vstars Chapter 39 Martial Arts Hall
Chapter 39 Martial Arts Hall
Ruan Mingyuan explained it to the two of them carefully.
At the beginning of the dynasty, Emperor Taizu established the Military Martial Arts Hall to cultivate skilled soldiers. It was originally a place for officers and meritorious soldiers to practice martial arts.
To better popularize martial arts, the most basic martial arts suitable for use in battle formations are taught, and one can also train to become a copper-skinned warrior and an iron-boned martial artist.
In addition, by holding military examinations, anyone who passed the examinations could be granted an official position, thereby attracting skilled individuals from the common people and eliminating unstable factors.
But several hundred years have passed.
Even the founding emperor never imagined that there wouldn't be enough officials in the Shun Dynasty, as the court was filled with people with connections.
Many martial arts scholars and successful candidates in the imperial examinations had to spend many years and even bribe their way into a substantive post.
The military was controlled by various military families, and their children were born with family-inherited martial arts skills, so they didn't bother to go to martial arts schools to learn those common skills.
Even if lower-ranking soldiers made meritorious contributions, the credit was often claimed by those with connections at higher levels.
The military examination became a mere formality; many who passed it did so only to gain official rank and thus be exempt from taxes and corvée labor.
The martial arts academy has gradually declined. Although it still retains its original structure, it is no longer what it once was, and it no longer has a strict assessment system, becoming a leisurely government office.
This place gradually evolved into a place where generals like Nguyen Minh Nguyen, who had no military background and suddenly rose to power, could send their servants to train in martial arts, and they had complete freedom of movement.
Ruan Mingyuan rubbed his hands together, looking a little embarrassed.
"Gentlemen, although the martial arts academy waives tuition fees, you still have to spend money to get in."
"The original rule for practicing martial arts there was that all the medicines were supplied by the government, but now we have to pay for them ourselves."
"But it's still a good deal."
"For an ordinary person to enter a martial arts school for training, the minimum tuition fee is twenty taels of silver per year, and if an ordinary person can become an Iron Bone Martial Master in ten years, they are considered to have extraordinary talent."
"The annual tuition fees alone add up to a huge sum of money, and they keep increasing as your cultivation level rises. In the end, you might have to throw in several hundred taels of silver?"
"Originally, I should have prepared the money for the elixirs for your martial arts training, brothers."
"But I invested a lot in this job, and now I'm a little short on money."
Ruan Mingyuan's meaning was very clear: he had invested too much in becoming an official, and hadn't had time to make any money yet, so he couldn't supply the pills.
Yang Silang laughed heartily and waved his hand.
"Brother Ruan, it's already very kind of you to have found this way for the two of us."
Back then, Xiao Jiling said that there were martial arts in the world that could be reincarnated, martial arts in the military, martial arts that were sold into servitude, and martial arts that were worth gold and silver.
It's impossible for him and Wang Daniu to be reincarnated as martial artists.
Xiong Shan lived off a woman, so he was practically a reincarnated martial artist; Li Erhu joined the Black Tiger Gang and signed a contract, so he was a martial artist who sold himself into servitude. We respect our brothers' choices, but it wasn't what they wanted.
Yang Silang had originally considered pursuing the path of gold and silver martial arts and choosing a martial arts school.
But the path of military service offered by Nguyen Minh Vien was clearly better, with a very obvious advantage: it saved money.
So what if it's a mass-produced product?
Yang Silang was confident that he could turn ordinary goods into something extraordinary in his hands.
As for Wang Daniu, his talent for martial arts is the worst among the four. He is good enough to practice the basics. Those advanced martial arts not only test one's comprehension, but are also said to be very expensive.
The availability of common products means that the costs associated with them, such as pills and decoctions, are also quite mature and inexpensive.
Although the two made a fortune, they both had elderly parents and young children to support, and were not yet married.
Gongzhou Prefecture was a major prefecture in Jiangdong Province, and it was not easy to live there; money was not cheap.
After the three finished discussing their business, Ruan Mingyuan clapped his hands and called in several beautifully dressed girls to sit beside him and keep him company while he drank.
Now that he's a general, when he goes out to socialize, there must be music and fragrant girls sitting on the side to entertain him.
Wang Daniu was so embarrassed by this scene that he didn't know where to put his hands. His face turned as red as a monkey's bottom, and he looked like a wax figure. Yang Silang, on the other hand, sat comfortably without any discomfort. He accepted the wine offered by the girl and even put his arm around her waist while chatting and laughing.
Are you kidding me? Using this to test cadres?
Ruan Mingyuan observed secretly, and was surprised.
Given their status as porters, they had never experienced such treatment before, so Wang Daniu's embarrassed appearance was understandable. However, the fact that this Brother Yang was so casual about it was truly befitting of a ruthless man who had chopped off six heads.
It seems I need to cultivate better relationships in the future; they might come in handy someday.
Thinking of this, his smile widened, and he raised his glass frequently. The three of them drank until midnight before finally parting ways.
Ruan Mingyuan said he would send the two of them the credentials to enter the martial arts hall in a few days.
There are few stars at night.
Yang Silang and Wang Daniu walked home together, a gentle breeze blowing, making it quite refreshing.
Wang Daniu kept turning his head to look towards the restaurant, reluctant to leave. His flushed face was marked with an even redder lip print.
"Da Niu, if you keep looking, you'll lose your soul..."
"No, Fourth Brother, those girls who work as hostesses are pitiful."
"oh?"
She said she had a paralyzed father, a mother with dementia, and a young brother at home, and that she had her reasons for doing this job. She told me to visit her more often...
Yang Silang became interested.
"So, Da Niu, are you going again?"
Wang Daniu touched the red lipstick mark on his face, the fragrance wafting in his nostrils, and said decisively.
"Of course not..."
"No matter how pitiful she is, her parents are still alive, and she can still see them."
"After the flood, my father died, my mother fell ill, and I had a younger sister to support. My life was even harder than hers..."
"It costs several taels of silver just for a single meeting, and the restaurant has to take a cut. Isn't that like throwing money down the drain?"
"Next time we meet outside, I'll give her a tael of silver as a way of repaying the favor. As a young lady, it's proper for men and women not to touch each other. I don't know how uncomfortable I would feel if she kissed me."
Yang Silang: "..."
Okay, big shot, you've passed the test.
Although it's a bit off-center, the direction is right.
The two walked in the same direction, for a simple reason: they had become neighbors.
When Yang Silang killed Gao Laodao, there was an empty courtyard next door with the exact same size and layout.
When the two returned from making their fortune on the battlefield.
Wang Daniu was holding the money and didn't know what to do with it, so Yang Silang told him to buy a house first and spend the rest slowly, and not to be ostentatious or he would give himself away.
To his surprise, a few days later Wang Daniu became his neighbor and bought the yard next door.
His family also has a heavy burden; he does have an elderly mother, and a younger sister and fifth sister who are about the same age.
When they arrived at their doorsteps, they said goodbye to each other.
Yang Silang patted the door knocker on the courtyard gate and called out, "Little sister!" A lively barking response came from inside.
Through the crack in the door, a half-grown black dog wagged its tail like a wheel; the dog's tongue was black and sticking out.
The older sister was worried that the haunted house was unsafe, so heaven knows where she got the five black dogs. Their heads, eyes, tails, feet, and bodies were all black, almost blending into the night. She said these things could ward off evil spirits.
Yang Silang didn't want it at first, but Fifth Sister loved it to bits.
He just let it be, treating it as if his fifth sister was raising a pet.
Soon, a voice answered from inside the house, followed by hurried footsteps, and the courtyard gate creaked open.
Yang Silang flashed into his own yard, dodging Hei Zi's lunge, and gently kicked him to the ground. He then took out a large bone wrapped in oil paper from his pocket and threw it far away.
Blackie immediately abandoned its master and pounced on the bone like a starving ghost, gleefully munching on it.
Meanwhile, Fifth Sister had already skillfully closed and bolted the door behind her.
The courtyard is surrounded by houses on three sides.
In the center, facing north, are three main rooms, with several side rooms on each side. On either side of the main gate, there is an outhouse on one side and a pile of firewood on the other, along with a kennel.
The courtyard was small, only a few dozen steps in length and width, but it was enough for Yang Silang to practice his sword skills in the courtyard. In the middle of the courtyard was a custom-made large iron vat.
There was also a row of stone locks in another corner.
"Fourth Brother..." She followed her brother like a little ornament, sniffing the air, then fanning herself with her small hand, frowning and pouting, "You've been drinking again."
"Ptooey, ptooey! Why do I smell perfume?"
"Waaah... Brother, you've turned bad! You went out drinking and carousing, didn't you?"
"When I see my older sister tomorrow, I'll definitely ask her to tell her about you..."
Yang Silang looked at his little sister with doting eyes. Because she had awakened through a mystery in the womb, his affection for his family was genuine.
In the past six months, he has not skimped on food and drink for his family, ensuring they have meat every day.
The girl who used to be blonde now has shiny black hair and much fairer skin. She no longer wears the patched clothes that were made from her older sister's clothes. Instead, she wears a blue, narrow-sleeved short blouse over a long skirt embroidered with simple flowers.
Although it was a cotton ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), it was clean and tidy.
"What do you know about beggar's wine and women, you little girl? I think you've gone bad, haven't you?"
"You should go see your older sister tomorrow. Don't just focus on complaining; see how she and Nannan are doing lately."
Yang Silang had a habit of ruffling the little girl's head, messing up her two topknots.
"You're bullying me..."
Fifth Sister was so angry at Yang Silang's betrayal that she jumped up and down, covered her head with a complaining look, rolled her eyes and ran into the house.