When the children of the ancestral family came to Xihe Bridge, the two brothers Zhang Yuan and Zhang Pre and a group of rangers had already waited for a while. Looking at it from a distance, I saw that there were three or five new faces riding on horses with Zhang Yuan and Zhang Pre brothers today, and there were all high-headed horses under the seats, and the material of the clothes was also very different from ordinary rangers, which was more luxurious.

"Who are those people?" Zu Zhao muttered to himself.

"Eldest son, I know the man in black next to Zhang Yuan, he is Zhang Yuan's eldest brother, it seems that his name is Zhang Nan, the word is Qiao." Zu Ji, who was just close to the left, squinted his eyes for a while, and then said busily.

"Zhang Wenqiao?" Zu Zhao thoughtfully muttered, could it be the general under Yuan Shao in the future?

"It's strange how they came." Zu Ji also said with some doubts.

Zu Zhao didn't think much about it, and continued to move forward to meet Zhang Yuan and Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yuan and Zhang Yu looked quite energetic, and before Zu Zhao could get close, they took the initiative to greet them. Those young men in gorgeous clothes had already followed the left and right, looking at the people of the ancestral family with different expressions.

"Ancestor Gongzi, come on, come on, let me introduce you, these are all my brothers. This is the eldest son of my second uncle, Zhang Nan Zhang Wenqiao, who just came back from Zhuo County yesterday, and heard that I was practicing with my eldest son for this year's thief drill recently, so I came to see him. Zhang Yuan took the initiative to introduce and said.

"Oh, I see. Brother Wen Qiao, it's really a blessing. Zu Zhao was calm and polite and bowed to the other party.

"Fortunately. I have heard the name of the eldest son of the ancestor for a long time, and it is an honor for me Zhang Wenqiao to see him today. "Zhang Nan is about twenty-five or six years old, not too tall, but his physique is very strong and strong, and he speaks with a full of temperament, revealing a military style. However, although his words were very polite, his demeanor and tone when he spoke always revealed another meaning, as if the older people always looked down on the weak.

"Brother Wen Qiao, it's too polite, you don't dare to be here." Zu Zhao said with a smile. He noticed that Zhang Nan's belt was inlaid with a dark yellow edge, and there was a decorative pattern on the surface of the belt. This kind of belt is by no means worn by ordinary people, but an official uniform belt issued by the government, which shows that it now has an official position.

"My cousin Wen Qiao is now serving as the lieutenant of Rongcheng County, Zhuo County, and he took leave the day before yesterday to go home to visit relatives. Don't you know, your name is also widely known in Zhuo County. Zhang Yuan said without concealment.

"Brother Wenyi's words are serious, how can it be like this." Zu Zhaotui said with a smile.

Of course, he can still guess one or two, and nine times out of ten, it is precisely because he rescued the Lu family and his party that he spread his reputation to Zhuo County. But after all, the mountains are high and the rivers are far away, and I believe that even if there is some fame, it will not be as popular as Zhang Yuan said. In addition, he felt in his heart that Zhang Nan should be regarded as a character to some extent, even if it was only mentioned in the history books, it was not easy to take a county post in another county as a native of Youbeiping County.

"As my brother said, my grandfather is a humble man." Zhang Nan said with a plausible smile.

Subsequently, Zhang Yuan introduced several other people one by one, all of whom were children of the Zhang family in Anyang Pavilion, and this time they mainly accompanied Zhang Nan. These children of the Zhang family are all without exception, either direct relatives of the Zhang family, or they are from a wealthy family, as the so-called things gather people in groups, they can't see them on weekdays, and Zhang Nan quickly mingled with them after he came back.

After chatting for a while, Gongsun Long behind Zu Zhao didn't care about Zhang Nan and these people, and couldn't help but clamoring to hurry up and organize everyone to compete in a queue. The two brothers Zhang Yuan and Zhang Pre naturally cooperated, they did not have much contact with Zhang Nan on weekdays, and since Zhang Nan and others were present today, they had to show their hands in front of these noble relatives.

"It's a small fight, it's not a system, and I hope Brother Wen Qiao can give you some advice." Zu Zhao said politely to Zhang Nan, and then gathered everyone to start grouping.

Zhang Nan and others have been stopping to watch, and from time to time they have made a few comments. As a county lieutenant, he personally organized the preparation and arrest of thieves in previous years, so he despised Zu Zhao's so-called "drill" method, just as he heard from Zhang Yuan yesterday, this "drill" is completely nonsense, and there is nothing remarkable at all. Because of this, he is not so much a critic as a straightforward sarcasm.

The first competition organized by Zu Zhao was to run about two miles on foot, and then immediately shoot a tree fifty paces away with a bow when he reached the finish line. This is also a new trick, which can be used to improve rapid fire ability while exercising physical strength.

The two teams were about ten feet apart, and a non-participant gave the order, after which both teams began to gallop at the same time.

Zu Zhao personally participated in the left team and led more than 40 people from his team to sprint to the distant hills.

At first, the speed of the two teams was almost the same, after all, they were both young and strong, and they more or less had a certain martial arts foundation. However, as the distance of running became farther and farther, differences and distinctions gradually appeared, and there were physically weak people in each team, and many people fell to the back of the line, and fell farther and farther. Zu Zhao looked back from time to time to observe the situation, and when he saw that the people who had fallen behind were too far away from the team, he decisively asked the whole team to slow down and keep the team together as much as possible.

As for the group of people on the right team, the team soon became a line, and those who ran in front of them rushed with all their might, leading some of the people in the middle to chase each other, and those who were behind were left far behind the team.

Although everyone in the left team was very anxious, because of Zu Zhao's face, the few people who had good physical strength and ran at the front could only obey orders. By and large, the team is able to stay together. During this period, there were people who tripped over debris under their feet, Zu Zhao personally rushed over to support this person, and after discovering that this person had sprained his ankle, he beckoned another person to join hands and help this person to keep up with the team.

It didn't take long for the first few people on the right team to reach the finish line, picking up their bows from the ground and shooting arrows at the trees in front of them.

The left team led by Zu Zhao was a little slower, but fortunately, all the team members arrived at the same time, and most of them maintained a constant speed from beginning to end, and most of them effectively maintained their physical strength. When everyone on the left team shot the feather arrows, the few people on the right team arrived belatedly, and they didn't even have the strength to breathe, let alone lift the bow and open the string.

The final result was self-evident, when it came to calculating the number of arrows on the trunk, Zu Zhao's team was significantly more than the other.

"Lose again?" Gongsun Long exclaimed emotionally after listening to the results of the arrow tree.

"How could this be, obviously we ran first!"

"That's it, why did you miss it?"

The people on the left team never expected that they could win even after the race, and they were overjoyed. There are also a few people who have a good relationship and laugh loudly at the losing side as if they were joking.

"Brother Gongsun, everyone," Zu Zhao said with a calm look and a smile, "This is just the first game, there is no need to take it so seriously, there are two other competitions in the future."

"Grandfather, look at it, I'll just say, there are always some people who are dragging their feet, but you still don't believe it." Gongsun Long said with great annoyance, glaring at those who were still slumped on the ground panting as he spoke.

"Brother Gongsun, it seems that you still don't understand what I told you yesterday." Zu Zhao said unhurriedly.

"But..." Gongsun Long was about to defend himself, but a flash of inspiration suddenly flashed in his mind, and he suddenly had some realizations. Although there are people on his right team who are lagging behind, Zu Zhao's left team also has laggards, but in the end, the other party wins, which already shows some truth.

He was originally convinced of Zu Zhao from the bottom of his heart, but now he confirmed it through practical actions, and naturally felt more and more convinced. Therefore, he did not continue to argue, but instead changed his face to deep thought.

Next, Zu Zhao asked everyone to take a break. Zhang Yuan and Zhang Pre are not in the same group, and they are still arguing over the victory just now, even Zhang Pre, who usually obeys Zhang Yuan's words, has his own unswerving position on the matter of competition. Zhang Nan and the others, who were in the distance, saw that the competition was over here, and slowly rushed over on horseback.

Someone beside him reminded Zu Zhao, Zu Zhao glanced at it, and then stepped forward.

"Brother Wen Qiao, the first competition of Shicai, I don't know if you have any advice?" When Zhang Nan and the others approached, Zu Zhao asked respectfully.

"Grandfather, Zhang Mou is your brother, so you can say whatever you have to say." Zhang Nan said condescendingly on horseback, showing a posture of lesson, "Drill is a serious matter, and the most taboo is frivolity and casualness. In previous years, if we had any military affairs in Rongcheng County, they were all organized to conduct unified exercises for the people, and the team paid attention to uniformity, and it was necessary to order and prohibit it, so as to be effective. Now you divide the team into two, so that they become opponents of each other, but it only exacerbates the feelings and conflicts between your companions, how can you achieve uniformity in the future battles? "

What Brother Wen Qiao said is extremely true, and I will keep it in my heart." Zu Zhao said very formally, but he had his own plans in his heart. The army does have to pay attention to discipline, which he has long thought about, but according to the original plan, many things have to be cyclical. Like Zhang Nan, who is already a county lieutenant, has official convenience in doing things, and it is indispensable to take it for granted.

"To put it simply, you're really just making a fuss, just playing." Zhang Nan added emphatically.

Zu Zhao still had a calm face, but this time he didn't answer, because what Zhang Nan said was right, what he was doing now was to take this group of people around.

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