Chapter 640 Different Ways to Be Happy

September 20th was the 40th birthday of the King of Huainan. Xuanyuan Yao requested to return to Huainan to celebrate his father's birthday and bring Xie Jin, who was eager to meet his parents-in-law, with him. The Queen and the Regent allowed him to do so.

So at the end of August, the two officially set out on the road to meet their parents-in-law.

At the same time, more than three months had passed since the deadline given by the Regent.

The Eighth Battalion of the Imperial Army, led by Zhang Rui as a thousand households, and the Seventh Battalion of Xiao Chi had a real contest on the parade ground.

This matter has to start with the conflict three months ago.

The sons of the gentry who were born and raised in the imperial capital have always had some prejudice against the poor. This prejudice is almost innate, with a sense of superiority, and the difference in the treatment of the poor who need to be selected and trained before they can be enlisted in the Imperial Army, while the gentry can directly go through the back door, which also leads to the gentry's perception that they are superior.

However, this perception was soon broken by the Regent, and the superiority of the nobles suffered a severe blow. Those who provoked and offended Chu Hongyi in front of all the imperial guards three months ago had been expelled from the army and expelled from the imperial guards under the heavy punishment of thirty military sticks.

The thunder-like treatment of the Regent frightened the remaining nobles. Although the three-month deadline was short, Xiao Chi still took the nobles to practice at the risk of his life, knowing that it was impossible to defeat the well-trained imperial guards from the poor families. Needless to say, it was hard work.

Some people who really couldn't bear the hardship took off their military uniforms and chose to give up one after another, leaving the imperial guards - giving up by yourself is better than being expelled after losing the competition, so you don't have to suffer for three more months in vain.

So when the three months were up, only 118 people were left from the original 200 people.

The eight battalions under Zhang Rui had a total of 120 people.

The number of people was evenly matched, and two more or less would not have much impact. However, for the sake of fairness, Zhang Rui casually asked two people to rest aside, without taking any advantage.

One hundred and eighteen against one hundred and eighteen.

The competition items were not difficult, horse stance, running circles, single combat, and archery.

For the sons of the nobles who had hardly suffered from training, the more difficult competition items were obviously not suitable for them. At present, as long as they were physically strong, could persist in running a hundred laps around the training ground, the posture and persistence time of horse stance could meet the standard, and the single combat could show obvious progress, and the archery was significantly improved compared to three months ago, and they could hit the center of the target when shooting, then their attitude would be considered passed.

As for winning, you don’t need to compete to know that it is impossible.

Want to win someone who has been training continuously for several years in three months? Even if you don’t eat or drink, and train day and night, it is impossible to do it.

On the day of the competition between the two camps, Rong Yu personally went to the scene to supervise for a moment, and Chu Hongyi was responsible for presiding over the competition rules.

The imperial guards of Xiao Chi's first battalion were much darker than they were three months ago. It was obvious that this was the result of training under the sun in the summer.

Although they were a little darker, they were much more energetic and no longer had the arrogance and arrogance they had before.

The two battalions competed with each other, and the battle was quite big.

It probably took a whole day.

Rong Yu watched outside the training ground for half an hour and then left. He knew the result without watching any more.

Back at Dazheng Palace, Nan Xi was sitting on a low couch by the window and teaching Hao'er to read.

"When a person is born, his nature is good; natures are close, but habits make them different..."

The soft and sticky voice made people feel soft-hearted. Hao'er, who was one year and six months old, was more articulate and spoke clearly and fluently. He was obviously smarter and more intelligent than other children of his age. He had not started to recite the "Three Character Classic" yet, but was just reading it for the time being. Nan Xi would teach him a few sentences when he was free, back and forth, until he was familiar with those sentences.

Nan Xi has always advocated gentle education and did not want to kill the child's childishness early, so she would read with Hao'er in her spare time. If he read well, she would kiss him twice, and if he read poorly, she would teach him twice more. Even if she was teaching, she would definitely do it in a relaxed way that the child could accept.

Rong Yu stood at the door of the palace and watched for a moment, with a slight smile on his lips. He quickly walked to the imperial desk in the palace and sat down, and began to review today's memorials.

The child's childish voice and the mother's gentle voice in front of the window echoed in my ears continuously, as if they had become the most beautiful and wonderful scenery of this summer.

I don't know how long it took, but the voices of the mother and son gradually became smaller until they were completely quiet.

Rong Yu turned his head and looked through the hollow rosewood partition. He saw Nan Xi holding the already asleep Hao'er and walked to the bedside, put the child on the bed, bent down and gently patted the child's shoulders to make him sleep more soundly.

Her peaceful and gentle appearance looked like an ordinary mother, exuding the glory of maternal love all over her body.

Rong Yu used to think that the best way for two people to love each other was to grow old together. Now he found that loving a couple and having children is also an incomparable happiness.

As he was thinking this, a familiar breath appeared around him.

Nan Xi sat down beside the imperial desk, raised his hands and rolled up his sleeves, and asked him carefully: "How was the competition in the training ground?"

"The guards from the poor families have received many years of formal training. They are strong and flexible. It is no problem for them to deal with the guards from the noble families." Rong Yu said leisurely, "So there is nothing to see, but the guards from the noble families who stayed behind have been serious in the past three months. It can be seen that they have worked hard."

Nan Xi said: "In fact, whether it is a poor family or a noble family, there are people who are not worth cultivating, and there are people who can endure hardships. Not all poor families can become talents, and not all noble families are fools."

Rong Yu was silent for a moment, then nodded slowly: "Xi'er is right."

"Emperors of different dynasties have different habits of doing things, and the results they have caused are different." Nan Xi thought for a while, "The children of the gentry have good backgrounds, and most of them live a life of luxury. The children who don't like to study aim to join the imperial army, as if their future in life is settled. Not only will they have a good life, but they will also have a lot of salary. In addition, the emperors and dignitaries of all dynasties have favored the gentry. What reason do the gentry have to suffer with the children of poor families?"

Rong Yu hummed, agreeing with her.

"Some of the children of the noble families can endure hardships, but after entering the Imperial Guards, they found that all the children of the noble families were the same. After a long time, it became a matter of course to go with the flow."

"And the children of the poor families were sent to the palace at a young age because of their poor family background. They knew that only by working hard and enduring hardships could they survive and have a chance to change their fate, so they could only grit their teeth and persevere. However, not all children of the poor families have precious qualities. People's desires will change with time and environment, so it is important to restrain and constrain each other."

Although Rong Yu didn't talk much, he liked to listen to Nan Xi talk very much. Every word he said was like a gentle spring breeze blowing through his heart, making people feel comfortable all over. He wanted her to say more, and more.

So at this time, he put down the red pen and listened attentively.