History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

According to the ancient rites, after the emperor ascends the throne, he must first do five things: govern his relatives, reward merits, promote the virtuous, employ the capable, and maintain love.

The fourth urgent task, "enabling," is to appoint talented people. Talented people, of course, include the soldiers guarding the imperial palace.

These soldiers were further divided into the Feathered Forest Guard and the Tiger Guard.

The term "Yulin" is used alone.

Why is it called Yulin? It implies swiftness like a feather and abundance like a forest!
Today, Your Majesty will select a valiant warrior from among the numerous Imperial Guards to serve as your personal attendant!
Those with better connections knew more in advance, and only the elite soldiers stationed at the East Gate Camp were qualified to participate in the selection.

The reason why the soldiers had been probing Zhao Zhi was because they were rivals. Some of them believed that Zhao Zhi must have some hidden skills, while others thought that a mere woman couldn't possibly be that powerful. It was obvious that she was being favored by someone with power, and that it was a waste of a spot.

A eunuch walked over and shouted, "Quickly, quickly, take advantage of this little break, those who need to defecate and those whose urine is stinking, hurry up and go away, don't make the area smell bad."

The soldiers understood that the sacrificial ceremony was about to end.

Someone teased the eunuch, saying, "Come on, come with us."

His partner was even harsher: "He can't stand still to spit, do you want us to spit on his head? He should be paired with a female recruit."

The eunuchs were used to swallowing their anger, but Zhao Zhi couldn't stand it! She stepped forward and blocked the two soldiers, not afraid that her voice would be heard by those around her: "During the martial arts test, I will challenge you. You two are allowed to find someone who can urinate standing up to embolden you."

Due to time constraints, this martial arts assessment will only test one aspect... hand-to-hand combat.

Hand-to-hand combat, or unarmed fighting, has much looser rules than wrestling. It will be divided into two rounds of assessment: first, one-on-one hand-to-hand combat, and then the winner will choose someone to challenge multiple opponents.

Simply persevering to the end isn't enough; the one who challenges the most people is the only true warrior! This is to prevent cheating.

Therefore, all the young men who heard Zhao Zhi's words felt that they had been despised. However, this woman was cunning and her words were full of traps. If they agreed to her words in accordance with her momentum, it would be tantamount to admitting that they were inferior to her.

"You're courting death, I'll grant your wish! Remember, your surname is Ji! Spit—"

"Forget it, why bother arguing with a woman?"

The soldier surnamed Ji was being pulled along by his comrades.

A nearby man advised Zhao Zhi: "You're the only woman here. I advise you to control your temper. Your state soldiers may be able to compete with the Tiger Warriors, but they can't compare to our Imperial Guards..."

Zhao Zhi interrupted impatiently, "You can also be a partner with those two who pee standing up."

This man, named Kou Meng, was first angered, then laughed. What a boorish woman! He liked her!
Kou Meng was highly regarded during the reign of the late emperor, serving as a fourth-rank Imperial Guard. After being wrongly dismissed from his post, he became an ordinary imperial guard. He possessed astonishing strength and was a true warrior. He was also on good terms with Yu Lie, the commander of the Imperial Guards, and thus continued to serve as an ordinary imperial guard in the outer hall of the Zhaigong Palace.

It can be said that, unless a hidden talent emerges out of nowhere, he will definitely be the one to win this selection of close attendants!

To prevent other Imperial Guards from daring to fight him during the assessment due to his reputation, Kou Meng shaved off his beard completely and put on false sideburns. The effect was quite good, and so far no one has recognized him.

Zhao Zhi couldn't stay idle. Seeing that there was nothing else to do, she sat down in front of a tree and started catching ants with bits of dirt.

Time passed little by little.

A dozen or so eunuchs hurried from the east gate of the mausoleum to deliver the imperial decree that the emperor was about to arrive.

Zhao Zhi walked towards the last row of soldiers.

The soldier surnamed Ji scoffed, "Hmph, she's smart enough to know her place."

Kou Meng deliberately lingered, circling around the spot where Zhao Zhi had just thrown the dirt. His eyesight was exceptional, and his previously nonchalant expression turned serious.

There were dead ants all over the ground, which was nothing, but every single ant died in the same way—they were all killed by pieces of dirt of roughly the same size!

He also came to the back of the procession and stood next to Zhao Zhi. The emperor and a group of imperial officials came out of the mausoleum and went directly into the large felt tent. His close guards Yu Deng, Wang Zhongxing, Ru Hao, Chen Saojing, Xu Yigong, and Hou Gang, eunuchs Wang Yu, Wang Zhi, and Qin Song, and imperial physician Wang Xian followed closely by the emperor.

The tent doors were wide open, and there was little noise coming from inside.

The sun was directly overhead.

It slowly slants westward.

Hou Gang, who was in charge of tasting the food, came out of the tent and whispered to all the Imperial Guards: "Go and eat in groups, and do not make a sound."

Zhao Zhi's stomach had been growling for a long time. She never hesitated to eat, so she followed the first group of soldiers with the thickest skin to the supply wagon.

The food was cold steamed cakes brought from the palace, and each person scooped a spoonful of pickled vegetables and rolled them up to eat.

Fortunately, the water was not cold, as it had been prepared in advance by the maids stationed at the mausoleum.

There was no set amount for each person to eat, and Zhao Zhi didn't return to her unit until the third group of soldiers arrived. Kou Meng followed her the whole time, and he had the idea of ​​comparing their eating capacity. Not only did he lose the contest, but he also chewed until his cheeks ached.

The pickled vegetables contained beans, and coupled with the cold pancakes they were eating, the soldiers' ranks were filled with foul noises in the afternoon, and it was impossible to muffle the sound.

Eunuchs occasionally came and went in the large felt tent, and by evening, Zhao Zhi was hungry again.

Fortunately, His Majesty came out of the large felt tent and went to the temporary meditation tent with only his attendants and eunuchs.

At this moment, regardless of whether they were princes like the Grand Commandant or meritorious officials of the eight clans, they were all bursting with pent-up frustration and went to secluded places to relieve their bloated stomachs.

A Imperial Guard General emerged last from the large felt tent and ordered all the soldiers to form teams of twenty, taking turns every half quarter of an hour to patrol the camp. The soldiers not on duty were to wait by the supply wagons for the martial arts competition that night.

Zhao Zhi and Kou Meng were in the last team, which was less than twenty people. The general waved his hand and said, "You don't need to patrol the camp anymore. Wait by the supply wagons."

After the general left, the soldier surnamed Ji said sarcastically, "Being a woman is such a good life, we can't help but envy her."

Zhao Zhi: "If you don't want to patrol the camp, I can switch with you."

"Hey? Don't talk nonsense. Who doesn't want to patrol the camp?"

Zhao Zhi disdained arguing with such a petty person; whether she won or lost, it would be humiliating. She returned to the supply wagon, where the palace servant in charge of the food asked the soldiers if anyone was hungry. Zhao Zhi was delighted and quickly rolled up a steamed bun in each hand to fill her stomach.

Perhaps because the martial arts competition was approaching, the soldiers started talking more, and those who wanted to befriend each other introduced themselves by name and where they came from.

Zhao Zhi listened from the side. She already knew that there were 215 Imperial Guards participating in the competition, all of whom were military officers selected from various Imperial Guard camps through prior martial arts competitions.

Through the conversations among these soldiers, it was learned that they were either the squad leader or the deputy squad leader.

Someone asked Kou Meng, "And you? You look exceptionally strong. Which general are you under? Are you a squad leader or deputy squad leader?"

Kou Meng: "He leads troops under the general's command, holds no official rank, and is an ordinary soldier."

Those present, upon hearing the words "under his command," immediately let out a sneer, thinking that this guy was all talk and no action, and not someone to be trusted.

Isn't that obvious? General Yu Lie is the head of the military officers guarding the palace! All the Imperial Guards and Tiger Guards on duty in the palace belong to the general's command.

Kou Meng noticed that Zhao Zhi wasn't mocking him, and smiled kindly at him, but his smile immediately froze! He just happened to see Zhao Zhi catch a lightly falling withered leaf with her hand raised above her head.

The scene was as if a withered leaf had willingly found its way into her palm.

But absolutely not! It's only possible that Zhao Zhi's hearing was terrifyingly sensitive, and that she predicted the falling leaf would land precisely on her head the instant it broke off. (End of Chapter)