I

The martial arts referee stood there stunned, not knowing whether to judge Zheng Dayong as a foul or to judge Zheng Dayong as a winner.

Xia Pulan, who was the master of ceremonies in the competition, also had a hard time making a choice, and subconsciously looked towards the Queen Mother in the auditorium.

Queen Anne didn't know what to do. If Zheng Dayong was sentenced to a foul, it would appear that the French royal family has no courage. If Zheng Dayong is judged to win, the captain of the royal guard will lose in one round, which makes the French royal guard too rubbish.

Zheng Dayong lifted his helmet with a smile, and rode to Xia Pulan: "Let's score."

There is another rule in knightly contests. Those who fall from the horse will not be defeated directly, but will be deducted points like a broken lance. This kind of rule is mostly used in small-scale martial arts competitions. Countless spectators come to watch the excitement, but there are only a few fights, and it can't be over just after the start, so after falling off the horse, they will get up and continue fighting.

Since Zheng Dayong represents China in the competition, of course he needs to understand the situation.

A few days ago, I was even grinding my gun to get used to this special brittle wooden lance.

After hearing the translation, Xia Pulan hurriedly asked the Queen Mother for instructions.

Queen Anne felt that this move was feasible, and neither China nor France would lose face. She looked at Zheng Dayong in the arena with a smile, and thought that this Chinese knight was very good, not only had excellent riding skills, but also knew how to be flexible.

Navarra had already been supported by his teammates, and when he learned that the game would continue, his first reaction was to untie the belt of his shield.

It is estimated that from now on, European knights' competitions will either modify the rules so that the belt cannot be pulled, or the knight's shield will not be hung directly with the belt.

Like d'Artagnan, Navarre was also a member of the local nobility.

Only the nobles can afford an official position and become the captain of the company of guards. This position is worth 100,000 livres.

The retinues on both sides don't need to fight anymore, all the honor and challenges belong to the knights.

After exchanging positions, the two walked around the obstacle, approached about ten meters and accelerated to charge again.

Zheng Dayong felt that this kind of competition was stupid, and the brittle wood lance restricted too much technique. For example, if he can't charge and sweep, if he swings his lance and sweeps over, regardless of whether he can knock his opponent off the horse, the lance in his hand will definitely break and deduct points. This thing is deliberately made brittle to protect the contestants.

"pound!"

"Boom!"

There were two crisp sounds.

The shield used by Zheng Da separated Navarra's lance. Then he quickly lowered his right arm and inserted it into the gap of the opponent's shield. Navarra was a little too late to respond, and knocked the lower end of the shield on Zheng Dayong's lance. The guy was stabbed in the thigh, and Zheng Dayong scored again.

Anyone can see that there is a huge gap in strength between the two sides.

Zheng Dayong first fought with Zhang Tieniu, then became a dragoon, and then transferred to Liaoning as a cavalry. He was killed with real swords and guns, and the Navarra in front of him had never been on the battlefield at all.

Taking the lead in scoring for two consecutive rounds, Navarra is already a little scared.

At the beginning of the third round, Navarra cheered up. He no longer dared to play tricks, he only wanted to defend effectively, and then scored by breaking Zheng Da's lance.

"ah!"

Just when the two sides were about to contact, the nobles in the audience exclaimed.

It was Zheng Dayong who suddenly threw the lance, aiming at Navarra's head. Navarra hastily moved the shield up, subconsciously protected his face, and when his sight was blocked, he raised his gun and stabbed Zheng Dayong completely by feeling.

Zheng Dayong was wearing a bulky full-body plate armor, half of his body leaned out. After narrowly dodging the lance, he regained his balance in an instant, and switched the shield to his right hand, and the horizontal shield slammed into Navarra's ribs.

"Bang!"

A large pile of tin cans fell off the horse's back again.

This time, he rolled over and fell, and he fell to a mess. In addition to the heavy armor, he didn't get up for a long time.

The referee was stunned for a while, and came to remind him: "Mr. Chinese Knight, if you let go of the lance, your opponent will score because of it. You can't throw the lance."

Zheng Dayong asked: "I just let go of the gun, but he fell to the ground. Who scored more points in this round?"

"Of course you," said the referee.

Zheng Dayong said with a smile: "That's enough."

The game continues and the fourth round begins.

After the initial shock, the audience seemed to get used to it gradually, and even became excited, wanting to see what special tricks Chinese knights have. Such a novel trick is much more interesting than a rigorous martial arts competition.

And any nobleman who knows how to ride will not think that Zheng Dayong is cheating.

As for the change of tricks just now, one must have superb riding skills, terrifying waist and abdomen strength, and an accurate grasp of timing. Without any of these items, Zheng Dayong would not be able to score, and it would just be a waste of time.

Navarra was helped onto the horse, he was already a little dazed, and his whole body was sore.

Although he was protected by armor, he fell off the horse twice and fell hard.

Navarra became visibly sluggish as he charged forward for the fourth time. His lance was easily blocked by Zheng Da, but Zheng Da's lance changed direction confusingly and stabbed straight into his helmet.

This is a fatal attack, and you can directly declare victory.

"Zheng! Zheng! Zheng!"

The French ladies had forgotten their nationality and cheered for Zheng Dayong collectively. This knight contest was really exciting.

Louis XIV personally presented the award: "Congratulations, brave and fearless knight!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zheng Dayong said happily.

I am really happy, the bonus is about five thousand taels of silver. In addition, it also comes with a divine steed and a French long sword.

This is a Percheron horse, also called a Snow Dragon horse. As a heavy draft horse, its best use was to pull goods, and later became the horse breed that had the greatest impact on American agriculture.

But it can also be used for fighting. The French heavy cavalry in the Middle Ages all rode this thing on their crotches.

Its combat characteristics are: tall stature, thick limbs, strong running balance, high combat tolerance, and not easy to get injured and fall when stepping on rugged battlefields and corpses. The physical strength is incredible, suitable for long-distance marches and heavy armor operations. The speed is not as fast as that of light horses, but it is far superior to other heavy horses. Be docile, protect the master, obey orders, and have strong discipline.

This kind of war horse is a weapon for heavy cavalry, but it is not suitable for light cavalry.

As for the French long sword, you can refer to the "Embroidery Needle" in "Game of Thrones", but the sword body is obviously longer and wider. The scabbard and hilt of the sword are both made of golden color and inlaid with sapphires. You can tell by those few gems that they are not cheap.

Lu Tianxiang and Zhang Ruifeng have already said that Zheng Dayong can distribute these prizes on his own.

The three guards who accompanied him to the battle each received one thousand taels of silver. Zheng Dayong took one thousand taels for himself and used the remaining silver to treat guests. When he returned to Nanjing, he invited other guards to dinner.

The war horse and sword became Zheng Dayong's private collection.

He specially asked for a mare. If it could survive the sea voyage, it could be bred to produce cubs when he returned to Nanjing. This kind of foreign war horses can be fostered at the Nanjing Royal Racecourse, and the breeding costs are provided by the Ministry of War. Most of the mixed-race cubs born went to the imperial court, and a small number went to Zheng Dayong himself.

Zheng Dayong rode his newly won prize, hung up the French sword, and rushed to the audience to dismount. They bowed their hands to Lu Tianxiang and Zhang Ruifeng respectively, meaning that they were lucky enough to live up to their fate.

"Wow! Zheng!"

The ladies threw objects at Zheng Dayong, handkerchiefs from a short distance and jewelry from a distance. If he picks up an object, it is equivalent to accepting the love of the owner of the object, even if the lady has a husband.

Zheng Dayong was a little restless. After all, he had been at sea for too long and had never touched a woman. He pretended not to see anything and left directly to share the money with his friends.

At the end of the banquet in the evening, Zheng Dayong was summoned by Queen Mother Anne.

It's really inappropriate to go to a woman's room at night, and the other person is the Queen Mother, even though the Queen Mother is already over fifty years old.

Zhang Ruifeng looked at Lu Tianxiang, he couldn't decide either.

Lu Tianxiang said: "Go ahead, just don't do anything outrageous."

Zheng Dayong bit the bullet and went to Queen Mother Anne's palace. The maid continued walking with him, and soon entered a room, which turned out to be the Queen Mother's bathroom, and the Queen Mother was taking a bath.

Fortunately, there is a bathtub, and the lid of the bathtub covers half of the water. Milk was put into the water, causing the bath water to become cloudy and making it difficult to see what was going on underneath the water.

Putting milk in the bath water is not only for skin care, but its real function is to hide shame and show respect to the guests when receiving guests.

It is pure nonsense to say that people in medieval Europe did not bathe.

The real situation is that nobles like to receive guests while bathing, and commoners often go to the river to swim.

The church and the law could not control the nobility, but they could restrain the common people. It was expressly forbidden to bathe in the river and to open public bathhouses. However, you can bathe in the sea or go to hot springs, because doctors say these two methods can cure diseases.

If a noble received you in the bath and covered his body from view.

So congratulations, this nobleman really treats you as a guest.

If it's naked, let you look at it casually. So I'm sorry, but in the eyes of this nobleman, you are an unwelcome servant or a pariah.

Voltaire's "The Magnificent Emile" has a description. When Madame Chatelet took a bath, she asked the valet Longchamp to add water to her. Not only was she not wearing any clothes, she even spread her legs to avoid being burned by the hot water.

Later, the lady changed clothes in front of the male servant. When attending the salon, the duchess and several marchionesses took off all their clothes because the weather was too hot, leaving only a few ceremonial accessories on their bodies, and ate naked in front of the footmen.

The valet has never seen the world. At first he was so scared that he closed his eyes and dared not speak. Later, he gradually understood and became angry: "The lady treats the servants as lifeless machines... In her (Mrs. Chatelet) eyes, I am a human being." , no different from the kettle in my hand."

As for Louis XIV, this guy really didn't take a bath and only washed a few times in his life to show his devotion to Jesus.

Europeans who rarely bathe are almost all devout Christians. This thing originally originated from sectarian disputes, and gradually became associated with the Black Death. It was believed that the dirt on the body was like armor, which could protect against various diseases. After taking a bath, people would easily get sick.

"You are very brave, Mr. Chinese Knight." Queen Mother Anne sat in the bathtub with her arms exposed and looked at Zheng Dayong with a charming look.

The translator was a little embarrassed and coughed and said, "Mr. Zheng, the Queen Mother is praising you for your bravery."

Zheng Dayong had never seen such a scene. It would be better if there were only two people, and the key translator was also nearby. He cast his eyes on the wall and said awkwardly: "Thank you for the compliment."

Queen Mother Anne smiled and said: "Please have a seat."

Zheng Dayong sat down tremblingly, still not daring to look directly.

Queen Mother Anne asked: "Have you been on the battlefield? How many enemies have you killed?"

Zheng Dayong replied: "I killed probably dozens of people with my own hands. Because he fought bravely and defeated enemy generals in battle, he was selected as a bodyguard by His Majesty the Emperor."

"Then you are a real warrior," Queen Mother Anne liked more and more, twisted and lay on the edge of the bathtub, showing her shoulders, staring at Zheng Dayong and said, "Can you tell me how you fought against the enemy? "

Zheng Dayong had no choice but to tell the truth, the more the Queen Mother listened, the more tempted she became, and she kept asking about the details of the battlefield.

Finally, the bath water became cold.

Zheng Dayong and the interpreter were invited out of the bathroom, but the maid was left behind to help the Queen Mother get dressed. The manservant responsible for adding water also stayed in the bathroom and witnessed the whole process of dressing the Queen Mother.

"Your Highness, it's getting late, I will take my leave first!"

Zheng Dayong stood outside the bathroom door, his face blushing with embarrassment, and he didn't wait for a reply from inside, he ran away with the translator.

Cai Yuncheng laughed when he went back and told the story.

And in the large villa in the suburbs, Pan Wei was having fun with a marquise. His behavior was acquiesced, because from the lady's bed, many anecdotes can be inquired, and these anecdotes will also be written into the work report.

I just hope that this old man doesn't suffer from venereal disease.

Syphilis was spread to China by Europeans in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. Brought by the Portuguese, it first appeared in Guangdong, so it is also called "Guangdong sore", and later spread along the coast of Zhejiang.

By the way, doctors in the Ming Dynasty were the best in the world at that time in treating syphilis...