Chapter 137: A Pair of Fools

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“What did you say?” Tang Renxian stared at him in disbelief, though pride gleamed in his eyes. “You want to race against me? I heard that correctly, didn’t I?”

“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Zhao Zhen provoked him.

“Haha! Old man, I’m not trying to bully you, but before we make a wager, I’d better make things clear.” Tang Renxian laughed smugly. “You often see me at poetry gatherings, but my horsemanship is second to none. Even the Khitans admire me for it.”

“And this horse of mine, Grand General, was the finest horse the Khitans gave me.”

“You have neither men nor horses. What are you going to compete with me?”

Tang Renxian sneered and shook his head.

He truly looked down on Zhao Zhen. Whether a man knew how to ride could be seen from his posture alone. In that regard, Tang Renxian was unquestionably an expert. Otherwise, the Khitans would never have praised his horsemanship.

“Heh. What a coincidence. My horsemanship is excellent too.” Zhao Zhen was also extremely… well, confident?

“That is quite true, Young Master Tang,” the horse official beside them suddenly said.

All the horse officials had taken Tang Renxian’s side. He was the son of a minister, certainly, but they also favored him because he understood horses, giving them something in common to discuss.

“Young Master Tang’s horse is a genuine northern steed. It is said to have been presented to the Liao horse king by a minor tribe, and may even be a thousand-mile horse.”

“And Young Master Tang’s riding skills are admired by the Khitans as well. If you compete with him, you have not the slightest chance of winning.”

With even the horse official saying so, Zhao Zhen’s chances of victory seemed all but sealed at zero.

At that moment, Zhao Zhen’s men arrived as well. Chen Lin leaned close and urged him softly, “Sir, let it go. We needn’t quarrel with him.”

Unexpectedly, Zhao Zhen was determined to press on. “And what of it? Didn’t you say I was the finest rider in the world? How could he possibly defeat me? The Khitans… Hmph! They’re nothing special.”

Oh dear! Had the emperor actually taken all that flattery to heart? What was one supposed to do now? Tell him: Your Majesty, your horsemanship amounts to nothing more than being able to sit on a mare. Honestly, you’re hopeless.

That was, of course, impossible.

“How dare you! Who are you, to think you can—”

Chen Lin could neither mention the flattery nor openly criticize his master, but he could turn around and rebuke Tang Renxian.

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However, the instant he did so, Zhao Zhen growled, “Silence!”

Chen Lin turned back resentfully and said to Zhao Zhen, “Sir, these ignorant little whelps have no idea of their own insignificance. How dare they think to compete with you…”

“How dare you!”

This second roar did not come from Chen Lin, nor from Zhao Zhen, but from the horse official, who was wholly intent on currying favor with Tang Renxian.

“Do you know who this is? Young Master Tang is the son of a minister!”

The horse official had assessed the situation clearly. Zhao Zhen’s side had more people, most of them sturdy men. If a confrontation broke out, Tang Renxian would certainly suffer, so he revealed Tang’s identity.

Tang Renxian was filled with pride at the announcement. As for Zhao Zhen’s side… the guards were practically bursting to laugh, yet none dared make a sound.

The son of a minister? What an imposing title! It was certainly enough to intimidate a band of guards. Even imperial guards who carried weapons before the throne would not dare offend him.

But there was one small problem: the guards were not the main characters today. Surely they were not so witless that they could not ask themselves whom, exactly, they were protecting?

Well… that argument was not particularly convincing. They were guards, yes, but they did not spend every day protecting the emperor. They had also guarded the families of officials.

Very well. Even if they were not taken into account, did these people not recognize Chen Lin, the chief eunuch standing beside His Majesty?

Then again… the chief eunuch with a beard was indeed difficult to recognize.

And as for revealing Zhao Zhen’s identity… did they even have that sort of relationship?

“What an imposing tone.” While the guards were thinking this, Tang Renxian gave a cold snort. “If you truly want to compete, that’s fine. But there ought to be something at stake.”

As he spoke, he raised the riding crop in his hand and flaunted it. “You’ve seen my horse. If you want to compete, it will be yours if you lose. But if I win, the horse beneath you belongs to me. How does that sound?”

Tang Renxian had taken a liking to Zhao Zhen’s horse long ago. It was famous around here—how could a horse no one else could ride fail to become famous? And once properly trained, it would be another thousand-mile horse. A perfect addition to his collection.

The guards exchanged glances. They thought: This brat truly knows how to court disaster! If his father learned what he had done today, he would beat him half to death. What should they do?

Nothing.

Let him make a fool of himself. Let him suffer the consequences.

The guards almost simultaneously adopted the attitude of spectators enjoying a show.

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“But if you really want to compete, you can send one of your men. Wagering against you would be pointless.”

Tang Renxian’s arrogant performance deserved a hundred and one points. The extra point was for his character. He had seen that Zhao Zhen was a novice, yet he had not taken advantage of him. That showed a certain decency.

Of course, it was also possible that he feared Zhao Zhen would lose too disgracefully and refuse to honor the wager. It cost him nothing to appear generous. After all, he was certain to win.

He never expected Zhao Zhen to reject the suggestion outright.

“No need! I’ll compete with you myself.”

“What?” Tang Renxian was stunned, then secretly delighted. Raising his voice, he said, “You can’t! Your horsemanship is far too poor. Even if you were riding a thousand-mile horse, you would not be qualified to compete against me. If I defeat you, you may refuse to honor the wager. We might as well not compete.”

Heavens! The boy was taking his performance of arrogance farther and farther. That final sentence was probably what he truly cared about.

Being looked down upon so openly was a first for Zhao Zhen.

“The horse is right here. If you can defeat me, it’s yours. Are we competing or not? One word.” Zhao Zhen shrugged. He still had confidence in the riding skills he had supposedly possessed for several decades—thanks to everyone’s constant exaggeration. Riding a horse was hardly difficult. Who couldn’t do it?

Alas, this was exactly what the ancients meant by saying that a man raised deep within the palace was brought up in the hands of women.

“Women” did not necessarily mean women alone. It referred to the indulgence women showed children, the kind of doting that ordinary men generally did not offer. Women spoiled their children and praised them. According to child-development experts, this helped foster confidence.

But when that praise continued from childhood into adulthood, problems arose.

Take an emperor, for example. If he was told that everything he did was excellent, then in time he would certainly develop an extraordinary sense of self-confidence.

Yes, I mean you—the historically famous “Old Man of Ten Complete Victories.”

The Qianlong Emperor called himself the “Old Man of Ten Complete Victories.” The ten victories referred to ten military achievements during his reign: two campaigns pacifying the Dzungars, one campaign subduing the Muslim regions, two campaigns against the Jinchuan tribes, one campaign to pacify Taiwan, one campaign each forcing Burma and Annam to submit, and one campaign accepting the surrender of the Gurkhas—a total of ten.

Yet the campaigns against Burma and Annam, in 1766 and 1786 respectively, were wars the Qing launched against tributary states. The Qing suffered considerable losses in both, with grievous casualties and the destruction of supplies and equipment, while never achieving a decisive victory.

He had simply been praised into believing in himself so completely that he naturally concluded: I won.

That was why the destructive power of flattery was so astonishing. When a person was deceived often enough, his self-confidence could reach levels no normal person would believe possible.

It gave one the distinct feeling of: How could an emperor be this foolish?

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