novelaction Chapter 236 Competition Rules
Chapter 236 Competition Rules
Before long, the private army of Shancheng Prefecture had completely surrounded the private army of Jiangcheng Prefecture. Only then did the Lord of Shancheng show up with a smile and greet Jiang Xiuwen hypocritically.
"Brother Lianping, we meet again!" Lin Ping walked up to Lianping with a fawning smile, even patting him on the shoulder, his strange eyes fixed on him.
Lian Ping pushed away Lin Ping's dirty hands, dusted off his clothes with extreme disgust, and said disdainfully, "Are we that close?"
"We're so close, we're too close. Have you forgotten that we only wore one pair of pants last time?" Lin Ping said with a grin, still staring at Lian Ping with a strange look.
So close they share a pair of pants? There's a basis for that statement. Last time, when Lin Ping kidnapped Lian Ping, he didn't even leave him a pair of underwear. So, by that logic, he and Lin Ping really did share a pair of pants.
Lian Ping was furious at the thought of Lin Ping's despicable behavior. He wished he could tear Lin Ping in half, but he was afraid of ruining the mountain city lord's plan, so he could only clench his teeth tightly.
"Young Master Lin, don't you care about this competition?" Lian Ping asked disdainfully. You, Lin Ping, are the son-in-law of the City Lord's Mansion. Instead of cheering for your own people, what do you mean by coming here to call me brother?
Lin Ping shook his head and said, "It's just a big competition. Winning or losing doesn't matter. We can't win anyway. What I care about most is Brother Lianping's future. After all, your second brother is eyeing the position of city lord."
Lian Ping looked at Lin Ping with suspicion. The other man's harmless smile didn't seem like he was lying. Perhaps he really didn't care about this competition, and his aversion to it had weakened considerably.
Anyway, it will be you, Lin Ping, who will be suspected. I, Lian Ping, am just maintaining appearances between the two sides. So, I chatted with Lin Ping about this and that, but didn't mention anything about Lian Gui.
At this moment, the two private armies were positioned on either side of the crowd. Important figures such as Jiang Xiuwen were seated on makeshift tables, while Lin Ping shamelessly sat next to Lian Ping, almost throwing away his own chair and sitting directly on the other man's lap.
"My husband doesn't like men, does he..." Jiang Yunying asked doubtfully, regretting that she hadn't satisfied Lin Ping these past few days, instead letting him sleep with several strong and muscular captains, which finally caused trouble.
Wu Xin stood in the middle and naturally launched into a long and eloquent speech.
At the beginning, he said some meaningless things, nothing more than various expressions of gratitude, and then repeated the significance and purpose of the competition.
The crowd remained completely unmoved, some even picking their toes.
Perhaps the smell of foot odor was a bit pungent, so Wu Xin sped up his speech, omitting about ten thousand words, before starting to introduce the rules of the competition.
It was roughly the same as what Jiang Yunying had said, except that some details were set, such as only one match per day.
"After discussion between the two city lords and His Majesty's decision, it has been decided that the gladiatorial combat will be changed from best of three matches to best of five matches!" Wu Xin once again proved his name, meaning he was untrustworthy.
After discussion between the two city lords?
How could I not know?
They even brought up the monarch to intimidate people, which was a last-minute decision made by Wu Xin and the city lord of Shancheng when they were in cahoots.
This seemingly minor change actually plays a decisive role.
With the advent of stirrups and the new-style spear, Lin Ping was confident of winning the first match, but he couldn't win the second. He could only pin his hopes on the third duel.
If it were a best-of-three match, Jiang Yunying and Lin Xiaomei would have almost no problem winning the fight. But if it were a best-of-five match, they would not be able to find another expert.
This change was a last-minute decision made by Wu Xin and the city lord of Shancheng. A few days ago, they witnessed Jiang Yunying's terrifying strength and knew that she could win one round, but if she lost another round, she might lose the entire tournament. Therefore, they wanted to increase the number of matches to reduce the possibility of defeat.
In addition, they also wanted to buy time, since each additional match would give them an extra day, allowing the city lord to send troops to support them in time, and then take advantage of the situation to directly breach the city lord's city.
Jiang Yunying and Jiang Xiuwen naturally disagreed, but just as they were about to object, they noticed Lin Ping casting a firm gaze at them and nodding.
In other words, Lin Ping had anticipated this outcome and had already made preparations.
Lin Pingcai was the commander-in-chief of this expedition and had already achieved many victories. Jiang Yunying had no doubts about his decision.
After the competition rules were read out, everyone took their seats, and the hundred cavalrymen from both sides finally made their grand entrance.
The cavalry of the Mountain City Lord's Mansion were like sturdy pine trees advancing side by side, all of them identical in height and build. Even the coats of their warhorses were all pure black, and when paired with the silver-gleaming fish-scale armor of the private army, they immediately gave people a sense of awe.
This is the true cavalry, the invincible cavalry.
On the other hand, the private soldiers of Jiangcheng Prefecture were of varying heights and builds, their warhorses were of mixed colors, and strange iron rings hung under their saddles. Even the blades of their spears were covered with black cloth, and no one wore heavy armor.
The crowd laughed dismissively, thinking that Jiangcheng Prefecture's private army was just there to show off; how could cavalry of such a level possibly win?
After a clear gong sound, two hundred cavalrymen lined up in ten rows, standing on the same starting line, all with eager expressions.
Both sides must run a full kilometer on this wide, flat ground. The first to arrive wins. During this time, as long as no one dies, they can fight however they want.
Judging from the warhorses alone, Jiangcheng Prefecture has already lost. They simply cannot catch up with the enemy, nor do they have a chance to fight each other. Even if they were to engage in battle, it would only lead to an even more crushing defeat for them.
"Brother Lianping, your Shancheng Prefecture's warhorses are truly magnificent!" Lin Ping kept praising them, even forgetting that this was a competition against Jiangcheng Prefecture's private army.
Lian Ping smiled, a hint of pride in his eyes. These hundred cavalrymen were his trusted men, and even before the competition, they had already impressed everyone and brought great honor to Shancheng Prefecture. He suddenly realized that Lin Ping wasn't so bad after all.
"Of course, this is a Ferghana horse!" Lian Ping said arrogantly, his eyes full of disdain, as if a learned scholar was lecturing a country bumpkin.
"A Ferghana horse? The kind of fine horse that Zhang Qian brought from Dayuan?" Lin Ping secretly admired. He had long heard of the Ferghana horse's reputation, but unfortunately, there wasn't a single one in Jiangcheng Prefecture. Most of them were Southwest horses, and a small number were Hequ horses.
The reason why the mounts of these hundred cavalrymen were of mixed and disordered hair was because there were not many Hequ horses.
"How about I send you a few horses to play with tomorrow?" Lin Ping rubbed his hands together and chuckled, his naive and unsophisticated manner was simply laughable.
"Does your Jiangcheng Prefecture's private army even deserve to own Ferghana horses?" Lian Ping snorted coldly, directly rejecting Lin Ping's offer.
"How stingy!" Lin Ping pouted unhappily, just like a child arguing.
After a thunderous drumbeat that shook the heavens, two hundred cavalrymen, with their legs gripping the saddles and one hand on the reins, charged forward.