted, "Get the hell back here! You lost to a little girl and still dare to cause trouble for her. You are bringing shame to your grandmother's house!"
General Wei was known for his strict military law. Upon hearing this, the soldiers of the Bingmasi turned pale and quickly retreated. They would inevitably be severely punished when they returned.
It was already noon when the awards were presented, and the first day of the sports meet was over.
Although there were a few minor incidents along the way, the merits outweighed the flaws and it was a good start.
There are two more days of competitions to be held tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Song Yuzhu has work to do and has no time to go, but her sister is clamoring to go and watch, so Song Yuzhu sent more than ten guards to take her to play.
In recent years, the Ministry of Agriculture under the Ministry of Industry has been cultivating high-quality seeds. Last year, a new type of wind-resistant winter wheat was bred and trial-planted in the sacrificial fields in Shangjing.
There is an old saying among the people: If you pour out a handful of chaff for millet and a handful of straw for wheat, no matter how big the ears of millet or wheat are, they will be useless if they cannot withstand the wind. Therefore, Song Yuzhu attached great importance to this batch of new wheat.
Half of the sacrificial fields in Shangjing belonged to the emperor. When the aristocratic families were cleared out, the sacrificial fields were also taken back. After that, Song Yuzhu did not give them away as rewards. Instead, he leased them to local people for cultivation and only collected a small portion of the grain as rent every year.
These good seeds were distributed to more than a dozen households, and a piece of prime land was selected for sowing. Now is the wheat harvest season, and if the growth is good, the seeds will be collected and distributed.
On the second day, Song Yuzhu left the palace and went to the sacrificial field to inspect it with the Left Vice Minister of Works and the Secretary of Agriculture.
The wheat will be ripe in a few days. The golden wheat fields along the way are like flowing gold, sparkling brightly under the sunlight.
"Your Majesty, this piece of land is newly planted, and the piece of land next to it is old planted. Is there any difference between the two?"
The speaker was Ji Huaide, a member of the Ministry of Agriculture. He was already 63 years old this year. The old man had worked in the Ministry of Agriculture for his entire life, but was only really valued in his later years.
Song Yuzhu looked around and saw that although the old wheat fields also looked golden, they were obviously not as big as the new wheat ears, and the wheat stalks were much thinner.
After Song Yuzhu explained the difference, Ji Huaide plucked another new ear of wheat and handed it to Song Yuzhu, saying, "Your Majesty, would you like to taste the sweetness of this new wheat?"
Song Yuzhu peeled a grain and tasted it. A primitive wheat aroma spread on the tip of his tongue: "It's delicious. It would be great if the people could eat such sweet wheat."
Master Ji couldn't help but grin and said, "This old minister thinks so too."
As the two were talking, someone suddenly ran over from a distance: "Report! Urgent report!"
Everyone turned around and saw a man on horseback galloping over: "Oh no, Your Majesty, there's a stampede in the Jingxi camp!"
(End of this chapter)
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