The new era of chaos begins in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 424: Theory of Hardness and Softness
Chen Shen was a handsome, gentle-looking pretty boy, and anyone who saw him would have to praise his good manners.

It can be said that Chen Shen's appearance is very consistent with the mainstream aesthetic values ​​of the Song Dynasty.

What are the mainstream aesthetic values ​​of the Song Dynasty?

This is exactly what Han Qi said back then: "The man who calls out the names outside the Donghua Gate is a real man."

The pale-faced scholar and the prostitute-boy are both well-read and elegant.

It is said that the reason why Di Xiangwu was able to rise in the army and become the Privy Councilor was not only because he was a good fighter, but also because his appearance was at the top of the mainstream aesthetic of the Song Dynasty. So much so that every civil official wanted to persuade Di Qing to study more and preferably pass the imperial examination.

It's a pity that Di Qing was too stubborn and insisted on finding a way out for the soldier. In the end, he lost his friend's life and died of worry and illness.

Although there is a precedent of "human-looking" person like Di Qing in the army, not every good-looking person can become Di Qing.

At least when Chen Shen displayed his fierce fighting ability, not only Han Wu was surprised, but all the surrounding soldiers were also horrified.

Han Wu was in a daze, but Chen Shen did not take advantage of the opportunity to attack him. Instead, he put away his stick and said with a smile: "Brother Han Wu is indeed very strong. I really admire him! It's a pity that this jujube wood stick can't withstand our strength, so we can't have a more satisfying fight!"

Han Wu came back to his senses and said, "Fighting in the camp should be stopped at the right time. The jujube wood stick is suitable for use. Besides, I am playing with you to compete in skills, not strength. If I only compete in strength, I am bulky and heavy, and it may seem like I am bullying the weak. I am afraid that it will damage my reputation!"

Chen Shen thought to himself, this guy is really cunning, no wonder he could achieve great things in the future and still get away with it.

Why did Chen Shen say Han Wu was cunning?

The reason is simple, this guy is playing tricks.

In the Song Dynasty, people who practiced martial arts were generally divided into two categories.

One type is the experienced warriors with a heritage and background.

The overall level of this type of warriors is relatively high. As long as they have talent and work hard enough, they can basically become good fighters. The best among them can even dominate the world and no one can match them.

Generally, such people have a martial arts label, which is "proficient in all eighteen martial arts."

This sentence is not simple. Such people have a great advantage, that is, they have no shortcomings and can exert combat power above their level anytime and anywhere.

Among them, the military families are typical representatives of this type of military men.

For example, the future Five Tiger Generals and Eight Horsemen of Liangshan are basically warriors of this type (except [No Feather Arrow]). They are either directly born into a family of generals, or have inherited this kind of heritage.

Another type of warriors came from the lower classes of the people.

This type of people usually practice farm skills or learn some fragmentary tricks from military service. Their martial arts skills are generally poor. Only those with strong innate talents can make a name for themselves by relying on their advantages or unique skills in certain areas.

Most of these warriors are relatively biased. They may be able to perform at the top level in the field they are good at, but once they fall into the field they are not good at, they can't even perform at a third-rate level.

A typical example is Yang Wen. When he was laying the foundation of martial arts in the early days, he used the ways of the underworld. Even after he joined the Yang family, he still found it difficult to change his old habits.

So when he and his wife encountered bandits in the inn earlier, because he did not have his weapon with him, he was caught by a few thieves on the spot and his wife was abducted.

Others include the future Liangshan hero [Sick Guansuo] Yang Xiong who was captured by a group of street thugs, [Featherless Arrow] Zhang Qing who was an expert in flying stones but mediocre in spear skills, and so on.

Most warriors of humble origins have another characteristic, which is that the first weapon they use when practicing martial arts is usually a stick - of course this is not absolute, there are also many who practice with a (pu) sword (ban) axe.

You have to know that practicing martial arts, especially practicing weapons, requires tools, such as swords, spears, swords and halberds, none of which are cheap.

Only the sticks have essentially no cost.

But if someone wants to practice with a stick, they can just go to the wild and find a straight tree or branch and start cutting it.

If you are more particular, you can find some high-quality jujube wood, ash wood or something like that.

It is also because the common people of the Song Dynasty were mostly used to sticks, and sticks with spear heads became the standard weapons in the army, so the spear and stick instructors were the most powerful in the Song Dynasty army. This is also why all the outstanding instructors in Water Margin are spear and stick instructors, such as Wang Jin, Lin Chong, Luan Tingyu, etc.

In Han Wu's eyes, a person like Chen Shen could only come from a wealthy family. Such a person would have no shortage of weapons to practice martial arts, and he would most likely not be familiar with the long stick.

Even if Han Wu guessed wrong, he would not be at a loss.

After just one exchange of blows, Han Wu had already discovered that Chen Shen's physical strength was no less than his own.

As a man born with supernatural powers, Han Wu is well aware of the common problems that most people with extraordinary strength encounter when practicing martial arts.

I can beat you just by using my strength, why should I bother studying techniques?

Only those outstanding people with strong minds, vision and ambition understand the principle of inclusiveness.

It just so happens that Han Wu is such a person. He has really worked hard on martial arts skills.

It is because Han Wu has practiced martial arts hard that he knows the difficulties and pains involved.

Han Wu bet that Chen Shen, who seemed to be from a wealthy family, could not endure great hardship and had never studied his skills in depth.

What? What if Han Wu guessed wrong twice?
Of course it's salad!
If he really encounters such a weird person, Han Wu can only admit defeat.

Chen Shen ignored Han Wu's little plot and just smiled and said, "Since Brother Han Wu has such concerns, I won't go too far! I'll just play a little trick on you! I just hope you don't act like a spoiled child in the end!"

Han Wu laughed and said, "Don't worry, sir! I, Han, will never break my promise!"

After the two of them finished talking, they each picked up a long stick. Han Wu still used a jujube wood stick, while Chen Shen picked up a white wax stick. They set up their positions opposite each other and started fighting.

The jujube wood stick is a hard stick. When Han Wu uses it, it opens and closes violently, and moves forward and backward like a pillar, very ferocious.

However, the white wax rod is a soft stick, with a tough and elastic texture. When Chen Shen wielded it, the stick became like a magical python, winding and circling like a soft silk thread around one's finger, and bending and straightening freely.

However, Chen Shen's marksmanship has gradually moved from blindly pursuing extreme speed to a higher level.

In the past, Chen Shen had always used the technique of rapid shooting, and although his performance was quite good, to be honest, his shooting skills were not that advanced.

Chen Shen defeated others with quick shots, relying on covering the opponent's defensive rhythm with more attacks, and his main strategy was to attack in large quantities.

This resulted in Chen Shen expending several or even ten times more energy than his opponent during the battle.

If he didn't have special talents, "three seconds of real manliness" would probably be the most realistic portrayal of Chen Shen.

Obviously, this tactic of using one's own strength to suppress the enemy is not very efficient.

Even Chen Shen himself had some thoughts.

Chen Shen also had some ideas about how to improve his marksmanship, which was to improve the effective attack of his marksmanship while maintaining the speed of the gun.

If my quick gun can kill the enemy with one shot, why should I waste useless energy?

As for how Chen Shen improved his spear skills, he had to apply the Taoist theory of hardness and softness.

Chen Shen's invincible fast gun can be regarded as a kind of strong force.

If he wants to improve the efficiency of his rapid-fire gun, he must improve the accuracy of his shooting skills. To put it simply, he must control the power and angle of each shot.

This kind of control over the gun technique can be regarded as a manifestation of soft power.

This higher level of soft power can be called subtle.

(End of this chapter)