Jingming

Chapter 311 Land Immortals
In the camp of the Fifth Army Battalion in the suburbs of Beijing, the atmosphere became increasingly solemn.

Starting from this month, there will be a month of excitement here.

The first is the martial arts test.

Today, the martial arts system is revised again, and the rural examination is only for martial arts.

In the part of the general examination, the first one is the literary test, and there are only two tests: whether you know the text or not, and whether you are familiar with the classics of the Ming Dynasty.

Wu Jinshi can't really be illiterate, can he?Compared with the past, the focus of this martial arts examination has been greatly shifted. The strategy and Confucian classics that were originally focused on the examination will only be left to the final palace examination.

Now, the fifth army camp is already starting the second test.

Yu Dayou has already gone to the Gongyuan in the capital once, and he is still very confident about the results of the first round.

Although I have never won the exam, it depends on who I compare with.

Looking away from the candidates of the same subject who changed their frustrated faces and became eager to try, Yu Dayou looked at the layout of the big school just like them.

First of all, there is a flag erected every ten steps around the school grounds. The three-star flag of the Ming Dynasty and the military flag of the Ming Dynasty are fluttering. The flags on the red background are like blood flowing, surrounding the school grounds.

Put it on the stage and set up a colorful shed.

In the colorful shed, there was a row of desks, which are still empty.But on the top of the canopy facing all the examinees, there is a long strip of silk cloth, on which is pasted diagonally placed square rice paper, each with a large character, which reads: Jiajing five years martial arts examination martial arts examination.

And right in front of the Dianjiangtai, the school grounds were divided into four areas by shorter flags according to the subjects to be tested.

The first area is in the right front of Dianjiangtai, with a long strip at one end and a semicircle at the other end.At the end of the semicircle, there are ten archery targets.At the other end of the long strip, some wooden horses and dummies are placed in the center and at the end of the venue.Here, it is Kaoma shooting and carbine shooting.

The second area is in the left front of Dianjiangtai. This area is very familiar to everyone, including Kao Changduo, infantry piercing and thrusting.

The third and fourth areas are all directly in front of the Dianjiangtai. In one area, stone locks, iron locks and sandbags are placed, which are for testing and carrying weight.In the other area, there is only one martial arts arena, where boxing and weapons are tested.

Now, the martial arts candidates who have finished the first literary test are still waiting, but in the barracks of the Fifth Army Battalion outside the school grounds, there are continuous roars in unison.

"One, two, one! One, two, one!"

Accompanied by these roars, there is also the sound of unknown footsteps stepping on the ground together.

There are many groups of these voices, and they are not all acting at the same time.

These roars and footsteps were like dull war drums, beating the hearts of these martial arts men while they were waiting.

Is this the drill in the Daming Beijing Camp?

At this moment, in the main hall of the Fifth Army Battalion behind Dianjiangtai, the examiners are gathering together.

"The general staff knew in the border town that no matter how high a person's martial arts skills are, the power of firearms is useless even with thick armor. This martial arts still needs to pay more attention to camps, firearms, military strategy, astronomy and geography!"

Yang Yiqing laughed and listened to their argument without saying a word.

"Song Shilang's remarks are confusing the difference between generals and generals." Zhang Jing, the current chief of military affairs, retorted, "Nowadays, the subjects of the martial arts provincial examinations and general examinations are closer to those of the Tang Dynasty. Because of the martial arts and ordinary martial arts scholars, His Majesty's intention is to select strong generals. Only the general examinations have literary examinations, and the palace examinations test military strategy, astronomy and geography. Wu Jinshi has to go to the Military Academy for further study. Soldiers have no courage."

"Meeting on a narrow road, the brave wins!" came to be the examiner, as well as other generals from the three major battalions and generals sent from various towns. "When the soldiers meet each other, the soldiers look at the flag school, and the flag school looks at the generals. Among the army, some generals use bravery to inspire morale, and some commanders have a good plan. But in comparison, it is the easiest to convince the crowd with bravery! I think it is okay to only look at martial arts before the test!"

"Squads, firearms, and chariots should be tested, right?"

Gu Shilong, who was already retired, smiled and said nothing.

Some people retorted: "If you have not been in the army at least as a general, where is the opportunity to think about what camp? Firearms and chariots are also in the battle formation. There are many people and pay attention to the tactics of warfare. This is useful. Besides, Wu Jinshi is going to be a general. Do they need to be good at using firearms and chariots? Mr. Zhang Bing is right, don't they still have to go to the military academy for further training?"

It hasn't officially started yet, so they are arguing about the subject setting of this martial arts exam.

At this moment, the examiners of the Ministry of War and those who are more respectful of "smart victory" feel that the martial arts exam has too little military strategy, astronomy and geography.Some people even think that the Confucian classics such as benevolence, justice and morality should not be tested more?If the ones selected are people who don't know loyalty, wouldn't that add to the chaos in the future?

The examiners of the Five Houses and the border generals knew that the emperor was selected step by step, and the title of Martial Examiner was basically based on martial arts, which was a chance for more low-level officers and soldiers to stand out.As for Wen Tao Wu Lue, it depends on talent!There are layers of selection, as well as learning, and those with skills will eventually emerge.

The staff officers of the Military Affairs Conference, the "Five Sacred Mountains" and professors of the Military Academy of Huangming University, Zhang Jing, the Chief of Military Affairs, and other examiners all expressed their opinions based on their own understanding.

"Let's not fight any more." Yang Yiqing saw that the time was almost up, and said, "This year's martial arts reform, the gains and losses, you can give a detailed report after the martial arts palace exam is over. How to better select brave generals, this will naturally need to be improved one by one. It's getting late, I'll go to the school grounds."

On the school field, Yu Dayou and the others finally waited for the examiners to arrive.

"All martial arts candidates, line up and listen to the oral instructions of Yang Yiqing, the chief examiner of the martial arts exam and the general staff of the State Council!"

Everyone lined up and came to the competition platform. Now, the examiners are standing on the competition platform.

Yang Yiqing looked at the crowd in front of him: This batch of martial arts candidates, nearly 500 people were selected from the entire Ming Dynasty to participate in the test in Beijing.

These people will be the first batch of previously unknown generals and handsome talents that the emperor personally pays attention to.

The emperor intends to conquer Jiaozhi and attack Mengyuan in the north... On that day, I'm afraid I won't be able to see it.

As the first chief of staff, what he can do for the emperor is to start planning for a better life now, and he can only select some talents so that the generals and handsome men in the guards and civilians now have a chance to stand out.

Nowadays, the water among civil servants is not only alive, but even more rapid: there are so many more official positions in the government office after the reform, it will always take a period of time to settle out suitable candidates.Once a year in the Enke Enke Wenju Township Examination, and in the three-year general examination for the main and deputy rankings, the latecomers are like a tidal wave, and the current fifth-rank and above have to consider whether they will be swept to death by this big wave.

But in the army, under the hereditary rules of military positions, even though there is a plan to downgrade and replace them, they still need more stimulation to revive them.

Only running water can breed more brave generals and famous commanders who want to make contributions.

In Shanxi, Shanxi and Gansu, Yang Yiqing was struggling all day long, and most of his energy was devoted to stabilizing the so many corpses below, who wanted nothing wrong.If they are disturbed, they will close the city and stick to it. On weekdays, they will eat the blood of soldiers, and the bold ones will even smuggle for profit, kill good people and pretend to be meritorious.

Border towns are like this, so what about the hinterland?
This situation will slowly change from now on.

"Old man Yang Yiqing, who is serving as the chief staff officer of the Military Affairs Conference, now sends an order to His Majesty!" Yang Yiqing opened his mouth, but his voice was not loud.

Someone with a loud voice speaks for him.

The name of a man, the shadow of a tree.

Yang Yiqing was the main examiner in the general examination, and now there is an oral order from the emperor, giving it enough attention.

Lu Bing also stood underneath, listening excitedly.

The emperor would not come to see the examination in person. Now, he had to pass the examination in an upright manner and walk in front of the emperor as a Wu Jinshi.

"You all already know that there is also a list of principals and vice-presidents in the martial arts examination. The main list is 36 Tiangang, who was born as a Jinshi in martial arts. 72 Disha, who was born as a Jinshi in martial arts. Those who can come to me to take part in the imperial examination are only 36 Tiangangs."

Among the nearly 500 people, whether the [-] people are on the main list or the sub-list is not only determined by the starting point of their appointment in the army, but also the opportunity to participate in the palace examination, get the emperor's personal test and give a banquet.

Yang Yiqing looked at these martial arts candidates whose eyes were getting hotter, and continued: "After the first literary test, if you feel that you didn't do well in the test, don't be discouraged! This martial arts test is still scored by each session, and ranked by the total score. The book takes a lifetime. But whether there is blood courage or mastery of martial arts is the foundation of being a general! Regardless of the evil in the sky, I will cultivate it well. Today, you will first strive for a chance to be tested by me personally!"

"All martial arts, have you heard the sage's dictation?"

"The general heard it clearly!"

Yang Yiqing nodded: "For four days in the martial arts test, each person will only take one class each day. On the first day, each person will practice martial arts, waiting for the examiner's marks. On the second, third, and fourth days, groups A, B, and C will compete on the stage. On the fifth day, the [-] principals and vices will be ranked, and the seats for the test will be determined!"

He paused and said: "After the group is drawn, I will follow the order to go to the competition category on the first day. After the test, I will go to the competition stage to perform martial arts one after another. There are differences in various competitions and skills, and there may be differences in energy consumption and injuries. This is indeed not fair. But on the battlefield, there are many unfairness. Fate is determined by God, and fate needs to be fought. Do you understand?"

Martial arts is no better than Wenju, sitting in the tribute courtyard with the same questions and taking the exam at the same time.

Those who can stand here are actually the same in the previous rural examinations.In wars in the future, is it also to blame for not having enough food and drink to nourish your spirits, or maybe the weather is not good, the enemy launches sneak attacks, and you fight hard again and again?

"I will understand at the end!"

"Take a group and start the exam!"

Nearly 500 people were divided into three groups, and different groups only took the test in one area every day.

Like the archery test, it is not very dangerous, just look at the head.

But for the Cooma Arrows and Spurs, there will be more accidents.

However, those who pass the test of weightlifting and weight-bearing climbing will take a lot of effort and may suffer injuries to their arms, waist and legs.

For five consecutive days, after the lottery grouping is confirmed, it will be a continuous test.

The martial arts test of the martial arts examination officially started, and the continuous sound of drills in the Fifth Army Battalion was still heard by all the martial arts examiners.

Each area has a dedicated scoring examiner, and the examiner in this area is from the border town.In the area where the power is tested, the examiners are from the Ministry of War and the Military Division.On the other side of the archery and walking spear test, the examiners are from the five prefectures.

On the other side of the competition stage, the scoring examiners are from Huangming University, the "Five Sacred Mountains" in the Military Academy.

Yang Yiqing, Gu Shilong and others sat on the Dianjiangtai.

In the afternoon, Lu Bing, who was about to test horse archery and horse stabbing for the first round of the day, was still waiting in line for the exam.

In his group, there were also people from Jinyiwei School.

Their identities have been known in the conversations in the queue.

Now, while observing the situation of the competitors riding their horses to take the exam, someone also asked Lu Bing: "Brother Lu, you have been in the capital all the time. In this capital camp, is the drill going to be a whole day?"

Lu Bing clicked his tongue: "This is not an ordinary exercise."

"How do you say that?"

"Normal drills. Now the Beijing camp is a day of martial arts practice, a day of formation, and a day of class. But right now, the top three generals above the fifth rank and below the third rank in each province and each side, and the capital competitions of those county nobles are also here."

"……It's them?"

"We only compete with each other in martial arts. Each of them leads a general and trains recruits." Lu Bing smiled, "The recruits recruited to the Fifth Army Battalion last year and this year have suffered a great crime. That is the future of the brave generals in all provinces of Ming Dynasty."

"...Brother Lu knows a lot."

Lu Bing coughed and said in disguise: "They have been practicing here for almost three months. When we finish the competition, they will also compete here. This is not new, and it has been discussed in the capital for a long time."

"Really?" Lu Bing's acquaintance and friend asked.

"You don't know? You've prepared too hard to try!" Lu Bing said with certainty, and then suddenly shouted, "Okay!"

He looked at the heroic appearance of the candidates in the field and applauded, and the people around him couldn't help but look at him: You are insidious, your arrow missed the target, and you applaud because you lost a competitor?

Lu Bing didn't change his expression: I didn't control the horse well, is it my fault?
On the other side, Yu Dayou has already competed in weightlifting and climbing with weights. Pure strength is not his strong point.

Therefore, the martial arts score is very important to him now.

In this regard, Yu Dayou is quite confident.After all, I haven't taken the Chinese exam all the time, because I have devoted too much time to practicing martial arts and learning the art of war.

"Quanzhou Yu Dayou, come on stage!"

Hearing this name, Yang Yiqing and Gu Shilong, who were chatting on the other side of the stage, also stopped and looked away.

In the memorabilia of Hu Guangping's rebellion by the Ministry of War, the emperor only approved two names: Gu Shilong and Yu Dayou.

Now, Lord Yasukuni is on stage, and Yu Dayou is also on stage.

"Quanzhou Yu Dayou, I have met all the examiners."

His voice came from afar, and Yang Yiqing's eyes narrowed slightly: he was born as a student, and his manners are better than many people who came to power before.

"He came first in the literature test?" Gu Shilong asked.

Yang Yiqing nodded: "I was selected as a scholar at the age of fifteen."

Jinshi dare not guarantee that those who can pass the examination for scholars at this age are generally the most promising candidates in the local area.His knowledge is naturally the best among this group of martial arts practitioners.

"Let's look at martial arts." Gu Shilong narrowed his eyes slightly.

Yu Dayou is performing martial arts, and the weapon of choice is a long sword.

Considering that they are chosen to perform meritorious service on the battlefield, very few choose long swords for martial arts, and most of them are knives, guns, hammers, and halberds, which are more sturdy after all.

Performing martial arts is just playing tricks by yourself.The Academy of Military Affairs invites famous martial arts masters from all over the world, and the Five Sacred Mountains will appreciate them. Naturally, they have the candidates' footwork, pace, strength and basic martial arts skills.

Yu Dayou only played a few tricks, and three of them lost their eyes.

Those with discerning eyes in the Jianghu quickly discerned his master's lineage.

Disciple of Jingchu Longjian!
On the general stage, Gu Shilong couldn't recognize the Jingchu long sword, but he commented softly: "It's not a show."

"Although he has no choice but to take the martial arts examination because he has replaced his military position, but this year's martial arts system has undergone major changes, he still comes to participate in the examination, and he really has some confidence."

"Tomorrow we will start to compete with each other. Those eighteen types of weapons will be used to the end with this new method. Those who are powerful and heavy will suffer." Gu Shilong said, "He is used to using long swords, and he is more agile. This time, he took up some time."

"That's also his luck." Yang Yiqing continued to stare at Yu Dayou, who was performing martial arts on the stage, and said something with a pun.

I don't know how his military strategy is.

Looking at his previous essay test papers, it seems that he is also paying attention to the Book of Changes.

The sun sets and the sun rises again. From the second day on, it's a two-by-two competition on the martial arts arena.

Each person does not stick to the lottery grouping, and there is no attacking or defending, they all follow the order, come to this martial arts competition stage to catch a match.Each person has a total of ten matches.

Every time there is a competition, the two will wear a new white linen clothes, as if they are wearing linen and mourning.It is also a wooden weapon, painted with paint.

Everyone already knows the rules, so they can't care about anything. Is it true that the martial arts competition is really hard to beat, and the knife sees blood, killing a group of life and death?
In order to be more clear and convincing, except for the eyesight of the "Five Sacred Mountains", this method was used.

Hitting different positions will have different scoring rules.On this point, "Five Sacred Mountains" has already been graded.

"Five minutes per game." The affairs officer presiding over the martial arts stage pointed to the clock beside him. "The winner gets 5 points, and the loser gets [-] points. The examiner then judges the winner based on whether you hit or not, where you hit, and whether you can kill the enemy with one move. So, even if you lose, maybe the score in this round is not too low. Do you understand? Fight as hard as you can."

On the general stage, Gu Shilong was full of emotion: "This method was also directly given by His Majesty?"

"...Otherwise?" Yang Yiqing asked back.

"...It seems that both sides will be hurt, and losing is a glory." Watching martial arts contests is more interesting than watching martial arts performances yesterday. Gu Shilong was in high spirits. "In this way, even if you lose, you have to think of ways to give the opponent a few more times, and try to get as many points as possible in each match."

Yang Yiqing recalled the few pages of paper Huang Jin sent over at that time, with a strange expression on his face.

"Gu Guogong is thinking about leisure now. If he was in the Hall of Martial Heroes that day, he would know that His Majesty has given other methods. What is the promotion and elimination of group points... There are too many people, and the time required is too long, and we can't see the truth."

"What points are promoted and eliminated?"

When Yang Yiqing introduced him, Gu Shilong was dumbfounded.

Why does Your Majesty have so many weird ideas?This kind of ordinary skill point is enough, but the method of letting the examiner add points according to whether the move hits or not and how effective it is is fresh enough.

You can't just choose showmanship, and you can't really fight to the death. Right now, you really have to show your skills and fight for every score.

In the end, is there any way to score rounds, advance in groups, and then catch and eliminate?
"This method can't be used in the martial arts test. In the future, the provinces and sides will..."

Yang Yiqing glanced at him, shook his head and said with a smile: "Gu Guogong thinks why His Majesty came up with this idea? In His Majesty's words, the army should have a sense of honor. This year is the Generals Competition. Starting next year, after each province has recruited soldiers, each province will select two teams of host and guest, each with ten people. The home team will keep the camp, and the guest team will go out to fight. The top ten will be determined, and it will start in September. They will be divided into two groups in the capital, and they will be eliminated for the championship."

Gu Shilong opened his mouth wide.

"Military League, even if there are wars in the future, it will not stop." Yang Yiqing sighed, "Your Majesty said, there is no shortage of these 50 people in every province, but for long-term morale boosting and motivation, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages."

"... I am a Ming Dynasty, and I am going to be a martial artist to this point?"

"Your Majesty has great ambitions. Its purpose is to honor martial arts and honor, and strive to win and excel."

"...General Counselor Yang never advised against the danger of belligerence?"

Yang Yiqing was born as a civil servant. Hearing this, he could only say: "Of course I said that the government and the opposition will have concerns about criticism. Your Majesty said that although being warlike is easy to destroy the country, forgetting to fight is even more worrying. The generals of the Ming Dynasty admired martial arts, but they were not good at fighting, and they were not timid. There was a military affairs meeting and a national policy meeting. If there is a war, it will be settled. If there are discussions about these reasons in the future, won't there be "Ming Pao" to argue and dissect?"

He nodded and said confidently: "Your Majesty even said that the ten teams of the military league can set up a special school field in the suburbs of Beijing for the 'Battle on the Battlefield', and both the government and the people can buy tickets to watch the match. Seeing the strength of the generals of the Ming Dynasty, if there is a side matter, don't be timid and talk about moving south; if the Ming Dynasty will fight, you can also know that the Ming Dynasty will win and support the national war."

Gu Shilong was completely stunned: Buy a ticket to watch this "Battlefield Showdown"?
"Anyway, the martial arts will be tested now. It's a small test." Yang Yiqing pointed to the front, "Gu Guogong, even though you are a new Duke, you don't have to take history as a guide and avoid things. Your Majesty said that the army's honor building and ideological building are more important than drills. There are so many things, you can't push them all to me."

Gu Shilong looked at the martial arts exam in full swing in front of him, thinking about what he saw and felt after he resigned and returned to Beijing.

Daming is indeed becoming more and more different, and I don't know what it will become in the future.

But the civil servants he was familiar with, not to mention the local ones, these Beijing officials and important ministers he came into contact with after returning to Beijing, now always express some indescribable admiration for the still very young emperor.

"This is the fifth year that the new law has been tried out." Gu Shilong suddenly said softly.

Yang Yiqing seemed to understand what he meant: "Xining's reform began in the second year of Xining and ended in the eighth year of Yuanfeng. It was called the 16th year, but in fact it showed its decline after six years. At that time, everyone in the new party had their own ideas, and Song Shenzong was also quite hesitant. Now..."

It is different now, the emperor is still proposing more and more new things, and his will to change Daming is unshakable.

Ancestral Temple, National Policy Conference, Military Affairs Conference, State Affairs Hall... Honor, fame, power, status, the emperor is willing to give more and more things. The center of the court is full of new parties, and fresh blood is like a tide.

Both of them are old, but when they think about it now, they can't help thinking: If the emperor is in good health, he can reign for 50 years...

In the palace, Tao Zhongwen stood by the guardrail of Qin'an Hall with a strange expression, looking at the little figure in the imperial garden from afar.

In the open space beside the pavilion where the eunuchs and maids were serving, the emperor was teaching the eldest prince and the second prince to practice "fitness skills".

The emperor has no interest in the pills made by Taoism.Never ask about longevity, but cherish life for longevity.

Tao Zhongwen is here waiting for the emperor to come. If the glass recipe tried yesterday can be made transparent again today, it will be considered completed.

He withdrew his eyes and went back to the hall to look at the cooling glass, his eyes couldn't help being a little dazed.

A lot of things have been burned in the past few months, and the element that the emperor mentioned really seems to be the case.

It turns out that the sand, lime and other things really need to be burned first to purify the original materials of different colors, so that the formula is more suitable, otherwise there will always be bubbles or turbidity.

Could it be that everything in the world is not born as one, but composed of various elements?
He looked at the struvite, and his head hurt a little: If you want to distinguish what elements are useful for crops, where do you start?
Although studying how to use the struvite, he has already figured out that the emperor does not need him to participate in it immediately.

But the phrase "a real person who can discern the truth in this life must be called a land god" sounds weird: the emperor seems to know, but he doesn't seem to know, otherwise why does he conclude that he will never understand it all his life?
So he looked at the cooling glass again: His Majesty showed him the binoculars and magnifying glass that were grinded by Huangming University. It is true what the emperor said, if there is the purest glass, and if he finds a way to make a better magnifying glass, one day he will be able to see clearly what elements are in every thing?
He is a little yearning.

Dao, it seems possible to become clear.

If you can see clearly, can you really be a land god?

(End of this chapter)