Outside the Beijing camp, the sound of cannons was heard.
The total number of these middle-level generals selected from various places is nearly a hundred, which means there are dozens of teams of 500 people.
At the time of the most intensive arrival, there were now really 20,000 to 30,000 troops "attacking the stronghold".
Even though the ammunition allocated to each team was limited, the battle that was set off made the Wu Jinshi's faces flush, and they wished they could go over and watch the battle.
"Thousands of guns fired!" Some people were excited.
But Yu Dayou made a vague distinction and muttered in his heart: It’s just a hundred doors.
But after all, it was a squatting tiger cannon that roared from time to time.
"All warriors, follow me!"
When the sound of gunfire gradually became sparse, Gu Shilong appeared in front of them.
Facing the Jiajing Dynasty's first newly crowned Duke and the hero of Huguang's rebellion, no one dared to neglect him.
The 108 martial arts scholars who had been waiting for most of the day on one side of the campus formed two teams and followed Gu Shilong to the point where they stood behind the stage.
"In another two quarters of an hour, that is, half an hour, the soldiers will be sorted into the school grounds to be inspected by His Majesty, and then leave the school grounds. One hundred and eight military tribute soldiers will each receive a military examination test name flag and enter the school grounds. They are the pacesetters. The main list stands in front of the generals' platform, and the deputy list consists of seventy-two people. Half of them stand from the entrance to the generals' platform, and the other half stand from the generals' platform to the exit. When they hear them calling out the numbers, they will test the positions. Those who are the same as him should go and stand opposite him. Do you understand?"
A group of martial arts warriors looked at a small square formation next to them. They saw that everyone there was tall and tall, with smart eyes. Each person was holding two flags in each hand, one was the Ming army flag, and the other was "Jiajing Five Years." The ranking and name of "Wugongshi Zhengban".
This flag is a family heirloom!
"clear!"
Although it is sudden, everyone knows their ranking after all.
After several rounds of screening through the provincial examination and the general examination, if you look stupid at this time, how much will the price drop?
Now, the glory begins to arrive.
It's okay to stand on the field as a pacesetter. The main thing is that His Majesty has already arrived at the camp. He will be on the general commanding platform later and can look at them at any time.
Then Gu Shilong continued to talk about a piece of news that shocked them: "Since you have been listed in the military examination examination list, you will be at least the fifth-rank generals of the Ming Dynasty! Although you have not been awarded the title, Your Majesty's providence will surely transfer you. They are one of the 108 banner officers and old soldiers in the Shenji camp who are proficient in the new conduct and are your personal guards!"
Yu Dayou and Lu Bing both widened their eyes. No wonder the one hundred and eight people over there were all looking at this side with their eyes flashing.
From now on, each person will be assigned a personal guard.
It is not uncommon in the army for generals to have their own soldiers and servants. But Gu Shilong made it clear that they were all familiar with the new rules of conduct in the Beijing camp. Needless to say, these people are assigned to them, not only as life and death brothers who will cultivate good relationships in the future, but also as their best helpers after they are appointed.
"I thank God for his grace!"
"Don't betray the emperor's favor, get ready quickly." After making arrangements, Gu Shilong quickly left and boarded the general ordering platform.
But here, there are only two small square formations left.
At this time, the first person took the lead and shouted proudly: "Ding Jinxiong is the number one martial artist in the fifth year of Jiajing!"
"Hahaha, I'm here! Good brother, what do you call me?"
Seeing that they could still catch the flag, they walked and talked, and everyone was not worried about finding a place to stand later.
At this moment, it is time for everyone to step forward one by one to pick up the flag.
Zhu Houcong quickly stepped onto the general platform from the other side. At this moment, he was only looking at the thirty-six "Tiangang Divine Generals" who had already stood directly in front.
The one who is close is Yu Dayou.
Yang Yiqing and Gu Shilong clearly noticed that the emperor's eyes stayed on him longer, and even picked up his newly ground glass telescope.
After they looked at each other, they saw the emperor slowly moving the telescope, pointing it in the direction of Lu Bing, and then showed a smile on his lips.
Under the stage, Lu Bing stood in front of the right side of the stage.
Although I knew His Majesty was on the stage, I had just heard what my "personal guards" said not to look around. Your Majesty wanted them to see the most valiant generals of the Ming Dynasty, to see the new recruits they had trained in only three months, and they were exhausted after marching ten miles and just "attacking the stronghold".
At the same time, Your Majesty also wants to take a look at how these martial warriors conduct themselves in the midst of an army of tens of thousands.
Therefore, everyone is currently following the posture taught by their "personal guards" just now, standing with their feet slightly apart, their chest, waist, abdomen and back stopped, and their right hand is holding on to the flagpole of their own flag.
They are all selected martial arts scholars. Who doesn't have some skills? In the school grounds, these 108 military flags and 108 famous flags of the Martial Arts Scholars formed a concave passage.
After a while, I heard the sound of horse hooves coming from the entrance.
Lu Bing tried hard to control his gaze, and only saw his shiny armor when the fast horse passed by him.
It was Li Quanli, the uncle of Xiangcheng, who was in charge of Shenji Camp.
"Report!"
After the horses neighed, Yu Dayou, who was closer, could directly see Li Quanli dismounting from his peripheral vision, kneeling on one knee and clasping his fists: "All the participating generals arrived at the camp, and a total of twenty-six generals failed to lead their men to break the camp. The rest of the generals can already enter the school grounds to be reviewed!"
On the stage, Zhu Houcong's voice reached Yu Dayou's ears for the first time, making him surprisingly powerful.
"Let the Marquis of Xianning lead his troops into the field to observe the drill and the opponent's review!"
"Your Majesty has a decree! Pass it on! The Marquis of Xianning leads his elite troops to enter!"
"pass!"
From the general stage, the sound gradually spread to the direction of the exit of the school field.
And soon, thousands of people suddenly shouted in unison: "The decree is here!"
Then there was a smaller voice, but the voice was hoarse: "Everyone is here! Stand at attention!"
"Let's go together!"
Then thousands of people shouted in unison: "One! Two! Three! Four!"
It was difficult for the Wu Jinshi to suppress their desire to look over. Although it was not extremely neat, the footsteps of thousands of people gathered like bells and drums, crushing over from there.
On the stage, Zhu Houcong still held the binoculars and watched Qiu Luan bring people in from there. That is nearly 5,000 people selected from the veterans and middle- and low-level generals retained in the Fifth Army Camp. They have been practicing according to the new drills required by Zhu Houcong for three years, and the recruits who participated in the drills of the generals cannot compare with them.
At this moment, it seems that it is somewhat decent.
Now that I am here, and they enter the venue first, they want to give those participating generals a showdown.
At this moment, the participating generals and recruits who were waiting in a queue at the entrance must have heard what was going on here, right?
Zhu Houcong didn't know what their reaction was.
But on the school field, the one hundred and eight Wu Jinshi felt a strong sense of oppression suddenly coming from behind them.
No matter how big the Fifth Army Camp is, it is impossible to build a large campus large enough to accommodate tens of thousands of troops. At this moment, there are nearly five thousand elite soldiers standing on this large campus, which is already extremely terrifying at a glance.
The troops led by the participating military generals were only reviewed here and received the final score.
The twenty-six teams that failed to "break the stronghold" according to the rules after marching ten miles have been eliminated and are not even qualified to pass here.
Soon after, in the middle open space, Qiu Luan shouted again: "Everyone is here, stand at attention!"
Then he faced the general station and said: "Report to Your Majesty! The Fifth Army Battalion has been ordered to conduct exercises. More than 4,800 members of the Veteran Battalion have assembled. Your Majesty is invited to review!"
Zhu Houcong nodded: "Thank you for your hard work, soldiers."
Behind Yu Dayou, thousands of people suddenly burst out and shouted in unison: "Fight for the Ming Dynasty!"
His back and scalp suddenly went numb.
His "pro-military" told him a little bit, and now the new military code has many new military etiquette. But Yu Dayou is a person who is familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics. Now he only listened to these two sentences and already understood that this must be the emperor's request.
In the process of new exercises, such rituals must be trained again and again and made familiar to everyone.
After reciting these two sentences for a long time... some generals will always understand what they, the people who have been recruited to join the army, are doing in the military camp.
But why not "Fight for His Majesty"?
"Have a rest!" Zhu Houcong solemnly commanded on the stage, "Marquis of Xianning, come to the stage to review. Uncle Xiangcheng, order the participating generals to lead their troops to the stage to be reviewed!"
"I accept the decree!"
After entering the old camp and those two shouts, the campus is now full of solemnity.
Yang Yiqing and Gu Shilong, who were standing on both sides of Zhu Houcong, didn't know why, but their eyes suddenly became moist, and their chests were filled with pride.
It is said that troops are ordered in autumn on the battlefield, but in the past, it was better to talk about troops than generals.
There are many rules in the military, but there is really no etiquette in this form.
This time the emperor set aside 50,000 taels of silver. Is this just for fun?
Looking at the neat military appearance in the school grounds now, and hearing the morale they showed while marching and shouting before, it really makes people feel that elite soldiers are available.
Yang Yiqing went to the three sides of the General Assembly and told the emperor that the Beijing camp could be slowly formed into an army. Since the National Policy Conference has been set up to revitalize the water in the center of the court, there will be no major chaos in the Ming Dynasty within three to five years.
Gu Shilong, on the other hand, experienced the Huguang Rebellion in the third year of Jiajing. The ones who made great achievements in quelling the rebellion were the newly trained Shenji Battalion Xuanfeng, Jinyiwei and Internal Inspectorate. The rebels were the Huguang Three Guards and Two Guards who were unwilling to have their interests taken away and were worried about the restructuring of the military.
Now, through this great competition and review, the emperor had thrown in front of them some of the results of the new military training code implemented after the recruitment of soldiers in the Beijing camp.
The staff members of the military affairs meeting, Wang Shouren, the Minister of War, and the governors of the five prefectures all listened to Li Quanli shouting towards the entrance: "The participating generals are entering to be reviewed!"
The messengers passed by one after another, and then a voice sounded first from the other side: "Raise the military flag, general flag!"
Yu Dayou was clearly listening from a distance. Just like the old camp, the whole team had to go through something to "stand at attention" first, and then began to shout the same chant of "one, two, three, four" and march in together.
The difference is that this time it's continuous.
Each competing general enters the stage at a different time. Although there is a distance between them, the slogans shouted by different teams are not synchronized.
Therefore, the footsteps were naturally not synchronized, which made the martial arts warriors and the veterans on the field feel anxious.
However, later there were also teams behind that deliberately adjusted their rhythm, or in other words, in this atmosphere, everyone naturally adjusted their rhythm.
They walked not as neatly as the old camp, and they all showed more or less fatigue, and many of them had dirty clothes and armor.
It's hard for the veterans who are watching the "opponent exercise". These are tired soldiers after a tiring day today. Marching for ten miles with weapons and supplies, and then "attacking the stronghold" with live ammunition in the tense mood of scrambling, it was no less than a bitter battle.
Now, they are at least the winners of the first two levels, especially now that the first ones to come over are the first to arrive at the camp and the first to "break the stronghold".
I'm afraid the opponents are the top ten teams, unless they make a big mess when they are paraded separately, showing that the military discipline is loose and exhausted after the "big war".
But how can the top ten teams agree?
For their commander-in-chief, for the top ten, the county nobles can be demoted to replace them; for the top three, the three generations will not be demoted. More importantly, that means that in the eyes of the emperor, they are the ten most promising among the current middle-level generals in the Ming Dynasty!
For the assistant general, there was already Ji Weimin in the capital camp who was awarded the count for his merit. Now when there is no war, this exercise is their opportunity to make meritorious deeds!
For these new recruits, these three months were like hell!
But hardship comes after hardship. The 3rd, 4th and 5th grade generals who commanded them really treated them like brothers during this period, sleeping and eating together, and suffering the same hardships. I have to practice so hard every day, but after all, I have enough food, meat, and even wine every day.
Now they have to pass in front of the emperor, in front of the former Pavilion Elder, in front of the Duke of the State and the Chief Sima of the Ministry of War.
Among the military in the world, this is the highest level stage.
They just gritted their teeth and walked the last stretch of the day, as the commander-in-chief said: straighten their backs, shout their chants loudly, and keep their steps in step. After winning the big competition today, everyone will be my brother in the future. Even if I can't get you to be my personal soldiers after the competition, I will reward each of you with a tael of silver from my own pocket!
After walking this distance, you will have one or two silver coins!
The Eight Immortals crossed the sea and showed their magical powers. Now the first group of generals approaching the general platform were at the forefront, holding up their general flags, and suddenly shouted: "Look to the left!"
So Yu Dayou saw that the heads of this team were all tilted in the direction of the commander's platform, but their steps had not stopped yet.
He couldn't see the front of the road, but he still had to move forward, and he had to try not to mess up... Being familiar with the art of war, he suddenly realized: If on the battlefield, this is how soldiers listen to the general's orders and move forward no matter what. Base.
"Your Majesty, please review!"
There was another shouting, and Zhu Houcong on the stage also shouted: "Soldiers, thank you for your hard work!"
"Fight for Ming Dynasty!"
Yu Dayou couldn't help but be stunned: If we exclude those who failed in the first two levels, then there are more than fifty participating generals who will be reviewed, right? Does every team have to be like this, and the emperor has to shout so many times?
He was not wrong.
Just as Zhu Houcong was here to confer flags to them that day, he still does so today.
Lu Bing also witnessed this review in shock. Although the emperor he had been very familiar with had not seen much in recent years, and although he now had supreme majesty, he still personally spoke to the generals who passed the stage in as loud a voice as possible. The soldiers shouted again and again: "Soldiers, thank you for your hard work!"
And that sentence would be shouted again and again in the entire Fifth Military Camp campus.
There are not many things that each person needs to remember. The general who is participating in the competition only needs to remind his soldiers to look sideways at the general platform, and the soldiers only need to shout one sentence.
But the power of repetition is very powerful. If hundreds of people repeat it, and a total of more than 20,000 generals repeat it more than fifty times, it is very powerful.
This power stirred up in the campus, especially on the general stage.
Wang Shouren couldn't help but glance sideways at the emperor, whose voice was already hoarse, but still stood as straight as possible and shouted solemnly like the veteran below.
If the emperor comes to the capital camp every year to review the generals, even if he just takes turns to review them without making too much preparation, what will he gain from an emperor who is willing to shout like a general?
The first chapter of "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu says: Soldiers are a major event of the country, the place of life and death, and the way of survival, and must be observed. Therefore, the scriptures are based on five things, and the correction is based on calculations and feelings. The first is called Dao, the second is called Heaven, the third is called Earth, the fourth is called General, and the fifth is called Dharma. The Taoist makes the people agree with their superiors, so they can die with them and live with them without fear of danger...
Nowadays, isn’t it just “agreeing with the superior”?
Such an emperor will be recognized by his generals. If such an emperor were to go on a personal expedition in the future...
Wang Shouren felt that in the three or four years since Ding You left the center of the court, the emperor had become different again.
Today, the emperor, who is only twenty years old, is still at his most enthusiastic age, but he is not shouting out of excitement now.
In his own way, he was gradually infecting the hearts of the important ministers around him and subduing the hearts of his generals.
Yang Yiqing remembered how he felt when he heard about the turmoil in the court on the way back to Beijing after being summoned.
At that time, I wasn't sure if I was young and enthusiastic, but I was indeed enthusiastic after hearing those ambitions.
Nowadays, there are not only the most stalwart and bravest military generals in the Ming Dynasty, but also young generals and handsome talents who have just been promoted to high school martial arts.
The emperor arranged for them to be together. Now everyone is enthusiastic, right?
This is the emperor of Ming Dynasty, and these are the generals of Ming Dynasty.
Yang Yiqing even suspected that if the emperor now waved his whip to the north and shouted "Northern March", these generals would also set off with enthusiasm.
At least the current Beijing camp no longer dares to fight, right?
And Yang Yiqing knew that this was not all. In Huangming University, the Military Academy, Engineering Academy, etc., together with the Ordnance Supervisor and other yamen, have been thinking about continuing to improve weapons. The glass lens telescope that has been stagnant for a long time finally made a breakthrough - the emperor summoned Taoist priests to Beijing inexplicably. result.
Yang Yiqing didn't know why, but he could only say that he was shocked. He had tried it out from the emperor before. It was different from the one made of special colored glaze. It was a weapon on the battlefield.
Now, the School of Hearing and Computing and the School of Engineering are planning to study a new project called artillery launcher.
This was something Yang Yiqing didn't understand, so when he thought about it, he couldn't help but look at the emperor: He had done a lot of things that everyone didn't understand. But after such things are more or less effective, how many people will easily question his decision in the future?
He has only accumulated this kind of prestige for more than five years. If another five or ten years pass...
"Report! The review of the generals and soldiers has been completed!"
Li Quanli's voice interrupted Yang Yiqing's thoughts, and he looked at the last group of generals walking toward the exit.
For them, the day was over. There was a banquet in the camp in the evening, with meat and wine.
After today, only the top ten teams will have one more game. This time, he, Li Quanli, will be the leader.
Zhu Houcong's voice was hoarse and he was drinking the tea brought by Huang Jin.
After moistening his throat, Zhu Houcong nodded: "The top ten will be determined in three rounds, and you two can start preparing. I will come again during the martial arts examination next month to encourage your new recruits."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"
Zhu Houcong looked at the martial arts scholars who were still standing under the general stage, and then said to Gu Shilong with a smile: "The thirty-six main lists will be handed over to Duke Jing first. For the martial arts examination, I only look at the ten A two-person runoff.”
"...I accept the decree."
Gu Shilong looked at the emperor with complicated emotions, and at the same time looked sympathetically at the thirty-six military meritorious servicemen below.
What Yang Yiqing was talking about at the time was the group points promotion and elimination finals. These people had to go through it first.
The Ming Dynasty martial arts examinations became simpler before the examination, as long as you were physically strong and strong in martial arts.
But for this martial arts palace test, the martial arts test first lasts for twelve days. In the first eleven days, a group of twelve people competed against each other. Each person competed once a day. In the end, the top four in each group advanced to the finals.
On the twelfth day, the emperor will come to see it in person. After six people were eliminated, the remaining ones still caught the right pair, and then the three losers decided to decide one person, and the last four people competed for the championship.
In the words of the emperor, we will all be colleagues in the future, and we will have more opportunities to learn from each other and enhance our understanding. And if the skills in the army are not as good as others, it will be difficult to convince the crowd.
However, even though they are still "pointed out", there is no guarantee that they will not be injured during the twelve-day competition, and that no one will do anything for the sake of ranking.
Arranging an "old pawn" as a personal guard is mostly to help them recuperate, and at the same time, it also allows them to discuss among themselves: this personal guard can fight on behalf of the general, and it is up to them to decide their own strategies.
Gu Shilong only felt that the martial arts test was complicated, but it would indeed be fairer. After trying out their skills before, everyone already has an understanding of each other's strengths. Therefore, the warriors must arrange strategies according to their actual situation, and it will also test their ability to intimidate a veteran so that he can share weal and woe with the general.
In addition to personal martial arts, there is also the role of a small team.
For those warriors who are not sure about the military strategy in the palace examination literary test, this is their best chance to strive for the final ranking.
After going through all these hurdles, there will almost never be a situation of "no first place in literary examination" in the literary examination.
People who are Jinshi in the same discipline may not have the same temperament, but who can disapprove of the top scholar in Wu?
So that night, there were different joys and sorrows in the five military camps.
The generals and soldiers who were selected into the top ten gathered together to drink with Uncle Xiangcheng.
The competition life of the remaining participating generals is over. Although I don’t have to suffer for more than a month, I still feel disappointed after all.
Do you want to blame those soldiers? They were feasting and feasting on themselves.
They are all truly knowledgeable soldiers and capable of fighting. In the same three months, if others can train better than me, then their skills are inferior to others.
In front of Gu Shilong, Yu Dayou and others together were not as lively as other places.
But when Lu Bing heard the rules of the imperial examination and martial arts test that were announced to them today, Lu Bing's head hurt: Do you want to fight again?
He will try seventeen, and the emperor will only look at the final selection of twelve.
If I can't get in, how can I face His Majesty during the literary test?
Yu Dayou couldn't help but feel frightened: He only ranked fifth after taking the first place in the literary test. Although it is not difficult to get into the top twelve, in this martial arts test, scores are calculated based on ranking.
The literary test tests the art of war and strategy, and the total score is only 100 points. The first place in this martial arts test can get forty points.
If you want to secure the top spot in martial arts, you have to at least be in the top three...
Thinking of the emperor he had just met today, Yu Dayou couldn't help but curse: Why bother...
Zhu Houcong has returned to the Forbidden City, feeling quite satisfied with today's results.
The Military Affairs Council has already made clear his plans for the future. If he wants to cultivate generals and generals, he should cultivate them well.
Now that Yu Dayou has appeared, Zhu Houcong believes in his strength.
Only if he can still win the championship after going through such a difficult examination system, will he be able to convincingly sit on the rocket that Zhu Houcong has prepared for him.
Heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on this people, and they must first...
(End of chapter)
