Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Overseas enfeoffment is not only an opportunity for scholars, but also an opportunity for military men.

Unlike the scholars who only wanted to become officials in the court, many military men were not averse to going overseas.

In addition, each vassal state was allowed to set up an army, and they needed to build new garrisons in addition to the garrisons that the court planned to move from Shaanxi.

These garrison official positions and hereditary titles are the capital used by the princes to win over military men.

Many warriors who participated in the martial arts conference were attracted by the official positions and titles offered by the princes.

As the winner of the Shaanxi Martial Arts Conference and the best horseman, Gao Yingxiang was courted by both the Han Wang State and the Jiangling Principality. Both of them offered him a position as a thousand households and invited him to lead his old subordinates to form a cavalry.

Even his nephew Li Zicheng was promised a position as a centurion.

Li Zicheng listened to the conditions of the two families and said happily:

"Uncle, Qianhu!"

"As long as you can make achievements, you will have the opportunity to become a hereditary official."

"I heard that hereditary titles can be converted into hereditary nobility, and a thousand households can be called barons."

"As long as my uncle goes, I can become a lord in the future!"

“This is a generation of wealth!”

The title of a baron was something Li Zicheng had never dared to think about before. He had never even thought about being a hereditary official in a garrison.

If the conditions offered by each family had not been clear, he would never have thought that his uncle, a horse trader, might become a lord, and that he could also benefit from it and become a knight.

This made him very excited, and he thanked the emperor from the bottom of his heart.

If the emperor had not implemented the feudal system and established vassal states, how could our family have had this opportunity?
Gao Yingxiang was very excited when he saw the invitations from the King of Han and the Duke of Jiangling. Before the martial arts conference, how could a horse dealer who was also a horse thief get an invitation from a king?
Even the Zhang family, which had become the Duke of Jiangling, he had no chance to enter the door of the former Zhang family.

Haven’t you seen that Qi Jiguang in those days always referred to himself as “Qi, a little lackey of yours” in his letters to Zhang Juzheng.

As a military man without an official position, he couldn't even enter the Zhang family's gate.

The martial arts competition held by the imperial court has not yet begun, but he, the winner from Shaanxi, has received this invitation. This made him feel that his current status has been qualitatively improved.

However, thinking of Sun Chuanting's promise to the General of Zuo Ji, and the court's promise to the General of Zuo Ji who won the first place in the martial arts competition, Gao Yingxiang forced himself to suppress his thoughts and said:

"We'll talk about everything after the martial arts tournament!"

"If my uncle can become the best in Shaanxi, he can become the best in Ming Dynasty."

"Who else but me can be the bravest warrior in the world?"

Compared to serving in a vassal state, Gao Yingxiang wanted to serve the imperial court more.

After all, the rewards given by the imperial court are something that the vassal states cannot give.

Apart from other things, the kingdom can at most confer the title of viscount, and most of them are given to royal family members and relatives by marriage, so it is difficult for outsiders to get the chance.

The principality can confer the highest number of titles on barons, which is the hereditary title corresponding to the thousand households.

The fact that the Hanwang State and Jiangling Principality were willing to offer the position of a thousand households did not mean that he, a thousand households, could successfully become a baron. The merits required during this period were definitely not few.

Why would you serve a vassal state when you have made so many contributions? Given the generosity of the current emperor, the same contributions would surely receive more rewards.

Even if they were to obtain barons like the feudal states, barons directly under the imperial court were more honorable than barons vassals of princes.

After all, the independent baron no longer has a master over his head.

Therefore, Gao Yingxiang was more inclined to win the first place in the martial arts competition and become the imperial court's assistant general. With the status of assistant general, he could lead a battalion and recruit all his old subordinates.

Moreover, they can fight independently, so it is difficult for their achievements to be claimed by others.

This is why some officers of the imperial court also actively participated in the martial arts conference.

They all wanted to take first place and get the chance to lead a battalion.

Gao Yingxiang was lucky. Even though he could not become the number one in the world, Sun Chuanting promised that he could go to the Shaanxi governor's post and serve as an assistant general.

The military men in other provinces did not have this promise. The governors of those provinces did not take them seriously at all.

Even the martial arts conferences in many provinces were independently organized by the Jinyiwei. Not only were they extremely shabby, but one also had to pay for their own travel expenses to enter Kyoto.

When these people learned about the treatment of the Shaanxi warriors, they were all envious.

It is believed that the title of the best in the world was either taken by officers from Liaodong or fell into the hands of Shaanxi.

However, there are some people who are not convinced, Ji Jike from Puzhou, Shanxi, is one of them.

He was good at Liuhe spearmanship. It was said that he visited a famous teacher in Zhongnan Mountain and learned the boxing manual of King Wu Mu. He was called a magic spearman by the villagers.

As the winner of the Shanxi Martial Arts Conference, he certainly did not agree with Gao Yingxiang, who was the number one in Shaanxi.

The same is true for Chen Wangting from Henan. He was born in Chenjiagou, and his family has practiced martial arts for generations. Chen Wangting, 29 years old this year, is young and strong. After easily winning the first place in Henan, he came to Beijing to participate in the martial arts conference with great ambitions.

Cao Bianjiao from the Liaodong Army looked down on everyone because his uncle Cao Wenzhao was recognized by the emperor as the best martial artist, and the martial arts competition originated from that competition.

Cao Bianjiao, who thought he was no weaker than his uncle, felt that no one could beat him if his uncle Cao Wenzhao did not participate in the competition.

It can be said that these young and strong warriors are all eyeing the title of the world's number one warrior.

There were also people who had no intention of becoming the best in the world, but just came to witness this martial arts event. Shan Sinan, a disciple of Zhang Songxi, was one of them.

Now that he was old, he knew that even if he went on stage, he would probably not be able to defeat the strong young men. So this time he came to Beijing, more to see the martial arts of various schools.

Having participated in the Korean campaign, one of the three major expeditions during the reign of Emperor Wanli, Shan Sinan also had some acquaintances in the army. He was even invited by an officer who knew how powerful he was to teach martial arts in the army.

However, his Siming Internal Martial Arts is easy to learn but difficult to master, and not many people can learn its subtleties. This made Shan Sinan sigh deeply in his heart.

Cao Wenzhao, the lieutenant general of the Beijing camp, was a connoisseur. After seeing the boxing skills taught by Shan Sinan, he wanted to let him teach his nephew, Cao Bianjiao, to prevent him from becoming arrogant and looking down on other martial arts.

When talking with Shan Sinan, Cao Wenzhao heard him lament that no one had ever learned his true teachings. After pondering for a while, he said:

"Speaking of which, your internal martial arts is very suitable for Your Majesty to learn."

"Your Majesty is very intelligent. He can understand and master ordinary boxing techniques at a glance."

"Although my martial arts skills are so high, I cannot teach Your Majesty——"

"Your Majesty has already learned those simple martial arts on the battlefield."

"Your internal martial arts, which is easy to learn but difficult to master, is very suitable for teaching to His Majesty."

Shan Sinan was very surprised to hear this. He didn't expect that the current emperor had such talent in martial arts.

The thought of the opportunity to become the emperor's martial arts teacher made him really excited. After Cao Wenzhao promised to recommend him to the emperor as long as he guided his nephew Cao Bianjiao to become the world's number one warrior.

Shan Sinan made up his mind to use his best skills to guide Cao Bianjiao to defeat all the martial arts. (End of this chapter)