Chapter 374: Catching the White Spear with Bare Hands

A smile suddenly appeared on Li Yuanhui's lips, and then he said: "These soldiers under my command, General Chang Yanheng of the Left Guard, Zhang Jian, the governor of Guangling, Zhang Zhen'e, the left governor of Beiwei Army, Han Quan and Wang Fobao, are all generals who have fought with me for many years, just like my confidants. Governor Duan Wuda, Lou Jun, and the governors Xue Wanche, Yuchi Jingde, Duan Wuxuan, and Xie Shufang, although newly joined, are loyal and brave, and are the best of the three armies. As for military talent, all the generals are skilled in archery and horse riding, and have superb martial arts. I wonder what kind of military talent Your Majesty wants to see."

Li Yuan nodded upon hearing this, and then asked, "King Qi, who among these people is the best at using a lance?"

Li Yuanhui almost couldn't hold back his laughter, and then said: "I don't know how many people under my command are good at using lances. Xue Wanche, Zhang Jian, Han Quan, and Duan Wuxuan are all good at using lances, but Yuchi Jingde is good at taking away lances."

"Oh? Seize the spear?" Li Yuan became interested as soon as he heard it.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say."

The person who spoke was Li Xiaozheng, who was among the royal family members in the palace and returned to Chang'an a few days earlier than Li Yuanhui.

"King Wei, what do you have to say?"

Li Xiaozheng immediately responded, "I think Brother Qi is exaggerating. I am willing to compete with General Yuchi in spear fighting."

When Li Yuanhui heard this, he lowered his head, because it was really hard to hold back his laughter. Even the generals behind him didn't know what was wrong with His Highness and why he was laughing so happily.

Not only Li Yuanhui was laughing, but also Li Er, Li San, and several generals in the hall who had exchanged martial arts with Yuchi Jingde.

But apart from laughing, many people were somewhat surprised. How could the King of Wei have the confidence to publicly discredit the King of Qi in the court? Isn't he too brave?
Li Yuan didn't understand what was going on, so he continued to ask, "I remember that you are very good at spears and lances. Have you been practicing hard recently?"

"Your Majesty, I have never been lazy in Jinyang."

"Okay, then you can compete with General Yuchi under the command of the King of Qi."

"As commanded."

Li Yuanhui adjusted his posture, turned around and ordered: "In this case, Yuchi Hujun, you can compete with His Royal Highness the King of Wei. Be careful, don't hurt the King of Wei."

Yuchi Jingde said with a fierce face: "Don't worry, King Qi, I understand."

At that moment, in the main hall, civil and military officials directly cleared a space for the two men to perform martial arts.

In the palace, it was naturally impossible to give them real spears for them to compete with, they were all made of white wax sticks.

The two men stood still, ten steps apart. Li Xiaozheng held the lance with both hands, while Yuchi Jingde held the lance with one hand, acting very casually.

This contemptuous attitude made Li Xiaozheng very angry. He thought to himself that this time he must let people know how brave he was. So he stepped forward quickly, thrust his spear forward, and stabbed Yuchi Jingde in the chest.

In a flash, Yuchi Jingde threw the white wax stick in his hand down and dodged quickly, avoiding the stab, then grasped the front end of the spear like lightning, and then twisted it and pulled it out of Li Xiaozheng's hand. Then he pushed his hand forward to grasp the back end of the spear, turned it around, and placed the tip of the "spear" against Li Xiaozheng's chest.

"Your Highness, I appreciate your concession."

Li Xiaozheng was dumbfounded. What the hell was this? How could his spear be taken away by him in an instant?

The other ministers in the court were also stunned, because Yuchi Jingde's move to snatch the spear was so fast that they could not see it clearly.

"Okay, Cai."

King Jin Li Xuanji first shouted applause, and then many people reacted and started cheering.

"Colorful and colorful."

Li Yuanhui also clapped his hands with a faint smile on his lips.

Li Xiaozheng's face was red, he was angry. He was the son who was favored by Li Yuan recently, especially after the Tang Dynasty was established and he was crowned king.

So he really didn't think that he was worse than his brothers, and he had been practicing martial arts since he was young. From the time he was old enough to understand, the Li family's power was growing rapidly. During this period, both outsiders and servants at home praised him a lot, which gave him an illusion.

He felt that his brothers were only better in age. If he had been born a few years earlier, he would have been able to achieve success and have his own power and reputation. In the past year or so, he felt that his martial arts had improved a lot as the governor of Bingzhou, and he was also the governor of a state. He should not be much worse than his brothers, right? When he attacked Beiyan and made some more military achievements, he would win the trust of his father, and he might be able to compete with his brothers.

That's why he directly exposed Li Si's plan today, just to show off.

Now that he had been inexplicably exposed, he was naturally ashamed and angry, so he shouted, "I was careless, Your Majesty, I want to compete with General Yuchi again."

Li Yuan was about to say forget it, but Li Yuanhui spoke first: "Sixth brother, Yuchi Jingde's method of using the spear is unmatched in the world. Why don't you forget it? You are a prince, why bother to compete with a warrior like him?"

Li Xiaozheng got angry when he heard this, "I was just careless just now. Don't worry, brother, I will definitely have a good fight with General Yuchi this time."

"Hey"

Li Yuanhui's words sounded like advice, as he also called the prince a man of war. But to Li Xiaozheng's ears, this was extremely harsh. Wasn't it an obvious mockery that he only had the status of a prince, but no abilities or achievements?
Li Yuan saw something was wrong, so he let them make a fuss. Besides, he didn't see clearly how the spear was taken away, so he wanted to take another look.

The two sides stood still again, holding their spears and confronting each other.

Yuchi Jingde was still the same as before, carrying a pole and strolling leisurely in the garden.

Li Xiaozheng, filled with rage, stepped forward with his spear in hand, but this time he was much more careful. However, Yuchi Jingde's seemingly large body still dodged his attack easily, and his spear was soon taken away from him.

If this happened on the battlefield, he would have been dead.

"Come again."

He lost people three times in a row. The last time, when Yuchi Jingde pulled out his spear, he knocked him down and fell to the ground.

Seeing this, Li Yuanhui held back his laughter and pretended to be very angry and scolded: "Yuchi Jingde, you are too much. How can you be so rude? You really don't know the seriousness of the matter."

After saying this, the corners of his mouth could not help but rise. Seeing this, Yuchi Jingde's eyes rolled and he immediately knew Li Yuanhui's attitude. He immediately bowed and said, "I am unbecoming. Your Highness, please punish me."

"Why don't you apologize to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei?"

"Yes, Your Highness, it is I who have offended you."

As he spoke, he directly pulled up the King of Wei who was still lying on the ground. Li Xiaozheng's face flushed red, but he said, "I didn't rest well yesterday, so I let you take the lead today. I'll compete with you next time."

Yuchi Jingde lowered his head and said, "Your Highness is right."

Afterwards, the Prince of Jin once again took the lead in applauding and cheering, with no intention of saving face for his brother, the Prince of Wei, Li Xiaozheng.

Li Xiaozheng stood aside with a dusty face, but in his heart he was very angry with the brothers King of Jin and King of Qi, as well as Yuchi Jingde who made him lose face.

However, Li Yuan did not care about those things. He just clapped along, and then praised Yuchi Jingde's bravery and his unique skill in seizing the spear. Then he ordered people to reward him with fifty pieces of silk.

Yuchi Jingde bowed and expressed his gratitude, then left.

After Li Yuan left, King Wei Li Xiaozheng left without even waiting for his brothers to leave. He even ignored his fifth brother King Chu Li Zhiji's whispered call for him and walked away in a swagger.

This was undoubtedly a very disrespectful behavior. According to their official positions, the order in which they should leave the court should be the King of Qin, the King of Jin, the King of Qi, and other princes of the royal family, followed by the prime ministers and generals.

Regardless of his official position or seniority, he should have left after his brothers, but he left without a care in the world, which naturally made many court officials frown. However, thinking about his embarrassing behavior in the palace just now, they shook their heads.

Li Si watched coldly, not even wanting to pay any attention to him. Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you turn your back on me?

With this little cunning and determination, you still want to play a high-level game with us? Are you worthy?

But on second thought, it’s good to have this Old Six, at least there’s someone to take on this conspicuous responsibility for him.

(End of this chapter)