Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 113: I still have a legacy in the capital? (Update )
"Guest officer!"

Haiyue walked to the front of the company and stopped to look around. Soon a man came forward, took the reins, and said enthusiastically: "Come in and take a look!"

Haiyue let him hold the reins and asked curiously, "What does your club do?"

The man smiled and said, "This is a place where the militia train. As the saying goes, 'brilliant and skillful, with great martial virtues.' If you are a distinguished and brave gentleman, whether you want to learn a skill or just exchange ideas, you can come here!"

"Martial arts school... Not bad! Not bad!"

Haiyue walked into the hall and found that although the front door didn't look big, there should be a large courtyard behind the front hall. She could faintly hear the sounds of people dancing with swords and sticks, and exercising their muscles. Everything was so familiar.

When he first saw the name, he was surprised and excited.

Then I thought about it and thought it might be a coincidence that we have the same name.

But now that I walk in and see the familiar layout and atmosphere, I know that it is unlikely to be a coincidence.

Or maybe someone had seen Yinglueshe in Qionshan and thought this kind of martial arts school had great potential, so they specially imitated its layout and opened one in the capital.

Or the two are one.

Haiyue simply asked, "I wonder what the name of your club's leader is?"

The man said, "Your Excellency is interested in our leader? I'm sorry to say that, but our leader has always been traveling around the world and doesn't stay in the capital. The Beijing club is presided over by Vice Leader Fan Lao."

"It's more like..."

Hai Yue complained in her heart, but said, "Then I want to meet this Mr. Fan. Do we need to make an appointment?"

"No need, no need! Your distinguished guest is so gracious, how could we neglect him?"

The man was full of enthusiasm and shouted inside: "There are guests coming, Tiehuo! Tiehuo!"

"Here we go!"

Accompanied by a muffled voice, a black man who looked like a blacksmith opened the curtain and came out to greet the guests. After listening to the introduction of the welcoming man, he didn't say anything, but after looking at Haiyue's face, his expression suddenly froze, and his attitude changed: "Please come in, sir!"

Hai Yue followed him through the front hall and arrived at the backyard, where she saw that all kinds of weapons and stone locks were available. It was almost November now, but the well-trained men were still dressed lightly and full of energy. Some of them were even shirtless, revealing their muscular bodies.

At this moment, the crowd did not practice, but dispersed to watch a confrontation in the center.

When Hai Yue arrived, the two had already fought for a while. One of them had the upper hand, and his sword flashed like lightning. The other retreated quickly, blocking with the long sword in his hand. Every time the two swords collided, sparks flew.

"Drink!"

The attacker shouted loudly, and the sword's momentum suddenly accelerated, attacking like a violent storm. The defender retreated again and again, with beads of sweat oozing from his forehead. He could even feel that the opponent left three points of room for maneuver with each sword strike, but still made him overwhelmed.

"That's it!"

After dozens of moves, the defender suddenly withdrew: "In the swordsmanship contest, I lose!"

The crowd, who had been holding their breath, finally breathed a sigh of relief and started talking: "Mr. Fan actually lost!" "This Yu guy is really that powerful!" "What a fierce warrior!"

The ones who had just attacked were obviously the young men who came to challenge, and the one who was at a disadvantage was the vice-president of Yinglue Society, Mr. Fan.

"Old Master Fan always said that the way of the sword is not about speed, but about accuracy; not about strength, but about intention!"

"Yu believes that the way of the sword requires great force and power, and that only speed can break it!"

The young challenger was in his twenties, a burly man with a majestic appearance but not rough. At this moment, there was a gleam of wisdom in his eyes, and he said firmly.

"Even though I'm an old man with many years of experience, it doesn't mean that what I say is necessarily correct. Moreover, everyone has their own opinions on the path of martial arts!"

Elder Fan stroked his beard and smiled, expressing his sincere admiration: "Young Master Yu, at such a young age, has such insights. In the future, your swordsmanship will be unrivaled!"

"I wouldn't accept that! I still have a lot to learn. Thank you, Mr. Fan, for your guidance!"

The tall and strong man thanked them solemnly, bowed to those around him, and then put away his sword and retreated.

Elder Fan looked at his figure, and for a moment he felt a sense of emotion, like the Yangtze River's waves behind pushing the waves ahead. Then he turned his gaze and fell on Haiyue who followed Tiehuo in. He immediately showed a happy expression: "Young Master?"

Haiyue watched from the sidelines and also recognized the old man: "Mr. Fan."

His father Haihao and mother Zhu Lin were away from home all year round. The only way they stayed in touch with their hometown was to send letters back to Qionshan every year to report their safety. There were two old servants delivering the letters, one of whom was Mr. Fan in front of him. He had even held him in his arms when he was a child.

"Haha! I didn't expect that today would be a double blessing. Come on, come on!" General Fan threw the sword in his hand onto the weapon rack and immediately took Haiyue to the inner courtyard.

On the way, Haiyue couldn't help but ask, "Are Dad and Mom all right?"

Mr. Fan smiled and said, "Good! Master and Madam are doing well! They are traveling in Taiyuan now!"

'They are so cool!'

Hai Yue had seen many parents in ancient times who restrained and disciplined their children, such as Hai Rui's mother, Xie. When Hai Rui was at home, she would greet him every day and obey his orders in everything. Although Xie was not an unreasonable woman, her desire to control her son was still suffocating.

Of course he didn't want to live that kind of life, but this other extreme was also quite interesting. Combined with the Ming Dynasty's restrictions on population movement, which were stronger than those of previous dynasties, those who could travel around the world in this era were not simple people. However, Hai Yue still didn't expect that the two of them would quietly open the Yinglue Society in the capital.

Speaking of the Yinglue Society in Qionshan, wasn't it making losses at first? It only turned losses into profits thanks to the inheritance of the fourth brother. How come it is thriving in the capital?

Hai Yue was not so direct and instead asked, "I've been in the capital for several months now. Doesn't Mr. Fan know about this?"

"Of course I know! Of course I know!"

Old Master Fan smiled broadly, revealing genuine satisfaction. "Young Master, you fought against the tyranny of Marquis Wu Ding in the Imperial College, and your fame spread throughout the capital. How could we not know? I wonder how happy we must be! Young Master, are you wondering why we didn't go look for you?"

Haiyue nodded: "Yes."

Elder Fan said earnestly, "Young Master, you have a bright future ahead of you. Why hang out with a bunch of us... warriors? It'll have a negative impact on your career. It's better for you to make friends with the scholars!"

It is said that the Song Dynasty valued civil officials over military officials, but in fact it was even worse in the Ming Dynasty. This is true. Anyone who could pass the imperial examination looked down on military officials. Even if one reached Qi Jiguang's position, he had to kneel down in a proper manner to civil officials of a few ranks lower than him.

Hai Yue felt that there was something else behind this, but she didn't ask any more questions. She changed the subject and asked, "Who was that swordsmanship expert just now?"

Mr. Fan said, "His name is Yu Dayou, also known as Zhifu. He is from Jinjiang, Quanzhou Prefecture. He is a man of both civil and military talents. He is a young hero!"

"It's him!"

In ancient times, military generals who led troops to fight must have had a certain level of martial arts prowess, and those who were strong in riding and shooting were everywhere. However, if we talk about the pinnacle of personal martial arts prowess, Yu Dayou in the official history was undoubtedly the top in the Ming Dynasty, and he could be ranked among the best in all dynasties.

After all, before the Ming Dynasty, military generals mostly emphasized "bravery", such as Guan Yu and Zhang Fei in the Three Kingdoms period and Yuchi Gong in the Tang Dynasty, but there are few systematic records of martial arts inheritance. As for earlier military generals, the evaluation of martial arts is mostly based on vague descriptions in history books and lacks quantitative data. Yu Dayou's martial arts book "Sword Classic" and actual combat cases such as the duel with Shaolin are more empirical.

Therefore, in Haiyue's opinion, in addition to his innate supernatural powers and acquired skills, like the almost invincible Overlord Xiang Yu, Yu Dayou was basically not inferior to any other powerful general during his peak period.

"Why did that warrior Yu come to my Yinglue Society?"

Mr. Fan said as a matter of course, "He is preparing to take the military examination next year and needs to open up some passes, so he asked someone to find us."

"Oh?"

Haiyue's eyes moved.

The civil imperial examination system originated in the Sui Dynasty. It was conceived by Emperor Wen of Sui and promoted by Emperor Yang of Sui. It was officially implemented in the Tang Dynasty. The military imperial examination system originated in the period of Empress Wu Zetian. Guo Ziyi, the famous general who was appointed to lead the defeated army and save the Tang Dynasty from collapse, was a military imperial examination candidate in the Tang Dynasty.

However, compared with the importance and difficulty of the civil examinations, the military examinations have always been in a dispensable and useless state. Not to mention the distant past, in the recent Zhengde period, the chief minister of the cabinet, Li Dongyang, said that the content of the military examinations was too simple and empty, the requirements for professional qualities were not high, and the military strategy was simple and crude. It was difficult for such an examination to select military generals with real military qualities. The chief minister of the cabinet, Xia Yan, also made a similar evaluation, that most of the candidates who passed the examinations were mediocre and it was difficult to entrust them with important tasks.

But even so, the martial arts examination is still a key channel for selecting talents. Most of the candidates are mediocre, but that does not mean there are no talents.

In history, the last two people who passed the military examination were Lu Bing, who passed the examination the next year, and Yu Dayou, who ranked fifth in the military examination four years later and was appointed as a captain.

Later on, there were Qi Jiguang, Shen Yourong, Sun Zushou, Wu Sangui... They all passed the military examination first, and then relied on their family connections to quickly stand out in the army!

The key point is that Yinglue Society’s influence in the capital cannot be underestimated because it can exert influence on the martial arts examination. It seems that it has been underestimated before!

I actually have a foundation in the capital?
Hai Yue finally confirmed: "Mr. Fan, how does the Yinglue Society in the capital compare to the Yaoziban?"

"Han Yaozi?"

A trace of disdain flashed in Old Fan's eyes. "When it comes to storytelling and juggling, the Harriers do have some talent. They were able to occupy the overpass and have some foundation. As for the rest, there's no need to compare us with this ignorant, shady gang that could be destroyed in an instant!"

"Han Yaozi looked down on officials, and then the Jianghu people also looked down on Han Yaozi. It's quite interesting!"

Hai Yue raised her eyebrows and said bluntly, "Then I want to check someone now, Li Shaoting, the imperial physician of the Imperial Hospital. Can our Yinglue Society do it?"

"Li Shaoting, the Imperial Physician..."

Mr. Fan fell silent. Just when Hai Yue was beginning to wonder if he was being too demanding, the old man stood up, walked to the bookshelf next to him, took out a scroll, and handed it to her. "This man is definitely not a simple imperial physician. He has serious connections behind him. If you decide to take him down, we must all work together. At worst, we can just give up this shop and leave the capital for a while!"

(End of this chapter)