I'm really not doing business

Chapter 867: Shooting the arrows first and then drawing the target doesn't work now
Tian Yijun's plan was to gradually get the army away from the Emperor's control. His idea was very simple, which was to expand the scope of the struggle from the border troops to the Beijing camp. Although there was no overly detailed plan, Tian Yijun felt it was achievable.

Because it has happened in history, during the Xuande and Zhengtong periods.

The Ming army, which had been invincible during the Yongle period, began to systematically decay during the Xuande and Zhengtong periods. In particular, Duke Yingguo Zhang Fu, the regent, was marginalized to the point of being unable to attend court during the Zhengtong period. In the second year of the Zhengtong period, Wang Ji killed the commander-in-chief An Jing on the secret order of Emperor Yingzong.

In the second year of Zhengtong, Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen was only ten years old and could not even recognize all the characters. He only started school in March of the first year of Zhengtong. How could he give a secret decree to Wang Ji?
This has happened in history, so Tian Yijun thought he could do it and just followed the right path. However, Tian Yijun overlooked the fact that Zhu Yijun was not Zhu Qizhen, and Zhang Juzheng and Wang Chonggu were certainly not the Three Yangs.

After Zhu Yijun finished reading the entire case file, the lowly Confucian scholars led by Tian Yijun believed that the Ming Dynasty’s Beijing Army had a fatal flaw, which was that it could not turn the blade inward.

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and General Qi cooperated with each other. Over the past 17 years since the Zhenwu Movement, the Ming Dynasty's Beijing Camp has gradually formed the military spirit of "reporting to the emperor and saving the people". This policy is the biggest problem.

Since the Beijing Army cannot turn its sword inward, it is naturally invincible in external wars. However, as long as it is dispatched to quell a rebellion, disagreements will arise within the Beijing Army. Once there are disagreements, it will be a territory that this humble scholar is familiar with.

Now the whole Ming Dynasty was united around the emperor and was carrying out the Wanli Reform without any serious disagreements. Even the drama that the lowly Confucian scholars had long hoped would happen after the emperor came to power, where the emperor and the Grand Tutor turned against each other, did not happen. In the fifth and ninth years of the Wanli reign, Zhang Juzheng returned to power so easily.

After coming to power, the emperor did not purge Zhang Juzheng, who had been extremely strict with him.

The disagreement that the humble scholar had been waiting for did not appear, and he was extremely anxious. The same was true for Yang Wei and Tian Yijun.

Tian Yijun felt that the Ming army could not turn its sword inward, otherwise there would be divisions.

But in fact, they were completely wrong. The Ming army could quell the rebellion. This was just the unrealistic fantasy of the lowly Confucian scholars. They had no idea how the word power came into being.

The birth of power, the birth of power, is not about telling stories, not about creating narratives, and certainly not relying on the mouth.

Power is the reality of violence that sorts out production relations. Based on production relations, morality evolves. Morality gives birth to order. Only under order can there be power. In the evolutionary process of violence, production relations, morality, order, and power, violence is the only reality.

When Qi Jiguang went to Beijing to meet the emperor for the first time in the first year of the Wanli reign, he said during the conversation: When he was suppressing the Japanese pirates, the fundamental factor that kept the southern soldiers fighting was military discipline. The soldiers recognized the military discipline and received an annual salary of 18 silver coins. If they won, the rewards would not be deducted, and if they lost, everyone would be punished together.

The same is true for the Ming Dynasty's Beijing Army. The reason why soldiers fully accept the strict military discipline is that they are guaranteed from enlistment to retirement, from birth to death. This is the realistic basis for the formation of consensus.

The lowly Confucian scholars simply do not regard the poor laborers as human beings. In their eyes, the soldiers of the Beijing camp are nothing but desperate criminals who are easily deceived and will obediently follow the nonsense they instigate. However, they never think about what kind of material investment is needed to disrupt the Beijing camp.

You don't even want to pay, and you still want the elite to join you in the rebellion? !
The humble Confucian did not even treat the soldiers as living people. Soldiers are not just numbers, but have their own ideas, their own persistence, their own perseverance. They have their own relatives and friends, and they have their own judgment and understanding of the world.

However, the success in defeating the Beijing camp during the Zhengtong period made Tian Yijun believe that he could do it too.

The inferior Confucian scholars do not recognize that violence is the fundamental source of power, nor do they recognize the profound meaning of the saying that political power comes from the barrel of a gun, because in the eighth year of Jingtai, Emperor Jing and Yu Qian, who controlled the Beijing camp, were deprived of their power by the insignificant retired emperor Zhu Qizhen.

Yu Qian surrendered without a fight. On the third day after the coup, Zhu Qizhen ordered Yu Qian to be beheaded in public. The Xinjing Camp, which was formed in the 14th year of Zhengtong, was completely disbanded in the first year of Tianshun.

The occurrence of the Coup d'état gave the inferior Confucian scholars reason to believe that power does not come from violence.

But what could Yu Qian do under the circumstances? What should he do? Emperor Jing Zhu Qiyu had no children. Should Yu Qian take over with the Beijing Camp?
They have never really understood what it means to report to the emperor and save the people. In the concept of most soldiers, saving the people means reporting to the emperor, and reporting to the emperor means saving the people. These have never been two contradictory concepts.

For the Beijing camp, if the emperor ordered the swords to point inwards, it must be that there were thieves who needed to be killed, and they were punishing the criminals to avenge the people, because they reported to the emperor and saved the people. The following sentence was: Wherever your majesty points the sword, the Ming army will go!
The 100,000 soldiers in the Beijing garrison received a salary of more than 35 silver coins every year, including a basic salary of 25 silver coins and various rewards of 10 silver coins. Moreover, all these salaries were paid in the same month. For example, the salary for this month was paid on the fifth day of February. The salary had already been received before the end of February.

They enjoyed the military city of Beidaying, the three-level school and the Military Academy directly belonging to the Ming Dynasty’s Beijing Camp. They enjoyed unlimited honors, and every soldier who died in the battle was engraved on the Martyrs’ Shrine.

For the soldiers of the Beijing camp, in the past, good men did not want to be soldiers, but were instead thieves. Now, they can stand up straight and be human beings. Sometimes, the soldiers wonder, since His Majesty gives them so much money, when will they start a rebellion?

Otherwise, with so many things in hand, it would be really hot to hold.

If the despicable Confucianists really expand the struggle to include the Beijing Army, the final result will be that the emperor will lead the Beijing Army to fight for the country again.

"Tian Yijun has not pleaded guilty yet." Zhu Yijun sat on the Wufeng Tower, looking at the endless stream of words and phrases with a frown. These despicable scholars were becoming difficult to deal with. Facing the irrefutable evidence and the six thousand candidates in the audience, Tian Yijun still felt that it was his bad luck, not his direction. This was not the situation Zhu Yijun wanted to see.

"Your Majesty, these lowly Confucians do not think they are wrong, because they have already put aside the facts. They do not even talk about any facts and only talk about their own guesses and conjectures. How can they think they are wrong? It is the world that is wrong." Zhang Juzheng explained why Tian Yijun refused to admit his mistake. Such lowly Confucians existed yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

When the facts are in your favor, tell the facts.

When the rules are in your favor, follow them.

This is the basic sophistry logic of the despicable Confucianists.

Zhang Xueyan looked at the execution platform and shook his head, saying, "Tian Yijun is a lazy man who doesn't know how to distinguish between the five grains. He still thinks he shouldn't die because he is the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, a third-rank official. According to the Eight Excommunications Law, he can discuss the virtuous, the capable, and the noble."

"No official shall be punished. If he breaks the law, the severity of the crime will be decided by the Eight Discussions, not by the Criminal Code."

The phrase "no punishment for an official" is annotated as meaning that if an official breaks the law, the severity of his mistake will be discussed among the eight parties, and his punishment will not be above the criminal law.

After the court discussion, the officials believed that Tian Yijun deserved to be put to death because he was a traitor and a rebel.

For example, Shen Li, whose head was shrunk like a quail at this moment, usually talked incessantly, but today, he said nothing.

Because Tian Yijun was the Minister of Rites, and such a thing happened in the Ministry of Rites, he, as the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan, bears a certain degree of joint responsibility. Wan Shihe himself was a humble Confucian scholar, and he had been in charge of the Ministry of Rites for more than ten years, and nothing had ever happened. But when it came to Shen Li, who was a stubborn person, such an incident happened.

"He just couldn't bear to see the Ming Dynasty doing well, the people having enough food and clothing, and the poor laborers having a stable life. When he died, he knew he was wrong." Shen Li looked at Tian Yijun, the corner of his mouth twitched, with a bit of complaint. Tian Yijun did this, and Shen Li's three years of work were in vain.

Shen Li had finally passed various performance evaluations and gained the emperor's favor, but in the end, all of it was returned to him at once by Tian Yijun.

After Wang Chonggu's verdict, the public trial was declared over. Tian Yijun had to live for a while. After all the rebels were arrested, they would be screened one by one to prevent someone from suffering an unjust case like Xu Wei, who was imprisoned for seven years without reason.

Hu Zongxian's death in Tianlao was also a political case, and Xu Wei was implicated.

The candidates left in an orderly manner under the arrangement of the imperial guards. This might be the only chance for some candidates to see the emperor in their lifetime. After failing the exam, most of them chose to return home. In fact, many candidates knew that they would not pass the exam, but they just wanted to give themselves an explanation after studying for so many years.

When Xia Zongyao returned to the inn, he found that the inn had a new owner. He opened the bookcase and saw brand new finely printed books in the bookcase, including Theory of Contradiction, Theory of Public and Private, Production Diagram, Two Volumes of Theory of Class, The Great Ming Mathematical Classic, Theory of Evolution, Theory of Anthropic Choice, Diagram of the Anatomy of a Knife, Health Prevention and Simple Prescriptions, etc.

Xia Zongyao opened the book on contradictions and immediately frowned, because it was completely different from what he had read in the past. The content was the same, but the annotations were completely different. The book on contradictions he got now was annotated by His Majesty himself, and many things that he had not understood in the past were immediately understood.

For example, the theory of contradiction clearly states at the beginning that it is not some scripture, but a method of observing the infinite principles of all things. Contradictions follow one another, and they do not appear suddenly, but are realized on the basis of the unity of knowledge and action and conscience.

For example, the theory of contradiction emphasizes the universal connection of all things. The wind stirs the surface of the pond, rippling the spring water, and also blows away the moon shadow, which is the reflection of the moon.

All things are universally connected, which reveals another truth, that is, every decision made by every person in the Ming Dynasty ultimately determined the final direction of the Ming Dynasty. Don’t think that your choice is useless. Every choice made by every person is quietly changing the world.

For example, contradictions follow one another, that is, when one contradiction is resolved, a new contradiction will emerge. Songjiang Prefecture resolved the contradiction between people and land through the order to return land, but soon the contradiction between labor and capital became the main contradiction on the land of Songjiang Prefecture. This new contradiction posed a new test to the Ming Dynasty. Past experience was no longer a reference, and the Ming Dynasty had to take a new path.

After reading all these things, when Xia Zongyao finished reading the contradiction theory annotated by Your Majesty, he suddenly realized that it was not his fault that he could not understand it, but that someone had deliberately misinterpreted the key points in the process of spreading the contradiction theory.

When Xia Zongyao opened the Class Theory, his face turned pale! This time it was not just a matter of annotations, but deletions and revisions!

The class theory he had seen before had a lot of deletions and revisions. Not only deletions but also revisions had been made, making the entire class theory unrecognizable. Not only was it obscure and difficult to understand, but it was also wrong after reading it, and a lot of the content was completely contrary to the truth.

The first volume of the theory of class talks about class, that is, the division of various classes in the Ming Dynasty. For example, in the class theory he had read in the past, there was no such class as poor people and coolies, and the local sages and nobles were the lowest class. In this way, the local sages and nobles were the foundation of the country, so the question of whether the poor people and coolies were human beings always troubled Xia Zongyao.

Those were all living people, but there was no trace of their existence in the national ceremony. Now he was no longer confused!

Such mistakes are everywhere, causing great confusion in the dissemination of class theory. Even the successful candidates in the imperial examinations could not understand it, let alone the scholars and children. It would be impossible for them to understand it.

The important ideological and political achievements of the Wanli Reform in the Ming Dynasty were artificially distorted during the process of dissemination.

Xia Zongyao slammed the table hard and shouted angrily, "Your Majesty said to read more and not be fooled by scholars! It's really true. It's simply abominable. How dare they modify the meaning of the scriptures! Yes, they even dare to modify the facts!"

The candidates have to wait for the results of the imperial examination. In recent days, they frequently attend various Deer Ming gatherings, hometown gatherings, and poetry gatherings in the capital. In fact, these are interpersonal interactions. If someone becomes successful, they can say in the future that they have had a drink together. If they have any problems in the future, they can ask for help.

At this gathering, the topic of the Huangji Gate public trial could not be avoided. As they talked, they began to discuss the gifts given by the emperor. Some said that the Confucian robes were distributed according to the region, with thick fine woolen cloth in the north and cotton cloth in the south. Others said that the bookcases were all made of extremely expensive wood.

The conversation naturally turned to the books in the bookcase. It would have been better if we hadn't talked about it, but once we started discussing it, everyone realized that they had been cheated!

Every place has its own way of cheating, but none of them is complete and the ambiguities are extremely serious.

Xiong Tingbi and Yuan Keli did not attend any gatherings, because they were Zhang Juzheng's disciples, and no one dared to go to the Quanchu Guild Hall to invite them. Xiong Tingbi had long been accustomed to it, and he was too lazy to go to those poetry gatherings. They were all young people who did not know the taste of sorrow, and they pretended to be sad in order to write new poems. It would be fine if they talked nonsense, but the key point was that the poems they wrote were not good, and were even worse than His Majesty's.

The poems written by Your Majesty are already quite unorthodox and do not follow any rules of versification.

Yuan Keli was very lucky, because he only brought seven taels of silver with him when he came to Beijing. How could he have so much money to buy the clothes for attending the party?

To attend a poetry reading, you have to wear a set of silk and satin, accessories, folding fans, and hair accessories. When you go out, you have to have a car. Others have luxurious cars produced by imperial estates. If you are not rich enough, you have to rent one. And the most important thing is that for such a poetry reading, you will have a companion, and this companion will also be a kind of competition for beauty.

There is no difference between the poetry gatherings in the capital and those in Henan, and the capital is even more extravagant. If the companions you bring are not up to par, you will be laughed at, and the jokes will be very direct, and no one will talk to you at all.

This kind of poetry gathering is no longer just about reciting poems and composing couplets, or talking and discussing ideas. It has become an invisible competition of wealth.

Yuan Keli was too lazy to go to Henan. Instead of going to these poetry gatherings and enduring inexplicable humiliation, he might as well read a few books at home.

In February, when the grass is green and the warblers are flying, the willows on the bank are swaying in the spring smoke. It is difficult to see the magnificent sight of willows in the north, so one has to go to the Jiangnan that Li Chengliang longed for. Although Li Chengliang was entrusted by the emperor with the task of developing the Western Regions, Li Chengliang felt that he must die in Jiangnan in the future, as Liaodong was too miserable.

The first day of March was the day when the results of the imperial examination were announced. Xiong Tingbi and Yuan Keli took a car to Donghuamen together. Xiong Tingbi and Yuan Keli were not familiar with each other. Yuan Keli had entered the Quanchu Guild Hall and was preparing for the exam with all his strength. The two men were from the same school but had rarely spoken to each other.

"Actually, if you want to go, the Quan Chu Guild Hall has cars and female companions." Xiong Tingbi finally couldn't help but speak, telling him that if he really wanted to go to the poetry meeting, the Quan Chu Guild Hall had everything, including various carriages bestowed by the emperor, so many that they had to be sent to the Yicheng Marquis Mansion in Xishan.

Zhang Juzheng's home is in the Yicheng Marquis Mansion in the Western Hills, covering an area of ​​3,000 acres. Although most of it is landscape gardens, the building area is more than 300 acres. It is the second most luxurious mansion in the capital. The first most luxurious mansion is Qi Jiguang's Fengguo Mansion, which also covers an area of ​​3,000 acres.

"I won't go. If I go, it will just cost money. I don't have that much money." Yuan Keli looked at the crowds outside the window and shook his head, saying, "It's actually meaningless. I don't like the tone of the poetry gathering. What can we talk about if we don't do anything and talk about our character?"

"I don't like it either. Brother, you don't know that sometimes, even the Confucian scholars hate the Confucian scholars!" Xiong Tingbi smiled. Everyone hates the Confucian scholars, so this means they have a common topic!
"Oh? I'd like to hear the details." Yuan Keli was very interested in this matter. He felt that his possible enemies in the future would be these despicable scholars. Of course, he had to pass the imperial examination to become a Jinshi.

"One of the legacies left by General Hai Wenzhong was the story of the Censor of the Censorate carrying water." Xiong Tingbi picked up a random piece of material and began to tell the story of how lowly scholars made things difficult for lowly scholars. This story was an interesting anecdote in the capital.

After Xiong Tingbi finished speaking, he concluded, "What's interesting is that since then, the censors of the Censorate have never impeached an official for coughing, and most of the censors' reports have never caused the emperor's wrath. Perhaps because they have lost the sharp knife of the censors, some people hiding behind the scenes have to take action themselves."

Hai Rui's reforms to the Censorate were effective.

"Are you afraid of being punished by His Majesty?" Yuan Keli always felt that the censors were afraid that the emperor would further increase the punishment. The censors could even quarrel and fight over a water-carrying shift. This was completely uncivilized.

Carrying water would be fine, it would be a bit of work, but the road from the Censorate to the Sweet Water Well was too difficult to walk, because there was a "monkey show" business along the street, and the second floors of the shops along the street were full of spectators who came to watch the fun. The censor carrying water was one of the four scenic spots in the capital.

Everyone likes to watch the fun, not just the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

The four scenes are throwing peppers at the Quan Chu Guild Hall, Wang Chonggu killing his son, carrying water at the Censorate and Li Yashi going to jail, and they are collectively known as the four major scenic spots of the capital.

The scenery of Le Ya Shi in jail is mainly composed of the funny jokes he made up. The reason why they are jokes rather than rumors is that many of the contents are not in line with the current situation. The problems of the past have been solved or greatly improved. People will only smile knowingly when they see them, instead of associating them with the political situation.

If the problem is not solved, then what Li Yashi compiled is just a rumor, and ten thousand heads are not enough to chop off.

If the emperor was willing to solve the problem, it would be one of the beautiful sights. For example, Legazpi sharply criticized the problem of unpaid wages for the border troops, saying that the court pretended to pay the troops, and the soldiers pretended to fight, without even paying the wages. There was no rebellion, which meant they were already loyal, and the problem had been solved.

Xiong Tingbi shook his head and said, "Not entirely. In the past, the lowly scholars would shoot the arrows first and then draw the target. Now it doesn't work because the target will fight back."

"The water-carrying incident taught the imperial censors a lesson: if they don't carry water, they won't have water to drink. This may sound a bit nonsense, but the imperial censors didn't understand how the water pits worked before. This nonsense made some of the imperial censors understand that they can't ignore the facts."

Nonsense like the head should be on the neck and if you don't fetch water, you won't have water to drink, actually gave the censors their initial understanding of the concept of "a man of action is only one, and he who is faithful is the only one who is trustworthy."

Once people understand this concept, it's like being poisoned, and it's difficult to pretend that they are not poisoned.

This change in the style of the censors was the result of Hai Rui's reform of the Censorate, which was a huge correction to the style and public opinion of the Ming Dynasty.

"Sir, do you have any grudge against Hai Wenzhong? I have heard a lot of bad rumors in Henan." Yuan Keli finally asked the question he wanted to ask most, the relationship between Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui.

Many people say that Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui are mortal enemies. For the past 16 years, Hai Rui has been trying to kill Zhang Juzheng because Zhang Juzheng was greedy and corrupt and also protected his followers. Zhang Juzheng accepted money from generals such as Qi Jiguang, Li Chengliang, and Wang Rulong.

"The posthumous title of Wen Zhong was advocated by you, sir." Xiong Tingbi sighed and said, "You and Hai Wen Zhong have no hatred at all. They are all for the country and for the revival of the Ming Dynasty. If there is any hatred, it is just some unresolved grudges with Wang Chonggu."

Zhang Juzheng was reluctant to allow Hai Rui to return to the court because he was afraid that Hai Rui would get in the way. After all, a serious illness requires strong medicine, and the Wanli Reforms involved some extraordinary actions, and Hai Rui was known for being a tough guy.

The posthumous title of Wen Zhong was obtained by Zhang Juzheng with all his efforts. The Ministry of Rites had originally decided to use Zhong Jie, but the emperor did not allow it. Zhang Juzheng had a comprehensive discussion with Shen Li on this issue, and finally used his power as Yuan Fu to suppress the Ministry of Rites' opposition and determined this posthumous title, which was second only to Wen Zheng.

Although Hai Rui pointed at Emperor Jiajing's nose and cursed him very harshly, he was a loyal minister to himself, a loyal minister to Emperor Shizong, a loyal minister to the late emperor, and even more a loyal minister to Your Majesty.

"So that's how it is!" Only then did Yuan Keli understand the full picture of the matter. Zhang Juzheng had a bad reputation among scholars, largely because after the previous emperor passed away in the sixth year of Longqing, Zhang Juzheng did not allow Hai Rui to return to the court to serve as an official.

If Hai Rui is a good person, then Zhang Juzheng must be a bad person. This binary opposition is an extremely common concept, but Hai Rui never thought that Zhang Juzheng was wrong. Hai Rui said that Zhang Juzheng was good at planning for the country but poor at planning for himself. Zhang Juzheng sought the posthumous title of Wen Zhong for Hai Rui.

"Is the incident of throwing peppers at the Quan Chu Guild Hall true?" Yuan Keli looked around and asked in a low voice about the gentleman's gossip.

"Well, this is indeed true. The gentleman loves spicy food so much that he cannot live without it. Your Majesty has tried to persuade him several times but failed, so he resorted to force. He has thrown less in the past two years because..." Xiong Tingbi leaned forward and smiled and whispered, "Because the Agricultural College has a kind of non-spicy pepper that came from the Governor's Palace in Mexico. It's called green pepper. It was one of the gifts Antonio gave to Your Majesty that year."

"The gentleman wanted to eat hot peppers, so the chef put green peppers in. Later, the gentleman could only sigh helplessly."

You can eat chili peppers, the chef has put them in, so you can't say there are no chili peppers, right? A green pepper is not a chili pepper?

Some people like sweet, some like salty, and some like spicy. People are like this. They have their own stubborn preferences for sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy food. But spicy food has affected Zhang Juzheng's body, so he has no say in it.

Zhang Juzheng's health has been better in recent years than before. He exercises every day and eats a healthy diet. Being healthy means eating less oil, less salt, less spicy food, less irritation, and no taste, making his mouth taste bland.

Once, Zhang Juzheng lost his temper with Luo Sigong, saying that the prisoners in Tianlao enjoyed their food better than him. Even though the discipline was strict, he went to Tianlao with Li Yashi to eat!
Luo Sigong said nothing and just kept throwing peppers, telling Zhang Yuanfu to go and vent his anger on the emperor. He was just following orders. Luo Sigong also said that even if they went to the imperial prison to eat, he would still be in charge because he was a Tiqi.

Zhang Juzheng shook his sleeves several times in anger, but he was powerless to do anything.

"We're here." The coachman stopped the car, and Xiong Tingbi and Yuan Keli, two students from the Quan Chu Guild Hall, got off the car and stood in front of Donghuamen.

Xiong Tingbi and Yuan Keli saw their names at a glance. The first place was Xiong Tingbi, the second place was Yuan Keli, and the third place was Wu Daonan. The names of the three of them were placed on a special list with large fonts, so they could be seen from a distance.

"Hey, I won, hahaha, I won! I won!" Suddenly someone in the crowd jumped up high, grabbed the person next to him, shook him hard, and shouted loudly: "I won, I won!"

This person was Xia Zongyao. His performance in liberal arts was good, and his performance in mathematics or science was not bad. His overall score was in the top 400. Xia Zongyao didn't care about other people's eyes at all. His face was flushed and he told everyone he met that he had passed the exam.

Some students don't even have the courage to check the list themselves, and wait for others to beat drums and gongs to report. If someone asks for a reward, it means that their name is on the list. If no one is interested, it means that they have failed.

"I won, haha, uh..." Xia Zongyao grabbed Xiong Tingbi and shook it, but it didn't move. He then grabbed Yuan Keli and shook it, but it didn't move either. So he asked someone else to shake it. Xia Zongyao, who won the title of Gongshi, was a little crazy. This kind of excitement symptom usually lasts for several days.

Xia Zongyao ran away in three jumps and one step, without any politeness at all.

"Have you practiced?" Xiong Tingbi looked at Yuan Keli with some surprise and asked. Yuan Keli didn't look like a weak scholar.

Yuan Keli nodded and said, "In the first year of Longqing, there was a flood in Henan. There were refugees everywhere and bandits everywhere. I learned some martial arts. Yue Fei is from Tangyin, Henan."

Yue Fei had a large number of temples on both sides of the Yellow River, and a large number of people practiced martial arts because bandits were rampant in the countryside.

"Don't look at me, I can't beat you. You can take the martial arts champion exam, but I can't." Yuan Keli knew something was wrong as soon as he saw the look in Xiong Tingbi's eyes. Xiong Tingbi wanted to fight and was eager to try.

Yuan Keli was poor in literature but rich in martial arts. He learned some martial arts and could barely be considered a man of both civil and military skills, but he was really not good at killing enemies in the battlefield. He only fought against mountain bandits when he was sixteen years old, led the villagers and cooperated with the yamen runners.

Xiong Tingbi and Yuan Keli looked at the list and were very calm. Xiong Tingbi even felt a little guilty because the emperor had changed the test questions, all of which were in the areas he was best at. If he didn't get first place, he would be unworthy of his reputation as a genius.

Yuan Keli was very surprised because he criticized current affairs and did not praise the Wanli Reform, but instead received the highest praise.

When Xiong Tingbi and Yuan Keli returned to the Quanchu Guild Hall by car, they learned that a guest was visiting, and the guest was looking for Yuan Keli.

Lu Shusheng came to the door.

(End of this chapter)