Chapter 1781 – Harmony of the Phoenix and the Luan
If something is out of place, it must change; teach students things that are practical and applicable.
This was Jiang Pengji’s own words, and the martial arts masters at the academy naturally followed suit.
Thus, the “Horse Control” training at the academy was modified, making the assessment items more aligned with current combat forms.
The “Horse Control” section divided into five scoring sub-items, with each sub-item worth six points.
“Sounding Harmony” — guiding the horse so that the bells hanging from its neck and limbs produce a unified rhythm. Not necessarily a concert, but it mustn’t be a cacophony; if the horse can play a relatively complete tune, then it’s definitely full marks.
“Chasing Water Melody” — allowing the horse rider to ride smoothly over rugged terrain while maintaining the harmony of the horse’s bells.
“Passing through the Imperial Gate” — this item leans towards etiquette but also tests riding skills as the rider must navigate through a narrow gate while performing a bow; any faux pas results in lost points.
“Dance in the Thoroughfare” — essentially an obstacle course, where riders must accurately execute various horse control movements based on the examiner’s commands.
“Chasing the Prey Left” — this is practical, as it involves effectively herding prey for easier shooting.
The training ground was spacious enough to accommodate fifty students divided into groups for simultaneous assessments, with the horses used being well-tempered mares.
When some discovered that the “Five Controls” assessment involved warhorses rather than chariots, they couldn’t help but frown.
Their conservative nature, steeped in old traditions, found it hard to accept such progressive changes…
“It’s absolutely chaotic; it’s unrecognizable—”
A scholar invited to observe rolled his eyes, whispering to a friend.
The friend chuckled, “I heard this was suggested by Lan Ting.”
The scholar snorted derisively, feeling scornful, and when he noticed that a woman was among the horse riders, he grew furious, his beard practically bristling. How could a woman perform the “Five Controls” for everyone to see? How can anyone enjoy this? No, absolutely not!
Had he not feared Jiang Pengji’s wrath, he would have stormed off in dramatic fashion.
In his mind, he chanted: just endure for Lan Ting’s sake; if you don’t want to watch, just close your eyes and ignore it…
Many shared this scholar’s sentiments, yet Feng Zhen and company found the display quite entertaining.
The students drew lots for their groups, with the first group consisting of only sixteen female students.
Sun Lan was particularly unlucky; he drew the first group and received a randomly assigned warhorse.
“Oh horse, oh horse, do me a solid today, and I promise to buy you several bales of hay for your hard work later!”
He muttered to himself, when he heard the rustling of fabric beside him. Turning his head, he saw a fellow female student confidently mount her horse, her legs squeezing its belly, and the mare obediently trotted towards the assessment field. Sun Lan’s face turned dark as he watched.
Jiang Pengji, the unpredictable demon, was not going to allow students an easy ride.
Sun Lan nearly cried, “At least give me some stirrups—”
Indeed, Jiang Pengji had ordered the removal of all stirrups from the warhorses, leaving only the saddles.
→_→
Stirrups hadn’t been around for long; at least when Li Yun joined the army, he was accustomed to riding without them.
Now that stirrups were common, they also lowered the bar for riding.
To assess the students’ true abilities, Jiang Pengji “reasonably” removed the stirrups. This not only meant the challenge of controlling the horse increased, but also the difficulty of mounting it. The only lucky break was that these warhorses were relatively small and gentle; otherwise, if they had been the massive steeds from a heavy cavalry battalion, these students would have struggled to mount them!
Feng Zhen almost doubled over laughing at Sun Lan’s woeful expression.
Zhang Ping queried, “I wonder what the Lord’s intention was in removing the stirrups?”
Feng Zhen replied mysteriously, “You don’t know, do you? Mounting and controlling the horse without stirrups—just think about the posture!”
Zhang Ping: “???”
The atmosphere suddenly took a turn for the suggestive.
Wei Ci coughed to the side, signaling the group of seasoned veterans to tone it down—was this a serious occasion or a racing event?
Feng Zhen kept observing and noted a peculiar phenomenon.
“These kids have terrible posture—”
Each rider mounted differently, lacking grace, unlike their female counterparts whose positions were fluid and elegant.
Indeed, Feng Zhen noticed that the female students exhibited remarkable poise; their mounting methods seemed wonderfully seamless.
Putting aside the “Five Controls,” the focus on their waist technique appeared promising.
Wei Ci became increasingly suspicious, urging Feng Jin to take action, to which Feng Jin shot him a death glare.
Feng Zhen: “…”
The first item of the horse control test was “Sounding Harmony.” The warhorses wore bells on their necks and legs, and students needed to guide their mounts in such a way that the bells produced rhythmic sounds. If they managed to play a specified tune, the more perfect the execution, the higher the score.
This segment not only assessed horse control skills but also the students’ understanding of music theory.
Prior to the assessment, students were given a moment to communicate with their horses and ease their nerves.
“Isn’t this unfair to the later students?”
Some questioned, as the first group had a specified tune and shorter preparation time, while subsequent groups enjoyed ample time.
“Just watch; Lan Ting will have ensured even this was well thought out.”
When the music officer played the assessment tune, everybody was baffled and began whispering.
“I’ve never heard this melody before. XX, do you recognize it?”
Naturally, XX hadn’t heard it either, for it was a tune suggested by the audience in the Dried Fish realm—“Jingle Bells.”
Though unfamiliar, the rhythm was clear and catchy, the kind you could get addicted to after hearing once.
The music officer played the tune three times as students memorized it, some feeling confident while others sighed in seriousness.
With a command, the first group’s assessment began.
The “Sounding Harmony” task was unique, with the first group further divided into five smaller groups of ten for the demonstration.
If all fifty participants performed simultaneously, the bell sounds would be too chaotic for fair judging.
Sun Lan held the reins tightly, beads of sweat lining his forehead; his timing was slightly off, but not entirely out of tune.
The performance of “Jingle Bells” was short and didn’t require much time.
Judging criteria encompassed not only the melody but also whether the rider’s movements were smooth and their demeanor confident…
Estimating his score, Sun Lan doubted he could achieve full marks, but a score of four was plausible.
“Indeed—‘Sounding Harmony’ is meant to favor the female classes—”
Sun Lan controlled his horse to the side, watching the subsequent groups perform. He noticed two female students from the next group performing extraordinarily well; their melodies were on-point, and their horses moved seamlessly alongside them. It was undisputed that they would surely score full marks—
Given this performance, it was also likely they’d maintain high scores for the remaining four assessments.
The horse control evaluation didn’t only consider personal skill but also a bit of luck, after all; the evaluation content required harmony with the horses.
Undoubtedly, those female students had horses that were not just obedient but exceedingly well-behaved…
Well, maybe “overly obedient” would be more accurate.
Soon enough, the fifty-person assessment concluded.
Of the sixteen female students, only one failed to achieve full marks; her reason being a slightly off melody. Among the thirty-four male students, only ten scored full marks, the rest between four and five points. To Sun Lan’s surprise, he scored five points, slightly better than his expectations.
Even the previously disdainful scholars fell silent.
Though still contemptuous internally, they had to confess that the female students’ performances were flawless and without fault.
“Hmph, it was just luck.”
