Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 211 Cao Wen’s edict to Zhou Yuji and Huang’s success

While he was talking, the review was over.

Comparing the performance of the patrol camp in the past few days, Zhu Youjian was very satisfied. He immediately ordered that Li Gu, the chief inspector, be credited with one year of merit and deduct one year of grinding.

Then he remembered the military competition he had planned, and said:
"The generals at the grassroots level in the army pay attention to martial arts. In addition to military skills, martial arts examinations will also test bravery."

"Let them compete in martial arts, and I will reward the best ones."

When the martial arts officers heard this, they immediately geared up.

The proofreading just now was a collective exercise and did not show any individual ability.

But the level of martial arts is obvious at a glance. The emperor would see those with strong martial arts skills and reward them.

Soon, the martial arts officers were divided into groups and began to compete.

The first is to shoot an arrow. Although the Xiyuan inner training ground is not big, there is still space for archery. Emperor Tianqi used to hunt in the inner training ground, and the bows, arrows and targets were all ready-made.

They all came from surrounding towns, and although there were some who were cheating on their skills, there were very few who were unqualified in archery. Zhu Youjian didn't have time to blame these people. He was more concerned about those with excellent grades:

"Zhou Yuji is a guard from Jinzhou, Liaodong. He came here on the recommendation of Liaodong Town."

"This man's archery skills are really good. He is excellent in both foot and horse shooting."

"Yang Guozhu, a guard from Yizhou, Liaodong, was left behind by Mao Wenlong in Dongjiang Town. He is good at riding and shooting."

Write down these two names. The next item is to compete with others. This is commonly used by military officers to build up strength. In Zhu Youjian's view, it is similar to the deadlift of later generations. It is a part of powerlifting and a strongman sport.

After formulating the stone-breaking rules with reference to the deadlift, the soldiers quickly understood how to compete.

The level of strength is clear at a glance. Huang Degong stands out. This man is very powerful. He is known as Huang Chuangzi in the army and is very brave in combat.

Zhu Youjian inquired about it and learned that he was from the Kaiyuan Guards of Liaodong. He couldn't help but sigh:
"There are so many elite soldiers and generals in Liaodong!"

"I hope there will be people from other places in the next competition."

As soon as these words came out, people in other border towns were gearing up, vowing to win the first place.

The soldiers recommended by Liaodong were not to be outdone and wanted to win the first place again.

The last competition, according to the popular method nowadays, should be knife dancing. This is also commonly used by military commanders to build up their strength, and it can also practice weapon skills.

For example, Lu Xiangsheng can wield a sword weighing more than a hundred kilograms. He started with a sword weighing several dozen kilograms and gradually developed it.

However, in Zhu Youjian's view, both sword dancing and stone breaking mainly depend on strength, and there seems to be some overlap. The actual effect on the battlefield is not great. No one is fighting with a sword weighing more than 100 kilograms.

So he directly ordered a horse fighting competition. Referring to the battle between Yang Zhi and Zhou Jin in "Water Margin", he removed the heads of the guns, wrapped them in felt pieces, and dipped them in lime to fight.

Even so, the competition is very dangerous. If you fall from the horse, you may be injured. So Zhu Youjian first asked each border town to select those with strong martial arts skills, and then competed.

Most of the generals in a border town know the basics of who is superior in martial arts and who is inferior in martial arts. Even if there were a few who refused to give in, the number of participants was much smaller.

Because of the distance, only the border towns of Liaodong, Beizhili, and Shanxi are rushing to the capital to enroll. The soldiers from Shaanxi and Southwest have not yet come. Each of these border towns selected two or three people to participate, and in the end, only more than 20 people participated in the competition.

The battle between more than 20 people is certainly not like the dozens of rounds in the novel. It is usually just two horses intersecting and weapons raised simultaneously, and then the winner is decided. It is extremely rare for evenly matched battles to take place over dozens of rounds.

Although such a battle cannot fully reflect the situation on the battlefield, it is closer to actual combat than a simple sword dance.

For generals with actual combat experience, it is easier to stand out in such a competition. Cao Wenzhao, who was recommended by Liaodong Town, quickly won a series of victories and attracted everyone's attention.

Even Zhu Youjian, who was not proficient in martial arts, could see that this man was brave and good at fighting and was obviously better than others. This made him very happy, and he said to his left and right:

"This is really a fierce general, the next Mangui in the army."

This praise is incredible. It's hard to say whether Man Gui is the current top military general, but when it comes to strong generals, he will definitely be the first one people think of.

Mangui is one of the few generals in the Ming Dynasty army who dared to fight against Jianlu in the field and won victory. When they attacked the grassland, they even convinced "all the tribes to obey" and achieved great prestige. So when Zhu Youjian appeased Lin Danhan, he sent him to announce the victory.

Zhu Youjian called Cao Wenzhao "the next Mangui", obviously he had high hopes. He had already decided in his heart that he would reuse this general.

At the end of the competition, Cao Wenzhao won the first place as expected. Zhu Youjian asked him, Zhou Yuji, Huang Degong, and Yang Guozhu to come forward to see them and inquire about their situation carefully.

I learned that Cao Wenzhao was from Datong and was currently serving in the army in Liaodong. Zhu Youjian further realized that Liaodong is where elite soldiers and generals currently gather. Continuous wars have produced a group of elites.

In the past few years, soldiers and horses from all over the world were mobilized to aid the Liao Dynasty, which also brought together soldiers from all over the country who were aspiring to perform meritorious deeds. For example, Cao Wenzhao, a Datong native, did not join the army in Datong but went to Liaodong. This is an example.

He praised Cao Wenzhao's martial arts and asked him how he practiced it. Cao Wenzhao couldn't explain clearly. He was not a senior official in the Wei Institute and had no martial arts passed down from his family. Today's skills were developed in the military, and can only be said to be talents.

For example, his younger brother Cao Wenyao practiced almost exactly the same as him, but his martial arts skills were not as good as his.

But his nephew Cao Bianjiao was even better at martial arts.

Cao Wenzhao said:

"My nephew Cao Bianjiao is now young and strong."

"If we fight against each other, I will probably fall short."

I don't know if he is being modest, but Zhu Youjian can tell that Cao Bianjiao's military force is not weaker than Cao Wenzhao, and he is also a fierce general.

So he immediately ordered:
"Tune Cao Bianjiao into martial arts, and listen to him after you learn it."

He also said to Cao Wenzhao, Zhou Yuji, Huang Degong and Yang Guozhu:
"Cao Wenzhao and Yang Guozhu mobilized the Shenji Camp to listen, and Zhou Yuji and Huang Degong mobilized the Four Guards Camp of the Yuma Supervisor Warriors."

"Four people act as generals, each leading a battalion of elites."

"Others who perform well in martial arts will also stay in Beijing for promotion."

After giving the order, Cao Wenzhao, Zhou Yuji, Huang Degong, and Yang Guozhu were immediately beaming with joy. They are now guerrilla generals, so the acting general will naturally be promoted.

The other martial arts officers were equally happy to hear that there was still a chance.

Border town generals don't like to be transferred to the capital, but they have to look at the situation. The reasons why they don't like to come to the capital are: First, they can't fight in the capital. Compared with fighting and meritorious service in the border towns, their promotion will naturally be slower.

Second, the generals in the border towns had their own land, which gave them more salary than the generals in the capital. Moreover, most of the interests of the Beijing camp were divided up by the nobles, and it was rarely the turn of the generals.

Therefore, generals from border towns are unwilling to be transferred to the capital. Most generals who are aspiring to meritorious service will seek to be deployed abroad.

But that was just a normal situation. Now the emperor personally transferred them to the capital. It was obvious that they would be put to great use. How could they not like it?

　"History of the Ming Dynasty" Biography 156:

　　Cao Wenzhao (brother Wenyao), Zhou Yuji, and Huang Degong.

　　Praise said: Cao Wenzhao and others, with their brave talents, defeated them wherever they went, and they were all called enemies of ten thousand people.

　　When a great destiny is lost, a good general is defeated. Among the three, the loyalty and bravery are the most outstanding, and the deaths are also the most violent, so they are separately written in this chapter.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)