Chapter 197 Bloody Rivers and Lakes 6
The martial arts conference took place as scheduled, and it seemed that all the sects, big and small, of the Ming Dynasty had arrived. Each sect had its own flag, and the sect members sat beneath it. These flags reflected the sect's wealth. The wealthy sects had beautifully embroidered flags, with gold and silver threads, so beautiful that you could see them from afar.
The flags of the poorer sects are just a piece of cloth with the sect's words written on it. As the saying goes, the poor are good at literature and the rich are good at martial arts. If you don't have some family background and want to practice martial arts, it will be very difficult.
The martial arts conference naturally had an opening music. Zhao Xiaofei invited musicians from the Nanjing Jiaofangsi to play the song "A Laugh in the Sea." Then, standing on the stage of the conference, he announced: "Fellow patriotic martial artists of the Ming Dynasty, hello! I am Zhao Xiaofei, Prince of Anqing. On behalf of the imperial court, I thank you all for your support of the Ming Dynasty. Some of the sects here today are still in areas occupied by bandits or Tartars. This proves that you all love the Ming Dynasty and have it in your hearts! Therefore, on behalf of the imperial court, I will first give each of those martial arts sects who came from enemy-occupied areas 50 taels of hard work money. Go to the organizing committee to collect it after the conference!"
As soon as the words fell, some of the small sects in the enemy-occupied areas immediately burst into an uproar. "I didn't expect it! The prince is so considerate of us!" Before they could finish their discussion, Zhao Xiaofei spoke again.
"Everyone! I'm here to tell you that the emperor said that he would give each of the martial arts sects in the enemy-occupied areas a plaque to commemorate loyalty to the emperor and patriotism!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
This time there was applause from the audience. The leaders of all the sects, big and small, in the enemy-occupied areas shed tears of excitement, silently vowing in their hearts that they would protect the Ming Dynasty to the death!
After a brief silence, Zhao Xiaofei began to speak again: "This time we will focus on martial arts! The first point is not to hurt each other's lives. The second is to stop when necessary. I don't want to see our heroes bleed. Those who are strong and courageous will save their strength to kill the Tartars! Third, we will divide the competition into two groups, male and female! The female winner will get the Dragon Slaying Sword! The Dragon Slaying Sword is a precious sword that slays dragons, the supreme sword in the martial arts world. The sword slays dragons, commands the world, and no one dares to disobey. Without the Yitian sword, who can compete with it! Sword and knife together, the best in the world! Therefore, if each sect wants to obtain two supreme martial arts pieces, both male and female disciples must participate!"
This was a bombshell, and many of the martial artists present felt a wave of regret upon hearing it. If only they had brought their female disciples, their younger apprentice sisters, along with them! They could have competed with them for the title of supreme martial arts master. When the time came, their swords and blades combined would make them invincible. What a glorious moment that would be!
Just as he was sighing, Zhao Xiaofei spoke again. He said, "Just because someone wins today, the Sword of Heavenly Protection and the Dragon Slaying Saber won't forever belong to their sect! We've agreed to hold a conference every five years. At each conference, the sect that won the Sword of Heavenly Protection and the Dragon Slaying Saber in the previous session must bring these two treasures to the conference! If your sect loses, you must hand the treasures over to the winner!"
Upon hearing this, the various sects nodded in agreement. This was the same principle as the emperor's rotation of power. For example, if Shaolin Temple obtained the Heavenly Sword this year, then after losing the martial arts conference five years from now, the sword would fall into the hands of another sect, who would then be able to reign supreme for another five years.
Therefore, the sects below did not voice any dissenting opinions. They were very satisfied with Zhao Xiaofei's proposal. So Zhao Xiaofei asked Li Zichu to continue to preside over the martial arts conference, and he returned to the rostrum to watch this martial arts event with Kunxing Zhaoren and his mischievous brother-in-law Zhu Cijiong.
Li Zichu's hosting was quite good. First, there was a group show from the Shaolin Temple. Fifty Shaolin monks performed to the theme song from the Shaolin Temple film, adapted by Zhao Xiaofei from a modern film. The passionate music of "Shaolin Shaolin" brought a new dimension to the martial arts. After watching the performance, the audience from other martial arts schools felt that Shaolin Temple was indeed a prestigious and venerable martial arts school with a long history.
Next up was the Emei Sect, whose martial arts sect is Wu Jian. Their appearance, accompanied by the theme song "Swords Like Dreams," was a real eye-opener. The sight of so many women on stage also made everyone's hearts tremble. Zhu Cijiong, in particular, said to Zhao Xiaofei from the audience, "Brother-in-law! Look at that little Taoist nun in the front row—she's so beautiful! Talk to Nun Miejue later and have her brought to the palace. She'll teach me swordsmanship!"
Zhao Xiaofei was furious after hearing this. "You little brat, you're not even fully grown yet and you're already trying to pick up girls!" He was only eleven or twelve, wasn't that a bit early? So Zhao Xiaofei said perfunctorily, "Alright, brother-in-law! I'll ask for you later! If the girl doesn't mind, forget it!"
Zhu Cijiong smiled and said, "Brother-in-law! I am the emperor, the girl will definitely be happy!"
Zhaoren laughed and said, "Brother! You'd better forget about it! Will the Queen Mother agree? Don't forget that Emperor Jiajing was almost strangled to death by a palace maid. If you find a woman with martial arts skills and bring her back to the imperial city, will the Queen Mother forgive you?"
Zhaoren's words left Zhu Cijiong speechless! That's right! The most taboo in this palace is for the emperor to marry a palace maid! As a female disciple of the Emei Sect, she could only be a little palace maid when she entered the palace.
As the others were talking, the Wudang Clan came on stage. Again, it was a sword fight, but the music was "A Laugh in the Sea." The martial arts were unrestrained and elegant!
Then came the group duels, and the various sects began drawing lots. A few smaller sects, drawn to face the Wudang sect, simply bowed their hands, indicating they were no match, and withdrew. However, some were not afraid and competed with the Wudang disciples on the field. It can be said that the fists and kicks were quite impressive. However, as for the weapons, they used wooden swords and knives, and only fought with a few strikes. So, it wasn't as exciting. However, for Zhao Xiaofei and Zhao Xiaokun, the emperor and the two princesses were only interested in the excitement. The masters of the other sects, on the other hand, were interested in the details.
Of course, the martial arts competition would take seven or eight days to complete, and the young emperor would eventually get tired of it. So later, Zhu Cijiong suggested going to Wudang Mountain for two days.
Li Zichu immediately called in Taoist Lingxu and asked him to arrange for dozens of highly skilled martial arts disciples to accompany and protect the prince and his family. Then he went back to his work!
Nanjing was already in turmoil. Zhao Xiaofei's sudden disappearance was enough to cause the court to panic, but Zhao Xiaofei and Zhao Xiaokun had just returned and were heading to Wudang Mountain to preside over some kind of martial arts conference. And now the emperor couldn't find them again!
The three cabinet ministers headed by Li Banghua, Ni Yuanlu and Zhang Huangyan were extremely anxious. They were very worried that something might happen to the emperor and that the Ming Dynasty would be finished.
The Queen Mother Zhou was anxiously awaiting her son's return. Her son was still so young, where could he have gone? A mother worries when her child is thousands of miles away, especially since he was the nephew of the emperor and the future of the country.
Just when they were worried and frightened, the Jinyiwei suddenly entered the palace and informed the Queen Mother of the Emperor's movements. This made the people in Nanjing feel at ease!
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