The second year of the reign of the Ming Dynasty.

In early spring and February, although it was warm and cold at first, Jiangnan was already full of spring. I saw the roadside of the field, the front and back of the house, the high mountain, and the wilderness, everywhere the buds are blooming, the mountain flowers are blooming, the green grass is everywhere, and the warblers are flying around.

On the day of the Flower Dynasty Festival, it happened to be rainy for a long time and the temperature rose. People take off their heavy and monotonous cotton clothes, put on colorful spring clothes, and call friends to come to the fields and countryside with trees and pavilions, green grass, and enjoy the spring leisurely.

In Chenjiazhuang, a small courtyard on the outskirts of Huangzhou Prefecture, Huguang, a young man in a long cloth shirt with clear eyebrows seemed to be blind to the bright sunshine and weaving tourists outside, holding a copy of "Liutao" and studying quietly, immersed in the profound military strategy.

With a "clang", the window sash opened without wind. A sturdy man in a short suit, carrying two long swords, and a multicolored mask on his head, jumped in from the window.

As soon as he landed, he slapped the young man on the shoulder with a wave of his palm. The young scholar had already heard the breath outside the window, and was not surprised, and when he saw the masked man's palm wind coming, he blocked the "Liutao" in his hand, only to hear the sound of "Qiang", like hitting stubborn iron. The masked man's body shook and he took two steps back, and the young man, along with the stool sitting under him, also slid backwards. The masked man still didn't say a word, and changed the remake to catch it, wanting to take away "Liutao" in the hands of the young man. The young man stood up in a hurry, flattened "Liutao", and slashed at the masked man's wrist. The masked man slammed his right hand back, clenched his left hand into a fist, and slammed it into the young man's door. Between the lightning and fire, the young man stretched out his feet and hooked up the wooden bench to meet the opponent's fist. The masked man did not stop, but urged the internal force, and slammed his fist on the bench surface, only to hear a "click", and the bench in the young man's hand was broken into two. The young man let out a loud shout, threw away the wooden stool in his hand, and kicked the masked man in the lower abdomen with one side leg. The masked man retracted his lower abdomen and leaned forward, dodging the young man's kick. Taking advantage of the masked man's bent back, the young man reached out and drew the long sword behind the masked man's back, put the "Liutao" on the table, and said, "If you want to fight, go outside, don't disturb the saint here." With that, he floated out the window.

"Look at the sword. The masked man drew his long sword and flew out flat, stabbing at the young man's shoulder blade like a rainbow. The young man's feet were firmly nailed to the ground, and he did not dodge, and when the tip of the masked man's sword was about a foot away from his shoulder blade, the long sword in his hand was erected, and with a "ding" sound, the spine of the sword just blocked the tip of the swift sword.

One move failed, and the masked man pinched a sword trick in his left hand, and the long sword in his right hand drew an arc, and attacked the young man again. The young man turned sideways, swung the opponent's long sword away, and the sword was like the wind, "brushing and brushing" to attack three moves, and the masked man was also defensive and offensive. For a while, "snort-snort-snort-", the sound of the sword qi breaking through the air was endless, and in the blink of an eye, it had reached a hundred moves.

Suddenly, the young scholar grew his sword in a circle, drew a beautiful arc, twisted the masked man's long sword aside, and said with a smile: "How is it, Fifth Uncle, do you still want to fight?"

When the masked man heard this, he immediately put away his long sword, took off his mask, and asked, "Stinky boy, how do you know it's me?"

"The sword move is deadly, but the move is merciful, who else would do this except the fifth uncle?" The young scholar turned behind the "fifth uncle", untied the scabbard behind him, and inserted the two long swords into the sheath.

"Yes, the fifth uncle fights against you, you can be merciful under the sword, if you are an enemy, you will die. Just now you kicked the move with your side leg, the fifth uncle deliberately bowed down to make you draw out the long sword, if you change the enemy, it will not be bent over and hunched over, as long as he copies it with both hands, he will knock you to the ground, remember, remember. ”

Qi'er remembered. The young man replied respectfully.

The fifth uncle smiled "hehe" and said self-deprecatingly: "Hehe, I am also a class with an axe, how good is your master, and you still need me to 'advise'? If you show your real skills, the fifth uncle will not be an opponent for a long time." ”

"How can it, the fifth uncle's miraculous skills are world-famous, Qi'er is difficult to look forward to, especially the formation, the fifth uncle wants to say that it is the second in the world, who dares to claim the first? By the way, the fifth uncle, I have something to ask. ”

"What's the matter?"

"Fifth uncle, please come with me. The young scholar said, walked into the back room, picked up the "Liutao" he had just studied, flipped through it, pointed to one of the pages, and said to the "fifth uncle" who followed up: "Fifth uncle, please take a look." King Wu asked the Taigong, "The enemy surrounds me, cuts off my front and back, and deprives me of food, what can I do about it?" If you use it overpoweringly, you will win, and if you use it, you will lose. In this way, for the four martial arts to rush Chen, with a military chariot to ride, to disrupt its army, and to attack it, can be rampant. 'When you are isolated, you should break through quickly, which is easy to understand. But this 'Four Martial Arts Chong Chen', my nephew doesn't quite understand. ”

The "fifth uncle" didn't read either, paced two steps in the room with his hands, turned around and said: "'Four Martial Rushing Chen' is a formation, also known as 'Four Martial Rushing Formation', also known as 'Horse Rejection Formation', especially suitable for infantry and cavalry. The formation was to deploy the bow bend on the periphery and plant the shield in the inner layer to dissipate the impact of the cavalry with the obstacles set up around the infantry, and behind the obstacles, lay an ambush with strong bows and crossbows to shoot the cavalry blocked by the obstacles. At this time, with powerful chariots and brave cavalry, strike and shock the enemy army, plunge into chaos, and then quickly assault, so that you can successfully break through. Therefore, if the 'four martial forces rush into formation', they must use spears and halberds as the main force of attack, and divide them into several small detachments to support each other, so as to be effective......"

"Young master, young master. Just as the uncle and nephew were discussing the way to use soldiers with great interest, a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy ran in, and when he saw that the "fifth uncle" was also in the house, he quickly stabilized his body and said, "It just so happens that the fifth master is also there." ”

The young scholar frowned, gently grabbed the young man's ear, and said, "Okay, you little Jingxing, you two 'tailwinds' should be cut for snacks." I don't know how many times I've said to you, don't always call 'young master' and 'young master'. You see, I often follow my father and fifth uncle to work in the fields and go to the shop to do business, is there such a young master in the world? You always call me like this, do you want the world to laugh at me?"

"That'...... What does the young master call you?" Jing Xing pursed his mouth and asked puzzled.

The fifth uncle smiled "haha": "You little Jingxing also has a bad memory." We are not a big family, so who came to the 'master' and 'young master'? Although your father is the bookkeeper of my shop, how can we treat you as outsiders? Wenqi is three years older than you, and you have been with him since you were a child, and your own brothers are just like that. From now on, you call him Brother Wen Qi and call me Fifth Uncle, can you remember?"

"Remember...... Remembered. But in that case, my father will definitely scold me. Jingxing muttered in reply.

"Your father's place, I'll tell him to go, make sure it's okay. "Fifth Uncle" said.

Indeed, as Chen Wenqi and the "fifth uncle" said, this Chen family is not a big family. Chen Wenqi's father, Chen Ruishan, entered a private school for a few years in his early years, and was a talent who passed the children's test, but later abandoned literature to engage in business because of repeated failures in the township test, and opened a pawnshop in Huangzhou City. Over the decades, the small pawnshop has been quite successful. As he grew older, Chen Ruishan became less and less accustomed to the hustle and bustle of life in the city, so he asked Jingxing's father Sedum to do some pawnshop business, and he purchased more than ten acres of land in his hometown. Although it is not a rich party, it can also be called a solid family.

Chen Ruishan has four younger brothers, the second, third, and fourth children either died early or died young, and the fifth brother Chen Xiangshan is obsessed with martial arts, and has no distractions. Although Chen Xiangshan's fist and foot kung fu cannot be higher than that of his nephew Wen Qi, he has a lot of experience in the formation of Qimen, not only such as the common Sun Bin ten formations and Wuhou eight formations in leading the army, etc., are all proficient in the heart, but also the formations in the martial arts, such as the Shaolin Bronze Man Formation, the Wudang Seven Star Formation, etc., are also well understood. Therefore, Chen Xiangshan and Chen Wenqi's uncle and nephew often study the method of setting up a formation to break the formation in addition to learning kung fu.

Chen Ruishan has a way at home, but he has a slight deficiency in the inheritance of incense. He and his wife Wen have been married for a long time without children, and they didn't like to have a noble son until they were not confused, but they ....... Therefore, he poured all his efforts into his only son Wenqi, and spared no expense to invite celebrities to become a pillar of talent. Xiao Wenqi also lived up to his father's high expectations, not only intelligent, but also diligent and studious. By the age of fifteen or sixteen, he memorized the four books and five classics backwards, recited poems and sang praises to the mouth, was proficient in all kinds of riding and shooting, and his martial arts and strategies were all excellent. Even so, Chen Ruishan loves his beloved son but does not spoil him, and urges Xiao Wenqi to work in the field or go to the pawnshop in the city to do some business, so as to work his muscles and bones, work hard his mind, strengthen his physique, and temper his character. Therefore, Wen Qi not only never had the "feeling" of a "young master", but also hated the sense of respect and distance between people from the bottom of his heart. Seeing Xiao Jingxing nodding and agreeing not to call him young master today, he was very happy, and hurriedly said, "Okay, just call it now?"

Wen ...... Brother Wen Qi. Jing Xing was helpless and called timidly in a low voice.

"Hey. Wen Qi put his arm around Jing Xing's shoulders, happily agreed, and then asked, "Uh, Jing Xing, what are you doing with us?"

Jing Xing swept away his embarrassed expression, and said excitedly: "Less...... Brother Wen Qi, Wu ...... Fifth uncle, the emperor's list was posted in front of the yamen of Huangzhou Mansion today, and the newly enthroned emperor is going to restart the autumn season and open the department. ”

"Really?" asked Chen Wenqi and Chen Xiangshan in unison.

"The second bolt of the village went into the city early in the morning to grab medicine and listened to what passers-by said. Jingxing was not sure, and only told Chen Xiangshan and Chen Wenqi the source of the news.

"It's all hearsay. Wen Qi pursed his lips, already unconvinced.

"Such a big thing, it won't come out of nowhere, right?" Jing Xing seemed to insist.

Fifth Uncle Chen Xiangshan suddenly said: "Wen Qi, look at the outside." ”

Chen Wenqi was puzzled, turned his head and looked out for a long time, but did not see anything special, and turned back and asked:

"What's going on out there?"

"'Out of its east gate, there are women like clouds'. Chen Xiangshan said with a smile.

Chen Wenqi knew that the fifth uncle asked him to look at the tourists outside, so he teased: "Why does the fifth uncle only see 'there are women like clouds' in his eyes?

"Phew, why is the child's mind full of things to think about? Don't you know what 'out of the east gate, there is a woman like a cloud'?"

"Of course I do. It was the scene of the ancients describing the young men and women of the Shangsi Festival going to the east gate to go for spring. It is said that it can get rid of the ominous, so it is called 'Chunyu'. ”

"yes. Although it has not yet arrived at the Shangsi Festival, you can see outside, people who are bustling to enjoy the spring are bustling, so it is not lively. Why don't we go out for a walk, one comes to the spring, and the other comes to the prefect's yamen to see, whether there is an emperor list, you can know at a glance. ”

"Well, that's the best. Let's go!" Chen Wenqi heard this, and walked away.

Chenjiazhuang is in the eastern suburbs of Huangzhou Mansion, and ordinary people are only two hours away, and Chen Wenqi's uncle and nephew are martial arts people, and they can go back and forth in an hour.

Jingxing wanted to follow him, but Chen Wenqi was afraid that he would affect his footsteps, so he asked him to report to his father, and he went to Huangzhou City with his fifth uncle.

Why did Chen Wenqi's uncle and nephew have doubts about Qiu Yu Dabi? There was a reason for this, and he took advantage of the free time of his uncle and nephew to introduce one or two.

It turned out that since the seventeenth year of Hongwu in this dynasty, the old emperor Zhu Yuanzhang established the system of "three-year competition", stipulating that the township examination will be held every child, Mao, noon, and unitary year, and the meeting examination and the palace examination will be held in the following year, and he will tell his descendants: "The affairs of the world are not governed by virtue; ...... Chinese and foreign scholars are all promoted by the imperial examination, and those who are not subject to the imperial examination do not have to be officials. After more than 70 years, after Jianwen, Yongle, Hongxi, Xuande, Zhengxi, Jingtai Emperors, the "three-year competition" system has been followed from generation to generation. However, in the later period of Chenghua, Emperor Xianzong Zhu Jian deeply favored and believed in Buddhism, appointed traitors, and a large number of virtuous people were either degraded or dismissed or died, and it was difficult for the court to have a place for direct ministers. As a result, the favored eunuchs Wang Zhi and Liang Fang and others, in order to accumulate wealth, formed a party, and took the opportunity to spread the edict, resulting in many social scoundrels and swaggers being able to sneak into the palace and hold important positions, and the court politics were corrupt. However, Emperor Xianzong was happy to be idle, and left the legacy of the grandfather's "three-year competition" behind, and actually cut off the road of scientific examination, so that in the later period of Chenghua, there was no new imperial examination, tribute, and jinshi. Like Chen Wenqi, although he is only eight years old, he has passed the county and government examinations as early as the age of twelve, but he still stops at the fame of "childhood".

This year is the second year of the new emperor Zhu Youzhang's accession to the throne, and the year is full of its own unitary, if according to the law of this dynasty, it is indeed the year of the "township test". However, the politics of the DPRK and China are dim, and it is difficult to return to the accumulated evils, and even if it is necessary to renew the government and rectify the administration of officials, it will take three or five years. After more than a year on the throne, the imperial examination was reopened, either it was a rumor that there was nothing in the background, or the new emperor was anxious to seek treatment. Therefore, Chen Wenqi's uncle and nephew will be suspicious of this.

While talking, the two of them were close to the Huangzhou Mansion. Looking from afar, I saw that the imperial list was hanging high in front of the yamen, and dozens of people were standing in groups like ants, looking at each other at the high hanging imperial list.

The two came to the front, "borrowed light" in a loud voice, separated everyone, and squeezed to the front of the emperor's list, only to see the apricot-yellow emperor's list full of vermilion characters:

"Fengtian carried the emperor's edict and said:

At the beginning of the founding of the country, Taizu once instructed his descendants: Those who are not subject to the imperial examination should not be officials. It was appointed that every one hundred and five years of the Emperor's reign, Mao, Wu, and Younian were opened. In the second year of Hongzhi, the year is my own, I want to go to the ancestral system, open the township, the meeting, and the palace to seek the world's talents, and hereby announce to the world:

In August this year, the special autumn festival, Kaiwen and Wu Erke. Those who should be cited should observe their words and deeds to observe their virtues, examine their scriptures and skills to observe their careers, and make plans and historical affairs to observe their political affairs. Those who should be martial arts should first use strategy, followed by martial arts, and seek practical results, not vanity. Learn from the scriptures, the ancient and modern, the Wen Tao Wu strategy, the name and the truth. After the examination next year, I will personally advise the court and be appointed as an official.

The political envoys, the commanders, the prefectures, the counties, etc., are expected to advise the folk scholars and wise and brave people to learn from the time. During the opening period, he was a tribute to the Beijing Division, and his subjects had their own origins.

Chin this!

February of the second year of Hongji. ”

At the place of payment, it is stamped with a bright red seal of jade.

"What? not only to hold a big competition exam, but also to open a document and a second martial arts subject?" the two of them looked at it, a little inexplicably excited.

"Fifth uncle, you are none other than Wu Jieyuan in this year's Huguangxing Provincial Township Test. Wen Qi said half-jokingly and half-seriously.

"Me?" Chen Xiangshan shook his head: "Fifth Uncle, you still don't know this bit of family background? Although I am familiar with fist and foot skills, my interest is all in the Qimen formation. If the emperor wants to break the formation to win the soldiers, it is not the fifth uncle's nonsense, not to mention the township test in Huguang, it is the palace test, and the fifth uncle will never fall outside the 'Sanding Jia'. But the big competition of martial arts, the comparison is the inner three, the outer three, what long stacks, foot shooting, carbines, as well as questions, exams, etc., the foolish uncle will never be able to do it. It's you...... Uh, how about your martial arts, Wen Qi, aren't you all this mess?"

As he spoke, Chen Xiangshan suddenly became excited, and confidently pleaded Chen Wenqi to participate in the martial arts competition.

"No, no. If you don't succeed in your studies, how dare you think like this? Let's wait a few years. Chen Wenqi shook his head again and again.

"What's not going to work?" Chen Xiangshan pretended to be annoyed and said, "Fifth Uncle said you can do it, you can do it." If this little emperor is like his father, and suddenly he doesn't open a major exam in the future, is it useful for you to 'say it again'?"

Chen Wenqi was too lazy to argue with him, so he replied lightly: "To take the test or not, it's useless for Qi'er to say it, in short, just listen to the arrangement of my father and fifth uncle." ”

"Alright, let's go back and discuss with your father. Chen Xiangshan turned his anger into joy, pulled Chen Wenqi to turn around and ran back.

When the two returned home, Chen Ruishan was already sitting in the hall waiting. Opposite him, there is also Chen Yangshan, the teacher of the Honjo Jukukan and Wenqi's enlightenment teacher, who is the same generation as Chen Ruishan and Chen Xiangshan. Chen Yangshan didn't know where to get the news, so he came here to wait.

"Old Five, Qi'er, I heard Jingxing say, you went to see the emperor list in front of the prefect's yamen?" Before the two of them entered the door, Chen Ruishan asked.

When Chen Wenqi saw that the Enlightenment Master was present, he hurriedly stepped forward to salute, and then replied, "Yes, Daddy." ”

"Is there really an emperor list for opening a department?"

"Isn't it? Big brother. Not only is there really an emperor list for opening a bachelor's degree, but it is also a double examination for literature and martial arts. Chen Xiangshan said excitedly.

Chen Ruishan was a little puzzled, and looked at Chen Yangshan: "This is unheard of." Could it be that the talents who participated in the Autumn Festival still have to have martial arts?"

"Oh, I'll say two sentences and one sentence. Chen Xiangshan knew that the eldest brother had misunderstood, and hurriedly explained: "In the autumn of this year, the two branches of literature and martial arts will be opened at the same time. Not every candidate has to take the Wentao martial arts test. After that, I roughly retold the contents of the emperor's list.

"I see. Chen Ruishan was immediately relieved.

"What are you worried about, big brother? Even if every candidate has to test Wen Taowu, our family Wen Qi is no worse than others. Hey, big brother, do you think it is better for Wen Qi to be a Wenju or a martial artist?"

Chen Xiangshan didn't wait for Chen Ruishan to speak, and then said: "In my opinion, Wen Qi should still be martial arts." Wen Qi has been practicing martial arts since he was a child, familiar with military books, and there are five or six famous teachers who have taught him. After so many years of tempering and refinement, now Wen Qi's three Taos and six strategies, bow and horse riding and archery have reached the top. If you take the martial arts test, you may win a Wu Jieyuan and Wu Yayuan. ”

At this time, Chen Yangshan spoke: "Xiangshan, if you talk about true talent and real learning, Qi'er's knowledge is great. It's not that I'm old and I praise him in person, Qi'er's current knowledge and attainments, although he doesn't dare to say 'Luhai Panjiang' and 'overwhelm Yuanbai', but in the four books, five classics and six arts, it is not an exaggeration to say that he has the 'talent to win the table' in Dai Shizhong. If you take the literary exam, don't say 'take bruises like mustard', and there will be no problem in one fell swoop. ”

"Sir, it's good that Qi'er has eight buckets of talent, but Jiangshan Sheji is not written with pen and ink, but killed with a knife and gun. In the twelfth year of orthodoxy, the 'civil engineering change' was only 40 years ago, and the Tatars and Japanese still repeatedly violated the border. A good man should put pen to paper, serve the country with loyalty, expand the territory, and shroud the horse leather. The more Chen Xiangshan spoke, the more excited he became.

"It's true that the country is 'beaten', but it is easy to fight the country and it is difficult to defend. Why is this? Because swords and guns cannot solve hunger and cold, nor can they calm the people's hearts. When the war was at the beginning of the break and the dynasty was sluggish, the government was lax and the people were struggling to make a living, my generation should be "full of tribute to the capital teacher", enter and leave the temple, go up to the emperor to act as the state government, and go down to the people of Baili to realize all things. Even in dealing with small border states, except for those who are unscrupulous and unscrupulous, they must be forced to submit them by force, but we should also use the benevolence and righteousness of our China to practice the way of "inner saint and outer king", so that the world will return to the heart ....... Chen Yangshan also raised his voice.

"Alright, alright. Chen Ruishan smiled and said, "What the two of you said makes sense. Don't you hear that 'the king of Wen rules with his culture, and the king of martial arts uses his martial arts to go to the disasters of the people, and all of them have merit for the people'? The way of civil and military affairs is the two great weapons for the establishment of the state of Anbang, and it is impossible to do without one of them, but this is something that the king thinks about. Our generation of small people should serve the country with their own strengths. Speaking of Qi'er, I asked him to read some military books and learn some martial arts, firstly, to let him gain more knowledge and not to be a frog at the bottom of the well, and secondly, to strengthen his body and have some self-defense skills. But how can this meager effort be compared with the breadth and profundity of Confucius, Mencius, Zhuang Xun, and Confucianism, Mo, and Taoism? The Ming Dynasty has been founded for more than 100 years, and the unification of China is as solid as a rock; compared with the Tang and Song dynasties, the Ming Dynasty has not yet ceded land, paid compensation, made peace with relatives, and paid tribute. Even if there is sporadic border chaos, it can't stop the thunderous blow of the Celestial Empire's army. However, the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty in the Song Dynasty was not as good as in case, and the people's livelihood withered and needed to be governed urgently. Chen Ruishan paused, nodded slightly to Chen Yangshan, and then looked at Chen Wenqi and said: "I agree with Mr. Yangshan's proposition, Qi'er will take the liberal arts exam this autumn. I wonder what Qi'er thinks?"

"The child obeys his father's teachings. Chen Wenqi bowed and replied.

Chen Ruishan smiled and ordered: "In this case, from today onwards, you don't have to work in the fields with us anymore, and carefully prepare for the autumn exam." ”

"Yes. ”

Chen Xiangshan secretly regretted in his heart that his nephew, a martial arts genius who is rare to see in a hundred years, wanted to abandon martial arts and follow literature, which was inevitable for himself, his family, and his country. But the elder brother had already made a decision, and he was his son, and even if he had ten thousand reasons, he could not argue with him.