"The martial arts competition will be held in two months, Jiang Li, you must prepare as soon as possible!"
In the tea room on the second floor of Lanhong Pavilion, Princess Yunle made an astonishing statement and informed the court of the unannounced deployment plan in advance.
"Hai Shiqi said that the martial arts examination mainly selects low-level officers. Those who reach the late stage of Jiaowu Realm will have a chance to be shortlisted. If they have the strength of Taiji Realm, they will be more likely to win!
"You have the Nine Revolutions of Great Return Pill to remold your body and rebuild your foundation, and you have the Crocodile Dragon Essence Powder to assist you in your practice. It is not difficult to advance to the Tai Chi realm before the martial arts competition."
Princess Yunle sighed and said: "It's a pity that your martial arts training time is too short. It is extremely difficult to be promoted to a higher level. The top 300 in the martial arts examination can be shortlisted for the palace examination, but you need to be in the late Juqing realm or above. strength!"
"Later stage of Juqing Realm!"
Jiang Li's eyes flashed and he nodded secretly.
The Great Zhou Martial Arts Competition is open to all martial artists under the age of 25 from across the country. It is divided into two subjects: Strategy Theory and Martial Arts Competition. Participants are tested on strategy first and then on martial arts.
Anyone who passes the military examination can be ennobled as an eighth-grade enemy-defending captain. After joining the army, he will serve as the general banner and command fifty Zhou sergeants.
The first three hundred will be conferred the title of deputy lieutenant of the seventh rank Yi, and will be appointed as centurion, commanding a hundred soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty. They can also participate in the palace examination held in September and become the emperor's disciples, with a bright future.
Jiang Shirong, the Marquis of Zhenwu, was born as a martial arts champion. He was already a fourth-rank Mingwei General within three years of joining the army. He became famous in one battle during the Battle of Jigu Temple eighteen years ago and became famous all over the world.
"Jiang Li, don't be discouraged. In fact, it doesn't mean much to you whether you can be shortlisted for the palace examination. You have been moved to a lower status. Even if you pass the military examination, you cannot be officially canonized by the court. You only have an official position but no official rank!"
Princess Yunle consoled her: "The most important thing at the moment is how to quickly accumulate military merits in the war against Bei Mang. As long as the merits are enough, you can wash away your lowly status and go further in the court. The general banner can be It is not difficult to command fifty sergeants and accumulate military merit if they are commanded properly."
"Thank you for the reminder, princess!"
Jiang Li nodded lightly. He looked at the red dragon-scale sword lying across the table and felt grateful: "The princess gave me the wind-chasing horse and the dragon-scale sword just to give me a stronger weapon in the battle of Beimang." Relying on his strength, he quickly rose up and accumulated military exploits!"
"These are nothing. The children of the Hou family will receive strong support and secret help from their families when they join the army. Horses, swords, armor, and money are all the most basic things.
"Many families will even send well-trained private soldiers, dead soldiers, and retainers to join the army. My Zhou Dynasty sergeants are well-trained, but they are far inferior to the elite private soldiers and capable retainers cultivated by the marquis and aristocratic families.
"With these supports, the disciples of the Hou family can quickly stand out in the frontier army, accumulate military exploits, and get promoted."
Princess Yunle talked eloquently, showing the vision and strategizing of a woman from the royal family of the Great Zhou Dynasty, "Jiang Li, if you want to achieve military success in this battle of Beimang, personal bravery alone is far from enough. Before joining the army, Gathering some trustworthy helpers with their own strengths around you will definitely get twice the result with half the effort!”
"What the princess said is absolutely true, I will try my best to do it!"
Jiang Li nodded, knowing that what Princess Yunle said was true.
The eldest wife's two sons joined the army in their early years. Jiang Shirong arranged for many martial arts masters and ascetics to accompany them, and they also brought a large amount of property, armor, and weapons to win people's hearts.
Entering the army was like a fish out of water. In just a few years, he accumulated a lot of military merit and was promoted continuously.
The eldest son Jiang Xuanluo was promoted to the fourth rank of Zhonglang General and appointed as the commander of the guard station. He led 5,000 troops and horses to guard the border of the Western Regions.
The second son, Jiang Xuanjing, was worshiped as a fifth-grade guerrilla general and was stationed in Yunjing Shifu. Although he was only a member of Qianhu, the thousands of sergeants under his command were all the most elite heavy armored cavalry in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
As for ordinary martial arts without background, even if you have superb martial arts and excellent strategy, after entering the military camp, it will take a long time to establish prestige and authority among the sergeants.
Without the support of private soldiers and retainers, it is even more difficult to train the sergeants under his command into tigers and wolves. In just a few years, it is impossible to have the ability and qualifications to compete for military honors.
When Jiang Li joins the army and uses his military exploits to clear his status as a son-in-law, the eldest lady will definitely be the first to object. It will be difficult for him to leave Shengjing, and the Hou Mansion will naturally not be able to give him support and help.
All accumulation and preparation must be done by himself.
Fortunately, the banknotes and gold in his hands were worth about fifty or sixty thousand taels of silver, which was a considerable accumulation. He also had the secret body refining medicine Crocodile Dragon Essence Powder in his hand, which was coveted by warriors, so he was not completely destitute.
The only thing missing is a helper you can rely on and trust.
But he was trapped in the Hou Mansion and could not use many methods. The eldest lady monitored him closely. It was not easy to recruit and train a group of private troops by herself.
"Jiang Li, I have a farm in the western suburbs outside Shengjing City that I can lend to you temporarily."
Princess Yunle handed a sachet to Jiang Li, which contained the title deed of the western suburbs farm.
"As for recruiting private troops, if you have time, you can go to Bei City and have a look. Many prisoners of war and criminals will be sold there. You may find unexpected gains!"
"My father wants to send me as a deputy envoy to the north. According to the three strategies of controlling Mang, I will win over Da Luo as an ally and jointly attack Beimang. It is inconvenient to leave the palace in the near future. If you have anything to do, you can go to Prince Yiyong's palace to find Luo Ying! "
Princess Yunle told Jiang Li some more matters and left in a hurry before dawn.
The etiquette and laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty were strict, and it was against etiquette and law for the princess to have a private meeting with a man late at night. If word spread, Emperor Jing would definitely punish Marquis Zhenwu, and Jiang Li would inevitably be unaffected.
"The top 300 in the martial arts competition need at least the strength of the late Juqing realm!"
After the princess left, Jiang Li stood in front of the railing on the second floor of Lanhong Pavilion, thinking to himself.
He didn't have much expectations about whether he could enter the palace examination. As a lowly person, even if he entered the palace examination, he would not be canonized to a real official rank.
The only thing that appealed to him was the position of centurion.
If you are shortlisted for the military examination, you can be appointed as the general flag and command fifty sergeants.
But if he can be among the top three hundred, he can be appointed as a centurion and command a hundred soldiers.
The more tribes you have, the faster you can accumulate military merit.
What's more, Beimang hides the secret of his mother's identity. Only by gaining higher power and authority can he find out everything.
Jiang Shirong's indifference, suppression and avoidance of him were definitely not just a father displeased with his son.
"Mother, who are you, and what happened before and after the Battle of Jigu Temple eighteen years ago!"
Jiang Li looked back to the north, his eyes twinkling.
Ta-ta-ta
The first sunrise of the thirty-second year of Qianyuan was slowly rising from the east at this moment.
On the street outside the Zhenwu Marquis Mansion, four red horses with flying manes and as powerful as tigers rushed out of the gorgeous morning glow while stepping on the debris of firecrackers all over the ground.
On the carriage, a tall and handsome man wearing a Confucian robe was holding the reins and standing on the carriage. The Confucian robe was flying in the wind. The man's eyes were wrapped in a black cloth and he could not see, but he stopped the carriage steadily. In front of the gate of Zhenwuhou Mansion.
"Mr. Zuo, the Zhenwuhou Mansion has arrived!"
The blindfolded man jumped out of the carriage, opened the door, and welcomed a middle-aged scribe holding a folding fan out of the carriage.
