Chapter 14 Martial Arts

Chapter 14 Martial Arts

Chapter 14 Martial Arts
In the Li family's courtyard, Xu Qing and Li Gongyu were practicing against each other.

The two were of similar height, had almost the same moves, and were extremely skilled at breaking blocks. At the end of the practice, Li Gongyu and Xu Qing faced each other with palm strikes, and Li Gongyu could not bear the force and took three steps back.

"Qing'er, you are stronger than me." Li Gongyu laughed.

He saw that Xu Qing's arms were strong and powerful, and his face was rosy, which was completely different from when he had just recovered from illness a month ago.

Xu Qing said modestly: "That's because my uncle is worried that he might hurt me if he uses all his strength..."

Li Gongyu is still in his prime, and his strength is even greater than when he was young.

What's more, practicing the Crane Shape Posture is extremely beneficial for maintaining physical condition.

Li Gongyu drank a lot of medicinal food these days, and even though Aunt Zhou urged him to pay the tax grain every day, it had some effect.

Li Gongyu smiled and said, "With your current kung fu, you can actually take the martial arts exam."

The Wusheng examination is actually the Tongsheng examination of the Wuju examination, but its status is far from comparable to that of the Tongsheng examination.

Because Li Gongyu was of low birth, he was not eligible to take the military examination. Moreover, even if he passed the military examination, he could not become an official directly, but had to wait in line. It was called waiting in line, but if he didn't spend a lot of money, he would never get a chance to take the exam.

Even if you become a military officer, your status is far from that of a civil official.

In the eyes of civil officials who came from the imperial examination system, low-ranking military officers were no different from clerks.

Xu Qing knew that Li Gongyu was joking, so he changed the subject: "Uncle, how do you tell the difference between strong and weak martial artists?"

Because in the bronze mirror, a new description of martial arts appeared, "Martial arts level: tendon training."

The description of the crane-shaped pile is supplemented in the notes that follow.

The small success in Crane Posture obviously meant that he had truly begun practicing martial arts, and tendon training was his current level.

Li Gongyi: "Why would Qingge ask this?"

Xu Qing: "I just think the Crane Shape Posture is not simple, so I want to ask."

Li Gongyu was silent for a while, then said, "Practicing martial arts is just for strengthening the body. When you ask about strength, it means you are trying to compete with others. Qing'er, you are a scholar. I have been on duty in the government office for so many years, and I have learned some things from books. For example, a son of a wealthy family should not sit in the hall. What you need to do is stay away from dangerous places."

Hearing this, Xu Qing pondered for a while and said, "Uncle, the martial arts training is actually related to the extermination of our Xu family."

Li Gongpu looked bitter: "Did you guess it?"

Xu Qing: "It seems I shouldn't ask."

Li Gongyu nodded and said, "When you become a high official in the future, you will be able to take revenge. If not, relying on your own bravery alone will be useless."

Xu Qing: "Then I won't ask."

He had always had a suspicion in his heart that a life span of less than three years might not be due to health problems. Now that the Crane Shape Pillar had achieved a minor success and his life span had not been extended, it seemed that this might be related to the extermination of the Xu family.

How did his body survive the disaster of extermination of his family back then? How was Li Gongyu able to adopt him without being found by his enemies?
Alas, as long as he still has this body, he will have to inherit the grievances and grudges of his original body.

At present, it seems that the enemy must be very powerful. Even if Li Gongyu became the Dianshi, he would not dare to mention these things to Xu Qing.

Perhaps Li Gongyi also thought that the other party would not come to wipe out the roots.

However, the evaluation that the bronze mirror has a lifespan of less than three years is undoubtedly a clear indication.

The other party will not give up.

But why wait until three years later?

"No matter what, there is always time to prepare." Xu Qing had nothing to be nervous about because it would not solve the problem.

Xu Qing and Li Gongyu were silent for a while, and Li Gongyu finally spoke: "By the way, Zhao Xiong said that we would leave tomorrow to release the silver from the treasury."

Xu Qing: "My uncle told me when he came back last night."

Li Gongyu: "Now that I think about it carefully, he started to put it off ten days ago, and only agreed yesterday when the higher authorities agreed to the county paying the summer tax in advance. Do you think there will be any twists and turns in the process?"

Xu Qing has been focusing his main energy on studying and practicing martial arts these days. The past few days have been a critical time for practicing the Crane Shape Post, so after listening last night, he did not think about it carefully.

Hearing this, he said, "Uncle, has anything major happened near Jiangning Prefecture recently?"

"Nothing serious has happened near our prefecture. By the way, a few days ago, an official document arrived saying that there was a Lotus Sect in Lingnan that attacked the county government and organized tens of thousands of people to join the bandits, but the government troops quickly put down the rebellion. I also heard that some of the scattered religious bandits fled to our Nanzhili by sea, and they might have colluded with the Dongyi pirates who were causing trouble along the coast. But our Jiangning Prefecture is not by the sea, so if something really happens, it won't affect us."

Xu Qing: "Uncle, is the route for the government to deliver the treasury silver by water or by land?"

"Of course by water."

Water transportation is the most convenient and economical. If you can go by water, it is absolutely impossible to go by land.

Xu Qing pondered for a while and asked again: "I remember my uncle said that Zhao Xiong hasn't bothered you recently. He just said that he was not feeling well and wanted to shirk the task of releasing the silver from the treasury."

"The imperial document has been issued. I'm afraid he won't be able to refuse this time, especially since he has already agreed to release the silver in the treasury." said Li Dianshi.

Xu Qing said softly, "That may not be the case. Uncle, before I take the Tongsheng exam, as long as he doesn't come to bother us, there's no need for us to cause trouble."

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

Ever since Xu Qing came up with the idea of ​​handing over the treasury silver to the national treasury in advance that day, the black gas that emerged from the fortune evaluation in the bronze mirror has dissipated a lot, leaving only a trace.

So far, the black energy has shown no signs of reviving.

Xu Qing guessed that Zhao Xiong would not take any action against them for the time being.

Combining what Li Dianshi said, he guessed that Zhao Xiong and his men must have some actions against Ku Yin. In any case, the fire could not burn them for the time being.

Both the further practice of Crane Posture and the preparation for the Tongsheng Examination require time.

Xu Qing knew that it would be difficult to kill Zhao Xiong with one blow, and it would only waste his time and energy.

Li Gongyu then went to the yamen to report for duty.

The imperial court stipulated that government offices should start working at the hour of Mao, hence the name Dian Mao. But now, the old emperor only held a court meeting once every two or three months, so naturally the officials below followed suit and became lazy.

Therefore, Li Dianshi went to work slowly every day.

There's no way. I went too early and there's no one in the yamen.

If someone went to the yamen in the morning to beat the drum to complain, he would definitely be beaten.

There is no way. If the common people's problems are not solved, at most one life will be lost. But if the masters are disturbed, the whole county will be in unrest.

It is self-evident which is more important.

...

...

Back in the hut, Xu Qing took out a thick collection of contemporary essays, all of which were classic essays from past years of the Tongsheng and provincial examinations. In addition to preparing for the county examination, he also had to have a deep understanding of contemporary essays so that he could write an essay that was both high-level and in line with the current trend in the examination room.

And you have to figure out which words to avoid and which taboos to avoid. Although the county exam is not rigorous, if someone wants to find fault and weigh the matter, it will naturally cause a lot of trouble.

Picking up the thick collection of current affairs essays, Xu Qing naturally entered a state of "absolute concentration".

After he had mastered the Crane Shape Posture, his physique was strengthened to a certain extent.

This time of "absolute concentration" made him immediately experience a completely different feeling from before.

The pages of the book in his hand were turning rapidly.

It is no exaggeration to say that he can read ten lines at a glance.

But every line of words was engraved in his heart. The meaning of each paragraph of text was like food entering the stomach, being quickly decomposed, and the knowledge was transformed into nutrients, allowing him to understand the article he had learned now very thoroughly.

As he quickly read through the eight-part essay test questions, ideas for solving the questions emerged. He then verified them with other people's excellent essays and absorbed some inspiration from them.

Before I knew it, I had turned to the end of the book.

Buzz!
Xu Qing closed the book reluctantly. There was a buzzing sound in his head and a slight feeling of fatigue in his body. He felt more comfortable than any other time when he had emerged from "absolute concentration".

His spirit is still very active.

Xu Qing opened the window, looked at the position of the sun outside, and judged that he had studied with "absolute concentration" for at least half an hour.

This is the longest time ever.

"Is this the effect of the Crane Shape Posture?" Xu Qing was quite delighted.

The duration of "absolute concentration" has increased eight times from half a quarter of an hour when he first crossed over to half an hour now, and it is more efficient.

He found a piece of white paper, randomly selected an eight-part essay test question, and started solving the problem, breaking it down, and continuing the topic... all in one go, without any delay, until the very end.

Xu Qing looked at the article he had just written with satisfaction.

With his current level, even in Southern Zhili, his writing is indeed at the level of prefectural students.

The students in the prefecture were all relatively young scholars whose physical and intellectual abilities were still at their peak. They were the kind of scholars who had hopes of passing the imperial examinations and were often the ones who loved to discuss current affairs.

These people often have their own circles and control a certain degree of public opinion in the prefectures and counties.

It is difficult to get them to do anything, but it is too easy for them to do bad things.

"If Magistrate Wu does not leave his post, it would definitely be better for him to stay in the county school after passing the imperial examination. However, Magistrate Wu's term of office will end at the end of this year, so it would be better for him to stay in the prefectural school in the future. This is also to avoid suspicion."

Li Gongpu was only a historian, not a serious scholar, and had no control over the affairs of the county and prefectural schools.

On the contrary, this relationship is likely to have a negative impact on the uncle and nephew.

Therefore, Xu Qing’s current plan is to strive to achieve excellent results in the provincial examinations and the academy examinations, so that he can directly enter the provincial school.

At the same time, although many students in the provincial school have a high opinion of themselves, they also represent extensive social resources, and they have space to display their "talents" in the provincial school.

By then, he hopes to be able to access more information related to "martial arts" and "Taoism".

After some thought, Xu Qing continued reading.

I didn't enter "Absolute Concentration" this time because the skill had just been used and there was a cool-down period.

But he is in good health now, and he was not very tired before, so he recovered quickly.

I have to say that "focus" is the best plug-in.

Whether it is reading or practicing martial arts, entering a state of concentration and selflessness, even ordinary people can make significant progress.

It’s just that humans are not machines and are easily disturbed by the outside world.

Let alone focusing, it is extremely difficult to concentrate even a little when studying.

Xu Qing is also very focused in his normal state now. It's not just because of his talent, but because he knows that every bit of his effort will pay off.

Why do people in the Qing Dynasty like to study and farm? Because these two things are the easiest to see the results.

...

...

Zhao Family Courtyard.

"Brother, the document for the release of the treasury silver has been sent directly to our house. We have to leave tomorrow." Captain Zhao Xiong's face was sallow, and his hands were trembling as he took the official document from his cousin and trusted constable.

The imperial court doesn’t care whether you are sick or not. Once the official document is issued, there is no room for refusal. You will die on the road.

Zhao Xiong's cousin was named Zhao Bao. Seeing Zhao Xiong's expression, he said with hatred on his face: "Those guys up there have received a lot of tributes from us, but now that something bad has happened, they are leaving the place cleanly."

Zhao Xiong waved his hand and said, "They have received news that Magistrate Wu will be the Censor of the Southern Zhili Supervisory Office, and will be in charge of the grain transport affairs. The interests of the nobles are too great. Unless it is absolutely necessary, they definitely do not want to offend the Censor who will take office at the end of the year."

"How can he, a third-class Jinshi, easily become an official in the imperial court?" Zhao Bao was shocked.

Zhao Xiong sneered, "I don't know which expert came up with the idea to write a storybook for Magistrate Wu. Now in the South Zhili area, many storytellers love to tell this storybook."

"I've heard that story before. It's just for fame and reputation."

"You must not have heard the last poem." Zhao Xiong said lightly.

"What poem?" Zhao Bao was now very dissatisfied with County Magistrate Wu. He had left after listening to less than half of what was said a few days ago, so naturally he didn't know the rest of the content.

"Lying in the government office, I hear the rustling of bamboos, and I suspect it is the sound of people's suffering.

We are just small county officials, but we are concerned about every little thing." Zhao Xiong chanted word by word.

"This poem is now loved by many common people, and it even attracted a great man, who personally praised Magistrate Wu for his gentlemanly demeanor..."

"The weight of this poem is so great." Zhao Bao only thought that the common people were cattle and horses, so naturally he had no feelings about this poem.

Zhao Xiong: "In any case, Magistrate Wu has won the hearts of the literati with this poem. If we make trouble before the end of the year, it will only make the higher-ups angry and think that we clerks are too cunning."

"But, brother, how can your body sustain such a long journey?"

"We're going by water anyway, so it won't be a problem. As for Li Gongyu, you have to be submissive for the time being and try not to cause any trouble." Zhao Bao agreed verbally.

But he disagreed in his heart. Their Zhao family was the local tyrant, but now a small character like Li Gongyu had risen to the top overnight and was riding on their heads. His uncle could tolerate it, but neither could his aunt.

He had already found out that Li Gongyu's nephew was going to take part in the county examination. This little guy had never been out of the house, so he couldn't find a chance, but he couldn't stay out during the county examination.

The Zhao family has spent so much money and supported so many people in Qingshui County over the years, it is not difficult for them to find someone who dares to escape.

Before the county exam, he will definitely find an opportunity to send someone to break the little thing's legs!

(End of this chapter)