The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 87: Ming Dynasty Loyalty
On September 17, the Kuiwei Military Examination entered its last day.

This day is also the most exciting day.

Because the test on this day is about horse riding, archery and martial arts competition.

If you want to truly become a general who can go into battle and kill enemies, everything else is fake, and these two items are the key.

Horseback archery means galloping on horseback, circling the Nanyuan parade ground, and shooting six arrows at a target a hundred steps away.

These six arrows are extremely difficult. It is considered good if you can hit a target half the size of a person while galloping on horseback. It is even more amazing if you can hit the center of the bull's eye.

If all six arrows hit the bull's eye, you are a sharpshooter.

Such a general is absolutely a terrifying existence on the battlefield, because the bull's eye is the size of the throat. He can shoot the enemy's throat while galloping on horseback. Who can dodge this arrow?
Wanli originally thought that more than half of the archers would miss the target, because Yang Junqing, who became the top martial arts champion through connections, could not hit the target even when standing still.

At this moment, the military examination has become so corrupt that it has even reached the provincial examination. Few of the candidates who come to take the examination have passed based on their real abilities.

Unexpectedly, not many arrows missed the target during this horse archery test, and most of the arrows hit the target.

It seems that not all martial arts candidates are useless.

He issued an edict to the whole country and personally set new rules for the military examination, which shows how much he values ​​this examination. It is very likely that those real losers will not dare to come.

Anyone who dares to come this time must be quite capable.

Because there are arrows that hit the bull's eye, and not just one or two.

Among them, some people may rely on luck and occasionally hit the bull's eye with one of the six arrows.

However, some people are really amazing and can hit the bull's eye with all six arrows!

What kind of archery is this?
They are really galloping on horseback!
Because the horseback archery test only lasted for one morning, and 4,800 people had to complete the test, a candidate would have to ride out of the south gate almost every few seconds. The outer circle of the Nanyuan Parade Ground was only about ten miles at most, and it would be considered good if this circle could accommodate three or four hundred people riding horses at the same time.

In other words, candidates must run as fast as possible and complete the lap within a quarter of an hour.

At that speed, he couldn't even see the person's figure even with a telescope, but the candidate was able to hit the bull's eye!

That whole morning, the thunderous sound of horse hooves could be heard continuously. I had no idea how many times the target had been changed. It would take an unknown amount of time to calculate the results of the 30,000 arrows based on the names engraved on the arrow shafts.

However, no one cares about this anymore, because after the horse riding and archery competition, it is time for the martial arts competition.

This is the most exciting part of the martial arts examination and the key to cold weapon combat.

In order to prevent the masters from encountering each other in advance, Wanli set new rules. The arena competition was divided into preliminary test, re-test and final showdown.

There is only one round of preliminary test. Those who can lift 100 to 200 kilograms and those who can lift more than 200 kilograms are divided into two groups. Among the four people in each arena, three can lift 100 to 200 kilograms and one can lift more than 200 kilograms. They compete in three games. Those who lose one game will be eliminated, and those who win two games will advance.

The re-examination is divided into three rounds, each round also has three sessions.

In the first round, the 1,200 people who advanced from the preliminary test were divided into 100 groups of 12 people each, and competed in six arenas at the same time. The first match was a draw. In the second round, the winners competed with the winners, and the losers competed with the losers. Those who won two matches advanced, and those who lost two matches were eliminated. In the third round, the remaining six people competed, the winner advanced, and the loser was eliminated.

In the second round, the remaining 600 people were divided into 50 groups, each with 12 people, and they competed three more times. The promotion method was the same as the first round.

In the third round, the remaining 300 people were divided into 50 groups, each with 12 people, and they competed three more times. The promotion method was the same as the first round.

The final showdown is also divided into four rounds.

In the first round, six candidates who have not lost a single match in the re-examination will be selected to rest, and the remaining 144 candidates will be divided into 12 groups, with 12 people in each group, and they will compete three more matches. The promotion method is the same as the first round of the re-examination.

In the second round, six of the undefeated contestants in the first round were selected to rest, and the remaining seventy-two contestants were divided into six groups of twelve people each, and three more matches were played. The promotion method was the same as the first round of the re-examination.

In the third round, six of the undefeated players in the second round will be selected to rest, and the remaining thirty-six players will be divided into three groups of twelve people each, and will play three more games. The promotion method is the same as the first round of the re-examination.

In the fourth round, the remaining 24 candidates from the third round will be divided into two groups, with 12 people in each group, and will compete three more times. The promotion method is the same as the first round of the re-examination.

In the fifth round, the remaining twelve from the fourth round will compete in three more rounds, and the six who advance will compete in pairs based on the win or loss, and the winners will be the top three.

This kind of competition is a bit time-consuming, but it is fair. In order to avoid casualties and speed up the progress, Wanli also stipulated that except for the fifth round of the final showdown where players have to wear armor to compete with weapons, the previous rounds will only be fists and feet.

At noon, when the sun was at its highest point, the competition in the ring began.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom", a burst of powerful war drums sounded, and twelve hundred arenas started fighting at the same time. The shouts and the sounds of fists and feet hitting flesh instantly filled the entire parade ground.

The skills used to kill enemies on the battlefield are not the kind of competition methods in later generations that have no restrictions. Kicking in the crotch, gouging eyes, pulling ears, even grabbing hair and other moves are all acceptable.

In a nutshell, knock down the enemy as quickly as possible.

That guy was so fast that in just a few breaths, many people were knocked down on the ring, and some were even kicked off the ring. After a burst of screams, the first competition was over!
Because one of the four men in each arena was significantly stronger than the others, the elimination process was incredibly rapid. In less than a quarter of an hour, the preliminary round was over. On the stage, Wanli couldn't help but lower his telescope, stunned, and exclaimed, "Isn't this too fast?"

Qi Jiguang said approvingly, "Your Majesty, this is the skill of killing the enemy on the battlefield. Many of them are defeated with a single move, leaving the enemy no chance at all. These Ensheng who have fought on the battlefield and made great contributions are indeed amazing."

The same thing happened with the first round of the re-examination. As soon as the powerful drumbeats sounded, the roars and the sounds of fists and feet hitting flesh instantly filled the entire parade ground. After a burst of screams, hundreds of competitions were over.

Originally, Wanli was worried that there were too many games and he wouldn’t be able to have fun even until the evening.

This guy, one round for a quarter of an hour, one round for a quarter of an hour, and the re-examination was over in less than half an hour.

Next is the final showdown. The 150 people who can stand out from the 4,800 people are still very powerful. They can finally exchange a few moves with each other.

However, it was only a few moves, and one round was over in less than two quarters of an hour. Before the afternoon, the top twelve in the final group were decided.

At this time, the top twelve were moved to the six arenas south of the reviewing platform to compete. Wanli couldn't help but pull Qi Jiguang, Liang Menglong and others to the railing to take a closer look.

There is nothing much to say about the military competition. Twelve people put on armor, picked up their own weapons, jumped onto the ring, and started fighting right away!
Their moves were also extremely ferocious, specifically targeting areas not protected by armor.

However, they would not really kill their opponents. When using weapons to compete, they would only fight to the point of hitting the opponent with a single blow. Generally, they would win if they could scratch the skin or pierce the flesh in a vital part.

This kind of competition can actually produce results very quickly. Amidst the flashes of swords and sabers, in less than two quarters of an hour, the first three matches were over, leaving only the final showdown between six people.

Only then did Wanli remember that he didn't know the names of these people.

These people's skills are extremely high, perhaps there are famous generals among them.

Seeing that the duel between the six people was about to begin, he quickly raised his hand and said, "Uncle, go and get their list for me to see."

Upon hearing this, Li Xuancheng immediately jumped down and came to the officers of the Beijing camp who were recording below the arena.

Soon, he jumped up with a copied list.

When Wanli took it and looked at it, he was shocked again.

Man Gui, a member of the Xuanfu Zhongwei Army, lost his father during the Jiajing period and joined the army as a servant. He made outstanding military achievements.
Du Song, son of Du Han, a centurion of Yulin Weining Fort, was a man of outstanding military achievements.
Wang Xuan, the son of Wang Qi, the right centurion of Yulin Guard, had outstanding military achievements.

You Shigong, a soldier of Yulin Guard, was the nephew of You Jixian, the deputy general of Datong Town, and had outstanding military achievements.

Zhao Luejiao, grandson of Zhao Sheng, deputy commander of the Jinglu Guard in Guyuan Town, had outstanding military achievements.

Ma Lin was the son of Ma Fang, who served as the general of Xuanfu Town twice in the late Jiajing period and the early Longqing period. In the early Wanli period, Ma Fang was impeached and dismissed from his post. Ma Lin joined the army as a servant and made outstanding military achievements.

These people turned out to be loyal martyrs who died on the battlefield later!

In history, in the Battle of Sarhu, the Battle of Shenyang, and the Ji Si Incident, all these people sacrificed their lives for their country!

The tragic battle scenes kept flashing through Wanli's mind, and he couldn't help but be stunned.

He was stunned for a long time before asking, "Yuan Jing, do you know Ma Fang? Why was he dismissed and investigated?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang sighed slightly and said, "I know Ma Fang, he is a rare and powerful general.

Ma Fang had fought in hundreds of battles and suffered dozens of wounds, but he still gritted his teeth and defended Xuanfu Town. Once he was dismissed from his post and investigated, he lost his spirit and died soon after.

He was really fierce. He dared to fight against thousands of Northern Barbarians head-on with hundreds of people, and he was able to win!
At that time, words praising him were circulating in the army, "There are many brave generals on the border, but none is braver than Ma Fang!"

The censors of the three major families in Puzhou actually impeached him for taking bribes to become the general. Did he need to bribe? He personally killed at least 800 northern barbarians, if not a thousand.

In fact, he was dismissed and investigated because he refused to bribe and disobeyed the three great families of Puzhou. "

Humph, you bunch of beasts, just wait!

I will kill all nine generations of your clan!
These loyal heroes who died fighting for the Ming Dynasty in history are used to deal with you.

Wanli snorted inwardly, then said decisively: "These few are all good. Regardless of their performance in the Art of War and Theory of Formation, they will all be listed on the list, awarded the title of Military Scholar, and retained in the Beijing Camp as generals."

Is this possible?

Will everyone be on the list of the military examination no matter how well they do in military strategy and formation theory?

Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang said cautiously, "Your Majesty, I was just about to ask how the results of the martial arts examination are calculated."

(End of this chapter)