Aoyama

Chapter 319 Brother Pao
Yulin Army Commandery.

Long buildings are connected in the shape of a "gate" to surround the parade ground. On the left is a stable where the war horses of the Yulin Army are kept; on the right is the government office and a place to store military equipment.

A golden plaque with the words "loyalty, diligence and military preparation" was hung high above the government office. The couplet on the top of the door reads "planning and strategizing with a three-foot sword", and the couplet on the bottom reads "serving the king with a whole heart", but I don't know which flatterer wrote it, the handwriting is pretty good.

In the government office, Chen Ji sat behind a desk and took notes with a brush: "Duo Bao, 15 taels of silver for study; Zhou Chong, 8 taels of silver for study; Zhou Li, 5 taels of silver for study..."

With a slap, Qi Zhuozhuo slapped Zhou Li on the back of his head: "Zhou Chong is because his family is strict, what's your reason? You just want to learn real skills with five taels of silver?"

Zhou Li said helplessly: "Sir, my Zhou family is not as good as your Qi family. My monthly salary is only ten taels."

"You've been to the Eight Great Hutongs quite often!" Qi Chenzhuo said to Chen Ji, "Master, give him ten taels!"

Chen Ji smiled and said gently, "No need. If we ask everyone to pay all their money for school fees, how will everyone live?"

After that, he wrote in the account book: "Zhou Li, nine taels."

Chen Ji flipped through the account book and calculated silently: the Yulin Army that returned from Guyuan, not counting him, totaled thirty-seven people, and the total monthly tuition was five hundred and seventy taels.

At this rate, he could accumulate a stripe in two years, and in another eight years he could enter the realm of seeking the way. A twenty-six-year-old great official in the realm of seeking the way was enough to make a living.

But Chen Ji couldn't wait that long.

Seeing that he frowned and said nothing, Qi Zhuozhuo thought that he thought the money was too little, so he explained in a low voice: "Master, those who were sent to the Yulin Army by their families were not well-received at home. It's okay to have a stable job and not get into trouble. They don't have much money. Those who are really capable and favored by their families are sent to the academy to study. Now that everyone has come back from Guyuan, they have come to their senses and are holding their breath to make achievements. If you think this money is too little, we will take some military pay to honor you when we become generals in the future!"

Li Xuan said angrily: "What nonsense are you talking about? If you intend to embezzle military pay in the future, don't learn skills now, so as not to harm others in the future."

Qi Chenzhuo quickly explained: "I was just joking..."

Chen Ji stood up and said, "It's not that I think it's too little, but I'm thinking about teaching something."

Qi Chenzhuo saw Chen Ji closing the account book and asked with great interest, "Master, can I teach you the archery skill of shooting an arrow through a willow leaf from a hundred paces away, or your skill of using a horse spear?"

Chen Ji stood behind the desk, deep in thought, tapping his fingers on the desk.

Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, Qi Chenzhuo anxiously waved his hand in front of Chen Ji.

Chen Ji suddenly said: "Learn the formation first."

Qi Chenzhuo raised his eyebrows: "Formation? Why do we need to learn formation? We know formations. We usually practice the Three Talents Formation and Plum Blossom Formation... Master, you have never used formations before, right?"

Li Xuan glanced at him and said, "Still talking back, don't you learn your lesson?"

Qi Chenzhuo shrank his neck and said, "I just think that learning the formation is not good enough. It would be so impressive if I could show off my archery skills during the autumn hunt... I will learn the formation. I will learn whatever the master teaches me."

Chen Ji stood up and walked out. "Martial arts need to be tempered. If you want to shoot an arrow through a willow tree from a hundred paces away, go shoot ten thousand arrows first. I won't teach you fancy things. Since I've taken your tuition money, I have to teach you some skills to survive. Lord Li, take two shields, four horse lances, a spear, two tridents, a hard bow... and two bamboos 16 feet long."

Qi Chenzhuo was stunned: "What is that? Bamboo?"

This time even Li Xuan was puzzled: "The others can still be found, but what do you want the bamboo for? It's hard to find a 16-foot-tall bamboo in the north. We have to go back to the Qi Family Bamboo Forest and try our luck."

Chen Ji hummed, "Go find it, and we'll talk about it after you find it."

Qi Chenzhuo asked curiously, "Master, what kind of formation is so strange that it even requires bamboo? What is the name of this formation?"

Chen Ji answered casually: "Mandarin Duck Formation."

The Yulin Army looked at each other in bewilderment.

Mandarin Duck Formation? Never heard of it.

Qi Chenzhuo muttered quietly: "What a weird name, not overbearing at all."

Chen Ji did not explain anything. This formation, although not having an overbearing name, represented the last glory of the infantry formation in the era of cold weapons.

The Qi family army used the Mandarin Duck Formation as its trump card and created the myth of nine victories in nine battles.

He waved his hand and said, "Go find some bamboo."

Qi Chenzhuo rode away and did not return until the evening.

He was seen carrying two bamboos of different lengths on his shoulders, one was 12 feet long and the other was 11 feet long. He jumped off his horse with the bamboos on his shoulders and handed the reins to the Yulin Army.

Li Xuan glanced at the bamboo and said, "Not long enough."

Qi Chenzhuo looked at Li Xuan with embarrassment and said, "Brother-in-law, it's not like you haven't been to our bamboo forest. I searched the entire bamboo forest, and the two longest ones are the ones I cut down... Father and the old man like that bamboo forest the most, and they always say that the bamboo forest represents the spirit of the Qi family's literati. If they knew that I cut down the two tallest bamboos, they might cut me down!"

Li Xuan's face became serious: "You didn't let anyone see you cutting bamboo, did you?" Qi Zhuozhuo smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm avoiding people, otherwise why would I take so long to come back? Hey, where's my master?"

Li Xuan explained: "He left just after 3 p.m., saying he wanted to go to the overpass to watch some wrestling tricks."

Qi Chenzhuo was puzzled: "What's so good about that? It's just a bunch of rough guys twisted together, it's so ugly."

……

……

To enter Beijing from the south, you have to go through Yongding Gate.

After entering Yongding Gate, you will see the Temple of Heaven and the Temple of Mountains and Rivers. Temple fairs are usually held here, and it is very lively.

The Tianqiao is right next to the Temple of Heaven and is the most lively place in the bustling scene. But if the parents hear that their children have been to the Tianqiao, they will definitely scold them and say, "Respectable people are not allowed to go to such places."

Chen Ji walked in the hustle and bustle of traffic, with the smell of cow dung and the sounds of hawkers everywhere.

On the roadside, a man was holding a red tasseled spear. People gathered around him to watch the fun. They saw the man put the tip of the spear to his throat and forcibly bent the spear barrel.

When a young man holding a gong turned around and shouted: "Dear uncles and aunts, those who have money can show their support with money, and those who have money can show their support with their presence. One penny is not too little, and a hundred pennies are not too much..."

At this point, the people who came to watch the fun dispersed, and only two or three copper coins were received in the gong.

An old man jokingly said, "It's obvious that this is an honest man who just came to Beijing to sell his skills. Next time, he should be smarter. Haven't you heard of the saying 'all talk, no action'?"

The honest man put away the red tasseled spear and humbly asked, "Excuse me, sir, what is 'all talk, no action'?"

The old man continued to joke, "You have to collect money before you put the knife on the head, when the audience can't wait to get it. Who will give you money after you've done it? Look at the fat guy Wang next door who plays with flying knives. Every day he says he will cover his eyes and use the flying knives to stab the red fruit on his daughter's head. But he starts collecting money before he throws the knife, and after collecting the money he starts the show all over again. I've lived in Tianqiao for so many years, and I've never seen him really let his daughter hit the red fruit."

The man asked doubtfully, "Then can he do it or not?"

The old man laughed and scolded: "Even if you know how to do it, you can't pierce it. She is my own daughter!"

Chen Ji passed by the stall selling red tassel spears. Along the way, he saw people playing with flying knives, breaking stones with their chests, and carrying large vats. The aroma of fried tripe wafted from the roadside. The eighth pot of fried tripe at Lao Shiji had already been cooked, but people were still coming in an endless stream in front of the pot.

As we were walking, a vendor passed by with a shoulder pole, shouting, "Aiwo Wo, Aiwo Wo fresh out of the wok!"

Chen Ji dodged to the side and turned around to see the most lively place, which was surrounded by people in three layers inside and outside. He had no idea what was going on inside.

He turned and went up to the restaurant facing the street, stood on the second floor and leaned on the railing to look out.

In the crowd, there were two shirtless men. One of them had tattoos all over his back, with blue tattoos spreading from his neck to his wrists. His body was covered with shiny grease, which reflected the light in the setting sun.

The other man was clean, with no tattoos or oil on his body, and his muscles looked so muscular that they could be drawn into threads.

In the field, someone shouted to the clean-cut man, "Brother Pao, get him!"

Chen Ji watched calmly. Those surrounding the two men were not good people. One of them had an iron ruler and an axe on his waist, and the other had a one-foot-long dagger on his waist.

At this time, a skinny old man, wearing a pair of black cloth shoes, slowly walked into the field. Strangely, the old man was missing his index finger and thumb on his right hand.

Several young men under the old man were armed with knives, guns, sticks and clubs, and they were stationed at the four corners of the arena. This was the designated arena, and only wrestlers were allowed to enter. Anyone who trespassed would be stabbed three times and stabbed six times.

What's even more strange is that these young men are also disabled, some are lame, some are missing an arm, or some are blind in an eye.

Chen Ji took a quick look and didn't see a single intact person.

The old man stood in the wrestling arena and said calmly, "Today, Wang Huan of Heji and Zhu Guan of Ruifuxiang are in a stalemate. We have invited the men of the Sanshan Society to preside over justice. The deal is about the business of Li Shamao Hutong. No matter who wins or loses, we must accept the defeat and don't let the old and young men laugh at us. Let's not waste any more time and start."

When he walked out of the venue, before he turned around, he heard a burst of cheers from Ruifuxiang: "Good!"

Chen Ji silently watched Pao Ge's sudden attack. He swiftly went behind his opponent, pressed his carotid artery with his forearm, and locked his left wrist with his right hand. No matter how the opponent struggled, he could not break free.

Just a few breaths will make the other person fall into a coma due to lack of oxygen.

Extremely fast!

I saw Pao brother slowly let go of his opponent and laid him flat on the ground: "Don't worry, he will wake up in a while."

The old man smiled and said, "Young man, you have a rare skill. It looks like you have been through a lot of hard work. Good luck and victory!"

(End of this chapter)